Babe Ruth's Rookie- 1914 Orioles - any more info

jonnyrock

As an Orioles fan, I've always been saddened to know that Babe Ruth was an Oriole long before he was a Red Sox or Yankee.
He did have a card made as an Oriole:



From what I understand, this card is a "Baltimore news Orioles" card issued in 1914 for the purpose of newswpaper promotion. There's both a major and minor league set, both are extremely rare. Ruth is in the minor league set. Also, the one of these cards that I know of is from a near complete set located in the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimoe.

Anyone else have any info? How many exist, etc. How much last one might have sold for?

joedel

There is a major and minor league set because in 1914 the upstart Federal League organized a team in Baltimore. The Federal League is the primary reason that Ruth became a Red Sox (then a Yankee) player. Babe Ruth was never a member of the major league Baltimore team, but was a minor leaguer with the Orioles due to the proximity of the Orioles to St. Mary's Boys school, which Ruth attended. The minor league Baltimore Orioles owner, Jack Dunn, was losing money hand over fist as his "loyal" customers were now going to see major league games instead of watching his minor league team. Dunn needed to sell players to raise cash, and immediately contacted Connie Mack of the A's, who originally lent Dunn the money to buy the Orioles. Mack loved Ruth but conceded that he was "worth more than I can afford to pay". Dunn then called the Red Sox, whose owner, Joe Lannin, had lent Dunn working capital to pay his monthly bills. Dunn sold Ruth, along with Ernie Shore and another player, I think it was the big catcher Ben Egan, to the Sox for about $25K, plus the relinquishing of the working capital debt. If the Federal League did not begin in 1914, Ruth might have wound up somewhere else, maybe the Cardinals?, who were more apt to cover the cost. It can be argued that w/o the Federal League, Ruth never would have been a Yankee and baseball history would have changed forever.

This 1914 card is EXTREMELY rare and only a few examples are known. Last one went to auction about 5-6 years ago for a hefty sum of cash. Maybe Murcerfan would know the details of this transaction?