Over 200 people were in attendance for the unveiling of an 8-foot bronze statue of Babe Ruth at the entrance to Majestic Park Monday morning.
While the day started off with heavy fog and clouds, the sun broke free prior to the unveiling, shining down on the sculpture by Chad Fisher of Pennsylvania as the cover was removed.
"This is where Babe Ruth was 100 years ago this month," baseball historian Tim Reid, who helped document the role of Hot Springs as the birthplace of spring training, said. "He was the most famous man in America at the time. He came to town as a Yankee that year for his seventh visit to the Valley of the Vapors, and I saw this morning why it's called the Valley of the Vapors."
Reid said Ruth was a left-handed pitcher, but "he didn't like sitting on the bench four or five days a week."
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"He came here because Hot Springs was famous for training pitchers," he said. "This is why they came here mainly, to get the pitchers ready for the season, but the second reason he came here is ... because of the worldwide pandemic, called the Spanish flu, the team was short of players. And this was his chance to play what they call position; he became a position player for the first time in spring training."
Ruth hit two home runs of over 500 feet during that visit to the Spa City, propelling him to be known more for his big bat than his pitching.
"There's no one that compares with Babe Ruth as far as hitting with distance or with the frequency of what he hit, but Babe Ruth goes way beyond that," he said. "What really makes him great is as big as he got, he was always for the little guy. He always brought hope.
"This statue is deserved for Ruth not because of his phenomenal pitching skills and his even more phenomenal batting skills. He is beloved, and he was a charity machine. He regarded himself as having a gift from God, and he used that gift from God to help people and especially children," Reid said.
Tom Stevens, the grandson of Ruth, was also in attendance from Las Vegas with his wife, Anita, and he said this statue of his grandfather is fitting.
"This statue, fittingly, portrays the Babe in his prime," he said. "He loved to train in Hot Springs, and he thrived here. He even returned on his own to train and play golf after he'd been sold to the Yankees. He also hunted and fished and loved to attend the races at Oaklawn, and of course, as always, enjoyed the people and the nightlife.
"Most significantly, it was here in March of 1918 that he changed the game forever, when he launched two 500-foot-plus home runs into the stratosphere, giving the baseball world a glimpse of what he would become. It had previously not been thought possible that a man could hit a baseball that far, and yet he did it not once, but twice. Fans were awe-struck; that a player thought of as a pitcher had accomplished this was even more remarkable. The Babe was coming into his own and he and he showcased all of his formidable baseball talents, and it all happened right here in Hot Springs."
Mary Zunick, the cultural affairs manager for Visit Hot Springs, said there were dozens of sculptors vying for the chance to create the statue of Ruth, but Fisher stood out among the rest.
"He committed himself to 12 years of rigorous classical training before he started sculpting for any galleries or commission clients," she said.
"He sought out and acquired information about the best practices dating back to the ancient Greeks. These are skills that were further developed during the Renaissance and revisited in the 19th century. This rare education combined with intense work ethic, made Chad Fisher one of the most interesting sculptors of this generation, Fisher not only received conceives of the statue through the lens of a Renaissance mathematician, he creates the original working clay, then he makes his own molds, and finally, as the owner of his own foundry, he pours his own bronze."
Fisher, along with his father, Fran, were on hand over the weekend for the installation of the statue, but they were unable to remain for the unveiling Monday. The sculptor left a statement that was read at the unveiling by Minnie Lenox, a board member for The Friends of Majestic Park.
"I want to thank you Mary Zunick, (Visit Hot Springs CEO) Steve Arrison and The Friends of Majestic Park for this incredible honor and privilege," Fisher's statement said. "We are excited beyond words to participate in the continuous sharing and remembrance of the great Babe Ruth. Fisher Sculpture believes in creating monuments to preserve the memory of the most exceptional individuals. The legendary stories of Babe Ruth are many and vast.
"We are personally attracted to the beautiful documented acts of kindness regarding his authentic caring for the well-being of children, especially orphans. George Herman Ruth Jr. is a symbol of hope, growth and the will to dream. Thank you again, and special thanks to Susan Dugan and family. May God bless you all. Mike Dugan will always and forever be remembered."
Prior to the unveiling, Arrison introduced the donors whose gifts funded the statue. Dr. Robert Muldoon and members of the family of the late Daniel B. Hamby Jr. were on hand for the unveiling, but the third donor, F. Lee Beasley, was unable to attend due to being out of the country.
Muldoon and the Hamby family removed the cover from the statue to reveal it to the public.
"Babe Ruth is back in Hot Springs," Arrison said as the statue was unveiled. "That sculpture weighs 1,500 pounds. It's 8 and a half feet tall, and it is all bronze. You'll notice the home plate. He's just completed hitting another long home run in Hot Springs. And the home plate is right there, and the names of our three magnificent local families that donated to this project are on that plate. The Babe is back."
Attendees at the unveiling of a bronze statue of Babe Ruth at Majestic Park take photos of the statue Monday. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record
Tom Stevens, the grandson of Babe Ruth, talks to the crowd prior to the unveiling of a statue of the New York Yankees slugger at Majestic Park Monday. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record
Dr. Robert Muldoon, right, Scott Hamby and other members of the Daniel Hamby family look on after they unveiled the statue of Babe Ruth at the entrance of Majestic Park Monday. Muldoon and the Hamby family, along with F. Lee Beasley, donated the funds to create the eight-and-a-half foot bronze statue. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record
Tim Reid, a baseball historian, talks about Babe Ruth's connection to Hot Springs before the unveiling of a statue of the New York Yankees slugger at Majestic Park Monday. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record
Minnie Lenox, a member of the board of directors of The Friends of Majestic Park, reads a statement from sculptor Chad Fisher, who was unable to attend the unveiling of his statue of Babe Ruth at Majestic Park Monday. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record
Attendees at the unveiling of a bronze statue of Babe Ruth at Majestic Park mill around the statue and take photos Monday. - Photo by James Leigh of The Sentinel-Record