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Michael O’Brien: Babe Ruth honored his Catholic roots in 1927 Utah orphanage visit

Though he strayed from his faith, the baseball legend insisted his faith never left him. “Once religion sinks in,” he said, “it stays there — deep down.”

(The Salt Lake Tribune) In this photo taken from the sports page of the Jan. 30, 1927, edition of The Tribune, Babe Ruth is shown posing with the boys and girls on the steps of what was then the St. Ann's Orphanage demonstrating how to grip a bat "when set to crack 'em a mile." The boy at front is Tony Renovich, captain of the previous year's team, who was given the bat. Ruth left an autographed ball to be given to the team's home-run champion the upcoming season. The orphanage later became a parochial school.