Babe Ruth
Birthplace and Museum
Preserving a piece of
baseball history
The Oriole Advocates were instrumental in helping with the funding for the restoration of Babe Ruth's birthplace on Emory Street and its subsequent conversion to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. Located just a long fly ball from Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the property and three adjoining rowhomes had fallen into disrepair by the late 1960s. The Oriole Advocates, in conjunction with Baltimore City mayor Theodore McKeldin and his press secretary, Hirsh Golderg, launched a successful campaign to save and restore the Babe’s birthplace.
The museum opened in 1974, and the Oriole Advocates had the pleasure of contributing $1,000 initially and a later, undisclosed amount, toward revitalization efforts. We also helped spearhead fundraising efforts in partnership with Mayor McKeldin and the surviving members of the Ruth family. When it came to deciding what belonged in the museum, we helped advocate for the museum’s role as more than just a place for Babe Ruth memorabilia.
Today, the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is known as a place for the legacy of Babe Ruth and all Maryland sports.
One of the ways the Oriole Advocates contributed to the museum’s fundraising efforts was by annually “purchasing” one of the Babe’s home runs in honor of the current Oriole Advocates president. If you visit the museum, you can spot plaques with names of our former presidents, who are now members of the Babe Ruth 714 Club!
In 2022, the Oriole Advocates Charitable Foundation built on this relationship by sponsoring one of the panels for the “Making of a Legend” exhibit, which showcases Babe Ruth’s 1914 Baltimore News Rookie Card. The card, which was acquired by an unnamed purchaser for a record-breaking price, is on permanent display at the Babe Ruth Museum and Birthplace.
On April 13, 1999, a plaque was dedicated to the Oriole Advocates and still resides on the facade of the house. It reads:
“In 1967, The Orioles Advocates, a volunteer group of local business persons dedicated to furthering Baltimore Orioles Baseball, worked in conjunction with the City of Baltimore to mount a drive to save the Emory Street Birthplace of George Herman ‘Babe‘ Ruth and the three adjoining properties. Through their efforts, those properties were purchased and restored. As a result, in 1974, the Babe Ruth Birthplace Shrine was opened to the public.
“Over the ensuing years The Oriole Advocates have continued to support the Babe Ruth Museum through their donation of time, talent, and resources. This plaque commemorates The Oriole Advocates, whose fine efforts and dedication have helped to maintain and preserve the Birthplace of America‘s most celebrated athlete.”