Babe Ruth’s New York City Upper West Side apartment for sale

HE WAS the highest paid baseballer of his time, and he chose to live his life just as opulent. Take a squiz inside Babe Ruth’s famed New York City apartment.

Babe Ruth’s Upper West Side apartment, as it looks today. Picture: Google Maps

“GET Ruth from Boston”.

With those words, Babe Ruth was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. His thunderous swing was a legend in the making and in a matter of years, he would “change the fortunes of two high-profile franchises for decades,” according to Marty Appel in his history of the Yankees.

It was 1919 and Ruth had rose from a rookie at the Boston Red Sox to a major league marvel, gaining a solid reputation after a groundbreaking series of home runs. It was with The Red Sox, the American League champion at the time, that the public began to pay attention to the new kid on the block. Everyone wanted to see the famed Babe Ruth bat, for good or bad. Wrote one sports writer at the time: “When Ruth misses a swipe at the ball, the stands quiver.”

Being a father is great stuff, says Babe Ruth. Here the home run king is in his New York City apartment, November 4, 1930 reading to Dorothy, 9, Left and Julia, 14, his two new legally adopted children. Between fixing dolls and reading to them the funny papers, the Babe sees his time well occupied until next spring. (AP Photo)

At the same time, the New York Yankees were in disarray, finishing sixth in the 1918 season. So when Jacob Ruppert, the Yankees’ principle owner, asked manager Miller Huggins what it would take to bring the Yankees back from oblivion, he replied with the one sentence that would change the course of history: “Get Ruth from Boston”.

The $US100,000 transfer would be the largest sum ever paid for a baseballer.

“The Yankees had pulled off the sports steal of the century,” wrote biographer Jim Reisler in his book, Babe Ruth: Launching the Legend.

The Yankees would go on to win four World Series titles with Ruth at the helm.

AMAZING SPORTS PICTURES USA baseballer Babe Ruth wearing his number 3 uniform before it is retired 13 Jun 1948 being saluted by team mates, walking out onto Yankee Stadium for the last time during 25th anniversary celebrations for Yankee Stadium. historical 1940s baseball /Baseball

USA baseballer George Herman (Babe) Ruth playing baseball at 1932 season opener at Yankee Stadium. historical 1930s

The move meant more than just a new fan base for the popular slugger — Ruth had to make the move to the Big Apple. In time, not only would he create a dynasty on the diamond, but a legend at home.

In 1929, Ruth, by now an all-American hero and rolling in dough, moved to the swanky Manhattan district known as the Upper West Side with his second wife, Claire Merritt Ruth and their daughter.

It was an opulent palace fit for the man dubbed “The Sultan of Swat”; his flashy lifestyle demanded life’s fineries and his new pad delivered just that — the entire seventh floor, fit with 11 rooms, and a New York Yankee or three.

“My fondest memories [of the apartment] are of me and father listening to ‘The Green Hornet’ on the radio and looking out to Riverside Park,’’ the Yankees legend’s daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, 98, told The New York Post.

“Mom and Dad loved to entertain there. We had a maid and cook, and Dad would always invite Yankees who had been traded and were in town with other teams. He knew they wanted a home-cooked meal [while on the road].”

babe ruth

babe ruth

babe ruth

And now, the Ruth’s former palace is up for grabs, complete with original sinks and tiles, hardwood floors, high ceilings, and mirrored doors.

“On a beautiful tree-lined park block, you’ll find a quiet sunny 5 room (originally classic 6) pre-war home, with quintessential pre-war warmth and grace,” reads a description by New York realtors Douglas Elliman.

Inside the apartment you’ll find a “maid’s room incorporated into the kitchen to create a huge chef’s kitchen” along with an “inviting dining room, long entrance foyer, two baths with original sinks and tiles, 3rd bath, plus generous closets”.

babe ruth

And it can all be yours, for $US1.595 million ($A2.24 million), which for New York City standards, is fairly affordable. Never mind the monthly $US2864 ($A4023) maintenance fees.

A plaque outside the building hangs in memory of Ruth to this day, noting he resided there “for several years”.

After the Ruths moved to the Bronx in 1940, the seventh floor was divided into two units. This apartment is one of those two.

babe ruth

Ruth, regarded as the greatest Yankee of all time, died of cancer at just 53 in 1948. Doctors never told him of the cancer at his family’s request, fearing he might do himself harm.

The Upper West Side lies between Central Park and the Hudson Rover, and is known in Manhattan circles as one of the wealthier areas within the city.

Jerry Seinfeld made it famous in his hit show, Chuck Bass owned a hotel there in Gossip Girl, and Liz Lemon lived there in 30 Rock.

babe ruth

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Originally published as Babe Ruth’s New York City Upper West Side apartment for sale