Pre-War Cards

A long time ago, Babe Ruth wasn’t only hitting baseballs. The Hall of Fame legend was also a celebrity off the field, appearing in movies and sponsoring all sorts of products.

One of his ventures was his own candy company, the George H. Ruth Candy Company. Based in New York City, the company produced its own line of candy bars, the Home Run Candy Bars.

One of the company’s creations was the Home Run Candy Club. This club sought to find boys from all over the country to join and, ultimately, they hoped to establish actual baseball leagues in different cities. That didn’t happen immediately but, in 1951, a Babe Ruth League was eventually established three years after his death.

The Home Run Candy Club distributed membership cards to boys and while it isn’t known how many were given out, only a few exist today.

The cards had a picture of Ruth on the front and opened up sort of like a greeting card. The middle had a certificate with the boy’s typewritten name and the back had a list of ten rules.

So you want to be in the club? Here are those rules.

1. Don’t give up or alibi
2. Don’t take advantage of your opponents
3. Don’t ask your opponents for anything that you won’t give yourself
4. Don’t be afraid to give your opponents an even break
5. Don’t brag about your powers or (sic) critisize your (sic) opponents weaknesses
6. Don’t be a sore loser
7. Don’t think of individual honors but of your team
8. Don’t be boastful after you win
9. Don’t lay down on your team or anyone else, remember your reputation and your team
10. Don’t be afraid to play the game hard and fair, because when you lose this way you are satisfied that you did your best, so you win

Simple enough, right?

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