Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens passed away Tuesday at 99. Though, along with a storied career at the law, Stevens had an interesting sports connection in that he was present when Babe Ruth famously called his shot during the 1932 World Series.
The former justice, who served on the high court for nearly 35 years before retiring in 2010, was a lifelong baseball fan of the Chicago Cubs. Stevens’ life nearly spanned the whole “wait ’til next year” era of the Cubs and their 108-year World Series dry spell which finally ended in 2016 when they won the title.
However, Stevens has a more interesting baseball claim to fame — well, near fame, anyway — by claiming to have been present to see Babe Ruth call his shot in the ’32 World Series against the Cubs, according to USA Today.
Fans have argued for decades whether Ruth actually called his shot by pointing to where he intended to hit the big one. But as far as Stevens was concerned, “The Babe” sure enough did it.
“Very definitely. He pointed his bat,” Stevens told the Associated Press back in 2016. Ruth’s famed homer was one of the Yankees’ seven runs against the Cubs’ five in Game Three. It turned out to be quite a career capper for Ruth as it was the last World Series he would ever play.
The liberal Supreme Court Justice lived long enough to see his beloved Cubs win a World Series in 2016 and he was also tapped to throw out a first pitch during the Cubs’ 2005 season.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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