Enough of bunts and pitcher’s duels –
the fans jammed the parks to cheer
the former ace of the Bosox staff
who became a Yankee outfielder,
the home run king
with his all or nothing swing.
The Babe often fanned,
his heavy torso spinning
on spindly legs into a pinstriped coil
but when the slugger launched the ball
and it soared into the summer blue,
a roar erupted from the stands
and the crowd was on its feet.
The twenties –
the long ball era had begun
and throngs found someone else to idolize,
a man-child with a moon face and fondness
for mischief, cigars, and camel hair caps.
He helped them forget a recent World War,
Prohibition, and the Black Sox Scandal,
reminded them that if a scruffy boy
could journey from the dusty field
of St. Mary’s Industrial School
and star in the big leagues,
who is to say how far
they too could travel.