January 12, 1939. A Thursday night in an apartment on Fifth Avenue. Jacob Ruppert, the owner of the New York Yankees, had been drifting in and out of a coma for days. That night, he had one more visitor.
It was Babe Ruth. The two men hadn't parted well -- Ruth had wanted to manage the club, Ruppert had said no, and the Yankees had let him go in 1935. Now the Colonel looked up at him and said one word: "Babe."
Ruppert died the next day, Friday the 13th. He was 71.
The Word He'd Never Used
For 15 seasons in pinstripes, Ruth had never once heard the Colonel call him that, and the two had haggled over salary in the papers for years. The formality was the point. Ruppert was the Colonel, and Ruth was an employee, even if he was the most famous one in America.
Ruth understood exactly what had just happened.
It was the only time in his life he ever called me 'Babe' to my face. I couldn't help crying when I went out.
The illness had been coming for a year. Phlebitis kept Ruppert in his apartment for much of 1938, and he was too sick to go to the World Series that October. He listened on the radio as his club swept the Cubs for the seventh championship of his ownership. It was a fine thing to hear from a sickbed. It wasn't the same as being there.
The Funeral and the Will
They held a solemn high requiem mass for him at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Monday, January 16, and baseball turned out. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and American League president Will Harridge were there. Then the cortege went north to Kensico Cemetery in Westchester, and Ruppert went into the family mausoleum.
The will got more attention than the funeral. Ruppert never married, and he left almost all of his fortune in trust, split three ways: two nieces, Helen Silleck Holleran and Ruth Silleck Maguire, and Helen Winthrope Weyant, a 37-year-old former actress the will called "a very old friend." Weyant also got $300,000 in cash. New York's newspapers had a wonderful week with that one.
Reporters had also pegged the estate at $40 million or more. They guessed wrong. Prohibition and the Depression had eaten into the brewery, and the appraisals came in at a fraction of that number. (The Colonel had always looked richer than he was, which in fairness is half of what being a colonel is for.)
Barrow Takes the Chair
Ruppert didn't leave the ballclub to the heirs to run. He left it to the men already running it. Ed Barrow had been the business manager since 1920, the man who'd signed Lou Gehrig and bought Joe DiMaggio. On January 17, four days after the death, the Yankees elected him president. Ruppert's brother George stayed on as a trustee, and farm director George Weiss kept stocking the system.
Nothing changed on the field, and that was the whole plan. Joe McCarthy still made out the lineup. Weiss's farm clubs kept sending up talent. The 1939 Yankees went 106-45, won the pennant by 17 games over Boston, and swept Cincinnati in October. Nobody had ever won four straight World Series before. Ruppert's machine did it without him.
| Died | Friday, January 13, 1939, at home in Manhattan |
| Age | 71 (born August 5, 1867) |
| Cause | Complications of phlebitis |
| Yankees Ownership | 1915-1939 (24 years) |
| Titles Under Ruppert | 7 World Series, 10 AL pennants |
| Heirs | Nieces Helen Holleran and Ruth Maguire; Helen Winthrope Weyant |
| Estate | Guessed at $40-45 million; appraised under $7 million |
| New President | Ed Barrow, elected January 17, 1939 |
| 1939 Season | 106-45, pennant by 17 games, swept Reds 4-0 |
Ruppert Buys In
Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston buy the Yankees for $460,000.
Too Sick for the Series
Confined by phlebitis, Ruppert follows the four-game sweep of the Cubs on the radio.
Ruth's Visit
Ruth comes to Ruppert's bedside. The Colonel calls him "Babe" for the first time.
Ruppert Dies
Ruppert dies at home at 71 after days in and out of a coma.
Funeral
Requiem mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral; burial in the family mausoleum at Kensico Cemetery.
Barrow Elected President
The Yankees name longtime business manager Ed Barrow club president.
Four Straight
The Yankees finish a sweep of the Reds for an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and how did Jacob Ruppert die?
Ruppert died on Friday, January 13, 1939, at his home in Manhattan, at age 71. He'd been ill with phlebitis for much of 1938 and slipped in and out of a coma in his final days.
Did Babe Ruth visit Jacob Ruppert before he died?
Yes. Ruth visited the night before Ruppert died, and Ruppert greeted him with a single word, "Babe." Ruth later said it was the only time Ruppert ever called him "Babe" to his face, and that he couldn't help crying when he left.
Who inherited the Yankees after Jacob Ruppert died?
Ruppert left the bulk of his estate, including the Yankees, in trust for three women in equal shares: his nieces Helen Silleck Holleran and Ruth Silleck Maguire, and family friend Helen Winthrope Weyant. The estate owned the club until selling it to Dan Topping, Del Webb, and Larry MacPhail for $2.8 million in January 1945.
Who ran the Yankees after Ruppert's death?
Ed Barrow, the club's business manager since 1920, was elected president on January 17, 1939. He served until the 1945 sale, and the Yankees won titles in 1939, 1941, and 1943 under him.
Did the Yankees win the World Series in 1939?
Yes. The 1939 Yankees went 106-45, won the pennant by 17 games, and swept the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first team to win four consecutive World Series.
He'd spent 24 years and a brewery fortune building the Yankees, and a good chunk of those years haggling with Ruth over money. At the very end, all he had left to give him was the nickname.