OPINION
A bronze homage to BabeBy Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist, 10/17/2002
The plan was to build a life-size bronze statue of the legendary Babe Ruth in downtown Manhattan.
Jim and Brian Sullivan, brothers who worked in Boston and loved baseball, were mystified no one had adopted the cause to suitably honor the Bambino.
He was, after all, a towering baseball icon who held the record for career homers (714) before Hank Aaron passed him in 1974, and homers in a season (60) before Roger Maris passed him in 1961. Babe was crowned the home run king in 12 seasons. All this, and all those damn Yankees had to commemorate him was a puny plaque in center field.
Jim Sullivan, a natural artist, went to work rendering a miniature statue so that Brian, a natural entrepreneur, could solicit corporations to sponsor the project.
Jim, a special education teacher at the Marshall School in Dorchester, fashioned the first sculpture with popsicle sticks and dental tools. Those are the kind of resources you rely on when you are creating your first-ever sculpture, and literally winging it.
His interest in sculpting generated from a foundry course at the Massachusetts College of Art he and his brother took. The brothers, using metals, were instructed to create something. Jim made a lion; Brian merely made a mess. ''Don't ask,'' he says. ''I don't have my brother's talents.''
Brian, a construction department worker with the MBTA, was stunned by Jim's considerable talent. When his brother completed his bronze sculpture, the likeness to Ruth was uncanny. Brian Sullivan enthusiastically wrote to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner; he never received a reply. For two years, he solicited corporations. No one was interested.
''What are we going to do with this small statue?'' Jim wondered aloud.
He looked at his brother. Brian was smiling. The Babe Ruth Home Run Award was born.
''Jimmy went to Harvard. I went to UMass. You figure out which one the genius is,'' Brian said.
Sullivan contacted Julia Ruth Stevens, the Babe's daughter, and asked her what she thought of presenting the Babe Ruth Home Run Award each season to the game's top slugger. She enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
The statue was mounted on a carved piece of wood. Jim Sullivan added a brass plate, with room to engrave the particulars of the inaugural winner.
The Sullivans called Major League Baseball and pitched their idea to create a prestigious, high-quality award in memory of the late, great Babe Ruth. The answer: thanks, but no thanks.
''Let's just say the league has their own awards,'' Brian Sullivan said.
Major League Baseball does indeed honor the home run champion from the American League - with a no-name award that garners virtually no publicity. The National League honors its sluggers with (here's a trivia question for your next cocktail party) the Mel Ott Award, with about the same amount of fanfare as the AL.
The Sullivan brothers decided to proceed on their own, without Major League Baseball's blessing. They began their odyssey to present the sculpture to their first winner, Mark McGwire, in 1999. After countless phone calls, faxes, entreaties, and prayers, McGwire's agent relayed the good news: his client would gladly accept the Babe Ruth Home Run Award in a pregame ceremony at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Julia Ruth Stevens flew with Brian Sullivan to St. Louis to present McGwire with the bronze artwork. Jim, clearly media shy, stayed behind in Dorchester attending to his students.
In 2000, McGwire was again the winner, but lack of sponsorship prevented the Sullivans from handing him a second bronze treasure. By 2001, they were paying their own way to present Sammy Sosa with his Babe Ruth Award.
Last August 23, Brian Sullivan and Tom Stevens, Babe Ruth's grandson, flew to Pac Bell Park and participated in a pregame ceremony honoring home run champion Barry Bonds. As Sullivan cradled his brother's labor of love in his arms (it is truly the most beautiful award this scribe has ever seen), he was joined on the field by Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron.
In the video commemorating the event, Bonds appeared truly overwhelmed by the sculpture and its significance.
When it was over, Brian Sullivan told Bonds he needed the sculpture back so he could take it to Massachusetts and add some finishing touches.
Reluctantly, Bonds handed over his award, and instructed Sullivan on two matters: handle it delicately, and return it soon.
Two weeks ago Bonds, who is playing in the World Series with the Giants, received his completed bronze Babe Ruth Home Run Award. Next May, Alex Rodriguez will be on deck to receive his.
Brian Sullivan had grand plans for the Babe Ruth Home Run Award. He envisions a day when the award's standings appear in every daily newspaper.
Yet, without an infusion of funds, future awards are in jeopardy. Sullivan is still searching for a large corporation (Hey, McDonald's, are you listening?) or a philanthropist with deep pockets, (Bill Gates, you like baseball, don't you?) to help keep the project afloat.
After viewing Jim Sullivan's work, Topps Baseball Cards offered to buy three Babe Ruth Awards for a considerable amount of money, with the aim of awarding them to their top executives.
''We turned them down,'' Brian Sullivan said. ''We decided this guy's legacy is more important. We're old-time baseball fans.''
Jim Sullivan, the other old-time baseball fan, could not be reached yesterday. He was working late at school, his wife said.
If he had been available, you can be sure Jim Sullivan would have agreed not to sell Babe Ruth at any price.
We all know how that worked out the last time.
Jackie MacMullan's column appears every Thursday. Her e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.
This story ran on page E3 of the Boston Globe on 10/17/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
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