Claire Merritt Hodgson Ruth (born Clara Mae Merritt; September 11, 1900 – October 25, 1976) was a native of

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, United States, who is most famous for having been the second wife of

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

Biography

Hodgson's first husband, Frank Hodgson, died on February 16, 1921, leaving her with a daughter, Julia. She met Ruth in 1923. Ruth was still married to Helen Woodford, his first wife, at this time. Woodford died in a house fire in January 1929, and Ruth and Hodgson married that April 17, staying together until Ruth's death in 1948. In later years, she indicated her responsibility, in part, for the poor relationship between her husband and teammate

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

. According to her, Gehrig's mother indicated that the Ruths' adopted daughter,

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

, was not as well dressed as Claire's biological daughter, Julia; when Ruth was informed of this, he angrily demanded that Gehrig never speak to him off the ballfield again. Ruth and Gehrig did not make up until the day of Gehrig's famous "I'm the luckiest man on the face of this earth" speech in 1939. Later, Ruth admitted that she had overreacted, apologetically accepting full responsibility for the rift between the two players which, however, had numerous other causes besides the one indicated by Hodgson. Babe Ruth 1937 CROPPED

Claire Ruth lived to see two of "The Babe's" most famous records broken: his single season record of 60 home runs, superseded by

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new List of Major League Baseball p ...

in 1961; and his career record of 714 home runs, which was broken by

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

in 1974. In her later years, she sometimes attended games in which Aaron was playing, and was supportive of Aaron's efforts. Ruth was quoted as saying: "The Babe loved baseball so very much; I know he was pulling for Hank Aaron to break his record."Lowitt, Bruce (December 25, 1999)
"Oh, Henry! Aaron swings past Ruth"
''St. Petersburg Times''. Accessed August 13, 2012. Ruth was portrayed by Claire Trevor in the 1948 film '' The Babe Ruth Story'', by

Lisa Zane Lisa Zane (born April 5, 1961)Skin, Mr. Skin (2005). Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia: The A-to-Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite Actresses naked'. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 612. . is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. Early lif ...

in the 1991 TV movie ''Babe Ruth'', by Kelly McGillis in the 1992 film ''

The Babe ''The Babe'' is a 1992 American Biographical film, biographical Sports film, sports drama film about the life of famed baseball player Babe Ruth, who is portrayed by John Goodman. Directed by Arthur Hiller, written by John Fusco, it was release ...

'', and by

Renée Taylor Renée Adorée Taylor (née Wexler; born March 19, 1933) is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director. Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Lovers and Other Strangers ...

in '' 61*''. Ruth is buried next to her husband at

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is baseb ...

in Hawthorne, New York. The inscription on the headstone lists her birth year as 1900, instead of 1897.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Claire Merritt 1900 births 1976 deaths Claire Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York) People from Athens, Georgia Female models from Georgia (U.S. state)