Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig Maquette

In the fall of 2020, I was commissioned to sculpt Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, larger than life, for Magnolia's Katy Ballpark in Waco, Texas. The grand adventure of sculpting two of baseball’s most famous players, as monuments, finally came to fruition. On May 25, 2022, the boys were installed with their bats, mitts and balls, ready for the big reveal the next day. The purpose of these sculptures is to bring people together. As folks sit with Babe and Lou, picnic, chat, watch others play ball...a sense of community is fostered. Key for me was that the sculptures were meant to be approachable. Two of baseball’s greats chilling, having a good time, waiting for their turn at the plate.

Prior to sculpting these monumental works, I created a maquette for approval, the piece before you now. Note: When creating a monument a smaller version of the monument is often created first. This allows an artist to work out the composition, balance and design of a work with an ease not possible with a monument.

The fascinating part of these sculptures being in Waco Texas is that “In 1929 the New York Yankees came to town to play an exhibition game, giving Wacoans a chance to watch legends like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.”

Research facts I incorporated into the sculptures: Babe liked a shorter sleeve on his jersey while Lou liked a longer sleeve. Babe preferred a 36” bat with a wide fat barrel, while Lou liked one 34” long, a bit more tapered and fat on the end. As Babe came into the league as a pitcher, his shoes had an extra layer of leather sewn onto the toe side of each shoe to prolong wear. The New York Yankees were the first baseball team to put numbers on the backs of their players' jerseys. They were given numbers according to their place in the batting line up. Babe batted 3rd and was #3. Lou batted fourth and wore #4. Both men were left-handed (shown are their left-handed gloves). Lou was a first baseman and had a first baseman’s mitt.