RISING TO THE OCCASION

On June 13, 1948, Ruth participated in ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of Yankee Stadium. That afternoon, his famous number 3 was retired, his locker sealed, and he wore his pinstriped uniform for the last time. His once powerful body wasted to nothing by cancer, Babe used Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller's bat as a cane and hobbled up to acknowledge the cheers. "He always tried to rise to the occasion," remembered his daughter Julia, "no matter how badly he felt." Two months later, he was dead.