[Babe Ruth's] 'Called Shot' debate hits 75th anniversary

Chicago Sun Times ^ | September 30, 2007 | Hal Bock

[Tall_Texan]

There’s another name that they called Ruth. But if I typed it the moderater would come after me.

"N-gg-r Lips". That was one of Ruth's nicknames, often uttered by his detractors. It was often rumored that Ruth was partly African-American, an argument augmented by Ruth's thick lips and wide nostrils.

Oddly, none other than director Spike Lee spearheaded claims that Ruth really was black and should be held up as a black role model (much, I suppose, as Bill Clinton was considered the "first black president").