Our Forgotten But Notable Neighbors The Rocklanders Who Contributed to the Story, Legend, Myth and Legacy of Babe Ruth

Part Three of the Four Part Series

Which brings us back to the question, why was “Headin Home” filmed in Haverstraw rather than a place closer to Manhattan? It seems that Babe chose Haverstraw because he wanted the severely handicapped boy residents from West Haverstraw’s New York Rehabilitation Hospital (now known as the Helen Hayes Hospital, it was originally called the New York State Hospital for the Care of Indigent Crippled and Deformed Children when it opened in 1905) to appear in the film with him.  And, appear they did, both prominently and totally out of context, in a scene in which those youngsters limped onto the field using their crutches and other implements before sitting down to watch the game. (We also have a still shot taken following the day’s filming which shows Babe with these youngsters, personally pointing out some of the finer points of the game to them.)

Babe’s interaction with these unfortunate youth was not an aberration. Throughout his life, during his career as a Yankee and into retirement, he would maintain a social relationship and a commitment to helping young men.  On the other side of the coin, he seems to have felt less comfortable with the adult community, especially authority figures.

In 1921, the year following his explosive first season with the Yankees, Babe would shock the world even further by hitting 59 homers.  Also that year, he would meet a three-year-old toddler named Raymond Aloyishus Kelly, who would become his personal mascot for the next 10 years.  At the time, Ray Kelly was living a typical life with his parents in Upper Manhattan.  One day, as his father was teaching him some of the baseball basics in a local park, a large automobile pulled up to the curb and out stepped none other than Babe Ruth.  After quickly introducing himself to Ray’s father, Babe invited them to sit with him in the dugout the following day, which they quickly accepted.  And while at that game, Babe asked Ray’s dad if his son could be his personal mascot who would sit with him in the dugout for all home games while wearing a custom-made Yankee uniform.  Ray’s father agreed, and for the next ten years, until he was thirteen, he was known as “Little Ray Kelly”, Babe Ruth’s mascot and good luck charm.  His primary responsibility was just to sit in the dugout and look cute. From time to time, Babe, known for his voracious appetite, sent Little Ray to the concessions to buy him hot dogs and soda pop (as soda was called then), during the games.  Babe would occasionally stop over at the Kelly home for dinner, and they would maintain their relationship even after Ray stopped being his mascot.

With time, Ray Kelly would grow up and serve in the Pacific during WWII, get married after returning home, complete his education under the GI Bill, and become an accountant, his profession until retirement.  He also moved to Valley Cottage, where he spent most of his adult life, and where he raised his 5 children.  Raymond Kelly passed away in 2001.

Interestingly, over 60 years after he stopped being Babe Ruth’s personal mascot, after moving on with his life and having put that chapter of his childhood into the deep recesses of his mind, seventy-something “Little Ray Kelly” was “rediscovered”.  In the mid-1990s, the story of his childhood role with Babe leaked out to baseball historians and Babe Ruth super fans.  They realized that, due to their very special relationship, Ray knew things about Babe from an unusual and unique perspective.  (One example is that Ray and his father had been invited to sit in a front row box at Wrigley Field with Mrs. Ruth during the 1932 World Series, when Babe hit the famous “called shot” home run. According to Ray, Babe definitely did point to center field.)   Ray Kelly, retired accountant from Valley Cottage, became a celebrity of sorts who was frequently interviewed and invited to speak at academic level conferences.  Indeed, on Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium, he would be the first “old timer” introduced to the fans, even before the other former Yankees.

With his new-found popularity, people would ask for Ray’s autograph.  But unlike Babe who is said to have signed over a million autographs and never asked for anything in return, Ray Kelly charged a fee each time he signed his name for a fan and each time he made a personal appearance.  But rather than keep the money for himself, every cent that he made was donated to St. Paul’s School in Congers and used to finance its Computer Facilities.

To be concluded in next week’s edition of the Rockland County Times