The case at a glance

Evidence supporting a teenaged Babe Ruth.

New research and discoveries by Storm Glenn bring together documentary records, independent facial identification, physical traits, period artifacts, and geographic analysis of the Cherryvale team photograph.

Documentary record

Extensive research has confirmed that from 1909 through 1913, Babe Ruth—then known as George Ruth—played numerous games for multiple Baltimore teams outside St. Mary’s. Leading Babe Ruth historians have verified these findings.
Multiple top-tier Babe Ruth historians believe the Cherryvale photograph depicts a young Babe Ruth.

Independent identifications

Lois Gibson, a forensic artist and Guinness World Record holder for successful facial identifications in courts of law, used traditional facial-recognition analysis and reported essentially 100% certainty that a teenaged Babe Ruth appears in the photograph.
Resource Data Corporation used three independent facial-recognition models employed by U.S. intelligence agencies and other major organizations. The reported confidence results were 98.1%, 96.8%, and 96.7%.
Whitney Braun, Ph.D., J.D.—an expert authenticator, forensic professor, and investigative researcher—also positively identified Babe Ruth in the photograph.

Distinctive physical traits

The identified player is left-handed and shows a resting spread between the ring and pinky fingers of his right hand, an unusual feature visible throughout Ruth’s career. It may have resulted from wearing right-handed catchers’ mitts and fielding gloves on his left hand.
The player has a distinctive dip in his right eyebrow that can be seen in photographs of Ruth from childhood through adulthood.
Though a teenager, the player appears tall and relatively large-framed, consistent with what is known of Ruth’s size in his teenage years.

Period authentication

Experts have verified that the gloves, bats, cleats, and uniforms are types used by baseball teams during the 1910s. The bystanders’ clothing and bicycle also fit that period.
A leading authority on cameras and photographic history confirmed that the camera used was a model frequently employed for baseball team photographs in the early twentieth century.

Cherry Hill location study

Historic Baltimore maps, photographs, and records strongly support the informed belief that the image was taken in the early 1910s below the hill in Cherry Hill, Baltimore—an area then known for amusement parks and baseball fields and readily reached from St. Mary’s by public transportation. Today it is the site of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation’s 100th Youth Development Park.
The name “Cherryvale” may reflect the area’s valley-like landscape and its historic abundance of cherry trees. Present-day names including Cherryland Road, Cherry Hill Road, Cherry Crest Road, and Cherrydale Apartments preserve those associations.
Expert Geographic Information System analysis comparing modern Cherry Hill landmarks with features in the photograph identifies lower Cherry Hill as a plausibly likely site.

No evidenced alternative

Despite more than a decade of research and wide publicity, no location other than Cherry Hill has been identified or supported by evidence as the site of the Cherryvale team photograph. Nor has any person other than a young Babe Ruth been identified as the player.

Research note: This page summarizes evidence and conclusions supplied by Storm Glenn and attributed experts. Some points—including the precise location and the proposed cause of the finger spread—remain informed interpretations rather than established facts, and the identification remains open to further historical review.

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