Public Is Made Privy to the Past of Ruth Family

New York’s Yankee Stadium is known as the “House That Ruth Built,” but the outhouse built for Ruth is in his hometown of Baltimore, underneath center field in the city’s new baseball stadium.

The privy used by Ruth and his family was among a treasure trove of artifacts found by archeologists working with construction crews at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles will begin playing this spring.

One of the area’s former residents was the Babe’s father, George Herman Ruth Sr., who operated a saloon from 1906 to 1912 in what is now center field.

The Ruths lived above the saloon and their privy was directly behind it.

Add Babe: Bruce Hoffman, the stadium authority’s executive director, said the privy had been filled in and did not pose a sanitary threat in center field.

Trivia time: How many holes in one were there on the PGA Tour in 1991?

Bird watch: Craig Hodges won his third consecutive three-point shootout title during NBA All-Star festivities, matching Larry Bird for number of victories in the event.

Bird sat out this year’s contest because of back problems.

“I’ll be waiting for Larry if he can shoot next year,” Hodges said. “He knows where to find me.”

Comeback kid: Kalvei Hakkinen made his Olympic debut in the 1956 Games at Cortina, Italy, competing in the downhhill, slalom and giant slalom events.

Now, at 63, he has returned to Albertville as a reserve on Finland’s speed skiing team, a demonstration event.

Speed skiing might be added to the Olympic program for the 1994 Games at Lillehammer, Norway, and Hakkinen said he intends to compete.

Check it out: Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News speculating on quarterback Babe Laufenberg being chosen by Ohio Glory in the World League of American Football draft:

“You’re sure that’s a football team, Babe? Sounds more like a John Denver song.”

Spaceman: Bill Cowher, the new Pittsburgh Steeler coach, was described as “borderline insane” when he played for North Carolina State.

“There was something about his eyes. You could see the fire in them,” former Wolfpack teammate Brad Holt told the Pittsburgh Press. “If you looked into his eyes as he walked onto the football field, it was like he was leaving the planet. He was the most intense player I’ve ever seen.”

No more rubles: Sergei Bubka, the world record-holder in the pole vault who will compete in the Sunkist Invitational Saturday night at the Sports Arena, probably wasn’t among the pro-Communist demonstrators in Moscow recently.

His sports federation used to give him about $385 for a world record. Now he receives up to $20,000 from a shoe company for setting records.

Trivia answer: 29.

Quotebook: Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics on his numerous injuries: “It has been so long since I’ve been healthy, sometimes I can’t even remember what it was like.”