Jack Dunn signed Babe Ruth to his first professional baseball contract in 1914. Dunn owned and managed the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, an International League club, and recognized the teenage left-hander’s unusual pitching ability after Ruth played for St. Mary’s Industrial School in Baltimore.
Ruth was only 19 and still legally underage, so Dunn became more than his employer: he also acted as Ruth’s legal guardian. That arrangement helped inspire the nickname Babe. Teammates reportedly referred to Ruth as Dunn’s new babe, reflecting both his youth and his inexperience in professional baseball.
Dunn’s Orioles gave Ruth his first professional opportunity, but he remained in Baltimore only briefly. Financial pressure and competition from the new Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League forced Dunn to sell players. Ruth’s contract went to the Boston Red Sox later in 1914, beginning his major-league career. Jacob Ruppert later owned the New York Yankees, Harry Frazee owned the Red Sox when Ruth was sold to New York, and Ed Barrow became an important Yankees executive, but none of them signed Ruth to his original professional contract.