04/27/2026
βΎ April 27th is National Babe Ruth Day! Baseball legend Babe Ruth (1895-1948) was a regular visitor of St. Petersburg and Gulfport, signing a contract with the New York Yankees at the Hotel Rolyat in March 1932 for $75,000 (approximately $1.7 million today). This contract was auctioned in 2019 for nearly $300,000.
The Hotel Rolyat opened in 1926 and would become the home of the Florida Military Academy in November 1932, just 8 months after Ruth's contract signing.