Buddy Napier Buddy Napier Skelton Le Roy "Buddy" Napier (18 December 1889 – 29 March 1968), Major League baseball pitcher from 1912 to 1921. He was born in Byromville, Georgia. Napier played his first major league game with the St. Louis Browns, on August 14, 1912, versus the Boston Red Sox, which the Browns lost 0-8. He signed on with the Chicago Cubs in 1918, eventually pitching for them during that season's World Series game versus the Boston Red Sox (a team which included baseball legend Babe Ruth), a series of games which the Red Sox won. In 1920 he signed on
The Babe Ruth Story crediting Babe Ruth for America's love of the sport. When the first choice for the lead role Jack Carson would not be released from Warner Bros., the producers chose Bendix. It was rushed to release after news of Ruth's declining health, and makes no mention whatsoever of Ruth's first wife, Helen. The film was released three weeks before Babe Ruth died. Some contemporary reviews were positive, with Bendix drawing accolades from a number of critics for his performance. "Variety" called the film "interesting, if semi-fictional," writing that it combined "warmth, tears and chuckles into a film that will sustain audience