Historical Fact or Fiction?

By Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor

Babe Ruth had finished his autobiography and wanted to present the manuscript of his life’s story to Yale University. He had arrived the day before Yale’s Baseball Team was to play. He had met with the school officials and arranged to have the manuscript officially accepted on the field at the game the next day.

The next day prior to the beginning of the game, “The Babe” walked out on the field and met with the dignitaries. There he presented the manuscript to the Team Captain. It was a moment the Team Captain said he would never forget. He called it a name dropper’s paradise. The Team Captain was George H. W. Bush, better known today as “41”.

Now that is a great story, but is it fact or fiction? If you were a historian you may know the answer right away. Today you could Google it and in a matter of seconds know if indeed it is fact or fiction. Either way, you could take this and go with a great story about Babe Ruth, President Bush, politics or baseball. The possibilities are endless.

What interests you? What takes you to the next level of a story? Whatever your interest, you have a connection that can be found in historical events similar to the one mentioned above. You can weave into your story the events of the day or recognized historical events that will add another dimension to your work. 

After all, the story above may have you wondering if it was fact or fiction. If you have yet to Google it, you may want to do so to find it is in fact the truth as told by President Bush. As they say, fact can be stranger than fiction.