Who's The Real Baby Ruth That The Candy Bar Is Named For?

Mass-produced candy bars are notorious for having odd names. Snickers, Butterfinger, 3 Musketeers (which you can easily dupe at home), and Kit Kat are just some popular candies whose names give no indication as to what's inside. But there was so much drama behind the name of the Baby Ruth candy bar that it led to a major lawsuit. It all had to do with who the sweet was named after.

The Curtiss Candy Company introduced Baby Ruth bars in 1920. This was, incidentally, the time when New York Yankee, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, was in the prime of his baseball career (an athlete rumored to drink a pint of whiskey for breakfast). Who wouldn't assume the new candy was named after the contemporary celebrity? 

In addition, the candy was marketed as a nutritious energy bar which could easily be tied to the physical demands of playing baseball. But when Ruth himself challenged the candy's name (and, likely, the lack of royalties he was given), the owner of Curtiss Candy Company, Otto Schnering, insisted that he named Baby Ruth after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth. Ruth Cleveland had been nicknamed "Baby Ruth" by the media nearly 30 years before the creation of the candy bar.

It's unknown if Babe Ruth challenged the Curtiss Candy Company over the candy's name in the early days of its release. In fact, it wasn't until 1928 when the two went toe-to-toe in the courtroom, after the athlete had developed his own candy bar which he named "Ruth's Home Run Candy." It was the Curtiss Candy Company which went after Ruth, claiming copyright infringement.

By 1926, Baby Ruth bars were bringing in $1 million per month for the Curtiss Candy Company. That's over $17 million in current value at the time of this writing. Perhaps it was these astounding numbers (Baby Ruth bars sold for 5 cents a pop at the time) that got Ruth's attention and (instead of suing Curtiss Candy for suspicious use of his name and fame) led him to try his hand at the candy business himself. This candy bar featured Babe Ruth's face and signature on its wrapper, leaving no doubt who the candy bar was named after.

Although it's not well known what "Ruth's Home Run Candy" was made of or if it contained similar ingredients to Baby Ruths, the Curtiss Candy Company sued since Babe Ruth's signature was printed on the wrapper, claiming it was too similar to its Baby Ruth candy bars. Doubling down on its claim that its own candy was named for Ruth Cleveland, and not the "Great Bambino," the big candy brand fought back and eventually won its lawsuit. "Ruth's Home Run Candy" would quickly fizzle out of production.

To be sure, "Baby" Ruth Cleveland was well-known by the American public when her father was President, even though her family fiercely protected her privacy. She died at the young age of 13, 16 years before Baby Ruth candy bars were released. We may never know the true story behind the candy's name, but its legacy will likely forever be tied to both a president's daughter and a baseball great.