Officially, the Baby Ruth candy bar was not named after Babe Ruth, but–unofficially–of course it was.

In 1920, Babe Ruth raised his own single-season home run record to 54 and locked in his standing as one of the most famous people in America. In 1921, the company that made a chocolate bar called the “Kandy Kake” supposedly held an employee contest to rebrand the struggling product, and (the story was) the winning entrant suggested the name “Baby Ruth,” in honor of…the daughter of former United States President Grover Cleveland. The renamed bar began flying off candy store shelves. Apparently Ruth Cleveland, who had died of diphtheria in 1907, had a real cult following. 

The smokescreen worked astoundingly well: In 1926, the George H. Ruth Candy Company, with the blessing of the Bambino himself, tried to register two trademarks: “Ruth’s Home Run Bar” and “Babe Ruth’s Own Candy.” The U.S. patent office eventually ruled against’ GHR’s claim, feeling “Babe Ruth” was too close to “Baby Ruth,” which was already on the market and doing millions in annual sales. 

In 1996, Ruth’s estate finally joined forces with Nestle, then the makers of the Baby Ruth, lending his likeness to the brand for an ad campaign. Another home run for capitalism!