Babe Ruth

For the band named 'Babe Ruth', see Babe Ruth (band).

For the Major League Baseball World Series award named the 'Babe Ruth Award', see Babe Ruth Award.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth
debut
July 11, 1914, Boston Red Sox
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Boston Red Sox (1914-1919) New York Yankees (1920-1934) Boston Braves (1935)

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), better known as "Babe" Ruth, also known by the nicknames "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", was an American baseball player. His home run hitting exploits and lifestyle made him one of the representative figures of the Roaring Twenties. He was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he was the first player to hit over 30, 40 and 50 home runs in one season. His 60 home runs in 1927 season was the record for most home runs in a season for 34 years. The record was broken by Roger Maris in 1961. He was a member of the original American League All-Star team in 1933. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth No. 1 in its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." In 1999, Ruth was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team by fans.

Early life

Young George skipped school, ran the streets, and committed petty crimes. By age seven, he was drinking and chewing tobacco. His sister Mary recalled how their father would beat George in an attempt to bring the boy into line. He was finally sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a school run by Catholic brothers. Brother Matthias, a Roman Catholic brother, became a figure in his life. Brother Matthias taught him baseball and worked with him on hitting, fielding and, later, pitching.

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Ruth (top row, far left) at St Mary's Industrial School for Boys

Eventually, George began to play for the school's team. At first, He was played mostly at catcher. One day, as his team was losing, George started mocking his own pitcher. Brother Matthias switched him from catcher to pitcher to teach him a lesson. Babe went on to shut the other team down.

Brother Gilbert brought George to the attention of Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the minor-league Baltimore Orioles. In 1914 Dunn signed 19-year-old Ruth to pitch for his club, and took him to spring training in Florida. Ruth made the club and received the nickname "Dunn's Babe" for his precocious talent and childlike personality. On April 22, 1914, "The Babe" pitched for the first time as a professional, a 6-0 victory over the Buffalo Bisons, also of the International League.

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Ruth with Baltimore of the International League 1914 card

On July 4 the Orioles had a record of 47-22, but their finances were in poor condition. In 1914, the breakaway Federal League placed a team in Baltimore. The team played across the street from the minor league Orioles and the competition hurt Orioles' attendance significantly. To make ends meet, Dunn was obliged to dispose of his stars for cash, and he sold Ruth's contract with two other players to Joseph Lannin, owner of the Boston Red Sox, for a sum rumored to be between $20,000 and $35,000.

Major League Career

The Red Sox years

When Ruth arrived in 1914, the Red Sox had many star players. As such, he was optioned to the minor league Providence Grays of Providence, Rhode Island for part of the season. Behind Ruth and Carl Mays, the Grays won the International League pennant. Ruth appeared in five games for the Red Sox that year, pitching in four of them. He finished the season 2-1 for the major league club. Shortly after the season, Ruth proposed to Helen Woodford, a waitress he met in Boston, and they were married in Baltimore on October 14, 1914.

During spring training in 1915, Ruth secured a spot in the starting rotation. He joined a pitching staff that included Rube Foster, Dutch Leonard, and Smokey Joe Wood. Ruth won 18 games, lost eight, and helped himself by hitting .315. He also hit his first four home runs. The Red sox won 101 games that year on their way to a victory in the World Series. Ruth did not appear much in the series. He did not pitch in the series and he recorded only one at-bat.

In 1916, after a slightly shaky spring, he went 23 - 12, with a 1.75 ERA and 9 shutouts. Despite a weak offense and hurt by the sale of Tris Speaker to the Indians, the Red Sox still made it to the World Series. They defeated the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. This time, Ruth made major contributions in the series. In game 2 of the series, the Red Sox won the game and Ruth pitched a 14-inning complete game.

George went 24-13 in 1917 and hit .325. The Sox finished nine games behind the Chicago White Sox, good enough for second place in the AL.

In the series, Ruth appeared as a pitcher and went 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA. Ruth extended his World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak to 29⅔ innings. Since the Cubs top left-handers Hippo Vaughn and Lefty Tyler pitched nearly all the innings, Ruth, who batted left-handed, registered only five at-bats.

Growing problems

Around this time, Ruth began to have problems both on and off the field. In July 1918, Ruth ignored a sign from manager Ed Barrow during an at-bat. That led to a heated verbal spat. Barrow fined Ruth $500 after Ruth threatened to punch him in the nose. In response, Ruth threw a tantrum and quit the team for a few days. Also during the 1918 season, he started to refuse to pitch his scheduled starts, often citing injuries that Barrow would question.

Before the 1919 season, Ruth told management he wanted to play every day and not pitch at all. Initially, Barrow and the Red Sox agreed; however, injuries to the pitching staff forced Ruth back into the rotation for spot starts. Still, Ruth pitched in only 17 of the 130 games in which he appeared.

Ruth set his first single-season home run record that year. He broke the previous record of 27 by hitting 29 home runs. News of his batting feats spread rapidly, and wherever he played, large crowds filled out the stands. As his fame spread, so did his waistline. Since his time as an Oriole, teammates had marveled at Ruth's capacity for food, and by 1919 his physique had changed from a tall athletic frame to more of a rotund shape. Ruth's weight fluctuated many times until the mid-1920s.

The sale

By 1920, the Red Sox were in a perilous financial position. Red Sox attendance had fallen off badly during World War I and owner Harry Frazee had paid large sums for several players. Frazee, owned several theaters and financed his own shows. Because his shows were also losing money, he was overextended financially.

To help ease the situation, Frazee agreed to sell Babe to the New York Yankees. Frazee and Jacob Ruppert, Yankee owner, agreed to exchange Ruth for $125,000 and a loan of more than $300,000. The deal was completed on January 3, 1920.

The Yankee Years

The Early 20’s

File:Ruth1920.jpg

Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees.

Ruth trained extensively over the winter, and in 1920, turned up at spring training physically fit. He hit 54 home runs and batted .376 in his first year with the team. His .847 slugging average was a major league record until 2001.

In 1921, the Yankees met the New York Giants in the World Series. Ruth badly scraped his elbow during Game 2 sliding into third base. After the game, he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the series. Without him, the Yankees lost the series. Ruth hit .316, drove in five runs and hit his first World Series home run.

Ruth's appearance in the 1921 World Series created a problem. In the past, he played in a lucrative barnstorming tour during the off-season. After the series, Ruth played in the tour another time. Since there was a rule that prohibited World Series players from playing in exhibition games during the off-season, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended Ruth for the first six weeks of the upcoming season.

Despite his suspension, George was named the Yankees on-field captain. Ruth started his 1922 season on May 20. Five days later, he was ejected for arguing with an umpire. A fan then insulted Ruth, so Babe climbed into the seats to confront a fan. The team removed Ruth's title afterwards but he was suspended three more times in 1922.

In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, hit 35 home runs and drove in 99 runs. Even without Ruth for much of the season, the Yankees still made it to the World Series. Unfortunately, Ruth got just two hits in seventeen at-bats and the Yankees lost to the Giants for the second straight year.

Up until 1923 the Yankees had been sharing the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants. Before the start of that years baseball season, Yankee Stadium was completed. In the first game played there, Ruth hit the stadium's first home run, and sportswriter Fred Lieb soon nicknamed Yankee Stadium "The House That Ruth Built." Ruth finished the season with a career-high .393 batting average and major leagues leading 41 home runs.

For the third straight year the Yankees faced the Giants in the World Series. The Bambino batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series. The Yankees won the series 4 games to two.

During spring training in 1925, Ruth began to suffer severe stomach cramps and a fever. His condition gradually became worse until he collapsed on April 7 while in Asheville, North Carolina.

In order to recover, Ruth returned to New York. By the time the train arrived in New York, Ruth was unconscious and his body was wrapped in blankets. His body had to be lifted out of a train window. Dr. Edward King, Ruth's personal physician, diagnosed him as having a touch of the flu as well as an intestinal ailment. Despite this, Dr. King agreed to let Ruth rejoin the team. However, after a week Ruth's fever became worse. This time, Dr. King examined George and said he had "intestinal abscess". Ruth had surgery on April 17 and it was called a complete success.

After his recovery, Ruth rejoined the Yankees. Even with Ruth's return, the team was hampered by injuries and poor play. Huggins fined Ruth $5,000 and suspended him for nine days. Ruth eventually appologized and Huggins allowed him to play again. He finished the season with a .290 average and 25 home runs in 98 games.

The Mid-Late 20’s

In December of 1925, Ruth hired fitness expert Artie McGovern. At that time, he said Ruth was noticeably overweight at 254 pounds, with a high pulse, a bulging stomach, and flabby muscles. McGovern put Ruth on a workout schedule. Around this time, Ruth changed his diet. He eliminated the beef, sweets, and snacks and replaced them with eggs, salads, vegetables, chicken and lamb.

The next season, Ruth hit .372 with 47 home runs and 146 RBI. After the 1926 season, Ruth decided to spend many of the next off-seasons with McGovern and his play remained at a high level for several more years.

The Yankees also bounced back in 1926. They won the AL title and advanced to the 1926 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals bested the Yankees in seven games. Ruth had his momments. In game 4 he hit three home runs.

The 1927 Yankees went 110-44, won the A.L. pennant by 19 games, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Series. That year, Ruth set his career high for home runs in a season. As late as August 10, teammate Lou Gehrig led the league in home runs. However, Gehrig hit only nine the rest of the season. At the same time, Ruth went on a tear and hit 25 homers in the last 42 games. He finished the season with 60. In addition to the home runs, Ruth batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugging .772.

The following season started off very well for the Yankees. The team even built a 13-game lead in July. But the Yankees were soon plagued by some key injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The Philadelphia Athletics club quickly ate into the Yankees lead. In early September, the A's took over first place with a 1-game lead. But in a pivotal series later that month, the Yankees took 3 out of 4 games and held on to win the pennant.

Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's play. He got off to a hot start, and on August 1, had 42 home runs. This put him on pace to hit more than the 60 home runs he hit the previous season. But Ruth's power waned, and he hit just 12 home runs in the last two months of the regular season. Still, he ended the season with an impressive 54, the fourth (and last) time he passed 50 home runs in a season plateau.

The Yankees had a World Series rematch with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had upset them in the 1926 series. The Cardinals had the same core players as the 1926 team, except for Rogers Hornsby, who was traded for Frankie Frisch after the 1926 season.

The series was no contest. The Yankees swept the Cardinals 4-0. Ruth batted .625 and hit three home runs in game four of the series.

Decline and end with Yankees

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A well-dressed Ruth in 1930.

In 1929, the Yankees failed to make the World Series for the first time in three years. The Yankees failed to make the playoffs in each of the next three years. Although the Yankees slipped, Ruth led or tied for the league lead in home runs each year from 1929-1931.

In 1932, the Yankees went 107-47 and won the pennant under manager Joe McCarthy. Ruth did his part as he hit .341, with 41 home runs and 137 RBIs. Ruth did miss 21 games on the schedule that year; this included the last few weeks of the season.

The Yankees faced the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series; however, Ruth suffered severe abdominal pains and was in a weakened state before the start of the World Series. The Yankees dispatched the Cubs in 4 games and batted .313 as a team. During game 3 of the series, Ruth hit what has now become known as Babe Ruth's Called Shot. During the at-bat, Ruth supposedly gestured to the bleachers in an attempt to predict the home run.

Ruth remained productive in 1933. He batted .301, hit 34 home runs, drove in 103 runs, and led the league in walks. As a result, Ruth was elected to play in the very first All-star game. He hit the very first home run in the game’s history on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. The two-run home helped the AL score a 4-2 victory.

In 1934, the Bambino recorded a .288 average, 22 home runs, and made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. During the game, Ruth was the first of five consecutive strikeout victims for Carl Hubbell. In what turned out to be his last game at Yankee Stadium, only 2,000 fans attended.

After the 1934 season, Ruth went on a baseball barnstorming tour in the Far East. Players such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, and Lou Gehrig were among 14 players who played a series of 22 games.

1935 with the Braves

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Ruth in a Boston Braves uniform in 1935, his last year as a player.

In 1935, Boston Braves owner Emil Fuchs signed Ruth to a Free Agent contract. On opening day, before a capacity crowd of over 25,000, Ruth played in his first game with the Braves. They defeated the New York Giants in Boston by a score of 4-2.

On May 25, 1935, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Ruth went 4-4, drove in 6 runs and hit 3 home runs in an 11-7 loss to the Pirates. These were the last three home runs of his career. Five days later, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ruth played in his last major league game. That season, he hit just .188 with six home runs in 72 at-bats.

Personal life

Personality

Ruth reportedly drank heavily, used profanity in his speech, chased women while married, and disregarded various rules. This was in addition to aggressive behavior with players, umpires, and fans. He even had fights with his own teammates in the clubhouse and on the bench.

Despite these issues, Ruth set-up numerous charities, often for the benefit of children. On a number of occasions after games, Ruth would stand for hours and sign autographs. Bob Shawkey, Ruth’s Yankees teammate and later his Yankees manager for one season (1930), said, “People sometimes got mad at him, but I never heard of anyone who did not like Babe Ruth.” Ernie Shore, Ruth's teammate when they both played for the Red Sox, would say of Ruth, "He was the best-hearted fellow who ever lived. He gave you the shirt off of his back."

Marriages

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Ruth at the graveside service of his first wife Helen.

Ruth's married Helen Woodford, his first wife, in 1914. Together, they adopted a daughter. They were reportedly separated as early as 1920 and as late as 1926. After they seperated, Helen perished in a house fire. Ruth and a number of Yankees attended her funeral.

On April 17, 1929, the Babe married actress Claire Hodgson. They stayed married until the Babe's death in 1948.

Retirement and later years

In 1936, Ruth was one of the first five players elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, he actively searched for a job as a the manager of a Major League franchise. Though Ruth never did get the chance to manage in the majors, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail offered him a first base coaching job in June Sports. Ruth took the job, but quit at the end of the season. The coaching position was his last job in Major League Baseball.

In 1939, Ruth had a health issue during a round of golf he was playing with Ben Curry. About a year later, he suffered another similar attack. These incidents marked some clear health problems. In 1942, Ruth was asked to play a part (as himself) in the film The Pride of the Yankees. The film was biopic of Lou Gehrig. During filming, he caught a bad cold that eventually developed into pneumonia.

After his retirement, Ruth also engaged in charity work for the Red Cross, bought over $100,000 in war bonds, organized a charity golf game with Ty Cobb, and appeared at many benefits during the World War II.

Illness

In 1946, he began experiencing severe pain over his left eye. In November 1946, a visit to French Hospital in New York revealed Ruth had a malignant tumor in his neck that had encircled his left carotid artery. Physicians told Babe he would need surgery to have the cancerous growth removed. During the surgery, part of the nerves that led to the larynx had to be cut, and as a result his voice was reduced to a whisper. He would be unable to swallow foods and had to be fed with a feeding tube. Since physicians could not remove all the cancer, Ruth was given radiation therapy to treat the cancer that remained.

Released from the hospital in February 1947, Ruth was now very thin. Although he eventually regained enough of his strength to play golf, to hunt, and to participate in other physical activities, the tumor continued to grow. Consequently, Doctors put him on morphine.

On April 27, 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day". Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000.

By June of that year, Ruth's physicians tried an experimental new drug on him. Ruth went into remission and his case was then cited at an International Cancer Congress. Later, Ruth started the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September helped raise money for his newest charity.

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Nat Fein's Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of Ruth at Yankee Stadium, June 13, 1948.

After the cancer had returned, Ruth attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He met old teammates from the 1923 Yankee team and later stood for photographs. While Ruth spoke to the crowd, he used a baseball bat as a cane and wore his old Yankees uniform. Ruth spoke a few words at the microphone, saying how much he enjoyed seeing his old teammates and being a Yankee. Ruth left after a 2-inning game played by the old players.

Death

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A cancer-ravaged Ruth (right) in 1948, visited by New York City Mayor William O'Dwyer.

Shortly after he attended the Yankee Stadium anniversary event, Ruth was back in the hospital. He received hundreds of well-wishing letters and messages. This included a phone call from President Harry Truman. Claire helped him respond to the letters.

On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story, a biopic about his life. William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time.

Cancer had eaten away at his body and he was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. Only a few visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was the then National League President and future Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick. Frick had been a good friend of Ruth's since Ruth's early days as a Yankee and the ghostwriter for various articles supposedly written by Ruth.

Babe Ruth's headstone in Gate of Heaven Cemetery

On August 16, the day after Frick's visit, Babe Ruth died at 8:01 p.m. at the age of 53. His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium for two days; Tens of thousands more lined the streets as his funeral cortege drove by. Ruth was buried in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York.

The following epitaph by Cardinal Spellman appears on Babe Ruth's headstone: "May The Divine Spirit That Animated Babe Ruth To Win The Crucial Game Of Life Inspire The Youth Of America!" His wife Claire was buried next to him upon her death in 1976.

Statistics

Career Statistics

Hitting

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2,503	8,399	2,873	506	136	714	2,174	2,213	2,062	1,330	.342	.469	.690	1.159

Pitching

W	L	WP	GP	GS	CG	Sh	SV	IP	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
94	46	.671	163	148	107	17	4	1,221.1	441	488	2.28	1.16

Trivia

• In 1920, Ruth hit 54 home runs. That season, only the Philadelphia Phillies (and of course the Yankees) managed to hit more as a team. They hit 64.

• For the first 40 years of his life, Ruth believed his birthday to have been February 7, 1894. Most contemporary accounts, therefore, will contain inaccurate accounts of Ruth's age. Ruth continued to use the 1894 date when asked his age, because he was accustomed to it.

• The statue of Babe Ruth at the Eutaw Street entrance of Camden Yards has him holding a catcher's mitt for a right handed player. This is not a mistake as the statue portrays Ruth during his days at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. In his autobiography Ruth states that lefty gloves were not available.

• Ruth played himself in a cameo appearance in the Harold Lloyd film Speedy (1928).

• In 1929, the Yankees became the first team to use uniform numbers regularly (the Cleveland Indians used them briefly in 1916). Since Ruth batted third in the order, he was assigned number 3. The Yankees retired Ruth's number on June 13, 1948.

• Ruth's 1919 contract that sent him from Boston to New York was auctioned off for $996,000 at Sotheby's on June 10, 2005. The most valuable memorabilia relating to Ruth was his 1923 bat which he used to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. Ruth's heavy Louisville Slugger solid ash wood bat sold for $1.26 million at a Sotheby's auction in December of 2004, making it the second most valuable baseball memorabilia item to date, just behind the famous 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card.

• Named his Farm: Home Plate Farm.

See also

• 500 home run club
• 50 home run club
• All-Time leaders in Homeruns for a Pitcher
• Curse of the Bambino
• Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
• Baby Ruth (candy bar)
• Everyone's Hero

References & Footnotes

• Allen, Maury. Baseball's 100. A & W Publishers, 1981, 316 pages.
• The Baseball Biographical Encyclopedia. Total/Sports Illustrated, 2000, 1298 pages.
• The Baseball Encyclopedia, 10th Edition. Macmillan, a Simon and Schuster Macmillan Company, 1996, 3027 pages.
• Cohen, Richard M, David Neft and Jordan Deutsch. The World Series. The Dial Press, 1979, 416 pages.
• Creamer, Robert W. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life. Simon and Schuster, 1974, 440 pages.
• Graham Jr., Frank. Great Hitters of the Major Leagues. Random House, 1969, 171 pages.
• James, Bill. The New Bill James Baseball Abstract. The Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, 2001, 998 pages.
• Levinson, David, and Karen Christensen, editors. The Encyclopedia of World Sport. Oxford University Press, 1996, 488 pages.
• Montville, Leigh. The Big Bam. Doubleday, 2006.
• Pietrusza, David, Matthew Silverman & Michael Gershman, ed. (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. Total/Sports Illustrated.
• Reidenbach, Lowell. Cooperstown: Where the Legends Live Forever. The Sporting News Publishing, 1993, 344 pages.
• Ritter, Lawrence, and Mark Rucker. The Babe: A Life in Pictures. Ticknor and Fields, 1988, 282 pages.
• Ritter, Lawrence. The Glory of Their Times. The Macmillan Company, 1966, 300 pages.
• Schlossberg, Dan. The Baseball Catalog. Jonathan David Publishers, 1980, 310 pages.
• The STATS All-Time Major League Baseball Handbook. STATS Publishing, 1998, 2696 pages.
• Stout, Glenn. Yankees Century. Houghton Mifflin, 2002, 478 pages.

External links

• baberuth.com - Official site
• Career statistics from MLB  · ESPN  · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs  · Baseball Reference (Minors)  · Retrosheet - career statistics and analysis
• baseballhalloffame.org Baseball HofF
• baberuthmuseum.com Ruth Museum
• espn.go.com - article by Larry Schwartz
• thedeadballera.com Ruth Obituary