Babe Ruth is a player who needs little if any introduction. People the world over know his name and the near-legendary achievements of this man, one of the best known players ever to pick up a bat or glove. You don't need to have been around when Babe was on the Yankees to be familiar with his name and the House That Ruth Built. Even his superstitions are followed to this day. Ruth once said "Whenever I hit a home run, I always make sure that I touch all four bases". Larger than life both in terms of his performance on the diamond as well as in his private life, Babe Ruth is still very much a part of the American psyche. There may never be another player like the Great Bambino in any sport.
Born George Herman Ruth Jr. to parents George Sr. and Kate Schamberger-Ruth in Baltimore, Maryland in 1895, Ruth and his sister Mamie were the only two survivors out of eight children. Ruth did not have an idyllic childhood, often being left to his own devices to get by. When he was only seven, his parents sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, which Ruth looked at more as prison than school. He saw his parents only rarely and rapidly became known by the nuns at St. Mary's as a problem child.
The Babe never like rules, especially regimented rules and was not good at adapting to what was correct-he had his own way, a uniqueness that would follow him to baseball. Perhaps the biggest thing Ruth learned to love at St. Mary's would be his fondness for children; as an adult, he was charitably involved with them as much as he could be. George Jr. shined with talent at a young age and played numerous positions at St. Mary's, often, however, he excelled in catching and pitching. When Babe reached nineteen, Jack Dunn, the manager and owner of the then Baltimore Orioles which was a Boston Red Sox minor league team, was awed at Babe's talent and signed him right away. Once Jack signed him, he was dubbed by his teammates as "Jack's newest babe." From then on, he would be forever known as simply "Babe."
It was not long before Ruth's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox, where he would spend the next six years both as a catcher and in the outfield. Ruth became immensely popular with fans for his flair on and off the diamond. With the Red Sox, Ruth played his first World Series in 1916. Ruth pitched a still intact record of 14 innings. In fact, Ruth achieved a record setting 29 2/3 innings with no hits as a pitcher in World Series games alone! This record would last for 43 years. In 1919, an ill-advised trade saw Babe Ruth traded to the New York Yankees (ill-advised for the Red Sox anyway, a triumph for the Yankees). This began the "Curse of the Bambino"; the Red Sox would not win another World Series until 2004!
In 1920, he began his Major League career with the New York Yankees where Babe and his teammates would win 7 American League Pennants and 4 World Series Titles, a legacy called "The Curse of the Bambino." Babe hit an amazing 54 home runs in 1920 and was both a fan and player favorite not just for his home run hitting skills, but also for his candor. In 1923, mostly due to the popularity of The Babe, the Yankees opened Yankee Stadium that would eventually be named, The House That Ruth Built-how appropriate that The Babe would hit a home run on opening day, along with yet another World Series Title. Married to Helen Woodford in October of 1914, by 1919, Babe had enough money to buy them a country house and adopt a daughter they named Dorothy. After a separation, but no divorce in 1925, Babe did not remain the good boy when it came to women and continued an affair with model Claire Hodgson. Upon Helen's death by fire in 1929, Babe married Claire and hit her an out-of-the-park homerun in his first at bat in April of that same year.
Ruth's 60 home runs in 1927 are another long standing record the player set - it would stand until Roger Maris' 61 home runs in 1961. Many fans debate the vailidity of Maris' record, being that it took Maris 182 games against Ruth's 154. However, no one will debate Ruth's .690 batting average, which has no equal to date. It wasn't for nothing, after all that he is remembered as The Sultan Of Swat.
Of just as much import was the home run scored by Babe Ruth in the 3rd game of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Legend has it that Ruth said that he would hit a home run over the center stands in memory of Dugout Dora, a stray cat Ruth would feed every time he played at Wrigley Field. Ruth pointed and hit a home run right where he had pointed; it was one of the longest home runs ever hit out of Wrigley Field.
In 1935, Ruth left the Yankees, disappointed at their refusal to make him manager of the team. He went to the Boston Braves, where he was a player and first base coach. Though he had been promised the manager's job at the Braves starting the next year, Ruth saw that the team would renege on this promise and decided to retire; however, he went out in his inimitable style, hitting three home runs in one of his very last games for a total of 714 in his career. The Great Bambino will be a legend as long as baseball is still played - for his World Series wins, his 2,211 RBIs, his 2.28 career ERA as a pitcher and his colorful personality.
Born George Herman Ruth Jr. to parents George Sr. and Kate Schamberger-Ruth in Baltimore, Maryland in 1895, Ruth and his sister Mamie were the only two survivors out of eight children. Ruth did not have an idyllic childhood, often being left to his own devices to get by. When he was only seven, his parents sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, which Ruth looked at more as prison than school. He saw his parents only rarely and rapidly became known by the nuns at St. Mary's as a problem child.
The Babe never like rules, especially regimented rules and was not good at adapting to what was correct-he had his own way, a uniqueness that would follow him to baseball. Perhaps the biggest thing Ruth learned to love at St. Mary's would be his fondness for children; as an adult, he was charitably involved with them as much as he could be. George Jr. shined with talent at a young age and played numerous positions at St. Mary's, often, however, he excelled in catching and pitching. When Babe reached nineteen, Jack Dunn, the manager and owner of the then Baltimore Orioles which was a Boston Red Sox minor league team, was awed at Babe's talent and signed him right away. Once Jack signed him, he was dubbed by his teammates as "Jack's newest babe." From then on, he would be forever known as simply "Babe."
It was not long before Ruth's contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox, where he would spend the next six years both as a catcher and in the outfield. Ruth became immensely popular with fans for his flair on and off the diamond. With the Red Sox, Ruth played his first World Series in 1916. Ruth pitched a still intact record of 14 innings. In fact, Ruth achieved a record setting 29 2/3 innings with no hits as a pitcher in World Series games alone! This record would last for 43 years. In 1919, an ill-advised trade saw Babe Ruth traded to the New York Yankees (ill-advised for the Red Sox anyway, a triumph for the Yankees). This began the "Curse of the Bambino"; the Red Sox would not win another World Series until 2004!
In 1920, he began his Major League career with the New York Yankees where Babe and his teammates would win 7 American League Pennants and 4 World Series Titles, a legacy called "The Curse of the Bambino." Babe hit an amazing 54 home runs in 1920 and was both a fan and player favorite not just for his home run hitting skills, but also for his candor. In 1923, mostly due to the popularity of The Babe, the Yankees opened Yankee Stadium that would eventually be named, The House That Ruth Built-how appropriate that The Babe would hit a home run on opening day, along with yet another World Series Title. Married to Helen Woodford in October of 1914, by 1919, Babe had enough money to buy them a country house and adopt a daughter they named Dorothy. After a separation, but no divorce in 1925, Babe did not remain the good boy when it came to women and continued an affair with model Claire Hodgson. Upon Helen's death by fire in 1929, Babe married Claire and hit her an out-of-the-park homerun in his first at bat in April of that same year.
Ruth's 60 home runs in 1927 are another long standing record the player set - it would stand until Roger Maris' 61 home runs in 1961. Many fans debate the vailidity of Maris' record, being that it took Maris 182 games against Ruth's 154. However, no one will debate Ruth's .690 batting average, which has no equal to date. It wasn't for nothing, after all that he is remembered as The Sultan Of Swat.
Of just as much import was the home run scored by Babe Ruth in the 3rd game of the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Legend has it that Ruth said that he would hit a home run over the center stands in memory of Dugout Dora, a stray cat Ruth would feed every time he played at Wrigley Field. Ruth pointed and hit a home run right where he had pointed; it was one of the longest home runs ever hit out of Wrigley Field.
In 1935, Ruth left the Yankees, disappointed at their refusal to make him manager of the team. He went to the Boston Braves, where he was a player and first base coach. Though he had been promised the manager's job at the Braves starting the next year, Ruth saw that the team would renege on this promise and decided to retire; however, he went out in his inimitable style, hitting three home runs in one of his very last games for a total of 714 in his career. The Great Bambino will be a legend as long as baseball is still played - for his World Series wins, his 2,211 RBIs, his 2.28 career ERA as a pitcher and his colorful personality.
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