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Wednesday, 27 September 2017

Babe Ruth

George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was born on February 6, 1895 at 216 Emory Street in the Pigtown section of Baltimore, Maryland.

Ruth in 1920

At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he learned baseball skills from Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Christian Brothers, a capable baseball player.

In 1914, George Ruth Jr. was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles. He was only 19 and the law stated he had to have a legal guardian to sign his baseball contract, so Baltimore Orioles owner Jack Dunn became Ruth's guardian, leading teammates to jokingly call Ruth "Dunn's new babe." The joke stuck, and Ruth quickly earned the nickname "Babe" Ruth.

Babe Ruth was soon sold to the Boston Red Sox. He made his major-league debut in 1914 with the Boston Red Sox at an annual rookie salary of $2,900.

He hit his first professional home run playing for the Providence Grays on September. 5, 1914 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club at Hanlan's Point Stadium.

Recalled to Boston after Providence finished the season in first place, Ruth pitched and won a game for the Red Sox against the New York Yankees on October 2, 1914 getting his first major league hit, a double.

By 1916, Ruth had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era.

Ruth pitching for the Boston Red Sox

In a 1917 game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retired 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.

By the end of the 1910s, Ruth was regularly demonstrating his power with the bat, and in 1919, he set a Major League Baseball record with 29 home runs, the last hit off pitcher Rip Jordan.

On December 26, 1919 Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 and a $350,000 loan.

Even though the Red Sox had won several World Series in the years before this, they would not win another one until 2004. Many baseball fans believed that the Red Sox had become "cursed" by trading Ruth, and called this the "Curse of the Bambino."

Ruth was made a full-time outfielder by the Yankees. His signing was the prelude to an extraordinary Major League season during which the Bambino would hit 54 home runs.

Ruth's legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger-than-life figure during the Roaring Twenties.

Ruth in his first year with the New York Yankees, 1920

In his 15 years with the Yankees, Ruth helped the team win seven American League (AL) championships and four World Series championships.

Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season on September 30, 1927 against the Senators. In the eighth inning off Tom Zachary he hit his 60th homer to break a 2–2 tie. The record was broken by Roger Maris in 1961 when he hit his 61st home run.

In 1929 Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.

He left the Yankees after the 1934 season and played one last season with the Boston Braves in 1935.

Ruth in 1935

Ruth hit 714 home runs in his career. Only two players, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds, have hit more.

Babe Ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his cap to keep him cool. He changed it every two innings.

Babe Ruth was one of the first players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, along with Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.

On June 13, 1948 Ruth visited Yankee Stadium for the final time in his life, appearing at the 25th anniversary celebrations of "The House that Ruth Built". His number 3 was retired that day.

Babe Ruth was seen by the public for the last time on July 26, 1948 when he attended the New York City premiere of the motion picture, The Babe Ruth Story.


Babe Ruth died of cancer on August 16, 1948, at 8:01 p.m in his sleep at the age of 53. His open casket was placed on display in the rotunda of Yankee Stadium, where it remained for two days; 77,000 people filed past to pay him tribute. Life magazine said that Babe Ruth's funeral was the "kind of tribute normally reserved for kings and presidents."

Babe Ruth's funeral Mass took place at St. Patrick's Cathedral; a crowd estimated at 75,000 waited outside.

Ruth was buried on a hillside in Section 25 at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Source Nyti


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