Ruth, "Babe" (George H.)
Baseball
b. Feb. 6, 1895, Baltimore, MD
d. Aug. 16, 1948
Ruth was a uniquely American hero, the subject of many tall tales, most of them true. Sportswriter Paul Gallico called him "a swashbuckler built on gigantic and heroic lines," and Heywood Broun punned, "The Ruth is mighty and shall prevail."
He first learned to play baseball at St. Mary's Industrial School, where his parents placed him when he was eight years old. Ruth showed such promise as a left-handed pitcher that Jack Dunn, owner of the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, signed him to a contract and became his legal guardian in 1914.
His first professional appearance came in an intra-squad game, when he hit the first of many gigantic home runs. A Baltimore sportswriter described it: "The next batter made a hit that will live in the memory of all who saw it. That clouter was George Ruth, the southpaw from St. Mary's school. The ball carried so far to right field that he walked around the bases." In fact, Ruth crossed the plate before the right fielder even picked the ball up.
Dunn was forced to break up the team and sell off his players before the season end. The AL's Boston Red Sox paid between $20,000 and $25,000 for Ruth. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound youngster appeared in five games with the team after spending most of the season with a farm club and became a starting pitcher in 1915.
After an 18-8 record as a rookie, Ruth was 23-12 with a league-leading 9 shutouts and 1.75 ERA in 1916, and he led the AL with 35 complete games in 1917, when he was 24-13. By 1918, he was also playing the outfield and first base. His pitching record was only 13-7 that year, but he led the league with 11 home runs in only 95 games and batted .300.
Ruth pitched in the World Series in 1916 and 1918, establishing a record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. Ironically, the record was broken by Whitey Ford of the Yankees in 1961, the same year that Roger Maris of the Yankees hit 61 home runs to break Ruth's season record.
Used primarily as an outfielder in 1919, Ruth hit .322 and led the league with 29 home runs, 114 RBI, 103 runs scored, and a .657 slugging percentage. As a pitcher, he had a 9-5 record and a 2.97 ERA.
The financially troubled Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan. In New York, Ruth became a full-time right fielder and a slugger whose likes had never been seen before.
He batted .376 with a league-leading 158 runs, 54 home runs, 137 RBI, 148 walks, and an incredible .847 slugging percentage in 1920. The following year he led the league in all five categories again with 177 runs, 59 home runs, 171 RBI, 144 walks, and an .846 slugging percentage. Those are the two highest slugging percentages in baseball history.
Illness limited him to 110 games in 1922, but he came back to put up more awesome numbers in 1923, batting .393 with a league-leading 151 runs, 41 home runs, 131 RBI, 170 walks, and a .764 slugging percentage. He was named the AL's most valuable player that season.
Ruth won his only batting title with a .378 average in 1924, when he also led the league with 143 runs, 46 home runs, 142 walks, and a .739 slugging percentage. In 1925, he suffered "the bellyache heard around the world," reportedly because he consumed enormous amounts of hot dogs and soda. Actually, he underwent a secret operation to remove an intestinal abscess, played in only 98 games, and batted .290.
For the next six seasons, Ruth was the league's home run champion, hitting 47 in 1926, 60 in 1927, 54 in 1928, 46 in 1929, 49 in 1930, and 46 in 1931. He was also the leader in runs with 139 in 1926, 158 in 1927, and 163 in 1928; in RBI with 146 in 1926 and 142 in 1928; in walks with 144 in 1926, 138 in 1927, 135 in 1928, 136 in 1930, 128 in 1931, 130 in 1932, and 114 in 1933; and in slugging percentage with .737 in 1926, .772 in 1927, .709 in 1928, 697 in 1929, .732 in 1930, and .700 in 1930.
Ruth slipped to a .288 average and just 22 home runs in 1934 and a dispute broke out after the season because he wanted to manage the team. The Yankees instead offered him a minor-league managing job, but he turned that down and was released to the Boston Braves. He hit 3 home runs for the Braves on May 25, 1935, and retired shortly afterward.
An international celebrity, Ruth toured Europe and Japan after spending one season as a coach with the Dodgers. He then settled down to retirement in a New York apartment and played himself in Pride of the Yankees, a 1942 movie biography of Lou Gehrig.
Stricken with throat cancer, Ruth was honored for a last time at Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He died less than two months later.
There can never be another legend of Ruth's caliber, not only because he was a unique human being, but because sportswriters no longer handle athletes as gently as they did in the 1920s and 1930s. He was known as a drinker and womanizer, but the press never revealed those facts. When he suffered his 1925 "bellyache," most sportswriters believed he had a sexually transmitted disease, but that was never printed. Nor was the fact that he and his wife had adopted his illegitimate child by another woman.
A boy who never really grew up, Ruth was often ill at ease in adult social settings, but he genuinely loved children and spent a lot of time signing autographs for them and visiting children's wards in hospitals.
In his 22 major-league seasons, Ruth batted .342 on 2,873 hits, including 506 doubles, 136 triples, and 714 home runs. He walked 2,056 times, struck out 2,213 times, scored 2,174 runs, and had 2,213 RBI.
The Yankees played in 7 World Series during his 15 years with the team. Ruth hit .326 in 41 World Series games, with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 15 home runs, 37 runs scored, and 33 RBI.