Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 6, 1895. His father was a professional bar owner who moved his family to Boston when he retired in 1902. The young George Herman “Babe” Ruth quickly gained stature as the best baseball player in the area, and he played for various local teams until 1914 when Jack Dunn of the International League’s Baltimore Orioles signed him. Ruth played one season with the Orioles before they sold him to the Boston Red Sox (1914).
Soon after arriving in Boston, Babe began to taste some success winning both American League MVP (1916) and World Series MVP (1918) awards. However, after an early departure from Game One of the 1919 World Series, Ruth was tagged with an infamous nickname the “Big Blow” when he reportedly told a heckler in the stands “I’ll knock you down. ” Ruth did not hit another home run in the series. The Red Sox traded Ruth to the New York Yankees after the season in part because of his off field behavior and drinking problem. He would later famously state that it was “the best trade that ever was made”.
Babe went on to hit 665 homers over his career (1914-1935), winning 7 championships (three while at Boston & four at New York). Bert Bell became NFL commissioner in 1934 following an earlier bid for ownership of the Philadelphia Eagles (he came fourth in a 10-man contest). Bert Bell and Tim Mara (co-owner of the New York Giants) oversaw the first NFL Championship Game in 1933. The following year, the title game would earn the moniker “The Sneakers Game” as both teams refused to wear leather cleats because it was raining and they wanted to run faster.
The Eagles won that contest 9-7 behind four Jim Thorpe touchdowns (the man who crowns the Super Bowl MVP each year is named after him, as well). Bert Bell was an intelligent businessman who implemented several changes which helped grow professional football including: adding hashmarks & down-markers, splitting the league into two divisions with a championship game between their winners, and trading players between teams. Bell retired as the commissioner in 1951, but was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame four years later.
He also served two terms as US Congressman (1943-1945). Bert Bell died on October 11, 1959 at just 64 due to heart failure. He is recognized as one of the most influential owners & commissioners in NFL history. Babe Ruth is considered by many historians to be the greatest baseball player ever. He is an icon in American sports culture & by some estimates has been referenced or featured over 1 billion times across various media platforms throughout his life & death (including a national day of mourning following his departure).
Babe Ruth was born on February 6, 1895. His father was an Irish saloon keeper in Baltimore, Maryland. He died when Babe was only six years old and they remained very close throughout their lives together. Babe had a very difficult time in school because of his dyslexia, but he loved to play baseball. He tried out for the Orioles while still attending St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys where he had been sent by the courts after getting into too much trouble with street gangs on Baltimore’s east side.
When it came time to be assessed by Judge Edward E. under whose care Babe remained until age 19 , “Judge” Ed insisted that Ruth could not remain at St . Mary’s unless he cut his famous red hair. Ruth was allowed to visit St . Mary’s, but he had to cut his hair for the first time in his life before returning again . He didn’t make his baseball practice times at St. Mary’s on time due to long lines of schoolchildren blocking his way through the streets of Baltimore. This act landed Babe back into Judge Edward E. s court where he told Babe that if he wasn’t able to arrive timely then he would “knock hell” out of both Judge Ed and the Orioles manager who was watching him play ball that day, Jack Dunn .
Babe never missed another game nor practice before making it to the majors seven years later with George Stallings’ 1914 Boston Braves team. One fateful night during spring training in 1915, Babe Ruth changed the course of history when he slammed a ball out of the park in his first at bat with Boston. It went over the head of right fielder Ben York who was playing deeper than usual because it was such a foggy night.
George Stallings felt that Babe’s swing had too much movement and sent him to the Braves minor league team in Toronto where he could work on hitting . By 1916, Babe was back with Boston and in 1918 he won 18 games against eight losses for a very good Braves team under manager Stallings which included future hall-of-famer Johnny Evers and Bill Sweeney , after winning only nine games total during his first three years. After being sold to the Yankees by Frazee for $125,000 , Babe Ruth continued his hitting ways in pinstripes while pitching regularly for the first time.
His best year with the Yanks was 1920 when he hit 54 home runs and batted . 378. It was during this time that Babe Ruth’s legend began to grow as he chased George Sisler’s modern day record of 41 home runs in one season which had stood since 1922. While both managed to get 31 home runs before the last game of the season, Sisler managed to hold Babe off because he only needed three in order to break his own record and Babe needed two more in order to tie it up. Ruth finally broke Kunek’s 19th century mark of 29 round trippers in a single season which was set back in 1876 with a home run at Sportsman’s Park in St.
Louis on October 1, 1927 off of former teammate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander . Babe had seven official at bats that day while hitting three over the fence and four more to deep center field which were caught despite his efforts. Ruth finished the 1927 season with an astounding total of 60 home runs which included 7 in one game, 4 consecutive games with a home run, 13 grand slams and drawing 145 walks which was another record at the time. His slugging average of . 847 was also another record for Ruth who became the first player to hit 30 or more homers in seven different seasons , yet only led the league twice during that span.
Babe Ruth was not only the most feared hitter in his day, but he also became an excellent pitcher with a record of 94 wins against 46 losses along with 2,028 strikeouts in just nine seasons for the Red Sox and Yankees combined. While Babe Ruth is often criticized for being selfish in New York , it should be noted that he willingly gave up pitching in order to become just another power hitter on what would’ve otherwise been a mediocre Yankee team without him.
It’s true that Ruth did get $80,000 during his last year at Boston which was three times more than anyone else made, but when you consider the fact that the Babe had already won 96 games while losing 46 there (including two 23 win seasons) it’s hard to criticize the Sultan of Swat too much. Ruth holds the records for most home runs (714), RBIs (2,214), walks (2,062) and slugging average (. 690) among others along with holding the all-time bases on balls record which he acquired in 1924 when he struck out only 97 times while drawing 171 walks for the season which still stands to this day.
Babe Ruth was elected into Baseball’s Hall Of Fame in 1936 by acclamation after hitting . 349 over 22 illustrious seasons as well as pitching 74 complete games during his last three years before hanging up his cleats forever at age 41. Babe Ruth passed away from cancer on August 16th, 1948 and is buried next to his beloved mother in a cemetery located in his old Connecticut neighborhood of Pequannock Township. “I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for! ” – Babe Ruth
