GEORGE
HERMA
N RUTH
JR.
Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied on St. Mary’s Industrial
School for Boys learning vocational skills and developed a passion and love for the game
baseball. Ruth particularly looked up to a monk named Brother Matthias, who became a father
figure to the young boy. Mathias, along with several other monks of the order, introduced Ruth
to baseball, a game at which the boy excelled. By the time he was 15, Ruth showed exceptional
skill both as a strong hitter and pitcher. It was his pitching that initially caught the attention of
Jack Dunn, the owner of the minor league Baltimore Orioles. At the time, the Orioles groomed
players for the major league team known as the Boston Red Sox, and Dunn saw promise in
Ruth's athletic performance. Only 19, the law at the time stated that Ruth had to have a legal
guardian sign his baseball contract for him to play professionally. As a result, Dunn became
Ruth's legal guardian, leading teammates to jokingly call Ruth "Dunn's new babe." The joke
stuck, and Ruth quickly earned the nickname "Babe" Ruth. With its titles and "the Babe,"
Boston was clearly the class act of the major leagues. All that would change in 1919, however,
with a single stroke of a pen. Faced with financial hardships, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee
needed cash to pay off his debts. He found help in the New York Yankees, which agreed in
December 1919 to buy the rights to Ruth for the then-impressive sum of $100,000. The deal
came to shape both franchises in unforeseen ways. For Boston, Ruth's departure spelled the end
of the team's winning streak. The club wouldn't win another World
Series until 2004, a championship drought that later sports writers
dubbed "The Curse of the Bambino." For the New York
Yankees, it was a different matter. With Ruth leading the
way, New York turned into a dominant force, winning four World
Series titles over the next 15 seasons. Ruth, who became a full-time outfielder, was at the heart
of all the success, unleashing a level of power that had never been seen before in the game. In
1919, while with the Red Sox, Ruth set a single-season home run record of 29. This turned out to
be just the beginning of a series of record-breaking performances by Ruth. In 1920, his first year
in New York, he knocked 54 home runs. In his second season he broke his own record by hitting
59 home runs and, in less than 10 seasons, Ruth had made his mark as baseball's all-time home
run leader. In 1919, while with the Red Sox, Ruth set a single-season home run record of 29.
This turned out to be just the beginning of a series of record-breaking performances by Ruth. In
1920, his first year in New York, he knocked 54 home runs. In his second season he broke his
own record by hitting 59 home runs and, in less than 10 seasons, Ruth had made his mark as
baseball's all-time home run leader.
Yet the athlete seemed determined to continue breaking his own records. In 1927, he outdid
himself again by hitting 60 home runs in a season's time—a record that stood for 34 years. By
this time, his presence was so great in New York that the new Yankee Stadium (built in 1923)
was dubbed "the house that Ruth built."
Over the course of his career, Ruth went on to break baseball's most important slugging records,
including most years leading a league in home runs (12); most total bases in a season (457); and
highest slugging percentage for a season (.847). In all he hit 714 home runs, a mark that stood
until 1974, when Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves surpassed him. Ruth retired in 1935 after a
partial season with the Boston Braves, ending his 22-year big
league career with 714 home runs. His lifetime statistics also
include 2,873 hits, 506 doubles, 2,174 runs, 2,214 RBI,
a .342 batting average, a .474 on-base percentage and a .690
slugging percentage. He was one of the first five players
inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
While he eventually earned the title of coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938, Ruth never
achieved his goal of managing a major league team. Known throughout his life as a generous
man, he gave much of his time in his last years to charitable events instead. On June 13, 1948, he
made one last appearance at Yankee Stadium to celebrate the building's 25th anniversary. Sick
with cancer, Ruth had become a shadow of his former, gregarious self. Two months later, on
August 16, 1948, in New York Ruth died, leaving much of his estate to the Babe Ruth
Foundation for underprivileged children. He was survived by his second wife, Claire, and his
daughters, Dorothy, and Julia.