(3/14) There are very few people in sports history that have become icons and folklore like George Herman Ruth, better known as Babe Ruth did during his baseball career.
Also known as "The Great Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", Ruth is widely considered the greatest baseball player of all-time. The legend of Ruth, goes back to his early years in Baltimore, Maryland as well as brief but very important life moments in Emmitsburg.
Ruth was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland to first generation Americans Katherine and George Ruth. His parents had a rough time in trying to build their family, as out of their eight children, only two survived through infancy, George as well as his younger sister, Mamie Ruth. For the first six-years of his life, Ruth lived with his parents in Baltimore before being sent to St. Mary's Industrial School due to being a troubled kid at home due to often being left unsupervised.
During the course of the next 12-13 years, Ruth would attend St. Mary's Industrial School where he would also begin playing baseball, a game he immediately excelled at and was known for being such as great pitcher and hitter. It was in fact at Mt. St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg in which Babe Ruth's talents were truly first were made known, at least according to legend.
While it's unclear how exactly Ruth was discovered, it is widely accepted that no matter the exact circumstances, it did in fact occur at Mount St. Mary's Echo Park.
In 1914, at the age of 19, Ruth began his professional career by singing with the Baltimore Orioles where he would spend time in their minor league system before being traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 4 of 1914. He would make his debut with the Red Sox just seven days later and from there, would go on to become one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
He would spend six seasons with the Red Sox where he only began to become the player many would eventually know him to be. Early in his career, Ruth focused more on his pitching than his hitting, winning 89 games with a 2.19 ERA for the Red Sox across 158 games and 143 starts. He also helped lead the Red Sox to three World Series titles in 1915, 1916, and 1918. Bet on the Red Sox and more using Caesars Massachussetts sportsbook promo codes.
The next major day in the history of Ruth's career was December 26, 1919. It was on that day that the Boston Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000, and as the story goes, that money would be used to finance a Broadway musical, No, Nannette. From the time the Red Sox traded Ruth to the Yankees, they would go 86-years before winning another World Series in 2004, this period of time was known as the "Curse of the Bambino" due to the Red Sox title drought immediately beginning after the trade of Ruth.
After making the move to New York, Ruth would become one of the best hitters of all-time as he focused on his abilities at the plate and in the field as an outfielder. Over 15 years and over 2,000 games with the Yankees, Ruth hit 659 home runs while knocking in 1,978 RBI and collecting a total of 2,518 hits. As a Yankee, he would lead the league in homeruns 10 times including six years in a row from 1926 through 1931. He would win the 1923 MVP after hitting 41 home runs and totaling over 130 RBI. With the Yankees, he would also win four more World Series in 1923, 1927, 1928, and 1932.
Ruth would play for the Yankees until 1934 before spending his last season in professional baseball with the Boston Braves. The 1935 season would be his last as in 28 games, Ruth struggled at the plate hitting just .181 with six home runs and 12 RBI.He would be part of the Baseball Hall of Fame's inaugural class one year later in 1936, receiving 95.13% of all possible votes. His No.3 would be retired by the Yankees and he would also be selected to Major League Baseball's All-Century Team and All-Time Team in the late 1990s.
Though he began his career over 100 years ago, Ruth remains an integral part of American sports lore and folklore. He's widely considered one of the most influential athletes of all time and was a key part of baseball being established as America's pastime as well as the overall growth of the sport in the early parts of the 20th century.
