Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth

Known as the greatest baseball player who ever lived and also Babe Ruth, George Herman Ruth Jr. was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. George Sr. and Kate were the parents of Babe and 7 other children. Although, Babe and his sister Mamie were the only 2 children to survive.

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Babe’s father, George Herman Sr.

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Babe’s early-mid baseball career

In Babes younger years he was unsupervised a lot, which led to him skipping school and stirring up trouble in the neighborhood. At the age of 7 is when his parents realized he needed a stronger enforcement of rules, so he was sent to St. Mary’s Industrial School, and this is where he developed his love for baseball. One of the monks at this school, Brother Matthias, took a high liking for George Jr. and became a father like figure for him. Matthias coached and worked on Georges hitting, fielding and pitching skills hours on end. George became extremely good and attracted lots of attention around his school. This is how George’s name got out there because the brothers got Jack Dunn, owner of the Baltimore Orioles MLB team, to come watch George Jr. It took less than an hour of observing him for Jack Dunn to offer a contract. Being only 19 at the time, Jack Dunn had to become George Jr.’s legal guardian for the contract to work. This is how George Jr. got his nickname, other Orioles players referred to George as “Jack’s newest Babe”. Babe actually started out his career as a pitcher. He played outstanding with the Orioles until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. In five years, he helped lead the Red Sox to 3 championships and pitched a 13 scoreless inning game, a record that is still unbeaten as of today. After setting a record high of 29 homeruns in 1919, he was traded to the New York Yankees.  This is where he became a fulltime outfielder and also went off the charts setting records for most home runs and having the highest ratings. He hit 54 homeruns in 1920, which beat his record of 29 in 1919. The closest player to him had only 19. Not surprisingly, the following year in 1921 he set a new record of 59 home runs. In 1927, it seems he can’t help but to keep breaking his own records with 60 homeruns during this season.

Babe’s family life

In the midst of all of this, he still had a personal life. In 1914, very early on in his career, he met and married a woman named Helen Woodford in October 1914. He bought them a farm house in Sudbury, MA where the two lived pretty happy for a couple of years. But Babe was too young and hadn’t had enough of lifes experiences when he got married, so he focused more on his fame and admiration of being a baseball star than his marriage. This caused problems between him and his wife, but didn’t stop them from adopting a baby in 1921, naming her Dorothy. This still wasn’t enough to keep them together and they eventually split. Babe met his new wife, Claire Hodgson, in 1922. She was good for him because she enforced some discipline on him and kept him in line health-wise and financially. Babe and Claire had his first adopted baby Dorothy, and also adopted another girl and named her Julia.

Babe, his wife Claire, and their two daughters Dorothy and Julia

Babe, his wife Claire, and their two daughters Dorothy and Julia

Babe’s last years Facts

Babe Ruth was traded to the Braves in 1935, where he played 28 games.

His last game was played on May 30, 1985.

He was one of the first five baseball players to enter the Hall of Fame.

Since his baseball career was over, he took up activities such as bowling, hunting, and golfing.

He was very good at golfing, but just not quite there to make it pro.

Babe became a first base coach for the Dodgers in 1943.

Battle With Cancer

In 1946, Babe began experiencing extreme pain over his left eye. His first thoughts about it were just a toothache or sinus infection. Doctors soon found that a malignant growth had formed around a major artery on the left side of his neck. He underwent surgery on January 5, 1947 and the next month he suffered with hair loss, weight loss, depression and was just expected to die. He was released from the hospital on February 15. Soon he came to realize he needed more treatment, which didn’t work. Then after a long back and forth struggle with this cancer, on the night of August 15 1948, Babe Ruth died in his sleep at 8:01 pm. He is a legend in not only baseball, but also an icon in kids eyes and made baseball what it is today. During his career, his teams stadiums were constantly jam-packed and sold out, everyone just wanted to see him “The Babe”.

 Works Cited

Adomites, Paul, and Saul Wisnia. “Babe Ruth.” HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.

“Babe Ruth, The Family Man.” Babe Ruth Central Babe Ruth Babe Ruth Photos Babe Ruth Statistics Babe Ruth Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Babe Ruth.” About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.