Babe Ruth: a larger-than-life icon who forever changed baseball with his legendary swing and colorful personality.
George Herman Ruth Jr. (1895-1948), also known as Babe Ruth, remains the greatest baseball player in the history of the sport. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Boston Braves in a career spanning from 1914 to 1935.
Ruth may be best known for his prodigious power. He set numerous records during his career, including most home runs in a season (60 in 1927) which stood until 1961. He also held the record for career home runs (714) which lasted until 1974.
Ruth also was a skilled pitcher early in his career, and led the Red Sox to three World Series championships before being traded to the Yankees in 1919. With the Yankees, Ruth won four World Series titles and became a cultural icon known as “The Sultan of Swat” and “The Bambino.”
Ruth was known for his larger-than-life personality and his love of life. Ruth was beloved by fans and remains a titan in sports history.
George Herman "Babe" Ruth
1895
born
baltimore, Maryland
birthplace
1936
hall of fame
1948
died
baseball career
New York Yankees
primary team
right fielder
primary position
left
bats
left
throws
career mlb stats
2,503
games
8,399
at bats
2,174
runs
2,873
hits
506
Doubles
136
triples
714
home runs
2,214
rbi
123
steals
2,062
walks
.342
batting avg
1.164
ops
.474
on base %
.690
slugging %
Babe RUth's Hall of Fame Speech
JUNE 12, 1939
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I hope some day that some of the young fellows coming into the game will know how it feels to be picked in the Hall of Fame. I know the old boys back in there were just talking it over, some have been here long before my time. They got on it, I worked hard, and I got on it. And I hope that the coming generation, the young boys today, that they’ll work hard and also be on it.
And as my old friend Cy Young says, “I hope it goes another hundred years and the next hundred years will be the greatest. You know to me this is just like an anniversary myself, because twenty-five years ago yesterday I pitched my first baseball game in Boston, for the Boston Red Sox. (applause)
So it seems like an anniversary for me too, and I’m surely glad and it’s a pleasure for me to come up here and be picked also in the Hall of Fame. Thank you.”