Babe Ruth and The House He Built

Who doesn't remember Babe Ruth? Even if you are too young, and are a baseball fan, we bet you've heard of Babe and the House That Ruth Built. Even one of his superstitions remains popular among Major League players-"whenever I hit a homerun, I always make sure I touch all four bases." Babe was a curious man, ferocious in baseball, women, and ideals, and we remember his as "The Babe," fondly so, because there will never be another man like him, in any sport.

Born George Herman Ruth Jr. to parents George Sr. and Kate Schamberger-Ruth in Baltimore, Maryland in 1895, Ruth and his sister Mamie were the only two survivors out of eight children. Ruth did not have an idyllic childhood, often being left to his own devices to get by. When he was only seven, his parents sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, which Ruth looked at more as prison than school. He saw his parents only rarely and rapidly became known by the nuns at St. Mary's as a problem child.

Never find if rules, Ruth chafed under the strict life of the school. The upside for Ruth was that he discovered baseball while at the school, becoming quite the player in his time there. When only 19, he was spotted and immediately signed to the Baltimore Orioles by manager Jack Dunn. He earned his nickname while on the Orioles - his teammates called him "Jacks' new babe"; a name which stayed with him for a lifetime.

With the Orioles for only five months, the Boston Red Sox purchased his contract and at 19, he both pitched and played the outfield for six years. During this period, fans took note of Babe's performance on and off the field, with his off the field stories being more colorful through his eating and drinking all-night parties that included many women. Playing in his first World Series Game in 1916, he set a record that still stands today, a fourteen inning game that became the longest in the history of the World Series. His pitching skills at this time left him an astounding record of 29 2/3 scoreless innings in World Series bouts alone, a record that stood for forty-three years. In December of 1919, a weird trade of sorts would land him with the Yankees-leaving the Red Sox in a World Series denial until 2004!

With Ruth on the team, the Yankees would win 4 World Series and 7 American League Pennants. Ruth hit an amazing 54 home runs in 1920 alone. Babe Ruth proved to be just as popular with the fans in New York as he had been in Boston and became a celebrity. The Yankees stadium, built in 1923 soon came to be known as "The House That Ruth Built". Fittingly enough, Ruth hit three home runs on opening day and later that year, the World Series title. Ruth would separate from his wife of 11 years, Helen Woodford in 1925, with whom he had adopted a daughter, Dorothy. It was not until Helen dies in 1929 that he would marry his companion, the model Claire Hodgson. His first at bat that year, he hit a home run out of the park, which he dedicated to Hodgson.

Ruth's 60 home runs in 1927 are another long standing record the player set - it would stand until Roger Maris' 61 home runs in 1961. Many fans debate the vailidity of Maris' record, being that it took Maris 182 games against Ruth's 154. However, no one will debate Ruth's .690 batting average, which has no equal to date. It wasn't for nothing, after all that he is remembered as The Sultan Of Swat.

Another impressive achievement came in the third game off the 1932 World Series. The Yankees were playing against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Babe had already hit one home run earlier in the game, but in the fifth inning, Ruth hit what is believed to be the longest home run ever hit out of Wrigley Field until Sammy Sosa's famous home run in 2002 which landed on Kenmore Avenue!

Ruth left the Yankees in 1935 - he had wanted to be manager of the team and he decided to leave rather than stay in another capacity. He instead signed on with the Boston Braves as first base coach and player, with the promise of the manager's chair in the following year. Seeing that the Braves were unlikely to keep this promise, Ruth went out in style. In one of his final games, Ruth hit three home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates for a career total of 714 home runs. The Babe's 2,211 RBIs, 2.28 career ERA as a left-handed pitcher and his 8,399 at-bats along with all of his many achievements have made him a player who will always be remembered as long as there is a game called baseball.

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