The Babe, the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the GREAT BAMBINO! Everyone has heard of these nicknames. They are the names given to the greatest baseball player to ever play the sport of baseball. He will always be remembered as the person who changed the way baseball will be seen with what he was able to do with a bat and a ball in his hands.
Babe Ruth was always looked upon as being a great player when he first started playing in the Major Leagues for the Red Sox. Everyone knew who he was because of his giant frame and body. He was a dual-threat player who was a pitcher and also a hitter of the longball. But, he did not always bat, since he was a pitcher.1 So, he decided that he wanted to bat a lot more. He began playing outfielder in order to be able to show off his power at the plate more. But, there was a huge controversy when the Red Sox traded Ruth to their rivals, the Yankees, where he would shine the most for the rest of his career.2
Ruth was an avid drinker and smoker throughout his entire life, even smoking during his games.3 A couple of years after his retirement, Ruth began to experience some fatigue and was starting to be unable to even swallow anything. Ruth went to the doctor to have himself checked, but, Ruth did not want to know what was causing him to become sick, so they never told him. It turned out that Ruth had developed throat cancer.
Ruth’s doctor told him that he would need to start treatment right away. Ruth began chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the same time.4 As Ruth was starting to get better, the government banned one of the drugs that was helping Ruth fight the cancer. Once the drug was banned, it became extremely hard for Ruth to get better. Instead of being able to go back to his normal routine, his condition worsened and he lost up to one-hundred pounds. A few months before his death, Ruth would make his last visit to Yankee Stadium. He had lost so much weight that the people in the stadium hardly recognized him. It would be extremely sad for someone so recognizable and also being the greatest player to ever, to end up not being recognized by the fans who once adored him.5
Babe Ruth died on August 16, 1948. A service for him was held at Yankee Stadium for people to come pay their last respects. It is estimated that around 77,000 people lined up to pay respects. Then, for his funeral, around 75,000 people waited outside of the church for him to be brought outside.6 Just like the quote in the movie The Sandlot, “Heroes get remembered, Legends never die.” Ruth’s legacy will always be known for the rest of human life.
- Bob Considine, The Babe Ruth Story (New York: Signet, 1992), 47. ↵
- Bob Considine, The Babe Ruth Story (New York: Signet, 1992), 60. ↵
- “Babe Ruth,” Biography 5, no. 12 (December 2001): 61. ↵
- David P. Steensma, “George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr: baseball star and early participant in a cancer clinical trial,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings 83, no. 11 (Nov. 2008): 1262. ↵
- Bob Considine, The Babe Ruth Story (New York: Signet, 1992), 128. ↵
- Bob Considine, The Babe Ruth Story (New York: Signet, 1992), 186. ↵
58 comments
Richard Morales
It is unfortunate that Babe Ruth did not take better care of himself. He was such a great athlete it must of been hard for his close family to see such a strong man beaten by an unforgiving disease. I was saddened to hear about him returning to Yankee Stadium and being unrecognizable to the fans. How can someones life turn so badly in such a short time. It just goes to show that tomorrow is never a guarantee for anyone.
Stephanie Silvola
It is sad that Babe Ruth’s life spiraled because of the smoking and alcohol. I knew of Babe Ruth and his career as he is the most famous player that has to be mentioned at least once by other players. Ruth and his throat cancer must have struggled terribly so I feel sympathy. This article shows that no matter how famous you are, there will always be something that can bring someone down; cancer brought Babe Ruth die and that is a tragedy.
Hailey Stewart
Although I am not personally into sports, I have read and heard many things about Babe Ruth before, but to my surprise, I have never seen his story from this angle. I was unaware of his struggles with alcohol and smoking. Cancer effects so many people. I lost my grandfather to cancer, so I can relate to what his family, and even fans, went through. He is a very ubiquitous figure.
Alexis Martinez
I am not a huge sports fan but of course, I had heard of Babe Ruth. Before reading this article, I never knew he was referred to as the “The Great Bambino”. I was sad to read how his life took a turn into this spiral of alcohol and drugs. Nowadays there are so many talented artists, actors, and athletes who fall into that life. I can imagine how hard that life must be, and despite any of his setbacks, he was still an amazing athlete to look up to.
Peter Coons
As someone with little in the way of sports knowledge, even I know of Babe Ruth. A legend in the sport that is so regarded that almost every grade school text book at one point or another mentions him. However, that’s just it. They mention him. We never found out what happened to the legend. I think the reason for that is, besides the grim tale being told to children, is that it’s the kind of thing that a man like that would want. To be remembered for how he lived, and not how he died. So much so, that he didn’t even want to know he was sick.
Lamont Traylor
I really appreciated this article because it was straight to the point of what it said it would tell. I feel like it is pretty much general knowledge that Babe Ruth was the best baseball player to ever live and his influence to the game at that critical time just made his spot as the best that much more secure. Then tragically he died of throat cancer, which I wouldn’t really consider as a “Great Fall” for the great Bambino rather than a tragic death to a great man.
Damian Jennings
Everyone has a back story. I never knew that Babe Ruth was called “The Great Bambino”, and I was not aware that he was suffering an addiction of alcohol and smoking. I learned a lot about a great baseball player, he suffered while trying to recover from his addiction, while going through chemotherapy. I thought he was living a happy, because typically successful people make loads of money; with money and fame you would think one would be happy. That wasn’t the case here, it just goes to show that even famous athletes and musicians go through troubling situations just like us “normal people”.
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
I am not much of a baseball fan nor do I play. However, Babe Ruth is someone everyone knows. He was an extremely good batter and pitcher. It is sad to see many athletes and celebrities fall into bad habits such as smoking which can come with some extremely harmful consequences. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Ruth and his fans while he went through the effects of throat cancer. Though all the struggles, Ruth will always be remembered as one of the greatest in baseball history and anyone planning to pursue baseball can look up to.
Indhira Mata
Babe Ruth is somehow always the root to ever baseball player’s career because they are inspired by his way of playing the game. It is sad to learn that a legend like him had suffer through his last days. This goes to show how being from the top and recognized by everyone can be taken away by one simple disease. Although it is great to be remembered by what you do, people only want to be recognized by how they look. Throat cancer was so unexpected, but it did not end his baseball career.
Noah Bolhuis
As a baseball player my entire life, I am ashamed to say I didn’t know that being a pitcher was what Babe Ruth did. He was known through history as a great hitter, arguably the greatest of all time. However, it is sad to see that his death was most likely caused by his smoking so heavily. One think I did learn that I really didn’t know was that they had chemotherapy and radiation treatments back during his lifetime in the early twentieth century.