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
Daniela Duran
I really loved the ending quote for this article, I think it gave a very inspirational closure to a great story. I had actually never heard about this player given that I am not a huge baseball fan, but even though I did not follow his career, this article allowed me to create a positive and inspirational image of him. I feel quite disappointed for the fact that his smoking habits gave an end to such a great career, but I am no one to judge, and I still feel proud of his many achievements. I was impressed by the fact he did not want to be told what was causing his disease…I wonder if he just wanted to deny the fact that the smoking could have provoked the disease in the first place? I also feel very sorry for the fact the government banned the only medicine that was actually effective on him…perhaps if that had not happened, he would even had been able to play once again. As the author said, legends will never die, and for what I have read I can clearly say that such a didactic player will never be forgotten.
Raymond Munoz
I was born and raised to love baseball, because my dad loved it. My mom told me about all the baseball stuff he bought me as baby, from the t-shirts to the baseball mobile. So, naturally i played t-ball and some little league but I didn’t pursue the sport just because it wasn’t my passion. Though, just because it wasn’t my passion doesn’t mean I stopped watch baseball movies and learning about the history. The first baseball movie I ever watched was the “The Sandlot”, that is where I first heard of “The Great Bambino”. From there my knowledge of Babe Ruth only expanded to his incredible history on the field, so, to read about how this great athlete was crippled by his own body is really depressing. Even though Babe Ruth met a tragic end he still is an inspiration to ballplayers and people everywhere.
Didier Cadena
I was not too familiar with Babe Ruth’s later years. So it was really interesting to read about them. It was sad to read about how difficult his final years were because of his throat cancer, something that i was not aware that he had. It must have been terrible to see him as a shell of his former self. The article does a great job of putting all the infor.ation together and put it in a way that is easy to read.
Bictor Martinez
I never have seen or played baseball in my life, but one name I will always remember in baseball is Babe Ruth. I understood that he was the best player to ever play that sport, but I did not know the struggles he was going up against in his career. As he is getting better, the government decided to ban the drug that was helping to heal Ruth. That is extremely suspicious. I can only imagine the heartbreak of the greatest player in baseball being told that he cannot play ever again due to his conditions.
Jose Fernandez
It is very sad to read about Ruth’s cancer. Even though I am not a baseball fan, I have heard about his dominance and greatness. His story should serve as an example for every professional athlete. Many of them forget what is truly important in life and fall into several addictions. Even though he had a relative short life, he managed to change the world of baseball and became a legend.
Cooper Dubrule
I think that Babe Ruth was one of the most prominent athletes of his time and all time as well. This article really did well when it came to illustrating Babe Ruth for who he was and what he stood for as well as digging into his personal life and struggles that came behind the scenes of his great baseball career.
Luke Lopez
Babe Ruth was the best baseball player who ever lived, and it is sad that his life ended in a tragedy. The throat cancer which he was diagnosed with is what eventually caused his early death at the age of fifty-three. This article shows the shortness and uncertainty of human life, and why we should make the most out of every day.
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
It’s important to recognize the great legacy that Babe Ruth left behind, and is a real tragedy what happened to him. For me was surprising his cause of death since I wasn’t aware of it. This article serves as a reminder that everything can change from one to day to another, your lifestyle, your health and the way people look at you, it’s shocking and sad how after all that he went through their fans were not able to recognize him in the end.
Nathan Alba
I have always been a big baseball fan, but have never known how Babe Ruth died. I thought this article did well to explain the cause of his death, as well as the Babe’s lack of interest into what was making him sick. Also the unfortunate banning of the drug being used as his treatment seemed interesting, who knows if the treatment had not been banned; how the Babe’s life could have been different.
Adrian Cook
Babe Ruth at the time was an all time great and still to this day is a name many fans of the game will never forget. It’s sad that such a tragedy had to happen to him as I never knew he developed throat cancer and would eventually pass away from it. Babe Ruth will go on to live in full spirit knowing many people looked up to him as he changed the game with his skills. Baseball is forever changing and it’s all thanks to the stepping stones in the years before us.