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
Roman Olivera
It doesn’t matter if your a lifelong fan of baseball, like myself, or a person who has no interest in sports, we have all heard of this inspirational person, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, that was bigger than life it self. A figure so imposing and powerful that he captured America’s attention in the early 1900’s after war and during the great depression, in a time when people needed someone to believe in. The stories about “the Great Bambino,” are still amazing and interesting to us today because he was a man from humble broken beginnings, that rose to a hero of the times and still lives on as a legendary figure. That sad thing about this legend is that he died such a tragic and painful death. This was a nice brief article on the life and ultimate fall of an American Icon.
Eloisa Sanchez Urrea
I had often heard the name Babe Ruth, but until this article I never knew the many nicknames he had, or how great his contribution had been to baseball. This article also served as a reminder that from one day to the next our worlds can completely change. A man who was once recognized and admired for his talent had his world turned upside down. He was diagnosed with cancer and his health deteriorated to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. Nonetheless, his legacy will be remembered.
Micaela Cruz
Whether or not you are a baseball fan, everybody knows Babe Ruth. As mentioned in the last lines, Babe Ruth left behind a legacy, one that could never be forgotten. I did enjoy this article, it gave me more knowledge of Babe Ruth that I wasn’t aware of, such as his cause of death. However, I personally felt the article was too short; if there had been just a bit more background on his life and all he accomplished while playing baseball, I would have liked the article more. Despite that one criticism, one point that I did love was how the author alluded to the classic movie “Sandlot”
Carlos Robles
I have always known about Babe Ruth and who he was mostly due to the movie that you mention in this article, “The Sandlot”. Other than that I did not know much. I especially did not even know how he even passed away. I am not shocked that it was cancer that ended his life. My grandfather also passed away due to throat cancer. It made me sad when I read that his own fans hardly recognized him due to his major weight loss. He truly was a legend.
Irene Astran
I love the introduction you gave this article. Many who are not avid sports watchers can connect because this alludes to The Sandlot movie. I immediately read it in and thought of the characters referring to the player. I never read other material about the player so I found it sad to hear that he had such habits that led to his death.
Alexandria Zapata
I remember doing a project on Babe Ruth in high school. I never realized that the drug that he had to use for his treatment got banned, and pretty much prevented him to get any better. Also I didn’t know that they held the ceremony for him at the Yankee Stadium and so many people showed up to his funeral. I love the Sandlot reference too, “Heroes get remembered, but Legends never die.” I love that quote.
Caden Floyd
Babe Ruth is one of my all time favorite baseball players and you still managed to teach me more from this article that I already knew. I think it is interesting how he started with the Red Sox and ended up becoming famous while playing for their rival, the New York Yankees. He is truly a legend and of course the memory of him will never die.
Reagan Meuret
This article comes across as very informative as I had never realized the cause behind Babe Ruth’s death. I had known he was a smoker and drinker, but had never realized he developed throat cancer because of it. It is a tragedy that the drug that helped maintain his health was banned, as he was such an important figure to baseball. It is also a tragedy that the fan base which worshipped him could not even recognize their once hero.