Babe Ruth (Baseball Legend) - On This Day
Publish date: 2024-08-04
Full Name: George Herman Ruth, Jr.
Profession: Baseball Legend
Biography: Nicknamed "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", Ruth is widely considered the greatest baseball player of all time and one of the most significant American sporting icons. One of the first five people chose to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ruth set numerous records in his lifetime.
Originally a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Ruth achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. In 1927, as part of the Murderer's Row lineup, he scored 60 home runs.
Ruth's larger-than-life persona made him a legendary figure of the 1920s, and his off-field behavior was often controversial. Ruth became ill with cancer in 1946 and died two years later.
Born: February 6, 1895
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Generation: Lost Generation
Star Sign: Aquarius
Died: August 16, 1948 (aged 53)
Cause of Death: Cancer
Playing Career
- 1914-04-22 Babe Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
- 1914-07-07 Baltimore Orioles owner Jack Dunn offers future baseball legend Babe Ruth, Ernie Shore & Ben Egan for $10k to Connie Mack (Philadelphia A's); refuses pleading lack of finance
- 1914-07-09 Boston Red Sox purchase future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth's contract from minor league Baltimore Orioles
- 1914-07-11 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth makes his MLB debut as a pitcher for Boston Red Sox; earns 4-3 win against the Cleveland Naps at Fenway Park
- 1915-05-06 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth hits his first MLB home run; pitches 12 frames in Boston Red Sox 4-3 extra innings loss to New York Yankees
- 1917-05-07 In a testament to his pitching ability, future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth leads Boston Red Sox to a 1-0 victory against Washington Senators legend Walter Johnson
- 1917-06-23 Ernie Shore enters game after Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth is ejected for throwing punch at umpire; retires all 26 batters he faces to win 4-0 vs Washington Senators; ruled combined no-hitter
- 1919-09-20 Legendary baseball slugger Babe Ruth ties Ned Williamson's MLB mark of 27 home runs with a 9th inning blast in Boston Red Sox 4-3 win against Chicago White Sox
- 1919-09-24 Boston Red Sox slugger Babe Ruth sets MLB season home run record at 28 off Yankee Bob Shawkey in a 2-1 loss at the Polo Grounds in NYC
- 1919-09-27 Boston Red Sox slugger Babe Ruth takes his MLB home run record to 29 with a 3rd inning blast in a 7-5 defeat at the Washington Senators' Griffith Stadium
- 1919-12-26 Yankees and Boston Red Sox reach agreement to move future Baseball Hall of Fame pitching slugger Babe Ruth to New York
- 1920-01-03 Boston Red Sox baseball club owner Harry Frazee announces agreement to sell slugger Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash and a $350,000 loan; start of the 84 year "Curse of the Bambino"
- 1920-05-01 Legendary slugger Babe Ruth records his first HR for the New York Yankees in 6-0 win over his former club, the Boston Red Sox
- 1920-07-19 Babe Ruth hits his 30th home run of the 1920 baseball season, breaking his own single-season record. He would attain 54 throughout the season, before breaking that record the next year.
- 1920-09-24 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth becomes first to hit 50 home runs in a MLB season with a 1st inning blast off Jose Acosta in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Senators
- 1920-09-29 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth sets then-MLB home run season record at 54 with a 9th inning shot off Dave Keefe in New York's 7-3 win at the Philadelphia A's
- 1921-07-15 NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record of 138 career home runs (held by Roger Connor since 1895) in 7-2 win over St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis
- 1921-07-18 Babe Ruth achieves 139 home runs with a MLB record 575 feet hit to become the all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball, taking the title from Roger Connor
- 1921-08-28 Babe Ruth starts streak of an extra-base hit in 9 straight games
- 1921-10-02 New York Yankees outfielder Babe Ruth hits then record 59th HR in 7-6 win over former club Boston Red Sox at Polo Grounds, NYC
- 1921-10-09 Babe Ruth hits 1st World Series home run; only Sunday game ever pitched by Carl Mays
- 1922-03-06 Babe Ruth signs 3 year contract with NY Yankees at $52,000 a year
- 1922-05-20 Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel, previously suspended by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, return to the NY Yankees lineup and go hitless
- 1922-05-25 Babe Ruth suspended 1 day and fined $200 for throwing dirt on an umpire
- 1922-06-12 Browns pitcher Hub Pruett strikes out future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth 3 consecutive times as St. Louis beats New York Yankees, 7 - 1 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis
- 1922-08-30 Babe Ruth is thrown out of a game for 5th time in 1922
- 1923-10-11 A pair of Babe Ruth home runs in the 4th and 5th innings is the difference; NY Yankees beat NY Giants, 4-2 at the Polo Grounds to tie World Series, 1-1
- 1923-10-23 Legendary Yankees slugger Babe Ruth makes a postseason exhibition appearance in a rival Giants uniform as NY beats Baltimore Orioles, 9-0 in a benefit game for former Giants owner John Day
- 1925-04-05 Yankees whip Dodgers in exhibition 16-9 but Babe Ruth collapses in NC due to an ulcer
- 1925-04-09 At the height of his fame Babe Ruth rushed to hospital with a mysterious condition labelled “the bellyache heard round the world". Ruth reported dead by some newspapers.
- 1925-04-17 NY Yankee Babe Ruth has ulcer surgery
- 1925-05-26 Babe Ruth is finally out of bed, 5 weeks after ulcer surgery
- 1925-08-09 Only time Babe Ruth pinch-hit for, Bobby Veach flies out
- 1925-08-29 After a night on the town, Babe Ruth shows up late for batting practice Miller Huggins suspends Ruth & slaps a $5,000 fine on him
- 1926-10-06 Babe Ruth becomes first MLB player to hit 3 home runs in a World Series game as NY Yankees beat St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5 in Game 4 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis
- 1927-03-04 Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in MLB history when he signs 3-year, $70,000 per season contract with the New York Yankees
- 1927-04-15 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth hits #1 of MLB record season 60 HRs; tees off on A's Howard Ehmke in 1st inning of New York's 6-3 win over Philadelphia
- 1927-06-11 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth hits 19th & 20th homers of MLB season record 60 HRs in New York's 6-4 win over Cleveland Indians at Yankees Stadium
- 1927-07-12 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth, half way to his MLB record of 60 home runs, smacks #30 off Joe Shautes in 9th inning in New York's 7-0 win over Cleveland Indians at Dunn Field in Cleveland
- 1927-08-16 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth tees off Tommy Thomas in the 5th inning to hit first HR hit out of Comiskey Park, Chicago; New York beats White Sox, 8-1
- 1927-08-22 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth hits 40th home run during his MLB record 60 HR season in New York's 9-4 loss to Cleveland Indians at Dunn Field
- 1927-09-11 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth hits 50th home run during his MLB record 60 HR season in New York's 6-2 loss to St. Louis Browns at Yankee Stadium
- 1927-09-13 NY Yankees clinch AL pennant after 5-3 win over Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium; Babe Ruth hits HR #52 en route to MLB record 60
- 1927-09-29 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games; New York's 7-4 win v Philadelphia A's and 15-4 rout of Washington Senators
- 1927-09-30 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in 8th inning of New York's 4-2 win over Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium
- 1928-08-01 Babe Ruth hits home run #42 in the Yankees 12-1 win v St. Louis Browns, takes him 4 weeks ahead of his 1927 pace
- 1928-10-09 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Sportsman's Park to become first to sweep consecutive World Series; Babe Ruth hits smashes 3 HRs for Yanks
- 1929-08-07 NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games for the second time in a 13-1 win against the Philadelphia Athletics
- 1929-08-11 New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth becomes the first MLB player to hit 500 home runs (off Willis Hudlin) in a 6-5 loss to the Indians at League Park, Cleveland
- 1930-03-08 Baseball slugger Babe Ruth signs 2-year contract for a then huge $160,000 with NY Yankees; GM Ed Barrow, wrongly predicts "No one will ever be paid more than Ruth"
- 1930-05-21 Yankees' legendary slugger Babe Ruth hits 3 HRs as NY blows 6-0 lead in 4th against Philadelphia A's at Shibe Park; go on to lose, 15-7
- 1930-05-24 NY Yankees' legendary slugger Babe Ruth homers in both games of a doubleheader (beat Philadelphia A's 10-6 & 11-1); gives him 9 HR's in one week
- 1931-04-02 17-year old girl Jackie Mitchell strikes out New York Yankees stars Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition baseball game at Engel Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 1931-04-26 Lou Gehrig hits a HR but is called out for passing a runner, mistake costs him AL home run crown; he & Babe Ruth tie for season
- 1931-08-21 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth becomes the first MLB player to hit 600 career home runs as NY defeats St. Louis Browns, 11-7 at Sportsman's Park
- 1932-07-20 An injured Babe Ruth entertains the touring Australian cricketers in his private box at Yankee Stadium as his NY Yankees beat Chicago White Sox, 7-2; 'The Babe' meets 'The Don' (Don Bradman)
- 1932-10-01 Babe Ruth’s legendary call; sledged by Cubs dugout, points to center-field before homering into the Wrigley Field bleachers in 5th inning, Game 3 of the World Series; NY Yankees win, 7-5
- 1933-07-06 1st MLB All Star Game: AL wins 4-2 at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Babe Ruth hits first All Star home run
- 1933-10-01 Babe Ruth makes his final pitching appearance in MLB; pitches all 9 innings in a season ending 6-5 win v Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium; hits his 34th home run of the season in 5th inning
- 1933-12-29 New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth to manage the Cincinnati Reds
- 1934-01-15 New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth, nearing end of illustrious career, signs a 1-year contract worth $35,000; represents a pay cut of $17,000 for "The Babe"
- 1934-04-05 Baseball superstar Babe Ruth agrees to do three 15-minute broadcasts a week over NBC for a fee of $39,000 for 13 weeks; $4,000 more than his NY Yankees playing contract
- 1934-07-05 Lou Gehrig hits record 17th career grand slam in Yankees 8-3 win v Washington, passes Babe Ruth's total
- 1934-07-10 NL pitcher Carl Hubbell strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin for MLB All Star game record for consecutive strikeouts; AL still win, 9-7
- 1934-07-13 Babe Ruth hits 700th career home run against Detroit
- 1934-07-14 NY Times erroneously declares Babe Ruth 700 HR record to stand for all time
- 1934-07-17 Babe Ruth draws his 2,000th base on balls at Cleveland
- 1934-08-10 Babe Ruth announces this is his final season as full time player
- 1934-09-24 2,500 fans see Babe Ruth's farewell Yankee appearance at Yankee Stadium
- 1934-09-30 Babe Ruth's final game as a Yankee, goes 0 for 3
- 1934-10-20 MLB All-Star team led by Connie Mack and including Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig sails to Japan for 18-game series against Big-Six University League
- 1934-11-02 MLB All-Star team led by Connie Mack and including Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig starts 18-game tour against Japanese Big-Six University League
- 1935-02-26 NY Yankees release Babe Ruth, he signs with Boston Braves
- 1935-04-16 40-year-old future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth debuts in the NL with a HR and single in Boston Braves 4-2 win over the NY Giants, in Boston
- 1935-05-25 Babe Ruth hits his last 3 home runs in Pittsburgh, Boston Braves still lose the game 11–7 to the Pirates
- 1935-05-30 Philadelphia pitcher Jim Bivin retires Babe Ruth on an infield grounder in "the Babe's" final MLB at-bat; Ruth plays just 1 inning in Boston Braves, 11-6 loss to Phillies at the Baker Bowl
- 1935-06-02 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth announces his retirement as a player at 40 years of age
- 1936-01-29 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
- 1936-03-09 Babe Ruth turns down Reds to make a comeback as a player
- 1937-03-25 It is revealed Quaker Oats pays Babe Ruth $25,000 per year for ads
- 1938-06-18 Baseball slugger Babe Ruth is signed as a Brooklyn Dodgers coach for the remainder of the season
- 1942-08-23 Walter Johnson pitches to Babe Ruth in pregame attraction that draws 69,000 for NYY-Washington MLB doubleheader at Yankee Stadium; raises $80,000 for Army-Navy relief
- 1947-04-27 Babe Ruth Day celebrated at Yankee Stadium and throughout the US
- 1948-06-13 Babe Ruth's final farewell at Yankee Stadium, he dies Aug 16th
- 1948-07-26 "Babe Ruth Story" premieres, Babe Ruth's last public appearance
- 1949-04-19 Yankees dedicate a plaque for Babe Ruth
- 1953-04-30 Little-Bigger League changes its name to Babe Ruth League
- 1961-07-18 Commissioner Ford Frick rules Babe Ruth's record of 60 HR in 154-game sched in 1927, must be broken in 1st 154 of 162 games
- 1997-09-10 Mark McGwire joins Babe Ruth as only the players to hit 50 HRs in 2 consecutive years
- 2006-05-28 Barry Bonds hits his 715th career home run, passing Babe Ruth on the MLB all-time list
- 2019-06-15 Baseball jersey belonging to Babe Ruth becomes most expensive sports memorabilia when it sells for $5.64 million at an auction in New York
Personal Life
- 1914-10-17 American baseball legend Babe Ruth (19) weds waitress Helen Woodford (17) at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Ellicott City, Maryland
- 1929-04-17 Baseball great Babe Ruth (34) marries 2nd wife Claire Merritt Hodgson (31)
References
Famous Baseball Players
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