Babe Ruth

From Baltimore to a Pro Contract

Long before Babe Ruth became baseball's most famous home-run hitter, he was an outstanding left-handed pitcher. George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1895. At age seven, his family placed him at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. There he learned practical skills and played many positions in baseball. Brother Matthias Boutlier, one of the school's Xaverian Brothers, helped him develop his pitching, hitting, and fielding.

In 1914, Baltimore Orioles owner and manager Jack Dunn signed the 19-year-old to a professional contract. Ruth soon moved to the Boston Red Sox and made his major-league debut that July. His strong arm, sharp curveball, and calm work on the mound made pitching his first path to stardom.

A Pitcher Becomes a Power Hitter

Ruth won 89 games during six seasons with Boston. He helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 1915, 1916, and 1918, and once set a World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings. Yet his bat was becoming impossible to ignore. Boston began putting him in the outfield on days when he was not pitching so he could hit more often.

In 1919, Ruth set a major-league single-season record with 29 home runs. After that season, the Red Sox sold his contract to the New York Yankees for $100,000. He answered with 54 home runs in 1920 and 59 in 1921. Those towering totals drew huge crowds and helped move baseball toward a style built around powerful hitting rather than mostly bunts, stolen bases, and low scores.

Home Runs, Crowds, and Championships

Ruth's Yankees reached their first World Series in 1921. In 1923, the team opened Yankee Stadium, and Ruth hit the ballpark's first home run while the Yankees went on to win their first World Series championship. His most famous season came in 1927, when he hit 60 home runs. That record lasted 34 years. During Ruth's 15 seasons in New York, the Yankees won seven American League pennants and four World Series titles.

Newspapers, radio, photographs, and movies carried Ruth's larger-than-life image far beyond the ballpark. He could be playful and generous, but he also broke team and league rules; after an unauthorized barnstorming tour, baseball officials suspended him for the start of the 1922 season. His story is more useful when it includes both the thrilling performances and the human mistakes. Ruth finished his playing career with the Boston Braves in 1935 and retired with 714 home runs.

A Record Book with a Wider Story

Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. The Yankees retired his number 3 on June 13, 1948. He died from cancer in New York on August 16, 1948, at age 53. His career home-run record stood until Hank Aaron hit number 715 in 1974.

Ruth's major-league career also took place while organized baseball excluded Black players. Stars in the Negro Leagues were denied the same path to the Yankees or Red Sox, so Ruth did not compete in league games against every top player of his era. Even with that essential context, his rare success as both a pitcher and hitter and his dramatic home runs changed what crowds expected from baseball. His wider contribution lies in how he reshaped the sport while becoming an early example of an athlete known across the country.