text: babe ruth george herman ruth jr . ( february 6 , 1895 – august 16 , 1948 ) , better known as babe ruth , was an american professional baseball player whose career in major league baseball ( mlb ) spanned 22 seasons , from 1914 through 1935 . nicknamed " the bambino " and " the sultan of swat " , he began his mlb career as a stellar left - handed pitcher for the boston red sox , but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the new york yankees . ruth established many mlb batting ( and some pitching ) records , including career home runs ( 714 ) , runs batted in ( rbis ) ( 2 , 213 ) , bases on balls ( 2 , 062 ) , slugging percentage ( .690 ) , and on - base plus slugging ( ops ) ( 1 . 164 ) ; the latter two still stand today . ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in american culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time . in 1936 , ruth was elected into the baseball hall of fame as one of its " first five " inaugural members . at age seven , ruth was sent to st. mary 's industrial school for boys , a reformatory where he learned life lessons and baseball skills from brother matthias of the christian brothers , the school 's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player . in 1914 , ruth was signed to play minor - league baseball for the baltimore orioles but was soon sold to the red sox . by 1916 , he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs , a feat unusual for any player in the pre - 1920 dead - ball era . although ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three world series championship teams with boston , he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder . with regular playing time , he broke the mlb single - season home run record in 1919 . after that season , red sox owner harry frazee controversially sold ruth to the yankees , an act that , coupled with boston 's subsequent championship drought , popularized the " curse of the bambino " superstition . in his 15 years with new york , ruth helped the yankees win seven american league ( al ) championships and four world series championships . his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only drew fans to the ballpark and boosted the sport 's popularity but also helped usher in the live - ball era of baseball , in which it evolved from a low - scoring game of strategy to a sport where the home run was a major factor . as part of the yankees ' vaunted " murderer 's row " lineup of 1927 , ruth hit 60 home runs , extending his mlb single - season record . he retired in 1935 after a short stint with the boston braves . during his career , ruth led the al in home runs during a season twelve times . ruth 's legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger - than - life figure in the " roaring twenties " . during his career , he was the target of intense press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off - field penchants for drinking and womanizing . his often reckless lifestyle was tempered by his willingness to do good by visiting children at hospitals and orphanages . he was denied a job in baseball for most of his retirement , most likely due to poor behavior during parts of his playing career . in his final years , ruth made many public appearances , especially in support of american efforts in world war ii . in 1946 , he became ill with cancer , and died two years later . early years george herman ruth jr. was born in 1895 at 216 emory street in , a working - class section of baltimore , maryland , named for its meat - packing plants . its population included recent immigrants from ireland , germany and italy , and african americans . ruth 's parents , george herman ruth , sr. ( 1871 – 1918 ) , and katherine , were both of german american ancestry . according to the 1880 census , his parents were born in maryland . the paternal grandparents of ruth , sr. were from prussia and hanover , respectively . ruth , sr. had a series of jobs , including lightning rod salesman and streetcar operator , before becoming a in a family - owned combination grocery and saloon on frederick street . george ruth jr. was born in the house of his maternal grandfather , pius , a german immigrant and trade unionist . only one of young george 's seven siblings , his younger sister mamie , survived infancy . many aspects of ruth 's childhood are undetermined , including the date of his parents ' marriage . when young george was a toddler , the family moved to 339 south street , not far from the rail yards ; by the time the boy was 6 , his father had a saloon with an upstairs apartment at 426 west camden street . details are equally scanty about why young george was sent at the age of 7 to st. mary 's industrial school for boys , a reformatory and orphanage . as an adult , babe ruth suggested that not only had he been running the streets and rarely attending school , he was drinking beer when his father was not looking . some accounts say that , after a violent incident at his father 's saloon , the city authorities decided this environment was unsuitable for a small child . at st. mary 's , which george jr. entered on june 13 , 1902 , he was recorded as " incorrigible " ; he spent much of the next twelve years there . although st. mary 's inmates received an education , students were also expected to learn work skills and help operate the school , particularly once the boys turned 12 . ruth became a , and was also proficient as a carpenter . he would adjust his own shirt collars , rather than having a tailor do it , even during his well - paid baseball career . the boys , aged 5 to 21 , did most work around the facility , from cooking to shoemaking , and renovated st. mary 's in 1912 . the food was simple , and the xaverian brothers who ran the school insisted on strict discipline ; corporal punishment was common . ruth 's nickname there was " " , as he had large facial features and was darker than most boys at the all - white reformatory . ruth was sometimes allowed to rejoin his family , or was placed at st. james 's home , a supervised residence with work in the community , but he was always returned to st. mary 's . he rarely was visited by his family ; his mother died when he was 12 and by some accounts , he was permitted to leave st. mary 's only to attend the funeral . how ruth came to play baseball there is uncertain : according to one account , his placement at st. mary 's was due in part to repeatedly breaking baltimore 's windows with long hits while playing street ball ; by another , he was told to join a team on his first day at st. mary 's by the school 's athletic director , brother herman , becoming a catcher even though left - handers rarely play that position . during his time there he also played third base and shortstop , again unusual for a left - hander , and was forced to wear mitts and gloves made for right - handers . he was encouraged in his pursuits by the school 's prefect of discipline , brother matthias , a native of nova scotia . a large man , brother matthias was greatly respected by the boys both for his strength and for his fairness . for the rest of his life , ruth would praise brother matthias , and his running and hitting styles closely resembled his teacher 's . ruth stated , " i think i was born as a hitter the first day i ever saw him hit a baseball . " the older man became a mentor and role model to george ; biographer robert w. creamer commented on the closeness between the two : ruth revered brother matthias ... which is remarkable , considering that matthias was in charge of making boys behave and that ruth was one of the great natural of all time . ... george ruth caught brother matthias ' attention early , and the calm , considerable attention the big man gave the young from the waterfront struck a spark of response in the boy 's soul ... [ that may have ] blunted a few of the more savage teeth in the gross man whom i have heard at least a half - dozen of his baseball contemporaries describe with admiring awe and wonder as " an animal . " the school 's influence remained with ruth in other ways : a lifelong catholic , he would sometimes attend mass after carousing all night , and he became a well - known member of the knights of columbus . he would visit orphanages , schools , and hospitals throughout his life , often avoiding publicity . he was generous to st. mary 's as he became famous and rich , donating money and his presence at fundraisers , and spending $ 5 , 000 to buy brother matthias a cadillac in 1926 — subsequently replacing it when it was destroyed in an accident . nevertheless , his biographer leigh montville suggests that many of the off - the - field excesses of ruth 's career were driven by the deprivations of his time at st. mary 's . most of the boys at st. mary 's played baseball , with organized leagues at different levels of proficiency . ruth later estimated that he played 200 games a year as he steadily climbed the ladder of success . although he played all positions at one time or another ( including infield positions generally reserved for right - handers ) , he gained stardom as a pitcher . according to brother matthias , ruth was standing to one side laughing at the bumbling pitching efforts of fellow students , and matthias told him to go in and see if he could do better . after becoming the best pitcher at st. mary 's , in 1913 , when ruth was 18 , he was allowed to leave the premises to play weekend games on teams drawn from the community . he was mentioned in several newspaper articles , for both his pitching prowess and ability to hit long home runs . professional baseball minor league , baltimore orioles in early 1914 , ruth was signed to a professional baseball contract by jack dunn , owner and manager of the minor - league baltimore orioles , an international league team . the circumstances of ruth 's signing cannot be stated with certainty , with historical fact obscured by stories that cannot all be true . by some accounts , dunn was urged to attend a game between an all - star team from st. mary 's and one from another xaverian facility , mount st. mary 's college . some versions have ruth running away before the eagerly awaited game , to return in time to be punished , and then pitching st. mary 's to victory as dunn watched . others have washington senators pitcher joe engel , a mount st. mary 's graduate , pitching in an alumni game after watching a preliminary contest between the college 's freshmen and a team from st. mary 's , including ruth . engel watched ruth play , then told dunn about him at a chance meeting in washington . ruth , in his autobiography , stated only that he worked out for dunn for a half - hour , and was signed . according to biographer kal wagenheim , there were legal difficulties to be straightened out as ruth was supposed to remain at the school until he turned 21 . the train journey to spring training in fayetteville , north carolina , in early march was likely ruth 's first outside the baltimore area . the rookie ballplayer was the subject of various pranks by the veterans , who were probably also the source of his famous nickname . there are various accounts of how ruth came to be called babe , but most center on his being referred to as " 's babe " or a variant . " babe " was at that time a common nickname in baseball , with perhaps the most famous to that point being pittsburgh pirates pitcher and 1909 world series hero babe adams , who appeared younger than he was . babe ruth 's first appearance as a professional ballplayer was in an intersquad game on march 7 , 1914 . ruth played shortstop , and pitched the last two innings of a 15 – 9 victory . in his second at bat , ruth hit a long home run to right , which was reported locally to be longer than a legendary shot hit in fayetteville by jim thorpe . his first appearance against a team in organized baseball was an exhibition against the major - league philadelphia phillies : ruth pitched the middle three innings , giving up two runs in the fourth , but then settling down and pitching a scoreless fifth and sixth . the following afternoon , ruth was put in during the sixth inning against the phillies and did not allow a run the rest of the way . the orioles scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to overcome a 6 – 0 deficit , making ruth the winning pitcher . once the regular season began , ruth was a star pitcher who was also dangerous at the plate . the team performed well , yet received almost no attention from the baltimore press . a third major league , the federal league , had begun play , and the local franchise , the baltimore terrapins , restored that city to the major leagues for the first time since 1902 . few fans visited oriole park , where ruth and his teammates labored in relative obscurity . ruth may have been offered a bonus and a larger salary to jump to the terrapins ; when rumors to that effect swept baltimore , giving ruth the most publicity he had experienced to date , a terrapins official denied it , stating it was their policy not to sign players under contract to dunn . the competition from the terrapins caused dunn to sustain large losses . although by late june the orioles were in first place , having won over two - thirds of their games , the paid attendance dropped as low as 150 . dunn explored a possible move by the orioles to richmond , virginia , as well as the sale of a minority interest in the club . these possibilities fell through , leaving dunn with little choice other than to sell his best players to major league teams to raise money . he offered ruth to the reigning world series champions , connie mack 's philadelphia athletics , but mack had his own financial problems . the cincinnati reds and new york giants expressed interest in ruth , but dunn sold his contract , along with those of pitchers ernie shore and ben egan , to the boston red sox of the american league ( al ) on july 4 . the sale price was announced as $ 25 , 000 but other reports lower the amount to half that , or possibly $ 8 , 500 plus the cancellation of a $ 3 , 000 loan . ruth remained with the orioles for several days while the red sox completed a road trip , and reported to the team in boston on july 11 . boston red sox ( 1914 – 19 ) developing star ruth arrived in boston on july 11 , 1914 , along with egan and shore . ruth later told of meeting the woman he would first marry , helen woodford , that morning — she was then a 16 - year - old waitress at landers coffee shop , and ruth related that she served him when he had breakfast there . other stories , though , suggest the meeting happened on another day , and perhaps under other circumstances . regardless of when he began to woo his first wife , he won his first game for the red sox that afternoon , 4 – 3 , over the cleveland naps . he pitched to catcher bill carrigan , who was also the red sox manager . shore was given a start by carrigan the next day ; he won that and his second start and thereafter was pitched regularly . ruth lost his second start , and was thereafter little used . as a batter , in his major - league debut , ruth went 0 - for - 2 against left - hander willie mitchell , striking out in his first at bat , before being removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning . ruth was not much noticed by the fans , as bostonians watched the red sox 's crosstown rivals , the braves , begin a legendary comeback that would take them from last place on the fourth of july to the 1914 world series championship . egan was traded to cleveland after two weeks on the boston roster . during his time as a red sox , he kept an eye on the inexperienced ruth , much as dunn had in baltimore . when he was traded , no one took his place as supervisor . ruth 's new teammates considered him brash , and would have preferred him , as a rookie , to remain quiet and inconspicuous . when ruth insisted on taking batting practice despite his being both a rookie who did not play regularly , and a pitcher , he arrived to find his bats sawn in half . his teammates nicknamed him " the big baboon " , a name the swarthy ruth , who had disliked the nickname " " at st. mary 's , detested . ruth had received a raise on promotion to the major leagues , and quickly acquired tastes for fine food , liquor , and women , among other temptations . manager carrigan allowed ruth to pitch two exhibition games in mid - august . although ruth won both against minor - league competition , he was not restored to the pitching rotation . it is uncertain why carrigan did not give ruth additional opportunities to pitch . there are legends — filmed for the screen in the babe ruth story ( 1948 ) — that the young pitcher had a habit of signaling his intent to throw a curveball by sticking out his tongue slightly , and that he was easy to hit until this changed . creamer pointed out that it is common for inexperienced pitchers to display such habits , and the need to break ruth of his would not constitute a reason to not use him at all . the biographer suggested that carrigan was unwilling to use ruth due to poor behavior by the rookie . on july 30 , 1914 , boston owner joseph lannin had purchased the minor - league providence grays , members of the international league . the providence team had been owned by several people associated with the detroit tigers , including star hitter ty cobb , and as part of the transaction , a providence pitcher was sent to the tigers . to soothe providence fans upset at losing a star , lannin announced that the red sox would soon send a replacement to the grays . this was intended to be ruth , but his departure for providence was delayed when cincinnati reds owner garry herrmann claimed him off waivers . after lannin wrote to herrmann explaining that the red sox wanted ruth in providence so he could develop as a player , and would not release him to a major league club , herrmann allowed ruth to be sent to the minors . carrigan later stated that ruth was not sent down to providence to make him a better player , but to help the grays win the international league pennant ( league championship ) . ruth joined the grays on august 18 , 1914 . what was left of the baltimore orioles after dunn 's deals had managed to hold on to first place until august 15 , after which they continued to fade , leaving the pennant race between providence and rochester . ruth was deeply impressed by providence manager " wild bill " donovan , previously a star pitcher with a 25 – 4 win – loss record for detroit in 1907 ; in later years , he credited donovan with teaching him much about pitching . ruth was called upon often to pitch , in one stretch starting ( and winning ) four games in eight days . on september 5 in toronto , ruth pitched a one - hit 9 – 0 victory , and hit his first professional home run , his only one as a minor leaguer , off ellis johnson . recalled to boston after providence finished the season in first place , he pitched and won a game for the red sox against the new york yankees on october 2 , getting his first major league hit , a double . ruth finished the season with a record of 2 – 1 as a major leaguer and 23 – 8 in the international league ( for baltimore and providence ) . once the season concluded , ruth married helen in ellicott city , maryland . creamer speculated that they did not marry in baltimore , where the newlyweds boarded with george ruth , sr. , to avoid possible interference from those at st. mary 's — both bride and groom were not yet of age and ruth remained on parole from that institution until his 21st birthday . ruth reported to his first major league spring training in hot springs , arkansas , in march 1915 . despite a relatively successful first season , he was not slated to start regularly for the red sox , who had two stellar left - handed pitchers already : the established stars dutch leonard , who had broken the record for the lowest earned run average ( era ) in a single season ; and ray collins , a 20 - game winner in both 1913 and 1914 . ruth was ineffective in his first start , taking the loss in the third game of the season . injuries and ineffective pitching by other boston pitchers gave ruth another chance , and after some good relief appearances , carrigan allowed ruth another start , and he won a rain - shortened seven inning game . ten days later , the manager had him start against the new york yankees at the polo grounds . ruth took a 3 – 2 lead into the ninth , but lost the game 4 – 3 in 13 innings . ruth , hitting ninth as was customary for pitchers , hit a massive home run into the upper deck in right field off of jack warhop . at the time , home runs were rare in baseball , and ruth 's majestic shot awed the crowd . the winning pitcher , warhop , would in august 1915 conclude a major league career of eight seasons , undistinguished but for being the first major league pitcher to give up a home run to babe ruth . carrigan was sufficiently impressed by ruth 's pitching to give him a spot in the starting rotation . ruth finished the 1915 season 18 – 8 as a pitcher ; as a hitter , he batted .315 and had four home runs . the red sox won the al pennant , but with the pitching staff healthy , ruth was not called upon to pitch in the 1915 world series against the philadelphia phillies . boston won in five games ; ruth was used as a pinch hitter in game five , but grounded out against phillies ace grover cleveland alexander . despite his success as a pitcher , ruth was acquiring a reputation for long home runs ; at sportsman 's park against the st. louis browns , a ruth hit soared over grand avenue , breaking the window of a chevrolet dealership . in 1916 , there was attention focused on ruth for his pitching , as he engaged in repeated pitching duels with the ace of the washington senators , walter johnson . the two met five times during the season , with ruth winning four and johnson one ( ruth had a no decision in johnson 's victory ) . two of ruth 's victories were by the score of 1 – 0 , one in a 13 - inning game . of the 1 – 0 shutout decided without extra innings , al president ban johnson stated , " that was one of the best ball games i have ever seen . " for the season , ruth went 23 – 12 , with a 1 . 75 era and nine shutouts , both of which led the league . ruth 's nine shutouts in 1916 set a league record for left - handers that would remain unmatched until ron guidry tied it in 1978 . the red sox won the pennant and world series again , this time defeating the brooklyn superbas ( as the dodgers were then known ) in five games . ruth started and won game 2 , 2 – 1 , in 14 innings . until another game of that length was played in 2005 , this was the longest world series game , and ruth 's pitching performance is still the longest postseason complete game victory . carrigan retired as player and manager after 1916 , returning to his native maine to be a businessman . ruth , who played under four managers who are in the national baseball hall of fame , always maintained that carrigan , who is not enshrined there , was the best skipper he ever played for . there were other changes in the red sox organization that offseason , as lannin sold the team to a three - man group headed by new york theatrical promoter harry frazee . jack barry was hired by frazee as manager . emergence as a hitter ruth went 24 – 13 with a 2 . 01 era and six shutouts in 1917 , but the sox finished in second place in the league , nine games behind the chicago white sox in the standings . on june 23 at washington , ruth made a memorable pitching start . when the home plate umpire ' brick ' owens called the first four pitches as balls , ruth threw a punch at him , and was ejected from the game and later suspended for ten days and fined $ 100 . ernie shore was called in to relieve ruth , and was allowed eight warm - up pitches . the runner who had reached base on the walk was caught stealing , and shore retired all 26 batters he faced to win the game . shore 's feat was listed as a perfect game for many years ; in 1991 , major league baseball 's ( mlb ) committee on statistical accuracy caused it to be listed as a combined no - hitter . in 1917 , ruth was used little as a batter , other than his plate appearances while pitching , and hit .325 with two home runs . the entry of the united states into world war i occurred at the start of the season , and overshadowed the sport . conscription was introduced in september 1917 , and most baseball players in the big leagues were of draft age . this included barry , who was a player - manager , and who joined the naval reserve in an attempt to avoid the draft , only to be called up after the 1917 season . frazee hired international league president ed barrow as red sox manager . barrow had spent the previous 30 years in a variety of baseball jobs , though he never played the game professionally . with the major leagues shorthanded due to the war , barrow had many holes in the red sox lineup to fill . ruth also noticed these vacancies in the lineup , and , dissatisfied in the role of a pitcher who appeared every four or five days , wanted to play every day at another position . barrow tried ruth at first base and in the outfield during the exhibition season , but as the team moved towards boston and the season opener , restricted him to pitching . at the time , ruth was possibly the best left - handed pitcher in baseball ; allowing him to play another position was an experiment that could have backfired . inexperienced as a manager , barrow had player harry hooper advise him on baseball game strategy . hooper urged his manager to allow ruth to play another position when he was not pitching , arguing to barrow , who had invested in the club , that the crowds were larger on days when ruth played , as they were attracted by his hitting . barrow gave in early in may ; ruth promptly hit home runs in four consecutive games ( one an exhibition ) , the last off of walter johnson . for the first time in his career ( disregarding pinch - hitting appearances ) , ruth was allowed a place in the batting order higher than ninth . although barrow predicted that ruth would beg to return to pitching the first time he experienced a batting slump , that did not occur . barrow used ruth primarily as an outfielder in the war - shortened 1918 season . ruth hit .300 , with 11 home runs , enough to secure him a share of the major league home run title with tillie walker of the philadelphia athletics . he was still occasionally used as a pitcher , and had a 13 – 7 record with a 2 . 22 era . the red sox won their third pennant in four years , and faced the chicago cubs in the 1918 world series , beginning on september 5 , the earliest in history . the season was shortened as the government had ruled that baseball players eligible for the military would have to be inducted or work in critical war industries , such as armaments plants . ruth pitched game one for the red sox , a 1 – 0 shutout . before game four , ruth injured his left hand in a fight ; he pitched anyway . he gave up seven hits and six walks , but was helped by outstanding fielding behind him and by his own batting efforts , as a fourth - inning triple by ruth gave his team a 2 – 0 lead . the cubs tied the game in the eighth inning , but the red sox scored to take a 3 – 2 again in the bottom of that inning . after ruth gave up a hit and a walk to start the ninth inning , he was relieved on the mound by joe bush . to keep ruth and his bat in the game , he was sent to play left field . bush retired the side to give ruth his second win of the series , and the third and last world series pitching victory of his career , against no defeats , in three pitching appearances . ruth 's effort gave his team a three - games - to - one lead , and two days later the red sox won their third series in four years , four games to two . before allowing the cubs to score in game four , ruth pitched 29 2 ⁄ 3 consecutive scoreless innings , a record for the world series that stood for more than 40 years until 1961 , broken by whitey ford after ruth 's death . ruth was prouder of that record than he was of any of his batting feats . with the world series over , ruth gained exemption from the war draft by accepting a nominal position with a pennsylvania steel mill . many industrial establishments took pride in their baseball teams and sought to hire major leaguers . the end of the war in november set ruth free to play baseball without such contrivances . during the 1919 season , ruth pitched in only 17 of his 130 games , compiling an 8 – 5 record as barrow used him as a pitcher mostly in the early part of the season , when the red sox manager still had hopes of a second consecutive pennant . by late june , the red sox were clearly out of the race , and barrow had no objection to ruth concentrating on his hitting , if only because it drew people to the ballpark . ruth had hit a home run against the yankees on opening day , and another during a month - long batting slump that soon followed . relieved of his pitching duties , ruth began an unprecedented spell of slugging home runs , which gave him widespread public and press attention . even his failures were seen as majestic — one sportswriter noted , " when ruth misses a swipe at the ball , the stands quiver " . two home runs by ruth on july 5 , and one in each of two consecutive games a week later , raised his season total to 11 , tying his career best from 1918 . the first record to fall was the al single - season mark of 16 , set by ralph " socks " in 1902 . ruth matched that on july 29 , then pulled ahead toward the major league record of 24 , set by buck freeman in 1899 . ruth reached this on september 8 , by which time , writers had discovered that ned williamson of the 1884 chicago white stockings had hit 27 — though in a ballpark where the distance to right field was only 215 feet ( 66 m ) . on september 20 , " babe ruth day " at fenway park , ruth won the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning , tying williamson . he broke the record four days later against the yankees at the polo grounds , and hit one more against the senators to finish with 29 . the home run at washington made ruth the first major league player to hit a home run at all eight ballparks in his league . in spite of ruth 's hitting heroics , the red sox finished sixth , 20 1 ⁄ 2 games behind the league champion white sox . sale to new york as an out - of - from new york city , frazee had been regarded with suspicion by boston 's sportswriters and baseball fans when he bought the team . he won them over with success on the field and a willingness to build the red sox by purchasing or trading for players . he offered the senators $ 60 , 000 for walter johnson , but washington owner clark griffith was unwilling . even so , frazee was successful in bringing other players to boston , especially as replacements for players in the military . this willingness to spend for players helped the red sox secure the 1918 title . the 1919 season saw record - breaking attendance , and ruth 's home runs for boston made him a national sensation . in march 1919 ruth was reported as having accepted a three - year contract for a total of $ 27 , 000 , after protracted negotiations nevertheless , on december 26 , 1919 , frazee sold ruth 's contract to the new york yankees . not all of the circumstances concerning the sale are known , but brewer and former congressman jacob ruppert , the new york team 's principal owner , reportedly asked yankee manager miller huggins what the team needed to be successful . " get ruth from boston " , huggins supposedly replied , noting that frazee was perennially in need of money to finance his theatrical productions . in any event , there was precedent for the ruth transaction : when boston pitcher carl mays left the red sox in a 1919 dispute , frazee had settled the matter by selling mays to the yankees , though over the opposition of al president johnson . according to one of ruth 's biographers , jim reisler , " why frazee needed cash in 1919 — and large infusions of it quickly — is still , more than 80 years later , a bit of a mystery " . the often - told story is that frazee needed money to finance the musical no , no , nanette , which was a broadway hit and brought frazee financial security . that play did not open until 1925 , however , by which time frazee had sold the red sox . still , the story may be true in essence : no , no , nanette was based on a frazee - produced play , my lady friends , which opened in 1919 . there were other financial pressures on frazee , despite his team 's success . ruth , fully aware of baseball 's popularity and his role in it , wanted to renegotiate his contract , signed before the 1919 season for $ 10 , 000 per year through 1921 . he demanded that his salary be doubled , or he would sit out the season and cash in on his popularity through other ventures . ruth 's salary demands were causing other players to ask for more money . additionally , frazee still owed lannin as much as $ 125 , 000 from the purchase of the club . although ruppert and his co - owner , colonel tillinghast huston , were both wealthy , and had aggressively purchased and traded for players in 1918 and 1919 to build a winning team , ruppert faced losses in his brewing interests as prohibition was implemented , and if their team left the polo grounds , where the yankees were the tenants of the new york giants , building a stadium in new york would be expensive . nevertheless , when frazee , who moved in the same social circles as huston , hinted to the colonel that ruth was available for the right price , the yankees owners quickly pursued the purchase . frazee sold the rights to babe ruth for $ 100 , 000 , the largest sum ever paid for a baseball player . the deal also involved a $ 350 , 000 loan from ruppert to frazee , secured by a mortgage on fenway park . once it was agreed , frazee informed barrow , who , stunned , told the owner that he was getting the worse end of the bargain . cynics have suggested that barrow may have played a larger role in the ruth sale , as less than a year after , he became the yankee general manager , and in the following years made a number of purchases of red sox players from frazee . the $ 100 , 000 price included $ 25 , 000 in cash , and notes for the same amount due november 1 in 1920 , 1921 , and 1922 ; ruppert and huston assisted frazee in selling the notes to banks for immediate cash . the transaction was contingent on ruth signing a new contract , which was quickly accomplished — ruth agreed to fulfill the remaining two years on his contract , but was given a $ 20 , 000 bonus , payable over two seasons . the deal was announced on january 6 , 1920 . reaction in boston was mixed : some fans were embittered at the loss of ruth ; others conceded that the slugger had become difficult to deal with . the new york times suggested presciently , " the short right field wall at the polo grounds should prove an easy target for ruth next season and , playing seventy - seven games at home , it would not be surprising if ruth surpassed his home run record of twenty - nine circuit next summer . " according to reisler , " the yankees had pulled off the sports steal of the century . " according to marty appel in his history of the yankees , the transaction , " changed the fortunes of two high - profile franchises for decades " . the red sox , winners of five of the first sixteen world series , those played between 1903 and 1919 , would not win another pennant until 1946 , or another world series until 2004 , a drought attributed in baseball superstition to frazee 's sale of ruth and sometimes dubbed the " curse of the bambino " . the yankees , on the other hand , had not won the al championship prior to their acquisition of ruth . they won seven al pennants and four world series with ruth , and lead baseball with 40 pennants and 27 world series titles in their history . new york yankees ( 1920 – 34 ) initial success ( 1920 – 23 ) as a yankee , ruth 's transition from a pitcher to a power - hitting outfielder became complete . in his fifteen - season yankee career , consisting of over 2 , 000 games , ruth broke many batting records , while making only five widely scattered appearances on the mound , winning all of them . at the end of april 1920 , the yankees were 4 – 7 , with the red sox leading the league with a 10 – 2 mark . ruth had done little , having injured himself swinging the bat . both situations began to change on may 1 , when ruth hit a home run with the ball going completely out of the polo grounds , a feat believed only to have been previously accomplished by shoeless joe jackson . the yankees won , 6 – 0 , taking three out of four from the red sox . ruth hit his second home run on may 2 , and by the end of the month had set a major league record for home runs in a month with 11 , and promptly broke it with 13 in june . fans responded with record attendance : on may 16 , ruth and the yankees drew 38 , 600 to the polo grounds , a record for the ballpark , and 15 , 000 fans were turned away . large crowds jammed stadiums to see ruth play when the yankees were on the road . the home runs kept coming ; ruth tied his own record of 29 on july 15 , and broke it with home runs in both games of a doubleheader four days later . by the end of july , he had 37 , but his pace slackened somewhat after that . nevertheless , on september 4 , he both tied and broke the organized baseball record for home runs in a season , snapping perry 's 1895 mark of 44 in the minor western league . the yankees played well as a team , battling for the league lead early in the summer , but slumped in august in the al pennant battle with chicago and cleveland . the championship was won by cleveland , surging ahead after the black sox scandal broke on september 28 and led to the suspension of many of the team 's top players , including joe jackson . the yankees finished third , but drew 1 . 2 million fans to the polo grounds , the first time a team had drawn a seven figure attendance . the rest of the league sold 600 , 000 more tickets , many fans there to see ruth , who led the league with 54 home runs , 158 runs , and 137 runs batted in ( rbis ) . ruth was aided in his exploits , in 1920 and afterwards , by the fact that the a.j. reach company , maker of baseballs used in the major leagues , was using a more efficient machine to wind the yarn found within the baseball . when these went into play in 1920 , the start of the live - ball era , the number of home runs increased by 184 over the previous year across the major leagues . baseball statistician bill james points out that while ruth was likely aided by the change in the baseball , there were other factors at work , including the gradual abolition of the spitball ( accelerated after the death of ray chapman , struck by a pitched ball thrown by mays in august 1920 ) and the more frequent use of new baseballs ( also a response to chapman 's death ) . nevertheless , james theorizes that ruth 's 1920 explosion might have happened in 1919 , had a full season of 154 games been played rather than 140 , had ruth refrained from pitching 133 innings that season , and if he were playing with any other home field but fenway park , where he hit only 9 of 29 home runs . yankees business manager harry sparrow had died early in the 1920 season ; to replace him , ruppert and huston hired barrow . ruppert and barrow quickly made a deal with frazee for new york to acquire some of the players who would be mainstays of the early yankee pennant - winning teams , including catcher wally schang and pitcher waite hoyt . the 21 - year - old hoyt became close to ruth : the outrageous life fascinated hoyt , the don 't - give - a - shit freedom of it , the nonstop , pell - mell charge into excess . how did a man drink so much and never get drunk ? ... the puzzle of babe ruth never was dull , no matter how many times hoyt picked up the pieces and stared at them . after games he would follow the crowd to the babe 's suite . no matter what the town , the beer would be iced and the bottles would fill the bathtub . ruth hit home runs early and often in the 1921 season , during which he broke roger connor 's mark for home runs in a career , 138 . each of the almost 600 home runs ruth hit in his career after that extended his own record . after a slow start , the yankees were soon locked in a tight pennant race with cleveland , winners of the 1920 world series . on september 15 , ruth hit his 55th home run , shattering his year - old single season record . in late september , the yankees visited cleveland and won three out of four games , giving them the upper hand in the race , and clinched their first pennant a few days later . ruth finished the regular season with 59 home runs , batting .378 and with a slugging percentage of .846 . the yankees had high expectations when they met the new york giants in the 1921 world series , and the yankees won the first two games with ruth in the lineup . however , ruth badly scraped his elbow during game 2 , sliding into third base ( he had walked and stolen both second and third bases ) . after the game , he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the series . despite this advice , he did play in the next three games , and pinch - hit in game eight of the best - of - nine series , but the yankees lost , five games to three . ruth hit .316 , drove in five runs and hit his first world series home run . after the series , ruth and teammates bob meusel and bill piercy participated in a barnstorming tour in the northeast . a rule then in force prohibited world series participants from playing in exhibition games during the offseason , the purpose being to prevent series participants from replicating the series and undermining its value . baseball commissioner kenesaw mountain landis suspended the trio until may 20 , 1922 , and fined them their 1921 world series checks . in august 1922 , the rule was changed to allow limited barnstorming for world series participants , with landis 's permission required . on march 6 , 1922 , ruth signed a new contract , for three years at $ 52 , 000 a year . the largest sum ever paid a ballplayer to that point , it represented 40 % of the team 's player payroll . despite his suspension , ruth was named the yankees ' new on - field captain prior to the 1922 season . during the suspension , he worked out with the team in the morning , and played exhibition games with the yankees on their off days . he and meusel returned on may 20 , to a sellout crowd at the polo grounds , but ruth batted 0 - for - 4 , and was booed . on may 25 , he was thrown out of the game for throwing dust in umpire george hildebrand 's face , then climbed into the stands to confront a heckler . ban johnson ordered him fined , suspended , and stripped of his captaincy . in his shortened season , ruth appeared in 110 games , batted .315 , with 35 home runs , and drove in 99 runs , but compared to his previous two dominating years , the 1922 season was a disappointment . despite ruth 's off - year , yankees managed to win the pennant to face the new york giants for the second straight year in the world series . in the series , giants manager john mcgraw instructed his pitchers to throw him nothing but curveballs , and ruth never adjusted . ruth had just two hits in seventeen at bats , and the yankees lost to the giants for the second straight year , by 4 – 0 ( with one tie game ) . sportswriter joe vila called him , " an exploded phenomenon " . after the season , ruth was a guest at an elks club banquet , set up by ruth 's agent with yankee team support . there , each speaker , concluding with future new york mayor jimmy walker , censured him for his poor behavior . an emotional ruth promised reform , and , to the surprise of many , followed through . when he reported to spring training , he was in his best shape as a yankee , weighing only 210 pounds ( 95 kg ) . the yankees 's status as tenants of the giants at the polo grounds had become increasingly uneasy , and in 1922 giants owner charles stoneham stated that the yankees 's lease , expiring after that season , would not be renewed . ruppert and huston had long contemplated a new stadium , and had taken an option on property at 161st street and river avenue in the bronx . yankee stadium was completed in time for the home opener on april 18 , 1923 , at which the babe hit the first home run in what was quickly dubbed " the house that ruth built " . the ballpark was designed with ruth in mind : although the venue 's left - field fence was further from home plate than at the polo grounds , yankee stadium 's right - field fence was closer , making home runs easier to hit for left - handed batters . to spare ruth 's eyes , right field – his defensive position – was not pointed into the afternoon sun , as was traditional ; left fielder meusel was soon suffering headaches from squinting toward home plate . the yankees were never challenged , leading the league for most of the 1923 season and winning the al pennant by 17 games . ruth finished the season with a career - high .393 batting average and major - league leading 41 home runs ( tied with cy williams ) . another career high for ruth in 1923 was his 45 doubles , and he reached base 379 times , then a major league record . for the third straight year , the yankees faced the giants in the world series , which ruth dominated . he batted .368 , walked eight times , scored eight runs , hit three home runs and slugged 1 . 000 during the series , as the yankees won their first world series championship , four games to two . batting title and " bellyache " ( 1924 – 25 ) in 1924 , the yankees were favored to become the first team to win four consecutive pennants . plagued by injuries , they found themselves in a battle with the senators . although the yankees won 18 of 22 at one point in september , the senators beat out the yankees by two games . ruth hit .378 , winning his only al batting title , with a league - leading 46 home runs . ruth had kept up his efforts to stay in shape in 1923 and 1924 , but by early 1925 weighed nearly 260 pounds ( 120 kg ) . his annual visit to hot springs , arkansas , where he exercised and took saunas early in the year , did him no good as he spent much of the time carousing in the resort town . he became ill while there , and suffered relapses during spring training . ruth collapsed in asheville , north carolina , as the team journeyed north . he was put on a train for new york , where he was briefly hospitalized . a rumor circulated that he had died , prompting british newspapers to print a premature obituary . in new york , ruth collapsed again and was found unconscious in his hotel bathroom . he was taken to a hospital where he suffered multiple convulsions . after sportswriter w. o. mcgeehan wrote that ruth 's illness was due to binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game , it became known as " the bellyache heard ' round the world " . however , the exact cause of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery . glenn stout , in his history of the yankees , notes that the ruth legend is " still one of the most sheltered in sports " ; he suggests that alcohol was at the root of ruth 's illness , pointing to the fact that ruth remained six weeks at st. vincent 's hospital but was allowed to leave , under supervision , for workouts with the team for part of that time . he concludes that the hospitalization was behavior - related . playing just 98 games , ruth had his worst season as a yankee ; he finished with a .290 average and 25 home runs . the yankees finished next to last in the al with a 69 – 85 record , their last season with a losing record until 1965 . murderer 's row ( 1926 – 28 ) ruth spent part of the offseason of 1925 – 26 working out at artie mcgovern 's gym , getting back into shape . barrow and huggins had rebuilt the team , surrounding the veteran core with good young players like tony lazzeri and lou gehrig . but new york was not expected to win the pennant . babe ruth returned to his normal production during 1926 , batting .372 with 47 home runs and 146 rbis . the yankees built a ten - game lead by mid - june , and coasted to win the pennant by three games . the st. louis cardinals had won the national league with the lowest winning percentage for a pennant winner to that point ( ) and the yankees were expected to win the world series easily . although the yankees won the opener in new york , st. louis took games two and three . in game four , ruth hit three home runs , the first time this had been done in a world series game , to lead the yankees to victory ; in the fifth game ruth caught a ball as he crashed into the fence , described by baseball writers as a defensive gem . new york took that game , but grover cleveland alexander won game six for st. louis to tie the series at three games each , then got very drunk . he was nevertheless inserted into game seven in the seventh inning and shut down the yankees to win the game , 3 – 2 , and win the series . ruth had hit his fourth home run of the series earlier in the game , and was the only yankee to reach base off alexander , walking in the ninth inning before being caught stealing to end the game . although ruth 's attempt to steal second is often deemed a baserunning blunder , creamer pointed out that the yankees ' chances of tying the game would have been greatly improved with a runner in scoring position . the 1926 series was also known for ruth 's promise to johnny sylvester , a hospitalized 11 - year - old , that he would hit a home run on his behalf . sylvester had been injured in a fall from a horse , and a friend of sylvester 's father gave the boy two autographed baseballs signed by yankees and cardinals , and relayed a promise from ruth , who did not know the boy , to hit a home run for him . after the series , ruth visited the boy in the hospital . when the matter became public , the press greatly inflated it , and by some accounts , ruth saved a dying boy 's life by visiting him , emotionally promising to hit a home run , and doing so . the 1927 new york yankees team is considered one of the greatest squads that ever took the field . known as murderer 's row because of the power of its lineup , the team won a then - al - record 110 games , and took the al pennant by 19 games , clinching first place on labor day . with little suspense as to the pennant race , the nation 's attention turned to ruth 's pursuit of his own single - season home run record of 59 . he was not alone in this chase : gehrig proved to be a slugger capable of challenging ruth for his home run crown , tying ruth with 24 home runs late in june . through july and august , they were never separated by more than two home runs . gehrig took the lead , 45 – 44 , in the first game of a doubleheader at fenway park early in september ; ruth responded with two of his own to take the lead , as it proved permanently — gehrig finished with 47 . even so , as of september 6 , ruth was still several games off his 1921 pace , and going into the final series against the senators , had only 57 . he hit two in the first game of the series , including one off of paul hopkins , facing his first major league batter , to tie the record . the following day , september 30 , he broke it with his 60th homer , in the eighth inning off tom zachary to break a 2 – 2 tie . " sixty ! let 's see some son of a bitch try to top that one " , ruth exulted after the game . in addition to his career - high 60 home runs , ruth batted .356 , drove in 164 runs and slugged . in the 1927 world series , the yankees swept the pittsburgh pirates in four games ; the national leaguers were disheartened after watching the yankees take batting practice before game one , with ball after ball leaving forbes field . according to appel , " the 1927 new york yankees . even today , the words inspire awe ... all baseball success is measured against the ' 27 team . " before the 1928 season , ruth signed a new contract for an unprecedented $ 80 , 000 per year . the season started off well for the yankees , who led the league in the early going . but the yankees were plagued by injuries , erratic pitching and inconsistent play . the philadelphia athletics , rebuilding after some lean years , erased the yankees ' big lead and even took over first place briefly in early september . the yankees , however , regained first place when they beat the athletics three out of four games in a pivotal series at yankee stadium later that month , and clinched the pennant in the final weekend of the season . ruth 's play in 1928 mirrored his team 's performance . he got off to a hot start and on august 1 , he had 42 home runs . this put him ahead of his 60 home run pace from the previous season . he then slumped for the latter part of the season , and he hit just twelve home runs in the last two months . ruth 's batting average also fell to .323 , well below his career average . nevertheless , he ended the season with 54 home runs . the yankees swept the favored cardinals in four games in the world series , with ruth batting .625 and hitting three home runs in game four , including one off alexander . " called shot " and final yankee years ( 1929 – 34 ) before the 1929 season , ruppert , who had bought out huston in 1923 , announced that the yankees would wear uniform numbers to allow fans at cavernous yankee stadium to tell one player from another . the cardinals and indians had each experimented with uniform numbers ; the yankees were the first to use them on both home and away uniforms . as ruth batted third , he was given number 3 . according to a long - standing baseball legend , the yankees adopted their now - iconic pinstriped uniforms in hopes of making ruth look slimmer . in truth , though , they had been wearing pinstripes since ruppert bought the team in 1915 . although the yankees started well , the athletics soon proved they were the better team in 1929 , splitting two series with the yankees in the first month of the season , then taking advantage of a yankee losing streak in mid - may to gain first place . although ruth performed well , the yankees were not able to catch the athletics — connie mack had built another great team . tragedy struck the yankees late in the year as manager huggins died of erysipelas , a bacterial skin infection , on september 25 , only ten days after he had last led the team . despite past differences , ruth praised huggins and described him as a " great guy " . the yankees finished second , 18 games behind the athletics . ruth hit .345 during the season , with 46 home runs and 154 rbis . the yankees hired bob shawkey as manager , their fourth choice . ruth for the job of player - manager , but was not seriously considered by ruppert and barrow ; stout deems this the first hint ruth would have no future with the yankees once he was done as a player . shawkey , a former yankees player and teammate of ruth , was unable to command the slugger 's respect . the athletics won their second consecutive pennant and world series , as the yankees finished in third place , sixteen games back . during that season ruth was asked by a reporter what he thought of his yearly salary of $ 80 , 000 being more than president hoover 's $ 75 , 000 . his response was , " i know , but i had a better year than hoover . " in 1930 , ruth hit .359 with 49 home runs ( his best in his years after 1928 ) and 153 rbis , and pitched his first game in nine years , a complete game victory . at the end of the season , shawkey was fired and replaced with cubs manager joe mccarthy , though ruth again unsuccessfully sought the job . mccarthy was a disciplinarian , but chose not to interfere with ruth , and the slugger for his part did not seek conflict with the manager . the team improved in 1931 , but was no match for the athletics , who won 107 games , 13 1 ⁄ 2 games in front of the yankees . ruth , for his part , hit .373 , with 46 home runs and 163 rbis . he had 31 doubles , his most since 1924 . in the 1932 season , the yankees went 107 – 47 and won the pennant . ruth 's effectiveness had decreased somewhat , but he still hit .341 with 41 home runs and 137 rbis . nevertheless , he twice was sidelined due to injury during the season . the yankees faced the cubs , mccarthy 's former team , in the 1932 world series . there was bad blood between the two teams as the yankees resented the cubs only awarding half a world series share to mark koenig , a former yankee . the games at yankee stadium had not been sellouts ; both were won by the home team , with ruth collecting two singles , but scoring four runs as he was walked four times by the cubs pitchers . in chicago , ruth was resentful at the hostile crowds that met the yankees 's train and jeered them at the hotel . the crowd for game three included new york governor franklin d. roosevelt , the democratic candidate for president , who sat with chicago mayor anton cermak . many in the crowd threw lemons at ruth , a sign of derision , and others ( as well as the cubs themselves ) shouted abuse at ruth and other yankees . they were briefly silenced when ruth hit a three - run home run off charlie root in the first inning , but soon revived , and the cubs tied the score at 4 – 4 in the fourth inning . when ruth came to the plate in the top of the fifth , the chicago crowd and players , led by pitcher guy bush , were screaming insults at ruth . with the count at two balls and one strike , ruth gestured , possibly in the direction of center field , and after the next pitch ( a strike ) , may have pointed there with one hand . ruth hit the fifth pitch over the center field fence ; estimates were that it traveled nearly 500 feet ( 150 m ) . whether or not ruth intended to indicate where he planned to ( and did ) hit the ball , the incident has gone down in legend as babe ruth 's called shot . the yankees won game three , and the following day clinched the series with another victory . during that game , bush hit ruth on the arm with a pitch , causing words to be exchanged and provoking a game - winning yankee rally . ruth remained productive in 1933 , as he batted .301 , with 34 home runs , 103 rbis , and a league - leading 114 walks , as the yankees finished second , seven games behind the senators . he was selected to play right field by athletics manager connie mack in the first major league baseball all - star game , held on july 6 , 1933 , at comiskey park in chicago . he hit the first home run in the all - star game 's history , a two - run blast against bill hallahan during the third inning , which helped the al win the game 4 – 2 . during the final game of the 1933 season , as a publicity stunt organized by his team , ruth was called upon and pitched a complete game victory against the red sox , his final appearance as a pitcher . despite unremarkable pitching numbers , ruth had a 5 – 0 record in five games for the yankees , raising his career totals to 94 – 46 . in 1934 , ruth played in his last full season . by this time , years of high living were starting to catch up with him . his conditioning had deteriorated to the point that he could no longer field or run . he accepted a pay cut from ruppert to $ 35 , 000 , but was still the highest - paid player in the major leagues . he could still handle a bat , recording a .288 batting average with 22 home runs , statistics reisler described as " merely mortal " . ruth was selected to the al all - star team for the second consecutive year . during the game , new york giants pitcher carl hubbell struck out ruth and four other future hall - of - famers consecutively . the yankees finished second again , seven games behind the tigers . boston braves ( 1935 ) although ruth knew he was nearly finished as a player , he desired to remain in baseball as a manager . he was often spoken of as a possible candidate as managerial jobs opened up , but in 1932 , when he was mentioned as a contender for the red sox position , ruth stated that he was not yet ready to leave the field . there were rumors that ruth was a likely candidate each time when the cleveland indians , cincinnati reds , and detroit tigers were looking for a manager , but nothing came of them . just before the 1934 season , ruppert offered to make ruth the manager of the yankees ' top minor - league team , the newark bears , but he was talked out of it by his wife , claire , and his business manager , christy walsh . shortly afterward , tigers owner frank navin made a proposal to ruppert and barrow — if the yankees traded ruth to detroit , navin would name ruth player - manager . navin believed ruth would not only bring a winning attitude to a team that had not finished higher than third since 1923 , but would also revive the tigers ' sagging attendance figures . navin asked ruth to come to detroit for an interview . however , ruth balked , since walsh had already arranged for him to take part in a celebrity golf tournament in hawaii . ruth and navin negotiated over the phone while ruth was in hawaii , but those talks foundered when navin refused to give ruth a portion of the tigers ' box office proceeds . early in the 1934 season , ruth began openly campaigning to become manager of the yankees . however , the yankee job was never a serious possibility . ruppert always supported mccarthy , who would remain in his position for another 12 seasons . ruth and mccarthy 's relationship had been lukewarm at best , and ruth 's managerial ambitions further chilled their relations . by the end of the season , ruth hinted that he would retire unless ruppert named him manager of the yankees . for his part , ruppert wanted his slugger to leave the team without drama and hard feelings when the time came . during the 1934 – 35 offseason , ruth circled the world with his wife , including a barnstorming tour of the far east . at his final stop before returning home , in the united kingdom , ruth was introduced to cricket by australian player alan fairfax , and after having little luck in a cricketer 's stance , stood as a baseball batter and launched some massive shots around the field , destroying the bat in the process . although fairfax regretted that he could not have the time to make ruth a cricket player , ruth had lost any interest in such a career upon learning that the best batsmen made only about $ 40 per week . also during the offseason , ruppert had been sounding out the other clubs in hopes of finding one that would be willing to take ruth as a manager and / or a player . however , the only serious offer came from athletics owner - manager connie mack , who gave some thought to stepping down as manager in favor of ruth . however , mack later dropped the idea , saying that ruth 's wife would be running the team in a month if ruth ever took over . while the barnstorming tour was under way , ruppert began negotiating with boston braves owner judge emil fuchs , who wanted ruth as a gate attraction . although the braves had enjoyed modest recent success , finishing fourth in the national league in both 1933 and 1934 , the team performed poorly at the box office . unable to afford the rent at braves field , fuchs had considered holding dog races there when the braves were not at home , only to be turned down by landis . after a series of phone calls , letters , and meetings , the yankees traded ruth to the braves on february 26 , 1935 . ruppert had stated that he would not release ruth to go to another team as a full - time player . for this reason , it was announced that ruth would become a team vice president and would be consulted on all club transactions , in addition to playing . he was also made assistant manager to braves skipper bill mckechnie . in a long letter to ruth a few days before the press conference , fuchs promised ruth a share in the braves ' profits , with the possibility of becoming co - owner of the team . fuchs also raised the possibility of ruth succeeding mckechnie as manager , perhaps as early as 1936 . ruppert called the deal " the greatest opportunity ruth ever had " . there was considerable attention as ruth reported for spring training . he did not hit his first home run of the spring until after the team had left florida , and was beginning the road north in savannah . he hit two in an exhibition against the bears . amid much press attention , ruth played his first home game in boston in over 16 years . before an opening - day crowd of over 25 , 000 , including five of new england 's six state governors , ruth accounted for all of the braves ' runs in a 4 – 2 defeat of the new york giants , hitting a two - run home run , singling to drive in a third run and later in the inning scoring the fourth . although age and weight had slowed him , he made a running catch in left field that sportswriters deemed the defensive highlight of the game . ruth had two hits in the second game of the season , but it quickly went downhill both for him and the braves from there . the season soon settled down to a routine of ruth performing poorly on the few occasions he even played at all , and the braves losing most games . as april passed into may , ruth 's deterioration became even more pronounced . while he remained productive at the plate early on , he could do little else . his condition had deteriorated to the point that he could barely trot around the bases . his fielding had become so poor that three braves pitchers told mckechnie that they would not take the mound if he was in the lineup . before long , ruth stopped hitting as well . he grew increasingly annoyed that mckechnie ignored most of his advice . for his part , mckechnie later said that ruth 's huge salary and refusal to stay with the team while on the road made it nearly impossible to enforce discipline . ruth soon realized that fuchs had deceived him , and had no intention of making him manager or giving him any significant off - field duties . he later stated that his only duties as vice president consisted of making public appearances and autographing tickets . ruth also found out that far from giving him a share of the profits , fuchs wanted him to invest some of his money in the team in a last - ditch effort to improve its balance sheet . as it turned out , both fuchs and ruppert had known all along that ruth 's non - playing positions were meaningless . by the end of the first month of the season , ruth concluded he was finished even as a part - time player . as early as may 12 , he asked fuchs to let him retire . ultimately , fuchs persuaded ruth to remain at least until after the memorial day doubleheader in philadelphia . in the interim was a western road trip , at which the rival teams had scheduled days to honor him . in chicago and st. louis , ruth performed poorly , and his batting average sank to .155 , with only three home runs . in the first two games in pittsburgh , ruth had only one hit , though a long fly caught by paul probably would have been a home run in any other ballpark besides forbes field . ruth played in the third game of the pittsburgh series on may 25 , 1935 , and added one more tale to his playing legend . ruth went 4 - for - 4 , including three home runs , though the braves lost the game 11 – 7 . the last two were off ruth 's old cubs nemesis , guy bush . the final home run , both of the game and of ruth 's career , sailed over the upper deck in right field and out of the ballpark , the first time anyone had hit a fair ball completely out of forbes field . ruth was urged to make this his last game , but he had given his word to fuchs and played in cincinnati and philadelphia . the first game of the doubleheader in philadelphia — the braves lost both — was his final major league appearance . on june 2 , after an argument with fuchs , ruth retired . he finished 1935 with a .181 average — easily his worst as a full - time position player — and the final six of his 714 home runs . the braves , 10 – 27 when ruth left , finished 38 – 115 , at .248 the worst winning percentage in modern national league history . insolvent like his team , fuchs gave up control of the braves before the end of the season ; the national league took over the franchise at the end of the year . retirement 1935 – 46 although fuchs had given ruth his unconditional release , no major league team expressed an interest in hiring him in any capacity . ruth still hoped to be hired as a manager if he could not play anymore , but only one managerial position , cleveland , became available between ruth 's retirement and the end of the 1937 season . asked if he had considered ruth for the job , indians owner alva bradley replied negatively . the writer creamer believed ruth was unfairly treated in never being given an opportunity to manage a major league club . the author believed there was not necessarily a relationship between personal conduct and managerial success , noting that mcgraw , billy martin , and bobby valentine were winners despite character flaws . team owners and general managers assessed ruth 's flamboyant personal habits as a reason to exclude him from a managerial job ; barrow said of him , " how can he manage other men when he can 't even manage himself ? " ruth played much golf and in a few exhibition baseball games , demonstrating a continuing ability to draw large crowds . this appeal contributed to the dodgers hiring him as first base coach in 1938 . but brooklyn general manager larry macphail made it clear when ruth was hired that he would not be considered for the manager 's job if , as expected , burleigh grimes retired at the end of the season . although much was said about what ruth could teach the younger players , in practice , his duties were to appear on the field in uniform and encourage base runners — he was not called upon to relay signs . he got along well with everyone except team captain leo durocher , who was hired as grimes ' replacement at season 's end . ruth returned to retirement , never again to work in baseball . on july 4 , 1939 , ruth spoke on lou gehrig appreciation day at yankee stadium as members of the 1927 yankees and a sellout crowd turned out to honor the first baseman , forced into premature retirement by als disease , which would kill him in two years . the next week , ruth went to cooperstown , new york , for the formal opening of the baseball hall of fame . three years earlier he was one of the first five players elected to it . as radio broadcasts of baseball became popular , ruth sought a job in that field , arguing that his celebrity and knowledge of baseball would assure large audiences , but he received no offers . during world war ii , he made many personal appearances to advance the war effort , including his last appearance as a player at yankee stadium , in a 1943 exhibition for the army – navy relief fund . he hit a long fly ball off walter johnson ; the blast left the field , curving foul , but ruth circled the bases anyway . in 1946 , he made a final effort to gain a job in baseball , contacting new yankees boss macphail , but was sent a rejection letter . personal life ruth met helen woodford ( 1897 – 1929 ) , by some accounts , in a coffee shop in boston where she was a waitress , and they were married on october 17 , 1914 ; he was 19 and she was 17 . they adopted a daughter , dorothy ( 1921 – 1989 ) , in 1921 . ruth and helen separated around 1925 , reportedly due to his repeated infidelities . their last public appearance together came during the 1926 world series . helen died in january 1929 at age 31 in a house fire in watertown , massachusetts , in a house owned by edward kinder , a dentist with whom she had been living as " mrs. kinder " . in her book , my dad , the babe , dorothy claimed that she was ruth 's biological child by a mistress named juanita jennings . she died in 1989 . on april 17 , 1929 , only three months after the death of his first wife , ruth married actress and model claire merritt hodgson ( 1897 – 1976 ) and adopted her daughter julia ; he was 34 and she was 31 . it was the second and final marriage for both parties . by one account , julia and dorothy were , through no fault of their own , the reason for the seven - year rift in ruth 's relationship with teammate lou gehrig . sometime in 1932 , gehrig 's mother , during a conversation which she assumed was private , remarked , " it 's a shame [ claire ] doesn 't dress dorothy as nicely as she dresses her own daughter . " when the comment inevitably got back to ruth , he angrily told gehrig to tell his mother to mind her own business . gehrig in turn took offense at what he perceived as ruth 's comment about his mother . the two men reportedly never spoke off the field until they reconciled at yankee stadium on lou gehrig appreciation day in 1939 . although ruth was married through most of his baseball career , when colonel huston asked him to tone down his lifestyle , the player said , " i 'll promise to go easier on drinking and to get to bed earlier , but not for you , fifty thousand dollars , or two - hundred and fifty thousand dollars will i give up women . they 're too much fun . " cancer and death ( 1946 – 48 ) as early as the war years , doctors had cautioned ruth to take better care of his health , and he grudgingly followed their advice , limiting his drinking and not going on a proposed trip to support the troops in the south pacific . in 1946 , ruth began experiencing severe pain over his left eye , and had difficulty swallowing . in november 1946 , he entered french hospital in new york for tests , which revealed that ruth had an inoperable malignant tumor at the base of his skull and in his neck . it was a lesion known as nasopharyngeal carcinoma , or " . " his name and fame gave him access to experimental treatments , and he was one of the first cancer patients to receive both drugs and radiation treatment simultaneously . he was discharged from the hospital in february , having lost 80 pounds ( 36 kg ) , and went to florida to recuperate . he returned to new york and yankee stadium after the season started . the new commissioner , happy chandler ( judge landis had died in 1944 ) , proclaimed april 27 , 1947 , babe ruth day around the major leagues , with the most significant observance to be at yankee stadium . a number of teammates and others spoke in honor of ruth , who briefly addressed the crowd of almost 60 , 000 . around this time , developments in chemotherapy offered some hope . the doctors had not told ruth that he had cancer because of his family 's fear that he might do himself harm . they treated him with , a folic acid derivative ; he may have been the first human subject . ruth showed dramatic improvement during the summer of 1947 , so much so that his case was presented by his doctors at a scientific meeting , without using his name . he was able to travel around the country , doing promotional work for the ford motor company on american legion baseball . he appeared again at another day in his honor at yankee stadium in september , but was not well enough to pitch in an old - timers game as he had hoped . the improvement was only a temporary remission , and by late 1947 , ruth was unable to help with the writing of his autobiography , the babe ruth story , which was almost entirely ghostwritten . in and out of the hospital in new york , he left for florida in february 1948 , doing what activities he could . after six weeks he returned to new york to appear at a book - signing party . he also traveled to california to witness the filming of the book . on june 5 , 1948 , a " gaunt and hollowed out " ruth visited yale university to donate a manuscript of the babe ruth story to its library . on june 13 , ruth visited yankee stadium for the final time in his life , appearing at the 25th anniversary celebrations of " the house that ruth built " . by this time he had lost much weight and had difficulty walking . introduced along with his surviving teammates from 1923 , ruth used a bat as a cane . nat fein 's photo of ruth taken from behind , standing near home plate and facing " " ( right field ) became one of baseball 's most famous and widely circulated photographs , and won the pulitzer prize . ruth made one final trip on behalf of american legion baseball , then entered memorial hospital , where he would die . he was never told he had cancer , but before his death , had surmised it . he was able to leave the hospital for a few short trips , including a final visit to baltimore . on july 26 , 1948 , ruth left the hospital to attend the premiere of the film the babe ruth story . shortly thereafter , ruth returned to the hospital for the final time . he was barely able to speak . ruth 's condition gradually became worse ; only a few visitors were allowed to see him , one of whom was national league president and future commissioner of baseball ford frick . " ruth was so thin it was unbelievable . he had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones , and his face was so haggard " , frick said years later . thousands of new yorkers , including many children , stood vigil outside the hospital in ruth 's final days . on august 16 , 1948 , at 8 : 01 p.m. , ruth died in his sleep at the age of 53 . instead of a wake at a funeral home , his casket was taken to yankee stadium , where it remained for two days ; 77 , 000 people filed past to pay him tribute . his funeral mass took place at st. patrick 's cathedral ; a crowd estimated at 75 , 000 waited outside . ruth was buried on a hillside in section 25 at the gate of heaven cemetery in hawthorne , new york . an epitaph by cardinal spellman appears on his headstone . his second wife , claire merritt ruth , would be interred with him 28 years later in 1976 . memorial and museum on april 19 , 1949 , the yankees unveiled a granite monument in ruth 's honor in center field of yankee stadium . the monument was located in the field of play next to a flagpole and similar tributes to huggins and gehrig until the stadium was remodeled from 1974 – 1975 , which resulted in the outfield fences moving inward and enclosing the monuments from the playing field . this area was known thereafter as monument park . yankee stadium , " the house that ruth built " , was replaced after the 2008 season with a new yankee stadium across the street from the old one ; monument park was subsequently moved to the new venue behind the center field fence . ruth 's uniform number 3 has been retired by the yankees , and he is one of five yankees players or managers to have a granite monument within the stadium . the babe ruth birthplace museum is located at 216 emory street , a baltimore row house where ruth was born , and three blocks west of oriole park at camden yards , where the al 's baltimore orioles play . the property was restored and opened to the public in 1973 by the non - profit babe ruth birthplace foundation , inc . ruth 's widow , claire , his two daughters , dorothy and julia , and his sister , mamie , helped select and install exhibits for the museum . contemporary impact ruth was the first baseball star to be the subject of overwhelming interest by the public . baseball had developed star players before , such as cobb and " shoeless joe " jackson , but both men had uneasy relations with fans , in cobb 's case sometimes marked by violence . ruth 's biographers agree that he benefited from the timing of his ascension to " home run king " , with an america hit hard by both the war and the 1918 flu pandemic longing for something to help put these traumas behind it . he also resonated in a country which felt , in the aftermath of the war , that it took second place to no one . montville argues that as a larger - than - life figure capable of unprecedented athletic feats in the nation 's largest city , ruth became an icon of the significant social changes which marked the early 1920s . glenn stout notes in his history of the yankees , " ruth was new york incarnate — uncouth and raw , flamboyant and flashy , oversized , out of scale , and absolutely unstoppable " . ruth became such a symbol of the united states during his lifetime that during world war ii , japanese soldiers yelled in english , " to hell with babe ruth " , to anger american soldiers . ( ruth replied that he hoped that " every jap that mention [ ed ] my name gets shot " ) . creamer recorded that " babe ruth transcended sport , moved far beyond the artificial limits of baselines and outfield fences and sports pages " . wagenheim stated , " he appealed to a deeply rooted american yearning for the definitive climax : clean , quick , . " according to glenn stout , " ruth 's home runs were exalted , uplifting experience that meant more to fans than any runs they were responsible for . a babe ruth home run was an event unto itself , one that meant anything was possible . " ruth 's penchant for hitting home runs altered how baseball is played . prior to 1920 , home runs were unusual , and managers tried to win games by getting a runner on base and bringing him around to score through such means as the stolen base , the bunt , and the hit and run . advocates of what was dubbed " inside baseball " , such as giants manager mcgraw , disliked the home run , considering it a blot on the purity of the game . according to sportswriter w. a. after the 1920 season , ruth 's breakout performance that season and the response in excitement and attendance , " settled , for all time to come , that the american public is nuttier over the home run than the clever fielding or the pitching . viva el home run and two times viva babe ruth , exponent of the home run , and overshadowing star . " bill james noted , " when the owners discovered that the fans liked to see home runs , and when the foundations of the games were simultaneously imperiled by disgrace [ in the black sox scandal ] , then there was no turning back . " while a few , such as mcgraw and cobb , decried the passing of the old - style play , teams quickly began to seek and develop sluggers . according to contemporary sportswriter grantland rice , only two sports figures of the 1920s approached ruth in popularity — boxer jack dempsey and racehorse man o ' war . one of the factors that contributed to ruth 's broad appeal was the uncertainty about his family and early life . ruth appeared to exemplify the american success story , that even an uneducated , unsophisticated youth , without any family wealth or connections , can do something better than anyone else in the world . montville notes that " the fog [ surrounding his childhood ] will make him forever accessible , universal . he will be the patron saint of american possibility . " similarly , the fact that ruth played when a relatively small portion of his fans had the opportunity to see him play , in the era before television coverage of baseball , allowed his legend to grow through word of mouth and the hyperbole of sports reporters . reisler notes that recent sluggers who surpassed ruth 's 60 - home run mark , such as mark mcgwire and barry bonds , generated much less excitement than when ruth repeatedly broke the single - season home run record in the 1920s ; ruth dominated a relatively small sports world , while americans of the present era have many sports available to watch . legacy creamer termed ruth " a unique figure in the social history of the united states " . ruth has even entered the language : a dominant figure in a field , whether within or outside sports , is often referred to as " the babe ruth " of that field . similarly , " " has come to mean in sports , " colossal , dramatic , prodigious , magnificent ; with great power . " more books , montville noted in 2006 , have been written about ruth than about any other member of the baseball hall of fame . at least five of these books ( including creamer 's and wagenheim 's ) were written in 1973 and 1974 , timed to capitalize on the increase in public interest in ruth as henry aaron approached his career home run mark , which he broke on april 8 , 1974 . aaron stated as he approached ruth 's record , " i can 't remember a day this year or last when i did not hear the name of babe ruth . " montville suggests that ruth is probably even more popular today than he was when his career home run record was broken by aaron . the era that ruth started continues in baseball , to the delight of the fans . owners build ballparks to encourage home runs , which are featured on sportscenter and baseball tonight each evening during the season . the questions of performance - enhancing drug use , which have dogged recent home run hitters such as mcgwire and bonds , do nothing to diminish ruth 's reputation ; his with beer and hot dogs seem part of a simpler time . ruth has been named the greatest baseball player of all time in various surveys and rankings . in 1998 , the sporting news ranked him number one on the list of " baseball 's 100 greatest players " . in 1999 , baseball fans named ruth to the major league baseball all - century team . he was named baseball 's greatest player ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball , in 1969 . the associated press reported in 1993 that muhammad ali was tied with babe ruth as the most recognized athletes in america . in a 1999 espn poll , he was ranked as the second - greatest u.s. athlete of the century , behind michael jordan . in 1983 , the united states postal service honored ruth with the issuance of a twenty - cent stamp . one long - term survivor of the craze over ruth may be the baby ruth candy bar . the original company to market the confectionery , the curtis candy company , maintained that the bar was named after ruth cleveland , daughter of former president grover cleveland . she died in 1904 and the bar was first marketed in 1921 , at the height of the craze over the slugger . the slugger later sought to market candy bearing his name ; he was refused a trademark because of the baby ruth bar . corporate files from 1921 are no longer extant ; the brand has changed hands several times and is now owned by the nestlé company . the ruth estate licensed his likeness for use in an advertising campaign for baby ruth in 1995 . due to a marketing arrangement , in 2005 , the baby ruth bar became the official candy bar of major league baseball . montville notes the continuing relevance of babe ruth in american culture , over three - quarters of a century after he last swung a bat in a major league game : the fascination with his life and career continues . he is a bombastic , sloppy hero from our bombastic , sloppy history , origins undetermined , a folk tale of american success . his moon face is as recognizable today as it was when he stared out at tom zachary on a certain september afternoon in 1927 . if sport has become the national religion , babe ruth is the patron saint . he stands at the heart of the game he played , the promise of a warm summer night , a bag of peanuts , and a beer . and just maybe , the longest ball hit out of the park .