Babe Ruth : the base ball rule

Babe Ruth Story: Hidden Facts About Baseball’s Greatest Legend

Babe Ruth funeral drew more than 100,000 mourners, in fact proving he was more than just a baseball player. His remarkable .342 batting average and 714 home runs across 22 seasons changed America’s favourite pastime. The game evolved from strategic plays to thrilling power-hitting displays.

The Babe’s story includes his legendary 60-home-run season in 1927. No player had earned anywhere near that amount before him.

The Sultan of Swat’s life holds many untold chapters waiting to be discovered. From his early years to his ventures outside baseball, surprising facts about this legendary figure remain unknown even to his most dedicated fans.

The Making of a Slugger: Babe Ruth Untold Early Years

Babe Ruth Life at St. Mary’s: More than just baseball

Young George arrived at this Catholic reformatory on June 13, 1902, with officials labeling him “incorrigible”. The Xaverian Brothers ran St. Mary’s with strict discipline and regular corporal punishment. The school taught valuable trade skills beyond baseball. Ruth excelled as a shirtmaker and earned six cents per collar. His carpentry skills from those days stayed with him throughout his life.

Students handled the facility’s daily operations. They cooked, made shoes, and even helped renovate the school in 1912. The strict environment gave Ruth something he desperately needed – structure and guidance. The school became his true home after his mother’s death at the time he turned 12.

Brother Matthias: The mentor who shaped his swing

Brother Matthias Boutlier, a towering Nova Scotian who stood six-foot-six and weighed 250 pounds, became Ruth’s father figure. “He taught me to read and write and the difference between right and wrong,” Ruth said. “He was the father I needed and the greatest man I’ve ever known”.

Baseball entered Ruth’s life through Brother Matthias. Ruth remembered that moment vividly: “I never forgot the first time I saw him hit a ball. He would stand at the end of the yard, throw the ball up with his left hand, and give it a terrific belt. The ball would carry 350 feet”.

Ruth studied every aspect of Matthias’s technique. He copied the powerful uppercut swing that seemed unusual then and even mimicked his quick, tiny-step running style. This guidance shaped Ruth’s signature hitting approach.

From reform school to professional baseball

Ruth had become St. Mary’s star pitcher by age 18, and his performances created quite a “sensation”. The school let him play weekend games with local teams, which led to coverage in community newspapers.

Jack Dunn, who owned the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, visited St. Mary’s to watch Ruth play in February 1914. Ruth’s talent impressed Dunn so much that after just 30 minutes, he offered the 19-year-old a six-month contract worth $600.

Ruth’s teammates started calling him “Jack’s newest babe” during spring training in South Carolina, creating the nickname that stuck forever. His natural abilities shone immediately, and the Boston Red Sox soon purchased his contract, launching what would become a legendary major league career.

Beyond the Called Shot: Lesser-Known Game Moments

Baseball fans remember Babe Ruth’s legendary “Called Shot” in the 1932 World Series, but the baseball icon’s career contains many extraordinary moments that time has forgotten.

The forgotten perfect game with Ernie Shore

A remarkable pitching performance at Fenway Park on June 23, 1917, stands unique in baseball history. Ruth started as Boston’s pitcher and walked Washington’s leadoff batter Ray Morgan on four pitches. He argued with umpire Brick Owens about balls and strikes and got ejected—then punched the umpire in the head.

Ernie Shore took over after pitching five innings just two days before. What followed was extraordinary. Morgan got caught stealing, and Shore retired the next 26 batters in order to secure a 4-0 victory. The game was first recorded as perfect, but baseball officials reclassified it in 1991 as baseball’s first combined no-hitter.

Babe Ruth pitching dominance: Stats that surprise fans

Ruth dominated as one of American League’s elite pitchers before becoming baseball’s home run king. His 1916 season saw him lead the league with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts—an American League record for left-handed pitchers that Ron Guidry matched in 1978.His stamina was remarkable.

Home runs that changed ballpark designs

Ruth’s powerful hits changed baseball’s physical landscape.This design sparked changes throughout baseball. Teams saw Ruth draw huge crowds and started moving fences inward to create more home runs. These changes transformed how people played and watched baseball.

The Business of Being Babe Ruth : Off-Field Ventures

The Babe Ruth business empire changed the game for professional athletes. His larger-than-life personality created money-making opportunities way beyond the reach and influence of his playing career.

Endorsement deals that broke new ground

Ruth became the first sports superstar who needed a publicity agent. He hired Christy Walsh to handle his commercial deals. This partnership led to Ruth endorsing an incredible range of products. A three-year Quaker Oats contract worth $25,000 ($49,863.73) turned out to be his biggest payday. Ruth earned $120 ($238.25) from just one Whizit coveralls ad – that matched an average player’s yearly salary in 1920.

His name appeared on everything from underwear to tobacco products. The underwear line alone brought him $5,350 ($10,667.95). You could find Ruth’s face on baseball gear, gas stations, bread, candy, gum, and even cigarettes – though he wasn’t really a cigarette smoker.

Babe Ruth salary negotiations: Revolutionary for his time

Ruth changed the game in contract talks long before free agency existed. After joining the Yankees, he made his position clear: “If Frazee wants to give me $8,000 ($15,883.20) I’ll play. But if the Red Sox don’t want to pay that much…I won’t play”.

Ruth broke all records in 1922 with a $20,800 ($41,296.33) contract. His 1921 deal was creative – the Yankees paid him $20 ($39.71) for each home run. His 59 homers earned him a $1,180 ($2,342.77) bonus, which was more than what four of his teammates made in a full season.

Failed business ventures fans never knew about

The Babe Ruth story had its share of setbacks in business. Ruth spent six years fighting Curtiss Candy in court over the “Baby Ruth” candy bar they created without his okay. The company sold a billion bars yearly by 1925, but Ruth never saw a penny.

On top of that, he sued another company for $100,000 ($198,540.03) when they used his batting footage in training films without permission. The judge threw out the case and ruled that Ruth’s popularity meant anyone could photograph him without asking.

Personal Struggles Behind the Legend

Behind the headlines and home runs, the Babe Ruth we rarely saw battled personal demons that shaped his character as much as his athletic prowess.

Health battles throughout his career

Babe Ruth’s career was marked by serious health challenges. His body gave out in 1925 at a North Carolina train station, where he suffered what newspapers called “The Bellyache Heard ‘Round the World”. Doctors performed surgery for an “intestinal abscess” that kept him off the field for seven weeks. Some teammates suggested the real cause might have been a sexually-transmitted disease.

Ruth realized by 1930 that his lifestyle could end his career. . His toughest fight came in 1946 when doctors diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. The treatment showed early promise but the cancer took his life on August 16, 1948.

Family relationships away from the spotlight

Ruth’s personal life had its share of complications. He married Helen Woodford in 1914, but their relationship didn’t last. Life took a turn when he met actress Claire Hodgson in 1923. Helen died in a house fire in 1929, and Ruth married Claire that same year.

Ruth built his family through adoption rather than birth. He and Helen adopted Dorothy in 1921, though years later she found that there was a different story – her biological mother was Juanita Jennings, with whom Ruth had an affair. Ruth’s marriage to Claire brought changes as he formally adopted Dorothy while Claire’s daughter Julia became his stepdaughter.

The truth about Ruth’s larger-than-life appetite

The Babe Ruth story wouldn’t be complete without his legendary appetite. Teammate Harry Hooper remembered, “Lord, he ate too much. When we were traveling, he’d stop and order half a dozen hot dogs and just as many bottles of soda pop”.

Ruth’s meals reached mythical proportions. A single six-hour outing in New York saw him devour two massive dinners – each with two porterhouse steaks, double-order of cottage-fried potatoes, two heads of lettuce, and two apple pies à la mode. He managed to squeeze in four hot dogs and four bottles of Coca-Cola as “snacks” between these feasts. Ruth achieved baseball greatness with this diet, though his health paid the price later.