Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth was a reckless, abandoned child who became America's biggest hero. Babe Ruth's parents did not have the time to take care of him, but little did George Ruth Sr. know that when he was shipping his son off to boarding school, he was pushing one of America's greatest idols out of his life (http://www.baberuth.com). Ruth never received strict parenting until he attended St. Mary's where he began to straighten out. After he became a main stream ball player he began to attract the attention of many fans with the frequency of his homeruns. Ruth hit his prime just after a time of crisis for professional baseball (http://www.baberuth.com). Now Babe is still praised for his accomplishments and for his contribution to the game of baseball and life of Americans. Ruth became America's greatest hero because he gave Americans hope in times of scandal and hardship, he reignited excitement in baseball, and he embodied the American Dream, where anyone can work his way from humble beginnings to great success.

Babe Ruth did not have an ideal or even average American childhood. George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born on February 6, 1895 on the second story of his grandmother's house on in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth did not have a happy childhood. Ruth fended for himself most of his childhood while his parents worked in their saloon (http://www.baberuth.com, 1). Mr. and Mrs. Ruth had seven children after Ruth but only one survived, his sister Mary Margaret. By the time Ruth was five he was a very rebellious child, he skipped school, stole, drank, and, participated in many adult behaviors. Looking back on these days Ruth told Fred Lieb, "I learned early to drink beer, wine, whiskey, and I think I was about five when I first chewed tobacco. There was a lot of cussin' in Pop's saloon, so I learned a lot of swear words, some really bad ones" (http://fsweb.wm.edu, 1). When Ruth was seven his father sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, and signed custody over to the Xaverian Brothers, a Catholic order of Jesuit missionaries who ran St. Mary's. Ruth did not like the strict atmosphere at St. Mary's. Jackie Stelle quotes Ruth in his biography, "it was like a prison to me. St. Mary's had a stone wall that surrounded us, and guards that were always on duty" (http://www.edserv.sjcoe.net, 1). Ruth continued his rebellious lifestyle at St. Mary's and was sometimes sent home, but shortly after, he would be shipped back to St. Mary's by his parents (http://www.baberuth.com). Again he's quoted in Stelle's biography: "While I was at St. Mary's no one came to visit me. Brother Mathias was a positive influence at St. Mary's for me. He was a man of discipline as well as guidance and support, as my parents should have been" (http://www.edserv.sjcoe.net, 1). Throughout the twelve years in which Ruth lived at St. Mary's, his family never came (http://www.baberuth.com). Brother Matthias was like the father Ruth never had, he worked with and encouraged Ruth in baseball and everyday affairs. Everyone Ruth played with soon discovered that he had learned every position effortlessly and a year later, when Ruth was eight years old he was so talented he was placed on the twelve year olds' team. Brother Mathis, along with St. Mary's helped Ruth pull his life together after his not so great life at the saloon. Ruth summed his childhood up by saying, "When I wasn't living over it [...] I was living in the neighborhood streets. I had a rotten start and it took me a long time to get my bearing." (Creamer 22)

In 1914 Babe Ruth signed with Jack Dunn into the minors, but Ruth was only in the minors for five months. At the age of nineteen he signed with the Boston Red Sox. He remained with the team for six seasons, switching positions as pitcher and outfielder (http://www.baberuth.com). With his talent for pitching and batting, and his friendly personality, he was quickly on his way to greatness. In December of 1919, the Boston Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees. Ruppert, the owner, bought Ruth for over $100,000, which was a huge amount then (http://www.babe-ruth.com). When Ruth first joined the Yankees they were one of the lousiest teams in baseball, never having won a world series; Ruth came from a team that had five under its belt, the most in baseball. Earlier that year, the White Sox had been accused of throwing the World Series. This story was a headline across the United States. Eight of their players were accused and were banned from ever playing professional ball. After the scandal America's faith in baseball was weakened and Americans needed a hero (http://www.babe-ruth.com). Ruth took on the role and had a breakthrough season in 1920, his first season with the Yankees. That year Ruth led the league in runs, RBIs and walks, and he also shattered the record of homeruns in a single season, twenty-nine set by himself the previous year, raising it to fifty-four. The next closest competitor achieved a mere nineteen. He also set the single season slugging percentage at .847, which stood for eighty-one years.

The second year Ruth played for the Yankees they won the American league and Ruth's fourth year they won the World Series. Before Ruth's arrival as a star, attendance had declined greatly due to the Black Sox, but thanks to Ruth in 1920, the Yankees became the first team to host one million fans, double the numbers set by other teams. On April 4, 1923 the Yankees finally had a stadium they could call their home. Babe Ruth was so popular that on opening day he attracted 74,000 people. The stadium was eventually known as "The House That Ruth Built," and on opening day, Ruth hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium, the first of many to come. (http://www.babe-ruth.com/). Ruth's ability to make any team successful and attract fans is what made "The Babe" unique.

Ruth's numbers slowed as he grew older, but he still continued to add to his record high career totals. In 1931, Ruth started his twelfth season with the Yankees, and it also marked the rise of Lou Gehrig, a rookie teammate. In 1933 Ruth realized that his playing days were numbered. He told the Yankees that if they did not give him an opportunity to become a manager, he would leave. When the Yankees turned down his request in 1934, Ruth left them. Two years later, the Boston Braves offered Ruth a part-time player's position, bribing him with an eventual assistant-manager position. He accepted the position, but his decision resulted in mixed feelings for New York fans. Some thought that he was deserving of the opportunity, and others felt that he was just going where the best offer was. After three months Ruth realized that the Braves only wanted him for his popularity with crowds. His