October 1st, 1932: it was the fifth inning of the 3rd game of the 1932 World Series. Ruth is at-bat. Stepping into the batters box, he points to centerfield. He is determined to hit the ball there. On the next pitch, Ruth smacks a homer into center field! The crowd goes wild, cheering for the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth is an influential American because he forever changed the game of baseball.
George Herman Ruth Jr. was born on February 6th, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland to parents, George Sr. and Kate. He was one of eight children, four boys and four girls (“Babe Ruth”). When Babe was about 16, his mother died of tuberculosis. About eight years after his mother’s death, his father was killed in a fistfight with his second wife’s brother. The cause of his father’s death was a fractured skull. After all of this, only Babe and his younger sister were still alive (Fogel). When Babe was younger, his parents were never around so he didn’t have any strict authority in his life. His parents would leave him and his sister unsupervised, causing him to get into trouble; skipping school and causing neighborhood problems (“Babe Ruth”).
While Babe was at St. Mary’s he met Brother Matthais, a monk and father figure to Babe. One day in 1911 while Babe was playing, Jack Dunn, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles was watching him play. After watching him for less than an hour, he recruited Babe due to his baseball potential (“Babe Ruth”). In order for Babe to legally play for the Orioles, Dunn had to become his legal guardian in order to complete the contracts. When Dunn brought Babe to meet the other players, they gave him the nickname “Jacks Newest Babe”; this is where he developed the name “Babe”. Babe was 19 when he was drafted. He batted and...
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...also encourage younger children to act right and look up to God. If there is one thing that is for sure it would be that, “he made Yankees the Yankees” (Fagan).
Works Cited
“Babe Ruth.” Babe Ruth. Family of Babe Ruth and Babe Ruth League C/O Luminary Group. 2011. Web. 11 April 2014.
Bedingfield, Gary. “Baseball in World War II.” Baseball in Wartime. N.p. 2014. Web. 24 April 2014.
Fagan, Ryan. “Babe Ruth, The Beginning of an Era.” Sporting News 5/23/2011; page 28. MAS Complete. Web. 21 April 2014.
Fogel, Malrshall. “Babe Ruth: How did it all Begin.” Professional Sports Authenticator. N.p n.d. Web. 30 April 2014.
Ruth, Babe. “Babe Ruth’s last message: The Kids Cann’t Take It if We Don’t Give It!” Catholic Education Resource Center. N.p. n.d. Web. 28 April 2014.
Stewart, Wayne. Baseball’s All-Time Greatest Hitters Babe Ruth. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1951. Print.
Babe Ruth is still a very well-known person in history today, even almost one-hundred years later. He did not only change the way people viewed negro baseball leagues, but he also gained a large reputation for his ability to play baseball, obviously due to his amazing abilities. Ruth’s ability to play was almost impossibly good, in fact, he was even titled “athlete of the century” for his ability. With that ability and power that he had once he won, he would become a
In the August 30, 1905 edition of Detroit’s Free Press, the sportswriters ran a small blurb announcing the arrival of a Detroit Tigers rookie, Ty Cobb. They stated, “Cobb left the South Atlantic League with a batting average of .328. He will not pile up anything like that in this league, and he doesn’t expect to” (Allen 177). Their prediction ironically rung true. Cobb hit better than their projected .328 batting average twenty times in his twenty four seasons (McCallum 217). Tyrus Raymond Cobb’s prolific career leads many fans and historians to believe that he deserves the title of greatest hitter of all time. However, some critics would argue that Ted Williams warrants this distinction. Unfortunately for Williams and his fans, the hitting prowess of Williams falls short of Cobb’s. While Williams arguably displayed a great hitting ability, Cobb remains the better batsman.
The game of baseball has changed ever since Babe Ruth has joined the league. He has changed the game with the amount of power he brings to the plate. Right now with the Yankees, he has showed how amazing he is and has helped make the Yankees popular by winning a few World Series and breaking many homerun records. For Babe to come into the league, it took a little help to get noticed.
“In 1946, there were sixteen Major League Baseball teams, with a total of 400 players on their rosters, every one of the players was white. But when opening day came in 1947, that number dropped to 399, and one man stood apart. (42 2:30)” Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Making Jackie Robinson the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackie’s transition from the Negro Leagues to MLB was not an easy one. As a player, he transitioned very well, but it was Robinson’s teammates, Dodgers fans, the opposing teams and their fans that tested Jackie every chance they got, some hotels even prohibited the Dodgers to stay in their establishments
"Ruth's Record of 700 Home Runs Likely to Stand for All Time in Major Leagues." New York Times 14 July 1934: 8.
1910 to 1920 was the one of the greatest decades for Major League Baseball. Many amazing events occurred during this decade; although, some devastating and extremely sad events also occurred. Half of these years were taken up by war, even many Hall of Fame players served. This decade still ended up being a great one for Major League Baseball. From Hall of Fame greats to Negro League pitchers, this decade produced greats. The 1910’s also set up the 1920’s for amazing players too.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
The time came on April 15, 1947 when the man who would change all this stepped up to bat marking the first time an African American played in the major leagues. Jackie Robinson was the man and the hero of baseball to the black people. With much hope Jackie Robinson and the African American race marked the beginning of the struggle for the ultimate goal which was equality. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was the son of a sharecropper and life wasn’t ea...
Rader states that baseball was founded by Abner Doubleday in 1839 at Cooperstown, New York. In the next couple decades, the game developed the simple concept of bases. After having bases introduced into the game, the kids in bigger cities started club based teams which played each other. These teams started to develop a personal passion and respect for baseball which led them to adopt written rules. He conveys the idea of fellowship within the team and how the players celebrated all aspects of the game. He gives an example of a club team called the New York Knickerbockers and how they celebrated with their opponents and teammates whether they won or l...
should know Babe Ruth is for the most important reason, that being the way he
Paige has changed baseball today because he has shown new ways to pitch, broke the racial barrier with Robinson, and was an influence on many players in todays
Crack! Back, back, back the ball goes. Home run! Who hit it? It was Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the major league. Many people would agree Jackie was one of the best players to ever swing a bat. However, he faced many difficulties on his journey to becoming a professional baseball player. Without Jackie playing in the pros, baseball and civil rights wouldn’t be the way it is today. Baseball may have taken a long time to not be made up of mainly white players. Jackie was a beacon of hope to black people in the fact that they could compete and succeed in a white man’s sport.
Shattuck, Debra (2011). “Women’s baseball in the 1860s: Reestablishing a historical memory.” Nine,19(2), 1-26. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/nine/vo19 /19.2.shattuck.html
This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...
Tygiel, Jules. 2001; 2000. Past time: Baseball as history. Oxford England; New York: Oxford University Press.