Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth Jr. is by far one of Americas greatest sports heroes. He is known primarily for his great baseball exploits and secondary as a man who stayed out late before every game and partied until there was no one left to party with. There is more behind the story of Babe Ruth than just baseball and parties. As a boy Ruth was your average youth who got himself into a little to much trouble and paid the price. As an adult he was a husband and a father who cared more about his family than he liked to show. George Ruth was a baseball hero and an alcoholic, but nobody’s perfect. I plan on exploring Babe Ruth’s life and noting the good and bad points of Americas greatest Baseball hero. George Herman Ruth Jr. was born on February 6, 1895 in his grandparents’ house at 216 Emory St. in the tough water front section of Baltimore. Babe Ruth’s parents Kate and George Herman Ruth were 19 and 23 when they had their first child, George Jr. The young father earned his living as a bar tender in a combination grocery store-saloon near the Baltimore water front. Babe was not an only child. He did have a sister named Mary Margaret, also known as Mamie, who was born in 1900. The Ruth’s did have six other children, but none of them survived to adulthood. Soon after Mamies birth his father opened his own tavern at 426 West Camden St. The family would later move into an apartment above the bar. George spent the first 7 years of his life running around the Bay area watching street fights and stealing from the shop keepers. It didn’t take long before he was known well by local police. When he was 7, Kate and her husband finally decided they could no longer tend to the mischievous boy, and brought him to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. Despite his crying and begging to be brought home, his custody was singed over to a group of strange men dressed in black robes. Though he didn’t realize it at the time, this would become his home throughout his young adolescence. George was released to live with his family on a few occasions, but one way or the other he would return to St. Mary’s. George didn’t adjust well to his new home. Living on the streets was the life he was accustom to and now that there were rules to follow he was beginning to feel miserable and regretful. To add to that pain was the knowledge that he had been abandoned by his mother and father. After two yea...

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...“Sultan of Swat”. Babe Ruth finished his career with the Boston Braves in 1935, after being released by the Yankees. He signed a one year deal with the Braves. Ruth was told he would manage the team after the year was over. Mid way through the season George found out that he was just being used to draw crowds, but still finished out the season because he was under contract. Ruth dreamed of managing a major league team, but never got that chance because of his wild reputation. In 1948 after two years of heart problems Babe Ruth passed away. He died at 8:01 p.m. on August 16th at Memorial Hospital at the age of 53. If you wanted to say George Ruth had it made all his life, you could. He made a lot of money, had two great wives and two great children, played the game he loved, partied half his life, and broke all the standing baseball hitting records of his time. But I bet if you were able to ask him today if he felt he had it made, he would probably say no. He did many great things on the field, but you have to remember the only way he became a star was by losing something every child needs, his parents. George Ruth had it all and was every little boys idol, but it didn’t come easy.