Babe Ruth

Born: 1895-02-05

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full-time right fielder and subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup that won seven pennants and four World Series titles during his tenure with the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ruth has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". Off the field he was famous for his charity, but also was noted for his often reckless lifestyle. Ruth is credited with changing baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to his influence. Ruth ushered in the "live-ball era", as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth 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. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Muhammad Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athletes, out of over 800 dead or alive athletes, in America. The study found that over 97% of Americans over 12 years of age identified both Ali and Ruth. According to ESPN, he was the first true American sports celebrity superstar whose fame transcended baseball. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the third-greatest US athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record which stood until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record, until first surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career on-base plus slugging (OPS) remain the Major League records. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBIs) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (as well as the all-time record, except for RBIs). Description above from the Wikipedia article Babe Ruth, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


Placeholder

Zelig

as Self - Swinging Bat (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1983-07-15

Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a...

Movie page

Always at The Carlyle

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2018-05-11

The iconic Carlyle hotel has been an international destination for a particular jet set as well...

Movie page

The Pride of the Yankees

as Babe Ruth
Released: 1942-07-14

The story of the life and career of the baseball hall of famer, Lou Gehrig.

Movie page

Speedy

as Babe Ruth
Released: 1928-04-07

Speedy loses his job as a soda jerk, then spends the day with his girl at Coney Island. He then...

Movie page

Say Hey, Willie Mays!

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2022-10-27

Follow Willie Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the...

Movie page

Going Hollywood: The '30s

as (archive footage)
Released: 1984-01-01

Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they...

Movie page

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2017-10-20

In honor of Homer's journey to the Hall of Fame, MLB all-stars and Springfield locals look back...

Movie page

Ways to Strength and Beauty

as uncredited
Released: 1925-03-16

The perfect body as an object of cult worship. Based on the mass sports and body worship...

Movie page

The Golden Twenties

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1950-04-08

Feature-length compilation of 1920s newsreel footage, with commentary about news, sports,...

Movie page

Babe Ruth

as Himself (archive footage)
Released: 1998-08-16

As its title implies, this video attempts to go beyond the public persona of one of major league...

Movie page

Headin' Home

as Babe (as George Herman 'Babe' Ruth)
Released: 1920-09-18

The "true story" of baseball great Babe Ruth; Ruth plays himself.

Movie page

Babe Comes Home

as Babe Dugan
Released: 1927-05-22

A baseball-styled sports filmed centered on Babe Ruth and Anna Q. It is considered a lost film.

Movie page

Babe Ruth: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

as himself
Released: 1990-04-25

Mel Allen hosts this look at Babe Ruth's life and career, focusing primarily on Ruth's years...

Movie page

Super Stars of Sports: Baseball

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1991-01-01

Made in 1990, this compilation video highlights the "Best of the Best" in Baseball.

Movie page

Play Ball with Babe Ruth

as Himself (archival footage)
Released: 1920-01-01

A serial of short instructional films using footage of Babe Ruth to explain the fundamentals of...

Movie page

Home Run on the Keys

as Babe Ruth
Released: 1937-04-24

In this short film, Babe Ruth proposes to put a song about baseball on the radio.

Movie page

Just Pals

as Himself
Released: 1932-02-01

Babe Ruth plays ball with some kids.

Movie page

Fancy Curves

as Himself
Released: 1932-02-01

Babe Ruth teaches babes how to play baseball.....

Movie page

Race for the Record

as Self
Released: 1998-01-01

Babe Ruth set a record in 1927 by hitting 60 home runs in one season. 34 years later, Roger...

Movie page

Slide, Babe, Slide

as Himself
Released: 1932-01-01

Babe Ruth plays ball with some kids.

Movie page

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self (archive footage)
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

TV Show page