George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), also known as "The Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat", was a Major League Baseball player whose career lasted 22 seasons (1914–35). Although he started out with the Boston Red Sox — initially as a pitcher — and ended up with the Boston Braves, he is much better remembered for the fifteen seasons he spent as an outfielder with the New York Yankees.
Ruth is widely acknowledged as the greatest slugger in major league history. It wasn't merely that he set almost every batting record; it was how he set them. For example, at the time of his retirement Ruth's 714 career home runs was almost twice the total of the hitter in second place, his longtime teammate Lou Gehrig. His home run hitting was so unprecedented, and so prodigious, that it changed the way baseball was played, transforming it from a sport built mostly around speed and base hits to one built around power hitting. It also made him the greatest gate attraction and superstar the sport has ever known, to the point where – nearly a century after he last played – his name is still familiar even to people who know absolutely nothing else about baseball. In the 2020s, his name became relevant again when Shohei Ohtani became the first MLB player since The Babe to perform at superstar level as both a hitter and pitcher.
Further, not only did Ruth hit for power, he hit for average as well; his career .342 is #10 all-time, and he is one of only two players (the other being Ted Williams) to have both 500+ career home runs and at least a .333 career batting average.note And this is despite his spending the first five years of his career as a pitcher. (And a damn good one.) Little wonder, then, that he was one of the five players initially chosen for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.note
Off the field, however, he was also known for his forays into radio and film, in most cases appearing As Himself. While hardly the most prolific actor, his baseball reputation did carry over to much of his other work.
Due to a combination of his habitually poor lifestyle (with lots of smoking, drinking, and eating) and a rare form of throat cancer, he passed away in 1948 at the age of 53.
Works Babe Ruth appears in (fictionally or otherwise):
- A Force of Four: When telling how he first met Superman in 1941, Jimmy Olsen says he was thrilled to meet someone who "even Bate Ruth didn't rate against!"
Live-Action Film
- The Babe Ruth Story, a 1948 film, starring William Bendix and released just prior to the Babe's death, which takes a lot of liberties with his life and career.
- The Babe, a 1992 film starring John Goodman that takes a very Warts and All approach to him.
- Babe Comes Home, a silent baseball film.
- Headin' Home, a heavily fictionalized biopic of the man himself.
- The Pride of the Yankees, a Lou Gehrig biopic featuring Ruth As Himself.
- Speedy, a 1928 Harold Lloyd comedy in which he has a cameo.
- Several film shorts, most of them silent.
Radio
- The Adventures of Babe Ruth, a fifteen minute radio show that aired three times a week from April to July of 1934.
- Baseball Quiz, an on-again, off-again radio show that ran in 1943-1944.
- Here's Babe Ruth, a show similar to Adventures that aired from April to July in 1947.
- On Lux Radio Theatre, he appeared As Himself during their "Alibi Ike" show.
Tropes associated with Babe Ruth in fiction:
- The Ace: Was far and away the best batter in baseball for most of his career, and held records that weren't broken until 30 or 40 years later. Generally when referred to in a work, it's in a list of "the best at whatever they do." And that's not even getting into his pitching.
- Acrofatic: The guy was very stocky for a sport that was filled at the time with thin, wiry men. However, despite his build, he still ran well; it wasn't until late in his Yankee career that he became obese. Fictional works tend to play up his size while still emphasizing his skill and ability, resulting in this trope.
- Autobiographical Role: Playing himself in The Pride of the Yankees.
- Big Eater: Reportedly during the break between games of a 1925 double-header, Ruth was reputed to have eaten 12 hot dogs and downed 8 bottles of soda. The meal ended with him suffering indigestion so bad he had to go to the hospital, missing the second game. Other reports talk of prodigious consumption of food and beer before games, making it likely that Ruth set his longstanding records while on performance degrading substances! His first roommate with the Yankees, Ping Bodie, himself quite the trencherman, declined to even compete with him at eating, saying, "Anyone who eats three pounds of steak and a bottle of chili sauce as a starter has got me beat."
- Calling Your Shots: Ruth allegedly did this in the third game of the 1932 World Series at Chicago's Wrigley Field, pointing out to center before smacking a home run over that part of the fence. The media built it up as Ruth having "called his shot", while others maintain he was actually pointing to Cubs pitcher Charlie Root or to the Cubs bench (who'd been heckling him all game); it has been a subject of debate for decades since.note Regardless of his intentions, it's constantly referenced in fiction and media.
- Drunken Master: Some depictions of him play up his drinking and show him as always drunk or even performing better when sauced.
- Friend to All Children: He was well known to donate a lot of his free time to children at schools, hospitals, and orphanages, and donated a good amount of money to the orphanage he grew up in. His publicity ran with this.
- I Shall Taunt You: After hitting the Called Shot home run, Ruth then proceed to rub it in, waving and gesturing towards the Cubs dugout.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Rarely is he referred to by his real name, George.
- Red Baron: "The Bambino", "The Sultan of Swat", "The Colossus of Clout", "The King of Crash". And many more.
- Stout Strength: He was famously heavy set and very strong as evidenced by his incredible batting skills.
