"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."- Babe Ruth. 

"He has created an expectation of hero worship on the part of the youth of this country, and it was a most fortunate thing that Ruth kept faith with the boyhood of America because they loved him."

...Branch Rickey, ex-Manager of Brooklyn Dodgers

"The Sultan of Swat. The King of Clout. The Great Bambino."

In a time when baseball, reeling from the 1919 Black Sox scandal, declining attendance and declining credibility, needed a revitalization, Babe Ruth stepped front and center.

And changed the face of sport.

Biography- Babe Ruth, born George Herman Ruth was born in 1895 in Baltimore to Kate and George Ruth. His parents were saloon - keepers who quickly found that George was too much for them too handle. So at the age of seven George was sent to a Catholic school for boys. It was at that Catholic boy’s school that Ruth found his love for baseball. Ruth started his career at the age of 18 with the Baltimore Orioles’ in the spring of 1914 as a pitcher. However, midway through the year he was sold to the Boston Red Sox. It was in Boston that his talent for hitting was discovered, so when he wasn’t pitching he was playing outfield so he could stay in the hitting lineup. Ruth first came into the national spotlight in 1919 when he hit a record 29 home runs with the Boston Red Sox. The following season he was traded to the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth became the cornerstone for one of the most dominant teams in the history of baseball. Between 1920 and 1933 Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees won 7 pennants and 4 World Series championships. Ruth captivated the American public in the 1927 season when he hit a record 60 homeruns. Ruth played his last game with the New York Yankees in 1934. He finished his career with 714 homeruns. Ruth died on August 16, 1948 from throat cancer.

"Baseball was, is, and always will be to me the best game in the world." - Babe Ruth

"... I've seen them; kids, men, women, worshippers all, hoping to get his name on a torn, dirty piece of paper, or hoping for a grunt of recognition when they said, 'Hi-ya, Babe.' He never let them down; not once. He was the greatest crowd pleaser of them all."

...Waite Hoyt, teammate

Impact upon Society- Babe Ruth may be the single most influential person in American sports history. He took America by storm in the 1920’s with his powerful homerun blasts out of the park. "Ruth’s home runs, according to Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, made the fans so crazy with excitement that they were ready to tear up the stands." Babe Ruth arrived on the baseball scene at a time when America’s past time was in shambles. After the 1919 season eight Chicago White Sox players were accused of taking bribes from gamblers to throw the World Series. The players went on trial and so did the sport. The scandal broke the hearts of millions of American’s. To American citizens baseball represented everything good about society, for a scandal as large in magnitude as the Black Sox Scandal to corrupt baseball was a terrible tragedy for the American public. America felt betrayed by the scandal, what they needed was a hero to save baseball. That hero was Babe Ruth. While "The Babe" hit hundreds of home runs out of the park in the 20’s and 30’s the fans coming into the parks to see Babe Ruth grew by the thousands. As fans flocked to see Babe Ruth the Black Sox scandal faded into the distant memories of the American public. "The Babe’s" impact upon society was so great that when the New York Yankees opened Yankee Stadium in 1923, it was nicknamed "the house that Ruth built."

"...and no player has held onto the nation's affection longer. George Herman 'Babe' Ruth - who mixed a batsman's steely gaze and a happy-go-lucky lifestyle - tops a USA TODAY reader's poll as the greatest sports star of all time."

...Mel Antonen

Did the Babe Change History- In my opinion George Herman Ruth, "The Great Bambino" had a profound impact upon the nation in many ways. He almost single handedly saved professional baseball and transformed it into the national past time that it is today. He erased the painful memories that surrounded the sport following the Black Sox scandal. With his theatrical personality and home run power he captivated the American public. The way Babe Ruth played baseball changed the lives of many Americans for the better. He brought joy and happiness to thousands of fans. He inspired young boys to play the game. He was a role model and a hero for a nation in dire need of just that. America would be a significantly different nation if George Herman Ruth had never played baseball.

"To say ‘Babe Ruth’ is to say ‘Baseball’."

...ex A.L. President Will Harridge

For more information on the life and times of Babe Ruth you can visit the following web sites.