THE FIRST 60 HOMERS CLUB MEMBER

Babe Ruth, Baseball Player Born: 6 February 1895 Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland Died: 16 August 1948 (cancer) Best Known As: New York Yankee hero and "Sultan of Swat" Name at birth: George Herman Ruth, Jr.Babe Ruth is the most celebrated player in baseball history . A home run king and fan favorite, Ruth was the first in a line of iconic New York Yankees which included Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Ruth began his career as a pitcher but moved to the outfield, where he gained fame as a slugger. After the Boston Red Sox sold him to the Yankees in 1920, Ruth became the most famous athlete in America. Ruth's larger-than-life personality (including a prodigious fondness for food and drink) was a hit with fans , and Ruth is often credited with making baseball the dominant American sport of its time. Ruth retired in 1935; he held the single-season record for home runs (60) until fellow Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961, and the career record (714) until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974. In 1948, like Gehrig before him, Ruth had an emotional farewell at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees retiring his uniform number 3. He died of throat cancer two months later.