Barney Corkhill's A Tribute To... series moves to look at baseball. In this series I look at the greatest talents to grace various sports.
In the first baseball tribute I look at perhaps the biggest legend in baseball history. He was the most dominant players of his generation, and a genuine all-rounder, able to pitch, hit and field to great effect.
I speak, of course, of the late, great Babe Ruth.
On February 6th, 1895, George Herman Ruth Jr was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born to Germany/American parents, who parented eight children. Tragically, however, only two of these, Babe Ruth and sister Mamie Ruth, survived past infancy.
With a family who had to work full-time to earn a living, Babe Ruth had to find his own way in the early years of his life. He had a fairly troublesome childhood, stealing, drinking and swearing when just five years old.
In 1902, Ruth's parents lost patience with him, and carted the troublesome child off to St Mary's Industrial School for Boys. It was a school for boys who were deemed "incurably bad." Even so, Ruth's behaviour even at the school was so bad that he was often sent home, only to be repeatedly returned by his parents.
It was at this school that Ruth discovered baseball. A man called Brother Matthias took the young Ruth under his wing and taught him the basics of batting and fielding. He showed his potential from an early age. It was Brother Matthias who later taught Ruth to pitch as well.
In 1914, a man named Jack Dunn was alerted of Ruth's talents. He watched Ruth in action and immediately drew up a contract, which Ruth signed. The contract meant that Ruth had signed for the minor league Baltimore Orioles, and that Dunn was now Ruth's legal guardian.
It was here that Ruth gained the nickname "Babe," due to his youthfulness compared with the rest of the squad. It was a nickname that stuck for the rest of his life, and beyond.
After making his name quickly at Baltimore Orioles, Babe Ruth was involved in trading talk. After being offered to three clubs, on July 9, 1914, Ruth moved to Boston Red Sox.
The young Babe Ruth appeared in five Major League games for Red Sox in his first year, used as a pitcher in four of those. The Red Sox already had a talented and star-studded squad, however, so Babe Ruth soon found himself optioned back to the minor leagues, this time with Providence Grays.
He helped the Grays to the International League pennant, and finished the season with a 2-1 record. He was soon back in the Red Sox set-up and was fighting for a spot in the starting rotation. It wasn't long before he joined a big-name pitching staff.
Ruth lost just eight games that season, winning 18 and hit a very respectable .315, including his first four home runs. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series that year.
The next year he went 23-12, despite having a few periods when he wasn't on his best form. He also recorded nine shutouts, which was an AL record at the time (and remained so for another 60 years) and had a 1.75 Earned Run Average (ERA).
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