Who was Babe Ruth?
A: George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball
player.
His career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned how
many seasons?
A: 22, from 1914 through 1935.
Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he
began his MLB career as a what?
A: A star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
He achieved his greatest fame as a what?
A: A slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.
Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes
in American culture and is considered by many to be what?
A: The greatest baseball player of all time.
In 1936, Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
as what?
A: One of its "first five" inaugural members.
At age seven, Ruth was sent where?
A: To St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he was
mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Xaverian Brothers, the school's
disciplinarian and a capable baseball player.
In 1914, Ruth was signed to play what?
A: Minor League baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the
Red Sox.
By 1916, he had built a reputation as what?
A: An outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual
for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era.
Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a
pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with the
Red Sox, he wanted to do what?
A: To play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder.
With regular playing time, he broke the MLB
single-season home run record in 1919 with how many?
A: 29.
After that season, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth
to whom?
A: The Yankees amid controversy.
The trade fueled Boston's subsequent 86-year
championship drought and popularized what?
A: The "Curse of the Bambino" superstition.
In his 15 years with the Yankees, Ruth helped the team
win how many American League (AL) pennants?
A: Seven, and four World Series championships.
His big swing led to escalating home run totals that
not only drew fans to the ballpark and boosted the sport's popularity but
also helped what?
A: Usher in baseball's live-ball era, which evolved from a low-scoring game
of strategy to a sport where the home run was a major factor.
As part of the Yankees' vaunted "Murderers' Row" lineup
of 1927, Ruth hit home runs?
A: 60, which extended his own MLB single-season record by a single home run.
Ruth's last season with the Yankees was in what year?
A: 1934.
He retired from the game the following year, after a
short stint with who?
A: The Boston Braves.
Throughout his career, Ruth led the AL in home runs
during a season how many times?
A: 12.
During Ruth's career, he was the target of intense
press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off-field penchants
for what?
A: Drinking and womanizing.
After his retirement as a player, he was denied the
opportunity to do what?
A: To manage a major league club, most likely because of poor behavior
during parts of his playing career.
In his final years, Ruth made many public appearances,
especially in support of what?
A: American efforts in World War II.
In 1946, he became ill with what?
A: Nasopharyngeal cancer and died from the disease two years later.
Ruth remains a major figure in what?
A: American culture.