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George Herman (Babe) Ruth, circa 1925. Courtesy Library of Congress.
On this day in 1914, George Herman (Babe) Ruth made his début in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Sold to the Yankees in 1919, Ruth went on to become an American icon, shattering records with his unprecedented hitting prowess and helping catapult baseball into its place as the national pastime. Throughout his twenty-one-year career, Ruth's physical skills, personal charm, and occasionally reckless behavior made him a subject of public obsession. Here are some scenes from the Bambino’s life, on and off the field.
