Untitled Document

Babe Ruth's Farewell Speech

"The only real game, I think, in the world, is baseball.
(Yankee Stadium, New York City, April 27, 1947)
Click here to hear his speech
from "HistoryChannel.com"

On April 27, 1947, baseball legend Babe Ruth, diagnosed with a terminal case of throat cancer, attended "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium. "The Bambino," as he was known to his millions of fans, spoke that day of his love of baseball and his new position as director of baseball for the American Legion.

Ruth, who had a colorful personality and an unmistakable physical presence, began his major league career in Baltimore in 1914. That same year he was traded to the Boston Red Sox, and over the next five years proved himself as a formidable left-handed pitcher and batter. In 1919, he was sold to the New York Yankees, where he played outfield to better exploit his phenomenal hitting talents. At a time when Baseball was suffering through the disgrace of the Black Sox scandal, Ruth almost single-handedly salvaged the sport's popularity, hitting a record 60-home runs in the 1927 season and leading the Yankees to seven pennants. Yankee Stadium, opened in 1923, came to be known as "the House that Ruth Built." However, Babe also made headlines by his charitable actions, such as visiting sick children in hospitals.

In 1935, he retired from baseball, having hit a record 714 home runs in his career. In 1946, Ruth was diagnosed with throat cancer, but the doctors could do little. Early the next year, treatment ended. On April 27, 1947, Babe Ruth Day was held at Yankee Stadium, and on June 13, 1948, a uniformed Ruth appeared there one last time to retire his number. On August 16, 1948, he died. For two days, his body lay in state at the main entrance to Yankee Stadium, and tens of thousands of people stood in line to pay their last respects. He was buried in Hawthorne, New York.