Babe Ruth Day Celebrated April 27
This year Babe Ruth Day has arrived on Friday and people everywhere are honoring the legendary baseball player.
It was on April 27, 1947 that Ruth attended Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium where fans celebrated the star, who was ailing at the time.
During the time, The New York Times reported on Ruth's appearance in front of over 50,000 fans.
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"Just before he spoke, Ruth started to cough and it appeared that he might break down because of the thunderous cheers that came his way," wrote the publication over 65 years ago.
One year later at the age of 53, Ruth was diagnosed with throat cancer. He died on Aug. 16, 1948.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland as George Herman Ruth, Jr., Babe was also known as "The Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat." He set career records for home runs and slugging percentage with his legendary hitting skills.
Ruth started his career in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox, but in 1919, he joined the New York Yankees. After winning the Yankees seven pennants and four Word Series titles, he served a brief time with the Boston Braves, then retired in 1935.
In 1936, the baseball star became one of the first five players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth is credited with changing baseball by increasing the game's popularity with his influence. Today, he is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He was well known for an extravagant lifestyle and for his rapport with fans, especially children.
He had two daughters, Dorothy Ruth whom he adopted with his first wife, Helen Woodford Ruth, and Julia Hodgson, whom he adopted when he married her mother, actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson.
The Babe Ruth grave site in Hawthorne, New York attracts fans who still pay their respects to the baseball star today.
On Twitter, fans are celebrating Ruth by posting messages and quotes honoring the athlete.
Positively Positive quoted Ruth, writing, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."
Also quoting him, Red Bull posted on their Twitter account, "There are heroes and there are legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
