Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports by Matt Christopher

CHAPTER ONE
1895–1914
From the Street to St. Mary’s
    A teammate of Babe Ruth once said, “I saw a man transformed from a human being into something pretty close to a god.” Indeed,
     Babe Ruth is one of baseballs legendary figures, a player unlike anyone before or since. His booming home runs changed the
     game forever. There will never, ever be another ballplayer like the Babe.
    Baseball historians consider George Herman “Babe” Ruth one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, a star both
     on the mound and at the plate. During his first six seasons in the major leagues, Babe Ruth was one of the most successful
     pitchers in baseball, winning eighty-nine regular season games and three more for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
     Then he became the greatest slugger of his time, hitting home runs faster and farther than anyonewho had ever played the game. He played the bulk of his career with the New York Yankees and ended with 714 home runs, a record
     that held until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974.
    Yet for all his individual accomplishments, Babe Ruth was also a team player. He helped the Red Sox to three pennants and
     world championships. Then, after he was purchased by the Yankees after the 1919 season, Ruth led New York to seven pennants
     and four world championships, creating the Yankee dynasty that continues to this day.
    But statistics and championships don’t even begin to tell his story, for in addition to his accomplishments on the field,
     Ruth is unquestionably the most beloved baseball player in history. Baseball fans loved him for his talent, his generous personality,
     his ready smile, and his enormous heart. Ruth never lost sight of the fact that baseball was a game meant to be
played.
He was like an oversized kid, and he played baseball with simple joy.
    Even today, nearly sixty years after his death in 1948, he remains the most popular baseball player of all time. Wherever
     kids gather to play baseball,young boys and girls still step up to the plate and dream of being Babe Ruth.
    Yet few people realize what a difficult life Babe Ruth had, particularly when he was young. Due to his harsh upbringing, Ruth
     entered adulthood still thinking and acting like a child. He struggled most of his adult life to behave responsibly. For all
     his accomplishments on the field, Ruth’s greatest victories were with himself.
    Babe Ruth began life in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1895, as George Herman Ruth Jr., the firstborn child of two German
     Americans, George and Kate Ruth. From the start, the young family had a tough time. George Ruth Sr. had trouble finding work
     and had to leave Kate home alone with their son. But Kate was not a strong woman. Her illnesses prevented her from giving
     George Ruth Jr. as much attention as he needed. And when his sister, Mary Margaret, was born, five-year-old George was left
     to take care of himself as best he could.
    Babe Ruth later admitted that he “was a bad kid,” who “had no sense of right or wrong.” Every morning he took to the streets
     with other unfortunateboys. Although they often played children’s games, including baseball, without adult supervision, they frequently caused trouble.
     They stole food and money, committed vandalism, chewed tobacco, and fought among themselves and against children from other
     neighborhoods.
    Young George rarely went to school. His parents tried to force him to go, but even beatings with a leather strap couldn’t
     make him obey. Every day he became more uncontrollable. When he wasn’t on the streets, he hung around the saloon his father
     owned — hardly a good place for a young boy to grow up. At an age when he should have been learning to read and write, he
     was drinking alcohol and stealing whiskey from customers.
    One night, when George was seven years old, police were called to break up a brawl in the saloon. Afterward, a neighbor told
     the authorities that she had noticed George was in