Claim: The Baseball Hall of Fame's "first five" include Babe Ruth.

George Herman `` Babe '' Ruth Jr. -LRB- February 6 , 1895 -- August 16 , 1948 -RRB- was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball -LRB- MLB -RRB- spanned 22 seasons , from 1914 through 1935 . Nicknamed `` The Bambino '' and `` The Sultan of Swat '' , he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox , but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees . Ruth established many MLB batting -LRB- and some pitching -RRB- records , including career home runs -LRB- 714 -RRB- , runs batted in -LRB- RBIs -RRB- -LRB- 2,213 -RRB- , bases on balls -LRB- 2,062 -RRB- , slugging percentage -LRB- .6897 -RRB- , and on-base plus slugging -LRB- OPS -RRB- -LRB- 1.164 -RRB- ; the latter two still stand today . Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time . In , Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its `` first five '' inaugural members .   At age seven , Ruth was sent to St. Mary 's Industrial School for Boys , a reformatory where he learned life lessons and baseball skills from Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Christian Brothers , the school 's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player . In 1914 , Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox . By 1916 , he had built a reputation as 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 Boston , he wanted 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 .   After that season , Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees amid controversy . The trade fueled Boston 's subsequent 86 year championship drought and popularized the `` Curse of the Bambino '' superstition . In his 15 years with New York , Ruth helped the Yankees win seven American League -LRB- AL -RRB- championships 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 usher in the live-ball era of baseball , in which it 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 `` Murderer 's Row '' lineup of 1927 , Ruth hit 60 home runs , extending his MLB single-season record . He retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves . During his career , Ruth led the AL in home runs during a season twelve times .   Ruth 's legendary power and charismatic personality made him a larger-than-life figure in the Roaring Twenties . During his career , he was the target of intense press and public attention for his baseball exploits and off-field penchants for drinking and womanizing . His often reckless lifestyle was tempered by his willingness to do good by visiting children at hospitals and orphanages . After his retirement as a player , he was denied a managerial job in baseball , most likely due to poor behavior during parts of his playing career . In his final years , Ruth made many public appearances , especially in support of American efforts in World War II . In 1946 , he became ill with cancer , and died two years later .