In this undated file photo, New York Yankees' Babe Ruth hits a home run. Ruth, also called the Sultan of Swat, began as a left-handed pitcher and became a slugging outfielder, playing for 22 major-league seasons before retiring in 1935. He died Aug.16, 1948 of cancer. (AP Photo, File)
Babe Ruth, also known as the King of Baseball or the Sultan of Swat, died of throat cancer at the age of 53 after receiving last rites.
He was born George Herman Ruth Jr. on Feb. 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was sent to a Catholic orphanage when he was 7 years old because he was too much for his parents to handle. At 7, he was already drinking, chewing tobacco and getting in trouble with the police.
Because he needed a legal guardian to sign his baseball contract when he was 19, the owner of the minor-league Baltimore Orioles, Jack Dunn, signed on as his legal guardian. Teammates jokingly called him "Dunn's new babe," and the name "Babe" became part of history.
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Sources: biography.com and Arizona Daily Star archives
