Yankees History: Babe Ruth Makes Final Public Appearance
By David Hill
Perhaps the most famous player in baseball history, Babe Ruth was in poor health by the time that 1948 rolled around. On this day that year, the Yankees legend made his final public appearance before passing away three weeks later.
It is always difficult to watch legends age, and New York Yankees great Babe Ruth was no exception. He had captivated the hearts and imagination of generations, a player who fundamentally changed the way the game was played due to his powerful bat. Ruth, even after his retirement, was still larger than life, the Great Bambino to everyone who met him.
Unfortunately, Ruth’s years of eating everything in sight, drinking large amounts of alcohol, and his love of cigars caught up with him. In 1946, Ruth started to have pain over his left eye and difficulty swallowing. Entering the hospital for tests, he was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor, normally a death sentence. However, being Babe Ruth, he was given the opportunity to have experimental procedures, including a mix of drugs and radiation at the same time.
That treatment appeared to work, as Ruth got better. He left the hospital in February 1947, although he had lost 80 pounds. Nonetheless, over the summer, he appeared to be healthy again, being able to travel around the country and be himself. Unfortunately, his remission was short lived, as Ruth again fell sick by the end of the year, and began going in and out of the hospital.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
By the time that June came around, it was clear that Ruth’s health was failing. he made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium, and a couple of more promotional appearances before entering the hospital for good. However, on this day in 1948, he made one final journey out into the public, watching the premier of The Babe Ruth Story in New York.
After that appearance, Ruth reentered Memorial Hospital in New York, which has since been renamed the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Three weeks later, on August 16, Ruth passed away, finally losing his battle to cancer. Even though he was never told what his illness was, Ruth had an idea, especially given his symptoms.
It was certainly shocking to see Ruth as he was before his passing. The powerful, but rotund, slugger had wasted away to skin and bone, barely recognizable as the powerful hitter he was. In his final appearance at Yankee Stadium, Ruth was called “gaunt and hollowed out,” needing a bat as a cane to stand on the field. By the time he made that last appearance, Ruth was essentially a walking skeleton.
Even our greatest legends can fall prey to illness, especially diseases like cancer. On this day in 1948, when Yankees legend Babe Ruth made his final appearance, that realization was hammered home.