By most estimates, George Herman (Babe) Ruth was the greatest baseball player in the history of the game, and he is easily the sport's most renowned and enduring symbol. Ruth's legendary power with a baseball bat—many announcers still describe long home runs as "Ruthian" blasts—and his extravagant life off the field contributed to Ruth's extraordinary fame during his lifetime and after his death. Not only did Ruth's prodigious slugging help change the way baseball is played, but his enormous visibility changed the public role and responsibilities of professional athletes. Through team success with the New York Yankees during the 1920s, Ruth helped establish baseball as the "national pastime" and himself as an international celebrity.

Though Ruth was the most famous person in the United States at the time of his death—more people could identify Babe Ruth than film stars or U...