Considered one of the finest to play the game, his record of 714 home runs eclipsed only by Hank Aaron in 1974 and his record of 60 home runs in a single season surpassed only by Roger Maris in 1961. Born George Herman Ruth, the son of a Baltimore tavern owner, on February 6, 1895, Ruth learned from an early age to play baseball when his parents enrolled the rowdy youngster in St. Mary's Industrial School. There, he came under the influence of a coach who taught him the fundamentals of the game. Ruth began his professional career in 1914, when he was chosen by the Baltimore team of the American League as a pitcher; later that season, however, he was sold to the Boston Red Stockings (later the Red Sox), where he made a name for himself as both a pitcher and a hitter.

In the era of the so-called "dead ball," which did...