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00:29The field of his greatest conquests draws mourning tens of thousands
00:33for a final glimpse of America's best-known, best-loved sports figure,
00:38George Herman, Babe Ruth, as he lies in state at Yankee Stadium, New York.
00:46Fifth Avenue is silent as the Babe comes downtown.
00:49His wife and daughter, along with scores of America's great names in sports
00:54and in public life, enter St. Patrick's.
00:57Considered by many to have been the greatest baseball player to ever grace a field,
01:02Babe Ruth's 1948 funeral stopped a city.
01:05Ruth's career spanned 20 years and many of his records still stand
01:10more than three-quarters of a century later.
01:13The name Babe Ruth has come to be synonymous with sporting greatness.
01:17But George Herman Ruth was born in 1895 to a struggling Baltimore family
01:22who eventually abandoned him in a Catholic orphanage.
01:26When he was 19, Jack Dunn, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles,
01:29signed Ruth to a contract and he became known as Jack's Newest Babe, a nickname that stuck.
01:36Only a few months later, the Boston Red Sox bought out his contract
01:40and the precocious player graduated to the major league.
01:44The star had a checkered career with the Red Sox.
01:46He broke pitching and batting records but was unable to control his temper.
01:51In 1919, the Red Sox sold Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000
01:56and he was instrumental in the Yankees' historic 1923 World Series win.
02:01In his career, he accumulated an incredible 15 World Series home runs.
02:06Dubbed the Sultan of Swat and the Great Bambino, Ruth broke record after record.
02:12His powerful left-handed batting hit home runs further than anyone in baseball history
02:17and he led the American League in home runs 12 times and in slugging 13 times.
02:23Ruth had a daughter from his first marriage and in 1929,
02:27he married actress Clare Hodgson, who also had a daughter.
02:31The newsreels of the time show him trying a different game
02:34from the one for which he was usually renowned.
02:36Well, here goes the first shot of the winner.
02:39I don't know how far it's gone.
02:41If I were to miss it, I'd love to hit it.
02:44What miss?
02:46Try and hit it.
02:48I got that automobile.
02:57How am I going to get the ball back?
03:01Are you going to go get it?
03:03Judy, go get that ball, will you?
03:09Dave, Dave, make them punish the ball.
03:13Who's going to pay a buck for that ball now?
03:15Well, now.
03:17Ruth struggled with weight problems in his later years,
03:20something he was happy to ham up in a health promotion film.
03:26He was a natural in showbiz.
03:27When he talked, people listened.
03:30You know, I think it's a good idea for everybody to train when they're real young.
03:34Don't wait till they get my age, but just keep on training year after year
03:38and you'll find out when you get to be an old man like myself,
03:41you can still go a little way.
03:42Ruth was also known for his humanitarian work, especially with children.
03:47One sick young fan got the thrill of his life when Ruth sent a note to the hospital saying
03:52he was going to hit a homer or two just for him and ended up hitting three.
03:57Ruth's reputation continued to grow after his retirement
04:01and his legend as a ballplayer grew to mythic proportions.
04:04To be described as Ruthian has become the greatest compliment a sports person can receive.
04:09I want to take this opportunity to wish all the children
04:16not only in America, but all over the world, a very merry Christmas.
04:22Sportscaster Ernie Harwell said of Ruth, he wasn't a baseball player.
04:27He was a worldwide celebrity, an international star,
04:30the likes of which baseball has never seen since.
04:46Three, two, one.
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