Babe Ruth helped change baseball from a game built around pitching and low-scoring strategy into one increasingly defined by the home run. He first succeeded as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox before becoming a record-setting hitter with the New York Yankees.
Books about Ruth cover his baseball career, childhood, family relationships, and role in the growth of sports celebrity. These selections include his daughter’s memories, biographies by Jane Leavy and Robert W. Creamer, and two books for children.
| Book | Year | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Babe Ruth Story | 1948 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Babe | 1974 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Babe | 1988 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Babe Ruth | 2004 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Did Babe Ruth Call His Shot? and Other Unsolved Mysteries of Baseball | 2005 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Gehrig and the Babe | 2006 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Big Bam | 2006 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Who Was Babe Ruth? | 2012 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The Big Fella | 2018 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
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Who is Babe Ruth?
Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth Jr. in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1895. He spent much of his childhood at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where Brother Matthias helped develop his baseball skills. He signed with the minor league Baltimore Orioles in 1914 and reached the Boston Red Sox later that year.
Ruth became an outstanding left-handed pitcher for Boston before his hitting increasingly took him into the outfield. He helped the Red Sox win three World Series championships. After the 1919 season, Boston sold his contract to the Yankees, beginning the period most closely associated with his name.
With New York, Ruth won four more World Series titles and became the central figure in a powerful lineup that included Lou Gehrig. He hit sixty home runs in 1927 and finished his major league career with 714. His final season, in 1935, was with the Boston Braves. Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s first class in 1936. He died on August 16, 1948, at fifty-three.
Does Babe Ruth have an autobiography?
The selection here is Major League Dad, a memoir by Ruth’s daughter Julia Ruth Stevens, written with Bill Gilbert. It is her account of family life with Ruth, not an autobiography by the player. Her recollections offer a personal view of the father behind the public figure.
Major League Dad: A Daughter’s Cherished Memories by Julia Ruth Stevens with Bill Gilbert
Julia Ruth Stevens recalls Babe Ruth as a father, describing the family life behind his public fame. Written with Bill Gilbert, the memoir gathers affectionate, humorous, and personal memories of growing up with the baseball star. Stevens remembers dancing with him at home, family Christmases, and his attachment to the religious brothers who helped him as a boy. The account also addresses the feud involving Lou Gehrig’s family. It offers a daughter’s perspective on Ruth’s domestic life rather than a comprehensive account of his playing career.
Best Babe Ruth Books
The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created by Jane Leavy
Jane Leavy examines Babe Ruth’s life alongside the growth of modern sports celebrity. His partnership with business manager Christy Walsh becomes central to the story of how athletic success developed into a powerful public image. Drawing on interviews, documents, and family records, Leavy revisits Ruth’s childhood and follows the journeys that carried him through baseball and American popular culture. The biography connects the private man with the publicity surrounding him, showing how Ruth’s fame developed as radio, photography, and other media reached larger audiences.
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life by Robert W. Creamer
Robert W. Creamer follows Babe Ruth from his Baltimore childhood through his celebrated years with the New York Yankees and into later life. The biography looks behind the familiar image of the home run hitter to examine the personality and experiences of a man who became an American folk hero. Creamer brings together Ruth’s sporting achievements and the recollections of people who knew him, separating the individual from the stories surrounding him. The result is a sustained life story centered on the player and his character.
Best Babe Ruth Biography for Kids
The Babe & I by David A. Adler; illustrated by Terry Widener
In the Bronx during the Great Depression, a boy discovers that his father has lost his job and is selling apples to support the family. The boy begins selling newspapers near Yankee Stadium, where interest in Babe Ruth helps him attract customers. A meeting with the baseball star gives the work a special significance, while the boy comes to understand his father’s efforts. Illustrated by Terry Widener, this historical picture-book story uses baseball to explore family pride, resourcefulness, and cooperation during difficult times.
Historical fiction for younger readers; this is a story featuring Ruth, not a biography.
Who Was Babe Ruth? by Joan Holub; illustrated by Ted Hammond
Joan Holub introduces Babe Ruth’s life from a difficult childhood in Baltimore to his emergence as baseball’s most famous home run hitter. The biography describes the school where he developed his baseball skills and the talent that brought him into professional sport as a teenager. Ruth’s habits and public personality appear alongside the powerful hitting that made him a star. Black-and-white illustrations accompany the narrative, giving young readers a chronological introduction to the player whose sporting achievements and popularity earned him the nickname the Home Run King.
Ages 8–12.