How did Babe Ruth die? The story behind The Bambino's untimely demise

Few players in the history of baseball are as world-renowned and revered as Babe Ruth. The Great Bambino changed baseball forever and accomplished feats that seemed impossible. He was the first player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs en route to an astounding seven World Series titles, including four with the New York Yankees.

He also became one of the "first five:" the first players to be named to the Hall of Fame. That group consisted of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.

"Babe Ruth was born on this day in 1895. He began his MLB career as a left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members. The Sultan of Swat," Only in Boston tweeted.

Ruth became an American icon, who not only excelled with the bat but as a dominant pitcher, finishing with a career record of 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA.

While his persona and accomplishments on the field made him seem larger-than-life, he was still a mortal man. Ruth began to experience medical issues in 1946, developing pain over his eye, struggling to swallow and having difficulties speaking.

Doctors believed that the iconic slugger had developed throat cancer from his drinking and smoking habits. However, he was eventually diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma with extensive regional lymph node metastases.

"Babe Ruth stands in front of the crowd during his farewell game two months before his death, 1948," Baseball in Pics tweeted.

After various clinical trials of anticancer drugs, he had some positive responses to the treatments, with doctors believing they had found a cure for cancer. However, Ruth’s cancer recurred, and despite additional radiotherapy, he died of pneumonia and metastatic cancer at Memorial Hospital in New York City in August 1948. The Red Sox and Yankees legend was 53 years old.

A look at the career of baseball icon Babe Ruth

Throughout his 22-year MLB career with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, The Great Bambino finished with one of the greatest career stat lines in baseball history. The icon finished his career with 714 home runs, 2,214 RBIs and a .342 batting average.

Although his final game was played on May 30, 1935, Ruth still holds the all-time career record for slugging percentage (.690), OPS (1.164) and OPS+ (206). Before Hank Aaron accomplished the feat in 1973, Ruth was the only player in MLB history to record 700 career home runs.