At Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium in 1947, the baseball hero of the generation stood before an admiring crowd, deep in pain and emaciated from advancing cancer, not yet aware of what ailed him. In the dugout moments before, clad in a topcoat and golf hat, he suffered a coughing spell, then, pulling himself together, walked to home plate, mentally recalling the day Lou Gehrig had made the same trip.

In a broadcast heard around the world, Ruth spoke slowly and extemporaneously in a raspy voice.

''You know how bad my voice sounds,'' Ruth told the roaring crowd. ''Well, it feels just as bad.''

Sixteen months later, at 53, he was dead.

This year, the 50th anniversary of Ruth's death, his sports legacy has been extolled again as baseball heroes of newer generations breezed past the home-run record the Babe held for 34 years, until 1961.

But unknown to many, Ruth also left a legacy in the annals of medical history.

In fact, he was among the first patients anywhere to receive experimental chemotherapy, and some researchers say he was the first ever to receive a combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiation for his type of cancer. For Ruth, the chemotherapy worked dramatically -- but only temporarily. Nevertheless, knowledge gained from his case helped shape the combination therapy that is now standard for his disease.