An American icon: Extremely rare colour pictures of Babe Ruth show the Bronx Bomber in a whole new light




On June 13, 1948, thousands of fans filled The House That Ruth Built to honor their favorite player on the day his No. 3 was retired.



The man that inspired a nation with his 714 career home runs was already sick with cancer, but the droves of fans cheered him on one last time.



LIFE photographer Ralph Morse was there to capture that special moment George Herman Jr returned to his former glory, photographing the great man in stunning images that have never before been seen.



Legend: Baseball great Babe Ruth, in uniform, addressing the crowd during his final appearance at Yankee Stadium shortly before his death

Unpublished: Mr Ruth in the locker room at Yankee Stadium, June 13, 1948, the day his No. 3 was retired

Bambino: Babe Ruth speaks to the crowd at Yankee Stadium. The man that inspired a nation with his 714 career home runs was already sick with cancer, but the droves of fans cheered him on one last time

Babe Ruth entered Major League Baseball as a pitcher and outfielder for the Boston Red Sox in 1914. He was traded to the New York Yankees in 1919, where he became the 'Sultan of Swat.' Setting the league record for home runs (714), slugging percentage (690) and runs batted (2,217), he was a beloved and brilliant player with humble beginnings.



Mr Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, to German-American parents in Pigtown, a rough neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.



When he was just seven years old, his father sent him to St Mary's Industrial School for Boys. a reformatory and orphanage, and gave up custody of Mr Ruth. He was scouted while playing ball as a teenager and was quickly shuffled off to the Boston Red Sox and then the Yankees.

Mr Ruth became the first baseball player ever to hit 60 runs in one season (1927) and claimed 2,873 hits throughout his career.



'Everything George Herman Ruth did was big and dramatic,' read one issue of LIFE magazine. 'To every boy in the land the great, wide smile and booming voice of the Babe were a personal inspiration.'



When photographer Robert Morse was told he was rushing to an assignment at Yankee stadium, he told his editors that he only had color film in his house to capture Mr Ruth's last public appearance.

The End: Mr Ruth sits with his wife, Claire, in the stands at Yankee Stadium on Babe Ruth Day, April 27, 1947. Babe Ruth entered Major League Baseball as a pitcher and outfielder for the Boston Red Sox in 1914. He was traded to the New York Yankees in 1919

Legend: On Babe Ruth Day in April 1947, sixty-thousand fans filled The House That Ruth Built. He set the league record for home runs (714), slugging percentage (690) and runs batted (2,217)

Bronx Bomber: Ailing baseball great Babe Ruth stands at the microphones to thank the crowds at Babe Ruth Day. Mr Ruth became the first baseball player ever to hit 60 runs in one season (1927) and claimed 2,873 hits throughout his career

'In black and white, you wouldn’t see how gray his face looked, how the cancer had really destroyed him. Frankly, Ruth wouldn’t look as sick in black and white as he does in color. The man was dying, after all — and it showed.' Mr Morse said of June 13, 1948.



Mr Morse said that the great man appeared frail, breaking the hearts of a nation with his sickness: 'He wasn’t the Babe Ruth everyone remembers. He put a brave face on it, but he was ravaged.'



'The only real game — I think — in the world, is baseball.'

Babe Ruth

A year earlier, Mr Ruth addressed the crowd on Babe Ruth Day on April 27, 1947, to bid farewell to baseball in a heartfelt speech.



'You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth. That means the boys. And after you're a boy and grow up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today in your national pastime. The only real game — I think — in the world, is baseball.'



'As a rule, some people think if you give them a football, or a baseball, or something like that -- naturally they're athletes right away, but you can't do that in baseball. '



'You've gotta start from way down [at] the bottom, when you're six or seven years of age. You can't wait until you're fifteen or sixteen. You gotta let it grow up with you. And if you're successful, and you try hard enough, you're bound to come out on top -- just like these boys have come to the top now. '



'There's been so many lovely things said about me, and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to thank everybody. '

Mr Ruth passed away at the age of 53 on August 16, 1948. 100,000 fans mourned his body when it was laid out at Yankee Stadium's entrance.

