100 Years Ago Today, Little Did They Know The Impact He Would Have…

Do you recognize the man above? The suit is a little different look for him. You might recognize him more below.

That's Babe Ruth above, going over fan mail. 100 years ago today, he hit his first major-league home run. The round-tripper came with "The Babe" wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform in a game against his future team, the New York Yankees. In 1915, Ruth was mainly a pitcher, which is just part of his legend.

In 1915, at age 20, "The Bambino" would win 18 games as a pitcher for the Red Sox. In 1916-17 combined, Ruth went 47-25 with an earned-run average of under two runs per game. However, Babe wanted to play every day. In 1918, he nearly doubled the number of games he played. The following year he got his wish, playing in 130 games and setting the single-season major league home run record, with 29. Following the 1919 season, the Red Sox traded him to the Yankees. What?! Imagine being a Red Sox fan and seeing that happen. Unfortunately for Boston, it would get much worse.

In his first season with the Yankees, "The Sultan of Swat" hit 54 home runs and drove in 135. In 1921, he hit 59 and drove in 168. He'd hit at least 40 home runs in a season eight more times during his 15-year career with the Yankees, including 60 in 1927. That stood as the single-season home run record until Roger Maris hit 61 in '61.

Yes, Babe Ruth was a great baseball player. There's no denying that. When I was a kid, I wrote a report about him and made jest of his fascination with late nights and his love of hot dogs. George Herman Ruth, Jr. was so much more though. He well may have been the first worldwide sports celebrity and he also gave his time to children and the fans (see photo gallery below). I can't help but wonder where sports would be in 2015 without this man. I believe there are many multi-millionaires in sports who should be thanking their lucky stars for the man with three nicknames, Babe Ruth.