Editing Babe Ruth (section)

==Cancer and death (1946–1948)==
{{Main|Death and funeral of Babe Ruth}}
{{MLBBioRet
|Image = BabeRuth3.jpg
|Name = Babe Ruth
|Number = 3
|Team = New York Yankees
|Year = 1948
}}
As early as the war years, doctors had cautioned Ruth to take better care of his health, and he grudgingly followed their advice, limiting his drinking and not going on a proposed trip to support the troops in the South Pacific.<ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|pp=252–253}}</ref> In 1946, Ruth began experiencing severe pain over his left eye and had difficulty swallowing. In November 1946, Ruth entered [[French Hospital (Manhattan)|French Hospital]] in New York for tests, which revealed that he had an inoperable [[cancer|malignant tumor]] at the base of his skull and in his neck. The malady was a lesion known as [[nasopharyngeal carcinoma]], or lymphoepithelioma.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maloney |first1=William James |last2=Weinberg |first2=Mea A. |date=July 2008 |title=A comprehensive analysis of Babe Ruth's head and neck cancer |journal=Journal of the American Dental Association |volume=139 |issue=7 |pages=926–932 |issn=0002-8177 |pmid=18594078 |doi=10.14219/jada.archive.2008.0279}}</ref> A physician who reviewed Ruth's autopsy in 1998 concluded that Ruth's lifelong use of tobacco "probably played a part" in his cancer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/29/science/the-doctor-s-world-ruth-s-other-record-cancer-pioneer.html|title=The Doctor's World; Ruth's Other Record: Cancer Pioneer|first=Lawrence K.|last=Altman|work=The New York Times|date=December 29, 1998|page=F1}}</ref> His name and fame gave him access to experimental treatments, and he was one of the first cancer patients to receive both drugs and radiation treatment simultaneously.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=357–358}}</ref> Having lost {{convert|80|lb}}, he was discharged from the hospital in February and went to Florida to recuperate. He returned to New York and Yankee Stadium after the season started. The new commissioner, [[Happy Chandler]] (Judge Landis had died in 1944), proclaimed April 27, 1947, Babe Ruth Day around the major leagues, with the most significant observance to be at Yankee Stadium.<ref name="f188">{{Cite web |last=Schuster |first=Joe |title=April 27, 1947: Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium |url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/april-27-1947-babe-ruth-day/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> A number of teammates and others spoke in honor of Ruth, who briefly addressed the crowd of almost 60,000.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=418–419}}</ref> By then, his voice was a soft whisper with a very low, raspy tone.<ref name=":1" />

Around this time, developments in [[chemotherapy]] offered some hope for Ruth. The doctors had not told Ruth he had cancer because of his family's fear that he might do himself harm. They treated him with pterolyl triglutamate (Teropterin), a [[folic acid]] derivative; he may have been the first human subject.<ref name = "montville360" /> Ruth showed dramatic improvement during the summer of 1947, so much so that his case was presented by his doctors at a scientific meeting, without using his name. He was able to travel around the country, doing promotional work for the Ford Motor Company on [[American Legion Baseball]]. He appeared again at another day in his honor at Yankee Stadium in September, but was not well enough to pitch in an old-timers game as he had hoped.<ref name = "montville360">{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=360}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=418–420}}</ref>

The improvement was only a temporary remission, and by late 1947, Ruth was unable to help with the writing of his autobiography, ''The Babe Ruth Story'', which was almost entirely ghostwritten. In and out of the hospital in Manhattan, he left for Florida in February 1948, doing what activities he could. After six weeks he returned to New York to appear at a book-signing party. He also traveled to California to witness the filming of the movie based on the book.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=361–362}}</ref>

[[File:Babe Ruth Bows Out.jpg|thumb|[[Nat Fein]]'s [[Pulitzer Prize for Photography|Pulitzer Prize–winning]] photo of Ruth titled ''[[Babe Ruth Bows Out]]'' at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] prior to the Yankees' retirement of his jersey number.]]
On June 5, 1948, a "gaunt and hollowed-out" Ruth visited [[Yale University]] to donate a manuscript of ''The Babe Ruth Story'' to its library.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20120919/new-haven-200-babe-ruth-meets-future-president-george-hw-bush-in-1948-at-yale-field|title=New Haven 200: Babe Ruth meets future President George H.W. Bush in 1948 at Yale Field|newspaper=New Haven Register|date=September 19, 2012|access-date=November 20, 2013|first=Chip|last=Malafronte|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212063150/http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20120919/new-haven-200-babe-ruth-meets-future-president-george-hw-bush-in-1948-at-yale-field|archive-date=December 12, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> At Yale, he met with future president [[George H. W. Bush]], who was the captain of the [[Yale Bulldogs baseball|Yale baseball team]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/06/babe-ruth-met-future-president-george-h-w-bush-in-1948|title=Babe Ruth met future President George H.W. Bush in 1948|newspaper=USA Today|date=June 3, 2013|access-date=June 3, 2018|first=Ted|last=Berg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612113017/https://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/06/babe-ruth-met-future-president-george-h-w-bush-in-1948|archive-date=June 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 13, Ruth visited Yankee Stadium for the final time in his life, appearing at the 25th-anniversary celebrations of "The House that Ruth Built". By this time he had lost much weight and had difficulty walking. Introduced along with his surviving teammates from 1923, Ruth used a bat as a cane. [[Nat Fein]]'s photo of Ruth taken from behind, standing near home plate and facing "Ruthville" (right field) became one of baseball's most famous and widely circulated photographs, and won the [[Pulitzer Prize]].<ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|pp=267–268}}</ref>

Ruth made one final trip on behalf of American Legion Baseball. He then entered [[Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center|Memorial Hospital]], where he would die. He was never told he had cancer; however, before his death, he surmised it. He was able to leave the hospital for a few short trips, including a final visit to [[Baltimore]]. On July 26, 1948, Ruth left the hospital to attend the premiere of the film ''[[The Babe Ruth Story]]''. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the hospital for the final time. He was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually grew worse, and only a few visitors were permitted to see him, one of whom was [[National League (baseball)|National League]] president and future [[Commissioner of Baseball]] [[Ford C. Frick]]. "Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard", Frick said years later.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=423–424}}</ref>

Thousands of New Yorkers, including many children, stood vigil outside the hospital during Ruth's final days. On August 16, 1948, at 8:01&nbsp;p.m., Ruth died in his sleep at the age of 53. His funeral service took place over three days.<ref name="Syken">{{cite magazine |last1=Syken |first1=Bill |title=Bye Bye, Bambino: The Funeral of Babe Ruth |url=https://www.life.com/history/bye-bye-bambino-the-funeral-of-babe-ruth/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]] |date=September 23, 2022}}</ref> His open casket was placed on display in the rotunda of Yankee Stadium, where it remained for two days; 77,000 people filed past to pay him tribute. His [[Requiem Mass]] was celebrated by [[Francis Spellman|Francis Cardinal Spellman]] at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]]; a crowd estimated at 75,000 waited outside. Ruth is buried with his second wife, Claire, on a hillside in Section 25 at the [[Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)|Gate of Heaven Cemetery]] in [[Hawthorne, New York]].<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=366–367}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Reisler|first=Jim|date=August 9, 1998|title=After 50 Years, Ruth Still Stars|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/09/nyregion/after-50-years-ruth-still-stars.html|access-date=January 15, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116013707/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/09/nyregion/after-50-years-ruth-still-stars.html|url-status=live}}</ref>