Babe Ruth

Although his lifetime record of 714 home runs has been surpassed, if you say "The Home Run King", most people will still think of George Herman "Babe" Ruth.

Today baseball without the home run would be unthinkable. But before Babe's time the homer was no more important than a stand-up triple is today. Nice to have, certainly, but inconsequential for winning a game. Usually the yearly record - that's the yearly record - might be 10 to 12 homers. If someone hit 20 home runs in a year, that was phenomenal.

All that changed in 1920 when Babe hit 54 home runs. Then the next year it was 59, and then in 1927 Babe smashed in 60 - a record that stood until 1961 when Roger Maris broke Babe's seasonal record by one.

A lot has been written about the Babe, the Bambino, the Sultan of Swat. For a bit more, just click here.