How tall was Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth's Height

6ft 1 ½ (186.7 cm)

George Herman was an American baseball player who played for The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. On his passport, his height was listed as being 6ft 1.5.

Babe Ruth2

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Average Guess (18 Votes)
6ft 1.46in (186.6cm)
Jsjsjsjsjs said on 25/Apr/23
Rob is lou gehrig 6ft or not
Editor Rob
Not really looked at him
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 7/Jun/22
Was the equivalent of 6ft3-4 today in baseball...
Christopher LeClair said on 1/Mar/22
Yeah, I definitely agree that he's around the 186-187cm range. He looks more to be 6ft 1 1/2 so I think that this is definitely a good final answer.
Rowan182.5cm said on 9/Dec/21
Looked 186-187cm
Canson said on 26/Oct/20
@Viper: I wouldn’t believe Bregmans listing either
Canson said on 26/Oct/20
I can believe 6’1-6’1.5 range peak. Probably around 186
Bradley said on 23/Oct/20
My father met him many times outside the stadium when he was in high school. 6' 1" it is.
Mike L. said on 18/May/20
Babe Ruth was definitely a big guy. However, came across a picture of Babe Ruth with baseball player Dizzy Dean, who was reportedly about 6’ 2” or 6’ 3”, and Dizzy appeared to be approximately 3-4 inches taller. They were both wearing their baseball uniforms, so I don’t think there was any footwear advantage for either person. Therefore, I think that Babe was about 6’. Am an admirer of Babe Ruth’s amazing career and was actually somewhat surprised by this picture. Am only reporting it for the sake of knowledge.

Thanks,
Mike
Nearly 180cm guy said on 7/Jan/20
I found some interesting photos of Babe next to George HW Bush from 1948, Rob I think you should look at them: Click Here Click Here Click Here
Bush was only 24 at the time, so he was very young, and Babe was 53 years old a few months before he died. I wonder if he could lose some height before he died, but even if I can't see Bush shortet than 6'2.25". Rob, what would you say about these photos?
Editor Rob
Well I can understand the 6ft 2 and change estimates for Bush. He came out with 6ft 2, but was he dropping a fraction and not bothering about it? It's always possible.
viper said on 27/Oct/19
Gerritt Cole can look taller than just 6-3
viper said on 26/Oct/19
Look how insane baseball is.

6-2 LJ Collier is taller than 6-5 listed Parker Markell, third pic over.

Click Here
viper said on 22/Oct/19
Yuli Gurriel is the most legit 6-0 guy in baseball
viper said on 8/Oct/19
Canson do you agree Alex Bregman is 5-8.

You can just tell looking at him physically he's a lot shorter than the 5-10 people say
viper said on 4/Oct/19
The Twins have a pitcher who is listed at 6-2 and he seriously looks 5-7 on the mound.
viper said on 4/Oct/19
So many 6-1 listed players are 5-10
viper said on 30/Sep/19
Average height for a pitcher might be
6-2
viper said on 30/Sep/19
6-1 Barry Bonds was always near the tallest on his team
viper said on 30/Sep/19
I saw on a baseball site it said 6-0, but of course that's from official listings.

Average is 5-11. You can really tell by going to a baseball game and sitting down near home plate. You can really get a good gauge of their real height. Guys routinely upgraded by 3 inches.
Christian 6'5 3/8" said on 28/Sep/19
@Viper
Agreed. I don't know if it's as low as 5'11" but it's certainly not 6'2". 6'2" may be the average listed height, but MLB inflates heights like crazy.
viper said on 27/Sep/19
Lol the average position player is nowhere close to 6-2.

It's around 5-11.
al001 said on 27/Sep/19
@Ian C.
Sorry mate but you clearly don't know a lot about baseball if you think baseball today is the same as it was in Ruth's time. It's almost completely different. In the 30s pitchers tended to throw 81-86 mph, and today its extremely common (almost required) for relievers to throw in the mid-high 90s. Today the average high school senior can throw 80 mph, and the difference between an 80 and 90mph fastball is night and day. It requires a very different and arguably more advanced skillset to be a good hitter at those speeds, not to mentioned more complex offspeed pitches. Also back then games were much more focused on getting men on base and scoring from weak hits, while today most strategies revolve around getting big hits and home runs. The players themselves are much different today as well. In the 30s the average player was around 5'10 whereas today they are around 6'2. They also have access to state of the art training facilities which give them a physical advantage over their historic counterparts.
Canson said on 23/Apr/19
@Bobby: he may have just been a strong 6’1” like 6’1.25 at a low
bobbh3342 said on 21/Apr/19
either ruth is 6'1 or ted williams is 6'4 because teds got a lot on him
Dusty said on 21/Oct/17
Hey where's the 5 foot 6 Jose Altuve
TJ said on 7/Oct/17
Rob do you do other baseball players?
Editor Rob
not really got many on here.
Slim 6' said on 6/Oct/17
As listed.
Tall In The Saddle said on 11/Mar/17
There are a ton of photos with Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, the two biggest names in American sport during the 1920s. Jack Dempsey was 6 ft 1/2". In every standing photo with Ruth, Jack Dempsey, the Manassa Mauler, is the taller of the two. I would say Babe Ruth was 6 ft tops.
Josh Jeffords said on 17/Nov/16
I a bit surprised he was small as a child but heavy.
Then he sprouted to 6 1 or a rapper 6 3.
6 6 seems crazy what little evidence is out there suggest 6 foot to 6 2.
There were taller folks than him when he was you before he got fat.
He was one of the best all time no question modern drug athletes don't compare.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 1/Nov/16
@Ian C: Far from it...the science behind sport has evolved dramatically and his records have been pulverised many times over. I doubt he'd be a pro if he was in this era.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 1/Nov/16
@Ian C: Far from it...the science behind sport has evolved dramatically and his records have been pulverised any times over. I doubt he'd be a pro if he was in this era.
Ian C. said on 20/Dec/15
Is it not odd that one of the most athletic Americans of the twentieth century was overweight? I have read that, if a magically cloned Babe Ruth were to play professional baseball today, he would still be the best batsman in the game. Other classic ballplayers like Honus Wagner and Lou Gehrig looked like supermen, but the Babe just looked like your Uncle Dave in pajamas and knee socks and a baseball cap.
C said on 12/Jul/15
Could you add more mlb players it is my fsvorite sport and I would like to see if the listing are fraudulent
mande2013 said on 18/Apr/15
Why aren't there more MLB players on here? Rob, is it because you're from Scotland, and so most baseball players just aren't on your radar?
Brad said on 13/Apr/15
I doubt it. He'd like to trade places with Festah, Sheldon or Blinky, the RCA Building autograph crew of the 80's.
Brad said on 7/Apr/15
6' 6". Hate it. Ruth had a powerful swing much like Reggie Jackson.
5ft10guy said on 6/Apr/15
I've read a few articles stating he was a tall baseball player at the time and they said his height was 6ft but compared to the baseball players today they are built taller and bigger..I also played MLB games stating his height at 6ft and I remember this clearly. I don't think he was that big
Mathew said on 6/Apr/15
Arch Stanton says on 6/Apr/15
Brad, assuming it's the same one as Bieber page, is 6 ft 6 I think, and he's not one of the fake "I'm 6 ft 6" type posters either. He really is.

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I thought he was supposed to be 6'5".
Sam said on 6/Apr/15
Yeah, played by John Goodman so gives the idea that he was a mountain of a man, but a bit of an underwhelming biopic.
Arch Stanton said on 6/Apr/15
Brad, assuming it's the same one as Bieber page, is 6 ft 6 I think, and he's not one of the fake "I'm 6 ft 6" type posters either. He really is.
Gonzalo said on 6/Apr/15
A couple of inches shorter than Gary Cooper in The pride of the yankees. 1,87 seems accurate for Ruth
jtm said on 5/Apr/15
thought he was shorter.
Jack said on 4/Apr/15
Never thought I'd see a baseball player on here. What made you decide to add him, Rob?
Editor Rob
the 6ft 1.5 on the passport sam mentioned was quite specific, and since a big name in America, I think it's fine to give him a place.
Height183 said on 4/Apr/15
Brad, how tall are you by the way? You never told us
Brad said on 3/Apr/15
My father met him many times outside the stadium, both were same height, 6' 1".
Celebheights 6'1.5"-6'2" said on 3/Apr/15
I'm basing this off of the fact that Jay Z is Alex Rodriguez's height.
Celebheights 6'1.5"-6'2" said on 3/Apr/15
He's 186-187 CM in my opinion. Would you please do a page for Alex Rodriguez? I think that he's more 186-187 CM than 190-191 CM.
Mathew said on 3/Apr/15
He was listed at 6'2" a lot, I reckon 6'1.5" looks right for Ruth.
Arch Stanton said on 3/Apr/15
Pretty tall for his generation. For some reason I always thought he was small.
Sam said on 3/Apr/15
I think that's an accurate one, thanks for adding. In The Pride of the Yankees, he looks a solid couples inches under Gary Cooper but was a bit older. The real Lou Gehrig was listed as 6'0" but only seemed to be a tad shorter than Ruth. I'm guessing Gehrig was actually more like 6'0.5"-6'0.75" range.
Judd said on 3/Apr/15
i have always believed he was 6'1" and i still think now. He was listed 6'1" in the most of the sites i remember.

Heights are barefeet estimates, derived from quotations, official websites, agency resumes, in person encounters with actors at conventions and pictures/films.

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