If you walk past Yankee Stadium today, you'll see plenty of jerseys with names like Judge or Soto stitched across the back. But if you look at the most famous number in the history of the Bronx—and maybe all of sports—there is no name. Just a single digit.
Babe Ruth wore number 3.
It’s a fact every baseball fan basically knows by heart, but the "why" and the "how" behind it are a lot more interesting than just a random assignment. Honestly, if you saw Ruth play during his first nine seasons in New York, you wouldn't have seen a number on his back at all. For most of his prime, the Sultan of Swat was just a massive guy in pinstripes with a swing that changed the world.
Why Number 3? The Logic of 1929
Before 1929, major league baseball players didn't wear numbers. It sounds crazy now, but fans just had to recognize players by their faces or buy a scorecard.
The New York Yankees changed that. They decided to put numbers on the backs of their jerseys so the folks in the cheap seats could tell who was who. But they didn't pick numbers based on personality or "brand." They did it by the batting order.
Babe Ruth batted third.
That's it. That’s the whole reason. Earle Combs hit leadoff, so he was #1. Mark Koenig hit second, so he was #2. Babe Ruth was number 3 because he was the third guy to step into the box. His legendary partner in crime, Lou Gehrig, hit cleanup, which is why he became the immortal #4.
The Yankees were technically the first team to make numbers a permanent fixture, though the Cleveland Indians actually beat them to the field with them because the Yankees' opening game in 1929 got rained out.
The Myth of the Number
We tend to think of #3 as this magical, powerful symbol of Ruth’s dominance. But to the Babe himself, it was probably just another piece of equipment at first.
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Think about this: Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927—his most famous season—without a number on his back. He’d already won three World Series titles in New York before he ever put on the legendary digit.
By the time the Yankees started the numbering system, Ruth was 34 years old. He was already a living god in the sports world. The number didn't make the man; the man made the number so iconic that the Yankees eventually decided nobody else should ever touch it.
The Most Famous Retirement in History
On June 13, 1948, a dying Babe Ruth walked onto the grass at Yankee Stadium for the final time. He was thin, ravaged by cancer, and leaning on a bat like a cane. This was the day the Yankees officially retired his number.
It was only the second time in franchise history they’d done it (Gehrig’s #4 was the first).
The photo from that day—taken by Nat Fein—is one of the most famous images in American history. It shows Ruth from behind, his shoulders hunched, with that big, bold number 3 staring back at the camera. It won a Pulitzer Prize because it captured the end of an era.
"I’m proud to have held the number 3," Ruth told the crowd in a raspy, weak voice.
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He died only two months later.
Surprising Facts About Ruth’s Jersey
You might think the jersey Ruth wore at his retirement ceremony was the same one he hit homers in during the 1930s. Nope.
Research from the Baseball Hall of Fame actually shows that the jersey Ruth wore in 1948 was a "prop" of sorts. It was actually made for him to wear in the 1942 movie The Pride of the Yankees, where he played himself. Because he had lost so much weight from his illness, his old playing jerseys didn't fit right anymore.
Interestingly, while he is the definitive #3, he did briefly wear #28 during a short, forgettable stint with the Boston Braves at the very end of his career in 1935. But ask any fan in any bar from Maine to California what number Ruth wore, and they’ll give you the same answer.
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a common misconception that Ruth chose #3 because he was the "third great Yankee" or something sentimental. Baseball wasn't that poetic back then. It was purely functional.
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If the manager had decided to bat Ruth second to get him more plate appearances—a strategy many modern analytics-driven managers use today—the most famous number in sports would have been #2. Can you imagine Derek Jeter wearing something else because the Babe already occupied the "deuce"?
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking into the history of sports memorabilia or just want to appreciate the legacy of the Bambino, keep these details in mind:
- Authenticity Checks: If you ever see a "game-worn" Babe Ruth jersey from the 1923 World Series, it’s a fake. They didn't have numbers then. The only authentic numbered Ruth jerseys come from 1929-1934 (Yankees) or 1935 (Braves).
- The Power of the Lineup: The Yankees’ retired numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9) essentially form the "Murderer's Row" era batting order. It's a living map of how the team used to play.
- Visiting the Legend: You can see the actual jersey from the 1948 retirement ceremony at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. It’s the centerpiece of their Ruth exhibit.
Babe Ruth's #3 is more than a digit. It’s the bridge between the old "dead ball" era where players were anonymous faces and the modern era of the superstar brand. It represents a time when the Yankees weren't just a team, but a force of nature that literally numbered their greatness so the rest of the world could keep track.
To truly understand the history of the game, you have to look at the numbers. And in baseball, all numbers eventually lead back to 3.