Yankees Birthday of the Day: Red Ruffing

(Original Caption) Photo shows Red Ruffing about to autograph a baseball, during intermission at the third game of the World Series played at the Yankee Stadium. (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images) | Corbis via Getty Images Babe Ruth is certainly the most famous trade/acquisition in Yankees’ history, probably in baseball history, and you could make the argument for in all of sports history. A big part of its fame relates to how much it almost immediately became a massive swindle, leading to the Red Sox being “cursed” for decades to come.

What gets lost in that move is the several others in which the Yankees very clearly got the better of Boston. Arguably the second-best was the trade for pitcher Red Ruffing, whose 121st birthday is today. Charles Herbert “Red” Ruffing Born: May 3, 1905 (Granville, IL) Died: February 17, 1986 (Mayfield Heights, OH) Yankees Tenure: 1930-46 Born in 1905 in Illinois to German immigrants , Charles Ruffing was one of five children born to John and Frances Ruffing.

In his childhood, his family called him Charley, but in school he got the nickname “Red” due to his hair color, which would stick and follow him throughout his baseball career. Ruffing’s father was a mine worker and at 13-years-old, Red quit school and joined his father and other family members in the mines. While there, he developed a reputation as a skilled baseball player on the mine company’s team.

In addition to pitching, he was also a talented hitter and outfielder, but had to give that up after a work accident saw Ruffing’s foot crushed between mine cars. Four toes on Ruffing’s left foot had to be amputated, which led to him focusing on pitching, and doing that eventually earned him places in the minor leagues, and eventually a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Despite having just turned 19 a few weeks prior, Ruffing was thrown right into the fire and given his MLB debut on May 30, 1924.