Mere Words Don’t Stand a Chance… They came up with clever nicknames, many of them adopted after much head-scratching and some the result of “blind hog luck.” One came on opening day of Yankee Stadium in 1923, when baseball darling George Herman (Babe) Ruth blasted one of his longest-ever homeruns. What a happy day for Yankee fans in the “house that Ruth built!” He became “the sultan of swat.” Fans also called him “The Babe,” another grandiose moniker honoring his 22 co ...