How Babe Ruth Enjoyed His Steak

It turns out, Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, could've gone by yet another nickname: the Sultan of Steak. While you're likely familiar with the legendary baseball player's on-field accomplishments (like his impressive home run records), fewer know the details of his diet — specifically, his fondness for a good cut of meat. 

It's no secret that the great Bambino had a voracious appetite, but he didn't just like to tuck into a sizable hunk of beef at dinner; the first meal of the day usually consisted of a porterhouse, and breakfast didn't end there. Ruth's steak was typically paired with four to a dozen eggs (though sources vary on the exact number), fried potatoes, a pot of coffee, and a pint of ginger ale mixed with a pint of whiskey, which is interesting considering his drink of choice was usually scotch.

According to the 1975 biography "The Life That Ruth Built" by Marshall Smelser, Major League Baseball pitcher Paul Derringer once witnessed Ruth order his morning meal as they rode together in a train's dining cart. It was then that Ruth admitted that his breakfast was a daily occurrence. Most people on that diet wouldn't be able to amble over to the batter's box, let alone hit 60 homers in a single season. Was the Babe superhuman? Quite possibly.

A rather large slab to begin with, the porterhouse (a great alternative to the T-bone) was apparently Babe Ruth's go-to cut of meat. In fact, "The Life That Ruth Built" went on to document another one of the ballplayer's meals. While enjoying a night on the town in New York City, the Bambino doubled up on the porterhouses for dinner, pairing his dual meats with two orders of cottage potatoes, two entire heads of lettuce (smothered in creamy Roquefort dressing), and two slices of apple pie à la mode. If you thought his breakfast was large, that was nothing compared to his dinner order.

However, Babe Ruth eventually reined in his diet after signing on with the New York Yankees. Porterhouses and potatoes were out at breakfast time (no more ballpark hot dogs, either), replaced by cereal with skimmed milk and a slice of plain toast . And a morning buzz via scotch was no longer an option, as Ruth was only to drink water and orange juice. Later on, the baseball star's diet opened back up to a slightly wider variety of foods, just so long as he didn't exceed 6,000 calories a day.