Seventeen seasons at first base for the Yankees, 2,130 of them without a day off — a record that stood for fifty-six years. He hit fourth behind Ruth, drove in 100 or more runs thirteen times, and hit four home runs in a single game in 1932. Illness ended his career in 1939; the Hall of Fame waived its waiting period that same year.

He arrived in Boston as a left-handed pitcher and left as the man who rebuilt the game around the home run. Sold to New York in 1920, he out-homered entire teams, hit .342 across twenty-two seasons, and finished with 714 — a mark that stood for thirty-nine years. In 1936 he was one of the first five men voted into the Hall of Fame.