Babe
The Legend Comes to Life
Published on 28. June 2011
438 pages
978-1-4532-2065-8 (ISBN)
Description
The definitive life story of the legendary Yankee slugger: "The best biography ever written about an American sports figure" (
Sports Illustrated).
Nearly a century has passed since George Herman Ruth made his major league debut, and in that time millions of words have been used to describe baseball's greatest hero. But for a man like the Babe, for whom the phrase "larger than life" seems to have been coined, those millions of words have created a mythologized legacy. Who was the real Babe Ruth?
Relying on exhaustive research and interviews with teammates, family members, and friends, historian Robert W. Creamer separates fact from fiction and paints an honest and fascinating portrait of the slugger. This is the definitive biography of a man who was, in legend and in truth, the best who ever lived.
Nearly a century has passed since George Herman Ruth made his major league debut, and in that time millions of words have been used to describe baseball's greatest hero. But for a man like the Babe, for whom the phrase "larger than life" seems to have been coined, those millions of words have created a mythologized legacy. Who was the real Babe Ruth?
Relying on exhaustive research and interviews with teammates, family members, and friends, historian Robert W. Creamer separates fact from fiction and paints an honest and fascinating portrait of the slugger. This is the definitive biography of a man who was, in legend and in truth, the best who ever lived.
More details
Person
Robert W. Creamer(1922-2012)wasone of the most distinguished American sportswriters of the last half-century. When
Sports Illustratedwas founded in 1954, Creamer was one of the first writers added to its masthead. In the late '60s he began work on a definitive biography of Babe Ruth, whom Creamer had seen as a boy in the stands at Yankee Stadium, when the great player was in his decline. After five years' work he released
Babe, which is still called one of the greatest American sports biographies of all time. In 1984 he published a biography of Casey Stengel, the only man to have worn the uniforms of all four New York ball clubs. Despite retiring in 1984, Creamer continued to write for
Sports Illustratedand provide commentary for historical sports documentaries.
Content
- Dedication
- Contents
- Part One: 1894-1919
- 1. Legend and Truth: Babe Ruth Lives
- 2. The Bad Kid: Baltimore at the Turn of the Century
- 3. Early Exile: Niggerlips in St. Mary's
- 4. The Star of the School: Enter Jack Dunn
- 5. First Spring Training: Home Run in Fayetteville
- 6. The Young Professional: Winning with the Orioles
- 7. Arrival in Boston: Meeting Helen
- 8. Retreat to the Minors: Pennant in Providence
- 9. The Major Leaguer: Pennant in Boston
- 10. The Lefthanded Genius: Best Pitcher in Baseball
- 11. Emergence of Temperament: How to Punch an Umpire
- 12. The Beginnings of the Hitter: Switching to the Outfield
- 13. The Impact of War: Baseball in World War I
- 14. The 1918 World Series: The Abortive Strike
- 15. The Big Fight: Ruth vs. Barrow
- 16. The First Home Run Record: Magic 29
- 17. Departure from Boston: Sold down the River
- Part Two: 1920-1948
- 18. Revolution in Baseball: Ruth Reaches New York
- 19. The Amazing Season: Nothing Like It Ever Before
- 20. Encore: Topping the Amazing Season
- 21. The Second Big Fight: Ruth vs. Landis
- 22. The Fall of the Hero: Ruth in Disgrace
- 23. The Jinx and the Baby: The Weird Season Ends
- 24. The First Reformation: How to Bat .393
- 25. The Disaster: The Bellyache Heard Round the World
- 26. The Third Big Fight: Ruth vs. Huggins
- 27. The Real Reformation: The Superb Seasons
- 28. Kaleidoscope: Personality of the Babe
- 29. Death of Helen: Marriage to Claire
- 30. The $80,000 Salary: A Better Year than Hoover
- 31. The Magnificent Moment: The Called-Shot Home Run
- 32. Decline: It's Hell to Be Old
- 33. Farewell to New York: Back to Boston
- 34. The Last Act: Opera Bouffe with the Braves
- 35. Retirement: The Call That Never Came
- 36. The End: Joe, I'm Gone
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
