The Selling of the Babe

The complete story surrounding the most famous and significant player transaction in professional sports

The sale of Babe Ruth by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees in 1919 is one of the pivotal moments in baseball history, changing the fortunes of two of baseball's most storied franchises, and helping to create the legend of the greatest player the game has ever known.

More than a simple transaction, the sale resulted in a deal that created the Yankee dynasty, turned Boston into an also-ran, helped save baseball after the Black Sox scandal and led the public to fall in love with Ruth. Award-winning baseball historian Glenn Stout reveals brand-new information about Babe and the unique political situation surrounding his sale, including:

-Prohibition and the lifting of Blue Laws in New York affected Yankees owner and beer baron Jacob Ruppert
-Previously unexplored documents reveal that the mortgage of Fenway Park did not factor into the Ruth...