Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox: Babe Ruth and the World Champion Boston Red Sox - Softcover

Wood, Allan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0595148263 ISBN 13: 9780595148264

Publisher: iUniverse Star, 2000

Synopsis

1918. The date resonates with every Boston Red Sox fan the year their team won its last World Series championship. But beyond the franchise's legendary curse, what is known of the men who were crowned baseball's best on September 11, 1918?During that tumultuous summer, the Great War in Europe cast an ominous shadow over the national game, as enlistments and the draft wreaked havoc with every team's roster. Players and owners fought bitterly over contracts and revenue, the parks were infested with gamblers, and the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs almost called off the World Series. And a Boston player known as The Colossus 23-year-old Babe Ruth began his historic transformation from pitching ace to the game's greatest slugger.Allan Wood has written the first complete account of Boston's last champions, mining 80 years of history and illuminating the season in which the Red Sox won an unprecedented fifth World Series title. And befitting a modern-day Red Sox fan's pessimism, Wood poses a chilling question: Was the 1918 World Series fixed?

About this title

From the Author

I have been a Red Sox fan since overhearing one of the 1975 playoff games on the radio in a shoe store with my mother. My 12th birthday was about two weeks away.

In early 1995, curiosity about the 1918 team led me to the New York Public Library, where I looked at the Boston Herald and Journal on microfilm, making copies of box scores and taking notes. There wasn’t much to read on the 1918 team in most Red Sox books, so I was surprised to discover a wealth of information in newspapers, magazines and out-of-print books.

One of my biggest thrills was talking to a man who had worked as a vendor at Fenway Park during 1918, when he was 14 years old. I also loved learning more about the young Babe Ruth. Even as a teenager and a young man, Ruth had a unique connection with kids. He was friends with the boys who worked at Fenway as vendors, and he arranged for children from Boston orphanages to visit his farm. I knew Ruth was a fascinating person, but my respect for him – and my appreciation of his talents – have only deepened.

I’m thrilled to have contributed in some way to the rich history of my team. Telling the story of Boston's last champions is a way of repaying some of the pleasure the Red Sox – and baseball – have given me over the past 25 years.

About the Author

Allan Wood began rooting for the Red Sox in 1975 while growing up in Vermont.He has been writing professionally since age 16, and has worked as both asportswriter and a music critic. His writing has appeared in Baseball America,New York Newsday, Rolling Stone, Sportsjones and the Burlington (Vt.) FreePress, among other publications. He lives in New York City with Laura Kaminkerand their two dogs.

About this edition

• Publisher: iUniverse Star
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0595148263
• ISBN 13: 9780595148264
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 438