Breaking Babe Ruth : baseball's campaign against its biggest star /
Wehrle, Edmund F., 1964-
Breaking Babe Ruth : baseball's campaign against its biggest star / Edmund F. Wehrle. - 1 online resource (xii, 290 pages). - Sports and American culture . - Sports and American culture series. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Baseball's search for order -- Frenzy! -- Challenge to authority, part I -- "A remarkable change in the king of swat": comeback I -- Challenge to authority part II -- "It was just a matter of physical condition": comeback II -- Triumph -- "Fair enough in times like these" -- Removing Ruth -- "A well-paid slave is nonetheless a slave".
"Rather than as a Falstaffian figure of limited intellect, Edmund Wehrle reveals Babe Ruth as an ambitious, independent operator, one not afraid to challenge baseball's draconian labor system. To the baseball establishment, Ruth's immense popularity represented opportunity, but his rebelliousness and potential to overturn the status quo presented a threat. After a decades-long campaign waged by baseball to contain and discredit him, the Babe, frustrated and struggling with injuries and illness, grew more acquiescent, but the image of Ruth that baseball perpetuated still informs how many people remember him to this day. This new perspective, approaching Ruth more seriously and placing his life in fuller context, is long overdue"-- "This book project turns on its head popular memories of Babe Ruth--perhaps the most influential sports figure of the past century. Virtually every biographical treatment depicts Ruth the same way: a man tall on athletic talent and personality--yet short on intellectual acumen and good sense. This perception results directly from a two-decade war waged against Ruth by major league baseball. Burdened by labor strife, challenges from "outlaw" leagues, gambling, and violence on and off the field, the baseball establishment pined for stability and profitability as it dragged itself out of the World War I era. Beginning in 1920, Babe Ruth emerged the singular answer to baseball's afflictions: a player so popular and thrilling that he drove up profits and interest in the game around the country--diverting attention from the serious problems plaguing baseball. In Ruth, however, the game's leadership class found a problematic savior. The Babe's independent streak, his volatile (although quick passing) temper, his assertiveness, and his obvious sympathy for player rights deeply unnerved management. Thus began an organized campaign both to exploit and to contain the superstar"--
9780826274090 (electronic bk.) 0826274099 (electronic bk.) (hardcover ; alkaline paper) 0826221602 9780826221605
E2A78B21-D61E-4DD1-B0D2-C2359453B929 OverDrive, Inc. http://www.overdrive.com
2017060404
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Major League Baseball (Organization)--History--20th century.
Major League Baseball (Organization)
1900-1999
Baseball--History--United States--20th century.
Baseball players--United States--Biography.
Joueurs de base-ball--États-Unis--Biographies.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Baseball--History.
GAMES--Gambling--Sports.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Business Aspects.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Essays.
SPORTS & RECREATION--History.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Reference.
TRAVEL--Special Interest--Sports.
Baseball.
Baseball players.
United States.
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
Biographies.
History.
GV865.R8 / W38 2018
796.357092 B
Breaking Babe Ruth : baseball's campaign against its biggest star / Edmund F. Wehrle. - 1 online resource (xii, 290 pages). - Sports and American culture . - Sports and American culture series. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Baseball's search for order -- Frenzy! -- Challenge to authority, part I -- "A remarkable change in the king of swat": comeback I -- Challenge to authority part II -- "It was just a matter of physical condition": comeback II -- Triumph -- "Fair enough in times like these" -- Removing Ruth -- "A well-paid slave is nonetheless a slave".
"Rather than as a Falstaffian figure of limited intellect, Edmund Wehrle reveals Babe Ruth as an ambitious, independent operator, one not afraid to challenge baseball's draconian labor system. To the baseball establishment, Ruth's immense popularity represented opportunity, but his rebelliousness and potential to overturn the status quo presented a threat. After a decades-long campaign waged by baseball to contain and discredit him, the Babe, frustrated and struggling with injuries and illness, grew more acquiescent, but the image of Ruth that baseball perpetuated still informs how many people remember him to this day. This new perspective, approaching Ruth more seriously and placing his life in fuller context, is long overdue"-- "This book project turns on its head popular memories of Babe Ruth--perhaps the most influential sports figure of the past century. Virtually every biographical treatment depicts Ruth the same way: a man tall on athletic talent and personality--yet short on intellectual acumen and good sense. This perception results directly from a two-decade war waged against Ruth by major league baseball. Burdened by labor strife, challenges from "outlaw" leagues, gambling, and violence on and off the field, the baseball establishment pined for stability and profitability as it dragged itself out of the World War I era. Beginning in 1920, Babe Ruth emerged the singular answer to baseball's afflictions: a player so popular and thrilling that he drove up profits and interest in the game around the country--diverting attention from the serious problems plaguing baseball. In Ruth, however, the game's leadership class found a problematic savior. The Babe's independent streak, his volatile (although quick passing) temper, his assertiveness, and his obvious sympathy for player rights deeply unnerved management. Thus began an organized campaign both to exploit and to contain the superstar"--
9780826274090 (electronic bk.) 0826274099 (electronic bk.) (hardcover ; alkaline paper) 0826221602 9780826221605
E2A78B21-D61E-4DD1-B0D2-C2359453B929 OverDrive, Inc. http://www.overdrive.com
2017060404
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948.
Major League Baseball (Organization)--History--20th century.
Major League Baseball (Organization)
1900-1999
Baseball--History--United States--20th century.
Baseball players--United States--Biography.
Joueurs de base-ball--États-Unis--Biographies.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Baseball--History.
GAMES--Gambling--Sports.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Business Aspects.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Essays.
SPORTS & RECREATION--History.
SPORTS & RECREATION--Reference.
TRAVEL--Special Interest--Sports.
Baseball.
Baseball players.
United States.
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
Biographies.
History.
GV865.R8 / W38 2018
796.357092 B