Publisher's Synopsis
The 1920s was a time of American sports titans. Johnny Weissmuller, Bobby Jones, Bill Tilden, Helen Wills Moody, Jack Dempsey, and Red Grange all leant luster to their fields. But in our collective memory George Herman 'Babe' Ruth stands above them all - towering in baseball as the greatest player of all time. Ruth's prowess as a pitcher, hitter, and all-around player electrified the national pastime. His overall record, not just the home runs, gives the truest picture. He ushered in the era of power baseball and boasted a salary that rivaled the president of the United States. This book collects essays, recollections, and testimonials derived from a conference on the Bambino held in 1995 at Hofstra University. Contributors range from sports writers to professors to lawyers to corporate CEOs - united here by the Babe's universal appeal. All aspects of Ruth's career are studied, from his rookie years as a pitcher to his glory days as the Yankees' homerun king and including his time in the US, Cuba, South America, and Japan, where he took barnstorming tours with teams of top players. Off the diamond, his zest for living created its own legends. A symbol of boyish exuberance, he typified the Roaring Twenties and not a few of our own daydreams. This book presents a kaleidoscope of the Sultan of Swat with career-ranging photos and incisive sketches, informative statistics, and a bibliography.
