Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox

Rating:
Summary: 1918 : The Great Fix?
Review: 1918 is the year the Red Sox last won a World Series, and every opposing fan is pleased to remind them of that fact. Every baseball fan knows that Boston sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees and invoked the Curse of the Bambino. These facts have become part of the very fabric of the game.

Yet, amazingly, no-one has yet written an account of the momentous season, until now. The author, a Boston fan, has lovingly recreated that season, taking six years to research and write the book. The dedication to detail and historical truth shows in every line.

I feel it inevitable and ironic that, despite the wealth of detail and fact, this book will gain its reputation (or notoriety) because of the author's speculation that the 1918 Series may have been fixed, just like the 1919 White Sox series. Wood's impeccable research has brought to light some interesting facts (I won't spoil your reading of the book by going into them here) which, at the very least, draw a question mark over Boston's last World Series victory. It's certain to be the most controversial aspect of the book.

Aside from that, you'll find an affectionate portrait of the great Babe Ruth from his days as an ace pitcher, everything the most demanding fan could expect to know about the historic season, and a wealth of fascinating photographs, many of which haven't been published before. The photos themselves are worth the asking price for the book in my opinion.

Everyone with an interest in the history of the great game should have a copy of this book. Every Red Sox fan *needs* a copy. It might be the closest they ever come to savouring the taste of World Series victory :)

I can't resist ending this with a quote from the Boston Herald and Journal, September 13, 1918, which opens the book :

"Of course it is possible that some year will yet see a Boston team losing a world's championship."

Go Yankees :)

Rating:
Summary: Birth of the Sultan of Swat & The Late Summer Classic
Review: In 1918, Wood's main focus is on the dramatic and historic 1918 season, in which the Red Sox took their sixth Junior Circuit flag, then continued on to beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series four games to one, becoming the first team to win five World's Championships. As we know, 1918 is also the last world title for the BoSox. Also featured are the amazing exploits of the young pitching phenom George Herman Ruth. This was the year that Ruth burst on the baseball world not as the Cy Young-like lefthander he had been, but as the soon-to-be Sultan of Swat most of us think of when we hear the name "Babe". Wood also goes into great detail on the undisciplined Ruth's season-long feuding with his manager, Ed Barrow, as well as with the Sox' owner Harry Frazee. Ruth was desparate to play first base, the outfield, or even come in as a left-handed shortstop so he could play every day and hit more homers. Management wanted him on the mound, where he was still one of the most dominant pitchers of the dead-ball era. Wood tells of at least three times where Ruth 'quit' the Red Sox, only to show up at the park the next day. Another major part of the book is told through the backdrop of World War I. In early 1918, Major League Baseball inexplicably failed to request an exemption from the government's "work or fight" order (while other entertainment industries, such as theater and the nascent motion picture crafts, were granted exemptions). This meant that players were obligated to either join the active military or find war-related work until the cessation of hostilities. With a September 15 deadline, baseball's answer was to cut the regular season short, with the last games being played on Labor Day and the World Series starting on September 5. Ironically, the Armistace would be signed only eight weeks after the end of the "Late Summer" Classic. This book offers an interesting history of the early days of the game, the early days of the most famous baseball player of all time, and an insight into the background of the "Curse of Babe Ruth". This book is a must read for baseball historians and Red Sox fans. Yankee fans will also draw fiendish pleasure from the book, as a reminder of the eight decades of frustration suffered by fans of the Red Sox.

Rating:
Summary: Comment From The Book's Author
Review: It's not the "last" World Series championship anymore!!!!

I've always had the nagging suspicion that some Red Sox fans were afraid of anything linked to 1918. Well, there is no longer any reason to feel that way.

After beating the Yankees in the greatest comeback in baseball history (and watching New York commit the worst choke of all time) and then sweeping the Cardinals in the World Series, maybe now fans will be curious about the 1918 team and that war-torn season.

Find out what Babe Ruth was like before he went to New York and his career went downhill.

Rating:
Summary: A real page turner for baseball fans
Review: This is a well-written account of Babe's last championship season with Boston. If you are a Red Sox fan, it's a must read. If you know a Red Sox fan, this makes an excellent gift. 1918 is no longer a reminder of failure, but just another season when Boston won the world series.

Rating:
Summary: A real page turner for baseball fans
Review: This is a well-written account of Boston's last championship season. If you are a Red Sox fan, it's a must read. If you know a Red Sox fan, this makes an excellent gift.