Babe Ruth and the Creation of the Celebrity Athlete

Thomas Barthel, a professor emeritus in the State University of New York system, has written nine books on subjects ranging from the Civil War, to baseball history to civil engineering. He lives in Clinton, New York.

• Table of ContentsAuthor’s Note and AcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction1. Reformatory Farewell (1914)2. A Pitcher Leads (1915)3. Stardom Arrives (1916)4. Best at His Craft (1917)5. Labor Relations6. Home Run King (1918)7. Magnates8. A New Record (1919)9. New York City and Fans10. New Team, New City (1920)11. Train Travel12. The Yankees, the Judge and the Agent (1921)13. Ruth’s Business Partner, Christy Walsh14. Free to Be a Cartel (1922)15. Celebrity and Hero16. Yankees Win (1923)17. Advertising’s Muscles18. The Usual Greatness (1924)19. Barnstorming20. The Worst (1925)21. Newspapers and Magazines Everywhere22. A Sign of Glory (1926)23. Johnny Sylvester: Seizing an Opportunity24. A Prized Year (1927)25. Radio and Newsreels and ­Play-O-Graph26. Another Sweep (1928)27. Male Clubs and Masculinity28. Many Deaths, One Marriage (1929)29. Ruth and Children30. The $80,000 Year (1930)31. Ruth’s Confederates, the Sportswriters32. The Last Tour (1931)33. Last Times (1932−1935)34. An Entertainer (1936 and After)35. Collecting Baseball ObjectsAfterword: The Selling of NostalgiaAppendix I: Marketing RuthAppendix II: Sales of Various Ruth Relics, 1929 to PresentAppendix III: Ruth’s Complete Barnstorming Stops in the Continental U.S. and CanadaChapter NotesBibliographyIndex

“heavily researched and detailed...an important contribution to understanding Ruth’s prominent place in American cultural and marketing history...recommended”—Choice; “you [will] come away feeling you know [Ruth] better than before you read the book”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter; “[Barthel] addresses a topic that has been largely overlooked in earlier works—Ruth and money—and in this way makes a valuable contribution to the ever-burgeoning Babe Ruth canon.”—Nine; “Much has been written about Ruth, but as someone who teaches sports marketing, I really appreciate the angle taken by Barthel, who reveals how the most marketable athlete of his day parlayed great celebrity into business opportunities. This book has much to offer baseball fans and marketing scholars alike.”—John Fortunato, author of Sports Sponsorship: Principles and Practices and Commissioner: The Legacy of Pete Rozelle.