| It Was Never About the Babe: The Red Sox, Racism, Mismanagement, and the Curse of the Bambino |  | Author: Jerry M. Gutlon
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 146,751
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 1602393494
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357640974461
EAN: 9781602393493
ASIN: 1602393494
Publication Date: March 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The first book to tell the entire story of why the Red Sox are now a dynasty--and what kept them from winning for more than eight decades. For years, Red Sox fans were told that their team was cursed because the Sox sold Babe Ruth to the hated Yankees. But as Jerry Gutlon reveals in It Was Never About the Babe, there is much more drama to Red Sox history than the “Curse of the Bambino.” The truth is more shocking than any myth. With the thorough research of a seasoned journalist and the zeal of a lifelong Red Sox fan, Gutlon explains why the Sox came up short season after season: ownership chose managers and players not based on their talent, but on whom they drank with; before and after baseball integrated, personal and institutional racism affected their decision-making; and their teams consistently lacked the talent, leadership, chemistry, and luck needed to win championships. Most fans don’t know that Babe Ruth was sold not just to produce a Broadway play, bust also because commissioner Ban Johnson was trying to run Sox owner Harry Frazee out of baseball and because Ruth was a major disruption in the Sox clubhouse. They will be surprised to learn that Jackie Robinson tried out at Fenway Park and shocked to learn that much-admired Tom Yawkey, along with owning the Red Sox, also owned a brothel for decades. Covering the early Red Sox championship dynasty of Ruth, the never-good-enough teams of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Carlton Fisk and Curt Schilling, It Was Never About the Babe is an eye-opening read for every baseball fan, and a must-own book for every fan in Boston. 20 color and b/w photographs.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Excellent history of the Red Sox April 12, 2009
Samuel Savage (Dedham, MA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Once I opened the book, I had a great deal of difficulty putting it down. As a life long Red Sox fan, I thought I knew a lot about my team. As Jerry Gutlon ppointed out, I didn't know half of it. It was very disturbing to read the terrible truth about the racism and troubles of the organization prior to the John Henry group's purcahse of the team. Jerry tells it like it is and I hope to see more of his incisive writing on the local sports scene.
Jimmy Ray, Philadelphia PA March 12, 2009
James L. Ray
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Whether you are a Red Sox fan, a Yankee fan, or, really, any type of baseball fan, you are going to love Jerry M. Gutlon's new book It Was Never About The Babe. This incredibly well-researched book completely debunks the myth that Boston's 86-year World Series championship drought had anything to do with Harry Frazee's trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees after the 1919 season.
Instead, as Gutlon demonstrates in great detail, the real reasons why the Red Sox couldn't get over the hump for almost a century were: (1) racist ownership, and (2) stubborn, often stupid, and almost always inflexible management.
While the rest of baseball was embracing racial integration during the late 1940s and the 1950s, the Boston Red Sox remained an all-white team. It wasn't until 1959 that the Sox signed Pumpsie Green, making Boston the last team in baseball to integrate. The discrimination wasn't limited to black players. Yawkey also kept Catholics and Jews off the team, a practice that led to a 1959 lawsuit against the Sox.
But it wasn't just racism that kept Boston down for so long. It was also a series of poor, stubborn decisions by ownership and management that contributed to the drought. Perhaps the most famous example of poor on-field management occurred in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, when manager Grady Little left Pedro Martinez on the mound for much too long, a move that allowed the New York Yankees to turn an almost certain loss into another tragic BoSox loss when Aaron Boone hit a walk off homer that sent the Yankees, instead of the Sox, to the Series.
The book also shows how the alleged Curse of the Bambino was nothing more than a fantasy dreamed up by noted (and often reviled) Boston sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy. In fact, according to Gutlon, the phrase "The Curse of the Bambino" didn't really come about until Shaughnessy wrote his 1990 book by the same name. The term was so catchy and irresistible to down-and-out Boston fans, that it soon took on a life of its own, and it remained a mythical staple in the Red Sox diet until, of course, the team finally won it all in 2004.
This is a great book, both as a history lesson and as an ode to one of the most important teams in the history of the game. Buy it. Read it. Love it.
A thoroughly enjoyable look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Red Sox history August 8, 2009
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
Award-winning print and broadcast journalist and lifelong Red Sox fan Jerry M. Gutlon presents It Was Never About the Babe: The Red Sox, Racism, Mismanagement, and the Curse of the Bambino, a surprising and in-depth sports history chronicle about why the Red Sox really tumbled into a downward spiral after selling Babe Ruth to their rivals, the Yankees. The team's problems went much deeper than the so-called "Curse of the Bambino": owners chose managers and players based on social contacts rather than skill or talent; racism affected the team's decision-making both before and after the team was integrated; and overall the team was simply lacking in the leadership, chemistry, and raw talent to pull it out of its slump. Unearthing many a shocking historical trivia tidbit - such as the popular Tom Yawkey owned not only the Red Sox, but also a brothel for decades - It Was Never About the Babe is a thoroughly enjoyable look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Red Sox history (and there is plenty of bad and ugly to see)!
"Baseball isn't a life and death matter, but the Red Sox are" August 11, 2009
drebbles (Arlington, MA USA)
Until their historic World Series win in 2004, many Boston fans considered the Red Sox to be under a curse, the Curse of the Bambino, a curse some claimed started after Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. In "It was never about the Babe" author Jerry Gutlon shows that the Red Sox were never cursed by the Babe but were denied a World Series win for over 80 years by a combination of many factors: ignorant owners; poor management; players with big egos; the loss of players who fought in the war; passing over players who became superstars for other teams; fighting amongst players; and some truly tragic events.
"It was never about the Babe" is a comprehensive, informative look at the history of the Boston Red Sox. Author Jerry Gutlon does an excellent job of looking at both past and current owners of the Red Sox and how the early owners mismanaged the team. He also tackles past and current sports writers (he's clearly not a Dan Shaughnessy fan) and credibly argues that they were partially to blame for not writing about some of the transgressions of the owners and managers. Much of what he writes is eye opening - the bigotry in baseball including Tom Yawkey who passed on both Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays; boneheaded trades - not only did the Red Sox trade Babe Ruth but later on Cy Young; how the Red Sox let managers like Joe Cronin stay on too long; how players instead of managers ran the team (interestingly enough Yaz doesn't come off too well in the book). Gutlon of course covers the major players past and present - Ruth, Ted Williams, Yaz, Luis Tiant, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz - and all the World Series the Red Sox were involved in (Gutlon does an especially excellent job with the 1975 World Series). He also talks about two of the major tragedies that affected the Red Sox - the death of Harry Aggannis and the beaning of Tony Conigliaro. And he effectively puts any talk of the Curse of the Bambino to rest by pointing out how quickly the Red Sox won the World Series under the current ownership.
"It was never about the Babe" is very informative. It is not perfect - I found two errors - it is the Boston Globe and not the Boston Herald that is in financial difficulty and it was Julian Tavarez not Julio Tavarez who played for the Red Sox. However, as a lifelong Red Sox fan I discovered a few things I didn't know about the Red Sox which is what I want in a book like this. Well done.
Finally the Stupid Curse of the Bambino is put to Rest March 28, 2009
R. C Sheehy (Foxboro,MA USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Thank God this book has done what two world series championships have not been able to do and that is put to rest the stupid idea that by trading or selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees the Red Sox were cursed to not win another championship for 86 years. This book clearly makes an argument that if there is a curse it was the curse of Tom Yawkey. Often seen as a baseball good guy in Boston baseball history, here he is show as a racist and an alcoholic whose gross mismanagement of the team lead to the loss of many talented young rookies for over the hill veterans who never produced.
More shamefully, Yawkey's bigotry prevented the Red Sox from signing any talented young black athletes or using any black scouts to find them. This way he could high behind the "we can't find anyone worthy" scam for quite a long time. The book does a great job of destroying the arguments of Yawkey apologists and shows how even after Yawkey's death, his legacy continued through a trust that ran the Red Sox on auto pilot and continued to mistreat the club and the fans all in the name of the Red Sox "legacy."
This is a must read for Sox fans who want a true understanding of why it took them 86 years to win the World Series and why John Henry and company have won two series in less then 10 years while Yawkey never won a single series. There are a few factual errors so I can't give it a full five stars but I recommend it non the less.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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