The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923 [Hardcover]

Robert Weintraub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2011

The untold story of Babe Ruth's Yankees, John McGraw's Giants, and the extraordinary baseball season of 1923

Before the 27 World Series titles--before Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek Jeter-the Yankees were New York's shadow franchise. They hadn't won a championship, and they didn't even have their own field, renting the Polo Grounds from their cross-town rivals the New York Giants. In 1921 and 1922, they lost to the Giants when it mattered most: in October.

But in 1923, the Yankees played their first season on their own field, the newly-built, state of the art baseball palace in the Bronx called "the Yankee Stadium." The stadium was a gamble, erected in relative outerborough obscurity, and Babe Ruth was coming off the most disappointing season of his career, a season that saw his struggles on and off the field threaten his standing as a bona fide superstar.

It only took Ruth two at-bats to signal a new era. He stepped up to the plate in the 1923 season opener and cracked a home run to deep right field, the first homer in his park, and a sign of what lay ahead. It was the initial blow in a season that saw the new stadium christened "The House That Ruth Built," signaled the triumph of the power game, and established the Yankees as New York's-and the sport's-team to beat.

From that first home run of 1923 to the storybook World Series matchup that pitted the Yankees against their nemesis from across the Harlem River-one so acrimonious that John McGraw forced his Giants to get to the Bronx in uniform rather than suit up at the Stadium-Robert Weintraub vividly illuminates the singular year that built a classic stadium, catalyzed a franchise, cemented Ruth's legend, and forever changed the sport of baseball.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his first book, Slate sports columnist Weintraub examines the 1923 New York Yankees, the team that opened Yankee Stadium and won the first of the Bronx Bombers' record 27 World Series titles. The center of this work is the clash between the Yankees' star, Babe Ruth, with his new "bashing" style of playing the game, and the classic "scientific baseball" epitomized by manager John McGraw and his New York Giants. While the Giants got the best of the Yanks in the '22 fall classic, Ruth and the Yankees' 1923 World Series victory over their crosstown rivals would change the face of baseball and New York City forever. Weintraub nicely infuses modern references like "imagine Ruth as Rocky Balboa preparing to wreak vengeance on Ivan Drago" into his 1920s descriptions. The book is comprehensive, and Weintraub details everything from the construction of the stadium and the careers of Ruth and McGraw to a detailed season overview and deconstruction of the 1923 World Series. The stories about Ruth and McGraw hold the narrative together, but it is the asides of forgotten personalities like Mose "The Rabbi of Swat" Solomon, Russ "Pep" Youngs, and Yankees co-owner Cap Huston that create a much-needed undercurrent of character and humor. (Apr.)
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Review

Weintraub nicely infuses modern references...into his 1920s descriptions. The book is comprehensive, and Weintraub details everything from the construction of the stadium and the careers of Ruth and McGraw to a detailed season overview and deconstruction of the 1923 World Series. (Publisher's Weekly )

Weintraub is a very lively writer: he makes it all fresh and newly intriguing, adding in a whiff of Damon Runyon's saltiness and introducing readers to some of the idioms of the era. Bracing and fun for all baseball buffs, whether or not fans of today's Bombers. (Library Journal )

Robert Weintraub has written a fascinating tale of one of baseball's greatest moments-the emergence in 1923 of Babe Ruth and the Yankees. The research is meticulous and the writing is delightful. Get on the train with Babe and the boys. You're in for a rollicking good ride. (Johnathan Eig, author of author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season )

Just when you thought there were no great seasons left uncovered -- or anything new left to say about Babe Ruth -- here comes The House that Ruth Built. Robert Weintraub has resurrected the 1923 season and showed us how it changed baseball that season and every season that has followed it. A perfect match of the team, the year, and the writer. (Allen Barra, author of Yogi Berra and The Last Coach )

The whole baseball year of 1923 is the frame for Weintraub's elegantly constructed narrative: the year the Yankees moved into their own stadium in the Bronx and won their first World Series...There is no nickname ever used for a player that Weintraub overlooks nor any colorful phrase now common in baseball that he doesn't cite...a treasure for the fan who cannot get enough. (Booklist )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (April 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031608607X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316086073
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Weintraub lives in Decatur, Georgia, but he grew up in the large shadow cast by Yankee Stadium, in Rye, New York, and is a lifelong Yankees fan. Weintraub has written about sports for Slate, Play (the late, lamented NY Times sports magazine), ESPN.com, The Guardian, Deadspin, and many more. He is also a television producer, and has worked on programs airing on ESPN, ABC Sports, CNN International, Turner Broadcasting, Speed Channel, Discovery, and dozens of others. He has covered events large and small, from the Super Bowl, Olympic Games, and World Cup to the Dragon Boat Races in Taiwan. Weintraub has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney, and while he loves the American South (particularly its adherence to the religion of college football), he dearly misses the ocean. When not working, Weintraub has cast aside a former life that included cage diving with Great White Sharks and scaling Uluru for one of domestic tranquility with his wife Lorie and two young children. The House That Ruth Built is his first book, hopefully of many.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Social History At Its Absolute Best March 27, 2011

By C. W. Emblom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love great writing, and author Robert Weintraub has treated us to a rousing rendition of a story in his new book entitled The House That Ruth Built. It is an account of the 1923 baseball season with a concentration on the feud between the New York Giants and their across-the-Harlem River rivals the New York Yankees. We have had recent books devoted to the seasons of 1920 and 1921, but this book surpasses both of those. Weintraub avoids the day-by-day summaries of games that all too often make up books devoted to particular seasons. Instead the featured players in this story such as owners, managers, players, and writers are all brought back to life with anecdotes that greatly enrich this wonderful book. Examples would be a story you may well not have heard regarding the Lou Gehrig and Wally Pipp incident. How did Bullet Joe Bush get his nickname? The train ride that took the life of "Wild Bill" Donovan and spared the life of George Weiss who went on to become the general manager of the New York Yankees. The Odd Couple ownership duo of prim and proper Jacob Ruppert and slovenly Til Huston and their accompanying feud over who should manage the Yankees. Ruppert had the audacity to insist on being called Colonel when Huston is over in France fighting in The Great War to End All Wars. Giant Manager John McGraw's inconsiderate treatment of Lou Gehrig at a tryout. Bomber boss Ed Barrow telling Eleanor Gehrig, "Well, I guess he'll have to find another line of work," when told Lou would no longer be able to play baseball.

This book is loaded with anecdotes regarding individuals such as those listed above along with others such as Bob Shawkey, Herb Pennock, Carl Mays, Art Nehf, Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel, along with numerous others, not the least of which is the Prince of Pounders, the Behemoth of Biff, the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Maharajah of Mash, Babe Ruth himself. You may think you have read all you need to know about the individuals in this book, but author Robert Weintraub has provided each of us with stories galore and written in a very humorous way that will keep you entertained with laughs throughout the book.

Baseball was blessed with great writers during this time period such as Grantland Rice, Damon Runyon, Joe Vila, Ring Lardner, Westbrook Pegler, John Kieran, Paul Gallico, Bozeman Bulger, and Dan Daniel. All of those names should be familiar to most any baseball fan who has done any reading on the game's history. Anecdotes along with examples of their writing are also provided.

This book is about The Battle of Broadway, the scientific baseball of John McGraw verses the long ball being ushered into baseball by Babe Ruth. McGraw berating his team into trying to win a third consecutive championship against his hated rival Babe Ruth and the Yankees. This book is social history at its best. It also amply illustrates there is more to history than wars, treaties, and presidents. I bought both the hard cover and the Kindle edition. You're a baseball fan, you say? Then buy the book. It is that good.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Roaring Twenties Baseball April 17, 2011

By David L. Poremba VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Growing up in Detroit does not foster a great love of the New York Yankees. However, when great writing meets a great story, one just puts aside ones' prejudices and enjoys the ride. Such is the case with this book, the story of not only the 1923 baseball season but the engaging story of the rise of the Yankees and the battle of Broadway between the Yanks and the New York Giants, led by the colorful John Joseph McGraw. Up until their first championship, the Yankees were just that other team in New York. When it came to baseball, the only team worth talking about was the Giants. Babe Ruth and company would soon change all that.
Thankfully, this is much more than a game by game account of a season. It recounts the deeper story of all the characters and personalities that inhabited Gotham and baseball during the Roaring Twenties. Not to mention the story of the building of the first Yankee Stadium by the two feuding owners, Ruppert and Cap Huston.
Even if you are not a Yankees fan, this book is great period history and belongs on every bookshelf.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best baseball history book in several years April 16, 2011

By Robert Ehrlich

Format:Hardcover

I have read most pre-war baseball history books written. Many focus on single seasons. Most do a credible job but many focus too much on detailed game accounts to the point of excluding the off the field lives and events surrounding baseball. In weintraub's The House That Ruth Built, he manages to balance on the field accounts of the first season at Yankee Stadium with what life was like for players and fans outside of baseball. We also get a look at how the Yankees overtake the Giants in capturing more fans. Ruth is largely responsible for that but the new stadium was a wonder among ball parks. The stadium did as much as Ruth to draw fans.

Weintraub's accounts of players lives outside of the game shows the womanizing and drinking that seems to transcend eras. Despite prohibition in 1923 players found drinking clubs easily accessible and patronized by politicians and judges who were supposed to enforce the law. We get wonderful stories a young Casey Stengel, then a giants utility player. John Mcgraw the Legendary Giants manager is portrayed as a genius of the old style of small ball,that is a master of scoring by base running and strategies such as hit and run. Ruth is shown as the first to bring power ball to the game but hated by baseball purists.

Weintraub is a brilliant writer and his pace is breezy and light. He is a master at the anecdote bringing these old players to life. These boys of summer worked hard given the long train rides in un-airconditioned cars and stuffy hotel rooms in the heat of summer. We can excuse their raucous behavior given most were farm boys let loose to temptations of fame and big cities.

What is most amazing is Yankee Stadium was built for just over 1 million dollars, even given inflation, that is a small sum. We learn about the lesser known co-owner Cap Huston, who sold out to Jake Ruppert later. Huston was the one who oversaw the construction. Overall a must read for baseball fans not just from New York.