Ed Sherman - Babe Ruths called shot: the myth and mystery of baseballs greatest home run

Advance Praise for Babe Ruths Called Shot

Nothing makes for better reading than terrific reporting, and few singular moments in sports history have been debated, discussed, and researched with the fervor of Babe Ruths Called Shot. It took place more than 80 years ago, but it is argued about as if it happened last week. Ed Sherman brings it into sharp focus in a uniquely entertaining and greatly detailed way.

John Feinstein, author of the bestselling A Good Walk Spoiled and Open

Sherman cuts through the hype and hyperbole to deliver the true history of the event, revealing not just what happened but how and why a single at bat became the stuff of legend.

Glenn Stout, bestselling author of Yankees Century and The Cubs and series editor of Best American Sports Writing

Ed Sherman has written with affection and charm about one of baseballs most intriguing moments. This is a wonderful look at Ruth, his team, and his time.

Jonathan Eig, author of the bestselling Luckiest Man and Opening Day

A fun and fascinating exploration of baseballs most famous and infamous home run. If theres such a thing as a sports archeologist, then Sherman is the tops in his field as he meticulously digs for the truth and uncovers little known and never-before-told factual gems. He examines this iconic moment from every imaginable point of viewplayers, spectators, sportswriters, and others who were thereand guides you, pitch by pitch, during the Babes unforgettable at-bat. In this thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly informative book, Sherman does a yeomans job of separating myth from reality and lays out compelling cases for those who believe in the Ruthian legend and those who dont. For any fan who loves baseball history and is looking for ammunition to use during the next sports debate of did-he-or-didnt-he, this is must reading.

Allan Zullo, coauthor of The Baseball Hall of Shame

Babe Ruth remains the singular colossus of American sport, and his home run in the fifth inning of Game Three of the 1932 World Series remains the most indelible moment of his career. Ed Sherman takes us back to that afternoon on the North Side, which for so long has remained shrouded in mystery, with this detail-rich biography of the most mythologized at-bat in the annals of the national pastime. Finally we have the definitive account of the so-called Called Shot.

Jeremy Schaap, six-time Emmy Award winner and author of the New York Times bestselling Cinderella Man

An exhaustive, delightful treatment of a fascinating moment in American sport... This brilliantly rendered account of Ruths famous Called Shot and the decades-long debate brings to life the most celebrated athlete American sport has ever known at the very moment when he crosses that precipice separating man from legend. The moment is expertly captured and examined from all its many angles. Anyone who appreciates the lore, history, and, yes, mythology of Americas game will delight in getting lost within these pages.

Josh Pahigian, author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out

Babe Ruths Called Shot sheds light on one of baseball mythologys great tales. Sherman does a terrific job of taking the reader back to the days when the iconic Bambino ruled baseball. Well written and quite entertainingI couldnt put it down.

Bill Chastain, author of Hacks 191 and 100 Things Giants Fans Should Know and Do before They Die

Chicago sportswriter Ed Sherman, who has forgotten more about baseball than most people will ever know, dissects Ruths Called Shot like a frog in a high school science labmeticulously researched and reported and wonderfully written. Even the Bambino would buy this book.

Gene Wojciechowski, author of the New York Times bestseller The Last Great Game and Cubs Nation

Sherman gives us a flesh-and-blood Babe, a late-career legend who will forever be bigger than life no matter what he was specifically pointing at during the 1932 World Series. If you are going to pick one swing from one player, who better than someone who could turn a World Series sweep into a mystery still hotly debated four score and almost seven Octobers later because of a hand gesture? Its a Ruthian blast.

Matt Silverman, author of Swinging 73 and 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die

Ed Shermans wonderfully entertaining dissection of Babe Ruths most memorable World Series home run reminds us of the mythic power packed into baseball and its ability to help us see life in its most vivid colors.

Edward Achorn, Casey Awardnominated author of The Summer of Beer and Whiskey and Fifty-Nine in 84

A wonderful journey through a Depression-ravaged era when everything that happened in baseballand particularly what Ruth didmattered to a nation anxious for a diversion. So did the Babe really call his shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series? Perhaps well never know for sure, but Sherman expertly relives that magic moment in time and reminds us why we love baseball in the first place.

Jim Reisler, author of Babe Ruth: Launching the Legend

The Sultan of Swat in 1920

B ABE R UTH'S C ALLED S HOT

The Myth and Mystery of Baseballs Greatest Home Run

E D S HERMAN

Copyright 2014 by Ed Sherman

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

Lyons Press is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

Frontispiece photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Project editor: Meredith Dias
Layout: Lisa Reneson, Two Sisters Design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN 978-0-7627-8539-1

Printed in the United States of America

E-ISBN: 978-1-4930-0791-2

To my wife, Ilene, my heart and soul, and to Matt and Sam, my best friends forever.

And to baseballs historians, for keeping the games glorious past alive.

He first built up his act with a mixture of comedy and kidding, farce and humor, and then he turned it into drama. No one else in sport could have developed such a plot and then finished the story with such a flaming finale. He called the turn in advance, and then he put everything his 225 pounds carried into the most tremendous swing and lash his big bat had ever known.

GRANTLAND RICE

Roster at Wrigley Field

NEW YORK YANKEES

Johnny Allen: Emerging as a key player on the 1932 team, he went 174 in his first year in the majors.

Earle Combs: Center fielder, he was one of the best all-time leadoff men, setting the table for Ruth and Gehrig, and had a career .325 batting average.

Frank Crosetti: A 21-year-old rookie in 1932, the shortstop eventually cashed 23 World Series checks as a player and longtime coach for the team.

Bill Dickey: Among the top catchers ever, he had a career .313 batting average.

Lou Gehrig: At age 29 he was taking over as the central figure on the Yankees in 1932. All told, he played in 2,130 straight games and hit 493 career homers.