The Man Who Made Babe Ruth

At six-feet-six, the hulking Martin Leo Boutilier (1872-1944) was hard to miss. Yet the many books written about Babe Ruth relegate the soft-spoken teacher and coach to the shadows. Ruth credited Boutilier--known as Brother Matthias in the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier--with making him the man and the baseball player he became. Matthias saw something in the troubled seven-year old and nurtured his athletic ability. Spending many extra hours on the ballfield with him over a dozen years, he taught Ruth how to hit and converted the young left-handed catcher into a formidable pitcher. Overshadowed by a fellow Xavierian brother who was given the credit for discovering the baseball prodigy, Matthias never received his due from the public but didn't complain. Ruth never forgot the father figure who continued to provide valuable counsel in later life. This is the first telling of the full story of the man who gave the world its most famous baseball star.

At six-feet-six, the hulking Martin Leo Boutilier (1872-1944) was hard to miss. Yet the many books written about Babe Ruth relegate the soft-spoken teacher and coach to the shadows. Ruth credited Boutilier--known as Brother Matthias in the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier--with making him the man and the baseball player he became. Matthias saw something in the troubled seven-year old and nurtured his athletic ability. Spending many extra hours on the ballfield with him over a dozen years, he taught Ruth how to hit and converted the young left-handed catcher into a formidable pitcher. Overshadowed by a fellow Xavierian brother who was given the credit for discovering the baseball prodigy, Matthias never received his due from the public but didn't complain. Ruth never forgot the father figure who continued to provide valuable counsel in later life. This is the first telling of the full story of the man who gave the world its most famous baseball star.

Traces his mischievous childhood in Baltimore before his life-changing enrollment in Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys, where a strict code of conduct and his introduction to baseball inspired his historic career.

A poetic account of the legendary Babe Ruth as he prepares to make a home run.

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "I only have one superstition: I make sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run." - Babe Ruth As one of America's oldest and most beloved sports, baseball has long been touted as the national pastime, but of all the millions of people who have played it over the last few centuries, the first name that many associate with Major League Baseball is Babe Ruth, whose career spanned over 20 years on the way to becoming the sport's biggest legend. The Bambino came onto the scene as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, only to be infamously sold to the rival New York Yankees, where he went on to set records for most home runs (714), runs batted in (2,213), walks (2,062), slugging percentage (.690), and on-base plus slugging (1.164). The Sultan of Swat's records would take decades to be surpassed, but he also managed to win more than 20 games as a pitcher for Boston, along with three World Series before heading to New York. Boston wouldn't win another championship for over 80 years after Ruth's departure, a drought famously referred to as "The Curse of the Bambino." As if he wasn't accomplished enough in Boston, Ruth went on to become a pop culture fixture in New York while playing 15 years for the Yankees on some of the sport's most legendary teams. In addition to leading the Bronx Bombers to four World Series during his time there, Ruth set several single season and career records, elevating the team and MLB itself in ways that athletes could hardly dream of today. Ruth's impact could be keenly felt in a 1922 article authored by Heywood Broun, "Cutting the Heart of the Plate," which said of him, "No one ever requires more than one glance to identify Babe Ruth. Even a wholly ignorant person who had never heard of him would probably stop in wonder at the sight of Babe waddling by. It must be clear to all beholders that here is some great, primitive force harking back to the dim days of the race. William Jennings Bryan might well look upon the Babe and recant. To be sure, a certain ingenuity was required to fit just the proper name upon this personality. As George Herman Ruth he might have gone far but he could hardly have reached the heights. The man who made him by the gift of 'Babe' ought to draw a substantial royalty from Ruth's mighty income. But probably no single individual hit upon the happy thought. Undoubtably a mass movement was required. Babe Ruth has all the vigor and vitality of a piece of folk literature." Over a century after his MLB debut, Ruth remains as well known as ever, and people continue to discuss his exploits both on and off the field. Ruth used to wink at his reputation, joking, "I learned early to drink beer, wine and whiskey. And I think I was about 5 when I first chewed tobacco." Biographer Leigh Montville described a typical scene after a game: "The outrageous life fascinated [pitcher Waite] Hoyt, the...freedom of it, the nonstop, pell-mell charge into excess. How did a man drink so much and never get drunk? ... The puzzle of Babe Ruth never was dull, no matter how many times Hoyt picked up the pieces and stared at them. After games he would follow the crowd to the Babe's suite. No matter what the town, the beer would be iced and the bottles would fill the bathtub." Given the passage of time, people tend to debate how good Ruth would be today, including most recently a current MLB reliever, Adam Ottavino, who claimed he would strike out Ruth every time. That claim became even more controversial when Ottavino joined none other than the Yankees ahead of the 2019 season, which led to the reliever walking back some of the comments. But even as far back as 1929, Bucky Harris may have foreseen debates of this kind by pointing out, "These other home run hitters are neck and neck. When the Babe was doing his stuff, he was miles ahead of his field."

National Bestseller He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. Babe Ruth was more than baseball’s original superstar. For eighty-five years, he has remained the sport’s reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century . . . more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? Why is so little known about his childhood, his private life, and his inner thoughts? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville, whose recent New York Times bestselling biography of Ted Williams garnered glowing reviews and offered an exceptionally intimate look at Williams’s life, brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes the thoroughly original, definitively ambitious, and exhilaratingly colorful biography of the largest legend ever to loom in baseball—and in the history of organized sports. Based on newly discovered documents and interviews—including pages from Ruth’s personal scrapbooks —The Big Bam traces Ruth’s life from his bleak childhood in Baltimore to his brash entrance into professional baseball, from Boston to New York and into the record books as the world’s most explosive slugger and cultural luminary.

The life story of baseball’s greatest player, in graphic novel format. Long regarded as the greatest player in baseball history, George Herman “Babe” Ruth transformed the sport with his legendary power and personality. Babe Ruth: Baseball’s All-Time Best! tells the story of Ruth’s life in graphic novel format—from his humble beginnings in Baltimore to superstardom with the New York Yankees. Never one to keep quiet, Babe Ruth was a player whose outsized swing and character made him a star both on and off the field. Baseball fans of all ages will be entertained and educated by the full-color illustrations and historically accurate narrative of this graphical biography.

Learn the Inspiring Story of the New York Yankees' Legendary Star, Babe Ruth! Read on your PC, Mac, smartphone, tablet or Kindle device! One of many riveting reads in the Baseball Biography Books series by Clayton Geoffreys. In Babe Ruth: The Inspiring Story of One of Baseball's Greatest Legends, you will learn the story of one of baseball's greatest players, Babe Ruth. You do not have to ask many people who the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball was before someone tells you Babe Ruth's name in response. Ruth remains one of the most accomplished athletes of all time. He won seven World Series Championships and was the American League's home run leader twelve different times. Pick up this unauthorized baseball biography today to learn the inspiring story behind star baseball legend, Babe Ruth! This is the perfect baseball chapter book for sports fans of all ages. This baseball book explores what made Babe Ruth great, and what we can learn from his hard work. Here is a preview of what is inside this Babe Ruth book: Chapter 1: Early Childhood Chapter 2: St. Mary's Baseball Career Chapter 3: Minor League Career - Becoming "The Babe", Making an Impression, and Major League Debut and Return to the Minors Chapter 4: Major League Career Chapter 5: Personal Life Chapter 6: Ruth's Legacy Conclusion An excerpt from this Babe Ruth biography: The Sultan of Swat. The Big Fellow. The Colossus of Clout. Jidge. The Big Bam. The Behemoth of Bust. The Maharajah of Mash. The Mammoth of Maul. The King of Swing. The Great Bambino. Or as you know him best, The Babe. When we talk about the greatest athletes to ever play a sport, names that come to mind include Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Michael Phelps. These are all guys from our generation or maybe the generation before. They are still fresh in the minds of most people. But atop the list for many is George Herman Ruth, simply known as The Babe, as in Babe Ruth. For a man to have his legend stay intact for so long, over 100 years since he started playing the game of baseball, says volumes about the former Red Sox and Yankees slugger. We talk about legacy in sports and wanting to leave behind the best one possible. There may be no greater legacy in sports than the one Babe Ruth established for others to emulate and remember. When people talk about the home run king, they do not mention recent stars like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, or Alex Rodriguez. It is usually Babe Ruth. Before the iconic Yankees Stadium was torn down in 2008, it was known as "The House that Ruth Built." When you walk into Monument Park, the first thing you see is Babe Ruth. Not many people can say that they actually remember Ruth as a living person. After all, he began playing in 1914 and retired in 1935. But the stories of Ruth have been carried on for generations and the respect that others have gathered for him has only gotten stronger with time. He is more than a hero and more than a legend now. He has become a transcendental icon who represents everything we love and esteem about baseball itself. Hope you liked this excerpt! If you did, be sure to pick up a copy of this Babe Ruth bio today.