The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth is the second book by Leigh Montville in which I've read (The other being Ted Williams which can be read here) The timing of Montville's book is rather obvious, with Barry Bonds* passing the Bambino in all-time home-runs this season, however Leigh cross-references and touches on points that are new and reliable to today's reader.
Most fans casually know Ruth's history and legend, however The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth really helps bring into focus a lot on what is a rather shady life for Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth was the perfect sports figure for the roaring 20's. He single handily changed the way the game is played, and a century later he's still the largest figure to ever play the game. The fact that Babe did this in the dead-ball era makes his accomplishments that much more impressive.
Montville uses the analogy of fog often when speaking of Ruth's past because of how little people know of his actual past. This just adds to his legend and makes him that much more of an omnipresent figure in the eyes of baseball fans. Nobody really knows why Ruth attended St. Mary's in Baltimore instead of living at home, nobody knows why he and his first wife were in the hospital so often, and the list goes on from there. Fog.
Everyone knows that Babe Ruth not only liked to hit the long-ball, but he also liked to do everything large. His hunger for all things from food, fun, alcohol, and sex make for entertaining tales. Unfortunately this made Babe's fidelity to his wife poor, and much like Ted Williams, his ability to be a father had some large gaping holes. Not any surprise here, but Babe Ruth wasn't a saint.
What I did find as a surprise is that the Babe may have been the first athlete to have a personal trainer. Most people think it was all hot-dog's for Ruth, however he was much more conscious in the second-half of his career in regards to his health as he's given credit for.
From a Red Sox fans perspective this book was very interesting. It seems that a lot of people have been defending Harry Frazee the past few years in his sale of Babe Ruth. Leigh Montville takes no such stance. He believes that in one way or the other Frazee's sale of Babe Ruth helped keep his Broadway interests afloat. It's no secret that Frazee was in bed with Yankee ownership and the elite New York social circuit, so I'd have to agree. What I find interesting is that nobody cries foul about the Baltimore Orioles letting Ruth go to the Red Sox...people seem to forget that. Aside from the inevitable sale of Ruth to New York it's interesting reading about Ruth's times in Boston.
Also it was really great to read about Babe Ruth's last appearance in Fenway Park:
"A crowd of 48,000, the largest in Fenway history, appeared for the final doubleheader in the series. The overflow was allowed on the field, standing behind ropes from right field to the center-field flagpole. It was a total Ruth crowd, cheering every move he made. He doubled and singled in the first game, walked twice in the second, and then, when he grounded to first in what everyone knew was his final at-bat, received a standing ovation. The Babe was as touched by the moment as the people were.
"They all stood up," the Babe said. "Do you know that some of them cried when I left the field? And if you wanna know the truth, I cried too."
This shows you that Boston and the Babe himself had no animosity towards each other at all. Which further cements how utterly ridiculous the "original sin" and "curse" talk were. Another interesting side note is that in the Babe's last game at Yankee Stadium only 2,000 we in attendance...
I thought that Montville did a lot better with this book then he did with Ted WIlliams, mostly because he focused on the Babe's playing days. Then again, those were the only days he could focus on because of the fog that seemed to roll in and out during certain periods of the Babe's life. Montville writes an engaging account that is a must read for those not familiar with the Babe's past or legacy.
Overall: 8/10
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