Gehrig & the Babe The friendship and the feud

Tony Castro

Book - 2018

"The legendary achievements of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are undeniable hallmarks of baseball history. Much has been written about the two men as teammates, but Ruth and Gehrig's relationship away from the field is rarely, if ever, explored. In Gehrig and the Babe, Tony Castro portrays Ruth and Gehrig for what they were: American icons who were remarkably different men. For the first time, readers will learn about a friendship driven apart, an enduring feud which wove its way in and out of their Yankees glory years and chilled their interactions until July 4, 1939--Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium--when Gehrig's famous farewell address thawed out their stone silence"--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographies
Published
Chicago, Illinois : Triumph Books [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Tony Castro (author)
Physical Description
xxiv, 271 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-271).
ISBN
9781629372518
  • Prologue
  • 1. The Black Sox Scandal
  • 2. Babe's Resurrection
  • 3. Beginnings
  • 4. The Tale of the Most Costly Headache
  • 5. Claire Ruth
  • 6. Elegnor Gehrig
  • 7. "Baseball's Gift to Women"
  • 8. The Yankees' Team Mom
  • 9. Pre-Yankees Babe
  • 10. The Eastern Babe
  • 11. The Making of Gehrig and Ruth
  • 12. The Gehrigs and Ruth
  • 13. The Bottom Falls Out
  • 14. The Early 1930s
  • 15. Called Shots
  • 16. The Feud
  • 17. Post-Ruth
  • 18. The Streak Ends
  • 19. "The Luckiest Man"
  • Epilogue
  • Acknowledgments
  • Appendix 1. Babe Ruth's Farewell Speech
  • Appendix 2. Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech
  • Appendix 3. Letters of Note
  • Appendix 4. Career Statistics
  • Bibliography
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth are as intertwined as any two characters in baseball history. They were the best players on the best team, the New York Yankees, as baseball cemented itself as the national pastime. Gehrig was quiet and unassuming; Ruth was loud, self-aggrandizing, and a voracious consumer of liquor, women, and food. For a while, as veteran journalist Castro details in this revealing account, it was a great friendship. Ruth took the younger Gehrig under his wing, and Gehrig's home (he lived with his parents for much of his career) became a haven for Ruth, who was an orphan. (Lou's domineering mother loved to feed Ruth, who was especially fond of her pickled eels.) But then something happened, and Ruth and Gehrig spoke only when necessary for the rest of their lives. Castro explores a number of possible sources for the falling out, including the possibility that Gehrig's wife had once been intimate with Ruth before her marriage. This is a very kind exploration of a little-known aspect of the relationship between two of the most iconic players in baseball history.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Journalist and sportswriter Castro (DiMag & Mick) looks at two of the most popular legends of baseball: Lou Gehrig (1903-41) and Babe Ruth (1895-1948). They were synonymous during the creation of the original Yankees dynasty, and many assume that they were friends both on and off the field. That may have been the case early on, but their drastically different personalities caused the relationship to deteriorate. In his latest work, Castro details the background of each man, including their upbringing and major influences in adulthood. The individual accounts of Gehrig and Ruth are compelling enough on their own; weaving them makes the successes more exciting and the tragedies more potent. VERDICT A number of facts and elements of the story are repeated more than necessary, so the flow of the narrative sometimes feels disorganized. Still, this remains an intriguing read for baseball history buffs. Babe Ruth's early career off-field debauchery is not described explicitly but may make this title inappropriate for adolescent readers.-Matt Schirano, Univ. of Bridgeport Lib., CT © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.