About this item
Highlights
- From the team's inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants.
- About the Author: Steve Steinberg is the coauthor (with Lyle Spatz) of 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Nebraska, 2010), winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal, and the author of Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age (Nebraska, 2017), winner of the SABR Baseball Research Award.
- 582 Pages
- Sports + Recreation, Baseball
Description
About the Book
The story of New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and manager Miller Huggins, who from 1918 to 1929 partnered to build the Yankees into the nation's dominant sports franchise.Book Synopsis
From the team's inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants. The team was purchased in 1915 by Jacob Ruppert and his partner, Til Huston. Three years later, when Ruppert hired Miller Huggins as manager, the unlikely partnership of the two figures began, one that set into motion the Yankees' run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s and the rest of the twentieth century, capturing six American League pennants with Huggins at the helm and four more during Ruppert's lifetime. The Yankees' success was driven by Ruppert's executive style and enduring financial commitment, combined with Huggins's philosophy of continual improvement and personnel development. The Colonel and Hug tells the story of how these two men transformed the Yankees in their rise to dominance. It also tells the larger story of America's gradual move from neutrality to entry into World War I and the emergence and impact of Prohibition on American society. This story tells of the end of the Deadball Era and the rise of the Lively Ball Era, a gambling scandal, and the collapse of baseball's governing structure--and the significant role the Yankees played in it all. While the hitting of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig won many games for New York, Ruppert and Huggins institutionalized winning for the Yankees.Review Quotes
"Everyone thinks that it was Babe Ruth who turned the suffering Yankees of New York into the Crusaders of Baseball. The Babe helped, surely, but it was two invisible characters--the team's owner, Jacob Ruppert, and the manager, Miller Huggins--who played major roles in the Yankees' everlasting turnaround. Our blessings to Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz for finally bringing Ruppert and Huggins to new generations of fans."--Al Silverman, former editor of Sport Magazine and editor and publisher at Viking/Penguin
-- (9/16/2014 12:00:00 AM)"The foundation of the legendary New York Yankees that we know today was arguably built on the shoulders of three men: Ruth, Ruppert, and Huggins. While Babe Ruth's exploits have been well documented over the years, we now finally have the definitive story of Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert and his diminutive giant of a manager, Miller Huggins. . . . A 'must-read' for any fan of the history of this great game."--Vince Gennaro, president of the Society for Baseball Research and professor of sports business management at Columbia University-- (9/16/2014 12:00:00 AM)
"The Colonel and Hug explains admirably how the Yankees became the Yankees. Steinberg and Spatz draw heavily on their research to provide a readable, lively narrative."--Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune-- (6/18/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"The Colonel and Hug explores that remarkably fruitful relationship in a meticulous account brimming with quotes from the period."--Edward Achorn, Weekly Standard-- (5/4/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"A strong dual biography."--Brett L. Abrams, Sport in American History-- (10/10/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"A top-notch sports biography."--Kirkus starred review-- (2/24/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"Miller Huggins and Jacob Ruppert are two of baseball's all-time great characters, and they finally get the treatment they deserve in this highly entertaining, meticulously researched book. You don't have to be a Yankees fan to enjoy this wonderful story from baseball's golden age."--Jonathan Eig, New York Times best-selling author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig-- (9/16/2014 12:00:00 AM)
"This book provides a valuable service in helping its readers better understand the genesis of the greatest dynasty in American sports history."--David Shiner, Inside Game
About the Author
Steve Steinberg is the coauthor (with Lyle Spatz) of 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Nebraska, 2010), winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal, and the author of Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age (Nebraska, 2017), winner of the SABR Baseball Research Award. Lyle Spatz is the author of Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball. Marty Appel is the former director of public relations for the New York Yankees and author of Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from before the Babe to after the Boss.