Civil War
n.n., Boston and New York (1919)
Edited by Kevin Mahoney (2021)
For much of the early part of baseball's history, the National League (NL) was the dominant major league. This all changed with the founding of the American League (AL) in 1901. Led by founder and president Ban Johnson, the young league quickly challenged the NL for baseball supremacy. Following two years of roster raiding (luring away each other's players), contract disputes and lawsuits, the two leagues reached a truce that allowed them to exist side by side as baseball's major leagues. From this truce came the inaugural 1903 World Series, a battle between the champions of each league to determine who was the one true champion In baseball's first true upset, the Boston Red Sox of the AL defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL five games to three. The World Series was a massive success, becoming a yearly tradition that persists to this day. The Red Sox themselves would become one of baseball's flagship franchises after successfully repeating as league champions in 1904, they would go on to win and compete in four more World Series over the first two decades of the 20th century.
At the end of the 1919 season, the AL and all of baseball was in trouble. The fallout from the Black Sox Scandal had rocked public trust in the game. Eight players on the Chicago White Sox including star Shoeless Joe Jackson were caught throwing games in the World Series resulting in their lifetime banishment from professional baseball. With the faith and trust of fans broken, Major League Baseball was losing both its popularity and credibility. They need something new and clean to recapture and reinvigorate fans. Amid all this, on December 26, 1919, Harry Farzee, the financially strapped owner of the Red Sox, made a trade sending his best player, George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948), to the New York Yankees. No one knew it at the time, but this move would alter the fates of both teams and radically change all of baseball forever. Not only would it heal the damage from the scandal, but it would also bring the sport to levels of popularity never seen before.
This agreement, made and entered into this 26th day of December 1919 by and between Boston American League Baseball Club (party of the first part) and American League Baseball Club of New York (party of the second part).
Witnesseth: The party of the first part does hereby release to the party of the second part the services of Player George H. Ruth under the following conditions:
By herewith assigning to the party of the second part the contract of said player George H, Ruth for the seasons of 1919, 1920, and 1921. In consideration of the sum of Twenty-Five Thousand ($25000) Dollars cash and other good and valuable considerations paid by the second part, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged.
In Testimony Where of, we have subscribed hereto, through our respective presidents or authorized agents, on the date above written:
Boston American League Baseball Club
Harry Frazee
American League Baseball Club of New York
Jacob Ruppert
Babe Ruth Transfer Agreement. National Baseball Hall of Fame Archives: Marshall Smelser Collection, December 26, 1919. Accessed September 19, 2021. https://collection.baseballhall.org/PASTIME/babe-ruth-transfer-agreement-1919-december-26
Levitt, Daniel R., Mark L. Armour, and Matthew Levitt. 'History versus Harry Frazee: re-revising the story.' The Baseball Research Journal 37 (2008): 26-42.
Owen, Vi. “Remembering the Golden Age of Baseball: Preserving the Past.” The Baseball Research Journal 38, no 1 (2009): 139-141
Steinberg, Steve. “The Curse of the ... Hurlers? Consequential Yankees-Red Sox Trades of Note.” The Baseball Research Journal 35 (2006): 63-74.
Steinberg, Steve. Urban Shocke:Silent Hero of Baseball's Golden Age. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2017.
Steinberg, Steve and Lyle Spatz. The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership That Transformed the New York Yankees. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2015.
