Title/Author:
“The Called Shot: Babe
Ruth, the Chicago Cubs and the Unforgettable Baseball Season of 1932” by Thomas
Wolf
Tags:
Baseball,
professional, history, championship, Yankees, Cubs
Publish date:
May 1, 2020
Length:
408 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
Nearly 80 years after the event took
place, a home run in the fifth inning of game three of the 1932 World Series
between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs is still being discussed and
debated. Yankee outfielder Babe Ruth came to the plate and while being heckled
by players from the Cubs dugout, he supposedly pointed to center field and
proceeded to homer in the area to which he pointed. The verification of that event, while still
being debated today, is only one of a number of topics about the 1932 baseball
season on display in this excellent book by Thomas Wolf.
The possibility of a reader getting
confused by the title and not reading anything about the “called shot” until
near the end is the only thing about the book that may not sit well with that
reader. Otherwise, the reader is treated
to great writing about the 1932 Yankees, Cubs, key personnel on both clubs, a
little bit about teams that challenged them to their pennants and also the
social, political and economic issues of that year.
Wolf dives deep into some of the
better known baseball players of that time, especially if they were with the
Yankees or Cubs that season. Of course, Babe Ruth is prominently mentioned
throughout the book. Another well-known
player is Rogers Hornsby, who is given a less-than-flattering portrayal as he
was fired as the Cubs’ player-manager 99 games into the season. Hornsby’s
penchant for gambling is also on display here, getting him into financial
difficulty to the point he was borrowing money from Cubs teammates.
There is also an excellent write up
on the Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges, who was shot by his girlfriend Violet
Popovich. Wolf does include that among
the many Cubs fans in attendance at Wrigley Field that year was Bernard
Malamud, who used a fictional account of this incident in his novel “The
Natural.” There is also an excellent
story about how two prisoners were able to attend one of the World Series games
with the prison warden at Wrigley. It is
connections to non-baseball people like this that make the book an excellent
read as it does show that baseball, especially at that time, had an impact on
so many people in all walks of life.
The book also delves into the
political and economic landscape at the time.
America was in the midst of the Great Depression and the presidential
campaign is also discussed. Especially
noteworthy is the fact that both parties had their convention in Chicago that
year. The writing on these topics is just as engrossing and informative as the
baseball writing.
As for the subject of the title,
readers who wish to know whether this really took place or not will be
disappointed to learn that Wolf doesn’t engage in that debate, leaving it for
others. But his description of that home run, as well as the rest of the
material in the book, make for outstanding reading and readers who are interested
in baseball or history should add this book to their list.
I wish to thank University of
Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest
review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)
Buying Links:
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