At six-feet-six, the hulking Martin Leo Boutilier (1872-1944) was hard to miss. Yet the many books written about Babe Ruth relegate the soft-spoken teacher and coach to the shadows. Ruth credited Boutilier--known as Brother Matthias in the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier--with making him the man and the baseball player he became. Matthias saw something in the troubled seven-year old and nurtured his athletic ability. Spending many extra hours on the ballfield with him over a dozen years, he taught Ruth how to hit and converted the young left-handed catcher into a formidable pitcher. Overshadowed by a fellow Xavierian brother who was given the credit for discovering the baseball prodigy, Matthias never received his due from the public but didn't complain. Ruth never forgot the father figure who continued to provide valuable counsel in later life. This is the first telling of the full story of the man who gave the world its most famous baseball star.

Superstition has been a part of baseball from the beginning. From good luck charms to human mascots to ritual statues of Babe Ruth to the curse of Colonel Sanders, there may be almost as many superstitions as players (or fans). Drawing on social science, religious studies and SABRmetrics, this book explores the rich history of supernatural belief in the game and documents a wide variety of rituals, fetishes, taboos and jinxes. Some of these have changed over time but coping with uncertainty on the field through magical thinking remains a constant.

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

An up-to-date and indispensable guide for film history buffs of all kind, this book surveys more than 500 major films based on true stories and historical subject matter. When a film is described as "based on a true story" or "inspired by true events," exactly how "true" is it? Which "factual" elements of the story were distorted for dramatic purposes, and what was added or omitted? Inspired by True Events: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films, Second Edition concisely surveys a wide range of major films, docudramas, biopics, and documentaries based on real events, addressing subject areas including military history and war, political figures, sports, and art. This book provides an up-to-date and indispensable guide for all film history buffs, students and scholars of history, and fans of the cinema.

Take an incredible journey back in time. The wealth of photographs serves to bring the Bambino's story to life. Follow the course of his chosen profession as he reaches legendary heights with the New York Yankees. While he was the greatest player of all time, his career in baseball is only part of the story of this man who would be kind of the diamond. Babe Ruth: His Life and Times pays tribute to the man who truly epitomized the spirit of the sport.

Since the first baseball movie (Little Sunset) was released in 1915, Hollywood has had an on-again, off-again affair with the sport. The resulting relationship has produced a wide array of films, some good (Field of Dreams, A League of Their Own), some obscure (Roogie's Bump, Hot Curves) and some flops (The Slugger's Wife, The Babe Ruth Story). This is a detailed look at the 111 "fictional" baseball films produced and released in the United States from 1915 through 2001. This expanded and updated version of the 1992 first edition includes 29 new films produced between 1991 and 2001. New material includes an entry on 1978's Goodbye Franklin High (unavailable for the 1992 edition) and revisions to several entries after the uncut versions of several silent and pre-1950 talkie baseball films were made available, among them Hit and Run (1924), The Battling Orioles (1924), Slide Kelly Slide (1927) and They Learned About Women (1930). Each entry contains full cast and production credits, year of release, production company, a synopsis, and a critique of the movie. Behind-the-scenes and background information is included. Two additional (and completely updated) sections cover baseball short subjects and baseball in non-baseball films. An extensive bibliography completes the work.

In an unprecedented look at Babe Ruth's amazing batting power, sure to inspire debate among baseball fans of every stripe, one of the country's most respected and trusted baseball historians reveals the amazing conclusions of more than twenty years of research. Jenkinson takes readers through Ruth's 1921 season, in which his pattern of battled balls would have accounted for more than 100 home runs in today's ballparks and under today's rules. Yet, 1921 is just tip of the iceberg, for Jenkinson's research reveals that during an era of mammoth field dimensions Ruth hit more 450-plus-feet shots than anybody in history, and the conclusions one can draw are mind boggling.