1920 – The secret deal made on December 26th to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 (twice the amount ever paid previously for a player) is announced publicly. Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee also secures a $350,000 loan from the Yankees as part of the deal.
1919 – Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee makes a secret agreement to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 (one-fourth cash, plus $25,000 a year at 6 percent) plus guaranteeing a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral. The transaction will be announced publicly in one week.
With the opposition led by New York, Boston, and Chicago owners, the American League directors pass a resolution accusing Ban Johnson of overstepping his duties. They demand that league files be turned over to them and that an auditor review all financial accounts. The three teams’ disatisfaction with Johnson can be traced back to his attempt to suspend pitcher Carl Mays after he left his team without authorization during the past season.
With a blast that clears the roof of the Polo Grounds, Red Sox outfielder Babe Ruth ties the game in the top of the ninth in an eventual 2-1 loss to the Yankees that takes 13 innings to complete. The Bambino’s round-tripper, his 28th of the season, breaks the 19th century home run record established in 1894 by Ned Williamson of the NL’s Chicago White Stockings.
Cleveland’s right-hander Ray Caldwell no-hits the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader sweep in New York, 3-0. The right-handed spitballer, released by the Red Sox in July, finishes the season winning five of six starts for the Tribe with an ERA of 1.71.
1919 – Babe Ruth hits home run No. 26 off Jack Quinn in New York, breaking Buck Freeman’s 1899 home run mark of 25.
On July 21, 1919 At Comiskey Park, 18,000 fans were reveling while watching their first place team take on the New York Yankees in a scheduled doubleheader on a warm summer day on the Southside on July 21, 1919. The spectators would enjoy the fact that the Sox would twice during this day, come from…
Submarine P Carl Mays quits the mound after two innings at Chicago, blaming his teammates for lack of support afield. American League president Ban Johnson suspends Mays indefinitely and orders umpires not to let him pitch. In defiance of Johnson’s order that no action be taken until Mays is returned to good standing, Boston owner Harry Frazee will trade Mays to the Yankees for pitchers Bob McGraw and Allen Russell and $40,000. The Yankees then get a court order restraining Johnson from interfering, further eroding Johnson’s authority and standing, and the American League directors reinstate Mays. In retaliation, on October 29th the National Commission will refuse to recognize the Yankees’ third-place finish and will withhold the players’ share of the World Series pool. New York’s owners will pay out of their own pockets, and Johnson will never recover his authority.
Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitches 12 scoreless innings in a duel with Jack Quinn of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Johnson allows only two hits and retires 28 batters in a row. Future football star George Halas, batting leadoff for the Yankees, goes 0 for 5, striking out twice.
1919 – The Boston Red Sox, minus holdouts Carl Mays and Babe Ruth, sail from New York aboard the USS Arapahoe. The trip to spring training is stormy and most of the players will be seasick. Ruth will sign on the 21st in New York and leave that night for Florida. Mays, unsigned, will join Ruth and the Sox in Tampa.
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