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Harry H. Frazee death... Babe Ruth debacle fame...
Harry H. Frazee death... Babe Ruth debacle fame...
Item # 724338
June 05, 1929
THE SPRINGFIELD UNION, Mass. June 5, 1929
* Harry Herbert Frazee death
* Boston Red Sox baseball fame
* Sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees
The front page has a one column heading: "HARRY H. FRAZEE, FORMER OWNER OF RED SOX, DIES" with subhead. (see images) He was best known for selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees thus starting the Curse of the Bambino.
Complete in 28 pages, light toning and a little wear at the margins, generally good.
AI notes: Harry Herbert Frazee (1885–1929) was an American theatrical producer best remembered for his role in one of the most infamous transactions in sports history: the sale of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees. Born in Peoria, Illinois, Frazee became a successful Broadway producer in the 1910s, backing popular shows such as No, No, Nanette. In 1916 he purchased the Red Sox, inheriting a dominant team that won World Series titles in 1916 and 1918. However, Frazee’s strained relationship with American League president Ban Johnson, combined with mounting financial pressures from his theater ventures, led him to sell off key players. The most consequential move came in December 1919, when he sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000 plus a loan—an act that helped fuel the Yankees’ rise to dominance and initiated the legendary “Curse of the Bambino” narrative surrounding the Red Sox’s subsequent championship drought. Frazee sold the team in 1923 and died relatively young at age 43, his legacy permanently entwined with both Broadway success and baseball infamy.
Category: The 20th Century
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