Gehrig and the Babe Quotes

“One had to be more discerning in recognizing other Yankees players. And a program would have been of little help. In 1923, the Yankee uniforms were blank on the back. The team did not introduce uniform numbers until 1929; Ruth was given No. 3 because he batted third in the lineup and Gehrig was given No. 4 because he batted fourth. In 1923, the Yankees did not even have their famous interlocking N and Y on the left breast of their uniforms. The only similarity of those Yankees home uniforms with those of later years were the pinstripes.”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud

“contract. To get around this problem, the manager of the Orioles, Jack Dunn, adopted George and became his legal guardian. Young George’s relationship with Dunn led to him being given his famous name. One day Dunn brought George to the ballpark to show him the ropes. When the other players saw the new player, one remarked, “Well, here’s Jack’s newest babe.” Soon, all his teammates were calling him Babe.”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud

“America’s game. It has the snap, go, fling of the American atmosphere. It belongs as much to our institutions, fits into them as significantly as our Constitution’s laws, is just as important in the sum total of our historic life.” Baseball is, to be sure, an American cultural declaration of independence. It has come to express the nation’s character—perhaps never more so than during the years immediately after a scandal threatened to ruin the integrity of the game. That time ushered in a preoccupation with defining the national conscience, and particularly defining the national identity, which Babe Ruth came to symbolize.”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud

“In baseball, we count everything,” Babe said. “Baseball’s a math teacher’s dream for teaching kids arithmetic. It’s numbers and statistics. It’s long division and decimals. I”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud

“Keed, ya ever feel like you were in the circus?” But before Grant could answer, he was startled by Babe’s next words. “I do. All the time. It’s the circus, and I’m one of the freaks.”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud

“Grantland Rice, the dean of those sportswriters. “When a sportswriter stops making heroes out of athletes,” Rice once said, “it’s time to get out of the business.”
― Tony Castro, Gehrig and the Babe: The Friendship and the Feud