The Curse of the Bambino

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

Babe Ruth

For years, I’ve stood accused, so today, let’s set the record straight.

Babe Ruth was sold for $125,000 to the New York Yankees on January 5, 1920, by Boston Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee, in order to finance a Broadway show. Thus began “the Curse,” or depending on where you live, the greatest thing that ever happened in Yankee history.

My father, Harry Jr., was born that same year, and when I came around to bat, they named me Harry Frazee, III, though I’ve always gone by Hank. So far, so good.

When I was twenty-eight, I went to Boston for a convention. Woody, a new friend of mine, was a lifelong Red Sox fan. When he discovered my full name, he bleated across the crowded ballroom the words that would not exactly curse but, occasionally, haunt my life.

He gushed, “Your grandfada sold Babe Ruth to da Yankees!”

There was a hushed silence, and then the crowd went back to their eating and drinking. But, from time to time since then, I have heard this accusation.

It stands to reason: I am Harry Frazee, III; my father was Harry, Jr.; my grandfather was Harry, Sr. That pretty much says it all, except for a few minor details. For one, my grandfather was in law school in Kansas when the Babe was sold, having earned a Purple Heart in France during World War I. He became a federal judge in Washington D.C., and I am aware of no Broadway shows that he financed.

He, my dad, and I share the middle name of Wilton. Harry, who sold Ruth to the Yankees, had the middle name of Herbert.

I am absolutely certain that my grandfather would have kept the Babe, and so would have I. My dad…he was more of a football fan.

"And now you know," as Paul Harvey used to say, "the?rest?of the story." Good day!

"The Curse of the Bambino," from The Saturday Morning Post at hankfrazee.com. Text "Saturday" to 22828 to subscribe.