Who was the most disruptive innovator of the 20th century?

A good case can be made for Babe Ruth, whose sale to the New York Yankees was reported 100 YEARS AGO TODAY.

Babe Ruth completely changed the game of baseball with his free swinging, go for the fences style. Although Ruth was primarily a pitcher (and one of the best left handed pitchers in the game) during his first five seasons, it had become apparent by the 1918 season that he could also hit the long ball. In his 6th season in the majors in 1919, the Boston Red Sox allowed Ruth to become an everyday player for the first time, and he responded by breaking the major league record for home runs in a single season by clubbing 29 (the old record had been 27 by Ned Williamson in 1884).

After the 1919 season Ruth felt his salary of $10,000 a year was too low and demanded a raise. Ruth threatened to quit baseball if Red Sox owner Harry Freeze would not acquiesce. But Freeze was strapped for cash, and was not actually a big baseball fan. His passion was the theater and he needed funds to produce new theatrical productions.

As a result, Freeze sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000. The sale was reported in the New York Times exactly one hundred years ago (see picture above).

Of course the rest of the story is history. As an everyday player for the Yankees, Ruth hit a mind boggling 54 home runs in 1920. That was more than any other entire team in the American league that year. And Ruth topped that with 59 in 1921, and then again with his long standing record of 60 in 1927. With Ruth the Yankees began a 45 year dynasty becoming regular participants in the World Series. But more importantly, professional sports were elevated to national prominence transforming American culture. Millions of new fans were brought to the game.

Ruth's radical and successful new approach to hitting a baseball made him a disruptive innovator on par with any other great innovators of the 20th century.

About the Author

Len Ferman is an adjunct professor at the University of North Florida where he teaches college and MBA classes he developed on business creativity and innovation. Len is also a faculty member of the American Management Association, a global educator with Duke Corporate Education and managing director of Ferman Innovation, a consulting firm Len founded.

Len recently published a college textbook titled, “Business Creativity and Innovation: Perspectives and Best Practices”, which is available on Amazon.

Len holds two master’s degrees in business and economics from Duke University. After graduating, he spent 25 years managing innovation at Fortune 500 companies. At Barnett Bank, Len introduced one of the world’s first prepaid cards and the deposit image ATM. He also served as head of ideation and led the front end of innovation for Bank of America.

Len is a frequent speaker at business conferences on innovation.

And Len is proud to be a 7-time gold medalist at the World Joggling Championships, which combines running with juggling. He once held the record for running the half mile while juggling in a time of 2:23.

 ? copyright 2020 Len Ferman