The New York Yankees, eventually to become baseball's most successful franchise, showed little promise in their first two decades. Transplanted from Baltimore in 1903, two years after the founding of the American League, they recorded more losing than winning seasons before 1920. With the purchase of Babe Ruth and several other stars of the five-time world champion Boston Red Sox, the history of the team and baseball was about to change dramatically.
Building The Team of the 20's
Ruth had been one of the top left-handed pitchers in the league since 1915, twice a 23-game winner and holder of two World Series hurling records. However, his home run hitting ability convinced the Boston management that he could contribute far more as an every-day player. In 1919, his first full season as a regular, he set a new major league record with 29 home runs. The Yankee owners, seeking to finally put their club on the baseball map, bought him for $125,000. They would also acquire Carl Mays, Joe Bush, and Sam Jones of the last Boston championship pitching staff along with shortstop Everett Scott and catcher Wally Schang, and later add Sox alumni Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock, who became two of the 1927 standouts.
With Ruth demolishing his own homer mark in 1920 and raising it to 59 in 1921, the Yanks soared to their first league pennant in the latter year. Repeating in 1922, they lost in the World Series both times to their Polo Grounds landlords, the New York Giants. In a new home of their own, Yankee Stadium, popularly known for obvous reasons as "The House That Ruth Built," they broke through for their first world championship in 1923 over the same Giants.
After a two-year hiatus, the Yankees won again in the American League, but dropped the series to the St. Louis Cardinals. With four pennants in six years, they were clearly a power to be reckoned with, but there were still questions about their ability to compete against the National League's best.
The Season of Records
The Chicago Cubs had won 116 games in 1906 in the "deadball era" rarely punctuated by home runs or high-scoring games. The 1927 Yankees set an American League record with 110 victories produced by season-long cannonading that featured a home run duel between Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig. The Bambino pulled away in September for a new record of 60, more than any other team combined. Gehrig, finishing with 47, set a new runs batted in mark of 175 while batting .373 to Ruth's .356. Center fielder Earle combs matched the Babe's .356 and the third outfielder, Bob Meusel, hit .337, while second baseman Tony Lazzeri hit .309 with 18 home runs. The club's 158 homers and .307 team batting average earned them the title of "Murderer's Row."
But hitting alone would not have sufficed for an "all time" team. Hoyt topped the pitching staff with 22 wins, while Pennock contributed 19 and former St. Louis Browns star Urban Shocker added 18. Thirty-year-old rookie Wilcy Moore won 19 games, mostly in relief, saved 12 more, and led the league with a 2.28 earned run average.. His performance was all the more remarkable in that he spent five more years in the major leagues, achieving only 32 more wins and 20 more saves after 1927.
In a fitting climax, the Yanks won the World Series in four straight games over the Pittsburgh Pirates, putting to rest any lingering doubts as to their competitiveness with the National League. Their season ranks as one of the best in the history of professional sports.
References: Baseball Amanac
Baseball Reference
