The man who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan, Frazee
was a theatrical producer who bought the World Champion Red Sox for $400,000 in 1917
and sold the last-place team for $1.5 million in 1923. Often when he needed money
to cover his theatrical investments, he would sell off his best players, frequently
to the Yankees. In the middle of the 1919 season, he sold pitcher Carl Mays, who
had left the team, to New York. AL president Ban Johnson voided the deal, insisting
Mays should have been suspended and not available for sale or trade. The Yankees
went to court and won, causing a rift between club owners that was not healed until
Johnson resigned nine years later. Meanwhile, Frazee had contributed Everett Scott
and Herb Pennock to the budding Yankee dynasty.
(NLM)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»July 13, 1919:
Submarine P Carl Mays quits the mound after two innings at Chicago, blaming his teammates for lack of support afield. In defiance of Ban Johnson's order that no action be taken until Mays is returned to good standing, Boston owner Harry Frazee trades Mays to the Yankees for pitchers Bob McGraw Allen Russell and $40,000. Johnson suspends Mays indefinitely and orders umpires not to let him pitch for New York. The Yankees get a court order restraining Johnson from interfering, further eroding Johnson's authority and standing. The AL directors will reinstate Mays. In retaliation, on October 29th the National Commission will refuse to recognize the Yankees' third-place finish and will withhold the players' share of the pool. New York's owners will pay out of their own pockets.
»December 26, 1919: Although it will not be officially announced until January, the Yankees buy Babe Ruth from financially pressed Harry Frazee, paying $125,000 (one-fourth cash, plus $25,000 a year at six percent) plus guaranteeing a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral.
»September 18, 1920: National League directors meet in New York, joined by Jacob Ruppert, Cap Huston, Charles Comiskey, and Harry Frazee of the American League. They name a committee to draw up an agreement along the lines of Albert Lasker's proposal, and give the five AL clubs still backing Ban Johnson an ultimatum: come in by November 1st or the Yankees, White Sox, and Red Sox will pull out of the AL and join a 12-team NL (with a team in Detroit to complete the roster). The AL five turns it down, and bluff and counterbluff blow through the autumn air.
»October 18, 1920:
NL directors meet in New York, joined by Jacob Ruppert,
Cap Huston, Charles Comiskey, and Harry Frazee of
the AL. They name a committee to draw up an agreement
along the lines of Albert Lasker's proposal, and give
the 5 AL clubs still backing Ban Johnson an ultimatum:
come in by November 1st or the Yankees, White Sox,
and Red Sox will pull out of the AL and join a 12-team
NL (with a team in Detroit to complete the roster).
The AL 5 turns it down, and bluff and counterbluff
blow through the autumn air.
»July 11, 1923:
Harry Frazee, owner of the Red Sox since 1916, sells out for over $1 million to a group of Ohio businessmen, who bring in veteran front office man Bob Quinn from St. Louis to run the club. Frazee's departure is welcomed by Boston fans who are fed up with the sale of Frazee's best players over the years.
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