Colonel and Hug

From the team’s inception in 1903, the New York Yankees were a floundering group that played as second-class citizens to the New York Giants. The team was purchased in 1915 by Jacob Ruppert and his partner, Til Huston. Three years later, when Ruppert hired Miller Huggins as manager, the unlikely partnership of the two figures began, one that set into motion the Yankees’ run as the dominant baseball franchise of the 1920s and the rest of the twentieth century, capturing six American League pennants with Huggins at the helm and four more during Ruppert’s lifetime. The Yankees’ success was driven by Ruppert’s executive style and enduring financial commitment, combined with Huggins’s philosophy of continual improvement and personnel development. The Colonel and Hug tells the story of how these two men transformed the Yankees in their rise to dominance. It also tells the larger story of America’s gradual move from neutrality to entry into World War I and the emergence and impact of Prohibition on American society. This story tells of the end of the Deadball Era and the rise of the Lively Ball Era, a gambling scandal, and the collapse of baseball’s governing structure—and the significant role the Yankees played in it all. While the hitting of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig won many games for New York, Ruppert and Huggins institutionalized winning for the Yankees.  

"A top-notch sports biography."—Kirkus starred review, "The Colonel and Hug explores that remarkably fruitful relationship in a meticulous account brimming with quotes from the period."—Edward Achorn, Weekly Standard, "The Colonel and Hug explains admirably how the Yankees became the Yankees. Steinberg and Spatz draw heavily on their research to provide a readable, lively narrative."—Bob D'Angelo, Tampa Tribune, "A strong dual biography."—Brett L. Abrams, Sport in American History, "This book provides a valuable service in helping its readers better understand the genesis of the greatest dynasty in American sports history."—David Shiner, Inside Game

Steve Steinberg is the coauthor (with Lyle Spatz) of 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York (Nebraska, 2010), winner of the 2011 Seymour Medal, and the author of Urban Shocker: Silent Hero of Baseball’s Golden Age (Nebraska, 2017), winner of the SABR Baseball Research Award. Lyle Spatz is the author of Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball. Marty Appel is the former director of public relations for the New York Yankees and author of Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from before the Babe to after the Boss.