Thomas Wolf- The Called Shot

In the   summer of 1932, at the beginning of the turbulent decade that would remake   America, baseball fans were treated to one of the most thrilling seasons in   the history of the sport. As the nation drifted deeper into the Great   Depression and reeled from social unrest, baseball was a diversion for a   troubled country—and yet the world of baseball was marked by the same   edginess that pervaded the national scene. On‑the‑field fights were as   common as double plays. Amid the National League pennant race, Cubs’   shortstop Billy Jurges was shot by showgirl Violet Popovich in a Chicago   hotel room. When the regular season ended, the Cubs and Yankees clashed in   what would be Babe Ruth’s last appearance in the fall classic. After the Cubs   lost the first two games in New York, the series resumed in Chicago at   Wrigley Field, with Democratic presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt   cheering for the visiting Yankees from the box seats behind the Yankees’   dugout. In the top of the fifth inning the game took a historic   turn. As Ruth was jeered mercilessly by Cubs players and fans, he gestured   toward the outfield and then blasted a long home run. After Ruth circled the   bases, Roosevelt exclaimed, “Unbelievable!” Ruth’s homer set off one of   baseball’s longest‑running and most intense debates: did Ruth, in fact, call   his famous home run? Rich with historical context and detail, The Called Shot dramatizes the   excitement of a baseball season during one of America’s most chaotic summers. Thomas Wolf has written numerous articles on   baseball history and is the coauthor of Midnight   Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland.