The Man Who Made Babe Ruth: Brother Matthias of St. Mary's School - Softcover

Brian Martin (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1476673365 ISBN 13: 9781476673363

Publisher: McFarland, 2020

Synopsis

At six-feet-six, the hulking Martin Leo Boutilier (1872-1944) was hard to miss. Yet the many books written about Babe Ruth relegate the soft-spoken teacher and coach to the shadows. Ruth credited Boutilier--known as Brother Matthias in the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier--with making him the man and the baseball player he became. Matthias saw something in the troubled seven-year old and nurtured his athletic ability. Spending many extra hours on the ballfield with him over a dozen years, he taught Ruth how to hit and converted the young left-handed catcher into a formidable pitcher.

Overshadowed by a fellow Xavierian brother who was given the credit for discovering the baseball prodigy, Matthias never received his due from the public but didn't complain. Ruth never forgot the father figure who continued to provide valuable counsel in later life. This is the first telling of the full story of the man who gave the world its most famous baseball star.

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning journalist Brian Martin lives in London, Ontario. He is a member of the selection committee of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the Society for American Baseball Research.

Edition details

• Publisher: McFarland
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1476673365
• ISBN 13: 9781476673363
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 189