Harry Frazee

From SoSH

Overall Career

Harry Frazee bought the Red Sox from Joseph Lannin in 1916 for about $500,000. Although the Sox won a World Series in 1918, they would not win a World Series until 86 years later.

Best known for selling Babe Ruth for $125,000 to New York Yankees. Also produced the smash hit No No Nanette. Red Sox fans like to frequent his grave and use it as an urinal.

Although Frazee was famous both for producing "No No Nanette" and for the Ruth sale, the two events weren't linked, as the "No No Nanette" debut did not occur until September of 1925, nearly six years later.

Frazee sold most of the Red Sox' best players throughout his tenure with the team (including Babe Ruth, Carl Mays, and Joe Dugan). Unfortunately, all of those players went to the Yankees. The Los Angeles Time once wrote, “Frazee has completed—with two exceptions—the transfer to New York of every really great athlete he ever owned…but he has gained in his pocketbook what he has lost on the diamond.”

Often not as criticized is Frazee's trade of Boston's Joe Dugan and right fielder Elmer Smith to the Yankees for New York outfielder Elmer Miller, SS Johnny Mitchell, utility man Chick Fewster, PTBNL Lefty O'Doul and a rumored $50,000. Both Dugan and Smith were starters for the Sox, the Yankees returned were bench warmers on their team. Although O'Doul went on to have a good career, it was not with the Sox (even though he is possibly the best PTBNL, it's another mark against Frazee that he couldn't even get one good season out of O'Doul). None of the players we got in the trade played more than two seasons for the Sox. In his book, "Harry Frazee, Ban Johnson, and the Feud That Nearly Destroyed the American League," Michael Lynch speculates that this trade (combined with the New York Giants' continued deadline deals) led then MLB Commissioner Landis to change the trade deadline to June 15 from August 1 in 1922.

In 1923, Frazee sold the team. The New York Times had written, "[Frazee was the] target for harpoons, buckshot and 120 mm. shells ever since he traded Everett Scott, Sam Jones and Joe Bush to the Yankees.”

Yankee Trades

A List of Choice Trades Made by Frazee to the Yankees from 1918 to 1923. The source for this information is Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia, 1988 edition, "Trade Section," pp. 2251-2709, with special thanks to Wikipedia.

• Joe Bush—December 1921. Pitched in two pennant seasons for the Yankees. Traded for Rip Collins (pitcher), Roger Peckinpaugh, Bill Piercy, Jack Quinn.

• Joe Dugan—July 1922. Played for five Yankee pennant teams. Traded for Chick Fewster, Elmer Miller, Johnny Mitchell, Lefty O'Doul.

• Waite Hoyt—December 1920. Traded (with Harry Harper, Wally Schang, and Mike McNally) for Del Pratt, Muddy Ruel, Hank Thormahlen, and Sammy Vick. Hoyt pitched for the Yankees in ten seasons, and was in seven World Series (including the 1931 Series, with the Philadelphia A’s).

• Sad Sam Jones—December 1921. Traded with Joe Bush. Pitched five seasons with Yankees.

• Carl Mays—July 1919. Traded to Yankees for players Bob McGraw and Allan Russell. Became persona non grata after killing Ray Chapman with a beanball in a game in 1920, although absolved of criminal blame.

• Herb Pennock—January 1923. Traded to Yankees for Camp Skinner, Norm McMillan, and George Murray. Pennock stayed with the Yankees until 1933, pitching in five Series.

• George Pipgras—January 1923. Traded to the Yankees for Al DeVormer (supra). Pipgras never played for Boston; his eleven-year career included three Yankee pennant seasons.

• Babe Ruth—the biggest sale Frazee made. He sold Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 plus a $300,000 mortgage on Fenway Park.

• Everett Scott—traded along with Joe Bush and Sam Jones. Scott set consecutive-game playing record it took Lou Gehrig to break.

External Links

• Harry Frazee's Article - Courtesy of Seamheads.com

• For a different point of view concerning Frazee's legacy, Glenn Stout's article is suggested.