Baseball's 1926 World Series was more than just a championship showdown — it was emblematic of America in a decade defined by financial excess, social rebellion, and societal reinvention. We explore that dramatic showdown through "Baseball in the Roaring Twenties: The Yankees, the Cardinals, and the Captivating 1926 Season," a riveting new book by historian and author Thomas Wolf.
Wolf takes us beyond the box scores of this unforgettable seven-game clash between Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees and Rogers Hornsby’s St. Louis Cardinals. He traces Ruth’s improbable resurgence from a disastrous 1925 season — a comeback that reignited the public imagination —and revisits the iconic moments that still echo through baseball history, from Grover Cleveland Alexander’s legendary Game 7 performance to Ruth’s controversial, series-ending stolen base attempt.
But the story extends well beyond the field. Wolf situates the Series within the broader cultural currents of the Jazz Age: Prohibition-era speakeasies, a rapidly modernizing society, and the parallel world of the Negro Leagues, where Rube Foster’s bold vision flourished even as hopes for integration faced overwhelming resistance.
The conversation also uncovers lesser-known (and darker) chapters, including the game-fixing scandal involving Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker that surfaced during the Series, and Commissioner Judge Landis’ unexpectedly lenient response.
A historian and lifelong baseball devotee, Wolf has long examined baseball’s cultural meaning. “Baseball in the Roaring Twenties” is his most ambitious work yet — using one remarkable season to probe the contradictions, triumphs, and tensions at the heart of 1920s America.
