Which Red Sox owner sold Babe Ruth's contract to the Yankees in 1919?

Harry Frazee was the Red Sox owner who sold Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees in 1919.

Frazee, a theatrical producer and director, owned the Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. After the 1919 season, Ruth was unhappy with his salary and reportedly demanded a substantial increase. Frazee ultimately agreed to sell Ruth’s rights to the Yankees, with the agreement reached on December 26, 1919, and publicly announced in early January 1920.

The transaction is often remembered as a $100,000 sale, although accounts also describe the overall arrangement as $125,000 when the payment structure is included. The deal additionally involved a large loan to Frazee secured by a mortgage on Fenway Park. These financial details can create confusion, but they do not change the identity of the seller.

The sale transformed baseball history. Ruth became the Yankees’ biggest star, helped make Yankee Stadium famous as “the House That Ruth Built,” and became central to the popular “Curse of the Bambino” story. The Red Sox did not win another World Series until 2004, though historians emphasize that the alleged curse is baseball folklore rather than a literal explanation.