Description
Book 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.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
Preface 1
1. Time for Reflection 7
2. A Farewell to Nova Scotia 16
3. St. Mary's 29
4. Birth and Rebirth 43
5. "He always built me" 58
6. A Star Begins to Twinkle 69
7. A Big Deal 82
8. A Homer for a Babe 95
9. Playing to Empty Seats 108
10. First Steps on the Big Stage 121
11. A Real Major Leaguer 133
12. Making History 148
13. The Peak and Past It 164
Epilogue 176
Appendix I: Brother Matthias Speaks 185
Appendix II: Statistics—Batting 188
Appendix III: Statistics—Pitching 189
Chapter Notes 191
Bibliography 205
Index 209
