Big Fella

Big Fella follows Babe Ruth from his childhood at a Baltimore reform school through his emergence as the biggest star of 1920s America, arguing that Ruth's fame was as much a deliberate invention as it was raw talent. Jane Leavy centers much of the book on Christy Walsh, the agent who packaged Ruth's image, engineered his endorsement deals, and effectively invented modern sports marketing along the way.

Structured around a barnstorming tour Ruth and a teammate took after the 1927 season, the book weaves that trip with the fuller arc of Ruth's career to show how a single athlete's celebrity reshaped American entertainment and advertising.