Bill Werber was the first All-American basketball player at Duke University. After graduating from Duke, Werber signed on with the Yankees in 1927, but didn’t see Major League action until 1930. Scout Paul Krichell said he had “the best baseball legs I ever saw, including Cobb.” Werber won the American League base stealing title with the Boston Red Sox in 1934 and 1935 and tied for it while with the Philadelphia A’s in 1937. He was the first player to hit four consecutive doubles in one American League game and, in 1940, he became the only man to do so in both leagues. His energy was a big contributor to getting the Cincinnati Reds to the pennant in 1939 and then winning the World Series in 1940 against Detroit (he hit .370 in that series). He was also the first player to bat in a televised game, leading off for the Reds against Brooklyn on August 26, 1939.
During his time with the Yankees — in 1927 while “learning the game” on the bench with Miller Huggins and then starting his Major League career with them in 1930 — Werber had the opportunity to play, interact with and observe Babe Ruth. He also got to experience some of the antics of the highly-successful 1927 New York Yankees, which he remembers vividly and shares candidly in our BRC interview.
Bill talks about Babe’s love of children.
Bill responds to some of the media commentary that suggests that Babe Ruth was an alcoholic.