On May 6, 1930, Babe Ruth agreed to a new contract paying him $80,000 annually, an astronomical sum as the country sank into the Great Depression. When asked to justify earning more than President Herbert Hoover, Ruth reportedly quipped that he had a better year than Hoover did, a line that became baseball folklore.
Ruth's salary negotiations were legendary theater, and the Yankees front office knew that his box-office draw justified paying him more than almost anyone else in the country, ballplayer or otherwise. The $80,000-a-year deal, covering 1930 and 1931, came as unemployment was climbing past 8% following the 1929 crash, making the sum seem almost obscene to ordinary Americans standing in bread lines.
The famous exchange, often repeated as 'I had a better year than he did,' captured Ruth's unbothered swagger and the public's odd tolerance for celebrity excess even during hard times; people wanted heroes, and Ruth, hitting home runs at a pace no one had seen before, filled that role.
Ruth would deliver, batting .359 with 49 home runs and 153 RBIs in 1930, numbers that made the contract look, if anything, a bargain. His salary remained the standard against which baseball riches were measured for years.
Key people: Babe Ruth