The Yankee Princess

When Babe Ruth's 92-year old daughter threw out the first pitch in the final game played at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008, there was instant recognition and respect for her and the Father who gave her a reason to be there. She and the crowd were able to enjoy Babe's past glory and legacy just before the walls came tumbling down at Yankee Stadium. It was a defining time that had as much to do with history as the present and the future. How many fathers and daughters have such defining moments where recognition, respect, appreciation and tears occupy the same moment and still represent so much before them? It turns out, quite a few–or, so I discovered when I started to tell audiences of men about the love: hate story I shared with my Dad, Gabe Paul, the man who brought the glory and blasphemy back to the NY York Yankees between 1973 and 1978. Before Dad, the legendary team of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford and Roger Maris had not seen a World Series victory since 1964.

My Dad made World Series winners out the Yankees again by bringing George Steinbrenner into the ownership group, Billy Martin to the management team and free agents Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson to the field, along with many other baseball greats. After Dad resigned the Yankees did not see another World Series Championship until 1996 when Joe Torre came. More than a celebrity memoir, The Yankee Princess is an inspiring and motivational book for dads with daughters featuring a baseball legend that's still very much relevant today, in the news (NY News Day, NY Post, Sports Lifer Blog, SI.com, Phil Pepe's radio show) and in my life, more than 10 years after his death. The Yankee Princess uses quotes, juxtaposing a unique time in sports for the New York Yankees against the back story of our father: daughter relationship, The Yankee Princess uses powerful storytelling mementos and actual articles to develop, heighten and ultimately resolve the real-life conflict between Gabe Paul, NY Yankees owner, President/GM, 1973-1978, and me, Jennie Paul, his daughter. The final chapter, aptly titled the Closer offers a way for fathers to engage their daughters in their own historical, game saving, championship comeback.