[5][6] When the Spanish–American War began, Huston organized a company of engineers with expertise in waterworks and masonry for service in Cuba.

[18] Huston entered into a deal to buy the Chicago Cubs of the National League from Charles P. Taft in July 1914, in which McGraw would become a part-owner and manager.

[20] By the 1914 season, Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery, the owners of the New York Yankees of the American League, were running out of money.

The Yankees were not a competitive franchise on the field, and did not have their own stadium; they were tenants of the Giants at the Polo Grounds, paying $65,000 annually ($1,957,697 in current dollar terms) in rent.

[25] To convince Huston and Ruppert to take on such a troubled franchise, Ban Johnson, the president of the American League, had gotten agreements from other teams to make decent players available to the Yankees at reasonable prices.

[23][26] The Yankees purchased Wally Pipp and Hugh High from the Detroit Tigers for $5,500 ($165,651 in current dollar terms),[27] but other owners withheld their players.

[32] In 1917, Huston brought a drill sergeant to spring training to instill discipline in his players, a strategy later adopted by other team owners.

[33] Upon America's entry into World War I in April 1917, Huston reenlisted in the Army as the commander of the 16th Regiment of Engineers.

New York Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Wagner ruled in favor of the Yankees, granting a permanent injunction.

[51] In December 1919, the Yankees purchased Babe Ruth from the Red Sox for $100,000 ($1,757,390 in current dollar terms), a record sum for a player.

[56] Huston and Ruppert began looking for a location to build their own stadium, choosing a site adjacent to Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx in 1921.

They set out to build the first three-tiered baseball stadium, with an anticipated 75,000 capacity;[23][57] the Polo Grounds held fewer than 40,000.

[59] The Yankees again won the American League in 1922, but lost to the Giants in the 1922 World Series, and Huston again argued for firing Huggins.

[23][60] Despite his desire to sell the team, Huston oversaw the construction of Yankee Stadium, which was completed before the start of the 1923 season.

[3] He sold his stake in the Yankees to Ruppert for $1.25 million ($22,353,516 in current dollar terms), finalizing the deal in May 1923.

[61] With Huston's sale of his share of the Yankees, and Frank Chance's hiring in Boston, relations worsened between the two franchises.

[62] After selling his stake in the Yankees, Huston purchased 650 acres (260 ha) on Champney Island, located in the Altamaha River, south of Darien, Georgia, to establish a duck preserve.

[66] Huston brought in tractors, dredgers, and thousands of workers to rebuild trenches and levees and plant various species of fruits and vegetables.

[69] Huston spent over $100,000 ($1,721,053 in current dollar terms) on a herd of Guernsey cattle to establish the plantation as a dairy farm in 1932.

[72] In the mid-1930s, Huston attempted to purchase the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League, and he stated that his intention was to hire Ruth as his manager.

[75] He toured the country in support of veterans' issues, such as calling for passage of the World War Adjusted Compensation Act.

He was a lifelong member of the Society of Civil Engineers[1] and served as president of the chamber of commerce for Brunswick, Georgia.