History Of Baseball 19001930 Essay Research

History Of Baseball , 1900-1930 Essay, Research Paper

Baseball in America is about as common as alcohol in college , it is everywhere and participated by everyone. Children and adults play baseball in small towns and large cities and professionals play it throughout the country. The game of baseball is America’s pastime and it popularity is enormous. The beginning of the 20th century between the 1930’s sparked the emergence of baseball and it’s members as nationally popular . There was many different organized leagues ,during these times , including The American and National Leagues and Negro Leagues . These leagues , mainly the American and National , had superstars who were immensely popular and beloved. Some stars in these leagues , scarred by scandals and malapropisms , damaged the baseball persona. The game of baseball from 1900-1930 began to take its form as a popular and magnificent sport that characterized American society.

In baseball , the years between 1900-1910 began with turbulent times and they finished that way. In the beginning of the 20th century , baseball began with a controversy between its two major leagues. The newly formed American League lured many National League players with “ offers of an average of $500 more per season”(1)and “ not [trading ]without their consent.”(2) The National League owners complained , mounted lawsuits , and fought among themselves. It was not until 1902 when owners from both leagues agreed “ to co-exist peacefully and to abstain from signing the other league’s players… respect the other’s rights”(3) and to define the territories of each league. A National Commission ,which had members from both leagues, was established to enforce the rules made between the two leagues.

The two leagues battle against one another , in attendance and popularity , during the following year. In 1903 , the two leagues decided to play a best of nine series between the winner from the National League and the winner from the American League. The series “ was a financial success for the owners”(4)and players and it was a popular success with the fans. The Boston team from the American League won the first world series in 1903 and the New York Giants from the National League won 1905. In 1904 , the National League choose not to play the world series because they did not want do anything to help the American League. This decision brought much criticism to the National League by fans , sportswriters , and players , so the National League decided to play the next year but in a seven game series instead. The National League winner in 1906 caused great controversy in baseball. Several weeks before the end of the season , the first place New York Giants were playing the second place Cubs in a pivotal game. In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants had two men at the corners and Al Bidwell of the Giants hit a single and the runner from third had scored ,to apparently win the game. After the man scored , Giants fans rushed the field , and Fred Merkle , the runner on first , went to the clubhouse in right field and did not tag second , thinking the game was over. The Cubs second baseman realized that and went to get the ball and tag second for the force , although Giant 3rd base coach realized this threw the ball into the stands. A fight ensued between Cub players and Giant fans and eventually the Cubs got the ball and tagged second. The runner was out , but the game had two teams claiming victory. Eventually ruled a tie by the commissioner , the game did not break the tie at the end of the regular season between Cubs and Giants ,and instead of the Giants winning , and the Cubs won in a playoff to be the National League champion.(5) In the ensuing 1906 World Series , the American League Chicago White Sox beat cross-town rival Chicago Cubs despite hitting just “ 7 home runs all season and [batting] .230” (6) After this the National League reasserted its dominance in the “ fall classic over the American League”(7) with the Cubs who won in 1907 and 1908 and the Pirates who won in 1909. The American League ended the National League dominance when the Philadelphia Athletics won the World Series in 1910. The decade from 1900-1910 was a very significant decade in the growth of baseball. Baseball expanded to more cities and leagues and was even more popular in America.

At the start of the second decade of the 20th century baseball continued to excel. The “ attendance was booming, interleague conflicts were diminishing ,” (8) and new superstars intrigued fans. Fans were mostly from the “middle class and upper ranks of the working people.”(9) Despite the fact of baseball’s rising success , the players did not have representation until 1912 the formation of the Fraternity of Professional Base Ball Players of America. The Fraternity had two goals “ to rid baseball of the hated reserve clause and to gain a larger share of baseball’s profits for the men who made them possible.”(10) Instead of getting more recognition and respect from the owners , the owners ignored the players organization.

The formation of the Federal League began after the 1913 season by a group of wealthy businessmen to challenge Major League Baseball. They offered large sums of money to players in the Major League to come play for the Federal League. The struggle between the Major Leagues and the Federal League continued and players like Three Finger Brown jumped to the Federal