Research Report #8

March 24th, 2011

Intro

I had intended to use my interview with Bill Jenkinson for this research report until I received a tip about an article that appeared in the New York Times online yesterday. Since this article highlights a recent discovery that relates to my topic, I decided to use this information for my report. I will still include my interview in my final paper.

Research

Film footage of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig has recently been discovered in the basement of an antique dealer in Illinois. The film contains three and a half minutes of footage of Ruth and Gehrig wearing the uniforms of their barnstorming teams. It is believed to have been shot with a high end movie camera on October 18, 1927, in or around Sioux City, Iowa. This would have been about 10 days after the Yankees completed a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. This find has special meaning for baseball historians because the 1927 Yankees have been considered one of the best teams in major league history. They finished the season with a record of 110-44 with their Murderers’ Row lineup. Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs that year (a record that held for 34 years) and Lou Gehrig hit 47 home runs and was the American League most valuable player.

Barnstorming tours of this era were a great way for baseball stars to cash in on their popularity. Ruth was able to match his $70,000 salary and Gehrig probably doubled his $8,000 salary on this tour alone. This tour began two days after the end of the World Series and spanned from Providence, Rhode Island to Los Angeles, California. The fans were so enthusiastic that some games had to be called early when spectators would race out onto the field and disrupt play. One of these frenzied scenes was covered by the Sioux City Journal newspaper on October 19, 1927. It described the previous day’s game where 5,000 people crowded into a minor league park, “2,000 youngsters became so unmanageable in their desire to get a close-up” as a mob scene that caused the game to be called early in the ninth inning. Another account of a rush of fans in the seventh inning said “Lou probably saved the life of a little fellow who was trampled to the ground in the rush by carrying him across the diamond to safety.” Ruth and Gehrig were extremely accommodating to fans in very city they appeared. They signed thousands of baseballs on their tours, either tossing them into the stands at the ballpark or from the trains that rolled through towns.

The film that was discovered is in excellent condition and rare considering that the entire archives of Major League Baseball contains less than an hour’s worth of footage of Babe Ruth.  Ruth and Gehrig appear with a group of well dressed women and children. A close-up shot of Ruth talking into the camera while Lou Gehrig holds a small boy behind him is featured in the film. The man who was considered the first major league sports agent, Christy Walsh is also seen in a close up appearance. At one point, Babe Ruth climbs aboard a pony after he pulls a cowboy hat off a young boy dressed in cowboy gear. The film was most likely taken at a postgame event for special guests. Babe Ruth’s grandson, Tom Stevens, commented after watching the video “But it’s not remarkable that he’s out and about with people. He commonly did that. That’s part of the reason people felt as affectionately about him as they did. “ [i]

Conclusion

I was pleased that I was able to use this article for my research this week. It added a current perspective to my topic and gives an example of the type of activities that Babe Ruth would be engaged in during his barnstorming tours.

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Research Report #7

March 21st, 2011

Intro

This research report is from a scholarly website “Digital History” and focuses on the formation of modern American mass culture. This information provides answers to my research question which asked “What was the climate in society like in the 1920s that allowed baseball to flourish across America?”

Research

No device that entered American homes in the 1920s had a greater impact than the radio. In 1919 the first commercial radio station began broadcasting musical variety shows and comedies. By 1929 more than a million households received news, entertainment, and advertisements across the airwaves. Radio transformed people such as Charles Lindbergh into instant celebrities. Another innovation of the 1920s was the record player. Jazz, blues, and “hillbilly” music were so popular that sales of phonographs jumped from 190,000 in 1923 to 5 million in 1929. The decade became known as the “Jazz Age”—a term that was coined by the novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some of the jazz artists to emerge during this period were Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy McFarland, and Benny Goodman. The blues provided an outlet to life’s sorrows and “hillbilly” music appealed to those who were nostalgic for a simpler past.

The most significant new vehicle of mass entertainment in the 1920s was the movies. About three-fourths of Americans went to the movies every week and spent 83 cents out of every entertainment dollar on the movies. The attendance rose from 50 million a week in 1920 to 90 million a week in 1929. The film industry relocated to Hollywood from New York because of cheaper land and labor, varied scenery, and an ideal climate for year-round filming. It was during this period that the “studio system” that would dominate film production for the next thirty years was created. Companies such as Paramount, 20^th Century Fox, and MGM owned their production facilities, ran worldwide distribution networks, and controlled theater chains who committed to showing their films. Glamorous and sophisticated movie stars like Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino became idols and young women across the country were introduced to the flapper style of bobbed hair and skimpy skirts. New film genres such as swashbuckling adventures, sophisticated sex comedies, and spectacles such as the Ten Commandments emerged from the 1920s. A new popular culture of common speech, dress, behavior, and heroes was created by the movies.

Spectator sports became extremely popular in the 1920s. Society had become impersonal and bureaucratic, leaving people hungry for sports and its heroes. Team sports such as baseball and football boomed but individual stars were the focus. Knute Rockne and Harold “Red” Grange attracted record crowds to football games. Baseball began the decade with a scandal when eight players from the Chicago White Sox were banned for throwing the 1919 World Series. Fortunately, baseball was able to restore its popularity thanks to Babe Ruth. He hit 59 home runs in 1921, which were more home runs than were hit by any other single team. By the time he hit 60 home runs in 1927, the “Sultan of Swat” had become baseball’s undisputed superstar and a cultural icon. [1]

[1] . ”The Jazz Age: The American 1920s The Formation of Modern American
Mass Culture,” Digital History, accessed February 1, 2011,

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu.

Conclusion

This website was a good source for information about the climate of society in the 1920s. My final research report will be my second interview.

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Research Report #6

March 21st, 2011

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Intro

This week my research was focused on information about Babe Ruth’s barnstorming activities in the 1920s. I was fortunate enough to be granted an interview by Bill jenkinson. He is the author of “The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs.”  He has done extensive research on Babe Ruth and quite a bit of his research was conducted in Pennsylvania. He is quite familiar with the area of Pennsylvania where my grandfather played baseball and has provided me with some good research leads. This report summarizes information from the book. I will be submitting my interview next week as my final research report.

Research

Babe Ruth’s Major League career is the stuff of legends. What many people do not know is the number of games that are not included in the record books in which he also participated. Babe Ruth’s so called “hidden career” included exhibition games against semi-pro and minor league teams across America. He played in games prior to the opening of the regular season, on off days during the season, and during the post season. To provide an example of how many games this might amount to in the course of a year–during his historic 1927 season, Babe Ruth participated in forty-one such games. If you count all of the regular season games, the World Series games, and the entire exhibition games in that year, the grand total is 207 games. All of this extra playing time was going on when Babe Ruth was the most celebrated player in all of Major League baseball. [1]

In 1920 the majority of the franchises in the American League and the National League were located near the East Coast. The Yankees took advantage of the hunger of baseball fans in other parts of the country eager to witness live games. The best opportunities for in-season exhibition games were located between the East and the Midwest. A typical example of one of these games took place on June 24^th on Columbus, Ohio (one day before the Yankees were scheduled to play the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium). The Yankees arrived in Columbus in the morning after travelling all night by train. Babe Ruth created a frenzy of activity wherever he appeared and towns took on a carnival-like atmosphere. He made as many public appearances as he could prior to the 3 o’clock game against the semi-pro team known as the Panhandles. Before a crowd of about 6,000 spectators, Babe Ruth blasted six home runs during batting practice and signed numerous autographs. He played right field during the game, hit a double , pitched the last inning in a 10-1 victory. The next day in the game against the Red Sox, Ruth hit two home runs![2]

Although Babe Ruth was compensated for his barnstorming activities, the playing conditions were often less than ideal. After a ban on barnstorming was lifted in 1921, he embarked on a tour through the Midwest in such towns as Perry, Iowa, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sioux City, Iowa. He played in frigid temperatures in front of small crowds and made very little money. He rarely turned down requests from schools, hospitals, or retirement homes. Babe Ruth was intent on pleasing everyone who came to see him and he was very proud of his personal appearances. He even found time to ride in parades, open new stores, and speak at banquets. [3] Another example of Babe Ruth’s kindness came during his barnstorming tour of 1923. On the eve of the World Series that year, Babe Ruth played for the New York Giants in a game against the Baltimore Orioles to raise money for a charity. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that the Giants were archrivals of the Yankees, having defeated them in the last two World Series. The next day Babe Ruth and the Yankees would be facing the Giants for the third time in the World Series. The Yankees came out victorious and Babe Ruth departed for his post season barnstorming tour as soon as the World Series ended. [4]

This tour took place much closer to home in an area that was a favorite of Ruth’s, western New York and northern Pennsylvania. He arrived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on October 29^th. Prior to the start of the afternoon game, he received honors at City Hall and visited a sick child. He arrived early at the ballpark for batting practice and delighted the crowd with six home runs (one of which established the long distance record). He played a game in Larksville, Pennsylvania where he put on a defensive performance that was remarkable even for him. In addition to playing all nine positions (including catcher) he pitched for two innings. He signed hundreds of autographs and attended banquets in the evening. He even asked if it might be possible for him to do some hunting in between his numerous appearances. [5]

Babe Ruth continued to participate in exhibition games until 1935 that took him to six countries, forty-two states, and approximately 200 cities, towns, and villages. His final exhibition took place on August 23, 1942 to raise money for the Army-Navy relief program after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the age of forty-seven, Babe Ruth faced Walter Johnson then fifty four years old) in a batting exhibition between games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Some 70,000 fans witnessed Babe Ruth hit the fifth pitch from Johnson into the right field lower deck.  On his twentieth and final swing, Ruth hit a ball that was slightly foul into the upper deck in right field. He seized the moment and proceeded to trot around the bases to a deafening ovation from the crowd. [6]

Conclusion

I am very pleased with this research because it confirms the fact that Babe Ruth was in the area where my grandfather played baseball in 1923. I want to continue looking for information from local sources in the area of Pennsylvania where my grandfather lived to see if there is anything that connects him to Babe Ruth.

[2] . Bill Jenkinson, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning
Baseball’s Greatest Slugger (New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007),

159-161

[3] . Bill Jenkinson, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning
Baseball’s Greatest Slugger (New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007),

164-166

[4] Bill Jenkinson, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning
Baseball’s Greatest Slugger (New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007),

168

[5] Bill Jenkinson, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning
Baseball’s Greatest Slugger (New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007),

168

[6] Bill Jenkinson, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning
Baseball’s Greatest Slugger (New York: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007),

185-186

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Research Report #5

March 20th, 2011

Intro

This week my research was focused on gathering information specific to the history of baseball in Pennsylvania.  This focus narrows my research on baseball to most closely match the experience of my grandfather. I used two different websites to get this information.

Research

One of the earliest known mentions of the sport of baseball in America was recorded by a soldier in Washington’s army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1778. It was not the same version of the game that Alexander Cartwright invented and wrote rules for in 1845. The soldier described it as a game of “base” that the troops spent the day playing. Although the debate still goes on as to whether the sport of baseball originated from the British sports of cricket or rounders, there is no debate that the finished product is uniquely American.  From the mid-19^th to the mid-20^th century, baseball was the most important sport in America. Amid the landscape of urban industrial society, baseball provided a sense of community. Amateur baseball flourished as town and industrial teams sprung up all across the state of Pennsylvania. [1]

These teams were made up of the best players in the area. The players would proudly wear the uniform of their specific town or company when traveling to the neighboring towns to play. As representatives of their communities, teams were often associated with specific ethnicity, class, or race. Because they often faced opponents from different backgrounds, they became part of the American “melting pot.” The class and ethnic divisions that they faced off the field were being gradually erased by the respect that was building in competition on the field. The teams were a great source of pride to their local communities and they received support from passionate fans and local businesses. As baseball proved to be a profitable business, the minor leagues thrived in Pennsylvania cities such as Altoona, Allentown, Butler, Erie, Lancaster, Reading, Scranton, Williamsport, and Harrisburg. New industries and inventions made the game more accessible and exciting. Even the smallest town teams could take road trips to play opponents across the state because of the railroads. The final score of a game could now be telegraph wired home instantly. [2]

The importance of baseball to the communities in Pennsylvania could be witnessed in their fervor on game days. If the game was on a weekday, many businesses shut down so workers could attend. If the game was on a Sunday, divine services were held and sermons were delivered with references to the occasion. Baseball was woven into all types of celebrations including the 4^th of July. On July 2, 1913, the Meadville Daily Messenger reported that “Base Ball Fans Have a Treat in Store, The Two Games, Glorious Fourth.” This headline referred to a baseball banquet that was being held for fans, and “fanettes,” to honor a travelling all-star team that was visiting from Cleveland.  The all-stars had asked for a fee and the Meadville team responded this way “nothing is too good for Meadville on an ordinary day, and when it comes to assisting in the matter of the Fourth of July program—well, the best to be had at any price is none too good.” Mining and railroads were two of Pennsylvania’s most important industries and they each sponsored a number of baseball teams. The Pennsylvania Railroad recruited players from Boston and St. Louis and they were guaranteed jobs in Altoona. [3]

[1] “Baseball and Community in Pennsylvania.” Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Accessed February 24, 2011. Last modified  February 24, 2011. http://www.hsp.org.

[2] “Baseball in Pennsylvania.” Explore PA History. Accessed February 24, 2011. Last modified  February 24, 2011. http://explorepahistory.com.

[3] “Baseball and Community in Pennsylvania.” Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Accessed February 24, 2011. Last modified  February 24, 2011. http://www.hsp.org.

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Research Report #4

February 23rd, 2011

Intro

This week I conducted an interview with my grandfather’s daughter, Donna Elaine Schneider May. She was born on May 16, 1952 in Baltimore, Md. She is my grandfather’s daughter from his second marriage.  She confirmed that my grandfather, Donald Melvin Schneider, was born in Hughesville, Pa. on November 8, 1903. My grandfather was an athlete who excelled in three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. He played for town teams in the 1920’s, and possibly for industrial teams at the companies he worked for in Hughesville and Williamsport, Pa. His basketball team was the “Hughesville Noble 5” for which we have a team photo from 1922. His baseball team may have been the “Hughesville Noble 9” but we have not yet located a team photo or record that confirms this information.  I have chosen to focus on his baseball calling for my research report. His story of playing against Babe Ruth in an exhibition game was a famous tale in our family that has been passed down through the generations. Unfortunately, this tale includes the loss of a signed Babe Ruth baseball that was “thrown away”.

Research

Donna May’s Interview:

What Donna remembers about my grandfather’s involvement in baseball in the 1920’s

Donna does not specifically remember the years that my grandfather played baseball. She does remember that he talked about playing baseball throughout her childhood. She spent many summers listening to Baltimore Orioles games on the radio and discussing “old time” players and various pitching techniques that my grandfather used. My grandfather even taught Donna how to throw a “knuckleball”. She recalls “my hands were too small to actually grip the ball with my knuckles. Dad taught me how to grip the ball with my fingernails. Of course, I could never control the throw and it went all over the place”. (1) Donna remembers hearing the story of how her father struck out the Babe and how he was given the ball that was used to strike him out. She remembers seeing the ball, and the autograph that included a few words about being struck out (she cannot remember what they were). Donna also recalled that she heard about the “spitball” and that Vaseline was used on the ball instead of spit. “I also remember Dad rubbing the ball on his shirt before throwing the ball”. (2)

What effect Donna thinks my grandfathers involvement in baseball had on his life and special advantages he may have had as a baseball player

Donna remembers that her father was very proud of his involvement in all three sports. He went on to more formal schooling after high school. It may have been known as a Normal (?) school and he was going to either be a teacher or another profession. This is when she thinks the basketball team photo was taken because he was 19 years old in 1922.

Donna’s mother told her about a trip that she and Donna’s father took to Hughesville when they were first married in about 1946. They were treated to meals when they went out to eat because of her father’s baseball notoriety. “She (Donna’s mother) even tells of purchasing a dress in the local downtown dress store and not having to pay for that. She said she thought that was quite amazing”. (3)

What my grandfather did for a living in the 1920’s and whether he may have played baseball at the same time

My grandfather was a mill worker and Donna recalls being told that Williamsport, Pa was known as “the lumber capital of the world”. (4) He mentioned so many towns from that area such as Hughesville, Muncy, Wilkes-Barre, Montoursville, and Scranton. He told her about teaching Sunday school at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hughesville. She has a photo of his mother, sister, and niece in front of the church. She was not certain if he played baseball while he was employed as a mill worker.

What my grandfather told Donna about the exhibition game against Babe Ruth and what happened to the signed baseball

Donna does not recall being told exactly what game it was but it was a very special game for my grandfather. She specifically remembers her mother looking at the signed baseball and “calling it a “silly” thing to hang on to for all those years-and throwing it away!” (5)

Conclusion

I am pleased with the information I have obtained from the interview with my Aunt Donna. She has provided some clues for me to follow up in such as the pitching techniques my grandfather used, what is a Normal (?) school, and Williamsport, Pa as an important industrial center in the 1920’s.  I plan to pursue those leads in my research for next week.

The main research question that was answered for me this week was #2-What impact did the involvement of my grandfather in baseball have on his life in the 1920’s? (partially) and #4-How did the life of my grandfather who participated in minor league baseball compare to that of the major league players in the 1920’s? (partially)

Bibliography

(1)    Donna Elaine Schneider May, interview by author, February 21, 2011

(2)    May

(3)    May

(4)    May

(5)    May

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Research Report # 3

February 10th, 2011

Research Report #3

Intro

This week I continued to use my source books to gather more information for my research. This information was obtained from the second book I ordered through the inter-library loan. It is titled “Baseball’s Hometown Teams: The Story of the Minor Leagues”.

I found contact information for the Luminary newspaper which is the local paper in Hughesville, Pa where my grandfather lived. I am going to contact them to see if they can assist me with historical information.

Research

After the turn of the century, semiprofessional baseball became extremely popular. It was a mixture of minor-league and town ball. Town ball consisted of amateur teams whose players were all from the same community. These teams were able to fill the void in the cities and towns that did not have a major league team. These teams offered their fans good baseball and gave people the opportunity to see future stars and major leaguers. Between 1905 and the 1940’s, semi-pro teams began hiring major leaguers to join their team in a single game. Some examples of the more prominent players who were involved in this practice include:

• Walter Johnson who often pitched on his days off for teams that would meet his price of $500
• Lou Gehrig who regularly played on a semi-pro team in Morristown, New Jersey
• The legendary Babe Ruth would play for anyone who met his asking price of $500 to $700 a game

By 1915 there were more than a thousand semi-pro baseball teams across the United States and in Canada. For the majority of the young men on these teams, the twenty to thirty dollars they received per game was more than enough compensation. Their love of playing was the main reason they participated in these games. However, many of them were hopeful that their experience might pay off with a stint in the minor or major leagues. Baseball scouts were often in attendance at the games, searching for young talent. The National Baseball Federation was formed at this time and they awarded prize money to national championship teams. The extra money that could be made playing on town teams led many good high school and college players to join. During times of economic hardship such as the Great Depression, this extra cash could pay a lot of bills.

Leading up to the beginning of World War I, the minor leagues generated moderate profits through ticket sales and low overhead costs. The owners paid the minor league players much lower salaries than the major league players were making. For example, major league players earned about $3,000 for a six-month season compared to a minor league player who earned about $800 for a six-month season. The owners were able to exploit the fact that young men at this time would rather play baseball than mine ore or shovel coal. They often supplemented their baseball wages with full-time jobs in the off-season. Many of the players lived three and four to a room in a boardinghouse and did without nonessentials such as new clothes.

In 1919 eight players on the Chicago White Sox were accused of fixing the outcome of the World Series. This scandal shocked a nation who was just beginning to recover from the devastation of World War I. The minor leagues were also dealing with their own scandal in the Pacific Coast League. Five players were suspended for life for allegedly taking money to throw games. Minor league baseball found itself in serious trouble as the 1920’s roared in. It needed something spectacular to bring it back to its former state of popularity. A big change came to the game in 1920 when what was known as the “lively ball” was introduced. The “lively ball” was a more tightly wound baseball that would go much farther when hit. High scoring games with lots of hits became the norm and the fans started flooding back into the ballparks. This new baseball was impacting the major league game as well.  In the year that Babe Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees, he hit 54 home runs.

Technological advances in the 1920’s such as improvements to print technology and transportation were also changing the game of baseball. Newspapers were able to perfectly reproduce photographs.  Other than movie stars, baseball players were featured most often in newspapers. Sports pages became as popular as the local news and comics due to inventive photography and action pictures.  By the middle of the 1920’s, most cities in the United States had some form of mass transit and automobiles were mass-produced at a price of about $600.  This made it easier for fans to get to the ballpark to cheer on the local team. The minor league ballparks were smaller and more intimate than major league ballparks. This drew fans much closer to their teams.

Conclusion

I have a good foundation of knowledge based on the information I have taken from the two source books. I can begin to branch out and look for other sources such as newspaper articles and websites. I think that the information I have researched so far will help me pinpoint the best sources.

I plan to focus on my interview for next week’s research report.

Bibliography

Chadwick, Bruce. Baseball’s Hometown Teams : The Story of the Minor Leagues. 1^st ed. New York: Abbeville Press, 1994

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Research Report #2

February 6th, 2011

Intro

This week I looked into some background information on my grandfather, Donald Melvin Schneider.  He was born in 1903. According to the 1920 census, he was living in Hughesville, PA (in Lycoming County) with his parents, grandparents, and brothers. His father and brother worked in a furniture factory.  He had talked about playing in an exhibition game against Babe Ruth in the 1920’s. According to Bill Jenkinson’s book, Babe Ruth was in Pennsylvania on a barnstorming tour in 1923. He played a game in Williamsport on 10/31/23. I have a few photos of my grandfather that I have collected.  I plan to work on researching this in more depth next week.

I received the two books that I ordered through the inter-library loans and decided to focus on one of them for this week’s report. In order to answer any questions related to the importance of minor league baseball in the 1920’s, I need to know something about the development of the minor leagues. I focused on the first chapter of Neil Sullivan’s book, “The Minors”.

Research

In the early days of baseball, it was a sport that developed its teams from elite gentlemen’s clubs and was mostly limited to the wealthy class. In 1858 the National Association of Baseball Players was formed to give the sport a business structure. Baseball leagues began forming all over America by the second half of the nineteenth century. The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded in 1876 with the claim that it was the only league that could be considered “major league” at that time. This league would be considered archaic by today’s standards. Some of the features included:

• Scouting that relied on gossip
• Contracts that were not respected
• Payrolls that were not being met
• Extremely varied playing conditions
• Unreliable press coverage
• Uncertain schedules

The National League’s claim of being the best league at the time could be disputed by the fact that they lost a considerable number of games to non-League teams. However, they had created a monopoly where the club owners controlled major markets, players, and competing franchises.

The game’s appeal began to spread to the working class. In an attempt to turn baseball into a profitable business, the National League of Professional Base Ball Players was established in 1871. Their early years were characterized by:

• Gambling on “fixed” games
• Contract jumping
• Boredom due to the domination by one team: The Boston Red Stockings

A group of western owners rebelled against the League and started the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. This would represent the first time that baseball would be organized by the owners instead of the players. The practice that was used to control the players was known as the “reserve clause”. This bound a player to a team even after their contract expired. A player could be expelled from the League if they did not comply with this clause. Another tool that was used to restrict non-League clubs was the “draft”. National League teams were allowed to choose players from non-League franchises in return for a fixed payment that had no correlation to the player’s value on the open market.  In the “option clause” League teams could send players to non-League teams where they would be subject to recall.  The draft and option clauses were disregarded when League owners began to raid the best players from the local clubs they encountered during postseason barnstorming tours.

These offenses led to a convention of non-League teams to meet in Pittsburgh in 1877 to organize against the monopoly. After rejecting the National League’s proposal to accept and affiliated status with their League, they created the International Association. This independent league consisted of teams in Pittsburgh, Rochester, Columbus, and Lynn, Massachusetts in the United States. Canada had three teams in London, Guelph, and Manchester. Some of the problems that plagued the International Association were:

• Deflection of their best team (the Buffalo Bisons) to the National League
• Financial chaos
• Teams accepting the National Leagues alliance proposal without condition or discussion

Although the International Association would only last two years, other minor league associations cropped up in other parts of the country throughout the 1880’s and 1890’s. One of the most prominent leagues to challenge the National League was the American Association.  It had heavily populated markets that included teams in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Louisville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. The American Association featured lower ticket prices, games played on Sunday, and liquor sold in the ballparks. This style of baseball was focused on having more fun than the National League. Prior to the 1890’s, there was no set of common rules for the game. Once these were established, comparisons began to flourish between individual players and teams.

The National League’s raiding of American Association players created a rocky relationship between the leagues. The National League’s monopoly was under serious threat. Although the American Association collapsed after the 1891 season, it was far more successful than any previous challenges. Other successful leagues that emerged during this period were the Eastern League (which later became the International League) and the Western League.

The Western League proved to be the mechanism that finally put an end to the National League monopoly. It improved the quality of its franchises and moved them into more profitable eastern markets. It would ultimately achieve major league status as the American League.

The most important development in baseball in this time period was how it spread across America. Every part of the country started professional leagues with loyal followings. It was taking hold in the smaller communities of America and even the most prominent teams in the northeast were acknowledging the value of barnstorming across the country to take advantage of the game’s popularity.

Conclusion

I am satisfied with what I was able to accomplish this week, Even though I did not uncover as much information about my grandfather’s baseball career as I had hoped, I have some solid leads to move forward with. I found that the book I used for my research was important since it has given me a foundation of knowledge about the early days of baseball and the history of the minor leagues.

I plan to use more information from this book and the other book that I received to bring me up to the 1920’s minor league baseball climate. I will attempt to get more information about baseball in the Williamsport, Pa area to tie back to my grandfather. The curators at the Babe Ruth Museum have pointed me in the direction of SABR: The Society for American Baseball Research.  I will most likely save my interview for the following week since I need to make contact with my aunt in Salisbury.

Bibliography

Sullivan, Neil J. The minors: the struggles and the triumph of baseball. 1st ed. New York, NY: St Martins Pr, 1991. 5-24. Print.

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Research Prospectus

January 27th, 2011

Research Prospectus

I have chosen to research my grandfather’s involvement in minor league baseball during the 1920’s. The reason that I have chosen this topic is twofold. I have always been an avid baseball fan and have studied baseball history on my own for years. I currently work at the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore where I am exposed to the life and times of Babe Ruth every day. My second reason for choosing this topic comes from stories that I can recall my grandfather telling me when I was a child. He was born in 1903, and lived in a small town outside of Williamsport, Pennsylvania called Hughesville. He was an excellent athlete who played on town teams for both basketball and baseball. He often talked about Babe Ruth and in particular, an exhibition game that was played in Williamsport. I seem to recall that he may have pitched against Babe in that game for which he was quite proud. As a history student I have always been fascinated with the 1920s. It was a time of great societal change and modernization in the United States. Sports stars were becoming cultural icons and the popularity of baseball was on the rise. Through my research, I hope to connect some of the dots between the stories that my grandfather told about this time period and the reality of what was going on in minor league baseball at this time.

Background:

What I already know about my topic is the importance of minor league baseball to the towns of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the 1920s. I also know that Babe Ruth was involved in barnstorming tours during this time that took him to Williamsport and other surrounding towns to perform in exhibition games.  I can place my grandfather who was a baseball player in this area and time period.  I have some information on my grandfather that I have obtained from ancestry.com such as census records and photographs.

Research Questions:

I want my research to answer the following questions:

-Why was the sport of baseball so important to the towns of Northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1920’s?

-How did the involvement in minor league or town teams impact the lives of young men at this time?

-How did their lives compare to the lives of the major league stars of the day? (i.e. Babe Ruth)

-What changes were taking place in society during the 1920’s that made accessibility to leisure and sports possible?

Research:

I have access to some family photos of my grandfather from my father and an aunt. (although we have not been able to locate one of him in his baseball uniform) I have another aunt that I can contact to see if she has any additional photos.  I believe she has a photo of him from a newspaper with his basketball team.

I will interview my father and aunts. I may also interview a contact that I have from the museum that has written a book on Babe Ruth’s exhibition tours and is familiar with the area where my grandfather played baseball. (Bill Jenkinson)

I may use the book that I mentioned above titled “The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs”. I have ordered 2 books on minor league baseball from the interlibrary loans. I may also use the book that you told me about regarding baseball in Williamsport.

I plan to contact the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY to see if they have any further information. I also sent an email to our museum’s curator to see if he has any books on this subject in our collection.

Initial Plan:

I plan to make calls this weekend to my aunts to get further background information and request photos of my grandfather.  I plan to use the census information that I have to search historical newspapers from the area. I will start reading my secondary sources as soon as I have them with a critical eye toward information pertinent to my topic.

Questions:

-Are there any avenues of research that you think I may have missed?

-Do you think it is realistic to expect to find any information online for small town newspapers?

-What other material items or artifacts should I consider?

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Potential Topic

January 18th, 2011

I am considering the topic of minor league baseball in the 1920′s for my research. This is due to my grandfather’s involvement in a town team in Hughesville, Pa. during this period.

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Hello world!

November 30th, 1999

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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