Baseball In The 20's Essay

Throughout the 1920's, sports grew rapidly and was also known as a transition period. Baseball was also known as Americas pass time. Sports had large amateur events that caught the eye of promoters who could see an opportunity to capitalize and make money. "The momentum these sports built up in the 1920's has ensured that these sports have endured in popularity to the present day."(Scott) Because of the great players of the 20's , many athletes are often compared back to the originals. The sport stars of this era remain well known today. Baseball was a huge part of the evolution of sports in the 20's between the Negro National League, the death of Ray chapman, Lou Gehrig, and one of the greatest baseball players known to man, Babe Ruth.

In the 20's, segregation was present even through sports. In baseball, the Negros were not aloud to play with white people. Because of the prejudice shown, Andrew Foster organized the "Negro National League" which was the first league put together for African Americans in baseball in the 1920's. Foster was given the nickname "Father of Baseball" after serving as the leagues first president and for his great leadership skills. After the NNL was formed, three years later the Eastern Colored League was founded. Edward H. Bolden served as chairman for the ECL. At the end of the 1924 season the two leagues made peace and arranged for a Colored World Series between their champions. This series was played each year from 1924 through 1927. The only ECL club to win the World Series was Hilldale Club in 1925. "This was the first negro World Series played between the ECL and NNL champions in 1924." (Dixon). ECL ended in 1928 due to disputes over player contracts but the member teams reemerged in 1929 as...

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...for the New York Yankees in 1925. Lou Gehrig played for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Lou Gehrig was later nicknamed the "iron horse" for his aggressive play and record setting career. "Gehrig set a record for playing 2,130 consecutive games before being broken by Cal Ripken Jr in 1995." (Baseball historian). He holds the record for most grand slams in a career which is 23. In 1926 he led the league with 20 triples. He was the first American Leaguer to hit four home runs in a game. In 1927, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and the rest of the New York Yankees won the World Series. Gehrig was named American League MVP twice in 1927 and 1936. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth dominated the baseball scene. He wore the jersey number 4 and it was the first jersey number retired in American Professional sports. He was then inducted into the Major League Baseball hall of fame.