Baseball in the Depression Era (Research Paper Sample)

Depression Era Baseball, A decade of change. 
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Introduction
Baseball is a favorite and popular sport among many and notably so, the Americans. From the sport’s conception in 1744, spectators have been congregating in national stadiums, high school stadiums and even junior high stadiums during the game’s season, to enjoy the game. Baseball is loved by many, from the young and old, to the rich and poor.
Baseball is not just a sport that is watched at the stadiums, but it has in essence gone to the extent of infiltrating the cultural practices and the daily lives of many. One, there is the baseball cap which has gradually become a fashion item for many, and walking down the streets of country’s such as the United States, you will not miss to see a person sporting one. There are also baseball cards which were introduced in the late 19th century; they became trading and collectors item and those who owned them would make a fortune. Additionally, baseball has affected culture in that many movies/films, books, and other artistic elements have been inspired by the game of baseball (Zoss and Bowman, 2004). Whether young or old, baseball has affected the lives of many, if not through movies, it is through cards, or baseball fashion items. Baseball in this context, especially looking at its achievements, and changes which have come along with it, seems more than just a game; it is in itself a cultural practice for it has changed the lives of many in different ways.
This paper will first look at the beginnings of baseball, for it is through then that an understanding of the sport itself can be garnered in addition to finding out how the sport mushroomed to having such a big following. It is important to first understand the sport and its dynamics thus after which, an understanding of how the changes that occurred in the depression era, affected this popular sport. It is also of importance that this paper looks at the depression era in general, so as to understand what happened during that time, and how the happenings of that time came to directly affect the sport of baseball. Baseball is an important cultural aspect of the average American, so in all our analyses, we will be looking at baseball from an American perspective. Baseball is notably a common sport in other countries other than America but since America is the most popularly known when it comes to the sport, the paper will look at how the happenings of the depression in America affected the sport. It is after all these analyses that a concise summary will be drawn.
Baseball
The origins of baseball are not all that specific, but historians think that the earliest proper origin is the reference to baseball in a book published by British author John Newbery in 1744. Baseball has evolved quite a bit since its origins of other bat and ball games which were thought to have been first commonly played in England most especially around the middle of the 18th century. The game that was then played in England was brought to North America by British and Irish immigrating citizens, and it was there in North America, that baseball continued to evolve, until it became the sport that is commonly played today. As the nineteenth century rolled around, Americans started to recognize baseball as their national sport (Tygiel, 2000). Now, it has gained popularity among all types of people including professional prayers and even amateurs. The game of baseball is not only popular in the United States, but it is also so in countries such as became the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Cuba, Netherlands and Nicaragua among others. (Zoss and Bowman, 2004).
What is baseball in essence one may ask? Baseball is a sport that is played using a bat and a ball. The essence of the game it to hit a thrown ball by a bat, run around fours bases that are usually arranges at the corners of a diamond, and score a run. The players are usually nine from each opposing team. The players which are usually batting are the ones who try and score the runs by hitting the balls pitched by the opposing team, which is usually referred to as the fielding team. While the batting team’s strategy is to hit the balls and score a run, the fielding team’s strategy is to stop the batting team from scoring the runs. After the batting team gets three outs, an out meaning a miss on hitting the ball, the teams switch up, and the previously batting team becomes the fielding team and vice versa. Each time a team gets to bat; this is referred to as an inning in baseball linguistics. There are normally nine innings in professional baseball and at the end of the innings, the team which had the most runs, is the winner of the game (Zoss and Bowman, 2004).
In the United States, teams that play professional baseball are called Major League Baseball teams. These teams are usually divided into two sets called the National League and the American League. Each of the Leagues themselves has three divisions known as the West Central and East divisions. Every sporting year, the champion of the major leagues is normally determined through a series of playoffs that take place; four teams from each of the leagues mentioned above enter the playoffs. The playoffs usually culminate in what is normally referred to as the World Series (Zoss and Bowman, 2004).
As you can see from the brief snapshot of the game of baseball, it is an interesting game indeed that is loved by many Americans and also other world wide countries. Notably, the hype from the game especially by today’s media, televisions stations, newspapers, and advertising agents has played a big role in advancing the popularity of baseball. Baseball has come a long way to be what it is now (Tygiel, 2000). There are several different periods or eras that have come with marked and notable changes to baseball and the depression era is one of them. Below, the paper first takes a look at the era of the Great Depression, then going on further to look at the effects negative and or positive the era had on baseball.
The Depression era
The depression Era is historically normally referred to as the Great Depression. The Great Depression was marked by a high economic depression. It not only adversely affected the United States, but also other countries worldwide. The depression took place at different years worldwide, but it is said to have started around the year 1929 and ended in the year around 1940s. The origin of the depression itself was in the United States in what is commonly referred to as Black Tuesday. On this day, October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed, hence the name in reference to this occurrence (Zoss and Bowman, 2004). After the crash of the stock market, the effects quickly spread worldwide, and the rest of the world found itself in the tangles of a great economic catastrophe. This economic catastrophe was the longest ever experienced in the history of the world, as well as the most widespread, for virtually all countries felt its tentacles.
The depression came with its own terrifying effects on both the rich and the poor. People’s income dropped or became virtually nonexistent, tax revenue plunged, profits and prices of goods hit a nose dive, international trade was affected, and the unemployment rates especially in the United States went all the way up to 25%. Farming and farmers were adversely affected as the price for crops fell hard. Other areas of employment such as logging and mining were also affected (Zoss and Bowman, 2004). Basically, the Great Depression led to people loosing confidence in the economic future and turnaround of their country.
The Depression brought hard times all around, especially when it came to social amenities. Some people could hardly afford food, meaning social amenities themselves were out of the question. People had to make do with simple entertainment methods, anything to be happy. During that time, people made do with watching movies, playing board games, and those who could not afford attending live games; they had to make do with listening to baseball games such as the Yankee on the radio. Books were also popular at that time, and they served as an escape from the harsh cruelty of the economic downturn (Zoss and Bowman, 2004).
Overall, the social lives of many were affected, among which sports was highly affected. Sports before the depression were big in the lifestyles of many Americans especially in the roaring twenties but as the depression rolled around, things drastically changed. During that time, baseball was the biggest national sport, liked by all, but as the depression sank in, this sport among others was greatly affected. During that time, there were things such as stadium building projects going on, and people wondered whether this would be feasible with the current economic times. An example of that time was Los Angeles which had just won the title of host city to the 1932 Olympics (Tygiel, 2000). This meant that that they had to expand their seating capacity at their coliseum so as to be able to seat more people. The whole expansion process was met with setbacks from people who did not see the point of pouring in all that money for a stadium when others were starving. Overall, sports were getting a big hit but statistically, they weathered the depression era better than other parts or segments of the American Economy (Alexander, 2002). In the next section, we will critically look at the effects of the depression on baseball highlighting each of the changes that the depression era brought on that time’s favorite American National sport, baseball.
Baseball during the depression era
A few years prior to the Great Depression around 1910 to be exact, baseball had just become a national sport, boasting a stable league structure that ove...