Liberty Lifestyle: How Baseball Became America's Favorite Pastime

“I think there are only three things America will be known for 2,000 years from now … the Constitution, jazz music, and baseball.” ~ Gerald Early

Baseball, America’s favorite pastime, is more than just a game. It’s become synonymous with America, representing much more than just a hobby. As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, let’s take a look at how the sport has grown and become so important to the country.

The History

"Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet, they go together in the good ol' USA." ~ James Hartzell

Civil War

When medieval monks and nuns played what eventually became baseball, there was a single base shaped like a rectangle. It took some time, but the sport we know today emerged in the US through English and European bat-and-ball games, and went through different names such as town ball, round ball, and Base-Ball. By the time of the Civil War, the sport had already become popular: Both Confederate and Union soldiers played, seeking a diversion from the bloody battles going on around them. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday was at Fort Sumter in South Carolina when the first shots were fired, and he is credited with having invented baseball when he took it to Cooperstown, NY, although different versions of the game had been around for much longer.

The game continued to grow in popularity. In the 1840s, reporters described it as a mania. Amateur teams popped up all over northeastern United States. In 1856, the New York Mercury deemed baseball the “national pastime,” Library of Congress pointed out. By 1869, “the earliest team card had been produced, uniformed clubs operated on the West Coast, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first openly professional team. Baseball could now wear a ‘Made in America’ label on its sleeve.” Michael “King” Kelly popularized both the practice of signing autographs and developing acting careers, the outlet explained.

World War I

By the time World War I happened, there were 227 major league players serving in branches of the military, including hall of famers Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, George Sisler, and Ty Cobb, who served in the Chemical Warfare Service known as “The Gas and Flame Division,” Library of Congress explained.

Game 1 of the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and the Red Sox featured iconic Babe Ruth on the pitchers mound and, for the first time, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed. It was a pivotal time in the sport’s history as the Library of Congress described:

“The song would not become our official National Anthem until 1931, but when Red Sox third baseman Fred Thomas, an active-duty sailor on leave from Naval Station Great Lakes, heard the band strike up the song during the seventh inning stretch, he turned to face the flag, snapped to attention and offered a military salute. The other players seeing Thomas, turned to face the flag and put their hands over their hearts.

“The fans, seeing what was happening on the field, roared to life, cheering and singing along, in a spontaneous show of patriotism. The ‘Star-Spangled Banner’” has been performed at every World Series game since, and the tradition of playing the song before every big league game started 24 years later during World War II.

World War II

During World War II, 500 major league players – including 37 hall of famers – served in the military, many of them putting their athletic careers on hold. How people watched the game changed as well. On May 24, 1935, “President Franklin Roosevelt symbolically flipped a switch in Washington, D.C., that lit up Ohio’s Crosley Field, home of the Cincinnati Reds,” National Baseball Hall of Fame wrote. “Since then, for many teams, baseball’s day games gradually dwindled and nine innings filled its nights.”

The American spirit was alive and well during this time; however, in January 1942, the commissioner of baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis was concerned if the game should continue during the war, so he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt asking if it should be suspended for the time. Roosevelt sent the “Green Light Letter,” saying, “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before.”

With so many men off fighting, this was the perfect time to establish the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as well.

Baseball and America Grow Up Together

Baseball has entertained, inspired, and influenced many an American, including Martin Luther King Jr. who said, ““Jackie Robinson made my success possible. Without him, I would never have been able to do what I did.” As National Baseball Hall of Fame wrote:

“A compelling theme is that baseball's greatest heroes often reflected America's highest ideals. Jackie Robinson stood for equality under the law. Ted Williams demonstrated sacrifice and service. Roberto Clemente showed the importance of helping others. Willie Mays embodied opportunity and perseverance. Babe Ruth represented the belief that someone from humble beginnings could achieve extraordinary success. Together, they helped turn baseball from a game into a reflection of the American story itself.”

The sport was important for the Civil Rights movement as well. During the 1850s, blacks mostly played the game on plantations, but a century later, Jackie Robinson entered the scene and soon what was once a white man’s professional game became integrated.

Many baseball players served in the military and fought for their country. “The country is witnessing an unprecedented expansion in its armed forces on land, on sea and in the air,” President Roosevelt wrote. “And in the building up of morale – whether in the armed forces or in the civilian population – we all know the part that recreation always has played and of necessity must continue to play. That is where baseball comes into its own.”

Changing the Game

While baseball went through growing pains and changes, fans have had to do the same. The ballpark experience is much different now. Gone are the days of traditional live organ music and in its place is the walk-up song. Today, we have hot dogs and popcorn when before there were gourmet and ethnic cuisines.

Even the way the game is talked about and described is morphing. Former major leaguer and announcer Bob Ueker responded when he heard the phrase “emotional distress” to describe poor hitting: “When I played, they didn’t use fancy words like that. They just said I couldn’t hit.”

Still the sport is alive and prospering in the country. Baseball became America’s pastime not because it was the most popular sport, but because it grew up alongside America, reflecting the nation’s history, values, struggles, and traditions for more than 150 years.