This paper discusses the early days of baseball with the objective of examining the roles of blacks and women in the 19th century baseball. In addition, the paper will, also, discuss the importance of the formation of the National league on the history of baseball, the people who ultimately benefitted from the arrangement. It is worth noting that baseball has had a long history dating the back to the 19th century when it started in the American fields. Owing to its humble beginning and present success, Ward, Burns and Baker (2010) assert that baseball occupies a large space in the national heritage of the US. It is, also, an intrinsic aspect of the US’s national psyche; an attribute that promotes its consideration to becoming more than a mere game for pastime. It should, also, be clear that invention of baseball did not take the effort of a single individual; but it took time through evolution of various European versions of games such “bat and ball.”
According to Ward et al (2010), the period between 1898 and 1947 gave a lot of room for racism to play around baseball; the supposed to be a national pastime of America. The organizers of baseball events subjected black players to racial discrimination even when they had similar knowledge of the game as their white counterparts. Owing to their black skin, they were forced to play in deplorable conditions while their counterparts in the white teams and leagues played in superior ballparks. In general, blacks did have their space in the then successful baseball teams, and the life of those who remained behind became incredibly difficult. In other words, the role of the blacks in baseball was to play in nonprofessional teams. Such teams never had essential equipment and were condemned to deplorable conditions. Since baseball was grouped as a masculine activity, the expectation that women required meeting was bearing children. According to Ritter (2010), it was believed that physical education and activity would result into brain fever and hence, bareness. Even though they did not have permission to play baseball, their presence during games was encouraged. The belief was that the presence of women played a great role by reducing rowdiness and violence among the cheering crowds. However, it did not take a long time before women expressed their overwhelming desire to join the game. Their active participation in the game eventually gave an advanced perception to the roles of women.
The National League was first established on 2nd of February 1876, and there was a lot of significance in the whole arrangement (Ward et al, 2010). The first significance is that it was meant to replace the “National Association of professional Base Ball Player”, which was becoming weak day by day. Therefore, the formation of the National League was essential for restoring the required authority over clubs, maintain stable membership, improve supervision of schedules, and eliminate domination by only one team (Ritter, 2010). Ultimately, Charles Ebbets is the one who ended benefiting from the arrangement. This is because most of his recommendations were adopted by the National League. For instance, in 1924 when they had a National League meeting, Ebbets came up with a proposal outline a 2-3-2 design, which he found suitable for the World Series. Upon receiving approval, this design has been implemented since then.
In conclusion, during the early history of baseball, blacks and women did not have enough space in the game to explore their talents. Although women were not allowed to play, the belief was that their presence of played a great role by reducing rowdiness and violence among the cheering crowds. The formation of the National League was essential for restoring the required authority over clubs, maintain stable membership, improve supervision of schedules, and eliminate domination by only one team.
Get Your Custom Paper From Professional Writers. 100% Plagiarism Free, No AI Generated Content and Good Grade Guarantee. We Have Experts In All Subjects.
Place Your Order Now