The Origins of Professional Baseball in a New Urban Culture

Urbanization  Refers to the growth and devel- opment of cities  Spurred by expanding industrial- ization after the Civil War  Mainly in the north New York City Philadelphia Pittsburgh Cleveland Chicago Boston St. Louis Detroit Buffalo Milwaukee

Forces of Urban Population Growth  Many people sought a better life in northern cities Immigration ○ 14 million new immigrants between 1860 and 1900 Migration of African- Americans ○ Many left the south for northern cities after the Civil War

Cities were extremely dirty places …  Garbage on streets  Open sewers  Horse manure  Rats and other vermin  Smoke from factories  Soot

… and very crowded.  Spacious housing was not affordable for much of the working class.  Masses of people lived in slum neighborhoods of tenements Poorly constructed and cramped five or six story buildings housing many families. One room per family. Many had no windows and were dark and narrow with little airflow.

Work life was tough.  Monotonous Assembly lines  Unhealthy and dangerous Toxic air Heavy machinery  Long hours 10 to 14 hours per day Often 6 day work weeks

New leisure activities were a bright spot.  Leisure – time free from work.  Workers and their families enjoyed new leisure activities as an escape from daily life.

City parks offered a chance to enjoy nature.

Vaudeville Theater – A mix of songs, skits, comedy routines, and other acts.

The Bicycle

Spectator Sports Especially Baseball

By the turn of the twentieth century, there were two leagues of professional baseball clubs  National League New York Giants Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinatti Reds Brooklyn Dodgers Boston Braves St. Louis Cardinals Chicago Cubs  American League New York Yankees Philadelphia Athletics Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians Washington Senators Boston Red Sox St. Louis Browns Chicago White Sox

Baseball’s popularity continued to grow, leading it to be dubbed “The National Pastime”