How Did Baseball Become America 's Pastime?
“The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” New York Giants announcer Russ Hodges 1951 call of Bobby Thompson’s bottom of the ninth “shot heard round the world,” is perhaps the most famous call ever made in sports history. By 1951, baseball was firmly entrenched as “America’s pastime.” Barzun rightly stated, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball” (Carlson, 2012). While today’s game is certainly big business, it was the heroic ‘boys of summer’ returning home from World War II that forever cemented the game of baseball into the hearts and minds of Americans.
A Brief History of Baseball
Although baseball mythology credits Abner …show more content…
As Americans marched to war to free the world from Hitler, the heroes of baseball marched away from the game they loved to do their part. They left as heroes, and because of their sacrifices, they returned to an adoring public. The lazy days of summer were never the same, as baseball became part of the American psyche. Certainly, many professional sports vie for the public’s attention, but the strategy and competitiveness of baseball is undisputed. However, for the baseball lover, the familiar sounds of the crack of the bat and wild cheers, the smells of warm grass, hot dogs, popcorn, and beer, intoxicate every time. Baseball is everyone’s game; the young and the old, men and women alike, hold onto the hope of victory until the last strike. In many ways, baseball mirrors life—it spans the generations and connects us in ways not fully understood. Yes, baseball is America’s pastime and obsession where hope springs eternal with the determination of “Just wait until next
“The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” New York Giants announcer Russ Hodges 1951 call of Bobby Thompson’s bottom of the ninth “shot heard round the world,” is perhaps the most famous call ever made in sports history. By 1951, baseball was firmly entrenched as “America’s pastime.” Barzun rightly stated, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball” (Carlson, 2012). While today’s game is certainly big business, it was the heroic ‘boys of summer’ returning home from World War II that forever cemented the game of baseball into the hearts and minds of Americans.
A Brief History of Baseball
Although baseball mythology credits Abner …show more content…
As Americans marched to war to free the world from Hitler, the heroes of baseball marched away from the game they loved to do their part. They left as heroes, and because of their sacrifices, they returned to an adoring public. The lazy days of summer were never the same, as baseball became part of the American psyche. Certainly, many professional sports vie for the public’s attention, but the strategy and competitiveness of baseball is undisputed. However, for the baseball lover, the familiar sounds of the crack of the bat and wild cheers, the smells of warm grass, hot dogs, popcorn, and beer, intoxicate every time. Baseball is everyone’s game; the young and the old, men and women alike, hold onto the hope of victory until the last strike. In many ways, baseball mirrors life—it spans the generations and connects us in ways not fully understood. Yes, baseball is America’s pastime and obsession where hope springs eternal with the determination of “Just wait until next