Gilded Age Baseball: A Mirror of Society
by Christian W.
The decade of the 1890’s was a period of social change and reform, big business, and racial tension. During this time, America’s newly instated national pastime, baseball, was in its fledgling years. The organization of baseball in the 1890’s was, in reality, as fragile as an infant. The rules we have today were just being conceived, Babe Ruth was just a distant descendant to the forefathers of the game, and Barry Bonds was more than a century away from trying to break records. Nonetheless, this is the period when leagues were formed, teams were chartered and players formed unions. As professional baseball developed it became clear that the racial stances, business practices and theory behind the way the game was played all echoed the societal norms of the day.
Baseball as we know it today began in Manhattan in the mid 1840’s. It was seen as a gentleman’s game for professionals and started as a grassroots leisure activity. Through the 1850’s and early 1860’s the popularity of the sport grew and baseball clubs were popping up in cities throughout the U.S (1). The first leagues were formed when clubs from different cities began playing each other on the weekends and the sport grew beyond the east coast into the west and into Oregon (1). The progression of the game was halted by the civil war in the late 1860’s. After the war the soldiers returned home and brought baseball with them. The first professional team came into being in Cincinnati in 1871 and the stage was set for professional leagues to be established and the nation to mold a new pastime (1).
Although professional leagues were established earlier than the 1890’s the finer points of running a team and managing inter-league competition were yet not realized. Team owners in this era exercised a large amount of power over their players, setting forward rules that capped salaries and limited options for players wanting to change teams. The tension between owners and players escalated as players began missing games due to not being paid. Players who were fed up with the conditions they were playing under formed the “Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players” baseball player union, and in 1889 went on strike as the first professional sports union in the U.S (2). Team owners exercised complete control of their players, so much so that players were seen as a commodity in a marketplace. They were bought and sold without consent and their skills had no worth other than salary to themselves, while the corporate owners of their team made thousands of dollars due to trades and ticket sales (2). Their attempt to start a league of their own, with team ownership falling into the hands of the players acting as “capitalists” and not owners failed due to the already large number of leagues present. In the end the players had to settle for the only to get paid, that was, to work for the rich baseball club owners (2). As baseball became a profitable endeavor, the skills and trade of the working class players were capitalized on by rich owners who could profit from mass marketing these skills to boost ticket sales. This exploitation of the lower classes skills is reminiscent of much big business during this era. The attempt of the players to rise up, only to be quelled by the wealthy owners rings similar to the attempts at labor reform present in corporate and industrial America during the later parts of the 19th century. Players received more than an average worker in their salary, but the gap between earnings from the top of the baseball corporation to the bottom was extreme. Just like in the factories and sweatshops, those who labored received little, while those with the means to market their wares on a large scale made significant profits and shared little (2).
Another way in that the teams of the 1890’s mirrored the corporate environment was a new style of play invented in 1894. The Baltimore Orioles studied, timed, and perfected the movements it took to hit infield balls and run from base to base. Their mastery of the timing and nuance of the game, put into an assembly line of men on base was called “scientific play” (3). Much like the practice of scientific management manager and coaches would watch and time a players movements to enhance efficiency and focus on strong points in the players game. In a time when sluggers and homerun hitters ruled the game, this infield heavy manner of play proved effective as a tool for increasing the chance of victory (3). By paralleling factory and corporate work common in the cities where the baseball teams were based, the managers were able to fine-tune their teams into a working unit. One player would bunt and get on base, and the next would double to take the first to home, the last would hit an RBI into the outfield and bring the runner on third home. Each player had his task and his strength, they were polished, compartmentalized, and implemented in a way that was not unlike secretaries in a large corporate office sorting papers with accuracy and consistency (3).
Unfortunately, the prejudices that resided in corporate America were also ringing through baseball at this time as well. The “color line” had been drawn, and African American players were forced to start their own “Negro Leagues” in order to have a chance to play (4). These teams were often technically superior to the all white major league teams and offered entertainment on a level not available at a major league game. Players would steal bases more regularly, dive for catches, and play to the crowd while simultaneously performing impressive athletic feats (5). All white clubs who did not adopt the scientific style of play had a system of putting a man on first, and then bring up a homerun hitter to drive in the points. This was looked down on in the African American leagues that made for much more exciting and technically fast-paced games than the major league counterparts (5). The ban on African Americans in baseball that was implemented in 1890 reflected the attitude of inequality present throughout this decade in America. The action of the African American ballplayers to coordinate teams and tournaments without wealthy sponsorship shows the drive and determination to be seen on equal terms as the White population (6). Unfortunately, because of the lack of corporate sponsorship the leagues were often put on hold because of local economic problems. Nevertheless, the presence of these leagues opened the door for future hall of fame players such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mayes to take the field as major league players (5).
Baseball was born in the 1840’s but it came into adulthood through the decade of the 1890’s. We can use our national pastime as a window to view the trends and prejudices present in our culture during that era. The attitudes of the players towards the team ownership, the methods through which the game was played, and the discrimination of African Americans all reflect views and practices in American Culture during the 1890’s. By using the looking glass of Baseball we can get a third person perspective on how intertwined the corporate and societal ideals of the decade are with the way sports are played and manipulated. In a period driven by money and prejudice, we can see the same values reflected in stadiums throughout the major cities. In a time when speed and efficiency were treasured traits, we can see them sought after and put to use on the baseball diamonds in rural centers. Baseball in the 1890’s was truly a child of the decade, mirroring society both in its management, and the way the game was played.
Works Cited
1. The History and Beginnings of Baseball 6th Nov. 2005.
2. Ethan, Lewis, A Structure To Last Forever: The players League and Brotherhood war of 1890
3. Scientific Baseball. 6th Jun. 2001
4. Introduction to Baseball's Negro Leagues
5. Negro Leagues baseball: Timeline of Even in Professional Black Baseball
6. Pope, Steven W. A review of The League That Failed
The decade of the 1890’s was a period of social change and reform, big business, and racial tension. During this time, America’s newly instated national pastime, baseball, was in its fledgling years. The organization of baseball in the 1890’s was, in reality, as fragile as an infant. The rules we have today were just being conceived, Babe Ruth was just a distant descendant to the forefathers of the game, and Barry Bonds was more than a century away from trying to break records. Nonetheless, this is the period when leagues were formed, teams were chartered and players formed unions. As professional baseball developed it became clear that the racial stances, business practices and theory behind the way the game was played all echoed the societal norms of the day.
Baseball as we know it today began in Manhattan in the mid 1840’s. It was seen as a gentleman’s game for professionals and started as a grassroots leisure activity. Through the 1850’s and early 1860’s the popularity of the sport grew and baseball clubs were popping up in cities throughout the U.S (1). The first leagues were formed when clubs from different cities began playing each other on the weekends and the sport grew beyond the east coast into the west and into Oregon (1). The progression of the game was halted by the civil war in the late 1860’s. After the war the soldiers returned home and brought baseball with them. The first professional team came into being in Cincinnati in 1871 and the stage was set for professional leagues to be established and the nation to mold a new pastime (1).
Although professional leagues were established earlier than the 1890’s the finer points of running a team and managing inter-league competition were yet not realized. Team owners in this era exercised a large amount of power over their players, setting forward rules that capped salaries and limited options for players wanting to change teams. The tension between owners and players escalated as players began missing games due to not being paid. Players who were fed up with the conditions they were playing under formed the “Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players” baseball player union, and in 1889 went on strike as the first professional sports union in the U.S (2). Team owners exercised complete control of their players, so much so that players were seen as a commodity in a marketplace. They were bought and sold without consent and their skills had no worth other than salary to themselves, while the corporate owners of their team made thousands of dollars due to trades and ticket sales (2). Their attempt to start a league of their own, with team ownership falling into the hands of the players acting as “capitalists” and not owners failed due to the already large number of leagues present. In the end the players had to settle for the only to get paid, that was, to work for the rich baseball club owners (2). As baseball became a profitable endeavor, the skills and trade of the working class players were capitalized on by rich owners who could profit from mass marketing these skills to boost ticket sales. This exploitation of the lower classes skills is reminiscent of much big business during this era. The attempt of the players to rise up, only to be quelled by the wealthy owners rings similar to the attempts at labor reform present in corporate and industrial America during the later parts of the 19th century. Players received more than an average worker in their salary, but the gap between earnings from the top of the baseball corporation to the bottom was extreme. Just like in the factories and sweatshops, those who labored received little, while those with the means to market their wares on a large scale made significant profits and shared little (2).
Another way in that the teams of the 1890’s mirrored the corporate environment was a new style of play invented in 1894. The Baltimore Orioles studied, timed, and perfected the movements it took to hit infield balls and run from base to base. Their mastery of the timing and nuance of the game, put into an assembly line of men on base was called “scientific play” (3). Much like the practice of scientific management manager and coaches would watch and time a players movements to enhance efficiency and focus on strong points in the players game. In a time when sluggers and homerun hitters ruled the game, this infield heavy manner of play proved effective as a tool for increasing the chance of victory (3). By paralleling factory and corporate work common in the cities where the baseball teams were based, the managers were able to fine-tune their teams into a working unit. One player would bunt and get on base, and the next would double to take the first to home, the last would hit an RBI into the outfield and bring the runner on third home. Each player had his task and his strength, they were polished, compartmentalized, and implemented in a way that was not unlike secretaries in a large corporate office sorting papers with accuracy and consistency (3).
Unfortunately, the prejudices that resided in corporate America were also ringing through baseball at this time as well. The “color line” had been drawn, and African American players were forced to start their own “Negro Leagues” in order to have a chance to play (4). These teams were often technically superior to the all white major league teams and offered entertainment on a level not available at a major league game. Players would steal bases more regularly, dive for catches, and play to the crowd while simultaneously performing impressive athletic feats (5). All white clubs who did not adopt the scientific style of play had a system of putting a man on first, and then bring up a homerun hitter to drive in the points. This was looked down on in the African American leagues that made for much more exciting and technically fast-paced games than the major league counterparts (5). The ban on African Americans in baseball that was implemented in 1890 reflected the attitude of inequality present throughout this decade in America. The action of the African American ballplayers to coordinate teams and tournaments without wealthy sponsorship shows the drive and determination to be seen on equal terms as the White population (6). Unfortunately, because of the lack of corporate sponsorship the leagues were often put on hold because of local economic problems. Nevertheless, the presence of these leagues opened the door for future hall of fame players such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mayes to take the field as major league players (5).
Baseball was born in the 1840’s but it came into adulthood through the decade of the 1890’s. We can use our national pastime as a window to view the trends and prejudices present in our culture during that era. The attitudes of the players towards the team ownership, the methods through which the game was played, and the discrimination of African Americans all reflect views and practices in American Culture during the 1890’s. By using the looking glass of Baseball we can get a third person perspective on how intertwined the corporate and societal ideals of the decade are with the way sports are played and manipulated. In a period driven by money and prejudice, we can see the same values reflected in stadiums throughout the major cities. In a time when speed and efficiency were treasured traits, we can see them sought after and put to use on the baseball diamonds in rural centers. Baseball in the 1890’s was truly a child of the decade, mirroring society both in its management, and the way the game was played.
Works Cited
1. The History and Beginnings of Baseball 6th Nov. 2005.
2. Ethan, Lewis, A Structure To Last Forever: The players League and Brotherhood war of 1890
3. Scientific Baseball. 6th Jun. 2001
4. Introduction to Baseball's Negro Leagues
5. Negro Leagues baseball: Timeline of Even in Professional Black Baseball
6. Pope, Steven W. A review of The League That Failed
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 9:36 AM
4 Comments:
I think this is a great post. It has so much revlevance for the 1890's as well as today. Maybe it is just that baseball is a true refelection of the "American Way" with comercialism, competition and the desire to be the best. It makes baseball truly American both because it was invented here, it is America's pasttime, and it reflects the values snd ideals that have been present in American Society since very early on in our nation's founding. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as comercialism and competition is what makes our county thrive and this competition is what has kept spectators entertained in the game of baseball over the course of time.
Who knew that baseball had such an old history... If i read this right the popularity of baseball came around in the Gilded Age even though it had been around for a long time? How did the public react to baseball? Is it like it is today where people had their favorite teams and loved to go to games? Were the successful players rewarded with fame? It seems that theere have been many changes from the Gilded Age baseball to what we see today...
This is a good post. I love baseball and think that if the modern day players knew the game's history, they wouldn't complain that they are underpaid. However, i wonder if the players were doing something alongside baseball for money. Today, a baseball player gets paid enough to where all he has to do is play baseball. If the players in this era were underpaid, or not paid at all, what were they doing to put food on the table. Perhaps, this is why they were missing practice as well. Not only because they were underpaid, they probaly had a job on the side to provide for their families. Baseball like the others is a beatiful sport, but when the money factors into the game, it takes a toll on the love for the game. One could make a great argument for how this is another example of economic incentives giving American culture, or lack therof a black eye.
I think this is quite an interesting post. I suppose the nostalgia associated with baseball made me think that had more peaceful roots. It is so interesting to see that many of the money problems that the game faces today existed in the 1890s.
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