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History That Doesn't Suck
165: America’s Favorite Pastime: Baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the Great Bambino
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- [00:01]
Greg Jackson
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Riley Neubauer
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Greg Jackson
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Riley Neubauer
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Riley Neubauer
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- [00:24]
Greg Jackson
Visit imes.com difference to learn more. This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all electric Prologue suv, there's a lot that could impress you about it. There's the generous passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit honda.comev to see offers hey history fans, if you're listening to this podcast, then you'll love Airwave History plus, now available on Apple Podcasts. Airwave History plus is your ticket to ad free listening, bonus content and early episodes from dozens of the most popular history podcasts, including the Explorers American Revolution Podcast, the history of World War II, the American plodding through the Presidents, the history of Egypt, the Age of Napoleon, My history can beat up your politics and more. For your free trial, Search Airwave History plus on Apple Podcasts and hit subscribe. That's Airwave History plus, available now on Apple Podcasts. Airwave History plus the essential audio destination for history lovers.
- [01:43]
Riley Neubauer
It's a bright, Sunny Wednesday, afternoon, October 1, 1919, and we're at Cincinnati, Ohio's Redland Field. CAPS and fedoras protect what looks like an endless sea of heads in the grandstands, particularly those in the upper tier nosebleeds. Honestly, it seems every seat is filled and ticket sales bear that out. There are 30,511 spectators here. The calls of tree carting vendors ascending and descending the bleacher stairs compete against the excited cheers of local Cincinnati Reds fans and the equally animated jeers of visiting Chicago White Sox fans. Until it's the other way around. Of course, it all depends on the play and subsequent call made by the blue Sorry, my baseball slang is coming out the subsequent call made by the umpire. Perhaps the crowd is a little overanimated, but to be fair, who wouldn't be? This is game one of the 1919 World Series. It's now the bottom of the first inning and the White Sox are taking the field. They had a disappointing first half of the inning, failing to put any runs on the scoreboard, but not to fear White Sox fans. Eddie Ccott is pitching the 35 year old Michigander with a gap between his front teeth is a true master of the mound. One whose spin resistant knuckler and even more devastating shine are second to none. Eddie's first opponent, the Reds, handsome left handed hitting second baseman Maury Rath steps up to the plate and here comes the pitch. Oh, it splits the platter. That's a strike, folks. Eddie again winds up. Here comes the pitch. Oh, he throws three feet inside the plate, nailing Maury square in the back. That's gotta hurt. But Maury is a tough one, shaking it off as he walks to first base. Thanks to Shoeless Joe Jackson's grounder and the Reds making an error, The White Sox get a run in the second inning. The one to one tie holds through the third. But then Eddie Seacotte simply falls apart in the fourth. The Reds get six hits off him and score five runs. How could this master pitcher be so off? The New York Herald declares the inning Seacotte's Waterloo. The Reds ultimately win 9 1. The next day, the Reds win game two with a score of 4 2. The following day, the White Sox win game three, but then get shut out in games four and five. Chicago rallies twin games six and seven. But when the Reds win game eight, that's it. With five wins, they've won this best of nine series. Incredible. The White Sox were so heavily favored to win. How can this be? Rumors and speculation spread. Did some of the Chicago players throw the game? Was the game fixed? White Sox owner Charles Comiskey became so suspicious after game two that he hired private detectives to investigate and offered a $10,000 re anyone who could provide evidence. Alas, no takers. But the whispers continue into the next year. 1920. And as other rumors of a fixed Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Nationals game fly that summer, a grand jury is convened in Cook County, Illinois to investigate. Well, it doesn't take long for that investigation to spill into Chicago's other pro ball team and its questionable World series. It's now September 28, 1920. We're in Judge McDonald's room at the Chicago Courthouse. Beyond the judge, those gathered here include a grand jury, White Sox owner Charles Kaminsky's lawyer, Alfred Austrian, an assistant state attorney, and some White Sox players, pitchers Eddie Secott and outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson. At the very least today, the grand jury will decide if these two players and six of their 1919 World Series teammates should be prosecuted with conspiracy to commit an illegal act. If that happens and they are found guilty, all eight ballplayers could face up to five years in prison. It's a terrifying prospect, and Eddie ccott is ready to talk for immunity. The pitcher sobs as he chokes out. This is terrible for my family, My poor kids. Oh, why did I do it? I've lived a terrible year in the last 12 months. The assistant state attorney encourages the distraught pitcher's testimony. Never mind now, Addie. Just come along and tell the jury and tell what was done. The pitcher does. He's followed by shoeless joe. The two tell of a promised $100,000 collective payday for the conspiring ball players, all arranged by the gamblers, quote, unquote, agents infielders Chick gandil, Fred mcmullen, and swede risberg. At their hotel, Eddie found $10,000 under his pillow before game one, while Shoeless Joe, though less interested, found five grand lying on his bed. The grand jury's decision is all too easy. The indictment moves forward against the eight ballplayers, and eventually they and 10 gamblers are charged with conspiracy. All sorts of legal footwork ensues over the next year as the immunity agreements disappear and charges are dropped, only for another round of conspiracy charges to result in a later trial. Finally, the legal woes come to their end on August 2, 1921, as the jury incredibly finds all the charged ball players and two gamblers not guilty. But even though Eddie, shoeless Joe, and the other six indicted white sox players won't go to jail, for many of them, the punishment imposed by commissioner of baseball judge Kennesaw mountain landis is much worse. He bans them from ever playing in the major leagues again. And to these ballplayers, a life without baseball is every bit a life sentence. Welcome to history that doesn't suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. The 1919 World Series ranks among the most infamous legendary moments in American sports history. And I say legend quite intentionally because there are so many things that we'll just never know for sure. For instance, was the king of New York's jewish mob Arnold the brain Rothstein behind all of it? Was Eddie ccott's wild pitch that nailed Maury rath in the back early in game one a signal to the gambler ring, to Arnold Rothstein even, that the fix was on? And was Shoeless Joe Jackson, who never attended a meeting with the gamblers only to find money in his room, truly guilty? Or was he innocent, and his lifelong ban from major league baseball and ongoing ban from baseball's hall of fame unjustified? While many baseball Fans have strong opinions on all of these points, we'll never have perfect answers, only legends. And if you haven't guessed from that opening, today's tale is that of America's legendary favorite pastime, baseball. While the sport has dipped a touch in popularity in the 21st century, baseball itself is an integral piece of the nation's historical fabric. And we can hardly blow through the 1920s without taking a swing at it. We'll start our tale with the American colonies themselves, with stories of colonials playing age old bat and ball games. But we'll quickly move to baseball's first legend in the mid 19th century. Its alleged creation by future Civil War General Abner Doubleday will then charge into the development of ball clubs and leagues, including the two leagues that will become Major League Baseball, the National and American Leagues. And also hear briefly about some of the early sports most popular players like Honus Wagner, Cy Young and Ty Cobb. And as we round third to slide into the early 20th century, we'll learn about Jim Crow segregation's impact on the sport and the rise of the Negro Leagues. We'll get a brief taste of their fast hard play and attend a 1920s Wichita Monrovians game against the most unlike likely of opponents. I won't spoil it, but we're going. I got us some bleach receipts, which is all the Monrovian stadium has to offer. Finally, we'll meet the most famous ballplayer of all time. The Sultan of Swat, the Great Bambino, George Herman, the Babe Ruth. We'll get his early background, including the curse that his departure from Boston allegedly cast on the ball club. As a Red Sox fan, I would be remiss to admit it. And of course his golden age shot calling career with the New York Yankees. So ready to divide legend from history in this most American of American sports. Excellent. Then let's head back to the colonial era and play ball. So what is the origin of baseball? That's a good question. Almost as good as asking who's on first. Though I'll leave it to Abbott and Costello to answer that one. But in referencing their iconic sketch, I trust you take my point. The origins of baseball are convoluted and arguably go back thousands of years. There's even an Egyptian hieroglyphic that depicts a bat and ball game. As for the United States specifically, the first baseball esque games show up in early colonial America. Barely a year after the Mayflower dropped anchor near Cape Cod, newly established Plymouth colonies governor William Bradford stumbles upon a game of stoolball, taking place on Christmas Day 1621. As a good Puritan, the Governor doesn't believe the Bible sanctions Christmas celebrations and puts a stop to this tomfoolery. Nonetheless, this anecdote from the governor's later book of Plymouth Plantation tells us at least two 1. New England has long loved bat and ball games. 2. Despite being a New Englander, it sounds like Governor Bradford would not be a Red Sox fan. Speaking of disapproving famous colonials, although founding father Dr. Benjamin Rush loves playing ball as a kid, the serious minded Declaration of Independence signer later laments how much time he wasted on the sport. I have been ashamed likewise in recollecting how much time I wasted when a boy in playing cat in fives Odd name, I know, but at this time the game is called all sorts of things. Old cat one, old cat, barn ball, rounders, town base and base spaceball. But you know who doesn't regret playing a little ball? Continental General George Washington. According to a 1779 recollection of French Legation Secretary Francois Comte de Barbet Marbois, the General sometimes throws and catches a ball for whole hours with his aides de camp. Oh, how I wish the Count named names. I love picturing George playing catch with Alexander Hamilton. It takes their whole father son dynamic to the next level. Anyhow, George definitely fills some wartime downtime with a little ball, setting an example that countless future American servicemen will follow the Civil war, World War I, World War II and other conflicts. Speaking of the Civil War, let's meet that future mustachioed general Abner Doubleday, as he supposedly invents baseball. It's a myth, to be sure, but one so very central to America's baseball identity. Oh, and the man who claims Abner invented the sport is also named, you guessed it, Abner. So we'll be using their last names when referring to the two men in and with that caveat, let's head out to the field. It's an unspecified day, sometime in 1839, 1840, or even 41. We're in Cooperstown, New York, at Finney Farm on the western shore of At Sago Lake, where a late teens or early twenties and I assume not yet mustachioed Abner Doubleday is hanging about with pupils from the local Atsago Academy and Green Select School. Among the younger kids is a child named Abner Graves, and although he's left out, the child watches keenly as Doubleday explains to the older boys how to play a new game he's calling baseball. Doubleday positions 11 players around four bases loosely in the shape of a diamond. Four are outfielders. Three stand adjacent to bases, as Graves will later recall, where the runner could rest free of being put out by keeping his foot on the flat stone. A pitcher waits in a six foot ring between two of the cornerstones. A catcher is perched behind home base, and two infielders can be found in the gaps between first and second base and second and third base. Throwing from below the hip, the pitcher lobs a rubber centered ball over, wound with yarn and covered with leather or buckskin, toward the Batman, who in turn winds up and smacks the ball into the field. Given its rubber center, the ball ricochets off the bat quite quickly, causing a wonderful high fly. A fielder scoops up the ball once it's fallen to the ground and throws it at the runner. The ball nails him, getting the boy out. It's a little like the future game of kickball in that sense. But as Graves will later recall, if the runner can, quote, make it to home base without being hit by the ball, he tallies. Close quote, that is he scores. Written up more than half a century later and published in a newspaper in 1905, Abner Graves story is soon disproven. And to be clear, we have no record of Abner Doubleday ever claiming to invent baseball. Yet Abner Graves claims about Abner Doubleday leave their mark. Most future Americans will think of baseball as a 19th century innovation. And the future National Baseball hall of Fame will be located in Cooperstown. Yet to dig deeper into the legend, this farm setting for baseball's alleged origin makes great sense. A game played on a wide open field. A game whose innings give no heed to the clock. That in this pre industrial lifestyle doesn't rule the day. Baseball screams agricultural America. Regardless of its exact evolution, it's easy to see how the game caught on in the 19th century. Another commonly touted originator of America's favorite pastime is the bearded Alexander J. Cartwright, credited with a game held on June 19, 1846. But alas, while Alex plays an important role in New York's Knickerbocker Baseball Club. And while the Knickerbockers set of rules for the game are historic, historians have disproved the idea that he invented baseball too. But whatever we make of these myths, things get far more concrete fast as we enter the second half of the 19th century. In early 1857, the National association of Baseball Players is founded. This is the first governing body for the still rather amateur sport. And that same year, the association sets its own rules for all participating ball clubs. So sorry, Knickerbockers, your short lived rulemaking reign is over. By the late 1860s, the association is trying to manage over 100 ball clubs. It also draws the first color line in baseball in 1867. But I'll save those details for our story of the Negro Leagues a little later. The association doesn't last long, though. It strikes out in 1870. The National association of Professional Baseball Players rises in its stead in 1871, but it too has a short shelf life. Fairly disorganized, unable to enforce rules, and still amateur in nature. It fails in 1875. As indicated by these quickly passing associations, baseball of the 1870s is very much evolved. It's a different game from the one you and I will later know, more closely resembling what will become fast pitch softball. But among the bigger differences, one of my personal favorites is that after a hit, the ball can bounce once before being caught and it's still counted as an out. And for all of you out there who played some ball growing up, imagine being in the field without a glove because that's how these guys play. Yeah, I'd want to let it bounce once, too. And if you're a pitcher, you're throwing about 70 or 80 full games per season, so good luck with that shoulder and elbow. But yet another league forms in 1876, and there's nothing amateur about it. And it will have staying power. This is the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, better known as the National League or even the nl. Led in part by a future baseball business exec named Albert Spalding. The National League boasts talented teams in several major cities. Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Indianapolis and more. But notably Philly and New York are kicked out at the end of the first season for refusing to travel west to play. A tough call, but the move proves that the National League is legit. It will enforce rules the following decade. The 1880s can be categorized as a time of experimentation for the sport. The pitchers quote, unquote box is moved back to 50ft from home plate, the number of balls in a walk is lowered to four, and pitchers begin to throw overhand. The decade also sees many professional teams use the off season to barnstorm, that is tour the US with players and owners looking to make an extra buck. Meanwhile, the American association joins the national league as the second professional organization in 1882. The American association only lasts until 1891, but while it exists, its champion team and the National League's champion team face each other In a few world championships. Yeah, an early, albeit not yet standardized version of the World Series. Oh, and the teams are rowdy. Michael King Kelly is the rowdiest and most talented of these players. In fact, might the handsome, mustachioed Irish American have inspired Ernest Lawrence Thayer's proud, plate pounding, defiant and sadly struck out protagonist in his 1888 poem Casey at the Bat? I can't answer that. But many say that Mudville's mighty Casey is in fact king Kelly. The 1890s are a whole different ball game, so to speak. According to preeminent baseball historian Bill James, if the tactics of the 80s were aggressive, the tactics of the 90s were violent. The game of the 80s was crude. The game of the 90s was criminal. The baseball of the 80s had ugly elements. The game of the 90s WAS just ugly. And to make matters worse, the leagues are having trouble limiting their players drinking. Reportedly, some are playing while drunk by the turn of the century. Byron Bancroft Ban Johnson appreciates that fans aren't amused by the national league's violence in 1901. He responds to that by creating a league that's cleaner. The American League. Seeing fans go to the American League, the National League begins to tidy up too. New York giants manager John McGraw and Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mac are particularly helpful as both demand that their ball players act like gentlemen. By the way, these two professional leagues, the national and American Leagues, are the very same that you and I will later know as Major League Baseball. And with most turn of the century players using gloves to reduce injuries, well, this is starting to look more like our modern idea of baseball. In fact, it's become so civilized that in 1908, Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, both Tin Pen Alley musicians, a place you might Recall from episode 163, Write a Song about a woman who insists her boyfriend take her to ball games. Not to shows you likely know the tune. It's called Take Me out to the Ball Game. Speaking of modernizing, on April 12, 1909, the first modern ballpark opens. Philadelphia's Shib Park. I believe a wise man once said, if you build it, they will come. Oh, do they? Over 30,000 people attend opening day and the Sporting Life reports that the park has inaugurated a new era into baseball. And as fans come to these new swanky wooden parks to watch this now respected sport, some players are leaving a mark that will endure for generations. Here are a few in particular we really need to note. The 6 foot 200 pound bow legged Honus Wagner or the Flying Dutchman he makes his debut in 1897 and will go on to play 21 seasons in the majors, becoming the first 20th century player to get 3000 hits and retiring with many though later broken records. The handsome Pennsylvania born pitcher Christy Mathewson. He'll win 373 career games and boast a fastball, a curve and a reverse curve that he calls a fadeaway. The 21st century equivalent of a screwball. Walter the Big Train Johnson, whose sidearm fastball might be the best the game has ever seen. The Ohioan Cy Young, for whom the award for best MLB pitcher will later be named. Cy holds the all time record for most wins at.511. And on May 5, 1904, he throws the first perfect game in baseball history. And of course, Shoeless Joe Jackson, whom I mentioned in this episode's opening. The gifted outfielder and batter makes his debut in 1908. He's considered one of the greats. If not for the 1919 World Series scandal, he would undoubtedly be in the Baseball hall of Fame. The blond haired, fair skinned, square jawed, handsome Ty Cobb becomes the leader in most categories of the sport and many of his records. Records stand for decades. But thanks to his hot temper, Ty's also known as the most unpopular popular man in baseball. And you know, it just so happens we have tickets to see his Detroit Tigers take on the New York Yankees. Sorry, New York Highlanders, as the team is currently called. Let's see if Ty can keep his cool. It's May 15th, 1912. We're at the 16,000 seat Hilltop Park Stadium on Broadway between 165th and 168th Streets in New York City. It's game four of the series between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Highlanders and an alpaca coat wearing fan by the name of Claude Lucker is sitting in the grandstand just down the baseline from the Tigers dugout. Claude is yelling all sorts of insults at Ty Cobb and his Detroit teammates, stuff the newspapers don't even want to reprint. He's been doing so since Game one. Fed up with the situation, Ty walks over to the Highlanders dugout. He warns Highlanders manager Harry Wolverton there's going to be trouble if this fellow isn't stopped. Clearly, Harry doesn't see much of an issue. He shrugs it off. It's now the top of the fourth inning as Ty jogs out of the dugout and submarine throwing. Highlander's pitcher Jack Warhol steps up to the mound to warm up. Claude hollers something intended to be particularly nasty in this Jim Crow Segregated era. He implies that Ty is the product of an affair between his mother and a black man and thus mixed race. Claude hollers out, oh, go on and play ball, you half coon. Sitting down on the bench, steaming, Ty's teammates tell him that he's a gutless no good if he doesn't stand up to Claude. And that's all the prompting the notoriously aggressive and temperamental player needs. Grabbing a bat, he darts out of the dugout and vaults over the fence, separating players from fans. According to Claude's later statement, Ty punches him in the face, jumps on him, kicks him, and spikes and boots him behind the ear after. As for Ty's version, well, he can't quite say. As he later recalls, the next thing I remember, they were pulling me off him. I do know I didn't just slap him around. Amid vigorous applause, the embattled sitch fielder is then escorted from the diamond. Don't worry. Rough as that sounds, no one is hurt too badly. Besides, there's no crying in baseball. The Tigers eke out a win, 8, 6. But American League president Ban Johnson, who is at the game, takes action against Ty, suspending him for unsportsmanlike conduct. Ty's teammates won't have it. They sign an agreement refusing to play in solidarity, stating that if the players cannot have protection, we must protect ourselves. The result is that on May 18, the Detroit Tigers field semi pro and amateur players in a game to avoid a $5,000 forfeit fee. It's one of the most absurd games in major league history, and the major leagues continue to evolve. In 1914, a new experimental professional league, the Federal League, comes into play. It folds the following year, in part because they don't have enough fans buying tickets to keep the teams going. But the briefly existing Federal League does cause salaries to go through the roof. And then, according to historian Lawrence ritter, quote, In 1920, the game changed dramatically. It suddenly switched from strategy to power, from brains to brawn. The change was due to one man and one man only. His name was Babe Ruth. Close quote. But before we can get to the great Bambino, as he'll soon come to be known, we need to meet some other ballplayers, ones who aren't about to let Jim Crow's segregating ways keep them from playing America's great pastime. They will play ball. And much of that is thanks to a man named Andrew Rude Foster. History that doesn't suck is sponsored by BetterHelp. One of the most haunting scream portrayals of the vampire legend is from the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu. We talked about this film in this year's Halloween special. Staring at the ghostly black and white image of the pointy eared gargoyle like Count Orlok still sends a shiver down the spine. While writing that episode, I was reminded of how fear is such a powerful emotion. Fear isn't just something we experience while watching a scary movie. 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- [29:48]
Greg Jackson
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- [30:22]
Riley Neubauer
A husky, handsome Black Texan, Andrew Rube Foster is a gifted turn of the century pitcher destined to become the father of black baseball. But before we meet Rube and watch him create the centralized professional Negro National League in 1920, let's get a little background on how the great American pastime's major leagues became segregated in the first place. Remember the national association of Baseball Players, or just the association as it was known that existed from 1857 to 1870? Yes, the first governing body of baseball. Well, in the aftermath of the Civil War, the Association isn't spared in the reunified, but fragile nations fight over the meaning of the end of slavery and the status of Black Americans. In 1867, as Jim Crow segregating black codes spread across the south and the federal government continued to pursue its Reconstruction policies, a talented Philadelphia ball club composed mostly of black intellectuals known as the Pythians, applied to join the association. When the association's 237 delegates met in Philadelphia for the association's annual convention that December, they not only said no, they decided that allegedly to avoid politics, the association should stand quote against the admission of any club which may be composed of one or more colored persons. This was baseball's first color line. Of course, the association collapsed only three years later, taking its official color line with it. As such, there were black professional baseball players in the mostly white leagues during the years that followed. In 1884, mustachioed Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black major leaguer when the team he played on, the Toledo Bluestockings, turned pro in the only a decade long lasting American Association. But not everyone was welcoming of the black catcher. And before a league game in Richmond, Toledo manager Charlie Morton received a letter warning him not to put up Walker the evenings that you play in Richmond. As we could mention the names of 75 determined men who have sworn to mob Walker if he comes on the ground in a suit, we hope you will listen to our words of warning. More black players follow Moses into the big leagues. They include pitcher and second baseman Bud Fowler, pitcher George Stovey, and second baseman and power hitter Frank Grant. By 1887, between eight and 20 black athletes were playing predominantly white baseball. But it's a bit hard to determine official numbers. Saul White entered in that very year as a 19 year old second baseman. He would later write a seminal work on the early Negro League and its players. By 1888, however, it became clear that even though black athletes still played in the white organized leagues, segregating Jim Crow laws and even informal practices were beginning to force them out. Interestingly, or perhaps ironically, it was about this same time in the late 19th century that baseball teams began to spring up outside the U.S. by 1891, Cuba had 75 integrated clubs and so many black U.S. teams began to travel to play outside the country. By the early 1900s, black teams in leagues were springing up across the country. According to Saul White's 1907 history of colored baseball, the U.S. had at least 18 professional black teams by 1908. But they weren't centralized like the professional national and American leagues. In December 1910, a black national league attempted to form, but no dice. It fell apart before organizing a single game. However, as the decade passed and as black Southerners headed north by the hundreds of thousands, amid the great migration that we heard about in the last episode, northern cities picked up more talent for black baseball clubs. And as this happened, Andrew Rube Foster wanted to see these clubs organize and reach the next level. Yes, we've now caught up with Rube in 1920 and this dominant pitcher whose skills on the mound are only matched by his genius for managing a team, wants to try his hand at managing a whole league. In these Jim Crow times, Rube's written a series of columns in the Chicago Defender advocating for a professional black baseball league that will, quote, create a profession that would equal the earning capacity of any other profession, keep colored baseball from the control of whites, and do something concrete for the loyalty of the race. It's February 13th, 1920. We're at the five story brick Paseo YMCA building in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Chicago American Giants owner Rube Foster has called a meeting with other Midwestern black baseball team owners. They include Tenney Blunt of the Detroit Stars, Lorenzo Cobb of the St. Louis Giants, Joe Green of the Chicago Giants, C.I. taylor of the Indianapolis ABCs, J.L. wilkinson of the Kansas City Monarchs, and maybe John Matthews of the Dayton Marcos. Sources conflict on him being here or not. The president of the Cuban Stars isn't able to be here in person, but he's all in favor of the conversation that's about to happen today. These men are discussing the creation of a new and unified league for black ballplayers. But perhaps discuss isn't the right word, because Rube isn't here just to talk. To everyone's surprise, he pulls out an official charter and articles of incorporation, all ready to go. Okay, then. We don't have a record of what Rube's pitch is to the group, but it's likely that he says something similar to his December 27, 1919 article in the Defender. Each club will be allowed to retain their players but cement a partnership in working for the organized good for baseball. The outcome will be the east will be the same as the National League, the West as the American League. The winner of the majority of games in the east to meet the Western winners in a real world's championship. This will pave the way for such a champion team eventually to play the winner among whites. This is more than possible only in uniform. Strength is their permanent success. But whatever Rube says that particular day, it works. The Negro National League is formed, and within the next 24 hours, the league's teams pony up, paying a $500 deposit and pledging to forge their own paths in baseball history. They adopt as their slogan, we are the ship, all else the sea. And as for Rube Foster, well, the teams unanimously elect him as the NNL's first president. This new Negro League faces logistical problems, particularly finding places to play, since few teams actually own their own ballparks. The league soon finds a Workable, if imperfect answer. In renting ballparks from white teams, the Negro League teams schedule games on days when the white squad is on the road. But despite the scheduling challenges, attendance is strong right out the gate. In 1920, crowds of 8,000 to 10,000 are quite common in booming Chicago, Kansas City and Indianapolis for a Sunday morning matchup. In fact, the league becomes a community fixture. Churches sometimes push forward Sunday services so congregants can go to the game still dressed in their Sunday best, of course. And the talent in the league is excellent. In fact, William Bill James Yancey, a Negro League shortstop, will later say that on certain days our Negro national or Negro American League clubs could have been major leaguers. If we could have selected the best of the colored leagues and gone into the major leagues, I'd say we could have won the championship. We could have selected maybe five clubs out of all the colored teams that would have held their own in the big leagues. Meanwhile, black baseball only continues to grow. On December 16, 1923, another league, the Eastern Colored League, forms. Unlike the Negro National League, it doesn't have a president. Rather, six commissioners, one from each of the league's teams, form a governing board. But even with the NNL and the ECL both in full swing, scheduling continues to prove a real struggle. And this leads to some, shall we say, interesting matchups. Some of these, well, you have to see it to believe it. I'll show you what I mean. Come on. I got us tickets to a Wichita Monrovians game that will certainly be one for the books. It's June 21, 1925. We're at the Wichita Monrovian's all wooden built stadium located on an island, a sandbar really, located in a stretch of the Arkansas river as it passes through Wichita, Kansas. Yes, it's a rare situation. A Negro team that has its own ballpark. And today is unique too. As the fans make their way in filling the 5,000 seat, stadium officials carefully search the spectators bags and pockets. According to the Wichita Beacon's later coverage, security is checking for quote, strangle bolds, razors, horse whips and other violent implements of argument. This isn't a usual practice, but then again, this isn't a usual game. Today the all black ball players of the Monrovians are playing the semi pro ball club Klan number six. As in the Ku Klux Klan. And crazy as that sounds, both team's fans are all about it. In no time at all, the game gets underway. WW Irish Geraghty and Dan Dwyer are umping and were specifically selected because they're white and Catholic. If that sounds strange, let me remind you that as we Learned in episode 152, this renewed 20th century Klan's hate list includes Catholics. In fact, the clash between the Klan and Catholic students from Notre Dame that I told you about in that episode was just last year. All that to say, the thinking is that as two white Catholics clearly not attached to either group, Irish and Dan are the most neutral umpires one could get for this matchup. And by the way, all the batting is happening with bats, not crosses. Yeah, that's a special rule specifically made for this game. Anyone who walks up attempting to bat with a cross will be thrown thrown out. No exceptions. The game opens with a pitcher's duel that is little scoring and excellent pitching, which gives way to far more runs in the later innings. Sadly, those are about all the details we have for the game, but the fans enjoy it and the fact that we don't have a violent story tells us that things must have stayed peaceful. The Monrovians beat the clan 10 to 8. Undoubtedly these black Balls players must be ecstatic. As for the Clan number six, I have to imagine there were some dour faces the next time they met at their local Clavern. I like to think that perhaps a little soul searching happened, perhaps some questioning about racial narratives and hatreds, but again, no records. The Negro Leagues thrive through the late 1920s and the majority of their players whose names will go down in history debuted during this time. Like the 6 foot 3 inch right handed pitching ace Leroy Satchel Page, who's known for his arsenal of pitches with names such as the jump ball, B ball, screwball, wobbly ball, Whipsy Dipsy, Do a hurry up ball, a nothing ball and a bat Dodger. Satchel's hesitation pitch in which he'll begin his wind up but then pause for a second is notorious for screwing with the batter's timing and causing a lot of whiffs. Satchel will play for many teams in the Negro leagues before becoming the oldest player to make his major league debut in 1948. Many hall of Famers like Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Dizzy Dean and Buck Leonard will later call Satchel one of, if not the hardest pitchers to hit off of. But regardless of the immense talent pool, both the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League are not entirely structurally sound. The ECL's governing board isn't as effective as hoped because they can't really hold any of the teams accountable to play their scheduled games. Meanwhile, the NNL suffers When Rube Foster becomes incapacitated by mental illness in 1926, he has to step back from the league. The NNL manages to survive another half a decade, but between losing Rube and the Great Depression's impact, the league folds in 1932. The next year, however, Gus Greenlee picks up the ball, founding the second Negro National League, which will endure until 1948, one year after Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's colored line by joining the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Jackie Robinson's tale is still two decades from now, so for the moment, we'll leave the thriving Negro leagues in their 1920s heyday as we barnstorm back over to the national and American Leagues to meet the most famous ball player of all time. I'm of course referring to the Sultan of Swat, the Great Bambino Babe Ruth. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless how do you get 30? 30? But to get 30 better get 2020 20. But to get 2020 I better get 151515 15. Just 15 bucks a month, so give it a try@mint mobile.com Switch $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month New customers on first three month plan only.
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Greg Jackson
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Riley Neubauer
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Greg Jackson
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- [45:31]
Riley Neubauer
So we've arrived at the tale of the one and only Babe Ruth. Let's start with some pre1920s, which is to say some pre Yankees background On February 6, 1895, George Herman Ruth Jr. Was born in Baltimore, Maryland. With his parents working to support the family, the unsupervised George, as he'd say, was a bad kid, which led his parents to Send him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. While at school, brother Mathias became little George's role model and first coach, teaching the broad faced kid to hit, field and pitch. Come February 1914, 19 year old George was already so good that minor league Baltimore Orioles owner Jack Dunn signed him after watching the team play for less than an hour. Orioles players referred to the kid as Jack's newest Babe and whether said in English or using the Italian equivalent, Bambino, the nickname stuck. Later that same year, the American League's Boston Red Sox picked up the now towering husky ballplayer. Babe was certainly good enough for the majors already, but due to a loaded roster, the young pitcher was optioned to the Sox minor league team, the Providence Grays for a season. It was a good year for the great Bambino. The young pitcher helped the team finish first place in the International League and found love in the arms of Helen Woodford. The young couple married that October. Playing with the Sox in full force in 1915, the now major league pitcher immediately boasted an impressive 18.8win loss record and an ERA of 2.44. For all you non baseball fans out there, ERA means earned run average or how many runs are scored on a pitcher based on the number of innings pitched. And Babe's 2.44 is phenomenal. For some 21st century perspective, the best starting pitcher in Major league baseball in 2023, Blake Snell, will have an ERA of 2.25. And with that perspective, let me note that Babe achieved an even lower ERA in his subsequent seasons with the Red Sox, sometimes below two. But even more exciting and valuable than his pitching is Babe Ruth's swing. See the last two decades about 1900 to 1920 have been known as the dead ball era, a time when runs are low and hits are weak while the ball itself and certain pitches later made illegal factor into this. Another cause for the deadball era was batting technique. Shoeless Joe Jackson stood out with his more powerful swing in this time and Babe modeled his own swing after the great but later shamed Chicagoan. As Babe himself put it, I copied Jackson's style because I thought he was the greatest hitter I had ever seen, the greatest natural hitter I ever saw. He's the guy who made me a hitter. By 1919, Babe, or the Sultan of Swat, or the King of Hitting, to over explain the nickname, was a regular in Boston's lineup. He inaugurated a hitting revolution with a season record 29 home runs. And yet, on December 26, 1919, the Red Sox made the fateful decision to sell this all star hitter to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Now, to grasp the mythical significance of the sale of Babe Ruth, you need to understand that at this point, the Red Sox were five time champions of the thus far 15 official World Series. Three of those were won with Babe Ruth, specifically 1915, 1916 and 1918. But after selling the Sultan of Swat to their sworn enemies, the New York Yankees, the Red Sox enter a dark, dark time. A time of mourning, anguish, biblical gnashing of teeth, suffering, and worse, solid, unanswerable taunts from Yankees fans as Boston fails to win another World Series in the entire 20th century. A mere coincidence, maybe to a scientific observer, but to the more superstitious fan, the perfidy, the sin of selling Babe Ruth an act as vile as stealing Jobu's rum led the baseball gauze to smite Boston with 86 years of wandering in the wilderness without winning another World Series until 2004. And we call this bleak time the curse of the Great Bambino. And with that, we've returned to our decade, to the 1920s and the start of Babe Ruth's glorious career as a New York Yankee. In 1923, the Yankees moved to a new stadium in the Bronx, or the House that Ruth built as Yankee Stadium will affectionately be known. Because who doesn't want to see the Sultan of Swat swing that bat? He's driving new fans to the game. But as his star rises, the famous ballplayer has a few vices that come to the fore. Babe drinks heavily, eats unhealthily, gambles his salary and likes to go out on the town quite a bit. The great Bambino's behavior catches up with him in 1925 when he collapses and has to get an intestinal abscess removed. His marriage sees rough times. Babe and Helen legally separate until her tragic death in a house fire in 1929, after which he'll marry actress Claire Hodgson. And his relationship with Yankee's management is even Rockier. Back in 1922, Colonel Till Huston, one of the Yankees owners, said to Babe, we are tying up a lot of money in you, Babe. Far more than any player ever has received. And we feel you should give us something in return, not only hitting home runs, but in your conduct. We know you've often been drinking and whoring all hours of the night and pay no attention to training rules. As we are giving you a quarter of a million for the next five years, we want you to act with more responsibility. You can drink beer and enjoy cards and be in your room by 11 o'clock, the same as the other players. It still gives you a lot of time to have a good time. Babe's response becomes one of his most famous lines. Colonel, I'll promise to go easier on drinking and get to bed early, but not for you. $50,000 or $250,000. Will I give up women? They're too much fun. But despite his personal indiscretions and struggles, the great Bambino continues to put on show after show for his fans. He's an integral part of what some baseball aficionados and historians think is one of the greatest teams to ever play the late 1920s New York Yankees. That said, Babe's most famous game comes in the following decade on an October night in 1932. It's October 1, 1932. From the grandstands to the bleacher seats perched atop scaffolding on the neighboring avenues of Waveland and Sheffield and temporarily in front of the right field wall, 49,986 baseball fans are settling into their seats, getting ready to watch the Chicago Cubs battle it out against the New York Yankees at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Along the third base side of the field, Matt Miller, Candle and Harold Wharf are setting up their sixth 16 millimeter film cameras. Meanwhile, the voices of vendors hollering about peanuts and Cracker Jacks somehow cut through the chatter. It's a sold out packed night, as it should be. This is game three of the World Series. It's now the top of the fifth inning. The score is tied 4 4. The right handed pitcher, Charlie Root, aka Chinsky for throwing pitches into side near the batter's chin, is stretching out on the mound while Babe Ruth is getting ready to bat. And it's tense. Cubs fans and players alike are yelling out trash talk all aimed at the Yankee superstar. But it doesn't faze the great Bambino. As Babe saunters up to the plate, cameramen Matt and Harold have their cameras going. Chinsky nods at the catcher, raises his arms above his head and hurls a pitch across across the plate before the umpire can call the pitch. Babe interrupts. Strike one. The batter points at the Cubs dugout, perhaps letting them know he hears their jeering. The next pitch is a ball. Then Chinsky throws one that bounces in the dirt and past the catcher. Through all of it, the Chicago crowd and team alike persist in their taunts. As they do, the 6 foot 2, 215 pound left handed Sultan of Swat simply smiles at his foe. He then raises his right hand out toward the flagpole in center field. He then stares at Chinsky as the pitcher throws. It's a second fastball and a second strike. The count is now two balls and two strikes. Babe repeats his hand motion, gesturing out towards center field. Once again, Chinsky takes a deep, deep breath, raises his hands above his head and releases a curveball. The ball floats to the plate, beginning to break low and out of the strike zone. But before it can hit the catcher's glove, the great Bambino loads, steps toward the mound and swings. The ball ricochets off his back, soaring through the air over the heads of the fielders and over the heads of the fans in the stands. Over the flagpole to which he appeared with pointed and lands in the deepest part of Wrigley's center field. It's a home run. As Babe will later recall. I swung from the ground with everything I had and as I hit the ball, every muscle in my system, every sense I had told me that I had never hit a better one. That as long as I lived nothing would ever feel as good as this. I didn't have to look, but I did. That ball just hit exactly the spot I had pointed to. As he trots around third base, Babe motions for the Cubs players to sit down. He's just one upped them. There's nothing more they can do. After all, there's no trash talk more powerful than performance that translates to that one beautiful word. Scoreboard. Did he. Did he really do it? Did Babe Ruth do the impossible? Did he call his shot? Or was it just a gesture? Oh, I'll let others debate that, but selfishly, I want to believe he did it. It's just beautiful. I mean, how can you not be romantic about baseball? Babe Ruth emerged as a superstar at a time when baseball desperately needed an idol. The sport was suffering from the shame of The White Sox 1919 World Series scandal, soon dubbed the Black Sox scandal, which we heard about in this episode's opening. It was also just coming out of the dead ball era when the Sultan of Swat went to the Yankees, Babe helped inaugurate a new golden age of baseball that would last several decades. But of course, he didn't do it single handedly. While we might not be able to hear all of their stories, some of these incredibly talented ball players from the era include Lou Gehrig. He played 2,130 consecutive games as the New York Yankees first baseman and was inducted into the hall of fame in 1939, the same year as his untimely retirement from baseball because of a diagnosis of amyotrophy, lateral sclerosis, or als. Also known after the ballplayer as Lou Gehrig's disease. Second baseman Rogers Hornsby. He led the National League in batting average seven times and was referred to by manager John McGraw as a better hitter than Babe Ruth. Close quote Grover Cleveland P. Alexander, a pitcher known for his movement and ability to vary speed that frustrated even the great Bambino and Babe, remembered their battles fondly, writing that just to see old Pete out there on the mound with that cocky little undersized cap pulled down over one ear, chewing away at his tobacco, and pitching baseballs as easy as pitching hay is enough to take the heart out of a fellow. There are so many more players who deserve to be mentioned, but unfortunately it's the bottom of the ninth and we've got two outs. And while I appreciate catcher Yogi Berra's wisdom in saying it ain't over till it's over, well, no extra innings for us today. Let's wrap it up. Baseball is, as I hope you've realized today, closely intertwined with our nation's social, political and economic fabric. The sport, or at least its predecessors, has been with us since the colonial era. It reflects our once predominantly farming past. It bears the scars of Jim Crow. In short, baseball has lived and thrived through the nation's greatest and lowest historical events. In that regard, baseball, even when its popularity ebbs and flows, is the quintessential American sport and pastime. As American baseball pioneer and businessman Albert Spalding wrote in 1911, to enter upon a deliberate argument to prove that baseball is our national game, that it has all the attributes of American origin, American character, and unbounded public favor in America seems a work of supererogation. It is to undertake the elucidation of a patent fact, the sober demonstration of an axiom. It is like a solemn declaration that two plus two equals four. Perhaps it's because baseball is so enmeshed in American identity that Americans cling to baseball's legends the same way that we cling to overtly national identity, forming legends. Case in point, historians can debunk the legend of Abner Doubleday inventing baseball all day long, but it's not going to disappear any more than the legend of George Washington and the Cherry Tree. And frankly, baseball has a veritable canon of legendary figures that Americans look to for inspiration. From those we met today, like the forward thinking Rube Foster and the extravagant Roaring Twenties hitting pioneer Babe Ruth, to others we'll meet in later episodes, the women of World War II's All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Jackie Robinson, and still more. The sport is made up of larger than life personalities that have inspired Americans to see the best in themselves, ranging from grit to moral courage and more. I suppose inspiration is where legends come in. As a Hollywood version of the Great Bambino once told a PF Flyers wearing kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong. Ah, but heroes and legends can be born from sports that aren't baseball. Next time we'll hear the tale of some other professional sports that early 20th century Americans loved. I hope you're ready to step into the ring, onto the gridiron and to the court. History that Doesn't Suck is created and hosted by me, Greg Jackson Episode researched and written by Boston Red Sox fan Greg Jackson and Philadelphia Phillies fan Riley Neubauer. Which is fine, because it's not the Yankees. Production by Airship Sound design by Molly Bach Theme music composed by Greg Jackson Arrangement and additional composition by Lindsey Graham of Airship For a bibliography of all primary and secondary sources consulted in writing this episode, visit htdspodcast.com HTDS is supported by Premium Membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. My gratitude to you kind souls providing additional funding to help us keep going and a special thanks to our members whose monthly gift puts them at producer status. Andy Thompson Anthony Pizzullo Art Lane Beth Chris Jansen Bob Drazovich Brian Goodson Bronwyn Cohen, Carrie Begle, Charles and Shirley Clendenin Charlie Magus, Chloe Tripp Christopher Merchant, Christopher Pullman David DeFazio, David Rifkin Denke Durante Spencer Donald Moore, Donna Marie Jeffcoat Ellen Stewart Bernie Lowe George Sherwood Gerwith Griffin Henry Brunges Jake Gilbreth James g. Bledsoe Janie McCreary Jeff Marks Jennifer Moots, Jennifer Magnolia Jeremy Wells, Jessica Poppick Joe Dobus John Frugal Dougal John Boovie John Keller John Oliveros John Ridlevich John Schaeffer John Scheff Jordan Corbett, Joshua Steiner, Justin M. Spriggs, Justin May, Kristin Pratt, Karen Bartholomew, Cassie Coneco, Kim R, Kyle Decker, Lawrence Neubauer, Linda Cunningham, Mark Ellis, Matthew Mitchell, Matthew Simmons, Melanie Jan, Nick Seconder, Nick Caffrell, Noah Hoff, Owen Sedlak, Paul Goringer, Randy Guthrie, Reese Humphries, Wadsworth, Rick Brown, Sarah Trewick, Samuel Lagasse, Sharon Thiessen, Sean Baines, Steve Williams, Creepy Girl, Tisha Black and Zack Jackson.
- [62:27]
Greg Jackson
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