History of Americas Favorite Pastime

1
History of Americas Favorite Pastime

• Presented By April Kroll
• ETE 100 Sec. 03
• Tuesday, July 07, 2009

2
Baseball in the Beginning

• Americans began playing baseball in the early
  1800s.
• By the 1860s, the sport had unmatchable
  popularity, and became known as Americas
  national pastime.
• Official rules of the game were later formalized
  and documented in the late 1800s.

3
Timeline of Establishing Leagues

• 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first
  salaried team.
• Therefore are considered the first professional
  team.
• 1871 The first professional baseball league, the
  National Association of Professional Base Ball
  Players, was formed.
• 1876 The first major league, the National
  League, was formed.

4
History of American League

• The American League is one of two leagues that
  make up Major League Baseball (MLB).
• Developed from a minor league called the Western
  League
• Received major league status in 1900
• Starting in 1901, the eight teams that made up
  the American League were the following
• Baltimore Orioles
• Boston Americans
• Chicago White Sox
• Cleveland Blues
• Detroit Tigers
• Milwaukee Brewers
• Philadelphia Athletics
• Washington Senators

5
History of National League

• The National League in 1876 consisted of seven
  teams
• St. Louis Brown Stockings
• Hartford Dark Blues
• Boston Red Caps
• Louisville Grays
• New York Mutuals
• Philadelphia Athletics
• Cincinnati Reds
• National league was known as being a more
  traditional or pure league
• In 1903, the champions of the two leagues met in
  the World Series
• In 1994, the league was divided into three
  divisions East, West and Central

6
African Americans Role In Baseball

• African Americans were not permitted to play on
  professional white baseball teams.
• Therefore in the late 1800s, Professional
  African-American teams and "negro leagues" were
  established.
• Interracial games occurred when major league
  white teams played black teams in exhibition
  games.

7
First African American in Professional Baseball

• In 1942, Dodgers manager and owner began plans
  to bring black players to the team.
• Jackie Robinson officially broke the color
  boundary in the major league when he put on a
  Dodgers uniform in April 1947.

8
Influential Players Of The Past

• Babe Ruth
• Nickname Great Bambino
• Dominant hitter and pitcher
• In 1919 hit 29 homeruns shattering records
• Hit homerun in every park in his league
• In the Hall of Fame

9
Influential Players Of The Past Contd.

• Nolan Ryan
• Most dominating and intimidating pitcher of the
  game
• Enjoyed longest career of any player in major
  league history
• Won his 300th game in 1990
• Achieved his 5,000th career strikeout in1989
• Made it on the All Century Team in 1999

10
Influential Players Of The Past Contd.

• Hank Aaron
• Baseballs home run king
• Received the Medal of Freedom George W. Bush to
  honor the achievements despite poverty and racism
• From 1954 to 1976, Aaron hit 20 or more HRs in 20
  seasons and hit 30 or more in 15 seasons. Those
  two feats have never been equaled .
• Hall of Fame

11
Baseball Today

• Today, baseball teams can be found in most
  communities, large or small, made up of people of
  different ages and races.
• Different leagues are available depending on age
  and experience
• Still Americas favorite pastime