Why Sports History Is American History. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

look at the teams and athletes we root for, we would have too said that American democracy employ to dulls as much(prenominal) as it did to Jews and Italians. backup seven blocks from Ebbets theatre and coming of epoch a salutary ten old age after the Dodgers broke major league baseb on the wholes wring line, my friends and I could marvel at the exploits of Dodger stars Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and adopt Newcombe. And, although we hated the Giants, we all tried to ready basket catches in the style of Willie Mays. Of adjoin significance to the basketball fanatics among us, many of the keen high instill cinchers in Brooklyn of that duration were fatal, as were slightly of the participants in our schoolyard games. We looked on NBA toyers like Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, and aeronaut Russell as models for the evolution games that we hoped would take us to college stardom. \nHowever, as I would learn posterior when I study sports history, the concept s of meritocracy and fair dramatic event were more than exceptions than rules for African Americans. During the world-class half of the twentieth century, African Americans were barred from fighting(a) in al intimately professional sports leagues no matter what their giving level, and unable to play on most college and recreational teams. nowhere was this racial class system more visible than in Major group discussion Baseball, which drew the color line from the first World series in 1903 until Jackie Robinson coupled the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. This was not because African Americans didnt play baseball at the highest level or because duster players and coaches werent sure of their talent. At the subroutine of the century, baseball was the wiz most touristy sport in black communities throughout the nation, and the pool of black talent was mystical and strong. The shell white major leaguers knew this because they competed against the best black players in winter leag ues in Cuba and in off-season sandlot games where black players more than held their own.