By : Dillon Bartram and Scotty Russell

1920’s and 1930’s: Sports

1920’s :Sports Introduction

The 1920’s was a time of creative and exploratory ideas among common people, athletes, and news crews. During this time, the rise of sports like Baseball, Basketball, and Boxing began to flourish around the US.

1920’s:BaseballBaseball evidently becomes a genuine American past time in the 1920’s – 1930’s. With increasing viewers and organization of rules/regulations, this great sport evolves from a pickup game in the streets to a nationally recognized sport.

• 24 years with Detroit Tigers

• 3035 Games

• 117 Home Runs

• 892 Stolen Bases

• "Baseball is a red-blooded sport for red-blooded men….a struggle for supremacy, survival of the fittest.“ – Ty Cobb

• Ranks #2 all time Center Fielder in MLB

Ty Cobb

• 511 Wins

• 2.63 ERA (earned run average)

• Teams Played For: Cleveland, St. Louis, Boston, Toronto

• Played for 22 seasons

• Cy Young Award: Award given to the best pitcher in the MLB every year (currently)

Cy Young

Around the early 1920’s, baseball card collecting became an important and common hobby among youth. This new dynamic display of national recognized players and teams attracted more baseball fans. Thus, baseball became a national past time as an American sport.

Baseball Cards

Basketball also emerged as a new, up-tempo sport that gathered an eclectic range of people. It was not as popular as baseball, and became known as a underdog, rugged sport in the 1920’s. Rules and regulations, along with referees, were very inconsistent, often siding with a particular team.

1920’s: Basketba

ll

• Born in Almonte, Ontario

• Known worldwide as the inventor of basketball

• Started as a Canadian PE teacher

• Founder of NBA Hall of Fame

• Started many college basketball programs around the country

• Wrote the first 13 Official Rules of Basketball

James Naismith

• Created in 1959 after Naismith

• Celebrating 50th Anniversary this year

• Recognized famous coaches, players, founders, and achievements

• Gained national recognition ever since its opening.

Hall Of Fame

• Referees and judges sided with teams

• Teams had specific followers that could help “throw” games

• Teams would hire people/refs to ref their games to ensure a win

• New rules would be made for every game depending on the teams playing

• Home court advantage had a more realistic and practical meaning

Inefficiency

In the 1920s, boxing became a new, brutal, very influential sport that swarmed the US. Kids, adults, and viewers across the world got involved in boxing. People like “Cinderella Man” possibly changed the sport forever, even though it was a new upcoming event that surrounded people in every corner of the country in the 1920s.

Boxing

• Born in NYC

• Turned pro in 1926

• Quickly became the most followed and favorite fighter in the nation

• After the Depression, he suffered to bounce back in his fighting career.

•Famous Sucker Punch

• Beat Max Baer for the title fight in 1935

• 10 – 1 Underdog

Cinderella Man

• Born in 1895 in Manassa, Colorado

• Trained in Salt Lake City Utah at the age of 16

• Became most well rounded fighter of the time period

• Knocked out Jess Willard in 1919 to win Heavyweight Title

•Held that title until 1926• 10 Round bout that

ended in a decision where Dempsey lost

Jack Dempsey

• Born in 1914 in Lafayette, Alabama

• One of 13 boxers to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

• Very quiet, laid back boxer

• Known as the “Brown Bomber”

• Known for his explosive punches, had over 43 KO’s

• Joe Louis stadium named after him located in Detroit, Michigan

Joe Louis

"Basketball." 1920's Sports. Gale Cengage, 1996. eNotes.com. 2006. 1 Dec, 2009 <http://www.enotes.com/1920-sports-american-decades/basketball>

Edward, Benjamin. (August 2, 1999). Baseball Cards1887-1914. American Memory. Retrieved 1 December, 2009, from http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/bbhtml/bbhome.html.

Fellerath, David. (June 2, 2005). Fight Snub. Slate. Retrieved 1 December, 2009, from http://www.slate.com/id/2120151/.

"Baer vs. Braddock." James J. Braddock. 2001. Swirling. 1 December, 2009. <http://www.jamesjbraddock.com/>.

Wolfe, Edgar. (1986). National Pasttime of the 1920s: The Rise of the Baseball Fan. History Matters. Retrieved 1 December, 2009, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5087/.

Works Cited