The Impact of Baseball during the Second World War - Essay Example

BASEBALL AND A COUNTRY IN TURMOIL: The Impact of Baseball during the Second World War Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America, had better learn baseball. Jacques Barzun, 1954. Sports and Politics, Sports and War The adrenaline rush of competition. The heady feeling of triumph. There is little in this world that compares to the emotions generated by sports - by physical sport, to be exact. Since the beginning of time, human beings have been engaging in sports to fulfill the need for the thrill of conquest. Indeed, it goes beyond pastime and recreation, it speaks to a basic and primal instinct that hark back to the days of our ancestors. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that sports has occupied a position of strategic importance even in the realm of politics and power. Thi is true from the very start, from the time of the ancient Greek sports that planted the seeds of what we now know to be the modern Olympics. This takes on many different levels. Inherently, any competitive sport contains a power dimension. Necessarily, there is a winner and a loser. The vanquished is disempowered, and the victor exercises control over him. On another level, sports has traditionally been used by the ruling class as a way to satisfy the electorate. The Romans first coined the term "bread and circus" - and this is precisely what it is. It keeps the ruled entertained and distracted. It is a form of manipulation, wherein raw emotions are manipulated so that they may translate into support for the ruler and perpetuate him in power. The thesis, therefore, that sports has played a central role in how the Second World War played out, in particular in the United States, finds itself solidly supported by historical precedents. Baseball and the War It can be said without exaggeration that there is nothing more American than the game of baseball. Albeit popular as well in Central America, parts of South America, parts of the Caribbean and East Asia, it is in the United States where the game is considered part of national life and psyche. Indeed, after having been introduced to it by British and Irish immigrant settlers, Americans have developed a passion towards the game both timeless and fierce. So rooted is it in the American culture that it even reflects this country's melting pot heritage. In an entry on baseball in Wikipedia, it is stated that: Baseball has often been a barometer of the fabled American "melting pot", as immigrants from different regions have tried to "make good" in various areas including sports. In the 19th century, baseball was populated with many players of Irish or German extraction. A number of Native Americans had successful careers especially in the early 1900s. Italians and Poles appeared on many rosters during the 1920s and 1930s. Black Americans came on strong starting in the late 1940s after the barriers had been lifted, and continue to form a significant contingent. By the 1960s, Hispanics had started to make the scene, and had become a dominant force by the 1990s. In the 21st century, East Asians have been appearing in increasing numbers. Never, however, is the national psyche of a country more vulnerable to fluctuations - the euphoria of victory, the desolation of defeat - that when that country is at war. Interestingly, baseball, while seemingly a mundane preoccupation when compared to politics and foreign policy, has contributed deeply to a nation wounded by the ravages of war and reeling from the loss of many of its young men in combat. It was perhaps one of the most difficult times in American history. According to Peterik: (please supply the page number for this quote) "During the war, many sacrifices were made and life was not fun. Men and women who stayed home waited by the mail box for a letter to arrive confirming their loved ones were still alive. Baseball had become a big part of the war effort because it kept people interested in daily activities." This paper will analyze how baseball and the war - specifically, the Second World War - are intertwined: not only how baseball has impacted on the war, but also, how the war has impacted on the sport. Contextual Background The period of 1942 to 1945 are unforgettable years for the world. The levels of bloodshed, grief and atrocities remain unsurpassed to this day. These three years have also impacted heavily on the game of baseball; at that time, already enjoying tremendous popularity and following. Many of the baseball stars such as Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, and Ted Williams were called to serve in the military. By the end of the war, more than ninety percent of the players on prewar Major League rosters served in the armed forces. (Finoli, please supply page number) Because of that, the leagues were forced to hire an assortment of players, many with little experience but much potential. Narrates Percoco (1992): Fifteen-year-old phenom Joe Nuxhall pitched for the Cincinnati Reds; Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder, suited up for the St. Louis Browns; and former slugger Jimmie Foxx came out of retirement to play for the Philadelphia Phillies. These players kept the game alive in the big league cities, as did their counterparts on the minor league circuit, and provided lighthearted entertainment for millions of fans. Like other civic-minded Americans, those involved in baseball also did their share and contributed to the war effort. Phil Wrigley, the Cubs owner, donated light towers. It was a time when Americans were proud to be Americans, and baseball players and managers were no exception. According to Finoli: (page number for this quote) "Officials also sponsored hundreds of exhibition contests involving military and civilian teams and tours by major league stars to entertain servicemen and elevate their spirits. Fund-raising by the Major Leagues proved remarkably successful in the encouragement of war bond sales and in donations of equipment for military teams." Baseball as the Galvanizing Force of a Nation at War Pearl Harbour was attacked and the nation was in a state of shock and uncertainty. No one knew what was going to happen, only that the days ahead were fraught with peril. Basketball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis posed the question to then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on January 14, 1942, as to whether or not it was still appropriate for professional baseball to continue given the state of crisis. The response of the President, known in history as the Green Light Letter, was as quick as it was categorical: "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." Clearly, Roosevelt was aware of the power of baseball in galvanizing his countrymen. He saw it not as a diversion or as a distraction, but as a tool to unite and strengthen. Indeed, this capacity of the sport to bring people together and to symbolize all that is good about the United States is not new. As has been written in the website Baseball as America: Like many symbols, baseball is steeped in legend. The myth of its creation by Civil War hero Abner Doubleday helped forge the all-American pedigree a national symbol needs. And over the years, baseball itself has been heroic in wartime, heartening Americans on the home front and battlefront. Patriotic images combine the diamond with the stars and stripes, while baseball traditions such as the presidential "first pitch" reinforce the bond linking the game to our heritage and national institutions. Certainly, of course, one must not romanticize baseball either. According to Randy Roberts in his paper "Baseball Myths and American Realities", (p. 142) "the game that symbolized all the virtues of rural America was controlled by the men who epitomized all that was corrupt in urban America." He emphasized the economic interests and commercial aspect of the sport. It cannot be gainsaid, however, that the contribution of baseball was immense in lifting the spirits of Americans. The sport had particular resonance for those who were deployed overseas, and who were clinging to anything that would remind them of home. Almost every American installation all over the world had organized baseball teams and leagues to recreate for the soldiers the familiar world they had left behind. (Bullock 2). Moreover, major league stars went on tours to entertain the soldiers and condition them for battle. This is apart from fund raising events held by the professional leagues. Sports and War: Narrowing the Gender and Racial Divide Aside from the obvious effects of baseball in boosting the morale of the peope, an unexpected but welcome offshoot of the collaboration between baseball and the Second World War was that it helped created inroads for marginalized sectors, particularly women and blacks. On the issue of race, the 1940's was a period when racial tensions were still very stark and segregation was very much in place. As social scientists have taught, the consequences of segregation are far-reaching. Braddock and McPartland's study (1989) found that: Blacks who grow up in a largely segregated environment are more likely to lead adult lives in segregated situations. At any given age, Blacks who are segregated in one institutional sphere - be it in education, residential location, employment, or informal social contacts - are also likely to have mostly segregated experiences in other institutional environments. Even in sports, segregation was apparent. The major league teams preferred to hire mediocre white players to fill in for the baseball stars who were drafted into military service, when there was no shortage of competent and able-bodied African Americans who were more than willing to play. To combat that, Negro Leagues were set up. Owing perhaps to the fact that the American public was actively in search for a diversion from the heartaches of the war, the Negro Leagues gained phenomenal support and helped in introducing African-American baseball players into the mainstream. More pronounced however, was how the gender divide was reduced during this period. For so long, baseball was an exclusively masculine sport. To a certain extent, in this day and age, there still is a bias against women who engage in sports that are considered for men. For example, it was discovered that less than 10% of the total examined sports news time covered female athletes, and less than 2% of the time was used to cover women athletes in sports categorized as masculine. (Kojyula, Abstract) That said, the period covering the Second World War was an important period for women and sports. Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, organized the professional All-American Girls' Baseball League, and this was the only time that women played in professional baseball. In an interview conducted with Erma Bergmann, a former pitcher from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, much illuminating insights were shared regarding how it was to be female in a predominantly-male sport. She was a pitcher for the Muskegon Lassies (1946-7), Springfield Sallies (1948), Racine Belles (1949-50) and Battle Creek Belles (1951). Her dream started while playing amateur softball at the St. Louis Football Park, and found culmination when she started playing professional football and showing the world that women could make it. When she pitched a no-hitter in 1947 against the Grand Raid Chicks that led to their eventual win, she considers it the most memorable moment of her career. Conclusion: In a large part, the strategic importance of baseball, or any sport for that matter, when there is a war is that it entertains and uplifts the people. However, when one focuses only on this, one forgets the heroism and nobility of many of our baseball players - qualities that resonate among the brave soldiers who have fought our battles for us and who have died in the name of the motherland. War is evil, certainly, but amidst the rubble are countless stories of greatness and courage. These virtues are equally important in the diamond, in the battlefield, and in life. Works Cited Braddock, J.H. II, and McPartland, J.M. Social-Psychological Processes That Perpetuate Racial Segregation: The Relationship Between School and Employment Desegregation Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Mar., 1989) , pp. 267-289 Bullock, Steven. Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. Finoli, David. For the Good of the Country: World War II Baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues. McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2002. Koivula, Natalie. "Gender Stereotyping in Televised Media Sport Coverage." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. Volume 41, No. 7-8. Springer, Netherlands. October 1999. Percoco, James. Baseball and World War II: A Study of the Landis- Roosevelt Correspondence. Organization of American Historians. 1992. http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/sport/percoco.html. 23 February 2007. Our National Spirit. Baseball as America. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. http://www.baseballasamerica.org/exhibition_2.htm. 23 February 2007 Peterik , Adam. Women's Baseball during World War II. Illinois History. A Magazine for Young People. 1995. Roberts, Randy. "Baseball Myths and American Realities." Reviews in American History, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Mar., 1982), pp. 141-145 "Baseball." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 21 February 2007. 23 February 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball. Read More