Sports in the 1920s: depiction of the changes sports, and sports figures, went through in the 1920s
Sports in the 1920s
Sports went through many changes in the time period known as the "Roaring Twenties." Some sports were just starting out; others were broadening their horizons, while others were simply becoming more popular. New heroes were emerging in sports, new teams, and even new leagues.
Although there were many greats in the 1920s, without a doubt, George "Babe" Ruth was the first and most famous out of all the heroes presented in this time. Ruth changed the whole game of baseball. Ruth was traded to the Yankees from the Red Sox on January 3, 1920 for $125,000. This was more than double the highest price paid for a player. The country had just come out of war, and the basic morale was low. Sports however, lightened the spirits of Americans. More and more people began attending sporting events. New, and more permanent, baseball stadiums had to be built to hold the volume of people that came to each game. Also, with games now beginning to be broadcast on radio, people could stay in the comfort of their own home and listen to their favorite team. Ruth, among others, came at a time when the country was looking for, and needed heroes, and the new commercial radio stations of the 1920s (KDKA for example), gave people more access to them. Many people began to admire athletes such as the boxer Jack Dempsey, or golfers Bobby Jones and Walter Hagan, and other baseball players like Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. The country was in desperate need of distractions from the pain and suffering that had gone on during the war, and these men provided it.
Until 1926, there was no professional football, only college. There was but one football player, in most football spectator 's eyes, Harold "Red" Grange. He was quoted as being "three or four men and a horse rolled into one." "He [was] Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, Paavo Nurmi and Man o ' War." Jolson was an accomplished Jazz singer of the time, Nurmi was the finest runner in the world in the 1920s, and Man o ' War was
Sports went through many changes in the time period known as the "Roaring Twenties." Some sports were just starting out; others were broadening their horizons, while others were simply becoming more popular. New heroes were emerging in sports, new teams, and even new leagues.
Although there were many greats in the 1920s, without a doubt, George "Babe" Ruth was the first and most famous out of all the heroes presented in this time. Ruth changed the whole game of baseball. Ruth was traded to the Yankees from the Red Sox on January 3, 1920 for $125,000. This was more than double the highest price paid for a player. The country had just come out of war, and the basic morale was low. Sports however, lightened the spirits of Americans. More and more people began attending sporting events. New, and more permanent, baseball stadiums had to be built to hold the volume of people that came to each game. Also, with games now beginning to be broadcast on radio, people could stay in the comfort of their own home and listen to their favorite team. Ruth, among others, came at a time when the country was looking for, and needed heroes, and the new commercial radio stations of the 1920s (KDKA for example), gave people more access to them. Many people began to admire athletes such as the boxer Jack Dempsey, or golfers Bobby Jones and Walter Hagan, and other baseball players like Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. The country was in desperate need of distractions from the pain and suffering that had gone on during the war, and these men provided it.
Until 1926, there was no professional football, only college. There was but one football player, in most football spectator 's eyes, Harold "Red" Grange. He was quoted as being "three or four men and a horse rolled into one." "He [was] Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, Paavo Nurmi and Man o ' War." Jolson was an accomplished Jazz singer of the time, Nurmi was the finest runner in the world in the 1920s, and Man o ' War was
Bibliography: Sports Illustrated: 20th Century Sports: Images of Greatness, © 1999 Total/ SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ESPN: Sports Century, © 1999, ESPN, Inc. http://www.kcstar.com/sports/history/aprsup.htm