History of the Game

Baseball had a very important place in society during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Baseball was officially America’s national pastime. President Franklin D. Roosevelt threw out his ninth ceremonial "first pitch" on April 14th 1941. On that day he set the record for most presidential first pitches ever thrown. The record can never be broken because of the new two-term presidential restrictions, that restrict olding office for more than 8 years. FDR was an avid baseball fan and devoted much time to watching games and reading about sports in newspapers. Eventually World War Two would dampen the spirits of all baseball fans becuase of the draft. During that time there was a lot of racial unrest. The draft summoned two of baseballs best Hank Mulcahy and Hank Greenberg, the latter being the first great Jewish baseball player. Greenberg was a hero and even got standing ovations when he went to worship at synagogue. Joe DiMaggio was an upcoming Italian superstar and society still did not know what to make of him. Life magazine published this about DiMaggio in a 1939 issue:

"Italians, bad at war, are well-suited for milder competition…Although he learned Italian first, Joe, now 24, speaks English without an accent, and is otherwise well adapted to most U.S. mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease he keeps his hair slick with water. He never reeks of garlic and prefers chicken chow mien to spaghetti"

I find it astonishing that articles like this were even published for the public to read. The article is evident that during that era race was a big issue. Joe DiMaggio was one of the best players to ever live. He holds the current Major League record for hits in 56 consecutive games, a feat unmatched by any. It was said that when DiMaggio was batting, it seemed the old rules and dimensions longer applied to him, and that the game had grown unfairly easy.