American Decades
"On Baseball"
Essay
By: Jacques Barzun
Date: 1954
Source: Barzun, Jacques. "On Baseball." In Barzun, Jacques. God's Country and Mine: A Declaration of Love Spread with a Few Harsh Words. Boston: Little, Brown, 1954. Reprinted in Baseball Reader. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983, 35–39.
About the Author: French-born Jacques Barzun (1907–) is a prominent writer, educator, and historian associated with Columbia University since attending there in the 1920s, having served as the provost 1958–1967. He has written a great deal on American culture and life, as well as numerous books on education.
Introduction
The 1950s were a critical time for baseball. When the soldiers came home after World War II (1939–1945), professional baseball exploded—with huge attendance increases, unprecedented minor league expansion, and greater interest in the game from the American...
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1950's Sports Primary Sources
- "Detroit Beats Rangers in 2d Overtime"
- "Two Ex-Stars Held in Basketball 'Fix' at $2,000 a Game"
- "New York Giants 5, Brooklyn Dodgers 4"
- Baseball's East-West All-Star Game
- "Trabert Takes U.S. Tennis Title by Crushing Seixas in Big Upset"
- "On Baseball"
- A Day in the Bleachers
- "New York Yankees 2, Brooklyn Dodgers 0"
- "Miss Gibson Wins Wimbledon Title"
- "Notre Dame Tops Oklahoma, 7-0"
- "Palmer's 284 Beats Ford and Hawkins by a Stroke in Masters Golf"
- "Overtime at the Stadium"
- "Beauchamp Wins 500-mile Stock Car Race at 135 M.P.H. Average"
- The Chavez Ravine Agreement
- Copyright Page
- Acknowledgments
