All-Star Sports During The Great Depression

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Around the time of the Great Depression in the 1920’s, the number of fans who attended Major League Baseball games plummeted. In order to entice fans to attend games, many teams created promotional events like grocery giveaways, free admission for women, and discounted tickets. Even with these events, the most successful idea was the first Major League Baseball or MLB All-Star game on July 6, 1933. The All-Star game occurred in the middle of the season between the American and National Leagues. The location of the first All-Star game was in Chicago, Illinois at Comiskey Park (History n.pag.). Another significant event was the East West Negro All-Star game on September 10, 1933, which was also held in Chicago. Due to the lack of interest …show more content…

The Great Depression was a decline in the American economy that detrimentally affected the spending habits of American citizens. Due to the Great Depression, the number of fans attending regular season baseball games decreased from ten million to six million. A man named Archibald Burnette Ward instituted the idea of an All-Star game. This game would feature the two teams that consist of the Major League, which were the American and the National leagues. Although Ward’s main profession was a sports writer, he changed the fate of baseball with what is now known as the “Mid-Summer Classic Game”. Ward’s proposal changed the fate of baseball by sparking interest of fans, even though money was scarce for the people of American at the time (Aron n. pag.). Overall, the idea of composing an All-Star game between the two leagues that made up Major League Baseball was influential for the future and popularity of the sport for years to …show more content…

The rise in popularity of the All-Star game started because of the excitement revolving around the idea of an interleague game that never occurred previously. Therefore, the game caught fans attention because it was the only time the American and National league played against each other, not including one game at the end of the season. In order to play an interleague game, each respected league must win their league’s pennant. With that in mind, fans became eager for the new, different type of competition amongst Major League Baseball (Bauer n. pag.). Without the first successful All-Star game in 1933, the game may not have become a beloved annual event of

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