Existing comment:
"The Game for Me"
In 1869 the game turned professional. M. Mullen's "The Baseball Song" [image 1] aptly captures the enthusiasm for the game by the late nineteenth century: "Let others have their cricket . . . baseball's the game for me" the lyrics declare, ending with this salute: "Long may baseball flourish in each state throughout the land." Written in 1888, the musical tribute to the game was introduced in what became a singular year for baseball -- Ernest Thayer penned his renowned poem, "Casey at the Bat" and Albert G. Spalding's epic world tour globally solidified baseball as an American institution and national pastime. As America entered the twentieth century [image 2], little boys across the country, armed with their own bats, balls, and mitts, dreamed of playing with the big leagues. Today, Little League Baseball is the most popular youth baseball program in the world with over three million boys and girls.
M. Mullen. "The Baseball Song." New York: Willis Woodward & Co., 1888. |