Existing comment:
After the Civil War, cannon blasts gave way to the crack of the bat as major leagues formed with teams stationed from Hartford to St. Louis. Pro players, immortalized on baseball cards, were among the first athletes enshrined in the temple of American sports celebrity. The biggest name belonged to Chicago White Stocking right fielder Michael "King" Kelly, who popularized both the practice of signing autographs and athletes developing acting careers.
In the 1880s, major league team owners agreed to an unwritten policy that they would sign only white men, thus creating baseball's color line. Even so, all sorts of Americans played baseball, as schools, churches, factories, and businesses sponsored teams. Bloomer Girls and African American all-star teams barnstormed the country, racking up stellar records against local clubs that accepted their challenge; their successors would include the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and various Negro leagues. |