The Golden Age of Baseball

[AstrosFan]

In Baseball: The Golden Age, Harold Seymour writes about the years 1920-1930, calling it a golden age for baseball. What, in your opinion, is the golden age of baseball? Try limiting yourself to no more than a 20 year span. I think saying the 1950s and 1960s was the golden age works okay, but saying the entire twentieth century is kind of defeats the purpose.

Since everyone will have different definitions of what constitutes a golden age, I am only going to make one requirement, that you base it on when was the best time to be a fan. You can determine this however you choose. I realize this suggests that you can't choose any era you haven't been a part of, but I encourage you to be open to all eras. If you truly believe you would have preferred to be a fan in the deadball era, for example, even though you never witnessed it, go ahead and tell us. I am not putting a poll up, because there are too many types of eras (liveball, deadball, wartime, expansion, 70s/80s, 50s/60s, etc.) and it would be virtually impossible to separate them all.

So, from 1871 to 2007, what was the golden age of baseball?

[RuthMayBond]

How about 1949-1968?
Integration, Mays, Mantle, etc. without too much expansion

[EdTarbusz]

Seymour's book covered a lot more than just 1920-30. It covered nearly the entire deadball era.

[AstrosFan]

It did cover 1903-1930, but I seem to remember him specifying the years that Landis and Ruth took over the game in their respective ways as the "golden age". I don't have the book with me, so I'm certainly open to being wrong.

[EdTarbusz]

It did cover 1903-1930, but I seem to remember him specifying the years that Landis and Ruth took over the game in their respective ways as the "golden age". I don't have the book with me, so I'm certainly open to being wrong.

I don't have it with me, either. With all the all the problems of the National Commission era, he may have said that about the Ruth/Landis era.

[Victory Faust]

I think the 20s was probably the Golden Age, simply because baseball was the unquestioned American Pasttime, with an emphasis on the word "pasttime."

The 1920s was the dawn of the Mass Media Age, with the advent of radio, and if that wasn't enough to draw people's interest in Major League Baseball, then Babe Ruth (and, to a lesser extent, Hornsby, Gehrig, Sisler, etc.) certainly did the trick. It was a time for larger-than-life sports heroes without the warts that would later be exposed by reporters.

But more than the public's interest in big league ball, during the '20s, millions of Americans actually played the game. That's something that era has over later eras. Certainly, a lot of kids still played ball in the 50s and 60s, but it was nothing like it was in the 20s, when there were tons of factory teams, semipro teams, and millions of dirty-faced kids who played ball from sunup to sundown.

[sreeja]

I also agree with you.1920-1930 IS REALLY THE GOLDEN PERIOD of base ball.Now there is some decline.

[64Cards]

How about 1949-1968?
Integration, Mays, Mantle, etc. without too much expansion
Agreed, I think there were more talented players in MLB during that time period than any other. After that, not only expansion diluted the amount of talent, but football and basketball were grabbing a lot of prospective baseball players. Until the late 50's there really wasn't too much of a choice for a talented athlete who wanted to make a living playing sports professionally, MLB got the lions share of the best athletes. But the NFL became popular, plus MLB teams were cutting back on their farm clubs. Also the SEC,SWC, and ACC began integrating college sports in the late 60's and a lot of prospective black baseball players now had a chance to get a full ride to play football or basketball at those schools.

[Victory Faust]

Agreed, I think there were more talented players in MLB during that time period than any other. After that, not only expansion diluted the amount of talent, but football and basketball were grabbing a lot of prospective baseball players. Until the late 50's there really wasn't too much of a choice for a talented athlete who wanted to make a living playing sports professionally, MLB got the lions share of the best athletes. But the NFL became popular, plus MLB teams were cutting back on their farm clubs. Also the SEC,SWC, and ACC began integrating college sports in the late 60's and a lot of prospective black baseball players now had a chance to get a full ride to play football or basketball at those schools.



I also agree that there were more talented players in MLB during this era -- but does that necessarily make it the "golden age"? By then, televsion had come along, and was competing for Americans' attention.

In the '20s, there certainly was radio. But I submit that baseball was a bigger part of the average American's life then than in the 50s or 60s. As I pointed out, more people actually played the game back then, too.

Just me oh-pin-yon! :cap:

[64Cards]

I also agree that there were more talented players in MLB during this era -- but does that necessarily make it the "golden age"? By then, televsion had come along, and was competing for Americans' attention.

In the '20s, there certainly was radio. But I submit that baseball was a bigger part of the average American's life then than in the 50s or 60s. As I pointed out, more people actually played the game back then, too.

Just me oh-pin-yon! :cap:
I see your point and somewhat agree. Baseball was the king of sports of most of the country till the early 60's. [exception being the south where college and hs football was king] The game had an incredible attendance explosion in the 40's after WW2, but in the 50's, although there was still great interest in MLB, a lot of people stopped coming out to the the ballpark on a regular basis. Stayed like that for the most part through the 60's too, but by then the NFL had overtaken MLB in popularity.

[Iron Jaw]

How about 1949-1968?
Integration, Mays, Mantle, etc. without too much expansion

And pre-divisional play, pre-degenerated hitter.......I'll take it!:cap:

[Honus Wagner Rules]

There really is no "golden age of baseball". One's choice really just comes down to personal preference.

[RuthMayBond]

There really is no "golden age of baseball". One's choice really just comes down to personal preference.Can we put you down for pre-1869? :hide:

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Can we put you down for pre-1869? :hide:

Actually, I have no preference. I enjoy every era of baseball pretty much the same. I have "favorite" players from the 1870s right on through to today. I really don't understand why we spend so much time here at BBF trying to "prove" that our favorite era was the the "strongest" or certain players were the "greatest"? :shrug:

[Ubiquitous]

The golden age of baseball is probably around age 5 to age 12.

Baseball cards
Playing catch with your dad
little league
Ice cream afterwards
Pizza Party at the end
"Which color is our team dad?"
arguing about your favorite team/player with friends.
stratomatic or whatever game it was you played
your first glove
your first big hit
so on and so on.

[RuthMayBond]

Actually, I have no preference. I enjoy every era of baseball pretty much the same. I have "favorite" players from the 1870s right on through to today. I really don't understand why we spend so much time here at BBF trying to "prove" that our favorite era was the the "strongest" or certain players were the "greatest"? :shrug:So you're saying, your way is the best? :hide:;)

[Honus Wagner Rules]

So you're saying, your way is the best? :hide:;)

I guess what I mean is that everyone was the best equally. :)

[RuthMayBond]

I guess what I mean is that everyone was the best equally. :)But aren't some more equal than others?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The golden age of baseball is probably around age 5 to age 12.

Baseball cards
Playing catch with your dad
little league
Ice cream afterwards
Pizza Party at the end
"Which color is our team dad?"
arguing about your favorite team/player with friends.
stratomatic or whatever game it was you played
your first glove
your first big hit
so on and so on.

:clapping

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=56479

[Honus Wagner Rules]

But aren't some more equal than others?

I dunno. :noidea:confused:

[AstrosFan]

There are a number of eras that look pretty strong. The 1920s and 1930s had lots of star power, and was a better run organization that the National Commission era that preceded it. The 1949-68 era that RMB mentioned featured a growing level of integration, and was not oversaturated with expansion. Another era that I would have liked to see was the 1970s. It featured a good balance of pitching and hitting, a wide variety of skill sets, and a fully integrated league, though the international talent wasn't having as much an impact as it does today. Each era has its weaknesses. The 1920s and 1930s were such a high offensive era, that I almost feel that the numbers would be cheapened if I were to be a part of that era, much as many people feel about home run totals today. Secondly, it was pre-integration, and I'm never going to be comfortable with an era that denies everyone who can't pass for white a chance to play major league baseball. 1949-68 has the problem of not being a fully integrated league, plus the 1963-68 era may have been tough to watch, not because the quality of baseball was bad, but because there are just so many 1-0 games I can handle. I don't want to be overloaded with run-scoring, but I don't want the pendulum to be swung entirely in favor of the pitchers either. Finally, the 1970s, and I believe I will add in the 1980s to this era, since I missed all but 1989, has the problem of specialization. Certainly, there were numerous multi-talented players, but particularly in the 1970s, specialized skills were becoming all too common, and the well-rounded players seemed to be fading. And if you were to make a list of the true legends of the game, the 1970s and 1980s would be lagging. Whether this is because that era was inferior at producing superstars, or because we underrated players from that era because the talent pool was so deep is unknown, but it should be considered. As for the popularity of the game, I think that while sandlot style baseball has fallen over the years, the popularity of organized baseball has risen. Each era has its strengths and weaknesses, but I think those eras probably interest me the most.

[Ennui Willie Keeler]

I've seen the '20s referred to as the Golden Age of sports in general. Ruth, Dempsey, Tilden, and Bobby Jones we're all in their prime. This was also when Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski were in college. It was a prosperous, relatively peaceful time. Personally, I find the '30s to be more interesting. Seabiscuit raced. James Braddock was another feel good story. Wrt baseball you had some good pennant races in the NL.