More about the Segregation Era (1920-1946)

Baseball was a game of contrasts and innovations during the period between the two world wars of the twentieth century. On the field, a growing trend toward home run-happy offenses affected all levels of the sport. Led by Babe Ruth’s record-setting exploits, the New York Yankees began establishing a dynasty. They also became the first major league team to draw more than 1 million fans in home attendance in 1921. Soon, they would have a new ballpark to call their own, Yankee Stadium, which opened two years later.

The Negro National League, led by pioneering player, manager, and executive Rube Foster, opened its first season in 1920. The league served as the pinnacle for thousands of elite players who were denied entry into the White major leagues because of their race. The segregated all-Black leagues operated during an era of horrific racial violence around the United States, but they thrived with stars like Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and Buck Leonard.

The sport also became more widely accessible to fans who were able to follow along from their homes by tuning in to games on the radio. The first baseball broadcast on commercial radio took place in the summer of 1921 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. By the end of the decade, Arlin and other broadcasting pioneers were calling World Series games for the entire nation, bringing in millions of new fans to the national pastime.

Finally, the hiring of new commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis changed the landscape of baseball’s power structure forever. His iron-clad rule for the next two decades affected the sport’s relationship with gambling, the minor leagues, and fans. However, the American League and National League remained segregated throughout Landis’s entire reign.

Further Reading