Clipping:Harry Wright on Sunday baseball

From Protoball
Jump to navigation Jump to search
19C Clippings
Scroll.png


Add a Clipping
Date Saturday, September 11, 1886
Text

Harry Wright told me that the reasons for the traditional frowning down of Sunday games by the League were, truly enough, the most powerful in the world. “You people out here in the West,” he said, “are not built like the people in the East. You are not bred with the same ideas, you do not look upon the things of every day life in the same light and consequently you both are naturally unable to understand each other. It seems incomprehensible to you that human beings could see any objection to playing ball on Sundays. It seems incomprehensible to them how any human being could entertain the idea. It is the nice people who patronize us and who swell our receipts and they are against it as one man. If we were to play Sunday ball in Philadelphia, in Boston or in New York we wouldn’t have a soul in our grand stands on days during the week. It is a prejudice firmly rooted; if we fight it we’ll only destroy ourselves, and therefore we work with it.” “But, Mr. Wright,” I asked, “why should Sunday ball played in Detroit, Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis, and by the clubs in those cities, have any effect upon the people of the cities you mention?” “There is something in your intimation,” replied he, “and I don’t say positively that there may not be something in it. Kansas City, Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis could certainly play ball on Sunday, that is among themselves, without, I think, seriously interfering with the business of the Eastern clubs. Still there would be a residue of objection in the Eastern mind for the simple reason that clubs in the League play Sunday ball with the League’s sanction.” Notwithstanding Mr. Wright’s mild insinuation that such action permitting Western Sunday games between Western clubs will be taken by the League ere the opening of the season in 1887. St.

Source St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Comment Edit with form to add a comment
Query Edit with form to add a query
Submitted by Richard Hershberger
Origin Initial Hershberger Clippings

Comments

<comments voting="Plus" />