Philadelphia Baseball History

Baseball, having evolved from the game of rounders, is at its heart a child’s game. Growing up in the city, it was easy to start a baseball game. All you needed was a stick in a rubber ball for equipment. Gather a few friends. Find an open space such as an empty lot, or even a quiet city street where a car’s bumper would serve as a base. Boom! You have a ball game. It should be of no surprise, therefore, that this children’s game has attracted many children at heart to play professionally. The childish exploits of the great babe Ruth, and his soft spot for children fans, are well known in the baseball world. But child-like exploits as an adult often go hand-in-hand with child-like irresponsibility. And this could be a problem when a grown man cannot control his behavior, or curb child-like excesses. It often takes great patience to see the potential in such a player. Such was the case of George Edward “Rube” Waddell.  Waddell’s child-like exploits are well-known. Waddell ...

            In the business of baseball, Colonel John Rogers and Benjamin Shibe were not allies.   To the contrary, Shibe was the largest owner of the Philadelphia Athletics who played in the upstart American League.   The A’s had signed away one of the stars of Rogers’ Philadelphia Phillies, Nap Lajoie, in the premier season of 1901.   Many of Lajoie’s teammates also jumped leagues, which prompted Rogers to seek an injunction preventing former Phillies from playing in American League games in the state of Pennsylvania.             But on the gridiron, Rogers and Shibe became unlikely compatriots.   In 1902, football was becoming more popular in the United States.   Rogers and Shibe saw an opportunity to benefit from the rising popularity of the sport, and formed the first professional football league: the National Football League.   The league...