The Baseball Hall of Fame: A Cultural History of America

Baby Bear Loving Cooperstown & You!

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn for a trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. This has been almost a year of lobbying for this day. Too often I have hear that this has nothing to do with history. Many people think that baseball is not history. But I have always said that history is all around us. A basic definition of history could be that it is a record or narrative description of past events. These events can be major like war, politics, or migration. They can also be lesser but just as important events such as technology, art, and economics. In fact, history is everything that happens around us. By tracing the history of baseball we can reveal and hopefully better understand the culture of America and influences that helped create that culture!

Babe Ruth

The question of who invented baseball and where it began has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century. Almost certainly, baseball was developed from old folk games. The roots of baseball are thought to be English. Americans played a version of the English game called rounders in the early 1800s which they called “Town Ball.” In fact, early forms of baseball had a number of names, including “Goal Ball,” “Round Ball,” “Fletch-catch,” and “Base.” In one version of the game, the teams pitched to themselves and runners went the opposite direction around the bases. Some versions even had rules that allowed players to be called out by being hit with the ball. Few details of how the modern games developed from earlier folk games are known.

Abner Doubleday

The myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in 1839 was once widely promoted and believed. But there is no evidence for this claim, except for the testimony of one man Named Abner Graves decades later. This idea of Doubleday’s invention was actually spurred on by baseball itself which, in order to settle this question appointed the Mills Commission in 1905. The Mills Commission concluded that baseball had been invented by Doubleday at Cooperstown, New York in 1839 and that Doubleday invented the name baseball, designed the diamond, indicated fielder positions, written down the rules and decided the field regulations. However, no written records from 1839 or the 1840s have ever been found to corroborate these claims. The Baseball Hall of Fame is on record as saying that “Baseball wasn’t really born anywhere,” meaning that the evolution of the game was long and continuous and has no clear, identifiable single origin.

Just as our nation has faced many issues, understanding the factors, conditions, and the background of these issues is important. There are many ways to understand what was happening in our country from the late 1800’s up to the present. One way is to look at the evolution of baseball and look for patterns. One huge and noticeable pattern was racial segregation of minorities, especially blacks up through the Civil Rights Movement. Baseball was like most other businesses and much of the country in this aspect. Jackie Robinson was the first African American Major League baseball player of the modern era. He broke the baseball “Color Line” in 1947 when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. This overcoming the “Color Line” barrier was mirrored throughout the nation as America went through the Civil Rights Movement and demand foe equality for all.     

But Blacks had been playing baseball for years. Since they could not play in the Major Leagues they had their own league. Many players who were excellent players never got the chance because of the culture and society of America that treated these men as second class citizens. Thank God there were those who cared enough to fight for their rights. Women were also treated in a manner as second class citizens. They were not allowed to play baseball just as most women were expected to stay at home and raise a family. But things all changed with World War II. Just as Rosie the Riveter when to work so that millions of men could join the Armed Forces and save freedom throughout the world, so did many women join the “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1943 to 1954. Pioneering women decided that they deserved a chance to play in the “all boys” game and fought for equal rights. This movement would mirror an feminist idealism taking place throughout America and eventually leveling the playing field to a more manageable degree. 

Today the fight for equality and justice continues in baseball and America. Players from other countries strive to make something out of themselves. Just as immigrants throughout our nation’s history have come over to America for opportunities, these players from Latin America, Cuba, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Central America, and South America have come looking to America as the land where hopes and dreams can be found!

History can be found everywhere. For those who don’t think that baseball is really history, open your eyes. Study the trends and events surrounding baseball and you will find a cultural mirror of the history of our nation we all love!

Teacher PD Time

Probably the best part of this time at the Baseball Hall of Fame was in the morning when we learned about all the lesson plans that the museum has dealing with everyday issues in American life! These lessons are easy to assess and they even have a distance learning program if the schols/districts pay for the equipemnt and fees. 

We did do more than just “Cooperstown.” After lunch we went to the Fenimore Art Museum where our guide for the day “No-Showed” us. So we were off to explore the vast holdings of the museum on our own. Never do that to teachers! Many of our group got ”yelled” at, well maybe explained to that certain areas were off limits to pictures. Oh well, the guide should have been there!

Farmers Museum

 Next we went to the Farmers Museum across the street. This was much nicer with lots of buildings set in an early 1800′s setting. It reminded me of a Sturbridge Village “Want – to – be!” I enjoyed learning about how medicine was made and the leaches he pulled out were nasty. But the coolest thing was the 30+ teachers who all (except Howard) climbed up on the antique Carousal and role the colorful animals around in circles!  

On Our Way to an UPPER STATE (NY) Of MIND!

I will "Bear" it out a few more days!

Well today we left the “Big Apple” or “Big Oyster” or “Big Tune” or whatever New York City nickname you use and headed upstate. Many in our group are disappointed that we are leaving the big city but I am ready. This has just been an incredible experience and I learning so much that wil help be become a better teacher. But it is time to move on! vThere is history in more places than just New York Cityu and I want to experience those too!

I titled this shot: "Mirror Image" Even though one is younger, cuter, balder, and smarter!

The first stop of the day was at Sagamore Hill, the 23 room Victorian mansion that Theodore Roosevelt built on Cove Neck in Oyster Bay. Before construction of the house could begin TR’s wife died of Bright’s disease (kidney disease) just two days after giving birth to their first child. His mother died that same day which must have devastated him emotionally. TR’s sister moved into the newly completed home in 1885 with the baby while TR divided his time between the house and North Dakota.

TR remarried to a childhood friend Edith Kermit Carow in 1886 and they moved into the mansion where they spent their lives except for absences due to his public career. Sagamore was the center of much of the daily presidential affairs from 1902 – 1909. Three of his children were born at Sagamore. In 1919, TR died during his sleep from complications associated with a blood clot. He was only 60 years old. His wife Edith lived at Sagamore until her death in 1948 at age 87.

The Ice House

Sagamore Hill is a National Historic Site run by the National Park Service. There are over 6000 books in the house which reflect his love for reading. He wrote over 30 separate volumes of history, biographies, memoirs and the sort. He felt that reading was very important to leading a good life, so much so that his children were expected to read a book a day once they reached a certain age. If they failed to do so or were not ready to discuss their readings, they would not be allowed to eat with the family and would wait and eat with the servants.

This Estate representing the life of Theodore Roosevelt’s life was great. I just wish we were allowed to act like responsible adults and take pictures without the flash. There was so much to see inside the house that can never be described accurately without pictures. My favorites were the Gun Room, the library which also served as TR’s office, the drawing room which was Mrs. Roosevelt’s area, and the spacious dinning room. Many in the group, myself included felt like this site was much better and informative to history teachers than the Franklin Roosevelt site at Hyde Park.

TR's Grave

After leaving Sagamore Hill went visited the gravesite of Theodore Roosevelt (turns out he did not like being called Teddy) then ate a nice lunch and on the road again, headed upstate! As we drove I had visions, more like flashbacks of the 4 months I lived in upper state New York (Newburg) in the 4eth grade. The ride was so lush, so green, so full of life. There were many small ponds and I saw several birds swoop in, fishing I suppose? There were green fields and farms intermingled among the patches of trees. There are many meandering creeks and brooks cutting through the fields alongside the road. The green reminded me of the lower mountains and foothills of Colorado with the thick, green forests. But something is different and his is where the Geography in me kicked it.

The difference seems to be location and variety. Here in upper state New York it is very green and full of thick forests. I remember playing in a semi forest just off our back yard. We walked through a path in this forest to school and crossed over a creek along the way. But as we traveled by bus I noticed that we were basically traveling a flat path. In Colorado you would be up and down throughout the mountains to get a view as spectacular as this. There were rolling hills around us on each side, just no climbing as we drove through the land. The trees were different too. In the Colorado Mountains we basically have evergreens (pine trees) and aspens. Out here in upper state New York they have a wide variety of multitude trees. I remember the fall time in New York. There were so many different colors of leaves, reds and purples, and oranges, and yellows, and greens! Yes, this emotion did flood back through me as I thought about the beautiful land of you youth.

Then my Geographic background kicked in. I have taught geography for many years and I also taught Earth Science before too. I did notice several rock formations at where sedimentary in nature. I began to wonder how the land was formed. Had this once been an ocean? Did the sea recede or did geographic forces lift the land. I began to study the landscape and noticed evidence of glaciers with round U shaped valleys and rounded off hills indicating an older area of land with much erosion. How fun it would be to bring kids from Colorado here to explore, learn about, and discover a new world of history, geography, and culture of the diverse and exciting area.   

Dinner before Blogging! 8)

More Lesson Ideas and Museums Galore!

Hello Baby from Bear & Me!

 

Today was a day to focus on teaching. More specifically, today was a day of lesson ideas. We started our day by catching the subway to the New-York Historical Society and a morning section on New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War. We were taken into several floors of the museum and asked to look at different pieces with an open, yet inquisitive eye. The whole theme at these different museums seems to be teaching us the process of looking at art (as well as furniture, guns, bottles, cloths, documents, etc.) and learning to answer basic questions in a purposeful manner. A question like ”What do you see?” often get answers that include our background knowledge. It is good to include this background knowledge, but done at the proper time and in the proper order. So when we do step one, we should really answer the question “What do we see?” and only use our eyes to tell exactly what they see.    

 

This picture is a good example. We tend to add to the picture with our background which can lead to misinterpretations. So the first step is to look with your eyes and tell what they see. Next you would add any background knowledge that you might have of the object or even the time frame around the item (object) and determine if more can be added to what we see. These types of questions ask for the viewer to use inquiry skills. Types of these questions could include “How do you know?” or “Why was it created?” or “What do you think is happening?” This step lets you begin to peel the layers back nand better understand the item.     

The next step would be to try to understand the object. You know what you see; next you used inquiry skills to understand what the object is or why it was created. So finally historians as well as others need to think about whom would use the item or want it created. What reasons could there be behind the item?  This basic 3 step process is the basics behind inquiry based learning. That understanding should be based around a person’s questions. Our job as teachers of history should be to help students along the process of discovering knowledge themselves. In this form of instruction teachers should be facilitators of learning rather than vessels of knowledge.   

Commodore Hutch helping the learning process along!

This form of teaching history is active learning which engages student attention and helps give them substance to remember. Students love hands on instruction and helps them begin to develop experimental and analytical skills rather than memorize meaningless and boring facts. It is the basis behind DBQ’s and the direction that history instruction is headed. I plan to find more hands on activities that I can use in my instruction throughout the year.

We went to lunch at the Shake Shack which I found to be over priced for average fast food! Next we were turned loose at the American Museum of Natural History. Before we even went into the building I had an idea about a lesson. I saw all the mosaics for this museum on the subway walls and thought we could have the students make colorful, varnished clay titled works of art that represent what they have learned about a subject. Just an idea that I’m running through my brain right now!

 

The American Muesum of Natural History was incredible! I didn’t think it was possible to pack that much stuff in any one building! This is the building and exhibits where  Night at the Museum was based on.

I don’t have time to go over everything we saw here so I will just hit the highlights! As we walked in the doors you are amazed by two large dinosaurs. The Ocean Life exhibit and American Mammal exhibit were tops on floor one. On floor two I was very impressed by the ancient people’s exhibits, especially those of South American and Mexico since I taught that area for so many years. I loved the Indian exhibits on the third floor but was driven off early by huge groups of loud and obnoxious teens. And we finally made the 4^th floor and the Dinosaur collection! Wow, so much that it might still be impossible to take it all thoroughly in, even with multiple days of devotion here.    

And finally, the big game, $77 tickets to go see those hated Yankees! There is no other baseball team I hate as much as the Yankees! But this is Yankee Stadium! We rode the subway and for the first time it was freaky. There were so many people packed on the train and my car that I was hurting. It felt as if my chest were tightening up. I’m from Colorado and I do need my space! When we finally arrived I headed for the game with the intent of getting my buddy “Coach” a sweatshirt. Best I could do was find a 2x tee shirt. But never fear, it was Mario Rivera night & I got a Rivera figure that I will give him too. The game was fun even if the hated Yankees won! I ate another Nathans hotdog. I wanted a Hebrew Nation Dog but they didn’t have the kraut to go with it yet and I never made it back. And after the 5th inning they were announcing birthdays and such on the big screen when someone popped the big question of marriage. Turns out that they were 2 seats straight in front of me. They kissed and she took the ring so I guess the answer was yes!

But did he go to Jarred?

Bear & Me at Yankee Stadium!

All in all, a pretty good day of lesson ideas, museums, and baseball!