Baseball As America

August 1, 2003

First Major Exhibition Exploring Baseball and American Culture to Open at Cincinnati Museum Center August 16

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Cincinnati — August 1, 2003 — Baseball As America, the first major exhibition to examine the relationship between baseball and American culture, will be on view at the Cincinnati Museum Center from August 16 through November 9, 2003. Organized by The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and culled from its unparalleled collections, this exhibition marks the first time that these Hall of Fame treasures have left their legendary home in Cooperstown, New York. Through the exploration of a broad range of themes, including immigration, nationalism, integration, technology and popular culture, Baseball As America reveals how the game has reflected and sometimes shaped American society.

The exhibition will feature a special section dedicated to baseball history in Cincinnati, with stories of local and regional significance. Among the many artifacts in this case, will be a baseball from Johnny Vander Meer's 1938 no-hitter; the cap worn by Tom Browning during his 1-0 perfect game victory over Dodgers in 1988; a mitt used by 1938 NL MVP Ernie Lombardi; a uniform jersey worn by Buck Ewing; a mitt used by Johnny Bench; a ball used by the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 and autographed by George Wright; a locker tag from Crosley Field; and the ball hit by Ken Griffey Jr. for the first hit in a regular season game at Great American Ball Park.

The national tour of Baseball As America is sponsored by Ernst & Young

“As the birthplace of professional baseball, Cincinnati is the perfect city to host an important historical and cultural exhibit like Baseball As America,” said Douglass W. McDonald, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. “With the opening of a new ballpark and the arrival of this blockbuster exhibit, it will be a great year for baseball in Cincinnati.”

“Baseball and America have grown up together. In fact, Baseball is such an integral part of our culture that we often take for granted its deep day-to-day significance in our lives,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the Board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “In bringing this exhibition to people across the country, it is our hope that we can learn more about ourselves as a people who possess a shared set of values, as reflected through our national game.”

“Ernst & Young is proud to be the national sponsor of Baseball As America. We are the first business ever to take part in a public partnership on a national level with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,” said David Hughes, Ernst & Young’s Ohio Valley Area Managing Partner. “Helping to bring the riches of the Hall of Fame to Cincinnati — a city that treasures baseball history — is truly exciting.”

Baseball As America is organized in thematic sections to explore the changing roles baseball has played in American culture and history, and to examine its unique position in our national life. The sections examine such aspects as the rituals of fans and players; myth making and the role of baseball’s athletes as cultural icons; the impact of technology on performance; segregation, integration, and baseball’s role as a ladder of mobility for ethnic groups; the game’s evolution as a business; the physics of the home run and the curve ball; and baseball’s presence throughout popular culture as a subject and metaphor, among many others. Ultimately, Baseball As America reveals how the development of American culture can be traced to a nineteenth century game, affecting everything from our language and literature to movies, mass communication, and diet.

The exhibition includes approximately 500 of the Museum’s most precious artifacts, dating from baseball’s early roots in the 19th century to today, ranging from uniforms, balls, bats and gloves, to books, recordings, artworks, and films, to historic documents, advertising and ephemera. Among the highlights of the exhibition are the game’s most sacred relic, the Doubleday Ball, from baseball’s mythic first game in 1839; Jackie Robinson’s 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey; a variety of artifacts from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League; record-setting bats from the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase of 1998, as well as those of Babe Ruth (home run #60 in 1927) and Roger Maris (home run #61 in 1961); FDR’s January 15, 1942 “Green Light” letter calling for the continuation of professional baseball as a way to heighten morale during World War II; Norman Rockwell’s 1949 painting “The Three Umpires” (also entitled, “Game Called Because of Rain”); the “Wonderboy” bat from the movie The Natural; a 1908 Thomas Edison recording of “Casey at the Bat;” “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s shoes; and the most highly prized baseball card in the world, the T206 Honus Wagner.

The Exhibition

The exhibition is organized into seven sections, each addressing a series of related ideas and issues that reveal the impact of baseball on American culture. The sections are:

I. Ritual: Weaving Myths

The need to create myths and make icons are two characteristics prevalent in almost all societies and cultures. In America, baseball players often fulfill the role of hero and cultural icon because they are imbued with admirable traits that resonate through time. This section examines such aspects of the game and individuals as:

Baseball’s foundation myth, its “invention” in Cooperstown, which led to the creation of the Hall of Fame and the ritual pilgrimage to visit the game’s mythic home. This section includes the Doubleday Ball, the game’s most “sacred” relic.
Lou Gehrig, whose legend combines his feats on the baseball diamond with the extraordinary courage and dignity with which he faced the debilitating illness that still bears his name. This installation features the trophy given to him by his teammates at his Yankee Stadium farewell and a bracelet made for his wife with jeweled links highlighting the slugger’s career with New York.
Babe Ruth, the most famous sports icon and perhaps one of the greatest American icons in history. His rags-to-riches story was enhanced by his seemingly-effortless home runs, fun-loving attitude and generosity towards children. A gargantuan 54-ounce bat, purportedly used by Ruth in spring training, and a bat with 28 notches carved by the Babe himself (recording the home runs he hit before the bat broke) will be displayed. His marketability was quickly realized, with products such as Babe Ruth Authentic Underwear.

II. Our National Spirit

Baseball is so closely identified with American ideals and identity that it often serves as an expression of patriotism. In times of prosperity and challenge, baseball serves as a rallying point for the nation. This section examines such events as:

The tradition of the President throwing out the first pitch on opening day, which links the game to the institutions of our democracy. Several balls used in ceremonial Opening Day pitches — including one signed by President William H. Taft, who began the tradition in 1910, the first pitch ball thrown by President George Bush prior to Game Three of the 2001 World Series in New York, and one signed by ten presidents, including President John F. Kennedy — will be displayed.
The “Green Light” Letter, written by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942 to the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, encouraging professional baseball to continue through wartime. FDR noted that baseball could play an important role in boosting morale during the nation’s time of great challenge.

III. Ideals and Injustices

Through time, baseball has mirrored the social structures of American society. Among the many issues with which our country and our national pastime have wrestled, none better demonstrates the ways in which baseball simultaneously reflects and influences American culture than does the struggle for inclusion. This section explores such events as:

Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson, as a catalyst for the integration of professional baseball and the American Civil Rights movement. Robinson’s bravery in the face of hatred inaugurated the still on-going process of integration on the field, as well as in the dugout, front offices, and the stands. The exhibition presents not only artifacts associated with his fabled achievements as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but also evidence of his historic role, such as a letter of admiration from then-Senator John F. Kennedy.
Segregation in baseball, which is illustrated by such artifacts from the Negro leagues as a Pittsburgh Crawford’s jersey donated by Buck Leonard and the shoes of James “Cool Papa” Bell.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which filled a void in the baseball market during World War II, finally gave women an opportunity to play in a professional setting. A deportment manual and a Kalamazoo Lassies uniform tunic illustrate how these “belles of the ballfield” were supposed to play ball while still remaining feminine.

IV. Ritual: Rooting for the Team

Complex and archaic rituals, both those followed by the players themselves as well as those shared by fans, dominate the game. From Little League to the major leagues, a precise set of behaviors has persisted through time, passed on from generation to generation. The high degree of ritualization that baseball contains may indicate a sense of attachment to a frozen moment in time and space – a pastoral dream recalling a society long since gone. It may signify a desire for continuity in a culture where so much changes so fast, or it may fulfill the notion that the game is a world unto itself, whose costumes, like its rules, possess their own logic. This section of the exhibition explores such dimensions of the game as:

Mascots, which have become an integral part of the entertainment at the ballpark, rallying the faithful to support their team. This section includes the “Famous Chicken” costume which inspired an entire generation of fuzzy and feathered creatures such as the Philly Phanatic and Billy the Marlin in Miami.
The ritual of singing baseball’s anthem (one of the most recognized songs in America), “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” during the seventh-inning stretch. The original manuscript, penned by Jack Norworth in 1908, is included in this section.

V. Enterprise & Opportunity

For many people, baseball is a game; for some it’s a passion; and for others it’s a philosophy. But, for a significant number of people, baseball is a business. What began as an informal ball game has now evolved into a complex economic web involving franchises, players, fans, cities, media conglomerates, advertisers, sports equipment manufacturers, vendors and countless others. This section of the exhibition addresses such areas as:

The introduction of an admission fee following the growing popularity of baseball in the 19th century. Some teams began playing in enclosed parks that required an admission fee. Smart businessmen understood the potential of profit in such an undertaking and the business of ballparks soon took off. A ticket window from the original Comiskey Park, built in 1910, and a turnstile from the Polo Grounds, will help illustrate this theme.
The role of our National Pastime in advertising, since baseball, more than any other sport, has been used for marketing products. The artifacts illustrating this section range from a box of New York Champion Chocolates from 1890 to Roger Clemens’ picture on a Wheaties box to Ted Williams brand fishing tackle to a Reggie Bar, to an early poster for E. & J. Burke beer that had illustrations of Buck Ewing and Cap Anson drinking the product from 1889.

VI. Invention & Ingenuity

Science has been applied to all facets of the game. This section examines how the evolution of the design of equipment and the use of new materials has improved player performance and safety. Advancements in technology have also greatly affected the impact of baseball on American life and culture, such as being able to watch games on the Internet. This section explores such areas as:

Technological advances in the design of sports equipment, which is illustrated through the Thayer mask, the earliest known catcher’s mask, patented in 1878 and an inflatable chest protector from around 1905.
In the home run icon case, we address how the home run represents the pinnacle of hitting success, and also consistency vs. power in hitting. This exhibit is devoted to famous home run bats, which belonged to Babe Ruth (#60 in 1927), Roger Maris (#61 in 1961), Mark McGwire (#62 in 1998) and Sammy Sosa (#66 in 1998).
“Now Batting” includes reproductions of famous bat handles from different eras that visitors can touch, allowing them to compare such factors as bat weight and circumference that determine how far the ball will travel when hit.
The aerodynamics of the fastball and the curve are revealed through artifacts tied to great moments in the careers of such Hall of Fame pitchers as Sandy Koufax, Walter Johnson, Satchel Paige, Phil Niekro and Nolan Ryan.

VII. Ritual: Creating a Common Culture

Baseball images, metaphors and references permeate virtually every aspect of American popular culture – its films, songs, comedy and literature. The game and its heroes have become a form of cultural shorthand through which we define and recognize ourselves. This section encompasses such areas of popular culture as:

Norman Rockwell, whose paintings and drawings have come to represent traditional America, chose baseball on a number of occasions as a topic for his art. Rockwell’s Three Umpires, or Game Called Because of Rain, originally produced for the Saturday Evening Post in 1949, is included in this section.
Ever since DeWolf Hopper’s vaudevillian rendition of Casey at the Bat in 1888, directors and producers have created movies that use baseball as a metaphor to provide insight into American culture, character, and values. The Wonderboy bat and the New York Knights jersey worn by Robert Redford in the film, The Natural, and the Rockford Peaches uniform tunic that Geena Davis wore in A League of Their Own, will help explain America’s double passion for both baseball and the movies.

Exhibition Organization

The exhibition has been organized by a curatorial team from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, headed by lead curator Kristen Mueller, with John Odell, Mary Wiedeman Quinn, Erik Strohl, Tom Shieber, and Kathleen Gallagher, under the direction of Ted Spencer, vice president and chief curator, William Haase, senior vice president, and Dale Petroskey, president. The exhibition has been designed by Gallagher and Associates of Washington, DC.

National Baseball Hall of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum preserves history, honors excellence and connects generations. An independent, not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture, the Hall of Fame was established in Cooperstown, New York in 1939 as the definitive repository of the game's treasures. Comprising the Museum, with over 35,000 artifacts, and the Library and Archive, which houses more than 2.6 million documents, recordings, and photographs, the Hall of Fame exhibits and interprets its vast collections for a global audience. The Hall of Fame also bestows the highest individual honor awarded to players of our national pastime by marking their achievements with a plaque in the Hall of Fame Gallery. For more information on the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, please call 888-HALL-OF-FAME, or visit baseballhalloffame.org. To learn more about Baseball As America, please visit baseballasamerica.org.