Advertisement on car from Electric railway journal.

Object Details

Book Title

Electric railway journal.

Caption

Advertisement on car.

Educational Notes

Play ball! The advertisement on the side of this cable car from 1909 is an invitation for fans to come and watch one of America’s favorite pastimes: baseball. The sport has been played in the United States since the 19th century. The first team to play baseball under the modern rules that we know today was the New York Knickerbockers, founded on September 23, 1845. The team was an amateur club that served mostly as a social gathering for the players. In 1857, The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was formed. Believe it or not, the Civil War was a major reason for the growing popularity of baseball in America. During the war, membership of the NABBP grew, and players that happened to be stationed together would play the game in their free time. Baseball helped people across the country connect with one another, and as a result, baseball became the most popular sport in the United States. In 1870, the NABBP split into two groups, with the new group being an association for professional players. This league would continue to grow into the Major League Baseball that we know today.

Data Source

Smithsonian Libraries

Date

1909

Publication Date

1908-1931

Image ID

SIL-electricrailway341909newy_0135_crop

Catalog ID

484258

Rights

No Copyright - United States

Type

Photographic prints

Place

Arkansas

Publication Place

New York

Publisher

McGraw Hill Pub. Co.

See more items in

See Wonder

Topic

American Experience

Baseball

America’s Past Time

Railroad trains

Language

English

Record ID

silgoi_68328

Usage

CC0