OLD SPORT’S MUSINGS…ON OPENING DAY

The following is a portion of a column from the April 18, 1910 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer

When the historians of the future, writing of the national game for the enlightenment of generations of baseball fanatics yet unborn, begin to dwell upon the important eras and epochs in the sport’s development, they will have to refer to the decade between 1901-1910 as having been productive of the most substantial results. It is not extravagant to say that baseball has progressed more from every angle in the last ten years than it did in the preceding thirty, and it would be found, if there was any way of proving it, that the sport was witnessed by a greater number of persons in the last decade than it was in the three which preceded it. And no one familiar with the course of baseball in the last forty years will question the fact that this splendid condition was brought about by the rivalry engendered by the expansion of the American League.

A 1901 cartoon depicting the Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies fighting over the services of legendary second baseman Nap Lajoie. The case wound up in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Published by Alex Cheremeteff

Welcome to my historical baseball blog. A born baseball fan and longtime resident of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, I am a student of our game's rich history. I will bring to life long lost games, long-forgotten teams, colorful characters, and everything in between. Enjoy!

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