Working Syllabus History 3339-001 BASEBALL: A MIRROR ON AMERICAN HISTORY Dr. Harper Spring 2000
Instructor: Dr. Jim Harper
Office Hours: HH 48, Office Hrs: 9:00-10:00 MWF and by arrangement
Graduate Assistant: Mr. Rob Fink, hours will be announced.
Required Texts: all are paperback. Voigt, David, American Baseball, 3 vols., Penn State Helyar, John, Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball, Ballentine
Writing Assignment: One 3-5 page (typed) baseball fan autobiography. More about this later. Due March 6, 2000.
Format: Lecture and Discussion.
Examinations: Three announced examinations scheduled: Test One: February 11, 2000 Test Two: March 31, 2000 Final Exam: May 8, 2000 ( 1:30pm -4:00 pm)
All make-up examinations will be given on the last day of classes, May 3. Until a missed exam is made-up, the grade on that exam is zero. A makeup exam is a privilege not a right.
Approximate Grade Breakdown:
Examinations 1 & 2: 30% each Witing Assignment: 10% Final Examination: 30%
NOTE: This is a university, upper level class and students are expected to conduct themselves as responsible adults in such matters as attendance, adding and dropping, punctuality, and class demeanor. Each instance of being late for this class will cost the offender 5% of his semester grade. If you are going to be late don't come. Tape recorders are not permitted in this class without the consent of the instructor who rarely gives such consent. Any instance of cheating will result in an automatic F for the course and the instructor reserves the right to pursue the matter further.
HIST 3339: Tentative Schedule Spring, 2000 Because this is the first year this course is presented in PowerPoint the lecture dates are a bit more tentative, exam dates are not likely to be changed.
Jan. 19 INTRODUCTION "Is there anything that can evoke spring--the first fine days of April--better t han the sound of the ball smacking into the pocket of the big mitt, the sound of the bat as it hits thehorse hide." -- Thomas Wolfe, 1938 A. Poodah for Passing B. The Growth of Baseball History
Jan. 21 BASEBALL: A MIRROR ON AMERICA "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." -- Jacques Barzun A. Baseball in American History: An Overview B. Why not football? Voigt, I, vi-xxviii.
Jan. 24 THE AMERICAN SPORTING HERITAGE "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong...but time and chance happeneth to them all." -- Ecclesiastes, IX, 11, King James Version A. The Western Sporting Tradition B. The English Heritage C. Puritanism and Sport
Jan. 26 THE ORIGINS OF BASEBALL "Abner Doubleday didn't invent baseball. Baseball invented Abner Doubleday." -- Harold Peterson A. Early American Versions B. "Old Knick" and standardized baseball C. Why Baseball spread. Voigt, I, 3-13.
Jan. 28 BASEBALL BECOMES A PROFESSION "Here's a health to our Base Ball, and honor and fame, For tis manly and hearty, and free; Oh long may it flourish, our National Game--Here's a health, good old Base Ball to thee." -- Anon. 1862 A. Creeping Commercialism B. Mr. Champion's Champions C. When the Players Were King Voigt, I, 14-59.
Jan. 31 BASEBALL AND THE BUSINESS SEARCH FOR ORDER "I would rather be a lamppost in Chicago than a millionaire in any other city." -- William Hulbert A. National Association Problems B. The National League Coup C. The Age of Monopoly Voigt, I, 60-79.
Feb. 2 BUSINESS RIVALS "The rigid voluntary rules of right and wrong, as applied in American sports, are second only to religion in strengthening the morals of the American people... and baseball is the greatest of all team sports." -- Herbert Hoover A. Competition and Co-option B. Baseball in American Life Voigt, I, 121-153; 225-241;
Feb. 4 LABOR RELATIONS IN THE "GOOD OLD DAYS" "I won't play for a penny less than $1,500."-- Honus Wagner A. John Montgomery Ward B. The Players Revolt Voigt, I, 154-169.
Feb. 7 ON THE FIELD WHEN THE MAJORS WERE YOUNG "I think, me lads, this is my last slide." --- Mike "King" Kelly A. The Grand Old Game, B. Stars Voigt, I, 80-120; 170-225; 274-303.
Feb. 9 HORATIO ALGER SLIDES HOME; EARLY BASEBALL FICTION "Oh somewhere in this favored land the sun is shinning bright, The band is playing somewhere, and hearts are light; And somewhere men are laughing; and somewhere children shout, But there is no joy in Mudville, Mighty Casey has struckout." --- Ernest Lawrence Thayer A. The Great American Poem B. Frank Merriwell and His Imitators All of Voigt vol. I, should have been read by now
Feb. 11 EXAMINATION #1 "Nice Guys Finish Last" --- Leo Durocher
Feb. 14 BASEBALL'S BAN; BYRON BANCROFT JOHNSON AND THE FOUNDING OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE| "The average umpire is a worthless loafer." --- The Chicago Tribune A. The National League Monopoly B. Enter the American League C. The Men in Blue: Ban Johnson and the Umpires Voigt, I, 225-273; 303-318.
Feb. 16 BASEBALL STARTS THE NEW CENTURY "Men were men in my day, not mollycoddles."--- Fred Snodgrass A. The Glory of Their Times
Feb. 18 B. The "Deadball Era" "The whole secret of sliding is to make your move at the last possible second. When I went in there, I wanted to see the whites of the fielder's eyes." -- Ty Cobb Voigt, II, v-113.
Feb. 21 BASEBALL GOES ABROAD "Japan 32, U.S. Navy Team 9" -- Game Score, June 6, 1896 A. Baseball and the Rise of Nationalism in Japan B. Baseball: Samurai Style
Feb. 23 C. Baseball to a Latin Beat D. The World of Baseball "Yo la tengo" -- Richie Ashburn
Feb. 25 BASEBALL GOES TO WAR "... it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." -- Franklin Roosevelt in to K. Landis, 1942 A. World War I B. World War II Voigt, II, 114-124; 255-276
Feb. 28 THE GREAT SCANDAL "I done it for the wife and kiddies."-- Ed Cicotte, 1920 A. The Gambling Background: The Road to 1919 B. The Black Sox C. Enter Judge Landis Voigt, II, 124-150;
March 1 THE CLASSIC BASEBALL HERO "Hot as hell, ain't it Pres." -- Babe Ruth to President Coolidge A. The Babe* Voigt, II, 150-201.
March 3 B. Ruth's Significance
March 6 BASEBALL IN BOOM AND BUST "Any player that don't sign autographs for little kids isn't an American. He's a communist." -- Rogers Hornsby A. The Golden Twenties B. Hard Times Voigt, II, 201-254.
March 8 C. The House of Baseball, 1871-1939. "It's impossible to overestimate what baseball means to these men." --Director, Sing Sing Prison
March 10 BASEBALL LITERATURE GROWS UP "No game in the world is as tidy and dramatically neat as baseball with its cause and effect, crime and punishment, motive and result, so clearly defined." -- Paul Gallico A. Sports writers turn to fiction. B. Early baseball fiction as literature
March 13 -17 Spring Break "Galloway's only quest in life that spring was to attain a permanent suntan…" ---Mike Shropshire, Seasons in Hell
March 20 BRANCH RICKEY AND THE MINOR LEAGUES "Luck is the residue of design." -- Branch Rickey A. The Early Minors B. Rickey's Chain Voigt, II, 159-163;
March 22 BASEBALL AND RACE TO 1946 "I remember one game I got five hits and stole five bases, but none of it was written down, because they didn't bring the scorebook ` to the game that day." -- "Cool" Papa Bell A. Only the Ball Was White B. The Negro Leagues Voigt, I, 272-279; II, 297-302.
March 24 BASEBALL'S GREAT EXPERIMENT "Jackie Robinson is the loneliest man I have ever seen in sports." -- Jimmy Cannon A. Robinson and Rickey B. Continuing Racism Voigt, III, 44-52
March 27 THE POST WAR ERA "...and there was Willie, Mickey, and the Duke."-- Bob Cashman A. Overview B. Stars and Styles C. Competition Voigt, II, 255-306; III, ix-43; 52-111.
March 29 WALTER O'MALLEY AND EXPANSION "Anyone who thinks he can run baseball without a daily paper, can't run baseball." -- Walter O'Malley A. Forces for Movement B. The O'Malley C. Continuing Expansion All of Voigt, Vol. II, should have been read Voigt, III, 111-204.
March 31 EXAMINATION #2 "It's tomorrow that counts. So you worry all the time. It never ends. Lord, baseball is a worrying thing." -- Stan Coveleski
April 3 BASEBALL AND THE MEDIA: The Sportswriter "I can buy any sportswriter for a steak" -- George Weiss A. The Golden Age B. Representative Writers .
April 5 BASEBALL AND THE MEDIA: RADIO "McClendon's games were rare and remarkable entities; casual pop flies had the flow of history behind them, double plays resembled the stark clash of old armies, and home runs deserved acknowledgment on earthen urns. Later, when I came across Thomas Wolfe, I felt I had heard him before, from Shibe Park, Crosley Field or Yankee Stadium."---Willie Morris A. Gordon McClendon: Pioneer Baseball Broadcaster B. From Radio to TV Voigt, II, 230-240; III, 103-114.
April 7 BASEBALL AND THE MEDIA: TELEVISION "If the World Series goes seven games, it will be NBC's longest running show this fall." -- Johnny Carson A. The Impact of Television B. Great Moments on the Tube Voigt, III, 310-334.
April 10 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE PLAYER "I just didn't want to go to Philadelphia. It was a selfish thing really." -- Curt Flood A. Post-war labor relations B. Marvin Miller for the Hall of Fame Voigt, III, 205-251.
April 12 FREE AGENCY "You're making too much money at a young age. It isn't good for you." -- H. Donald Grant to Tom Seaver, 1977 A. Peter Seitz Rules B. The First Great Strike Voigt, III, 258-281; 335-360.
April 14 SEX AND BASEBALL "Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in." -- Casey Stengel A. Groupies and tokens B. Mr. Wrigley's League C. The Softball Revolution
April 17 BASEBALL'S COMEBACK, 1975-1991 "Isn't this great." -- Pete Rose to Carlton Fisk, 1975.
A. Reasons for Resurgence. B. Teams and Stars Voigt, III, 282-334.
April 19 IT'S A FAN'S GAME: THE BASEBALL PROMOTER
"We will scheme and steal and do everything possible to win a pennant--except pay big salaries." -- Bill Veeck
A. Veeck as in Wreck.
B. The Promoter's Legacy
C. Contemporary Finances
Voigt, II, 255-278;
April 21 MODERN BASEBALL LITERATURE
"From now on, I rag nobody." -- Henry Wiggins
A. Malamud, Roth, and CooverB. Baseball Literature as a Mirror
April 24 Day of No Classes
"I take a two hour nap, from one o'clock to four."-- Yogi Berra
April 26 BASEBALL GOES TO THE MOVIES
"If you build it, he will come."
A. Kids Stuff & . Light StuffB. Growing Up
April 28 BASEBALL IN THE 1990s
"While the players don't deserve all that money. The owners don't deserve it even more." --- Jim Bouton
A. The War of 1994
B. The Best of Times
All of Heylar should have been read by now.
May 1 REVIEW AND EVALUATION
"The whole history of baseball has the quality of mythology."
-- Bernard Malamud
A. Of Ball Parks and Bubblegum Cards*
B. Miscellaneous
All of Voigt, Vol III should have been read by now.
May 3 All Make--up Exams
"I guess more players lick themselves than are ever licked by the opposing team." -- Connie Mack Last Day of Classes
May 8 Monday (History 3339) (11:00 MWF) exam (1:30-4:00)
"I'm the only man in the history of the game who began his career in a slump
and stayed in it."- Rocky Bridges
Many of the quotations used above can be found in Bob Chieger, Voices of Baseball: Quotations of the Summer Game (Atheneum, N.Y., 1983).
SOME IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
"We live two lives Roy, the life we learn with, and the life we live with after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness." Bernard Malamud, The Natural.
The following information reflects your teacher's experience with more than 13,000 students at Texas Tech and his belief that how you approach a university class may be as important for your
future and success as the material you encounter. This information is also policy for everyone in the class.
My office hours are there for your questions and problems. Use them. Your questions are also welcome in class.
This class begins at 10:00 am and ends at 10:50 am. If this does not match your inclinations, habits, or schedule you should make adjustments before the end of the add drop/period. ARRIVING LATE OR LEAVING THIS CLASS EARLY MAY COST YOU 5% OF YOUR SEMESTER GRADE FOR EACH OCCURRENCE. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS CLASS ON TIME, DO NOT COME! Missing class harms only you. Being late bothers others.
If you have a vision or hearing problem, or some type of learning disability, you should notify me as soon as possible and no later than the second day of classes.
You should purchase all the books for this course as soon as possible. In the event a book is out of print, out of stock, or there is some other problem, the bookstore can often do something
if notified early. There is little that can be done later in the semester.
This is a classroom, not the UC or your dorm room. If you feel compelled to talk, sleep, or read the University Daily (or something serious), you should drop this class immediately. If you persist, you may be asked to leave. Smoking, snuff, chewing tobacco, food and drink are frowned on in this classroom.
You are responsible for all material presented in class. This includes directions, as well as subject matter. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up what you missed.
Your grade will be based on your examinations and other required work. There is no opportunity for extra credit. The examination days including the final are noted on
the syllabus. If they conflict with your schedule, you should remove the conflicts or drop this class now while the add/drop option is open to you. For example if the Schedule of Classes shows that you have three finals the same day or you have university scheduled appearances on one of the exam dates, , the time to do something about it is now. Note that the final in this class falls very late during examination week. No, I do not give early finals.
If you do not perform as well as you expected on an exam, the time to see me is as soon as possible after the exams are returned. Bad academic habits like illnesses are best attacked in
an early stage. Besides, instructors are not very impressed with the seriousness or commitment of students who discover that they have problems during the last two weeks of the semester.
Grades are not posted in this class. I will return the first two examinations as soon as possible during the semester. If you want your final grade earlier than the registrar provides
them, give me a stamped, self-addressed card on the day of the final examination.
I promise not to call you at home with my personal problems, please extend me the same courtesy.
When you miss an examination, your grade is a "0" until that examination is made up. If you miss the final without an excuse, you fail (forgetting the exam is not an excuse). With an excuse
you will receive an Incomplete until the final is made up. You cannot receive a grade of Incomplete if you are failing.
If I didn't think the required readings were important, I wouldn't assign them.
History is much more fun when you are making good grades than bad ones.
Some questions you probably should not ask:
1. Will this be on the test?
If it is mentioned in class or the texts or given out to you, it is important.
2. I was absent Friday, did I miss anything?
On a good day your teacher will say: No, I just babbled nonsense for fifty minutes; on a bad day he might get angry.
3. What are your office hours?
These are on the sylabbus.
or will be announced in class.
4. When is the test?
This too is on the syllabus.
5. Do you count off for English?
Your class is taught in English not Hindi or Finnish. Our primary concern is your mastery of the material, but abysmal English can hurt your grade.
This page was last updated
August 21, 2002
Background image, an oldtimer (George Herman Ruth) takes his cuts, during the 1940s. Photo provided by William R. Conroy.