Laura Marie Yapelli Professor Rung Final Paper 12/8/2016 Baseball in The Great Depression On October 29th, 1929 the stock market crashed and sent the United States into a severe economic disaster marking the start of the Great Depression. The effects of the crash were extreme and affected the living and working conditions of Americans across the Country. People and families were not the only ones affected by the Great Depression. Many companies and organizations were feeling the effects as well. Baseball and the MLB were no exceptions. Many Americans did not have the even 50 cents to spare on leisurely activities so ticket sales and attendance decreased. In attempt to increase attendance to major league baseball games, the MLB came up with a few tactics that could help their cause such as the All Star Game, night games, and broadcasting games on the radio. Even though the Great Depression struck hard and fast throughout the nation, it seemed to have a delayed reaction to major league baseball. “In 1930 attendance in the majors reached an all time peak of about 10.1 million, but from then on the hard times that had already hit most other segments of the economy caught up with all of baseball. The early thirties brought sparse crowds, deficits, a dramatic contraction in major …show more content…
It took three years for a 2nd city to install lights in the stadium but finally Macphil brought the light to The Dodgers. Even though the Dodgers finished in 7th, they gained more fans throughout that season. “Although MacPhil had laid out hundreds of thousands of dollars for ballpark improvements, lights, and players, the Dodgers posted and operating deficit of only $11,000, a vast improvement over earlier years” (Tygiel, 104). Eight more teams would trail the success of night games in the two years following boosting attendance and interest in the