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Sports and Heroes of the 1920s

Sports and Heroes of the 1920s. By Jahari Green and Scott Schroth. Post WWI Society. After the Great War ended in 1918, a surge of prosperity swept across much of the victorious Allied nations. As the workforce expanded, more money began to circulate throughout the economy.

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Sports and Heroes of the 1920s

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  1. Sports and Heroes of the 1920s By Jahari Green and Scott Schroth

  2. Post WWI Society • After the Great War ended in 1918, a surge of prosperity swept across much of the victorious Allied nations. • As the workforce expanded, more money began to circulate throughout the economy. • Innovations in entertainment such as the introduction of the radio, sound film (talkies), and an increasing popularity of the record player led to new forms of entertainment among the masses. • The Progressive Era reforms from the first decade of the 20th Century took off in the 1920s. • Decade would be known as the Roaring Twenties.

  3. Sports • New forms of entertainment led to sports becoming more popular. • Many sports that we know today were around during the 1920s. • Most Notably: Football, Baseball, Boxing, and Horse Racing. • Although the style at which these sports were played may have seemed primitive, they ushered in a modern era of pastime.

  4. Football • Football is one of America’s most popular sports. The sport evolved from rugby in the late 19th Century. • Players had virtually no protection. No sturdy helmets, little if any padding. • By the 1920s football (specifically college football) was very popular in the United Sates. • The National Football League (NFL) was formed in 1920. • Football’s popularity continued to grow. The system of today wouldn’t come into existence until 1970, however.

  5. Baseball • America’s National Pastime lost its luster in the 1919 World Series. • The Black Sox Scandal: 8 players for the Chicago White Sox's were paid to lose the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. • Players charged included “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and George “Buck” Weaver. • Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's skill in the field contributed to a revival of interest in the sport. • By the mid 1920s, baseball’s popularity was at an all time high.

  6. 1919 Black Sox Scandal Players • Eddie Concitte • Oscar Felsch • Arnold Gandil • "Shoeless" Joe Jackson • Fred McMullin • Charles Risberg • George Weaver • Lefty Williams

  7. Boxing • Boxing was another popular sport in the 1920s. • The sport involves two opponents throwing punches at each other. Usually gloved hands are involved. • William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey, a Colorado miner, has been considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. • He headlined the first million dollar sporting event where he beat George Carpentier and defended his world title. • Dempsey’s style of fighting would later influence fighters such as Bruce Lee.

  8. Other Sports • Other popular sports at the time included tennis, swimming, horse racing, and golf. • Tennis and swimming were more female oriented, although a decent amount of men did participate in these activities as well. • Helen Wills won her first tennis title in 1923 at the age of 17. • Bobby Jones would go on to win 13 national golf championships in both Europe and North America. • Man o’ War was one of the best racing horses of the era who won 20 out of 21 races he started in.

  9. Heroes of the Decade • The 1920s were an era of pride and nationalism in the US. • Many now famous individuals emerged during this time and inspired millions of people. • Record setting feats were accomplished and things that were thought to be impossible decades before were now being done. • Many athletes were also seen as heroes: Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Bill Tilden, Jack Dempsey, and Bobby Jones

  10. Pilots cross the Atlantic • Charles Lindbergh was an aviator who is best known for flying from New York City to Paris in 1927. • His plane, the Spirit of St. Louis flew at approximately 120 MPH. • The flight took nearly 33 hours to accomplish and Lindbergh himself had been awake for 50 hours total. • This was the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

  11. Pilots cross the Atlantic (cont.) • In 1928 Amelia Earhart flew across the Atlantic Ocean with pilots Louis Gordon and Wilmer Stultz. • Although she did not pilot the 1928 flight, she would ultimately end up becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932. • She disappeared in 1937 over the Pacific in an attempt to fly around the whole world.

  12. 22 Miles of Endurance • Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel at age 20 in 1926. • The feat took 14 hours and 34 minutes to complete. • Although the weather conditions were less than favorable, Ederle continued her swim and was greeted by British officials in the evening of August 6. • “People said women couldn't swim the Channel, but I proved they could”- Gertrude Ederle

  13. Behind the Wheel • Ford was an industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company. • An industry pioneer, Ford revolutionized the factory by pioneering the use of a moving assembly line. • The moving assembly line kept building prices low and Ford was able to sell his cars to middle class Americans at reasonable prices.

  14. America’s Game • Harold Edward “Red” Grange was one of the most famous football players in the history of the sport. • Known as the “Galloping Ghost” for his ability to easily out maneuver his opponents. • Grange played as halfback for the Univ. of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. In fact, his signing with Chicago aided the NFL in becoming a more respected and legitimate league.

  15. The Galloping Ghost • A streak of fire, a breath of flameEluding all who reach and clutch;A gray ghost thrown into the gameThat rival hands may never touch;A rubber bounding, blasting soulWhose destination is the goal — Red Grange of Illinois!- Grantland Rice

  16. National Pastime • In the 1920s, baseball was America’s national sport. • Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit 714 career home runs and was one of the earliest inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. • Tyrus Raymond “Ty” Cobb was another inductee. Known for his fiery temper and aggressive playing, Cobb still holds the highest career batting average (.367). • Lou Gehrig played with Ruth and was revered as a powerful hitter. His number was the first to be retired and he died of ALS in 1941.

  17. Troubled Lives • While these individuals were seen to be responsible and respectable to the public, they did have their inner demons. • Babe Ruth was an alcoholic womanizer. Ty Cobb was a racist and Henry Ford published anti-Semitic texts. Charles Lindbergh had numerous children out of wedlock and Amelia Earhart felt that it was okay to cheat on her husband. • Whatever issues these individuals may have had, their accomplishments paved the way for the next generation of Americans to venture into the unknown. And their feats are still being looked at in awe today.

  18. Sources • http://www.1920-30.com/sports/ • http://www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/1920s-sports.html • https://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014213.html • http://www.baberuth.com/biography/ • http://www.cmgww.com/baseball/cobb/ • http://mps.mpsomaha.org/mnhs/Meyer%201920s%20Project/Avery%20-%20Meyer%20-%206/avery-meyer-6/Welcome.html

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