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Enterprise & Opportunity“The chief business of the American people is business,” declared President Coolidge in 1925. Baseball embodies this unquenchable capitalist spirit. American entrepreneurs don’t just play the market … they market our play. Baseball began as a game, but quickly became a source of income and opportunity. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first to declare their professional status. Team owners rapidly built baseball. They established the National League in 1876. By the early 1900s, the National and American leagues had created the nation’s first sports industry. Baseball was a full-fledged business … complete with labor disputes and workers’ unions. Like America, baseball has been quick to recognize opportunity … and make the most of it. Ballparks became sources of profit for individual vendors, concessionaires, and surrounding neighborhoods. Card collecting evolved from hobby to investment. And as television and advertising transformed society, they also transformed baseball, gradually reshaping relationships between players and products, between fans and the game. To learn more about the exhibit, select a section below:
Our National
Spirit The
Exhibition | Tour
Schedule | Highlights © National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. |
