Max Power
02-16-2003, 07:14 PM
Man, I WISH they had classes like this when I was in college!
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5171351.htm
Pitch made for baseball as history
By Dennis Rockstroh
Mercury News
The other day Henry F. Reichman, chairman of the history department at California State University-Hayward, shared a secret with me.
``I'm in the baseball hall of fame,'' he laughed.
Remember baseball? Pitchers and catchers are already reporting to spring training.
Somewhere in the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., is Reichman's syllabus for History 3575, ``Baseball in America.'' It was submitted at their request.
At Cal State-Hayward, baseball is history.
Every other year for the past decade, Reichman has taught the course aligning American history with that of baseball. And he always has a waiting list.
At the top of his syllabus are the immortal words of French-born cultural historian Jacques Barzun, who wrote in 1954: ``Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.''
Reichman is not alone.
Taught elsewhere
``Baseball: A Mirror on American History,'' ``America's Game: Baseball and the National Experience'' and ``Baseball and American Society, 1840-present'' have been taught at Texas Tech, the University of Kentucky and Harvard over the years.
These courses have been a lot more than visions of spring, the crack of the bat, smell of cut grass, stats, heroes and myths.
This is real history.
So right off the bat goes the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball.
So, . . . pssst . . . I have a test in my possession.
Question No. 1.
``Which word best describes the way baseball came about?
A) creation
B) discovery
C) evolution
D) invention?''
The correct answer is C because the game evolved from some games the Brits played two centuries ago.
Reichman's course covers some of the major themes in American life. Basically, students look at how the country evolved with urban and rural interests duking it out, how capital and management battled through the years, the rise of mass society and civil rights.
Study American baseball and you are also studying national values, humor and language -- how we have become what we are.
``Just as America has struggled with immigration, industrialization, integration and technology, so has baseball,'' wrote journalist Don Snider.
Baseball is so American, writes Daniel J. Taylor, that ``Only our president throws out the first pitch.''
In language
Taylor, chairman of Classics at Lawrence University, wrote that baseball has left indelible marks on the way we talk.
``Who of us has not `struck out' with a member of the opposite sex?'' he wrote. ``Business persons have to play `hard ball' and must be alert lest the opposition `throw a curve.' In our jobs some of us are `clutch hitters,' others are `rookies,' and we may have to `pinch hit' for the boss.''
Baseball is part of American culture, and you can keep track of history with it. Who can forget that the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake would have been better named the Bay Area World Series earthquake because the San Francisco Giants were playing the Oakland Athletics?
Humor? We have things ranging from ``Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical'' from Yogi Berra to Phyllis Diller's quip, ``If it weren't for baseball, many kids wouldn't know what a millionaire looked like,'' among many.
Humphrey Bogart told us why we love the game so much.
``That's baseball, and it's my game. Y'know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there. You yell like crazy for your guys. It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops. Pretty girls, lot of 'em and a hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.''
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5171351.htm
Pitch made for baseball as history
By Dennis Rockstroh
Mercury News
The other day Henry F. Reichman, chairman of the history department at California State University-Hayward, shared a secret with me.
``I'm in the baseball hall of fame,'' he laughed.
Remember baseball? Pitchers and catchers are already reporting to spring training.
Somewhere in the library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, N.Y., is Reichman's syllabus for History 3575, ``Baseball in America.'' It was submitted at their request.
At Cal State-Hayward, baseball is history.
Every other year for the past decade, Reichman has taught the course aligning American history with that of baseball. And he always has a waiting list.
At the top of his syllabus are the immortal words of French-born cultural historian Jacques Barzun, who wrote in 1954: ``Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.''
Reichman is not alone.
Taught elsewhere
``Baseball: A Mirror on American History,'' ``America's Game: Baseball and the National Experience'' and ``Baseball and American Society, 1840-present'' have been taught at Texas Tech, the University of Kentucky and Harvard over the years.
These courses have been a lot more than visions of spring, the crack of the bat, smell of cut grass, stats, heroes and myths.
This is real history.
So right off the bat goes the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball.
So, . . . pssst . . . I have a test in my possession.
Question No. 1.
``Which word best describes the way baseball came about?
A) creation
B) discovery
C) evolution
D) invention?''
The correct answer is C because the game evolved from some games the Brits played two centuries ago.
Reichman's course covers some of the major themes in American life. Basically, students look at how the country evolved with urban and rural interests duking it out, how capital and management battled through the years, the rise of mass society and civil rights.
Study American baseball and you are also studying national values, humor and language -- how we have become what we are.
``Just as America has struggled with immigration, industrialization, integration and technology, so has baseball,'' wrote journalist Don Snider.
Baseball is so American, writes Daniel J. Taylor, that ``Only our president throws out the first pitch.''
In language
Taylor, chairman of Classics at Lawrence University, wrote that baseball has left indelible marks on the way we talk.
``Who of us has not `struck out' with a member of the opposite sex?'' he wrote. ``Business persons have to play `hard ball' and must be alert lest the opposition `throw a curve.' In our jobs some of us are `clutch hitters,' others are `rookies,' and we may have to `pinch hit' for the boss.''
Baseball is part of American culture, and you can keep track of history with it. Who can forget that the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake would have been better named the Bay Area World Series earthquake because the San Francisco Giants were playing the Oakland Athletics?
Humor? We have things ranging from ``Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical'' from Yogi Berra to Phyllis Diller's quip, ``If it weren't for baseball, many kids wouldn't know what a millionaire looked like,'' among many.
Humphrey Bogart told us why we love the game so much.
``That's baseball, and it's my game. Y'know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there. You yell like crazy for your guys. It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops. Pretty girls, lot of 'em and a hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.''