Essay Sample on Sports in the 1920s

While sports are still the same in many ways, sports are also very different from the 1920s to now because many rules in many sports have been changed since the 1920s. Safety was a big reason rules of sports are different now, and sports have had much growth in many aspects. Women had also started to become more involved in the sports era making a huge difference in the 1920s.

During the 1920s sports like baseball and boxing were very captivating to many audiences. Many of the heavyweight title boxing that would approach also made sports journalism in the 1920s huge. In Taming the Monster: The 1929 Carnegie Report on College Athletics, It explains how crucial it was to understand the professional and business context of sports journalism in the 1920s. A legitimate profession would include producing narratives that attracted readers but also generated skepticism towards sports journalism. College sports programs were just as aggressive as the promotional efforts were. “The college heads have become professional promoters pushing football instead of boxing or baseball or hockey or six day bicycle racing,” noted critic and author John Tunis.

One of the greatest baseball athletes of all time in the 1920s was Babe Ruth. Ruth set numerous records as a pitcher and slugging outfielder. Ruth was born on February 6th, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in a poor neighborhood and was one of eight children born, and one of only two that survived infancy. Ruth was sent to an industrial school for boys at the age of 7 due to needing more discipline. At the school, a monk named brother Matthias had become like a father figure to ruth. Matthias along with other monks had introduced ruth to baseball, and by age 25 he was excelling greatly in the sport. He caught the attention of Jack Dunn, the owner of the minor league Baltimore Orioles. Ruth was only 19 now, meaning the law stated that ruth had to have a legal guardian sign his baseball contract in order for him to play professionally. Dunn then became Ruth's legal guardian, which led to the nickname from his teammates “Dunns new babe”. This joke stuck which eventually gave him the name Babe Ruth. Over the next five years, Ruth led the red sox to three championships. Later on, in 1927, he broke the record of hitting 60 home runs in a season's time, this record stayed for 34 years. Ruth was one of the first 5 baseball players inducted into the hall of fame and had a very successful life. On August 16th, 1948 Ruth died of cancer leaving much of his estate to the Babe Ruth Foundation for underprivileged children.

There were 7 wildly popular sports for the 1920s era. Starting off with baseball a player who we probably all know Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth owned 1920s sports. Ruth put together one of the most impressive baseball careers of all time. He was revered as a hero in the streets of New York and he did all this in an era before Television, steroids, and million dollar contracts. Moving on to football Halfback Red Grange and Notre Dame coach Knute Rockney led football bravely into a new era. College football was largely popular of course, and brought in profits of 21 million dollars for the universities every year. Grange played for the University of Illinois, and was given the honor of the “Greatest College Football Play of all Time''. Boxing was another popular one for the time. The boxing world of the 1920s was owned by Jack Dempsey. Dempsey was known for headlining the first million-dollar gate at any sporting event in 1921 when he defended his World Title against George Carpentier. Next, an interesting yet popular sport of the 1920s was Horse Racing. A gentleman named Man o’War was the unquestioned King of the horses, winning races by the absurd margin of 100 lengths. “Big red” as they would call him won 20 or 21 races in his career. Man o’War is highly regarded as the greatest racehorse in history. The 1920s were also known for their strange stunts, so when American Gertrude Ederle swam across the English channel in 1926 it was a big deal. She was not only the first woman to do it but had a faster time than any man had by two hours. Golf was another big hit. Bobby Jones was known to play brilliantly, or implode on the course. There were times when he did poorly, so he picked up his ball and quit. Lastly, 1920s tennis was graced by Bill Tilden. Bill was an actor on the court as much as he was a player, and was known for the dramatic way he played the game. He made his matches dramatic to give them an even more interesting Appeal. Tilden was one of the forgotten players of the 1920s. Helen Wills on the other hand was one of the first female 1920s sports stars. She won her first title in 1923 at only 17 years old.

Women whether it be actually playing the sport or writing appears for the sport started to get more noticed during this time too. Margaret Goss described herself to be the first American female journalist to cover sports for the daily newspaper. Margaret's column titled “women in sport” had provided her a forum to champion female athletics at a time when society had still not embraced or excepted athletic competition amongst women. Goss’s column proved men and women were both equal in creating the kind of highly stylized writing that was demanded during what they would call the “golden age” of sports journalism. Goss knew how to bring a steady diet of female sports news to tribune readers who had been accustomed to only reading about male sporting events that would occur. Goss had a major platform to defend women's sports, especially at a time when not everyone agreed that the physical pursuits were “ladylike”. Goss wrote in her column “ We have known outdoor exercise to do feminine figures a world of good, but if being out is responsible for tough, leathery faces, then may we [women] die tough and leathery.”

During this time the United States also started to have a very strong economy, making it an important factor to build new and bigger stadiums and gymnasiums. Improvement in roads also started making it possible for fans to travel far distances for sporting events. All that is the reason for Americans starting to pay big money to watch other people compete. When the 1920s ended with the Great depression, spectator sports had become such a major part of American life, it helped them survive through the hard times. Women did have limited opportunities for sports because many educators did not feel it was something women should do. Women had to fight hard for the right to compete. Many, but definitely not all colleges and high schools had started making basketball teams for girls. This led to girls competing in other sports such as golf, tennis, or swimming. 

In the great gatsby, there are a number of references to sports in the 1920s including golf, football, and baseball. In Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the phrase “old sport” occurs a lot. Gatsby calls Nick an Old Sport implying that he wishes to follow a lifestyle of “Old Money” instead of “New Money” to attain characteristics of a rich man. The repeated use of “old sport” throughout the story also describes Gatsby’s myopic and self-centered demeanor. Gatsby would constantly call Nick an old sport which gave Nick the feeling of disliking and distrusting Gatsby. “Old sport” is almost used as a chummy term to express the mild friendliness Gatsby has for Nick. Some examples Gatsby said in the story were “Good morning, old sport. You’re having lunch with me today and I thought we’d ride up together.” and “It’s pretty, isn’t it, an old sport?” He jumped off to give me a better view. “Haven’t you ever seen it before?”

In the great gatsby instead of simply speaking of sports, they instead speak of their friends who play sports. Tom Buchanan was a college football star and Jordan was a professional golf player. An associate of Gatsby was said to have rigged the world series in 1919, which was a nod to Arnold Rothstein who did actually rig the game. Sports have had such a  big impact on our society. Sports were given a huge amount of popularity from the rise of newspapers, magazines, radios, and movies. Many athletes from the 1920s are still known as the greatest sports legends today. The usage of television has made it possible to watch sports from home, and sports have become a way of gathering people together. Sports also have the impact of giving out scholarships to those who extolled in their category.  Yearly women's tournaments for golf began in the 1920s in the United States. 

In conclusion to my many points, sports have changed tremendously for the better. Women have become able to play any sport they want and are great athletes. The separation between whether a woman should be able to play a sport is not a thing anymore. Rules are different from the 1920s and they will probably keep changing all for the better.