This thesis argues that since baseball is "America's National Game" and Muncie, Indiana, is commonly perceived as "Middletown USA," that Muncie baseball should be very reflective of the national game and serve as a microcosm for both national and local social changes. A detailed historical account of baseball in Muncie, Indiana, from 1876 to 1953 is provided which serves as an excellent model of the importance of semi-professional baseball in a small city.This project has uncovered some interesting facts about the role of sports because baseball was actually treated in Muncie more as entertainment than as a sport. The real reason for the success of Muncie baseball was the constant availability of quality baseball parks and that appears to be an important criteria for a successful semi-professionalbaseball club.Muncie was very reflective of the "National Game" as the Pittsburgh Pirates held spring training during World War II in Muncie and the Cincinnati Reds supported a Class "D" farm club from 1946 to 1950. Such national attention from major league clubs was a product of a very rich Muncie baseball tradition. / Department of History
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/179012 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Neel, Richard L. |
| Contributors | Hoover, Dwight W. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 3 v. (viii, 879 leaves) ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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