Baseball Americana: celebrating history, community

Baseball Americana at the Library of Congress

Baseball in 1879

Americans, I learned, during a recent visit to see the "Baseball Americana" exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., had been playing baseball for a long time before they agreed upon the rules of the game – or even settled on how to spell it. Baseball, it seemed, was known by some as "town ball" or, more generically, as "round ball." Yet, no matter what form, the sport which has given us Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle, among so many stars – and broken the color barrier with Jackie Robinson – has endured. But it hasn't stayed the same in anyone's lifetime. One need only look at the use of the designated hitter in the American League since the 1970s.

"Baseball Americana" is a colorful and important showcase of pieces of baseball history curated by the Library of Congress with the help of Major League Baseball, ESPN, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, that cannot be found anywhere else – but it's not meant to be a comprehensive history of baseball. Instead, as viewers to the exhibit will see, "Baseball Americana" is a celebration of baseball as community as well as an exploration of the sport's "gritty roots" and its "changing traditions." It's also about the game of baseball as we know it today.

The  American essayist and culture critic Gerald Early once said, "I think there are only three things America will be known for 2,000 years from now ... the Constitution, jazz music, and baseball."

Magna Carta of Baseball

Visitors are given a chance to consider baseball, both in its past and present forms, as it relates to the players and teams and to the communities that it creates. We learn how each of these groups has contributed to the fabric of baseball – its customs and traditions – and how they thrive, evolve or eventually fade into memory.

Front and center, the Magna Carta of Baseball shows the handwritten "laws" of the game. They are the founding documents for the modern version of baseball, going back to 1856, before the Civil War. The evolution of baseball equipment – bats, balls and gloves – are explored. The role that Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey played in integrating the Major Leagues is discussed in great detail. There are also plenty of vintage black and white photographs, colorful posters, scouting reports and scorecards – even bobble-heads. Also, there are interactive areas that allow visitors to touch and feel bats and balls and gloves, create their own baseball cards, and test their baseball knowledge and IQ.

Free agency and player rights are addressed. The Negro Legues and the role of women's baseball are featured, too. And, the comedy of baseball as seen on TV (Cheers) and in film (Bull Durham) is not to be missed.

Willie Mays ca. 1965

My favorite part of "Baseball Americana" was hearing the "voices of the game" – Mel Allen, Vin Scully, Russ Hodges, to name a few – create colorful word pictures of some of the great moments of our National Pastime, including the final out of Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game, Hank Aaron's record-breaking 714th home run from 1974, and Bobby Thomson's 1951 "shot heard 'round the world." And, nothing beats watching the greats of the game, including Willie Mays, Bob Gibson and Barry Bonds – in black and white and in color – come alive on the video screens.

The late commissioner of baseball, Bart Giamatti, once said, "Baseball breaks your heart. It's designed to break your heart." How else do you explain what the long-time suffering Chicago Cubs fans endured before they finally won a World Series in 2016 after not winning one in the past 118 years?

Time and again, baseball brings us together to watch or play the game – and to discuss it, analyze it, debate it. Heck, it's even spawned an entire cable network devoted to our National Pastime. From visiting "Baseball Americana," which opened on June 29 and continues through next June, I came away with a renewed appreciation of the way the history of baseball illuminates the history of our nation and the role baseball plays in providing us with a shared sense of belonging.

Cover Photo: By Michael Dickens © 2018.
Note: A digital version of "Baseball Americana," can be seen at www.loc.