HIST-3318
History of Sport in Canada – Midterm Notes
Discussion Questions
In what way did contact with Europeans alter Aboriginal games?
- Spiritual and cultural connections between people
- Physical and gambling games, skill development
- Strong fit Athapaskan women pulled sleds
- Contests and games were the basis of education – prepare them for their lives on the land
- Symbolic symbiosis – connection between symbolic object and skill (i.e. hawk’s feet, which
denoted speed
- Ability to endure pain, little equipment because of travel, prepare men for war and combat
- Gender was later constructed by European ideals – Athapaskan women and girls were engaged
in contests of physical strength – moose-skin ball
- Relations between aboriginal groups were changed after contact
- Balance of power shifted among groups (i.e. some groups were given weapons)
- Christian influences altered the religious meanings of games – games no longer maintained
traditional notions of tribal integrity, autonomy and survival
- Contact poisoned relations between Indigenous peoples and Europeans
- Coureurs de bois
o Runners of the woods – fur trading lifestyle which demanded physical strength
o Skills – canoe, snowshoe and endurance
o Aboriginals depicted as savages, coureurs de bois were respected for their physical
strength, but were taught by their survival skills by the Native people
o Cordial relations with the aboriginals
o Wrestled, fought, ran races, paddled and drank with one another and Native peoples
o Developed masculine identities based on labour (i.e. strong, swift and enduring) and
independence and defiance to authority
- The ‘civilization’ of Aborigianls shattered years of tradition and ways of life, however, the value
of strength, skill and physicality were ‘rebuffed’ by the French Canadians in the shadow of a
‘progressive’ Victorian society
- Removal of Indigenous peoples to reserves meant that games and dances were altered
- Robidoux
o Everyday activities of the First Nations were being touted as quintessential activities
o Games of indigenous ancenstry are ‘imporved’ upon by Euro-Canadians
o Lacrosse tours to exploit the Native peoples
Were the sporting pastimes of early colonial settlers embraced by all segments of the
population? What were some of the theistic considerations surrounding sport in New France?
- Seigneuries built mills and churches for inhabitants
- Strength became one of the most significant aspects of daily life
- Filles du roi – sent over to New France in order increase population
- Family was very important and settlers worked from dusk to dawn bonding with other families
through season celebrations (i.e. drinking, feasting, singing, card playing)
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Roman Catholic Church attempted to dissuade settlers from pursuing rougher forms of
entertainment
After conquest (end of Seven Years War in 1763)
o Territory of the Aboriginal called in question – territories oppressed more
o Disease
o Paternalistic superiority between bourgeois (British) and voyageur, Aboriginals, French,
Metis, and Iroquois
Role of voyageur
o Physical abilities = good worker, and respectable man
o Paddled for the better part of the day and carried packs across portages
o Contests of strength (fist fights, brawling, drinking and foot and canoe racing)
o Increased in social hierarchy in their profession
o Romanticized nation builders of Canada
During the colonial period, what could be said of the division between work and leisure time?
How, according to Robidoux, do First Nations’ expressions of (and responses to) violence in the context
of sport differ from European Canadians?
- First Nations players’ response to aggression were rare to non-existent – players often smiled
or laughed it off
- Sportsmanship, there never appears to be any spite
- Displaying andger or resentment after receiving injury shows weakness
- In Euro-Canadian context violence and aggression are idolized
- Violence and aggression are characters of Canadian sport as to depict a sporting tradition which
displays the hardships of Canadians while also being enjoyed because of the toughness of the
people
- The promotion of violence in lacrosse made the sport a national symbol
How does Robidoux differ in his interpretation of the origins of Canadian masculinity from Kevin
Wamsley (co-author of your text book)?
- Wamsley
o Believes Canadian masculinity was derived from the ruggedness of the coureur de bois
o The coureur de bois are the model on which male identity was based
o Developed masculine identities based on labour (i.e. strong, swift and enduring) and
independence and defiance to authority
- Robidoux
o Aboriginal-European relations were mutually affected – European settler’s dependence
on First Nations
o Euro-Canadian masculinity is based on real lived traditions and life-ways of First Nations
– the romanticized coureur de bois masculine identity is based on First Nations
o French thought the First Nations people’s ability to survive was inspiring
o First Nations resourcefulness and ingenuity saved the French a number of times
o The indigenous way of life required physical and mental strength
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o French settlers dependency on First Nations
o Coureurs de bois lived among the First Nations and their ability to survive in the
Canadian wilderness made them the stuff of romanticized literature
o However, it was the Frenchman’s ability to take on the qualities of First Nations that
were being admired
o Coureurs de bois were reckless and faced danger fearlessly, they defied authority and
were the heroes that help shape masculinity
o Activities and competitions against Native peoples demonstrated physical proficiency in
the natural environment
o I.e. bush masculinity – ruggedness and resourcefulness, masculinity based on physical
prowess, stoicism and courage which was affirmed through the daily struggle
What was the significance of the duel in early Canadian history?
- Journal of Sport History - Wamsley
o Personal and professional insults were resolved by duels
o Rational expression of gentry masculinity
o Place of leisure where masculinity and manliness were publically expressed
- Served to validate notions of chivalry and masculine honour
- Placed their bodies in harm’s way in order to prove courage
What social purpose(s) did the physical activities associated with taverns serve?
- Arguments, physical contests and fighting – public house for liquor and entertainment
- Tales of men who were celebrated for size and strength – large men used physical appearance
and strength to quell disturbances of local people and gangs
- Greasy food, crowded sleeping arrangements, noise complaints and drunken guests
- 1844 – 1,051 taverns in Upper Canada
- Wamsley
o 1846 – 2,096 taverns in Canada West
- Drunkenness and rowdy behavior
- License fees were a significant source of revenue for the Province of Canada
- Shift from lodging  alcohol sales and entertainment
- Clientele = locals and travelers seeking inexpensive alcohol, conversation, news and games
(billiards, cards, singing, boxing and animal fighting)
- Women visited and owned taverns (despite social expectations of the time)
- Law enforcement associated drinking facilities with crime, poverty and social evils
- Buying a rough = obliged to drink and obliged to reciprocate, a contributor to general poverty
- Measuring up = arguments or tests of strength (fist fights and brawls), onlookers cheered
- Fighting was an acceptable way of settling score and whoever won
- Newspapers published slander as the fuel for brawls
- Some men carried reputations for their fighting abilities and travelled to taverns causing
disturbances  local men and neighbours fought against strangers to demonstrate local
solidarity
- Men of all classes were involved in altercations
- Proving manliness through violence
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Physical combat considered an efficient means to solve disputes = tavern justice
Gangs of men sometimes sought out enemies and strangers
What were some of the gendered implications associated with sport, leisure and public life during the
early-to-mid nineteenth century?
- Journal of Sport History – Wamsley
o Men fought for honour, women fought for defense
o Taverns = restricting the appropriate social options of women and creating new social
venues for men
o Importance of strength as a signifier of cultural value, masculinity and ethnic identity
o symbolic value of strength for men as the Victorian era attempted to distinguish
appropriate attributes for men and women
o White middle class reformers proclaimed drinking was indecent for women – taverns
were mainly male domain
o Sports clubs for white middle class men celebrating manly virtues of physical strength –
but, only for the ‘right-sort’ of man
o Middle-class reformers – status and professional respect to be earned through
appropriate behavior and business practices, appropriate kinds of male values
o Law prohibited sales of alcohol to Natives, further removing the rights of citizenship
o Natives were ridiculed in local newspapers for drunken behaviour
- Maleness and femaleness
- Beaver Club drank themselves silly to impress other men
- Duels – passivity of women = gentle female
- Sports clubs = separate spheres for men and women
- Men were socially empowered by displays of physicality
- Work = physical thus, strength was a symbol of cultural value and masculine identity
- Women working in taverns were accused of being prostitutes
What role did class play with respect to sports and pastimes in British North America?
- Journal of Sport History – Wamsley
o Fur traders, military garrisons, loggers, and farmers = competitive tests
o Garrison men = sports and games (cricket) to improve moral and encourage economic
development and further settlement
o Elite and middle class = organized club sports
o Work bees = celebrations of strength
- The British Elite
o Christianity and civil rules to regulate citizen behaviour
o Garrisons – cricket, horse racing, rowing and foot races – built positive relations with the
citizens
o The Beaver Club - elite men gambled and drank excessively without fear of legal or
social implications
o Played cricket because it was more refined
o Brought aristocratic values, as well as pastimes (hunt, steeplechase and cricket)
o Cricket in garrison towns and the Upper Canada College
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Bachelors
o Male-confines – garrisons and fur trading posts
o Allieviate boredom – fist-fighting and football
o Fighting to solve disputes
o Drinking, brawling and sexual conquest
Sports Clubs – working class
Working class = bees
o Quilting bees for women
o Promise of work and liquor
o Wrestling, boxing, lifting and arm-wrestling
o Seasonal employment for livelihood based on physical ability
Middle Class
o Organized sporting clubs in Montreal
o Temperance movements and legislation not really being enforced or effective
o People gambled, fought and drank
o Boxing matches, cock-fighting, bear-baiting, bull-baiting, billiards and cards
o Taverns allowed for places to stay, as well as being a place to find local labour jobs
o Alcohol to facilitate entertainment
o Honour and respect earned through hard-work, appropriate behaviour
o Social reforms rejected drinking and dueling
o Elites promoted agricultural associations, plowing matches, local fairs, mechanics
institutes and literary associations – social and economic betterment for emergent
businessmen, professional and commercial upper middle class
Identify and comment on the different understandings of 'manliness' during the period under study.
- Traders, missionaries, soldiers, mercenaries and settlers all had different ideals of masculinity
- Bush masculinity – rugged, tough and physically competent
o challenged one another to ensure manly stature and personal honour
o assimilated skills of the Aboriginals
o over-exerted their bodies carrying furs through the woods
o Rough and half-respected manhood
- Gentleman – notions of honour embodied by status and rank
- Working man – sportsman who spent leisure time at the club with his peers
o Wrestling, boxing, lifting and arm-wrestling at raisings, work, harvest, logging and bees
o Strength and endurance – physical skill expressed personal pride
o Violent and confrontational
o Fighting demonstrated masculine bravado
- Garrison men – goof British character
o However, often they were drunk and brawling
What was the Athletic War, who did it involve, and what were the fundamental issues surrounding it?
- Metcalfe
o 1907-1909
o Power struggle between Montreal and Toronto
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1881  Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA)
Players in lacrosse and hockey were claiming to be amateurs while selling themselves to the
highest bidder
Professional players were needed to compete at the highest level
1884  lacrosse fought the CAAU and professionals were allowed into the sport
Montreal still felt the same about professional so when the CAAU made its position clear, an
athletic war was declared
Sport moving towards commercialism, sponsors and general admission
1908 Olympic games unified the nation until the next summer
Tom Longboat controversy – AAFC’s failure
1909  peace was negotiated for the betterment of Canada = AAU
How did Aboriginal peoples factor into early snowshoeing in Montreal?
- Aboriginals used snowshoes to travel in the winter through the bush
- 1843  Montreal Snow Shoe Club – ushered in organized sport
- Manliness of snowshoeing celebrated in taverns
- Races – racial divides for races, women allowed into grand stands for free, gambling emerged
- Times of non-Natives were surpassed by Natives (who faced racial discrimination)
- ‘Native races’ were to open and close events because their skill was admirable, but they
weren’t allowed to compete against non-Native
- Native competitors asked to compete to near exhaustion for the pleasure of the crowd in order
to help them be ridiculed
- Treated as lower-class athletes even though they had superior skill
What were the Montreal Winter Carnivals? What was their purpose, who organized them?
- Montreal = mecca of Canadian sport due to the efforts of Anglophones
- 1833-1889
- Week-long activities
- Fireworks and an ice-castle
- Horse-drawn floats
- Games and singing
- The games became too complex and were halted in 1889
- Represented the MAAAs influence over sport
What does Alan Metcalfe mean when he states, "the historical belief in a major difference between
amateurs and professionals is a false dichotomy"? Why might this position be important to our
understanding of sport history in Canada?
- No difference between amateur and professional
- A principle of sportsmanship which is fundamental to sport whether amateur or professional
- Need to distinguish between amateur and professional arose in 1860s and 1870s – concern
about the purity of sport
- 1909  formation of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAUC)
o 1920s  golden age, reached into every sport
- 1884  amateur sport limited to a small number of people in urban areas
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Development of consumer capitalism measured through the growth of sport
1896 = revival of economic prosperity and immigration to the prairies = new tensions in
amateur sport (especially hockey)
Many professionals then served with distinction in the war, thus making it difficult to view
professionals as ‘dirty’
1930s = depression and more tension after the explosion of sport in the 1920s  amateurs
then turned to sport in attempts to make a livelihood
Second WW  final extinction of amateurism
Cold War  increased politicization of sport
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) vs. NHL
o 1917 = NHL
o NHL formed after professionals fought on the battlefields and changed the social and
moral views of many people
o Superior caliber
Excellence was synonymous with professional
AAUC assumption that professional are not true sportsmen – win at any price unless more
profitable to lose, not playing for joy of effort
AAUC assumption is a false dichotomy – idea that individuals lost individuality, however, they
never understood the reasons for ungentlemanly conduct
Prairies needed professional players just for the numbers – however AAUC maintained all-ornothing
CAHA suffered compared to NHL and disaffiliated in 1936
Professional emerged and clubs chaffed under AAUC regulations
Assumption that professionalism led to ungentlemanly behaviour and emphasis on winning
Old pro = a cheat who would do anything to win, not a gentleman  soldier pro = courage and
valor demonstrated on the battle field  1930s pro = the best
Only defense for amateurism = money leads to an overemphasis on money
Unacceptable behaviour is a=observed at all levels
From birth children are infused with the idea of being number 1
Amateurs believed the game should be played for something more than victory
Victory is no longer the only thing and sometimes it is better to lose than win – amateur and
professional perpetuate errors of the past
Describe the ways in which non-Anglo-Canadians were frequently designated as “others” or excluded
from sporting competition altogether in the nineteenth century.
- Restrictions dictating who could and participate in sports
- Upper class had an abundance of leisure time
- Didn’t want social inferiors competing and defeating the upper class
- They were looking for the best in their social class
- Only those with free time could participate, thus the working class could not be involved in
sports
- Shorter hours movement allowed more free time for the working class = more potential for
interaction between the classes
- Race was a determining factor in who could participate
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Minorities (i.e. black, Native, Irish and Scot) were not allowed to compete against ‘social
betters’
Black people were banned from races, Natives were banned from snowshoeing and lacrosse
because they were considered superior
Natives were considered professionals at lacrosse
Why does Cosentino argue there was little French involvement in sport during the 19th century?
- Quebecois stayed away from English sport and games
- Wanted to preserve French heritage, language and customs
How did the understanding of the term "professional" as commonly understood in the 1860s differ from
the understanding of the term in the 1920s?
- 1800s  work professionals
o Take advantage of their work to develop expertise
o Anyone involved in work as a routine was stronger and the strength was an advantage
- 1883  money was the identifying factor of a professional
o Money contaminated sport
th
- 20 C  high degree of skill
o Public looking for a high degree of skill
o Object to discover the best team
o Amateur regared as someone who wasn’t good enough to be pro
o Connotation of a highly skilled person
o Purpose of competition is to find the best
Has professionalism in sport ALWAYS assured that the game would become increasingly skilled? Why or
why not?
- No
- Iron Joe Grim
o Never won, but no one could knock him out
o Contest within athletes who wanted to be the first to knock him out
o Therefore, he got money for competition, but there was no skill involved
Who was George Beers and what was his significance to lacrosse?
- A product of Montreal’s emerging sport environment
- A goalkeeper in the match for the Prince of Wales
- Argued that lacrosse was the national game of Canada
- Catalyst for the expansion of lacrosse clubs across Canada
- The MLC drew up 17 rules derived from an article Beers had written
- Standardizing lacrosse = recipe for competition
- NLA codified and enforced rules
- Toronto and Montreal embraced lacrosse
- Appears to have invented the national-game concept
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How was lacrosse promoted internationally? How were these tours problematic with respect to their
representation of Indigenous peoples?
- 1867  16 Caughnawagas were chosen to tour England – financial prospects
- Mid-1870s  Beers wanted to sell lacrosse to Britain as a symbol of Canada
- A Native team and a white team were sent to compete in lacrosse matches across Europe
- Media emphasis on Aboriginal origins
- The tour was drenched in Aboriginal imagery – it was an advertising gimmick
- Order of ceremonies was repeated
o Natives were dressed ‘traditionally’ compared to the white team which wore sports
wear
o The Natives were asked to wear lacrosse outfits in public
o They were urged to hold snowshoe races on the grass, to dance or hold mock
‘powwows’
o Stereotypical Native person
o Keraronwe read a speech on birch bark in his native tongue – the artwork was by the
wife of one of the MLC players
- 1883  another tour
o The 1883 tour was an attempt to sell the image of Canada to potential immigrant
o State-driven propaganda campaign
o Lectures were given about Canada’s resources in every city
o Image = young, resourceful nation that carried on the sporting traditions of Great Britain
through its national Aboriginal game of lacrosse
What were some of the factors that helped to launch professional hockey?
- Winter team sports
- Standardization – rules allowed for the development and dispersion of hockey
- Lord Stanley donated the silver Stanley Cup in 1892 = symbol of hockey supremacy
o Challenge cup – any team could challenge for the cup, thus hockey became national
- Higher quality teams in the urban centers, hockey developed mostly in Canadian urban centers
- Hockey stick manufacturers were willing to endorse clubs who used their sticks exclusively
- Sports reporting – telegraphs relayed game descriptions with a dry tone, this allows for
transmission of hockey stats across Canada
- The mining boom – northern Ontario and north Michigan
o Able to financially support professional hockey
o No artificial ice needed
- Reservation clause signed players to a team – business-like
- The Pacific Coast Hockey League
o Patrick brothers – did not like the NHA
o Blue and forward passing opened up the game
o In 1926 the franchise was sold to the NHL
- Sport as a business enterprise
- The depression = 6 league team, 4 American teams and 2 Canadian – sold out to American
interests
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What do Forsyth and Archer see as a problem associated with focusing too heavily on issues of racial
discrimination in sport?
- Native history = inequity and prejudice – must be careful in saying race is the unifying factor in
Aboriginal sports
- Scholars can be complicit in perpetuating stereotypical representations of Natives
- Native sport history tends to focus on power relations between Native people and white
society – this continues to marginalize and discriminate against Native groups
Were racial stereotypes and/or language universally applied to non- Euro Canadian (especially
Aboriginal) athletes? How have historians' perceptions around this issue been shaped?
- Newspapers were often racialized
- Natives were considered an attractive sell to generate income
- Images, journals, documents and oral histories are great sources of information that must be
interpreted carefully in order to avoid stereotyping and misidentification
Why do you feel that Fred Simpson has been "forgotten"?
- Misidentified because he was the ‘other Native’ on the team
- Public memory – cultural processes of remembering and forgetting
- Memories are always changing thus, every new insertion and omission shifts our understanding
of the past
- Public memory is as much what gets written down as what gets left out
- Fred Simpson
o Alderville, ON, Anishinaabe people
o Hard to find regular jobs on the reserve and hard to find jobs in general off the reserve
o Raised by his grandmother and learned traditional ways
o He preferred to travel by foot
o Ecological destruction of rice beds in Alderville – sought season employment – moved to
Hiawatha
o 1906  aged 28, he ran his first race and by 1908 was one of the top runners in the
world
o Could not afford amateur sport thus turned towards professionalism to generate
income
o He was a role model
- A focus on Tom Longboat had instilled in us the idea that all we need to know about Native
running can be learned from Tom Longboat
- Simpson was considered the ‘good’ native (reliable, pleasant and easy to train), while Longboat
was the ‘bad’ Native (unpredictable, pigheaded and disagreeable)
Who was Ned Hanlan? Why was he a controversial figure?
- Rowing – single sculling
- Gained early practice in the fishing skiff for angling and smuggling rum
- Caught by police for smuggling alcohol, however, after he won the Centennial Regatta people
forgot he had broken the law and looked the other way
- Technological innovation of the sliding seat – leverage and longer stroke
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Hanlan competed only for money in a time when professionalism was looked down upon
Hanlan vs. Charles Courtney
o 1878 backers of the athletes had the results arranged
o 1879  never happened because Courtney’s boat was sawed in half, Hanlan was
accused of sabotage
Hanlan made a livelihood at racing, therefore, it is possible that he won his races by a small
margin on purpose in order to keep the audience entertained
Controversy and intrigue plagued Hanlan’s career, however, the mania never wore off
His fans were probably the middle class and gambling was rampant
Clowning – sideshow entertainment and the complete humiliation of his opponent (i.e. waving)
Unsportsmanlike
Because of his popularity and skill, during his reign as world champion he was forced to hold
rowing exhibitions to showcase trickster feats as he could not make money by races
Later in his career, he made excuses for losing and failed to show up
What was the Richard Riot? Was it really just about hockey? Why or why not?
- Maurice “Rocket” Richard
- Idolized by the French
- Richard attack Laycoe and a referee – he was suspeneded for the remainder of the season and
playoffs
- 1955 – riots
o Campbell (presided over the hearing into the incident) attended the next game and a
riot broke out in the crowd
o Tear-gas bomb was exploded and the arean evacuated – the riot spilled out into the
streets lasting until 3:00am
o Richard had to issue a plea to Montreal citizens to accept the ruling and end the riot
Athletes and Important People
Louis Rubenstein (1861-1931)
- Figure-skater
- Tracing and retracing figures on the ice
- Lists that were to be skated in specific order and point values given to each figure
- Montreal took the leading role in standardization
- Codified list of figures was favoured by Rubenstein
- Had time to train
- St. Petersburg World Championship
o Three competitions
o European figure-skating closer to modern day
o Victorious at the unofficial world championship event
- Interest in cycling – held organize the World Bicycle Meet in Montreal
- Played billiards and bowled
- Administrative abilities were in demand
- Self-less devotion to helping others
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Louis Cyr (1863-1912)
- Strongest man who ever lived
- Weightlifting was in its infancy
- Strength coveted by the French – he trained to develop his strength
- Purchased a tavern where he could showcase his strength and collect income
- Uncommon lifts became part of Cyr’s skill and talent
- Crowd favourite – the horses pulling him in two directions
- No standardization or organization made it performance circus like
- Flair of theatrics – used member of the crowd
- His Canadian renown strictly confined to Montreal
Barbara Ann Scott (1928-2012)
- Figure skater
- Skillful and artistic expression, worked extremely hard
- ‘like and doll’
- Ideal female athletes competed in feminine sports
- Sensational for her femininity not athletic prowess
- Male vs. female heroism
- Celebrations were characteristic of bridal showers
- Volunteer for the Red Cross = right values
- She was the symbol for the propagation of an ideal female
- She achieved more than her achievements warranted
Ben Johnson (b. 1961)
- Anti-hero – stripped of Olympic gold at 1988 Seoul Olympics
- World Cup Champion = 100m in 10 seconds
- $480,000 a month in endorsements
- Carl Lewis spoke of banned substances being used in racing, calling out Johnson
- Lewis considered a brash, outspoken American
- Lewis vs. Johnson = Johnson Olympic gold at 9.79 seconds
- 62 hours later he was stripped of his medal
- Canada’s shame over the scandal – euphoria evaporated
- He was caught on the world stage
- Francis (his coach) admitted Johnson had been using steroids since 1981, therefore he was
stripped of his world records
- National embarrassment – Jamaican immigrant  Jamaican-Canadian  Canadian  after
disqualification  Jamaican-Canadian
- Represented the pressures of high performance in his sports era
Sports
Lacrosse
- Baggataway
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Redistribution of resources, establish respect, religious meanings, healing and honouring the
creator
Iroquoian Confederacy, the Great Lakes region and southeast USA
Hurdles, level field (1/2-mile-long), ball must strike the barrier, passing involved, best of three
heats
Ritual affairs – skills required, discipline, leadership, condition and unity
Natives was more of a running game compared to the passing game of the British
Native sport until 1844
MLC in 1856
Publication of rules standardized the game which was previously dependent on the teams
palying
Time limits were adopted in league play
o Goal nets were introduced
o New style of lacrosse tactics – shorter passes, hitting the open man and running offence
Amateur leagues were weakened by the defection of professionals
Hunting
- Legislation to define appropriate seasons for species of birds, mammals and fish
- Canada = hunter’s paradise
- Aboriginal guides
- British imposed scientific, legal and aesthetic interpretations of wildlife = systemization
- Control and management of wildlife
- Aboriginals were only allowed free hunting rights on their own land
Baseball
- Origins of baseball in Beachville, ON in 1838
- Working man’s sport
- Batters could choose their pitch and outfielders were inept at catching
- Gentlemanly bearing – respectability imposed on the working class
- Typically gambling and drinking involved
- Heated games resulted in fights
- George S. Sleeman
o Enhance spirit and promote the city
o Invested money into the Silver Creeks anf the Guelph Maple Leafs
o Realized money was necessary to sport – hired American players
o Baseball product depended on calibre
o Early contracts to ensure gentlemanly behaviour
- Printed stats of players to show the prowess of players by height and weight
- Crowds were drawn in large numbers
- The Tecumsehs – Jacob Englehart – promoted like a business
o Team folded for fraud
- Diffusion was rapid and widespread
- Spectators included people of every social standing
- Money was necessary for the survival of god teams and leagues
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Some players were promised jobs if they played for certain teams
C. 1880s  baseball mania – it was everywhere
Professional baseball has become permanently established in Toronto
Manitoba to BC embraced amateur baseball in the 1910s because of the rising railway costs
YMCAs promoted baseball – baseball expanded at all levels
Women’s softball emerged after the war for working class womem
Newspaper reports on trades, injuries and then full pages were devoted to baseball
Electric score board to show score, outs and balls and strikes
Fairs before the games for spectators
1945  Jackie Robinson = acceptance in Montreal
cultural infusions – song, theatre and literature
Themes
Organized Sport
- Only wealthy could afford the travel for sport (i.e. time consuming)
- Steamers used to shuttle spectators to horse-racing events
- 1900 = 30,000km of rail lines
- Baseball exploded with the opening of the prairies by rail
- Railway = promotion of clubs, ability to travel and reduction in travel time
- Formal schedules could not be created based on the accuracy of train schedules
- Newspapers promoted sports and telegraphs allowed sports reports to be transmitted almost
instantly
- Sport equipment was being mass-produced = greater accessibility, cost reductions and greater
uniformity and standardization