Sunday sporting events

Last updated

Sunday sporting events were not usually played until the early 20th century. In North America, they were prohibited due to blue laws at first, but then cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati later decided to legalize them. Other cities such as New York City and Philadelphia had intense political and court battles to legalize the games. [1] Nowadays, professional sports leagues schedule games on Sundays in the United States, though this practice continues to be opposed by some Christian denominations upholding first-day Sabbatarian doctrine. [2]

Contents

Origins

A recreation ground in Raasay, Scotland displaying a sign that reads "Please do not use this playing field on Sundays", reflecting a commitment to first-day Sabbatarian Christian doctrine. Recreation ground on the Isle of Raasay - geograph.org.uk - 1476596.jpg
A recreation ground in Raasay, Scotland displaying a sign that reads "Please do not use this playing field on Sundays", reflecting a commitment to first-day Sabbatarian Christian doctrine.

Because of Christian religious orthodoxy, it was considered offensive to work on Sunday, which was expected to be a day of worship and rest from servile labor. Many governments instituted blue laws to limit activities that could be pursued on a Sunday, including such recreational pursuits as sports and games. In 1794, the Pennsylvania Assembly restricted activities on Sunday by passing what they called "an Act for the prevention of vice and immorality, and of unlawful gaming, and to restrain disorderly sports and dissipation". [3]

By sport

Association football

In England, association football was historically banned on Sunday. However, in 1974, The Football Association appealed to the Home Office to allow Sunday football to counter the ban on using floodlights due to the three day week which was granted. [4] Due to the Sunday Observance Act, clubs were banned from charging admission but they exploited a loophole in the law and state that though admission would be free, a purchase of a programme to the equivalent price of a ticket would be required to enter. [5] In Northern Ireland, the Irish Football Association retained a total ban on Sunday football until 2008 when the rules were relaxed to allow them only if both teams agreed and that no player could be punished for refusing to play on Sunday. [6] [7] Further relaxations allowed for Sunday matches if Northern Irish clubs had European matches during the week and to avoid matches clashing with major national events. [8]

American Football

Lobbying efforts by baseball team owner Connie Mack influenced Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot to modify the state's blue law on 25 April 1933 "so that local jurisdictions could choose whether to allow baseball or football games to be played on Sunday." [1]

In Pittsburgh, Steelers football team founder Art Rooney faced opposition as the city's blue laws prevented him from holding football games on Sundays. [9] Realizing that a large amount of the city's residents who supported blue laws were planning to protest the upcoming Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Giants baseball game, Rooney "hurried down to city hall to get some answers", where the Director of Public Safety, Harmar Denny, informed him that only two people held the authority to stop the sporting event from happening, one being himself and the other being Franklin McQuaide, the superintendent of police. [9] Denny said that he would be out of town on that Sunday. [9] As such, Rooney stopped at McQuaide's office and invited him to sit at the 50-yard line, an offer that McQuaide accepted, which resulted in the football game not being shut down. [9]

Baseball

Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics Connie Mack3.jpg
Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics

In 1902, Sunday baseball games were legalized in Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. [3]

In 1907, New York City Democrats introduced two bills in Albany, New York that attempted to legalize Sunday baseball. State Assemblyman Al Smith spoke out against the ban of Sunday baseball, arguing that it was better for young men to be playing baseball than to "be driven to places where they play Waltz Me Around Again, Willie." However, both bills were unsuccessful. [10]

In 1911, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack expressed a desire for the Athletics to play on Sunday. The main driving force behind his interest in playing on Sunday was to earn money. The Athletics were not a wealthy baseball club, and Athletics vice-president John Shibe estimated that the team would make $20,000 for each Sunday game that they played in Philadelphia. Mack thought that, for the team, it was financially necessary to play on Sundays, explaining that "we [the Athletics] cannot meet our payrolls playing on seventy-seven weekdays at home". Many Pennsylvania politicians and religious groups opposed Shibe and Mack's effort for Sunday baseball, claiming that playing on that day was a "breach of peace" and that the games would be "a disturbance to persons in that neighborhood desirous of preserving the peace and quiet of Sunday so that they may in such peace and quiet pursue their religious worship and meditation". Unfortunately for the Athletics, Philadelphia's other baseball team, the Phillies, took no public position on the subject, undermining the Athletics' case. [3]

In 1917, the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds played the first Sunday game ever at the Polo Grounds, New York's home field. It was a benefit game, held during the First World War, to assist dependents of a military regiment. However, after the game both managers, John McGraw and Christy Mathewson, were arrested for violating the blue laws. Judge Francis Xavier McQuade found them not guilty and commended them for their patriotic motives. [10] [11]

The following year, Sunday baseball was legalized in Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and Detroit. [3] One year after that, New York legalized baseball games on Sunday, and baseball teams that played in New York (the New York Giants, the New York Yankees, and the Brooklyn Dodgers) were allowed to have home games on Sunday. [3] [10]

The Athletics fight for Sunday baseball

In 1926, the Philadelphia Athletics were selected to host the Sesquicentennial Exposition to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of American Independence. The Exposition was running a deficit, so the board of directors voted to open on Sundays and charge an admission fee. A few days later, the Athletics announced that they would play a game on August 22, 1926 against the Chicago White Sox. Officials for the Athletics felt that there was no difference between charging people admission for Exposition amusements on Sunday, and charging a fee for a baseball game. Philadelphia mayor W. Freeland Kendrick objected to the Athletics' decision and announced that he would use police to keep Shibe Park closed. The Athletics went to court to request that Kendrick's decision be overturned. Judge Frank Smith granted the A's request and ruled on Saturday, August 21, 1926 that those seeking to prohibit Sunday baseball could only do so if "their right to quiet and undisturbed religious worship is encroached upon as a result of the game". Smith's ruling also declared that to prove the game had created "a breach of peace", the game first had to be played, so the earliest legal action that could take place would be on the following Monday. [3]

12,000 spectators attended the game, where the Athletics defeated the White Sox 3–2. [3] During the game, Rev. William B. Forney drove around the park multiple times, and said that he was "ashamed that such an exhibition could be held on the Sabbath", and called the cheers from the crowd a "disgusting noise". Athletics manager Connie Mack was glad that baseball was played on Sunday, and was quoted as saying "I am glad that we won, of course, but I am more than glad that nothing happened that could be construed as a breach of the peace… I wish all those who oppose Sunday baseball could have been here today. They would see that we are not causing a lessening in church attendance." [3]

Mayor Kendrick said that although the crowd for Sunday's game was "unusually subdued", he thought that any Sunday game was a breach of peace and the law. He also announced that the city of Philadelphia would seek a higher court to overturn Judge Smith's ruling. Connie Mack quickly announced that scheduling difficulties would prevent any more Sunday games in 1926. Even owner John Shibe told fans that "we are not going out of our way to play Sunday games... As there are no open Sundays left we shall probably leave things as they are until next season." [3]

The City of Philadelphia took the case to Dauphin County Court, where the court decided the baseball being played on Sunday was unlawful "worldly employment". The Athletics then announced that they would take their case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, who ruled in September 1927, by a vote of 7 to 2, the Sunday Baseball was both "unholy" and "worldly employment". The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also threatened the Athletics, saying that if the A's continued to play on Sunday, their club corporation franchise would be revoked. After this ruling, Athletics attorney announced that although the Athletics were going to drop their appeal, they did not plan on giving up. [3]

In 1931, a bill to liberalize the Blue Sunday Laws was introduced by supporters in the Pennsylvania State Legislature. The bill was passed by the house 106-98, but was soundly defeated by the State Senate. This caused A's attorney Gartling to announce plans to build a 50,000 seat stadium in Camden, New Jersey and move the team if Sunday restrictions were not eliminated. A public outcry ensued, which caused owner Shibe to quickly say that the plan was only visionary. [3]

In 1933, the House and Senate of Pennsylvania finally passed a bill that allowed local jurisdictions to vote on whether Sunday sports would be legalized in their area. When Philadelphia voted on the proposal, they easily won the right to play sports on Sunday. However, the A's had already sold many of their star players (including Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, and Lefty Grove) to pay for team finances, and in 1954 the A's moved to Kansas City, Missouri. The bill also didn't help the Philadelphia Phillies, who were struggling financially, until the team was bought by owner R. R. M. Carpenter, Jr., who was able to fix the Phillies' financial situation. [3]

Present-day practice

Once the last of the blue laws preventing Sunday baseball were gone, most teams scheduled Sunday games regularly. In the 1950s and 1960s, most teams frequently scheduled doubleheaders on Sunday to maximize attendance. [12] Although rising attendance has led to the elimination of regularly scheduled doubleheaders (with rare exceptions), Major League Baseball still schedules a full slate of games for each Sunday during the season, including Sunday night games televised by ESPN. Minor leagues play regularly on Sunday as well.

Opposition to Sunday sports

Churches teaching the doctrine of first-day Sabbatarianism (Sunday Sabbatarianism), such as the Presbyterian Churches and Methodist Churches, traditionally believe that the Lord's Day should be dedicated to worship (through attendance at church services and family prayer), works of mercy (such as visiting the sick), as well as rest from servile labour. [13] [14] [2] [15] They believe that viewing and participating in sporting events held on Sundays are in violation of the Ten Commandments dictum to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". [13] [14] [16] As such, many Christian sports leagues do not hold games on Sundays. [17]

Certain Christian denominations oppose professional sports as a whole, believing that the industry is guilty of Sabbath desecration because many participating leagues hold sporting events on the Lord's Day. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Athletics</span> Major League Baseball franchise in Oakland, California

The Oakland Athletics are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. The team plays its home games at the Oakland Coliseum. The nine World Series championships, fifteen pennants, and seventeen division titles that the A's have won throughout their history is the second-highest in the American League after the New York Yankees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Mack</span> American baseball manager and owner (1862–1956)

Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins (3,731), losses (3,948), and games managed (7,755). Mack's victory total is 829 more than the second highest total, 2,902 wins by Tony La Russa. Mack's lead in career losses is even greater, 1,433 higher than the second highest total, La Russa's 2,515.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shibe Park</span> Philadelphia major league stadium from 1909 to 1970; known as Connie Mack Stadium from 1953 to 1970

Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1909, it became baseball's first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to "The $100,000 Infield", "The Whiz Kids", and "The 1964 Phold". The venue's two home teams won both the first and last games at the stadium: the Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 8–1 on opening day 1909, while the Phillies beat the Montreal Expos 2–1 on October 1, 1970, in the park's final contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Bowl</span> Former baseball field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States (1887-1938)

National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with a capacity of 12,500, burned down in 1894, and was rebuilt in 1895 as the first ballpark constructed primarily of steel and brick, and first with a cantilevered upper deck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Park</span> Baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Columbia Park or Columbia Avenue Grounds was a baseball park in Philadelphia. It was built in 1901 as the first home of the Philadelphia Athletics, who played there for eight seasons, including two games of the 1905 World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1914 World Series</span> 1914 Major League Baseball championship series

The 1914 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 1914 season. The 11th edition of the World Series, it was played between the American League champion and defending World Series champion Philadelphia Athletics and the National League champion Boston Braves.

Byrum Fred Saam Jr. was an American sportscaster. He was best known as the first full-time voice of baseball in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Series (Philadelphia)</span> Former Major League Baseball rivalry

The City Series was the name of a series of intracity baseball games played between Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics of the American League and its predecessors, and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League that ran from 1883 through 1954. While the games were officially exhibitions, they were a matter of prestige in Philadelphia and a long rivalry existed between the players, management, and fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Shibe</span>

Benjamin Franklin Shibe was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who was owner and president of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with the invention of the automated stitching machinery to make standardized baseballs. Shibe Park was named in his honor from 1909 to 1954. Shibe died in 1922, and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earle Mack</span> Major League Baseball player and coach

Earle Thaddeus McGillicuddy, known as Earle Mack, was an American player and coach in Major League Baseball, and, during parts of two seasons, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics when his father, Connie Mack, was too ill to manage. He also became a part-owner of the franchise. His nephew Connie Mack III became a U.S. Senator.

Robert Ruliph Morgan Carpenter Jr. was an owner and club president of the Philadelphia Phillies of American Major League Baseball. When he took command of the Phillies in November 1943 after his father and he purchased the franchise, the 28-year-old Carpenter became the youngest club president in baseball history. He became sole owner upon his father's death in 1949 and would serve as president of the Phillies until 1972, when his son succeeded him. The Carpenter family owned the Phillies from 1943 to 1981; they also were known as the Blue Jays from 1944 to 1949.

The 1937 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing seventh in the American League with a record of 54 wins and 97 losses.

The 1905 Philadelphia Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished first in the American League with a record of 92 wins and 56 losses, winning their second pennant. They went on to face the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series, losing 4 games to 1.

The PittsburghStars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of the first National Football League, which has no connection with the modern National Football League. The league was a curious mixture of baseball and football, with two of the three teams sponsored by the major league baseball teams of the same names, and the Pittsburgh team suspected of being secretly financed by baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. The Stars were managed by Dave Berry, previously the manager of the Latrobe Athletic Association professional football team.

The Philadelphia Athletics was a professional American football team based in Philadelphia in 1902. The team was a member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection to the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture of baseball and football. During the league's only year in existence, two of the three teams that were financed by the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies, hence the names Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies. The Pittsburgh Stars made up the third team and was suspected of being financed by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

The first National Football League (NFL) was the first attempt at forming a national professional American football league in 1902. This league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which meant it was actually regional, despite having locations in the two largest cities in Pennsylvania. Two of the teams were based in Philadelphia, while the third was based in Pittsburgh. This NFL was a curious mixture of football players and baseball players who adapted to playing football. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell was with the Philadelphia Athletics, and pitcher Christy Mathewson a fullback for Pittsburgh. Two of the three teams were owned by the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics, with the third team suspected of being owned by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The league folded after the 1902 season.

The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was a member of what was referred to as the National Football League—not to be confused with the National Football League of today. The whole league was a curious mixture of football players as well as baseball players who adapted to playing football. The Phillies were owned and financed by baseball's Philadelphia Phillies just as the owners of the Philadelphia Athletics financed their team, the Philadelphia Athletics. The Pittsburgh Stars made up the third team and was suspected of being financed by the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Ambler</span> American baseball player

Wayne Harper Ambler was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned six seasons, including three in Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1939). Over his career in the majors, Ambler player second base and shortstop. He also played in the minor leagues. Ambler played for the Class-A Williamsport Grays (1939), the Double-A Jersey City Giants (1940) and the Double-A Indianapolis Indians (1941). Ambler made his major league debut on June 4, 1937, after never playing in the minors, a rare feat. During his major league career, Ambler compiled a batting average of .224 with 175 hits, 39 doubles, two triples, 73 runs batted in (RBIs) and four stolen bases in 271 games played.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Athletics</span> History of Major League Baseball (MLB) team

The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakland Athletics, their current identity and location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Athletics 18, Cleveland Indians 17 (1932)</span> Major League Baseball game

On July 10, 1932, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians 18–17 in 18 innings in a Major League Baseball game played at League Park in Cleveland. Several major-league records were set during the game; for example, Johnny Burnett of the Indians became the only player to hit safely nine times in a game, while Cleveland's 33 hits and the teams' combined 58 hits are also single-game records. Pitcher Eddie Rommel secured the win for the Athletics, pitching an American League-record 17 innings in relief after Philadelphia's Lew Krausse gave up three runs in the first inning. The 29 hits Rommel allowed are a major-league record; the 14 runs against him are the most given up by a winning pitcher.

References

  1. 1 2 Edmonds, Ed; Houdek, Frank G. (4 March 2017). Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events. McFarland. p. 81. ISBN   978-1-4766-2906-3.
  2. 1 2 Jones, M. (12 June 2015). "Organized Sports on Sundays?". Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "The Fight for Sunday Baseball in Philadelphia". Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  4. ↑ https://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/holy-commotion/
  5. ↑ https://www.footballsite.co.uk/History/Sunday%20Football.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.neura.co.uk/Documents/IFA%20Football%20Regs.%20Dec.%202020.pdf
  7. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/7121172.stm
  8. ↑ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/irish-league/fans-voted-in-favour-of-sunday-football-with-their-feet-now-ifa-must-bring-rules-in-line/a443727126.html
  9. 1 2 3 4 Sahadi, Lou (2004). Johnny Unitas: America's Quarterback. Triumph Books. ISBN   978-1-62368-145-6.
  10. 1 2 3 "NYC'S BLUE LAWS". Gotham Gazette. 2003-05-26. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  11. ↑ "Baseball Men Exonerated. Magistrate McQuade Commends Managers for Sunday Game" (PDF). New York Times . August 22, 1917. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  12. ↑ "Larry Stone, Doubleheaders Are Passe", Baseball Digest, Nov. 2000
  13. 1 2 Hughes, James R. (2006). "The Sabbath: A Universal and Enduring Ordinance of God" (PDF). Evangelical Presbyterian Church . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Why an Evening Worship Service?". Christ United Reformed Church. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  15. ↑ Edwards, Jonathan. "The Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath" . Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  16. 1 2 Handel, Paul S. (2020). Reasons Why Organized Sports Are Not Pleasing to God. Immanuel Missionary Church. p. 4.
  17. ↑ Turley, Steve. "Sports on Sundays: The Consequences of Skipping Church". Turley Talks. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.