Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

contextual_somebody OP t1_ixv0k0n wrote

Reply to comment by Lumpyproletarian in TIL In The 1930s, Baseball rivaled Soccer In England, attracting 10,000 spectators per game. In 1938, at the inaugural Baseball World Cup, Great Britain defeated the USA 4 games to 1. The outbreak of WWII interrupted the sports ascendancy, and it never recovered its prewar popularity. by contextual_somebody

I don’t have a bubble or a dog in this fight. Baseball was rapidly becoming very popular and in some places it rivaled Soccer and the two sports shared a pitch.

West Ham hosted Baseball at the Olympics because of the Hammers’ history as one of the most successful baseball clubs in England.

6

lofty2p t1_ixv74k1 wrote

Interestingly, for a long time the world record for a crowd at a game of baseball was held by the MCG in Australia. I believe that baseball was a demonstration sport at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and a huge crowd flooded the MCG to watch. As that stadium was bigger than most US baseball stadiums for a few decades, it held the record for some time.

4