Beer at the ballpark, a brief history

This video looks at beer's relationship to professional baseball with a focus on German American contributions to the ballpark experience.

[@Rick_King]

I can't imagine going to a baseball game without a hot dog, a couple of beers, and some peanuts!

[@DSToNe19and83]

That’s the combo I roll with, can’t go wrong! 🍻

[@cranbell99]

aint nothin better!

[@Rogerrara]

Men will see this and think hell yeah.

[@charlesandrews2360]

In the 1970s when I cared about such things, Chicago's American League Baseball Park was considered the fun park to go to and Wrigley Field was mostly kids and a few hardcore fans out in the bleachers. I will say this, in the late 1970s on a Saturday night in the summertime if the White Sox were in town, Comiskey Park was the biggest party in town. Comiskey Park back then always did feel like more of a common everyday working man's ballpark. I guess that's vestiges of the American League appealing to the Immigrant class. Great video

[@davidswift7776]

To be civilized you need to drink beer and love baseball… and brats 😀 Loved your comprehensive KZbin.. very interesting and entertaining …cheers 🍻

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thanks for the comment.

[@dougspreher4576]

Another great video Dr. B. I tip my NY Yankee hat to you for including the "Holy Grail" clip in this video. And I know that one George Herman Ruth would have approved of this video since it included his 3 loves....baseball, beer and hot dogs!

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thanks Doug! It's good to hear from you. And you're right. The Babe, perhaps the most famous German American ever, loved beer, hot dogs, and baseball, probably in that order. ;)

[@MrSheckstr]

@@thebaseballprofessor or all at once

[@big8dog887]

These videos that tie baseball to the bigger picture of Americana are the reason I love your channel. Beer wasn't just a feature of the old American Association, it was pretty much the entire reason for its existence. NL President William Hulbert made it very clear that he didn't approve of beer and Sunday baseball, but it wasn't officially a rule. In 1880, the NL held a vote to make it a rule, and 7 of the 8 teams voted for it. The team that voted against it was Cincinnati, which had sold beer and allowed its park to be used on Sundays. So the other NL owners kicked the Reds out of the league for violating a rule that wasn't a rule yet. This led sportswriter O.P. Caylor and former Reds President Justus Thorner to gather some like-minded baseball businessmen, primarily from river cities with large German populations (Pittsburgh, Louisville, St. Louis) to form a rival league, the American Association, which came to be known as the "Beer and Whiskey League," as you describe. Harry M. Stevens was pretty much baseball's first concessions magnate, running the concessions operations at several ballparks around the country, including New York's Polo Grounds, where he claimed that in 1901, he was the first person with the idea to put frankfurters in a bun so the customer didn't have to handle the greasy things by hand. It's disputed whether that's true, but what is true is that Stevens invented the scorecard.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thanks for the comment. You know a lot more than I do about the American Association!

[@big8dog887]

@@thebaseballprofessor I know the basics, but I confess, sometimes I cheat a little to get the details before I make a comment. 😉

[@SantaDog81]

Ha, I have an old Coca-Cola cup from Candlestick Park that has Harry M. Stevens' branding on it.

[@LeviRamsey]

Technically not the Reds, it was the Cincinnati Stars who were expelled. The original Cincinnati Red Stockings folded after 1879 for unrelated reasons (with the new Stars franchise effectively taking their spot in the NL for the 1880 season. Caylor attempted to buy what was left of the Red Stockings out of bankruptcy, but couldn't reach a deal with the receivers. The modern-day Reds are a new-for-1881 franchise; only the Cubs (known originally as the White Stockings) and Braves (originally the Boston Red Stockings) have continuously been in the NL.

[@big8dog887]

@@LeviRamsey Thanks for the clarification. While we're at it, we should note that the National League Red Stockings that folded in 1879 are not the same team as the famed 1869-70 Red Stockings which won 81 consecutive games and are credited as baseball's first professional team. That team disbanded after 1870, with most of the players joining Boston in the National Association. When the National League was formed in 1876, a new Reds team was one of the charter members. The modern-day Reds, in their official histories, tend to include all of the above.

[@ProfessorEchoMedia]

Excellent video, comprehensive, expertly researched, beautifully presented. KZbin never gets better than this. Like sitting in the coolest history class ever!

[@Nuttyirishman85]

Heading out to Fenway for opening day in a few. I won’t be paying those beer prices.

[@ipod9771]

I don’t watch baseball, but there’s nothing like a hotdog and a beer and basketball game. Tradition.

[@antr7493]

"a brief history" Excellent job.

[@jdshort]

Ah, so this is more of a Brief History of Beer than it was about beer in ballparks...and I am, the frick, okay with that 💚 ⚾️ 🍻

[@jacobumali3691]

Shout out German Americans fr Baseball is incredible

[@Lucas-cf5sz]

this channel is unapparelled in it's quality blend of the old and the new.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thank you for the comment. It's much appreciated.

[@SleepyLabrador-dp6em]

This video is awesome. Keep doing history stuff pls.

[@CaLyPtSo44]

Really great video. Informative, concise, and entertaining.

[@CtrlAltDft]

This video was so good, it made me forget about my problems for a second. 😊 Thank you

[@billcarson6954]

Dang, I thought the video was just getting started; but ended 😅 Guess I just want more. And a hotdog.

[@peterb4871]

Great video, very well done

[@GertrudesDiddy]

Another certified banger! Thank you, Professor.

[@holidayarmadillo8653]

02:50 “ Bring out ya dead!” 😂

[@traviswilson36]

Cool video, thank you professor.

[@dafttassia1960]

Thank you for these videos

[@larsporsena9529]

Great video!

[@mikem9856]

From a July 6, 1870 story in the Milwaukee Journal of a game between Cream City and the Athletics of Chicago, played in Milwaukee: "The brigade of Chicago loudmouths near the lager beer stand yelled vociferously and drank freely."

[@jacobumali3691]

Here before this blows up

[@lhfirex]

Not sure if this video got recommended to me because I love beer, or baseball, or hot dogs, but it was a great watch!

[@Mattt5]

All at once?

[@Chyeahokay]

I wish the old lads could taste what we have now.

[@timeisahumanconstruct9251]

and i wish we could taste what those old lads had

[@marcusalazard7091]

great video

[@kevansmith5511]

Really good episode. Thank you. Hold my beer ... I'm up to bat.

[@JackyLegs]

Very informative! thanks !

[@yungdesk]

Dude, I learned so much! Great video.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thanks man!

[@henryflowers3223]

Well looks like ill be drinking a beer today

[@nflorez6822]

Super cool video, i’ll probably think about it every time i get a beer and a dachshund sausage at a game from now on😂😂

[@zedramer]

I’ve never realized just how German baseball really is

[@timc-m7306]

Hell yeah

[@scoon2117]

I work at coors and drink two beers on my lunch breaks

[@antonioreconquistador]

Damn that mustve made the 20s and 30s suck, your pitcher gets clobbered by babe ruth and your shortstop gets beaned by a spitball and you cant even numb the pain with 10 cent beer

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Coca cola doesn't quite numb the pain like draught lager.

[@bennymitch313]

@@thebaseballprofessorback then it did😅

[@JosephSchumaker]

Nice video

[@kgmoome]

80 percent of this video was not about beer and baseball - it was just about beer!

[@Mattt5]

Its context

[@marcjames-finel9461]

This video convinced me to go buy baseball tickets lol

[@BeepskiBopski]

Civilization perfected!

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Awesome! Subbed :)

[@panzer5033]

🤟

[@xpendabull]

“So what do you want?” “I want people to stop looking to me for answers, and I want my privacy!” “No, I mean, what do you *want*?” “Oh… Dog and a beer.”

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Terence Mann and the rest of us

[@Karatetedtunesreverbnation]

I can’t afford to go to Fenway to see the bosox play, any more. The price alone to park, never mind the ticket and price of beer, isn’t worth it! However, that allows me to splurge on some expensive craft beer, while I watch it on tv. I just picked up a 4 pack of Saint bernadus 12, which is a little pricey…but still cheaper than the price to park my car. I don’t think they sell Trappist ale at Fenway! If they did, it would be like $25 a bottle.

[@MrSheckstr]

As a milwaukee native and life time fan of the Brewers its a shame that somehow a micro league sponsored by American brewers. Imagine a loose association of mostly AA teams sponsored by the local brewery with appropriately sized stadiums, each uniquely themed to their host product

[@PanikStudios]

If you are a fellow lover of beer and a baseball game, read Haruki Murakami’s short story “Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection” from his latest short story collection. Truly a paean to this most wonderful of things.

[@BellaBellaElla]

Midwest truly is best! :)

[@TempAlt]

what were the german ideas about leisure? WHAT WERE THE GERMAN IDEAS ABOUT LEISURE?

[@The_fire_truck_guy]

Can you make a video on Hoyt Wylhelm?

[@thebaseballprofessor]

He's on my list. I need to read more on his war experience.

[@The_fire_truck_guy]

@@thebaseballprofessor I’m his 4th cousin so I can help! He was wounded by artillery and received a purple heart. He played his whole career with metal in his back. He was a staff Sargent which later gave him the nickname “ol’ sarge.”He served in the Army and played baseball for his division or squad, something like that. My grandpa has the bat that he used for his first and only (pretty sure only) home run.

[@kylelawson2113]

Hey, don't know if someone else has said this, but I think your map at 3:25 is a fictional map, i.e. theres no such island as Caproney. Found the original map on the subreddit r/imaginarymaps. Made me laugh though, and great video!

[@thebaseballprofessor]

You are the second person to note that I had included a fictitious map in the video. I went with it for aesthetic reasons because an image search for "Hanseatic League" at high quality left me unsatisfied excepting the map I used from subreddit.

[@jamesweldon8118]

Mississippi. Germans were just like nah 0:24

[@voiceofreason2674]

They went there and louisiana too they just assimilated really quickly. There is still some distinct German / Slavic influence in the shrimping and fishing industries. They brought a special net that has never been seen in America before and they helped develop a style of fish farming where you did a giant hole and trick some fish to come in there and breed and now you got a replenishing supply of fish. If you've ever eaten American tilapia before youre kinda taking part in something Mississippi people with german ancestry. Heck most of the beer barons immigrated thru the mouth of Mississippi not Ellis Island. That's why beer ended up in St Louis and Milwaukee

[@naciremasti]

How's inning one of your shadowball documentary coming along?

[@thebaseballprofessor]

It's 23 percent done. I'll need to visit Cooperstown's archive for three months to complete the project. Hopefully there is a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to support such noble research.

[@naciremasti]

@@thebaseballprofessor there's nothing of value there.

[@SamAronow]

3:26 I don't know _where_ you got this map, but (1) the Hanseatic League wasn't a state with territory so much as a corporation with licenses to trade in certain ports and (2) "Caproney" fell beneath the sea during the end of the last Ice Age.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I didn't call it a state did I? I think of the Hanseatic League as a confederation of allied ports in Northern Europe. Also, I know nothing about Caproney. The map was used to illustrate a point and because it was a high resolution image: www.reddit.com/r/Caproney/comments/vlfj0c/trade_routes_between_caproney_and_the_hanseatic/

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Btw, an undergrad at Oregon State recommended a video of yours on the Jewish Emancipation. Pretty cool that I was already familiar with your channel.

[@SamAronow]

@@thebaseballprofessor Nice! Thanks for replying. Sorry for nitpicking.

[@DSToNe19and83]

“Beer drinking barbarians” sounds like a rowdy bunch..

[@lewisfamily4237]

Dude you talk exactly like Chris from Parks and Rec

[@csnide6702]

annnnd........ NOTHING beats a cold one after playing a baseball game !

[@xlargetophat]

Now we have to sneak cheap vodka into games

[@ender4life]

“Ching-Tao”

[@silverranger302]

The game is supposed to be about leisure. Now they've ruined it with the time clock.

[@thejerk95]

Yuengling

[@stevenguevara2184]

10 cent beer night! Guess what happened?

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Bad idea jeans

[@chrisfloyd7316]

If only a beer and hotdogs didn't cost $50

[@thebaseballprofessor]

The price of ballpark food is absurd in so many cities.

[@coldlakealta4043]

long-time Toronto Blue Jays fan who has had many a beer at the ball park - which I no longer do because the cost of a simple beer has risen absurdly. Compare the cost to the vendor to the selling price and it is highway robbery.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

It would be fun to do a video about beer prices over time. It would require substantial research, but be interesting and fun to do.

[@coldlakealta4043]

@@thebaseballprofessor I was at the 1st Blue Jays home game ever, July 7 1977. Due to our outdated Provincial Liquor Act there was no beer on sale - none, in fact, till July 1982. I think for those 5 years we were the only dry park in MLB - unless you count the flasks being smuggled in by the fans. The first beers went for $1.75 CDN (~$1.25 US), draft only in paper cups.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

@@coldlakealta4043 Wild. My impression, which is partially based on the classic film Strange Brew, is that beer was accessible and widespread in public venues across Ontario.

[@coldlakealta4043]

@@thebaseballprofessor not at sporting sites til '82. It was bad enough sitting in the disaster of Exhibition Stadium, the functionally double A park where they started, without having a sunny day thirst. Public announcements at the opening day game in '77, when it actually snowed, were drowned out by chants of "we want beer". They didn't listen to us. BTW, we beat the White Sox 9-5 on homers by a guy named Doug Ault.

[@alandesouzacruz5124]

Make a vídeo about the history of Bubble Gum in Baseball

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I like your idea. Baseball is the only professional sports where you see players chewing gum in significant numbers.

[@theathletearchives]

A Monty Python clip in a baseball video! How could I not upvote this?!

[@rare762]

Took one of your classes years ago randomly found this video. Very cool new channel to listen to

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Who is this?

[@rare762]

@@thebaseballprofessor I don’t disclose my identity online. I took your class in like 2019 I think. Liked it WAYYY more than barone lol

[@FullOfMalarky]

5:03 Almost sounded like you said Chechnya

[@thebaseballprofessor]

You're right! I'm not even perfectly sure how Czechia is prononced. Probably should have gone with the Czech Republic.

[@stevefromchicago8277]

And you can still attend baseball with your family, drink beer and have hot dogs, it will just cost you $300

[@thebaseballprofessor]

The price of entertainment is absurd. Tickets to the pavillon and upper deck at Dodger Stadium were still $5 less than twenty years ago. It's ashame how families can't afford going to games any longer.

[@duewhit310]

June 4, 1974 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 10cent beer night 😠😡👿👹😬😰😱🤕🤕🤕🤕

[@duewhit310]

THE BEEERRRRR GUY'ZZZZZZZ HEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRE! NOT THE MAIL MAN, NOT THE GAS MAN, NOT THE TAX MAN.....

[@duewhit310]

Oh and............... It was also bat day!!!! 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@luiszuluaga6575]

America truly is a melting pot and the resulting cultural outcomes are memorable.

[@mattpavey3062]

300!!!!! Marines tun tavern...

[@bassbich]

«chechia “?😂 really?

[@thebaseballprofessor]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_the_Czech_Republic

[@bassbich]

@@thebaseballprofessor didn't mean to be mean. But I can't see where the article says that your way of pronunciation is acceptable. I'm open to arternative perspective if you provide one🤓

[@leeatterberry1239]

When I think of baseball I think of going to bed

[@rkid727]

Busch, Schlitz, Pabst…..all terrible beers and taste nothing like German beers. Such a weird phenomenon.

[@Bigpunz67]

This video wasn’t even about baseball

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Baseball and society!

[@alexisflores7478]

Baseball would be the most boring sport if it wasn’t for beer and the food there 😂

[@joshreich6797]

Baseball is so boring you gotta be drunk to watch it lol

[@icomarv17]

Baseball is boring AF

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Better with beer?

[@ttlde4594]

Gotta have something to drink while watching such a boring "sport"