Parallels in Popularity
Imagine a time when America was buzzing with excitement as sixty-one professional baseball leagues prepared to play.
In the spring of 1949, four hundred and fifty-seven professional minor league teams in four hundred and fifty-seven cities across forty-eight states awaited the new season.
Towns like Big Stone Gap, Virginia, home to the Big Stone Gap Rebels, were eager to take the field against visiting teams like the Oak Ridge Bombers from Tennessee.
Meanwhile, 1949 marked the beginning of the golden age of harness horse racing, with large crowds gathering at racetracks like Yonkers and Roosevelt in a dozen states.
Daily newspapers featured headlines on harness horses and participants, with many Americans familiar with racehorses like Good Times, Rodney, and Victory Song.
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Author's summary: America's sports scene was thriving in 1949.