Baseball's working-class roots

[WY Met]

One of the things that drew me towards baseball initially was its supposed association with the working classes of America during the early stages of the sport's history.

Are there genuine links?

Is baseball a true working-class pastime? (MLB salaries aside! )

I'd love to find out more.

Cheers!
Tom

[royalblue]

Hi.

I don't recall where I read this, but I believe it to be true.

Baseball and cricket were about equal in popularity leading up to the american civil war. Since the soldiers had plenty of time on their hands they needed a game, and a baseball field could be created anywhere while a cricket pitch required too much care. After the war the soldiers returned home and brought the game with them. Cricket was marginalised to the highest classes and eventually disapearred altogether. And the rest as they say is history.

Here is an article I just found on baseball in the civil war:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/aubrecht2004b.shtml