Baseball 1
1994-09-18 | Documentary | 9 episodes2 Seasons
Episode
Inning One: Our Game (1994)
In New York City, in the 1840s, people need a diversion from the "railroad pace" at which they work and live. They find it in a game of questionable origins. Inning One, Our Game, looks at the origins of baseball in the 1840s and takes the story up to 1900. Burns refutes the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown and traces its roots instead to the earliest days of the nation.
Directed By
- Ken Burns
Writer
- Ken Burns
Inning Two: Something Like a War (1994)
In 1894, a sportswriter named Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson takes over a struggling minor league - the Western League - and turns it into a financial success. Inning Two, Something Like a War, takes viewers through 1910 and introduces some of the game's most celebrated and colorful characters, including Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.
Directed By
- Ken Burns
Writer
- Ken Burns
Inning Three: The Faith of Fifty Million People (1994)
Examine the century's second decade, which was dominated by the Black Sox scandal. George Herman “Babe” Ruth makes his first major league appearance (as a member of the Boston Red Sox) and a wave of immigration helps fill the stands with new fans, eager to “become American” by learning America's game.
Directed By
- Ken Burns
Writer
- Ken Burns
Inning Four: A National Heirloom (1994)
This episode concentrates on Babe Ruth, whose phenomenal performance thrilled the nation throughout the 1920s and rescued the game from the scandal of the previous decade.
Directed By
- Ken Burns
Writer
- Ken Burns
Inning Five: Shadow Ball (1994)
The story of the Negro Leagues in the 1930s. “Shadow Ball” refers to a common pre-game feature in which the players staged a mock game with an imaginary ball. Though unintended, the pantomime was an apt metaphor for the exclusion of blacks from major league play at that time.
Directed By
- Ken Burns
Writer
- Ken Burns
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