Lesson Plan for' 'Baseball and the Cold War: An Examination of Values"

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. How are these statements about baseball related to key political, eco­ nomic, and diplomatic events of the Cold War era? Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/maghis/article/2/1/24/1215438 by guest on 29 September 2021 2. Which quote do you think best demonstrates American values during the Cold War? Present your ideas in a newspaper editorial or essay. ACTIVITIES 1. Gather quotes about baseball from the 1980s. Do they provide any in­ sights into contemporary American politics and society? 2. Gather baseball quotes from another time period, such as the 1960s, and compare them to these quotes from the Cold War era. Do they provide any evidence that American values have changed over time? If so, how have they changed? 3. Investigate other aspects of popular culture during the Cold War era such as film, music, popular novels, fashion, or other sports. Did other kinds of popular culture share baseball's attitude toward the Cold War? If you find any differences, describe them and see if you can come up withany explanation or hypothesis for the differences. QUOTES A. "One must believe the sport is making a worthwhile contribution to the welfare of the Community and Country and give an unconquerable devo­ tion to it. Equip yourselves with the habiliments of success--dress, look and act like it. " , President, Brooklyn Dodgers. B. "Amity is the prime essential for success." Sporting News. by Ron Briley C. "While the marching hordes in China are spreading the doctrine of com­ munism, officials of the national pastime are helping to make democracy work in this country by giving every youth a chance to carve out his own career." John Bricker, U.S. Senator from Ohio. D. "I know that life in these United States can be mighty tough for people who are a little different from the majority, in their skin color or the way they worship their God, or the way they spell their names. But, they'd do their best to help their country stay out of war; if unsuccessful, they'd do their best to help their country win the war against Russia or any other enemy that threatened us. " Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers. E. "If more ambassadors used sports instead of double talk as their medium of expression, I'm sure the world would be much better off, and to test the theory, I'd like to see the new envoy to Moscow introduce himself in the Kremlin by fetching Uncle Joe Stalin a resounding whack ~m the nog­ gin with one of Joe DiMaggio's castoff bats." Dan Parker, Ne~ York Mirror. \ F. "Next to religion, no other agency played such a large part in maintain­ ing our morale both at home and at actual battlefronts in World War II, and I repeat that unless actual enemy attacks on the shore of the United States prescribe otherwise, should be encouraged to continue its operations as long as it possibly can do so." Frank Lane, General Manager, . G. "If the school would teach American history and basic Christianity, they would mark an end to subversion, secret cells, and false -isms." Branch Rickey, President, Brooklyn Dodgers .•

24 Magazine of History