University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Crashsmith Dope: the Role of Media in the Development of Professional Baseball in New York From 1919-1929 Ryan McGregor Whittington Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Whittington, Ryan McGregor, "Crashsmith Dope: the Role of Media in the Development of Professional Baseball in New York From 1919-1929" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 308. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/308 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. CRASHSMITH DOPE: THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL IN NEW YORK FROM 1919-1929 BY RYAN M. WHITTINGTON B.A., University of Mississippi, Oxford, 2009 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The University of Mississippi In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In the Meek School of Journalism © Copyright by Ryan M. Whittington 2011 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT John McGraw’s New York Giants were the premier team of the Deadball Era, which stretched from 1900-1919. Led by McGraw and his ace pitcher, Christy Mathewson, the Giants epitomized the Deadball Era with their strong pitching and hard-nosed style of play. In 1919 however, The New York Times and The Sporting News chronicled a surge in the number of home runs that would continue through the 1920s until the entire sport embraced a new era of baseball.