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TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010 3 ). Collaboration between and

streetcars benefits. Unlike many other enterprises, served a practical purpose for baseball—delivering quickly, easily, numbers of people to the games large and cheaply (2 was consequential for both. therefore streetcars and low price of streetcar The speed, capacity, attraction transportation intersected with the public of baseball games in a way that provided mutual benefits.

M H C , USEUM ISTORY HICAGO COLLECTION

N D C : P NEGATIVES EWS AILY HICAGO HOTO uniforms man- its ). Throughout and characterized baseball as ark Twain and vis- “the very symbol, the outward of the drive and push ible expression and rush and struggle of the raging, Benefits Mutual had obvious and unique links with base- Streetcars Businesses of the era used baseball to promote tearing, booming 19th century” (1 eas- industry—were by the sporting-goods ufactured as ily identified with baseball. Other products—such linked food and beer—also would become strongly with the game. Additional economic interests—for jew- example, those involving tobacco, drugstores, less imme- and dry goods establishments—had elry, but sought to diate connections with the sport capitalize on its popularity. public transit via - ball. In the late 19th century, intersected with baseball, with mutual cars regularly national pastime came to formative decades, America’s a bat and a than just a game involving signify more the increas- and represented reflected ball. The sport entrepre- ingly industrialized, rough-and-tumble, neurial phase of American history. after the root that took marketing trend products—a by the 1880s. and expanded dramatically Civil War as the bats Some products—such Outside in , players in the ’s take part in a parade 1906 World celebrating the team’s on the left Series championship. Visible side of the image are streetcar tracks, with a streetcar in the background. M Connections and Close

The author is Information Resource American , Association of State and Officials, Transportation D.C. This Washington, a article is adapted from at the presentation 20th Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2008. Century in the 19th Streetcars and America’s Baseball G. CULLEN ROBERT

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ment over the use of horses, and cable cars were a good fit for cities like San Francisco with steep grades and mild climates. Cable cars, however, were not as well-suited for cities with different topographies and less temperate weather. Moreover, the systems were expensive to build, and a single cable break could strand passengers on the entire line. In the 1880s, several efforts focused on harness- ing electricity to mobilize streetcars. Inventor Leo Daft introduced -ever commercially operated electric streetcar in 1885. With a power unit, Daft supplied electricity through a third rail between two riding rails on a track in . The electric cur- rent allowed a locomotive to pull former horsecars Like other forms of transportation in the mid- forward along the track. nineteenth century, early rail cars were horse-drawn. The rails allowed the cars to travel quickly and What’s a Trolley? offered a smoother ride. A greater breakthrough, however, occurred in 1888. Frank J. Sprague, an inventor who had worked for Steady Evolution Thomas Alva Edison, installed a system of electric Streetcars grew in quality and scope during a time streetcars in Richmond, Virginia. The streetcars relied when baseball was steadily evolving. The origins of on overhead wires for electricity. The current origi- the streetcar in the United States can be traced to nated at a central station and traveled from the wire to 1827, when a horse-drawn that could carry the car’s motor via a long pole. The pole was outfitted a dozen passengers was introduced in City. with a small wheel called a shoe, which rolled along the This type of carriage became known as the omnibus. wire. The wheel also was known as a trolley, a word The stagecoach-like means of transportation soon used to describe that type of streetcar. proved popular but had some conspicuous flaws— Sprague’s electric streetcar experiment in Rich- for example, shaking noisily over cobblestone mond proved a huge success. The overhead wires and getting stuck in mud. The flaws were addressed were more reliable than the third rail for moving the in 1832, when a horse-drawn rail car began running vehicles. The electricity-powered motors were effi- in between Prince Street in Lower cient and strong enough to sustain climbs up steep Manhattan and Harlem. Riding on steel rails in the inclines, to operate safely over bumps, and to ensure middle of the street, the vehicle provided a quieter a smoother ride. and more comfortable ride. The rails also allowed the By providing a major city like Richmond with an cars to travel at a faster pace. entire network of state-of-the-art streetcars, Sprague P HOTO Although more promising as a form of mass tran- opened a new world of public transit possibilities. He : W

IKIMEDIA sit, the rail cars left much to be desired. The rail car revolutionized a mode of transportation throughout needed fewer horses than the omnibus did, but the the United States. Many municipalities, large and C

OMMONS reliance on animals was still problematic—horses small, soon adopted the Richmond-based streetcar were expensive to sustain, usually lasted no more model. than 5 years on the job, were susceptible to illness, P and posed sanitary challenges. The Civil War under- UBLIC D

scored the vulnerability of an animal-dependent OMAIN transportation system when many railway horses Electric streetcars, P HOTO introduced in 1888 in were hauled away for military use. Richmond, Virginia, by Frank J. Sprague, used an Alternative Power Sources electrical current traveling People started looking for alternative, preferably through overhead wires to mechanized, ways to move the nation’s streetcars. In the car’s motor via a long 1873, the cable car debuted in San Francisco. The pole and small wheel system operated on extensive steel cables placed called a trolley. The new “trolleys,” as the streetcars underground between the rails. A large steam engine An experimental electric locomotive Ampère, built

TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010 TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY came to be called, were a in a central powerhouse kept the cables moving. by Leo Daft in 1883. In 1885, Daft introduced the 4 great success. This conveyor-belt operation was an improve- first-ever commercially operated electric streetcar. TRN_266_CYAN:00_TRN_263 3/2/10 1:22 PM Page 5

mer was seen as a lucrative time for travel to recre- ational pursuits, and some streetcar lines ran only in the summer months to accommodate the extra traf- fic. People were encouraged to use streetcars, which normally operated with their sides open at that time of year, to enjoy leisure activities near and far—for example, sightseeing tours in the country, shopping sprees in the city, picnics, day-trips to the seashore, In the 1890s, electric streetcar systems gave and attendance at concerts and theater matinees. travelers a quick way to As part of this outreach, streetcar companies access areas that were devised other incentives to lure riders onto trolleys. too far to walk and too A view of Richmond’s trolley streetcars. Some companies set up recreation areas at the end of close to take the train. Municipalities across the United States quickly streetcar lines. The areas became known as “trolley adopted trolleys as a form of public transit. parks” and typically included such diversions as roller coasters, carousels, and other amusement Streetcar Systems attractions. In May 1896, the Street Railway Journal By 1890, approximately 200 electric streetcar sys- reported that at least 100 companies had opened tems were operating in the United States. The growth their own trolley parks in the previous 10 years (1). continued at a dramatic pace—according to an arti- By establishing the parks and facilitating access to cle published in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in other entertainment venues, streetcar executives did 1898, “A decade has worked wonders in the evolu- much to make the thirst for recreation an integral fea- tion of the electric railway, as in many other modern ture of the trolley experience. “The American peo- things….It has grown from an experiment to a uni- ple—or at least a very large part of the American versal institution” (3). people—[have] become a pleasure-loving folk,” pro- Nationwide, streetcars were found to be depend- claimed Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. “Is there a able, operating in almost any weather condition; were more festive-looking vehicle than the open electric easy to keep clean; and were relatively inexpensive to car, with its happy-faced occupants?” (3). construct. In addition, the average streetcar fare of five cents was affordable for many. The vehicles sig- Baseball Synergy nificantly trimmed the travel time from one point to Baseball became an important way of filling streetcars another. A person could travel the distance of a half- with “happy-faced occupants.” The comparatively hour’s walk in 10 minutes via streetcar. The electric streetcar, or trolley, had other major

advantages. Steam locomotives could be louder, grim- OLLECTION C ier, more cumbersome, and less comfortable than OMPANY

streetcars, which therefore were considered better C suited for urban settings. Streetcars also offered acces- UBLISHING sibility to areas that were often beyond the immediate P

reach of railroads. This accessibility led more people ETROIT to start riding streetcars during the 1890s to work, , D IVISION

school, worship, and other vital activities. D

Expanding Patronage TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010 HOTOGRAPHS Looking to expand this patronage, streetcar compa- P nies sought other compelling destinations to encour- RINTS AND age ridership and to maximize profits. The , P

companies needed to keep the operating and admin- ONGRESS C istrative costs down without increasing fares. To con-

tinue extending the transit lines, streetcar executives IBRARY OF needed the largest possible customer base to justify : L HOTO new investments in infrastructure and electricity. P Streetcar companies therefore increasingly pro- moted the recreational opportunities along their The “Loop the Loop” ride at Coney Island, New York, ca. 1903. The popularity and routes, especially during evenings, weekends, and expansion of streetcar systems led companies to devise marketing plans—such as holidays, when traditional ridership was low. Sum- trolley parks and other recreational activities—that would attract riders. 5 TRN_266_CYAN:00_TRN_263 3/2/10 1:22 PM Page 6

some financial stake in (2). IVISION D Albert L. Johnson, a streetcar executive who was also a baseball magnate, gave an unsentimental but

HOTOGRAPHS candid explanation of the synergy. He characterized P his own considerable efforts to link streetcars with

RINTS AND baseball in Cleveland as a “good investment” and , P freely admitted to “visions of millions of dollars of ONGRESS

C profits” (1). Johnson’s comments exemplify the unvarnished

IBRARY OF financial approach taking hold of the business of : L baseball. More specifically, he voiced the view that HOTO P capitalizing on baseball was a logical extension of other business interests. Streetcar companies found that their engagements with baseball strengthened their ties with government. The companies could watch over more closely—and safeguard—their I in Cleveland was built in 1891 by stakes in local property values, rights-of-way, and streetcar magnate Frank D. Robison, who also long-term leases (2). owned the baseball team. The ballpark was located near two of Robison’s streetcar lines. Riding the Trends Johnson and his colleagues addressed a burgeoning grassroots need. The middle and upper-lower classes young sport had mushroomed in popularity, and still had their share of hardscrabble times in the late streetcar companies grasped that providing access to 19th century, but generally they enjoyed more dis- the games could enhance their own business. One cretionary income and leisure time than before. Con- streetcar executive commented that it was impor- sequently, more of them rode streetcars bound for the tant “to keep in with the baseball people” (1). ballpark (1, 2). Earlier in the century, railroads had established a The streetcar companies worked to advance and pivotal relationship with baseball. Trains made it pos- sustain the trend. They built ballparks and leased sible for teams to travel hundreds of miles to compete playing grounds. Several companies subsidized base- and to bring the games to an expanding pool of spec- ball clubs—in the South, Augusta, Birmingham, tators. Streetcars, however, could offer a transporta- Charleston, Macon, Mobile, Montgomery, and New tion benefit that steam locomotives could not, by Orleans received significant financial backing from carrying spectators directly to the ballparks, further companies that sponsored teams. In smaller munic- expanding the fan base for games. ipalities as well, streetcar companies often were one The up-and-coming relationship between street- of the few sources of local capital that were able to cars and baseball was not coincidental. An estimated maintain a professional team and became important 15 percent of the nation’s business leaders in the benefactors. 19th century were transportation executives. More- Streetcar executives in the 1890s, therefore, pro- over, transit companies serving a total of 78 cities had moted the construction of ballparks near transit lines. Frank D. Robison, owner of the Cleveland Spi- ders, built a new park for his team in 1891 at Lex- ington and East 66th Street, after the previous park, in another location, was destroyed by fire. The new park—remembered today as League Park I—was situated conveniently near a couple of Robison’s streetcar lines (1, 2). Another major league of that era readily accessible to streetcar lines was Baltimore’s at 25th and Barclay Streets. Home to the for most of the decade, the ballpark may have owed its name to a streetcar company, the In smaller municipalities, streetcar companies often Baltimore Union Passenger Railway, which is

TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010 TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY were one of the few sources of local capital able to believed to have paid for some of the ballpark’s con- 6 maintain a professional team. struction. TRN_266_CYAN:00_TRN_263 3/2/10 1:22 PM Page 7 P Competing for Teams HOTO A baseball card featuring : L

Many streetcar executives were willing to support a OF IBRARY Dodgers player baseball team even at a financial loss, expecting to Bob Caruthers. After the

C Brooklyn Grays’ move to offset the loss in the long term with an increase in ONGRESS , the team’s

ridership on their vehicles. The best gauge of exec- , P nickname changed from IT AND RINTS utives’ economic enthusiasm for baseball, however, the Bridegrooms to the was the competition to promote ball clubs. During Trolley Dodgers, because P the 1890s, streetcar executives knew that if their HOTOGRAPHS of the hazards of crossing company did not sponsor an area ball club, a com- trolley tracks to get to the ballpark. D

peting line was ready to do so (2). IVISION One-upmanship was common among competing companies. In 1892, the Atlanta Street Railway financed construction of a ballpark for the Southern League Crackers team in the southern part of the city. The venue was named Brisbine Park in honor of the company’s executive. Two years later, the company’s main rival, Consolidated Railway, built a larger park—known as the Athletic Grounds—in another part of Atlanta. The Consolidated Railway officials then enticed the baseball team away from Brisbine Park, boasting that their line could deliver a passen- ger from downtown Atlanta to the new ballpark in five minutes (2). Another ballpark swap involving streetcars took place in New York City. The Brooklyn Grays—nick- named the Bridegrooms because several players had married in quick succession—played home games at Washington Park in the Red Hook section of north- west Brooklyn in the early 1890s. A group of com- munity leaders from Brownsville—a residential area in eastern Brooklyn—orchestrated the move of the and players had to cross over the tracks carefully, team to Eastern Park. One of the chief financial back- keeping on the lookout for approaching streetcars. ers of the move was streetcar executive Wendell Goodwin, who hoped that a team in Brownsville Making a Name would encourage more people to use his transit lines. Goodwin’s Eastern Park transit lines may not con- The move proved to be a bad decision. The rent stitute the most positive example of streetcar service for the ballpark was steep. In addition, many team during that era, but they are the source of a lasting fans found the park difficult to reach, and the man- baseball legacy. The team’s nickname was changed ner in which Goodwin’s transit lines were set up from the Bridegrooms to the Trolley Dodgers, made that trek challenging. To get to the park, fans because of the hazards of crossing the tracks and

P avoiding streetcars to get to the ballpark. The HOTO moniker eventually was shortened to Dodgers and : M ARYLAND remains the team’s official name, even after the move TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010 from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. H ISTORICAL When the Eastern Park lease expired in 1897, the team returned to the safer venue of Red Hook. A S OCIETY new version of Washington Park was built directly across the street from the original. Two streetcar com- panies with routes passing through the area subsi- dized construction of the new park. The companies jointly purchased the lot for $15,000 and leased it to the team for $5,000—one-third less than the lease in Baltimore’s Union Park at 25th and Barclay Streets, Brownsville (2). one-time home of the Orioles, may have been partially Over the course of the decade, streetcars took on financed by the Baltimore Union Passenger Railway. other roles and cultural references with links to base- 7 TRN_266_CYAN:00_TRN_263 3/2/101:22PMPage8

8 TR NEWS 266 JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2010

morale booster. in theteam’s honoras a staged astreetcarparade Back home,Oriolesfans Orioles inOctober1895. against theBaltimore Temple Cupvictory Cleveland Spiderstoa ledthe for 60cents. and trolleyfarepackage purchase agameticket Spiders fanscould the late1890s,Cleveland and baseballtogether. In often broughttrolleys Advertising schemes

P P D UBLIC HOTO OMAIN

PHOTO: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION at theballparkboxoffice (1,4). vice waspopularbecausefanswere spared longwaits streetcar fare andadmissiontothe ballpark. Theser- could buy60-centticketsthatincludedround-trip games. Inthelate1890s,fansof Cleveland Spiders cars onballparkroutes carriedsignsadver sprang upinNewEngland,circa 1899.Manystreet- exclusively onstreetcars togetandfrom games ball. Atrolley leagueofbaseballteamsthatrelied the parade also served asamorale-boostingexercisethe paradealsoserved Ostensibly abelatedcelebrationofthepennantwin, Orioles were treated toaparadebytheirloyalfans. three gamestonone(1,2). opened inCleveland,andtheOrioleswere down and hisClevelandSpidersteammates.Theserieshad the Orioleswere notfaringwellagainstCyYoung row. InthepostseasonTemple Cupseries,however, National Leaguepennantforthesecondyearina the NewYork Giantstheprevious monthtowinthe Thursday, October10,1895.TheOrioleshadbeaten and baseballoccurred inBaltimore onthenightof A definingexperienceofthebondbetweenstreetcars Expressing theBond Back inBaltimore fortheremaining games,the tising References ballparks, butoneverydaylife. honored influencenotjustondestinations,suchas in the19thcenturyillustratestransportation’s time- rooting forthehometeam.Thestudyofstreetcars with thecrackofabatandcheerscrowd a trolley isnolongerinstantlyandwidelyassociated cultural force, eventhoughtheclangand clatterof impact ofstreetcars onbaseball’s growth asasocio- landscape. ballparksaspermanentfixtures ontheAmerican contributed inthelongtermtoestablishing of moneyandinfrastructure bystreetcar executives attendance atgames.Inaddition,heftyinvestments cars playedanimportant role indiversifyingthe far-flung localesclosertogether. Forbaseball,street- for itscrucialcontributiontobringingpreviously the forerunner ofthosemore modernmodesand Nonetheless, thestreetcar recognition deserves as Sociocultural Force become aformidablecompetitor. late 19thcentury, theautomobilelikewisewould ways andmotorizedbuses.Stillinitsinfancythe supplanted byothermass-transitoptions,likesub- century. Eventuallymanyofthevehicleswouldbe continue togrow intheearlydecadesof20th of streetcars intakingfanstobaseballgames,would ball relationship. Thestreetcar industry, andtherole the substanceandsymbolismofstreetcar–base- to theSpiders,paradeintheirhonorshowcased party” and“electricparade”(4 tic crowds linedupforwhattheSun ers from earlierMarylandbaseballclubs.Enthusias- carried theOrioles,theirfamilies,andveteranplay- themed decorations.Thecarsleadingtheparade tooned withlightsandadornedbaseball- pent wascreeping through thestreets” ( balloon lastnightmighthaveimaginedthatafieryser- Sun streets. Thenextmorning’s editionofthe 40 streetcars windingalongtracksthrough thecity’s time paradeconsistedofaprocession ofapproximately for ateamthatwasnowdownonitsluck.Thenight- . RootersTrolley Party, 4. Baxter, S.TheTrolley inRuralParts, Harper’s NewMonthly 3. Riess,S.A.Touching Base:Professional BaseballandAmer- 2. 1. Seymour, H. These contributionsunderscore thelasting Although theOrioleslostTemple Cupseries The streetcars thatmadeuptheserpentwere fes- Magazine, June1898,p.61. Press, Chicago,1999. ican Culture intheProgressive Era. Press, NewYork, 1960. proclaimed, “AmanpassingoverBaltimore ina Baseball: TheEarlyYears. The Baltimore Sun,Oct.11,1895. ). University ofIllinois called a“trolley Oxford University 4 ). Baltimore