Baseball's Manifest Destiny: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-1999 Baseball's manifest destiny: The good, the bad, and the ugly Patrick Valenti Miller University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Miller, Patrick Valenti, "Baseball's manifest destiny: The good, the bad, and the ugly" (1999). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 1064. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/zxpy-ax1w This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. 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Las Vegas 1994 Bachelor of Science University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1996 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree Department of Histor) College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 1397970 ___ «B UMI UMI Microform 1397970 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. 80x1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Patrick Miller 1999 AH Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Thesis Approval UNiy The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 24______, 19 99 The Thesis prepared by Patrick Miller Entitled Baseball's Manifest Destiny; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Examination Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committee Member Examirmtifin tommittee Member Graduate College Faculty itative U Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Baseball's Manifest Destiny: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Patrick V. Miller Dr. Hal Rothman. Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada. Las Vegas Brooklyn Dodgers fans blame Walter O’Malley for destroying a way of life and tarnishing the golden image of the postwar years when, in 1957. he relocated their beloved baseball team to the West. The relocation finds its impetus in .American adherence to nineteenth-centur}' Manifest Destiny and a major demographic shift following a post-World War II economic and technological boom. For the first half of the twentieth century, baseball transcended a mere rooting fora collection of superb athletes: civic identity rested in one’s baseball team. Losing a team to another city was devastating-. For some cities baseball provided the affirmation of civic status, which provides part of the impetus for team relocations. Baseball can provide a portal to the past, bring communities together, and revitalize cities but owners can also bare their teeth, exploiting and dominating cherished traditions in order to protect their delicate prosperity from the scrutiny of lawmakers. Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................vi PREFACE ................................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION................................................................................1 Nineteenth-Century Foundations........................................................................................9 From Manifest Destiny to M ission.................................................................................... 12 There For the Taking? ........................................................................................................14 Mexicans Not Welcome Here .............................................................................................15 The Boulder Gets Rolling................................................................................................... 18 The Hurt Is Still There ....................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER II NATIONAL WESTWARD MOVEMENT.................................... 25 A Surfer’s Ride on a Westward Wave ............................................................................. 27 The Little Engines That D id .............................................................................................. 30 The Growth of Suburbia ................................................................................ 34 Baseball. Land, and Politics ...............................................................................................35 From Bums to Celebrities ...................................................................................................37 Should O’Malley Really Shoulder the Blame? ................................................................38 CHAPTER III AULD LANG SYNE: THE ROLE OF MYTH AND NOSTALGIA IN BASEBALL’S HISTORY ...................45 The Cowboy in Art. Literature, and Cinema .................................................................. 47 Myth. Nostalgia, and the Baseball F an ............................................................................. 49 Hanging on to Part of a Non-Existent Past ........................................................................51 Stadia as Marketing Tools .................................................................................................54 CHAPTER IV BASEBALL’S MANIFEST DESTINY: THE GOOD .................58 The Pendulum Swings Back ...............................................................................................62 Experience as Commodity.................................................................................................64 Regrowth and Rejuvenation...............................................................................................68 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. In the Community................................................................................................................ 70 CHAPTER V BASEBALL’S MANIFEST DESTINY: THE BAD AND THE UGLY ..........................................................77 The Effect on F a n s .............................................................................................................. 7S Stadiums and the Community.............................................................................................80 Owner Avarice and the Business of Baseball.................................................................. 82 Be Careful What You Wish F o r........................................................................................ 85 Attendance and Territory Casualties