Outside the Lines of Gilded Age Baseball: Gambling, Umpires, and Racism in 1880s Baseball

This is book 2 in the series on 1880s baseball from Society of American Baseball Research member Dr. Rob Bauer. He is a member of SABR's 19th Century and Deadball Era research committees.

Although on the decline, the threat of gambling on games continued menacing baseball in the 1880s. One issue that certainly was not in decline, however, was the abuse of umpires. Arguments and rows between players, fans, and umpires ranks among the most important issues in the game in this decade. Several major fights broke out every season. Many times, umpires narrowly escaped with their life. At least twice, they killed fans in their own self-defense. How did the situation grow so serious?

Equally regrettably, the 1880s was the decade in which baseball drew its color line, banning African Americans from the game. Even after that decision, however, racism showed its face in more subtle ways. Learn how prejudice continued to mar the game throughout the decade, especially when it came to baseball’s treatment of mascots.