Sport

   Sport was affected by the Great Depression and World War II in terms of reduced audiences at live events, but it continued to attract huge audiences on the radio. Stars from the 1920s like the baseball player Babe Ruth continued to play, although with a 10 percent pay cut, but new figures also emerged. The rise of African American athletes was a significant development with the domination of boxing by Joe Louis from 1937, the success of Jesse Owens and other black athletes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and the breakthrough of black baseball players on previously all-white teams, starting with Jackie Robinson in 1947.

   Radio audiences listened to Louis’s fights in huge numbers and were also thrilled by the achievements of Joe DiMaggio, who led the New York Yankees to nine World Series victories between 1936 and 1951. Louis and DiMaggio, like many sportsmen, entered the U.S. armed forces during World War II. Of the 5,700 baseball players in the Major League and Minor League, 4,000 donned military uniforms. As a result, many of the games were of a lower level of play than normal. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees dominated baseball, winning four of the wartime World Series between them. The fifth, in 1945, was won by the Detroit Tigers. After the war, the Yankees resumed their monopoly, winning the World Series in 1947 and from 1949 through 1953. American football was affected in a similar way, and many teams relied on older players or those who were regarded as unfit for military service. Many colleges did not have football teams during the war, and instead service teams were the main attraction, with the army’s team being outstanding.