History of sports in the United States facts for kids
The history of sports in the United States is super interesting! It shows how many popular American sports like American football, baseball, softball, and indoor soccer actually came from older British games. But did you know that sports like volleyball, skateboarding, snowboarding, and Ultimate were actually invented in America? Some of these have become popular all over the world!
American football and baseball changed a lot from their European roots. They became truly American sports. Baseball is now loved internationally, especially in Asia and Latin America. American football is still mostly popular in the U.S. Other sports, like lacrosse and surfing, came from activities played by native peoples long before Europeans arrived.
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Contents
Sports Before European Settlers Arrived
The oldest sport invented in what is now the USA is lacrosse. Native American tribes have been playing lacrosse for over a thousand years! Also, in ancient Polynesia, especially in ancient Hawaii, people have been surfing since at least the 1100s.
Colonial Times
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During the colonial era, especially in places like Virginia and Maryland, sports were very important. In England, only rich landowners could hunt. But in America, there was plenty of game. Everyone, even servants and enslaved people, could hunt. So, hunting wasn't a way to show off your social status.
In 1691, the governor of Virginia, Sir Francis Nicholson, even set up competitions. He offered prizes for things like shooting, wrestling, sword fighting, and races. Horse racing was the biggest event. Most farmers didn't own horses, so racing was mainly for wealthy gentlemen. But ordinary farmers still watched and gambled. Enslaved people often became skilled horse trainers.
Horse racing was important for bringing the wealthy together. It was a big public event. It showed off the high status of the rich through expensive horses, training, and winning races. Betting large amounts of money on their horses showed that being competitive and successful was important to them.
Sports and Beliefs in Colonial America
Early Christian beliefs in Colonial America sometimes limited sporting events. Some groups, like the Puritans, had different ideas than the Anglican Church. While the Anglican Church was okay with sports, other Protestants were more strict. They believed sports should only be for "sober, practical purposes," like military training.
It took a long time, until the late 1800s, for this to change. Then, Protestants started to see sports as having "spiritual and moral value." Groups like the Young Men's Christian Association, or YMCA, helped show this new way of thinking.
Early 1800s Sports
Life on Plantations
On large slave plantations, popular sports for men included wrestling, boxing, racing, hunting, and fishing. For women, dancing and singing were favorite activities. Masters usually allowed these pastimes as long as the enslaved people were ready to work when needed. Children often made up their own games. Girls, for example, enjoyed "ring dances" with songs and riddles.
Horse Racing's Journey
Horse racing was the top sport from the 1780s to the 1860s, especially in the Southern states. People from all social classes and races were involved as owners, trainers, and spectators. However, some religious leaders worried about the gambling involved. Others felt it was too fancy and only for the rich.
The Civil War hurt the sport in the South because people lost their wealth. But thoroughbred racing came back strong in the North in the 1870s. Fancy jockey clubs ran the best racetracks. Soon, other tracks opened, especially in resort towns like Saratoga Springs in New York.
Gambling was allowed at the track. But even more money was bet illegally with bookies. This led to moral opposition from religious groups and reformers. By 1910, almost all states closed their tracks. People then started watching automobile racing more, where technology was the main focus, not gambling. Some tracks even had both car and horse races.
Horse racing made a comeback in the 1920s. State governments allowed betting at tracks again. This brought in new money for the states without taxing everyone. By the 1950s, more people went to horse races than any other sport. But since the late 1900s, horse racing has faced competition from other sports and casinos.
Baseball Begins
Baseball started in New York City in the early 1800s. The first organized league, the National Association of Base Ball Players, began in 1857. It was the first team sport in the U.S. to become professional. This happened in 1869 with the founding of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings. The modern-day Cincinnati Reds got their name from this team.
Cricket's Decline
Cricket came to the United States from Britain. Some say it was very popular in early America. John Thorn, the official historian for MLB, says that in the 1850s, both cricket and baseball were called "national pastimes."
However, cricket became less popular after the Civil War. Baseball took its place as the main bat-and-ball game. This happened for a few reasons. Cricket games took too long, sometimes a few days. Also, some people didn't like it because it was British. They preferred baseball as a more "American" sport.
20th Century Sports
The 1930s and Sports Facilities
During the New Deal in the 1930s, many public sports facilities were improved. The government spent a lot of money to create jobs. Projects like the CWA, WPA, and CCC built thousands of recreation and sports facilities. This included athletic fields, playgrounds, swimming pools, and parks.
These projects mainly aimed to give jobs to unemployed people. But they also met a big demand for physical fitness and healthy recreation. President Roosevelt strongly supported the sports and recreation parts of these programs.
Minorities and Sports
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In the early 1900s, women athletes were coached by men. But in the 1920s, women coaches at colleges created a different idea for women's sports. They organized "play days" where joining in, working together, and having fun were more important than winning or losing. Their motto was: "Play With Us, Not Against Us." This also helped women administrators gain more control over women's sports.
At the many historically black colleges, like Howard University and Fisk University, students and alumni became very interested in sports in the 1920s and 1930s. Sports were growing fast at state universities, but few black athletes were recruited there. Black newspapers celebrated athletic success as a sign of progress for their race. Black schools hired coaches, found great athletes, and set up their own leagues.
From 1887 until 1947, there was a "color line" in baseball. This meant black players were not allowed in modern professional baseball. Jackie Robinson broke this barrier in 1947, becoming the first black player. Before 1887, black baseball players were rare in organized baseball. Black players usually played in Negro league baseball, which had different levels of teams.
In professional American football, black players were a bit more common from the start. The sport was mostly white but included black, Hispanic, Native American (like Olympic star Jim Thorpe), and Asian players. However, one team owner, George Preston Marshall, kept black players out of the National Football League from 1933 to 1946. He even refused to sign black players to his own team, the Washington Redskins, until 1962.
The NFL started to integrate again in the late 1940s when professional football came to California. Teams there were already integrated. When the NFL put its first team in California (the Los Angeles Rams) in 1946, it had to integrate. They signed college stars like Joe Aguirre, Kenny Washington, and future actor Woody Strode.
A famous event happened at the 1956 Sugar Bowl. This game was played shortly after the Rosa Parks event. There was a lot of debate before the game. Some people tried to stop Pitt player Bobby Grier from playing because he was black. Georgia's governor even threatened to cancel the game. But Bobby Grier played! This made it the first integrated Sugar Bowl and the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South.
Later, Jim Plunkett became the first Latino quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Seven years later, Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Tom Flores was the first Latino coach to win a Super Bowl, before the first black coach, Tony Dungy, won one.
The Olympics and the U.S.
Eight Olympic Games have been held in the United States. The U.S. has won more medals than any other country at the Summer Olympic Games, with 2,522 medals. In the Winter Olympic Games, the U.S. has won 281 medals, which is the second most after Norway.
21st Century Sports
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The professional sports market in the United States was huge in 2012, worth $69 billion! That's about 50% larger than all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.
Baseball has been seen as the national sport since the late 1800s, with Major League Baseball (MLB) as the top league. But now, American football is the most popular sport to watch. The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, is watched by millions globally.
Basketball and ice hockey are the country's top professional team sports played indoors. Their top leagues are the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL). These four major sports are played at different times of the year, but their seasons sometimes overlap. College football and basketball also attract huge audiences.
In soccer, the U.S. hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The men's national team has played in seven World Cups. The women's team has won the FIFA Women's World Cup four times! Major League Soccer is the highest soccer league in the United States.
Boxing and horse racing used to be the most watched individual sports. But now, golf and auto racing, especially NASCAR, are more popular.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in March 2020, almost all sports in the U.S. had to stop. Individual sports like golf, mixed martial arts, and auto racing were the first to start again in May. Baseball, ice hockey, and basketball followed in July. They played without fans. This widespread halt was unheard of in American history. Even during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, sports continued with fans.
Images for kids
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Alex Morgan being challenged by Hikari Takagi during a match against Japan in 2016. Morgan scored five goals in a single game during the 2019 FIFA Women's Soccer World Cup.
See also
- Sports in the United States
- History of sport
- History of sport in Australia
- History of sports in Canada
- Sociology of sport
Specific Sports
- Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada
- College athletics
- National Federation of State High School Associations
- Baseball in the United States
- National Basketball Association
- Cricket in the United States
- American football
- National Hockey League
- Soccer in the United States
- Volleyball in the United States
Online resources
- Sports library of downloaded scholarly articles
- 828 historic photographs of American sporting events and personalities; these are pre-1923 and out of copyright.
