User:Ksottile/sandbox

Article Evaluation: 1st Army (France)

- Everything in this article seemed to be on topic. It covered three wars that the army participated in as well as some officers and the composition of the army.

- There is no information that is too out of date, though there does seem to be some places were citations may be necessary. They could also probably add more information on how the 1st Army was initially created rather than just what it did. It could use some more background information.

- The whole article seems to remain neutral and unbiased

- Not all of the links at the bottom of the page work. One of them comes up as "unfound page".

- Not all sources seem reliable.

- This is a "C" rated article.

Article Topic: The Golden Age of Baseball

This is an "S" rated article about the growth of baseball from about the 1920s to the 1960s. This article is lacking a lot of information for a such a long time period in US history. There is a section summarizing what the golden age of baseball is, some of the players, and some of the teams. There is a lot that could be expanded on in this article, because it only mentions a few players and a few teams. It also doesn't talk about the race segregation in baseball during this time at all. Further, a lot of the articles used in this article are outdated or seem unreliable.

Baseball During the Great Depression
The stock market crashed on Black Thursday in 1928, and the sport of baseball, along with many other businesses, organizations, and families, were severely hit. The popularity and prosperity of the sport had been jeopardized, as well as the prosperity of the US economy. People were struggling to get by, and purchasing tickets just to watch a sports game seemed unreasonable. Because of this ticket sales decreased about 40% (Belson, “Apples for a Nickel, and Plenty of Empty Seats”). Further, the Great Depression not only impacted ticket sales and the number of fans at games, but it also dramatically impacted the players. While the sport of baseball continued to be played during the1930s, there were still many athletes that lost their jobs or received pay cuts, including the infamous Babe Ruth. The repercussions of the Great Depression were evident in the salaries of American ball players until after World War II. They dropped about 20% on average, and were not brought back up to their original standards for a number of years after the stock market crashed. (Belson, “Apples for a Nickel, and Plenty of Empty Seats”).

Women's League in the Golden Age
The very first women's baseball game where girls were paid and prospectors paid admission took place in Illinois 1875. However, many were unimpressed with the women's abilities while playing baseball. During this time, many Americans didn’t see women as being athletes or as major participants in sports. In fact, even in the beginning of the 1900s, people opposed women in all sports because they were afraid that sports would ultimately destroy women's femininity (Seymour 475). American perspectives on women at this time were that they were meant to be viewed as perfect and feminine. But many thought that for a women to participate in such physical activities and sports would make them become more masculine (Seymour 475).

Women's baseball began to be taken more seriously at the start of World War II. Philip K. Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, decided to invest in an all women’s baseball league that went by the AAGPBL (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League) in 1943. Wrigley was worried about losing a good amount of male ball players due to the war, he believed that creating a women’s league would keep the flow of money coming in from the ball parks (“League of Women Ballplayers”). Women that played the sport were required to take classes on how to be feminine after practices and games, and were often looked down upon for demonstrating any masculine traits (“League of Women Ballplayers”)

Baseball Color Line in the Golden Age
By the time America reached the beginning of the 20th century, nearly all black Americans had been shut out from playing any sort of baseball with whites. However, this didn’t stop them from creating a league for themselves. Eventually, black Americans created their own league where persons of color could participate (“The Negro National League Is Founded”). In the early 1900s the Negro National League grew in popularity, despite of the fact that white booking agents often had control over when and where the teams would be able to play or practice (“The Negro National League Is Founded”). The NNL came to an end due to the financial burdens of the Great Depression, but rearose soon after as the Negro American League.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first African American to be integrated into the previously all white world of baseball. Formerly having played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the NAL, a man named Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, sought Robinson as a perfect candidate to finally break the baseball color line (Robinson, “Jackie Robinson: I Never Had It Made”). Robinson was still a target of many racist comments and slurs during his time in the majors (Robins, “Jackie Robinson: I Never Had It Made”). Despite of this, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/robinson-jackie).