Photo by Picryl, CC by 1.0
Following sports has become far more simple in the modern age. We can stream live sports on our phones, so even on the move, sports lovers barely miss any action these days. But rewind a hundred years and the situation was vastly different.
In the first two decades of the 20th century, sports fans had limited options: they could either read about events in newspapers or attend the games in person. Here are some of the most popular sports from 1900 to 1920.
Baseball
Baseball was undoubtedly the chief sporting activity of the first 20 years of the 20th century in America and it was a period where the sport truly found its feet.
The American League came along to join the National League and while there was an initial battle to secure territories and the star players, they soon co-existed and the World Series came into being.
It was a time when pitchers dominated, with Cy Young winning 230 matches in the first decade. The best pitchers in the AL and NL are both given the Cy Young Award to this day.
Game-fixing raised its ugly head in 1919 when the Chicago White Sox successfully threw the World Series, but by then baseball had established itself as America’s number one sport.
Football
Football had grown steadily in the 19th century, but its momentum exploded in the early 20th century, with teams like Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Sunderland dominating English football.
Tottenham created history in 1901 by winning the FA Cup as the first club from outside the Football League, defeating Sheffield United in a replay watched by 110,820 spectators at Crystal Palace.
It was becoming the sport of the people and taking the first steps toward the global game we know today.
Real Madrid were founded in 1902, following Barcelona by three years, and within a decade leagues were springing up across South America in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, setting the stage for the continent’s future football dominance.
Boxing
It is difficult to find statistics on boxing bouts from this period as many did not have an official result if there was no knockout.
Many were settled by what became known as newspaper decisions when reporters just decided who they thought had won.
But it was a time of great change as black fighters finally managed to at least get the chance to fight for titles.
Joe Gans became the first afro-American to win the lightweight title in 1902 and six years later, the flamboyant Jack Johnson won the heavyweight crown.
Fighters would take part in hundreds of bouts and the sport was hugely popular and has been the subject of bar discussions ever since.
Athletics
The rise of modern athletics was closely tied to the 1896 Olympics, though female athletes had to wait until 1928 to participate.
The establishment of the International Amateur Athletics Federation in 1912 played a key role in promoting the sport worldwide.
Frank Jarvis unofficially held the 100m record in 1900 with 10.8 seconds, and Johnny Hayes recorded the first official marathon world record — 2 hours 55 minutes — when he claimed gold at the 1908 London Games.
That marathon is still remembered for Italian Dorando Pietri, who crossed the finish line first but was disqualified after being helped by officials in the final moments of a grueling race.
Cricket
Cricket was hugely disrupted by the First World War but by the outbreak of hostilities, it has established itself as the sport of the English summer.
The county championship had been formed ten years earlier and the Test scene also continued to flourish.
Despite the laborious trip, England and Australia faced each other 15 times between 1890 and 1914 and the pair were also involved in a triangular tournament with South Africa in 1912.
