Analysis. History. Perspective.

Sports Then and Now



How Gambling Almost Destroyed Baseball in the 19th Century 1

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Varun Kumar

Baseball and gambling are closely associated with each other since the mid-19th century. The game has a complex history with betting, with scandals taking place at various points in history. Some of the famous managers and baseball players have been involved with betting on their own teams, leading to a complex relationship between betting and baseball.

Hal Chase

Baseball Was More Common in Small Country-wide Towns

Although many people think that baseball was played in metropolitan areas, it was actually more common in small towns. Rural people loved playing baseball as it was a game of skill, competition and skill, much like their farm work where uncertainty played a big part. During that time, almost all baseball games featured gambling on both sides, from how many hits a team was going to score to how long the game would last.

Gambling and baseball have now become more organized and regulated. Today, All the major online casinos like Jeetwin, Omnia, BluefoxCasino and more are licensed and regulated by government authorities, and sports betting is restricted in some parts of the world. However, there was little control over gambling during the 19th century. In fact, betting was such a big feature of baseball that today’s fans would find it difficult to recognize the sport as it was then compared to today.

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  • Vintage Athlete of the Month

    • Rusty Staub: A Man For All Ages
      April 8, 2024 | 1:26 pm
      Rusty Staub

      The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is a former major league baseball player who came into the game as a teenager and stayed until he was in his 40s. In between, Rusty Staub put up a solid career that was primarily spent on expansion or rebuilding teams.

      Originally signed by the Colt .45s at age 17, he made his major league debut as a 19-year old rookie and became only the second player in the modern era to play in more than 150 games as a teenager.

      Though he hit only .224 splitting time between first base and rightfield, Staub did start building a foundation that would turn him into an All-Star by 1967 when he finished fifth in the league with a .333 batting average.

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