nPostednJune 16, 2013
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Thenyear was 1883.
Thenyear was 1883.n
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nThenteam was the New York Gothams. (The team that later became the NYnGiants.)
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nThenidea? Let’s attract more women to watch baseball games—andnhopefully they will become fans, so we can sell more tickets tongames, and fill the grandstands.
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nInnorder to lure women to baseball, the Gothams’ owner declared thisndate in 1883 Ladies’ Day, and all women were allowed in to the gamenfor free. It wasn’t one of those strings-attached offers; you didn’tnhave to pay for one ticket to get one ticket free, for example. Thatnmeant that women could go to the game for free either alone or inngroups of women, rather than having to be escorted by a man.
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nAnd,nguess what? It worked so well that there were Ladies’ Days in manyndifferent ball parks all over the U.S., for about 100 years! Womennreally did become fans who would pay for tickets all through thenseason.
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Indon’t know if umpire Bill Carpenter would think that Ladies’ Day wasnsuch a good idea. Apparently the Washington Senators team had anLadies’ Day in 1897, and about 1,000 women went to the game. One ofnthe players, “Win” Mercer, was very popular with women fans, andnwhen he got into an argument with the umpire and was thrown out of angame, many of those women stormed the field. They either chased himnall over the field, threatening him with their parasols, as onenaccount would have us believe, or they shoved Carpenter to the groundnand ripped his clothing, as another story said. Either way, thisnextraordinary event is called the Ladies’ Day Riot.
Indon’t know if umpire Bill Carpenter would think that Ladies’ Day wasnsuch a good idea. Apparently the Washington Senators team had anLadies’ Day in 1897, and about 1,000 women went to the game. One ofnthe players, “Win” Mercer, was very popular with women fans, andnwhen he got into an argument with the umpire and was thrown out of angame, many of those women stormed the field. They either chased himnall over the field, threatening him with their parasols, as onenaccount would have us believe, or they shoved Carpenter to the groundnand ripped his clothing, as another story said. Either way, thisnextraordinary event is called the Ladies’ Day Riot.n
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| That parasol looks so innocent, doesn’t it? |
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nToncelebrate the day, perhaps you can attend a baseball game—whethernyou are male or female, adult or kid. Just don’t forget your parasol!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nFather’s Day in the U.S.A.
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nAnniversarynof British universities being open to people of all faiths (hooraynfor freedom of religion!)
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Junenholidays, historicalnanniversaries in June,nand Junenbirthdays.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Julynholidays, historicalnanniversaries in July,nand Julynbirthdays.
