The following was written by Sam Crane, who covered baseball for the New York Evening Journal, on October 7, 1908, and was republished in The Unforgettable Season, a great book by G.H. Fleming:
"In earlier days of baseball there was a sentiment attached to the national game that made games take on the appearance of a real battle between cities and sections, but sentiment no longer figures in the sport. It is now only a battle of dollars. The business end of baseball has so superseded the real sport that used to cause legitimate and honest rivalry for sport's sake alone I personally wouldn't care if the whole foundation of the national game went to the dogs."
Most experts, of course, regard the 1908 season -- which featured a titanic battle for the National League pennant among the Giants, Cubs, and Pirates -- as one of the greatest seasons in baseball history. But as this quote shows, no matter how far back in time you go, you can almost always find people who pine for a lost golden age.
My 4-year-old daughter often reminisces about the toys she played with and shows she watched when she was little.
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