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Mexicans and Baseball

Hall of Famer, Lou Gherig, once said, "There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all"(ZNET).
Baseball: America's favorite pastime. Hot dogs. Draft beer. Tamales? Baseball is commonly considered to be an American pastime, a source of entertainment for the Anglo, blue-collar workingman. What is not known is the role baseball played in the lives of Mexican Americans, and the struggles to earn acceptance among the Caucasian inhabitants of the United States, especially in California. Such a function would only be a fragment of the imagination if it weren't for Vincent Nava, a Mexican American and native of San Francisco. He was believed to be the founding figure in establishing acceptance for Mexicans in an American baseball league. Another noteworthy factor was America's need for Mexican labor, which eventually led to immigrants taking up the pastime. With the development of leagues involving Mexicans in California, the sport became more w...

Posted by: Shelia Olander

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