This is the Louisville Baseball Factory in 1929, which has been making baseball bats from ash wood since 1884. Nowadays, climate change may harm ash forests, because rising temperatures make small beetles flourish and destroy branches.
Photography: Edwin L. Wisherd, National Geographic
This photo was taken in 1913. A baseball game in the Philippines attracted many onlookers. In the same year, a Philippine baseball team visited the United States, and The Washington Post claimed that they were more talented than most American players.
Photography: Dean C. Worcester, National Geographic
This 1923 photo shows the baseball field on the wing of the Oval Square in the White House. Since William Howard Taft’s term, every American president will throw the first ball at the beginning of the season. But in fact, it was not until 1993 that President Bill Clinton really threw the ball at home plate.
Photography: U.S. ARMY AIR SERVICE
This photo was taken in 1919, and it was from this time that the baseball uniform officially entered an orderly improvement. Tight trousers have become the style of competition clothes nowadays, but some players still like traditional knee-length shorts. In addition, since 1932, the player number has been printed on the back of the competition suit.
Photography: Paul Thompson, National Geographic
In the summer of 1953, men played baseball on the frozen Bering Sea. In the history of Major League Baseball, the coldest game was on April 23rd, 2013, between the Colorado Rockies and the Atlanta Braves. The temperature at the kick-off was only five degrees below zero. As a result, the Warriors won the game with a score of 10: 2. Surprisingly, some players in the Warriors have never seen the snow with their own eyes.
Photography: U.S. COAST GUARD
During a baseball game in Japan in 1960, a man sold hot dogs during the dinner. According to legend, this tradition began in 1893 when Chris Von der Ahe, the owner of the St. Louis Browns, sold sausages during the game. Today, Major League Baseball sells more than 20 million hot dogs every year.
Photography: Winfield Parks, National Geographic
A minor league baseball player kissed his wife before the game. The league consists of 240 teams, of which only 10% players can enter Major League Baseball.
Photography: William Albert Allard, National Geographic
These monks, from Gambo Temple in Nova Scotia, Canada, are practicing hard for the annual softball competition. For many years, the Buddhist temple has been celebrating Canada’s National Day by competing softball with local volunteer fire brigades.
Photography: Steve McCurry, National Geographic
The World Series of Little League Baseball is held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, every August. Boys and girls are between the ages of 9 and 12. Eight American teams and eight foreign teams are allowed to participate in the tournament. The team from Taiwan Province Province of China won the championship for 17 times, which is the record holder.
Photography: William T. Douthitt, National Geographic
