On This Day in History, April 11: P-L-A-Y B-A-L-L!
Not only do the first few weeks of April bring on spring fever to most folks, but fever pitch among baseball players and fans alike. Kids risk the consequences by skipping school on opening day. Workers even risk skipping their jobs for the day. And the term “fever pitch” came into use in 1916, so it makes us wonder if it doesn’t have to do with baseball.
In the Eagle’s Sporting Section of April 11, 1920, the headline read: SUPERBAS COME HOME TO CLINCH SERIES IN HOT 13 INNING GAME.
“And who were the Superbas?” some readers might ask. Brooklyn’s baseball team was not always called the Dodgers. The Superbas name was derived from a popular theatrical group — the manager of Brooklyn’s baseball team at that time was named Ned Hanlon, and Hanlon’s Superbas was a popular theatrical group — get it? Later the team was called the Robins, after the manager of the team at that time — William Robinson.