On This Day in History, April 17: Blue Laws Meant Blue Baseball Fans
Charles Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn baseball team in 1904, announced in early spring that his team would play Boston on Sunday, April 17. But Brooklyn laws forbade the playing of Sunday baseball games “at which admission was charged.”
So admission to the game would be free, Ebbets announced. However, fans arriving for the game were met with a little surprise once they passed through the turnstile. Each spectator was required to purchase a color-coded scorecard, the color determining whether the “free” seat was in the bleachers, the grandstand or the box seats. Ebbets won the first round when taken to court and a few more Sunday games followed. But the “blue law” was upheld on appeal, and Sunday baseball did not return to New York until Al Smith became mayor in 1918.
Blue laws were established along with the New World colonies. The laws varied from colony to colony, but generally required church attendance and proper dress on the Sabbath. Work was prohibited as well as amusements and travel. As the years passed, stores were required to close, as well as any amusement establishment. The fact that theaters were required to close is evidenced in ads in the Sunday editions of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in the early 1900s. All ads were for attractions beginning on Monday and playing through Saturday. Musical concerts were not banned, as there were ads for Sunday performances.