Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-1-2019

Chicago Eagle, November 1, 1919

Jim Thorpe of the Braves who is playing professional football this fall is not the only big league star who could devote his time quite profitably to the gridiron game.
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There are several major league ball players who have starred on the gridiron. Thorpe’s prowess as a football player is well known and he needs little introduction. While playing with the Carlisle Indian school he starred in every game.
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Dave Robertson, the Cub outfielder; Heathcote of the St. Louis Nationals and George Halas, the young outfielder who was with the Yankees early in the season, are all football players of exceptional ability.

There have been seven MLB players who went on to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Thorpe, Halas, Red Badgro, Paddy Driscoll, Ernie Nevers, Ace Parker, and Deion Sanders.

Essay: What is America’s game? 3 sports, 3 American eras

What is America’s game?

Is it the quirky and cerebral sport that, in its highest form, is unfolding this week in the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals? Baseball is, after all, still called the national pastime.

Is it the gladiatorial battle that unfolds on any given Sunday (and Monday and Thursday), the one that channels raw male power into accomplishments measured in yards and completions and high-octane collisions? Former star wide receiver Jerry Rice thinks so; a new book about the NFL that he co-authored, out next week, is called “America’s Game.”

Or is it the acrobatic contest with the big orange ball, the one in which players dwarfed only by their global online star power hurtle through rare air, putting on nightly clinics to demonstrate what the human body can do? There’s a strong case to be made there, too.

What, not contract bridge?

In any event, a consideration of three sports and their potential meaning in American life and society- make of it as you please.

Who has the worst team in Miami? It’s a close call

MIAMI (AP) — The Dolphins look like the worst team in the NFL, perhaps ever, and might even be the worst team in Miami.

On the other hand, a comparison with the Marlins is one matchup the Dolphins could win.

A consideration of various aspects of ineptness.

New bowl game at Fenway Park to match teams from ACC, AAC

BOSTON (AP) — Add another bowl game to the mix, this one at Fenway Park.

The century-old baseball park will host a matchup between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the American Athletic Conference, starting in 2020. The date for the Fenway Bowl is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

It will be the first college bowl game at the home of the Boston Red Sox. The ballpark has hosted other football dating back to 1912, including the American Football League’s Boston Patriots in the 1960s and The Game last year between Harvard and Yale.

Ah, something for which the lousy seats at Fenway will actually be appropriate!