By the million, televiewers crowded around their sets to watch the opening ?ames of the 1954 baseball season. But before the first official threw out the first ball, they had to listen to hard-selling plugs for Chesterfields and National Bohemian, Valley Forge and Hamm's beer. Beer and cigarettes are today as much a part of the league and the national game as bat and ball. Few announcers call a home run a home run: it is a "Ballantine blast" or a "White Owl wallop." Sponsors have not only moved in on the game itself, they have also lined up pre-game and...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
