In the early 1920's ports became a very important part in citizens lives. With World War I just ending, people needed something to turn to. Radios were just now available to homes all over the United States. Sports were followed throughout the entire country house to house by the radio. With the work force changing and shorter hours in effect, people had more free time at the end of the day, and leisurely time at the end of the week. This made it more easily accessible to all people all over the country. With these events all taking place, it was perfect timing for these superstars to emerge, and shine.
Many different types of sports became popular in the 20's. With these stars and athletes the 20's was officially named the "Golden Age of Sports". Baseball, football, boxing, horse racing, tennis, and gold are just some of the events that captured Americans attention. At this time baseball was trying to recover from the Black Sox Scandal. This scandal occurred in 1919. It was called the .
Black Sox Scandal, because many players from the 1919 Chicago White Sox World Series team accepted bribes to lose their games.
People like Babe Ruth were a big influence on people. He was not shy about his drinking, or his smoking of cigars. In a society looking for new ideas, he affected it, maybe not for the best either. He was a sports icon.
Though there were some negative aspects in the sporting world, there were more positives to cancel the bad out. People like Jack Dempsey, were role models. He was one of the most followed athletes of this time. On the night of the fight between him and Gene Tunney, there were more than 140,00 people at the arena. And more than a million people listened on their newly acquired radios. .
People like Red Grange were also an inspiration. No one gave him a chance to make the NFL, but he did and he excelled very highly. He became one of the most talked about football players of all time.