Sports of the 1920s

The 1920’s was the heroic era of American Sports. A heightened interest in sports started growing in the public a sudden emergence for them was arose. The major athletes in this decade were Babe Ruth, the greatest baseball player who ever lived, Red Grange, known as the ‘Galloping Ghost’, and Paavo Nurmi, a record-breaking olympic track runner. Babe Ruth is known as the greatest baseball player who ever lived. In 1920, the New York Yankees purchased him from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000.00. During his first year as a yankee, he hit 54 home runs, compared to other players that hit approximately 20 homeruns that year. The Yankees won six pennants in the 1920s. They won the world series three times and eight times he led the league in homeruns. Ruth won the love of fans everywhere for his deeds on and off the field. Red Grange was known as ‘The Galloping Ghost’. He was five feet, ten inches tall, and weighed 170 pounds. He was not very big for a football player. He wasn’t even that strong, but he was the greatest player of the 1920s. He played college football for the University of Illinois. He scored 31 touchdowns and in the twenty games he played during the three years he attended. He was very modest and couldn’t explain his talent or take credit for it. On October 19, 1924, Illinois played against Michigan. There was no way that Michigan could prepare for Red. In just the first half, he scored four touchdowns and ran 263 yard+s. Some people thought the game against Michigan was Red’s greatest performance. Others thought it was a year later against Pennsylvania. In that game, Red carried the ball 36 times for 363 yards and scored three touchdowns. He was unbeatable. Paavo Nurmi was an Olympic star. He was given the name ‘Flying Finn’ because of his homeland, Finland. In his first olympic competition, he won a first place gold medal in the 10,000 meter run. He also won gold in the 10,000 meter cross country race. In addition, he took a second place silver