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A special commission created by
baseball executive Albert Spalding
determined in 1908 that Abner Doubleday
invented the game in 1839. One hundred
Years after Doubleday designed the
first diamond, baseball celebrated it's
100th birthday. On June 12, 1939 to
commemorate baseball's centennial, the
Cooperstown Baseball Hall Of Fame
opened its doors to the public. This
prestigious inaugural event was held at
Doubleday field to honor the 26 Hall of
Fame inductees including the 5 original
1936 members.
The National Centennial Commission held a contest to design an emblem for
the 100th anniversary of baseball in
the summer of 1938. Unveiled in
December, at the annual meeting of the
National Association of Professional
Baseball Leagues, the winning design
was awarded to New York artist Majori
Bennet.
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of organized baseball the
Official Insignia of Baseball’s
Centennial had been adopted for flags
which to be flown from all of the
parks. The red, white and blue patch
had four red stripes, symbolic of four
balls, three white stripes,
representing three strikes. A blue
diamond was superimposed on the
stripes, with a white baseball and a
batter completing a swing in the
diamond center. The design was used on
such items as stationary, publications,
advertising, and uniform patches worn
by the players during the year.
However, the batter featured on the patch resembled Joe DiMaggio and Major
League Players objected to singling out
one player to represent the Centennial
of Baseball and refused to wear the
patch, so it was redesigned. Only two
teams used the patch Bennet design. The
Philadelphia Athletics and the
Baltimore Orioles as they ordered
Spalding uniforms before the objection
of professional baseball.
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