Fan of History
Fan of History
Prior to the advent of social media, the narrative of baseball focuses on “newsmakers” such as players, owners, executives, and even the press themselves. Frequently absent are the perspectives of individual spectators, or fans, who participated in large-scale crowds. These missing voices hold an important piece to understanding what happened in moments where a crowd or large group of individuals inserted themselves into the story. What were the fans feeling that day? Why did people charge onto the field? What do they remember people talking about in the seats around them during the course of the game? Project 3.18 seeks to collect and share these narratives and in doing so add them to the body of recorded history.
Stories from our “Fan of History” series will be shorter pieces, highlighting a more recent episode from history, and concluding with a discussion-type opportunity for readers to share personal experiences, leads on sources and materials, and generally add to the oral history surrounding these events. “Fan of History” pieces may serve as the start of a deeper dive, and contributions from readers may inform future, longer-form pieces.
Contributors who have details to share may opt to remain anonymous by writing project318@substack.com. Unless anonymity is preferred, contributors will always be given credit when directly quoted for a Project 3.18 piece.