April 6, 2009
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Baseball, US America and some claims for the other nations
that inhabit
North America!
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As US America goes through this 2009 clean-up of their economic house, they might use this occasion to also clean up their fault-filled version of their own history. If they embrace truth and are concerned with its effect on future generations, it is about time to quit their misrepresentation of the facts.
Since President Obama is telling the world that America is coming clean, it might be a suggestion that he straighten out some of the misconceptions that US America has foisted on the rest of the world.
Don't get me wrong. I believe US America has a lot of which it can be proud. Its ability when it comes to recording history, though, is seriously lacking.
During the 1950s, US America poked fun at Russian attempts to claim they had developed everything of value in the last 100 years. What appeared to be really at stake was boasting rights as the biggest distorter of truth.
Continuing on the baseball theme of last week, lets take a second to put its history in perspective. The first baseball game did not take place at Cooperstown. One year earlier in 1838, baseball got its debut in Beachville, Ontario. Also, the greatest single season hitter of all time was Canadian outfielder James “Tip” O’Neill who batted .492 in 1887 with the St. Louis Browns. In those days, walks were counted as hits. His adjusted percentage was .435 which places him in second place all time behind Hugh Duffy’s .439 in 1894. O’Neill never got into the Hall of Fame.
At least US America gives Canadian clergyman, physican, educator and physical education instructor James Naismith from McGill University credit for inventing the game of basketball in 1891.
When it comes to football, historical facts are somewhat clouded. While US America claims the first intercollegiate game took place on its soil, the first game, actually, was an international contest that took place between McGill University and Harvard in 1874. Since there were various versions of this game with a pointed ball, at least US America decided eventually to label their version US Football to distinguish it from Canadian, United Kingdom and Australian versions of the original rugby football from the United Kingdom.
Lacrosse existed before US America or Canada
Before Canadians get swollen chests over their place in sport's history, their claim of originating the game of lacrosse is also faulty. Long before the white man came, North American natives played lacrosse. It was “named” by a French priest after viewing a game between two Huron tribes. Canadian dentist W. George Beers standardized the game in 1867 with the adoption of set field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and other basic rules. The first college game took place at Upper Canada College in 1867. Queen Victoria saw an exhibition match in 1876 and her endorsement led the way to lacrosse's introduction into British girls' schools.
Incidentally, lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America, and possibly in the world.
Of course, there are other facts and figures that have bugged me most of my 70 years, not so much for their inaccuracy but more for the hoopla that US America forced on other North Americans, if not the world.
Five Hundred years before Columbus
The 500-year anniversary of America's so-called discovery by Christopher Columbus was truly sickening since he never landed on US America's shores. US America still fails to acknowledge that fishermen were regular visitors to North America at least a hundred years earlier. And, of course, before them were the inhabitants from Iceland who accidentally landed on Newfoundland's shores. On one of their sea voyages it seems they overshot Greenland. At least they stayed long enough to create a settlement – L'Anse aux Meadows – about 1001.
If they could have waited another nine years, New York City could have celebrated the 1,000-year anniversary of the discovery of North America instead of their 500-year version.
Or, if they considered Greenland as a part of North America (it is), then they could have had their 1000-year celebration in 1984 since the Norsemen first settled Greenland in 984 AD.
All they needed in New York were some Viking long boats. But then again, there are many more Italians in New York City than Scandinavians.
I will be revisiting this subject in future postings. I know few, if any; US Americans will pay any attention.
Why I refer to them as “US Americans”
My last salvo for this posting is the reason why I use the phrase “US Americans” when talking about what has come to be known as the Americans. It goes like this. If Columbus discovered America, he discovered North America. And, continuing with this logic, every country in North America can claim it is American.
Here is a list of the 42 North American countries whose citizens can claim to be, if they want, Americans.
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Clipperton Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Repulic, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Isla Aves, Jamaica, Martinque, Mexico, Montserrat, Navassa Island, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint-Martin, Saint Peirre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Andrés y Providencia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, United States Virgin Islands.
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If US America continues to rewrite history, it will eventually claim that it created God, at least their own version of God. I am glad I live . . . without gods!
Anton Kozlik
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