Sunday sporting events
[1] Nowadays, professional sports leagues schedule games on Sundays in the United States, though this practice continues to be opposed by some Christian denominations upholding first-day Sabbatarian doctrine.
[2] Because of Christian religious orthodoxy, it was considered offensive to work on Sunday, which was expected to be a day of worship and rest from servile labor.
Many governments instituted blue laws to limit activities that could be pursued on a Sunday, including such recreational pursuits as sports and games.
In 1794, the Pennsylvania Assembly restricted activities on Sunday by passing what they called "an Act for the prevention of vice and immorality, and of unlawful gaming, and to restrain disorderly sports and dissipation".
[9] Realizing that a large number of the city's residents who supported blue laws were planning to protest the upcoming Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Giants baseball game, Rooney "hurried down to city hall to get some answers", where the Director of Public Safety, Harmar Denny, informed him that only two people held the authority to stop the sporting event from happening, one being himself and the other being Franklin McQuaide, the superintendent of police.
Philadelphia mayor W. Freeland Kendrick objected to the Athletics' decision and announced that he would use police to keep Shibe Park closed.
Judge Frank Smith granted the A's request and ruled on Saturday, August 21, 1926 that those seeking to prohibit Sunday baseball could only do so if "their right to quiet and undisturbed religious worship is encroached upon as a result of the game".
William B. Forney drove around the park multiple times, and said that he was "ashamed that such an exhibition could be held on the Sabbath", and called the cheers from the crowd a "disgusting noise".
The Athletics then announced that they would take their case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, who ruled in September 1927, by a vote of 7 to 2, the Sunday Baseball was both "unholy" and "worldly employment".
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also threatened the Athletics, saying that if the A's continued to play on Sunday, their club corporation franchise would be revoked.
This caused A's attorney Gartling to announce plans to build a 50,000 seat stadium in Camden, New Jersey and move the team if Sunday restrictions were not eliminated.
[3] In 1933, the House and Senate of Pennsylvania finally passed a bill that allowed local jurisdictions to vote on whether Sunday sports would be legalized in their area.
However, the A's had already sold many of their star players (including Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, and Lefty Grove) to pay for team finances, and in 1954 the A's moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
[13][14][2][15] They believe that viewing and participating in sporting events held on Sundays are in violation of the Ten Commandments dictum to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy".
