Baseball and Apple Pie...

Baseball and Apple Pie

As the saying goes, "What's more American than baseball and apple pie?" 

Ahhh, good old baseball...It's not really something that we give a whole lot of thought to on any given day. It's just something that...IS! A good old American sport. Well, actually it was inspired by a British game called Rounders, but we established it as an official sport called Baseball.

And, we've probably all played baseball - many of you guys played in the little leagues as you were growing up, and you girls played softball. We've also probably all watched baseball - don't we watch the World Series and root for our favorite team every year? 

So, let's test our knowledge with a little baseball trivia, shall we? Ready??? Here we go!

1-What two teams played in the very first World Series?

2-In what city is the Baseball Hall of Fame located?

3-What Major League slugger was named "Mr. October"?

4-What pitcher threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series?

5-Who was the first player to hit 60 or more home runs in a single season?

6-How many stitches does a regulation baseball have?

7-What Pittsburgh Pirates player died in a tragic plane crash in 1972. 

8-What Major League franchise has won more games than any other in history?

I know - some of those were so easy...but a few of those made you think, didn't they!

By the way...DID YOU KNOW - the first official rules were written in 1876?



Now for a little pie trivia! Mostly about apple pies but with a few extra, interesting, tidbits thrown in...

*According to a survey conducted by Crisco, the most popular dessert pie in America is apple, followed by pumpkin and pecan.

*The word "pie" is derived from the magpie bird - it is assumed that the reason is the magpie collects miscellaneous objects in its nest.

*Apple pie was selected as the official pie of Vermont in 1999.

*In the state of Kansas, it was once illegal to serve ice cream on cherry pie.

*Pie as a dessert is a relatively recent development - in the 19th century fruit pies were more commonly a breakfast food.

*The first print mention of fruit pie is from Robert Green's Arcadia (1590): "thy breath is like the steam of apple-pyes"

*Shoo-fly pie (a wet-bottom molasses pie) was used to attract flies from the kitchen.

*Wealthy English favored "surprise pies", in which live creatures would pop out when the pie was cut open.  (Perhaps 4 and 20 blackbirds?)

*Why do some people eat cheddar cheese with apple pie?  Dating back to ancient times, it was tradition to end a meal with fruit and/or cheese, to aid digestion.  The love of certain of these food combinations has persisted to this day.

*It is rumored that the Apple Marketing Board of New York used slogans such as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" and "as American as apple pie", and thus "was able to successfully 'rehabilitate' the apple as a popular comestible" in the early 20th century when prohibition outlawed cider production.

*Early Americans called pie fillings "timber".

*Many believe Mock Apple Pie was invented during WWII, but it actually dates back to the 1850's.

So, there you have it! Now we're all a little more wiser about baseball and apple pie - but we're still just as American! 

GO Yankees!!! Oh, and just for the record, I like to make my pies with lots of cinnamon and sugar, a tiny bit of allspice, and a drop of nutmeg. I like to use Red Delicious apples sliced very thinly. And, when I serve my pie, I like to serve it up (and eat it)warm, by itself, or with a piece of cheese - that really IS yummy! No ice cream for me...it makes my pie soggy!

How do you like YOUR apple pie!

Answers:

1-Boston & Pittsburg

2-Cooperstown, NY

3-Reggie Jackson

4-Don Larsen

5-Babe Ruth

6-108

7-Joe Dugan

8-Giants