With all the talk about Barry Bonds, and other pro athletes using performance-enhancing substances; I am prompted to ask: How much of these went on in the “Golden Years” of pro baseball (ca. 1930-1958)? Methamphetamines have been known since the 1920’s, and cocaine was a commonly-available drug (in much of the world), till about 1940 or so.
So were these sainted “boys of summer” of yore all that squeaky clean?
Or were athletes using drugs for a long time?
How about good old nicotine? old time ball players chewed tobacco regularly-was that a performance enhancing drug?
Jim Bouton wrote in Ball Four of widespread amphetamine use during the 1960’s. I’ve never heard of any serious problems with harder drugs before that time; it isn’t until later that we hear of players such as Steve Howe and Darryl Strawberry entering rehab for addiction. Even in those cases, I don’t believe the players claimed “performance enhancement” benefits; these were cases of recreational drug use gone awry.
Alcohol use and misuse, of course, have been pervasive since earliest times, and many players washed out due to alcohol abuse. But again, they weren’t using it for “performance enhancement” (I hope!), they were using it for fun and got burned.
Considering anabolic steroroids of the type Bonds and McGwire were proported to have taken weren’t synthesized until the 1930’s, and not even tested on humans until the late 30’s, I doubt that those specific types were used during that time period.
I hear peyote laced cacao was rampant at Palenque.
Bouton pretty clearly says that players were taking “greenies” to feel more energetic on the field. Now, you could argue that this places it in the category of caffeine, performance-wise, but they were doing it to have a better game. He relates comments of the type of: “If he’d taken more than half a greenie, he’s have had that ball.”
I have heard stories that amphetamine use among players is still common. It’s tough with travel and night games to be well rested, and drugs are the . . . drug of choice.
I doubt but alcohol was used by players prior to night games becoming standard.
Victorian sprtsmen were known to use small doses of strychnine, or was it arsenic?, and early Tor de France riders were known to take a small flask of brandy with them.
ESPN recently ran a story about the use of steroids in pro football in the early sixties. The San Diego Chargers won an AFL Championship in 1963 after making the use of Dianabol (an anabolic steroid) mandatory.
I did not express myself clearly. I meant my disclaimer to apply only to the second part of my statement–the part about “hard drugs” by which I meant cocaine and heroin. I’m not aware of anybody claiming performance enhancement for those drugs. Greenies, yeah–the players at least thought they played better.
Not likely in professional baseball–they’re included in the current drug testing regimen. (Unless there’s a variety that can beat the test.)
I recall in several of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” stories, reference being made to the use of strychnine-and noted that one could build up a resistance to it. But strychnine is a poison-what possible benefit would one get from taking it?
I think baseball might just be a more interesting game if all of the players just did a little hit of LSD before the game…
Well, Dock Ellis managed to pitch a no-hitter while on LSD, so there’s some precedent.
(Dock Ellis - Wikipedia)
Strychnine is an extremely potent stimulant, and was popular in tonics and cathartics, as well as being used by athletes. Its popularity declined when safer stimulants were discovered (i.e., drugs that didn’t cause convulsions when one took a wee bit too much).