A lot of Yankistanis were and still are in denial re: baseball’s origins here in the states. Folks who dislike research buy into the “Abner Doubleday invented it all by himself!” nonsense. That baseball/rounders was extensively played by Brits for ages is becoming more common knowledge here, but even I had no idea baseball had been so popular there. Thanks for enlightening me! 
Before television became huge, boxing and horse racing were Yankistanis’ sports of choice. Look at the photos on the office walls in old Hollywood movies - they’re almost nothing but racehorses and/or boxers. Neither sport made good deals for televising them, and their popularity began waning.
