(Anna Sullivan/Unsplash / https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1565483276060-e6730c0cc6a1?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=735&q=80)

For many decades, baseball was considered America’s game. But now many believe the title of America’s game belongs to football, citing the popularity of the NFL and major college football.

In this edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson looks at the debate and tries to explain why the game’s rich history still leads him to call baseball America’s game.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, the author of Growing Up With Clemente and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.