The Golden Age Ends.

The 1920s were called the golden age of sports. Every sport seemed to be dominated by a single personality. Though several of these athletes were still active in the 1930s, the golden age essentially ended with the retirement of golfer Bobby Jones in 1930. In the new decade, titles and records would be won and shattered many different times by different people, and no one, with the possible exception of Joe Louis in the second half of the decade, came to dominate his or her respective sport. Sports fans today continue to draw comparisons between modern athletes and those of the 1920s and 1930s.

The Depression.

The social and economic upheavals of the 1930s took their toll on all sports. In baseball, attendance plummeted and park renovations came to a halt. Ballplayers' salaries dipped (Lou Gehrig, at $36,000-$41,000 a year, was the highest-paid player in...