The Black Sox Scandal had a large impact on Americans' imaginations. Baseball had become enormously popular across the country in the first two decades of the 20th Century. It had become a much more reputable endeavour during that time, with prominent personnages such as Connie Mack, owner-manager of the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson giving the sport respectability. Beginning with William Howard Taft, Presidents would regularly attend ball games, and all of the country's newspapers covered the World Series in great detail. Magnificent concrete and steel ballparks had risen up in all the Major League cities to replace the makeshift ball yards of the previous century, increasing attendance by leaps and bounds. Thus, the scandal was played out before an enormous audience and ingrained itself profoundly on the nation's consciousness.