It’s unfathomable to think of Sunday afternoons without a ballgame, but around the turn of the 20th century many states had “blue laws” that prohibited certain forms of commerce on the Sabbath, including charging for admission to professional sporting events.

Brooklyn Superbas owner Charles Ebbets (as in Ebbets Field) couldn’t fathom why hard-working folks wouldn’t rather sit in his ballpark than in the pews on their only day off, and he was bold enough to try to make it happen.

On Sunday, April 17, 1904, Ebbets, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to host a game and let fans in free of charge. The catch? Fans had to buy one of three types of color-coded scorecards – the colors priced about the same as typical bleacher, grandstand and box seat tickets, respectively. The authorities caught wind of it, and when Ebbets tried his “freemium” strategy again the following week, police came onto the field and arrested Brooklyn’s pitcher and catcher and the Phillies’ leadoff hitter.

Ebbets gave it a rest…for 13 years. In 1917 he tried again with a free game preceded by a “benefit concert” to raise funds for the war effort. This time, the cops arrested Ebbets and his manager. Finally in 1919, after years of lobbying state politicians, Ebbets got the law repealed.