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The French were being defeated in Vietnam, the first H-bomb was exploded, Joe McCarthy was being condemned by the US Senate, the Supreme Court ruled segregation unconstitutional, and children started receiving the Salk polio vaccine. In the movies, ON The Waterfront with Brando was big. Father Knows Best, Lassie, the Tonight Show and Disneyworld were showing on the small screen, and Shake, Rattle and Roll topped the music charts.
What year was it? It was 1954!
In the majors, one rule change took place....players were no longer allowed to leave their gloves on the field between innnings. Rabbit Maranville died in NYC at the age of 63 before the season began (I don't think he was scheduled to play much anyway), and Joe DiMaggio married a young starlet named Marilyn something-or-other. Other preseason news included Bobby Thompson's (he of '51 playoffs fame) trade to the Braves for Johnny Antonelli and others, Mickey Mantle being hospitalized for knee surgery, the Dodgers signing of Roberto Clemente to a minor league contract (a $10,000 signing bonus and $5,000 salary for the year), Ted Willams' injury diving for a ball in Spring training (and subsequently missing 36 games), and Bobby Thompson (yes, him again), breaking his ankle and replaced in the lineup by a young outfielder named Aaron.
On a not-so-related front, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League begins its season with no franchise changes, but the ball is made smaller by 1", bases lengthened by 10 feet, and the pitching mound moved back to 60 feet (from 56 feet, as if you cared). The league, begun in 1943 (not alot of able body men around to entertain the folks that year, with something else going on at the time I suppose), will fold after the 1954 campaign. Not enough balls to continue would be my guess.
Oh, one more thing. GM of the Allentown Franchise, Jeff Grim, holds a press conference to rationalize to the fans how he could spend so much money and still come up short. Years later, a bloke named Steinbrenner will fail to hold a press conference to explain the same thing.