Baseball, War, and the Setting of the World Series
In September 1919, the World Baseball Series was in town, hosting both Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox. The games were played at Comiskey Park, which was the home ground for the White Sox since the place had fewer fans than their new home, Weegham Park, at Wrigley Field. Comiskey Park was a baseball park that was located in the Bridgeport community on the southwest side of the city. The park hosted four World Series with more than 6000 major leagues; it is a famous site of many other sporting events, including the 1937 heavyweight match. During that time, it was a modern park since it was among the three steel and concrete stadiums in the major leagues. It was named after the owner, Charles Comiskey (Pennington).
However, due to war tensions and jitters over bombing, the game did not attract as many fans as expected. The fans who came were only 20,000, which was the smallest number recorded in years for a World Series crowd. The fans did not make much noise because they were afraid. Babe Ruth was on the pitch; he was ready to pitch for the Red Sox. The band from the Navy training station started to play the song named The Star-Spangled Banner, which was a famous song that had been played in previous years. To show respect for the flag, players took off their caps as they faced the direction in which the flag was fluttering on a pole on the right side of the field.
Fred Thomas was a Red Sox infielder, and he was in the army during the series; he was the only one who was not singing. Immediately after he heard the melody, he took off his hat, turned towards the flag and gave a military salute. At the moment, only a few fans were singing, but then others joined, and therefore, the field resounded with the melody at great volume. After the anthem came to an end, the spectators exploded into louder applause and filled the air with cheers, which marked the day’s highest excitement. The 1918 series marked the first time that The Star-Spangled Banner was performed in a league, especially the baseball league.
At the 7th-inning stretch of game one, the song was played by the band since the country was among the nations that participated in World War 1. The song became the US national anthem in 1931, and during World War 2, the playing of the song became regular. It became customary for the song to be sung before any baseball match or other sporting event. Babe Ruth, who was a star of baseball at that time, was mentioned in the anthem. However, after that game, the owner of the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, where he helped elevate the team to become a world champion and record holder. The Red Sox, on the other hand, were believed to be cursed since they went for 89 years without winning any championship.
Babe Ruth, Celebrity, and the Culture of American Sport
Ruth had a charismatic personality as well as legendary power, which made him a larger figure during his career in the Roaring 20s. He was a womanizer and drunkard when off field. These characteristics led to him being denied the chance to be a manager for the baseball team despite his talents and abilities in the baseball game. He had a willing heart for visiting orphans, and he was poor, but his reckless lifestyle hindered him from visiting them (Pennington).
It was believed that the 1918 series was affected by gambling, and the Chicago Cubs were said to have thrown the game. These were speculations that lacked evidence for a longer period of time until the time when Eddie, one of the most infamous Black Sox players, revealed that he and his teammates were given some money to throw the game. He was banned from the game for life after receiving some cash, which helped him lose the game. According to Eddie, the baseball players were paid to throw the series. The players were discussing who the individual who tried to fix the game might have been. There were some talks about them throwing the amount or throwing the club during the series. There was no proof since the Red Sox had some strong players like Babe Ruth, among others. Therefore, others did not agree with the issue since they believed the Sox won fairly due to the presence of strong players like Babe Ruth. However, other historians are hard to convince, and they would state clearly that there was nothing to convince them that anything suspicious had happened. During the dialogue in the Black Sox committee, it was hard for one to convince the committee members that, indeed, the series was fixed (Pennington).
It is very unfortunate that a recreational game like baseball is destroyed because of one person. Additionally, it was unfortunate when Babe Ruth was denied an opportunity to be a baseball manager. It was so unfortunate that they would rely on his past behaviors in his career as a player in determining his future as a manager. It would be unfortunate if a team that lasted through the 20th century became tainted. The fans are too loyal since they have supported the team for so long. Despite the fact that they had faced a long drought without any title, Red Sox fans are still there to support the team.
Gambling Allegations, Public Mood, and the Interpretation of the Games
According to Devney, we cannot judge that the game was affected by gambling because of less celebration on the field. According to him, the time baseball was being played was the time when the country was in World War 1, and therefore, there was some tension and fear of the bombs. Moreover, what Eddie was mentioning had no basis in truth or evidence. They were just written words. The baseball committee did not investigate the matter, and therefore, they also lacked evidence to accuse the Red Sox of gambling (Pennington).
Later, in 2011, the Chicago History Museum cited court testimony left by Cicotte during an investigation that was carried out in 1919 due to the gambling issue raised after the World Series of 1918. Cicotte cited some allegations and references suggesting that the Cubs threw the series and, therefore, the loss was planned. He stated that the Cubs fixed the game they had lost against the Red Sox. However, one cannot consider the former player’s information to be reliable or unbiased. History is dangerous, especially if one attempts to change. Additionally, many individuals may be suffering from their reputations being ruined.
Both the Cubs and the Red Sox were very upset that the team owners were not paying their shares and salaries. Many believed that, indeed, the team did not throw the series, but it unfortunately happened that the great Cub hitters forgot how to hit or did not get opportunities to hit. In addition, there was no way the Red Sox would have lost the series with a hitter like Babe Ruth in the field. After he was transferred to the New York Yankees, his significant talent was still seen, and he made that team come a long way, from grass to grace.
Works Cited
Pennington, Bill. “A Year Before The Black Sox, Whiff Of Scandal Wafted Over 1918 World Series.” Nytimes.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 20 Feb. 2018.
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