YEAR: 1918
SIGNIFICANCE: In the midst of WWI, Secretary of War Baker granted an exemption to players in the WS
1918 was a year filled with horrors. The first World War ended that November and the Spanish Flu would infect around a quarter of the world’s population. As for Major League Baseball, that meant the sport was facing a possible cancelation of the season. The league eventually cut the season short and began the World Series in September. The rescheduling of the Fall Classic was not because of the flu, but because of the rising pressure players were receiving to enlist and go to war.
The sport was ordered to close shop by September 1st, but thanks to the Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, an extension was given to the league that would allow them to play until the 15th of September, on this day 102 years ago. The caveat was that 10% of revenues must be donated to war charities.
The World Series featured a matchup between two of the most historic teams in MLB history: the Boston Red Sox vs the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox won the series in six games, with Babe Ruth winning two games. The Red Sox would not win a title for the next 86 years, and the Cubs had to wait 108 more years for their next ring (from their last title in 1908). Between Game 5 and Game 6 of the World Series, the influenza started to spread rapidly in the city of Boston, causing attendance to drop by almost 40%.