D-Day
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 10:39 am
I'd like to borrow Dan's page for a day ................
In the modern era of baseball, the complete schedule of games has been cancelled or suspended for non-baseball related issues four times.
The first time was in 1918.
The United States had been actively engaged in WWI for over a year when the War Department issued a ‘Work or Fight’ order to young men. Men were expected to find ‘essential’ work or enlist in the military; baseball was not considered essential work.
The order was issued in May of 1918 and took effect on July 1st. Baseball was given a time exemption though to take effect in September to allow for a completion of the schedule. However, many of the players started leaving their teams in the second half of the season and baseball cancelled the remaining games effective September 3rd. Most teams had played around 140 games and the World Series was held from Sept 5th through the 11th with the Boston Red Sox beating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2.
8 Major League and 18 more Minor League players died during WWI.
The second time was on Aug 10, 1923 when baseball cancelled all games in observance of the burial of President Warren G Harding.
The most recent suspension of the entire baseball schedule came on September 11th, 2001.
With the terrorist attacks striking America on 9/11, baseball suspended all play that night, and again for the next five days.
Baseball resumed play on September 17th and the six days of missed games were made up during the first week of October; pushing the World Series back one week and into November for the first time.
The only other time baseball cancelled the entire slate of games for a non-baseball related event was June 6th, 1944, D-Day.
Leading up to D-Day, there had been some debate over what baseball, or sports in general, should do when the eventual Allied invasion of Europe took place. While some believed the game should carry on just as it had the previous two years while the war in the Pacific and other locations was taking place, many believed there should be a pause, or even complete stoppage in play.
On June 3rd, 1944 during a game in New York there was a moment of silence held when the Associated Press erroneously sent out a ‘Flash’ that allied troops had landed in Europe.
This, of course, was a mistake, but it gave baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis time to make a decision.
When news of the actually D-Day landings reached the U.S. in the early morning hours of June 6th; Landis cancelled both games scheduled for that night. One game pitted Philadelphia against the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and the other had the Reds facing off against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Play resumed the next day on June 7th.
2 Major League and 100+ Minor League players were killed during WWII, including 3 that were killed in-action on D-Day in France.
Those 3 were…………
Forrest “Lefty” Brewer
John “Joe” Pinder Jr.
Elmere Wright
In the modern era of baseball, the complete schedule of games has been cancelled or suspended for non-baseball related issues four times.
The first time was in 1918.
The United States had been actively engaged in WWI for over a year when the War Department issued a ‘Work or Fight’ order to young men. Men were expected to find ‘essential’ work or enlist in the military; baseball was not considered essential work.
The order was issued in May of 1918 and took effect on July 1st. Baseball was given a time exemption though to take effect in September to allow for a completion of the schedule. However, many of the players started leaving their teams in the second half of the season and baseball cancelled the remaining games effective September 3rd. Most teams had played around 140 games and the World Series was held from Sept 5th through the 11th with the Boston Red Sox beating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2.
8 Major League and 18 more Minor League players died during WWI.
The second time was on Aug 10, 1923 when baseball cancelled all games in observance of the burial of President Warren G Harding.
The most recent suspension of the entire baseball schedule came on September 11th, 2001.
With the terrorist attacks striking America on 9/11, baseball suspended all play that night, and again for the next five days.
Baseball resumed play on September 17th and the six days of missed games were made up during the first week of October; pushing the World Series back one week and into November for the first time.
The only other time baseball cancelled the entire slate of games for a non-baseball related event was June 6th, 1944, D-Day.
Leading up to D-Day, there had been some debate over what baseball, or sports in general, should do when the eventual Allied invasion of Europe took place. While some believed the game should carry on just as it had the previous two years while the war in the Pacific and other locations was taking place, many believed there should be a pause, or even complete stoppage in play.
On June 3rd, 1944 during a game in New York there was a moment of silence held when the Associated Press erroneously sent out a ‘Flash’ that allied troops had landed in Europe.
This, of course, was a mistake, but it gave baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis time to make a decision.
When news of the actually D-Day landings reached the U.S. in the early morning hours of June 6th; Landis cancelled both games scheduled for that night. One game pitted Philadelphia against the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and the other had the Reds facing off against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
Play resumed the next day on June 7th.
2 Major League and 100+ Minor League players were killed during WWII, including 3 that were killed in-action on D-Day in France.
Those 3 were…………
Forrest “Lefty” Brewer
John “Joe” Pinder Jr.
Elmere Wright