September 29, 2020 is arguably the most important day of the entire year. Fierce adversaries will face off against one another in what could be the most consequential head-to-head battle of all time. No, I am not talking about the presidential debate. I am talking about the start of the Major League Baseball playoffs.
What makes this year unique from others is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic and the precautions the league and players must take to keep everyone safe. But you may be surprised to know that this is not the first time Major League Baseball played through a pandemic. The league pushed forward with several seasons during the influenza pandemic of the early twentieth century, which provides an interesting contrast between how we perceive and deal with a pandemic today, and how our predecessors faced their own deadly virus a century ago.
Baseball players and an umpire wearing masks in 1918 during the influenza pandemic; major league players in masks during covid-19 in 2020
One of the biggest differences between the current season and the seasons during the early twentieth century is the fact that while there are no fans in attendance at baseball games now, those kinds of restrictions were nonexistent during the influenza pandemic. The pandemic in 1918, like COVID-19, made its way to the U.S. in March, right around the start of the baseball season. But the flu did not spread widely in the U.S. until September, (a story covered in this previous blog post) just after the baseball season concluded. While the 1919 season started in late April, a week later than normal, the league plowed ahead with business as usual. It is not difficult to imagine the firestorm of vitriol Major League Baseball would face if that happened today.
It’s also important to note the disparate impact of the 1918 flu and COVID-19 on the population and the podcast does this to great effect. While COVID tends to spare those who are younger, several lower-level players in their twenties fell victim to the 1918 flu pandemic. This example brings the differences between the flu and COVID into sharp relief. In fact, the podcast hosts note that the 1918 flu infected nearly a third of the world’s population— a shocking figure compared to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, so too does the baseball season. While we may not be learning from the mistakes of the past, we as historians can at least study them and make parallels between our prior run-ins with a deadly virus and our current predicament. This season we cautiously say “Play Ball!” on another Major League Baseball postseason and carry with us a reminder that in spite of the uncertainty of our times, the U.S. has been here before.
Link to the podcast: Episode 142 – Baseball Is Out With Flu-like Symptoms
Here’s what sports looked like during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic
Baseball has survived pandemics before, and for desperate fans, that counts
Hi Matt!
This was a great read, and definitely different than most historical blog posts I’ve seen before. I appreciated the picture comparison between baseball players during the 1918 flu pandemic and the current players during the COVID 19 pandemic. I think this would be a wonderful post to share with your future students to get them interested in actually learning about history. Instead of learning about dreaded dead presidents or one of the many amendments which kids often zone out when hearing about, connecting baseball and the history of disease will open up students’ enthusiasm in learning about trends and historical evidence. This was a concise and easy read and I’m blown away at how history can connect two completely unrelated things: pandemics and baseball!
Hi Matt,
This was an interesting read. After months of hearing about COVID and quarantine, one of the last things you think about are how sports function through such an event. The start of major league season is something that many people look forward to the point where a pandemic won’t stop it whether it’s 1918 or 2020. I think that the pictures you used also offers a more authentic presentation to compare the past and present, especially since they really don’t look all that different. COVID and the 1918 flu aren’t the same disease and they have different components but it still offers hope that we can overcome. The similarity between the two photos demonstrates that the United States has been here before and that we can get through it again.
Best,
Kailey G