June 13, 1918: Cardinals rookie Cliff Heathcote hits for cycle in 19-inning tie game

A Thursday afternoon Philadelphia crowd of 3,500 fans got their…

July 2, 1918: Burleigh Grimes blanks Braves amid pressure to ‘work or fight’

In July of 1918, during World War I, American servicemen were…

July 17, 1918: Cubs’ Lefty Tyler outduels Phillies’ Watson in 21-inning marathon

When Chicago Cubs hurler George “Lefty” Tyler arrived at…
Bullet Joe Bush (Trading Card DB)

July 22, 1918: Bullet Joe Bush throws his fifth 1-0 shutout of season for surging Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox played only 126 games in 1918, a season abbreviated…

July 25, 1918: Senators’ Walter Johnson and Browns’ Allen Sothoron battle for 15 innings

Perhaps no baseball season has ever begun with more uncertainty…

August 4, 1918: Ty Cobb’s single in 18th inning defeats Walter Johnson

The decision had come down barely a week before: baseball was…

September 2, 1918: Braves, Giants finish a season cut short by war

With baseball nearing the end of its second season of play since…

September 6, 1918: Lefty Tyler’s pitching, batting tie World Series at 1-1

Prior to the start of Game Two of the 1918 World Series, Fred…
Carl Mays (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

September 7, 1918: Boston’s Carl Mays outduels Cubs’ Hippo Vaughn in Game 3

Chicago Cubs ace James “Hippo” Vaughn had a dream regular…
Babe Ruth with the Boston Red sox, circa 1917 (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

September 9, 1918: Babe Ruth finally gets his first base hit in a World Series game

Through the first three games of the 1918 World Series, the Boston…
Carl Mays (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

September 11, 1918: Red Sox win their fifth World Series as Carl Mays stops Cubs

Attendance was down dramatically for Game Six of the 1918 World…
John “Beans” Reardon, left, wearing a flu mask underneath his umpire’s mask, prepares to call a pitch in a California Winter League game on January 26, 1919, in Pasadena, California. During a global influenza pandemic, all players and fans were required by city ordinance to wear facial coverings at all times while outdoors. The catcher and batter’s identities are unconfirmed, but the best available evidence suggests it might be Truck Hannah behind the plate and Rube Ellis at bat.

January 26, 1919: The Flu Mask Baseball Game

John "Beans" Reardon, left, wearing a flu mask underneath his…

April 18, 1919: Babe Ruth thrills hometown Baltimore fans with 6 home runs in 6 at-bats

Babe Ruth put on a home-run show in his hometown on April 18,…
Boston Globe, April 20, 1919

April 19, 1919: Baseball resumes after World War I on Patriots Day in Boston

No matter your perspective, the 1919 Patriots Day opening day…

April 23, 1919: Lefty Williams, White Sox win in Kid Gleason’s managerial debut

When the Chicago White Sox took the field for Opening Day in…

April 30, 1919: Burleigh Grimes and Joe Oeschger go the distance in epic 20-inning tie

“One of the most sensational ballgames ever played on any ballpark,”…
Max Flack (Library of Congress)

May 5, 1919: Cincinnati is red as Cubs overcome 6-0 deficit in the 9th

Things looked bleak for the Chicago Cubs in the top of the ninth…
Grover Cleveland Alexander with the Chicago Cubs (CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM, CHICAGO DAILY NEWS, SDN-064431)

May 9, 1919: Pete Alexander’s return from World War I spoiled by Ray Fisher, Reds

There died a myriad of them, And of the best, among them, For…

May 11, 1919: Hod Eller tosses first no-hitter at Crosley Field

Hod Eller displayed a “splendid exhibition of perfect hurling,”…