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…
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 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,”…

May 11, 1919: Walter Johnson retires 28 in a row as 12-inning shutout ends in a tie

The Yankees were expecting a huge crowd at the Polo Grounds on…

May 12, 1919: Yankees, Senators play a 15-inning tie game

Entering the 1919 season, the strength of the New York Yankees…

May 20, 1919: Babe Ruth clobbers his first career grand slam

When Boston’s 1918 World Series championship season was over,…

May 24, 1919: Hank Gowdy Day at Braves Field

Welcoming back their popular soldier-catcher Hank Gowdy after…