BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer
To many people, baseball is just a sport, a nice way to spend an evening out or something to watch on television to pass the time.
During the World War II era, though, baseball became part of the fabric of American society, and more importantly, a way to boost the country’s morale.
Recently at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, “Our National Pastime and the War” was the topic of a presentation by associate history professor Larry Hartzell, who teaching courses about American history, the Civil War and sports history.
During the discussion, Hartzell brought to light why baseball was so important for the American public.
“At the time, baseball represented values we were fighting for,” Hartzell said. “Things like democracy and teamwork were so important for us.”
While baseball was important to the general public, Hartzell said it was almost shut down in 1942 – as the war continued – but President Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed it was best to continue to play.
“FDR felt it would be good for the country,” Hartzell said. “Baseball had a huge role in the fabric of society.”
One event that had a huge impact on people’s feelings on the sport at the time was the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, he said.
“Before Pearl Harbor, 84 percent of those surveyed said that baseball should continue to be played. Afterward, that number dropped to 66 percent,” Hartzell said. “The majority of the people wanted the sport to be played, but it was obvious that many people had their minds changed by just that one single event.”
Hartzell said the nation’s morale was also boosted by the accessibility of the game – in particular, the advent of night games.
“Having night games gave so many more people an opportunity to see baseball,” Hartzell said. “Once the war started, you saw a lot more night games being scheduled. In Washington, D.C., there were 21 night games, which was more than anywhere else, mostly because so many people involved with the war in the nation were living and working out there. Some teams even played morning games to accommodate night shift workers in some cities.”
There were also changes that could be noticed no matter what time of day the games were being played.
“Stadiums started to paint seats red, white and blue. And instead of advertisements on the outfield walls, there were now recruitment signs for the service,” Hartzell said. “You couldn’t help but notice all of the patriotism around the country at baseball games.”
Even with patriotism at an all-time high, the game still had to deal with negativity, especially when some of its players had to report for duty, including one of the game’s all-time greats.
“In 1942, Ted Williams’ draft status was 1A, meaning he was going to be among the first people to go to war,” Hartzell said. “Williams stated that he would enlist after the 1942 season was completed and he ended up missing five seasons between (his combined service in) World War II and (later in) the Korean War. If he hadn’t missed that much time away from the game, who knows how many home runs he could have hit?”
Williams, in fact, hit 521 home runs in 19 major league seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox.
While the sport suffered some during World War II, it also forced teams to look at different players to fill its rosters, ones who owners would never have looked at previously. This particular impact on baseball was one that would forever change the game.
“The war caused teams to look at black players seriously for the first time due to the shortage of white players because they were leaving the game to go to war,” Hartzell said.
Near the end of the discussion, Hartzell spoke about one owner who set the wheels in motion for black players to make it to the major leagues.
“Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson in 1945 and he went to the minor leagues and then to Montreal in 1946 before being called up to the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947,” Hartzell said. “That one move still has a huge impact on baseball almost 60 years later.”