National crises have made baseball stronger

Written by: Bill Francis

The 2020 big league baseball season is currently in flux due to the coronavirus outbreak, it’s not the first time the game has reacted to crises.

A conversation on the history of real world events that have affected the National Pastime was the topic of discussion for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s first Virtual Voices of the Game program with noted baseball author and historian Curt Smith on April 17.

Besides the current pandemic, Smith, a senior lecturer in English at the University of Rochester, a former presidential speechwriter and a noted authority on baseball broadcasting, talked about how the game dealt with both World War I and II.

He also shared his thoughts on the late Hall of Famer and Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline, and his latest book, the 2018 release “The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House.”

“This is in the afterglow of Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941, on what Franklin D. Roosevelt said was a date that will live in infamy. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans,” said Smith to the Bruce Markusen, the moderator of the program and manager of digital and outreach learning at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

“The next day, the United States declares war on Japan. Baseball was then faced with the conundrum in what to do with the 1942 regular season.

“Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who I would argue was baseball’s greatest commissioner, had to work with Roosevelt so they together could save baseball. It was synonymous with the country. It was basically a mirror image of the republic,” Smith added.

“A letter was written in the commissioner’s name to Roosevelt asking for his advice. The very next day Roosevelt answered. This showed the extraordinary mountaintop status of baseball in 1942. F.D.R. answered with what today is called ‘The Green Light Letter.’ Roosevelt could not have waved during the entire war a more baseball-friendly flag.

Author Curt Smith discussed his 2018 book "The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House" during a VIrtual Voices of the Game event on April 17. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)

Author Curt Smith participated in a Virtual Voices of the Game event April 17. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)

“It was at this time that there really developed a special relationship between baseball and the presidency. And this relationship has remained ever since.”

The complete Smith interview can be found at the Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel.

The Virtual Voices of the Game series is free, but registration is required. Click here to register for upcoming events.

Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

United States President Franklin Roosevelt threw out the first pitch to open in the MLB season on April 14, 1941, in Washington's Griffith Stadium. Eight months later, the United States entered World War II – and Roosevelt helped keep baseball going during the crisis. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)