Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, April 3, 2020 BASEBALL | FROM PAGE 11 last a about a year to the summer of 1919. The pandemic virus killed an estimated 195,000 Americans during October 1918 alone. During the fall of 1918, the United States experienced a severe shortage of nurses. Many nurses were deployed with the troops to contain various diseases and wounds that the units would encounter. Philadelphia suffered greatly with more than 500 corpses awaiting burial because of overwhelming action. Cold storage plants were used as temporary morgues, and a trolley car manufacturer donated 200 packing crates to be used as coffi ns. New York City reported a 40 percent decline in very needed shipyard war effort productivity because of illness to employees unable to work for the war effort. Many cities followed ChiOne Call Does It All! cago’s response by closing theaters, movie houses and night schools, and prohibiting public gatherings. A second wave of the flu emerged at Camp Devens in Massachusetts along with naval facilities around Boston. By the end of September, more than 14,000 fl u cases were reported at Camp Devens, about one-fourth of the troops present, and 757 deaths. The end of the war celebrations in November led to another surge in victims. December had public health offi cials beginning education programs and publicity about the dangers of coughing, sneezing and “careless disposal of nasal discharges.” A Committee of the American Public Health Association encouraged stores and factories to stagger opening and closing hours and for people to walk rather than use public transportation. The third wave of the fl u ocCall for a Free Estimate LANDSCAPING & IRRIGATION/CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION EXCAVATION & SITE WORK • SPRING CLEAN-UPS • WEEKLY/BIWEEKLY LAWN SERVICE • NEW LAWN INSTALLS • MULCHING & EDGING • TREE & SHRUB PLANTING • BUSH & SHRUB TRIMMING • BOBCAT & EXCAVATION WORK • DEMOLITION & REMOVAL SERVICE • DUMPSTER RENTALS 781-808-1061 617-908-0436 WASTE REMOVAL & BUILDING MAINTENANCE • Landscaping, Lawn Care, Mulching • Yard Waste & Rubbish Removal • Interior & Exterior Demolition (Old Decks, Fences, Pools, Sheds, etc.) • Appliance and Metal Pick-up • Construction and Estate Cleanouts • Pick-up Truck Load of Trash starting at $169 • Carpentry LICENSED & INSURED Call for FREE ESTIMATES! curred in the winter of 1919 and subsided in the summer. San Francisco reported 1,800 cases and 101 deaths for the fi rst fi ve days of January. New York City reported 767 deaths, causing fear of a resurgence of the disease. Trustees of the Boston City Hospital asked the Mayor for a special appropriation of $3,000 to study treatment of the Spanish fl u. In February the pandemic appeared to be contained as the number of cases dropped throughout the nation. The State of Illinois passed a bill to create a one-year course to become a “practical nurse” in an eff ort to face the nursing shortage exposed by the pandemic. In April at the Versailles Peace Conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson collapsed while negotiating the treaty for the end of the war. Many historians speculate that the President was incapacitated by the fl u, which was rampant in Paris at the time. What does that have to do with my columns that specialize in sports? During 191718 the number of enlistees from baseball was small. Hank Gowdy of the Boston Braves was the fi rst. He was a member of the 1914 champion Braves as a backup catcher. Call for Classifi ed Advertising Rates 781-233-4446 In July Secretary of War Newton D. Baker issued the statement “Work or Fight.” He stated that all draft eligible men in “non-essential” occupations, which surely included baseball, must sign up for “war related work” or risk being drafted. This was a time when only baseball mattered to Americans; the National Hockey League only included four Canadian franchises; and the NFL was two years in the future. The number two sport at the time was racing and the tracks were shut down. Major League Baseball decided to shorten the 1918 season, and although the American League wanted to close down on August 20, the plan of the National League of Labor Day was accepted. The regular season ended on September 2, and the World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubs began on September 5. As we know, the Sox prevailed, but we were not to see another World Champion in Boston for many years until 2004. At game three in Chicago, a U.S. Military Band played “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was to become our offi cial national anthem 13 years later, but it became a standard for the start of Major League Baseball as we know it. Up in Canada the Stanley Cup playoff , a clinching game six, was called off because too many players were stricken with the fl u. While World War II was being fought, the NFL and NHL were both alive along with the MLB. But so many players were enlisted or drafted, the rosters somewhat consisted of what we today would consider minor leaguers or even amateurs. I spoke in a former column of the one-armed outfi elder for the St. Louis Browns, Pete Gray. The question came up as to whether to play the MLB or end the season. President Roosevelt told the owners that “if 300 teams use 5 or 6,000 players (counting the minor leagues), these players are a recreational asset to at least 20 million of their fellow citizens – and that in my judgement is thoroughly worthwhile.” Many minor leagues stopped playing because of a lack of players, but the 1944 World Series had the Browns against the Cardinals, saw the Browns badly beaten and the team soon moved to Baltimore. The following year saw strange happenings. The Yankees played spring training in Asbury Park, N.J., and the Red Sox set up camp in Medford at Tufts University. The Cincinnati Reds added a 15-year-old pitcher, Joe Nuxhall, to their roster, and Joe went on to pitch in 526 games, winning 135 over the years. We see much of the same thing today with the NBA and the NHL not playing and baseball breaking up the spring workouts. I was able to see the Sox play the Tigers when I visited my son Mike in Naples, Fla., at the beginning of March. Let us hope that the virus is contained before summer to bring back our beloved Red Sox, albeit without Mookie Betts, who everyone loved, and David Price, who few cared about. Go Red Sox, but we don’t know when yet. * Carpet Cleaning * Upholstery Cleaning * Water Damage * Handyman Services (617) 930-1213 / www.bostonnorthservices.com Email: pdesantis@bostonnorthservices.com Velleca & Daughter, Inc. Is Your Home & Garden Ready For Spring? Residential & Commerical Construction * Landscape Construction * Walls * Patios * Foundations * Pressure Release Systems * Mold Remediation * Stucco Application * Downspout Drainage * Vapor Barriers * Concrete Floor Painting * Foundation Crack Repair * Pump & Battery Backup (617) 594-3547
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