Welcome to part seven of North Side Baseball’s offseason series covering the 1918 Chicago Cubs. You can find the first six parts here:
Last time, we left off with the World Series in question. The Cubs began August 3.5 games up on the second-place New York Giants. However, with World War I ongoing in Europe, it was declared in July that all draft-eligible men must either sign up for war-related work, or risk being drafted to fight in the war.
Of course, this included baseball players. The National League was considering ending its season, and was scheduled to discuss the matter on August 1.
Ending the Season Early
According to The New York Times, the National League first agreed to end the season early, with the American League later following suit.
The two leagues were looking to end their respective regular seasons at the end of August, with a World Series to be played not long after. The issue, according to an August 3 article in The Times, was whether or not the government would approve.
“After some discussion, the owners agreed to put the situation to a test by agreeing to close the season Labor Day and then starting a World Series Sept. 4 if permitted by the government.”
The National League and American League were essentially hoping that the government would allow for a special exemption for the players playing in the World Series. The work or fight order was scheduled to take effect at the end of the month, and if it still applied to the players in the World Series, they would be at risk of being drafted to fight in the war smack dab in the middle of the championship.
National League Champions
The Cubs held steady at the start of August, starting 11-7-1 after a doubleheader sweep over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 17. The Giants, though, were in free fall. By the time the Cubs suited up on August 18, they were eight games up on the Giants, who started the month just 6-10.
Needing just one win to clinch the pennant on August 25, the Cubs hosted the Brooklyn Robins for a doubleheader. Game one featured little-used Roy Walker against future Hall of Famer Rube Marquard.
Led by two hits from Dode Paskert and Bill Killefer, as well as RBIs from Max Flack and Charlie Hollocher, the Cubs won 5-3 and clinched the National League pennant.
Over in the American League, the Babe Ruth-led Boston Red Sox were wrapping up their impressive regular season by being officially crowned American League champions. The World Series was set to feature the Cubs vs. the Red Sox. But would it be played? When would it be played? Questions were still abound.
Finalizing World Series Plans
After submitting for the government to allow for the players competing in the World Series to be exempt from the work or fight rule, The Times officially reported on August 23 that this was approved.
“Secretary of War Baker placed the approval of the Government on the [World Series] yesterday. He announced that one of the principal reasons he [believed] the baseball classic should be played was because the American [soldiers] in France are intensely interested in the results.”
The Times continued their reporting on August 25 by stating that “the series is expected to contribute between $30,000 and $40,000” to war charities. Admission to the series was also set to be reduced “in order to enable patrons to attend the games at reasonable prices.” Box seats were to be sold for $3 per ticket, down from $5 the previous year, grandstand seats were going to go for $1.50, pavilion seats for $1, and bleacher seats for 50 cents (oh, how times have changed).
With the Red Sox having clinched the American League pennant, by the end of the month it was time to officially plan the World Series. It would begin September 5. The first three games would be played in Chicago at Comiskey Park, with the last four games being played in Boston at Fenway Park. Instead of playing at the Cubs’ usual home of Weeghman Park, the team opted to play at Comiskey Park because it had a larger capacity, 30,000, compared to just 16,000 at Weeghman.
The dates, teams, and venues were set. The war-related negotiations were over. The Cubs and Red Sox were all set and ready to face off in the 1918 World Series.
Are you interested in Cubs history? Then check out the Chicago Cubs Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Cubs uniform!