Baseball is America’s favorite pastime: a sport that bridges political divides and unifies the nation in its darkest hour.

When the United States entered World War I in 1918, citizens were forced to gather around the war effort, contributing their whole livelihoods to the cause. While the uncertainty of the war loomed overhead, a crowd of 19,274 gathered for the Fall Classic baseball game at Comiskey Park. As the Star-Spangled Banner played during the seventh-inning stretch, a new sense of patriotism grew on the hearts of everyone in the crowd, which the New York Times described saying, “an ‘afternoon yawn’ at the old ballgame had turned into a rally for citizens of a warring nation.”