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"The Star-Spangled Banner" began its life as a poem by Francis Scott Key about seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry after it was bombarded by British troops in 1814. Long before it became the official US national anthem in 1931, the song was recognized for its ability to boost patriotism.
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Lawyer, author, and amateur poet Francis Scott Key wrote a poem called Defense of Fort McHenry
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from his jail cell in Baltimore during the War of 1812. That poem would eventually become the Star-Spangled Banner and, in 1931
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officially became the national anthem of the United States of America. So what the heck does it have to do with sports
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Today, we're uncovering why the national anthem is played at sporting events in the United States
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The first professional game of baseball was played in 1869, years before the National and American leagues were even established
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But for years before that, folks were playing amateur baseball, like those kids from the Sandlot
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Several years before the pros even stepped onto the field to play ball, the first known instance of the Star-Spangled Banner being played at a sporting event was recorded
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Jim Thorne, the official historian of Major League Baseball, claims that the first performance of the patriotic poem was the opening game
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at William Kammire's Union Grounds Park in Brooklyn on May 15, 1862
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Musicology professor Mark Clegg told NPR in 2018 that during the Civil War
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when there was live music, it was pretty much always going to be patriotic songs
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So the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner that day was sort of coincidental and not intended to start the game
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The song would see its first official Major League debut in April of 1897
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opening day in Philadelphia, where it told a young Philly fanatic threw out the first pitch
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September of 1918 was not a very exuberant time for America's favorite pastime
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By that point in World War I, 100,000 soldiers had fallen in combat since entering the conflict 17 months prior
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Consequently, MLB players were constantly being drafted to fill the need for more soldiers
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And you just know they took all the good players first. Things at home weren't much better due to a terrorist attack earlier in the month at the Chicago Federal Building
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so it's understandable that only around 10,000 people reportedly showed up for the 1918 World
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Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. During the seventh-inning stretch, when a
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military band would commonly come out to perform, this time the musicians kicked up the Star-Spangled
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Banner. Sox first baseman Fred Thomas, on leave from the Navy, stood at attention to face the flag
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as his teammates joined, standing with caps doffed and hands over their hearts. According to the New
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York Times, at first only a few people in the crowd started singing, but were soon joined by more and
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more. And when the final notes came, a great volume of melody rolled across the field. It was the very
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end that the onlookers exploded into thunderous applause. That marked the highest point of the
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day enthusiasm But it wasn the first time the song was used at a World Series game In this instance it was so moving that it spawned a new tradition We lucky they didn hear Who Let the Dogs Out The 1918 World Series moved to Boston after three games
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and Beantown was excited to show how much better they were than Chicago. While the Cubs featured the Star-Spangled Banner during the seventh-inning stretch
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the Sox upped the ante by making the anthem part of the pregame ceremony
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And to really rub it in Chicago's face, Boston even gave free tickets to wounded veterans
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and introduced them to the crowd while the song was playing. The passionate fan response did not go unnoticed by other MLB teams
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and in the following years, the playing of the anthem became standard for all opening day games, World Series games, and holidays
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With the success of the Star Spangled Banner opening the ballgame, Sox owner Harry Frazee ordered the anthem to be performed
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at every home game of the following season. As time went on and sound technology improved
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expensive full bands were replaced with recordings of the song, making it much easier for fans across the country to hear the song at every single game
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The Star-Spangled Banner began playing at every MLB game in 1942, the first season after the U.S. entered World War II
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Playing the anthem then during the Great American Pastime hit just as hard as it did back in 1918
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But the anthem wasn't just limited to baseball games. You could also hear it before the movies, theater, and opera
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But that pretty much stopped when World War II ended. You know opera fans, so fickle
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But not baseball fans. Like a mighty eagle, the star-spangled banner clutched the diamond tightly in its talons
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The majority of teams continued to play it before each game. However, as anyone who has watched a U.S. sporting event in the last 70 years can tell you
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the anthem did not stay confined to baseball. In the 1920s, Elmer Layden was a football legend as the fullback in Notre Dame's famed Four Horsemen
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Layden went on to become the commissioner of the National Football League in 1941
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It was on Layden's order that the NFL began playing the Star-Spangled Banner at all games
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In an interview with the New York Times, Layden explained that the anthem is just as important
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as the kickoff and shouldn't be dropped just because the war is over. Plus, it's got a beat
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you can dance to. Kind of. About two decades later, as the Vietnam War was in full force
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NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle enforced the existing policy that ordered players to stand
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at attention when the anthem was sung, meaning no talking, chewing gum
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or moving your feet. Okay, so I guess you can't dance to it. When the NHL
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began in 1917, there were only four teams, all Canadian. And as a British colony, they
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sang God Save the King before all official events, and hockey might be Canada's most official event
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But with the rise of Canadian national identity in the 30s the anthem they played changed to O Canada becoming a regular hockey tradition in 1980 But today there are 31 teams in the NHL
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24 of which call the United States home. Uh-oh, national anthem showdown
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Today in the NHL, if two US teams play, you'll hear the star-spangled banner
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If two Canadian teams play, you'll hear O Canada, the French version, or the English version
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or the English-French version. O Canada. When a Canadian and U.S. team play, you'll hear both anthems
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unless you're super cool like Buffalo and always play both anthems. As a tip of the hat to hockey fans from the Great White North
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who drive over the border to watch any game while drinking overpriced beer
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Soccer is truly a global sport, and the various leagues around the world don't have time for national anthems
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unless they're playing for a cup. Then we'll hear those tunes, but if you're playing an official game in the United States
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you will play the banner. Major League Soccer discovered this when it started playing games in 1996
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The league had no practical choice but to play the Star-Spangled Banner at every game
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Dan Kortmatch, a spokesperson for Major League Soccer, told the New York Times
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the national anthem has become part of the tradition of playing any sporting event in America
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The St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore just before the 1954 season
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and named World War I vet Arthur Ehlers as the team's general manager
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Ehlers, who had been severely injured in the Battle of Argonne, felt playing the anthem at every game cheapened the song
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He decreed that the anthem should only be played on special occasions
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where veterans were showcased, such as Memorial Day. But outcry from the public was so strong that the Baltimore City Council
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ended up unanimously passing a resolution encouraging the anthem at every game
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Ehlers backpedaled and the Orioles reinstated the anthem. On opening day in April of 1966, the general manager of the Chicago White Sox had what he
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thought was a great idea. Instead of the Star-Spangled Banner, Ed Short, himself an Army
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veteran of World War II, decided that the easier to sing God Bless America would play in its place
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A poll was called to decide what should be done, and the Star-Spangled Banner ended up getting the
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most votes, helped by the appeals of Irving Berlin, who actually wrote God Bless America
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as well as those who wanted to honor the troops in Vietnam. The Star-Spangled Banner was
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back by the end of May. The White Sox weren't the only Chicago team to face the heat of fans
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from removing the anthem. Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley also felt playing the anthem so frequently
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cheapened it and wanted to do away with the whole thing. Until America became engaged in the Vietnam
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War, after which he felt obligated to play the song at every game. He even hired a full-time
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organist In 1972 Kansas City Royals owner Ewing Kaufman tried limiting the anthem to just Sundays and holidays However public opposition saw a swift end to that after only two games
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Modern times still see a passion for Francis Scott Key's chart topper, like in 2018 when a high school baseball game in Fresno, California, decided to forego the national anthem
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This led to boos from the crowd and an impromptu a cappella version of the anthem
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It seems the song has American sports wrapped around its star-spangled fingers
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Is patriotism responsible for the star-spangled banner being pumped into every stadium before a football game
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Most would say yes. However, some would say something more sinister is bursting in air behind the scenes
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Some people say the real reason the anthem is played before football games is to keep fans invested in football
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Patriotism is a hell of a marketing tool. Or maybe a government plot is afoot
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An oversight report from 2016 found that the Department of Defense had spent $53 million on sports-related marketing
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with $9 million going to the MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, and NHL
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A lot of these funds were put for marketing, but at least some were put toward military appreciation nights
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or inviting members of the military to sing the anthem. No word on how much it cost to book Roseanne Barr
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Playing the national anthem before all official sporting events is largely an American and
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Canadian thing. For instance, European sports indulge in it much less often. One reason for
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this may be is that the entire world plays that sport, and a team, even from a larger nation
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recruits players and courts fans from many different countries, countries which have
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occasionally tried to annihilate each other, historically speaking. For example, in 2023
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England's Manchester United soccer team's 38-man roster featured players from 16 different
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countries, whereas the 26 players on the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team's roster were
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born in only five different countries. Roy Hodgson, manager of England's national football team in
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2012, encouraged his team to sing along to God Save the Queen when it played at international
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matches. Before the 2014 World Cup, Hodgson reiterated his stance, saying he and his team
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are proud to play for England. So when the anthem comes up, they should all be singing it
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This might be fine for England, but it can get tricky. Greece and Cyprus, for example
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have the same national anthem. So how do you know that your singing is sending vibes to the right team
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And in 2010, Scottish fans booed Lichtenstein's national anthem because it shares its melody with England's
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Sounds like it's time to come up with a new anthem, Lichtenstein. May we suggest We Will Rock You by Queen
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Nobody can boo that banger