August 1, 1914: World War I Begins

The evening edition of Joseph Pulitzer's sensationalist newspaper,

The New York World, August 1, 1914.

August 1, 1914: The Great War begins. What will later be known as the World War and World War I. It does not, however, end by Christmas as both sides suggest (in victory for themselves, of course). And, as you can guess by the fact that there's a Roman numeral on the war's name, it did not turn out to be "The War to End All Wars."

Here's the chronology:

* June 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Archduchess Sophie, are assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. Anti-Serb riots break out in Sarajevo (in present-day Bosnia) and Zagreb (in present-day Croatia). Austria spent the next 4 weeks trying to figure out how to punish Serbia for this.

* July 25: Austria-Hungary severs diplomatic ties with Serbia, and mobilizes its armed forces.

* July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. If it had been limited to just those 2 countries, the world would have been a lot better off.

* July 31: In support of their ally, Serbia, the Russian Empire mobilizes. That gets the attention of Austria's ally, the German Empire.

* August 1: Germany declares war on Russia. Keep in mind, Russia has not yet declared war on Austria. France mobilizes, in support of their ally Russia. Nearly all stock exchanges in Europe close. With a lot of their business now unavailable to them, the New York Stock Exchange closes as well.

* August 2: Germany occupies Luxembourg. It also issues an ultimatum to Belgium to allow their troops passage into France. It also secures the neutrality of the Ottoman Empire by treaty. That won't hold: Eventually, the Ottomans get into the war on the Germans' side.

* August 3: Germany declares war on France. Belgium refuses Germany's ultimatum.

* August 4: Germany invades Belgium. The British Empire declares war on Germany, because it had guaranteed Belgium's safety. This brings not just Great Britain into the war, but also Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and every other land then controlled from London. The United States of America affirms its neutrality.

* August 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.

The fighting is ferocious on all 3 fronts: The Western Front (Britain and France vs. Germany), the Eastern Front (Russia vs. Germany), and the Southern Front (Russia and Serbia vs. Austria). The Ottomans get in. Italy gets in. Both are on the side of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria).

In 1917, Russia falls into revolution, and gets out. This seemed to give Germany the edge. But, with Germany egging Mexico on against America, America got in as well. On November 11, 1918, Germany surrendered.

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August 1, 1914 was a Saturday. There was, as yet, no NFL, NBA or NHL, although there was a National Hockey Association, but it was during their off-season. But there were Major League Baseball games played that day. In the American League:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Cleveland Naps at League Park in Cleveland. The hosts won the 1st game, 7-0. In their last year with Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie as their 2nd baseman, best hitter, manager and namesake, the team that became the Indians the next season tagged Yankee starter Marty McHale for 4 runs, and he was removed before he could even get 2 outs.

The Yankees won the 2nd game, 9-2. Charlie Keating entered the game with a 1-10 record, but went the distance for the Bronx ballclub (by no means "Bombers" yet), and helped his own cause with 2 hits. Charlie Mullen backed him with 3 hits.

* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-0 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938 and Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Walter Johnson allowed 7 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Babe Ruth, who had made his major league debut with the Red Sox on July 11, did not appear in this game.

* And the Philadelphia Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns, 9-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

In the National League: 

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Robins swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ebbets Field. This was the once-and-future Dodgers' 1st year with Wilbert Robinson as their manager, and they were named the Robins for him as long as he was with them, through the 1931 season, after which they became the Dodgers again. They won the 1st game 7-1, and the 2nd game 10-1.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-4 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* And the Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 in 10 innings at Fenway Park in Boston. With the South End Grounds now being too small to accept the crowds the World Champions-to-be were getting, they began building Braves Field, and had begun groundsharing with the Red Sox at Fenway in the interim.

And 1914 was the 1st of 2 seasons for the Federal League:

* The only team the FL had in New York City, the Brooklyn Tip-Tops, beat the Indianapolis Hoosiers, 5-2 at Washington Park, the former home of the Dodgers. In spite of this game, the Hoosiers went on to win the Pennant.

* The Baltimore Terrapins beat the Kansas City Packers, 5-0 at Terrapin Park in Baltimore. When the FL folded, the International League's Baltimore Orioles moved into Terrapin Park, renamed it Oriole Park, and stayed until a 1944 fire forced them to move into nearby Municipal Stadium. In the early 1950s, Municipal Stadium was converted into Memorial Stadium, and the St. Louis Browns moved there to become the major league version of the Orioles in 1954.

* The St. Louis Terriers beat the Buffalo Blues, 5-3 at the International Fair Association Grounds in Buffalo.

* And the Chicago Whales beat the Pittsburgh Rebels, 3-1 at Exposition Park, former home of the Pirates, which stood roughly where PNC Park does now.