Soldiers in the Connaught Rangers
August 13, 1914: "It's a Long Way To Tipperary" is sung by the Connaught Rangers, an Irish unit in the British Army, as they marched through Boulogne, on the English Channel coast of France.
The song, written by composer Jack Judge (1872-1938) for a London music hall 2 years earlier, thus becomes identified with British soldiers, and is popularized further when popular tenor John McCormack (1884-1945) records it in November of that year.
John McCormack
Judge’s grandparents were from Tipperary, which is in County Tipperary, in the Province of Munster, in the south of what became, after 1922, the Republic of Ireland. For the record, Tipperary is 483 miles from London, 615 miles from Boulogne, and about 650 miles from World War I's Western Front – a long way by almost any measure, unless you're an astronaut.
It would take America until 1917 to enter "The Great War," and its song would be George M. Cohan's "Over There."
The song was revived in Charles Schulz' comic strip Peanuts, as Snoopy pretended to be a World War I flying ace; and was sung as a farewell by the main cast in the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was also adapted into a fight song for the University of Missouri.
Today, there are welcoming signs in central Tipperary, saying, "You've come a long way." According to Ireland's 2016 Census, it is home to just 4,979 people.
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August 13, 1914 was a Thursday. That year, and the next, there were 3 major leagues in baseball.
In the American League:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ray Fisher allowed 8 hits, but pitched a shutout, to defeat Hubert "Dutch" Leonard. Leonard's earned-run average rose to 0.94. He would finish at 1.01, the lowest in major league history. (Bob Gibson's 1.12 in 1968 is the lowest in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era.)
The only run came in the top of the 3rd inning, when Luke Boone -- no relation to later major leaguer Ray Boone, his son Bob Boone, or Bob's sons Bret Boone and Aaron Boone -- doubled Fritz Maisel home. Tris Speaker went 1-for-3. Babe Ruth had debuted for the Red Sox on July 11, but, still being only a pitcher, did not appear in this game.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 7-0 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Future Yankee ace Bob Shawkey pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* The Cleveland Naps beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the Cleveland team's manager, 2nd baseman, best hitter and namesake, went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with a walk. After this season, Lajoie left, and the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader 3 days later. The ChiSox won the opener, 3-1. The Brownies won the nightcap, 9-7.
In the National League:
* The New York Giants lost to the Boston Braves, 5-3 at the Polo Grounds. Dick Rudolph outpitched Rube Marquard. The "Miracle Braves" were in the process of passing the Giants and winning the Pennant.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Ebbets Field. Ed Reulbach pitched a 4-hit shutout. Zack Wheat went 1-for-1 with 2 walks.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 and 5-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Over the 2 games, Honus Wagner went 3-for-7 with 2 RBIs.
* And the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were not scheduled.
And in the Federal League:
* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops beat the St. Louis Maroons, 1-0 at Handlan's Park in St. Louis. This game was stopped after 6 innings. Baseball-Reference.com does not list the reason, but, given the White Sox-Browns outcome, it was probably stopped by rain.
* The Indianapolis Hoosiers beat the Buffalo Blues, 2-1 at Federal League Park in Indianapolis.
* The Kansas City Packers beat the Baltimore Terrapins, 4-2 at Gordon and Koppel Field in Kansas City.
* And the Chicago Whales and the Pittsburgh Rebels were rained out at Weeghman Park in Chicago, the ballpark that would later become Wrigley Field. The game was made up the next day. The Rebels won, 5-3.
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