[DC 86]

The star spangled banner was first played during the seventh inning stretch of the World Series during World War I, but it was during World War II that it became standard for the anthem to be played before every contest. I assume that post-WW II teams were afraid of a backlash if they stopped playing the anthem. It's easy to imagine that in the cold war, "red scare" eras that followed WW II it would have been a very bad move for a team (or the entire sport) to appear unpatriotic. Imagine the public reaction today if the NFL announced that it would no longer play the anthem before games.

[DC 86]

The star spangled banner was first played during the seventh inning stretch of the World Series during World War I, but it was during World War II that it became standard for the anthem to be played before every contest. I assume that post-WW II teams were afraid of a backlash if they stopped playing the anthem. It's easy to imagine that in the cold war, "red scare" eras that followed WW II it would have been a very bad move for a team (or the entire sport) to appear unpatriotic. Imagine the public reaction today if the NFL announced that it would no longer play the anthem before games.