"God Bless America" and Baseball's Anthem Controversies Justin Turner (bio) Many storylines from the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons involved player protests during the pregame playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Baseball, by contrast, was largely spared from controversy. The only Major League Baseball player to kneel during the national anthem was Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, who first took a knee in September 2017. Maxwell cited inflammatory comments from President Donald Trump—who had referred to protesting NFL players with an expletive and called for their firing—as a motivating factor, along with the racism he witnessed growing up in Huntsville, Alabama.1 Maxwell's protest did not continue into the 2018 season, which was his last in MLB, and through the 2019 season, no other major league players have kneeled during the national anthem.2 Baseball has not been devoid of controversies over patriotic songs at the ballpark, but these have typically not involved "The Star-Spangled Banner."3 Rather, another nationalistic tune, "God Bless America," has been baseball's tonal tempest in the twenty-first century. First written in 1918, the Irving Berlin song carries religious overtures, reinforces the belief in American exceptionalism, and has become something of an alternate national anthem, particularly in recent years. Since September 11, 2001, it has assumed a prominent place at ballparks, often played or performed as part of the seventh-inning stretch. This relatively new profile, along with recent political developments, have made the song far more polarizing for baseball than the national anthem. "God Bless America" has a long history with baseball. The song became popularly known after Kate Smith's 1938 debut radio performance, and by the 1940s it was occasionally being performed at baseball stadiums. In the 1960s, the Chicago White Sox temporarily substituted the song for the "Star-Spangled Banner" in pregame ceremonies, prompting none other than Berlin himself to call for the latter's reinstatement. In response, the team conducted a poll and allowed fans to cast votes for the permanent pregame anthem, with "The Star-Spangled Banner" beating out "God Bless America," and "America [End Page 82] the Beautiful." "God Bless America" also persisted despite technological changes, as recorded popular music began to displace live organ performances at baseball stadiums. A 1980 newspaper article on the musical innovations at Shea Stadium, which abandoned organ music during the 1979 season in favor of contemporary songs, noted that a few old standards, including "God Bless America," were still played on occasion.4 Two specific performances of "God Bless America" at baseball stadiums demonstrate the song's importance in the cultural landscape. On July 20, 1969, baseball games paused to acknowledge the moment that the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon. When game two of a Cubs-Phillies double header in Philadelphia was stopped, players lined up along the foul lines, the crowd observed a moment of silence, and the stadium played a recording of "God Bless America."5 Seven years later, the song spontaneously took part in a bizarre on-field incident. In the fourth inning of an April 1976 game at Dodger Stadium, William Errol Thomas and his eleven-year-old son ran onto to the field and attempted to set fire to an American flag to protest the treatment of American Indians. Before they could ignite the banner, however, Chicago Cubs left-fielder Rick Monday, who was positioned closest to the pair, snatched the lighter fluid–soaked flag and sprinted away. As Thomas and his son gave chase to Monday, Tommy Lasorda—then the Dodgers' third base coach—went after them, shouting expletives at the pair as security personnel detained them. The crowd erupted in applause and began singing "God Bless America," as a congratulatory message, "Rick Monday—You Made a Great Play," appeared on the stadium scoreboard. Lasorda later called it "one of the most heroic acts ever to take place on the field during a major league baseball game."6 "God Bless America" did not become a ballpark mainstay until after 9/11. The song developed a new primacy among patriotic tunes, thanks in part to an impromptu and emotional rendition by United States Senators and Representatives who gathered at...