The Past Shows That Normality Will Return. In the Meantime…

Until the past few months there would have been a large percentage of people who were unaware of the ‘Spanish Flu’ which spread across the globe in 1918 and claimed the lives of over 50 million people. Clearly the Corona virus, or Covid-19 has brought this memory back to the fore.

One of the reasons given for the huge loss of life in 1918 was that it was a ‘new’ virus. The same is of course true of the Corona-virus.

So what impact did the events of 1918 have on the sporting world?

In 1918, schools and libraries were closed and mass gatherings in many nations were banned, just as we are witnessing today.

In England and Scotland competitive football had been suspended because of the war. There was no Football League and FA Cup during the period between 1915 and 1919. Regional league competitions were set up to give fans some sort of sporting outlet. Champions were created in these regions, they came from the Lancashire, the Midlands, London and the Northern division, and the season was played over the course of 1918/19.

There is only one footballer listed officially as having died from the Spanish Flu in England that was Scotsman Angus Douglas who was at the time playing for Newcastle United.

The 1920 Olympic Games went ahead in Belgium. Antwerp was the host city, despite the fact that the city had been besieged, occupied and sacked during the war. Millions had also died in close proximity to the city during the War. The International Olympic Committee explain the decision for Antwerp to host the games in their publication 100 years of the Olympic Games of Modern Times as follows:

“The Belgian City, so close to the epicentre of human destruction, was seen as the most appropriate place for the youth of the world to gather in more peaceful ways.”

It came as no surprise that the Belgian Government declined to lend financial support to the event. They had far more pressing issues in trying to rebuild a nation, along with its roads, train service and industry.

The event lost a great deal of money. The exact figure is not available as there is no official Olympic Report of these Games. There was talk at the time of scrapping the Olympic Games altogether. However the decision to go ahead with Paris in 1924 saved the Olympic Games, as the crowds supported what was a hugely successful event. The Games in Amsterdam in 1928 were also hugely successful, and as we know the Olympic Games survived.

There is much talk about the Tokyo Olympics this year losing millions of dollars if it goes ahead. The IOC may well be hoping that Paris can once again give the event much needed CPR to carry it forward in this century. Strange how history has a habit of repeating itself.

One piece of history Japan will be hoping doesn’t repeat is the Olympic Games being cancelled. They were due to host the 1940 Olympic Games, but then World War Two commenced. They had to wait another 24 years before they came host.

The Spanish Flu had a huge impact on sport in America. College football games were cancelled across the nation. In Major League Baseball a number of high-profile players died after contracting the Spanish Flu. The famed Babe Ruth contracted the disease, but fortunately for Baseball survived.

In Ice Hockey there was no champion crowned in the 1919 Stanley Cup. This was the first and only time up until today that there has been no champion. The Finals series was underway and it was tied up after Game five with two wins apiece and one scoreless tie. In that fifth game Montreal Canadiens defensemen Joe Hall collapsed on the ice and was hospitalised. During the break between games five or six more Canadiens were taken ill.

Montreal offered to forfeit the sixth game, as they could not field a side. Suggestions were made to fill-in for the sick players but none were accepted. Credit must be given to Seattle Metropolitans General Manager Pete Muldoon who said that he did not want to win in that way. Hall would pass away in hospital and so too the General Manager of the Canadiens George Kennedy.

There are many who are comparing the Coronavirus to the Spanish Flu, yet if you read reliable medical sources the two are different, but both, have and had the ability to spread quickly.

Certain media outlets have been criticised during the current spread of the Coronavirus for erroneous reporting and sensationalism. There is no doubt that some outlets have been irresponsible. What is interesting to reflect on 102 years ago, is that when the Spanish Flu broke it was during World War I. In Germany, the USA, Britain and France newspapers were censored. The media in those nations all had blackouts on news that might lower morale. The pandemic it appears had cases elsewhere, but due to the censorship it was the Spanish cases that hit the headlines, and that was why it was named “Spanish Flu.” Could the spread have been halted or reduced had those media outlets been able to share information? Today could the spread have been slowed with more responsible reporting and less censorship in China?

This media censorship and the end of the Great War are the reasons why there are so few records as to athletes who succumbed to the Spanish Flu in Europe.

Sport has once again stopped and so it should, after all it is entertainment. It is a chance for us all to escape for a few hours a week and become enthralled in the feats of others who make what most of us find hard, look easy. It needs to be put in context. It is not the end of the world, and if a season is not completed the competition will not end. This is a rare occurrence, and the fact that we are talking about the Stanley Cup of 1919 shows that this is the case.

Yes, there are many who now find themselves out of work, because their work was closely linked to Sport. Many unlike the athletes themselves are freelancers, so life is going to be tough, but all would understand that this is what has to happen.

There are so many people affected, because sport touches the lives of so many people. It has an impact on their lives in different ways, and not all financial.

In many countries we are about to change from Summer sport to Winter sport or if you are in the Northern hemisphere from Winter sport to Summer sport. That means that the retailers from whom we buy cricket bats, hockey sticks, boots, shin pads and all manner of equipment, have just stocked up for the start of the season. They have had a huge financial outlay to meet their usual demands, but those demands have now been put on hold, due to the domestic competitions being put on hold. They still have rent to pay as well as wages etcetera. If everyone stops and delays the purchasing of that equipment these shops are unlikely to be there when the season does start. The season will start again, as it did in 1920. So if you can support them buy now for that day, so that they can feed their families. That their business survives.

Sport touches so many lives. It has the power to uplift, and make us feel better about ourselves, and our community. The sporting community in many sports is a close-knit one. In many sports and many sporting clubs people look out for one another. Now more than ever rivalries need to be put aside, thought need to be given as to who in your sporting community is likely to be the most affected, and everyone needs to try and help each other. As only together working as a community can we pull through and be stronger when this madness ends.