One Day in September

On a crisp September afternoon in 1917, as the country waged war and the national pastime faced questions about its purpose, baseball paused to reconsider what it stood for. At Fenway Park, the game's greatest stars-many of them rivals, some near the end of their careers, others just emerging-took the field together in an exhibition played not for standings or championships, but for a colleague who had died, and for a cause larger than the game itself.
Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Connie Mack, and more. One newspaper called it "the greatest baseball show on earth."
What unfolded that day was more than a benefit or a curiosity. It was a moment of recognition among players, fans, and the sport's leaders that baseball could be something more than competition. It could be a shared stage. A public trust. A civic ritual capable of carrying the weight of a nation.

SCOTT D. REICH is a nationally acclaimed author, historian, attorney, and nonprofit leader whose work explores how Americans make meaning—in history, sport, and public life—especially in moments of uncertainty and change.

He is author of "The Power of Citizenship: Why JFK Matters to a New Generation" and "One Day in September: Baseball, Brotherhood, and the Birth of the All-Star Game." He is also host of the podcast Curveball, which explores life's unexpected turns and the resilience they demand; and founder and CEO of Believe in a Cure, a global nonprofit supporting the rare disease community, which includes his son.

His work has been featured widely, including on The Today Show, in The New York Times and People magazine, and across national television, radio, and major publications.