MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
Here's another bit of fun for your weekend, something that hasn't happened in 93 years. The Chicago Cubs are playing at Fenway Park in Boston.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
That's right. The last time the Cubs played the Red Sox at Fenway was during the 1918 World Series. The Cubs lost.
NORRIS: Imagine that. Well, usually, the World Series is a celebration of the national pastime, but in September of 1918, it was far from festive. World War I was still raging in Europe, and no one knew that would end in just another couple of months.
SIEGEL: The baseball season was cut short. And players faced the prospect of being sent into the trenches after the series ended.
NORRIS: And to make matters worse for the players, their proceeds were cut because of low ticket sales, and they protested. And that protest delayed game five for an hour.
SIEGEL: Now, at this point in the story, a cynic might say that the players were spending that hour figuring out how to supplement their paychecks by fixing the series.
NORRIS: Are you talking about cheating in baseball?
SIEGEL: I am, because this is vague - no proof here, but the Chicago History Museum has released a court deposition of a player involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. And in the deposition, the Chicago White Sox pitcher says the idea of throwing the 1919 series came from talk about how much the 1918 Cubs might have made for throwing that series.
NORRIS: Well, fixed or not, the Red Sox won the 1918 Series four games to two. It was 86 years until they saw another title. And, well, you know about those Cubs. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.