From 1942-1945, hundreds of players would trade in their baseball uniforms for military ones – Ted Williams, Bob Feller and Hank Greenberg, to name a few – but the game continued on, a morale booster for the people, and a fund-raiser for the war effort. The New York Times reported that the 1942 All-Star Game alone raised $95,000 for the Bat and Ball and Army and Navy Relief Funds. By the end of the year, organized baseball would contribute $1,295,000 to war charities.
It's not likely that any of this was on Boudreau’s mind as he approached the batter’s box that night. Regardless, the “Boy Manager” honored Roosevelt’s wishes, to the delight of 33,694 fans in the Polo Grounds. Four hitters later, Rudy York of the Tigers crushed a two-run homer to widen the run differential.
The Tigers' Al Benton made the lead hold up, entering the game in the fifth inning, closing it out in the ninth by retiring Mel Ott on a foul pop, Enos Slaughter on a long fly to center – swallowed up by the cavernous Polo Grounds outfield – and Ernie Lombardi on a fly to right. The AL celebrated a 3-1 victory that took just over two hours to complete. Not long after the players left the field, the ominous aura of wartime returned, as New York City went dark, part of the energy-saving, government-mandated blackout.