The late 1910s and early 1920s marked the end of the baseball’s “Dead Ball Era,” a 20-year period where pitchers were dominant over batters, leading to low-scoring games and small-ball play. With the emergence of power-hitting, the balance of power switched and revolutionized the game which still affects baseball to this day.

But this time would also be known for both its tragedies on European battlefields during the First World War and on American ballfields in America — due to a horrifying scandal that nearly destroyed the game’s reputation. Yet, in both circumstances, Knights led the way not only bringing creature comforts and baseball to Allied soldiers, but also salvaging major league play through the bat of one of the game’s most legendary stars.