Oh say can you see....

[YankeeLinks]

When was the first definitive record of the Star Spangled Banner being played at a major league ball game? When did it start to be played regularly at all big league games?

[Craig S.]

The New York Highlanders played it at least once in 1903. I know it was also played in the 1860s, but that's not major league, only the amateur New York teams. And they also played it during the 1918 World Series as a tribute to those in the Great War.

It started getting regular play during WWII, which isn't surprising.

[YankeeLinks]

That's it, Craig.

You must have found the same source that I did:

http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/tb/history/tb_history_nations_anthem.jsp

I also found it interesting that "The Star Spangled Banner" was not deemed the National Anthem until 1931. I had always assumed it was adopted shortly after the War of 1812 when it was written. From the same reference:

The "The Star Spangled Banner" had steadily gained popularity in the intervening years because of its rousing patriotic character, and in the year of Red Sox - Cubs World Series, a formal proposal was made in Congress to adopt it as the National Anthem. But the expansive melodic range of "The Star Spangled Banner" prompted enough objections for the bill to be defeated that year, and again in 1921, 1923, and 1925. Prompted by a petition with six million signatures, the bill was submitted to Congress again in 1931 and signed into law on May 3rd by Herbert Hoover.