Black armbands were first adopted as a sign of mourning in England during the 1770’s according to Newworldencyclopedia.org. When the Queen died, in 1861, the royal servants were ordered to wear black armbands for eight years. The black armbands can also be used for protest and honor. On March 28, 1907, Chick Stahl, the manager of the Boston Americans, committed suicide. The Boston players and their opponents on the field wore black armbands to honor Stahl. This was the first time a baseball team wore black armbands.
Many places are supporting Boston after the bombings by wearing black armbands. The London marathon runners wore armbands in remembrance of the Boston bombings. A lot of runners showed up to support the city of Boston. In Germany, some 15,000 runners wore black armbands with the slogan “Run for Boston” on it. The Red Sox also wore black armbands in the game against Cleveland; they won the game giving some hope to Boston. The Red Sox and Indians lined up along the baselines for a moment of silence before the game and “Sweet Caroline,” a Fenway Park anthem was played.