LOS ANGELES _ Blood streams in dark rivulets down the side of one man's face. The other man has a blackened eye as he extends his hand in congratulations or, perhaps, empathy.
The year is 1952 and two hockey teams have just finished a brutal semifinal series. A bloodied Maurice "Rocket" Richard, star of the victorious Montreal Canadiens, looks wobbly standing at center ice for the "handshake line" that has followed every NHL playoff for decades.
The goalie of the losing Boston Bruins, a similarly battered "Sugar Jim" Henry, leans slightly forward as they meet. There is something emotional about his affect, an old photograph of the moment capturing everything you need to know about this ritual of sport.
Boxers touch gloves before fighting and football players greet each other at the coin flip. In tennis, golf and soccer, competitors wait until after the game. Sportsmanship only begins to explain a custom that endures regardless of animosity or even violence on the field of play.
"It's rooted in our primate psychology," said David Givens, an anthropologist at Gonzaga University's Center for Nonverbal Studies. "Primates, especially chimps and gorillas, will reach out and touch each other's hands, before aggression and after aggression."
Evolution and neuromuscular circuitry notwithstanding, the handshake has come under attack _ in sport and throughout society _ from COVID-19. Common etiquette has been rebranded as a vector for spreading infection.
"When you consider the sweat factor, in just two months shaking hands has become unthinkable," said Pam Shriver, among the greatest doubles players in tennis history and an ESPN commentator. "It's done and I don't think it's going to come back."
The question is, might sports be losing something important?
