A Baseball Story: Chapter 3: The 1905 World Series

Episode 3: The 1905 World Series 

Entering the 20th century, baseball was poised to make a giant leap in popularity, unlike any other sport. Horse racing was still popular, but still a sport only the rich could partake in, football was still in its primitive stages and while boxing was immensely popular and it resonated with all different groups, heavyweight championship bouts did not occur on a regular basis, so there was no day to day following of the sport. But for baseball fans or those who would soon become baseball fans, at the turn of the 20th century, the stars perfectly aligned. Because Baseball occupied nearly half of the calendar year, and games occurred nearly every day, the nature of the sport created an easy avenue for fans to follow the game. But technology would also play a huge role in developing its popularity. 

By 1900, there had been so many innovations in newspaper publications; in the 1880s, publishing companies figured out new ways to produce low-grade paper, thus making it considerably cheaper to make newspapers, which allowed companies to print daily editions, rather than weekly or monthly reports. Later in the 19th century, Joseph Pulitzer came up with the idea of dividing the paper into sections, and each section would have its own headings, such as Fashion, Travel, Books, Art and of course Sports. Pulitzer understood that in order to bring readers in, his papers would cover all aspects of society, and to have something to interest everyone. It wasn’t long that the Sports section became the most popular section of not only Pultizer’s publication ‘the New York World’, one of New York’s most popular papers. With popularity, comes imitation, and other newspapers, in all of the big cities, began to develop their own Sports sections, with handfuls of ‘sports reporters’ covering all sporting events, but nothing bigger than baseball. Most cities had a couple of newspapers that would compete for the top story of the day, but a baseball team, even a bad one can provide enough of a storyline to keep faithful readers returning to see the happenings of every day big league life. But it was in the bigger cities where the competition was fiercest, none, being more fierce, than New York City. 

Entering the 1904 season, there were ten different newspaper publications in New York City, and while there were three major league teams in New York, the Highlanders, and the Superbas in Brooklyn (they will later be renamed the Dodgers), neither team really garnered much media attention. The Highlanders was a lofty experiment by Ban Johnson to try and win part of the New York market for his American League, but until they became ‘the Yankees’ and really, before Babe Ruth arrived, the Bronx’s attempt to be a major league team, was laughable at best. Brooklyn had some good years but entering 1904, they began a torrid losing stretch and it wouldn’t be until 1915 before they had their next winning season (and they weren’t even Dodgers yet, they were called ‘Robins’). So for the first part of the 20th century, only one team in New York would be able to carry the attention of all New Yorkers, and fittingly they were the Giants, not only the Giants of the National League, but the Giants of New York, the Giants of gossip (which newspapers would eat up) and the soon to be, Giants of the entire sport. 

And it all started with the littlest Giant…

John McGraw’s Baseball 

John McGraw joined the Giants in 1902, and he immediately brought his Orioles culture with him. The Giants became a gritty, aggressive ball club with seasoned hitters that could put real pressure on defenses, that at the turn of the twentieth century, were susceptible to making more than the normal amount of errors, which was high comparatively across the decades. Ball fields back then were tailored to the home team’s liking. Foul-lines were curved to allow bunts to roll back safely into fair territory. Some teams, like Detroit, would make the area in front of home plate either very hard, or very swampy to allow bunters and slappers to utilize the grounds. In Detroit, the area in front of home plate was called “Cobb’s lake”, because the grounds crew would soak the dirt to allow his bunts to sink into the ground. Teams would raise and lower the pitching mounds. McGraw and the Giants became the architects, really the innovators in a lot of these ploys to put pressure on the defense and to score runs a plenty. 

Umpires weren’t safe either. On many occasions, only one would be present to call the entire game, and regulate the action on the bases. It didn’t take long for teams to take advantage of this, by leaving to early on sacrifice fly, sometimes players would not bother rounding second while making their way to third, they would just simply cut across the infield grass if the umpire did not have his peripheries, it would be easy to miss. 

Aside from tailoring the field to help take advantage of defenses, or taking advantage of ‘Cast Away’ umpires, teams, like the Giants, would also set up systems throughout the grounds to detect, but really, steal signs. Long before the Astros scandal that has rocked the sport, and even long before Bobby Thompson’s scoreboard advantage prior to hitting his walk off homer to send the Giants to the 1951 World Series against the Dodgers, teams like the Giants were able to utilize the sign stealing sequence. Detroit had a similar method using their scoreboard in centerfield and it was believed that the Phillies who in 1900, won 2/3 of their home games, but more than half of their games on the road, had an elaborate scheme that involved a wooden box, and an electric buzzer, a spy in centerfield, and morse code. The third base coach for the Phillies would receive the message and relay it to the batter. The Phillies would of course deny the use of buzzers, claimed the circus that traveled there was responsible. Fast forward 119 years later, and once again we repeat history. 

John McGraw represented this state of baseball, winning at all costs, and he was idolized because of it. This time period of baseball actually predated ‘the unwritten rules’ of baseball that so many purists clamor onto, to this day. Not to say that it was the wild wild west of baseball, but it was pretty close. There was something to be admired in the player or the coach who was willing to go the extra mile to bring glory to his team or city, and it was something that American culture seemed to gravitate to. 

John McGraw (left) Christy Mathewson (right)

Connie Mack’s Baseball 

Everything John McGraw seemed to represent as a manager, Connie Mack represented the opposite. Whereas McGraw was loud, a drinker, boisterous and showman, Mack was none of those things. He always spoke softly, he never drank, and he performed his duties with a quiet reserve. As a player, Mack played in the same era as McGraw, and he took part in several hijinks in order to gain a competitive advantage. But as a manager, Mack seemed to never encourage the same antics that he used to do as a player. Which is why Ban Johnson gravitated to Mack the way he did. While Johnson was trying to build an image in the American League, and the idea of the ‘family atmosphere’ at the ballpark, Connie Mack would come to represent that old grandpa that you could intrust and go to for wisdom. Which is why his players also gravitated to him. 

While the term was in use in the early part of the 20th century, Mack was a player's manager. Whereas managers like McGraw and Hughie Jennings would bark and scream at their players in a very authoritative style, Mack never operated that way. He let his players be who they were. One famous story of Mack took place years later when perhaps the greatest player he ever coached, Lefty Grove, came in hot after a game he poorly pitched in. He was throwing chairs, punching lockers, and screaming obscenities as far the ear could hear. Mack came in and tried to calm down his star pitcher, in which Grove responded “To Hell with you Mack!” Grove then stormed off into the showers, and at barely a whispers level, you could hear Grove say “To hell with you Robert”, carefully enough to not further ignite the situation. (SABR, Doug Skipper) 

Mack had that reserve to him, that everyone would come to love and admire. It was that, and his unparalleled success that kept him as the manager of the A’s for over fifty seasons. Something we will never see again, in any sport. Mack knew how to identify talent, how to produce talent, how to be tactical on the field, but more importantly how to build relationships with all of his players to maximize their talents. 

While McGraw and Mack appeared to be exact opposites they would both usher in baseball into the cultural fabric of America. But it would be the players, and the players they coached in the 1905 World Series that would encapsulate America during this time.

The beginning of the 20th century marked the closing of the frontier. America had expanded to its fullest capability, no longer was the land in the traditional 48 states that was unclaimed or untouched. America was no longer in a period of exploration, but modernization. But those who were taking part in this newer America grew up with tales of cowboys and pioneers who would roam the unknown and come back with tales of adventure. These adventurers were the types to get dirty and perhaps blood underneath their fingernails in order to get the job done. But the modern man wore a suit, his tales were of creativeness, accumulation, and acclamation. The modern man was more about using one's wits rather than braun. 

Connie Mack

Heroes would be made out of those who represented the old world and the new, and in 1905 two men would be pitted against one another, each of which represented the duality of America in the early 20th century.

The 1905 World Series: The Definition of A Star: Christy Mathewson & Rube Waddell

After the debacle of having no World Series in 1904, because John McGraw and Giants owner John T. Bursh wanted to stick it to the American League, and more importantly, Ban Johnson, it’s president, the Giants refused to play the Boston Americans, who had won the World Series in 1903. So,1905 did come with a sense of urgency. McGraw’s Giants were still considered one of the best in baseball, and if they were the National League’s best team once again, would McGraw continue his hold out? Would there ever be a World Series again? As the season began to unfold, it was clear the Giants were in fact the best in the National League and they would once again be the league’s representative. The Giants were a powerhouse in 1905. Offensively, they lead the league in hits, batting average, stolen bases and runs. Their best hitter  “Turkey'' Mike Donlin hit .356 in 1905 with a team leading 80 RBIs. Donlin was bought from his Cincinnati contract halfway through the 1904 season, and his addition solidified the Giants lineup. The move paid off huge dividends in 1905, as Donlin was regarded as the Giants best positional player, and certainly their best hitter. McGraw loved to pouch players from other teams, nearly every big name from 1900-1930, McGraw believed he could prod away, despite the reserve clause and the difficulties it created with players leaving their teams. In the 1920s, as we will later learn, McGraw knew the threat of the Yankees, and more importantly Babe Ruth posed not only to winning championships, but his monopoly on the popularity of the sport in New York. He very nearly executed a trade that would have altered the sport dramatically. But that’s a story for another time. 

But not matter how good the Giants offense was, the Giants true brilliance rested in their pitching. No one, was more brilliant than Christy Mathewson. In 1905, Mathewson had one of, if not the greatest pitching season ever. Mathewson went 31-9, with a 1.28 ERA, he also struck out over 200 (which was a big deal back then) while walking only 64 batters. Mathewson’s mates were no scrubs either. Joe McGinnity won 21 games, and by that point, he had already established himself as one of the game’s best big game pitchers. Everyone on the Giants staff, had an ERA under 3. The Giants pitching, especially the 1-2 punch of Mathewson-McGinnity (New York’s first M&M boys) was as intimidating sight, especially in any short series. McGinnity was a great pitcher, but Mathewson was something different. 

Christopher Mathewson, was born in Keystone Pennsylvania in 1880. He debuted for the Giants in 1900, but was far from great. In 6 games, of which he only had one start, Mathewson had an ERA of 5.08. He spent the year working on this new pitch that, when delivered by a right-handed pitcher, would appear to sail outside, and then at the last moment break inside to right handed batters, or inside to left handed batters. Mathewson struggled with the pitch all season, and it wasn’t until the 1901-02 seasons did Mathewson really figure out how to harness the pitch. He called it a ‘fadeaway’, but we now know it as the ‘screwball’. This pitch would be the edge of Mathewson's sword that he would use to carve up offenses throughout his career. But what made Mathewson special, went far beyond this one pitch. There had been pitchers before Mathewson, that had incredible stats, unique or marquee pitches. There was Albert Spaulding, Joe McGinnity, Addie Joss, Mordeaci Brown and the greatest of all, Cy Young were hurlers that baseball people knew of their achievements and impact on the game. But Mathewson stood above them all. Mathewson was not just known by baseball enthusiasts, but Mathewson also brought in ‘the casual fan’, he helped usher in the ‘family atmosphere’ to the ballpark. Mathewson became the sport's first true superstar. 

But what made Mathewson so special? His numbers were great, but better than say Cy Young? It’s negligible. Mathewson was dominant, but more dominant than say Mordeaci Brown? We are splitting hairs. But what made Mathewson unique is everything he had to offer outside of his actual achievements on the diamond. 

Mathewson from the get go had star-like qualities. He was very smart, he graduated from Bucknell University. He was tall, handsome, well-spoken, and mild-mannered. But he wasn’t a boy scout. He played football at Bucknell, and back then you took your own life in your hands when you played football in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (it was so bad that President Teddy Roosevelt contemplated making the game illegal in 1905), he wasn’t opposed to retaliating, or even bending the rules, as long as they weren’t the unwritten rules of baseball, which became a popular book he published in 1911. But when you wrapped up the look, the resume, and the achievements of Mathewson, what you created was the game’s first marketable player. 

Mathewson appealed to everyone, in particular women and children. This was an important step in the development of baseball as not only a recreational sport, but a cultural phenomena. Without the presence of both men and women at the ballpark then the sport could not, and would not become a family atmosphere. And without the family bringing the sport into their homes, and without the kids investing their time into the game (with approval from their parents) then the game never would have grown to the state of popularity it would become in following decades. Think of it like this, the kids who went to watched baseball in the early 1900s, and who flocked from the different Boroughs of New York to watch Christy Mathewson, would grow up and take their kids to the ballpark to watch the likes of Babe Ruth, twenty-years later (the Yankees played their games in the Polo Grounds before Yankee Stadium was built). Simply put, you don’t have the stage Babe Ruth would have, without the likes, of Christy Mathewson. 

Christy Mathewson

For as much as Mathewson would become baseball's first superstar and bring in the “family atmosphere” and thousands of new fans would flock to the ballpark to see the newest, hottest attraction, there would be players who would match his magnitude, but bring in a different kind of fan. As much as we like to picture baseball, the millions of kids it has inspired over the years, and we really run the phrase “a kids game” into the ground, baseball is also, and more naturally, suited for adults. I mean, after all, if it’s truly a kids game, then nobody would afford to go. So who would the adults come to see? In the early 1900s, one of the game’s greatest pitchers, and entertainers, Rube Waddell.

But baseball also needed ‘rugged men’ to play this game as well. Rube Waddell was one of those guys, but he also had a twist of crazy to him as well. Waddell was a showman, a prankster, a man who enjoyed a drink, who enjoyed an adventure, and enjoyed the theatrics of the game. You could find Waddell in the beginning of the game doing cartwheels in front of the opposing team’s dugout. He was also infamous for in the middle of games that he pitched, if he was feeling it, calling in the infielders and outfielders and having them sitting on the infield grass as he would proceed to strikeout the side (something Satchel Paige made famous in the Negro Leagues). His ‘vaudeville’ antics were something Ban Johnson wanted to rid the sport of, but there was little he could do, or desired to do with Waddell because he was so beloved, and he was also so good. 

In 1903 and 1904 he struck out 300 batters when no one could touch 200 strikeouts in a season. To give perspective, if Cy Young and Christy Mathewson were considered the pinnacle of the profession, Young eclipsed 200 strikeouts only twice in his career (1904-1905) and Mathewson did it six times (1901, 1903-1905, 1908) his personal best being 267 in 1903. Waddell averaged 258 strikeouts a season from 1902-1907. Waddell was the preeminent strikeout pitcher, until Walter Johnson came in the league a few years later. When Johnson struck out 300+ in 1910, it wouldn’t be until the 1940s with Bob Feller that another pitcher would join the 300 class. Waddell was the first to ever do it. In 1905, Waddell had one of the greatest seasons ever by a pitcher. Waddell had 27 wins, a 1.48 ERA and 287 strikeouts. Waddell was every bit as good as any pitcher who ever pitched in the era, with a sprinkle of more dominance in a shorter period of time. Waddell’s downside unfortunately came in his antics, that would end up plaguing his career, at the most inopportune time. But one thing that could always be said about him, aside from being a phenomenal pitcher, is the guy was incredibly entertaining…

One game, while Waddell was starting, the local fire alarm rang throughout the town of Hickman, Kentucky where he once played for the opposing team Minneapolis Millers. Waddell was a volunteer firefighter, which is one of the few things he took very seriously (sometimes it was pitching too). When the fire alarm sounded off, Waddell was in the middle of an inning and he quickly sprinted off the mound, shed his uniform, where his fire garments always were in case of an emergency (like he was a Fire Superman or something) and sprinted to the fire. Waddell lived for these situations, where he could come to the rescue and perhaps even cheat death. Once, his playing days were over he, he once volunteered to quickly build the levees with a number of African Americans, in the midst of a terrible storm in Kentucky, that would have certainly wiped out a number of homes in the black part of the city (he also played in a number of exhibition games with African American players, something many others would not dare do at the time. For as much as Waddell represented the ‘old ways’ he at times as far more advanced than others). They were able to build the levies in time and saved the community. If the storm had threatened the white part of the city, and Waddell was able to help with its saving, he would have herald as hero in all of the papers. Because it was the black section of the city, his efforts went relatively unnoticed by the papers (what wasn’t unnoticed is that Waddell got very sick from working in the storm, and developed a case of Bronchitis which would aid not only the end of his career, but also the end of his life). When Waddell arrived at the fire, he was there before the fire company arrived, instead of waiting, Waddell quickly climbed to the roof of the house, and began knocking in the roof for ventilation, to quickly put out the flames. However, when the fire company arrived they quickly discovered the fire was contained in the chimney. The roof was demolished, for no reason. 

Rube Waddell

1905 would be the culminating moment between Mathewson and Waddell, McGraw and Mack, and a World Series that would set the precedent for how every major league season would end (albeit pending a World War or a Players Strike). And like all captivating World Series matchups, there were many story lines that would captivate the baseball world. Were McGraw’s Giants truly the best team in the word? Would Connie Mack’s A’s continue to assert the American League over the National League? Would Christy Mathewson on this grand of a stage be able to live up to his larger than life persona? And finally would Rube Waddell be ready to pitch? 

The last storyline came as a shock when Waddell suffered a shoulder injury the most bizarre of ways. On September 8th, after a game in Boston, the A’s were on the platform of the train station awaiting their ride back to Philadelphia. One of Rube’s teammates, Andy Coakley, was wearing a fancy straw hat. During that time, a typical game of hijinks consisted of any man wearing a straw hat, having it snatched away and then a hole punched through the top of the hat, making it essentially useless. Waddell loved doing stuff like this, he lived for it. So when he went after Coakley, Coakley caught him in the corner of his eye, swung around, and while doing so, swung his bag, he was holding over his shoulder into the face of Rube. Rube thought Coakley had punched him in the face, and proceeded to come after his fellow battery mate. His teammates had to hold him back and in doing so, they tripped over a pile of suitcases and Waddell landed on his pitching shoulder and heard a pop. Over the final weeks of the season, Waddell would take the mound with no velocity and no control. Waddell was severely injured, and the Athletics would enter the World Series without their ace. 

Philadelphia and New York, two behemoths of American cities, would generate rivalries amongst their sports teams for the next century. All NFL fans are aware of the animosity that exists between the NFC East rivals, Giants and Eagles that have created some of the most hostile and memorable contests in NFL history. The same could be said for the Knicks/76ers in the NBA, especially in the 1970s when both teams were contenders, and naturally for the Mets and Phillies of today. There has always been a general disdain between fans and players of both metroplexes, and that existed even in the infantile stages of baseball. Earlier in the season, star catcher for the Giants Roger Bresenhan was hit with a pile of dirt while on a trolly after a game with Philadelphia’s National League team the Phillies. Bresenhan needed to be held back by teammates from going after the fan in the middle of the city. Mathewson even got involved in the altercation and in doing so, knocked over a child selling lemonade, and split his lip open. The papers reported the incident but had an interesting take on it. While they reported Mathewson’s involvement, the blame went squarely on the shoulders of McGraw, and his ‘influence’ on his own players. McGraw’s devious ways on this occasion, overpowered the goodness of Christy. Sports writers back then liked keeping their heroes, as heroes and their villains as villains. The 1905 World Series was filled with both, on both teams. Waddell and McGraw, while on opposite sides, represented the old ways, anti-progression And as the World Series approached there was great anticipation.

The 1905 World Series

The injury to Waddell sent everyone into a tizzy, mainly the gamblers. While we will cover the infamous 1919 Black Sox scandal a little later in our story (and the role Mathewson played in its uncovering), gambling has always been around. As Frank Deford says in his book The Old Ball Game, “The fixed World Series of 1919 was a climax rather than an oddity.” Many people started to wonder, was Waddell faking the injury, and was he a part of a larger conspiracy to make the Giants winners. It would add to his bad boy persona, even though it was the farthest thing from the truth. When Waddell went to Connie Mack to tell him what happened, he was in tears, in true disbelief and peril, that he had let his team down. Regardless of what people were saying, the players did not want any cloud of a gambling suspicion overshadowing the World Series. Typically the World Series purse for players was divided by 75% going to the winners and 25% going to the losing side. In order to squash any suspicion, the players decided on an even 50% cut between the winners or losers, to hopefully quell anyone wanting to make a few extra bucks. When Game 1 started, the Giants dawned the field in new uniforms that proudly displayed the ’N and Y’ on the crest of their uniforms, and at home plate, Connie Mack presented McGraw with a carved white elephant due to McGraw’s earlier insults calling the A’s “white elephants” (which would become the A’s logo). McGraw was a great sport about it, and he danced a little ‘Irish Jig’ for the rowdy  Philadelphia crowd of 17,000+ who couldn’t help but laugh at McGraw’s antics. 

While the first game was in Philadelphia, it was agreed upon by both teams that the location of each World Series was swap after each game. The odd games would be in Philadelphia and the even games would take place in New York. That was until Game 5. Being that New York and Philadelphia were so close together, it was believed that the travel wouldn’t have an impact on the players, and it didn’t. Mainly because the World Series did not last long…

While the 1905 World Series may not be known for one of the greatest World Series of all-time, as many hoped it would be, it would be remembered for one man, Christy Mathewson. Mathewson would have the greatest World Series performance in the history of baseball. Over the years, we as baseball fans, or critics really, have often used the postseason as the ultimate measuring stick. Derek Jeter was a really good player during the regular season, but it was his feats in October that would be the reason that millions of fans would come to adore him. The same could be said with the likes of David Ortiz, Madison Bumgarner and of course, Reggie Jackson. October can have the opposite effect on players who are unable to replicate their regular season success on the grandest stage. The trio of Atlanta Braves pitchers, Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz were known for their regular season dominance for over decade. However, despite their ‘better than you would think’ numbers in October, they had very few moments where they shined and were often left out of the ‘big game pitcher’ conversation. In the 1903, World Series, we discussed Honus Wagner and how quickly he went from the GOAT to a goat. This would be the case for so many players throughout baseball history, some of highs and lows, some have just highs, and some just have lows. Whether we discuss Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle or Barry Bonds, October will always have a major impact on how we remember them as players. For the 1905 World Series, it will be remembered for Christy Mathewson, and how he would set the bar for excellence. 

Mathewson was sublime. And that’s not trying to be dramatic. Mathewson made three appearances in the five games of the 05’ World Series, he pitched three complete game shutouts, he surrendered just 13 hits, he struck out 18 batters, and he walked only one batter in 27 innings pitched. In Game 1 of the World Series, Mathewson got out of the top of the first inning, on just five pitches. Mathewson seemed untouchable on every occasion, and no matter how equally brilliant the A’s pitching was, the A’s bats could not solve the Mathewson riddle. Entering Game 4 of the series, the Giants had a commanding 2-1 lead, while the A’s won game 2 of the series scoring three runs off of ‘Iron Man’ Joe McGinnity, but those three runs would be the only runs the A’s would score in the entire series. Mathewson took the mound again in Game 3, and after the Giants won 9 to 0, the writing was on the wall, the Giants were going in for the kill. In order to arouse the A’s efforts in the series, Mack decided to go with a wild card. He decided that Rube Waddell would start Game 4. 

When Waddell took the field, it was said that McGraw’s jaw dropped and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Had the A’s, Mack and Waddell himself been planning this the whole time? Would the mere sight of Waddell, injured or not, raise the morale of the battered A’s in time to salvage the series? While history did not know the Schilling bloody sock game, or Willis Reed entering the Garden in the 1973 NBA finals, one would have to imagine Waddell’s return equaling the anticipation that those games did. However, when Waddell took the mound for his warm up pitches, he had nothing. The speed was nowhere near what it had used to be, and worse was the control. In fact, one of his warm up pitches sailed so far and high, he knocked a spectator in the head. Waddell walked back to the bench, and he never started. The A’s lost 1-0 in Game 4, and in Game 5, the Giants, but really, Christy Mathewson, finished them off in front of their max capacity crowd, and at the conclusion of the game, the entire team took a victory lap around the field, in a brand new Model T’s. New York had its first championship, and the legacies of McGraw and Mathewson were just beginning.

As for the A’s better days were ahead of them, including Connie Mack. But the 1905 World Series would be a great lesson for Mack, and one he would apply later on, to great success. If the story had ended for Connie Mack in the 1905 World Series, we wouldn’t take the time to discuss him. But the story won’t end for Mack, and his Philadelphia A’s would end up becoming one of the greatest organizations in the sport for the next thirty years, all of which Mack would be there for. The story of Mack’s brilliance doesn’t start or end with the Giants drubbing. But for Rube Waddell, it would. 

After the 1905 season, Waddell’s shoulder healed somewhat, and he was able to find success again on the hill for the Athletics. However his antics would continue, and as the years would go on, Mack decided to sever ties with his ace, that helped make the Athletics a powerhouse in the early years of the American League. While all of the credit and admiration of the A’s in Philly, rightfully goes to Connie Mack, Waddell deserves, at the very least, a brief mention in that same success. He was a star, he was Mack’s star, he gave the A’s, and the young American League a character they needed to clash with the National League. While he was not as polished as Christy Mathewson, he was beloved and had a similar impact on his club as the megastar Mathewson did on the Giants. But that is baseball, when one’s game diminishes, one finds himself in uncharted waters of needing a team to play for, rather than teams needing you. It happens to many of the greats, including Babe Ruth when he joined up with the Boston Braves, or Willie Mays when he joined up with the Mets. Waddell would go to the St. Louis Browns, have a couple of decent, yet unnoticeable seasons with them and by 1910 he was out of the game forever. 

In 1913, he joined up with the Minneapolis Millers, and that was where he helped repair the levees for the African-American community. It was there he caught bronchitis, he would collapse several times on the mound due to coughing fits from the sickness, his drinking became worse, and by November of that same year, Waddell was found on the streets of St. Louis, penniless. He soon contracted tuberculosis, he was committed to a sanitarium and he died on April 1st, 1914. A fitting day for the ultimate prankster. 

The 1905 World Series represented what we all love about baseball, even though it wasn’t the most compelling of affairs. But the characters that were involved, the duality of those characters, the teams they played for, and the cities they represented is what makes sports so intoxicating. There is something for everyone. For the baseball fans who wanted a mythic figure, that they could look up to and aspire to be, there was Christy Mathewson. For the baseball fans who wanted a manager who would scrap and claw his way to victory and still pose as the commander of men, there was the little Napoleon, there was John McGraw. For the baseball fans who wanted a manager who was respected, dignified, and ruled with the calmness and wisdom of some great philosopher, there was Connie Mack. And finally, for the baseball fans who wanted a player that reminded them, of themselves, hard working, blue collar, a belly full of cheap beer, charismatic and still equal to any and all, there was Rube Waddell. At the close of the 1905 season, the World Series would now be a set in stone affair, and the bar was risen thanks to the efforts of all four men.

Readings that helped with the story: