A Baseball Story: Chapter 2: The First World Series

Episode 2: The First World Series 

Before we get started, I want to explain my thinking, and rationale with trying to do a podcast of this nature. Trying to create a single narrative on the history of baseball, is incredibly difficult to do. Make no mistake, I am not Baseball Historian by title, no one would ever get me confused with Joe Thorn, or a Bob Costas. I am a history teacher by trade, and the history of baseball has always been a subject that I have been incredibly interested in and it is something that I like to think I am well read in. I am not an expert, by any means, but I like to fancy the notion that I may know a little more than the average fan. And I am disclaiming that because the story I am telling may not fall in conventional approaches to doing something like this. 

To put it short, I am choosing what I feel is more or less, the most important to discuss. Largely because I don’t know everything, a lot of the facts and evidence I have, I have gathered from years of reading books, and articles that I have chosen to read because of my interest level, or areas I felt weak in. Also because a story, needs a narrative, and a point of view; sometimes in order to create one, it’s about making choices. 

Perfect example; I teach Global History, which is really the history that covers from the beginning of time, up until the French Revolution. So give or take, about 11,600 years of history. That’s a lot, and I have to make choices, based on the state curriculum, and how much I can cover on various topics. I work with amazing people in my department, all of whom, have different backgrounds and areas of interest or expertise. 

Every year, my colleagues have a massive unit on the Renaissance, the movement, its artists and artisans and its impacts. Some of these units can go on for three, or four weeks, or longer. But for myself, I was never that interested in the Renaissance, and have never really found the best way to discuss the topic, or to teach the topic with as much attention as my co-workers do. So in the time, that I don’t take on the Renaissance, I put that somewhere else, that I do find of equal or more importance, whereas others do not. Every year my classes put Genghis Khan and the Mongols on trial, and that can last up to a month, whereas other don’t spend half the time on the subject. 

Telling a story is about providing a narrative through the narrators observations and understandings of things. And that’s all this is, and hopefully you find that entertaining enough to keep tuning in. 

For this episode, we are going to solely focus on the first ever World Series in 1903 between the Boston Pilgrims/Americans (which is what I will call them, but yes they eventually become the Red Sox, so we won’t have to worry about that, pass this episode) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now if you were to go onto Amazon, and type in the 1903 World Series, you will find about 2 or 3 books on the subject. Not exactly the measuring stick for what is important and what is not, but needless to say the first World Series is not as well documented, in story form, as say the 1919 World Series which has many publications about the infamous series, and the White Sox scandal. Now, when we get there, I will go in great depth about what took place and how it altered the history of the sport, but I will do so in the same capacity as I will with the 1903 World Series. So in a matter of words, and time, the 1903 World Series is equal in importance to the 1919 World Series, which is why I am dedicating an entire episode to about it. I won’t do that with every World Series, just the one’s I deem it necessary. Now even though there hasn’t been a movie made yet, featuring Kevin Costner, starring as Cy Young, parting his way through the crowd at the Hunnington Grounds in Game 3 to face Honus Wagner, make no mistake, this World Series will set the tone for the game we love, and the championship that excites us the most. This is the story of the first ever World Series…

Prior to the 1903 season, the war between the AL and the NL reached a fever pitch. Both sides trying to pry players from one another, and after the Philadelphia A’s successfully pirated Nap Lajoie from the Philadelphia Phillies, both sides began to exchange barbs. After the Lajoie matter was settled, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made their mandate that Lajoie could not play in the same state, and promptly traded to Cleveland, other courts around the country began to side with American League teams that a player could in fact, have some say as where they could play. The ‘reserve clause’ was under attack, but with players coming and going as they please, both sides needed to settle their disputes and find some way to co exist. Perhaps a matchup between the two, where both could benefit, would do the trick? 

Thus began the conversation about having a World Series, but in 1902, tensions were still so high, that the negotiations soured very quickly. No one was more upset by the situation than Andrew Freeman, owner of the New York Giants, and Connie Mack, owner and manager of the Philadelphia A’s. Mack’s A’s won the American League, and although Freeman’s Giants came in dead last in the NL, he was still looking for any chance to stick it to his new rivals. 

Freeman had been incensed about the creation of the new league, and if baseball was going to survive, it needed a strong presence in New York, which would be hard for Freeman to establish if he was losing all of his good players. Freeman even came up with the notion that the National League teams should all ban together to form a trust, and then share their profits in an attempt to hang on their players with the grips of llc behind, but that was immediately squashed. Freeman had to find another way of getting back at the the AL. 

Thankfully an opportunity would provide itself as, because, in the American League, the player manager of the Baltimore Orioles, John McGraw was about to wear out his welcome. The Baltimore Orioles of the 1880s were one of baseball most feared teams. Playing a style of baseball, that could really only be compared to Rugby. One of my favorite Honus Wagner stories is when he reminisced about those ‘old school’ days of the National League. One time, after securing a single, he was getting his lead off of first base, when the first baseman of the Orioles, Jack Doyle was standing unusually close to him, but what he did not notice was that Doyle has his hand firmly attached to his belt. When the ball was hit, and Wagner went to run, Doyle held on, and Wagner fell to the ground. He was able to spring up, thankfully the ball was hit deep enough, Wagner got up, but when rounding second, second baseman Henie Ritz, tripped Wagner, who once again went flying. Finally, Wagner got up once more, continued to third as Hughie Jennings (the future manager of the Detroit Tigers) threw to his third baseman, who caught the ball and planted his knee into the face of Wagner as he slid into third. Wagner learned the tough way, how tough he had to be if he was going to survive in baseball. A lesson he would take with him on his future endeavors. Albeit painful, he learned how to persevere, and learned how to be successful playing that barbarish style of baseball, and he would come to thank those Orioles teams for teaching him. Even the the third baseman who planted the knee in his face, that player, was John McGraw. 

As we learned in our last episode, the National League downsized towards the end of the decade, and the Orioles were placed on the chopping block, but soon enough they were scooped up by Ban Johnson and brought over to the American League. McGraw was retained and promoted to the teams manager. However, part of the reason, Johnson wanted to create this new league because he was tired of the antics, and the anti-family setting the National League was creating. He wanted to create a league with no fighting, no swearing, and no shenanigans. Unfortunately, with John McGraw, that’s kind of what he did. 

So in 1902, when McGraw was managing his Orioles squad, he was continuing to do, what Johnson and the other owners did not want to take place in their league. So finally, after another skirmish with an umpire (I’ll save the good stories of McGraw’s antics for another time), Johnson suspended McGraw indefinitely. The writing was on the wall, McGraw had warn out his welcome in the American League. He was a talented player, and even more talented manager, but the American League had an image to uphold. McGraw sold his stake in the team, and was released. Thankfully, there was a cozy opening for him in Manhattan, and Freeman quickly snatched him up to become the new manager of the New York Giants. But this would not be the end of McGraw and his feud with the American League. 

It was a loss for the American League, McGraw would have meant, if he was able to do, what he would do with the Giants, another juggernaut that could have had the AL surpass the NL as a more legitimate league. But that was the problem with Johnson, he wanted things his way, and he would not let anything compromise what he saw fit. McGraw was a problem, plain and simple, and no matter how much he won, or what could of meant for the league, it contradicted what stood for. Johnson wanted his mangers to be quiet gentleman’s. Thankfully that’s exactly what he had in Connie Mack. 

Mack’s A’s, despite losing Nap Lajoie, finished 30 games above .500, thanks to their new pitcher, Rube Waddell, who along with Eddie Plank, boasted the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball. But despite the great season Philadelphia had, and the historic season Pittsburgh had winning 103 games, a record for the time, a matchup between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia would have been an epic one to witness. Alas, neither side could reach an agreement and heading into the 1903 season, tensions would only mount. 

As the 1903 season came to a close there were two clear contenders to play in the first ever World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, were wildly regarded as the one of the best National League teams of the decade. Headed by player manager Fred Clarke, the Pirates played an aggressive style of baseball which included excellent hitting, and fearless base running as the Pirates were a brilliant mix of modern and old fashioned tactics that rode them to a 91 win campaign, 7 games cleared of the second place Giants. It was the city’s third consecutive NL Pennant, and while the 91 win season was a bit a of let down following their 1902 season where the won 103 games (a record for the time), there was little to doubt that the Pirates were first dynasty of the 20th century. What put the club over the top was due to the fact that they had the best player in all of baseball, Honus Wagner.

Honus Wagner grew up in Carneige, Pennsylvania, named of course after billionaire Andrew Carniege. Carniege, was painted as a true ‘rags to riches’ story as his immigrant background to business tycoon of Carnieige Steel, which would become U.S. Steel,  was perfect for an area of Pennsylvania that was saturated with immigrants during the Second Wave of Immigration in the 1870s-1900s. Wagner was of German descent, his parents, moving over, as many German immigrants did to find work, and work they did, in the mines of Pennsylvania. Growing up, Wagner saw his father every day drag his body back and forth to the mines, and was determined to find any way out of that life. Baseball was his ticket out. Thankfully, he was really good at it.

Wagner joined the Pirates in 1900 after player three seasons for the Louisville Colonels, and right away Wagner began to assert his dominance. (Charles Comiskey once tried to buy Wagner from his Louisville contract offering him $20,000 to join the White Sox. But Wagner declined) In his first four seasons, Wagner never batted below .330, he averaged almost 105 RBIs a season, to go along with 44 steals a season. Wagner was a great combination of power, precision and speed, but what truly made Wagner remarkable was as good as he was at the plate, he was equally as good in the field. Wagner’s giant hands, and quick reflexes made him the primer short stop of the day (Although he initially resisted when he started playing the position, because he believed it effected is batting eye) . But not even that the narrative of Wagner, being the best shortstop of his day fully encapsulates the magnitude of the player. Wagner was transcendent, way beyond his time. In many baseball circles, Wagner is still considered to be the greatest short stop in baseball history, and for the early part of the 20th century, Wagner’s game was more compatible to the likes of a Jim Brown, or a LeBron James, no one had ever seen someone make the game look so easy. 

Honus Wagner, 1903

With Wagner, the Pirates completed their NL schedule with 91 wins, good enough for the their third consecutive pennant, but it came at a price. Many of the Pirates players, including Wagner finished up the season banged up, and with a litany of injuries. Interesting note, midway through the season, while the Pirates were in a tight pennant race with John McGraw’s young Giants team, their manager Fred Clarke suffered a mental breakdown, and Wagner took over the managerial responsibilities until Clarke returned at the end of the season.  

So while, their were rumblings that a “World Series” could still happen, many Pirates, after the last game was completed began healing their wounds in various locations, some went home, others went on vacation. After the failed attempts of negotiating a deal at the completion of the 1902 season. Based on the way Pirate players were feeling, many would probably not mind if no postseason affair ever took place. 

But just a couple of weeks after the close of the NL season, the owner of the Pirates, Barney Dreyfuss negotiated with Ban Johnson, and Henry Killilea, the owner of the Boston Americans, the American League’s pennant winner on a nine game series that would take place starting on October 1st, 1903. However the two continued to go back and forth about who would take what percentages of the gate, and even heading into the last week, there was a good chance that one or both of the owners would walk away from the table. But finally, just six days before Game 1, the series was set. The first fall classic was in place. It just too bad, it was a massive mismatch.

Conventional wisdom of the time as that the American League, was still an “inferior” league, and while the American League could boast they had the likes of Nap Lajoie, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, and Cy Young, great players doesn’t always equate to great teams, and despite Boston’s impressive run, they were not considered to be a “great team”. Even though by the numbers, Boston was a great team. 

In the 1902 season, the Boston Americans finished in third place, respectable, but again it was the American League. Boston had decent hitting, but no big names like Wagner or Lajoie, and their pitching was good, headed by baseball’s oldest starter, Cy Young. Cy Young however, was 34, and many believed his best days were far behind him. But in 1903, all of the stars aligned for this bunch and Boston got off a torrid start that no other team could catch up to. Boston won 91 games, and won the pennant by 14 games over the Philadelphia Athletics. But to understand how the two teams matched up, we will have to look at the tale of the tape: 

Cy Young, 1903

Tale of the Tape:

Boston either lead both leagues or was in the top 3 in the following categories: Hits, triples, homers (which they lead the league in both), and OPS, for pitching: Boston lead the league in Earned Runs, Win-Loss %, and was third the league in strikeouts. Boston also committed the second fewest errors in 1903 as well.

Pittsburgh was just as formidable, Pittsburgh was 2nd in OPS, 2nd in Batting Average, 2nd in triples, and were the only team in baseball with more than 1400 hits on the season. 

However, Pittsburgh pitching, albeit good, was not on same statistical plane as their American League opponent. While they did have a 2.91 team ERA, they were below the league average in strikeouts, and they gave up up the fourth most in walks. 

From a fielding standpoint, while the Pirates had the best shortstop in the game in Wagner, the unit committed 295 errors on the year, whereas the league average was 293. So one could say the Pirates had an average defense, they had far from a Championship caliber one. This prove to be a pivotal aspect of the series, and in fact, until the technology of the game was drastically improved in the 1920s, it would be a pivotal aspect for every World Series going forward. Remember, that this is not a heavy strikeout period in baseball history. Strikeouts weren’t rare, but it was not something pitchers outside of Rube Waddell, Christy Mathewson, and later on, Walter Johnson and Smokey Joe Wood could rely on. Balls in play were more common than at any other time in baseball history. If you did not have a sound defense in back of you, it could look more like the Little League World Series, than the actual World Series. 

But regardless of the stats, Pittsburgh was the three time defending champion, and of the National League, and Boston, despite their great statistical success had not played teams of the caliber of the Pirates. And the World Series would exhibit the most dominate team in the past decade, how could Boston possibly compete? 

Boston’s greatest strength, rested in their pitching, and in their ace Cy Young. Cy Young was rejuvenated when he entered the American League in 1901. In his first three seasons, he never had an ERA below 2.15 and he lead the league in wins, each year. But, Young was 36 years old, way past his prime, and one had to wonder how much of his success was based on skill or the talent he faced. The World Series was the stage that Young needed to prove he was still the best in the game. And the World Series would prove that.

Game 1- Boston

Game 1 took place at the Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds, built in 1901 for just $35,000, and it would be home of the Americans, and eventually the Red Sox until Fenway was built in 1911. Ballparks, the wooden pieces of kindling that they were, did not seat the massive amounts of people that the more modern parks started to seat in the 1920s (i.e. Yankee Stadium) but anything about 12,000 was considered to be a great showing, for any kind of team sporting event, so when 16,242 packed the grounds, the experiment seemed to be off to a great start. 

Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 

Unfortunately, Game 1 proved to be what most were fearing, a mismatch. 

In the top of the first inning, Cy Young took the mound for the Americans, and quickly retired the first two Pirate hitters. But then third baseman Tommy Leach tripled, and then Wagner singled him home. The two out rally had begun. But giving up an RBI single to Honus Wagner, is not the end of the world, after all, its Honus Wagner. But what ensued afterwards tip the scale for the Pirates. Wagner stole second, Kitty Bransfield hit a grounder to Hobe Ferris at second, who booted it, for the Americans first error. First and third two outs. Bansfield then broke for second base, and catcher Lou Crieger’s throw down to second, sailed into centerfield, and Wagner jogged in for the Pirates second run. The next batter, second baseman Claude Ritchey, walked, and then stole second, and then Jimmy Sebring hit a bloop single into left field scoring both Ritchey and Bransfield. 

3 hits, 3 stolen bases, 2 errors, all with two outs in the first, led to 4 Pirate runs. The lead would prove to be insurmountable, and by the time the Americans came to bat after the seventh inning stretch, it was 7-0 Pirates. Boston would add three runs before it was over, but it was clear, the Pirates had dominated, as expected playing their brand of baseball, the National League brand, hard, aggressive, featuring the game’s best player, was too much for the meager Boston squad. Boston boasted great pitching, their greatest Cy Young, couldn’t even slow down the Pirates. This series looked to be over, and over quick.

However, what Game 1 did not tell us, that was an underlying issue for the Pirates, was just how banged up they were. The 1903 season proved to be a difficult one for the Pirates to stay healthy. It seemed every player as battling an injury or had to recover from one. Which is why so many Pirate players, at the close of the 1903 season, headed off on vacation to heal from their injuries. Many had to travel back in order to play in the World Series, but still their injuries travelled with them. Clarke and Dreyfuss tried to find every which way to help their players recover quicker, and that included a trip to Youngstown, Ohio, three weeks prior to the end of the season, where they met an infamous doctor/chiropractor/masseur John D. Reese, nicknamed ‘Bonesetter’. 

We have to keep in mind that, this is 1903. And while medicine would make major strides in the 20th century, it’s still pretty primitive compared to our modern understandings. I mean, who today would want to visit a doctor, with a nickname? I don’t care if its someone named Dr. ‘Cure It All’, that’s a name you would just scroll right pass. But in 1903 Dr. Bonesetter was renowned for healing tendons, joints, and misplaced bones. But story has it, that when the team visited bonesetter with Wagner in tow, the doctor began his working by twisting and popping bones in and out of place, sometimes in agonizing pain, and the sight of it, made Wagner sick. However he treated Wagner, who had a sore thumb, an injury that the club thought might need surgery after the season. The doctor, did something to Wagner though, he would later claim he tried to ‘hypnotize’ him, but either way Wagner felt better for the time being. 

But the reality was, no matter what this doctor did to mask their ailments, the Pirates came into the series far less than 100%. They lost utility super man Otto Kruger who played a mix of third base, shortstop, second base and outfield, after he was hit in the head with a pitch on September 19th, and did not return for the rest of the season. Most of the injuries were physical for the Pirates, but in the case of Ed Doheny, one of the Pirates star pitchers in 1903, he suffered from a different kind of disability. 

Ed Doheny’s career started in 1895, and to say that, prior to the 1902 season, Doheny was an average pitcher, would be generous compliment. Doheny’s career started in New York, and he pitched there for six and half years with an ERA way above 4.00, which was fine for the hapless Giants, but not by any other standard. But halfway through the 1901 season, Dreyfuss brought in Doheny for some added pitching depth, but what he got was way more. Doheny pitched in 11 games for the Pirates, and had an ERA of 2.00 by the time the season was over. Sometimes a player just needs a change of scenery. 

In 1902, Doheny broke out, going 16-4, with a 2.53 ERA, and a key component to the Pirates historic run. With Doheny the Pirates now had three legitimate starters, and one of the deepest pitching staffs in baseball, which is no wonder why, accompanied with Honus Wagner, the Pirates were as good as they were. Doheny saw similar success halfway through the 1903 season, but then something changed. 

Now there is not a ton of evidence out there to suggest what triggered Doheny’s downfall, but alcohol is believed to have played a huge role, but many believed that Doheny suffered a major psychological breakdown. Doheny began to become belligerent with teammates and coaches, screaming at them for no cause, and he was increasingly paranoid, worrying that detectives were following him. It got so bad, that he was placed under the care of a doctor and a medical team at his home in Massachusetts in September just weeks before the start of the World Series. As the series began to unfold, it was unclear if Doheny would recover in time to make an appearance. But after Game 1, it would be appear that his services would not be needed. 

Ed Doheny

Game 2 & 3- Boston 

Game 2, saw an abundance of rain that would damper not only Game 2, but the rest of the series. The weather would play as big of a factor as, the Red Sox pitching, the Pirates injuries, and at times, just as big as Honus Wagner. Game 2, saw enough rain to keep the players on the field, but also keep many of the fans at home. Only about 9,400 fans made the trip back to the grounds in Boston, and the pitching matchup between Bill Dinneen of Boston and Sam Leever of Pittsburgh. Both pitchers had outstanding seasons, each won 20 or more games, and had an ERA below 2.25. The only difference between the two on this particular day is that Dinneen was feeling good, and Leever was trying to battle through shoulder problems. 

Just like in the previous game, the first inning told the tale. Boston’s leadoff Patsy Dougherty leadoff the game with an inside the park home run, and Leever would give up another run in the first, and then his day was over, due to arm fatigue. On the other side, Dinneen was brilliant, he struck out eleven,  and had the best stat of the day, which was a error free defense behind him, and Boston evened the series at 1 game a piece. While one could argue the momentum in the series was starting to become more balanced after Game 2, one victory by Boston did not necessitate that both teams were even. 

Game 3, was also in Boston, as agreed upon prior to the series. The rain moved out of Beantown, and the fans came pouring in at even greater numbers than game 1. Reports of 18-25,000 fans entered nearing, or surpassing double the capacity of the rickety wooden stadium. Fans poured onto the field and a rope was needed to section them off from the fielders and from behind home plate. It was agreed upon, by both managers, that any ball that landed in the stands, on the field, would be a ground rule double. There was an electricity in the air, and if you have ever been to a game at Fenway Park, there is something about watching a game in Boston, that provides a different atmosphere to a baseball game. Perhaps this was the beginning of that atmosphere. 

Unfortunately for Boston fans on this day, Pittsburgh displayed what made them the four-time champions. Pittsburgh bats awoken from their slumber in Game 2, and began to send balls to the outfield into the max capacity crowd. The Pirates put up two in the second and in the third they were getting ready to add some more with runners on second and third with no outs. Tommy Leach singled to make it 3-0, with runners on first and third, and Honus Wagner came to the plate. Manager Jimmy Collins went to the mound to talk to his pitcher Tom Hughes, but the conversation lasted longer than umpired would have liked. When the umpire walked to the mound to break up the conversation, Collins started talking to the umpire, leaving everyone in the stadium to wonder, just what was going on. Especially Wagner who was patiently waiting to add on to the Pirates onslaught. Then, the grandstands parted, because the grandstands, which were also full, blocked the bullpen area where pitchers would warm up. But they had good reason to part, as in a scene of biblical fashion, Cy Young emerged to pitch to Wagner. The crowd went berserk, screaming their hero to get out of this bind and show everyone once and for all that their ace, was still the greatest ace in the game. 

But this moment had much more at stake. Here was the moment of all moments, this had to have been what the owners of both leagues wanted to see, what Ban Johnson wanted to see, and really what the country wanted to see since the inception of the American League. Baseball’s greats going at it, head to head, on the grandest stage of them all, in front of thousands of people. And talk about a matchup, Cy Young, the greatest pitcher of his generation, possibly of all-time, a man who holds numerous records to this day, that will never be broken (and a man we named the award we give to the best pitcher every year) versus Honus Wagner, the best player of his day, the first true great shortstop, a once in a lifetime talent that would not see again, especially at the position of shortstop, until Ernie Banks in the 1950s, squaring off in the rubber match of the World Series.

Wagner stepped into the box, Cy Young delivered the pitch, and the pitch, hit Wagner square in the back.

Not exactly the climax everyone was hoping for. 

But Young was able to settle down to get the next two batters out. But with two outs, and the bases loaded, the Boston defense once again failed Young, as a routine grounder to short was booted, and the Pirates lead went to 3. And even though Wagner would be gunned down at home, trying to extend the lead, Wagner proved to be the superior player of the day. He added a double in third, and was dazzling in the field. Wagner seemed to suck everything up, including as irony would have it, robbing Cy Young of a base hit up the middle. It seemed no matter what Boston tried to do, Wagner was having his way with them. The game ended in a 4-2 win (Phillippe, who pitched in Game One, just two days prior, was exquisite) and the Pirates now led the series 2 games to 1, heading back to Pittsburgh. Wagner had to have been walking on air that night, his Pirates had gone to Boston, taken control of the series, and he couldn’t of played any better. But, the World Series is never told in just three games. And the series would take a turn for the Pirates, and for Wagner. Sometimes, home cooking, can spoil. 

Game 4 & 5- Pittsburgh 

With game 4 about ready to start, the Pittsburgh home crowd was tamed by the rain. The game had already been postponed because of the rain, but when it finally got started on Tuesday, October 6th, only 7,600 came out to watch Game 4 (similar to what Boston experienced in Game 2). This was disappointing for Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the Pirates, who did not want to be faced with the same problems Killea had in Boston for Game 3, he hired carpenters to build extra bleachers to hopefully ease the burden. The seats would not be needed in Game 4. But despite the low attendance, Boston fans brought the electricity they had in Boston to Pittsburgh to hopefully cheer their club back into the World Series. The Royal Rooters, have become well known in baseball folklore, and history for their exuberant passion and ways of cheering their team. For the occasion, the Royal Rooters hired a brass band to play throughout the game. If you thought a vavolzuela was annoying…

But Pittsburgh was able to battle through, and give their fans more to cheer about. Heading into the eighth inning, Pittsburgh was up 5-1, Wagner had three hits to bring his average to .385 for the series, and he added an RBI and stolen base to go along with his day. But in the eighth inning, Boston began to rally, as they added three runs in the inning, but their comeback came up short, and Pittsburgh won their third game of the series, to take a 3-1 lead. 

In the three games Pittsburgh had won, they averaged more than five runs a game, besting Boston’s best starters Cy Young and Big Dinneen. Boston did not do much to help their pitchers, as they had committed 7 errors in those three losses. On the offensive side, only Chuck Stahl and Buck Freeman were hitting above .300, where as Pittsburgh had 4 hitters above the .300 mark and Tommy Leach, one of those four, was hitting .438. 

Through four games, Boston was completely outplayed, and the narrative of them playing in the ‘inferior league’ seemed to be as true as law. But Boston, had bigger problems, they were now, just two games from elimination. And their next starter, Tom Hughes who was the losing pitcher in Game 3, was having arm issues. 

Game 5 took place the very next day, and player/manager Jimmy Collins decided, if the Americans are going to go down, they are going to go down using their best. For the rest of the series, however long that would be, he would start either Cy Young or Bill Dinneen. He stayed true to his word, because for the rest of the series, Collins would in fact bring in no other pitcher to pitch, not even in relief, it all rest on their shoulders…literally. 

If Boston was going to survive their bats and defense would have to change course and in Game 5 that’s what happened. 

It was a much nicer day, than the day before, and 12,000 fans came out to watch the Pirates finish off Boston and secure the first ever World Series title. The game was scoreless heading into the third inning, when Jimmy Collins singled and attempted to steal second base. Previously, in the first inning, he hit a triple, but when he tried to advance home on a ground ball, Wagner threw him out, once again displaying his fine defensive aptitude. This time, the two would once again come face to face, and that would alter the fate of the series. Collins led off of first, and broke for second base, catcher Ed Phelps fired the ball down to Wagner but the throw sailed to the left side of second base, causing Wagner to stretch out his arm, as Collins slid into the bag, he collided with Wagner, and bruised his arm. Little is know about the extent of Wagner’s injury, because Wagner did not come out of the game, and it’s pretty unclear if anyone looked at his arm, but it was something that hampered him the rest of the series. 

Heading into the 6th inning, the game was tied at zero, both Cy Young and Pirates pitcher Brickyard Kennedy were brilliant, but the wheels were about to pop off in Pittsburgh. In the sixth inning, the Pirates committed three errors, two of which were by Wagner, clearly ailing from the injury, and the Americans found themselves up 6-0, on six unearned runs. When, one looks back at the series, here is where you can find the turning point. Where they momentum truly shifted. With an injured Wagner, the Pirates would find it even more difficult to overcome the amount of injuries they had been dealing with, and their lack of depth because of it. Boston was hurting, but if they get the quality pitching that Young provided, and hit they way the did (13 hits in game 5) there was still a chance. Boston won the game 11-2, and the series was 3-2, Pittsburgh. 

Game 6

What would happen over the next three games was nothing short of complete collapse from what many once considered the best baseball team. Now it was Pittsburgh defense that began to fail their ailing pitchers, Wagner right in the thick of it (plus his 0-3 in Game 6 did not help) and Boston pitcher Bill Dineen followed Cy Young’s example by pitching all nine innings and Boston won 6-3. The Royal Rooters were in full force, the band was playing loudly, and the Rooters were singing their anthem ‘Tessie’ along with myriad of other numbers to not only inspire their Boston club, but to trash talk Wagner as well. Wagner’s slump had taken over, and the Boston fans were letting him hear it. The series was now tied at 3, but the downfall was in full effect.

Game 7

Prior to Game 7, was also in Pittsburgh (so if you’re keeping track at home, the first 3 games o the series was in Boston, and the next four took place in Pittsburgh) the rain once again played a factor, however, many believed that owner Barney Dreyfuss, shouldn’t have postponed the game to Saturday, and when he did, he create a lot of controversy, some of it, very bizarre. Dreyfuss understood that having a Saturday day game, would bring in more fans, and more money. He also knew, by giving his players an added day off would be very beneficially to so many of his players who were battling through their injuries, including Deacon Phillippe who was scheduled to start for Pittsburgh in Game 7. Phillippe had pitched 27 innings in the first four games of the series, which included back to back in games 3 and 4, where he pitched two complete games on three days rest. At that point, the Pirates were well in control of the series, and Clarke decided to rest Pittsburgh, god forbid he needed him in an emergency situation. 

Well, the Pirates were certainly in a emergency situation in Game 7, but an extra day’s rest couldn’t hurt the ace. Phillippe was 3-0 thus far in the series, with a 2.67 ERA, if anyone was going to stop the bleeding, it would be him. The extra day of rest would also equally help Honus Wagner who was hitless in his last 8 at bats in Games 5 & 6. And an extra day’s rest can always help a player, especially after they have been shot. 

Many believed that Dreyfuss postponed Game 7 because rumors started to swirl that a Royal Rooter had saw Wagner and shot the superstar to secure the series for Boston. Of course this was all made up, but it added for extra drama and intrigue on a rainy day. But I guess, the typical time a player needed to recover in those day from a GSW, was just the one day. 

Pittsburgh fans used the downtime to stage a little ‘Get Better Soon’ or ‘Get Better to Rally’ parade for their players. After the first three games in Pittsburgh, the Boston fans had left their mark on the city, and at times, it felt like a home game for the Americans. A marching band can help with that. So Pittsburgh fans rallied together to put on a parade for their boys, in the hopes it would lift their spirits, and also to show that they were equal to their opposing fanbase. But when the Royal Rooters got wind of this affair, they decided that they too would partake in a impromptu ‘Drumline’ type of contest. Both fan bases sung their anthems to see who could cheer and sing more loudly than the other, and what could of been a intense exchange of cheer, turned more friendly one both sides sung ‘My Country Tis of Thee’. 

17,000 poured into Excelsior Stadium in Pittsburgh, and for the third time in the series, Phillippe squared off against Cy Young, and up until that point in the series, Phillippe had his number but in the first, it was once again apparent that Boston had all the momentum. After getting the first batter of the inning, Phillippe surrendered back to back triple to Collins and Stahl. Then, when when second baseman  Claude Ritchey fielded a grounder and tried to get Stahl at the plate, the throw got there in time, and accurately, but Stahl’s slide into the catcher popped the ball loose, and the Americans were up 2-0. Pittsburgh had runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the first, but Leach, who had been on fire in the series, hit into a double play, and Wagner, up next, struck out. 

Boston added two more in the 4th, and 2 more in the 6th, and while Pittsburgh was able to knock in some runs here and there, the game was never in doubt. Boston won 7-3, and for the first time since Game 1, had the series lead, 4 games to 3, one more win for Boston and it was over. Wagner was once again hitless, making him 0-11, bringing his batting average down to a meager .217. The Pirates would once again get on a train, this time back to Boston, in a completely different situation, than before. After Game 3, Wagner and his teammates boarded a train heading for Pittsburgh, on top of the world. Fan Clubs were being created in his honor, he had been as dangerous with the bat as he has his glove, and if no one prior understood the fact that he was best in the game, they did at that moment. Now, a complete 180 took place, Pittsburgh was one game away from elimination, and Wagner was becoming a different type of goat. With Phillippe losing the game, Pittsburgh had no other aces to rely on, and the following day, they would get more grim news about their other ace, who was not there to help them out. 

On the morning of Sunday, October 11th, Ed Doheny was committed to the Danvers Insane Asylum in Andover Massachusetts, just about 26 miles from the Hungtinton Avenue Grounds, and even though their ace was so close, he was very, very far away. A week before the series, teammates had heard that Doheny was ‘feeling better’ and possibly on the track of recovery, so to help motivate their falling commrade, they sent Doheny his jersey, as a way of saying, ‘hey, whenever you’re ready to come back, we will be here’. Doheny, again in a altered state, took it very differently. He believed it was a message to stay home, something like ‘hey here is your jersey, you can keep it’, kind of thing. Doheny became irate, he trashed his room, and through his doctor through the door and out of the house. It rained on that Sunday, and Fred Clarke visited Doheny at the hospital to see how he was doing. Doheny would never play baseball again, but worse than that, he would never recover, he lived for eight more years before he died in another mental facility in Massachusetts on December 29, 1916. 

Game 8

The weather was no better on Monday, and Game 8 was postponed, which, once again, the Pirates welcomed, but once again Honus Wagner became the focal point of controversy. So beaten up throughout the series, he confessed to Pittsburgh sportswriter John H. Gruber, that he was ‘tired of baseball and considered retiring’. Now whether Wagner was just exaggerating, talking out of frustration or pain, or was possibly considering a retirement is up for debate, but it didn’t take long before it hit the newspapers. Heading into Game 8 of the series, perhaps there was something more on the line, than the championship for Honus Wagner. 

The rainout, allowed Clarke to use Phillippe and Collins kept to his strategy of alternating his two aces, and went with Dinneen, and while Phillippe was great, Dinneen was even better. Dinneen once again went the full nine, surrendering only 4 hits, striking 7, and pitching a complete game shutout. There wasn’t much drama in the last game of the series, Young and his teammates had watched the Pirates ‘bleed’ away the lead in the series, and all Boston had to do was keep applying pressure. The final out of the game, took place when Dinneen froze Wagner on a called third strike to end it. It was over, and Boston was the first ever, World Champions. 

When Boston was down three games to one, and Collins had committed to only using Dinneen and Young to carry them the rest of the way, not even baseball experts from the earliest part of the 20th century could have imagined it would have worked. Never mind against the 4 time defending NL Champs. Pitchers were use to pitching on short, or no rest, back during those times, but even this reached new heights. Young and Dineen pitched two games a piece, with no relief help, on 3 days rest each time. For Cy Young, it was even more impressive, given his age. Cy Young started 3 games in the series (with one relief appearance) and had a 1.85 ERA with 17 strikeouts and only 4 walks. If they gave out an MVP award during that time, for the World Series, Young would have won it and at 36 years old, Young performed on the grandest stage, cementing his legacy as on of the game’s all-time great pitchers.

However, while some become heroes in the World Series, and see their legacy grow in the Fall Classic, others sometimes see their reputations tarnish in the bright lights. At the conclusion of the World Series, Honus Wagner suffered from an unfair assessment of his play. The Sporting News was particularly brutal saying while Wagner is a great player, his performance in the World Series revealed “that old Honus has some yellow in him”. The report would haunt Wagner for years, as he began to wonder if he would ever get a chance to prove himself again. The World Series had such a great following nationally, that while his fans in Pittsburgh understood how great he was, baseball had now become a national following, and the national perspective on Wagner seemed to be that even though he had talent, perhaps he did not have the fortitude do be a champion. Which is, and was, ridiculous to judge on just a handful of bad games, but that’s what the World Series can do. Wagner understood that. And if he ever had another opportunity to play in the World Series, he would need to make the most of his opportunity if his reputation was going to be repaired. 

And as for the sport itself, it seemed the American League definitively proved that they were a legitimate major league, that could go toe to toe with any National League foe. Although in 1904, the World Series would hit a snag, because the National League winner, still had a major gripe with the American League’s existence, and wanted to really stick it to their rivals by refusing to play any ‘inferior teams from an inferior league’. In 1904, the New York Giants finally broke through, with their new manager John McGraw. They broke the Pirates 1902 record, by winning 106 games, 13 games clear of the second place Chicago Cubs (who was also up and coming) and when it came time to play in the World Series against the defending champions Boston who once again won the American League and were set to defend their crown, McGraw and Freeman refused, setting up an epic 1905 season, if the Giants, won again, would they once again refuse? And what would that mean for the fate of the to Major League organizations.

And next time we will look at the rest of baseball’s first decade we will take a closer look at John McGraw, and his New York Giants. We will also be introduced to a slew of new characters that would go on to define the sport in what we know as the ‘Deadball Era’.