1903 World Series

Background

A new league

In 1901, Ban Johnson, president of the Western League, a minor league organization, formed the American League to take advantage of the National League's 1900 contraction from twelve teams to eight. Johnson and fellow owners raided the National League and signed away many star players, including Cy Young and Jimmy Collins. Johnson had a list of 46 National Leaguers he targeted for the American League; by 1902, all but one had made the jump. The constant raiding, however, nixed the idea of a championship between the two leagues. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, whose team ran away with the 1902 National League pennant, was open to a postseason contest and even said he would allow the American League champion to stock its roster with all-stars. However, Johnson had spoken of putting a team in Pittsburgh and even attempted to raid the Pirates' roster in August 1902, which soured Dreyfuss. At the end of the season, however, the Pirates played a group of American League All-Stars in a four-game exhibition series, winning two games to one, with one tie.

The leagues finally called a truce in the winter of 1902–03 and formed the National Commission to preside over organized baseball. The following season, the Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates had secured their respective championship pennants by September. That August, Dreyfuss challenged the American League to an 11-game championship series. Encouraged by Johnson and National League President Harry Pulliam, Americans owner Henry J. Killilea met with Dreyfuss in Pittsburgh in September and instead agreed to a best-of-nine championship, with the first three games played in Boston, the next four in Allegheny City, and the remaining two (if necessary) in Boston.

One significant point about this agreement was that it was an arrangement primarily between the two clubs rather than a formal arrangement between the leagues. In short, it was a voluntary event, a fact which would result in no Series at all for . The formal establishment of the Series as a compulsory event started in .

The teams

The Pirates won their third straight pennant in 1903 thanks to a powerful lineup that included legendary shortstop Honus Wagner, who hit .355 and drove in 101 runs, player-manager Fred Clarke, who hit .351, and Ginger Beaumont, who hit .341 and led the league in hits and runs. The Pirates' pitching was weaker than it had been in previous years but boasted 24-game winner Deacon Phillippe and 25-game winner Sam Leever.

The Americans had a strong pitching staff, led by Cy Young, who went 28–9 in 1903 and became the all-time wins leader that year. Bill Dinneen and Long Tom Hughes, right-handers like Young, had won 21 games and 20 games each. The Boston outfield, featuring Chick Stahl (.274), Buck Freeman (.287, 104 RBI) and Patsy Dougherty (.331, 101 runs scored) was considered excellent.

Although the Pirates had dominated their league for the previous three years, they went into the series riddled with injuries and plagued by bizarre misfortunes. Otto Krueger, the team's only utility player, was beaned on September 19 and never fully played in the series. 16-game winner Ed Doheny left the team three days later, exhibiting signs of paranoia; he was committed to an insane asylum the following month. Leever had been battling an injury to his pitching arm (which he made worse by entering a trapshooting competition). Worst of all, Wagner, who had a sore thumb throughout the season, injured his right leg in September and was never 100 percent for the postseason.

Some sources say Boston were heavy underdogs. Boston bookies actually gave even odds to the teams (and only because Dreyfuss and other "sports" were alleged to have bet on Pittsburgh to bring down the odds). The teams were generally thought to be evenly matched, with the Americans credited with stronger pitching and the Pirates with superior offense and fielding. The outcome, many believed, hinged on Wagner's health. "If Wagner does not play, bet your money at two to one on Boston", said the Sporting News, "but if he does play, place your money at two to one on Pittsburg."

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

The Pirates started Game 1 strong, scoring six runs in the first four innings, and held on to win the first World Series game in modern baseball history. They extended their lead to 7–0 on an inside-the-park home run by Jimmy Sebring in the seventh, the first home run in World Series history. Boston scored a few runs in the last three innings, but it was too little, too late; they ended up losing 7–3 in the first ever World Series game. Both Phillippe and Young threw complete games, with Phillippe striking out ten and Young fanning five, but Young also gave up twice as many hits and allowed three earned runs to Phillippe's two.

Game 2

After starting out strong in Game 1, the Pirates simply shut down offensively, eking out a mere three hits, all singles. Pittsburgh starter Sam Leever went 1 inning and gave up three hits and two runs, before his ailing arm forced him to leave in favor of Bucky Veil, who finished the game. Bill Dinneen struck out 11 and pitched a complete game for the Americans, while Patsy Dougherty hit home runs in the first and sixth innings for two of the Boston's three runs. The Americans' Patsy Dougherty led off the Boston scoring with an inside-the-park home run, the first time a lead-off batter did just that until Alcides Escobar of the Kansas City Royals duplicated the feat in the 2015 World Series, 112 years later. Dougherty's second home run was the first in World Series history to actually sail over the fence, an incredibly rare feat at the time.

Game 3

Phillippe, pitching after only a single day of rest, started Game 3 for the Pirates and didn't let them down, hurling his second complete-game victory of the Series to put Pittsburgh up two games to one.

Game 4

After two days of rest, Phillippe was ready to pitch a second straight game. He threw his third complete-game victory of the series against Bill Dinneen, who was making his second start of the series. But Phillippe's second straight win was almost not to be, as the Americans, down 5–1 in the top of the ninth, rallied to narrow the deficit to one run. The comeback attempt failed, as Phillippe managed to put an end to it and give the Pirates a commanding 3–1 series lead.

Game 5

Game 5 was a pitcher's duel for the first five innings, with Boston's Cy Young and Pittsburgh's Brickyard Kennedy giving up no runs. That changed in the top of the sixth, however, when the Americans scored a then-record six runs before being retired. Young, on the other hand, managed to keep his shutout intact before finally giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. He went the distance and struck out four for his first World Series win.

Game 6

Game 6 was a rematch between the starters of Game 2, Boston's Dinneen and Pittsburgh's Leever. Leever pitched a complete game this time but so did Dinneen, who outmatched him to earn his second complete-game victory of the series. After losing three of the first four games of the World Series, the underdog Americans had tied the series at three games apiece.

Game 7

The fourth and final game in Allegheny saw Phillippe start his fourth game of the Series for the Pirates. This time, however, he did not fare as well as he did in his first three starts. Cy Young, in his third start of the Series, held the Pirates to three runs and put the Americans ahead for the first time as the Series moved back to Boston.

Game 8

The final game of this inaugural World Series started out as an intense pitcher's duel, scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Hobe Ferris hit a two-run single. Phillippe started his fifth and final game of the series and Dinneen his fourth. As he did in Game 2, Dinneen threw a complete-game shutout, striking out seven and leading his Americans to victory, while Phillippe pitched respectably but could not match Dinneen because his arm had been worn out with five starts in the eight games, giving up three runs to give the first 20th-century World Championship to the Boston Americans, Honus Wagner striking out to end the Series.

Composite line score

1903 World Series (5–3): Boston Americans (A.L.) over Pittsburgh Pirates (N.L.)

Series Statistics

Boston Americans

Batting

Note: GP=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting average; OBP=On base percentage; SLG=Slugging percentage

Pitching

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; ERA=Earned Run Average; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; R=Runs; ER= Earned Runs; BB=Walks; SO= Strikeouts

Pittsburgh Pirates

Batting

Note: GP=Games played; AB=At bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting average; OBP=On base percentage; SLG=Slugging percentage

Pitching

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; ERA=Earned Run Average; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; R=Runs; ER= Earned Runs; BB=Walks; SO= Strikeouts

Notes

References

References

1. (1995). "Honus Wagner: A Biography". University of Pittsburgh Press.
2. (2004). "Baffling Baseball Trivia". Sterling Publishing Company.
3. "World Series: Every World Series in Major League Baseball History".
4. "1903 World Series Game 1 – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Americans". Retrosheet.
5. "1903 World Series Game 2 – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Americans". Retrosheet.
6. "1903 World Series Game 3 – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Americans". Retrosheet.
7. "1903 World Series Game 4 – Boston Americans vs. Pittsburgh Pirates". Retrosheet.
8. "1903 World Series Game 5 – Boston Americans vs. Pittsburgh Pirates". Retrosheet.
9. "1903 World Series Game 6 – Boston Americans vs. Pittsburgh Pirates". Retrosheet.
10. "1903 World Series Game 7 – Boston Americans vs. Pittsburgh Pirates". Retrosheet.
11. "1903 World Series Game 8 – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Boston Americans". Retrosheet.
12. "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac.
13. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Jimmy Collins".
14. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Lou Criger".
15. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Bill Dinneen".
16. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Patsy Dougherty".
17. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Duke Farrell".
18. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Hobe Ferris".
19. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Buck Freeman".
20. "Tom Hughes".
21. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Candy LaChance".
22. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Jack O'Brien".
23. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Freddy Parent".
24. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Chick Stahl".
25. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Batting Splits for Cy Young".
26. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Pitching Splits for Bill Dinneen".
27. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Pitching Splits for Tom Hughes".
28. "The 1903 BOS A World Series Pitching Splits for Cy Young".
29. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Ginger Beaumont".
30. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Kitty Bransfield".
31. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Fred Clarke".
32. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Brickyard Kennedy".
33. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Tommy Leach".
34. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Sam Leever".
35. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Ed Phelps".
36. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Deacon Phillippe".
37. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Claude Ritchey".
38. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Jimmy Sebring".
39. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Harry Smith".
40. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Gus Thompson".
41. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Bucky Veil".
42. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Batting Splits for Honus Wagner".
43. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Pitching Splits for Brickyard Kennedy".
44. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Pitching Splits for Sam Leever".
45. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Pitching Splits for Deacon Phillippe".
46. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Pitching Splits for Gus Thompson".
47. "The 1903 PIT N World Series Pitching Splits for Bucky Veil".