The Baseball Chronicle - A Fictional Player Romp Thru History

[legendsport]

The St. Louis Cardinals rode an 11-2 fortnight back into first-place of the National League. The Cardinals' torrid play to close out August pushed them past the New York Giants, who stumbled to a 6-7 record over the same two-week span and now sit four games behind St. Louis. The Cardinals' star hitter Milt Cumberledge posted a .333 mark in August and maintains his spot as base ball's best hitter with a .337 season's average. New York's Paul Samples is second with a .325 mark.

The Washington Senators still sit atop the American League despite a 6-6 mark to close out the month of August. Their 73-49 record has them one-half game ahead of the Chicago White Sox (71-48), who posted an 8-4 mark over the same stretch to close the gap on the front-runners. Chicago's charge has been helped in large part by the pitching of Dan Muir. Muir was perfect in August with a 6-0 mark and 1.33 earned run average, tossing six complete games, allowing 48 hits in 54 innings while walking just 3 and striking out 29 batters. 'Syrup Sam' Thompson was the club's leading hitter in August with a .310 mark (he is hitting .252 for the season).


DAN MUIR, CHICAGO (A)

[legendsport]

Well, the end of the 1908 regular season can be summed up in one word: Wow! The National League became the first league to require an extra game to decide the pennant when two teams finished the 154-game schedule with identical 92-62 records. And in the American League, just one game separated the pennant winner from the runner-up, with both clubs remaining neck-and-neck throughout the final week.

The American League's race featured the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox battling it out down to the final game of the season. The pair entered their respective final series (Boston's on the road at New York and Chicago visiting Philadelphia), with Boston leading by one game. On the 5th Chicago defeated the Athletics 4-2, while Boston took care of the Highlanders by a 6-0 margin. On the 6th, the White Sox again put pressure on the Red Sox by defeating the Athletics, 6-4. But the Red Sox easily handled New York by a lopsided score of 10-1. This meant that all Boston had to do was defeat the woeful New Yorkers on the 7th to clinch the pennant. They could also win the flag should Philadelphia manage a victory over Chicago. The White Sox did their part - they swept the Athletics with Jesse Raines winning his 25th game in a 6-2 victory. But Boston also won, scoring three in the first and cruising to a 9-2 pennant-clinching victory at Hilltop Park.

The National League's representative for this season's World's Series took a bit longer to determine. The New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were neck-and-neck as October began, and would face each other for six games over the final week. The Giants got the early edge, as they won three of the first four matchups between the clubs, all played at the Polo Grounds, including a Saturday doubleheader sweep on the 3rd, which gave the New Yorkers a two-game lead with just five to play.

The Giants would travel to Boston to face the Beaneaters while the Cardinals would go home to face the Phillies. Each would play two before the Giants would travel west to finish the season in a head-to-head confrontation for the pennant. The Giants split their two games in Boston, winning 2-1 on Monday but losing 6-5 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Cardinals took care of the Phillies, 3-1 and 2-0 to close the gap to one game entering the final three-game set at Robison Field. Wednesday's doubleheader saw the Giants push their lead to two games with a 4-2 win. With their season on the line, the Cardinals fought back hard and won the second game 5-1, leaving them one down with one to play. The final game would pit Fred McDonnell of New York with St. Louis' Glenn Skelton. Both pitchers were masterful: with Skelton tossing a three-hit shutout while McDonnell was done in by poor defense as New York committed five errors and lost 2-0 with both Cardinal tallies being unearned.

The flat-footed tie forced a one-game playoff for the pennant. The teams traveled by overnight train to New York and played at the Polo Grounds on the 9th with a ticket to the World's Series on the line. Jim Gendron (14-11) took the hill for St. Louis while New York pinned its hopes on the left arm of Ginger Robertson (20-13). A home run by Sunset Harry Valentine in the first put the Cardinals on top. St. Louis broke it open in the third as Valentine's single started a run of four straight safeties which saw Valentine, Harris and Curl score to make it 4-0. The Giants would score a run in the bottom half of the third, but Gendron shut them down the rest of the way to give St. Louis its second straight pennant.


'SUNSET' HARRY VALENTINE, ST. LOUIS (N) CATCHER

[legendsport]

The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals each entered the season as battle-tested champions of extremely close pennant races, each winning their respective leagues by just a slim one-game margin - and the Cardinals needed an extra contest to hold off the New York Giants in the National League. Both teams brought good lineups and strong pitching into the Series, making handicapping the Series a challenge.

The series would begin in Boston with a pair of games at Huntington Avenue Grounds. The Red Sox would send 32-game winner Gus Merritt (32-19, 1.71 ERA) to the hill while the Cardinals would counter with their own ace, 22-game winner Tommy Powell (22-13, 1.41 ERA). Merritt, known as 'The Big Horse' for the strength and resiliency of his right arm, gave up a run in the first frame on a double by Ezekial Curl and was forced to leave the game after six innings with an elbow injury, perhaps the ultimate result of throwing 468 innings in the 1908 season. Don Glass came on for Boston and held the Cardinals scoreless through nine innings - but unfortunately for the Sox, they were only able to tally one run themselves against Powell, sending the game to extra innings. In the tenth, Glass lost his control, walking the bases loaded to set up a five-run outburst for the Cardinals, which gave St. Louis a 6-5 win.

In game two, the Cardinals would take a 2-0 lead with a 6-2 victory behind a great pitching performance from Frank Coil by scoring three in the eighth and one in the ninth. The St. Louis victory meant a somber train ride to St. Louis for the Red Sox, who would need to win at least two games in Robison Field to force the Series back to Boston.

Game three at Robison Field featured another gem of a pitching performance by the Cardinals as Glenn Skelton (27-13, 2.14) allowed just 1 earned run in a complete game 6-2 victory. Boston's Dolph Manley (15-9, 1.92) was wild, walking eight and allowing six runs (five earned). The Cardinals win put Boston's backs to the wall, with game four being a must-win to keep the '08 season alive for the Red Sox. It was not to be as the Red Sox were forced to start Glass (17-16, 1.88 ERA) in place of the injured Merritt. Glass allowed four runs (three earned) in eight innings, but could not match Jean Gendron (15-11, 1.67 ERA) who tossed a six-hit shutout to give St. Louis a 4-0 win in the game and a 4-0 sweep of the Series, making the Cardinals repeat World's Series Champions.


GLENN SKELTON, ST. LOUIS (N)

[legendsport]

The 1909 season is underway! The big news in the first couple of weeks of the season was the dominating play of the Boston Doves. The Boston nine put together a sterling 15-2 record in April and have grabbed an early three-game edge in the National League pennant race. Cincinnati is a surprising second with an 11-4 start with Chicago (8-7) being the only other team over the .500 mark.

It was a good April for both Boston clubs - the American League's Red Sox are also in first place, looking to pick up where they left off in '08. The Sox are 11-5 and have a one game edge on two teams: the surprising New York Highlanders, and the revamped Washington Senators. Chicago - just as in the NL - rounds out the top half of the league by being the last team with a record over .500; the White Sox are 8-7, matching their crosstown rivals.

Out in the Pacific Coast League, which is entering its second full month of play after getting the season started on March 30th, the big news is the hot bat of 'Bluegrass Charlie' Bowersox. The transplanted Kentuckian is tearing up the Coast League's pitchers to the tune of a .376 average for the San Francisco Seals. The Seals are currently second with an 18-14 record to the front-running Los Angeles club. The Angels sport a 21-10 mark and boast the league's stingiest pitching with three of the top five earned run marks all belonging to Los Angeles hurlers.

The Eastern League and American Association have just begun their seasons as well with Montreal (7-2) and Columbus (12-3) currently holding the top spot in those respective circuits.


CHARLIE BOWERSOX, SAN FRANCISCO (PCL)

[legendsport]

The Boston Doves continue to set the pace in the National League, though they have cooled some since their torrid start. That start has propelled them to a 31-13 record, which is good for a 4.5 game lead over the resurgent Chicago Cubs. With the extremely tight races in the Senior Circuit over the past few seasons, it will be interesting to see if the Cubs - or some of the perennial powers such as St. Louis and New York - can run down the Beantowners and make a race of it.

The Washington Senators - another perennial power, but of the American League - have retooled and are now sitting back in first place after three years of wandering in the wilderness. Granted, their lead over Boston is a mere one game, but the Senators were long accustomed to having everyone else looking up at them. The American League race is extremely tight - Washington leads Boston by one, New York by two, Chicago by two and a half, and St. Louis by three. This one looks like it's shaping up to be another exciting pennant race.

Cincinnati has enjoyed a renaissance of a sort in the National League as the recent cellar-dwellars are sitting in fourth place with a 22-21 record and though they are 8.5 games off the pace, they do boast the league's top hitter in outfielder Charlie Venables. The 29-year-old lefty-swinger has a .384 mark, tops in either league. With Fred 'Slap n Dash' Brown of the Pirates breathing down his neck with his .376 average, Venables will need to keep slapping singles to maintain his spot on top. In the American League, perennial hitting star Sean McGonigle of the Boston Red Sox is leading the league with a .342 mark, followed by Detroit catcher Jebediah Davis and his .331 average.

Pitcher Wyatt Marshall is the prime reason the Boston Doves are leading the National League. 'The Gunslinger' has been shooting down batters all season, a fact attested to by his 0.84 ERA and 10 victories - both tops in either league. Cleveland's Larry Singer is topping the American League - he also has 10 victories - with Cotton Raines of the White Sox leading in AL earned run average with a 1.17 mark.

The Newark Sailors have been struggling this season, which opens up the Eastern League crown to new contenders. Buffalo and Jersey City have each staked their claims on the top spot and are currently knotted with identical 23-15 marks at the top of the standings in the eastern loop. Each club has taken a different tack to the battle - Jersey City is going for it with hitting and has the league's second-best batting average while Buffalo relies on the pitching, which is the tops in the circuit.

The Columbus Senators currently boast a 33-11 record and big ten-game lead in the American Association pennant race. With Donald Lumpkin (7-2, league-best 1.01 ERA), Fred Fisher (8-2, 1.80), and Victor Rodgers (7-4, 1.89) the Senators have the best pitching in the Association. And with a collective .255 average (also tops in the loop), Columbus hits well too, making for an overpowering combination thus far.

Out west, the Los Angeles Angels continue to be the class of the Pacific Coast League with a 41-24 mark and four-game edge on the second-place San Francisco Seals. With Charlie Bowersox and his league-best .389 average, the Seals are hopeful of chasing down the Angels, who boast the three-top ERA-men in the circuit: Lonnie Tauber (9-2, 0.90 ERA for the former New York Giant pitcher), Bob Loomis (9-1, 1.24 ERA) and Ron Finnell (6-5, 1.30). The Angels can also hit - their .270 mark is best in the PCL - with the likes of catcher Blackie Flint (.307), outfielder Bert Benson (.288) and shortstop Herman Tackett (.284) leading the way.


CHARLIE VENABLES, CINCINNATI

[legendsport]

The Doves continue to be the class of the National League, as they've built an impressive 60-25 record thus far, good for a 12-game cushion over the Cardinals. Wyatt Marshall has been a beast for Boston this season, winning 19 games against 4 losses (the 19 wins are most in the Majors) and his 1.39 ERA is second only to New York Giants star Aidan O'Day (1.18). Veteran third baseman Claude Martin is leading the bats with a .310 average. At just 29 years of age, Martin has already racked up nearly 2300 hits and is quietly having another in a string of outstanding seasons.

The Washington Senators are attempting to put some distance between themselves and the "other" Boston team - the defending-champion Red Sox. Washington is 50-28, four games up on the Bostonians. Ironically, it is native of the Boston area who is a key part of Washington's 1909 success: pitcher "Harvard" Harry Moriarty. Moriarty joins veteran Wes Luttier as 13-game winners for Washington and his 1.79 ERA is second only to Luttier's 1.44 mark on the club. Moriarty grew up in Cambridge, just across the Charles River from Boston. The 26-year-old right-hander has one confession to make: "I was always a Doves' backer anyway."


HENRY MORIARTY, WASHINGTON

[legendsport]

Heavy bidding for the services of Charlie Bowersox ended up in a deadlock with no one signing the star second sacker of the San Francisco Seals. The question now is: will someone nominate him for another round of bidding? In the meantime, the White Sox quietly inked St. Paul center fielder Jack "Jocko" Burk and now must decide whether or not to bring the 28-year-old and his .326 AA average to Chicago.

In the pennant races, the big news is that there really isn't much news. The Boston Doves continue to have a strangle hold on the top spot in the National League standings. The Beantowners have a cushy 13.5-game lead on St. Louis with a 70-28 record. They've scored 478 runs, 76 better than their next best competitor in the NL (Chicago) and nearly a hundred more than the AL's top squad (their Boston counterparts, who have 389 runs). Proving they're not one-dimensional, the Doves also have allowed a league-low 272 runs. With infielders Claude Martin (.316) and Mick O'Halloran (.314) leading the lineup, and a pitching staff anchored by the dominant Wyatt Marshall, this seems to be Boston's year.

The AL standings look pretty much the same as they did on July 1 as well, with the Washington Senators still holding off the Boston Red Sox (their lead is 3.5 games). Though the Washington nine has no hitters with a .300 average (shortstop John Carmichael's .293 is the apex of the team's batting averages), they do sport a potent pitching triumvirate with the return to form of Harlan Holladay (11-4, 1.38 ERA), the continued excellence of Wes Luttier (16-9, 1.48) and the emergence of Henry Moriarty (14-8, 2.06).

Charlie Venables of the Cincinnati club boasts the best batting mark with a .345 average, following on the heels of the 1907 and '08 campaigns where he posted robust marks of .333 and .327 respectively, showing he's no Johnny Come Lately. The AL leader would be, as usual, Boston's Sean McGonigle were it not for his having missed five weeks' of action and his .329 mark not qualifying. So the lead currently belongs to Cleveland's Nat Caudle and his .325 mark. The aforementioned Wyatt Marshall and his 21 victories are tops in either league while New York Giants' ace Aidan O'Day and his 1.18 ERA are the top in that category amongst all pitchers.

Bill Baldridge of Providence is the top batsman in the Eastern League. Just 25 years old, Baldridge should be drawing the attention of big league teams with his career .326 average. Since becoming a regular at age 22, he has posted averages of .322, .331, .338 and now .340 in 1909. Hint to the big boys: this guy can hit. Another Eastern Leaguer with a resume fit for the National or American Leagues is Newark pitcher Roger Stewart. Sure, he's 30 years old, but he's posted six straight 20-win seasons, was 23-4 with a 1.37 ERA in 1908 and this year he's leading the loop in earned run average with a 1.41. His 10-11 record can be laid at the feet of an impotent Newark batting lineup. Buffalo continues to lead the league's pennant race.

Jocko Burk, whose rights were just purchased by the Chicago White Sox, is the leading batter in the American Association with a .326 mark. Columbus' Fred Fisher is the league's best pitcher. The 33-year-old right-hander is 17-9 with a 2.23 ERA for the front-running Senators.

Charlie Bowersox, the hottest item on either coast, is leading the Pacific Coast League in hitting with a .337 average for the San Francisco Seals. Other top bats out west include Los Angeles' second baseman, Tim Clark, who sports a .326 average and Oakland's first baseman, Woody Parr, who is hitting .325 for the Oaks. Ron Finnell has a 19-7 record and 1.48 ERA - both tops in the PCL - for the first-place Angels who have a seven-game lead on the Seals.


BILL BALDRIDGE, PROVIDENCE

[legendsport]

Charlie Bowersox will head east - but not until next spring. The subject of the greatest bidding war in base ball history, the San Francisco Seals' star keystone man will move to Pittsburgh in 1910. Part of the agreement between the Seals and the Pirates was that Bowersox will remain in the Bay Area for the balance of the 1909 season (presumably because Pittsburgh doesn't have enough cash left for a train ticket after paying the hefty purchase price!). Other transactions saw the Boston Red Sox pony up for first sacker Sam Brodsky of Louisville and the Cleveland Blues purchase another American Association star in Milwaukee third baseman Ralph Stewart. Whether Brodsky or Stewart will join the September races remains to be seen.

An 8-6 fortnight by the Boston Doves coincided with a 13-2 run over the same period by the St. Louis Cardinals. Result? That once insurmountable-looking lead of Boston's has shrunk to a still-tough, but not insurmountable eight game edge on the defending National League champion Cardinals. Can St. Louis win it with a strong September? The first two weeks of the month will be telling: the Doves and Redbirds hook up for six games between the 7th and 15th of September and a strong showing by either club could be decisive in determining the National's representative to this October's World's Series.

The Red Sox have residents of the Hub hoping for an all-Boston World's Series as they went 9-5 the past two weeks to edge past Washington who posted a 7-7 mark over the same span of time. Boston currently leads by a scant half-game with a 73-51 mark to the Nationals' 72-51 record. Boston's charge has been fueled by strong pitching. Jimmy Kilrooney posted a 6-1 mark in August and is now 19-8 on the season while Dolph Manley was 5-2 in August. On the other hand, ace Gus Merritt struggled mightily in the August heat. 'The Big Horse' went 1-6 with a 3.92 ERA, far more than the stingy righty usually allows. The Boston and Washington clubs only have three meetings left this season - all in Washington, and scheduled for the final week of September.


JIMMY KILROONEY, BOSTON (A)

[legendsport]

From the New York Times, August 28, 1909:

President Winters Advises Clubs to Wipe Out Evil At Ball Games

CHICAGO, Aug. 27 - Efforts to stamp out gambling in baseball will immediately be made by the American League. President John Winters of the league, it is announced to-day, will issue a bulletin to every American League Club, calling attention to the prevalence of betting and asking each club owner to enforce to the letter the section in the league constitution prohibiting betting.

President Winters figures that in order to discourage the gamblers it may be necessary to place under arrest every one caught making bets at ball parks. If the city police cannot be trusted to enforce the order he will recommend that the club owners assign a force of private detectives to ferret out the bettors and those receiving bets.

"There is no question but that the gamblers who have been put out of business by adverse legislation agains the turf have flocked to baseball," said Mr. Winters. "It has become an evil which must be nipped now, if the game is to be kept clean. Of course, I am powerless to do anything against the handbook makers around town outside the ball grounds, and that is up to the authorities of the different cities.

"Gambling inside the American League grounds around the circuit, however, must be stopped, and at once."

[legendsport]

The American League race remains tight, but the Washington Senators have fallen off the pace a bit, struggling with a 4-8 record to start September and are now 4.5 games behind the front-running Boston Red Sox. But Boston's lead is not looking safe from the red-hot Chicago White Sox. The Chicagoans are 12-2 so far in September and are charging hard on the merits of the hot hitting Frank Gudgeon (.442, 16 runs, 13 RBI in September) and stellar pitching of Jesse Raines (5-1, 1.17 this month) and Dan Muir (3-0, 1.00 ERA in Sept.). For their part, the Red Sox are 9-4 so far and hold a one-game edge on Chicago.

The National League race appears to be essentially over. The Cardinals, who had come on strong in August to close within eight games of the Boston Doves, remain eight back two weeks later, and running out of time to catch the front-runners. The two clubs split evenly the six games they've played this month, and aside from their losses to St. Louis, Boston was 6-2, with both losses coming in a doubleheader against New York. Stanton Kilgore has been huge for the Doves, with a 4-1 mark this month and a miniscule 0.54 ERA. Cardinals' rookie George Theobald has also enjoyed a great month thus far with a 3-1 record and 0.88 ERA. Among the hitters, Milton Cumberledge (.426) and Ezekial Curl (.383) are powering an otherwise lackluster Cardinals lineup, while no one on the Doves is excelling, as their best hitter so far this month is Michael O'Halloran with a .293 average.


GEORGE THEOBALD, ST. LOUIS (N)

[legendsport]

Well, there hasn't been this much excitement in Boston since a bunch of fellows got together to dump tea into the harbor: both of the city's baseball club's have won their respective pennants and will meet in the World's Series.

No sleeper cars necessary for the travel in this series - the Boston Doves won the National League flag on the strength of an outstanding 106-48 record while their American League counterparts, the Red Sox, took home the AL flag with a tidy 93-61 mark. The Doves' incredible season spoiled an otherwise strong showing for the defending World's Series champion St. Louis Cardinals whose 99-55 record might have won a pennant in any year other than this one.

The Hub is buzzing at the prospect of having the bragging rights for baseball superiority settled within the borders of Boston. Is the Doves' well-rounded juggernaut really 13 games better than the American League's champion Red Sox? Or perhaps, the National League was "easier" than the American League, with the Red Sox having faced down strong, year-long challenges from both the Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox? That's why they play the games, folks - it'll be decided on the field.


CLAUDE MARTIN, BOSTON (N)

[legendsport]

BOSTON IS "THE HUB" OF THE BASEBALL WORLD


GEORGE HEARN
BOSTON (A)

Well, there hadn't been this much excitement in Boston since a bunch of feisty fellows got together to dump tea into the harbor: both of the city's baseball club's won their respective league's pennants and met in the first one-city World's Series.

No sleeper cars were necessary for the travel in this series - the Boston Doves won the National League flag on the strength of an outstanding 106-48 record while their American League counterparts, the Red Sox, took home the AL flag with a tidy 93-61 mark. The Doves' incredible season spoiled an otherwise strong showing for the defending World's Series champion St. Louis Cardinals whose 99-55 record might have won a pennant in any year other than this one.

The Hub was buzzing as the two clubs met for the championship of the baseball world. The Doves won the first game 8-3 behind a strong performance from short stop Henry "Tex" Mathews who contributed a four-for-five day at the bat, scoring a pair of runs and driving in three to make a winner of Quinton Holman. In game two, also on the home grounds of the Doves, the visiting Red Sox got a dominating pitching performance from young Jimmy Kilrooney. The 22-year-old allowed just three hits and one run in a 4-1 victory for the visitors. The scene shifted to the Huntington Avenue Grounds for game three and the Red Sox won a 4-3 decision as Frank Dorsey's eighth-inning single chased Sam Nurse (who had stolen second) home with the game's decisive run. In game four, it was the Doves' turn to win a close one as three runs in the seventh made a winner out of Quinton Holman for the second time in a 6-5 victory. The pivotal fifth game at Huntington Avenue Grounds went to the Doves by the lopsided margin of 13-4, putting the National League champs within a victory of the Series title. Game six was a classic pitching duel and was knotted at 1-1 into the 12th inning. The Red Sox plated four runs to go up 5-1, and though the Doves fought back in the bottom half of the inning, they could only muster one run and the Red Sox took the game 5-2 to tie the Series at three games apiece.

The decisive game seven was another nail-biter. The Doves had Quinton Holman on the hill - and he had already won two games for the National League titlists. The Red Sox countered with their ace, Gus Merritt. "The Big Horse" had come out on the losing side in both of his previous efforts against Holman, and gave up a run in the first to put the Doves on top. Holman held strong, with each pitcher putting goose eggs on the scoreboard. With the game still 1-0 in the eighth, the Red Sox finally got to Holman. George Hearn singled with one out and then put on a daring show as he stole both second and third before scoring on a single by Maurice Foley. With the game tied, a visibly rattled Holman gave up another single, this time to Frank Dorsey. Harvey Stringfellow, running for Foley, scampered to third. With one out and runners on the corners, RF Aeolus Giddings singled up the middle, scoring Stringfellow. Holman retired the side without further damage, but the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead and Merritt made it stand up for the first championship for the Boston Red Sox.

[legendsport]

TERRIBLE TOMMY LEADS CARDINALS TO WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP

The 1910 season was another exciting one in baseball. Though the National League's race was decided early, the American League put together another interesting pennant race.

St. Louis had a dominating season in the National League, returning to the top after ceding their championship to the Boston Doves in 1909. Not only did the Cards boast the top hitter in all of baseball in outfielder Milt Cumberledge who hit .363, but they also had their top pitcher, Tommy Powell, win pitching's Triple Crown. Powell led the loop in wins with a 28-11 record, in earned run average with a 1.74 mark, and completed the trifecta with a league-best 276 strikeouts. For his career, the 34-year-old Powell finished 1909 with a 196-87 record and a sterling 1.68 ERA. Other standout performances in the Senior Circuit included a .351 average for Cincinnati's Dave Payne, who was on his way to challenging Cumberledge before a devastating knee injury ended his season on August 27, Cumby's Cardinal team mate Ezekial Curl, who hit .337 and Brooklyn's Ed Mays, might have earned the nickname "Home Run" after recording 17 circuit clouts and also tallying 116 RBIs with the former topping both leagues and the latter just one behind Aeolus Giddings of the Boston Red Sox who led the American League.

Speaking of the Boston Red Sox, the defending champions had their hands full down the stretch in a neck-and-neck race for the American League pennant with the Chicago White Sox. In the end, the Chicagoans couldn't quite get there, finishing with 98 victories - one less than the 99 posted by Boston, which gave the Beantowners three straight AL pennants and set up a rematch of the 1908 World Series they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a chance for revenge. The Red Sox boasted a deep and talented roster, led by the AL hitting champion, Sean McGonigle (.338) and the aforementioned Aeolus Giddings, the hard-hitting right fielder whose 117 RBIs were the best in either major league and whose .315 average was tied for third on the club with Frank Dorsey (.321) ahead of him and Sam Brodsky tied. The Red Sox pitching was a three-headed attack led by 25-game winner Gus "The Big Horse" Merritt, followed by twin 24-game winners Nate Allen and Dolph Manley. All three right-handers posted ERAs near two runs per game.

The World Series opened in Boston, and the Red Sox picked up an extra-inning 3-2 victory as Archie Ledbetter scored on an error by St. Louis second baseman Cal Beamer in the home half of the tenth frame. Game two was a different matter. St. Louis pitcher George Theobald was dominant, allowing just two hits in shutting out the Red Sox while the Cards managed to record 13 hits off Boston ace Gus Merritt for a 4-0, series-tying victory. The scene shifted to St. Louis for game three and the Cards wasted no time in getting their bats working as they shellacked Boston pitching for 23 hits and 16 runs in a 16-6 win to take a 2-1 edge. Game four saw the Red Sox take a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth. But the Cardinals scored five runs from there and won 7-5 to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead in the Series. In game five, the Red Sox sent Lafayette Leroux to the mound against George Theobald in a must-win game. "Fats" pitched well, but Theobald was better, winning his second game of the Series by a 4-3 margin to complete the Cardinals' victory.

GEORGE THEOBALD
ST. LOUIS (N)

[legendsport]

MCCULLOUGH WINS PITCHING TRIPLE CROWN, BUT GIANTS TAKE THE CAKE


BILL MCCULLOUGH
CHICAGO (A)

1911 quite possibly represented a changing of the guard as one league offered up a first-time pennant winner while the other saw a return to the top by a former powerhouse. It was also a good year for individual performances as one of the league's top players posted a pitching Triple Crown and a pedigreed, fresh-faced rookie in the Eastern League raised some eyebrows at the ripe old age of 17 while the hottest thing on the West Coast finally punched a ticket East, raising expectations for 1912.

The 1911 pennant races started off with a bang. The Red Sox, thrice-defending champions of the American League, came out of the gate strong behind the game's top hitting lineup. With names such as Sean McGonigle, Sammy Brodsky, Frank Dorsey, Charley Dunham, Gus Hearn and Aeolus Gidding, the Sox came out swinging. But they faced a new challenge from the Cleveland Blues. Manager Tom Ewart's charges included such stalwarts as Nat Caudle, James Kirk and Dick Paper, and the team finished atop the AL in batting with a .285 composite average (Boston's was .284), but also could pitch. The ace, Larry Singer, no spring chicken at 34, still managed a 31-win season, but he also had ample support in Justin Tapp (26-11), George Huntington (17-9, 2.08 ERA) and Kevin Spitzer who battled injuries in posting a 16-12 record. Boston could not match the Blues, and fell to third with an 87-67 record, 17 games behind the stellar 104-50 record of Cleveland. The runner-up position went to perennial bridesmaid Chicago. The White Sox (90-64) posted their fourth-straight 90+ win season... and fourth straight second-place finish. The bright spot for the Chicago South Siders was the Triple Crown performance of star pitcher Bill McCullough who emerged as a bona fide shut-down ace at the age of 25 with a 31-11 record, 1.68 ERA and 312 strikeouts - all tops in either league (the 31 wins equalled Singer of Cleveland).


In the National League, the 1911 season saw a return to dominance by the New York Giants. The one-time dynasty of the Giants had tapered a bit; after their fourth-straight pennant in 1905, the New Yorkers finished 3rd twice and 2nd three times. In 1911, they won 96 games and reclaimed the National League pennant - the sixth to fly over the Polo Grounds. As in the "old days" of the early part of the aughts, the Giants won with a dazzling mix of top-notch pitching (their 2.61 team ERA was the best in either league) coupled with solid hitting. 27-year-old Ray Shannon emerged as the ace, posting a 24-7 record and league-best 1.96 ERA. Tom Brooks and Chuck Flinn contributed 19 victories apiece and the only holdover from the salad days of 1905, Aidan O'Day, was 17-15 with a 3.26 ERA to give the staff a veteran presence. Third baseman Erwin Hester, who had hit .248 for the 1905 champs, contributed a team-best .320 for the 1911 edition. First baseman Greg Hill, who debuted in 1906 and missed all the fun, was top RBI man with 112 while also leading the team with 13 round trippers.

In the World Series, the Clevelanders thrilled their home fans and took the first game with two runs in the seventh of game one and a stellar pitching performance by Singer in a 3-2 win over New York's Mike Jay, who had taken O'Day's rotation spot down the stretch. The Cleveland rooters went home disappointed after game two - a 7-3 win for the Giants behind a solid performance from Brooks on the mound and Hester at the plate. When the scene shifted east to the Polo Grounds, the Clevelanders returned the favor, pounding Chuck Flinn in a 12-4 win for George Huntington. Game four was a rematch of the opener, and this time Jay was dominant, throwing a 7-hit shutout to outduel Singer by the score of 3-0. The Giants seized the initiative in game five with a powerful 11-5 win, the second win for Brooks in the Series. The Series shifted back to Cleveland for game six, and the Blues won 7-3 to tie the Series at three apiece and force a deciding seventh game. Alas, the Cleveland fans, so long starved for success, went home sad as Jay again was dominant in 4-1 victory over Singer, giving the Giants their second World Series title.

In the minors, a young man named Joel Faulk drew the attention of the big league magnates with a surprisingly strong professional debut for Rochester of the Eastern League. His pedigree was solid - young Joel was the son of Brooklyn Dodger manager and former star player Alexander Faulk. It was on his father's recommendation that the youngster from Alabama was inked to a contract by the Hustlers. Though injuries cost him a large chunk of the season, young Faulk hit .326 and raised eyebrows. Expectations were expected to be high for Joel when his contract was purchased - not by his father's Dodgers - but by the Cincinnati Reds, where he would debut in 1912.

Another, more seasoned, minor league star also made big news in 1911. Mike Womble of the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League had been drawing the attention of big league clubs for two years, but none had yet been able to pry him from Vernon. That changed in 1911. In the midst of another strong PCL showing (league-best .373 average with 105 RBI), Womble's contract for 1912 was purchased by the St. Louis Browns for whom the 24-year-old right fielder was expected to make a big splash.

JOEL FAULK
ROCHESTER (EL)

[legendsport]

THE FUTURE IS NOW: BIG DEBUTS BY WOMBLE & BOGARD


MIKE WOMBLE
ST. LOUIS (A)

The wait was certainly worth it. For two years teams in both the National and American Leagues had been scrambling to get the rights to a particularly talented outfielder in the Pacific Coast League. His name: Mike Womble. The reason? He might be the best player in all of baseball. In late 1911, the St. Louis Browns purchased Womble from the Vernon Tigers. In 1910 for Vernon - in his first season as a professional - Womble hit a tidy .337 with 155 runs and 122 batted in (he played 209 games in the lengthy PCL season). In 1911, he improved his average to a eye-popping .373 and had baseball fans from Boston to St. Louis salivating at the thought of having him in their club's uniform. In 1912, in the Browns' uniform, Womble put together the most staggering debut in baseball history, hitting .396, while drawing 100 walks (for an on-base percentage of .497), stealing 115 bases, scoring 126 runs and driving home 94. Best of all for the fans of St. Louis, he did this for a pennant-winner as the Browns took home the AL flag for the first time in club history.

The Browns' run away victory (they led by double-digits most of the second half of the season) was not a one-man show as the St. Louis nine got quality contributions from third baseman Sam Nunley (.319-0-101), center fielder Bob Keil (.313-3-64) and second baseman Jasper Crutchfield (.301-1-73). The pitching was none-too-shabby either: ace Dusty Magoon won 27 games with a 2.62 ERA and was backed up by Cuban-import Juan Rodriguez (21-11, 2.82) and youngster Al Blevins (19-13, 3.26). The formula was good enough for a 93-61 record and ten-game margin over the second-place Washington Senators.

The National League was once again the playground of the New York Giants, who put together a monster season in the Polo Grounds. While the Browns lead was never seriously challenged after the first month of the season, the Giants' supremacy was even more marked. The Goliaths of Gotham won 103 games with a dazzling blend of pitching, defense and offense. The team's top hitter was Tom Bogard, a 25-year-old left fielder whose rookie season was overshadowed by that of Womble, but was nonetheless outstanding as he led the club in batting (.381), home runs (11) and runs batted in (96). Bogard was supported by 32-year-old veteran RF Paul Samples (.325-2-48) and 30-year-old rookie catcher George Turgeon (.305-4-89). The pitching was outstanding with Mike Jay (28-6, 2.66) emerging as the ace, Ray Shannon (26-3, 2.46) excellent again and John Knisely (22-8, 2.58) giving New York a triumvirate of pitchers unequaled in baseball. With Aidan O'Day and Chuck Flinn also on the staff, the pitching in New York was historically outstanding. The Giants finished 14 games ahead of Boston in the NL race to repeat as league champions.

The Fall Classic got underway in New York's Polo Grounds on October 8th. The Giants eked out a 3-2 victory behind sterling pitching from ace Mike Jay who struck out 8 batters, allowed 8 hits and just 1 earned run while walking no one in outlasting Browns' ace Dusty Magoon, who struck out 9 and allowed 9 hits. It was an eventful ninth inning as the Browns plated one in the top half and the inning ended with Frank Bradshaw being gunned down at home plate in attempt to give the Browns a 3-2 edge. With the score tied at 2 and two outs in the bottom half of the inning, the Giants' sent pinch-hitter Dave Wagner to the plate for Jay and the 'Davenport Dove' came through with a single to score pinch-runner Dicky Ward with the game-winning run.

The second game was a wild affair, with the matchup needing extra innings to reach a conclusion. Unlike the first game, neither starting pitcher was effective and both offenses had a field day. New York's Eli Hathaway was 5-for-5 with 4 RBI and St. Louis' Thurgood Edwards also had 4 RBI on a 3-for-6 day. But it was veteran Paul Samples who delivered victory to the Giants with a 10th-inning triple to score pitcher Tom Brooks with the winning run.

The scene shifted to St. Louis' Sportsman's Park for game three and the late-inning heroics continued. The Browns scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth as the pitching was again ineffective for both clubs in an 8-7 win for the Browns to give them continued hope in the Series. Paul Samples continued his torrid hitting for the Giants with a 3-for-4 day to raise his Series average to .533 while St. Louis third baseman Ben Reaves posted a 3-for-4 himself. It was St. Louis' veteran Otis Chesterfield who came through in the clutch this time, as he delivered a two-run, game-winning double in the ninth.

Game four was a rematch of the first game, with Mike Jay again outpitching Dusty Magoon in a 5-1 victory for the Giants. The win put New York on the cusp of a repeat World Championship. Jay was again masterful, sprinkling 7 hits and 3 walks while allowing just the one run. Magoon walked four and allowed 10 hits in 7 innings of work in which he allowed five runs (four earned).

Facing the end of their season, the Browns played a flawless game in game five to ensure that even if the Giants won, it wouldn't be in Sportsman's Park. Juan Rodriguez came up big in his second Series start after failing in game two. The Cuban import allowed 7 hits and walked three in eight innings, but did not allow a run a 5-0 win for the Browns. The victory sent the Series back to New York with the Giants leading three games to two.

Game Six saw the Series return to the pattern of the first few games with late inning heroics again playing a decisive role. Things looked bad for the Browns as John Knisely shut them out for the first eight innings while the Giants touched St. Louis starter Al Blevins for three runs on ten hits in those same eight innings. In the ninth, the Browns struck when the Giants replaced Knisely with Tom Brooks. A walk and out were followed by a single. Brooks got the second out, but then allowed the first Browns run of the game on a double by Ken Bandy. A two-run single by Frank Bradshaw tied the game at three before Brooks retired Nunley on a strikeout. In the home half, the Giants again appeared to be destiny's darlings. Samples drew a leadoff walk against reliever Henny von Loen. Greg Hill followed with a single and moved pinch-runner Dicky Ward to second. Catcher George Turgeon hit a ball to short that second baseman Nunley wasn't able to turn, setting up runners at the corners with one out. That brought rookie star Bogard to the plate. On a 1-1 count, Bogard shot a grounder that Browns' shortstop Clyde Verret could not turn into an out, and Ward scored with the Championship-winning run.

In the minor leagues, the Eastern League rechristened itself as the International League, no doubt playing upon the fact that for years two of the league's eight clubs had been based in Canada. One of those clubs - the Toronto Maple Leafs - was involved in the pennant race, but ultimately failed to win the title, finishing five games behind the champion Baltimore Orioles (86-54). Baltimore featured the league's top hitter in shortstop Elliot Kessler. The 31-year-old Kessler hit .371 for the Orioles. Baltimore also boasted the league's top pitcher in Christy Shelley. Shelley, a 32-year-old right hander, led the league in victories (24) and in earned run average (1.85). The well-rounded Orioles also had one of the league's top rookies in catcher Ray Mathes. The 24-year-old freshman backstop hit .348 and drove in 85 runs.

The American Association followed the lead of the major leagues in having a powerhouse club dominate the pennant race. In the Association's case it was Louisville who posted a 101-53 record and finished 17 games better than the defending champion Columbus club which finished second. The Colonels were led by centerfielder Paul Preece whose .404 average was the best in any of the top three minor circuits. Toledo's Johnny Poe was voted the best hitter in the league with a .388 average that included 205 hits, 20 triples, 13 home runs and 123 runs scored. Hank Schultz of the Colonels was the top rookie after the right fielder helped Louisville to the pennant with a .366 average, 103 runs scored and 133 runs batted in. And the top pitcher in the loop was Indianapolis Indians' pitcher Lee Duty who was 22-9 with a 2.31 ERA for a club which finished a distant fourth in the pennant race.

Out west the hitting void left by Womble's departure for St. Louis was ably filled by Sacramento star Bill Burger. The 22-year-old right fielder amassed a staggering 310 hits in 830 at-bats for a .373 average. He added 30 doubles, 32 triples, 13 home runs and 157 walks in the 218 games he played in the iron man PCL season. Despite Burger's olympian efforts Sacramento finished third, fourteen games behind the pennant-winning Portland club which posted a 131-95 record. The Beavers won on their strong pitching as they boasted the circuit's top winner in Bob Sattler (34-13) and top ERA-man in Edgar Risner (2.34).

TOM BOGARD
NEW YORK (N)

[legendsport]

The 1913 season is underway and there have been some interesting things going on. The twice-defending champion New York Giants had a Jekyll-and-Hyde month in April. At home they posted a tidy 7-1 record, looking every inch the champions that they are, but away from the Polo Grounds, the New Yorkers managed a meager 1-9 mark, leaving them at 8-10 and in sixth-place. It is still very early though, so that 8-10 mark has them just three games behind the first-place Boston Braves.

The Giants' opponents in the 1912 World Series, the AL champion St. Louis Browns, looked good out of the gate, finishing April atop the American League with a 12-6 mark, two games ahead of Chicago and the surprising Philadelphia Athletics. The Browns are employing the formula that won the pennant in 1912 (and why not?): strong pitching led by ace Dusty Magoon (4-1, 2.29) and good hitting from Mike Womble (.333) and Jasper Crutchfield (.508).

[legendsport]

Gonna update this to bring it back up-to-date with where the league currently sits in May of 1917.

[legendsport]

There was a changing of the guard in both Major Leagues in 1913. The powerhouse St. Louis Browns and New York Giants were both supplanted as the kings of their respective leagues. In the case of the Browns, the surprisingly powerful Philadelphia Athletics arose from the second division to capture the pennant, while the Giants fell to their in-town rivals from Brooklyn, who gratifyingly emerged from the large shadow cast by their Manhattan-based competitors.

The American League champion Philadelphia Athletics' climb to the top was as unlikely as it was surprising. True, the A's boast one of the game's top players in shortstop Newt Madewell, and Madewell had his usual sterling season (.345 avg, 111 runs, 96 walks. But there was more to the AL champs than "The Texas Rose." First baseman Fred Lewis rapped out a .340 average while centerfielder Zeke Warren contributed a .329 average and 18 triples. The pitching was strong as well - the A's featured two 21-game winners in Hop Johnson (21-14, 2.55 ERA) and Al Steele (21-12, 3.00) and third starter Frank Chandler also had a good season (18-8, 2.87). But there was also that much-sought, rarely-found ingredient to success - luck: the A's finished a mere one game ahead of the Browns and placed second to St. Louis in both offense and pitching, both scoring fewer and giving up more runs than the Browns, yet winning 93 games and capturing the pennant.

Likewise, the Brooklyn Dodgers successful season was a surprise. Brooklyn had often gotten off to a fast start only to falter down the stretch while the Giants, Braves, Pirates and other NL powers simply played a steady and strong game all season long and captured pennants doing it. This time around, the Dodgers maintained the pace after another strong start, and held off all comers over the length of yet another in a string of brutal National League races, finishing with a rather modest 89 victories. Five of the eight NL clubs all posted 80 or more wins in 1913, but it was Brooklyn who won the most. The Dodgers featured only middling pitching (fourth-best in runs allowed in the circuit) and slightly better than average offense (4.5 runs per game, third best in a league where the average was 4.4 runs per game). But with established star shortstop Gene Wilbanks (.336), rightfielder Ed Fleetwood (.325) and center fielder Paul Preece (.325), the Dodgers offense was good enough to get the job done. The same could be said for the pitching where only ace Charley Exley was outstanding (21-11, league-best 2.05 ERA). But in the end, the victories are all that matter and the Dodgers' 89 of those were three more than the Pirates, four more than the Braves and most gratifying of all for Dodger fans, five better than the Giants.


CHARLEY EXLEY, BROOKLYN

The Fall Classic began in Philadelphia, where a fine pitcher's duel between Dodgers' ace Charley Exley and the Athletics' Al Steele emerged. A sixth-inning RBI single by Dodger second baseman Pat Cronin drove him what turned out to the third and final run in a 2-1 victory for Brooklyn as they drew first blood in the Series. Game two, also in Philadelphia, had an identical 2-1 result in another pitcher's duel between Frank Chandler of Philadelphia and Brooklyn's Fred Staab. The main difference this time was that it was the Athletics who had two runs as they tied the Series at a game apiece.

The scene shifted to Brooklyn's brand-new Ebbets Field for games three, four and five. In game three, the Athletics took advantage of two key Dodger errors in the eighth to break open a 3-3 game with four runs and win 7-3. Game four was a wild affair in which both clubs tallied 17 hits, there were six total errors (four by the Dodgers) and it took a tenth-inning to determine a victor. That victor was again Philadelphia as they reeled off their third straight to take a commanding three-games-to-one advantage. The Dodgers returned Charley Exley to the mound for a rematch of game one and again their ace came through with a dominating performance in a 3-1 win to force the Series back to Philadelphia.

In Philly, the Dodgers got off to a quick start, plating two runs in the first off Chandler, but the lead was short-lived as Fred Staab allowed four runs by the home team in the bottom of the first. Each club would score two more runs and the Dodgers had a run in and the tying run at the plate in the ninth, but Dave Richardson's grounder to Newt Madewell ended the Series and brought the Championship to the City of Brotherly Love.

The International League's Rochester Hustlers were the toast of the circuit in 1913, as they rode a strong season by John Casey Jr., who led the league in home runs with 11 and runs batted in with 96 as well as hitting a solid .294 for a club which won 86 games and finished 14 games ahead of second-place Buffalo. The top batter in the loop was Baltimore's Calvin James. The man with two first names led the league in hitting at .340 and also walked 100 times for a stellar .440 on-base average. Fast Freddie Ray of Rochester was the top pitcher, leading in victories (21) and strikeouts (221) while placing sixth in ERA (2.17).

Kansas City ruled the American Association with a 91-63 record, good for a seven-game cushion over second-place St. Paul. The Blues featured the best pitcher in the circuit in Walter Brown. Just 22 years old, Brown - who the local wags have taken to calling the "The Humboldt Humdinger" (he's from Humboldt, Tennessee), posted a league-best 1.61 ERA in winning 19 games while losing just seven. Columbus catcher Chester Davis was the league's top batter. The 22-year-old finished second in average (.324) and also posted a solid .401 on-base percentage and finished with 20 doubles, 15 triples and 10 home runs.

The Pacific Coast League, having suffered the loss of stellar hitters Mike Womble and Bill Burger in back-to-back seasons, could have been expected to see a marked drop-off in batting in 1913. But that was not the case as stalwart batters such as Tommy Russell stepped forward to fill the vacuum. Russell posted a league-topping .336 average - making him four-for-four in his PCL career topping the .300 mark. He also swiped 102 bases - the third-time he's done that in four years. The question now is this: will the 26-year-old second baseman become the next in the line of Coast League stars to head east for the big time? Russell's San Francisco Seals captured the pennant in a tight-race with Portland, so if "The Carlsbad Kid" does head east, he'll be missed in the Bay Area.


NEWT MADEWELL, PHILA. (AL)

[legendsport]

1914 proved to be an interesting season. There was a brand new challenger to the Major League status quo as the Federal League took the field as a third major league circuit, with repercussions that swept throughout the baseball establishment. Like all new leagues, the Feds began with grandiose dreams, high hopes and plenty of money. A Chicago-based business magnate, Jim Kenneally, painted a rosy picture of baseball as a financial windfall just waiting to be grasped and rounded up backing for eight new franchises in his brand new circuit. Among Kenneally's group were prominent industrialists such as Henry Kaiser, James Vandergrift and Hugh Simmons.

Some older players saw the Feds as a way to cash one last paycheck and took it. Former New York Giants star Aidan O'Day came out of retirement to pitch for Simmons' Brooklyn Tip-Tops. Another former Giants star, Dave Davenport grabbed some of Vandergrift's cash by signing on with the Chicago entry. And long-time Browns outfield standout Otis Chesterfield headed east and signed on with Kaiser's Baltimore Terrapins.But arguably the player with the most impact was not an "over-the-hill" fading star but a man in his prime: Ransom Miller, the Washington Senators shortstop who jumped to the Buffalo club, hit .343, scored 100 runs and led the Buffeds to the first Federal League pennant with a 97-57 record.

The ripple effect of the Federal League was felt throughout the rest of baseball - particularly in the National and American Leagues. In the National, the big story was the return to power of the New York Giants. The on-again, off-again dynasty was definitely on-again in New York. The Giants racked up 107 victories and won the pennant by a whopping 20-game margin over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants dominated the league with powerful all-around play that led the loop in runs scored (701), runs allowed (462) and defense (.969 fielding percentage). The pitching was ably led by John Knisely who appears to be a shoo-in for top pitcher honors with league leading marks in wins (26) and earned run average (1.59). Knisely was merely the icing on the cake as he was joined in the 20-win club by Walt Reed (21-11, 1.96), Mike Jay (23-9, 2.22) and Harry Ransom Jr. (20-7, 1.92). Young Mr. Ransom proved to be an able hitter as well - playing the outfield regularly in the season's closing weeks and going 23-for-74 (.311) with 15 runs, 12 RBIs, 2 triples and 4 home runs.


JOHN KNISELY, NEW YORK (NL)

For their part, the Cardinals will have to be satisfied with the continuing stellar play of Milton Cumberledge. Cumby continues to move up the hitting charts as he posted his ninth straight 200+ hit season (with 223), led the world in average with a .345 mark and increased his career total of safeties to 3339, a number which puts Tom Ewart's career-mark of 3543 within the crosshairs. With Francis Esterhouse and Claude Martin (both of whom ahead of Cumby) looking like they are essentially done being top-line players, the 34-year-old Cumberledge looks to have a realistic chance to become baseball's first 4000-hit man.

In the American League, the big news was the sudden rise of the New York Yankees. The poor relations of the powerhouse Giants in the nation's largest city, the Highlanders/Yankees had finished last in the AL five teams - including the last three seasons straight. But they turned it around in 1914, winning 95 games and finishing nine games ahead of Cleveland for the first pennant in club history. Like the Giants, the Yankees scored the most runs in their league (653), but they did not lead the league in runs allowed. The stars for the Yanks are infielders Joe Standley and Larry Tapp. Standley finished as the AL batting champ with a .333 average while Tapp led the category most of the season before slumping to a still-impressive .319 mark. The pitching is thin - the Yankees may be the first pennant winner with a 20-game loser in the rotation: Ned Porter who was 18-20, 2.90.

The biggest difference between the National and American Leagues and the Federal League was that the former pair would pit their champions against each other in the World Series. The Feds, for their part, could point to the Buffalo club and campaign for a matchup with the World Series winner (which they did - and which did not happen), or trumpet the accomplishments of Indianapolis catcher Tad Sampson - a heretofore unknown who burst onto the scene with a .373 average as being baseball's "batting champion" since Cumberledge's average of .345 topped both the NL and AL. But in the end, the focus of baseball fans across the nation fell on New York as the Giants and Yankees collided in the 1914 World Series.

That World Series looked as if it might be a lopsided affair. The Giants had won 107 games, leading their league in virtually every category and boasting what was generally considered to be the best pitching staff in baseball with four 20-game winners. The Yankees were overachievers, rising above three straight last-place finishes to win a surprising pennant and could have been excused for settling for the AL pennant. In the end, the outcome surprised everyone as the Yankees defeated the Giants in six games to claim the World's Championship. The Yankees won game one in the Polo Grounds by a score of 4-2, defeating the great John Knisely, then dropped the next two with the Giants dominating them in a 10-0 blanking in game three on their own field. But the young Yankees showed resilience as they again beat Knisely in game four, and followed that up with an 8-7 win in game five. The Yankees completed their magical season with a 3-1 win in game six. The hero of the World Series was pitcher Clarence Bristol, who won 3 of the 4 games and also took a loss as he appeared in four of the six games.


TAD SAMPSON, INDIANAPOLIS (FL)

[legendsport]

1915 proved to be a momentous year - and not just in baseball. In Europe, the war that every soldier believed would be over "before the leaves fell" in 1914 was now mired down in a bloody stalemate. Likewise, the baseball war that had begun in 1914 with the launch of the Federal League was also stalemated in 1915 - though the Feds had opened a second front when they sued Organized Baseball under Federal Anti-Trust Law on January 15, 1915. This case would have long reaching repercussions that no one could have foreseen.

In other Fed-related news, the franchise in Indianapolis was shifted east to Newark, New Jersey. Like Baltimore, Newark had an International League franchise as well. In perhaps a foreshadowing of what was to come for the Feds, the IL Newark club stayed put while the Baltimore Orioles had earlier shifted to Richmond, Virginia in deference to the Federal League's Terrapins.

On the field, the Feds had themselves a rip-roaring pennant race which came down to the wire before the St. Louis Terriers could edge out the Newark Peppers by one game to claim the championship. The batting champion was 22-year-old shortstop Topsy Huggins with a .341 average for Kansas City (which finished seventh) while the pitching honors went to Walter Brown, who moved east to Newark with his former Indy team mates and didn't miss a beat. He led the league in earned run average with a 1.26 mark - the runner-up posted a 2.07 mark and was 17-5 in his 28 starts after missing two months with an ankle injury.


WALTER BROWN, NEWARK (FL)

There was big news in the established leagues as well. Chicago Cub veteran Frank Esterhouse became baseball's all-time hits king when he doubled in a game against the Braves on September 23rd. Esterhouse finished the season with 3550 hits, seven more than Tom Ewart. How long he holds the record is in doubt as the incomparable Milt Cumberledge notched the 3500th hit of his career - and the last of the 1915 season - on October 6th. At 35 years old, Cumby is two years younger than Esterhouse and also much more skillful with the bat at this stage in their respective careers.

The New York Giants were once again the powerhouse of the National League. The Giants won 101 games and finished with a 17-game edge on the second-place Philadelphia Phillies (84-70). The Pirates finished third with an 80-74 record, followed by the Cardinals (78-76) and Braves (77-77) among teams with at least a .500 winning percentage. Rounding out the standings were the sixth-place Dodgers (67-87), seventh-place Cubs (66-88) and the cellar-dwelling Reds with a 63-91 mark.

It was also New York - Philadelphia in the AL as the Yankees also defended their pennant, winning 96 games and finishing 16 games ahead of the Athletics (80-74). The Indians (79-75) and White Sox (78-76) also posted winning records with the Browns (75-79), Senators (74-80), Red Sox (73-81) and Tigers (61-93) completing the standings table.


FRANCIS ESTERHOUSE, CHICAGO (NL)

If the pennant races were runaways the batting races were not. The AL champion was Mike Womble of the Browns who posted a .345 mark to finish just ahead of Calvin James (.343) of the Yankees. The National League's race was even tighter with Tom Bogard of the Giants and Johnny Poe of the Cubs finishing in a dead heat at .335 apiece. Bogard's 170-for-508 mark came out to .334646 while Poe's 186-for-556 came out to .334523, giving the batting title to Bogard. It was a tremendous season for the 27-year-old Bogard: he led the league in batting, collected 30 doubles, 20 triples and 14 home runs and drove in 100 runs despite missing three weeks with a sprained ankle.

Pitching was interesting as for the first-time ever no National Leaguer managed to notch 20 victories. The leader in the Senior Circuit was Dave Millikin of the Phillies with 19 - which he notched on September 1st with a shutout of the Braves. After dropping his next start to the Cardinals, Millikin suffered a shoulder injury and was done for the season. The Phillie left-hander, dubbed "The Macon Magician" also led the circuit in earned run average with a 1.73 mark.

The American League pitching story was all about Cleveland's Walter Stevens. The 26-year-old right-hander showed he is both good and consistently good. In 1914, his first season with the Indians after pitching in the Coast League, Stevens posted a 25-14 record and 2.04 ERA. In 1915, he provided a remarkably similar encore with a 23-15 mark and 2.09 ERA. Both the 23 victories and 2.09 ERA led the AL.

In the World Series, the Giants continued their dominant ways - and earned revenge for the surprising defeat dealt them by the Yankees in 1914. With both teams playing at the Polo Grounds, no travel was necessary in what turned out to be a very short series: the Giants swept their co-tenants in four games to lay claim to the franchise's record fifth World Series Championship. Tom Bogard starred again for the Giants, going 6-for-17 in the Series for a .353 average. And in the post-Series celebration, Tom introduced another Bogard - Jimmy, his 23-year-old brother - who tore up the Central League to the tune of .422 in 1915 and just might be heading for the big leagues in 1916.


TOM BOGARD, NEW YORK (NL)