1900: Precursor to World Series

1900: Precursor to World Series

[paypal_donation_button]1900: Precursor to World Series

The World Series officially began in 1903, just 2 years after the American League formed, and it was an event that pitted the champions from the American and National Leagues against each other to determine which team was truly the best in baseball. In 1900 there was a fascinating precursor to the World Series that offered baseball fans a postseason experience. The Chronicle-Telegraph Cup was a challenge cup created by the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph newspaper, and a best-of-5 series would be payed by the 2 best teams in the National League for the right to claim the special silver cup.

The Brooklyn Superbas went 82-54 in the 1904 regular season, finishing 1st in the National League and finishing 4.5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Superbas went 43-26 at their home ballpark Washington Park and went 39-28 on the road.

Right fielder Willie Keeler batted .362 with 4 home runs and 68 RBI’s off 204 hits, 13 doubles, 12 triples and 41 stolen bases. Left fielder Joe Kelley batted .319 with 6 home runs and 91 RBI’s off 145 hits, 23 doubles, 17 triples and 26 stolen bases. Second baseman Tom Daly batted .312 with 4 home runs, 107 hits, 17 doubles and 27 stolen bases. Center fielder Fielder Jones batted .310 with 4 home runs, 171 hits, 26 doubles and 33 stolen bases. Third baseman Lafayette “Lave” Cross batted .293 with 4 home runs and 67 RBI’s off 135 hits, 14 doubles and 20 stolen bases. Catcher Charles “Duke” Farrell batted .275 with 75 hits and 11 doubles in 76 games.

First baseman Hughie Jennings batted .272 with 69 RBI’s, 120 hits, 18 doubles and 31 stolen bases. Shortstop Bill Dahlen had 69 RBI’s, 125 hits, 16 doubles, 11 triples and 31 stolen bases. Reserve left fielder Jimmy Sheckard batted .300 with 82 hits, 19 doubles, 10 triples and 30 stolen bases in 85 games. Catcher James “Deacon” McGuire batted .286 with 69 hits and 15 doubles in 71 games.

Starting pitcher Joe McGinnity went 28-8 with 93 strikeouts and a 2.94 ERA, recording 32 complete games and 1 shutout. William “Brickyard” Kennedy went 20-13 with 75 strikeouts and a 3.91 ERA, recording 26 complete games and 2 shutouts. Frank Kitson went 15-13 with 21 complete games and 2 shutouts. Relief pitcher Harry Howell went 6-5 with a 3.75 ERA, recording 7 complete games and 2 shutouts.

Finishing in 2nd place in the National League were the Pittsburgh Pirates, who went 79-60. In head-to-head play against the Supebras, the Pirates went 11-8-1 in the regular season. The Pirates went 42-28 at their home ballpark Exposition Park and went 37-32 on the road. Right fielder John “Honus” Wagner batted .381 with 4 home runs and 100 RBI’s off 201 hits, 45 doubles, 22 triples and 38 stolen bases. Catcher Charles “Chief” Zimmer batted .295 with 80 hits and 10 triples in 82 games. Second baseman Claude Ritchey batted .292 with 67 RBI’s, 139 hits, 17 doubles and 18 stolen bases.

First baseman Tom O’Brien batted .290 with 61 RBI’s, 109 hits, 22 doubles and 12 stolen bases. Center fielder Clarence “Ginger” Beaumont batted .279 with 158 hits, 14 doubles and 27 stolen bases. Left fielder Fred Clarke batted .276 with 110 hits, 15 doubles, 12 triples and 21 stolen bases. Third baseman Jimmy Williams had 5 home runs and 68 RBI’s off 110 hits, 15 doubles, 11 triples and 18 stolen bases. Shortstop William “Bones” Ely had 116 hits in 130 games.

Starting pitcher Charles “Deacon” Phillippe went 20-13 with 75 strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA, recording 29 complete games and 1 shutout. Hesse Tannehill went 20-6 with a 2.88 ERA, recording 23 complete games and 2 shutouts. Sam Leever went 15-13 with 84 strikeouts and a 2.71 ERA, recording 25 complete games and 3 shutouts. Jack Chesbro went 15013 with a 3.67 ERA, recording 20 complete games and 3 shutouts. George “Rube” Waddell had a 2.37 ERA, 16 complete games and 2 shutouts despite going 8-13.

In the 4 games that were played for the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup, Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park would be the hosting site. In Game 1 on October 15 the Brooklyn Superbas won 5-2. Joe Mcginnity pitched 8 innings and gave up only 3 hits. The Pirates were woeful on defense as both Tom O’Brien and Jimmy Williams played very poorly, committing 4 errors together. Every Superba in the starting lineup got at least 1 hit. In the top of the 8th inning McGinnity would be caught in a run down with Waddell between third base and home plate, and unfortunately for McGinnity his temple would strike against Waddell’s knee accidentally. This in part led to McGinnity losing focus on the mound and giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

In Game 2 on October 16 the Superbas beat the Pirates again 4-2, and the story remained the same for Pittsburgh as they continued to play poorly on defense. Williams ended up committing 4 of the team’s 6 errors in this game. In the top of the 2nd inning Leever walked lead-off batter Joe Kelley, and then threw the ball into the stands, promptly allowing Kelley to advance all the way to third base. After Lave Cross was put out, Tom Daly hit a sacrifice fly to score Kelley. However, despite giving up 7 hits, Leever did record 4 strikeouts. In the top of the 6th Brooklyn scored 3 unearned runs due to the miserable defensive play of Pittsburgh. On offense the Pirates had 4 hits. In the bottom of the 4th Honus Wagner scored on a wild pitch, and O’Brien had a double to start the bottom of the 7th. Sacrifices by Williams and catcher Jack O’Connor led to another Pittsburgh run.

Pittsburgh’s only win of this series came in Game 3 on October 17 when they blanked the Superbas 10-0. A total of 13 singles amounted to 10 runs for the Pirates. Third baseman Tommy Leech, Ginger Beaumont, Claude Ritchey and Honus Wagner combined for 10 hits and they scored 7 times. Leach and Beaumont had 3 hits while Ritchey and Wagner had 2 hits. Deacon Phillippe pitched a complete game and gave up 6 hits but recorded 5 strikeouts. Lave Cross was the only Superba to even make it to third base as he had a triple in the top of the 2nd inning.

In Game 4 on October 18 the Superbas beat the Pirates 6-1. Brooklyn never trailed in this game as Sam Leever gave up a run in the top of the 1st inning, and later on he would give up 3 unearned runs in the top of the 4th. Lave Cross went 2-for-4 in the game and his defensive play was so amazing that it caught the attention of the Pittsburgh press, leading some press to claim that Cross playing third base was the best defensive play at third base that they had seen all year. Joe McGinnity pitched a complete game and gave up 9 hits and 1 walk, but recorded 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 6th inning a passed ball that went by Duke Farrell allowed the Pirates to score their only run.

With the 3 games to 1 series victory, the Brooklyn Superbas were presented with the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup courtesy of the Mayor of Pittsburgh William J. Diehl at the Alvin Theatre. Joe McGinnity had no idea that his teammates would choose him to keep the silver cup, which was worth $500 at the time. Today you can see this special silver cup at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The Brooklyn franchise would not win another championship until the 1955 World Series as the Dodgers. For the Pirates, they would experience more immediate success as they would win the National League pennant for the next 3 years and appear in the first ever World Series to play against the Boston Americans in 1903. The Pirates would win the 1909 World Series.