The Pecan Park Eagle

Game 4 of the 1903 World Series was played at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.

The first “World Championship Series” played out between the Pittsburg (with no “h”) Pirates of the National League and the Boston Americans 0f the American League between in eight games played between October 1st and October 13th of 1903. Boston won that first modern era Series by a tally of 8 wins to Pitts burg’s 3.

Here are a couple of news account excerpts about the first two games, simply to provide us with a taste of the more formal style of  sports writers at the turn of the twentieth century. Had we owned the time to continue this morning, you would also have been able to read some of the flowers that came with the words of these early baseball storytellers, but, alas, time is more precious for us in 204, even for people like me and The Pecan Park Eagle has other fish to fry this Thursday – away from the keyboard,

Here are the two contemporary news samples, followed by the excellent “facts in a bubble” table prepared for by Baseball Almanac on the first modern world championship  series:

GAME ONE: Thursday, October 1, 1903, Pittsburgh @ Boston, Pittsburgh Wins, 7-3 IN Series Opener.

Americans Got Case of Rattles in First Inning, and Phillippe’s Pitching Did the Rest.

(Special to The World)

BOSTON, Oct. 1 – Pittsburg won the first game of the world championship series with ease today from Boston by 7 runs to 3. Nothing but a case of rattles and the splendid pitching of Deacon Phillippe can be held out by Collin’s team as an excuse for their defeat.

~ New York World, October 2, 1903, Page 8.

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GAME TWO: Friday, October 2, 1903, Pittsburgh @ Boston, Boston Wins, 3-0 Series now tied at 1-1.

10,000 PEOPLE SEE BOSTON DEFEAT PITTSBURG 3-0 IN 2D CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BOSTON, Oct. 2 – Dougherty’s mighty bat and Dineen’s good right arm carried the Boston American team to a splendid victory over Pittsburg at the Huntington avenue grounds yesterday afternoon. Ten thousand people saw the home team win by a score of 3-0.

~ Boston Post,  October 3, 1903, Page 6.

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FAST FACTS ON THE 1903 FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES, COURTESY OF BASEBALL ALMANAC.COM:

As per usual, our thanks, appreciation, and recommendation of Baseball Almanac.Com go out to one and all as the beautiful twin sister of Baseball Reference.Com as the collective  Sine Qua Non of data and information to all in doing any kind of baseball research in this digital age. – Thank you “BA” – for being exactly what we need you to be –  a source of good information quickly that twenty years ago would have taken some time, labor, digging, patience, parking lot money, and shoe leather, plus the stamina to make it all happen with no fact-checking back up. Forget the “good old days.” We are just now reaching their shores as these words find their way to daylight.

1903 World Series 1903 World Series ProgramBoston Americans (5) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (3) 1903 World Series Fast Facts Game 1 Date / Box Score 10-01-1903 Location Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds Attendance 16,242 Game 2 Date / Box Score 10-02-1903 Location Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds Attendance 9,415 Game 3 Date / Box Score 10-03-1903 Location Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds Attendance 18,801 Game 4 Date / Box Score 10-06-1903 Location Exposition Park III Attendance 7,600 Game 5 Date / Box Score 10-07-1903 Location Exposition Park III Attendance 12,322 Game 6 Date / Box Score 10-08-1903 Location Exposition Park III Attendance 11,556 Game 7 Date / Box Score 10-10-1903 Location Exposition Park III Attendance 17,038 Game 8 Date / Box Score 10-13-1903 Location Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds Attendance 7,455 1903 World Series Fast Facts   1903 World Series Game 1 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 1 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Pittsburgh 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 12 2 Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 6 4 Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Boston Pitcher(s) Deacon Phillippe Cy Young (L) Pittsburgh Home Runs Boston Home Runs Jimmy Sebring (7th) None   1903 World Series Game 2 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 2 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 Boston 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 x 3 9 0 Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Boston Pitcher(s) Sam Leever (L) Bucky Veil (2nd) Bill Dinneen – Pittsburgh Home Runs Boston Home Runs None Patsy Dougherty (1st) Patsy Dougherty (6th)   1903 World Series Game 3 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 3 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Pittsburgh 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 7 0 Boston 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 2 Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Boston Pitcher(s) Deacon Phillippe – Tom Hughes (L) Cy Young (3rd) Pittsburgh Home Runs Boston Home Runs None None   1903 World Series Game 4 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 4 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Boston 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 4 9 1 Pittsburgh 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 x 5 12 1 Boston Pitcher(s) Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Bill Dinneen (L) Deacon Phillippe Boston Home Runs Pittsburgh Home Runs None None   1903 World Series Game 5 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 5 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Boston 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 1 0 11 14 2 Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 6 4 Boston Pitcher(s) Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Cy Young – Brickyard Kennedy (L) Gus Thompson (8th) Boston Home Runs Pittsburgh Home Runs None None   1903 World Series Game 6 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 6 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Boston 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 6 10 1 Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 10 3 Boston Pitcher(s) Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Bill Dinneen Sam Leever (L) Boston Home Runs Pittsburgh Home Runs None None   1903 World Series Game 7 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 7 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Boston 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 7 11 4 Pittsburgh 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 10 3 Boston Pitcher(s) Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Cy Young Deacon Phillippe (L) Boston Home Runs Pittsburgh Home Runs None None   1903 World Series Game 8 Line Score / Box Score 1903 World Series Game 8 Capsule Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 Boston 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 x 3 8 0 Pittsburgh Pitcher(s) Boston Pitcher(s) Deacon Phillippe (L) Bill Dinneen Pittsburgh Home Runs Boston Home Runs None None   1903 World SeriesHitting Statistics Name Pos G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI Avg BB SO SB Jimmy Collins 3b 8 36 9 1 2 0 5 1 .250 1 1 3 Lou Criger c 8 26 6 0 0 0 1 4 .231 2 3 0 Bill Dinneen p 4 12 3 0 0 0 1 0 .250 2 2 0 Patsy Dougherty p 8 34 8 0 2 2 3 5 .235 2 6 0 Duke Farrell ph 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 Hobe Ferris 2b 8 31 9 0 1 0 3 5 .290 0 6 0 Buck Freeman of 8 32 9 0 3 0 6 4 .281 2 2 0 Tom Hughes p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Candy LaChance 1b 8 27 6 2 1 0 5 4 .222 3 2 0 Jack O’Brien ph 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 Freddy Parent ss 8 32 9 0 3 0 8 4 .281 1 1 0 Chick Stahl of 8 33 10 1 3 0 6 3 .303 1 2 2 Cy Young p 4 15 2 0 1 0 1 3 .133 0 3 0 Totals 282 71 4 16 2 39 34 .252 14 29 5 Name Pos G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI Avg BB SO SB 1903 World SeriesHitting Statistics Name Pos G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI Avg BB SO SB Ginger Beaumont of 8 34 9 0 1 0 6 1 .265 2 4 2 Kitty Bransfield 1b 8 29 6 0 2 0 3 1 .207 1 6 1 Fred Clarke of 8 34 9 2 1 0 3 2 .265 1 5 1 Brickyard Kennedy p 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 Tommy Leach 3b 8 33 9 0 4 0 3 7 .273 1 4 1 Sam Leever p 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Ed Phelps c 8 26 6 2 0 0 1 1 .231 1 6 0 Deacon Phillippe p 5 18 4 0 0 0 1 1 .222 0 3 0 Claude Ritchey 2b 8 27 3 1 0 0 2 2 .111 4 7 1 Jimmy Sebring of 8 30 11 0 1 1 3 3 .367 1 4 0 Harry Smith c 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Gus Thompson p 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 Bucky Veil p 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 2 0 Honus Wagner ss 8 27 6 1 0 0 2 3 .222 3 4 3 Totals 270 64 7 9 1 24 21 .237 14 45 9 Name Pos G AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI Avg BB SO SB 1903 World Series Hitting Statistics   1903 World SeriesPitching Statistics Name W L G GS CG S Sh IP ERA H SO ER BB Bill Dinneen 3 1 4 4 4 0 2 35.0 2.06 29 28 8 8 Tom Hughes 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2.0 9.00 4 0 2 2 Cy Young 2 1 4 3 3 0 0 34.0 1.85 31 17 7 4 Totals 5 3 9 8 7 0 2 71.0 2.15 64 45 17 14 Name W L G GS CG S Sh IP ERA H SO ER BB 1903 World SeriesPitching Statistics Name W L G GS CG S Sh IP ERA H SO ER BB Brickyard Kennedy 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 7.0 5.14 11 3 4 3 Sam Leever 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 10.0 5.40 13 2 6 3 Deacon Phillippe 3 2 5 5 5 0 0 44.0 2.86 38 22 14 3 Gus Thompson 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 4.50 3 1 1 0 Bucky Veil 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7.0 1.29 6 1 1 5 Totals 3 5 10 8 6 0 0 70.0 3.34 71 29 26 14 Name W L G GS CG S Sh IP ERA H SO ER BB 1903 World Series Pitching Statistics

	Did you know that during Game 5 of the 1903 World Series, the Boston Americans hit five ground-rule triples due to an oversized crowd? Players from Boston received $1,182.00 each for the series. Players from Pittsburgh lost the series yet received $1,316.25 each — thanks to the team owner giving his share of the gate receipts to the players. Bill Dinneen started four of the eight games, completed all four of his starts, won three, had two shutouts and later became an American League umpire.

1903 World Series Game 8 Line Score / Box Score
1903 World Series Game 8 Capsule
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3
Boston	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	x	3	8	0
Pittsburgh Pitcher(s)						Boston Pitcher(s)
Deacon Phillippe (L)						Bill Dinneen
Pittsburgh Home Runs						Boston Home Runs
None						None

Line Score Courtesy of Baseball Almanac.

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The date was October 13, 1903. The Boston Americans (not yet Red Sox) had just polished off the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0, at Huntington Field in the Hub City to take the first World Series of the modern 20th Century Era of major league baseball before a crowd of 7,456 fans that had braved the threat of rain to be there for a chance to croon in a victory chant with a few alcohol-inspired choruses of the team’s love song, “Tessie”.

Here are a few snippets of how the Boston Globe reported this first explosion of “World Series Winner’s Joy and Jubilation the following day in their October 14, 1903 edition:

HEADLINES: — “OUT WITH THE CROWD, — IT WAS A GLORIOUS DAY FOR THE FANS, — ENTHUSIASM RAN RIOT IN FOURTH. — ROOTERS AND THEIR BAND IN EVIDENCE. — CHEERS AND MELODY FOLLOW EACH OTHER. — GREAT GAME IS REPLETE WITH THRILLING SITUATIONS. — WILD SCENE AT THE FINISH OF THE CONTEST. — PLAYERS CARRIED ON THE SHOULDERS OF ADMIRERS.”

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“Tessie” Was the First Reported Word: “Tessie,” an obscure maiden whom somebody loved in a ragtime melody, wasn’t much in the place (yesterday) which the librettist and composer built for her. But she has a place in history. She will go tunefully tripping down the ages as yhr famous mascot that helped the Boston Americans win three out of four at Pittsburg(h), capture the final game at Boston and with it the title – champions of the world.”

“Sung by the thundering ensemble at the Huntington av(enue) baseball grounds yesterday afternoon, “Tessie” was there when anything worth doing was done. “Tessie” was never carolled for any four-flush proposition; her chaste salutes were only for that which wins the laurel wreath.”

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Threat of Rain Held Crowd to only 7,456: “Last night more than 10,000 men from Boston and its distant environs were saying, as they heard the score, ‘If I only had been sure they would play, I would have been there.’ There were nearly 8,000 people there who took the chance, whose confidence would not be shaken by the lowering sky, the threatening overcast or the possibility of slippery grounds. They were there to see the world’s championship won, and to participate in the spectacular demonstration in honor of the ‘greatest team of ballplayers on earth.’ ”

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Pre-Game Fun: From 12-2 PM at the grounds, fans started showing up, including the privileged “Royal Rooters” and their band of musicians and copies of the lyrics to “Tessie”. Singing, drinking, eating, and adrenalin-pumping were the order of the day prior to the field arrival of the players. 

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2 PM, Boston Players Arrive: “About 2 o’clock, the first good excuse for melody and cheers came with the appearance of Parent, Stahl, and Dougherty, all of whom cavorted about chasing balls for some minutes. Then came Collins. When he appeared, the mighty Rooters arose in a bunch and chanted that gurgling reminiscent masterpiece, ‘Down Where the Wurzburger Flows.’ ”

“There were cheers and more cheers.”

“Enter Cy Young in a red sweater, followed by a great noise. Cy got down to work in the field chasing grounders.”

“As each player made his appearance on the field, the Rooters gave him a cordial greeting.”

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2:15 PM, Pittsburgh Players Arrive: “When, at 2:15, the Pittsburg(h) Pirates ran upon the field with Capt. (Fred) Clarke and Hans Wagner at the head, Charlie Lavis (of the Royal Rooters) called for three cheers for Clarke. Three lusty ones were given and the Pittsburger lifted his cap.”

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Warm Up and Picture Time: “The limbering-up process went on for 20 minutes. Every battery of each nine was out taking the kinks out of their arms.”

“Then for 10 minutes the players of both nines posed for group photographs for several artists.”

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The Game: Boston scored 2 in the bottom of the 4th and one more in the 6th to win, 3-0, and take the first World Series from Deacon Phillipe and the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3. Bill Dineen pitched Boston to victory with a 4-hit shutout, getting Honus Wagner on a swinging strike three to wrap up the game and the series.

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Post-Game/Fans Carry Players Off the Field. Like it or not, the Boston players were grabbed by fans and carried off the field by the insanity that reined on this rain-scary championship day . Only Ferris escaped their grasp and Jimmy Collins almost became a human wishbone: “Jimmy Collins was nearly dismantled because the crowd that had his right leg insisted on going in a different direction from the party that held possession of his left one.

Once rescued, the players did not linger for another ovation any longer than they had to, slipping away or into the clubhouse until the coast was clear. ~ “But the great crowd stayed, cheering until the rooters formed in line behind their band and uncovered while ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ was being played. Then they marched across the field and out of the backfield gate.”

It is highly probable that the saloons and bars of Boston did a fairly brisk evening of business during the evening hours of October 13, 1903. After all, those were fairly intemperate times when it came to celebrating great victories and there was no Dr. Oz Show around in those days to advise Bostonians in advance on the healthiest ways to celebrate great victory and joy.

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“Save the Astrodome. ~ Give new life to the Eighth Wonder of the World. ~ Vote Yes on Harris County Proposition 2.”