The Pecan Park Eagle

An Impressionist View of Bill Wambsganss and the three men he retired on one immortalizing World Series play.

Bill Wambsganss: The Synonym for Unassisted Triple Play.

Any name beyond 1920 Cleveland Indians 2nd baseman Bill Wambsganss doesn’t count here. From the moment we first read of him in the baseball books that circulated for kids in the days beyond World War II, the name Bill Wambsganss rose to the level of deep respect in our nation of sandlot baseballists. My first impression was drawn to the fact that his name so fit the deed. A guy who is capable of pulling off one of baseball’s most unusual plays, and in a World Series, no less, ought to have an equally rare name.

What is a “Wambsganss”? He’s a fellow who makes unassisted triple plays – in the World Series, for Chris sakes!

Nobody had done it in the World Series until Bill did it 1920 – and no other player has done it since then on baseball’s biggest stage. Like Don Larsen’s 1956 perfect game for the New York Yankees in the last World Series played against the Brooklyn version of the Dodgers, Bill Wambsganss pulled off the only unassisted triple play in World Series history as a 2nd baseman for the Cleveland Indians in 1920 against the Brooklyn Robins.

Let’s recount how it happened:

“In game five of the 1920 World Series played at League Park, Wambsganss caught a fifth-inning line drive batted by Clarence Mitchell, stepped on second base to retire Pete Kilduff, and tagged Otto Miller coming from first base, to complete the first, and to date, only unassisted triple play in World Series history.” – Wikipedia.

Re-Cap (L>R) Pete Kilduff was Out #2 on a tag of the bag at 2nd;; Clarence Mitchell was Out #1 on a line drive up the middle; and Otto Miller was Out #3 on a body tag as he attempted to get back to 1st.

The Cleveland Indians won the best five games of nine 1920 World Series, 5 games to 2, over the Brooklyn Robins. Games Five’s famous Wambsganss play also included the first Grand Slam HR when Elmer Smith hit one off Burleigh Grimes of Brooklyn in the 1st inning.

After the season, Cleveland fans presented Bill Wambsganss with a special medal for his unusual triple play on the field. Sadly, he lost the medal on a train ride in spring training the following year, fostering the imaginations of some that it’s probably in an old Mason Jar on a shelf in some ancient flea market in Georgia by now.

Bill Wambsganss retired after the 1926 season from a 13-season career that saw him bat .259 as a major leaguer, but, because of one play in the World Series, he will never be forgotten.