Bobby Byrne

"Robert Matthew Byrne (December 31, 1884 – December 31, 1964) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1907 through 1917, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1907–1909), Pittsburgh Pirates (1909–1913), Philadelphia Phillies (1913–1917) and Chicago White Sox (1917). Byrne batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. The speedy Byrne was a defensive stalwart with excellent range. He started his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1907 season. Acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August 1909, he contributed for his new club down the stretch, including allowing Tommy Leach to stay in center field. Used mainly in the leadoff spot, Byrne made just two errors while hitting .256 with eight stolen bases."
Wikipedia

"Standing a tad under 5'8" and weighing just 145 lbs., Bobby Byrne was a scrappy, pint-sized third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates towards the end of their reign as one of the National League's top teams. 'Byrne is always a dangerous man for the reason that at all times he is cool, nervy and smart,' wrote Alfred H. Spink, founder of The Sporting News, in 1910. Perhaps his actions in a game against Brooklyn on June 10, 1911, best illustrate the type of player he was: with Byrne at first and Fred Clarke at third, the two Pirates pulled off a double steal, with Byrne sneaking to third as Brooklyn catcher Bill Bergen argued the call at home with umpire Bill Klem. After Dots Miller walked, he and Byrne pulled off another double steal, giving the hustling leadoff hitter steals of second, third, and home in the same inning."
SABR

1903 New York Highlanders

"The New York Highlanders' 1903 season finished with the team in 4th place in the American League with a record of 72-62. The team was managed by Clark Griffith and played its home games at Hilltop Park (formally 'American League Park'). The season began with the Baltimore Orioles relocating to New York, New York. The club was at first officially the 'Greater New York' baseball club, in deference to the established New York Giants. The media dubbed the team as 'Highlanders', due in part to playing at one of the highest points on Manhattan ('The Hilltop'), which was somewhat higher in altitude than the bulk of Manhattan and was considerably 'uphill' from the Polo Grounds, the Giants' established home, which sat in the bottomland in Coogan's Hollow, a few blocks east and south of the Hilltop."
Wikipedia

"... The 1903 New York Highlanders played 134 games during the regular season, won 72 games, lost 62 games, and finished in fourth position. They played their home games at Hilltop Park (Park Factors: 106/105) where 211,808 fans witnessed their 1903 Highlanders finish the season with a .537 winning percentage. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a unique set of rosters not easily found on the Internet. Included, where data is available, is a 1903 New York Highlanders Opening Day starters list, a 1903 New York Highlanders salary list, a 1903 New York Highlanders uniform number breakdown and a 1903 New York Highlanders primary starters list..."
Baseball Almanac

The Yankees First Game in New York, as the 1903 Highlanders
"Here is the New York Times’ box score for the New York Highlanders’ first game, on April 22, 1903, played vs. the Washington Senators/Nationals in D.C. ... A couple things to note: the Highlanders started play in New York at Hilltop Park in north Manhattan. Willie Keeler, Jack Chesbro, and Clark Griffith were the team’s three players (Griffith also managed) who people might recognize now. In 1901 and 1902, they were the Baltimore Orioles."
Misc.Baseball

matinee

"hist. An afternoon baseball game; specif., the afternoon game that was once traditionally played on the same day as a morning game. Such games were once common on holidays such as July 4th and Labor Day. Although there were no hard and fast rules for matinees, same-day games were not usually regarded as doubleheaders and one had to pay separate admissions to each game. 1ST USE. 1898 (New York Tribune, June 19; Edward J. Nichols)."
Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary

Fenway 1912

Fenway Park's First Day in 1912: Peanuts, the Titanic and the Boston Red Sox
"The rain had finally let up, and Peter Davis was busy. Standing beside his green pushcart in front of brand-new Fenway Park, he was handing bags of peanuts to fans as fast as they could slap coins into his hand. His powerful arms, which had already been taxed by pushing the cart several miles to Jersey Street from its downtown holding pen, were starting to ache. He didn’t mind a bit. Davis had never seen this many people in one place. It reminded him of the lines he had encountered at the docks after coming over from Greece years before. When the Boston Red Sox played at the smaller Huntington Avenue Grounds in previous seasons, the most fans they ever drew to a game was approximately 10,000. This crowd had to be at least double that, and it seemed like all of them were walking right by his cart. It was nice to see folks smiling as they looked up at the beautiful red-brick façade of Boston’s first steel and concrete ballpark. But with three straight rainouts and the distressing news about the S.S. Titanic unfolding over the previous several days, the excitement leading up to Opening Day of 1912 had been largely subdued—even with the added factor of Fenway’s grand unveiling."
Bleacher Report

Fenway 1912

"Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, A Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year is the latest in a string of books celebrating the storied ballpark's centennial next year. Three other books about Fenway have already been released this year and another six are on the horizon. In Fenway 1912, Glen Stout, the author of numerous team histories and other sports related books, covers "all the bases," surrounding the park's construction and the 1912 Boston Red Sox championship season. To read Fenway 1912 is to travel back to New England at the dawn of the 20th century. Readers will meet not only the players, but Fenway architect James McLaughlin and head groundskeeper Jerome Kelly while learning something about the early, pre-1920 game both on the field and from a business perspective. Another major character is Boston itself, and Stout spends some time discussing the spate of buildings that had gone up near Fenway Park that still stand, enjoying iconic status in their own right. The Irish pols that took over the reins of city government before the turn of the century and were comfortably ensconced by the time the book opens also play an important role that Stout does not neglect. Street cars weren't just used for travel downtown, but in between towns as well. 'Nuf Ced' McGreevy and the Royal Rooters make their appearances as well throughout."
Alec's Archives

October 9, 1912, Fenway Park, World Series

"As the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park draws near, Glenn Stout, co-author of Red Sox Century, brings us the definitive story of the Back Bay jewel's first season, which culminated in the Red Sox beating the New York Giants in one of the greatest World Series of all time. In Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, A Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year, Stout also reports on the behind-the-scenes political machinations and land acquisition, as well as the park's rapid, six-month construction during the winter of 1911-12. ... Led by veteran centerfielder Tris Speaker, manager and first baseman Jake Stahl, and pitcher Joe Wood (no relation, sadly), a young Red Sox team moved from the Huntington Avenue Grounds to the new park. Stout shows that the odd configurations of the park were not because of the existing city streets or the shape of the plot of existing land; if the team had wanted to make the park symmetrical, it could have. In the Deadball Era, hitting a worn-out baseball 300 feet was a moon shot. One writer, referring to the distance to the fence at Cincinnati's Redland Field - 360 feet - 'it is doubtful a ball will ever be hit over the fence'."
the joy of sox

Walking on the field at Fenway Park, 1912 World Series

"I am lucky to have erudite baseball fans, readers, and writers. In honor of Fenway’s 100th birthday, here is a review by Steve Markos, a member of the Beacon Street Tavern Baseball Gang, of Fenway 1912. Glenn Stout’s book Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season and Fenway’s Remarkable First Year is a thoroughly researched book on both the birth and building of Fenway Park and of the Red Sox’s Championship season of 1912. SABR loved it as it was awarded both the 2012 Larry Ritter Book Award, given for the best book related to the Deadball Era, and the 2012 Seymour Medal given for the best book on baseball history. The book focuses on two main themes, the first being the beginnings of the park and decision to build it and the second being the inaugural season in the park with star right-hander Joe Wood leading the way to a World’s Series title over John McGraw’s New York Giants. The series itself was fascinating and was the first to end with the final game in extra innings."
Billy Ball

1912 Atlas for the City of Boston Proper and Back Bay

"... Q: How do you manage to tell Fenway’s story while you also tell the story of the 1912 season and the 1912 World Series? A: In a sense, that was the easy part of the book, because as I began to research the events of the 1912 season, I quickly realized that the personality of the ballpark was being revealed game by game, from things like the first home run hit over the left field wall (which most fans know was hit by Boston’s Hugh Bradley) to the first home run hit into the stands that was wrapped around the precursor to the "Pesky pole" in right field. Fenway Park had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of the Red Sox in 1912, and was a huge reason why a team that finished in fourth place in 1911 was able to run away with the pennant in 1912 – Tris Speaker emerged as a superstar and had an MVP season, Smoky Joe Wood, helped by some subtle changes no one else has ever recognized, went 34-5, a couple of rookie pitchers had the season of their lives. I point out precisely how Fenway Park provided the Red Sox with a huge advantage. Sort of by accident, they were perfect for the ballpark. Then, just before the World Series, while the Sox were on a road trip, Fenway Park underwent what I would still consider the most dramatic transformation in its history, as over a period of only a few weeks more than 10,000 seats were added, for the first time creating the familiar "footprint" that still remains, more or less, today. Then, during the 1912 World Series, a whole series of new quirks in Fenway’s personality were revealed."
amazon: Fenway 1912

Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century

"PRE-1900 UNIFORMS. Since the subject matter of this research deals with the twentieth century, we will defer any discussion of nineteenth century precedents. Certainly, the history of baseball uniforms is evolutionary and the uniforms of 1900 are a continuation of 1899 but the story of earlier uniforms is even more difficult to develop and we will reserve that information for future additional research. An important finding of such research will be establishing the starting point of use of separate uniforms at home and on the road, which was standard for all major league teams by 1900. ... FABRIC PATTERNS AND COLORS. Home uniforms for all clubs at the turn of the century were white, while road uniforms were either gray or a darker hue. The material itself was heavy wool flannel which must have been insufferably warm in mid-summer. Pin striping in the fabric first appeared around 1907 — a fine, narrowly spaced line on the road grays that was barely visible from a distance. The Chicago Cubs were probably the first to use this pattern, but the Boston Nationals went a step further with a discernable green pin stripe on their 1907 road suits. The Brooklyn club was yet more daring with a fine blue “cross-hatch” pattern on their ‘07 road grays. This 'checked' effect would be used later by the New York Giants and again by Brooklyn (with wider spacing) on several occasions."
Baseball Almanac: Marc Okkonen

Home/Road 1909 New York

"Okkonen, a baseball historian and illustrator, has compiled the first complete record of 20th-century major league baseball uniforms. He provides a brief historical overview of major trends in uniform design, as well as an essay on each major league team which links uniform changes to team history. The bulk of the book is a year-by-year pictorial register covering the years 1900 to 1991. The text is clear and lively, but the graphics are so small it is difficult to discern color variations and patterns. The work's historical value would be greatly increased if descriptions of the uniforms were provided. Indexing is minimal. This is essential for collections specializing in baseball history, and useful for public libraries or where demand warrants." - Library Journal
amazon

A Structure To Last Forever

"In late June 1889, John M. Ward was faced with the biggest problem of his life. The talented shortstop of the New York Giants was playing typically stellar ball, and was on his way to the World's Championship that season. Off the field, however, the man who was also president of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players (a protective association which was the first union of professional athletes in the United States) had to deal with a crisis unprecedented in American sports. Faced with a new plan meant to severely limit their salaries, the members of the Brotherhood--virtually every player in the National League--were preparing to go on strike on July 4th. How John Ward dealt with this situation, and the results of his solution, make up the basis for this paper. In late June, 1889 word came out of New York that National League players, led by the Brotherhood, were planning, "a strike which will be the biggest thing ever heard of in the baseball world." The Sporting News cited unnamed sources who said that the players were preparing to go on strike July 2, which would jeopardize the lucrative July 4 doubleheaders which all teams then played." 
"A Structure To Last Forever: The Players' League And The Brotherhood War of 1890"

Charlie Comiskey

"The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (sometimes rendered as Players League), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. It emerged from the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players, the sport's first players' union. The Brotherhood included most of the best players of the National League. Brotherhood members, led by John Montgomery Ward, left the National League and formed the Players' League after failing to change the lopsided player-management relationship of the National League. The PL lasted just the one season of 1890, and the Boston franchise won the championship. Although known to historians as the Players' League, newspapers often reported the standings with the shorthand titles of 'League', 'Association' and 'Brotherhood'. The PL was well-attended, at least in some cities, but was underfunded and its owners lacked the confidence to continue beyond the one season."
Wikipedia

During The Brotherhood Revolt The Mood In Baseball Wasn't Fraternal
"Not one fan in a thousand, I'd bet, has heard of baseball's Brotherhood War of 1890, and the vast majority of today's players, agents and club officials don't know anything about it, either. Yet out of this rebellion by the best baseball players of the era came attitudes that determined how team spectator sports would develop over the ensuing 50 years. If you think that public resentment of highly paid athletes and the feeling that sports are becoming too commercialized are new phenomena, consider the following quote: 'There was a time when the League stood for integrity and fair dealing. Today it stands for dollars and cents. Once it looked to the elevation of the game and an honest exhibition of the sport; today its eyes are on the turnstile. Men have come into the business for no other motive than to exploit it for every dollar in sight.'"
SI

Albert Spalding

A History of Major League Baseball, Part VI: The American League
"In 1893, a Cincinnati newspaper editor named Byron 'Ban' Johnson ascended to the presidency of the minor Midwest-based Western League. He was aided by Charlie Comiskey, a former American Association star who was managing the NL’s Cincinnati Reds at the time. After the 1894 season, Comiskey would purchase the WL’s Sioux City (Iowa) franchise and transfer it to St. Paul, Minnesota. Comiskey’s St. Paul Apostles would see franchises from other cities abandoned by the NL—Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee. They would also play the only future American League team to carry its name and history from the WL—the Detroit Tigers. Over the next several years, Johnson and Comiskey would successfully clean up the league and make it attractive to former NLers such as Connie Mack. And in 1900, the WL scored a coup d’état of their own by swiftly moving smaller market clubs from locales such as Grand Rapids (Michigan) and Kansas City into the cities vacated by the NL. They renamed the circuit American League for the 1900 season, and set themselves up for the future by obtaining permission from the NL to move the St. Paul Apostles to Chicago."
zazenlife

Circa 1915 “Joe Tinker” Cigar Box

"The famous Cubs shortstop endorsed his own brand of 'Havana and Domestic' cigars during the mid-1910s. Offered is a full-sized 'Joe Tinker Cigars' box that once held fifty of the star-branded smokes. Its inside-lid surface pictures the product's smooth-fielding namesake (in natty civilian clothes), along with his facsimile autograph; a smaller version of the beautifully lithographed portrait is seen on the container’s outside, left-end panel. The 9” x 5-1/2” x 2-1/2” box, itself, is a tremendously attractive counter-sales piece, but it’s enhanced in this case by the presence of its specially made, 'Joe Tinker'-branded 'humidor,' whose snug-fitting glass-and metal construction kept the cigars fresh during in-store display. Finally, this amazing presentation includes a vintage stogie, complete with its embossed 'Joe Tinker' paper band. This is a wonderfully comprehensive, silent reenactment of a turn-of-the-century sales presentation, wherein several scarcities combine to yield a thoroughly appealing visual phenomenon that’s minimally NM in overall appearance."
Legendary Auctions

Joe Connolly

"Joseph Aloysius Connolly (February 1, 1884 – September 1, 1943) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Boston Braves from 1913 through 1916. Listed at 5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m), 165 lb., Connolly batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A native of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, Connolly was a prominent member of the 1914 Boston Braves World Champions. As for his defense at left field, the Boston Sunday Post wrote 'he is fairly fast, the possessor of a strong wing (arm) and he covers a good extent of territory.' Connolly made his professional debut as a pitcher in 1906 with the Putnam, Connecticut team of the New England League. From 1908 to 1912, he divided his playing time with Class-A Little Rock and Class-B Zanesville teams, playing some outfield when he was not pitching. In 1909, while in Zanesville, he posted a 23–8 record and hit .308 during the season."
Wikipedia

"Joey Connolly (Total Baseball lists him as 'Joe,' but local newspapers and family members confirm that he went by 'Joey') was the offensive star of the Boston Braves during their most successful period of the Deadball Era. A left-handed batter who played predominantly against right-handed pitching, Connolly usually batted third in the order and compiled a .288 average over his four seasons in the major leagues. As for his defense in left field, the BostonSunday Post wrote that he 'is fairly fast, the possessor of a strong wing and he covers a good extent of territory.' Though Napoleon Lajoie is the greatest baseball player ever born in Rhode Island, Connolly probably had a greater impact on the social and cultural fabric of 'Little Rhody' than any other ex-big leaguer."
SABR

Good Natured Joe Connolly, the Man Who Always Smiles
PDF: LA 84 Foundation

Deadball Stars of the National League, Deadball Stars of the American League

"This new volume is the first book establishing a relationship between Brassey’s, Inc. and the premier research organization in all of sports, the Society for American Baseball Research. This initial release allows you to return to one of the most colorful, popular, important, and distinct periods of baseball history. With the Society for American Baseball Research to guide you, you’ll learn about the stars, the regulars, and the people behind the scenes—who were all the leading lights of the senior circuit. Through them, follow the great game’s opening decades as the original eight National League franchises combated the American League, only to strike up a partnership with it and start the World Series in 1903, launching the major leagues as we know them today. Lavishly illustrated, featuring photographs and autographs of every player or person profiled, Deadball Stars of the National League gives fans a unique window into the game of 'inside baseball,' a time when the stolen base and the sacrifice were a manager’s key weapons, when pitchers finished what they started, and when the baseball itself was a sodden, misshapen, tobacco-stained menace. Edited by Tom Simon and written and assembled by his fellow members of SABR’s Deadball Era Committee, the unique resource Deadball Stars of the National League reflects a defining era of baseball history." - Photographic Histories
amazon: Deadball Stars of the National League

"Three years after the release of the first volume of the series, Deadball Stars of the National League, the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and Potomac Books are publishing its companion volume. Return to the period when “inside baseball” meant a game of bunting, stealing, and using a sodden, tobacco-stained ball few players could hit out of the oddly configured urban ballparks of another age. Where the initial volume introduced readers to one of the most colorful and important periods in baseball history, this volume explores the lives and performances of the stars, regulars, and major figures in the upstart junior circuit. Guided by expert contributors from SABR, fans will learn about the eight teams that banded together to challenge the National League and become the second major league. Readers will learn about the great team that Connie Mack built in Philadelphia and about the famed outfield duo of Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford in Detroit. They will also read the stories of the players who won the World Series in Chicago in 1917 before they became infamous as the Black Sox in the 1919 Series. Lavishly illustrated, Deadball Stars of the American League features more than 200 photographs and the autographs of all of the players profiled. It is a unique resource for a defining era of baseball history."
amazon: Deadball Stars of the American League

submarine ball

"A pitch thrown lower than the usual sidearm delivery. Syn. scrotum ball. 1ST USE. 1917. 'Carl Mays, the pitcher of the submarine ball, had a lot to do with beating the Yanks' (The New York Times, Sept. 15; Fred P. Shapiro).
Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary

Bennett Park

"Mention the corner of Michigan and Trumbull to baseball fans in the Motor City, and they will immediately think of Tiger Stadium. While it is true that the Detroit Tigers played in that storied park, at that location, from 1912 to 1999, the history of professional baseball at 'The Corner' actually dates back to 1896. Back then, Detroit was still largely a city of lumber barons, not automobile magnates. That was the year that the Detroit Tigers, then a minor-league outfit in Ban Johnson’s Western League, opened Bennett Park. The team had previously been known as the Wolverines, but in 1895, manager George Stallings outfitted the team in spiffy new black and yellow striped stockings. Fans and sportswriters alike started referring to the team as the Tigers. Thus, it was only fitting that the following year the team move into new digs to go along with the new nickname."
SABR

Bennett Park Historical Analysis
"... Charlie Bennett was a popular catcher with Detroit for eight seasons in the NL until he lost both legs in a railway accident in 1894. The park, which came to be called Charlie Bennett's park, or simply Bennett Park, opened in 1896 as the home field of the Detroit Tigers of the Western League. The park was located at the Northwest corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the city of Detroit. In the late 19th Century, Detroit was then not yet a major U.S. urban area. The site of Bennett Park was not large - consisting of a land plat of 3.3 acres. Other Deadball era ballparks occupied larger sites ranging from 5.7 acres (Ebbets Field in Brooklyn) to 9.6 acres (Hilltop Park in New York). Bennett Park was built of wood in 1896 and originally had a seating capacity of 5,000. It was expanded for the 1901 season and capacity was increased to seat 8,500 fans. The park was modified and seating expanded a number of times after 1901, before being demolished to make way for Navin Field after the 1911 season. Unlike many of the other contemporary wooden ballparks, this one never burned. The original structure consisted of a covered grandstand, which extended past third base and about as far as first base."
Baseball Almanac

"Bennett Park was a ballpark, named after Charlie Bennett, that formerly existed in Detroit, Michigan, at Michigan and Trumbull. It was home to the Detroit Tigers. The ballclub began play here in the minor Western League with a 17-2 win over the Columbus Senators on April 28, 1896. That league was renamed the American League in 1900 but was still officially a minor league. The AL declared itself a major league starting in 1901. Bennett Park was home to the first nighttime baseball game in Detroit. On September 24, 1896, the Tigers played their last game of their first season at Bennett Park, an exhibition doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds. Tigers owner George Arthur Vanderbeck had workers string lights above the stadium for the nighttime game."
Wikipedia

"Wildcat Stands"

"... Shallow bleachers were constructed for the 1901 season, but overflow crowds were often forced to sit in the deep outfield. In their first game here, on April 25, 1901, the Detroit Tigers pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history. They were down thirteen to four to Milwaukee going into the bottom of the ninth inning but rallied to score ten runs in the inning and beat the Brewers 14 to 13. Sunday games were not permitted here during the Tigers' first two seasons in the park, so they had to play in Burns Park on Sundays. By the mid-1900s, the Tigers had become a very competitive team, led by Ty Cobb, and the World Series was played in Bennett Park for three straight seasons, 1907 through 1909. During this time, the area around home plate, nicknamed "Cobb's Lake", was kept soaked by groundskeepers to help keep Ty Cobb's bunts fair. By 1911, Bennett Park was the smallest ballpark in the majors, and after the season the park was demolished to make way for Tiger Stadium, which still stands on the same spot."
Baseball Reference

Ty Cobb

100 Years Ago: The Detroit Tigers’ Last Game at Bennett Park
"No commemorative scorecards. No long-winded speeches. No drawn-out curtain calls for dissipated ball-tossers a generation removed from their last at-bat. And certainly no slivers of the outfield fences or plugs of game-used chewing tobacco (each accompanied by a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, of course) being hawked by some enterprising sports memorabilia merchant. Nope, none of that. The Detroit Tigers left their longtime home at Bennett Park 100 years ago with an absence of fanfare that is remarkable by modern standards. ... When Bennett Park opened in 1896, it was a Lincoln Logs-like structure capable of holding only about 5,000 people, though the park in those days was rarely even half-filled. The venue was so rustic it featured trees in the outfield and a “parking lot” for horses and buggies in the far recesses of left field. But by 1911 the buggies and trees had disappeared, and so had Detroiters’ traditional indifference to the national game. In fact, locals had become downright dotty over the hometown nine. Between 1900 and 1910 the city had added nearly 200,000 people; another half-million were due to arrive over the next decade. A good number of the newcomers found their way down to the northwest corner of Trumbull and Michigan avenues for an afternoon of cheap but exciting entertainment."
Detroit Athletic

1905 World Series

John McGraw. Connie Mack

"The 1905 World Series matched the New York Giants against the Philadelphia Athletics, with the Giants winning four games to one. Four of the five games featured duels between future Hall of Fame pitchers. Each of the five games was a shutout. Three of those, over a six-day span, were pitched and won by Christy Mathewson, a 25-year-old Giants hurler who established himself as a first-magnitude star in doing so."
Wikipedia

"The 1903 World Series had been a resounding success, both on the field and at the gate, but the Giants' principals, owner John Brush and manager John McGraw had played the role of sourpusses, denigrating the whole event as below the dignity of their long-established franchise, and even threatening to sue to prevent the series from taking place.

New York Giants 1905 World Series program

When the 1904 season was winding down, the Giants were in first place, but were faced with the prospect of facing their newly-established crosstown rivals, the New York Highlanders, who were to become the famed New York Yankees a few years later and were leading the American League as the season was drawing to a close. This was a prospect too horrible to contemplate for the two proud men, and they indicated in no uncertain words that they were not ready to soil their status of NL Pennant winners by facing a team that was not of their level. The first World Series had come as a result of a direct arrangement between the owners of the Pittsburgh and Boston clubs and not through an agreement between the leagues, so Brush's unwillingness to participate in a sequel doomed the whole enterprise. As it turned out, the Boston Americans ended up squeezing past the Highlanders to win the AL Pennant in the season's final days, but by then it was too late to arrange a Series, even if Brush and McGraw had been willing to climb down."
Baseball Reference

Christy Mathewson

A’s-Giants a Rematch of 1905 World Series
"This is not the first time these two teams have met in the Series. In 1905, they went head to head, and the Series helped establish Christy Mathewson as a star. Mathewson won three games in the Series, as the Giants walloped the Athletics, 4 games to 1. Incredibly, all 5 games ended in shutouts. Mathewson pitched 27 innings, didn’t give up a single run, and in fact only allowed one runner to reach third base the entire Series. It has been to this point the most dominant performance by a pitcher in World Series history. Of course, he wasn’t the only Giants pitcher with success in that Series. Joe McGinnity (who retired in ’08) pitched 17 innings without giving up an earned run either! The 3 runs the A’s scored in Game 2 were all unearned, and they were the only runs they would score all Series. It was a dominant performance by the NL champs."
Philly Sports History

YouTube:  Game 1: Atheltics vs Giant, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4, Game 5

Polo Grounds

The Library of Congress
When the Giants Took the Quakers into Camp, The Evening World (New York, NY), October 10, 1905, Evening Edition, Page 2, Image 2, Cols. 2-7
New York Wins First of Series, Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, CA), October 10, 1905, Page 3, Image 3, Cols. 1-2.
Giants' Turn to be Shut Out, The Evening World (New York, NY), October 10, 1905, Evening Edition, Image 1, Cols. 1-8.
Giants Win Third, The Evening World (New York, NY), October 13, 1905, Evening Edition, Image 1, Cols. 1-8.
New York the Greatest of All Ball Teams, The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 15, 1905, Page 37, Image 37, Cols. 5-6.
Giants Champions of the World, The Evening World (New York, NY), October 14, 1905, Evening Edition, Image 1, Cols. 1-8.

Ernie Shore’s “Perfect” Game and Babe Ruth’s Ejection in 1917

Ernie Shore

"The Boston Globe covered this game with as much attention to the fracas that got Babe Ruth ejected after walking the first batter as to Ernie Shore’s feat of retiring the 26 batters he faced in relief, which, with the first batter being thrown out stealing, made 27 straight outs, if not quite an absolute perfect game. It happened at Fenway Park on June 23, 1917, in the first game of a doubleheader vs. the Washington Senators. Here’s most of the Globe’s account: 'FAME FOR SHORE, SOX IN TWIN WIN. No-Hit, No-Run and No-Man-to-First Performance. Modest Ernie Shore took a place in the Hall of Fame as a no-hit, no-run, no man-reached-first base pitcher in the curtain-raiser of the twin bill with the Griffmen at Fenway Park yesterday. It was the best pitching seen in this city since 1904 when Cy Young put over a similar feat, the only difference being that Uncle Cyrus pitched to every batter, while the Carolina professor did not get into the exercises until after Ruth, who had walked Morgan, the first batter, had been removed from the pastime for striking Umpire Brick Owns. . ."
Misc. Baseball

Babe Ruth

Perfect Relief For The Babe
"Ernie Shore, a tall, lanky pitcher from North Carolina, made himself comfortable in the corner of the Red Sox dugout at Fenway Park in Boston. It promised to be a long, lazy afternoon for Shore—that afternoon of June 23, 1917. The Red Sox were playing the Washington Senators in a doubleheader, and Shore, who had pitched against the Yankees two days before, expected to watch both games from his cozy spot on the bench. The Red Sox pitchers were Babe Ruth and Dutch Leonard, and against Washington, then as now, it seemed certain they would be sufficient. Ruth, starting the first game, walked Ray Morgan, Washington's lead-off hitter. Ruth had argued with Umpire Brick Owens on the ball three pitch and now he stalked off the mound toward the plate. Owens whipped off his mask and advanced to meet him, whereupon Ruth threw a looping right-hand punch. Some say the punch caught Owens on the jaw, others say the left ear but, in any event, both Ruth and his catcher, Chet Thomas, were thrown out of the game."
SI Vault

Ruth or Aaron? Epilogue
"I had written a few weeks ago on the similarity between the Aaron Myette ejection that almost lead to a no-hitter and the 1917 Babe Ruth ejection that lead to what was once called a perfect game by Ernie Shore (until MLB changed its criteria). Jon Fifer wrote to me and pointed out that the circumstances surrounding Ruth's ejection were slightly more involved: 'On the subject of the game in which Babe Ruth started, walked the first batter, got tossed, and Ernie Shore came in, picked off the man on first, and then set down 26 straight, Ruth wasn't ejected because he simply 'argued balls and strikes'. He also punched the umpire, knocking him out, and had to be corralled into the dugout by his entire team. I was always curious about this game, first seeing it described as Ruth being ejected, then ejected for arguing balls and strikes, then for hitting the ump, finally for knocking the ump out. Robert Cramer kind of glosses over this in his biography, Babe, but I think I first got the complete story from Bill James, and have seen it since elsewhere.' He was absolutely correct. I was writing extemporaneously-don't try this at home; it's dangerous-and had left out those details. I wanted to investigate further, and then got caught up in other things. That's why I'm just getting to it now-my apologies to Jon and my thanks for his patience. I found a few sources with similar stories, but since they come from very interesting source and I myself am incredibly verbose, I thought I would let those sources speak for themselves at length."
Mike's Baseball Rants

Babe and Ernie

This Day In History: June 23, 1917
"On this day in history, 1917, Babe Ruth was on the mound for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park against the Washington Senators. He threw four straight balls, at least as far as the umpire, Clarence 'Brick' Owens, was concerned, walking Ray Morgan. Ruth thought the second and the fourth pitch were both strikes, so charged the umpire and reportedly yelled at him, 'If you’d go to bed at night, you *expletive*, you could keep your eyes open long enough in the daytime to see when a ball goes over the plate!' As you might imagine, the umpire didn’t take too kindly to this and told Ruth that if he didn’t shut up and get back to the mound, he’d be thrown out of the game. Ruth then yelled at him, 'Throw me out and I’ll punch ya right in the jaw!' Owens then threw him out and Ruth attempted to punch him in the jaw… He missed though, and instead hit a glancing blow behind the umpire’s ear, but nevertheless knocked Owens down."
This Day In History

Catcher: How the Man behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero

"Long before catchers actually had tools of ignorance, brave—or crazy—young men clamped their teeth around a chunk of rubber and crept up behind the batter to receive pitches barehanded. When their gnarled fingers split open or a foul ball collided with their skull they got back up and kept at it, earning the respect of their peers and the admiration of the spectators in the grandstand. Part daredevil, part cowboy, these early catchers made themselves indispensable with a reckless disregard for their own safety. No team could hope to contend without a star receiver. The growth of the position significantly affected the evolution of the young game in the latter part of the 19th century."
Baseball America

"Nobody is better at recapturing how and why Americans played baseball in the 19th century than award-winning baseball historian Peter Morris, whose several books on early baseball even include a study of pioneering groundskeepers. Last year, in 'But Didn’t We Have Fun,' he traced the game’s evolution from the pastime of self-governing amateur clubs who played for fun and sociability to the post-Civil War appearance of professionals like the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who played for fun and profit. Now, in 'Catcher,' Morris tells the story through the last three decades of the 19th century and into the 20th, when the game became essentially the one played today. He does so by focusing on the role of the catcher. Although his argument that for a couple of decades the catcher became a folk hero like the cowboy or even Daniel Boone is more than a bit of a reach, the rest of his book is so well done that Morris’s occasional detours into the Am Civ theorizing are only minor distractions."
History News Network

c. 1900's A.J. Reach Catchers Mitt With Old Tag Front

Unmasked hero
"Modern catchers in baseball are almost anonymous; they are hidden head-to-toe behind pounds of high-tech, protective equipment, and their catching hand is guarded with a massive mitt. But that was not always the case, as Haslett baseball historian and author Peter Morris details in his new book 'Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate became an American Folk Hero.' In the early days of baseball, the catcher was positioned right behind the batter, just like today, but that’s where the similarities end. In the mid-to-late 1800s, catchers had no protective equipment whatsoever. No mask, no chest protector, no shin protectors and, amazingly, no glove. During this time, the position of catcher and the men who filled it took on mythic proportions, representing everything important to baseball."
Lansing City Pulse

Clements, C

"Today's baseball catcher stolidly goes about his duty without attracting much attention. But it wasn't always that way, as Peter Morris shows in this lively and original study. In baseball's early days, catchers stood a safe distance back of the batter without protective gear. Then the introduction of the curveball in the 1870s led them to move up directly behind home plate, even though they still wore no gloves or other protection. Extraordinary courage became the catcher's most notable requirement, but the new positioning also demanded that the catcher have lightning-fast reflexes, great hands, and a throwing arm with the power of a cannon. With so great a range of required skills, a special mystique came to surround the position, and it began to seem that a good catcher could single-handedly make the difference between a winning and losing team."
amazon 

Berth

"1. A player's position on a team. 1ST USE. 1908 (Baseball Magazine, September; Edward J. Nichols). 2. A team's position in the standings. '[The Orioles] may not even be that far from competing for a wild-card berth' (Peter Schmuck, The Baltimore Sun, July 26, 2006). 1ST USE. 1910 (Baseball Magazine, May; Edward J. Nichols). USAGE NOTE.Peter Morris suggests that the term originally designated a position in the standings in either the first division or the second division; e.g., 'The White Sox ... finished in the first division when they generally had been picked for a lower berth' (Chicago Tribune, Apr. 6, 1913) and 'There did not appear to be a chance for anything but a season opened' (Chandler Richter, The Sporting Life, Sept. 4, 1915). This meaning was derived from the various classes of tickets for travelers on ships and trains; it has particular pertinence to baseball in that veteran players usually obtained lower berths in the sleeping cars their trains."
Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

"'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song (chorus only) is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game. ... Jack Norworth, while riding a subway train, was inspired by a sign that said 'Baseball Today — Polo Grounds'. In the song, Katie's (and later Nelly's) beau calls to ask her out to see a show. She accepts the date, but only if her date will take her out to the ballgame. The words were set to music by Albert Von Tilzer, (Norworth and Von Tilzer finally saw their first Major League Baseball games 32 and 20 years later, respectively). The song was first sung by Norworth's then-wife Nora Bayes and popularized by many other vaudeville acts."
Wikipedia

One, Two, Three: A Century of Baseball’s Anthem
"... The story goes that Norworth penned the lyrics one day while riding one of Manhattan’s new subway trains north toward the Polo Grounds. He remembered seeing a sign advertising that day’s game and pulling out a pencil and paper to scribble down a set of lyrics, which Von Tilzer would later pair with a tune he had composed. (The original manuscript is part of the Hall of Fame Library’s collection.) The song was not immediately popular at ballparks, surprisingly enough. In fact, the first known time it was performed in a ballpark was in 1934, almost 30 years after it was written. But it was a big hit in 1908, selling millions of copies of sheet music and 'Edison Wax Cylinder' recordings. Its initial popularity was due to a set of 'lantern slides' shot at the Polo Grounds to promote the song. The slides tell the story of Katie Casey, the fictional protagonist of the songs’ two rarely-heard verses, who implores her beau to take her out to the ball game."
Baseball Hall

YouTube: "Take Me Out To the Ball Game", September 1908

Smoky Joe Wood

"Howard Ellsworth 'Smoky Joe' Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1908-15, where he was primarily a pitcher, for the Cleveland Indians from 1917-22, where he was primarily an outfielder. He is one of only 13 pitchers who won 30 or more games in one season (going 34–5 in 1912) since 1900. ... There were many such teams across the country, which barnstormed in exhibition games against teams of men. Bloomer Girl rosters featured at least one male player. After joining the Red Sox in 1908 at the age of 18, Wood had his breakthrough season in 1911 in which he won 23 games, compiled an earned run average of 2.02, threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns and struck out 15 batters in a single game. Wood once struck out 23 batters in an exhibition game. He earned the nickname "Smoky Joe" because of his blazing fastball. Wood once said, 'I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body.'"
Wikipedia

Smoky Joe Wood thread
"During his time, he would be feared. People would have trouble distinguishing between him and the other fireballer of his era, Walter Johnson. For the early part of the 1910’s, he was one of baseball’s top pitchers. But you ask people what they think of Smoky Joe Wood and they reply with a simple, “Who?” Something like finding varied pictures of him is a task in itself. And forget the biography. People don’t even know that it was spelled “Smoky,” not “Smokey.” Wood has been forgotten for some reason or another. He didn’t last long. So what? What he accomplished was no meager thing. Treated like a one-year wonder or some fluke, Wood was a strong pitcher in his time. If a guy like Herb Pennock or Red Schoendienst can make the Hall, why isn’t there room for Smoky Joe Wood? Considering his accomplishments, I’d say he’s more than qualified. For those ready to retaliate with a longevity argument, I’d rather not listen. Wood was still very strong in his prime, maybe he would have continued doing so. After his injury he became a good offensive player considering that had never been his primary duty. I know as some read this they think me a fool and are ready to unleash the missiles once done with the sentence. To me, the injury-plagued hurler was robbed of a legacy. Wood desired to be in the spotlight almost as bad as he desired to throw. Hard."
Baseaball Fever

"Joe Wood defies a pigeonhole, and therein lies his difficulty getting into the Hall of Fame. Respected pitcher, beloved coach, penny-ante gambler — bumbling game fixer. From 1909 to 1915, he was an overwhelming presence for the Boston Red Sox, winning 116 games in seven seasons and going 34-5 and 1912. Three times he had season earned run averages under well under 2.00. The Red Sox had few pitching worries in those days: They had another excellent young pitcher, Babe Ruth, and the reliable Eddie Cicotte, a future conspirator in the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal. Rube Foster and Ernie Shore also had a some outstanding seasons. Wood thrived in such talented company."
What The Hall?

The Duel Between Smoky Joe Wood and Walter Johnson at Fenway Park in September 1912
"This was perhaps the first memorable game at Fenway Park, which had opened with its first game just a few months earlier, and maybe the most memorable regular season baseball game of the 1910s. In The Glory of Their Times, Wood recalled: That was my greatest season, 1912: 34 wins, 16 in a row, 3 more in the World Series, and, of course, beating Walter Johnson in that big game at Fenway Park on September 6, 1912. My regular pitching turn was scheduled to come on Saturday, and they moved it up a day so that Walter and I could face each other. Walter had already won 16 in a row and his streak had ended. I had won 13 in a row and they challenged our manager, Jake Stahl, to pitch me against Walter, so Walter could stop my streak himself. Jake agreed, and to match us against each other he moved me up in the rotation from Saturday to Friday. The newspapers publicized us like prizefighters: giving statistics comparing our height, weight, biceps, triceps, arm span, and whatnot: The Champion, Walter Johnson, versus the Challenger, Joe Wood."
Misc. Baseball

Lift the Curtain…..
"The Red Sox opened their 1912 season April 11th in New York’s Hilltop Park. They did it with a comeback win against the Highlanders and all the runs in the game came in the first and ninth innings. Harry Wolverton Highlander manager dons the Yankee pinstripes, the first time they appeared on the New York uniform. This was the last season the New York team was known as the Highlanders. In 1913 they moved to the Polo Grounds and officially changed their name to the Yankees. The New Yorkers unveiled the pinstripes for the first time. They wore them for the 1912 season however abandoned them for 1913 and 1914. They reappeared for the 1915 season and they have grown to be as much a part of the Yankee mystique as any player or ballpark. Smokey Joe Wood was the Red Sox opening day pitcher as he lifted the curtain on what became perhaps the greatest year of any Red Sox pitcher in history. He was 34-5, with a 1.91 ERA and he threw 10 shutouts."
fenwaypark100