The 1912
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
was the championship series in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
for the
1912 season. The ninth edition of the World Series, it matched the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
champion
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
and the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
champion
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. The Red Sox won the Series four games to three (with one tie).
This series, featuring close games and controversial decisions, was regarded as one of the most exciting World Series of its era. Nearly all of the games were close. Four games in this Series were decided by one run. A fifth ended in a tie. A sixth was decided by two runs. Game 7 was the only one with a margin greater than three runs. Two games, including the decisive Game 8, went to extra innings. In Games 1 and 3, the losing team had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended. To date, this is the only World Series to end on a sacrifice fly.
The series showcased star pitching from Giant
Christy Mathewson
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...
and Red Sox
fireballer
Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of ...
Smoky Joe Wood
Howard Ellsworth "Smoky Joe" Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player for 14 years. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1908 to 1915, where he was primarily a pitcher, and for the Cleveland Indi ...
. Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game. In the deciding game, Boston rallied for two runs in the tenth inning thanks to two costly Giants fielding misplays.
This was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, and the only best-of-seven Series to do so. While the 1912 Series was extended to eight games due to a tie game being called on account of darkness, the , , and
1921 World Series
The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants and the American League champion New York Yankees.
Th ...
were all best-of-nine affairs that happened to run eight games.
Summary
Matchups
Game 1
In batting practice before Game 1,
Tris Speaker
Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career bat ...
drove a ball not only over the right field grandstand but completely out of the Polo Grounds.
The Series opened with the Red Sox as 10–8 betting favorites.
Giants manager
John McGraw
John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...
surprised everyone by starting rookie
Jeff Tesreau
Charles Monroe "Jeff" Tesreau (March 5, 1888 – September 24, 1946)
was an American Major League Baseball player. Standing , Tesreau was given the nickname "Jeff" because he resembled boxer Jim Jeffries.
Baseball career
Tesreau initial ...
rather than the great
Christy Mathewson
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...
against Boston ace
Smoky Joe Wood
Howard Ellsworth "Smoky Joe" Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player for 14 years. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1908 to 1915, where he was primarily a pitcher, and for the Cleveland Indi ...
. He preferred to save Mathewson for Game 2 and the hostile crowd at Fenway Park.
New York struck first. Josh Devore walked with one out in the third, and advanced to third base on a single by
Larry Doyle lost in the sun by
Duffy Lewis
George Edward "Duffy" Lewis (April 18, 1888 – June 17, 1979) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators from 1910 to ...
.
After
Fred Snodgrass
Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass (October 19, 1887 – April 5, 1974) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball from to . He is best known for dropping a key fly ball in the 1912 World Series.
New York Giants Early years
Snodgrass wa ...
struck out,
Red Murray's single scored Devore and Doyle for a 2–0 Giants lead. Tesreau and his
spitball
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to mo ...
held the Red Sox hitless for the first five innings, but Boston then cut the lead to 2–1 in the sixth on a triple by Tris Speaker that fell to the ground untouched when neither Snodgrass nor Devore called for the ball (in an Alphonse-Gaston act),
and an RBI groundout by Lewis. The Red Sox scored three runs in the very next inning, on an RBI double by
Harry Hooper
Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...
and a two-run single by
Steve Yerkes, after Giants second baseman Doyle had muffed Wood's potential inning-ending double play grounder and had to settle for the one out at second.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants scored a run and had the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but Wood, a spectacular 34–5 in the regular season, struck out the last two batters for the 4–3 Boston win in a complete game with 11 strikeouts. Oddly, McGraw let relief pitcher
Doc Crandall
James Otis Crandall (October 8, 1887 – August 17, 1951) was a right-handed pitcher and second baseman. He was the first player to be consistently used as a relief pitcher. Consequently, he was given the nickname Doc by Damon Runyon who said C ...
bat for himself for what turned out to be the last out rather than using backup catcher
Art Wilson
Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 – June 12, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher.
Wilson spent most of his career as a backu ...
to pinch-hit.
After the game Wood said, "I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body."
Game 2
Christy Mathewson
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...
later said of the moment when he took the mound at Fenway Park, "This was the only place in the world that I wanted to be. I could think of nothing greater than pitching this game for the glory of the New York Giants."
An error by Giants shortstop
Art Fletcher
Arthur Fletcher (January 5, 1885 – February 6, 1950) was an American shortstop, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. Fletcher was associated with two New York City baseball dynasties: the Giants of John McGraw as a player; and the Yanke ...
led to three first-inning unearned Boston runs off Mathewson. Single tallies in the second and fourth by the Giants cut the lead to 3–2. Another error by Fletcher, who failed to tag Harry Hooper on a stolen base attempt, led to a fourth Boston run in the fifth when Yerkes followed the error with an RBI triple. In the top of the eighth Boston returned the favor, allowing New York to strike back for three runs. Left field at brand-new Fenway Park was unique for a incline in front of the wall (later to be called "The Green Monster"). Red Sox left fielder
Duffy Lewis
George Edward "Duffy" Lewis (April 18, 1888 – June 17, 1979) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators from 1910 to ...
was so proficient at negotiating this incline that it was first named
"Duffy's Cliff" in his honor, but this time Lewis tripped on the hill and failed to catch
Fred Snodgrass
Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass (October 19, 1887 – April 5, 1974) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball from to . He is best known for dropping a key fly ball in the 1912 World Series.
New York Giants Early years
Snodgrass wa ...
' fly ball, putting him on first base.
He scored on Murray's double, and two batters later third baseman
Buck Herzog
Charles Lincoln "Buck" Herzog (July 9, 1885 – September 4, 1953) was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for four National League clubs between 1908 and 1920: the New York Giants, the Boston Braves, the Cinci ...
hit a two-run double to give New York a 5–4 lead.
The Giants' lead was brief. Lewis doubled in the bottom of the eighth, and then Fletcher's terrible day continued with his third error allowing
Larry Gardner
William Lawrence Gardner (May 13, 1886 – March 11, 1976) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1908 through 1924, Gardner played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He was a four-time World Series ...
to reach base and Lewis to score. This tied the game at 5. In the ninth, Boston reliever
Charley Hall, who had replaced
Ray Collins in the eighth, got the first two outs but proceeded to walk Snodgrass, Larry Doyle and
Beals Becker
David Beals Becker (July 5, 1886 – August 16, 1943) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1915.
Biography
Becker was born in El Dorado, Kansas in 1886. He attended Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri and is the ...
consecutively. But with the bases loaded, Red Murray grounded into a forceout and the Red Sox escaped. Boston went quietly in the bottom of the ninth, setting up extra innings.
Fred Merkle
Carl Frederick Rudolf Merkle (also sometimes documented as Frederick Charles Merkle; December 20, 1888 – March 2, 1956), nicknamed "Bonehead", was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1926. Although he had a lengthy c ...
led off the New York tenth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 6–5 lead. Mathewson, who pitched the entire game for New York, came back to the mound in the bottom of the tenth with a chance to slam the door on Boston and even the Series at one game apiece, but Tris Speaker, who had hit .383 in the regular season, slammed an extra-base hit to center field. Giant third baseman Buck Herzog deliberately collided with Speaker to prevent an inside-the-park home run, but Speaker got up and came home anyway.
Becker threw the ball in to cutoff man
Tillie Shafer
Arthur Joseph "Tillie" Shafer (March 22, 1889 – January 10, 1962) was a Major League Baseball infielder with the New York Giants from 1909 to 1913.
Career
While attending Santa Clara University, Shafer was one of the most accomplished colle ...
, who threw to the plate but catcher Art Wilson dropped the ball—for New York's fifth error of the game—and Speaker, who was credited with a triple on the play, scored to tie it at 6. McGraw claimed, and reporters in the press box agreed, that Speaker had missed first base, but base umpire
Cy Rigler
Charles "Cy" Rigler (May 16, 1882 – December 21, 1935) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1906 to 1935. His total of 4,144 games ranked fourth in major league history when he retired, and his ...
ruled that he hadn't on appeal.
Lewis followed with a double to put the winning run in scoring position, but Mathewson retired Gardner and Stahl to escape the inning with a tie.
New York had one last chance in the top of the 11th. Snodgrass led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, but was then thrown out attempting to steal second. After Doyle struck out, Becker drew a walk but was also thrown out on an attempted steal of second, ending the inning. After the Red Sox went down in order in the bottom of the 11th, the game was called on account of darkness tied at 6, Boston retaining a 1–0 lead in the Series. The
National Commission ruled that the players would still get a share of the gross receipts from only the first four games despite the Game 2 tie, a decision which caused much discontent among the players.
Game 3
![Smoky Joe Wood and Rube Marquard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Smoky_Joe_Wood_and_Rube_Marquard.jpg)
In the top of the second, Red Murray doubled to center. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Merkle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Herzog, giving the Giants a 1–0 lead. Three innings later, Herzog doubled and scored on a single by Fletcher, stretching New York's lead to 2–0. It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth.
Rube Marquard
Richard William "Rube" Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Ba ...
, who pitched a complete game for the Giants, got Speaker to pop up to start the inning. Lewis followed with a grounder to first baseman Merkle, who flipped to Marquard covering first, but Marquard couldn't find the bag and Lewis reached with an infield single.
Gardner followed with an RBI double, narrowing the Giant lead to 2–1. First baseman / playing manager Jake Stahl grounded to Marquard, who threw out Gardner at third base for the second out as Stahl took first. Manager Stahl then took himself out of the game for
pinch-runner
In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...
Olaf Henriksen
Olaf Henriksen (April 26, 1888 – October 17, 1962) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who remains to date the only Danish-born person ever to play in the major leagues. He played seven seasons (1911–17) for the Boston Red Sox as a teammat ...
. The next Boston hitter, Heinie Wagner, reached on an error by Merkle, with Henriksen, representing the tying run, advancing to third. Wagner, the potential winning run, then stole second to get into scoring position but the next batter,
Hick Cady
Forrest Leroy "Hick" Cady (January 26, 1886 – March 3, 1946) was a backup catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1912–17) and Philadelphia Phillies (1919). Cady batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Bishop ...
, lined out to right field to end the game. Although
Josh Devore
Joshua M. Devore (November 13, 1887 – October 6, 1954), was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the major leagues from –. He would play for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, and Boston Braves. ...
missed the ball with his glove, he managed to catch it with his bare left hand,
allowing the Giants to hang on for a 2–1 victory and even the series at a game apiece.
Game 4
The Red Sox won 3–1 on Wood's complete game, eight-strikeout effort. Boston took a 1–0 lead when Gardner tripled in the second and scored on a wild pitch by Tesreau, who had lost the nail on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand when a
Harry Hooper
Harry Bartholomew Hooper (August 24, 1887 – December 18, 1974) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, Ca ...
grounder ripped it off in the first.
Boston made it 2–0 on an RBI single by Cady in the fourth. In the seventh, Herzog singled and scored on Fletcher's double to cut the lead to 2–1, but in the top of the ninth, Wood helped his own cause with an RBI single. The Giants went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to give Boston a 2–1 series lead.
Game 5
The Red Sox scored two quick runs in the bottom of the third against Mathewson when Hooper led off with a triple, Yerkes also tripled, and Speaker reached on an error by Giants second baseman Doyle allowing Yerkes to score. Mathewson then proceeded to retire the next 17 Red Sox batters in a row, but that was all Boston pitcher
Hugh Bedient
Hugh Carpenter Bedient (October 23, 1889 – July 21, 1965) was a starting pitcher who played in the American League for the Boston Red Sox (1912–1914) and with the Buffalo Blues of the Federal League (1915). Bedient batted and threw right-hand ...
needed. Merkle doubled and came around to score in the seventh inning to make the score 2–1, but Mathewson struck out to end the rally. Bedient retired the last seven Giant hitters in order for a three-hit complete game. Boston now led the Series 3–1, and was one victory away from a championship.
Game 6
![Buck O'Brien](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Buck_O%27Brien.jpg)
Boston pitcher
Buck O'Brien
Thomas Joseph "Buck" O'Brien (May 9, 1882 – July 25, 1959) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.
O'Brien got a late start in professional baseball. However, as a spitballer, he ...
, who had pitched well in Game 3 but lost to Marquard, started again in Game 6 and was shelled for five runs in the bottom of the first inning. After left fielder Devore led off the inning with a groundout, Doyle singled and Snodgrass struck out, five Giants hitters in a row hit safely, with Buck Herzog scoring on a steal of home. The inning didn't end until O'Brien picked Fletcher off first base. Marquard took over from there, throwing a complete game for his second victory of the series, and the Giants won 5–2. New York stayed alive, but Boston still led the series 3–2.
Buck O'Brien started this game over Red Sox ace Wood at the insistence of Red Sox owner
Jimmy McAleer
James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League.
He spent most of his 13-season playing career with t ...
, over the protests of Boston manager Stahl. Disgruntled Red Sox players believed their own front office was trying to extend the series and gather more box office receipts by starting a weaker pitcher.
O'Brien, meanwhile, was not told he was pitching until the morning of the 14th, too late to prevent him from going out drinking and starting Game 6 with a hangover.
Game 7
Wood, who had pitched and won Games 1 and 4 for the Red Sox, started Game 7 with a chance to win Boston's second championship. But in a replay of Game 6, the Giants blew the game open in the first inning. Seven of the first nine Giants batters reached base, and six of them scored. Wood faced ten batters, threw them only 13 pitches
and retired only one of them, with the first out coming on a
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
and the third when Giant starter Tesreau was caught stealing second. New York cruised from there, winning the only truly lopsided game of the series 11–4. This game featured two "bounce" home runs, one from Gardner of the Red Sox and another from Doyle of the Giants. This type of play, where a ball lands in fair territory and goes over the wall on a bounce, was changed by rule to a
ground rule double
A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the ground ...
in 1931. Game 7 also featured an extremely rare unassisted double play by an outfielder. Tris Speaker, who was known for playing very shallow in center field, caught a liner by Fletcher with one out in the top of the ninth inning and ran in, stepping on second to double off Wilson.
The game was delayed because of a demonstration by the
Royal Rooters
The Royal Rooters were a fan club for Boston's professional baseball team in the American League in the early 20th century. The team was known as the Boston Americans during the 1901–1907 seasons, and has been known as the Boston Red Sox sinc ...
, the primary Red Sox fan organization of the day, because their normal seats on Duffy's Cliff had been double-sold to other fans. The Royal Rooters were lined up along the left field foul line since they had indeed paid their way in.
They were not satisfied, however. Their leader,
Michael "Nuf Ced" McGreevy, led a further demonstration after the game in front of the Red Sox offices and called for a boycott of Game 8.
Wood's awful start, the fact that he'd continued to pitch with a full
windup instead of going into
the stretch position with Giants on base,
and the sloppy play of the Red Sox led to ugly rumors. Boston fans and respected sportswriter
Tim Murnane
Timothy Hayes Murnane (June 4, 1851 – February 7, 1917) was an American sportswriter specializing in baseball, regarded as the leading baseball writer at ''The Boston Globe'' for about 30 years until his death. At the same time, he organize ...
each believed that the Boston players, angry that they didn't get a cut from the gate receipts for Game 2 and further alienated by O'Brien's Game 6 start, bet on the Giants to make their losses good.
Whatever went down, the Series was tied at 3, setting up a decisive Game 8 for the championship.
Game 8
![Tris Speaker, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait LCCN2008677364](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Tris_Speaker%2C_Boston_Red_Sox%2C_baseball_card_portrait_LCCN2008677364.jpg)
The location of this game was determined by a coin flip, which the Red Sox won. Because this game was scheduled at the last minute as a makeup of the Game 2 tie, and due as well to the game-fixing rumors and the Royal Rooters' boycott, the riveting finale of the 1912 World Series was played to a half-capacity crowd at Fenway.
Mathewson started for the Giants, and Bedient for the Red Sox. In the Giants' third inning, Devore led off with a single, advanced on groundouts by Doyle and Snodgrass, and scored on Murray's RBI double. New York held on to the 1–0 lead until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Stahl singled with one out and
Heinie Wagner
Charles Frederick "Heinie" Wagner (September 23, 1880 – March 20, 1943) was an American baseball player and manager. He played shortstop for the New York Giants (1902) and the Boston Red Sox (1906–1918). He was also the manager of the Red S ...
drew a walk. Henriksen pinch-hit for pitcher Bedient and doubled to left to tie the game at one, but Hooper flied out to center to end the rally.
Smoky Joe Wood, who had taken a pounding the day before for Boston, replaced Bedient in relief. Wood and Mathewson, still pitching for the Giants, matched zeroes in the eighth and ninth innings, and the game went to extra innings tied 1–1. In the top of the tenth, Murray doubled with one out and scored on an RBI single from Merkle. Wood struck out Herzog and got the Giant catcher,
Chief Meyers
John Tortes "Chief" Meyers (July 29, 1880 – July 25, 1971) was a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants, Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Robins from 1909 to 1917. He played on the early ...
, to ground out to end the inning, but the game went to the bottom of the tenth with the Giants leading 2–1 and three outs away from a World Series victory.
Clyde Engle
Arthur Clyde "Hack" Engle (March 19, 1884 – December 26, 1939) was a utility player who played in Major League Baseball between and . Listed at 5' 10", 190 lb., Engle batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Dayton, Ohio.
Engle w ...
, pinch-hitting for Wood, led off with an easy fly ball to Fred Snodgrass in center field. Snodgrass dropped the ball, and Engle reached second base. The next day's ''New York Times'' described the play as follows: "And now the ball settles. It is full and fair in the pouch of the padded glove of Snodgrass. But he is too eager to toss it to Murray and it dribbles to the ground." Hooper flied out to deep center—Snodgrass making a fine running catch
right after his error—but Engle advanced to third. Yerkes was then inexplicably walked by control expert Mathewson, putting the winning run on base. Tris Speaker, who hit an even .300 in the 1912 World Series, lifted a foul pop on the first base side, but first baseman Merkle, pitcher Mathewson, and catcher Meyers allowed the ball to fall untouched in foul territory. Snodgrass later claimed that the Red Sox bench jockeys had disrupted the players' timing. Strangely, Mathewson called for catcher Meyers to take it even though Merkle was closer. Meyers couldn't reach it and it fell to the ground.
Speaker then shouted, "Well, you just called for the wrong man and it's gonna cost you the ball game!"
Given new life, he singled home Engle to tie it at 2, Yerkes advancing to third. Mathewson walked Lewis intentionally, loading the bases and setting up a force at every base, but the next hitter, Larry Gardner, flied to Devore in right field deep enough for Yerkes to tag up and score, and the Red Sox won the 1912 World Series.
Legacy
Fred Snodgrass
Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass (October 19, 1887 – April 5, 1974) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball from to . He is best known for dropping a key fly ball in the 1912 World Series.
New York Giants Early years
Snodgrass wa ...
’s error went down in history as "the $30,000 muff", a reference to the difference in the winning and losing shares, $29,514.34.
After the series Snodgrass tried to explain, saying "I didn't seem to be able to hold the ball. It just dropped out of the glove, and that was all there was to it."
Christy Mathewson later wrote that "As I look back upon the 1912 series, when we lost to the Boston Red Sox, I see it was the same. Pitchers, outfielders, the whole team collapsed under the strain." He had been ill-served by his team's defense. Five New York errors led to all six runs' being unearned in the Game 2 tie, an error scored the second run in Boston's 2–1 Game 5 victory and Snodgrass's $30,000 muff, along with the failure to catch Speaker's foul pop, resulted in the loss in Game 8. Mathewson started three games, completed all three and compiled a 0.94
earned-run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
for the Series, but was charged with two losses and a no-decision for his efforts. The 1912 World Series was the second of three consecutive Fall Classic appearances for the Giants, all of which they lost, and Mathewson retired in 1916 with the
1905 championship the only one of his brilliant career, in which he pitched three complete-game shutouts for 27 scoreless innings, Series records that may never be equaled.
After the Series was over, McAleer issued a statement apologizing to the Royal Rooters for selling their Game 7 seats out from under them.
The Red Sox victory in 1912 marked the beginning of the most successful run in franchise history. Between 1912 and 1918, they played in four World Series and won all of them. But after star pitcher/outfielder
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
was sold to the Yankees following the 1919 season, Boston had to wait 28 years for its next pennant and 86 years for its next
World Series victory.
The 1912 World Series was the first to be decided in the last inning of the final game. It was also the first Series where a team within one inning of losing came back to win. The next time a team that close to elimination recovered to win was the
1985 World Series
The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the Na ...
, when the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
rallied in the bottom of the ninth to beat the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
in Game 6, then won Game 7 and the championship. Other World Series that have ended with a Game 7 (or in this case Game 8, due to the tie) going to extra innings include the Series of , , , and . Other World Series won by the home team in its last at-bat in a Game 7 include the Series of 1924, , 1991, 1997, and .
It was at Game 4 of this Series that the World Series drew its 1,000,000th fan. The total attendance for this Series of 252,037 shattered the previous mark of 179,851 set the previous year, though the fact that this World Series went eight games, compared to six in 1911, was the difference. The total attendance record for this Series would stand as a record until 1921, when 269,977 attended the
1921 World Series
The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants and the American League champion New York Yankees.
Th ...
, the first with
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
as an everyday player. Like this World Series, the 1921 World Series also went eight games, though unlike this World Series, which was a best-of-seven, the 1921 World Series was a best-of-nine.
The 1912 World Series was discussed at length in the 1966 book ''
The Glory of Their Times
''The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It'' is a 1966 book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball. It is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest books ...
'', which featured interviews with Harry Hooper, Rube Marquard, Chief Meyers, Fred Snodgrass, and Smoky Joe Wood.
The 1913 ''Spalding's Official Baseball Guide'' said of the 1912 World Series, "No individual, whether player, manager, owner, critic or spectator, who went through the world's series of 1912 ever will forget it. There never was another like it. Years may elapse before there shall be a similar series and it may be that the next to come will be equally sensational, perhaps more so."
Composite line score
1912 World Series (4–3–1):
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
(A.L.) over
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(N.L.)
Notes
References
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External links
{{San Francisco Giants
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
Boston Red Sox postseason
New York Giants (NL) postseason
World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
1910s in Boston
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
Sports competitions in Boston
Fenway Park
Sports competitions in New York City
1910s in Manhattan
Washington Heights, Manhattan