upright=1.25, Pittsburgh_Pirates_(standing)_and_Boston_Americans_(sitting)_at_the_1903_World_Series.html" ;"title="Boston_Americans.html" ;"title="Pittsburgh Pirates (standing) and Boston Americans">Pittsburgh Pirates (standing) and Boston Americans (sitting) at the 1903 World Series">Boston_Americans.html" ;"title="Pittsburgh Pirates (standing) and Boston Americans">Pittsburgh Pirates (standing) and Boston Americans (sitting) at the 1903 World Series The 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 22nd year the Pittsburgh Pirates played in Major League Baseball. The club finished their season as National League champions, beating the second-place New York Giants by games. They went on to participate in the 1903 World Series, the first to be played between the champions of the National League and

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 ...

. The Pirates started off well, winning 3 of the first four games, but the

Boston Americans 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 ...

won the last four straight to win the series five games to three. The Pirates set a record of 56 consecutive innings without allowing the opposing team to score a run, a record that still stands today.

Offseason

* Prior to 1903 season: Jack O'Connor jumped from the Pirates to the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

* May 28, 1903: Reddy Grey was acquired by the Pirates on loan from the

Worcester Riddlers The Worcester Farmers were a minor league baseball team that played from 1899 to 1900 in the Eastern League. Under manager Frank Leonard in 1899, they went 58-51, and in 1900 they went 62-63. They were renamed the Worcester Quakers in 1901 and ...

.Reddy Grey page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

1903 World Series

Pittsburgh Pirates vs.

Game 1

October 1, 1903, at

Huntington Avenue Grounds Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston, Massachusetts, and was the first home field for the Boston Red Sox (known informally as the "Boston Americans" before 190 ...

in Boston, Massachusetts The Pirates started Game 1 strong, scoring six runs in the first four innings. They extended their lead to 7–0 on a solo home run by

Jimmy Sebring James Dennison Sebring (March 22, 1882–December 22, 1909), was a professional baseball player who played outfield from 1902 to 1909. He attended college at Bucknell University. He played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ...

in the 7th, the first home run in World Series history. Boston tried to mount a comeback in the last three innings, but it was too little, too late, as they ended up losing by a score of 7–3 in the first ever World Series game. Both starting pitchers,

Deacon Phillippe Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe (originally Phillippi) (May 23, 1872 – March 30, 1952) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Born in Rural Retreat, Virginia to Andrew P ...

of the Pirates and

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

of Boston, threw complete games, with Phillippe striking out 10 and Young fanning 5, but Young also gave up twice as many hits and allowed 3 earned runs to Phillippe's 2.

Game 2

October 2, 1903, at

in Boston, Massachusetts After starting out strong in Game 1, the Pirates simply shut down offensively, managing to get a meager 3 hits, all of which were singles. Pirates starter

Sam Leever Samuel Leever (December 23, 1871 – May 19, 1953), nicknamed "The Goshen Schoolmaster", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Sam Leever was born in G ...

went only one inning and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs before being replaced by

Bucky Veil Frederick William Veil (August 2, 1881 – April 16, 1931) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903 and 1904. Career Frederick played both baseball and football at Williamsport High School, the la ...

in the second inning due to injury, who finished the game for Pittsburgh.

Bill Dinneen William Henry Dinneen, alternately spelled Dineen (April 5, 1876 – January 13, 1955), was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who followed his 12-year career from 1898 to 1909 with a highly regarded tenure as an American ...

struck out 11 and pitched a complete game for the Americans, while

Patsy Dougherty Patrick Henry "Patsy" Dougherty (October 27, 1876 – April 30, 1940) was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1902 to 1911. He played for the Boston Americans (now the Boston Red Sox), the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees), and ...

hit home runs in the first and sixth innings to produce 2 of the Boston's 3 runs.

Game 3

October 3, 1903, at

in Boston, Massachusetts Deacon Phillippe, pitching on only one day rest, started Game 3 for the Pirates, and did not let them down as he pitched his second complete-game victory of the series to put the Pirates up two games to one.

Game 4

October 6, 1903, at Exposition Park in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

After two days of rest, Deacon Phillippe was ready to pitch his second straight game. He threw his third complete-game victory of the series against Bill Dinneen, who was pitching in his second start of the series. However, Phillippe's second straight victory was almost not to be, as the Americans, down 5–1 in the top of the ninth, staged a rally to bring the game within one. The comeback attempt failed, though, as Phillippe managed to put an end to it and give the Pirates a commanding 3–1 series lead.

Game 5

October 7, 1903, at Exposition Park in

Game 5 was a pitcher's duel for the first five innings, with Boston's Cy Young and Pittsburgh's

Brickyard Kennedy William Park Kennedy (October 7, 1867 – September 23, 1915), nicknamed "Brickyard" and "Roaring Bill", was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1892 to 1903. He played for the Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms/Superbas (1892–1901), Ne ...

giving up no runs. That changed at the top of the sixth, however, when the Americans scored a then-record 6 runs that inning. Young, on the other hand, managed to keep his shutout intact before finally giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. He went the distance and struck out four for his first World Series win.

Game 6

October 8, 1903, at Exposition Park in

Game 6 featured a rematch between the starters of Game 2, Bill Dinneen (Boston) and Sam Leever (Pittsburgh). This time, Leever would pitch the entire game, but despite throwing a complete game he was outmatched by Dinneen, who ended up with his second complete-game victory of the series. After losing three of the first four games of the World Series, the underdog Boston Americans had tied the series at three games apiece.

Game 7

October 10, 1903, at Exposition Park in

The fourth and final game in Allegheny City saw Deacon Phillippe start his fourth game of the series for Pittsburgh. This time, however, he wouldn't fare as well as he did in his first three starts. Cy Young, pitching in his third start of the series, would face a much more favorable fate, holding the Pirates to only three runs.

Game 8

October 13, 1903, at

in Boston, Massachusetts The final game of the inaugural World Series started out as an intense pitcher's duel, with no runs being scored until the fourth inning – when a Hobe Ferris single scored two runners. Deacon Phillippe started his fifth and final game of the series, while Bill Dinneen started his fourth game of the series. As he did in Game 2, Dinneen threw a complete game shutout while striking out seven, leading the Boston Americans to victory, while Phillippe, who also threw a respectable game, just couldn't pitch at Dinneen's level due to wearing out his arm in the series (as a result of playing so many games in such a short time span) and gave up three runs in the defeat. Honus Wagner struck out to end the Series.

Notes

References

External links

1903 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference

1903 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:1903 Pittsburgh Pirates Season National League champion seasons Pittsburgh Pirates seasons Pittsburgh Pirates season Pittsburg Pir