The 1905

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...

season was a season in American baseball. The team finished first in 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 b ...

with a record of 92 wins and 56 losses, winning their second pennant. They went on to face the

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 divisio ...

in the

1905 World Series The 1905 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1905 season. It was the second edition of the World Series after the 1903 Series, since the 1904 season ended with no Series held. The 1905 Series matched the Nat ...

, losing 4 games to 1. The pitching staff featured three future

Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Rube Waddell George Edward Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the National ...

Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, ...

, and

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...

. Waddell easily won the

pitching triple crown In baseball, a player earns a Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories in the same season. The term "Triple Crown" generally refers to the batting achievement of leading a league in batting average, home runs, ...

in 1905, with 27 wins, 287

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s, and a 1.48

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 numb ...

Preseason

1905 Philadelphia City Series

The Athletics played eight games against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for the local championship in the pre-season city series. The Athletics and Phillies tied in the series, 4 games to 4. Two games scheduled for April 5, 1905 at the Phillies' Philadelphia Ball Park, and for April 6, 1905 at the Athletics' Columbia Park were called off on account of wet grounds. The A's all time record against the Phillies was 14–14 through 1905.

Regular season

Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics, 1905 World Series

The A's offense scored the most runs in the league. Slugger Harry Davis led all players in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, runs scored, and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Birth of the Elephant mascot

After

' 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 189 ...

told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Ben Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the Athletics, had a "

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...

on his hands", manager

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, and presented McGraw with a stuffed toy elephant at the start of the

. McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously.

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''

1905 World Series

(4) vs AL Philadelphia Athletics (1)

Awards and honors

American League top five finishers

Andy Coakley Andrew James Coakley (November 20, 1882 – September 27, 1963) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1902–1906), Cincinnati Reds (1907–1908), Chicago Cubs (1908–1909), and New York High ...

* #4 earned run average (1.84)

Lave Cross Lafayette Napoleon Cross (born Vratislav Kriz, May 12, 1866 – September 6, 1927) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from to . Cross played most of his 21-year career with Philad ...

* #2 runs batted in (77) Harry Davis * #1 runs batted in (83) * #1 home runs (8) * #1 runs scored (93) * #4 slugging percentage (.422) Topsy Hartsel * #1 on-base percentage (.409) * #4 runs scored (88) * #4 stolen bases (37) Danny Hoffman * #1 in stolen bases (46)

* #2 wins (24) * #2 strikeouts (210)

* #1 wins (27) * #1 earned run average (1.48) * #1 strikeouts (287) * #2 shutouts (7)

Notes

References

1905 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference1905 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics seasons Philadelphia Athletics season American League champion seasons