The 1915
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 ...
season was a season in American
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
. It involved the Phillies winning 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 ...
, then going on to lose the
1915 World Series
The 1915 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1915 season. The 12th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox against the National League champion Philadelphia Phil ...
to the
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 ...
. This was the team's first
pennant since joining the league in 1883. They would have to wait
another 35 years for their second — and another 65 years for their
first World Championship.
Offseason
* February 14, 1915:
Sherry Magee
Sherwood Robert "Sherry" Magee (August 6, 1884 – March 13, 1929) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1904 through 1919, Magee played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1904–1914), Boston Braves (1915–1917) and Cincin ...
was traded by the Phillies to the
Boston Braves
The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta.
During it ...
for
Oscar Dugey,
Possum Whitted
George Bostic "Possum" Whitted (February 4, 1890 – October 16, 1962) was an American professional baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1912 to 1922 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Phil ...
, and cash.
Regular season
The pitching staff allowed the fewest runs in the NL. It was led by
Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander
Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...
, who had one of the greatest seasons in history and 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, ...
. Outfielder
Gavvy Cravath
Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 – May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the sport's most ...
, aided by the small
Baker Bowl
National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with ...
park, led the majors 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 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 ...
, and
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
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''
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...
* MLB leader in wins (31)
* MLB leader in ERA (1.22)
* MLB leader in strikeouts (241)
* MLB leader in shutouts (12)
Dave Bancroft
* #3 in NL in runs scored (85)
Gavvy Cravath
Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 – May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the sport's most ...
* MLB leader in home runs (24)
* MLB leader in RBI (115)
* MLB leader in slugging percentage (.510)
* NL leader in runs scored (89)
* NL leader in on-base percentage (.393)
Fred Luderus
Frederick William Luderus (September 12, 1885 – January 5, 1961) was an American professional baseball player who played first base in the major leagues from 1909 to 1920 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
Luderus was a member of ...
* #2 in NL in batting average (.315)
* #2 in NL in slugging percentage (.457)
Erskine Mayer
Jacob Erskine Mayer (born James Erskine Mayer, January 16, 1889 – March 10, 1957) was an American baseball player who played for three different Major League Baseball teams during the 1910s. In his eight-year career, Mayer played for the Ph ...
* #3 in NL in wins (21)
Postseason
1915 World Series
Game 1
The Phillies won 3 to 1, although ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reporter
Hugh Fullerton
Hugh Stuart Fullerton III (10 September 1873 – 27 December 1945) was an American sportswriter in the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He is best remembered for his role ...
wrote, "
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
pitched a bad game of ball. He had little or nothing." He titled his article, "Nothing but luck saved the Phillies." The Times also reported that 10,000 people gathered in New York City's
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
to watch a real-time mechanical recreation of the game on a giant scoreboard sponsored by the newspaper.
October 8, 1915, at
Baker Bowl
National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
Game 2
October 9, 1915, at
Baker Bowl
National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
Game 3
October 11, 1915, at
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...
in
Boston, Massachusetts
Game 4
October 12, 1915, at
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the ...
in
Boston, Massachusetts
Game 5
October 13, 1915, at
Baker Bowl
National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium and home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
Legacy
On October 16, 1915, a testimonial dinner was given to honor the 1915 Phillies for the franchise's first pennant. The dinner took place at
The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel
The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is a landmark building at 200 S. Broad Street at the corner of Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1904 and expanded to its present size in 1912, it has continued as a well-known ...
. Speakers included Philadelphia mayor
Rudolph Blankenburg
Rudolph Blankenburg (February 16, 1843 – April 12, 1918) was an American businessman and manufacturer, who became a politician and elected mayor of Philadelphia, leading a reform administration from 1911 to 1916.
Biography
Blankenburg was bor ...
, Phillies owner
William Baker,
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 ...
president
John Tener, and Phillies manager
Pat Moran.
The team marked its 25th anniversary in 1940 when the pennant remained the club's lone to date. Gerry Nugent announced in April 1940 that the organization would welcome back the players from the 1915 team to celebrate the anniversary. Bill Killefer, Bert Neihoff, Milt Stock, and Ben Tincup all remained in organized baseball in 1940 as managers or coaches.
Notes
References
Baseball Reference: 1915 Philadelphia Phillies season
External links
*
{{Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies seasons
Philadelphia Phillies season
National League champion seasons
Philly