The 1907 Detroit Tigers won 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 ...

pennant with a record of 92–58, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the

1907 World Series The 1907 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1907 season. The fourth edition of the World Series, it featured the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs and the American League champion Detroit Tig ...

, four games to none (with one tie). The season was their 7th since they entered the American League in 1901.

Offseason

In March 1907, Detroit manager

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won N ...

actually offered

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

to the

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

in exchange for

Elmer Flick Elmer Harrison Flick (January 11, 1876 – January 9, 1971) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1898 to 1910 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Bronchos/Na ...

. The Naps refused the deal.

Regular season

Season summary

The 1907 season was the first year the Tigers won the American League pennant. Their 1907 record of 92–58 was the team's best record to that point. Led by

, who led the American League in batting average (Cobb's first batting crown), RBIs, and slugging percentage, and

Sam Crawford Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a s ...

, who led the league in runs scored and extra base hits, they scored 89 more runs than any other team in the American League and outscored their opponents 694 to 532. They finished 1½ games ahead of the A's. The 1907 Tigers' winning percentage ranks as the 9th best in team history, as follows:

The players

Catchers: Boss Schmidt and Fred Payne

Catching duties were split between

Boss Schmidt Charles "Boss" Schmidt (September 12, 1880 – November 14, 1932) was an American baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) A native of Arkansas, Schmidt played professional baseball from 1901 to 1926, including six ...

(67 games), Fred Payne (46 games), and

Jimmy Archer James Patrick Archer (May 13, 1883 – March 29, 1958) was an Irish-born catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who spent nearly his entire career with four National League teams, primarily the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played from 1909 to 191 ...

(17 games).

Schmidt Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian crater), a List of craters on ...

hit .244 in 1907. As a young man, Schmidt worked in the coal mines and was a skilled brawler who fought an exhibition match with the heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson. Schmidt also beat

in at least two fights. In the second fight, Schmidt knocked Cobb unconscious but admired Cobb's resiliency, and the two became friends until Schmidt's death in 1932. Schmidt never wore shinguards and could force nails into the floor with his bare fists.

Infield: Rossman, Downs, O'Leary, Coughlin, and Schaefer

First baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Claude Rossman Claude R. Rossman (June 17, 1881 – January 16, 1928) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball for 12 years from 1903 to 1914, principally as first baseman, including five years in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland ...

played for the Tigers from 1907 to 1909. In 1907, Rossman hit .277 and had 69 RBIs—third most on the team after Cobb and Crawford. Rossman had a peculiar emotional quirk where he sometimes froze and could not throw the ball when he became excited. Runners would lead off first to draw a throw from the pitcher, then run to second when Rossman froze. He was 28 when he played his last major league game and died at age 46 in a New York hospital for the insane where he had been a patient for several years. Red Downs and

Germany Schaefer Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer (February 4, 1876 – May 16, 1919) was a second baseman, first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Newark Pepper, New ...

platooned at the second base position for the Tigers in 1907 and 1908. Downs hit .219 in 1907 with 42 RBIs and 28 runs scored. In March 1932, Downs and another man robbed a jewelry store at the Biltmore Hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Downs was convicted of first-degree robbery and sentenced to five years to life. He was paroled after 3½ years and returned to Iowa. GermanySchaefer

was a backup second baseman and utility infielder for the 1907 Tigers. He played 74 games at second base, 18 at shortstop, and 14 at third base. Schaefer is remembered more for his antics than for his performance on the field, including trying to steal first base (from second base) and, coming to bat in the rain with a raincoat and boots (to persuade the umpire to call the games). Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning, and his

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

act with teammate Charley O'Leary was inspiration for the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

musical film "''Take Me Out To The Ball Game''" starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. In 1919, a little over a year after Schaefer played his last game, he died at age 42 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

at the sanitarium in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

. Charley O'Leary was Detroit's starting shortstop from 1904 to 1907. In 1907, he hit .241 and scored 61 runs. On September 30, 1934, O'Leary pinch hit for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

at age 51 and became one of the oldest players to collect a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

and score a run.

Third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Bill Coughlin William Paul Coughlin (July 12, 1878 – May 7, 1943), was a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Washington Senators (1901–1904) and Detroit Tigers (1904–1908). Coughlin spent his entire adult life (1899–1943) playing and coaching ...

, known as "Scranton Bill", was named team captain in 1907 and 1908. He was a light-hitting defensive player, who never hit higher than .252 for the Tigers. His 232 putouts in 1901 is the 8th highest single season total in history by a major league third baseman. He is also one of the few MLB players to have stolen 2nd base, 3rd base and home in a single game. Coughlin was also the maestro of the

hidden ball trick A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...

. Although no known comprehensive list is known to exist of all times when the hidden ball trick has worked, Coughlin reportedly pulled it off seven times (and at three different positions) – more than any other player in MLB history. In Game 2 of the

, Coughlin caught

Jimmy Slagle James Franklin Slagle (July 11, 1873 – May 10, 1956), nicknamed both "Rabbit" and "Shorty", was a professional baseball player who played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1899 to 1908. In his 10 MLB seasons, he played for fou ...

with a

, the only one in World Series history.

Outfield: Cobb, Crawford and Jones

1907 was

's first season as an every-day starter. He won his first batting crown with a .350 average and led the American League in RBIs (119), slugging percentage (.468), hits (212), total bases (283), stolen bases (49), and runs created (106).

Right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, known as "Wahoo Sam", was one of the greatest sluggers of the deadball era and still holds the major league records for triples in a career (309) and for

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

s in a season (12) and a career (51). He finished his career with 2,961 hits and a .309

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Crawford was among the AL leaders in hits, RBIs,

extra base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

, slugging percentage, and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

every year for twelve consecutive years from 1905 to 1915. In 1907, Crawford finished second in the AL in batting average (.323) behind Cobb, and led the league in runs scored (102) and extra base hits. Davy Jones played for the Tigers from 1906 to 1912. With Cobb and Crawford solidly entrenched in the outfield, Jones was forced to battle for the third outfield spot with

Matty McIntyre Matthew Martin "Matty" McIntyre (June 12, 1880 – April 2, 1920) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played ten seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics (1901), Detroit Tigers (1904–10), and Chicago White Sox (1911–12). Born in St ...

each year from 1906 to 1910. As a speedy leadoff man, he was a reliable run scorer with Cobb and Crawford following him in the lineup. Jones' speed also made him a fine outfielder, with tremendous range In 1907, he finished second in the AL with 101 runs. In his three World Series for the Tigers, Jones played in 18 games, had a .357 on-base percentage, scored 8 runs, and had a home run in the

1909 World Series The 1909 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1909 season. The sixth edition of the World Series, it featured the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates against the American League champion Detroit Tiger ...

against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pitching: Mullin, Killian, Siever, and Donovan

"Wild Bill" Donovan was the Tigers ace in 1907 with a 25–4 record—the best win percentage in Tigers' team history. On May 7, 1906, Donovan stole second base, third base, and home on the front end of a double steal and also hit a triple in the same game. In June 1923, Donovan died in a train wreck.

Ed Killian Edwin Henry Killian (November 12, 1876 – July 18, 1928), nicknamed "Twilight Ed" and the "Twilight Twirler", was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Killian played professional baseball from 1902 to 1912, including seven ...

led the team (and was 2nd in the AL) with a 1.78 ERA and compiled a 25–13 record. As of the end of the 2009 season, Killian's career ERA of 2.38 is the 26th-best in MLB history. Killian also holds the record for fewest home runs allowed, giving up only 9 in his entire career. At one point, Killian pitched a record 1001 innings (from September 1903 – August 1907) without allowing a home run. George Mullin won 20 games in 1907, but he also lost 20 games. His ERA of 2.59 was the highest among the four Detroit starting pitchers. Mullin holds the Detroit Tigers franchise record for innings pitched (in a career and in a season) and has the second most wins in the team's history. He also pitched the team's first no-hitter; had five 20-win seasons (including a league-leading 29 wins in 1909; twice hit over .310 as a batter); and ranks 7th in major league history for fielding assists by a pitcher. The fourth Tiger starter was

Ed Siever Edward Tilden Siever (April 2, 1875 – February 4, 1920) was an American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 12 seasons from 1899 to 1910, including seven years in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers (1901–1902, 1906 ...

who had a 2.16 ERA in 1907 with a record of 18–11. Siever's

Adjusted ERA+ Adjusted ERA+, often simply abbreviated to ERA+ or ERA plus, is a pitching statistic in baseball. It adjusts a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) according to the pitcher's ballpark (in case the ballpark favors batters or pitchers) and the ERA of ...

of 191 for the 1902 Tigers is the second-best (after

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 19 ...

) in Tigers franchise history for a pitcher with more than 150 innings pitched. (See

Detroit Tigers award winners and league leaders This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Detroit Tigers professional baseball team. Awards and achievements American League Most Valuable Player Award (12) *1911 – Ty Cobb *1934 – Mickey Cochrane *1935 – Hank Greenb ...

) Ironically, Siever won fewer games in 1902 than he did any other full season he played.

Player/Manager Hughie Jennings

Hughie "Ee-yah" Jennings led the Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants, in 1907– 08– 09. Jennings continued to manage the Tigers through the 1920 season, though his team never won another pennant. During his years as Detroit's manager, Jennings became famous for his antics, mostly in the third base coaching box, which variously included shouts of "Ee-Yah", and other whoops, whistles, horns, gyrations, jigs, and grass-plucking. The "Ee-Yah" whoop became his trademark and was accompanied with waves of both arms over his head and a sharp raising of his right knee. In 1907, he was suspended for taunting opponents with a tin whistle. The "Ee-Yah" shouts continued and became such a trademark that Jennings became known as Hughie "Ee-Yah" Jennings, and Detroit fans would shout "Ee-Yah" when Jennings would appear on the field.Hughie Jennings Obituary from Deadball Era
(See also Jack Smile, ''Ee-yah: The Life And Times Of Hughie Jennings, Baseball Hall Of Famer'') Behind the antics was a great coaching mind.

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 ...

called Jennings one of the three greatest managers in history, along with

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 ...

and

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

Season highlights

* September 27: The Tigers beat the A's, 5–4‚ to take over first place. * September 30: The Tigers and A's, battling for the pennant, play to a 17-inning 9–9 tie in one of the most memorable games of the 1907 season. In the first game of a planned double header‚ the A's got off to a 7–1 lead against "Wild Bill" Donovan. The Tigers came back to tie the game, 8–8, against

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 ...

, on a two-run home run by

. Both teams scored once in the 11th, and an umpire's ruling cost Philadelphia the game in the 14th inning. Harry Davis hit a long fly. Detroit outfielder

went to the crowd's edge‚ and a policeman stood up and moved‚ either to interfere or to get out of the way. Home plate umpire Silk O'Loughlin ruled there was no interference‚ then reversed his ruling when base umpire

Tom Connolly Thomas Henry Connolly (December 31, 1870 – April 28, 1961) was an English-American umpire in Major League Baseball. He officiated in the National League from 1898 to 1900, followed by 31 years of service in the American League from 1901 to 1 ...

offered a different opinion. The game was called because of darkness in the 17th‚ a 9–9 tie. The Tigers‚ in first place‚ left for Washington where they won four games. * October 2: The Tigers swept a double header against Washington‚ winning 9–5 and 10–2. Ty Cobb got his 200th hit.

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'' ''Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included''

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''

Awards and honors

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1909 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'' is a reference book written by Bill James featuring an overview of professional baseball decade by decade, along with rankings of the top 100 players at each position. The original edition was publi ...

in 2001: *

: 2nd best center fielder of all time *

: 10th best right fielder of all time

World Series

World Series summary

In the 1907 World Series, the Chicago Cubs beat the Tigers 4 games to none (with one tie). With pitching dominance over the Tigers and Cobb, the Cubs allowed only three runs in the four games they won, while stealing 18 bases off the rattled Tigers. In Game 1, Tigers pitcher

Bill Donovan William Edward Donovan (October 13, 1876 – December 9, 1923), nicknamed "Wild Bill" and "Smiling Bill", was an American right-handed baseball pitcher and manager. Donovan played Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1898), Broo ...

struck out twelve Cubs in 12 innings. The Tigers scored three runs, in part due to three Chicago errors, in the 8th inning and held a 3–1 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. The Cubs loaded the bases on a single, walk and infield error with one out. Detroit conceded a run on a ground ball for the second out and Cub player-manager

Frank Chance Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 – September 15, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (initially named the "Orphans") and New York Yankees from 18 ...

then used pinch-hitter

Del Howard George Elmer "Del" Howard (December 24, 1877 – December 24, 1956) was a Major League Baseball player from 1905 to 1909. He would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Beaneaters/Doves, and Chicago Cubs. Howard appeared in 536 games and re ...

to bat for

Joe Tinker Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of th ...

. Howard struck out against "Wild" Bill Donovan (25–4 in the regular season) but the ball got away from catcher

, allowing

Harry Steinfeldt Harry M. Steinfeldt (September 29, 1875 – August 17, 1914) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Steinfeldt played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Rustlers. He batted and thr ...

to score the tying run. Donovan got the next batter but the damage to Detroit has been done. The teams then played three scoreless innings before the game was called on account of darkness and declared a tie, a first for the World Series. In Game 2, George Mullin, a 20-game winner and loser for Detroit in 1907 and who had walked over 100 batters in each of his last five seasons, issues a bases-loaded walk in the 2nd inning to tie the game at 1–1. Chicago scored two more in the 4th on a single, sacrifice bunt, RBI single, stolen base and double to take a 3–1 lead. In Game 3, Cubs pitcher

Ed Reulbach Edward Marvin "Big Ed" Reulbach (December 1, 1882 – July 17, 1961) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs during their glory years of the early 1900s. Career Reulbach played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame ...

scattered six hits as Chicago jumped on Tiger starter

for four runs on seven hits in only four innings.

Johnny Evers John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 – March 28, 1947) was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. ...

had three hits, including two doubles, as the Cubs took a 2–0 lead in the series. In Game 4, Detroit held a 1–0 lead on a triple by

and an RBI single by

before a rain delay in the 5th inning. When play resumed, Chicago baserunners reached via an error and a walk. After

sacrificed, pitcher Orval Overall drove both runners home on a single to right field. The Cubs scored three more in the 7th without hitting the ball out of the infield on four bunts (two for hits) and two ground balls. In Game 5, Chicago wrapped up the series with a 2–0 victory as

Mordecai Brown Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown (October 19, 1876 – February 14, 1948), nicknamed Three Finger Brown or Miner, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and manager during the first two decades of the 20th century (known as the " dead-ball e ...

pitched a seven-hit shutout. The Cubs scored a run in the first inning on a walk, stolen base and RBI single by

and scored again in the 2nd on an error, a single, a double-steal and a ground ball out to drive in the final run. Detroit had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out in the 4th inning, but could not score and never seriously threatened after that.

Postseason player stats

Batting

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

Pitching

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

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference.com 1907 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics

BaseballLibrary 1907 Detroit Tigers Season Summary

Baseball-Reference.com 1907 World Series Statistics, Box Scores and Play by Play

Charlton's Baseball Chronology 1907
{{Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season American League champion seasons Detroit Tigers 1907 in Detroit