The year after the Boston American’s (today’s Red Sox) 1903 victory over the Pirates in the first modern World Series, Boston again won the American League pennant and was slated to face the National League’s premier team, the New York Giants. The Giants, however, refused to play this team from the upstart American League and so no World Series was played in 1904.
New York Faces Philadelphia in 1905 World Series
In 1905 the Philadelphia Athletics (today’s Oakland Athletics) won the American League pennant on the final day of the season with a record of 92-46-4. The Giants, meanwhile, again dominated the National League and finished in first place with a record of 105-48-2.
This time the Giants agreed to play a championship series against the American League victors, under guidelines suggested by Giants owner John T. Brush that stipulated the series be a best-of-seven format, rather than the best-of-nine as was the case in 1903.
The match-up began the day after the regular season ended and featured future Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, Roger Bresnahan, Joe McGinnity and John McGraw (manager) for the Giants and Chief Bender, Eddie Plank and Connie Mack (manager) for the Athletics. Rube Waddell was another future Hall of Famer for Philadelphia but did not play in the series.
In addition to these stars, a player by the name of Archibald Graham appeared briefly for the Giants that year, playing in a single game on June 29. Later generations would become familiar with this player, better known as “Moonlight” Graham, through the 1982 novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, which was ultimately adapted into the 1989 movie Field of Dreams.
Giants and Athletics Exchange 3-0 Shutouts
The Giants traveled by train to Philadelphia’s Columbia Park to open up the Series on Monday, October 9. More than 17,000 fans packed into the park while officials had to turn away another 10,000. Police cordoned off an area in the outfield, where the crowd stood 20 deep. The teams agreed that any ball hit into this area would be considered a ground rule double.
The Giants’ Mathewson, who won 31 games during the regular season, faced off against 24-game-winner Eddie Plank. In a game lasting 1:47, the Giants stroked ten hits while scoring two runs in the 5th inning and one in the 9th. This was more than enough for the Mathewson, who surrendered just four hits in shutting out Philadelphia.
For Game 2 on October 10, the teams traveled to New York to play at the Polo Grounds. Nearly 25,000 fans filled every available space in the stadium, including a section in the outfield where they stood 50 deep.
In a reversal of the first game, the Giants could only scratch out four hits against Chief Bender, an 18-game winner in the regular season. The game lasted 1:55 with the Athletics beating 21-game-winner Joe McGinnity 3-0 to even up the series.
Giants on Verge of Becoming New York’s First World Series Champion
The teams returned to Philadelphia for Game 3, scheduled for October 11. Eighteen-game-winner Andy Coakley was slated to pitch for the home team while 16-game-winner Dummy Taylor would take the mound for the visitors.
But this match-up was not to be, as ominous skies and light drizzle kept all but about 4000 fans from showing up for the game. At the urging of the teams’ officials the umpires called the game off, officially declaring the field too wet. In reality, the game was canceled because the small crowd meant minimal revenue for the players. They preferred to play another day in front of a full house, ensuring a larger payday.
The fans were given rain checks for the game, which was rescheduled for the following afternoon. McGraw, in what proved to be a major turning point of the series, decided to start Mathewson instead of Taylor, as the ace had an extra day off because of the postponement (though he still pitched on only 2 days of rest.)
Nearly 11,000 fans showed up to Columbia Park and saw the Giants jump on Coakley for two runs in the first inning en route to an easy 9-0 victory. Mathewson was again masterful, shutting out Philadelphia on only four hits while striking out 9.
This whitewashing set up a pivotal Game 4 in which the Athletics could either tie the series or put themselves on the verge of elimination. The game was played on Friday the 13th at the Polo Grounds, with McGinnity facing off against Plank. More than 13,000 fans saw each team total five hits in an evenly matched dual. The Giants scored a lone run in the 5th inning to win the game and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Mathewson Notches His Third World Series Shut-out
For the potential series-ending Game 5, Bender took the mound on October 14th for Mack’s Athletics. His foe was none other than the incredible Mathewson who, with only one day of rest since his last outing, would pitch his third game in six days. The Giants eked out two runs, the last scored by Mathewson, while the Athletics were again shut out in a game lasting only 1:28.
With the victory, the National League crowed its superiority over the junior circuit and for the first time in history a New York team was the world championship, starting a run of success that has seen New York teams win 35 championships through 2011 (Yankees 27, New York Giants 5, Mets 2, Brooklyn Dodgers 1).
Remarkably, every game of the 1905 World Series resulted in a shutout, and only one relief pitcher was used during the five-game set. In his three shut-outs, Mathewson pitched 27 innings while yielding only 14 hits and one walk and striking out 18. With this performance he established a level of excellence not matched since.
Sources
The New York Times newspaper, October 10-15, 1905 editions.
Kevin Schindler - I have worked at scientific institutions for more than 20 years written more than 200 articles about science, history, and baseball.
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