Whatever Become of … 1906 Cubs and White Sox?

In the sixth year of the twentieth century, forty-eight players participated in what was to become the greatest season in Chicago baseball history.

For the first time ever, a World Series was to be played in only one city. Along the route the Cubs set a major league record of 116 victories, the White Sox set an American League record of 19 consecutive wins.

During the past 80 years, people have often asked “Whatever became of … ?”

The following is a chronology of the participants of that famous season.

1913 … Jiggs Donahue dies at the young age of 34 in a Columbus, Ohio mental hospital.

1914 … Harry Steinfeldt suffers a complete mental breakdown and dies at a Bellevue, Kentucky mental hospital at age 36.

1920 … Bill O’Neill, the first foreign-born player in the World Series, dies at 40 at his home in St. John, New Brunswick.

1924 … A trio of Cubs passed from the scene. Pat Moran dies on March 7th at 48 in Orlando, Florida. Frank Chance, manager of the Cubs and just signed to manage the White Sox for 1925, dies on September 15th at age 47 in Los Angeles. Doc Gessler, one of three doctors of the 1906 series, dies at 44 on December 26th at his home in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

1928 … Lewis “Bull” Smith, a one-game pinch-hitter for the Cubs during the season, died at Charleston, West Virginia on May 1st at age 47.

1934 … Fielder Jones, the White Sox manager, dies of a heart attack in Portland, Oregon at age 62. Carl Lundgren also dies this year at Marengo, Illinois on August 21st at age 54.

1938 … Three more participants pass on. Lee Tannehill dies February 16th at 57 in Live Oak, Florida. Pitcher Jack Taylor dies at 64 on March 4th in Columbus, Ohio. Jay “Babe” Towne passed away at 58 on October 29th at Des Moines, Iowa.

1940 … Three White Sox players pass away this year. Patsy Dougherty was a bank teller in Bolivar, New York, from 1918 until his fatal heart attack on April 30 at age 63. Gus Dundon dies at 66 on September 1st at Pittsburgh. George Davis dies at a Philadelphia mental hospital on October 17th at age 70.

1941 … Frank Isbell, manager of a filling station in Wichita, Kansas, dies during an emergency operation on July 15th at 65. Eddie Hahn was a clay potter when he died on November 29th in Des Moines, Iowa at 66.

1942 … Dr. Frank Owen, a physician in Ypsilanti, Michigan, dies at 62 on November 24th at Dearborn, Michigan.

1947 … Four starters of the 1906 Cubs die this year. Jimmy Sheckard was walking to work at a gas station when struck by an automobile. He died January 15th in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at age 68. Johnny Kling, Kansas City billiard hall owner, dies January 31st at 71. Johnny Evers, a sporting goods dealer, dies at Albany, New York on March 28th at 65. Orval Overall dies at 66 on July 14th at Fresno, California.

1948 … This year sees another two Cub starters pass away. Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, a gas station owner in Terre Haute, Indiana dies of diabetes at 71 on February 14th. Joe Tinker dies on his 68th birthday on July 27th at Orlando, Florida.

1949 … Frank “Wildfire” Schulte dies at 67 in an Oakland, California hospital on October 2nd.

1950 .. Jack Harper, who wound-up his career pitching a game for the Cubs in the regular season, dies September 30th at 72 in Jamestown, New York. Frank Hemphill also dies at 72 in Chicago on November 16th.

1951 … Rube Vinson passes away on October 12th at Chester, Pennsylvania at age 72.

1952 … Frank Smith (real name was Frank Schmidt) dies in Pittsburgh on November 3rd at 73.

1953 … Roy Patterson dies on April 14th at 76 in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Jack Pfiester (real name was John Hagenbush) died September 3rd at 75 in Loveland, Ohio.

1955 … Bob Wicker, who started the 1906 season with the Cubs, dies at Evanston, Illinois on January 22nd at age 76. Frank Roth, the only Chicago born player, dies at 76 on March 27th in Burlington, Wisconsin.

1956 … Arthur ” Circus Solly” Hofman dies in St. Louis on March 10th at 73. Jimmy Slagle dies May 10th at age 82 in Chicago.

1957 … George Rohe, the leading hitter of the 1906 Series, dies in Cincinnati on June 10th at age 82. Fred Beebe died on October 30th at 76 in La Grange, Illinois.

1959 … Ed Walsh, winner of two 1906 World Series games, dies at Pompano Beach, Florida on May 26th at age 78. Ed McFarland, a building janitor, falls and is killed at age 85 on November 28th at East Cleveland, Ohio.

1960 … James “Hub” Hart dies at 82 on October 10th in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1961 … Ed Reulbach, a retired construction company owner, dies of a heart attack in Glens Falls, New York on July 17th at age 78.

1963 … Tom Walsh, a two-game catcher for the Cubs, dies March 16th at 78 in Naples, Florida.

1964 … Lou Fiene, a retired worker at Western Electric, dies at 79 on December 22nd in Chicago.

1965 … Pete Noonan, a five-game player with the Cubs, is the last 1906 Cub and also the longest lived. Pete dies at 83 on January 11th at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Nick Altrock, one of two players to play in five decades, dies in Washington D.C. after 46 years of coaching with the Senators. He was 88 and he died on January 20th. Billy Sullivan dies three days before his 90th birthday at Newberg, Oregon. Billy died on January 28th. Lee Quillan, a four-gamer during 1906 for the Sox, dies March 14th at age 82 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

1969 … The last of the 48 players was the most colorful. Doc White passed away at age 89 on February 19th. Doc was a dentist, club owner, high school coach, with a little evangelism on the side. He did live long enough to see Don Drysdale break his consecutive shutout record.

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If uniforms had numbers in the year 1906, Frank Chance might have chosen the number 13. Most players of the day had a prejudice against the number but Chance always insisted that he have “lower 13” for his Pullman berth on road trips. After being involved in a few minor railroad accidents when he wasn’t sleeping in lower 13, Chance began the habit. He claimed that not only did it assure him of a good night’s sleep and a safe journey but a victory the next day as well.

In 1906, Henry Mathewson, Christy’s little brother, was a rookie with the New York Giants. The management figured if the youngster had one-tenth the talent of his older brother he would be a valuable asset. The first game Henry started he walked 14 men, just two shy of the record. In his only other appearance that year he came in relief and did earn a save. The following year he returned, the management soon saw he wasn’t going to be another Big Six but rather a Deep Six, and let him go. He retired with a 0-1 record and 4. 91 ERA.

Ironically, the American League record for both the most consecutive wins and most consecutive losses by a team were accomplished the same year — 1906. The Chicago White Sox won 19 in a row (11 at home and 8 away), which was later tied by the 1947 Yankees. The Boston Puritans lost 20 straight, with an amazing 19-game streak on their home field.