October 8, 1908: Cubs defeat Giants, win NL pennant in makeup of ‘Merkle Game’

The 1908 baseball season was “one of the most sensational on record,”1 according to the sportswriters who saw it unfold. And even some modern baseball scholars agree with that assessment.2 There were hard-fought pennant races in each league, and the winners weren’t known till the final games of the season. In the American League, the Detroit Tigers clinched the pennant on October 6, defeating the Chicago White Sox, 7-0, to edge the Cleveland Naps by a half-game.

In the National League, things were more complicated, thanks to a September 23 contest between the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs that would later be called “the most controversial game ever played.”3 It featured a baserunning blunder by Giants rookie Fred Merkle, who failed to touch second base, turning what should have been the game-winning hit by Al Bridwell into a force out. It was getting dark and numerous fans were on the field, so umpire Hank O’Day declared it a tie. NL President Harry Pulliam upheld that decision, infuriating both teams.4

The Giants’ season wasn’t over, but despite winning 11 of their last 16 games, they ended up tied with the Cubs. For the first time in National League history,5 a one-game playoff was necessary. It was scheduled for the Polo Grounds on October 8 at 3 P.M.

Although the gates weren’t supposed to open till 11 A.M., huge throngs of fans began gathering at the Polo Grounds as early at 8 in hopes of getting tickets.6 Some tried to push their way inside the ballpark, but extra police were on duty and prevented them from entering. When the gates opened, the ballpark filled up quickly. By gametime, a venue that normally fit about 16,000 fans had as many as 40,000 crammed inside, taking up every inch of standing and sitting room.7

The Cubs traveled from Chicago to New York in style, on a luxury train called the Twentieth Century Limited. The trip took nearly 18 hours,8 but reporters noted that, rather than being tired, the players were “in the best frame of mind,”9 determined to capture their third straight pennant. The Giants were confident too; manager John J. McGraw told reporters his team was ready, saying, “Yes, we are going to play, and we are going to beat them too.” Referring to the disputed game, he added that even though his team still felt cheated, “We will force them to call us champions tomorrow night.”10     

Cubs manager Frank Chance planned to start 30-year-old lefty Jack Pfiester; he had a record of only 12-10 in 1908, but four of his wins had come against the Giants, including two complete-game wins in a four-day period in August, one of which was a dominating 5-1 performance.11 McGraw wouldn’t respond when reporters asked who would pitch, but the common wisdom was that he would choose Christy Mathewson.12 Matty was a fan favorite, “the greatest one man factor in the success of the Giants this year,” winning 37 games and leading the NL in strikeouts, ERA, and innings pitched.13          

Before the game started, emotions were running high. Chance had an altercation with Giants pitcher Joe McGinnity about how much time the Cubs would get for batting practice. Chance was taking some extra swings, and McGinnity tried to push him aside. The two scuffled; other players had to separate them, and the Giants finally took their turn in the batting cage.14     

Mathewson did start for the Giants, and he easily retired the Cubs in the first inning, striking out two. But Pfiester had a more difficult time in the bottom of the inning, struggling with his control. He hit Fred Tenney, then walked Buck Herzog.

Roger Bresnahan struck out, but Cubs catcher Johnny Kling – possibly hoping to trap one of the Giants off base – briefly dropped the ball.15 Even though he was already out, Bresnahan headed for first, then paused; Herzog, who began running to second, also hesitated.16 Kling quickly threw the ball to Chance, who ran Herzog down and tagged him out, completing the double play.

Thanks to the Cubs’ poor baserunning, Pfiester had a chance to escape unscathed, but Mike Donlin hit a double to right, driving in Tenney, and the Giants led, 1-0. When Cy Seymour walked, putting two men on base, Chance had seen enough and replaced Pfiester with staff ace Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, who struck out Art Devlin, ending the inning.17       

In the second inning, Chance led off with a single, but Mathewson picked him off. Chance thought he was safe and he threw his cap on the ground in anger.18 He argued with the umpire, as did his teammate, Artie “Solly” Hofman, who was coaching at first.19 But the play stood; Hofman was ejected, and Chance went back to the dugout, still upset. Meanwhile, Mathewson easily retired the side, striking out two more Cubs.

In the bottom of the second, Brown too was in command, retiring the Giants in order, aided by what the New York American called a “great stop” by Joe Tinker on Mathewson’s hard-hit ball to short, and an equally impressive scoop of the low throw by Chance.20

Mathewson had cruised through two innings but everything changed in the third. It started with a triple from Tinker. W.J. McBeth, a Giants beat writer, stated that center fielder Seymour misjudged it and should have caught it.21 Cubs beat writers were kinder, saying Seymour “made a great try” but couldn’t catch up with it.22 Kling then singled to center, bringing Tinker home, tying the game, 1-1.

Brown’s sacrifice moved Kling to second. Jimmy Scheckard flied out to center, but Mathewson walked Johnny Evers. With two men on base and two outs, right fielder Frank Schulte came up to bat. Long known as a clutch hitter, Schulte doubled to left. Kling scored, and Evers went to third. The Cubs had taken the lead, but the scoring wasn’t finished. Chance doubled to right, and both Evers and Schulte came home. Suddenly, the Cubs led 4-1, as Giants fans fell into a stunned silence. It was the only bad inning Mathewson had in the seven innings he pitched, but the damage had been done.

For most of the game, the Giants could do nothing with Brown’s pitching, which was augmented by stellar fielding: in the fifth, Cubs third baseman Harry Steinfeldt ranged far to his left to spear a sharp grounder from Mathewson and throw him out, which veteran Boston Globe sportswriter Tim Murnane called “the best play of the game.”23

The Giants finally mounted a threat in the seventh. Devlin started it with a long single to left, and Harry “Moose” McCormick came through with a single to right, “just outside of Evers’ reach,”24 sending Devlin to second. When Bridwell walked, loading the bases, it looked as if Brown had “lost his bearings,”25 and the noise from cheering fans was deafening.

McGraw sent “Laughing Larry” Doyle in to pinch-hit for Mathewson, but he was an easy out, on a foul popup to Kling. Tenney then flied to deep right, and Devlin scored. It was now 4-2, and the fans were on their feet, but their hopes for a big inning were crushed when Brown allowed no further scoring. The inning ended with Herzog hitting a grounder to short; Tinker juggled it but recovered in time to throw him out.26

George “Hooks” Wiltse replaced Mathewson in the eighth and allowed no further runs, but the big story was Brown’s outstanding work: He held the Giants in check for 8 1/3 innings, pitching “dependable and steady” ball.27 Manager McGraw could only watch in frustration from the first-base coaching lines as the Giants went quietly in the ninth, and the championship slipped from his grasp.

As McGraw left the field, one New York writer observed, “[He] started for the clubhouse, pursued by the ghost of a wasted season.”28 Christy Mathewson remained at his locker, long after many of his teammates had gone home. He seemed to blame himself for the loss, and reporters noticed his “eyes showed traces of tears.”29

While Giants fans were disappointed, few blamed Mathewson. Sportswriters noted that the Giants “could not hit at critical times.”30 As one New York writer acknowledged, “The Chicago Cubs outplayed us yesterday, and won by clean hitting and clean playing.”31

Some fans used the loss as an excuse for rowdy behavior, running onto the field to lash out at three Cubs players who were heading for the clubhouse.32 In one especially egregious act, a fan threw a punch that struck Frank Chance in the neck and throat area, staggering him.33 He was rushed by car to his hotel, where a physician examined him, telling him he would feel better in a day or two. Despite being in pain, Chance said he’d be ready to play in the World Series.34

And in Chicago, where cheering fans took to the streets in celebration,35 it was a great day to be a Cubs supporter: The Cubs had won their third consecutive pennant, and now the chance for a second consecutive World Series championship lay ahead.36

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to John Fredland and Gary Belleville for their helpful suggestions. This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Mordecai Brown, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted various historical newspaper databases, including Newspapers.com and OldNews.com, as well as Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NY1/NY1190810080.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1908/B10080NY11908.htm

Notes

1 “Sensational Season in Baseball World,” Winnipeg Tribune, December 19, 1908: 41. The reporter noted that the popularity of baseball in the United States had spread to Canada, and teams were now competing in nearly every province.  

2 “Author: ’08 Season Had Plenty of Excitement: Newsmaker/ David W. Anderson,” South Bend (Indiana) Tribune, October 17, 1999: B8. Anderson, in an interview about his book More Than Merkle, said it was among the most exciting seasons ever played: “The American and National league pennants were decided on the last day of the season, with the visitors winning on hostile ground. During the season, none of the contenders could build a big lead. In the American League, Detroit, Cleveland and, until the last two weeks of the season, St. Louis contended, with Detroit winning by a half game over Cleveland. In the National, Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh vied for the flag, with the Cubs beating the Giants on the last day to win the pennant and then go on to win the franchise’s last world championship.” (The Cubs finally won another World Series in 2016.)

3 Cait Murphy, Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History (New York: HarperCollins/Smithsonian Books, 2007), 421.

4 “Harry Pulliam Victim of Giants’ and Cubs’ Wrath Because of ‘Tie’ Decision,” Passaic (New Jersey) Daily News, September 25, 1908: 3.

5 “Decided It a Tie Game,” Sedalia (Missouri) Democrat-Sentinel, October 7, 1908: 4.

6 G.A. Falzer, “Pfeister Opposes ‘Matty,’” Newark Evening Star, October 8, 1908: 1.

7 “The Cubs Win the Pennant,” New York Times, October 9, 1908: 1.

8 “May Cut Lake Shore Flyer Time,” Chicago Daily News, October 8, 1908: 2.

9 “New York Fans Rush to See Pennant Fight,” Chicago Daily News, October 8, 1908: 1-2.

10 “Gotham Confident Giants Will Win Decisive Battle,” Chicago Inter Ocean, October 8, 1908: 4.

11 “Giants Lose First Game,” Springfield (Illinois) State Register, August 28, 1908: 3.

12 “Pennant Battle Now Raging,” Huntington (Indiana) Daily News-Democrat, October 8, 1908: 5.

13 “The Men on the Firing Line,” Stockton (California) Daily Evening Record, October 8, 1908: 3.

14 “Fist Fight for Practice Place,” Portland (Oregon) Daily Journal, October 8, 1908: 1.

15 W.J. McBeth, “Detailed Play-by-Play Story of Game That Beat Giants for Flag,” New York American, October 9, 1908: 11.

16 “Chicago Cubs Again Take Off National League Pennant,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 9, 1908: 6.

17 “Chicago Victory Due to Superior Playing,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Globe, October 9, 1908: 9.

18 William F. Kirk, “Giants Lose Pennant to Cubs, Fighting to Last,” New York American, October 9, 1908: 11-12.

19 “Cubs Take Pennant by Beating Giants, 4-2, in Great Game,” Chicago Inter Ocean, October 9, 1908: 1-2.

20 W.J. McBeth, “Detailed Play-by-Play Story of Game That Beat Giants for Flag.”

21 McBeth, 11.

22 T.H. Murnane, “Chicago Defeats New York for the National League Championship,” Boston Globe, October 9, 1908: 1, 4.

23 Murnane, “Chicago Defeats New York.”

24 “Cubs Take Pennant,” Chicago Inter Ocean.

25 Kirk, “Giants Lose Pennant to Cubs.”

26 Murnane, “Chicago Defeats New York.”

27 “Game Viewed by New York Eyes,” Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1908: 3.

28 Kirk, “Giants Lose Pennant to Cubs.”

29 “Great Matty Took Defeat Harder Than Teammates,” New York American, October 9, 1908: 12.

30 “How the Cubs Won the Pennant,” Detroit News, October 9, 1908: 20.

31 Kirk, “Giants Lose Pennant to Cubs.”

32 “New York Mob Attacks Three Chicago Players,” Indianapolis News, October 9, 1908: 18.

33 “Assaulted by Cowardly Fans,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 9, 1908: 4.

34  “Riot Follows Upon Heels of Great Contest,” Chattanooga Star, October 9, 1908: 7.

35  “Chicago Wild With Delight,” Springfield (Illinois) State Register, October 9, 1908: 3.

36 The Cubs went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series, four games to one.