May 1, 1903: Cleveland’s lengthy battle to acquire Hugh Hill ends with one at-bat in a game that slipped away
Considering the transportation methods available in 1903, a trip…
May 18, 1903: Cubs sit alone in first place thanks to Tinker to Evers to … Lowe
If there was one man upon whom manager Frank Selee could depend,…
May 7, 1903: Pirates’ Fred Clarke hits for second career cycle in game full of ejections and errors
The Pittsburgh Pirates, two-time defending National League champions,…
June 21, 1903: ‘Biff, bang, smash’: Buck Freeman hits for first cycle in Red Sox franchise history
Part of the 1903 schedule had the Boston Americans and Cleveland…
July 29, 1903: New York, Boston combine for 29 runs as Patsy Dougherty hits for the cycle
A crowd of 4,135 fans turned out to watch the New York Highlanders…
August 8, 1903: Lajoie fumes over old ball; Cleveland’s season reaches crossroad after forfeit to Detroit
Less than a week before he boiled over on an umpire and caused…
September 24, 1903: Bill Bradley hits for reverse natural cycle; teammate Nap Lajoie just misses
The Boston Americans ran away with the American League pennant…
October 2, 1903: Patsy Dougherty hits a pair of home runs as Bill Dinneen shuts out Pirates in Game 2
Boston right-hander Bill Dinneen shut out the Pirates, 3-0, allowing…
October 1, 1903: Deacon Phillippe, Pirates beat Boston’s Cy Young in first ‘World’s Series’ game
In what is widely considered the first World Series, Barney Dreyfuss,…
October 3, 1903: ‘Police unable to control crowd,’ but Pirates prevail in Game 3
The headline ran in the Boston Globe: “Swarm on the Field;…
October 6, 1903: Deacon Phillippe wins third World Series game for Pirates … and it’s only Game 4
The Pirates, back home at Exposition Park, took a three-games-to-one…
October 7, 1903: Boston breaks open Game 5 with back-to-back big innings
Roaring Bill Kennedy took the mound for the Pirates in Game…
October 8, 1903: Boston’s Bill Dinneen wins Game 6 to even World Series at three apiece
Both teams managed 10 base hits, but the Bostons scored twice…
October 10, 1903: Pirates’ Deacon Phillippe finally proves mortal as Boston wins Game 7
Two calculations contributed to the hosts calling for a day off…
October 13, 1903: Big Bill Dinneen leads Boston to a triumph in first modern World Series
The first World Series ever played was a best-of-nine competition,…
April 24, 1904: White Sox beat Cleveland on fierce rally as Tom Dougherty picks up only career win
On April 24, 1904, a chilly, wet day, “that threatened to rain…
May 5, 1904: Cy Young pitches a perfect game
Old Cy Young was on the verge of history as he stood on the mound…
May 11, 1904: Cy Young goes 15 innings for Boston in 1-0 win over Detroit
Cy Young pictured in 1903. (SABR-Rucker Archive)
In…
May 14, 1904: After embracing spitball, Jack Chesbro kicks off impressive streak of 14 successive wins
His manager did not initially approve of it. His catcher didn’t…
June 4, 1904: Giants’ McGinnity, Reds’ Harper duel to 2-2 tie before record crowd
The Cincinnati Reds arrived in New York for a three-game series…
June 11, 1904: Chicago’s Bob Wicker begins game with 9⅓ hitless innings — or does he?
The Chicago Inter Ocean described it as the “greatest pitchers’…
June 20, 1904: Beaneaters’ Duff Cooley becomes 50th major-league player to hit for the cycle
Eight games into the 1904 season, the Philadelphia Phillies found…
June 21, 1904: White Sox rally in the 9th to beat Cleveland, but Cincinnati is main focus as baseball, politics collide
“Yes, Herrmann Day is a go in Chicago. The [Cincinnati] Blaine…
August 1, 1904: Pirates’ Charlie Case hurls a one-of-a-kind shutout with 11 hits allowed, no strikeouts
Pitching a complete-game shutout in the major leagues is a difficult…