September 23, 1924: Brooklyn’s pennant hopes crushed by Gabby Hartnett’s 10th-inning ‘bounce’ homer

“My club is not going to win the National League pennant,” admitted Brooklyn Robins manager Wilbert Robinson as the 1924 season began. “It is simply going to make every effort to considerably better its [sixth-place] showing of last season.”1 Few batted an eyelash at Robinson’s modest expectations.

But the season went far better than predicted for the NL’s oldest team.2 The Robins caught fire in the second half, catapulting themselves into a tight three-team race. With a week left to play, they were in a virtual tie for first place with a banged-up New York Giants squad, the three-time reigning NL pennant winners.

Brooklyn seemed poised to grab the lead on September 23 with Dazzy Vance – later named the 1924 NL MVP – taking to the mound against the fifth-place Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field.3 To the dismay of the home fans, however, the young Cubs played spoilers by defeating the Robins 5-4 in 10 innings on a “bounce” home run by 23-year-old catcher Gabby Hartnett.4 It was perhaps the pivotal event in Brooklyn’s season.

After winning the pennant in 1920, the Robins had finished in the second division for three straight seasons. The 1924 campaign didn’t look much different as the calendar flipped to August. On August 9 Brooklyn sat in fourth place with a mediocre 56-50 record, 13 games behind the Giants. Seemingly out of the blue, Brooklyn won 34 of 44 contests from August 10 to September 22 to get back in the race.

The stunning resurgence, which included winning streaks of 6 (August 17-21) and 15 games (August 25-September 6), was made possible by several pleasant surprises. Thirty-three-year-old spitballer Bill Doak, acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 14, was suddenly unbeatable, going 8-0 with a 2.14 ERA during Brooklyn’s hot spell.5 Twenty-nine-year-old rookie Rube Ehrhardt, making the jump from the Class C Florida State League, recorded his first five major-league wins and posted a 1.87 ERA in seven starts and two relief appearances.6 And journeyman Johnny Mitchell, filling in for the injured Jimmy Johnston at shortstop, solidified the infield defense with his steady fielding.7

The Cubs had played well in the first half of the season, and they were perched atop the NL standings as late as June 13. But they fell out of the race after losing seven of their first eight games in August. Chicago came into its September 23 contest with a 79-67-1 record, which left it nine games out of first place. Vic Keen, a 25-year-old righty with a 14-13 record and a 3.72 ERA, got the start for the Cubs.8

Keen was opposed by Vance, who had joined Brooklyn as a 31-year-old rookie two years earlier.9 After winning 18 games and leading the league in strikeouts in his first two seasons with the Robins, Vance took his career to another level in 1924. He had a 27-5 record, a 2.15 ERA, and 242 strikeouts, figures that had him on the verge of winning the triple crown for pitching.10 His previous start, an 11-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, had snapped his streak of 15 consecutive victories. The right-handed fireballer was pitching on just two days’ rest.

New York (89-59-1) began the day in first place, one percentage point ahead of Brooklyn (90-60) and 1½ games ahead of Pittsburgh (86-59). The Giants were without the services of second baseman Frankie Frisch and third baseman Heinie Groh as they opened a critical three-game series against the Pirates at the Polo Grounds. (Groh and Frisch had suffered season-ending injuries on September 19 and 20, respectively.11)

After Vance retired the first two Cubs he faced, left-handed-swinging George Grantham stepped into the batter’s box. Grantham slammed an inside fastball over the right-field fence and Chicago had an early 1-0 lead.12

In the bottom of the first, Brooklyn put runners on second and third with one out on a bunt single by Mitchell and a double by veteran left fielder Zack Wheat. Both runners scored when first baseman Jack Fournier blooped an opposite-field double just inside the left-field line.13 An infield single by center fielder Eddie Brown and a walk to catcher Hank DeBerry loaded the bases for Tommy Griffith. The 34-year-old Griffith, mired in a 0-for-13 slump, gave Brooklyn a 3-1 lead with a sacrifice fly that scored Fournier.

The Robins nearly extended their lead in the second. After Mitchell reached on a two-out single, he tried to score on Wheat’s second consecutive double. But center fielder Cliff Heathcote’s throw was relayed by rookie second baseman Bob Barrett in time for Hartnett to apply the tag on Mitchell.

In the third, Vance issued two-out walks to shortstop Sparky Adams and Heathcote. The free passes proved costly when the next batter, Grantham, hammered another inside fastball over the right-field fence for his 12th round-tripper of the season.14 Despite having surrendered just two hits, Vance was suddenly behind 4-3. Frustrated Brooklyn fans booed Grantham in his final three plate appearances that afternoon.15

Keen cruised in innings three through six, limiting Brooklyn to just a single and a walk.

The Robins threatened again in the seventh. With one out and a runner on first, Mitchell lined the ball down the third-base line. Grantham – regularly a second baseman but playing his first game of the season at the hot corner in place of the injured Bernie Friberg16 – made a spectacular catch to rob Mitchell of a potential triple.17 The defensive gem took on added significance when Wheat hit his third double of the game, putting runners on second and third. Keen intentionally walked Fournier to load the bases before getting Brown on a fly ball to escape the inning unscathed.

Johnston, pinch-hitting with a badly injured knee, batted for DeBerry to open the eighth for Brooklyn. After Johnston singled, Bernie Neis ran for him and was sacrificed to second by Griffith. Robins third baseman Milt Stock, hitting just .194 in September, lined a single into center field and Neis raced home with the tying run.18

Vance settled down after his rocky third inning, holding the Cubs to just two walks in the next six frames. He struck out the side in the seventh and had 11 strikeouts when Brooklyn came to bat in the ninth with a chance for a walk-off win.

The Robins put a runner in scoring position with one out before Keen buckled down and retired Brown and catcher Zack Taylor, sending the game into extra innings.19

Hartnett, who had become the NL’s top catcher with a breakout 1924 season,20 led off the 10th for the Cubs. He hit a liner into left field that bounced into the bleachers. Under baseball’s rules in 1924, Hartnett had a home run, giving the Cubs a 5-4 lead.21 It was Hartnett’s team-leading 16th homer of the season.

Later in the inning, Grantham came to the plate with two out and two runners on. Since he had already victimized Vance for a pair of homers and four RBIs, Robinson called for southpaw Dutch Ruether to come in to pitch. After Grantham drew a walk to load the bases, Ruether ended the inning by inducing a groundout from pinch-hitter Hack Miller.

Keen returned to the mound in the bottom of the 10th looking for the complete-game victory. With one out, Adams robbed Stock of a single by making a spectacular leaping grab of a liner up the middle. Ruether, batting for himself, grounded out to end the ballgame.22

Vance had lost consecutive decisions for the first — and only — time all season. He surrendered three homers, a single, and four walks in 9 2/3 innings on the hill. Brooklyn went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 baserunners.

The loss was particularly costly for the Robins, because that afternoon in upper Manhattan the Giants defeated the Pirates, 5-1, on Hugh McQuillan’s complete-game seven-hitter. New York pulled a game ahead of Brooklyn and 2½ in front of Pittsburgh. The Robins had only three games remaining and none of those were against the Giants, so they were going to need some help. New York had five games left,23 while Pittsburgh had seven.

The Robins got no help from the Giants, who continued to win without Frisch and Groh. New York took all three games from Pittsburgh, eliminating the Pirates on September 25. The Giants clinched the pennant on September 27 when they beat the seventh-place Phillies and the Robins lost to the last-place Boston Braves, ending Doak’s 10-game winning streak.

New York finished 1½ games ahead of Brooklyn and 3 games in front of Pittsburgh. It was the Giants’ fourth consecutive pennant and 10th since John McGraw took over the managerial duties in the middle of the 1902 season. New York went on to lose the World Series to the Washington Nationals in seven games.

Brooklyn fans had to wait until 1941 for their team to win another pennant.24

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bill Marston and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com, the Seamheads Ballparks Database, and Retrosheet.org. The author also reviewed the SABR biographies of Gabby Hartnett and Dazzy Vance. Unless otherwise noted, all play-by-play information for this game was taken from the article “Spectacular Fielding of Cubs Cuts Off Brooklyn Runs; Homers Beat Vance” on page 14 of the September 24, 1924, edition of the Brooklyn Standard Union.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO192409230.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1924/B09230BRO1924.htm

Photo credit: Gabby Hartnett, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 “What They Say,” Shreveport Times, April 15, 1924: 8

2 The Associated Press expected Brooklyn to remain in the second division in 1924. Syndicated sports columnist Billy Evans predicted a three-way race between New York, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Associated Press, “Big League Clubs Set for Inaugural; Interest Intense,” Pittsburgh Post, April 15, 1924: 13; Billy Evans, “Giants Should Take Gonfalon During Season,” Arizona Republican (Phoenix), April 15, 1924: 8.

3 Vance led all major-league pitchers with 10.5 Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR). The next NL pitcher to amass more bWAR in a season was Sandy Koufax in 1963 (10.7 bWAR).

4 Fourteen years later, Hartnett hit another home run that was pivotal in a pennant race: “The Homer in the Gloamin.’”

5 Brooklyn acquired Doak, a former 20-game winner, from the Cardinals in return for 27-year-old pitcher Leo Dickerman. Dickerman’s career record was 8-12 with a 4.07 ERA at the time of the trade. Doak had a 5-5 record and a 4.12 ERA on August 9.

6 The five victories were the only games won by Ehrhardt all season. Brooklyn had purchased his contract from the Lakeland Highlanders of the Florida State League in July. Ehrhardt went 5-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 9 starts and 6 relief appearances with the Robins. Thomas S. Rice, “Ehrhardt Won 19, Lost 3; Has Had Wide Experience; Semi-Pros vs. Collegians,” Brooklyn Eagle, July 19, 1924: 11.

7 Johnston injured his knee in the first game of a July 21 doubleheader. He returned to action on August 22, although he was mainly limited to pinch-hitting duties for the rest of the season. The Brooklyn Eagle reported on August 24 that Mitchell “is fielding beautifully at short.” He held down the starting shortstop position for the remainder of the season. Mitchell’s fielding percentage at shortstop was .951 in 1924; Johnston’s fielding percentage was .939. The league-wide fielding percentage for shortstops was .949. Thomas Holmes, “Jimmy Johnston Again Hurt as Superbas Divide Double Header,” Brooklyn Eagle, July 22, 1924: 22; “Jimmy Johnston Ready but No Place Is Open While Superbas Win,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 24, 1924: D-4.

8 Keen’s ERA was inflated by the 16 earned runs he gave up in 11 innings pitched from July 7 to 15.

9 Vance spent 10 years in the minor leagues. He had briefly appeared in the majors in 1915 and 1918 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees. His career took off in 1921 after a doctor performed a procedure that allowed him to pitch without pain.

10 Vance won the pitching triple crown among both NL and AL pitchers. He finished the season with a 28-6 record, a 2.16 ERA, and 262 strikeouts. Walter Johnson of the Washington Nationals won the AL pitching triple crown. He went 23-7 with a 2.72 ERA and 158 strikeouts.

11 Groh hurt his leg on September 19 and Frisch injured his hand on September 20. Both players missed the rest of the regular season. Groh had only one plate appearance in the 1924 World Series, a pinch-hit single in Game Seven. Frisch played in all seven games and went 10-for-30 (.333) at the plate.

12 Thomas W. Meany, “Dodgers Failure to Hit in Pinches May Cost Them the Pennant,” Brooklyn Daily Times, September 24, 1924: 12.

13 Meany, “Dodgers Failure to Hit in Pinches May Cost Them the Pennant.”

14 Meany, “Dodgers Failure to Hit in Pinches May Cost Them the Pennant.”

15 Irving Vaughan, “Cubs Tumble Robins; Flag Hope Near Dead,” Chicago Tribune, September 24, 1924: 19.

16 Friberg, the Cubs’ regular third baseman, dislocated his right ankle the day before and missed the rest of the season. Grantham moved from second base to third and rookie Bob Barrett took over at the keystone position. “Stock, Wheat and Doak Star in Robins’ Victory over Chicago Cubs,” Brooklyn Standard Union, September 23, 1924: 14.

17 According to the Seamheads Ballparks Database, it was 384 feet down the left-field line at Ebbets Field in 1924. Other sources list it at greater than 384 feet.

18 Vaughan, “Cubs Tumble Robins; Flag Hope Near Dead.”

19 Taylor replaced DeBerry behind the plate in the top of the ninth.

20 Hartnett hit .299 with 16 homers, 67 RBIs, and 10 steals. He also threw out 53 percent of baserunners attempting to steal. Hartnett posted 3.5 bWAR, the most among NL catchers in 1924.

21 Up until the end of the 1930 season, the NL considered balls that bounced in fair territory and into the stands a home run. The rule was changed to award two bases, or what is sometimes called a “ground-rule” double. Connor O’Gara, “Future Hall of Famer Al López Hits the Last ‘Bounce’ Home Run in Big League History,” Baseball Hall of Fame, https://web.archive.org/web/20211016175844/https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/al-lopez-hits-last-bounce-home-run, accessed October 31, 2024.

22 Ruether came into the game with a .251 batting average, 4 homers, and 76 RBIs in 669 career at-bats. In 1923 the left-handed-swinging Ruether hit .329 against righties, but in 1924 he hit only .209. He ended his career with a .277 batting average against right-handed pitchers.

23 New York’s final regular-season game was rained out on September 29. It was not rescheduled.

24 As of the end of the 2024 season, the Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers franchise had won 26 pennants and 8 World Series championships.