Category Archives: History

October 19, 2020

This Date in 1920

There is more posturing between the Ban Johnson and John Heydler factions of the majors league teams on October 19, 1920. The only new news on this front, however, is the suggestion that the minor leagues have a say in who wins:

Some baseball men professed to see the solution of the problem in the meeting of minor league officials at Kansas City, November 9, saying that whichever side the minors sided with would win, bor the other side would be unable to obtain ballplayers and would be “starved out.”
New York Tribune

The is other news, as Charles Ebbets, president of the Dodgers, announced he wanted to retire:

“I have been in baseball for thirty-eight years,” said Mr. Ebbets, “and as I am sixty-one now I think it is about time to quit.”
New York Tribune

It was bluster, as Ebbets dies in 1925, still president of the Dodgers.

October 18, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The meeting between major league baseball clubs to discuss the reorganization of the National Commission takes place in Chicago on October 18, 1920. Ban Johnson and five American League teams who support him do not attend, however.

Representatives of every National League baseball club and three American League clubs to-night went on record as favoring abrogation of the national agreement between professional leagues. Resolutions proposed a complete reorganization of baseball with the National Commission abolished and a civilian tribunal of three men not financially interested in the game in complete control.
New York Tribune

As for the teams that did not attend, they are given until November first to come around, or a new, twelve-team National League will be formed by the eleven in agreement and another invited team. The owners will also ask states and the federal government to make betting on baseball a felony. That seems kind of harsh to me.

There is a side bar on that page reporting on what kind of leader National League president John Heydler wants to see on the new commission:

“We want a man as chairman who will rule with an iron hand. I’ll be glad to take orders if I am told something is wrong at a certain place and instructed to clean it up.
“Baseball has lacked a head of that type for years. It needs it now worse than ever. Therefore, it is our object to appoint a big man to lead the new commission.”
New York Tribune

The iron first leader would be very popular throughout the world over the next 20 years, but they have their down sides. Baseball might have brought Negro League players into the fold in the 1930s if the strong man they ended up choosing had some restraints placed on him.

October 17, 2020

This Date in 1920

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W.O. M’Geehan of the New York Tribune sets the stage for the meeting of the owners set to take place on Oct. 18 in Chicago. They will consider the Lasker Plan:

In Chicago to-day it is hoped representatives of all sixteen major league clubs will meet jointly. Certain it is all eight National League teams will be represented. The three most powerful clubs of the American League — New York, Chicago and Boston — will be on hand.
These eleven clubs have indorsed the Lasker plan for a new government of professional baseball; a government by a board of influential Americans who have no financial interests in professional baseball but who would command implicit respect and faith in the country at large.

We will see what the eighteenth brings.

October 16, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The sports pages report the football results of October 16, 1920, including a page devoted to local high school games. There is a small article, however, about the upcoming championship game at Ebbets Field between the Rube Foster‘s American Giants of Chicago, and the Bacharach Giants led by pitcher Cannon Ball Dick Redding. This year we celebrate Foster’s legacy:

In 1920, Foster set the wheels in motion to create the Negro National League, an association of black teams modeled after Major League Baseball. Foster was named president and treasurer. The first successful league for African-American players, the NNL flourished throughout the decade. Players’ salaries rose to an unprecedented level, teams traveled on Pullman coaches and players received regular bonuses.
BaseballHall.org

Foster gained the Hall of Fame in 1981.

October 15, 2020

This Date in 1920

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On October 15, 1920, long-time Tigers manager Hughey Jennings resigns his position.

“I hereby tender my resignation as manager of the Detroit baseball club to take effect at the expiration of my contract, October, 1920. I take this step with considerable regret, however, I have studied the baseball situation in Detroit and fell a change would be beneficial for both the club and myself.”
New York Tribune.

Jennings took over the Tigers in 1907 and won three straight AL pennants, two as a player/manager. He finished his Tigers career with an impressive .538 winning percentage. Ty Cobb played for the Tigers since 1905, but won his first batting title in 1907 under Jennings, and would win nine straight titles beginning that year. The Tigers got off to a terrible start in 1920, going 0 for 13 to start the season, and finishing 61-93, seventh in the AL. It was by far Jennings’s worst season at the helm.

Jennings was a demonstrative coach at third base, and two of his screams fell into common use:

Jennings’ famed, piercing “Ee-yah” yell could be heard all over the ballpark. His characteristic pose from his coaching box was with arms spread, hands balled in fists and right leg hoisted high like some type of Native American rain dance. His shrill yell became one of baseball’s historic trademarks and, in modified form, even became a rallying cry of the U.S. Marines in World War I, who often went into battle shouting “Ee-yah-yip!” Hughie claimed to have contributed “Att-a-boy” to the language as well, a contraction of “That’s the boy,” as a way to applaud a good play.
SABR.org

Meanwhile, the grand jury investigating the 1919 White Sox finds Abe Attell:

Abe Attell, ex-pugilist, whose name has figured prominently in connection with the baseball scandal in the United States, now is residing in Montreal, according to the Herald.
…
When told that he was being sought in the United States he is said to have replied: “They can’t touch me here, and here I stay.”
New York Trbune

October 14, 2020

This Date in 1920

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On October 14, 1920, American League President Ban Johnson and National League President John Heydler exchange telegrams about the upcoming meeting of the baseball owners, scheduled for Monday, October 18, 1920. Heydler makes the telegrams public. Johnson writes:

“It is my judgment to hold a meeting of the major league clubs at this time would be a mistake. The Cook County grand jury has been reconvened and will resume its investigations into the deplorable conditions that exist in professional baseball. Much important testimony will be presented which must weigh heavily in the future deliberations of the self-appointed custodians of the game.”
New York Tribune

Heydler replies:

“The action of the National League members in extending an urgent invitation to the league and club presidents of the American League to attend the proposed meeting was unanimous. The meeting was called to discuss and formulate plans for the future government of and the safeguarding of professional baseball.
“Our people will be there. They are firm in the belief that public sentiment will brook no delay where such vital matters as the good repute of the national game, the protection of all honest players and the protection of immense property rights are concerned.
“In my judgment it is a fortunate coincidence that the Cook County grand jury is to continue its investigations during the time of our meeting. This gives us the ideal opportunity to aid personally the court and the legal representatives of the state of Illinois in the great work they have undertaken.”

The struggle between the two league presidents begins.

October 13, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Baseball games ended, but 1920 continues to make news about the changing game. On October 13, 1920, the Chicago grand jury resumed their investigation of gambling in baseball leading to ballplayers intentionally losing games. On the front page the next day, the story notes the grand jury wants to speak with Abe Attell, a featherweight boxing champion, and enlisted Giants manager John McGraw to help locate the fighter.

On the sports page, a conflict between the powers in baseball begins to brew.

A joint meeting of the club owners of both leagues has been called for Chicago next Monday. The announced purpose is to arrange for a new controlling body in baseball to supplant the National Commission. It has been given out by friends of Ban Johnson, the power behind the National Commission, that Johnson will fight this proposal to the end.
The call for the meeting is backed by William Veeck, president of the Chicago Cubs; Charles Comiskey, owner of the White Sox; Barney Dreyfus, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates; John A. Heydler, president of the National League, and Charels A. Stoneham, president of the New York Giants.
New York Tribune

This is the outline of the personalities that over the coming weeks will wrestle over overarching structure of the game. Heydler and Johnson led the coalitions. Both were innovators that helped turn the game into what we know today. By this time, however, Heydler was ready to cede power as NL president to preserve the game, while Johnson would not budge. It’s the pragmatist against the idealist.

October 12, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The baseball season ends on October 12, 1920 as the Indians defeat the Dodgers 3-0 to win the 1920 World Series five games to two. Stan Coveleski pitches the five hit shutout, earning his third win of the series. He allowed just 15 hits in 27 innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Cleveland won the game in the fourth inning when Larry Gardner hit a one-out single, then went to third as Doc Johnston followed with a single of his own. Johnston tried to steal second on a pick-off, but the throw from the first baseman goes into the outfield and Gardner scores the only run needed.

Tris Speaker would add an RBI triple, and Charlie Jamieson later doubled in Coveleski. Jamieson posted the best offensive game of the day with the double and a single.

The game featured a pair of spitball pitchers, Burleigh Grimes joining Coveleski in tossing “moist pills”. Rube Marquard was supposed to start, but was banned from the game:

Uncle Wilbert had planned to start Richard de Marquis Marquard, the “Rube” of a long and more or less checkered baseball career, but the pitcher was read out of baseball this morning by John A. Heydler, president of the National League. Marquard had been caught trying to scalp world’s series tickets and John Heydler, after being convinced that the “Rube” had caught the spirit of the age and taken to profiteering, declared that he could play no more baseball.
New York Tribune

This was the first championship for Cleveland, a city with professional baseball since 1879:

Cleveland has had the reputation of having a hard luck team. It seemed that this tradition would hold this year when their shortstop, Ray Chapman, was killed accidentally at the Polo Grounds in the thick of a rushing pennant race. But the Indians held together and they won their league pennant. The personality of Tris Speaker, his keen baseball knowledge, his courage and faith in himself and in his team did it.
New York Tribune

It would be 28 years before they won again, 72 years have gone by since that championship.

The Indians completely shut down the Dodgers offense allowing just eight runs, six of them earned, for a 0.89 team ERA. Note that coming into the series, the Dodgers appeared to own the pitching side of the ledger, and their 2.75 ERA in the series was very close to their 2.62 regular season mark. The Dodgers, however, faced very few power teams, as they basically did not exist in the NL at that time. Brooklyn managed just six extra-base hits, none of them home runs, while the Indians pumped out thirteen ExBH, two of them dingers.

The 1920 season showed the value of power, and that game continues to this day.

October 11, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The Indians host the Dodgers for the sixth game of the best of nine World Series on October 11, 1920. It comes down to a pitching duel between Sherry Smith of Brooklyn and Duster Mails of Cleveland. Both go the distance, but Mails comes out on top 1-0 to give the Indians a 4-2 lead. They need to win just one of the remaining three games to take the crown.

Mails got into trouble in the second thanks to his defense. With two outs, he allowed one of the three Brooklyn hits to Ed Konetchy. That was followed by an error by the shortstop and one by the third baseman to load the bases. Pitcher Smith was up next, and he flew out to center, “which is no place to lift a pill when Tris Speaker is ranging the territory.”

The Indians scored in the sixth inning on a single by Speaker, who comes home to score on a double by George Burns. The best offensive game of the day goes to Joe Evans, the Indians lead-off hitter. He picked up three singles in four trips to the plate.

Grantland Rice notes that this series has been Mails’s revenge:

In the meanwhile Mail’s revenge is complete. In 1917 the Dodgers cast him aside as one unworthy of their select pitching society. Back in Booklyn last week, after Ray Caldwell had been hammered out, Mails held the Dodgers scoreless for seven innings. To-day he added nine more. For sixteen innings he has held his old mates dangling at the end of a wire, working them like mannikins made of wood.
It’s the old story of the cast-off returning to bite the hand that refused to feed him. Baseball is fairly littered with such examples, but few revenges have been more complete than that of Mails.
New York Tribune

The series has now taken in $480,880 on an attendance of 150,832.

October 10, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The Indians host the Dodgers for game five of the World Series on October 10, 1920. Hyperbole filled the sports writing of the time, but the opening paragraph of the page one game story gets it just right:

In the most spectacular game ever staged in a world’s series, the Brooklyn Dodgers were overwhelmed by the Cleveland Indians in this city to-day by the score of 8 to 1. Everything that could be crowded into a single game was there. For the first time in the history of the game there was a home run with the bases filled and a triple play unassisted.
New York Tribune

The news story actually misses another record set in the game. Cleveland starting pitcher Jim Bagby homered. In the fourth inning:

Doc Johnston shot a hit off Grimes’s knee into center field. He flitted to second on a passed ball. With Sewell out, Grimes meditated for a few moments and concluded to pass O’Neill for Sergeant Jim Bagby. The multitude protested with raucous voices. Grimes had plenty of time to repent this picking of batters.
Sergeant Jim Bagby lifted the pill right over into the newly constructed bleachers in right center field. It was not much of a blow, but it went for a home run, and a home run is a home run. The blow brought over three more runs for the Cleveland Indians, and Burleigh Grimes, with his tow head bowed on his chest, shuffled to the dugout.
New York Tribune

With that blow, Bagby hit the first World Series home run by a pitcher.

The grand slam in the first inning had a great setup. Charlie Jamieson, leading off, singled off the leg of the first baseman. Bill Wambsganss, “after tapping more fouls than he has consonants in his name,” hit a clean single between third and short. Tris Speaker, the number three hitter and one of the best best batters in the game that year, player-manager of the Indians , decided to sacrifice. Burleigh Grimes slipped trying to field the ball, and the play went for a single to load the bases. Up comes Elmer Smith:

Elmer took two hearty and husky swings on nothing. Then it came — for the first time in a world’s series — a home run with the bases filled. It was a straight ball and just where Elmer wanted it. Bob Shawkey, during the late lamented American League series, gave Elmer that kind of ball here and Elmer mussed up the adjacent scenery with it. To-day he lifted the pill over the right field fence onto a roof crowded with local bugs and the bases were cleared for four runs.
New York Tribune

Smith also tripled and singled in the game, by far the best offensive game of the day.

The triple play was what you might expect. In the top of the fifth inning, the Dodgers used two singles to put runners on first and second:

Mitchell, the left-hander, slashed a hard one at Wambsganss. It sounded like a hit and it looked like a hit; everybody started to travel. Wamby made a desperate stab and held the ball. A cool person is this man of many consonants. He stepped over a pace, doubling Kilduff. In the mean time Miller continued to flounder toward second. Wamby reached out and tagged him.
New York Tribune

Note that even though Jim Bagby allowed just one run for the complete game victory, he didn’t pitch that well. He allowed 13 hits to the Dodgers, while Cleveland collected 12. (The Indians did walk four times, while the Dodgers did not draw a base on balls.) The Dodgers, however, kept losing base runners. In addition to the two on the triple play, Cleveland turned three double plays and threw out a runner at the plate. Brooklyn centerfielder Hi Myers attempted two steals and was caught twice. That’s eight runners taken off base.

The Indians now hold a 3-2 lead in the series, and if they sweep at home, the best of nine match will be over.

October 9, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Game four of the World Series between the Dodgers and Indians takes place on October 9, 1920. The series shifts to Cleveland, where the home team wins 5-1. Stan Coveleski goes the distance for the win, and just like in game one, he allowed five hits and one run. He also walked one and struck out four Dodgers. His pitch count came in at 86.

On offense for the Indians, Bill Wambsganss, manager Tris Speaker, and Joe Sewell each collect two hits, accounting for half of the Indians total. All twelve hits went for singles. The Indians tie the series at two.

Starter Leon Cadore of the Dodgers lasted just one inning as he allows two runs, and Al Mamaux also gives up two runs in one inning. Rube Marquard comes in for the third inning, after being detained for ticket scalping. Grantland Rice is impressed with the Cleveland fans:

Color to-day was riotous, rampant, and roistering. It fairly flamed in a red blase over the drab spectacle of opening days. The big crowd came in cheering and whooping things up, and it never stopped. In the preliminaries they not only said it with flowers, but with automobiles. For after a big floral offering had been hung around Tris Speaker, some one presented Doc Johnston with a car.
This fourth game was a return to the flare of old-fashioned world’s series days, before the crooks began to ply their trade. The battle howl of the tribe echoed back and fourth across the park, and when the Cleveland assault began upon Leon Cadore in the first inning this battle howl increased in volume, attaining noisy heights.
New York Tribune

The first four games of the series brought in $315,872 of which $170,570.88 would go to the players. In 1919, the first four games produced a $52,815.78 share for the players.

October 8, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The Dodgers and Indians take a day off from the World Series to travel west to Cleveland for games four through seven on October 8, 1920. The New York writers find the Cleveland fans more enthused than their Brooklyn counterparts.

Brooklyn may have been a trifle somber over baseball on opening day last Tuesday, but Cleveland is not. The overpowering stench from the game’s greatest scandal, plus two straight defeats by the hustling Dodgers, have failed to suppress the fanatical ardor in Ohio’s metropolis, where they are all looking for Speaker’s slugging sons of swat to take three out of four and start back for Brooklyn in the lead.
Here you are in the home of the fan at heart, the old-fashioned fan who is rampant and roistering, stooped in the old fashioned faith that once belonged only to the South Side rooters of Chicago before the eight crooks and traitors sold them out. It is refreshing to step from the fog of scandal into this buoyant exuberance of a people who through their idolatry of Speaker and his men still believe in the game.
New York Tribune

October 7, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The Indians and Dodgers play the third game of the World Series on October 7, 1920. The Dodgers take the game by a score of 2-1, and that win gives Brooklyn a 2-1 lead in the best of nine series.

Sherry Smith pitched a complete game for the win, giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks. He struck out two batters, and the game stories are full of the heroics of the Dodgers infielders on defense:

The Dodger infield alone ran down thirty-seven chances without an error. On three separate occasions the Cleveland attack launched desperate drives, only to find Kilduff, Olson, or Johnston in the way with line of stops and throws. The sole Cleveland run resulted from a double by Tris Speaker in the fourth inning which bounded through Wheat’s open-faced legs and rolled on to the fence. But the industrious Zach more than atoned for this one misplay by rapping out three singles, the first of which played an important part in Brooklyn’s winning rally through the first round.
New York Tribune

Zack Wheat made the error, but he also produced the best day at the plate with three singles, driving in the first run of the game.

It been a low scoring series so far with just ten runs crossing the plate in the first three contests.

Also on the sports page is an article on the National League owners gathering to talk about reorganizing the governance of baseball. They decided to invite the AL owners to a meeting on Oct. 18 to discuss the issues in light of the White Sox scandal.

October 6, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Game two of the World Series takes place in Brooklyn on October 6, 1920. The Dodgers beat the Indians 3-0 to even the best of nine series at one game apiece. Grandfathered spitballer Burleigh Grimes throws the shutout, allowing seven hits and four walks. Zack Wheat drove in the only run that mattered in the first inning, while Tommy Griffith drove a run in the third and the fifth inning.

The front page game story goes out of its way to note how the fans showed a lack of enthusiasm for the win:

In the old days, before world’s series players began to find banknotes under their pillows, the frenzied fams of Flatbush would have dashed into the field and carried Burleigh Grimes to the clubhouse. They might even have tried to get enough shoulders together to carry the rotund Wilbert Robinson off the field.
There was plenty of food for thought for magnates, if magnates think, at Ebbets Field yesterday. Here was the favorite pitcher smothering the rush of the invader right in the shadow of the spires, the gas houses and the smokeless brewery chimneys of Brooklyn, and only a mild demonstration. Here was the best beloved of the baseball managers, with a back broad enough to be slapped by a thousand brawny hands, but nary a slap.
New York Tribune

And just in case you thought tracking pitches started in the 1980s, this page provides balls and strikes by inning for the three hurlers in the game. Grimes threw 51 strikes, 48 balls, with another 10 pitches ending in grounders and another 15 pitches ending in fly balls. So that would be 76 strikes and 48 balls by today’s accounting.

October 5, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The World Series begins on Oct. 5, 1920 in Brooklyn, and Cleveland takes game one by a score of 3-1. Catcher Steve O’Neill of the Indians hits two doubles and draws a walk for the best offensive game of the day. Stan Coveleski goes the distance for the Indians, allowing five hits and one walk, striking out three.

Defense played a huge part in the game. Grantland Rice pens a story on the exploits of Cleveland centerfielder Tris Speaker and shortstop Joe Sewell.

A gale out of the barren lands came howling across the field, twisting and warping the trajectory of fly balls into puzzling deviations, but these deviations were not puzzling enough to baffle the defensive art of Speaker, who romped back and forth across he field like a ball-playing centipede in action.
New York Tribune

According to the article, Speaker prevented a pair of triples and Sewell prevented two hits as well. The wind was not as kind to the Dodgers. In the second inning, George Burns of the Indians hits a pop fly that is blown by the wind and drops between the first and second basemen. First baseman Ed Konetchy of the Dodgers then throws the ball to second as Burns tries to advance, and it rolls all the way to the leftfield corner as Burns scores the first run. The sports page shows a photo of Burns scoring.

That page also contains an article on the Indians voting Ray Chapman‘s wife a World Series share. Sewell replaced the late Chapman after a pitch ended his life.

October 4, 2020

This Date in 1920

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October 4th, 1920 served as the travel day for the Cleveland Indians who head to Brooklyn to meet the Dodgers in the 1920 World Series.

The Indians dominated on both sides of the ball, leading the AL in runs per game a 5.56, while finishing with the second lowest runs allowed per game at 4.18. The Indians posted both a high team batting average and an extremely high OBP, .303 and .376. They did not hit a ton of home runs, but led the AL in doubles and finished second in triples. On the pitching side, they struck out 3.2 batters per nine inning, and that led the league. They were also good at limiting walks.

No team in the NL came close to matching the Indians offense. Brooklyn finished third in the NL with 4.26 runs scored per game. Like the Indians, the Dodgers were a high doubles and triples offense, but were near the bottom of the league in walks. The Dodgers did not steal much compared to other teams in the NL, but still attempted 150 steals. They were caught 80 times.

Where the Dodgers shone was pitching. They allowed just 3.42 runs per game, best in the NL. They struck out 3.5 batters per nine innings, also leading the league.

The American League game shifted to higher power on offense in 1920, something the NL did not do. The question is, will the great Brooklyn rotation be able to reign in the Indians?

Cleveland is favored to win the series 5 to 6.

Babe Ruth starts a barnstorming tour against what we now know as Negro League teams. On this day, he faced the Bacharach Giants and their ace, Dick “Cannonball” Redding.

The man known as “Cannonball” performed masterfully, pitching a shutout into the seventh, when the Babe pleased the crowd by clouting a solo homer. Meanwhile, the Giants hit Mays hard, tallying eight runs before Ruth relieved him. The final score was 9 to 4.
OurGame.mlblogs.com

Ruth would continue the tour through most of October, then head to Cuba.

On the front page, a story notes that Charles Comiskey, owner of the White Sox, sent $1,500 to each of his honest players from the 1919 pennant winner:

“As one of the honest ball players of the Chicago White Sox of 1919, I feel that you are deprived of the winner’s share of the world’s series receipts though no fault of yours,” Comiskey’s letters to the players said. “I do not intend that you, as an honest ball player, should be penalized for your honesty or by reason of the dishonesty of others, and therefore take pleasure in handing you $15,000, being the difference between the winner’s and the loser’s share.”
New York Tribune

October 3, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The final day of the regular season, October 3, 1920, sees all seven scheduled games played to completion. The Phillies beat the Giants in New York 4-1 for the low scoring game of the day. In St. Louis, the offenses of the White Sox and Browns have a field day as the home team takes the contest 16-7 for the high scoring game of the day.

Baby Doll Jacobson of the Browns posts the best offensive game of the day. He goes four for five with a triple and five RBI as he pounds a depleted White Sox staff. Jacobson finishes second in the AL with 126 RBI, trailing Babe Ruth who drove in 135 runs. George Sisler got to pitch for the Brown in the blowout.

On the pitching side, George Smith of the Phillies win best pitched game of the day. He holds the Giants to four hits and one walk while striking out eight. He does not allow a long-ball on the day, but finishes tied for the NL lead in most home runs allowed with ten.

Sisler could have sat out the day to keep his batting average above .400, but instead posts a three for five day to end the season with a .407 mark. Tris Speaker of the Indians finishes second at .388. Babe Ruth of the Yankees finishes fourth in the batting race, but takes first in OBP with a .529 mark, and first in slugging percentage at .847. In the NL, Rogers Hornsby of the Cardinals finishes first in all three averages with a .370/.430/.559 slash line.

Bob Shakey of the Yankees takes home the AL ERA title at 2.45, while Pete Alexander of the Cubs wins the NL crown with a 1.96 ERA.

The World Series starts Oct. 5 in Brooklyn.

October 2, 2020

This Date in 1920

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It’s the penultimate day of the regular season as all eleven major league games scheduled for October 2, 1920, play to a decision. That includes doubleheaders in Boston and Philadelphia, and a tripleheader in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals beat the Cubs 4-1 in Chicago for the low scoring game of the day. Two games result in seventeen runs. The Reds beat the Pirates 13-4 in the first game of their tripleheader, as Cincinnati takes two out of three games to finish 82-70 on the year. The Pirates win game three 6-0 in six innings, the contest ended by darkness. The White Sox defeat the Browns 10-7, as the remaining stars hit well on the day.

For the White Sox, it’s not enough as Cleveland pounds Detroit 10-1 to clinch the AL pennant. Jim Bagby collects his 31st win of the season, and Tris Speaker goes three for six to raise his batting average to .387.

Jimmy Dykes of the Athletics takes home the best offensive game of the day. He posts a two for three with two home runs and two walks in the second game of the Senators-Athletics twin bill. That’s not enough to prevent a loss however, as the Senators sweep with a 4-3 victory.

Ferdie Schupp of the Cardinals wins the best pitched game of the day for his victory against the Cubs. Schupp gives up six hits and three walks, leading to one run. He also struck out six. Schupp peaked early in his career. He was a big reason the Giants won the pennant in 1917. His combined rWAR in 1916-1917 stood at 9.6; for his career his total was 5.5. He posted an 0.90 ERA in 1916 in 140 1/3 innings, and followed that up with a 1.95 ERA in 1917 in 272 innings.

Then his arm went:

“But that winter I went to a camp,” Schupp recalled. “There was snow on the ground, I think maybe I caught cold in the arm, though it didn’t bother me then, but the next spring I was up against it. The very first ball I tried to pitch in spring training, a sharp pain struck through my shoulder and my arm went dead. I couldn’t do anything with it.”24 Conversely, there were later rumors that the easy-going left-hander had injured his arm in a fight that offseason.25 Still another report had him hurting his arm while pitching during spring training at the Giants training camp in Marlin, Texas.26
SABR.org

This was all too common in that era.

George Sisler posts a two for five day to keep his average at .406, and there is little doubt he’ll hit .400 for the season. His record hit total now stands at 254.

The New York Tribune devotes page 20 and page 21 to the upcoming World Series, with pictures of the players framing each page. Jim Baby will start game one in Brooklyn against Burleigh Grimes. Grantland Rice gives the edge to the Dodgers based on superior pitching.

October 1, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Seven of the nine games scheduled in the major leagues on October 1, 1920, play to a decision, including a doubleheader in Detroit against Cleveland. The Dodgers and Giants play two at the Polo Grounds as well. The Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-2 in seventeen innings for the low scoring game of the day (almost two games). The Senators beat the Athletics in Philadelphia 13-3 at the high end of scoring.

Earl Smith of the Browns and High Pockets Kelly of the Giants tie for best offensive game of the day honors. Smith posts a two for four day, hitting a triple and a home run while driving in two runs. The Browns beat a depleted White Sox squad 8-6. Kelly goes two for three with a home run and a walk in game two of the NYC twin bill. The teams split the games, each winning by a score of 4-3. Kelly leads the NL in RBI with 94.

Jessie Haines of the the Cardinals takes the loss against the Cubs but wins best pitched game of the day. He pitches 16 1/3 innings, allowing ten hits and four walks while striking out eight. He gives up three runs, but only two earned, for a game score of 97. Three of the hits Haines allowed came in the bottom of the 17th, all three singles. Pete Alexander gets the complete game, seventeen-inning win, but allows 16 hits for a game score of 94.

George Sisler of the Browns, now a cinch to win the batting title, goes two for four to raise his batting average to .406. Tris Speaker of the Indians goes two for eight in the doubleheader to lower his BA to .386.

The Indians split their doubleheader with the Tigers. Detroit wins 5-4 in ten innings in game one, while the Indians win 10-3 in eight innings in game two, the game called due to darkness. With the White Sox losing, Cleveland clinches a tie for the AL flag. Their magic number drops to one.

One of the postponements comes in Pittsburgh, which already scheduled a doubleheader for Saturday. At that time in Pennsylvania, Sunday baseball was not allowed, so the Pirates scheduled a tripleheader for Saturday:

The Pittsburgh and Cincinnati National League clubs will play three games here to-morrow, according to an announcement by officials of the home club to-night. The first game will begin at noon, and fans will be permitted to witness the three game for one admission price.
New York Tribune

Also on the sports page is a report of at least the second auto accident of the year involving Babe Ruth. Ruth was unhurt, but his $12,000 car suffered a lot of damage.

The White Sox scandal continues to dominate page one and page two, but it now seems that people are trying to get publicity by hitching on to the story. The New York District Attorney wants to go after the gamblers in his city that bet on the games. The Giants are accused of throwing the 1919 pennant to the Reds. There’s more of an investigation to the roles of Hal Chase and Lee Magee. A bill to make throwing games a federal crime is introduced in Congress. It’s the first draft of history.

September 30, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Weather postponed all five scheduled games on September 30, 1920.

That leaves the front page of the paper the only source of baseball news as the grand jury in Chicago continues to investigate the White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series. The prosecutor announced that corroborating witness will appear, neither ballplayers nor gamblers.

As important, John Heydler, president of the National League, gives an interview to reporters in which he declares the National Commission can only longer rule baseball:

“Scrap the National Commission,” said Mr. Heydler last night on his arrival from Chicago, where he testified before the grand jury. “it must be supplanted by a new power and a bigger power for the sake of the preservation of the game. It is not a question of finding a new chairman for this commission. The commission is so tangled in its own political meshes that it can accomplish nothing, and any action it might take would be open to suspicion and innuendo.”
New York Tribune

This would lead to the first commissioner of baseball, something that was already under discussion.

September 29, 2020

This Date in 1920

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All five scheduled games play to completion on September 29, 1920. Four of those games occur in two doubleheaders, the Phillies at the Braves and the Yankees at the Athletics. The Braves beat the Phillies 1-0 in their first game for the low scoring game of the day. The Yankees down the Athletics 9-4 in eleven inning in game two for the high scoring game of the day.

It turns out that’s the last game of the season for New York. While there are four days left in the regular season, the AL teams in Boston and New York are through. I don’t know the reason, but I suspect the Yankees sharing the Polo Grounds with the Giants forced them into an unfavorable schedule.

Tillie Walker of the Athletics posts nearly identical games in the doubleheader sweep by the Yankees. He goes two for three with a home run in each game, driving in a run in each game. In game two, he walks twice (one intentional) and scores one run. That’s the best game of the day. In game one, he walked once and scored two runs. That’s the second best game of the day.

The third best game of the day goes to Babe Ruth. After hitting his 54th and final home run of 1920 in game one, he ends his historic season going three for five with a double in game two. Ruth leads the AL in runs, home runs, RBI, walks, OBP, and Slugging Pct.

The best pitched game of the day goes to Joe Oeschger of the Braves for his game one shutout. He allowed seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters. Oeschger pitches a good year for a poor team, finishing 15-13 with a 3.38 ERA for a team that won just 61 games.

George Sisler of the Browns and Tris Speaker of the Indians go head-to-head one last time, although the batting title is fairly well settled. Sisler posts a one for five day to lower his BA to .405, while Speaker goes three for five to raise his second place BA to .388.

The Indians win that game 10-2, and that eliminates the Yankees from competition for the pennant. It also drops the idle White Sox 1 1/2 games back and reduces Cleveland’s magic number to three.

The White Sox scandal still takes the top spot on the front page. Two gamblers are indicted, but there names are not released. More players confess to the plot. There is also a story about an investigation into whether the Dodgers were approached about throwing the 1920 World Series.

September 28, 2020

This Date in 1920

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September 28, 1920, proves to be a dark day in the history of baseball. The White Sox scandal gets a four column headline on page one of the New York Tribune, and takes up all of page two as Eddie Cicotte and Joe Jackson confess their guilt to the grand jury in Chicago.

Indictments were voted against eight baseball stars to-day, confessions were obtained from two of them, and Charles A. Comiskey, owner of the oft-time champion Chicago White Sox, smashed his pennant chasing machine to clean up baseball. The confessions told how the Sox threw last year’s world championship to Cincinnati for money paid by gamblers.
New York Tribune

Comiskey paid off the eight players and suspended them for the rest of the season. This basically killed Chicago’s hope of catching Cleveland for the AL pennant. It the day the Chicago American League Club became the Black Sox.

On the field, five of the six games scheduled in the major leagues play to completion, including two doubleheaders. The Reds beat the Pirates at home 2-0 in game one of their twin bill for the low scoring game of the day. The Indians beat the Browns in St. Louis 9-5 for the high scoring game of the day.

Eddie Foster of the Red Sox takes home the honor of best offensive game of the day. He posts a four for five day in game one, missing the cycle by a homer as he collects two doubles and a triple. The Senators win that game 7-6 in ten innings. Foster collected 23 extra-base hits in 1920, none of them home runs, so this was an unusually powerful day for the third baseman. He was a bit of an iron man, leading the league in at bats four times in his career.

Wilbur Cooper of the Pirates takes home best pitched game of the day. It’s an unusual situation, as he takes the loss despite his high game score. He allowed two unearned runs on four hits and no walks, striking out two. Twice in the bottom of the fourth inning, rookie shortstop Pie Traynor made throwing errors that wind up costing the Pirates the game.

George Sisler of the Browns sets the single season mark for hits as he posts a two for four day to raise his league leading BA to .407. The two hits give him 249 on the season, one ahead to Ty Cobb‘s 1911 record. Speaker goes two for five in the game to stay at .386. The batting race is over, and now we’ll see if Sisler can stay above .400.

The Yankees and White Sox are idle. The Indians win gives them a one-game lead in the AL, with a two-game lead in the loss column. The Yankees are three games back, but the best they can do is clinch a tie. The Indians magic number is down to four. Jim Bagby of the Indians picks up his 30th win of the season.

On the sports page, the AL Pennant is conceded to Cleveland. The Dodgers and Indians already started discussing the series. It seems that back then a coin toss determined which team would get the extra game at home. The Indians won the toss, but elected to play the middle four game of the best of nine in Cleveland. The Indians wanted more time to erect extra seating. It is also agreed that Joe Sewell, who replace Ray Chapman on the Indians roster following Chapman’s death, would be allowed to play. Sewell joined the Indians after the deadline for post-season play. The page lists all the players on both teams eligible for the series.

September 27, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Eight of the nine games scheduled in the major leagues play to completion on September 27, 1920, including two doubleheaders. The Red Sox beat the Senators in game two of their twin bill for a sweep, and the White Sox beat the Tigers 2-0, both representing the low scoring games of the day. The Cardinals defeat the Cubs 16-1 in Chicago for the highest scoring game of the day. There are a number of low scores in the schedule, and this is one of seven days on the season that result in games averaging less than six runs a game (minimum six games played).

The day contains two major stories. The first involves the Giants splitting a doubleheader with the Braves at the Polo Grounds. New York loses game two 3-2, and that means the idle Dodgers win the pennant. The Dodgers go to the World Series for the second time in five seasons. It would be 21 years before they returned.

The second story appears on the front page and details the events of the 1919 White Sox throwing the World Series.

In Philadelphia the complete story of the most gigantic sporting swindle in the history of America was unfolded. Billy Maharg, former boxer and well known sporting figure of this city, said tonight that he and Bill Burns the former Washington, White Sox and Philly southpaw, were the pioneers in the conspiracy that resulted in eight members of the Chicago American League team “throwing” games in last year’s world’s series to Cincinnati.
New York Tribune

Maharg says that Eddie Cicotte made the offer to toss the games for $100,000. This is the first time we hear that it was the idea of the players, not gamblers.

Cliff Heathcote of the Cardinals and Charlie Jamieson of the Indians tie for best offensive game of the day with Baseball Musings Game Scores of 80. Heathcode posts a five for five day with a double, while Jamieson goes four for five with a double and a home run. Both batters drive in three runs. The Indians win 8-4 in St. Louis against the Browns.

On the pitching side, Harry Harper of the Red Sox is one of three pitchers to throw a six-hit shutout on the day. His game two victory is the best of the three, however, as he strikes out thirteen batters while walking four. It’s the second highest K total in a game this season, bested only by Urban Shocker‘s 14 on July 13, 1920.

The Indians at the Browns features the top two hitters in the AL battling for the batting title. Tris Speaker of the Indians posts a two for four day to raise his BA to .386, but George Sisler of the Browns goes three for four to raise his BA to .406.

A note here on statistics. Sisler now leads the AL with 247 hits, although the news story credits him with 248. Stats were not kept as well in those days. The record for hits in a season at that point was 248 by Ty Cobb in 1911, so Sisler is on the verge of breaking that record.

The Yankees keep pace with Cleveland and Chicago, defeating the Athletics 3-0 in Philadelphia. Babe Ruth homers twice to bring his season total to 53. The Yankees are on the edge of elimination, however. The Indians lead the White Sox by 1/2 games, and the Yankees by three. The Indians magic number stands at five, with two to eliminate the Yankees.

September 26, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The major leagues scheduled and played six games on September 26, 1920. The Dodgers beat the Giants 4-2 in the low scoring game of the day, as Brooklyn clinches a tie for the NL pennant. Across town the Yankees beat the Senators 9-5 as the Polo Grounds sees the most runs on the day.

Aaron Ward leads the Yankees charge as he posts a three for four day with two home runs and a walk. According to the news story, the second of the two homers stayed inside the park. Ward becomes the fourth player on the Yankees to reach double digits in homers. Ward, Bob Meusel, and Wally Pipp total 31 homer to the 51 hit by Babe Ruth.

It’s appropriate that the Yankees played well that day, as it is also the anniversary of the birth of my father, a life-long Yankees fan. I had hoped to be celebrating his 100th birthday, but it took a once in a century pandemic, featuring SARS-CoV-2, to bring him down. His birth took place in Foggia, Italy. The family recorded his birth immediately, but his twin brother Nicky appeared too weak to survive. Two days later he doing better, so their dates of recording are days apart, which caused some confusion later in life.

He came to the United States in 1929. He parents moved here early in the twentieth century, but returned to the home country in the teens. My grandfather could make more money in the US and returned in the early 1920s, but it took awhile to bring the rest of the family over. Dad attended Lou Gehrig day, a fact that he didn’t bother to tell me until about 20 years ago. Sometimes when I’m looking at the day’s baseball schedule, I think, “I have to call dad and tell him when the Yankees are playing.” Here is his obituary.

Rube Marquard of the Dodgers gets the win against the Giants and earns best pitched game of the day. He allows two unearned runs on five hits and two walks, striking out five. Marquard pitched well against the Giants in 1920, going 4-1 with a 2.74 ERA through this game.

With seven game left, George Sisler of the Browns puts a tight hold in the AL Batting title. He goes three for five to raise his BA to .404. Meanwhile, in the same game, Tris Speaker of the Indians goes one for four to lower his batting average to .385, nineteen points back.

The Indians win that game 7-5 to stay in first place. The White Sox beat the Tigers 8-1 to stay 1/2 games back. Chicago is up one in the totally unimportant win column. The Yankees remain three games back. Cleveland’s magic number drops to six.

The scandal involving the White Sox continues to grow. Once again the story sits on the front page. President of the National League John Heydler announces he started investigating the the fix of the Word Series after game one, when Chicago manager Kid Gleason and owner Charles Comiskey approached the head of the NL. Comiskey did not get along with American League president Ban Johnson, which is why they spoke with Heydler. Heydler found evidence, gave it to Johnson, but Johnson was not enthused with the investigation.

Back on the sports page, Reds Manager Pat Moran scoffs at the idea that the White Sox threw games.

“We defeated the White Sox fairly and squarely last year and I challenge anybody to prove otherwise. To my mind all of these reports regarding the fixing of certain members of the White Sox are pure bunk.
New York Tribune

He would be proven wrong. There is also a story there about betting in Boston, where a betting ring put a lot of money on the Reds when they were a 2 to 8 shot.

September 25, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The major leagues schedule and play eleven games on September 25, 1920, including three National League doubleheaders. The Cubs beat the Reds 2-0 in game one of their doubleheader for the low scoring game of the day. The Cubs will sweep the twin bill. At the high end of runs, the Phillies beat the Braves 12-10 in game two in Philadelphia, the Phillies sweeping the day.

Scandal graces the front page of the paper again as the grand jury investigation into the White Sox and their loss in the 1919 World Series continues. Players were subpoenaed, but will not be called until the baseball season is over. Ray Schalk of the White Sox promises to name names:

“It is up to the baseball players themselves to protect the sport,” he said. “If they are going to drag me into this I am going before the grand jury and tell all I know. I will mention the name of men on my own team.”
New York Tribune

Joe Jackson of those White Sox earns best offensive game of the day. He posts a three for four day with two doubles and a home run. That gives him 217 hits, second in the AL, 43 doubles, third in the AL, and 12 home runs, tied for fifth in the AL. It would be his last great game as a major leaguer, and his last extra-base hits. The White Sox beat the Indians 5-1 to gain in the pennant race.

Jimmy Zinn of the Pirates wins the best pitched game of the day in game one of the doubleheader against the Cardinals. Zinn pitches all 12 innings for the win as Pittsburgh takes the game 2-1. He allows one earned run on six hits, walking none and striking out five for a game score of 91. It’s his first win of the season, and it’s a gem.

George Sisler of the Browns flirts with dropping below .400 as he goes one for five to drop his BA to .402. Speaker goes 0 for 4 to drop his average to .386, just one point ahead of Joe Jackson.

In the AL the Yankees loss to the Senators keeps them three games back, and Cleveland’s magic number to eliminate the Yankees is down to four. The White Sox move to 1/2 game back, and the Indians magic number remains seven.

The two contenders in the NL meet in Brooklyn as the Giants beat the Dodgers 8-0. The Dodgers lead is down to four, but the Giants need a sweep of the series to keep their chances alive of winning the division outright.

September 24, 2020

This Date in 1920

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Seven of the eight major league games scheduled for September 24, 1920 play to completion. The host Indians beat the White Sox 2-0 in a important AL pennant game. That stands as the low score of the day. The Tigers beat the Browns in Detroit 16-8, the high scoring game of the day.

Scandal puts baseball on the front page of the paper as the grand jury foreman announces that they have the name of the World Series fixer.

H.H. Brigham, foreman of the Cook County Grand Jury investigating alleged baseball gambling, to-night told newspaper men that the name of the man who “fixed” the 1919 world’s series for Cincinnati to win had been given to the grand jury. This man, Brigham stated, acted as a representative of a ring of gamblers, who offered Chicago White Sox players money to throw games to the Cincinnati Reds.
New York Tribune

The story continues on the sports page with Rube Benton explaining that he heard that White Sox players Eddie Cicotte, Claude Williams, Chick Gandil, and Hap Felsch were among the players that took money. It also, for the first time, names the players whose world series checks were held up by Charles Comiskey. They were the four mentioned above plus Buck Weaver, Charles Risberg, Joe Jackson, and Fred McMullin.

The White Sox did not have a monopoly on baseball scandal that day, however. For the second time this season, Giants manager John McGraw sees a friend injured in front of his house, and this time McGraw is accused of causing the injuries. This also makes the front page.

Meanwhile batters and pitchers performed. Babe Ruth of the Yankees earns best offensive game of the day in game two of their doubleheader against Washington at the Polo Grounds. Ruth homered in game one, a 3-1 win by Washington. That home run gives Ruth fifty for the season, reaching another milestone that fans a year earlier had thought impossible. In game two, he posts a four for four game, once again homering in the first inning, and doubling and scoring the winning run in the ninth as the Yankees take the game 2-1. Ruth also leads the AL in Runs, RBI, Walks, OBP, and slugging percentage.

Duster Mails of Cleveland continues his hot pitching down the stretch, earning the shutout against the White Sox for best pitched game of the day. He allowed just three hits, although he walks five batter. He also strikes out six. Mails is now 6-0 in seven September appearances with a 1.72 ERA. He certainly was not mailing it in.

The Indians win extends their lead to 1 1/2 games over the White Sox, with Cleveland’s magic number down to seven. The Yankees lose half a game and are now three games back. Due to the Yankees being down five in the loss column, Cleveland’s magic number against them is just five.

The NL race does not change as both the Dodgers and Giants have the day off. They play head-to-head tomorrow with the Dodgers five games up. A win by the Dodgers in that game clinches a tie for the NL pennant.

George Sisler of the Browns posts a three for five day to put his league leading BA at .404. He now has the batting title in a firm grasp as Tris Speaker goes 0 for 4 to drop to .389. The big question now is can Sisler maintain a .400 BA? The Browns have 12 games left.

September 23, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The major leagues schedule seven games for September 23, 1920, and play all seven, including two doubleheaders. The Browns beat the Tigers 3-0 in game two of their doubleheader for the low scoring game of the day. That completes a sweep in Detroit. The White Sox defeat the Indians 10-3 to join the Phillies 7-6 win over the Braves in game one for the highest scoring games of the day. The Phillies win the night cap as they also sweep a twin bill. Those wins break a seven game Philadelphia losing streak.

Two Phillies tie for best offensive game of the day. In game one, Cy Williams posts a four for four day with a walk and three runs scored for a Baseball Musings Game Score of 73. In the second game, Casey Stengel goes three for four with a home run and three RBI to match that game score. Williams stood out as the best hitter by far on the Phillies through this date, but Stengel had a pretty good year. Those two and teammate Irish Meusel were all in the top five in home runs for the National League.

Bill Bayne of the Browns takes home best pitched game of the day for this game two shutout. He scatters seven hits and three walks, while striking out five. Bayne is finishing on a hot streak, with a 3-1 record and 1.97 ERA in his last six appearances.

George Sisler posts a rare bad day at the plate as he goes one for six in the Browns doubleheader to drop his leauge leading batting average to .402. Tris Speaker of the Indians loses ground, however, as he goes 0 for 5 to drop his batting average to .392.

The White Sox win over the Indians closes the AL pennant race to 1/2 game, Cleveland in the lead. The idle Yankees gain 1/2 game on Cleveland, and they are now 2 1/2 games back.

There is no change in the NL race, as both the Dodgers and Giants are idle. They start a series on the 25th.

Testimony continues to leak from the Chicago grand jury investigating gambling in baseball. Rube Benton testified that Hal Chase made $40,000 betting on the 1919 World Series, and asked Benton to throw a game. Benton did not take the offer.

September 22, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The only games scheduled on September 22, 1920 all take place in the National League. Five contests play to completion, including a doubleheader between the Reds and Pirates in Pittsburgh. Game one, a 2-0 Pirates victory, stands as the low score of the day. The Giants 7-2 defeat of the Cubs in New York produced the most runs.

While the AL saw no game action, the news of the day would begin the destruction of one of the league’s great teams. The headline reads “Seven Chicago Players Accused, Says Prosecutor.” Those seven are accused of throwing games in the 1919 World series, as the grand jury in Chicago continues to hear testimony. AL president Ban Johnson testified:

The investigation was secret, but President Johnson said afterward he had given testimony which he “believed indicated throwing of games last year by certain players.”
New York Tribune

No names appeared in the story, however.

Ed Konetchy of the Dodgers and Dave Bancroft of the Giants tie for best offensive game of the day. Konetchy goes two for three with a double, home run, and a walk as the Dodgers beat the Braves 3-1. Bancroft posts a four for five day with a double in the Giants win.

Down in Pittsburgh, Babe Adams of the Pirates wins best pitched game of the day for his shutout of the Reds in game one. Adams’s teammate Elmer Ponder comes in third, as he holds the Reds to one run in game two, the Pirates winning 3-1. Adams allowed five hits and one walk, but Ponder gave up an unearned run on eight hits and two walks. Adams now leads the NL in shutouts with eight, and owns the lowest BB per 9 IP at 0.59.

That ends Cincinnati’s chance at a repeat. They go 3-12 in their last 15 games, eliminated on the same day they find out their World Championship might be tainted. The Dodgers still lead the Giants by five games, with Brooklyn’s magic number standing at three.

September 21, 2020

This Date in 1920

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All seven scheduled major league games play to completion on September 21, 1920. The Giants put another nail in the World Champion Reds coffin, as New York wins 1-0 at the Polo Grounds. That stands as the low scoring game of the day. The Tigers and Senators go crazy at the plate as Detroit beats Washington 12-11 for the high scoring game of the day. Detroit got off to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Washington led 11-3 after the top of the fifth. The Tigers worked their way back to 11-8, then scored four times in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Bobby Veach hit a double to drive in the winning runs. The news story suggest it was a bases loaded double, but we don’t have a play by play to check.

Donnie Bush of the Tigers, who singled and scored in that ninth inning, ties with two others for best offensive game of the day. Bush earned a game score of 75 for his five for six game with a double. Elmer Smith of the Indians goes three for five with a double and home run, driving in five runs in Cleveland’s 12-1 win over Boston. Swede Risberg of the White Sox has a perfect day at the plate, four for for with a triple and a stolen base. Chicago beats Philadelphia 9-2.

Bush represented the very light hitting shortstop group, but did an excellent job of getting on base. For his career, he posted a .356 OBP and a .300 slugging percentage. He finished 1920 with a .324 slugging percentage, which was a career high for him in a full season.

Risberg, also a shortstop, had a little more power, but did not get on base well. Like many of the White Sox teammates, this would be his last season. If you click on the news link above, you’ll see that a number of White Sox related people had their grand jury testimony delayed as Chicago heads to Cleveland for an AL pennant showdown series.

Fred Toney of the Giants earns the shutout and collects his twenty first win of the season to capture the best pitched game of the day. He gives up just three hits and two walks. As was typical of the day, he let his fielders do the work, as he struck out just one batter.

The AL batting race stays hot as George Sisler of the Browns goes two for five to put his batting average at .405. Tris Speaker of the Indians goes two for three with a double and a triple to raise his BA to .396. He’s two doubles short of reaching 50 for the second time in his career.

The Yankees beat the Browns 8-3 to keep pace with Cleveland and Chicago. The Indians lead the White Sox by 1 1/2 games, and the Yankees by three games. New York sits five games down in the loss column. A three game series with Chicago opens in Cleveland on the 23rd, while the Yankees will take two days to work their way back from St. Louis. Cleveland’s magic number is down to nine.

The Dodgers do not play, so the Giants gain 1/2 game in the standings to sit five games back. The news link above finally makes an attempt at a magic number, although they don’t call it that, and they use the tie number, not the win number. The actual magic number for Brooklyn is four, with the Giants five games back and the Reds eight games back.

Brooklyn, confident in their victory, announce their World Series ticket prices. It will be $3 for the cheap seats, and $6 for boxes. The sports writers are outraged.

September 20, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The major leagues scheduled ten games for September 20, 1920, and all ten resulted in decisions. The day featured two doubleheaders and three extra-inning games, so there was plenty of bonus baseball. The Dodgers beat the Pirates in Brooklyn by a score of 2-1. That ten inning contest represented the low scoring game of the day. At the high end of scoring, the White Sox hosted the Athletics, the home team winning 13-6.

Despite the big win, it turns out to be a very bad day for the Chicago American League franchise. On the sports page of the New York Tribune sits a column entitled, “Grand Jury Call League Presidents and Rube Benton.”

Grand jury investigation of alleged gambling by baseball players in last year’s world series and in the game between the Chicago and Philadelphia National League clubs August 31 last will start Wednesday, with a score of baseball officials, players, and writers subpoenaed to testify.
New York Tribune.

Since that August game there were occasional stories about the Cubs being investigated. While there had been incidents, accidents, hints, and allegations surrounding the White Sox, this was the first mention of actual gambling in the newspaper. Note that a former player to be called is Hal Chase, who tried to play minor league ball out west in 1920, but the league banned him for gambling.

Morrie Rath of the Reds takes home best offensive game of the day for his game two heroics in the doubleheader against the Giants. New York won the first game 5-2, but Rath posted a three for five game in the night-cap, helping the Reds to a 9-3 win and a split to keep their slight pennant hopes alive. Overall, Rath went five for nine in the two games, adding a double in game one.

Hugh McQuillan of the Braves earn best pitched game of the day for his game two victory over the Cubs, earning Boston a split. McQuillan allows one unearned run as get gives up seven hits and a walk. His defense was good for the most part, as he only struck out one batter. In game one, Pete Alexander of the Cubs picked up his 25th win of the season, and Carl Mays of the Yankees did the same in the 4-3, eleven inning game against the Browns. Alexander’s wins lead the NL, Mays stands second in the AL.

In that Yankees-Browns game, George Sisler goes three for five to raise his BA to .405. Tris Speaker of the Indians still manages to gain on his rival Speaker posts a two for two day to put his BA at .394. This is amazing. Starting on September fourth, Sisler knocked out 39 hits in 82 at bats for a .476 BA. Speaker is 22 for 54 in the same time, a .407 BA. What a race!

The Indians won that game 8-3 over the Red Sox. With all three AL contenders winning, Cleveland remains in first place, 1 1/2 games up on the White Sox and three up on the Yankees. The Indians magic number stands at ten.

The Dodgers gain 1/2 game on both the Reds and the Giants. New York sits in second place 5 1/2 games back, while the World Champion Res sit 7 1/2 games back. As the two are even in the loss column, Brooklyn’s magic number against both stands at four.