Honus Wagner, one of the all-time greats in baseball, was the first batter to end the Fall Classic by fanning. It happens. Ironically, it was the very last out of the very first World Series.
Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates met the Boston Americans in 1903, the first World Series. The American League team was ready. It was, however, Pittsburgh that beat Boston and Cy Young in game one. But, the Americans stayed around.
By winning game seven, Boston was up four games to three in the best-of-nine finale. However, the Americans still needed one more win, unlike today with it best-of-seven.
Bill Dinneen opposed Deacon Phillipe in game eight. Both pitched very well. It was Dinneen with more K's, however. He allowed just four hits.
Hobe Ferris knocked home all three Boston runs, and that was all the scoring. Pittsburgh tried to get a run themselves in the top of the sixth. Phillipe started the inning himself with a single. The visitors had a promising start. However, a double play erased that. The Pirates, however, got another life as Fred Clarke singled to keep it going. Tommy Leach, however, flied out to left. The next inning saw Boston make an error to give Boston another life, but they could not take advantage of it.
Dinneen was in cruise control in the top of the eighth. How bad was it for Boston? They didn't even get it out of the infield. Pittsburgh was also retired 1-2-3 by Phillipe, who finished the game with an eight-hitter. But time was running out.
Clarke got the ball to the outfield to start the ninth, but it was merely to left fielder Patsy Dougherty. Another fly, this time by Leach, was caught by right fielder Buck Freeman. Honus Wagner was the last batter.
Back in the fourth inning, The Flying Dutchman, had singled Tommy Leach to second with two down. Leach had walked. Nothing came of it. The game was scoreless at the time. Dinneen ended up with just two walks the entire game. He'd also collect seven strikeouts.
And Wagner was the seventh in the ninth. That ended the Fall Classic. Boston had won. The great Wagner finished the World Series with just a .222 batting average and 3 RBIs. Don't feel too bad for him. Sure, his team had lost this first Fall Classic of the decade, but he'd be back.
In 1909, Honus and Pittsburgh faced the Detroit Tigers, who had someone named Ty. As in Ty Cobb. It was Wagner who completely outplayed him. The Pirates made sure to win that one in seven games.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Sept. 2016.
Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates met the Boston Americans in 1903, the first World Series. The American League team was ready. It was, however, Pittsburgh that beat Boston and Cy Young in game one. But, the Americans stayed around.
By winning game seven, Boston was up four games to three in the best-of-nine finale. However, the Americans still needed one more win, unlike today with it best-of-seven.
Bill Dinneen opposed Deacon Phillipe in game eight. Both pitched very well. It was Dinneen with more K's, however. He allowed just four hits.
Hobe Ferris knocked home all three Boston runs, and that was all the scoring. Pittsburgh tried to get a run themselves in the top of the sixth. Phillipe started the inning himself with a single. The visitors had a promising start. However, a double play erased that. The Pirates, however, got another life as Fred Clarke singled to keep it going. Tommy Leach, however, flied out to left. The next inning saw Boston make an error to give Boston another life, but they could not take advantage of it.
Dinneen was in cruise control in the top of the eighth. How bad was it for Boston? They didn't even get it out of the infield. Pittsburgh was also retired 1-2-3 by Phillipe, who finished the game with an eight-hitter. But time was running out.
Clarke got the ball to the outfield to start the ninth, but it was merely to left fielder Patsy Dougherty. Another fly, this time by Leach, was caught by right fielder Buck Freeman. Honus Wagner was the last batter.
Back in the fourth inning, The Flying Dutchman, had singled Tommy Leach to second with two down. Leach had walked. Nothing came of it. The game was scoreless at the time. Dinneen ended up with just two walks the entire game. He'd also collect seven strikeouts.
And Wagner was the seventh in the ninth. That ended the Fall Classic. Boston had won. The great Wagner finished the World Series with just a .222 batting average and 3 RBIs. Don't feel too bad for him. Sure, his team had lost this first Fall Classic of the decade, but he'd be back.
In 1909, Honus and Pittsburgh faced the Detroit Tigers, who had someone named Ty. As in Ty Cobb. It was Wagner who completely outplayed him. The Pirates made sure to win that one in seven games.
References
Neft,
David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World
Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York:
St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 03 Sept. 2016.
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