The last time the Red Sox and Dodgers met was 1916. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn then. They weren't even called the Dodgers in '16. Rather, the Robins. And Boston had a pitcher named Babe Ruth. Brooklyn had the colourful Casey Stengel.
It took the Red Sox just five games to win back then. The Fall Classic itself did offer some excitement. The very first game saw Boston, at home, up 6-1 after eight. Babe Ruth was still only a pitcher (More on that later) and did not appear in the game. Brooklyn came alive in the top of the ninth.
Stengel had singled after and walk and before a hit by pitch. The Robins ended up scoring four runs and had the bases loaded with Jake Daubert at the dish. Jake had led off the inning with that walk that started the carnage. Here, however, he grounded to short to end the game.
The second contest was even closer. Babe Ruth did appear. He pitched a gem of a game. He was in beast mode on the mound. Brooklyn managed to score a run off him in the top of the first, then got shutout the rest of the way.
"The rest of the way," was fourteen innings. Brooklyn held Boston to just a single run through nine as unheralded Sherry Smith (114-118 for his career) matched The Babe inning for inning with the zeros.
Alas, it was Smith who blinked first in extras. Ruth got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the fourteenth, as it was the Red Sox who were going to win this in the bottom of the frame. Dick Hoblitzell got it all going with a walk. Duffy Lewis layed down a sac bunt. The set the stage for pinch hitter Del Gainer.
Mike McNally entered the game to run for Hoblitzell. Gainer singled to left, and McNally motored on home! A 2-1 Red Sox win!
Brooklyn came home and took came four in a nail-biting fashion, just like Boston had in the two previous contests. Did Casey Stengel have anything to do with it?
The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the third. Carl Mays, who'd gotten the save for the Red Sox in game one, got Hi Myers to ground out. But then the Robins woke up.
First it was Jake Daubert with a single. Then Stengel came through with one of his own. Zack Wheat was out on a liner. However, George Cutshaw stroked a two-out hit and it was 1-0, Brooklyn.
By the last of the fifth, it was 4-0 Brooklyn. Boston rallied, though. They scored twice in the top of the sixth, and again in the top of the seventh via a Larry Gardner home run. Jeff Pfeffer came in to pitch for the Robins and retired all eight men who faced him. His fine work helped Brooklyn win 4-3.
The 1916 World Series had been quite close through three games. The last two contests weren't, alas.
Brooklyn touched home twice in the bottom of the first in game four, but that was it for their offence. Boston erased that lead on another home run by Larry Gardner. It came in the top of the third. Not only was it a three-run shot, but it was an inside-the-park job! The Red Sox had the lead for good. They weren't through. They added three more runs and won, 6-2.
The fifth contest was a little closer, but Boston won it all at home. Brooklyn again scored in the second inning on a passed ball. But Ernie Shore, who'd won game one, was back on the hill and pitching great again.
When the game was over, he had a three-hitter. That run by the Robins in the second proved to be their lone tally. The home team scored once in the last of the second, twice the next inning, and again in the fifth. The 4-1 Boston win gave them the world championship.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
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.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Retrosheet. Retrosheet. Web. 18 Oct. 2018. <www.retrosheet.org>.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 18 Oct. 2018.
It took the Red Sox just five games to win back then. The Fall Classic itself did offer some excitement. The very first game saw Boston, at home, up 6-1 after eight. Babe Ruth was still only a pitcher (More on that later) and did not appear in the game. Brooklyn came alive in the top of the ninth.
Stengel had singled after and walk and before a hit by pitch. The Robins ended up scoring four runs and had the bases loaded with Jake Daubert at the dish. Jake had led off the inning with that walk that started the carnage. Here, however, he grounded to short to end the game.
The second contest was even closer. Babe Ruth did appear. He pitched a gem of a game. He was in beast mode on the mound. Brooklyn managed to score a run off him in the top of the first, then got shutout the rest of the way.
"The rest of the way," was fourteen innings. Brooklyn held Boston to just a single run through nine as unheralded Sherry Smith (114-118 for his career) matched The Babe inning for inning with the zeros.
Alas, it was Smith who blinked first in extras. Ruth got 'em 1-2-3 in the top of the fourteenth, as it was the Red Sox who were going to win this in the bottom of the frame. Dick Hoblitzell got it all going with a walk. Duffy Lewis layed down a sac bunt. The set the stage for pinch hitter Del Gainer.
Mike McNally entered the game to run for Hoblitzell. Gainer singled to left, and McNally motored on home! A 2-1 Red Sox win!
Brooklyn came home and took came four in a nail-biting fashion, just like Boston had in the two previous contests. Did Casey Stengel have anything to do with it?
The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the third. Carl Mays, who'd gotten the save for the Red Sox in game one, got Hi Myers to ground out. But then the Robins woke up.
First it was Jake Daubert with a single. Then Stengel came through with one of his own. Zack Wheat was out on a liner. However, George Cutshaw stroked a two-out hit and it was 1-0, Brooklyn.
By the last of the fifth, it was 4-0 Brooklyn. Boston rallied, though. They scored twice in the top of the sixth, and again in the top of the seventh via a Larry Gardner home run. Jeff Pfeffer came in to pitch for the Robins and retired all eight men who faced him. His fine work helped Brooklyn win 4-3.
The 1916 World Series had been quite close through three games. The last two contests weren't, alas.
Brooklyn touched home twice in the bottom of the first in game four, but that was it for their offence. Boston erased that lead on another home run by Larry Gardner. It came in the top of the third. Not only was it a three-run shot, but it was an inside-the-park job! The Red Sox had the lead for good. They weren't through. They added three more runs and won, 6-2.
The fifth contest was a little closer, but Boston won it all at home. Brooklyn again scored in the second inning on a passed ball. But Ernie Shore, who'd won game one, was back on the hill and pitching great again.
When the game was over, he had a three-hitter. That run by the Robins in the second proved to be their lone tally. The home team scored once in the last of the second, twice the next inning, and again in the fifth. The 4-1 Boston win gave them the world championship.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
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.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 18 Oct. 2018.
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