Eddie Collins stole at least one base in all six Fall Classics he participated in. So make so mistake, he was great with the bat and on the bases. He was an excellent fielder, too. And in the World Series, he usually put on a show with all three. For today though, let's focus on his baserunning!
Collins first appeared in the Fall Classic with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910. The A's were up against the Chicago Cubs. Philly was hoping for better luck than they'd had in the October Classic in 1905, when Christy Matthewson shut them out three times. The Chicago Cubs, meanwhile, had lost the 1906 Fall Classic to their cross-town rivals the White Sox. Things were better the next two years for the Cubbies: They beat Detroit both times!
So, for the Cubs, it was just another World Series. For Philadelphia, they were still looking for their first World Crown. Would their second basemen make a difference?
While Philadelphia won game one, Collins had a mixed game. He singled once. He also walked. But Eddie didn't steal a base and got caught trying to! But given another chance, the second basemen came through.
Not only did the Athletics win game two at home, 9-3 (To go up 2-0 in this World Series), but Collins did it all. Hits? Three. Stolen bases? Two. Trailing 1-0, Eddie's double in the last of the third put Chicago up 2-1, although he was only awarded one RBI. Better still, the two-bagger was off some chap named Three Finger Brown. Philly never looked back.
Collins got caught stealing in game three, won by Philadelphia on the road, 12-5. Though the A's dropped the fourth contest in extras, Collins made sure Chicago wouldn't get this thing back to Philly. What a performance he had in the fifth game. Twice driving in a run via a hit, Eddie followed that with a stolen base. Collins ended the fifth contest with three hits and two RBI in Philadelphia's 7-2 series-clinching win.
Philly beat their old 1905 rivals in the World Series the next year. This time, they needed one more game to pull it off. The New York Giants put up a tremendous fight in the series, even pulling off game five to send it back to Philadelphia. But once there, it was Collins with an RBI and a run scored despite not getting a hit. The home team might have been mad about blowing a 3-0 lead after six innings the previous contest. The Athletics gave the poor Giants no chance at a comeback in the sixth class. The final score was 13-2.
Collins ended up with just two stolen bases in the six tilts, but that tied teammate Jack Barry and New York Giants' second basemen Larry Doyle for the series lead. It was a bit of an odd World Series for Eddie. He didn't perform well in games one, five and six. But how about the second, third and fourth contest?
Eddie Collins got two hits in each, batting .545 in that span. He swiped base in game three, too. The Philly second basemen's only other stolen base was in that tough game five loss. By failing to get a hit in the last two contests, Collins would have to be content with a .286 batting average to go along with his second ring. Eddie had hit .429 in the 1910 World Series.
Not to worry. New York was disposed of again by the Philadelphia A's two years later, and this time in only five games. Collins did it all in game one. Three hits and a walk. Three runs scored. One of his hits was for three bases. And Eddie added a stolen base. In the third contest, Collins again got three hits. This time, he drove in three runs. Oh, and he also stole a base. Although held hitless in game four, the Philadlephia second basemen stole his third base of the 1913 Fall Classic.
The A's made it back to the final stage the next season. But the Boston Braves swept them. There is little to write about about Philly or Eddie Collins in the 1914 World Series. He stole one base. And he hit just .214.
Three years later, Eddie Collins was back to his fifth World Series, but it would not be with Philadelphia. No, now he was on the Chicago White Sox. Along with such stars as Shoeless Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch, Eddie was on a great team. And for a while, they made a bid for a sweep of the New York Giants. New York must have been getting tired of facing teams that had Eddie Collins on them in October.
So Collins and company won game one, 2-1 at home. The Giants played well early, but couldn't do much with the White Sox starting pitcher Eddie Collins. Both Chicago and New York finished with seven hits, but Eddie got none. Nor did he steal a base. The Pale Hose pitcher Eddie Cicotte got better as the game went on, and after giving up a run in the top of the fifth, nailed the door shut. But couldn't Chicago do better?
They sure did in game two. The White Sox won 7-2. How did Eddie do? He got two hits and two steals. Were the steals important? It actually happened in the last of the sixth in this game at Comisky Park. Collins had driven home a run in the fourth inning to make it 5-2 for the home team. He wasn't finished. The single also put runners on first and third. Shoeless Joe Jackson singled, and Collins turned on the jets. That helped make it a two-run single! Yep, Collins flashed his speed to do more than just steal bases in this contest. Eddie had help turn a 4-2 game into a 7-2 rout!
And Collins wasn't finished.
Two innings later, there were two outs, and not a single batter on. But Collins got on via a single. Joe Jackson was back up, and Eddie tried to make another RBI all the more easier for him. The White Sox second basemen stole second. Jackson walked. With Happy Felsch up, you might expect more offence. After all, he'd gotten a four-bagger the game before. Collins was probably thinking how he could make things easier for Felsch now. He stole third! But all Felsch could do this time was ground out, leaving runners on the corners. Eddie Collins did not get to bat again, but I"m sure he was happy with Chicago's 7-2 win.
You'd think the New York Giants were goners. But somehow, they shutout Chicago in game three, 2-0. Collins wasn't to blame. He got two hits. Jackson got none. After fanning in the top of the first inning in the next contest, Eddie Collins hit a double to start the fourth inning at the Polo Grounds. But Shoeless Joe was not equal to the task. All Joe could do was pop out. Eddie was then picked off second. So much for the promising inning. Happy Felsch fanned.
Felsch watched helplessly as Benny Kauff made 'em pay in the last of the fourth. He launched one to centre, then raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. This just wasn't the White Sox day. Though Eddie Collins walked and stole a base in the ninth, it was kinda "One of those games". Not only for him, but for his teammates. They had their chances. They didn't deliver. Ferdie Schupp of the New York Giants pitched the second straight shutout. So this thing was all level.
But, that was sort of New York's last gasp. Chicago won game six, 8-5. Collins did not steal a base, but he did he ever contribute. He ended the game with three hits and a walk. Eddie scored two runs and drove in one. The home team had held serve through five games.
However, that changed in the sixth matchup. Did Collins have anything to do with it? Well, in the top of the fourth inning of a scoreless game, Collins reached via an error. So did Joe Jackson. They both ended up scoring. Eddie scored when pitcher Rube Benton tried to make a play on Happy Felsch's infield grounder and get a force. Rube got no one out. Collins scored from third Happy and Shoeless Joe took an extra base for good measure. Jackson and Felsch then scored on Chick Gandil's single. The White Sox were up 3-0. The Giants came back to cut it to one on Buck Herzog's triple, however, their offence stalled after that. Red Faber slammed the door shut. Nemo Leibold drove home an important insurance run. The Pale Hose had their second World Series championship!
And they wouldn't have done it without Eddie Collins. He'd been his usual awesome self. He'd hit .409! This was not his last Fall Classic, too.
Sadly, it all ended for Collins on a complete downer. The infamous 1919 World Series awaited Eddie and his White Sox. But the efforts of eight members of Chicago would come under question. It didn't help matters that the Cincinnati Reds, opposing the Chicago White Sox in the October Showdown that year, were an excellent team. And they had pitching.
Eddie wasn't quite his usual self, either. The first game was all Reds. Despite Eddie Collins picking up a hit, they won 9-1 in a laugher at home. Chicago could have used more from Collins in the second contest. The White Sox collected ten hits to the Reds' four, but lost 4-2.
Well, those were two tough road losses. A return to Comisky Park in Chicago brought 'em back on track. Dickie Kerr pitched the first shutout of the series for the home team, who won 3-0.
But Eddie wasn't able to contribute much. After grounding out in the first, Collins had to wait until the third to bat again. The second inning had been a good frame for the White Sox. Kerr held the fort. Chick Gandil drove in Shoeless Joe and Happy Felsch with a single in the bottom of the inning.
Now, it was the third, and Chicago was looking for more. Collins singled to start it. Buck Weaver followed suit. Jackson tried to bunt 'em over. Nope. Pop up. One away. Felsch then hit into an inning-ending double play. The next inning was better, though. Catcher Ray Schalk drove in Swede Risberg, who'd tripled, with a bunt single. The Chicago team was swinging and connecting! Six hits and three runs through four.
It kinda stalled after that. The Pale Hose got only one more hit when Shoeless Joe connected for a sixth inning leadoff single. Guess what? The fleet-footed outfielder tried himself for a stolen base. Got nailed. Happy Felsch coaxed a walk from Cincinnati pitcher Ray Fisher. He tried to steal second. And Happy was not happy with the result.
So the Chicago White Sox 3-0, and Dickie Kerr held the opposition to just three hits. However, Collins was in a slump. He was hitting .182. He had some company. Felsch was hitting .000. So was Nemo Leibold. Shano Collins, who was not related to Eddie, was hitting just .125.
The slumps seemed to continue. Chicago themselves got three-hit in the fourth contest by Jimmy Ring. Ring allowed hits by Shoeless Joe Jackson (A double), Happy Felsch (Who was hitting .100 by the end of the contest) and Chick Gandil. Gandil now had three RBIs to top the Pale Hose. But none were in this game, which the home team lost 2-0. Jimmy Ring had allowed three walks and his team had committed two errors behind him.
The team loaded the bases in the bottom of the second on Jackson's double plus two walks. Collins was hit by a pitch the next inning. With two away, Jackson reached on one of those two errors I mentioned above. The end result was Happy Felsch not coming through, leaving runners on the corners.
Trailing 2-0 in the last of the fifth, Nemo Leibold reached on the other Cincinnati error of the afternoon. There was one away and Eddie Collins was back at the plate. All he ended up doing was forcing Leibold. Buck Weaver ended the inning by grounding out.
Chicago catcher Ray Schalk reached base his last two times up in the contest, both of which resulted in Eddie Collins getting a chance to make a difference. In the bottom of the seventh, Schalk led off by taking one for the team. Then with two away, Collins was up. Jimmy Ring got him to ground out to third basemen Heinie Groh. Finally, in the ninth, it was Schalk on with a walk. Collins ended the game by lining out to Groh.
There was more bad news for Chicago in game five. It was a must-win game, as the Fall Classic was best-of-nine that season. To fall behind 4-1 would put them in serious trouble. Game six was back in Crosley Field. And the Reds would then have two cracks at closing it out at home.
Cincinnati won game five, 5-0. It was a masterful performance by Hod Eller. Hod allowed just three hits himself. And he fanned six in a row, setting an all-time Fall Classic record.
Collins did little in the contest. He grounded out in the last of the first against Eller. That did move Nemo Leibold to second. Buck Weaver followed with a single, the first of his two hits on the afternoon. But Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch were retired by Hod Eller, and that was pretty much it for Chicago as far as their offence was concerned.
A 1-2-3 third saw Eller retire the side and Eddie Collins was one of the victims. Collins flied out as part of a 1-2-3 last of the sixth. It was just like that all day it seemed. Now, the White Sox had their backs to the wall.
And Cincinnati, back home, wasted little time in getting to Dick Kerr. There would be no shutout for the game three winner this time around. In fact, it was 4-0 for the Reds after four.
Collins did pick up an RBI, but only by flying out to centre with one away in the top of the fifth. Chicago ran themselves out of a potentially big inning when Kerr ran towards second after the catch in centre by Edd Roush. Ray Schalk had stayed there instead of advancing to third.
The good news is that Dickie Kerr settled down. Though he gave up eleven hits, the White Sox prevailed in ten innings. It was a bit of a fluke, as Chick Gandil drove in the winning run with a bouncer that made it to centre. All the Reds had to do was play the infield back and that wouldn't have happened.
Collins finished game six 0-4, having been retired all five times up. You want to know what his batting average was at this point? Try .091 (2-22). The series was on, but Chicago really needed to get going. Eddie Collins needed to get going!
Slim Sallee was back on the mound for Cincinnati. The home team didn't want to lose this game, yet played it as if they did. By the end of this contest, they'd committed four errors. The White Sox only made one despite the lack of efforts by several players.
That error was by Collins! But other than that, he did break out of his slump. Sallee was the right pitcher for him and his teammates. They'd gotten ten hits of Slim Sallee in game two, despite losing. In the 1917 World Series, Chicago hammered Sallee for 20 hits in only 15 1/3 innings.|
Here, Slim lasted just 4 2/3 innings of this seventh tilt. Eddie Cicotte was still trying to redeem himself from his previous two outings (Although, Eddie had allowed no earned runs in taking the loss in the fourth contest). Cicotte had given up 23 hits in as many innings in the 1917 Fall Classic despite a fine 1.57 earned run average.
Here, Cicotte gave up seven hits and three walks. So he wasn't that great. He was eventually thrown out of baseball for his role in fixing the 1919 World Series. His team appeared to be trying in this game. Shano Collins got it all started in the first by singling to centre. Shano, it should be noted, was not related to Eddie Collins. But Eddie nonetheless bunted him into scoring position with a 1-0 count. Buck Weaver flew out to centre, with Shano holding the fort at second. Joe Jackson drove home Collins with a single of his own.
The very first Cincinnati batter, Morrie Rath (Eddie Collins' counterpart at second on the Reds) reached via an error by the Chicago second basemen. Don't worry, Eddie Collins watched as the next three batters made three outs. Off the hook!
So in the third, both the Collins singled. Alas, Weaver hit a liner that erased himself and Eddie Collins. Shano Collins would score on another single by Shoeless Joe. It was 2-0 for the visitors as Crosley Field. Then came a series of bad fielding plays by the home team in the top of the fifth.
It was still 2-0 for Chicago. Shano Collins was retired to start the frame. But, Eddie Collins singled. Buck Weaver reached on an error by shortstop Larry Koft. Joe Jackson got what was originally scored a hit, but later changed to an error by Morrie Rath as the ball struck the second basemen's ankle! Hey, Eddie Collins had company in the error department by second basemen. But, that error by Rath was worse, because the Pale Hose made 'em pay.
Happy Felsch followed all this carnage with a two-run single. Both Collins and Weaver scored. Unearned. Slim Salle hit the showers. In 4 1/3 innings, he'd allowed nine hits and four runs. But only two of those tallies were earned. Oh, you want to know
Both the Collins singled in the top of the third. Ray Fisher, who'd pitched well in a losing cause for Cincinnati in game three, got the Reds out that fifth without further damage. But in the sixth, against the third Reds' pitcher, Dolph Luque, it looked like the White Sox would continue to be a most unwelcome guest of Crosley Field.
For with two away, Shano Collins doubled. Both the Collins' were weaving their magic wands this afternoon. The other Collins, Eddie, couldn't keep the innings going. Luque got him on strikes. Ivey Wingo, the Cincinnati catcher (He had quite a game. 1-1, with three walks) picked up the ball he couldn't handle and first to first for the "K, 2-3".
Dolph Luque finished the game as unhittable as Slim Sallee had been hittable. The Pale Hose got just one hit off him in four frames. Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch had two hits of Sallee, but none of Luque.
In any event, the 4-1 win by the White Sox sent this thing back to Chicago. Cincinnati was still up, but only 4-3. But they had no intentions of losing three straight. The routed the White Sox starter Lefty Williams. It was 4-0 after half an innings.
Eddie Collins and company tried to get at least one run back their first time up. Nemo Leibold singled to left of a suddenly hittable Hod Eller. Eddie Collins followed with a double. Okay! However, Buck Weaver looked at a called strike three. Joe Jackson popped out behind third, with shortstop Larry Koft making a fine play with along the fence in left. The play itself should have scored Leibold at third, as it was hit well back behind the bag. But some reason that has never been explained, Nemo held, ninety feet away from getting the White Sox as run back. When Happy Felsch fanned, a potential big inning was over for the home team. Without scoring once.
And by the time Chicago finally touched home (Via a Joe Jackson home run), it was already 5-0 for Cincinnati. Eddie Collins was retired his second and third trip up.
Worse still, by the time he batted in the eighth, it was 10-1, Cincinnati. Hod Eller was working on a a fine five-hitter. Nemo Leibold flied out. But then it was Eddie Collins that got the ball rolling on a big inning. He singled. Buck Weaver doubled this time up. When Jackson followed with one of his own, Collins and Weaver scored. The inning then stalled as Happy Felsch popped up to first basemen Jake Daubert. Chick Gandil hit one to right field. It was there that right fielder Greasy Neale was blinded by the sun. So instead of catching it, the ball went for a triple. Swede Risberg hit one to Edd Roush in short centre. But Roush couldn't come up with it. The error scored Gandil. Chicago had four runs on four hits and some poor defence. Though Ray Schalk was retired to end the frame, it guaranteed another time up for Eddie Collins, who had himself a 2-4 afternoon.
Roy Wilkinson had allowed just two runs over four innings of work for Chicago. And after a nice ninth, he was due up first in the bottom of the frame. But it was Eddie Murphy that batted for him. Hod Eller, now up to nine hits allowed, was giving it his all. The home team was seeing his pitches. However, he sort of shot himself in the foot by walking Murphy. Nemo Leibold hit one to centre. This time, Roush made an excellent snare. Eddie Collins was back up. Time for hit number three! His single to right sent Murphy to third. The White Sox looked ready to tack on another run or two and make this slugfest interesting. Buck Weaver was up. He sent one to Greasy Neal in right. But with two outs and Joe Jackson up, Collins had a trick up his sleeve.
You see, Eddie hadn't stolen a base yet. But in doing so right here, Shoeless Joe had man on second and third. If the ball gets out of the infield, it's 10-7. But Jackson grounded out to Morrie Rath.
Eddie Collins finished the 1919 World Series hitting only .226. And he'd made two errors. It was not too unlike his performance five years later at this stage. He got only one RBI and one stolen base. The eight guilty Black Sox players would be thrown out of baseball after the 1920 season. Collins went on to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
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