This series came about as a result of several factors, the chief of which was that someone must have thought it would make money. Unlike the 1909 Giants/Red Sox series, this one had the seeming advantage of a pitting a purely National League city against a purely American League city. Also, the owners billed this as a match between Nap Lajoie vs. Honus Wagner, two somewhat fading, but still big name stars.
The claim was that this was their first meeting on the diamond. This was true only if one discounts the 1904 series which was for 5 games and had over 16,000 witnesses for the entire affair. Then again, those games were not sanctioned and were regarded as mere exhibitions. This set was under the identical rules as the World Series. Unfortunately, neither star was particularly effective in this series, which belonged mostly to the pitchers.
Both teams were actually fairly solid. The Naps (86-66) had Lajoie, who batted .335, and one of the AL’s top sluggers in Joe Jackson, with a league second best .373 average and a league high 39 doubles. No other regular could get above .267. A solid four-man rotation led by Cy Falkenberg (23-10) and Vean Gregg (20-13) was good enough to get them to 3rd in the AL. Last year’s center fielder Joe Birmingham managed the team now, cutting his playing role to a mere 47 games.
The Pirates (78-71) had about half of the regulars from the dominant 1909 World Series winners, with Wagner hitting an even .300 in his 17th and last .300 consecutive season. Manager Fred Clarke similarly had curtailed playing activities down to a mere 9 games. The top hitter was rookie second baseman Jimmy Viox in his only good season at .317. The top pitcher was Babe Adams, rookie hero of 1909’s Series, now an established vet at 21-10. The Bucs seemed to be taking this seriously as Wagner was rested the final two days of the season, for the series it was announced—although the real reason was to make sure he held his .300 average.
The opener was in Cleveland on October 6, one day before the World Series opened. Adams went against Falkenberg. Cy was not hittable this date and blanked the Bucs on just 2 singles. Lajoie doubled home Jackson in the 6th for the first score and Wagner’s error brought home 2 more in the 7th for the 3-0 win. The announced crowd was 5000 and the wire service accounts called the game worthy of a World Series match. This seems odd considering the five errors committed.
Despite the home team victory the crowd got smaller on the 7th for game 2, probably many gathered in front of newspaper offices to get bulletins on the bigger series. Those attending saw a great pitchers duel between Gregg and Hank Robinson (14-9). Pittsburgh hit Gregg early but failed to score in the opening frame as two of the three hits had the batter being thrown out trying to stretch. Wagner singled home the first score in the 4th and Lajoie singled home Jackson after Viox’s error in the sixth. Shoeless Joe made an unassisted double play from right field in the 10th and then won the game in the 11th by doubling home Nemo Leibold who had walked. Viox was apparently injured and started no more in the series.
GAME ONE—October 6
PIT AB R H PO A CLE AB R H PO A
Carey LF 4 0 1 0 0 Leibold CF 4 0 2 0 0
Dolan 3B 3 0 0 1 4 Chapman SS 4 0 0 1 3
Wagner SS 4 0 0 4 2 Jackson RF 3 1 2 2 0
Viox 2B 4 0 0 2 0 Lajoie 2B 4 0 3 2 2
Wilson RF 3 0 0 1 0 Johnston 1B 4 0 0 12 0
Miller 1B 1 0 0 10 0 Olson 3B 4 1 3 1 5
M.Mitchell CF 3 0 1 1 0 Graney LF 4 1 1 4 0
Gibson C 2 0 0 3 3 Carisch C 3 0 0 4 2
Butler PH(8) 1 0 0 0 0 Falkenberg P 3 0 0 0 2
Simon C 0 0 0 2 1
Adams P 2 0 0 0 1 33 3 11 26x 14
Hyatt PH (8) 1 0 0 0 0 x-Dolan out on interference
Hendrix P 0 0 0 0 0
28 0 2 24 11
E-Dolan 2, Wagner, Johnston, Carisch
PIT 000 000 000 --- 0 2 3
CLE 000 001 20x --- 3 11 2
2B-Lajoie RBI-Lajoie. SB-Carey, Miller, Lajoie, Jackson
DP-Olsen, Lajoie, and Johnston; Wagner and Viox; Wagner and Miller
HBP-by Adams (Jackson), LOB-PIT 4, CLE-7
Umpires-- Evans, Dinneen, Eason, and Emslie
IP H R ER BB SO
Adams (L,0-1) 7 9 3 1 0 3
Hendrix 1 2 0 0 0 2
Falkenberg (W,1-0) 9 2 0 0 3 4
T-1:40 A-5000
GAME TWO—October 7
PIT AB R H PO A CLE AB R H PO A
Carey LF 5 0 0 3 0 Leibold CF 4 1 0 2 0
Dolan 3B 4 1 1 2 3 Chapman SS 4 0 1 2 3
Viox 2B 5 0 1 1 4 Jackson RF 3 1 2 6 1
Wagner SS 4 0 2 0 6 Lajoie 2B 4 0 1 0 2
Miller 1B 3 0 0 16 0 Johnston 1B 4 0 0 11 0
Wilson RF 4 0 0 0 0 Olson 3B 4 0 1 0 5
M.Mitchell CF 4 0 0 2 0 Graney LF 4 0 0 3 1
Simon C 4 0 3 7 0 O’Neill C 3 0 1 8 0
Mensor PR(10) 0 0 0 0 0 Carisch C 1 0 0 1 0
Gibson C 0 0 0 2 1 Gregg P 4 0 0 0 0
Robinson P 4 0 0 0 3
35 2 6 33 12
37 1 7 31 16
One out when winning run scored.
E-Carey, Viox
PIT 000 100 000 00 --- 1 7 2
CLE 000 001 000 01 --- 2 6 0
2B- Jackson RBI-Wagner, Lajoie, Jackson. SH_Chapman
DP-Jackson ,unassisted. Wagner, Viox, and Miller
HBP-by Robinson (Jackson) LOB-PIT 5, CLE-5
Umpires—Emslie, Dinneen, Evans, and Eason
IP H R ER BB SO
Robinson (L,0-1) 10.1 6 2 1 1 5
Gregg (W, 1-0) 11 7 1 1 2 9
T-2:05 A-3500
With the cities only a short train ride away, the series continued in Pittsburgh the following day before 7,812 enthusiastic fans. The featured attractions, Lajoie and Wagner drew loud ovations when they batted. George McQuillan (8-6) started for the Pirates against Bill Steen (4-5). Pittsburgh scored in the first when Max Carey delighted all by singling, stealing second and third, and then combining with Alex McCarthy on a double steal to complete the circuit. Wagner added an RBI hit in the 3rd and the Pirates lead was 3-0 thru five .The Naps pounded McQuillan out in the 6th and tied the game at 3. This would be their last scoring—for almost 5 days. Relievers Bill James (2-2) for the Naps and Claude Hendrix (14-15) for the Bucs kept it that way until the 12th when McCarthy singled home Carey after he had reached on third baseman Ivy Olson’s error.
GAME THREE—October 8
CLE AB R H PO A PIT AB R H PO A
Leibold CF 6 1 1 2 0 Carey LF 6 1 2 3 0
Chapman SS 5 1 1 2 3 Dolan 3B 5 1 1 0 1
Jackson RF 4 1 1 2 0 McCarthy 2B 2 1 2 2 5
Lajoie 2B 5 0 1 4 3 Wagner SS 3 0 1 2 6
Johnston 1B 4 0 1 14 0 Miller 1B 4 0 0 16 0
Olson 3B 5 0 2 2 8 Wilson RF 4 0 0 3 0
Graney LF 5 0 2 2 0 M. Mitchell CF 4 0 0 4 0
Carisch C 4 0 0 5 1 Simon C 4 0 1 6 1
Steen P 1 0 0 1 0 McQuillan P 2 0 0 0 1
Lelivelt PH(5) 1 0 0 0 0 Hendrix P 3 1 1 0 4
James P 3 0 0 0 3
37 4 8 36 18
43 3 9 34 18
One out when winning run scored
E-Olsen, Carisch
CLE 000 003 000 000 --- 3 9 2
PIT 102 000 000 001 --- 4 8 0
2B-Hendrix, Chapman. RBI-Wagner, McCarthy, Miller, Olson 2, Graney.
SB-M.Mitchell, McCarthy, Carey 3
DP-Chapman, Lajoie and Johnston; Olson, Lajoie and Johnston; Olson and Johnston.
HBP-by Steen (McCarthy), by James (Wilson). SH-Dolan, Johnston. SF-Miller.
LOB PIT- 10 CLE-7
Umpires—Eason, Evans, Dinneen, and Emslie.
IP H R ER BB SO
Steen 4 5 3 3 3 3
James (L,0-1) 7.1 3 1 1 4 1
McQuillan 5.2 7 3 3 2 1
Hendrix (W, 1-0) 6.1 2 0 0 0 4
T-2:33 A-7812
Adams came back the next day on two days rest and blanked the Naps on 8 hits before 6944. Willie Mitchell (14-8) took the loss for Cleveland. Wagner managed an RBI infield hit and a stolen base. Then the weather intervened and gave them 2 days off in Cleveland.
It was still raining when they met to play game 5 on the 12th. Since the series was even there was a good chance a seventh game would be needed. The Commission ordered a coin toss before game 5 to determine where the deciding game 7, if needed, was to be played. The Pirates won, which made everyone happy since Pittsburgh had by far the better attendance, and they would not have to go back to Cleveland after game 6.
GAME FOUR—October 9
CLE AB R H PO A PIT AB R H PO A
Leibold CF 4 0 1 2 0 Carey LF 5 2 1 1 0
Chapman SS 3 0 0 0 3 Dolan 3B 2 1 0 0 0
Jackson RF 4 0 1 1 0 McCarthy 2B 4 0 2 2 1
Lajoie 2B 4 0 1 1 2 Wagner SS 3 1 1 5 7
Johnston 1B 4 0 3 4 0 Miller 1B 4 0 0 10 1
Olson 3B 4 0 1 4 0 Wilson RF 3 0 0 1 0
Graney LF 2 0 0 2 0 M. Mitchell CF 3 0 1 4 0
Carisch C 4 0 1 10 1 Simon C 4 0 1 4 1
W. Mitchell P 1 0 0 0 1 Adams P 4 1 0 0 3
Birmingham PH (5) 1 0 0 0 0
Kahler P 0 0 0 0 0 32 5 7 27 13
Lelivelt PH (8) 1 0 1 0 0
Brady PR (8) 0 0 0 0 0
Cullop P 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan PH(9) 1 0 0 0 0
33 0 8 24 7
E-Chapman, Lajoie
CLE 000 000 000 --- 0 8 2
PIT 200 200 10x --- 5 7 0
2B- M. Mitchell, McCarthy. 3B-Carey
RBI-Wagner, M. Mitchell McCarthy, SB-Wagner, Miller, Dolan WP-Cullop
LOB PIT- 8 CLE-9
Umpires— Dinneen, Emslie., Evans, and Eason
IP H R ER BB SO
W. Mitchell (L,0-1) 4 5 4 2 3 4
Kahler 3 1 1 1 2 4
Cuppop 1 1 0 0 0 2
Adams (W, 1-1) 9 8 0 0 3 4
T-2::04 A-6944
GAME FIVE—October 12
PIT AB R H PO A CLE AB R H PO A
Carey LF 5 1 2 3 0 Leibold CF 4 0 1 1 0
Dolan 3B 5 0 3 2 2 Chapman SS 3 0 0 2 2
McCarthy 2B 4 1 2 2 5 Jackson RF 4 0 0 2 0
Wagner SS 2 0 0 2 1 Lajoie 2B 3 0 0 3 2
Miller 1B 3 1 1 12 0 Johnston 1B 3 0 1 7 0
Wilson RF 4 0 0 1 0 Olson 3B 3 0 1 0 1
M.Mitchell CF 4 0 1 1 0 Graney LF 3 0 0 4 0
Simon C 4 0 0 4 1 Carisch C 3 0 0 8 0
Robinson P 4 0 0 0 0 Falkenberg P 3 0 0 0 1
35 3 9 27 9 29 0 3 27 6
E-Dolan 2
PIT 000 010 020 --- 3 9 2
CLE 000 000 000 --- 0 3 0
RBI-McCarthy, M. Mitchell 2 SH_Chapman, Graney SB-Lajoie, Dolan.
LOB-PIT 10, CLE-6 WP-Falkenberg
Umpires— Evans, Eason , Emslie, and Dinneen,
IP H R ER BB SO
Robinson (W,1-1) 9 3 0 0 2 3
Falkenberg (L, 1-1) 9 9 3 3 2 8
T-1:45 A-2500
Only 2500 showed up in the drizzle for the 5th game. This time it was Hank Robinson’s turn to blank the Naps, which he did on just 5 hits. In a game with no extra base hits, McCarthy drove home the winner in the 5th and Mike Mitchell 2 more in the 8th for the clincher. The Naps had now gone 24 innings without a run.
Incredibly, Cleveland actually ran the streak to 36 consecutive innings without scoring, yet they won Game 6 in 13 innings 1-0 on a spectacular 5 hit, 19 strikeout performance by Vean Gregg. In fact, had it not been for Gregg there is no telling how many innings they would have gone as he doubled and scored the winning run on Leibold’s single in the 13th. The unlucky Claude Hendrix took the loss as 5641 attended. The Cleveland Plain Dealer suddenly bumped the game story up to the sports lead because of the performance of Gregg, not carrying a play by play, but carefully listing every strikeout.
GAME SIX-October 13
CLE AB R H PO A PIT AB R H PO A
Leibold CF 5 0 2 3 0 Carey LF 5 0 0 2 0
Chapman SS 6 0 0 2 0 Dolan 3B 5 0 0 2 1
Jackson RF 6 0 0 0 1 McCarthy 2B 4 0 3 3 4
Lajoie 2B 5 0 0 4 2 Wagner SS 4 0 0 4 5
Johnston 1B 5 0 0 6 0 Miller 1B 5 0 0 12 1
Olson 3B 4 0 1 0 1 Wilson RF 3 0 0 3 0
Graney LF 5 0 0 1 0 Butler PH(10) 1 0 0 0 0
Carisch C 5 0 0 22 3 Mensor RF 1 0 0 2 1
Gregg P 5 1 2 1 3 M. Mitchell CF 5 0 2 2 0
Simon C 3 0 0 9 1
46 1 8 39 10 Viox PH(13) 1 0 0 0 0
Hendrix P 5 0 0 0 5
42 0 5 39 18
E- Leibold, Chapman, Olson, Dolan, McCarthy, Wagner, Hendrix
CLE 000 000 000 000 1 --- 1 8 3
PIT 000 000 000 000 0 --- 0 5 4
2B-Johnston, Gregg RBI-Leibold SB-Chapman, Jackson, Graney.
DP-Mensor, Hendrix, and Mensor (?) SH-Leibold, Simon.
LOB PIT- 6 CLE-8 WP- Gregg
Umpires— Emslie,. Dinneen, Evans, and Eason.
IP H R ER BB SO
Gregg (W, 2-0) 13 5 0 0 2 19
Hendrix (L, 1-1) 13 8 1 1 1 9
T-2:58 A-5641
Surprisingly, only 2953 showed up for the decisive game 7 as Adams came out for his third start against Steen. Sloppy fielding undid Babe as 4 Pirate errors and some timely hitting by Doc Johnston gave the Naps a 4-1 lead after three. Then the Cleveland bats went back to sleep, not managing a hit after the 3rd off reliever McQuillan, but the Pirates could not score either and the series was won by the Naps.
Wagner went 4 for 20, with 3 RBI and no extra base hits. Lajoie went almost as badly going 6 for 29 (.207) 1 2B and 2 RBI, albeit his team won. Neither man ever hit .300 again. Nor did they appear in the post season. Lajoie’s only post season appearances were in these regional series. Jackson went 9 for 28 (.321) which is amazing considering he had 1hit for his final 17 at bats.
The series was not much of a financial success with Cleveland players taking home $232 and Pittsburgh about $50 less. Still Sporting Life called this “a fine inter-city post season series.” Never again would clubs from different states meet in these regional postseason series.
GAME SEVEN—October 14
CLE AB R H PO A PIT AB R H PO A
Leibold CF 4 1 1 1 0 Carey LF 5 0 0 3 0
Chapman SS 3 1 0 2 2 Dolan 3B 3 0 0 2 0
Jackson RF 4 1 1 3 0 Viox PH(7) 3B 1 0 0 0 0
Lajoie 2B 4 0 1 0 5 McCarthy 2B 4 0 2 1 1
Johnston 1B 4 0 2 12 0 Wagner SS 4 0 0 3 6
Olson 3B 4 0 0 2 5 Miller 1B 4 0 1 11 0
Graney LF 3 1 1 3 0 Wilson RF 4 1 0 2 0
Carisch C 3 0 0 4 0 M. Mitchell CF 3 0 2 2 0
Steen P 3 0 0 0 0 Simon C 3 0 1 3 2
32 4 6 27 12 Butler PH(9) 1 0 0 0 0
Adams P 1 0 1 0 1
McQuillan P 1 0 0 0 2
Hyatt PH (9) 1 0 1 0 0
Mensor PR(9) 0 0 0 0 0
35 1 8 27 12
E- McCarthy, Wagner, Wilson, M. Mitchell
CLE 211 000 000 --- 4 10 0
PIT 010 000 000 --- 1 8 4
3B-Johnston, Graney RBI-Johnston 2. DP-Wagner, McCarthy and Miller
SH-Chapman LOB PIT- 9 CLE-3 HBP-by Steen (M. Mitchell)
Umpires—Eason, Evans, Emslie. and Dinneen,
IP H R ER BB SO
Steen (W, 1-0) 9 8 1 1 1 4
Adams(L, 1-2) 3 6 4 2 0 1
McQuillan 6 0 0 0 1 2
T-1:36 A-2953
Back to series summaryPage Updated: 10/19/2009
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