1915 World Series
Encyclopedia
In the 1915 World Series, the Boston Red Sox
beat the Philadelphia Phillies
four games to one.
In their only World Series before , the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game. The Red Sox pitching was so strong in the 1915 series that the young Babe Ruth
was not used on the mound and only made a single pinch-hitting appearance.
lost the coin toss and Phillies owner William F. Baker chose to have the first two games of the Series in Philadelphia. The league presidents selected the umpires and it was announced that J. G. Taylor Spink
would be one of the official scorers.
One controversy surrounded the allocation of tickets to the Red Sox' Royal Rooters
fan club. Each visiting team was allocated 200 tickets; the Red Sox requested an additional 400 on behalf of their supporters. The Phillies' Baker Bowl sat only 20,000 and William Baker
refused to allocate additional tickets for visiting fans. The matter was resolved when National Commission chairman Garry Herrmann
chose to give the Red Sox tickets from the National Commission's Series allocation.
wrote, "Alexander pitched a bad game of ball. He had little or nothing." He titled his article, "Nothing but luck saved the Phillies." The Times also reported that 10,000 people gathered in New York City's Times Square
to watch a real-time mechanical recreation of the game on a giant scoreboard sponsored by the newspaper.
In Game 2, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
was in attendance, making it the first time that a President watched a World Series game live.
This was the second straight year that a Boston team beat a Philadelphia team in the World Series: the Braves
had swept the Athletics
the year before.
This was one instance where each home field was very much an advantage, at least in some circumstances. Fenway Park
had been open for four seasons and was fully functional in 1915, but the Red Sox "home" games were played at the brand-new Braves Field
, to take advantage of its larger seating capacity. Beyond the added revenue, the long ball was affected:
Friday, October 8, 1915 at Baker Bowl
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in Boston, Massachusetts
in Boston, Massachusetts
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Red Sox won on Harry Hooper's two home runs. Duffy Lewis hit one out too in the victory.
(A.L.) over Philadelphia Phillies
(N.L.)
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
beat the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
four games to one.
In their only World Series before , the Phillies won Game 1 before being swept the rest of the way. It was 65 years before the Phillies won their next Series game. The Red Sox pitching was so strong in the 1915 series that the young Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
was not used on the mound and only made a single pinch-hitting appearance.
Series Arrangements
Arrangements for the Series were made on October 2, 1915 in a meeting of the team owners, league presidents, and National Commission at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Red Sox owner Joseph LanninJoseph Lannin
Joseph John Lannin was a Canadian-born American baseball entrepreneur.-Biography:He was born in Lac-Beauport, Quebec, Canada, the son of Irish immigrants....
lost the coin toss and Phillies owner William F. Baker chose to have the first two games of the Series in Philadelphia. The league presidents selected the umpires and it was announced that J. G. Taylor Spink
J. G. Taylor Spink
John George Taylor Spink was the publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 to 1962.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he inherited the newspaper from his father and ran it from April 22, 1914 until his death...
would be one of the official scorers.
One controversy surrounded the allocation of tickets to the Red Sox' Royal Rooters
Royal Rooters
The original Royal Rooters were a fan club for the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century. They were led by Michael T. McGreevy, who owned a Boston saloon called "3rd Base". While M.T. "Nuf Ced" McGreevy was certainly the spiritual leader of the Royal Rooters, Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald,...
fan club. Each visiting team was allocated 200 tickets; the Red Sox requested an additional 400 on behalf of their supporters. The Phillies' Baker Bowl sat only 20,000 and William Baker
William Baker (baseball)
William Baker was the owner of the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League from through . In 1913, Baker purchased the club from Horace Fogel after Fogel was banned from baseball. He was at the helm two years later when the Phillies played in the 1915 World Series.Baker was known for being...
refused to allocate additional tickets for visiting fans. The matter was resolved when National Commission chairman Garry Herrmann
August Herrmann
August Garry Herrmann was an American executive in Major League Baseball.-Biography:He was born on May 3, 1859. He served as president of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League from 1902 to 1927...
chose to give the Red Sox tickets from the National Commission's Series allocation.
Series Summary
The Phillies won Game 1, 3–1, although New York Times reporter Hugh FullertonHugh Fullerton
thumb|Hugh Fullerton III was an influential American sportswriter of the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is best remembered for his role in uncovering the 1919 "Black Sox" Scandal...
wrote, "Alexander pitched a bad game of ball. He had little or nothing." He titled his article, "Nothing but luck saved the Phillies." The Times also reported that 10,000 people gathered in New York City's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
to watch a real-time mechanical recreation of the game on a giant scoreboard sponsored by the newspaper.
In Game 2, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
was in attendance, making it the first time that a President watched a World Series game live.
This was the second straight year that a Boston team beat a Philadelphia team in the World Series: the Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
had swept the Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
the year before.
This was one instance where each home field was very much an advantage, at least in some circumstances. Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
had been open for four seasons and was fully functional in 1915, but the Red Sox "home" games were played at the brand-new Braves Field
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park that formerly stood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was home to the Boston Braves National League franchise from 1915–1952, when the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
, to take advantage of its larger seating capacity. Beyond the added revenue, the long ball was affected:
- In the top of the third inning of Game 3 at Boston, with two out, one run in, and two runners in scoring position, the Phillies' Gavvy CravathGavvy CravathClifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath , also nicknamed "Cactus", was an American right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies...
drove a pitch deep to left field, which was caught for a harmless inning-ending out in the spacious Braves Field outfield. If the game had occurred in Fenway, or in Philadelphia's Baker BowlBaker BowlBaker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
, it might have been a home run or an extra-base hit, and might have turned the Series around. - The Phillies had packed some extra outfield seats into their already-small ballfield. The effect was most noticeable in the decisive Game 5, in which Boston's Harry HooperHarry HooperHarry Bartholomew Hooper was a Major League Baseball player in the early 20th century. Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, California. A graduate in engineering at Saint Mary's College of California, he broke into the majors with the Red Sox in 1909,...
twice homered over the close-in center field fence, and Duffy LewisDuffy LewisGeorge Edward "Duffy" Lewis , born in San Francisco, California, was a left fielder and left-handed batter who played Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Washington Senators...
followed suit. In Braves Field, those would have been extra-base hits at best. Both of Hooper's hits, including the eventual game-winner in the top of the ninth, actually bounced over the fence, and were home runs under the rules of the day. They would be ground-rule doubles today.
Summary
Game 1
Baker Bowl
Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
Game 2
Saturday, October 9, 1915 at Baker BowlBaker Bowl
Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
Game 3
Monday, October 11, 1915 at Braves FieldBraves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park that formerly stood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was home to the Boston Braves National League franchise from 1915–1952, when the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Game 4
Tuesday, October 12, 1915 at Braves FieldBraves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park that formerly stood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was home to the Boston Braves National League franchise from 1915–1952, when the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Game 5
Wednesday, October 13, 1915 at Baker BowlBaker Bowl
Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
The Red Sox won on Harry Hooper's two home runs. Duffy Lewis hit one out too in the victory.
Composite box
1915 World Series (4–1): Boston Red SoxBoston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(A.L.) over Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
(N.L.)