At Home Plate

Review: The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903

The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903
By Roger I. Abrams
Northeastern University Press
p.196

The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903 is more than a story of baseball; it’s a mixture of social history, anthropology, and baseball history. The first world series, was not a well planned and organized affair like the World Series of today - but the game in at least its rudimentary aspects would have been clearly recognizable as our game - even if the equipment in the way of gloves and protective gear may have seemed slightly alien.

That first World Series was created by a gentleman’s agreement between the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates Barney Dreyfuss, perhaps one of the greatest owners in baseball history and Henry Killilea who owned the Boston Americans (Who later became the Red Sox). It was not, contrary to popular belief the first time different organizations and leagues had met head to head for the “Championship of the World” - as earlier leagues - notably the Players League had met teams from the National League to decide that title.

The fact is that baseball needed this series. After the death of the American Association and the Players League, World Championships were played for among the existing National League clubs - and fans just did not want to pay extra to see a series between teams who played regularly during the season and attendance fell.

The book talks about all of the factors that brought the World Series to fruition - and there were a lot of them. To understand how they got to that point you had to realize just what baseball was prior to the formation of the American League - it had deteriorated to a point where it was not considered a game ladies could even watch; cheating - taking advantage of the single umpire on the field, foul language, threats and fan harassment were just a part of the game. While this did not concern the owners, the falling attendance and the fact that people were staying away was cause for concern. Rather than address the problems with the game they cut loose the four weakest teams Cleveland, Louisville, Washington, and Baltimore.

This gave Ban Johnson the chance to change the game in a way that would have lasting effects up until today (We’ll cover the formation of the American League in a future What Every Fan Should Know Column). With financial backing and the support of friends - Johnson turned a minor league (the Western League) into a full-fledged Major League of its own. He did this through daring, raiding the National League for players (who left because of the reserve clause being enforced and a lot more money).

The league could not have gotten off of the ground without the fans - and the fans at that first World Series represented the true mixture of cultures who made America - especially those which formed both Boston and Pittsburgh in those days.

The book talks a lot about the local politics, about the Boston Bramhins, the influx of Irish immigrants, the Germans, Russians, Jews, and eastern Europeans. They were all represented - as players, owners, and spectators at the series. It’s a fascinating look at the forces that caused the evolution of the game. It’s also the only fault that the book really has as it sometimes wanders off onto tangents which are hard to relate to the game - however there are not too many of these and in the overall body of this work its quite understandable why the author feels them necessary.

The Series contained many names that are still spoken of in revered tones in baseball lore including Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Jimmy Collins and Fred Clarke. It also tells us about a lot of players we would not have recalled. Again however the series, a fairly unique one - since the next would be played in 1905 (NY Giant’s Owner John Brush and manager John McGraw would refuse to play the Boston Americans for that title in 1904) aroused such public interests that John Brush soon felt himself embarrassed by the situation and had it written into the rules that for the future the World Series would be played between the two leagues. It was also one of only four World Series played as a best of 9 series (the others were the 1919 World Series where the Black Sox threw the series, and 1920 and 1921).

The driving force for the Series was of course money* - the gate for the event had been huge, but that was because of the types of fans who flooded to the ballpark. They came not just in ones and twos but came as “rooters” or team fan clubs to root their team on to victory. The American’s rooters were known as the Royal Rooters and the Pittsburgh team’s as the Loyal Rooters - and the rooters came not just to urge their team to victory but to put on a show - bringing bands, dancing on the stands and dugouts, and dressed in their Sunday best all in honor of the team they loved.

They came from wildly different backgrounds - but to embrace baseball was to be American - something they all wanted to be, and something culturally they could share - for all the differences that they had. They treated each other civilly and even respected each other and their opponents - something sadly lacking today. But even when their team lost, they showed class and entertained not just their own group but also often the opposing fans with bands, parties, dancing and more. It was a time to be proud to be a baseball fan and to have a team that represented you. In many ways it was the golden age of the game.

This book brings that to life and for historians, anthropologists, and those who are more than just students of the game it is a high three ball out of four rating. If your interest is only in the games themselves - not in the fans and forces which made baseball great rate it a one - cause the book is not about the games - but about the culture which nurtured it.

* Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, a German Jew, gave his entire share of the World Series gate to his players - as well as awarding pitcher Deacon Phillippe (24-7) ten shares of stock in the Philadelphia Traction Company as a thank you for his outstanding effort.

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