Almost a Dynasty: 1910's Chicago White Sox

What actually makes a sports dynasty?  Obviously a teem needs to be successful for a continuous amount of time.  Every sport has that one iconic dynasty that fits the Dynasty category.  The NBA had the Boston Celtics who won nine out of ten championships.  The Montreal Canadiens won 7 of nine Stanley Cups (including six straight).  The NFL had several dynasties including the 49'ers, the Steelers, the Cowboys and, most recently, the Patriots.  Baseball itself has had the Yankees dynasties in several incarnations including the 1930's, 1950's and 2000's.

So what actually makes a team a dynasty?  There can of course be several definitions since there are varying levels of success.  A team can dominate their division for a decade but be bounced out in the first round of the playoffs year after year.  We could of course consider that to be a divisional dynasty but you wouldn't call it an overall baseball dynasty.  So let us set the parameters for this series of articles.  A dynasty, for our purposes here, is a team that wins multiple World Series championships (above two as back to back is nice but not a dynasty) within a given amount of time.  That being defined, this series will explore those teams that may have been a divisional or league dynasty but for whatever reason could not get over the hump to that World Series dynasty.

This series will show an array of near dynasties.  Some are teams that made the World Series year after year but fell short.  Others will be teams that competed right down to the end of the regular season year after year just to be beaten out.

Don't miss last week's almost dynasty: The Detroit Tigers of the 1900's.  Now let's get started with this weeks "almost dynasty": The Chicago White Sox of the 1910's.

Building the team

Charles Comiskey was the American League.  He had come a long way from sneaking away from his father's construction business to play baseball as a young man.  His talent was large.  He was a star player of the American Association.  When he felt his rights, and the rights of all players, were violated he helped form the Players League.  After one failed year he jumped to the National League where he played for Cincinnati.  It was there that events were put in motion that eventually led to the formation of the American League.  Comiskey met a news writer in Cincinnati named Byron Bancroft Johnson.  Comiskey tired of the poor treatment the players received.  Johnson, who spoke his mind about the team, was banned from the Reds facilities by the ownership who did not appreciate the honesty of the writer.

Photo of Charles Comiskey Courtesy of The Sporting News

The two men bought into the Western League and by 1901 they declared themselves a Major League, renaming the Western League the American League.  Comiskey had some early success.  In the inaugural American League season, pre World Series, Comiskey's Chicago Whitestockings finished first.  A few years later they toppled the greatest team of all time when they defeated the Cubs in the first ever cross town World Series.  It was then that Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford and the Tigers took over with their "almost dynasty".  Although the White Sox finished 3rd in both 1907 and 1908, they quickly fell off and began to routinely finish in the bottom half of the league.

Of course the White Sox had some great players, several of whom would be central players in the near dynasty that would be built.  Ray Schalk, Hall of Fame Catcher, joined the team in 1912 as a 19 year old after being acquired from Milwaukee of the American Association. (One of the players included in that deal was Matty McIntyre, key outfielder and main Ty Cobb antagonist in Detroit's almost dynasty)  Buck Weaver also joined the South Side team in 1912 at 21.  Weaver would struggle with his defense at first but would become one of the best defensive third basemen in the game.  Shano Collins, one of the forgotten members of the strong White Sox teams, was 24 when he joined the team in 1910. Pitcher Red Faber joined the team in 1914 as a rookie.

One key member had nearly been part of the Tigers' almost dynasty.  Brought up with the Tigers in 1905, Eddie Cicotte saw little time.  He was sent back to the minors where his contract was sold to the Boston Red Sox in 1908.  Midway through the 1912 season, the one that would result in the Red Sox first World Series win of their own dynasty,  saw the Red Sox sell Cicotte's contract to the White Sox.

All of these key pieces were young and learning how to play the game.  They were learning it together.  By 1914 the team was starting to improve although they finished in sixth place, 30 games behind the Champion Athletics.  What the team needed was some veteran guidance.  The only veteran presence on that 1914 team was Hal Chase, not exactly an example you want your younger players to follow.

It had now been 8 years since the White Sox had won their World Series over the Cubs and Comiskey was tired of seeing other teams win.  He decided to add the pieces he needed to win now.  So he did what the modern day Yankees have done.  He started spending money.  The team added a young outfielder named Happy Felsch from Milwaukee of the American Association for $12,000 and spent an amazing (for the time) $50,000 to purchase the contract of Eddie Collins, still one of the greatest second baseman the game has ever seen.

Moving Up
The American League was in an odd place as the 1915 season started.  The Federal League had raided the league for star players.  The World Series Champion A's  had been dismantled by Connie Mack.  There was no clear favorite in the American League.  Why not the White Sox?  They started off slowly but went on a tear led by the pitching of Ciccotte and Red Faber.  By July 3 they had built a 6 game lead over the competition.  The lead slowly eroded.  By July 18 the lead had shrunk to 1/2 game.  The young players could not compete with the Red Sox dominant group of Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis.  Boston passed Chicago on July 19 and although the White Sox would hang out near the top for a few more days they slowly started to fade.  Comiskey made one last effort at the end of August to save the season.  On August 21 he sent two players and $31,500 to the Indians.  What he got in return was a  young man who had been compared to Ty Cobb.  Shoeless Joe Jackson was only 27 and had played in the Majors for only  four full seasons by the time Comiskey acquired him.  Comiskey envisioned Jackson, along with Eddie Collins, as the key piece in what he was building.  What he was building was hopefully the greatest collection of talent the world had ever seen.  Although the White Sox fought desperately to keep pace with the Red Sox, they finished the 1915 season in 3rd place. 10 games behind Boston.

For the 1916 season the White Sox added a young pitcher who had gone 33-12 for Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League in 1915.  It was hoped that Lefty Williams would be the missing piece when combined with Ciccotte and Faber.  The offense for the season was a bit shaky.  Collins, Jackson, Felsch and Schalk were strong but First Base and Short Stop were serious issues.  Jack Fournier hit just .240 as the first baseman and Short Stop Zeb Terry hit a paltry .190. Comiskey was spending big to gather all this talent and he expected big results.  The 1916 season did not start the way Comiskey wanted.  By May 19 they were in last place, 8 games out of first.  It was then that they made their move.  In late June Williams and Faber started to round into form and the team climbed as high as 3rd place.  In an amazingly tight race where teams could jump three places in the standing with one win, the Sox reached first place on August 1 but there was never more than a 1 1/2 game lead.  When the dust settled the Red Sox stood at the top for the second straight year.  Chicago was only 2 1/2 games behind.  They were so close.  Had they gotten off to a better start they might have beaten the Red Sox. Had they gotten better production out of First Base and Short Stop they might have beaten the Red Sox.

Reaching the Goal
It was clear where the team needed to improve for the 1917 season and Comiskey would stop at nothing to get the pieces he needed.  He spent $3500 for Chick Gandil, a veteran First Baseman who had played with Cleveland in 1916. He then picked up Swede Risberg, a young Shortstop from the Pacific Coast League.  With these two additions and the close race of the year before, the team felt they had a great chance to win it all in 1917.

The pitching staff, led by Ciccotte (28-12, 1.53) and Williams (17-8, 2.97) was the reason for the team's success.  The offense, again led by Collins and Jackson, was lethal to the competition.  The additions of Gandil and Risberg had helped greatly, although a terrible late season slump would keep Risberg on the bench.  While they had stumbled out of the gate in 1916, they took off quickly in 1917, finishing the first month at 10-6, tied for first place.  By the beginning of June they had not lost any ground, but they had not gained any either.  It was clear this season would be a two team race between the White Sox and Red Sox.  Nearly every day of June was spent in first place and Chicago built a lead as large as 4 games but by July 4 they were tied with Boston again.  They built another five game lead in mid July but by July 31 they were again tied with Boston.  On August 1 Chicago took over first place again with a one game lead.  This time they would not look back.  A 22-9 August and 17-10 September gave them the margin they needed and they would win the American League easily by 8 games.

Photo of 1917 White Sox in their special World Series Uniforms Courtesy of ESPN

Their opponents in the World Series were John McGraw and the New York Giants.  While the Tigers had an almost dynasty in the American League, the Giants could be called an almost dynasty in the National League.  They should have played in the World Series in 1904 but McGraw refused to participate.  They won it in 1905 over the A's.  After coming close to getting back in 1908, McGraw rebuilt his team and emerged with a group that reached the World Series in 1911, 1912 and 1913 losing each of those years.  McGraw had again rebuilt his team and was now poised to do what he had not done in the previous three attempts, reclaim the World Series title.

The Giants sent Slim Sallee to the mound in Game 1 to face Ciccotte.  The first few innings were spent trading men left on base.  Each pitcher allowed men to reach base before working out of any trouble that developed and kept the game scoreless.  The bottom of the third started with Schalk grounding to third.  Cicotte then singled.  Shano Collins followed with his own single.  Cicotte was thrown out trying to reach third but Collins showed some aggressive base running and took second on the throw to third.  Fred McMullin, replacing the slumping Risberg, followed with a double and the White Sox scored the first run of the Series.  One inning later Happy Felsch hit a solo Home Run to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.  The Giants managed a run in the top of the 5th to cut the lead to 2-1 but that was as close as the Giants would get.  Following the 5th inning run, Cicotte allowed only one single and one base runner because of an error.  The White Sox looked strong in their Game 1 win.

Game 2 was Red Faber's turn to show what he could do.  He could do just fine.  He pitched a complete game, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and allowed only one walk.  Things looked a bit shaky in the second inning.  The Giants grouped three of their 8 hits for the day into that inning and scored their 2 runs to give the Giants their first lead of the series.  It would not last long.  In the bottom of the inning Jackson, Felsch, Gandil and Weaver hit four consecutive singles to score two runs and when Giants starter Freddie Schupp walked Faber to load the bases, the Giants went to their bullpen.  Pitcher Fred Anderson avoided any additional damage for the time being and the game remained tied until the  bottom of the 4th.  Six singles scored 5 runs giving the White Sox a solid 7-2 lead.  Thanks to the nice lead and three double plays, Faber had an easy day the rest of the way and the White Sox were half way to achieving what they set out to do back in April.

Game 3 shifted the Series to the Polo Grounds in New York and the Sox sent their ace Cicotte to the mound again.  Cicotte was masterful again.  He struck out 9, pitched a complete game, allowed only 8 hits and two runs.  The only problem for the White Sox was that Giants' pitcher Rube Benton was even better.  He allowed only 5 hits and never allowed more than one hit in an inning while quieting the hot bats of the White Sox.  Weaver had two hits in three at bats, Collins had two hits and Felsch had one.  No other White Sox hitter could figure out Benton.  The Giants won 2-0.

Game 4 was pivotal for the Giants.  If they lost they would be behind 3-1 and the White Sox would be only one win away from the ultimate goal.  If they won, they would even the series and hold the momentum.  It was a rematch of Game 2 with Faber vs Schupp but it was anything but a repeat.  Schupp was sharp allowing only 7 hits and no runs in a complete game effort.  Faber, who had benefited from the offensive explosion in Game 2 had no such support in Game 4.  Faber held the Giants scoreless until Benny Kauff hit an inside the park Home Run in the fourth.  Four Giant singles in the 5th gave New York another run.  Chicago never threatened the lead and the Giants tied the series with a 5-0 win.

This was where Comiskey would find out what his money had bought him.  His team could either respond to the challenge, as the Giants had, or they could allow the Giants to capitalize on the momentum they had created.  The scene shifted back to Chicago for Game 5.  Sox fans must have asked if the team had left their bats in Chicago when they had made the trip to New York.  While they were dangerous in Games 1 and 2, their bats were silent in Games 3 and 4.  Chicago started pitcher Reb Russell and it was a disaster.  He walked the lead off batter followed by a single and an RBI double and his day was over before recording an out.  He was replaced by Cicotte who got two ground balls that McMullin and Weaver turned into outs at the plate and appeared to be out of trouble.  A single scored one more run before the inning ended and the Giants led 2-0.  Two more
runs scored when the Sox committed three errors and things looked bleak for the home team.  The Giants built their lead to 5-2 by the 7th but the Sox finally woke up in the bottom of the inning.  They scored three runs on three hits to tie the game.  One inning later they took command of the game and the series with a three run 8th. They were now just one win away.

Faber started Game 6 at the Polo Grounds.  The first three innings were uneventful.  In the fourth the Giants self destructed.  A wild throw to first and a dropped fly ball allowed the White Sox to score three runs.  The first of those three runs is one of the most memorable plays in baseball history.  Eddie Collins grounded to third but was safe on the wild throw.  When Joe Jackson hit a fly ball that was dropped Collins advanced to third.  Felsch followed with a ground ball back to the pitcher.  What should have been an easy inning for New York now turned into a comedy of errors.  Collins had been moving on contact and Rube Benton, the Giants Pitcher, threw home to catch Collins.  Instead, Collins turned and headed back to third.  The throw then went to third and a run down was on.  There was only one problem.  Someone missed their assignment.  When the ball went to third base Collins stopped and turned for home. What he saw amazed him.  No one was covering the plate.  Collins sprinted home.  Sprinting behind him was third baseman Heinie Zimmerman.  Zimmerman  dove for Collins.  Collins dove for the plate and umpire Bill Klem threw his arms out calling Collins safe.  If it wasn't so important a run it would have been comical.  Later, the reporters asked Zimmerman why he had chased Collins home.  His answer was obvious.  "Who the hell was I supposed to throw the ball to? Klem?"  Gandil followed with a single scoring both Jackson and Felsch and the White Sox went on to win the game and the World Series.

With the young core and strong pitching staff the Sox were viewed as the new dynasty.  There seemed to be nothing that could stop them.

The Lost Season
As the 1918 season neared, the US involvement in World War I deepened.  The Secretary of War issued what came to be known as the"Work or Fight" directive demanding that all men of draft age must either enlist in the military or find work that could be deemed beneficial to the war effort.  As more and more young men were being shipped over seas it became more difficult to justify playing a boy's game professionally.  The 1918 season started on time but for the White Sox, and many others who anticipated fighting for a pennant, it was a disaster.  Joe Jackson played only 17 games, Felsch only 53 games.  Collins, Risberg, Faber and Lefty Williams all missed the better part of the year in military service or war work.  The team finished in 6th place and were never a factor in the race.  This was a huge missed opportunity to solidify the dynasty but it was an opportunity  that was out of their hands.  The next missed opportunity would be of their own doing.

The Black Sox
Players were terrified that they might not have a job to return to, or worse, might not return at all.  The league worried that another year like 1918 could force the entire baseball industry to shut down.  Because of the uncertainty, all contracts were voided at the end of the 1918 season making everyone a free agent, technically.  On November 11, 1918 the war officially ended making it safe for baseball to freely start the season.  All players were returned to their previous teams (at reduced salaries) and the league picked up where it had left off.

The Sox picked up where 1917 had left off by pummeling the competition.  Surprisingly it wasn't the Red Sox that Chicago was battling.  It was a Yankees team that came out of nowhere and an Indians team that had been slowly improving themselves.  There was a small period at the end of June where there appeared to be a battle for first but the White Sox quickly righted the ship and took off for smooth sailing.  They out played everyone and cruised to the American League pennant.  Everyone wondered what could have happened the year before had the team stayed in tact.  Everyone also wondered how badly the Sox would beat the Reds.  As we know they didn't.  Without going into a break down of the series of the most infamous event of sports history I will direct you to the previous article exploring the myths of the Black Sox scandal.

The exposure and fall out from the scandal ensured that the almost dynasty of the White Sox would never come to fruition.  In fact, the White Sox organization would take generations to recover.  They would rarely compete over the next 70 years.  They would reach the World Series in 1959 and the ALCS in 1983.  Those would be the only two post season appearances in Chicago until they built a strong team in the 1990s and eventually on the World Series in 2005.

TRIVIA QUESTION:

After the 1919 World Series the White Sox would not appear in a World Series again until 1959.  Who was the manager of that White Sox team?

Answer to Last Week's Question:
The answer to last week's question could actually have two answers.  My original thought when asking the question was focusing on the World Series era but after re-reading my own question I realized that I left it open to interpretation so here are the two answers. Before the World Series era the Chicago Whitestocings of 1880, 1881 and 1882 were the first team to win three consecutive NL flags.  This is the franchise that would eventually become the Cubs.

The World Series era began in 1903 when the Pirates beat the Boston Americans (later the Red Sox).  The Pirates had also won the 1901 and 1902 NL flags on the strength of Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach and Fred Clarke.  TJD's anwer is technically correct, although the first two of the three did not occur in the World Series era.

The first National League team to win three straight pennants all in the World Series era was the Chicago Cubs of Tinker, Evers and Chance.  They won the NL pennant in 1906, 1907 and 1908 and defeated the Tigers of Ty Cobb in the last two. 

War and Peace: The Bumpy Road to Creating a World Series

Reporters were not allowed in the room.  They stood outside the door, ears pressed to walls. Straining to make out something that might give them the scoop over the man standing next to them.  They didn't have to press too hard against the wall.  The egos filling the room they were trying to listen in on were so large that the room was probably bursting at the seams.

They could hear shouting.  Indistinct curses rebounded off the wood paneling forming seemingly random words.  It was like listening to Ralphie's father try to fix the furnace in A Christmas Story.  There was shouting, cursing, banging and grunting coming from the room.  For all the reporters standing outside knew, the men inside may have decided to settle this with wrestling.

There were a total of eight men in the room and there was enough hot air being expelled to create a sauna effect.  It was pure hatred. Fire breathing, dagger staring, if looks could kill, hatred. The National League had called the "peace" meeting to give an outward sense of holding the upper hand but really they were waving the white flag.

Following the 1899 season  the National League contracted four teams. The Louisville Colonels, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators and Cleveland Spiders were removed from the league roster.  It was as though they never existed.  They were just wiped from the slate.  It was not taken well by many people.  How could owners just cancel teams?  If they had power enough to drop the league from twelve to eight teams, what was to stop them from cutting it to six or four?  Every team dissolved was one less job opportunity for the players.  It was one less job for groundskeepers, peanut and cracker jack vendors and umpires.

Two men had decided to do something about it.  Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey got together to buy the minor league Western League for 1899 and formulated a plan to take down the National League.  The Western League consisted of franchises in Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Washington, Buffalo, Minneapolis and Indianapolis.  If Johnson and Comiskey were going to compete they were going to have to take the fight straight to the National League by moving these organizations to major cities.  They prepared for a head to head battle and they fired the first shot.

Photo of Garry Herrmann and Ban Johnson Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

Still as a minor league, the two men prepared for the 1900 season by shuffling teams and invading NL territory.  The Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Stockings (under the ownership of Comiskey), Cleveland Blues, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Senators remained where they were for the 1901 season. The Buffalo Bisons became the Boston Red Stockings, landing in direct competition with the NL's Beaneaters (later named the Braves).  The Indianapolis Indians became the Philadelphia Athletics in direct competition with the Phillies. The Minneapolis Millers became the Baltimore Orioles, a replacement for the storied franchise that was discarded by the National League in contraction.  The new cities had been chosen carefully.  Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington were three of the four cities that had lost a team in contraction and Boston was a city that already had a weak NL team (the Braves had finished first in the NL in 1897 and 1898 but were in clear decline).

Comiskey and Johnson did things big.  They signed John McGraw to run the Baltimore franchise.  McGraw was under contract to the St.Louis Cardinals but he jumped at the chance to return to Baltimore where he had been part of the winning days of the Orioles.  Connie Mack and Ben Shibe were installed in Philadelphia.  These were big names, respected names.  Then the announcement came.  Comiskey and Johnson announced they were a Major League on equal footing with the NL.  Still the NL wasn't worried.  What did they care if a minor league had respected owners?  What did they care if they had minor league teams in the same cities?  Realistically, does just announcing yourself as a major league really make you a major league?

Photo of John McGraw and Connie Mack Courtesy of Philly Sports History

Then came the shot(s) across the bow.  The National League Philadelphia Phillies had a strong team led by Napoleon LaJoie and Ed Delahanty.  As far as the league knew they were both paid the same amount of money because there was a limit to salaries.  As far as LaJoie knew he was paid slightly more than Delahanty based on a secret bonus he got every year.  In reality, Delahanty got significantly more based on a secret bonus bigger than LaJoie's.  Somehow LaJoie found out and he was not happy.  Knowing that the AL was offering bigger money with no salary limit LaJoie decided he would play for them and, what was worse for the Phillies, he signed with Connie Mack's Philadelphia franchise.  He would be playing in the same city for the same fans who loved him but in a different stadium.  Delahanty, knowing he could also make more money, signed with Washington.  The American League was actively, aggressively poaching stars.  Clark Griffith, Davvy Jones, George Davis, Jimmy Collins, Cy Young and Sam Crawford all followed suit.  In total the American League stole 45 players from the NL.  The one player they wanted but could not steal was Honus Wagner but that story is too funny to sum up here.  I think that will be a post of its own.

The poaching crossed the line for the NL, probably because it was actually a threat now.  The Phillies sued to keep LaJoie from playing in Philadelphia and won.  LaJoie was legally unable to play in Philadelphia unless it was for the Phillies.  Instead of sending him back to the NL Phillies, Connie Mack traded him to Cleveland.  Take that NL!  If Cleveland had to face the Athletics in Philly, LaJoie was given an Atlantic City vacation and met the team when they moved on.  Now the American League was legitimate and now the NL was worried.

They had good reason to be worried.  Johnson sold the American League to the public on the pitch of good, clean, family fun. There would be no umpire baiting.  There would be no brawling, spitting, arguing.  No beer guzzling galoots.  This was family entertainment and Johnson would levy fines for any arguments with umpires, any swearing and any thing he deemed inappropriate.  The NL failed to adjust and continued to allow the players to do mostly as they wished.  The AL won at the box office.  They won big.  The 1902 season was even bigger.  The Milwaukee Millers moved to St.Louis and set up shop as the Browns across town from the Cardinals and the AL now had direct competition for the NL in Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and Boston.

Then the NL struck back.  As the 1902 season wound down, the Baltimore Orioles were in last place.  Dead last.  Imagine the anger John McGraw showed when his Giants teams lost, even when they were in first place.  Now multiply that by infinity as McGraw's Orioles lost 88 times that year.  McGraw's frustration was visible and verbal and Johnson didn't like it.  Fines, suspensions, meetings, lectures.  Nothing worked and finally McGraw said enough.  He walked out on the league and he went back to the National League.  They welcomed him back with open wallets and with McGraw went several players.  Dan McGann, Roger Bresnahan, Cy Seymour, Joe McGinnity.  Basically, almost all of the future 1905 World Champion Giants, followed the little Napoleon to New York.  McGraw didn't stop there.  He grabbed George Davis and Ed Delahanty from other AL teams.

Photo of Ed Delahanty Courtesy of SABR

Johnson didn't sit idly by.  With this many players gone from Baltimore they couldn't field a team and Johnson had no choice.  The team had to be forfeited and replaced.  Now where to put a team?  Well, a Major League had to have teams in major cities and the AL seemed to be missing just one city: New York.  And, oh, by the way, isn't that where McGraw went?  And oh yeah, the NL New York team was owned by a guy who had once owned the Reds and banned Ban Johnson from the Reds property when Johnson was a journalist covering the Reds.  Well, it was just a coincidence I'm sure.

The Giants had political connections. big Tamany Hall connections, and they fought to keep the AL out of New York, or at least make their stadium location so far out of town in an unrealistic location that no one would want to go.  As the Giants fought Ban Johnson and players continued to jump contracts on both sides, the owners of the NL continued to lose at the gates.  Enough was enough.  The Cardinals owner, Frank Robison, suggested the NL ask for a truce.  The Phillies, Cubs and Reds quickly agreed.  Instead of fitting 16 egos into one room, a group of four delegates from each side attended the conference in Cincinnati on January 9, 1903. 

In what would be played out in countless league vs. player union disagreements decades later, the sides were so distant on their view points that it was unlikely it would come to anything.  Of course, in any process, compromise is a must so the minor issues were discussed first, almost as an appetizer.  The NL compromised by relenting to the team in New York and the AL relinquished any chance to ever place a team in Pittsburgh. 

They agreed to end the player raids.  From now on a contract was a contract and you couldn't take players from another team without compensation. 

The final minor item, the one that was almost off handedly accomplished, would hurt the players for the next 75  years and lead to the forming of the players' union decades later.  The reserve clause became standard in both league contracts. 

Now the anger began.  What do the teams do about the players who had two contracts?  There were 15 players in question who had jumped and jumped again, taking money from both sides.  Giving up the right to raid other team's players was fine but actually losing players was not quite the same easy topic. 

It came up when Henry Killiea, owner of the Red Sox, launched a tirade against McGraw for stealing Davis and Delahanty.  An AL owner questioning the ethics of raiding teams did not go over lightly and the counter claims flew.  It was kind of like the argument of two children caught fighting by an adult and they both use the excuse "he started it."  Regardless,  in a few moments the process was derailed.  The delegates decided to take a break for the evening instead of calling it quits and resumed the next morning.

The question remained and the distance between agreement remained unchanged.  As the second day opened Ban Johnson made a suggestion.  Ed Delahanty had taken money from the Senators and the Giants and refused to return the money to either team.  Worse, he insisted on playing for the Senators in the AL, which would mean he was jumping a third (or was it a fourth) time.  Johnson's solution:  He should never play for anyone ever again.  And while they were on the subject, hadn't George Davis done the same?  He should be banished too.

Garry Herrmann, the Reds owner made the first step towards bridging the gap.  No one wanted to lose players and the NL had hoped that they would actually gain some back.  Herrmann told Johnson and the delegation that although they still claimed Sam Crawford under contract, the Reds would drop their claim.  The Tigers could have him.  The move by Herrmann opened up the flood gates of generosity (or at least acquiescence).  Suddenly the leagues were falling over themselves to prove they were the more generous league.

In the end there were 15 players in question.  8 ended up in the American League.  7 ended up in the National League.  The box score looked like this:
American League:
Ed Delahanty:
One of several brothers to play in the majors.  Delahanty was sent back to the Senators and part way through the season jumped the team. He was killed when he fell from a moving train crossing Niagara Falls.  His body was found a few days later.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Veteran's Committee.
George Davis: 
Davis played for the White Sox until 1909.  He was part of the 1906 "Hitless Wonders" team that won the World Series.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1998.
Sam Crawford: 
Crawford teamed with Davvy Jones and Ty Cobb to form the most successful Outfield trio in the first decade of the American League.  Crawford and Cobb were the Gehrig and Ruth before Gehrig and Ruth, not in terms of power but in terms of success.  The two couldn't stand each other and wouldn't speak a single word to each other if they could avoid it but they communicated on the diamond like few teammates ever have.  Crawford was elected to the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee in 1957.
Willie Keeler: 
Keeler was known for his saying "hit it where they ain't" and played with the New York AL franchise from 1903-1910.   He ended his career with 2932 hits, just short of the 3000 hit mark, and was elected to the Hall of Fame by regular ballot in 1939.
Kid Elberfeld:
Elberfeld did not make the Hall of Fame like the first few in this list but he made major contributions to the league.  He had jumped from the Reds in 1901 and played for the Tigers until being traded to New York in mid 1903.  He stayed in the AL with the Highlanders (later the Yankees) and Senators until moving on to Brooklyn for 30 games in 1914.
Wild Bill Donovan: 
Donovan stayed in the AL the rest of his career retiring in 1918.  He spent the best part of his career with the Tigers as the ace pitcher on the Tigers staff as they reached the World Series three straight years from 1907-1909 (he was 25-4 in 1907). 
Wid Conroy:
Although not a star the level of the others on this list, Conroy had a strong career.  He played through 1911 with the Highlanders and Senators and retired with 1257 career hits and 452 RBI.
Doc White: 
White played with George Davis on the "Hitless Wonders" White Sox team that won the World Series.  He made a major contribution to that team's upset of the heavily favored cross town Cubs.

National League
Christy Mathewson:
Although Mathewson's contract was disputed he had never actually jumped to the AL.  Mathewson is still considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time.  He was elected into the Hall of Fame with the inaugural class in 1936.
Tommy Leach: 
Like Mathewson, Leach had signed an AL contract but had never actually moved to the AL.  Leach played for the Pirates through 1910, reaching the World Series with the team in 1903 and 1909.  He retired in 1918.  Although not elected to the Hall of Fame he was considered one of the best third basemen of his generation.
Vic Willis: 
Willis played his entire career in the NL winning 249 games.  He pitched most of his career for Boston but late in his career he helped the Pirates win the 1909 World Series.  He won 20 games or more in eight separate seasons and was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1995
Harry Smith: 
Smith spent six years in Pittsburgh as their Catcher.  He played behind the plate for the Pirates in the first World Series and was a decent catcher.  He finished his career in 1910 with the Braves.
Frank Bowerman:
Bowerman played mostly at Catcher and spent a total of 15 years in the Majors.  His numbers were not spectacular.  He hit .250 for his career and had only 102 doubles in 15 years, but he served McGraw well as a back up for Roger Bresnahan.
Jack Warner: 
Warner played 14 years in the league, eight years of that prior to the 1903 peace conference.  After the 1903 season he went on to play for the Cardinals, Tigers and Senators.  Like Bowerman he was a solid backup but seldom played more than 75-80 games a year.
Rudy Hulswitt: 
Hulswitt was the least of the 15 players awarded in the peace conference.  Hulswitt played for the Phillies in 1903 and 1904 but disappeared from 1905-1907 reappearing with the Reds in 1908 and the Cardinals for 1909 and 1910.

The American League did decide to adopt the foul strike rule which caused foul balls with less than two strikes to count as strikes. This rule was adopted by the NL in 1902 and changed the rule that said a foul ball did not count towards the count on the batter.  American League umpires, players and managers argued against this loudly but eventually gave in to the wishes of the committee.

Now that the fireworks were over, where did this leave the leagues?  Were they on equal footing?  Would they combine into one league?  If they were one league, 16 teams were a bit much to come out with one champion.  Should some of the lesser teams be contracted or "combined"?  Hostilities were briefly reopened at the mention of contraction.  The AL delegates flat out refused to give up any teams.

The final verdict on the separation/combination question was that they were two separate leagues.  The American League and National League would each keep their own commissioners, their own teams and their own rules.  This would lead to separate leagues under what has been called "the National Agreement".  The separation allowed the American League to grow to 14 teams by 1977 while the NL stayed at 12 until 1993.  It also allowed the AL to adopt the DH while the NL has rejected the idea and allowed Major League Baseball to keep inter league play out of baseball until the 1990's.

The final decision of the peace conference gave birth to the most identifiable moment of every MLB season since.  Although the American League teams would name a champion of the AL and the National League would name a champion of the NL that was now not enough to claim bragging rights.  Starting in 1903 the winner of the American League would face the winner of the National League in a post season series.  It would be known as the World's Series to decide the World Champion of baseball.  The series would grow in fits and starts with major issues for the first two years but beginning in 1903 there would be a World Series every year (except 1904 and 1994) through the present season.

Photo of 1903 World Series Scorecard Courtesy of ESPN

The delegates emerged from the room and although John Brush, owner of the Giants, and his crony McGraw were furious and publicly refused to go along with this, the differences were settled.  Gary Herrman's brief compromise on Sam Crawford opened the flood gates to the Major League Baseball structure we have today.

TRIVIA QUESTION:

Although the National League got what they wanted, a way to save face and avoid the constant fear of losing to the AL in a war at the box office, the press came up with a derogatory saying to explain what the NL had "won".  What was the saying?

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTON:
Congratulations to TJD for answering last week's question correctly.
The Yankees needed a replacement for Wally Pipp for the 1923 World Series so they tried to use a Firstbaseman, an end of the year call up from the Newark farm team.  John McGraw blocked the move so Lou Gehrig had to settle for watching from the sidelines.  Pipp played despite the injuries and hit .250 (5 hits but 0 extra base hits) walked four times and drove in 1 run.  It was not the first time McGraw got in the way of Gehrig's career.  A few years before Gehrig had a try out for McGraw at the Polo Grounds.  Gehrig was impressive at the plate but made an error in the fielding tryout.  Things might have been different if McGraw's team wasn't in a slump at the time.  Instead McGraw said "I've already got a bunch of guys who can't field.  I don't need another one."

The Saga of Carl Mays part 1: The Boston Years

Being part of a crumbling dynasty must be a dreadful feeling.  Imagine joining the Denver Broncos as John Elway is retiring.  Being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers just after Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier have left.  Signing with the Lakers as Magic Johnson announced his retirement.  The worst part is probably the fact that winning in the organization is so natural that  no one can imagine anything but a contender and everyone expects that the winning will continue forever.

The Red Sox were the best American League team from 1900-1918.  The Red Sox had won the first World Series over the Pirates in 1903.  They followed that with a first place finish in 1904 but there was no World Series because McGraw and the Giants refused to debase the NL pennant by facing an inferior league.  The Red Sox went through a brief rebuilding from 1906-1911 as the Tigers and Athletics fought over the top spot but by 1912 the Red Sox dynasty was in full bloom.  They would win the World Series in 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918. Their 5 World Series wins in the first fifteen World Series played was by far the best.  Only the Ahletics' three (1910, 1911 and 1913) came even close.  The years that they weren't reaching the World Series they were usually finishing second.

Their cast of characters read like a Hall of Fame roster.  Tris Speaker, Duffy Lewis and Harry Hooper were the greatest trio of outfielders anyone had ever seen.  The pitching staff of Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore, Herb Pennock and Babe Ruth were almost unhittable.  Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, and very similar to the Cubs' experience, the end of the dynasty came much more quickly than anyone expected.  As Speaker was sent to Cleveland after the 1915 World Series win and Ruth (and most of the team) were shipped to New York after the 1919 season, the remnants of the team were a shell of the recent glory days.  It crumbled almost overnight.

1918 saw the Red Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series.  1919 saw the team go from first to 6th and the glory days of Boston were over.  No one told the Red Sox they were done. They all expected to be right back at the top.  Carl Mays had come to the Red Sox in 1915, the same day as Babe Ruth.  They arrived in the same car.   Reported to the ballpark together.  Were issued their uniforms together.  Then Ruth got to pitch and Mays got to mostly sit and watch. 

Photo of Carl Mays courtesy of SABR

His first year in Boston was below what he expected.  He finished with a 6-5 record but the years that followed were spectacular. He won 18 games in 1916 but lost 13 and every one of those loses were painful to him, like a personal failure 13 times.  He went 22-9 in 1917 and 21-13 in 1918.  He was one of the reasons that the Red Sox dominated but he was the opposite of Ruth.  While Ruth made sure everyone knew what he had done and who he was, Mays didn't want recognition.  Mays wanted wins.

Photo of Carl Mays courtesy of Sports Illustrated/CNN. Pictured in the inset of the photo is Ray Chapman of the Indians. Check back next week for details of the connection between the two.

Mays was one of those extremely competitive pitchers who did not accept losing and did not accept mistakes by the fielders behind him.  Mays took every loss like a knife to his heart and every win as the inevitable result of hard work, his own hard work and certainly not the team's.  To Mays, as the pitcher, the game was his.  The fielders were just extras who would find a way to screw it up for him.  When Mays lost it was the fault of the fielders who made an error or the hitters who didn't hit.  The curve ball that didn't break, allowing Joe Jackson or Ty Cobb to crush a hit was somehow someone else's fault.  He is what most people would call a sore loser.  He just wanted to win and he would do anything to win.

His teammates hated him and the feeling was mutual.  As far as he was concerned they could all go to hell.  If a player made an error Mays wouldn't wait until they reached the dugout to discuss it.  The reaction was immediate and hateful.  More than once he screamed at his infielders for errors in front of the entire stadium.  If an outfielder threw to the wrong base or missed the cutoff man allowing a runner to advance Mays would stand on the mound and glare at the offending player.  This was his game and he would start it up again when he knew that the outfielder was properly shamed for his mistake.  He flat out refused to pitch if Jack Barry was playing at second base.  An unidentified teammate was quoted as saying "I was never on a club that a fellow was disliked as much as Mays."

The hatred wasn't contained to his teammates.  The league as a whole despised him.  He had a long running feud with several players including Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker.  He had a reputation for throwing at batters. He had a reputation for cutting, scuffing, mashing and scratching the ball before throwing the pitch causing it to break in unpredictable directions.  He had an unusual side arm motion and when he leaned into the delivery it was almost an underhand throw that made it even more difficult to pick up the flight of the ball.  Most players in this league could not stand Carl Mays.

 

Photo of 1918 Boston Red Sox courtesy of Wikipedia

 

As the 1919 season progressed the frustration in the Red Sox locker room increased.  No one could quite figure out what the hell was wrong with this team and as the powerful White Sox streaked towards infamy, the Red Sox lingered around the middle of the league.  Mays started the year winning his first two starts of the season but it went south quickly. 

He didn't even have to pitch in the game to get into trouble at the park.  In the Memorial Day doubleheader in Philadelphia he was angry that the Athletics fans were pounding on the tin roof of the dugout.  He  came out of the dugout and launched a ball into the stands grazing a woman and hitting a fan in the head.  When fans got angry he came back out of the dugout and punched a fan in the face.  By the time the Red Sox left town there was a warrant for his arrest.

When he took the mound on July 13th his season was officially a disaster.  He had dropped to a record of 5-10.  The Red Sox, defending champions, were facing the White Sox, featuring the infamous Joe Jackson, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch, Swede Risberg and Buck Weaver.  This game was done almost before it started as Chicago scored four in the first. 

Mays went back out in the second inning and things continued going poorly.  With a runner on first Mays delivered to the plate.  When the runner took off for a steal attempt the first baseman screamed out "He's going!" and there was a flurry of movement.  Mays delivered the ball to the plate as quickly as he could while Wally Schang, behind the plate, shifted his weight to make a throw to second.  The pitch smacked Schang's glove and he immediately rifled the ball down to second base  to try to get the stealing runner.  Mays turned to watch, hoping they would catch the base stealer.  The last thing he needed with this White Sox lineup was a runner in scoring position.  Then he felt something explode in his head like a bomb.  The throw from Schang drilled Mays right in the back of the head.

Mays was fuming.  He retired the side.   Walked off the mound.  Walked to the clubhouse, packed his things.  Walked out the door.  Walked to the train station and didn't stop until he got off the train.  Before he left the locker room he told a teammate who came looking for him to tell the manager he had gone fishing.  That was essentially what he did. He took the train to Boston, cleaned out his Fenway locker and went to stay with his in-laws in Pennsylvania.  He told the press he had thrown his last pitch for the Red Sox.

This was the craziest thing a player had done to this point in the league.  To not only walk out on a team in the middle of the year but then to tell the press that you want to be traded was insane.  This was before collective bargaining, before free agency, no-trade clauses and before unions.  There were  no trade demands.  There were no players' rights.  You played where you were told to play when you were told to play and if you didn't then you didn't play again ever for anyone.  Mays could have very well killed his own career.  Amazingly he didn't

There was still a fight at the top of the league and several teams were looking for pitching to make that final push to the pennant.  Among the teams were the Indians, White Sox and Yankees.  Every team made an offer to the Red Sox and every team swore they had the deal done.  Then Ban Johnson, the American League President, stepped in and made a ruling.  Mays was suspended and no trade could be made until Mays returned to his team, paid a fine and served an additional unpaid suspension.  According to Johnson, no team could trade for Mays because he was designated as a non active player until he served his punishment.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox ignored the decree by Johnson and announced a trade to the Yankees.

Photo of Ban Johnson Courtesy of SABR.org

The Indians were furious.  When Johnson had told the league to stop the trade talks they stopped but they were willing to give up more than the Yankees did to get him.  The most furious of all was Charles Comiskey, White Sox owner.  He actually did have a trade in place that would send Mays to the White Sox (imagine the difference in the 1919 World Series if Mays had been on the White Sox, although check back in two weeks to find out why it may have been the same outcome) but when Johnson announced that Mays could not be traded he also stopped trade talks.   Comiskey and Johnson had a long history of hate towards each other that will be explored more thoroughly in a later post but the decision by Johnson to step in led to all out chaos in the entire league.

Photo of Charles Comiskey Courtesy of Sporting News

While the National League sat back and laughed at the ridiculous AL situation, the owners in the AL not only tried to undercut each other by getting Mays in a trade, they were now split on whether Ban Johnson should actually be the President of the League.  A meeting was called to discuss whether Johnson still held the faith of the league owners.  Comiskey (Chicago), Jacob Ruppert and Til Huston (New York), and Harry Frazee (Boston) demanded that Johnson step down.  Charlie Somers (Cleveland) (not surprising since Johnson owned stock in the team), Phil Ball (St.Louis), Clark Griffith (Washington), Connie Mack and Ben Schieb (Philadelphia) and Frank Navin (Detroit) told the other three teams to keep their mouth shut.

Johnson made a ruling that the Mays' trade to the Yankees was null and void and issued a court injunction to forbid him from playing.  The Yankees and Mays ignored it.  Johnson's authority was ruined and he remained as little more than a figure head for the rest of his tenure.  Meanwhile, pitching for the Yankees, Mays turned his season around and went 9-3 for the Yankees leading them to their best finish in team history to that point.

The story of Carl Mays doesn't end here.  In fact it gets better.  Check back next week for The Saga of Carl Mays Part 2:  The Death Pitch.

Trivia Question:

Babe Ruth played on 10 teams that reached the World Series (1915, 1916, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1932).  Of those ten years, how many seasons was Carl Mays a teammate of Ruth's?

Answer to Last Week's Trivia Question:

Hope and TJD were both close to having the correct answer last week, however, both were incorrect.  TJD guessed 7 total Cy Young Awards.  Hope guessed three.  Hope's answer of three was correct in that there were three separate Tigers' pitchers who won MVP's, however, the question was the total number of awards.  TJD's guess of 7 would have been correct had I counted MVP awards for pitchers prior to the Cy Young. Since the question was how many times had a Tigers pitcher won the Cy Young Award the two MVP awards in 1944 and 1945 did not count. Denny McLain won the Cy Young in 1968 with a 31-6 record.  He followed that up by sharing the 1969 Cy Young with Mike Cuellar of the Orioles.  The next Tigers' Cy Young winner was not until their amazing 1984 season when their closer Willie Hernandez went 9-2 with 32 saves and 1.92 ERA.  Finally, Justin Verlander won the 2011 Cy Young.  The correct answer was 4.