Scott Fennessy’s 1903 Replay: Pittsburgh takes game 1 of World Series

October 6, 1903

Boston, MA

This year’s World Series features two teams that took completely different paths to October. The Red Sox dominated from opening day on and were never challenged, and the Pirates who started off slow and had to endure a grueling battle with the Giants that was not over until game 139 of a 140 game season.

Today’s game features Cy Young, the reigning Pitcher of the Year against Charles Phillippe, who is the Scrooge of all pitching, allowing just 25 walks in nearly 400 innings this year. All right APBA fans, the time for talk is over and time for rolling to begin!

Jimmy Sebring steps into the batter’s box, and works Young for a lead off walk. Moving to second on Ginger Beaumont’s ground out Honus Wagner rips Young’s 2-1 breaking ball deep to right center field! This one bounces off the warning track and bounces off the wall. Sebring scores and Wagner gets an RBI double and the Pirates take the lead. Young gets the next two hitters and the Buccos have a 1-0 lead going to the bottom of the inning.

Phillippe strikes out the side in the bottom of the first, which is a bit of a surprise, as he was not all that overpowering during the season, despite the Y on his card. Neither team scored again for a while, but the roles seemed reverse of what I expected. The Pirates were punching hits here and there with no scoring, and the Red Sox were being shut down. Freddy Parent got the first hit with a one out double in the 5^th and scored on an error and a wild pitch to tie the game.

The Red Sox finally grab the lead when light hitting Candy LaChance, who struggled badly this year slips a grounder just under Tommy Leach’s glove at third for a single and moves to second on a “swinging bunt” by Young. Pat Dougherty hits a hard grounder that Claude Ritchey tries to turn a double play on, but Young comes in surprisingly hard and the throw is off the mark and runners are on the corners after the fielder’s choice.

Chick Stahl hits a fly to deep right field that Clarke tracks down, but has no chance on getting the runner at home, so the lead is now 2-1 Boston. Jimmy Collins rips a double into the left center gap for an RBI double and scores on an error to make the lead 4-1 when the inning ended.

That was still the score when Young appears to be tiring in the 8^th inning. Beaumont draws his second walk of the day and with the hit and run called for Wagner rips one the opposite way and runners are on the corners. Wagner eventually steals second and Clarke gets a juicy pitch and bangs it off the wall in center field and both runners score. Young eventually gets out of the inning, but it is now just 4-3 Red Sox.

So a tired Young takes the mound in the top of the ninth, needing just three outs for the win, but Ed Phelps reaches on an error. Phelps is pretty slow, and any ground ball kills the rally, so Hans Lobert, who had sat on the bench all year gets sent in as a pinch runner as he is the only player on the bench with an F rating. Lobert’s off with the pitch and moves to second on a ground out to Hobe Ferris at second, so the Pirates are down to their final out and Jimmy Sebring delivers the clutch single to center and Lobert slides just under Lou Criger’s tag and this game is tied! Boston gets out of the inning, but after going scoreless in the bottom of the inning and we go to extra innings.

Lafayette Winham is now in for Phillippe, but Young stays in, and we get to the 12^th inning. Clarke hits a smash into the left field corner for a lead off double, and Collins gets the bullpen in action. Claude Ritchey hits another drive off the wall in center field and the Pirates take the lead on back to back doubles. Tom Leach hits a single that just gets over a leaping Freddy Parent and another run scores.

Collins finally pulls Young and Norwood Gibson comes in and gets the final two outs. Winham looks like he wants to take the loss as he walks Criger to start the inning and grooves a fastball that LaChance rips into the right field corner for a double, and Criger being slow has to hold at third thanks to a solid throw from Clarke. The pitcher Gibson is up, so Collins calls in Charles Farrell, who hit .291 in a reserve role and he hits a scorcher right at Ritchey who doubles up LaChance at second, but Criger can’t score.

Pat Dougherty then hits a bullet to left field, and Criger scores, but either he missed a sign or assumed the throw would be going home, because Sebring’s throw goes to second and he is out by a mile, and the game is over! A furious Jimmy Collins is waiting at the top of the dugout steps and despite Pat’s fine regular season, he is getting an earful.