1.
American League
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The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League, is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a league based in the Great Lakes states. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season,25 years after the formation of the National League. At the end of season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion. Through 2016, American League teams have won 64 of the 112 World Series played since 1903, the 2016 American League champions are the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees have won 40 American League titles, the most in the history, followed by the Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics. Originally a minor league known as the Western League, the American League later developed into a major league after the American Association disbanded, in its early history, the Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League, babe Ruth, noted as one of the most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League. The American League has one notable difference versus the National League, in 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and were renamed the St. Louis Browns. In 1902, The Cleveland Bluebirds were also renamed the Cleveland Broncos, in 1903, the Broncos were renamed the Cleveland Naps. In 1915, the Naps were renamed the Cleveland Indians, in 1903, the Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and were renamed the New York Highlanders. In 1913, the Highlanders were renamed the New York Yankees, in 1904, the Chicago White Stockings were renamed the Chicago White Sox. In 1908, the Boston Americans were renamed the Boston Red Sox, in 1954, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed as the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City and were renamed as the Kansas City Athletics, in 1961, the league expanded and added two teams as the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators, expanding the league to 10 teams. The original Senators team moved to Minneapolis/St, Paul in 1961 and were renamed as the Minnesota Twins. The Angels team name changed to the California Angels in 1966, then to the Anaheim Angels in 1997, the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Pilots were added to the American League, expanding the league to 12 teams. In 1970, the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers, in 1972, the Washington Senators relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. In 1977, the league expanded to fourteen teams, when the Seattle Mariners, in 1998, the Tampa Bay Rays was added to the American League and at the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers were switched to the National League, leaving the American League with 14 teams
2.
Columbia Park
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Columbia Park or Columbia Avenue Grounds was a baseball park in Philadelphia. It was built in 1901 as the first home of the Philadelphia Athletics, Columbia Park fell into disuse after the Athletics move in 1909 to the larger Shibe Park, and was demolished in the 1910s. Columbia Park was built in 1901 by the Philadelphia Athletics when the team was established, the site was a vacant lot on which manager and part-owner Connie Mack obtained a ten-year lease. It occupied the block bordered by 29th Street, Oxford Street, 30th Street, the cost of construction was $35,000. The stadium was very small, and originally had a capacity of only 9,500. This was eventually increased to 13,600 by the addition of seating in the outfield. During some sold out games, unofficial additional seating could be found on top of the adjoining homes, there was only one dressing room, for the home team, visiting teams had to change at their hotels. Although the ballpark was in Philadelphias Brewerytown section, beer sales were prohibited, the opening game in Columbia Park was held on April 26,1901, after the first two games were rained out. The Athletics played the Washington Senators in front of a crowd of 10,524, with some fans standing on the outfield walls. The Athletics lost 5-1, despite three hits by second baseman Nap Lajoie, during their tenure at Columbia Park, the Athletics won the American League pennant twice. The first time was in 1902, before the institution of the modern World Series, three years later the Athletics won again and faced the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series. The Giants won the series 4 games to 1, games 1 and 3 were held at Columbia Park. Both were shutout victories for Giants future hall of famer Christy Mathewson, the Athletics leased the ballpark to the independent Negro League club, the Philadelphia Giants. The Giants played at the ballpark while the Athletics were on the road, the Giants were the first club to play night baseball in Philadelphia when they played under portable lights on June 4,1902. The Philadelphia Phillies temporarily called Columbia Park home in 1903 while Baker Bowl was repaired after a collapse on August 8,1903. The Phillies played sixteen games at Columbia Park in August and September 1903, the stadium also briefly served as the home of the Philadelphia Athletics football club, before the team folded in 1902. The final game played at the park took place on October 3,1908, the lack of seating at Columbia Park was the main reason the Athletics left for Shibe Park. The sod from Columbia Park was transplanted to Shibe Park after the 1908 season, after the Athletics left, the park was almost entirely abandoned
3.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
4.
Ben Shibe
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Benjamin Franklin Shibe was an American sporting goods and baseball executive who was owner and president of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League from 1901 until his death. He is credited with the invention of the automated stitching machinery to make standardized baseballs, Shibe Park was named in his honor from 1909 to 1954. Shibe died in 1922, and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Shibe was a leader of the local baseball fraternity no later than the 1870s. Prior to purchasing the Athletics, Shibe and his sons worked for A. J. Reach & co, Shibe and his sons bought 50 percent of the Athletics from Charles Somers in 1901. At that time, he was named president, a title he would retain until his death. He took on manager Connie Mack and two sportswriters as part-owners, in 1913, Shibe made Mack a full partner, ceding him complete authority over the baseball side of the operation. When Shibe died in 1922, his sons Tom and John became president and vice-president of the As, however, Mack was now the operating head of the franchise. Tom died in 1936, with John following in 1937 and their heirs would retain a minority stake in the team until 1950. Photograph of Benjamin Shibe, Connie Mack and others at the groundbreaking of Shibe Park in 1908 courtesy Temple University Libraries SABR Biography Ben Shibe at Find a Grave
5.
Connie Mack
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Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he records for wins, losses. Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for the clubs first 50 seasons of play, starting in 1901, before retiring at age 87 following the 1950 season, however, constant financial struggles forced repeated rebuilding of the roster, and Macks teams also finished in last place 17 times. Mack was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Mack was born Cornelius McGillicuddy in East Brookfield, Massachusetts on December 22,1862. As with many Irish immigrants whose names began with Mc, the McGullicuddys were often referred to as Mack and his parents, Michael McGillicuddy and Mary McKillop, were both immigrants from Ireland. Michael McGillicuddys father was named Cornelius McGillicuddy, and by tradition, Connie is a common nickname for Cornelius, so Cornelius McGillicuddy was called Connie Mack from an early age. Connie Mack never legally changed his name, on the occasion of his marriage at age 48. His nickname on the field was Slats, for his height of 6 feet 2 inches. During the American Civil War, he served with the 51st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Michael McGillicuddy suffered from several ailments as the result of his military service, he was able to work only infrequently, and drew a disability pension. Mack was educated in East Brookfield, and began working summers in local cotton mills at age 9 to help support his family. He quit school after completing the eighth grade at age 14, intending to work full-time to contribute to the familys support and he clerked at a store, worked on local farms, and worked on the production lines of the shoe factories in nearby towns. Mack was also an athlete, and frequently played baseball. In 1879 his skills landed him a place on East Brookfields town team, though younger than his teammates by several years, Mack was the teams catcher and de facto captain. Beginning in 1886, Mack played 10 seasons in the National League and one in the Players League, for a total of 11 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely as a catcher. Beginning in 1884, he played on minor league teams in the Connecticut cities of Meriden, in the winter of 1889, he jumped to the Buffalo team of the new Players League, the Bisons, investing his entire life savings of $500 in shares in that club. But the Players League went out of business only a year. In December 1890 Mack signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, as a player, Mack was a light-hitting catcher with a reputation as a smart player, but didnt do anything particularly well as a player. Mack was one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind home plate instead of in front of the backstop, according to Wilbert Robinson, Mack never was mean
6.
1903 Philadelphia Athletics season
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The 1903 Philadelphia Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished 2nd in the American League with a record of 75 wins and 60 losses, february 1903, Ollie Pickering was purchased by the Athletics from the Cleveland Naps. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. baseball-almanac. com
7.
History of the Philadelphia Athletics
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The Oakland Athletics, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Philadelphia. This article details the history of the Philadelphia Athletics, from 1901 to 1954, see also, Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame The Western League had been renamed the American League in 1900 by league president Bancroft Johnson, and declared itself the second major league in 1901. Johnson created new franchises in the east and eliminated some franchises in the West, Philadelphia had a new franchise created to compete with the National Leagues Philadelphia Phillies. Former catcher Connie Mack was recruited to manage the club, Mack in turn persuaded Phillies minority owner Ben Shibe as well as others to invest in the team, which would be called the Philadelphia Athletics. Mack himself bought a 25% interest, while the remaining 25% was sold to Philadelphia sportswriters Sam Jones, the new league recruited many of its players from the existing National League, persuading them to jump to the American League in defiance of their National League contracts. One of the players who jumped to the new league was second baseman Nap Lajoie and he won the A. L. s first batting title with a.426 batting average, still a league record. The Athletics and the American League received a setback when, on April 21,1902, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated Lajoies contract with the Athletics and this order, though, was only enforceable in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Lajoie was sold to Cleveland, but was out of road games in Philadelphia until the National Agreement was signed between the two leagues in 1903. In the early years, the As established themselves as one of the dominant teams in the new league, winning the A. L. pennant six times and they won over 100 games in 1910 and 1911, and 99 games in 1914. The team was known for its $100,000 Infield, consisting of Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, Rube Waddell was also a major pitching star for the As in the early 1900s. According to Lamont Buchanan in The World Series and Highlights of Baseball, Plank holds the franchise record for career victories, with 284. In 1909, the As moved into the leagues first concrete-and-steel ballpark. This remains the second and last time in history where a new ballpark was built specifically for the As. Later in the decade, Mack bought the 25% of the stock owned by Jones. Shibe ceded Mack full control over the side while retaining control over the business side. In 1914, the Athletics lost the 1914 World Series to the Miracle Braves in a four-game sweep, Mack traded, sold or released most of the teams star players soon after. In his book To Every Thing a Season, Bruce Kuklick points out there were suspicions that the As had thrown the Series, or at least laid down. Mack himself alluded to that years later, but debunked it
8.
Philadelphia Phillies
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The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, the Phillies compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League East division. Since 2004, the home has been Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies have won two World Series championships and seven National League pennants, the first of which came in 1915, the franchise has also experienced long periods of struggle. The 77 season drought is the fourth longest World Series drought in Major League Baseball history, the longevity of the franchise and its history of adversity have earned it the dubious distinction of having lost the most games of any team in the history of American professional sports. Despite the teams lack of success historically, they are one of the more successful franchises since the start of the Divisional Era in Major League Baseball. The Phillies have won their division 11 times, which ranks 6th among all teams and 4th in the National League, the franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1883, replacing the team from Worcester, Massachusetts in the National League. The teams spring training facilities are located in Clearwater, Florida and its Double-A affiliate is the Reading Fightin Phils, which plays in Reading, Pennsylvania, and its Triple-A affiliate is the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which plays in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After being founded in 1883 as the Quakers, the changed its name to the Philadelphias. This was soon shortened to Phillies, Quakers continued to be used interchangeably with Phillies from 1883 until 1890, when the team officially became known as the Phillies. Player defections to the newly formed American League, especially to the cross-town Philadelphia Athletics, poor fiscal management after their appearance in the 1915 World Series, however, doomed the Phillies to sink back into relative obscurity, from 1918 to 1948 they only had one winning season. Though Chuck Klein won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1932 and the National League Triple Crown in 1933, after lumber baron William B. Cox purchased the team in 1943, the Phillies rose out of the standings cellar for the first time in five years. As a result, the fan base and attendance at home games increased, but it soon became clear that not all was right in Coxs front office. Eventually Cox revealed that he had been betting on the Phillies, the new owner, Bob Carpenter, Jr. scion of the Delaware-based DuPont family, tried to polish the teams image by unofficially changing its name to the Bluejays. However, the new moniker did not take, and it was dropped by 1949. This led to the advent of the Whiz Kids, led by a lineup of players developed by the Phillies farm system that included future Hall of Famers Richie Ashburn. In contrast, the Philadelphia Athletics finished last in 1950 and long-time manager Connie Mack retired, the team struggled on for four more years with only one winning season before abandoning Philadelphia under the Johnson brothers, who bought out Mack. They began play in Kansas City in 1955, as part of the deal selling that team to the Johnson brothers, the Phillies bought Shibe Park, where both teams had played since 1938
9.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
10.
Second baseman
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In baseball and softball, second baseman is a fielding position in the infield, between third and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, in addition, second basemen are usually right-handed, only four left-handed throwing players have ever played second base since 1950. In the numbering system used to record plays, the second baseman is assigned the number 4. Good second basemen need to have very good range, since they have to field balls closer to the first baseman who is often holding runners on, on a batted ball to right field, the second baseman goes out towards the ball for the relay. Due to these requirements, second base is sometimes a primarily defensive position in the modern game, the second baseman catches line drives or pop flies hit near him, and fields ground balls hit near him and then throws the ball to a base to force out a runner. In this case, if the runner is to be forced out at second base then that base is covered by the shortstop. With a runner on first base, on a ball to the shortstop or third baseman the second baseman will cover second base to force out the runner coming from first. com
11.
Nap Lajoie
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Napoléon Nap Lajoie, also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed The Frenchman, was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics and he managed the Naps from 1905 through 1909. Lajoie was signed to the National Leaguess Phillies in 1896, National League clubs contested the legality of contracts signed by players who jumped to the other league but eventually, Lajoie was allowed to play for Connie Macks Athletics. During the season, Lajoie set the all-time American League single-season mark for the highest batting average, one year later, Lajoie went to the Cleveland Bronchos where he would play until the 1915 season when he returned to play for Mack and the Athletics. Lajoie led the AL in batting five times in his career. Lajoie in 1914 joined Cap Anson and Honus Wagner as the major league players to record 3,000 career hits. He led the NL or AL in putouts five times in his career and he has been called the best second baseman in the history of baseball and the most outstanding player to wear a Cleveland uniform. Cy Young said, Lajoie was one of the most rugged players I ever faced, hed take your leg off with a line drive, turn the third baseman around like a swinging door and powder the hand of the left fielder. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, Lajoie was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to Jean Baptiste and Celina Guertin Lajoie. The elder Lajoie was French-Canadian and had emigrated to the United States, upon arrival to the U. S. he first settled in Rutland, Vermont, but then moved to Woonsocket, where Lajoie, the youngest of eight surviving children, was born. Throughout his childhood Lajoie received little formal education, the elder Lajoie, who worked as a teamster and laborer, died not long into the younger Lajoies childhood, which forced him and his siblings to work to support the family. Lajoie dropped out of school to work in a textile mill and he also began playing semi-professional baseball for the local Woonsocket team under the alias Sandy, because his parents did not approve of their son playing baseball. He earned money as a driver with a horse and buggy. When I told my father I had decided to take the job he was very angry and he shouted that ball players were bums and that nobody respected them, but I was determined to give it a try at least one season, Lajoie later said. He also received the nickname Larry from a teammate who had trouble pronouncing Lajoie, Lajoie admired baseball players such as King Kelly and Charles Radbourn. When word of Lajoies baseball ability spread, he began to play for other teams at $2 to $5 per game. Meanwhile, Lajoie worked as a teamster and he recorded 163 hits in 80 games, and led the team in batting average, doubles, triples, home runs and hits. Lajoie was widely regarded as an outstanding prospect and Indians owner Charlie Marston rejected an offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Lajoie in exchange for $500 and he was also scouted by the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters
12.
History of the Cleveland Indians
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The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseballs American League, since 1994, they have played in Progressive Field. The Cleveland team originated in 1900 as the Lake Shores, when the American League was officially a minor league, one of the ALs eight charter franchises, the major league incarnation of the club was founded in Cleveland in 1901. The Grand Rapids Rustlers was founded in Michigan in 1894 and were in the Western League, in 1900 the team moved to Cleveland and was named The Cleveland Lake Shores. Around the same time Ban Johnson changed the name of his minor league Western League to the American League, in 1900 the American League was still considered a minor league. In 1901 Cleveland renamed itself the Bluebirds when the American League broke with the National Agreement, the Cleveland franchise was among its eight charter members. The new team was owned by coal magnate Charles Somers and tailor Jack Kilfoyl, Somers, a wealthy industrialist and also co-owner of the Boston Americans, lent money to other team owners, including Connie Macks Philadelphia Athletics, to keep them and the new league afloat. Players didnt think the name Bluebirds was suitable for a baseball team, writers frequently shortened it to Blues due to the players all-blue uniforms, but the players didnt like this name either. The players themselves tried to change the name to Broncos in 1902, the Bluebirds suffered from financial problems in their first two seasons. This led Somers to seriously consider moving to either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, relief came in 1902 as a result of the conflict between the National and American Leagues. The Phillies subsequently filed an injunction to force Lajoies return, which was granted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the injunction appeared to doom any hopes of an early settlement between the warring leagues. However, a lawyer discovered that the injunction was only enforceable in the state of Pennsylvania, Mack, partly to thank Somers for his past financial support, agreed to trade Lajoie to the then-moribund Blues, who offered $25,000 salary over three years. Due to the injunction, however, Lajoie had to sit out any games played against the As in Philadelphia, Lajoie arrived in Cleveland on June 4 and was an immediate hit, drawing 10,000 fans to League Park. Soon afterward, he was named captain, and the team was renamed the Naps after a newspaper conducted a write-in contest. Lajoie was named manager in 1905, and the teams fortunes improved somewhat and they finished half a game short of the pennant in 1908. However, the success did not last and Lajoie resigned during the 1909 season as manager, after that, the team began to unravel, leading Kilfoyl to sell his share of the team to Somers. Cy Young, who returned to Cleveland in 1909, was ineffective for most of his three remaining years and Addie Joss died from tubercular meningitis prior to the 1910 season. Despite a strong lineup anchored by the potent Lajoie and Shoeless Joe Jackson, one reporter referred to the team as the Napkins, because they fold up so easily
13.
Road (sports)
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A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions, each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. When a team is not the host, it must travel to games. Thus, when a team is not hosting a game, the team is described as the team, the visiting team, or the away team. The venue in which the game is played is described as the stadium or the road. The host team is said to be the home team, major sporting events, if not held at a neutral venue, are often over several legs at each teams home ground, so that neither team has an advantage over the other. Occasionally, the team may not have to travel very far at all to a road game. These matches often become local derbies, a few times a year, a road team may even be lucky enough to have the road game played at their own home stadium or arena. This is prevalent in college athletics where many schools will play in regional leagues or groundshare. The related term true road game has seen increasing use in U. S. college sports in the 21st century, while regular-season tournaments and other special events have been part of college sports from their creation, the 21st century has seen a proliferation of such events. These are typically held at sites, with some of them taking place outside the contiguous U. S. or even outside the country entirely. In turn, this has led to the use of true road game to refer to contests played at one home venue. In some association football leagues, particularly in Europe, the teams fans sit in their own section. Depending on the stadium, they will either sit in a designated section or be separated from the home fans by a cordon of police officers. However, in the leagues in England, supporters may be free to mix. When games are played at a site, for instance the FA Cup final in England which is always played at Wembley Stadium. This results in each team occupying one half of the stadium and this is different from other sports, particularly in North America, where very few fans travel to games played away from their home stadium. Home and away fans are not separated at these games
14.
1902 Cleveland Bluebirds season
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The 1902 Cleveland Bluebirds season was a season in American baseball. The team, unofficially known during this season as the Bronchos, in 1902, the National Leagues Philadelphia Phillies obtained an injunction, effective only in Pennsylvania, barring Nap Lajoie from playing baseball for any team other than the Phillies. May 31,1902, Nap Lajoie was signed as an agent by the Bronchos. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. Indians Journal, Year by Year & Day by Day with the Cleveland Indians since 1901
15.
1902 Washington Senators season
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The 1902 Washington Senators won 61 games, lost 75, and finished in sixth place in the American League. They were managed by Tom Loftus and played games at American League Park II. October 19,1901, Ed Delahanty jumped to the Senators from the Philadelphia Phillies, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. baseball-almanac. com
16.
1902 Baltimore Orioles season
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The 1902 Baltimore Orioles season finished with the Orioles in 8th in the American League with a record of 50–88. The team was managed by John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson, the team played at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland. They raided the Orioles roster, releasing several of Baltimores better players so that they could sign them to the Giants, AL president Ban Johnson seized control of the Orioles the next day and restocked their roster with players received on loan from other AL teams. The Orioles second season in Baltimore would ultimately prove to be their last, as the team was moved to New York after the season, however, the transfer did not occur when they could not find a suitable venue for the team. In March, Mike Donlin went on a binge in Baltimore, during which he was arrested for urinating in public. The Orioles released Donlin when he was sentenced to six months in prison, notable players jumped to the Orioles from the rival National League. In December 1901, Joe Kelley jumped from the Brooklyn Superbas, later in the offseason, Jimmy Sheckard also jumped from Brooklyn. The Orioles signed Bill Keister as a free agent, with these transactions, the Orioles were seen as a contender in the AL pennant going into the 1902 season. The Orioles drew over 10,000 fans on Opening Day, three players returned to the NL in April 1902. Jack Dunn and Steve Brodie jumped to the Giants in April, Sheckard changed his mind about playing for the Orioles after four games, returning to Brooklyn. Many Orioles found themselves suspended by Johnson by midseason, including McGraw, in early July, McGraw resigned from the team and signed with the New York Giants of the NL. At this point, the Orioles had a 26–31 record, Kelley and Wilbert Robinson succeeded McGraw as player-managers. The franchise began to fall into significant debt by July, Kelley, son-in-law of part-owner John Mahon, reported that the team owed as much as $12,000. Unable to afford that debt, Mahon purchased shares of the team from Kelley, with this, Mahon became the majority shareholder, owning 201 of the teams 400 shares. On July 17,1902, Mahon sold his interest in the Orioles to Andrew Freedman, principal owner of the Giants, the transaction was reported to have been in the range of $20,000. That day, Freedman and Brush released Kelley, Joe McGinnity, Roger Bresnahan, Jack Cronin, Cy Seymour, and Dan McGann from their Oriole contracts. Brush then signed Kelley and Seymour to the Reds, while Freedman signed McGinnity, Bresnahan, Cronin, though Kip Selbach and Jimmy Williams were both pressed to agree to relocate as well, they refused to leave Baltimore, saying they would honor their two-year contracts. McGinnity allegedly attempted to contact Johnson that night, offering to stay with the Orioles if he could receive Johnsons personal assurance that he was welcome to stay
17.
Bill Bernhard
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William Henry Strawberry Bill Bernhard was a Major League Baseball pitcher. After his playing career ended, he became a manager in the Southern Association and he most notably managed the 1908 Southern champion Nashville Vols. Ferdinand E. Kuhn hired him to the position as manager of the Nashville club, career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference
18.
Andy Coakley
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Andrew James Andy Coakley was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and New York Highlanders. Coakley was born on November 20,1882 in Providence, Rhode Island and his only postseason appearance was a complete game 9–0 loss to the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series. Although the Athletics gave up nine runs that day, Coakley was only charged with three earned runs, as the As committed five errors behind him.35 ERA and he currently ranks 21st among the Major League Baseball career ERA leaders. Following his playing career, Coakley coached baseball at Williams College, in 1923, Lou Gehrig was one of his players. Coakley died in New York City at the age of 80 and he is interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference
19.
Bill Duggleby
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William James Duggleby, nicknamed Frosty Bill, was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played from 1898 to 1907 and he also played two games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902 and nine games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1907. Duggleby is the first of four major players to hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff. As of 2011, he holds the Phillies team record for hit batsmen for a career. Duggleby was one of the jumpers who left the Phillies in 1902 for other teams, including Connie Macks new American League team, Duggleby was the first of the jumpers to return to the Phillies, on May 8,1902, after playing only two games with the As. He was the manager of the Minor League Baseball team, the Albany Babies, Duggleby, a native of Utica, New York, died in Redfield, New York in 1944. com Bill Duggleby at Baseball-Reference. com
20.
Bert Husting
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Berthold Juneau Husting was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with four different teams between 1900 and 1902. Listed at 5 ft 10.5 in,185 lb. Husting batted and he was born in Mayville, Wisconsin. He went 14–5 for the 1902 Athletics team who won the AL pennant, in a staff that included Rube Waddell, unfortunately, the Athletics did not have the chance to face the NL Champion Pittsburgh Pirates for the World Championship because there was none in 1902. Following his playing retirement, he pursued a law career, Husting died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at age 70. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference Retrosheet Baseball Library
21.
Fred Mitchell (baseball)
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Frederick Francis Mitchell, born Frederick Francis Yapp, was an American right-handed pitcher, catcher, first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. He was noted for relieving Hall of Famer Cy Young in the first-ever Red Sox game, Mitchell was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1917, he joined the Chicago Cubs as team president, in his second year at the helm, he won the 1918 National League pennant, losing to the Red Sox in the 1918 World Series. However, in the middle of the 1919 season, he was relieved of his president duties and one year later, he was out of a job. The Boston Braves hired him as manager for the 1921 season, but his success in Chicago did not follow him to his hometown Braves, after he was fired by the Braves, he returned to Harvard University where he had previously coached baseball in 1916. He remained at Harvard for thirty years until his retirement, Mitchell was best known for his excellence in coaching. Mitchell died in Newton, Massachusetts at age 92 and he is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Stow, Massachusetts. Baseball-Reference. com – career managing record and playing statistics
22.
Eddie Plank
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Edward Stewart Plank, nicknamed Gettysburg Eddie, was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, the St. Louis Terriers in 1915, and the St. Louis Browns in 1916 and 1917. Philadelphia went to the World Series five times while Plank played there, Plank had only a 1.32 earned run average in his World Series career, but he was unlucky, with a 2–5 win–loss record in those games. Plank died of a stroke in 1926 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Plank grew up on a farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and he was the fourth of seven children born to Martha McCreary and David Plank. His father was a director and tax collector in Gettysburg. Plank did not play baseball until Frank Foreman, the coach at Gettysburg College. History books often erroneously state that Plank graduated from Gettysburg College and he attended Gettysburg Academy, a prep school affiliated with the college. However, he played for the team without ever being enrolled there. Plank signed with the Richmond Colts of the Virginia League, a minor league, the league folded before Plank could pitch for the Colts. Foreman recommended Plank to Connie Mack, the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, Plank made his major league debut for the Athletics on May 13,1901. As a rookie, Plank pitched to a 17-13 win–loss record with a 3.31 earned run average and 28 complete games in 32 games started and he won 20 games for the first time in his career in 1902, as the Athletics won the American League pennant. He won 23 games in 1903 while leading the AL in games started, in 1905, Plank made his first trip to the World Series. He faced Christy Mathewson in the first game and Joe McGinnity in the fourth game. Though Plank gave up three runs in 17 innings during the series, the Athletics lost to the New York Giants in five games. The Athletics returned to the World Series in 1910, but Plank was forced to sit out with a sore arm, by 1911, Plank was the last member of the Athletics remaining from the 1901 team. The 1911 team made the World Series and faced the Giants again, after Plank won Game Two and lost in a relief appearance in Game Five, the Athletics won the series in six games. In 1913, the Athletics and Giants met again in the World Series, Mathewson hit a tenth-inning single off of Plank to set up a Giants victory in Game Two, but Plank and the Athletics bested Mathewson 3–1 in the fifth and deciding game of the series
23.
Rube Waddell
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George Edward Rube Waddell was an American southpaw pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Waddell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, Waddell was a remarkably dominant strikeout pitcher in an era when batters mostly slapped at the ball to get singles. He had an excellent fastball, a curve, a screwball. He led the leagues in strikeouts for six consecutive years. Born in 1876 outside of Bradford, Pennsylvania, Waddell grew up in the country, biographer Alan Levy writes that Waddell was a decidedly different sort of child. At the age of three, he wandered over to a fire station and stayed for several days. Waddell did not attend school very often, but he was considered to be literate and he strengthened his arm as a child by throwing rocks at birds he encountered while plowing the familys land. He also worked on mining and drilling sites as a youngster, Waddells career wound through a number of teams. Waddell was unpredictable – early in his career, he would leave mid-game to go fishing and he had a longstanding fascination with fire trucks and had run off the field to chase after them during games. He performed as a wrestler in the offseason. He was easily distracted by opposing fans who held up puppies and shiny objects, an alcoholic for much of his short adult life, Waddell reportedly spent his entire first signing bonus on a drinking binge. Waddells eccentric behavior led to constant battles with his managers and scuffles with bad-tempered teammates and his first pro contract was with Louisville, pitching two league games and a couple of exhibitions with the team at the end of the 1897 season. When the season ended, he was lent to the Detroit Wolverines of the Western League to gain professional experience and he rejoined Louisville in the final month of the 1899 season and won seven of nine decisions. When the National League contracted to eight teams for the 1900 season, Louisville ownership bought the Pittsburgh franchise, louisvilles top players, including Waddell, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and others, were transferred to Pittsburgh. Waddell debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900, leading the National League in ERA, on August 19, Waddell pitched the first game of a doubleheader for Milwaukee, winning in the 17th inning on his own triple. His manager, Connie Mack, offered Waddell a three-day fishing vacation if he agreed to pitch the second game, Waddell threw 5 scoreless innings for the victory, and headed to Pewaukee Lake for fishing. However, his behavior led manager Fred Clarke to suspend him. Milwaukee was in the newly named American League, formerly known as the Western League, when Waddell displayed his prowess for Milwaukee, Pittsburgh management asked for Rubes return
24.
Highball Wilson
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Howard Paul Highball Wilson was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball, Wilson made just one appearance for the Spiders, pitching a complete game and losing. He spent the 1900 and 1901 seasons with the Norwich Witches of the Connecticut State League, during his brief stint in the As rotation, he compiled a 7–5 record, helping the team to the American League pennant. In 1903, he pitched for the Washington Senators, posting a 3.31 ERA and his career ended the following season. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
25.
Snake Wiltse
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Lewis DeWitt Snake Wiltse was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and his brother was fellow major league pitcher George Hooks Wiltse. Lewis Wiltse was born in Bouckville, New York, nicknamed Snake, he started playing semi-pro baseball in 1894 and then began his professional career in 1899 with the Toledo Mud Hens. In January 1901, Wiltse was acquired by the National Leagues Pirates and he went 1–4 and was released in mid-season. Wiltse then signed with the Philadelphia Athletics on July 20 and he pitched well the rest of the year, going 13–5 and also batting.326. On August 10, he made history, hitting two doubles and two triples for 10 total bases, which set an MLB record for pitchers, Wiltse also pitched a shutout in that game. In 1902, Wiltse played for the Athletics, going 8–8, the Baltimore franchise was transferred to New York for the following season, and Wiltse continued to pitch poorly. His earned run average was higher than 5.00 in 1902 and 1903 and he played his final major league game on May 18,1903, and then went down to the minors. Wiltse pitched in the Eastern League, Tri-State League, and New York State League from 1903 to 1910 and he won 20 games once, in 1904, and finished his career with 69 minor league victories to go along with his 29 major league wins. His overall major league pitching record was 29 wins and 31 losses in 62 games, as a major league hitter, he compiled a.278 batting average and a.398 slugging percentage in 284 at bats. Wiltse was married and had one daughter and he died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the age of 56. Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
26.
Doc Powers
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Michael Riley Doc Powers was an American Major League Baseball player who caught for four different teams from 1898 to 1909. He played for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators of the National League, and he played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame in 1897 and 1898. His nickname was derived from the fact that he was a physician as well as a ballplayer. During a brief stint with the New York Highlanders in 1905, Powers caught while Jim Doc Newton pitched, on April 12,1909, Powers was injured during the first game played in Philadelphias Shibe Park, crashing into a wall while chasing a foul pop-up. The immediate cause of death was peritonitis arising from post-surgery infections, Powers left behind his wife, Florence W. Ehrmann, and a daughter aged five. He was buried in St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Louisville, eleven years later, Ray Chapman became the only MLB player to be directly killed by an on-field injury when he was hit in the head by a pitch. Powers injury may have served as the inspiration for that suffered by Bump Bailey, list of baseball players who died during their careers Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
27.
Ossee Schreckengost
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Ossee Freeman Schreckengost was a Major League Baseball catcher and first baseman. He played in the 1905 World Series for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Athletics lost the series 4-1 to the New York Giants. Schreckengost was born in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and he was also on the wrong side of Cy Youngs perfect game, pitched four years earlier. He may be best remembered for being Rube Waddells primary catcher, Waddells unpredictable and bizarre nature famously led to Ossee insisting on a no crackers in bed clause added to Waddells contract. Players at the time would bunk together while on the road, Schreckengost died of uremia at the age of 39 in Philadelphia. He was buried at Kittanning Cemetery in Kittanning, Pennsylvania
28.
Lou Castro
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Luis Manuel Castro was born in Medellín, Colombia. If one does not consider the National Association a major league, a second baseman and right-handed batter, Castro attended Manhattan College and played for the Jaspers baseball team. He played his one and only league season with the 1902 American League champion Philadelphia Athletics. In his brief 42-game stint, he posted a.245 batting average, with one run and 15 runs batted in,35 hits,18 runs scored,8 doubles,1 triple. For many years publications were not consistent about the birthplace of Luis Castro and it was commonly believed he was Venezuelan, but no official records supported the theory. He played just 42 games and after that he was released, there are records of his playing days in Minor League Baseball after 1902. Martinez found an original list of passengers from the S. S. Colon, the ship sailed from the port of Aspinwall, United States of Colombia. In this list, passenger number 18 is N. Castro,50 years old, born in the United States of Colombia, listing banker as occupation, passenger number 19 is Master Luis Castro, age 8, born in the United States of Colombia. The most consistent data about Castros life is that his father was Nestor Castro and his birth date of November 25,1876 matches his reported age on the ship. Colombia and Panama formed the United States of Colombia, as a country, Panama became an independent republic on November 3,1903. The city of Aspinwall was a center of dispute, since it was an important port of call, however the locals refused this name and claimed that the citys name should be Colón. In 1890 the Colombian government decided to return every mail piece addressed to Aspinwall, changing the name of the city to Colón. Castro and his father, both born in Colombia, supposedly in Medellín according to records, arrived in New York from Panama. Castro received economic assistance during his old age, the official data from this office showed his birthplace as New York City. Colon log, it is assumed that Castro probably wanted to pass for an American citizen by birth, in order to receive benefits from the Association. Recently, several baseball databases such as baseball-reference. com and baseball-almanac, Castro died in New York City at the age of 64. According to Landinos research on La Prensa del Beisbol Latino, a SABR publication, Castro is at Division 10, row 9, number 18 in this cemetery
29.
Lave Cross
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Lafayette Napoleon Cross was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who played most of his 21-year career with Philadelphia-based teams in four different leagues. He captained the Philadelphia Athletics teams which captured two of the first five American League pennants and his older brother Amos was a major league catcher from 1885 to 1887, and his younger brother Frank played one game in right field for the 1901 Cleveland Blues. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lave Cross began his career as a secondary catcher, after the American Associations merger with the National League in 1892, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies from 1892 through 1897. In his first two years he played as a catcher and third baseman, while in the last two years he played primarily at third with substantial play as a second baseman and shortstop. Playing exclusively at third in 1895, he led the NL in assists and he also became a solid hitter, batting a career-high.386 with 125 RBI and 123 runs in 1894, on April 24 of that year, he hit for the cycle. Before the 1899 season, the Browns were purchased by the owner of the competing Cleveland Spiders, Cleveland played even worse afterwards, ending the season at 20-134 and being promptly dissolved, later becoming known as the worst club in major league history. Cross hit.303 after returning to St. Louis, and led the NL in double plays, in May 1900 his contract was sold to the Brooklyn Superbas, who went on to win the pennant. With the elevation of the American League to major league status in 1901, many stars from the NL saw an opportunity to move away from that leagues longstanding turmoil and rowdiness. Cross jumped to the Athletics franchise in the new league and became one of the leaders on Connie Macks club. As team captain, he batted.328, and was among the AL leaders in batting, slugging, on April 23 of that year he began a streak of 447 consecutive games, then one of the ten longest in history, which ended on May 8,1905. In January 1906 he was sent to the Washington Senators, he led the league in fielding average for the time at age 40. Over 21 seasons he batted.292 with 1333 runs,47 home runs and 135 triples and his hit total ranked second among right-handed batters behind Cap Anson. In 1906 he surpassed Arlie Lathams record of 1571 career games at third base and his records for career putouts and total chances were broken by Jimmy Collins in 1908, but his assists record stood until 1964, when Eddie Mathews broke it. His career fielding average was topped in the late 1910s by several players, Cross was later employed as a machinist, and died of a heart attack at age 61 while walking to work in Toledo, Ohio. 5× league leader in fielding percentage for third basemen St. Louis Cardinals team records Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
30.
Monte Cross
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Montford Montgomery Cross, was an American Major League Baseball baseball player. He played fifteen seasons in the majors, between 1892 and 1907, for five different teams, Cross played most of his career in Philadelphia, where he was the starting shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1898 until 1901. At that point, he jumped to the new American League and he was their starting shortstop from 1902 until 1904, including the 1902 team that won the AL pennant in the year before the World Series began play. After batting just.189 in 1904, Cross relinquished the role to 19-year-old rookie John Knight for much of 1905. After batting.266 in his role, Cross regained the starting role in 1906 when Knight was moved to third base to replace Lave Cross. However, he batted just.200, and would be replaced as the once again in 1907. His major league career ended that season but Monte Cross remained in the industry, at least in 1915 he played semiprofessionally, for the Media, Pennsylvania team in the Delaware County League at age 46. Cross coached the Maine Black Bears baseball team from 1916–1921, the longest tenure of any coach to that point in the programs history, in his six seasons, Maine had a record of 33-33-3. Below is a table of Crosss yearly records as a head baseball coach. List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
31.
Harry Davis (1900s first baseman)
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Harry H. Davis was born in Philadelphia. He led the American League in home runs from 1904 to 1907 and he also hit for the cycle on July 10,1901. He led the AL in doubles three times and the NL in triples once, Davis was the starting first baseman and first captain of manager Connie Macks Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1910. In 1905 he led the American league in runs, RBI, runs and doubles. He was the starting first baseman for the 1910 World Champions, in 1911, the 37-year-old Davis was replaced at first base by the younger Stuffy McInnis, and Davis played a reserve role for the 1911 World Champions. Davis managed the 1912 Cleveland Naps, but left with 28 games left in the season and he returned to the Athletics as a player, coach and assistant captain in 1913, amassing only 33 plate appearances over the next five seasons combined. He continued as a coach and scout with Macks Athletics until 1927, Davis died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 11,1947, at the age of 74. com Biography at BaseballLibrary 1911 Photo
