1.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
2.
Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)
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Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fields were used mainly for baseball and American football from c.1879 to c. The ballparks were located on the north side of the Allegheny River in Allegheny City. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, which became the citys North Side, due to flooding from the nearby river, the three stadiums exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the sites of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park. In 1903, the incarnation of Exposition Park was the first National League ballpark to host a World Series game. Named for other expositions that would be there, including horse racing and circuses. Despite its reason for construction Exposition Park II was built closer to the River, the Alleghenys played at the second incarnation of the park until they moved to Recreation Park in 1884, which was several blocks north and out of the flood plain. While the Pittsburg Pirates were playing games at Recreation Park, owners John Beemer. Lennon of the Pittsburgh Burghers constructed a park near the former site of Exposition Park I and II. Exposition Park III included a wooden grandstand around the infield. Total capacity was about 10,000 spectators, the seats faced the Allegheny River and the Point. The Burghers played at the stadium during the 1890 Players League season— both the team and leagues only season in existence, on June 10,1890, Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park III. The Pittsburg Pirates moved to Exposition Park the following season, on April 24,1891, Fred Carroll hit the first home run by a Pirate in the stadium. Under the management of Fred Clarke the Pirates won the National League pennant in 1901,1902, after the 1903 season, Dreyfuss and Boston Americans owner Henry Killilea organized a best of nine game series to match the two pennant winners against each other. The first World Series held three games in Boston before moving to Exposition Park with the Pirates leading the series 2–1, on October 6,1903,7,600 people attended the first World Series game in a National League stadium—the Pirates won by one run. The following day 12,000 people attended the game, forcing spectators to stand behind a rope in the outfield. The Pirates lost three of four games at Exposition Park and eventually the Series, during a July 4,1902 doubleheader against the Brooklyn Superbas, an Allegheny flood caused water to rise to thigh level in center and right fields, and about head level in deep center
3.
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
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Allegheny City is the name of a former Pennsylvania municipality now reorganized and merged into the larger community, the modern City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907, the City of Allegheny was laid out in 1788 according to a plan by John Redick. The lots were sold in Philadelphia by the State government or given as payment to Revolutionary War veterans and it was incorporated as a borough in 1828 and as a city in 1840. Prior to the 1850s, most of the area was largely farmland. It was commonly referred to as Deutschtown, derived from the German word Deutsch, referring to the language and ethnicity. The annexation of Allegheny City by Pittsburgh began in 1906 and was effected in 1907 and it was approved by the United States Government in 1911. The annexation was controversial at the time, as a majority of Allegheny City residents were opposed to the merger. Previous Pennsylvania law had directed that a majority of the voters in each merging municipality had to approve an annexation agreement, in 1906, the State Assembly passed a new law that authorized annexations if a majority of the total voters in both combined municipalities approved the merger. The annexation was rejected by the residents of Allegheny City by a 2,1 margin, but was approved by more populous Pittsburgh residents. Allegheny City residents tried unsuccessfully for years to have the annexation overturned in court. The population of Pittsburgh rose from 321,616 in 1900 to 533,905 in 1910, which included the 132,283 who lived in Allegheny in 1910, when the two cities were joined, both of the old ward systems were discarded. A new ward system was established made up of 27 wards, in the new ward system, Allegheny was divided into wards 21 to 27. Its past territory is seen by viewing a map of the city wards. The Carnegie Library, the Old Post Office Building, and the Buhl Planetarium buildings were not demolished, the H. J. Heinz Company built its factory in Allegheny City, close to the Chestnut Street bridge. Heyl & Patterson Inc. a manufacturer of railcar dumpers and ship unloaders, the surviving structures are now occupied by a furniture warehouse and a bus garage. Railroad lines were built along the side of the Allegheny for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago. When workers in Pittsburgh struck against the Pennsylvania Railroad after wage cuts in July 1877, the Teutonia Männerchor Hall in the East Allegheny neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a building constructed in 1888. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the Teutonia Männerchor is a private membership club with the purpose of furthering choral singing, German cultural traditions and good fellowship
4.
Barney Dreyfuss
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Bernhard Barney Dreyfuss was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He is often credited with the creation of the modern baseball World Series and he also built one of baseballs first modern steel and concrete baseball parks, Forbes Field, in 1909. During his period of ownership, the Pirates won six National League pennants and World Series titles in 1909 and 1925, Dreyfuss was born in Freiburg, Grand Duchy of Baden in 1865. He attended school in Freiburg and later worked in a bank in nearby Karlsruhe, at the age of 16, he emigrated in 1881 to the US to escape conscription into the German Army. At the time, his prospects of being drafted into the military was high, Dreyfusss father, Samuel Dreyfuss, was actually an American citizen since 1861, who had returned to Germany at the outbreak of the Civil War. Samuel Dreyfuss had made a fortune selling spirits to the Native Americans, once in America, Barney Dreyfuss lived and worked with the Bernheim family in Paducah, Kentucky. The Bernheims were relatives of his grandfather, Leon Bernheim, in 1888, he moved with the Bernheim family to Louisville, Kentucky. Dreyfuss arrived knowing little English, but he became a quick learner, in just a few years, he rose from being a clerk to an officer of Bernheim Brothers, the creator of I. W. Harper bourbon. Dreyfuss enjoyed the game of baseball and he fueled his interest by organizing amateur baseball teams first for the distillery workers, then semi-pro clubs around Louisville. In 1889 the distillery expanded into larger quarters of Louisville, Dreyfuss quickly used the increased profits to buy a piece of the Louisville Colonels of the American Association. The team won the pennant in 1890 against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. However, the American Association fell apart in 1891, as a result, Dreyfuss moved the Colonels into the National League. One of his best decisions was hiring a local city editor and educated lawyer, Harry Clay Pulliam, to serve as his club secretary, when Dreyfuss immigrated to America, it was Pulliam who taught him how to speak English. However Pulliams greatest contribution to Colonels occurred when he convinced Dreyfuss to sign future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to the team, for much of the 1890s, the Colonels were in last place in the National League. In 1899, Dreyfuss paid $50,000 to acquire ownership of the Colonels. By this time, however, the National League contracted several teams after the 1899 season, as part of the deal, he negotiated the transfer of the best Louisville players, namely Wagner, Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach, Deacon Phillippe, and Rube Waddell to Pittsburgh. The Colonels president, Harry Pulliam, also left for the Pirates with Dreyfuss, in Pittsburgh, Honus Wagner soon emerged as the National Leagues biggest star. The Pirates then won NL pennants in 1901,1902, and 1903, however a bidding war was taking place between the National League and the upstart American League
5.
Fred Clarke
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Fred Clifford Clarke was a Major League Baseball player from 1894 to 1915 and manager from 1897 to 1915. A Hall of Famer, Clarke played for and managed both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates and he was a left fielder and left-handed batter. Of the nine pennants in Pittsburgh franchise history, Clarke was the player-manager for four of them and he and fellow Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Vic Willis led Pittsburgh to a victory over Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers in the 1909 World Series. Clarke batted over.300 in 11 different seasons and his 35-game hitting streak in 1895 was the second-longest in Major League history at the time and is still tied for 11th-longest. For six years, Clarke held the Major League record for wins by a manager, Fred Clarke was born on a farm near Winterset, Iowa. At age two, his family moved as part of a covered wagon caravan from Iowa to Kansas before relocating to Des Moines, Iowa, five years later. As a child in Des Moines, Clarke sold newspapers for the Iowa State Register where his boss was future Baseball Hall of Fame member, Ed Barrow. In 1892, a team in Hastings, Nebraska sent a railroad ticket to Des Moines semiprofessional player, Byron McKibbon. Clarke impressed the Hastings team and he signed his first professional contract and he was in the Southern League at age 21 and played for teams in Montgomery, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia. Clarke was discovered in the leagues by Louisville part-owner, Barney Dreyfuss. In his first game, he collected five hits in five at bats which is still a Major League record, in his second season, he asserted himself with a batting average of.347,191 hits and 96 runs which were all best on the team by far. In 1897, Clarke took over managerial duties while only 24 years old, as a player, he hit a career high.390. Only the best average of Willie Keelers career stopped Clarke from winning his only batting title, despite Clarkes excellent hitting and the presence of fellow Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Rube Waddell, the team struggled for several years. While in Louisville, Clarke was teamed up with pitcher Chick Fraser, Clarke and Fraser became brothers-in-law when they married sisters. When the Colonels folded, Barney Dreyfuss became the owner of the Pittsburgh franchise and tapped Clarke, Wagner, Waddell, Deacon Phillippe, in 1900, Clarke joined the Pittsburgh Pirates as a player and manager, roles he would embrace until his retirement in 1915. 1903 was arguably the best hitting season of Clarkes career as he led the Major Leagues in slugging average and OPS and he finished second only to his teammate, Honus Wagner, for the National League batting title. In the first World Series, Clarke hit.265 but Bostons Cy Young and Bill Dinneen outpitched Pittsburgh overall and won the series in eight games. In the 1909 World Series, Clarke batted only.211, Clarke also set a record for most walks for one player in a World Series game with four in Game 7
6.
1903 Pittsburg Pirates season
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The 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 22nd year the Pittsburgh Pirates played in Major League Baseball. The club finish their season as National League champions, beating the second-place New York Giants by 6½ games and they went on to participate in the 1903 World Series, the first to be played between the champions of the National League and American League. The Pirates started off well, winning 3 of the first four games, the Pirates set a record of 52 consecutive innings without scoring a run, a record that still stands today. Prior to 1903 season, Jack OConnor jumped from the Pirates to the New York Highlanders, may 28,1903, Reddy Grey was acquired by the Pirates on loan from the Worcester Riddlers. 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. Boston Americans October 1,1903, at Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston and they extended their lead to 7–0 on a solo home run by Jimmy Sebring in the 7th, the first home run in World Series history. Boston tried to mount a comeback in the last three innings, but it was too little, too late, as they ended up losing by a score of 7–3 in the first ever World Series game. Pirates starter Sam Leever went only one inning and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs before being replaced by Bucky Veil in the second inning due to injury, who finished the game for Pittsburg. Bill Dinneen struck out 11 and pitched a game for the Americans, while Patsy Dougherty hit home runs in the first. October 6,1903, at Exposition Park in Allegheny, Pennsylvania After two days of rest, Deacon Phillippe was ready to pitch his second straight game. He threw his third game victory of the series against Bill Dinneen. However, Phillippes second straight victory was almost not to be, as the Americans, down 5–1 in the top of the ninth, the comeback attempt failed, though, as Phillippe managed to put an end to it and give the Pirates a commanding 3–1 series lead. October 7,1903, at Exposition Park in Allegheny, Pennsylvania Game 5 was a duel for the first five innings, with Bostons Cy Young. That changed at the top of the sixth, however, when the Americans scored a then-record 6 runs that inning, Young, on the other hand, managed to keep his shutout intact before finally giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. He went the distance and struck out four for his first World Series win, October 8,1903, at Exposition Park in Allegheny, Pennsylvania Game 6 featured a rematch between the starters of Game 2, Bill Dinneen and Sam Leever. This time, Leever would pitch the game, but despite throwing a complete game he was outmatched by Dinneen. After losing three of the first four games of the World Series, the underdog Boston Americans had tied the series at three games apiece. October 10,1903, at Exposition Park in Allegheny, Pennsylvania The fourth and this time, however, he wouldnt fare as well as he did in his first three starts
