The 1906 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1906 season. The third edition of the World Series, it featured a crosstown matchup between the American League champion Chicago White Sox and the National League champion Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had posted the highest regular-season win total (116) and winning percentage (.763) in the major leagues since the advent of the 154-game season. The White Sox, known as the "Hitless Wonders" after finishing with the worst team batting average (.230) in the American League, beat the Cubs in six games for one of the greatest upsets in Series history as the Sox out-pitched the Cubs in their first two wins and out-hit them in their last two. The home teams alternated, starting with the National League Cubs being home in Game 1.

Edward Augustine Walsh was an American pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball, nicknamed "Big Ed". From 1906 to 1912, he had several seasons where he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Injuries shortened his career. Walsh holds the record for lowest career earned run average, 1.82. He is one of two modern (post-1901) pitchers to win 40 or more games in a single season, and the last pitcher to do so. He is the last pitcher from any team to throw more than 400 innings in a single season, a feat he accomplished in 1907 and 1908. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.