100 Years Ago Today 10/12/1920: Cleveland Indians Defeat Brooklyn Robins to Claim World Series Title

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Tuesday, October 12, 1920 - GAME SEVEN

Brooklyn Robins vs. Cleveland Indians

Dunn Field

Stan Covelesky Whitewashes Brooklyn, Earns Third Win Over Robins

CLEVELAND INDIANS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS

Sunday's pre-game arrest of Rube Marquard clearly impacts the rest of the series as Burleigh Grimes is forced into making an emergency start on short rest in Game Five.  He promptly proves ineffective.  With the Robins facing elimination after also losing Game Six, Grimes is again tasked with pitching Game Seven on just two days rest.  The gamely spitballer does his best but his performance palls in comparison to that of mound opponent Stan Covelaski.  Brooklyn is held scoreless for the second straight game and is limited to eight runs all series.  Zack Wheat accounts for two of the Robins five scattered hits.  Coveleski walks just one batter in a complete game shutout, his third victory against the Robins this series.  In three starts he allows just two runs and fifteen hits over 27 innings pitched.  Meanwhile, Grimes allows three runs, two earned, on seven hits and four walks through seven innings pitched.  Cleveland scores an unearned run in the fourth helped along by an error from Grimes.  Tris Speaker triples to drive in a run in the fifth and left fielder Charlie Jameison doubles home the Indians final run in the seventh.  Al Mamaux pitches a scoreless eighth inning to no avail.  The Cleveland Indians are World Champions of baseball, their first ever title following their first ever pennant.  Indians players dedicate the victory to their fallen comrade, Ray Chapman.  In his first full season as skipper, Tris Speaker claims the title.  His team this season won the most games in baseball and now sweep the Robins at League Park.

Thank you for following my recap of the 1920 Brooklyn Robins season.

100 Years Ago Today 10/11/1920: Indians Whitewash Brooklyn Robins; Take 4-2 Series Lead

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Monday, October 11, 1920 - GAME SIX

Brooklyn Robins vs. Cleveland Indians

League Park

Former Robin Tosses Three Hitter Over Brooklyn; Indians One Win Away From Title

A bewildered Uncle Robbie watches on as his former pupil Duster Mails turns away Robins batter after Robins batter.  Now 25-years old and making only his tenth appearance all season, Mails tosses a gem back in the face of former team mate Sherry Smith whom puts forth another fine although unfortunate performance.  Smith allows just one run on seven hits and one walk over eight innings.  However, Mails is better, yielding no runs on just three hits and two walks with four strikeouts through nine innings full.  Ivy Olson, Hi Myers and Ed Konetchy account for Brooklyn's only hits.  With one out in the home sixth George Burns doubles home Tris Speaker who scores all the way from first for the game's only run.  Ivy Olson doubles with one out in the eighth but is left stranded.  Uncle Robbie started Jack Sheehan at third in place of Jimmy Johnston.  The Robins have scored just two runs over the last three games at Cleveland.  The Indians now own a commanding 4-2 series lead in this best of nine championship.

100 Years Ago Today 10/10/1920: Brooklyn Robins Lose Troublesome Game Five; Trail Indians 3-2

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Sunday, October 10, 1920 - GAME FIVE

Brooklyn Robins vs. Cleveland Indians

League Park

"I've been in baseball for 40 years and I never saw one like this." - Wilbert Robinson

Game Five at Cleveland features a historical if not ponderous series of events Brooklyn Robins fans for all the wrong reasons will not soon forget.

Although no longer the perennial 20-game winner while with the Giants, 33-year old Rube Marquard during the 1920 season is nothing short of clutch.  When Uncle Robbie needs him most his old friend repeatedly comes through with vintage performances.  Scheduled to pitch this day for the Robins, Rube Marquard prior to the game is arrested by Cleveland police outside League Park on charges of ticket scalping.  Marquard maintains his innocence claiming a misunderstanding.  But an incensed Charles Ebbets will hear non of it and releases Rube on the spot.  

Inside the park Burleigh Grimes hurriedly prepares for an unexpected start.  Looking on in attendance is former Cleveland Spider legend and baseball's all-time wins leader Cy Young.  Pitching on three days rest, Burleigh Grimes by game time is still noticeably unprepared.  In the first inning Cleveland leads off with consecutive singles and a successful bunt hit by Tris Speaker.  With no outs and the bases loaded, right fielder and clean-up hitter Elmer Smith crushes a Grimes offering to deep right for a grand slam home run, the first in World Series history.  With Burleigh Grimes still pitching in the fourth, Indians starter Jim Bagby aides his own cause by homering deep to center field with two runners on giving Cleveland a commanding 7-0 lead.  His home run is the first hit by a pitcher in World Series history.  The Indians score one last time in the fifth inning off reliever Clarence Mitchell.

Brooklyn is not without its chances.  They strand a runner on second in the first.  Ed Konetchy triples in the second but on a sac-fly attempt is thrown out at home by left fielder Charlie Jameison.  In the third Burleigh Grimes bounces into a double play and the Robins strand two runners.  Hi Myers in the fourth removes himself from the base paths by getting thrown out attempting to steal third.  The fifth inning really makes all Robins shake their heads in dismay.  With no outs and Pete Kilduff and Otto Miller on base, Clarence Mitchell lines out to second baseman Bill Wambsganss, who immediately steps on second to retire Kilduff then tags an approaching Otto Miller to complete an unassisted triple play, again the first in World Series history.  Otherwise, the Robins go quietly until the ninth when Ed Konetchy drives in his first run of the series.  Alas it is too little too late.

Cleveland's 31-game winner Jim Bagby avenges his Game Two loss against Grimes, allowing one run on 13 hits and no walks over nine innings complete.  Grimes in turn takes the loss after yielding seven runs on nine hits and a walk in just 3.1 innings pitched.

100 Years Ago Today 10/9/1920: Brooklyn Robins Drop Game Four at Cleveland

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Saturday, October 9, 1920 - GAME FOUR

Brooklyn Robins vs. Cleveland Indians

Dunn Field

Stan Coveleski Wins Second Game of Series; Robins and Indians Knotted at Two

The Robins arrive in Cleveland for Game Four, but it seems as if Leon Cadore's best stuff stays packed away in Brooklyn.  Uncle Robbie gives him the hook just two batters in the third.  But the damage is already done.  Cadore faces eight batters while yielding two runs on four hits and a walk.  Making his second start of the series, Stan Coveleski limits the Robins to one run on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts through nine innings complete.  Tommy Griffith drives in Brooklyn's lone run with a double scoring Jimmy Johnston in the fourth.  Johnston accounts for two Brooklyn hits.  First baseman Ed Konetchy is now 0 for 12  through four games.  Al Mamux is charged with two runs on two hits.  Like Cadore, he is removed two batters into the third inning.  Rube Marquard pitches three scoreless innings.  But Jeff Pfeffer yields Cleveland's fourth and final run in the sixth.

100 Years Ago Today 10/7/1920: Brooklyn Robins Take 2-1 Series Lead Over Cleveland Indians

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Thursday, October 7, 1920 - GAME THREE

Cleveland Indians vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Sherry Smith Steps Up With Three-Hitter; Series Shifts to Cleveland

Brooklyn again plays to their strengths, getting a fine pitching performance and more timely hitting.  In fact, the Robins capitalize right away against Indians starter Ray Caldwell.  Ivy Olson draws a walk leading off the first and Tommy Griffith reaches safely on an error by shortstop Joe Sewell.  Zack Wheat and Hi Myers follow with consecutive hits plating two runs and the Robins never look back.  Although, what should have been a Tris Speaker double down the left field line turns into a complete trip around the bases when Zack Wheat mishandles the play.  However, Robins southpaw Sherry Smith quickly puts the Ebbets Field crowd back at ease.  When Sherry retires the Indians in order in the ninth the Borough partisans roar with approval.  Smith yields just one unearned run on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts through nine innings complete.  Brooklyn leads the best of nine series two games to one as the series now shifts to Dunn Field at Cleveland.   

100 Years Ago Today 10/6/1920: Brooklyn Robins Knot Series With Cleveland Indians

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Wednesday, October 6, 1920 - GAME TWO

Cleveland Indians vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Burleigh Grimes Whitewashes Cleveland; Outperforms Jim Bagby

To the great relief of an entire Borough, the Robins knot the World Series at a game apiece.  Facing baseball's winningest pitcher with 31 victories, Brooklyn opens the scoring with haste against Cleveland right-hander Jim Bagby.  In the first inning Jimmy Johnston reaches on a one out single and scores on Zack Wheat's line drive double to center.  Starter Burleigh Grimes singles leading off the third and comes around to score on a double by Tommy Griffith.  In the fifth, Griffith's base hit delivers home Ivy Olson from second base for a 3-0 Robins lead.  Burleigh Grimes takes care of the rest.  Outperforming Jim Bagby, the spitballer yields seven hits and four walks over nine shutout innings.  Tris Speaker accounts for two of the Indians hits.

100 Years Ago Today 10/5/1920: Brooklyn Robins Bow in Game One to Cleveland Indians

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

DODGERS STADIUM MURAL

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

WORLD SERIES: Tuesday, October 5, 1920 - GAME ONE

Cleveland Indians vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Sporting black arm bands in memory of their fallen shortstop Ray Chapman, the Cleveland Indians take game one of the 1920 World Series by a 3-1 final score at Ebbets Field.  Perennial 20-game winner Stan Coveleski goes the distance limiting the Robins to one run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Brooklyn ruins the shutout in the seventh.  Zack Wheat leads off with a double into the right/center gap.  Hi Myers advances Wheat to third, who then scores on a 3-1 putout of Ed Konetchy.  Ivy Olson accounts for two of Brooklyn's five hits.  Indians catcher Steve O'Neill gets the best of Robins starter Rube Marquard with run scoring doubles in the second and fourth innings.  Marquard yields three runs overall on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in a losing effort.  Al Mamaux and Leon Cadore contribute three scoreless innings in relief.

On August 16 the Cleveland Indians were in New York playing the Yankees at the Polo Grounds.  Leading off the top of the fifth against New York's Carl Mays, shortstop Ray Chapman was struck in the head with a pitch.  Bleeding from his left ear, a semi-conscious Chapman was rushed to St. Lawrence Hospital where he perished three hours after surgery at 4:40 am.  Commissioner Landis immediately ordered all scuffed and dirtied baseballs henceforth be taken out of play and replaced with new ones.

 

100 Years Ago Today 10/3/1920: Brooklyn Robins Close Regular Season With Victory Over Braves

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Game #155: Sunday, October 3, 1920 - BR

Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Robins Win Final Game of Season; Next Stop World Series Versus Cleveland Indians

Brooklyn wraps up a wildly successful 1920 season with one final defeat of the Boston Braves in front of 10,000 crazed fans at Ebbets Field.  As if 26-innings weren't enough, the teams need another ten innings in order to decide a victor.  The Robins and Braves back on May 1 played nearly the length of three nine innings games only to end the day tied at one.  Boston jumps out to a quick 3-0 lead, all runs are unearned.  No changes in the score are affected through the seventh.  However, Brooklyn finally strikes for two runs in the eighth.  With a runner on Zack Wheat connects on his ninth home run for the season and his second in as many games.   Boston picks up an insurance run in the ninth.  But the Robins rally for two more in the bottom half, tying the game at four.  In the home tenth, Hi Myers triples home Bill McCabe with the winning run.  George Mohart and Johnny Miljus join together for the victory, allowing four runs, none earned, on nine hits and three walks.

From the first of September through the end of the season the Robins post a 23-6 (.793) record.  They end the season with a 93-61 record, seven games in front of the Giants and 10.5 games ahead of the now dethroned N.L. champ Cincinnati Reds.  After averaging just 65 wins over the last three seasons, their 93 victories ties for fourth highest in franchise history and falls just one win shy of their 1916 record.  Robinson's team never fell below .500 and were never more than 3.5 games out of first place.  The New York Giants got off to a poor start after Frankie Frisch was stricken by appendicitis.  They surged with a 20-11 record in August, but would ultimately lose 15 of 22 games against the Robins.

"No special system of playing won the 1920 pennant for the Brooklyn Superbas.  Nerve and Spirit won the pennant." - Wilbert Robinson. 

This is Uncle Robbie's second pennant since parting ways with the Giants and taking over the Superbas in 1914 from Bill Dahlen.  Only nine members of the 1916 N.L. champs remain.  Nine other players were acquired over the previous two seasons.  In fact, this year's team is largely unchanged from last season when they won only 69 games (a 24 game improvement).

A veteran lineup, seven of eight position regulars are 30-years of age or older.  Two of Wilbert Robinson's savviest moves were making Jimmy Johnston the starting third baseman and plugging Pete Kilduff at second.  Thirty-four year old Ivy Olson caught a lot of flack at shortstop by fans but he proved clutch with a stick.

The heart of the lineup proved solid.  Acquired last season, 34-year old first baseman Big Ed Konetchy bats .308 with 63 runs batted in.  Center fielder Hi Myers plays every game this season.  Myers finishes with a .304 average and once again leads the National League with 22 triples.  He posts career bests in on-base percentage and slugging average and leads the Robins for a second straight season with 85 runs batted in.  Brooklyn's undeniable star Zack Wheat registers his eighth .300 season.  The 1918 batting champion this season places fourth in the race with a .328 average and ranks fourth in the league with a .385 on-base percentage.

Acquired from the Pirates in 1918, Burleigh Grimes enjoys his finest season as a pro.  The spitballer posts a career high 23 victories against eleven losses with a 2.22 earned run average.  He finishes third in the N.L. with 131 strikeouts, while his wins and ERA both rank second.  In fact, the Robins lead the league with a 2.92 team ERA.

100 Years Ago Today 10/2/1920: Brooklyn Robins Wrap Up Season Series Against Giants With Victory at Polo Grounds

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Game #154: Sunday, October 2, 1920 - BR

Brooklyn Robins vs. New York Giants

Polo Grounds

Burleigh Grimes Wins #23; Robins Bid Adieu to Manhattan

Uncle Robbie offers up one last parting gift for John McGraw.  He plays all his regulars in the penultimate game of the season against McGraw's second squad.  Leading off the top of the eighth, Zack Wheat homers to deep right putting the finishing touch on Brooklyn's 4-2 victory over the Giants in their final confrontation of the season.  Wheat finishes the day 2 for 4 with a run scored and two runs batted in.  Otto Miller also accounts for two runs batted in.  The spitballer Burleigh Grimes appears briefly but does enough to gain his 23rd victory of the season versus eleven losses with a 2.28 earned run average.  He allows two runs on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in five innings pitched.  Grimes collects his 34th hit of the season as well.  In 111 at-bats he finishes the season hitting .306 with twelve extra base hits and sixteen runs batted in.  Clarence Mitchell pitches the final four innings yielding no runs and just four hits with three strikeouts.  Brooklyn finishes their season series against the Giants with a 15-7 record.  The Robins wrap up the regular season tomorrow against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.  If you recall, on Saturday, May 1, 1920, the Robins and Braves played to a one all tie after a record 26-innings at Boston.  The game was suspended on account of darkness.  Hence, there will be a game #155 before the Robins open the 1920 World Series against the Cleveland Indians who today clinch the American League pennant with a 10-1 trouncing over the Detroit Tigers at Navin Field.  Game One is scheduled for Oct. 5, at Ebbets Field.

• RECORD: 92-61 (.601)
• 1st Place; 5.0 GA

100 Years Ago Today 10/1/1920: Brooklyn Robins and New York Giants Split Twin Bill at Polo Grounds

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Game #152: Friday, October 1, 1920, GAME ONE - BR
Brooklyn Robins vs. New York Giants
Polo Grounds

Ernie Krueger Powers Robins Over Giants

There's a palatable chill in the air as Wilbert Robinson and John McGraw face off for the first time since Brooklyn clinched the pennant.  The weather is pretty cold as well.  Making matters worse, depending who you ask, Uncle Robbie sticks it to McGraw again when the Robins score in the ninth en route to a victory in game one.  With Phil Douglas on the mound, the Giants take a 3-0 lead into the eighth.  Brooklyn starter Jeff Pfeffer is knocked out of the box after yielding two runs on seven hits and two walks through five innings.  The Robins erupt for three runs in the top of the eighth on a run batted in from Hi Myers and a two run home run from Ernie Krueger.  With one out in the ninth Jimmy Johnston reaches safely on a come backer which is thrown away by Phil Douglas.  Johnston reaches third then scores the go ahead run on Tommy Griffith's sac-fly to left.  Al Mamaux pitching in relief of Jeff Pfeffer retires the Giants in order for his twelfth win of the season with a 2.70 ERA.


Game #153: Friday, October 1, 1920, GAME TWO - BR
Brooklyn Robins vs. New York Giants
Polo Grounds

Giants Gain Split; Jesse Barnes Wins #20 

Jesse Barnes earns his 20th victory of the season with four innings of no-hit, no run ball in relief of Fred Toney.  This time it's the Giants who come from behind to snatch victory from defeat.  The Robins own a 3-2 lead after six on a run batted in by Ross Youngs and High Pockets Kelly's eleventh home run of the season for the Giants, and a two run inside the park home run from Ed Konetchy and an RBI double from Otto Miller for Brooklyn.  In the seventh George Burns and Frankie Frisch each drive home runs en route to a 4-3 final at the Polo Grounds.

• RECORD: 91-61 (.599)
• 1st Place; 5.0 GA

100 Years Ago Today 9/28/1920: Brooklyn Robins Claim Second Pennant in Five Years

 From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS 

National League Standings: 9/28/1920
1) Brooklyn     90-60  *
2) New York    85-65  5 GB

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Pandemonium breaks out in Brooklyn as word from the Polo Grounds spreads throughout town.  It's official, the Robins make the jump from fifth place to National League champions.  Upon the final out in New York's game two loss yesterday against Boston, the idle Robins clinch their fifth National League  pennant and second in the last five years.  Brooklyn owns a five game lead over the Giants with only four games left on the schedule.  John McGraw's club does well to overcome the now unseated Cincinnati Reds.  Perhaps in any other season the Giants 18-9 September surge nets them better results.  The Giants even close to within 1.5 games of the Robins as recently as twenty days ago.  But there was just no slowing down the Robins who have thus far posted a 20-5 record in September.  At no time during the season did the Robins ever fall more than four games out of first.  McGraw's Giants this season have so far posted the most runs in the National League.  However, Wilbert Robinson's pitching staff owns the circuit's best ERA.  Uncle Robbie claims his second pennant since leaving the Giants and becoming manager of the Robins.  His relationship with John McGraw - known to hold a grudge - is no doubt headed towards an all-time low.  In his third full season, spitballer Burleigh Grimes leads the Robins with 22 victories and owns the league's best winning percentage.  At the plate, Zack Wheat, Hi Myers and Ed Konetchy are all batting above the .300 mark.  Myers presently leads the team with 83 RBI and for a second straight season is leading the circuit in triples.  Meanwhile, 30-year old Jimmy Johnston rewards Uncle Robbie's faith in him at third base with a .291 average in a team high 150 games.  Tomorrow the Robins and Giants commence a now inconsequential three game series at the Polo Grounds.  

For now, an uproarious celebration in the streets of Brooklyn continues ...

100 Years Ago Today 9/27/1920: New York Giants Bow Out of National League Race

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

All eyes were on the Polo Grounds.  New York on this day was supposed to be idle, like the Robins.  But with much ground to make up in the standings and so little time left, the Giants were forced to host a make-up twin bill against the Boston Braves.  Anything short of a sweep meant Brooklyn would clinch the National League pennant.  With two victories the Giants would host the Robins for three decisive games at the Polo Grounds.

Game #150: Monday, September 27, 1920, GAME ONE - BR
Boston Braves vs. New York Giants
Polo Grounds

Giants Stave Off Elimination; Art Nehf Wins Number Twenty-One

With Uncle Robbie no doubt hidden somewhere in the stands, John McGraw hands the ball to 20-game winner Art Nehf.  Frankie Frisch and Lee King in the fourth inning stake New York to a 2-0 lead and Nehf makes it hold.  In the midst of his best season, the Giants southpaw limits his former team mates to just one run on seven hits and one walk over nine innings full to earn his 21st win of the season.  Otherwise Braves starter Leo Townsend holds the Giants to just one earned run on four hits and a walk.  New York nevertheless evades elimination and pull within 4 1/2 games of the Robins with five to play.

Game #151: Monday, September 27, 1920, GAME TWO - BR
Boston Braves vs. New York Giants
Polo Grounds

Giants Fall Out of Race; Brooklyn Robins Clinch Second National League Pennant in Five Years!

Clearly in a bind, John McGraw calls upon 22-year old rookie Rosy Ryan to pitch game two.  The occasion marks just his third appearance of the season and his first since April.  Ryan duels the likewise little known and seldom used Al Pierotti, who is making just his fifth appearance of the season.  Boston opens the scoring in the first on Walter Holke's base hit.  Larry Doyle and Earl Smith join together in the fourth to tie the game at one.  In the Braves fifth, Al Pierotti aides his own cause with a run batted in.  With one out in the eighth Frankie Frisch ties the score with an inside the park home run launched deep into the right/center gap.  Into the ninth inning they go knotted at two apiece.  Nervousness among the 8,000 in attendance is palpable.  Leading off the top of the ninth, Braves third baseman Tony Boeckel deposits a Rosy Ryan offering deep into the left field stands.  Scattered pockets of Robins fans rejoice.  Pierotti in the bottom half of the ninth retires the Giants in order.  The loss leaves New York five games out of first with only four to play.  

Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn ....

100 Years Years Ago Today 9/26/1920: Brooklyn Robins One Game Away From Clinching Pennant

 From the desks of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #151: Sunday, September 26, 1920 - BR

New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Uncle Robbie and Rube Marquard Push McGraw's Giants to the Brink

Many times this season when Uncle Robbie needed Rube Marquard to win a big game, his old friend delivered in the clutch.  Today in front of a sold out Ebbets Field the soon to be 33-year old hurls what is to date perhaps the most heroic regular season victory in his Brooklyn career.  From the visitor's dugout an expressionless John McGraw offers no glimpse into his troubled mind as his former star pitcher helps reduce the Robins magic number to one.  Once inside the clubhouse a convivial Wilbert Robinson revels in his rival's defeat.  Twenty-one game winner Fred Toney starts for the Giants but comes nowhere near finishing.  Down a run, John McGraw pinch hits for Toney in the third.  Alex Gaston strikes out, but an error by third baseman Jimmy Johnston and a hits by Dave Bancroft and Ross Youngs tie the game at one.  In the Brooklyn seventh, reliever Phil Douglas walks the bases loaded.  Ivy Olson follows with a single to right scoring two runs.  The teams trade runs in the eighth.  Rube Marquard then retires the Giants in order in the ninth.  Brooklyn wins their 90th game of the season and an already uproarious Ebbets Field crowd goes wild.  Fans spill out onto the field and accompany Marquard on his triumphant march back towards the dugout.  The former Giants southpaw allows two runs, none earned, on just five hits and two walks with five strikeouts through a full nine innings.  He improves to 10-7 with a 3.31 ERA.  Hi Myers drives in two runs giving him 83 for the season.  Tomorrow the Robins are idle, while the Giants host a twin bill against the Boston Braves.  Anything other than a two game sweep and the Giants are through.  Should the Giants win out, they'll host Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds.

• RECORD: 90-60 (.600)
• 1st Place; 5.0 GA

100 Years Ago Today 9/25/1920: New York Giants Cut Brooklyn Robins Lead to Four

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #150: Saturday, September 25, 1920 - BR
New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Jesse Barnes Whitewashes Robins in Front of Capacity Crowd at Ebbets Field

John McGraw's Giants enter Ebbets Field like gangbusters.  To the great dismay of 28,000 Brooklyn partisans, New York scores early, often and late en route to an 8-0 whitewashing of the Robins.  The Giants waste no time affecting a 3-0 first inning lead against Brooklyn starter Burleigh Grimes with triples from Dave Bancroft and Frankie Frisch, and a home run off the bat of High Pockets Kelly.  Grimes loses his eleventh game of the season, yielding six runs on eleven hits and two walks in six innings pitched.  Giants starter Jesse Barnes allows just four hits and one walk through nine scoreless innings for his 19th victory of the season and a 2.71 ERA.  Frankie Frisch is 2 for 5 with two runs batted in and Ross Youngs is 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.  Ivy Olson, Tommy Griffith, Zack Wheat and Pete Kilduff account for Brooklyn's only hits.  With the victory the Giants cut Brooklyn's lead to four.  The Robins magic number remains at two.

• RECORD: 89-60 (.597)
• 1st Place; 4.0 GA

AMERICAN LEAGUE: BABE RUTH HITS HOME RUN #50 and #51 

Yesterday, while the Robins and Giants were idle, Babe Ruth hit his fiftieth and fifty-first home run of the season during the New York Yankees twin bill against the Washington Senators at the Polo Grounds A feat once unimaginable in the game of baseball, Ruth hits his first of the day in the first inning of game one, then connects again in the first inning of game two.  An uproarious crowd of 28,000 is on hand to witness history.  Today the Yankees bow to the Senators by a score a five to two, but remain three games out of first.  Meanwhile, the showdown in Cleveland between the White Sox and Indians concludes with Chicago taking the rubber game by a 5-1 final.  They now trail the Indians by one-half game.   The White Sox head back home to host the Tigers and the Indians now head to St. Louis.

 

100 Years Ago Today 9/23/1920: Brooklyn Robins and Giants Pause Before Showdown at Ebbets Field

From the desks of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS & LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

NO GAMES SCHEDULED: Thursday, September 23, 1920

Summer is officially behind us.  Cooler air and longer shadows loom ahead as Autumn takes its turn.  John McGraw knows time is short.  But to the dismay of an entire city a two day break in the schedule freezes the National League pennant race in place.  With the defending champion Cincinnati Reds now a distant third, local fans anxiously wait out the calm before the storm.

The New York Giants commute to Brooklyn this weekend for two games at Ebbets Field.  Burleigh Grimes (22-10) and Jesse Barnes (18-15) are tentatively set to start on Saturday.  Rube Marquard (9-7) and Fred Toney (21-11) are due to pitch Sunday.

Five of the Giants next seven games are against the Robins who hold a five game lead in the standings and own a magic number of two.  Should luck be on the Giants side and they survive these next four games against the Robins and Boston Braves, they stand to host three more games against Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds in a series that would ultimately crown a new National League champion.

1) - Brooklyn     89-59 (.601)
2) - New York    83-63 (.568)  5.0 GB

That is, unless Uncle Robbie beats em to it.  So hope the Flatbush faithful who have packed Ebbets Field in record numbers much to the delight of Charlie and the McKeever Brothers.  The club has far exceeded their previous attendance record of 447,747 set in 1916, the last season they captured the pennant.  Now John McGraw finds himself in a similar position trailing his former pitching coach and friend turned rival, Wilbert Robinson, whom he feels abandoned him for the Dodgers after the 1913 season.

The rivalry resumes Saturday.

100 Years Ago Today 9/22/1920: Brooklyn Robins Set For Showdown Versus New York Giants

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #149: Wednesday, September 22, 1920 - BR

Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Sherry Smith Gem Lowers Robins Magic Number to Two

Southpaw Sherry Smith puts forth the latest in a string of dominant performances by Robins hurlers.  If not for a dropped third strike by Otto Miller in the sixth inning allowing John Sullivan to score from third, Sherry otherwise whitewashes the Braves on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts through nine innings full.  He improves his record to 11-9 with a stellar 1.93 ERA.  Jimmy Johnston's hit in the third opens the scoring.  Ed Konetchey doubles leading off the fifth and Otto Miller redeems himself with a hit and run batted in.  Konetchy again seals the deal with his fourth home run in the eighth.  Brooklyn's magic number is now two.  The two teams are idle until Saturday when the New York Giants arrive at Ebbets Field to commence the final and perhaps conclusive showdown of the 1920 season.  New York defeats the Cubs at the Polo Grounds and will head to Brooklyn five games out of first place.  Meanwhile, the defending champion Reds are fading fast.  They drop a twin bill at Forbes Field to fall 9.5 games back behind the Robins.

• RECORD: 89-59 (.601)
• 1st Place; 5.0 GA

The AMERICAN LEAGUE IS IDLE

• Cleveland owns a 1.5 game lead over the Chicago White Sox, and a three game lead over the New York Yankees.

100 Years Ago Today 9/21/1920: New York Giants Gain on Idle Brooklyn Robins

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUM

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

The Robins are so far 18-4 this September with seven games left to play.  They've never been more than 3.5 games out of first place all season.  Yesterday they conclude a two game sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates to extend their first place lead by 5.5 games over the Giants, who have three more games than Brooklyn remaining on their schedule.  Although, the Brooks magic number is now down to three.  Any combination of Robins wins and Giants losses equalling three gives Brooklyn their second National League pennant in five years.  They resume play on Wednesday with one game against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field before hosting the New York Giants this coming weekend.  Today the Brooklyn Robins (88-59) are idle.

From the desk of: LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

Game #146: Tuesday, September 21, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. New York Giants
Polo Grounds

Fred Toney Hurls Gem Over Defending Champions; Giants Five Games Back

New York defeats the Reds and take the series three games to one to push the defending champions even further down the standings.  Cincinnati is now eight games out of first.  Starter Fred Toney outclasses novice Buddy Napier who decides today he'll render the finest performance of his spotty major league career.  After trading goose eggs through six, Ross Youngs walks leading off the bottom of the seventh then advances to third of Frankie Frisch's base hit back through the middle.  With no outs and runners at the corners, High Pockets Kelly grounds to second, Youngs scores on the play.  That's all New York would need.  Fred Toney limits Cincinnati to just three hits and two walks over nine shutout innings.  He improves to 21-11 with a 2.59 ERA.  The victory chops a half game away from Brooklyn's lead.  The Giants are now five out, but Brooklyn owns a magic number of three.  The Chicago Cubs visit tomorrow for one game at the Polo Grounds.

• RECORD: 82-63 (.566)
• 2nd Place; 5.0 GB

AMERICAN LEAGUE

• The New York Yankees defeat the Browns by an 8-3 final at St. Louis.  A rambunctious Babe Ruth goes 3 for 4, with a double, triple, and two runs batted in.  He now has 128 for the season and is still sitting on forty-nine home runs.  His last swat was seven games ago.  Duffy Lewis goes 3 for 4, with three runs batted in.  Bob Shawkey wins his 19th against twelve losses with a 2.45 ERA.  However, the Highlanders gain no ground.  They remain three full games out of first as the Indians complete a three game sweep of the Red Sox, and the White Sox likewise complete a three game sweep of the Athletics to stay 1.5 games behind the Indians.

100 Years Ago Today 9/20/1920: Brooklyn Robins Increase Lead Over New York Giants

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS 

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #148: Monday, September 20, 1920 - BR
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Leon Cadore and Al Mamaux Outlast Pirates: Robins Magic Number Down to Three

Leon Cadore and Pittsburgh's Earl Hamilton trade goose eggs for six innings.  Wilbert Robinson proactively removes Cadore and inserts a fresh Al Mamaux into the game for the seventh.  Hamilton, meanwhile, remains on the mound for Pittsburgh, something manager George Gibson would later rue.  The game remains scoreless through the eighth.  In the Pirates ninth, rookie Pie Traynor leads off with a double then scores the go-ahead run on Carson Bigbee's hit to center.  With one out in the home ninth, Ed Konetchy connects against Hamilton on his third home run for the season, tying the game at one.  Mamaux retires the Pirates in the tenth.  In the bottom half of the frame Bernie Neis slaps a one out single, and with two outs Hi Myers drives him home with a double to right.  For Myers, it's his team leading 81st run batted in.  Cadore yields seven hits and just one walk through six scoreless innings.  Al Mamaux allows just three hits and strikes out three to earn his eleventh win.  The Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants split a twin bill at the Polo Grounds.  Brooklyn improves to 18-4 in September.  They lead the Giants by 5.5 games, and hold a 6.5 game lead over the Reds with seven games left in their season.

• RECORD: 88-59 (.599)
• 1st Place; 5.5 GA

AMERICAN LEAGUE

• The Yankees snap a four game losing streak winning in extra-innings at St. Louis.  With one out in the eleventh, shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh lays down a successful squeeze bunt as Babe Ruth crosses the plate with the go ahead run.  Carl Mays pitches all eleven innings for his 25th victory of the season.  New York remains three games out of the top spot.  The Indians take their second straight from the Red Sox to maintain their 1.5 game lead over the White Sox, who defeat the Athletics at Comiskey Park.

100 Years Ago Today 9/19/1920: Brooklyn Robins Maintain Five Game Lead Over New York Giants

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #147: Sunday, September 19, 1920 - BR
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field 

Jeff Pfeffer Outlasts Wilbur Cooper

Gripped with pennant fever, 25,000 boisterous fans pack Ebbets Field for the first of two games against the Pirates.  Jeff Pfeffer toes the rubber against 23-game winner Wilbur Cooper.  Both teams trade a pair of runs in the first.  Pittsburgh gets runs batted in from Billy Southworth and Bill McKenchie and the Robins score on runs batted in from Zack Wheat and Hi Myers.  They trade tallies again in the sixth on a run batted in from George Cutshaw and a leadoff home run to deep left off the bat of Jimmy Johnston.  Pfeffer and Cooper trade goose eggs for the next two innings as the game enters the final frame tied at three.  Pfeffer pitches in and out of trouble in the top half of the frame.  In the home ninth Bernie Neis greets Wilbur Cooper with a leadoff double.  With Zack Wheat at the plate, Neis steals second base but the throw from catcher Walter Schmidt escapes into centerfield.  Bernie Neis comes around to score the winning run, and the place goes nuts.  Smith earns his sixteenth win of the season.  After starting the first three months of the season with a 3-8 record an 3.18 ERA, Pfeffer since July has posted a stellar 13-1 record with a lowered 3.04 earned run average.  Today he yields three runs on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts through nine innings complete.  Elsewhere, the Giants defeat the Reds in eleven innings at the Polo Grounds.  Cincinnati now falls seven games out of first, while the Giants creep within five.  New York has twelve games remaining and Brooklyn has eight.

• RECORD:87-59 (.596)
• 1st Place; 5.0 GA

AMERICAN LEAGUE

• The Yankees lose their fourth straight.  Today they bow to the Browns at St. Louis to fall three games back of first place.  The White Sox, with their accused eight still in uniform, defeat the Athletics at Comiskey.  However, Cleveland whitewashes the Red Sox at League Park to remain 1.5 games in first.

100 Years Ago Today 9/18/1920: Packed Ebbets Field Watches Brooklyn Robins Bow to Reds

 From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #146: Saturday, September 18, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Reds Salvage Series Finale

Brooklyn does well to overcome a five run deficit.  Tommy Griffith's three run home run sparks a five run fifth and gives the Robins new life.  With starter Rube Marquard off the hook, Uncle Robbie decides to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Cincinnati.  Al Mamaux, Sherry Smith, Burleigh Grimes and Clarence Mitchell all pitch in short relief, but to no avail.  The Reds generate six more runs but only two are earned en route to an 11-5 victory.  Hi Myers is 1 for 3 with a double and his 79th run batted in.  Marquard yields five runs on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts through 5.1 innings.  Sherry Smith is tagged with the loss.  The Giants defeat the Pirates for a third straight game at the Polo Grounds and close within five games of first place.  The Reds are six games out.  Brooklyn has nine games left to play, the Giants have thirteen.

• RECORD: 86-59 (.593)
• 1st place; 5.0 GA

AMERICAN LEAGUE

• Still featuring a full compliment of players and Eddie Cicotte on the mound, the beleaguered White Sox roll to a 15-9 victory over the Yankees at Comiskey Park.  Cicotte wins his 19th against ten losses with a 3.44 ERA.  Bob Shawkey on the other hand is denied his 19th victory.  He now stands at 18-12 with a 2.44 ERA.  After winning five straight to gain first place the Yankees have now lost three in a row.  Today they get knocked down to third place, 2.0 games back of the Cleveland Indians.  Chicago is 1.5 games back.