When Giants' manager John McGraw saw the lack of paying customers, he and Athletics' captain Lave Cross decided to call Game 3 of the 1905 World Series
The numbers are different, the times are different, the participants are different, but the objective doesn’t change. The name of the game was, is, and always will be “Money.”
The Giants and Athletics Exchanged 3-0 Shutouts
The New York Giants played the Philadelphia Athletics for the national championship in 1905, a best of series that became known as the World Series. In the first game in the City of Brotherly Love, the Giants, behind 31-game winner Christy Mathewson, shut out the locals, 3-0. The Athletics returned the favor the next day as Chief Bender shut out the Giants, 3-0 in New York.
McGraw and Cross Had a Conference
After the game, the teams took the train back to Philadelphia for the pivotal third game. October 11 was a cloudy day with a dark, ominous sky that kept the fans away. Only about 4,000 of the faithful showed up for the contest. When Giants’ manager John McGraw saw the lack of paying customers, he called a conference with Athletics’ captain Lave Cross. Newspapers were different in 1905. They reported the news.
$2,000 Was Not Enough
McGraw and Cross figured that at 75 cents a person, the receipts would be about $2,000 after expenses. The two men left the conference room under the stands and went onto the field. They looked at the threatening sky and then at the sparse crowd. They decided that it was going to rain and that they would play the game the next day, when the weather was predicted to be good and the crowd was expected to be about 17,000.
The Umpires Made a Great Demonstration of Holding a Conference
Upon seeing McGraw and Cross, and realizing their decision, the two umpires toured the field. They remained near first base for a few minutes and then they “made a great demonstration of holding an important conference” as the crowd expressed its desire for the game to begin. One of the umpires, Mr. Sheridan, walked to the front of the grandstand and announced the decision.
“Ladies and Gentlemen: As this series is a very important one, and as the grounds are wet, we have decided to call the game.”
Fans Didn't Know the Real Reason
The fans’ first reaction was one of dissatisfaction, but that quickly dissipated when they realized that they would receive rain checks good for the next day. They never knew that the Giants and the Athletics, and not those symbols of integrity, the umpires, had decided to call the game because the teams could make more money the next day. Today, the commissioner or his representative would make the decision. One can speculate if it would be different.
Not a Liar
No one, not even to this day, could call umpire Sheridan a liar. He said, “we have decided to call the game,” and he was right. How could anyone know that the reason was not wet grounds but a lack of profits, as reported the next day in the newspapers?
Honesty and Truth?
In 2007, we have after-game press conferences, interviews, and locker room shows ad nauseum, but the truth is harder to find than ever before. In 1905, after Game 3 was postponed, the truth was reported without fanfare. McGraw, Cross, and the two umpires put on their charade, but reporters wrote what really happened. It is hard to imagine ESPN or Fox Sports or TBS or the New York Times blaring that the “Excuse Offered Was Rain and the Crowd Accepted It.” How refreshing it would feel if such honesty were allowed to occur today – but it’s not.
Reference:
“Baseball Contest off; The Crowd Too Small; $2,000 Gate Receipts Not Enough for the Giants and Athletics. Excuse Offered Was Rain and the Philadelphia Crowd Accepted It.” New York Times. 12 October 1905, p.7
