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The 1915 Phillies vs. Red Sox World Series

Philadelphia Faced Boston in Hard Fought Fall Classic

Oct 11, 2008

The current favorites to meet in the 2008 World Series first hooked up in the fall classic almost 100 years ago.

The first Philadelphia Phillies team to play in the postseason was the 1915 squad, who won the pennant by seven games over the defending world champion Boston Braves.

Two Great Pitching Staffs

On offense, the Phillies were led by outfielder Gavvy Cravath, a six-time home run champion, who hit .285 with 24 home runs and 115 RBI. Cravath’s 24 home runs set the modern (post-1900) Major league record, a mark broken that was by Babe Ruth in 1919. The real stength of the Phillies was their pitching staff, which was led by a 28-year old righthander named Grover Cleveland Alexander. In 1915, Alexander won the Major League pitching triple crown with 31 wins, a 1.28 ERA, and 241 strikeouts.

The Red Sox were also led by their pitching. Their starting rotation was a who's who of dead ball pitchers: Smokey Joe Wood, Babe Ruth, Rube Foster, Ernie Shore and Dutch Leonard. Each won at least 15 games and none had an ERA higher than Ruth's 2.44.

The Red Sox Were the Heavy Favorites

The baseball media didn’t give the Phillies much of a chance. Hall of Fame scribe Hugh Fullerton of The New York Times wrote of the matchup: “Boston’s Red Sox are better . . . they have much better attacking power, greater defensive ability, better pitching strength . . . man for man, they outclass the National League champions.” The only chance the Phillies had, Fullerton predicted, was if Alexander could win three games.

A Hard Fought Series

Alexander started Game 1 in Philadelphia’s old Baker Bowl against Boston’s Ernie Shore, a 19-game winner. Alexander scattered eight hits over nine innings, but surrendered only run. The Phillies scored three runs against Shore, their first run coming on an RBI single by Possum Witted in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the eighth inning, with th score tied at one, the Phillies put together a two run rally, and went on to win the game 3-1. (Babe Ruth pinch hit with one out in the top of the ninth, but could only manage a groundout against Alexander. It was Ruth’s only appearance in the Series.

Game 2 was another pitching duel: Erskine Mayer of the Phillies against Boston’s Rube Foster. Both pitchers held the opposition to one run through eight innings. In the top of the ninth, Foster broke the tie with an RBI single that scored Larry Gardner. He then retired the Phillies in order in the bottom of the ninth, and the Series was tied. President Woodrow Wilson watched the entire game from the stands, making him the first president to attend a World Series game.

The next two games were played at Braves Field in Boston. Fenway Park had been open since 1912, but the Sox chose to play their home games at the larger Braves Field, which could seat more than 42,000 fans.

Manager Pat Moran sent Alexander back to the mound on just two days rest. The Red Sox went with 15-game winner Dutch Leonard. As in Game 2, both pitchers held the other team to a solitary run for eight innings. Leonard shut down the Phillies in the top of the ninth, but Alexander could not do the same against Boston. He managed to get two outs, but ultimately lost the game when Duffy Lewis singled home Harry Hooper to seal the 2-1 win for Boston.

The Red Sox also took Game 4 by a score of 2-1. Ernie Shore, who’d been on the losing end in Game 1 of the Series, took the win and George Chalmers the loss.

Facing elimination, Philadelphia rested their fate on the shoulders of Erskine Mayer. The Phillies got off to a fast start; Fred Luderus doubled home two runs in the bottom of the first inning. But the Sox scored once each in the second and third innings to tie the game at two. Manager Pat Moran then pulled Mayer, after only 2 1/3 innings, and sent young Eppa Rixey to the mound.

In the bottom of the fourth, Fred Luderus (who hit .438 with 6 RBI in the Series), homered over the 280-foot right field wall. Two batters later, Ed Burns added an RBI single and the Phillies led 4-2.

In the top of the eighth inning, Rixey, who had kept Boston’s lineup in check for almost five innings, surrendered a triple to first baseman Del Gainer, and then let up a home run to Duffy Lewis that tied the game at four apiece. One inning later, Harry Hooper hit a fastball over the center field fence, putting the Red Sox ahead 5-4. The Phillies went down quietly in the ninth inning. The Red Sox were the World Series champions.

The day after the Series ended, Fullerton claimed that his prediction was right on the money; that the Series proved how dominant the Red Sox were as a team. Not everyone agreed with Fullerton’s analysis of the Series. Both managers raved about the effort put forth by their opponent, each saying that they believed the Series would go down in history as one of the hardest ever fought.

Red Sox manager Bill Carrigan heaped praise upon the vanquished. “We encountered masterful pitching from [the Phillies] staff. I wish the Phillies all kinds of luck and hope they win the pennant in their League next season.”

Unfortunately for Phillies fans, the team did not win the pennant in 1915. In fact, the Phillies didn’t win another National League championship until 1950, when Richie Ashburn led the Whiz Kids to the title.

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