In the aftermath of the United States’ entry into World War I in 1917, a U.S. government edict called for the end of major-league baseball’s 1918 regular season by Labor Day and the playing of the World Series immediately thereafter. Accordingly, the 1918 Series was a late-summer classic that ran from September 5 through September 11.
Whatever its seasonal designation, baseball’s big event was a big success story for the Boston Red Sox. Four times the Red Sox had appeared in the Series, and four times they had won it. Hopes of making it five for five rested on the strong right arms of Carl Mays, Sad Sam Jones and Bullet Joe Bush and the multi-talents of Babe Ruth.
Manager Ed Barrow’s Red Sox got 21 victories from Mays, 16 from Jones and 15 from Bush in winning the shortened American League race with a 75-51 record. Ruth, seeing his first significant duty in the outfield while still making 19 pitching starts, chipped in with 13 victories, a .300 batting average and 11 home runs (tied for the league lead).
First baseman Stuffy McInnis, outfielder Amos Strunk and catcher Wally Schang, obtained along with Bush in trades with the Athletics, were key additions for Boston.
The National League champions were the Chicago Cubs (84-45), who boasted 20-game winners in Hippo Vaughn (his 22 victories led the NL) and Claude Hendrix and received 19-victory production from Lefty Tyler. Charlie Hollocher, Chicago’s rookie shortstop, was the fourth-best hitter in the league, batting .316.
Many big-league standouts, of course, missed the 1918 season because of military duty. And while the Red Sox and Cubs, as a result, may not have quite measured up to previous Series teams, they put on a spirited battle for baseball’s top prize.
The World Series opened at, of all places, Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox. While the Red Sox had chosen Braves Field over their own Fenway Park as home grounds in their previous two Series appearances, it was the National League team that switched home bases in this go-round. The Cubs’ decision to play Series games at Comiskey instead of Weeghman Park (later Wrigley Field) was based on greater seating capacity.
Ruth, who threw 13 consecutive scoreless innings in his only previous Series pitching appearance two years earlier, extended his shutout streak to 22 innings by outdueling Vaughn, 1-0, in Game 1, which featured only 11 hits — all singles. Tyler squared the Series the next day, pitching a six-hitter and collecting a two-run single in a 3-1 decision.
Vaughn was a hard-luck loser again in Game 3, losing 2-1 to Mays and the Red Sox. The final out came when the Cubs’ Charlie Pick was caught in a rundown between third and home while trying to score from second base on a passed ball. Boston surged ahead three games to one. Then it was up to Ruth, increased his Series scoreless streak to 29 innings, a record, in a 3-2 victory. Ruth batted sixth in the order and delivered the big hit, a two-run triple in the fourth inning.
Manager Fred Mitchell’s Cubs received a big lift from Vaughn in Game 5. Having allowed three runs and 12 hits in 18 innings in his previous two starts but possessor of a 0-2 record, Vaughn reached back for even a little more and baffled Boston, 3-0, on five hits. Dode Paskert’s two-run double in the eighth provided Vaughn with some breathing room. But the Cubs were done. Mays supplied the finishing touch in the form of a three-hit, 2-1 triumph in a game that was delayed as players haggled over gate receipts. (Series shares would be reduced drastically because, for the first time, all first-division clubs shared in the revenue.)
And the Red Sox were 5-0 in Series competition.
To say that pitching dominated the 1918 World Series would be a gross understatement. Neither team scored more than three runs in a game. The winning Red Sox batted .186, the Cubs .210. There were no home runs in the six games. Boston pitchers combined for a 1.70 ERA; Chicago’s staff (minus Grover Cleveland Alexander, who went to war early in the season) a 1.04.
Considering the wartime scenario, player depletion and shortened season, it wasn’t a bad late-summer classic.
This article was originally published on TSN
Game Recaps from Retrosheet
1918 World Series Stories
The 1918 Post-Season Games
World Series: Boston Red Sox (4) defeated Chicago Cubs (2)
World Series Game 1 Played on Thursday, September 5, 1918 (D) at Comiskey Park I
BOS A 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 0 CHI N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 0
BOX+PBP WP: Ruth (1-0) LP: Vaughn (0-1)
World Series Game 2 Played on Friday, September 6, 1918 (D) at Comiskey Park I
BOS A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 6 1 CHI N 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 7 1
BOX+PBP WP: Tyler (1-0) LP: Bush (0-1)
World Series Game 3 Played on Saturday, September 7, 1918 (D) at Comiskey Park I
BOS A 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 7 0 CHI N 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 7 2
BOX+PBP WP: Mays (1-0) LP: Vaughn (0-2)
World Series Game 4 Played on Monday, September 9, 1918 (D) at Fenway Park
CHI N 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 7 1 BOS A 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 x - 3 4 0
BOX+PBP WP: Ruth (2-0) LP: Douglas (0-1) SV: Bush (1)
World Series Game 5 Played on Tuesday, September 10, 1918 (D) at Fenway Park
CHI N 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 3 7 0 BOS A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 0
BOX+PBP WP: Vaughn (1-2) LP: Jones (0-1)
World Series Game 6 Played on Wednesday, September 11, 1918 (D) at Fenway Park
CHI N 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 2 BOS A 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 x - 2 5 0
BOX+PBP WP: Mays (2-0) LP: Tyler (1-1)
