Major League Baseball Season Recap 1905

1905,The 1905 season belonged to Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants. After capping the regular season by winning pitching’s version of the Triple Crown (31-9, 1.28 ERA, 206 Ks), he shut out the Philadelphia Athletics three times in the World Series to carry New York to the title. The 24-year-old Mathewson got plenty of help from a Giants lineup that topped the league in hitting, led by Mike Donlin (.356). Cy Seymour of Cincinnati led all players with a .377 average and 121 RBI. Pittsburgh SS Honus Wagner hit .363, but the Pirates finished 9 games behind the Giants.

The Athletics held off the Chicago White Sox to win the American League crown by 2 games. Philadelphia took two of three from the Sox in a crucial series in late September, then won five games in a row to salt away the pennant. In a down year for hitters in the AL, the Athletics had no .300 hitters and led the league with a team batting average of .255. Rube Waddell was brilliant on the mound for Philadelphia, matching Mathewson by leading his league in wins (26), ERA (1.48), and strikeouts (287), and Eddie Plank won another 25 games for the Athletics. Cleveland, in fifth place, boasted the league’s top batter, Elmer Flick, who hit just .308.

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1905

Ty Cobb
Hal Chase
Mickey Doolan
Otto Knabe
Al Bridwell
Rube Oldring
Eddie Cicotte
Ed Reulbach
George Gibson

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World Series – New York Giants NL over Philadelphia A’s AL 4 games to 1

The stories that shaped the year:

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January 14, 1905

New York Giants owner John T. Brush, who refused to play the American League pennant winners Boston Americans in 1904, proposes rules governing future World Series.

January 16, 1905

Boston Americans buy outfielder George Stone from the Washington Senators

February 7, 1905

Rube Waddell prevents a fire by carrying a burning stove out of a store and throwing it into a snow bank

February 15, 1905

Accused of throwing games, St. Louis Cardinals righthander Jack Taylor is acquitted by the National League Board of Directors in New York, but he is found guilty of bad conduct and fined $300.

February 25, 1905

The Chicago Cubs go to Santa Monica, California for spring training, while most clubs go south or stay close to home.

March 22, 1905

Dodgers cut Ned Hanlon pay in half

April 26, 1905

Jack McCarthy records 3 Double Plays a record for outfielders

May 10, 1905

Pitching for the Waco Tigers, John Lower gives up a hit in the 1st inning, then allows no hits over the last 14 innings of the game.

May 15, 1905

Dummy Taylor and the Giants edge the Chicago Cubs, 1 – 0, the first of three straight collars by Giants pitchers.

May 16, 1905

Red Ames stops Chicago, 4 – 0, the third shutout in a row over Chicago by the Giants.

May 17, 1905

Waseda University of Tokyo defeats Los Angeles High School, 5 – 3, in the first game of an American tour. It is the first baseball game ever played by Japanese outside Japan. Waseda started a powerhouse tradition at Japan’s Big Six universities that continues to this day.

May 23, 1905

Paced by Bill Dahlen’s two home runs‚ the Giants scrub Orval Overall for a 7 – 0 win over the Reds. Christy Mathewson strikes out 8 and allows just 3 singles for the win.

May 29, 1905

Elmer Stricklett throws a “mystery pitch” believed to be the first spitball

June 2, 1905

1905 – The New York Giants score five runs in the 13th inning to beat the host Boston Beaneaters, 8 – 3, and give pitcher Red Ames his ninth win of the season.

June 7, 1905

1905 – At Exposition Park, New York Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson beats Patsy Flaherty and the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 – 3. Mathewson drives in an insurance run in the 9th inning with his second hit of the game.

June 8, 1905

Alice Roosevelt attends Reds game meets future husband

June 10, 1905

The host Athletics outslug the Tigers‚ 15 – 8.

June 13, 1905

Christy Mathewson pitches his second no-hitter only an error costs him a perfect game

June 20, 1905

A young woman sues the Giants for $500 for injury suffered when a foul ball hit her at a game at the Polo Grounds

June 24, 1905

Chicago Cubs rookie right-hander Ed Reulbach wins an 18-inning marathon duel with the Cards’ Jack Taylor, 2 – 1, in St. Louis. First baseman Frank Chance has 27 putoutsand two assists for Chicago.

June 24, 1905

Christy Mathewson hits his own walkoff and gets the win

June 29, 1905

Moonlight Graham makes his only appearance

June 30, 1905

Nap Lajoie is sidelined by blood poisoning from neglect of a spike wound

June 30, 1905

At New York, Eddie Plank is removed with no outs in the 9th inning and the A’s leading, 7 – 4. Rube Waddell comes in and retires the side to preserve the A’s victory.

July 1, 1905

White Sox P Frank Owen narrowly misses becoming the first to pitch a doubleheader shutout as the Browns score two runs off him in the two games. The Sox win, 3 – 2 and 3 – 0.

July 4, 1905

The Cardinals trade INF Dave Brain to Pittsburgh for George McBride.

July 4, 1905

In an A.M.-P.M, doubleheader between Boston and Philadelphia, the A’s take the morning game, 5 – 2, using pitchers Eddie Plank, Andy Coakley and Rube Waddell on the mound to beat Jesse Tannehill. The afternoon contest proves a classic as Philadelphia’s Waddell bests Cy Young in a 20-inning marathon, when the Athletics prevail, 4 – 2. Boston outhits the A’s, 15 to 13, but the 38-year-old Young loses on an error, hit batsman and two hits. Young walks nobody in the 20 innings, while 1B Bob Unglaub records 31 putouts. Philadelphia C Ossee Schreckengost works 28 innings in one day, a major league record.

July 4, 1905

At the Baker Bowl, the Phillies split with the Giants, winning the first game, 2 – 0, as Jack Sutthoff outpitches Christy Mathewson. Sutthoff allows just three hits. Joe McGinnityearns the split in the nitecap with a 6 – 3 victory.

July 4, 1905

Bugs Raymond of the Charleston Sea Gulls (South Atlantic League), pitches the morning and afternoon games of a doubleheader, throwing a no-hitter in each game.

July 4, 1905

Rube Waddell beats Cy Young and the Americans, 4-2, when the A’s score two runs in the 20th inning. Both of the future Hall of Fame hurlers go the distance in the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds marathon.https://amzn.to/2lUkEmL

July 12, 1905

The Detroit Tigers beat New York, 6 – 3, with the help of two errors by Highlander 1B Jack Doyle. The vet Doyle was signed yesterday and this will be his only appearance for New York.

July 12, 1905

Chicago’s Three-Finger Brown scores the first of nine straight wins over Christy Mathewson

July 13, 1905

The Philadelphia A’s “sell” catcher Mike “Doc” Powers to the New York Highlanders. Powers will be sold back to the A’s on August 7th. Powers is needed to replace back-up C Red Kleinow, injured yesterday in a game with Detroit. Powers will play mainly at 1B, replacing Hal Chase whose nose was broken in the Detroit game.

July 14, 1905

With runners on first base and third base and no outs in the 9th, Boston’s Ed Abbaticchio lines into a game-ending triple play against the Cincinnati Reds’ Bob Ewing.

July 15, 1905

In New York, the Giants open a four-game series against the 2nd-place Pittsburgh Pirates by staking Joe McGinnity to a 6 – 0 lead. But the Bucs score two in the 6th and five runs in the 7th inning before Iron Joe is lifted. Christy Mathewson shuts out Pittsburgh over the last 2 2/3 inning and the Giants score a deuce in the 9th on a two-run homer by George Browne. Browne is carried off the field by the ecstatic fans after the 8 – 7 win. Pittsburgh takes the nitecap, 3 – 0, behind Deacon Phillippe’s four-hitter. Honus Wagner secures the victory with a two-run homer onto the elevated tracks in the 8th inning.

July 16, 1905

The Pirates edge the Giants, 2 – 1, overcoming the pitching of Christy Mathewson, who is knocked over by Fred Clarke in a play at first base. Six Giants are tossed out of the coaching box during the game. Pittsburgh now trails New York by six games.

July 18, 1905

1905 – The Pirates tally eight hits including a home run, over seven innings against Christy Mathewson, to win, 2 – 1. The game is briefly stopped by umpire Jim Johnstone after a Giants fan tosses a pop bottle at Pirate RF Otis Clymer while he’s chasing down a single.

July 19, 1905

1905 – The Pirates pull to within five games of New York by overcoming a 5 – 2 deficit and beating the Giants, 8 – 5. Umpire Bill Klem provokes a barrage of garbage from the New York fans by tossing Dan McGann and Mike Donlin out of the game for abusive behavior.

July 20, 1905

Phil Lewis sets the error record with 5 at Short in 18 chances

July 22, 1905

Weldon Henley of the Athletics, who will win four games all year, fires a no-hitter against the 7th-place St. Louis Browns

July 24, 1905

1905 – Giant LF Sam Mertes makes an unassisted double play to help New York stop the Reds, 4 – 3, at the Polo Grounds. In the 2nd inning, the Reds have one out and a runner on third base, outfielder Cy Seymour, once a pitcher for the Giants. Mertes catches a short fly off the bat of George Schlei and continues running to double off Cy.

July 25, 1905

Reds catcher Ed Phelps is knocked unconscious when he is struck by the back swing of Sam Mertes

July 25, 1905

Jimmy Sheckard ended the bottom of the seventh by striking out and started the eighth with a walk

July 31, 1905

Charles Taft, owner of the Cincinnati Times-Star and brother of a future president, finances Charles W. Murphy’s purchase of the Chicago Cubs for $125,000.

August 1, 1905

Cubs manager Frank Selee resigns and is replaced by Frank Chance, who is elected manager in a narrow vote among the players. Selee, suffering from tuberculosis, had not been making road trips, and Chance has been serving as road manager. Selee, who fashioned the team that will dominate the second half of the decade, retires to Colorado. The visiting Phillies overcome a 5 – 0 deficit to down Chicago, 7 – 6, in 11 innings.

August 1, 1905

The Giants win their 12th in a row, and 11th straight against Cincinnati, 10 – 5. The Pirates will end the streak at 13 on August 3rd, but the Giants will win the pennant easily, nine games ahead of Pittsburgh.

August 1, 1905

Cleveland “loans” catcher Nig Clarke to Detroit. He’ll be returned to Cleveland on August 11th. He’s the third catcher this year to be sold, then returned to his original team.

August 2, 1905

Giants win their 13th game in a row, Pirates Honus Wagner gets tosses and will be suspended for three games and fined $40.

August 2, 1905

The Athletics go into first place as Rube Waddell beats the White Sox, 4 – 3, fanning 14. He will lead the American League with 287 strikeouts, the 4th of 6 straight seasons when he tops the league.

August 4, 1905

The Highlanders field a unique battery: Doc Newton pitching and Mike “Doc” Powers catching, but only Powers is a physician. The Highlanders beat St. Louis, 7 – 3.

August 4, 1905

At Boston, Harvard Eddie Grant makes his major league debut, collecting three hits for Cleveland. But Boston wins, 7 – 5. Grant will go hitless tomorrow in an 8 – 4 loss to Cy Young, and be sent down to the minors. He’ll resurface with the Phillies in 1907.

August 5, 1905

Highlanders 1B Hal Chase has a record 38 putouts in a doubleheader sweep versus the visiting Browns. The Highlanders win, 3 – 1 and 6 – 5.

August 5, 1905

The Reds score eight runs in the 1st en route to a 19 – 6 win over Brooklyn. Miller Huggins scores five runs for Cincinnati.

August 5, 1905

Umpire George Bausewine is once again in the middle of controversy, forfeiting a game to the Pirates with the score tied 5 – 5 in the 9th when the Giants argue too long over his safe call at third base. New York will appeal the forfeiture, but on August 26 National League President Harry Pulliam will uphold the ump’s decision. By the rules of the day, Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson is charged with the loss.

August 8, 1905

Dave Brain‚ who hit three triples in a game in Pittsburgh for St. Louis on May 29th‚ repeats the performance for Pittsburgh against visiting Boston. The Pirates win in 10 innings‚ 5 – 4‚ with Brain’s triples coming in the first 9 innings. He is the only major league player to perform the feat twice in one season. The two performances also ties the career major league record: no one else in the 20th century will have two three-triple games in his career.

August 8, 1905

In Chicago‚ the Cubs notch 6 hits and 3 runs off Dummy Taylor‚ but the Giants still lead 4 – 3 in the bottom of the 4th‚ when John McGraw lifts the pitcher for Christy Mathewson. Matty shuts out Chicago over the last 5+ innings‚ but the win goes to Taylor. By today’s standards the win would go to Mathewson‚ since Taylor did not last through the first 5 innings.

August 9, 1905

Mistaking her husband for a burglar, the mother of minor league outfielder Ty Cobb shoots and kills him

August 9, 1905

In Pittsburgh, Bill Klem narrowly escapes a beating at the hands of gamblers. The heavily-favored Pirates are down, 5 – 2, in the 9th inning against Boston when a number of Pirates start mocking Klem’s flamboyant calls. The rookie umpire chases them down and fines each $10, thereby incurring the wrath of the gamblers, who go looking for Klem. He wisely hides in the ladies’ room.

August 10, 1905

In a great pitching duel, New York ace Christy Mathewson allows three Chicago hits, while the Giants manage just four off Ed Reulbach. New York tallies an unearned run in the 6th for the game’s only score.

August 10, 1905

Catchers are not expected to hit triples, but Boston Beaneater backstop Pat Moran legs out a trio of three-base hits against the Pirates.

August 11, 1905

8/11/1905 – Brooklyn was visiting Chicago. Catcher Bill Bergin struck out to end the fifth inning but then came up again to start the sixth. He singled and eventually scored but the Cubs won, 3-2.

August 15, 1905

The A’s Rube Waddell is the whole show today as he hurls a five-inning no-hitter over the Browns. The A’s are ahead, 2 – 0, when the rain starts pouring after the A’s bat in the 5th. Waddell strikes out nine batters, and three more bounce out to Waddell. The one runner reaches on Rube’s error.

August 17, 1905

Christy Mathewson picks up his 20th win

August 21, 1905

The Giants run past the Pirates, 10 – 2, with Christy Mathewson defeating Deacon Phillippe. New York swipes five bases including a steal of home by Art Devlin.

August 22, 1905

1905 – Umpire John Sheridan forfeits a game to Washington in the 11th when the Tigers refuse to resume play after a lengthy dispute. Washington is ahead 2 – 1 at the time of the forfeiture.

August 24, 1905

The Giants win their 12th straight over the Reds, as Christy Mathewson wins easily, 8 – 0. Matty allows two scratch hits. The second game is called on account of darkness, 6 – 6, after nine innings.

August 24, 1905

In Philadelphia, the Cubs defeat the Phillies in 20 innings, 2 – 1, with Ed Reulbach going the distance for Chicago.

August 26, 1905

1905 – The Giants beat up on the Reds again, winning 2 – 0 and 6 – 5. New York scores four runs in the nitecap on wild pitches by Orval Overall, but when the Reds load the bases with no outs in the 9th, Christy Mathewson relieves Dummy Taylor and gets three straight outs.

August 28, 1905

1905 – The Giants beat the Cards, 8 – 1, with Christy Mathewson outpitching Jake Thielman. New York leads the Pirates by 8 1/2 games.

August 30, 1905

In his first major league at-bat, 18 year-old center fielder Ty Cobb doubles off Jack Chesbro

September 1, 1905

At the Polo Grounds‚ Christy Mathewson allows 3 hits‚ strikes out 9 and allows no earned runs as New York whips the Phillies‚ 4 – 1.

September 1, 1905

Hillerich & Bradsby sign a contract with Honus Wagner to produce the first autographed model bat.

September 3, 1905

1905 – Pittsburgh’s Deacon Phillippe and Chicago’s Bob Wicker hook up in an 10-inning scoreless duel, each allowing just three hits, before Chicago pushes across a run to win. In the nitecap, Lefty Leifield makes his major league debut and fires a 1 – 0 win over Chicago in a game stopped after six innings.

September 4, 1905

1905 – In a rain-delayed doubleheader, the Giants trip the Phillies twice, 7 – 1 and 11 – 6. The opener doesn’t start till 3:00 p.m. but Joe McGinnity wins easily. Christy Mathewsonwins his 25th in the nitecap, despite spotting the Phils five runs in the 2nd inning. The Phillies match the gift in the 5th and 7th innings.

September 5, 1905

Boston score the first runs off Rube Waddell in 44 innings

September 6, 1905

Frank Smith pitches a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers, 15 – 0, in the biggest margin of victory for a no-hitter in American League history.

September 7, 1905

The Beaneaters and Giants trade shutouts, with Boston beating Joe McGinnity in the opener, 1 – 0, and Christy Mathewson returning the favor, 3 – 0, in the nitecap. The game is scoreless until New York scores a run in the 7th off Vic Willis.

September 8, 1905

1905 – Pittsburgh tallies 15 hits and eight walks against the Reds, but the Pirates leave a still-standing National League record 18 men on base. The Reds win, 8 – 3.

September 11, 1905

1905 – The Highlanders sell workhorse pitcher Jack Powell (8-13) to the Browns. Powell won 23 games in 1904, pitching 390 1/3 innings.

September 12, 1905

At the Polo Grounds, the Giants and Brooklyn split a twinbill. Christy Mathewson wins the opener, 3 – 2, when Bill Dahlen singles home the winner in the 9th. The second game is called after seven innings with Brooklyn leading, 8 – 5.

September 12, 1905

Cards pitcher Jack Taylor allows just three Pirate hits – all by Honus Wagner – and teammate Harry Arndt swipes home in the bottom of the 9th to give St. Louis a 2 – 1 victory. Wagner will spoil two more no-hitters by collecting the only hits: against Art Fromme on May 27, 1911 and facing Phil Douglas on October 2, 1914.

September 14, 1905

Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers engage in a fist fight on the field during an exhibition game in Washington, IN

September 16, 1905

Christy Mathewson wins his 10th straight

September 16, 1905

Willie Keeler, who is lefthanded, plays 2B in both games of a twin bill

September 20, 1905

1905 – Chicago White Sox president Charles Comiskey orders a houseboat built for the express purpose of transporting and housing the team during spring training.

September 23, 1905

Tiger rookie outfielder Ty Cobb hits his first homerun

September 23, 1905

In Chicago, Christy Mathewson and Carl Lundgren hook up in a tight pitchers’ duel, decided in Chicago’s favor on a mental error by Giants 2B Bill Dahlen. With two on and two out in the 5th inning, Dahlen bobbles a grounder and touches second base as the runner arrives. Dahlen, thinking that he has the third out, rolls the ball to the mound. But ump Bob Emslie calls the runner safe. Johnny Evers, the runner on third base, alertly scores on the play for the game’s only run. The loss stops Matty’s win streak at 11 games.

September 25, 1905

1905 – After losing three in Chicago, the Giants open a critical series in Pittsburgh by winning, 10 – 4, behind Christy Mathewson’s 30th victory. The Giants score five runs in the 1st inning on just one hit. Deacon Phillippe hits a record-tying three batters in the frame and Honus Wagner adds a throwing error. New York now leads by 6 1/2 games.

September 26, 1905

At Philadelphia, A’s starter Andy Coakley pitches seven innings and is behind 4 – 2 against the Tigers when he departs. The A’s knot the score up with runs in the 7th and 8th, and reliever Jimmy Dygert tosses the last three innings. When the Tigers score two in the 10th to win, the official scorer pins the loss on Coakley for pitching badly (later revisions will give the loss to Dygert, and Coakley’s record of 20-7 will be the American League’s best winning percentage).

September 26, 1905

Chicago White Sox P Ed Walsh hurls two complete game victories over Boston

September 26, 1905

The Giants top the Pirates, 9 – 5, with the help of eight walks and hit by pitch in six innings by usually steady Mike Lynch. Red Ames goes six innings to pick up the win, and Christy Mathewson tosses the last three innings of shutout ball.

September 26, 1905

Washington’s Joe Stanley hits his second and last career homer and like his first, it’s a grand slam.

September 27, 1905

1905 – Pilgrim Bill Dinneen, who had not thrown this month because of a sore arm, pitches the 4th no-hitter of the season. The White Sox have 26 official at bats against him in the 2 – 0 Boston win, their first loss to Boston after 10 straight wins. Chicago gets revenge in the nitecap, whipping the Pilgrims, 15 – 1. With the A’s losing yesterday to the Tigers, Chicago now heads for Philadelphia, trailing by three percentage points. The Pilgrims will play 11 twinbills this month, winning 2, losing 2, and splitting 7.

September 30, 1905

1905 – The Athletics take two of three from Chicago at home to all but end the White Sox’s pennant hopes. The final margin is two games. The series draws 64,620, a ML record, with thousands more turned away each day.

October 5, 1905

The Beaneaters suffer their 100th loss of the season when they drop the first game of a Washington Park doubleheader, 11-5, to the Superbas, a team that has already lost 103 games. It is the first occurrence in major league history that two teams with triple-digit losses have been opponents.

October 5, 1905

1905 – In the first game of a doubleheader, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Chief Bender has three hits, including a three-run triple, in an 8 – 0 victory over the Washington Senators. Bender also relieves Andy Coakley in the second game and wins, 9 – 7. Overall, he has two wins with six hits and eight RBI for the day.

October 7, 1905

Fred Odwell hits his ninth and final home run of the season, an inside-the-park round-tripper of Cardinal right-hander Buster Brown at Robison Field, making the Reds’ outfielder the National League’s home run champion. ‘Fritz’ hit just one last year as a rookie, and after leading the majors this season, will not hit another round-tripper for the remainder of his career, a span of 154 games.

October 9, 1905

Christy Mathewson outpitches 26-game winner Eddie Plank and the Philadelphia Athletics, 3 – 0

October 14, 1905

Christy Mathewson shuts out the Philadelphia Athletics, 2 – 0, to give the New York Giants the World Series in five games

October 22, 1905

1905 – Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League beats visiting Portland, 3 – 2, in 11 innings. Bill Tozer (22-15) of Los Angeles ends his PCL record 48 consecutive shutout inning streak when Portland scores two unearned runs in the 3rd inning.

December 15, 1905

Boston continues trading, sending C Pat Moran to the Cubs for C Jack O’Neill and P Big Jeff Pfeffer.

December 15, 1905

Vic Willis is traded by 7th-place Boston to Pittsburgh for three players

December 16, 1905

The Cubs trade OF Jack McCarthy and Billy Maloney, 3B Doc Casey, and P Buttons Briggs to Brooklyn for Jimmy Sheckard, who will take over LF for the National League champions of the next three years.

December 23, 1905

The Philadelphia Athletics sell veteran third baseman Lave Cross to the Washington Senators