A Brief History
On October 13, 1903, the American League’s Boston Americans won the 8th and decisive game of the first modern World Series of major league baseball by defeating the National League’s Pittsburg Pirates 3-0.
Digging Deeper
This first Fall Classic was a best of nine affair, with the winning team needing five wins to take the crown. The format was to play the first three games in Boston, the next four in Allegheny City, where the Pirates played, and then back to Boston if an 8th game was needed.
The game featured some of the greatest names in baseball history, including Boston’s Cy Young and Pittsburgh’s Honus Wagner. An incredible performance was turned in by Pirates’ pitcher Deacon Phillippe, who pitched five complete games, winning three of those contests.
The Pirates came back to win the 1909 World Series, and later four more, while Boston became the Red Sox and have won the Series nine times.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Kepner, Tyler. K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches. Anchor, 2020.
Kepner, Tyler. The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series. Doubleday, 2022.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of an overflow crowd at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston prior to Game 3, is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1928, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation.
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