October 10, 1908: Cubs rally in the 9th to take game one of the World Series.
Well this makes total sense. In a season where the Cubs were left for dead several times, only to pull themselves out of the jaws of defeat at the very last minute, would they then go ahead and win game one of the World Series with a 9th inning rally. It's been the story of the entire season ... just when you were ready to count them out, the Cubs would step it up and come through.
Game one of the 1908 World Series took place at Bennett Park in Detroit and featured a rematch of the 1907 World Series between the Tigers and the Cubs. Chicago swept the series in 1907 ... game one actually ended in a 12 inning tie, but the Cubs won the makeup game. (Side note: Can you even remotely fathom a World Series game today being tied in the 12th inning and everybody being OK with just tossing it out and starting it over? Amazing!)
It was a cold, rainy, and muddy day in Detroit and a relatively small crowd of 10,812 braved the weather to watch the game. Keep in mind we just came off a game in New York where 35,000 fans jammed into the Polo Grounds to watch the Cubs-Giants game (with another 200,000 outside in the streets), so this attendance was definitely a disappointment.
In fact, the 1908 series as a whole had lousy attendance, and was one of the main reasons teams like the Cubs moved away from their small wooden stadiums on the late 1800's and into the more modern concrete ballpark of the 1900's. Baseball was becoming big business, and it was time to step up the facilities to keep pace.
Here's Bennett Park from the 1907 World Series (I could find any 1908 specific shots, but wanted to give you an idea of what the field looked like) ...
Bennett Park, home field of the 1908 Detroit Tigers
Detroit jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, but the Cubs roared back in the 3rd. After "copious quantities of sawdust were scattered around the plate and pitcher's slab to relieve some of the muddy conditions," Cubs left fielder Jimmy Sheckard laced a double down the right field line to lead things off. Johnny Evers laid a bunt down the line to move Sheckard over, but Tigers third baseman Germany Schaefer slipped in the mud and Evers reached on the error.
Right fielder Frank Schulte singled in Sheckard and Harry Steinfeldt then added an RBI single of his own. The Cubs then loaded the bases with one out and managed to squeeze out two more runs on a fielder's choice and an error, giving them a 4-1 lead after three.
Cubs manager Frank Chance and Tigers manager Hughie Jennings meeting before game one
Fast forward to the 7th inning where the Cubs added a run and were sitting pretty on a 5-1 lead when the wheels came off for pitcher Ed Reulbach. Tigers legend Ty Cobb led off the inning with an infield single, later scoring on a fielder's choice. Singles by second baseman Red Downs and pitcher Ed Summers added two more runs, and just that fast Reulbach was out of the game.
Manager Frank Chance called on Orval Overall from the bullpen, but he wasn't much better, and the Tigers tacked on two more in the 8th to take a 6-5 lead against what had now quickly become a demoralized Cubs team.
So guess who gets the call? Mordecai Brown of course!
The dude was a freakin' machine in 1908. He just won the two biggest games of the year for the Cubs, one as a starter and one as a reliever (Click here to read about the game Brown called "the greatest moment of my career"), and was now about to appear in his 13th game in the Cubs last 16. Let that sink in for a second ... He pitched in THIRTEEN of the last 16 games. Unbelievable!
Ty Cobb batting in game one of the World Series ... Oct. 10, 1908
Three Finger managed to stop the bleeding, but the damage was done and the Cubs bats had one chance to get the lead back. Fortunately, they took advantage of the chance.
Frank Schulte got things started with a one out single, and that's when things started to break open. Frank Chance, Harry Steinfeldt, Solly Hofman, Joe Tinker, and Johnny Kling back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to back singles, and the Cubs quickly plated five runs and took a 10-6 lead.
Mordecai Brown naturally shut down the Tigers in the 9th to pick up the relief win, and the Cubs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the series thanks to the late game rally.
The Cubs now hop the train for the short trip back home and will face the Tigers at the West Side Grounds tomorrow for game two. Orval Overall will get the ball for the Cubs, facing off against Wild Bill Donovan (who I already love just for the nickname). See you then!
