The 1903 World Series: The Boston Americans, the Pittsburg Pirates, and the "First Championship of the United States" (review)

Reviews of books and films, I've noticed, are always at least somewhat in first person, even when they do not reveal much about the reviewer. So I want to explain right up top about my bias in reviewing The 1903 World Series by Andy Dabilis and Nick Tsiotos.

First, I'm a longtime Pirate fan and grew up knowing that the Pirates played in the very first ("modern era") World Series and that they lost it to Boston. And for the last several years I have researched, as deeply as possible, a World Series, so I'm familiar with the process of sifting through microfilm for gems that will bring the box scores to life.

This book might be enjoyed more by fans who do not know the outcome, but I did not find that foreknowledge was a problem. The book marches on, giving the reader the feel of the Fall Classic in the days before it was classic. It marches—each game is examined in detail, and readers will find themselves shivering as the cold winds and rain of October postpone contests here and there, giving extra rest for the lone healthy arm on the Pirates' staff, that of Deacon Phillippe, whose 5 complete games and 3 wins endure as records over a century later.

The authors have combed through seven different Boston papers and nine more in Pittsburgh—those were the days—and it is a special treat to read Tim Murnane and other scribes who were experimenting with how to cover a series pitting league champions against each other. This face-off had some of the flavor of Joe Namath's Super Bowl victory, as the new kids on the block of organized baseball—Ban Johnson's American Leaguers—put to rest all questions about their inferiority.

Two sidebars to this Series deserve the special treatment they receive. The first is the depletion of the Pirate pitching staff going into October 1903. Four men shared the bulk of the rotation as the Pirates cruised to their third straight pennant that summer, but only Phillippe was reliable for the Series. Staff ace Sam Leever was good for only 2 games and 10 innings. And worse, 16-game-winning southpaw Ed Doheny was battling a mental illness, which was no less scary in 1903 than it is today, and that must have taken a toll on the team, even though Doheny was not with the Pirates that fall.

The other factor was the Boston battle song, "Tessie," sung by their rooters to rally their boys in game four (they fell short, but the song clearly succeeded), and then with increasing frequency the rest of the way into the winter, to the annoyance of the Pirates and their fans. A variation on the theme was aimed at Pirate superstar Honus Wagner, whose performance sagged because of injuries.

When the Red Sox fell behind to the Yankees in October 2004, then swept past them in four straight, they repeated the achievement of their ancestors from 1903. Pittsburg (the final "h" was missing that year) was up 3 games to 1 before Boston took control. The first Series was best-of-nine but ended after an exhausting and exhilarating eight.

On the stage of every World Series, stars emerge. In 1903 these included, fittingly, pitchers Cy Young (2 wins in 4 games) and Bill Dineen (3 wins) as well as Phillippe. Batting heroes also emerged: the Bucs' Jimmy Sebring, who hit the first Series home run; the Americans' Patsy Dougherty, who hit 2 round-trippers the next day; and Jake Stahl and Hobe Ferris (6 runs batted in). The playing managers, Boston's Jimmy Collins and Pittsburg's Fred Clarke, did not fare well on the field, but both hit for the cycle in their interviews with reporters from around...