1908 World Series

1908 World Series

Team (Wins) Manager Season Chicago Cubs (4) Frank Chance (player/manager) 99–55, .643, GA: 1 Detroit Tigers (1) Hughie Jennings 90–63, .588, GA:   1⁄2
Dates:	October 10–14
Umpires:	Jack Sheridan (AL), Hank O'Day (NL), odd-numbered games; Bill Klem (NL), Tommy Connolly (AL), even-numbered games
Hall of Famers:	Umpires: Tommy Connolly, Bill Klem, Hank O'Day. Cubs: Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker. Tigers: Sam Crawford, Ty Cobb.

The 1908 World Series matched the defending champion Chicago Cubs against the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the 1907 Series. In this first-ever rematch of this young event, the Cubs won in five games for their second consecutive World Series title.

The 1908 World Series was significant for being the last World Series championship the Cubs would win until the 2016 World Series, 108 years later. Before the 2016 series, the team would go on to appear in seven World Series; in 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945, losing each time. The Cubs had been one of baseball's most dominant teams in the early 1900s. This was the year of the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play that allowed the Chicago Cubs to reach the World Series after beating the New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants) in a one-game "playoff", actually the makeup game for the tie that the Merkle play had caused.

The Series was anti-climactic after tight pennant races in both leagues. Ty Cobb had a much better World Series than in the previous year, as did the rest of his team. The final two games, held in Detroit, were shutouts. This was also the most poorly attended World Series in history, with the final game drawing a record-low 6,210 fans. Attendance in Chicago was harmed by a ticket-scalping scheme that fans accused the club's owner of participating in, and the World Series was boycotted to some degree.

For the first time, four umpires were used in the series, in alternating two-man teams.

Summary

NL Chicago Cubs (4) vs. AL Detroit Tigers (1)

Matchups

Game 1

Saturday, October 10, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

With Detroit leading 6–5 in the top of the ninth after finally coming from behind with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs broke out with six straight one-out singles against Ed Summers, scoring five times and winning the first game just as they had forced a tie in the first game of the 1907 Series by coming from behind with two runs in the ninth.

Game 2

Sunday, October 11, 1908, at West Side Grounds in Chicago

A scoreless tie in the bottom of the eighth came to an end when Joe Tinker's two-run homer launched a six-run Cub outburst. Orval Overall's complete-game win took just 90 minutes.

Game 3

Monday, October 12, 1908, at West Side Grounds in Chicago, Illinois

It was in this game that Ty Cobb enjoyed the finest World Series outing he ever had. The 21-year-old Georgian rapped three singles and a double in five at-bats, and stole two bases. In the top of the ninth, he singled and promptly stole second and third, but then the hyped-up boy wonder pressed his luck and was thrown out trying to steal home. This was the only Tiger win in their back-to-back first two World Series losses to the Cubs.

Game 4

Tuesday, October 13, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

This one was over in 95 minutes. RBI singles by Harry Steinfeldt and Solly Hofman in the third inning gave Mordecai Brown all the support he'd need.

Game 5

Wednesday, October 14, 1908, at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

The attendance during this last game of the 1908 World Series (6,210) was the smallest crowd in Series history.

Cub hurler Orval Overall became the first pitcher in Series history to strike out four batters in one inning (the bottom of the first) in a complete game 2–0 shutout. In the 2013 ALCS, Aníbal Sánchez of the Detroit Tigers struck out four batters (also in the bottom of the first).

Boss Schmidt, who made the last out of the 1907 Series with a popup to short, also made the last out of this Series with a feeble catcher-to-first groundout.

This was also the first World Series game in which neither team committed an error.

The Cubs would not win another World Series title until finally reclaiming the crown in 2016.

Composite line score

1908 World Series (4–1): Chicago Cubs (N.L.) over Detroit Tigers (A.L.)

Notes

References

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990). The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 23–26. ISBN 0-312-03960-3. 
• Reichler, Joseph (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2116. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. 

External links

• 1908 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1908 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 1908 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 1908 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1908 at The SportingNews. Archived from the original on 2008.

World Series
No World Series was held in 1904 because the NL champions refused to participate; no World Series was held in 1994 due to a players' strike.
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