Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive for automatic updates (sign-up block found in right side-bar)

As a Free Bonus for subscribing, you’ll get instant access to my two Special Reports: Memorable World Series Moments and Gary’s Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide!

 1914 Miracle Braves Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

The 2020 World Series and the 1914 World Series Have Something In Common!

 

Congratulations to the Dodgers for winning the 2020 World Series over the upstart Tampa Bay Rays.

Before we turn the page on another baseball season, dysfunctional as this one was, I want to point out an interesting similarity I discovered between Game Four of the 2020 World Series and Game Three of the 1914 World Series: Both World Series games ended with “walk-off” errors. 

I’m sure all of you saw the “comedy of errors” that ended Game Four in a Tampa Bay victory. Doing a little research, I discovered that throughout baseball history, five World Series games have ended in a similar fashion. In addition to 1914 and 2020, others include games in 1969, 1986, and 2013.

The 1914 World Series featured the Boston Braves and the Athletics of Connie Mack. The underdog Braves upset the heavily-favored Athletics in a four-game sweep. Here’s a brief description of the action that ended Game Three, played at Fenway Park in Boston:

After the Braves had won the first two games of the series, Game Three was tied after nine innings at two apiece.  After Frank “Home Run” Baker hit a two-run single in the top of the tenth, the Braves answered with two of their own. In the bottom of the 12th, the Braves had men on first and second when Herbie Moran laid down a perfect bunt. A’s pitcher “Bullet” Joe Bush, who had gone the distance thus far, pounced on the ball and threw to third, hoping for a force. But the throw went wild. The runner on second, Les Mann, scampered all the way home with the winning run, giving the Braves an exciting 5-4 victory and a commanding 3-0 lead in the series on their way to a four-game sweep.

In the featured photo above, we see a great team photo of the 1914 Miracle Braves. See if you can pick out any names before looking at the player ID’s below.

Here’s a few words about the 1914 baseball season:

The 1914 Boston “Miracle” Braves, under manager George Stallings, had experienced one of the greatest reversals of all time, actually going from last place to first place in only two months. They are the only team in baseball history to be in last place on the Fourth of July and then win the pennant. In 1913, they finished last with a record of 69-82. Who would have expected them to be contenders the following year?

They started 1914 poorly, posting a record of 26-40 by early July, and it looked like another last place finish was in the offing. But with their strong starting three pitchers, Dick Rudolph, Bill James, and Lefty Tyler, they started to turn the season around. They finally reached the top of the standings on September 8^th, and held on to win the National League pennant with a record of 94-59 (.614), 10.5 games ahead of the second-place Giants. They had finished with an unbelievable 70-19 record over the last 89 games.  

Connie Mack’s Athletics were loaded with stars and heavily favored to win the 1914 World Series. They finished the season with a 99-53 record, 8.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. The A’s had won recent pennants in 1910, 1911, and 1913, with World Series victories in each of those years and appeared to be cruising towards another championship.

But in one of the greatest upsets in baseball history, the Braves sweep the heavily favored Athletics in the World Series in four games. Catcher Hank Gowdy was the star, hitting an unbelievable .546. They became known in baseball lore as the “Miracle Braves.” It’s one of the most storied comebacks in baseball history. But the turnaround was short-lived and the Braves would not win another pennant until 1948, and another World Series championship until 1957, after the franchise had moved to Milwaukee.

As for the A’s, the defeat sparked the infamous “sell-off” of stars by Connie Mack. By 1916, they were one of the worst teams in baseball history. It wasn’t until 1929 that they turned it around with three consecutive pennants, and World Series victories in 1929 and 1930.

The 1914 World Series featured plenty of future Hall-of Famers: Braves Johnny Evers, and Rabbit Maranville; A’s Connie Mack, Frank Baker, Chief Baker, Eddie Collins, Herb Pennock, and Eddie Plank; plus umpire Bill Klem. 

 Here are the player identifications in the 1914 Boston Braves photo above:

Top, L-R: Bill James, Ted Cathers, Charlie Deal, George Davis, Ensign Cottrell, Gene Cochran, Otto Hess, Les Man, Hank Gowdy, Butch Schmidt, Bert Whaling. Middle Row, L-R: Possum Whitted, Oscar Dugey, Lefty Tyler, Paul Strand, Josh Devore, Larry Gilbert, Red Smith, Herbie Moran. Front Row: Joe Connolly, Fred Mitchell, Johnny Connolly (mascot), Dick Rudolph, Rabbit Maranville, Dick Crutcher, Jack Martin, Johnny Evers. Inserts: Johnny Evers, George Stallings (Mgr.), James Gaffney (Owner).

Gary Livacari