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1924 World Series Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:
“It was Fate, that’s all…Fate and a pebble!”
Thanks to our good friend and Babe Ruth expert, Bee Smile, for posting this great featured photo above of the 1924 World Series champion Washington Senators with President Coolidge on their visit to the White House. I’ve seen numerous versions of this one over the years, and this is far-and-away the best. Bee Smile did a great job with the editing and the colorization.
See if you can pick out the five Hall-of-Famers in the photo before looking at the player identifications below.
By the way, the 1924 World Series is remembered for the infamous Freddie Lindstrom “Pebbles Game” in the decisive Game Seven.Here’s a little bit about the Pebbles Game”:
“It was Fate, that’s all…Fate and a pebble!”
That’s how Heine Groh described the unusual events that transpired to make the Giants’ 18-year-old rookie Freddie Lindstrom the goat of the 1924 Fall Classic. The miscue handed the World Championship to the Washington Senators for the first and only time in their franchise history. Here’s a few words about the incident edited from the Freddie Lindstrom SABR biography:
“In his very first season in the major leagues, Freddie Lindstrom was involved in one of the more memorable events in World Series history. Heinie Groh was the Giants’ regular third baseman in 1924 but late in the season he tore up his knee and Lindstrom replaced him at the hot corner. Freddie became the youngest player ever to appear in a World Series game at the age of 18 years, 10 months, and 13 days, a record that has never been broken. Until that fateful final game, the rookie was having a great series. In Game 2, he made seven assists, a single-game World Series record for third basemen that stood for 16 years. The “Boy Wonder” made four hits in Game Five off Walter Johnson, arguably the game’s greatest pitcher.”
“It was in Game Seven that Lindy gained his infamy. With the best-of-seven series tied three games apiece, this was the game for the World Championship. In the eighth inning the Giants were leading 3-1. Then the Senators loaded the bases with two outs. Washington’s playing manager Bucky Harris slammed a sharp grounder toward third base. Just as Freddie was about to field it, the ball took a wicked hop right over his head and two runs scored to tie the game.”
“The game remained tied into extra innings. In the 12th inning with runners on first and second and one out, Earl McNeeley slashed a grounder toward Lindstrom at third. Amazingly, the ball hit a pebble or a clod of dirt, perhaps the same one that had deflected the hit by Harris four innings earlier. The ball bounded into left field for a base hit and Muddy Ruel raced home with the winning run. The Washington Senators won their first World Series, and Freddie Lindstrom was the goat of the series.”
“Heinie Groh was not sure whether to blame the Lord or Fate. He told Lawrence Ritter, ‘I guess the good Lord just didn’t want us to win that game, that’s all there is to it.’ Later in the same interview he said: “It wasn’t Freddie’s fault. It could have happened to anybody. He never had a chance to get the ball. It was Fate, that’s all. Fate and a pebble.”
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: Beautiful featured photo edited and colorized by Bee Smile: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1537103582&hc_ref=NEWSFEED
Information: Excerpts edited from the 1924 World Series Wikipedia page
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