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Hank Gowdy
helps lead the Braves |
ON THIS DATE (October 12, 1914) ... In a nerve racking game that went into the 12th inning at Fenway Park, the Boston Braves returned home and beat the Philadelphia Athletics by a score of 5 to 4 in the third game of the World Series. It was fully as interesting and perhaps more fiercely contested than any other game played for a championship. An immense crowd, one of the largest that has ever watched a baseball game, became intensely interested, as the Braves clung onto the Athletics, who stayed continually in the lead, and forced the home team to play on sheer nerve. The spectators were in their seats very early and the bleachers were filled to the limit. The roof of the grandstand had a large crowd on it and there were newspaperman from all over the country.
Before the game, Johnny Evers received a Chalmers automobile as the result of being the most valuable player in the National League. Evers had the whole Boston team circling him on the field around the car. Later, ex-Mayor Honey Fitzgerald, representing the Royal Rooters, made a present to manager Stallings. Mayor James Curley, while standing on the roof of the dugout, presented the Boston manager with several tokens of esteem for the many citizens of Boston. The hitting was great on both teams and Lefty Tyler, the Braves starter, at time showed excellent form as did Joe Bush, who started for Philadelphia. Neither man could be considered a great pitcher yesterday, but the support given by the infielders on both teams, was simply marvelous. A long series of brilliant plays had the crowd on the edge of their seats. There was cheering, bands playing, and horns tooting throughout the last six innings with the object of rattling the Philadelphia players. Even the Braves players were shouting at the A's from the dugout. The players were evidently worked up to the highest pitch of excitement, while the veteran players on the Athletics bench were quietly determined, but made no display of their emotions. Time and time the A's jumped out in front and the Braves attacked them with a determination to fight to the finish.
Connie Mack's team started off quickly when Eddie Murphy, the first batter up, knocked out a fine double. He scored on a fumble by Joe Connolly and the crowd had a knot in their stomach. In the bottom half of the first inning Johnny Evers singled and stole second base very easily on catcher Wally Schang. The fact that Schang does not have a good throwing arm was responsible for the first run made by the Braves in the second inning, when they tied the score as Rabbit Maranville worked a walk, stole second on him, scoring on a double by Hank Gowdy. In the fourth inning the Athletics jumped out to the lead once again on a double by Stuffy McInnis and a single by Jimmy Walsh. But again, in the Braves half of the inning, with Butch Schmidt on second base and two outs, the Rabbit hit a ball down the first base line that was just foul. But as he always does, Maranville hung in and laced a base hit into right center field, that Jimmy Walsh made a wonderful attempt to get, but Schmidt was able to score the tying run. In the sixth inning a fast doubleplay was disastrous for Philly. Eddie Collins reached first with a base hit and Frank Baker hit one to Evers leading to a quick doubleplay. Then with two outs in the Braves half of the inning, Charlie Deal laced out a double, but was stranded at second base on a pop out to the catcher. From the fifth inning to the eighth it was out after out, as Jack Barry and Stuffy McInnis made great plays for Philadelphia. Butch Schmidt also saved the game for the Braves in the eighth-inning, as Joe Bush laced a fast grounder over first base, close to line, that Schmidt managed to block and then found Tyler ready to take his throw at the bag for the out.
The 10th inning was a short but intensely interesting act in this great baseball drama. After struggling through nine innings, the game was tied at 2 to 2 and Philadelphia managed to score two runs, one by clever hitting, and the other by a failure of Evers to throw the ball to the plate. Wally Schang singled and Bush struck out. Murphy then hit a bounder back to Tyler, who turned and threw to second but was late, as Schang had started to steal and was there too quickly. Evers then made a remarkable play on Rube Oldring's grounder and Eddie Collins was passed intentionally. Frank Baker, the next man up, hit a fierce smash at Evers, who made a hard try by diving for the ball, which hit him in the chest and rolled off several feet away. Murphy was leading off third-base at the time and finding that Evers was paying no attention to him, took off for home. With the two runs in, it now seemed like it might be lost for the Braves. But right then and there they displayed the quality that has won game after game this year. Hank Gowdy led off the bottom of the inning and smashed the ball into the centerfield bleachers for a home run. After Josh Devore pinch-hit for Tyler and struck out, the Philadelphia team felt a little more confident. Herbie Moran then came up to the plate and worked a base on balls successfully by a narrow margin on a close call. Right then and there Evers made up for his misplay in the field and laced a fine single to right field pushing Moran over to third base. Connolly then sent a long fly ball out to Walsh in center allowing Moran to tag up and score the tying run. Bill James came into pitch the 11th inning and though he was wild, giving three men walks in two innings, there were no hits able to be made off him. At the beginning of the 12th inning the umpires announced that it would be the last one as darkness was falling over the ballpark. It was up to either team to win the game or go home with the score tied. Hank Gowdy, who so far had been the hero in the series, came up to the plate and started the 12th inning with a double. Bush intentionally passed pinch-hitter Larry Gilbert to put on the force play. Then it was Moran, who laid down a bunt and to advance the runners. The ball went back to Bush, who tried to head off Gowdy at third base and threw the ball away, allowing Hank to come home with the winning run. The way the Braves rallied in tied the score has been told before. It was a rally that took the heart out of even a great team like the Athletics and is a tribute to the great staying power of the Braves. The star of the game was Captain Johnny Evers, who turned in three beautiful singles in five times at bat, with the last one doing a lot of damage in the 10th inning. His fielding was superb and his judgment of playing his position for each batter was remarkable. He was truly the centerpiece which the Braves worked around in this ballgame. A close second was Hank Gowdy, who caught an excellent game as he did in the first game in Philadelphia, and nearly did it all is bat, turning in two doubles and a home run in four times up. |
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