When Boston Won the World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903

by Bob Ryan

Book Overview

This account of Boston's remarkable victory in the first modern World Series of 1903, in which the fledgling American League triumphed over the Pittsburgh Pirates of the time-honored National League,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0762414669
• ISBN13: 9780762414666
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A nostalgic baseball read

Bob Ryan has done a serviceable job in creating a nice, easy baseball read. This book is a light read and probably won't completely satisfy the die-hard baseball history buffs, but for the average fan or Boston Red Sox fan (or Pittsburgh Pirate fan), this is a must have.Despite this book's heavy reliance upon the Boston Globe's archives, the book gives the reader an appreciation for the evolution of the game and the fanfare of the world series even without modern mass media hype. Again, while the book's research may not be comprehensive, it is certainly adequate.Ryan tells the story of the 1903 in short chronological order, which may help some build towards the excitement of the world series, which (obviously) comes at the end. He also does a nice job of illustrating some of the characters who participated in the 1903 series. However, he said very little of the two stellar and intriguing seasons both respective teams had. The book jumps almost too quickly to the world series without explaining how these teams got to the post season.Though the book may not delve deeply into the season, Ryan should be given credit for telling a succinct, precise story, one that moves the reader along without getting bogged down in minutae.This book has plenty nostalgia for baseball historians as well as being a guided tour of a series 100 years ago. It gives any baseball fan an appreciation of how much the game has changed while still staying the same.

"Baseball is the greatest outdoor sport ever known."

The best-of-nine series between Boston and Pittsburgh was tied, one game apiece, when Game Three of the 1903 World Series began in Boston, a city delirious about its new American League team. Third-baseman/manager Jimmy Collins was enormously popular, star pitcher Cy Young was just one of three Boston pitchers with more than twenty wins during the season, and, best of all, tickets to Game Three were only fifty cents. When those were gone, ticket sellers kept selling admission, and when the seats were filled, spectators jumped the ropes to line the baselines. When those became crowded, they lined the outfield, occasionally reaching the diamond itself. The crowd was so large that short fly balls were declared ground rule doubles, as were homeruns, the overly enthusiastic crowd causing Boston to lose the game with its excessive enthusiasm.Ryan is immensely skillful in bringing the Series alive by characterizing the players for both teams, showing what makes them unusual and memorable. Among these are 36-year-old Cy Young, catcher Lou Criger (sickly already with the early stages of tuberculosis), the elegant and intelligent Jimmy Collins (a consummate player and respected captain/manager), the hot-tempered Hobe Ferris (later infamous for kicking a teammate in the face), and shortstop Freddy Parent of Sanford, Maine, who lived to become a 92-year-old commentator during Boston's 1967 World Series. For Pittsburgh, the legendary Honus Wagner and pitcher Deacon Philippe, who pitched in five of the eight games, sometimes with only one day off, are especially vivid. He devotes an entire chapter to Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss, "the greatest ball fan on earth," a generous man who declared that he would take no profit from the Series and that every penny would go to his players. Numerous contrasts, both overt and implied, exist between Dreyfuss, whom Ryan believes belongs in the Hall of Fame, and Boston owner Henry Killilea, for whom the team was a business which he oversaw from out of state. Killilea eventually modified his original demands and agreed to a 60-40 split with his players, who as winners of the Series earned significantly less than the losers.Comparisons and contrasts between between the games of 1903 and the present abound. As early as 1903, Globe writer Tim Murnane suggested a designated hitter. Boston's Royal Rooters began the concept of the traveling fan club, and their use of a song to upset the opposition was a deciding factor in the Series. Scalpers became a major problem in Game 8, the last game of the Series, and Ryan suggests that it was someone in owner Killilea's employ who was responsible. Ryan reminds us of the roots of "the American pastime," more than a decade before Babe Ruth appeared in a Boston uniform, and shows that after one hundred years the game is remarkably unchanged. Mary Whipple

A Stellar Account of Major League Baseball at its Infancy

In his new book WHEN BOSTON WON THE WORLD SERIES, acclaimed Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan does an excellent job transporting readers back to the fabled Huntington Avenue Grounds, where the first modern World Series took place in 1903. He also brings to life a period when the nation's pastime was revered by all.Before Fenway Park was built in 1912, the Huntington Avenue Grounds, now the campus of Northeastern University, was the place to see professional baseball in Boston at the time. Ryan masterfully describes how the Hub was the home of both the Boston Pilgrims (American League) and the Boston Beaneaters (National League). He also tells how owners at the time refused to turn away any fan looking to pay the price of admission and how often crowds would spill into the outfield and become the actual ground rules for play.Meanwhile, Ryan illustrates how Tim Murnane, the Globe's baseball editor at the time, covered the 1903 Boston Pilgrims. By doing tireless research, Ryan explains Murnane's reporting about the Pilgrims' preseason in Macon, Georgia, their tremendous run for the AL pennant and the breathtaking series against Honus Wagner and the 1903 Pittsburgh Pirates.This important historical look at the first modern "Fall Classic" also touches on other legends in baseball 100 years ago. For instance, Ryan delves into the past of Ban Johnson --- president of the fledgling American League at the time --- and how Boston's ace pitcher Cy Young dominated the entire game until he retired at age 44 in 1911. Another Hall of Famer who Ryan mentions and who Murnane loved to write about at the time was Jimmy Collins. Not only did Collins play just about every game, he was also the team's manager. Murnane routinely referred to Collins in the pages of the Globe as the "Captain" and the team as "Collins' Boys".The book also contains a brief World Series preview written by Murnane, several photos of players and other important figures, box scores from the 1903 World Series and complete team rosters.Although the Red Sox haven't won a World Series since 1918, this stellar account of Major League Baseball at its infancy and its impact on the Boston sports culture makes it one not to miss. --- Reviewed by David Exum