1908 World Series Game 5

Cubs: 2 Tigers: 0

W: Overall (2-0)

L: Donovan (0-2)
The Cubs scored single runs in the first and fifth. Hall of Famers Frank Chance and Johnny Evers each singled in runs. Orval Overall became the first pitcher to strike out four batters in an inning. In 2013, Anibal Sanchez became the second hurler to do so in a postseason game. Overall remains the only one to accomplish the feat in the World Series. Overall threw a 3-hitter and struck out 10. Tiger starter Wild Bill Donovan also tossed a complete game in a losing effort. The final game drew only 6,210 fans. Chicagoans stayed away from the ballpark to protest the club's ticket scalping scheme.

There was no World Series MVP in 1908. The award had not been created yet. However, Frank Chance might have won it had the award existed. He batted .421 with 2 RBI and .921 OPS. Three-Finger Brown was another candidate with a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA in 11 innings. The final candidate, Orval Overall, went 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 18.1 innings.

Other players with good World Series for the Cubs included Johnny Evers (.350, 2 RBI, .381 OBP), Solly Hofman (.316 and 4 RBI), and Wildfire Schulte (.389, 2 RBI, .950 OPS). Ty Cobb was the only Tiger hitter that performed well. The Georgia Peach batted .368 with 4 RBI, and .821 OPS. George Mullin pitched a complete game victory, struck out 8, and allowed no earned runs in his only start.

The Tigers returned to the World Series in 1909, but did not win a Fall Classic until 1935. Chicago has yet to win another World Series despite seven NL Pennants from 1910-1945. They have not won a pennant since 1945.

1908 World Series Game 1

Chicago Cubs: 10 Detroit Tigers: 6 (Cubs lead 1-0)

W: Three-Finger Brown (1-0)

L: Summers (0-1)
The 1908 World Series featured the first rematch in the Fall Classic. The World Champion Cubs won the pennant after winning a one-game playoff with the Giants. The game was actually a make up for an earlier contest that ended in a tie. The Giants had appeared to win that game, but Fred Merkle failed to touch second base and was forced by Johnny Evers. With fans streaming onto the field, no one knows for sure if Evers actually had the game ball. Either way, the Cubs won the pennant and faced the Tigers for the second year in a row. The series featured three Hall of Fame umpires with Tommy Connolly, Bill Klem, and Hank O'Day. The Tigers boasted Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, and Hughie Jennings. The Cubs fielded four Hall of Famers in Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker, and Three-Finger Brown.

Detroit should have won Game 1. They led 6-5 in the 9th in the opener in Detroit. The Cubs chased Ed Killian while Ed Reulbach pitched into the seventh for Chicago. The Cubs dropped five in the top of the 9th for a 10-6 victory. Jimmy Sheckard went 3-for-6 for the victors. Wildfire Schulte, Harry Steinfeldt, and Joe Tinker all tallied two hits. Tigers Ty Cobb, Matty McIntyre, and Claude Rossman all had two hits as well.

1907 World Series Game 5

Cubs: 2 Tigers: 0 (Cubs win series 4-0-1)

W: Brown (1-0)

L: Mullin (0-2)
Once again, both starters pitched a complete game. Three-finger Brown shutout the Tigers on 7 hits. George Mullin also allowed 7 hits, but surrendered 2 runs, 1 earned. Chicago scored single runs in the first and second innings while Detroit did not threaten Brown after a fourth inning threat. The Cubs won their first World Series in 1:42. The game would take twice as long today.

The Cubs pitching staff posted a 0.75 ERA in the 1907 World Series. They used four pitchers in the Fall Classic. Each pitcher posted a win. Hall of Famer Mordecai Three Finger Brown won his only start with a shutout. Meanwhile, the Tigers staff finished with a 2.15 ERA. George Mullin lost 2 games to the Cubs with a 2.12 ERA.

Offensively, Harry Steinfeldt batted .471 with a double, triple, 2 RBI, and 1.197 OPS. If there was a MVP, Steinfeldt might have won it. Johnny Evers hit .350 for the Cubs. Hall of Famers Frank Chance and Joe Tinker both finished with a .154 average. On the Tigers side, Claude Rossman hit a healthy .450 with 2 RBI and 1.026 OPS. Outfielder Davy Jones batted .353. Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford performed poorly. Cobb hit .200 and Crawford .238.

Both teams returned to the Fall Classic in 1908. Once again, the Cubs skunked Detroit. The Cubs have yet to win another World Series. The Tigers would win the 1909 AL Pennant, but lost a 7 game thriller to Pittsburgh. Detroit would finally win a World Series in 1935.

1907 World Series Game 1

Tigers: 3 Cubs: 3
The White Sox shocked the Cubs in the 1906 World Series. The Sox did not repeat as AL champs, but the Cubs did win another NL Pennant. The Cubs won 107 games behind Hall of Famers Frank Chance, Three Finger Brown, Johnny Evers, and Joe Tinker. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers rose to the top of the American League behind Hall of Famers Hughie Jennings, Ty Cobb, and Sam Crawford. 1907 was the first World Series to feature a Hall of Fame umpire. Hank O'Day and Jack Sheridan both reached Cooperstown as umpires.

The series opened in Chicago with Wild Bill Donovan squaring off against Orval Overall. Donovan had a career year for the Tigers. He went 25-4 with a 2.19 ERA.Cub starter Overall also had a career season with a 23-7 record, 1.68 ERA, and league-leading 8 shutouts. The Tigers had the Cubs by the tail, but blew it.

The Cubs led 1-0 into the eighth inning. The Tigers rallied for three against Overall. Sam Crawford raked a two-run single and then Claude Rossman's sacrifice fly gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead. They took that lead to the final frame looking to continue the Cubs World Series problems.

Chicago came out swinging in the ninth. Chance singled to right. Harry Steinfelt was hit by the pitch. Johnny Kling popped out to first. Evers reached on an error to load the bases. Wildfire Schultz grounded out to first to score Chicago's second run. Then, Boss Schmidt allowed a third strike to get past him to allow the tying run to score. Johnny Evers was caught trying to steal home to end the inning, but the damage was done. Schmidt had committed a major error. This might be the greatest blunder in Tiger history. The game went 12 innings, but ended in a 3-3 tie. Darkness forced the game's end.

Davy Jones and Sam Crawford each had three hits for the Tigers. Schmidt added two. He also committed the big error to allow the Cubs to tie the game and surrendered 9 Cub steals. Jimmy Slagle, Kling, and Evers slapped two hits each for the Cubs. Wild Bill Donovan pitched a complete game, allowed 10 hits, allowed 1 earned run, walked 3, and struck out 12. Overall went 9, allowed 9 hits, 1 earned run, walked 2, and struck out 5. Ed Reulbach pitched three scoreless to finish for the Cubs.

Game 1 was the Tigers only look at the World Series. The Cubs swept the next four games. Schmidt's error turned the entire series around. Had he held on, then perhaps the Tigers pull the upset as the Sox did in 1906.

Hughie Jennings: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1945

Born: April 2, 1869

Debut: June 1, 1891 (Louisville Colonels)

1893: Traded to Baltimore Orioles

1896: Set ML record with 51 hit by pitches

1896: Hit .401

1896-98: Hit 202 times. One beaning left him unconscious for 3 days.

1898: Suffered arm injury which limited his fielding ability

1899: Sent to Brooklyn Superbas

1899: Traded back to the Orioles and then immediately returned to Brooklyn

1899: Attended Cornell Law School; on one occasion, he dove into an empty pool causing a skull fracture

1901: Sold to Phillies

1903: Returned to Brooklyn

1903: Traded to Baltimore

1905: Passed the Bar Exam

1906: Signed by the Detroit Tigers to manage

1907-09: Tigers won the pennant, but lost the World Series each time

1911: Involved in bad car accident

1912: Tigers went on strike forcing Jennings to play. The umpire noted on the lineup card: “Jennings batted for exercise”

1920: Stepped down as Tiger manager. He was the Tigers’ all-time wins leader until passed by Sparky Anderson.

1920: Final Tiger record: 1131-972 (.538)

1921-25: Served as coach and sometimes as manager of New York Giants.

1924-25: Record as Giants fill-in manager: 53-23 (.697)

1925: Suffered an illness forcing his retirement

1926: Claimed it would be easy to fix games…his statement caused a controversy. He was forced to issue a statement claiming he never cheated or threw games.

Died: February 1, 1928

1945: Elected to Hall of Fame

1992: Sparky Anderson passes Jennings as the Tigers winningest manager

Accomplishments:
.312 career hitter

18 home runs

840 RBI

359 stolen bases

Scored 100+ runs: 5x

200+ hits: 2x

41 doubles (1895)

100+ RBI: 3x

Hit .300+: 5x

Hit .350+: 3x

Hit .401 in 1896

Led the league in HBP: 5x

Led league in sac hits (28) in 1895

.391 career OBP

.400+ OBP: 7x

.512 slugging (1895)

Managerial Record:
1184-995 (.543) 3 pennants