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 4

Cubs: 3 Tigers: 0 (Cubs lead 3-1)


W: Brown (2-0)

L: Summers (0-2)
Three-Finger Brown dominated the Tigers with a 4-hitter. The Cub ace struck out 4 and did not walk a batter. Harry Steinfeldt and Solly Hofman each knocked in runs with third inning singles. They tacked on an insurance run in the ninth on a Ty Cobb error. Tiger starter Ed Summers allowed 2 runs on 9 hits in the eight innings. George Winter finished for Detroit.

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.

1906 World Series Game 6

White Sox: 8 Cubs: 3 (Sox win World Series 4-3)

WP: White (1-1)

LP: Brown (1-2)
The White Sox were considered the "hitless wonders" after they finished last in the American League in batting. They batted .230 as a team and faced the 116-win Chicago Cubs juggernaut in the World Series. The Sox outscored the Cubs in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. The White Sox looked to close out their cross town rivals in Game 6. They started Doc White who saved Game 5 and took a loss in Game 2. The Cubs countered with Mordecai Three Finger Brown who split his two decisions. Brown shutout the White Sox in Game 4 and took the 2-1 loss in Game 1. The Hall of Famer Brown did not survive the second inning.

The Cubs scored first on a double by Wildfire Schulte. In the bottom of the first, the Sox scored three times. George Davis doubled in a run and then Jiggs Donahue knocked in two more on a double. The White Sox blew the game wide open in the bottom of the second. They scored four times to take a 7-1 lead. The Cubs never sniffed victory in Game 6. They scored another run for an 8-1 lead. The Cubs scored a single run in the fifth and a slop run in the ninth for an 8-3 final. Doc White went the distance for the win. Ed Hahn had four hits for the Sox. Frank Isabel slapped three hits. Three other players totalled two hits for the Sox. George Davis and Jiggs Donahue each drove in three runs apiece.

The 1906 World Series was the last time two teams that had never appeared in the Fall Classic faced off. The road team won the first five games. That would not happen again until 1996. Games 1 and 2 were played in the snow. That did not happen again until 1997. Patsy Dougherty became the first man to play on two World Series champions. He was also on the 1903 Boston Americans (Red Sox).

Despite the offensive explosions in Games 5 and 6, the White Sox batted .198 as a team. George Rohe led the Series in offense. He batted .333 with 3 extra base hits, 4 RBI, and 1.011 OPS. George Davis batted .308 with 6 RBI and .846 OPS. Frank Isbel also hit .308 with 4 RBI.

The Cubs fared slightly worse than the White Sox offensively. They hit .196 as a team. Solly Hoffman hit .304. Wildfire Schulte had the next highest average at .269. Neither club homered in the series.

Pitching provided the main difference in the series. The Sox team ERA was a miniscule 1.33 compared to the Cubs 3.40. Each team used only four pitchers. Doc White finished 1-1 for the Sox with a save and 1.80 ERA. Nick Altrock went 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA. Hall of Famer Ed Walsh probably would have been series MVP. He posted a 2-0 record, 0.60 ERA, 15 IP, and 0.867 WHIP.

The Cubs went on to win the 1907 and 1908 World Series. The White Sox did not return to the Fall Classic until 1917.

1906 World Series Game 4

Cubs: 1 White Sox: 0 (Series tied 2-2)

WP: Brown (1-1)

LP: Altrock (1-1)
Three Finger Brown demonstrated why he made the Hall of Fame in Game 4 of the 1906 World Series. He tossed a 2-hit shutout evening the series at 2 games a piece. Game 1 winner Nick Altrock was the tough luck loser for the White Sox. He allowed 7 hits and only a single run.

The game was scoreless until the seventh. Frank Chance singled and was sacrificed to second and third. With two out, Johnny Evers singled to give the Cubs the lead. Solly Hofman and Chance each had two hits for the victors. Put together, they doubled the Sox offensive output. Brown held the crosstown rivals hitless until the sixth. The game ended with the tying run on second.

1906 World Series Game 1

White Sox: 2 Cubs:1 (Sox lead 1-0)

WP: Altrock (1-0)

LP: Brown (0-1)
The 1906 Cubs won regular season games and won the pennant by a whopping 20 games. The team boasted four Hall of Famers including Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and the legendary infield of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. They greatly outmatched their crosstown rivals and World Series opponents. The Chicago White Sox won 93 games and included Hall of Famers George Davis and Ed Walsh. They would have finished 23 games behind the Cubs.

The Cubs started Brown in Game 1 while the Sox started 20 game winner Nick Altrock. Both men retired the first nine batters. The Cubs broke up the no-hitter with 2 outs in the fourth, but failed to score. Brown retired the first twelve Sox in order. Then, George Rohe tripled to lead off the fifth. He scored on an error by catcher Johnny Kling. Sox led 1-0.

The Cubs remained confident. Brown's downfall came from a leadoff walk in the sixth. Altrock reached on the base on balls, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a single by Frank Isbell. It turned out to be the winning run. The Cubs scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, but Altrock shut the door after that. Harry Steinfelt flew out to end the game. Sox won 2-1.

Both Altrock and Brown tossed 4-hit complete games. Brown walked 1 and struck out 7. The walk turned out to be the winning run. The winner Altrock walked 1 and struck out 3. The batter Altrock walked also scored.

Three-Finger Brown: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1949

Mordecai Brown

Born: October 19, 1876

Sometime in his youth, he suffered an accident costing him his right index finger.

1901: Minor Leagues

Debut: April 19, 1903 (Cardinals)

1903: Traded to Cubs

1906: Cubs win Pennant (Lose World Series to White Sox)

1907: Cubs win World Series

1908: Brown beat Christy Mathewson for the NL Pennant

1908: Cubs win World Series

1910: Cubs win Pennant (Lose World Series to A’s)

1912-13: Released by Cubs, signed by Louisville, traded to Reds

1913: Jumped to Federal League

1914: Managed St. Louis Terriers of Federal League (50-63)

1916: Purchased by the Cubs

1916: Brown and Mathewson started against one another one final time. Matty won. Brown finished 13-11 against Mathewson

1916: Retired from majors

1917: Began playing Minor League Ball. Was still playing in 1928.

1920-45: Ran a gas station

Died: February 14, 1948

1949: Elected to Hall of Fame

1999: Finalist for All Century Team

Accomplishments:
2x World Champion

239-130

.648 win %

2.06 ERA

271 CG

55 shutouts

3172.1 IP

1.139 WHIP

Led league in wins: 1909 (27)

15+ wins: 9x

20+ wins: 6x

Led league in ERA: 1906 (1.04)

Sub 3-ERA: 12x

Sub 2.50 ERA: 8x

Sub 2 ERA: 5x

Led league in games: 2x

Led league in CG: 2x

10+ CG: 13x

15+ CG: 11x

20+ CG: 8x

32 CG (1909)

Led league in SHO: 2x

Led league in saves: 4x

13 saves (1911)

Led league in IP (1909): 342.2

200+ IP: 11x

250+ IP: 5x

300+ IP: 2x

Led league in WHIP: 3x

Sub 1 WHIP: 5x

Postseason: 5-4, 2.97 ERA, 3 shutouts, 9 starts, 5 CG, 57.2 IP, 35 Ks (4 World Series)

As a Player/Manager: 50-63 (.442)