1903 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1903 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1903 in baseball.
1903 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 20 – September 27, 1903 (AL)
  • April 16 – September 29, 1903 (NL)
World Series:
  • October 1–13, 1903
Number of games140
Number of teams16 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL championsBoston Americans
  AL runners-upPhiladelphia Athletics
NL championsPittsburgh Pirates
  NL runners-upNew York Giants
World Series
ChampionsBoston Americans
  Runners-upPittsburgh Pirates
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1903 American League season
American League
Locations of teams for the 1903–1906 National League seasons
National League

The 1903 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1903. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Americans as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the first modern World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 8 on October 13. The Americans defeated the Pirates, five games to three, capturing their first championship in franchise history.[1]

The 1903 season saw the return of a postseason championship series, the World Series, following the one-off 1900 Chronicle-Telegraph Cup. It was also the first inter-league series since the 1890 World's Championship Series between the National League and defunct-since-1891 American Association. The 1903 World Series would also mark the first championship series that is still celebrated today, as all previous series are considered pre-modern and these early contests are discussed by MLB and baseball historians separately.[2]

The defunct Baltimore Orioles were replaced by a new franchise in New York City known as the New York Highlanders; it was the last change to the lineup of AL and NL franchises until 1953. The American League would not return to Baltimore until the St. Louis Browns relocated their as a new Baltimore Orioles in 1954. The Chicago Orphans and Cleveland Bronchos were renamed as the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Naps, respectively.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1903 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the 1901 season. This would be the last season with this format, as the following season would see an increase of games played.

National League Opening Day took place on April 16 with four teams playing, while American League Opening Day did not take place until April 20, with a doubleheader between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Americans. The National League would see its final day of the regular season on September 27, while the American League would see its final day of the season on September 29. The inaugural World Series took place between October 1 and October 13.

Rule changes

The 1903 season saw the following rule changes:

Teams

League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[8]
American League Boston Americans
Boston, Massachusetts
 Huntington Avenue Grounds 11,500 Jimmy Collins
Chicago White Stockings
Chicago, Illinois
 South Side Park 14,000 Jimmy Callahan
Cleveland Naps
Cleveland, Ohio
 League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Bill Armour
Detroit Tigers
Detroit, Michigan
 Bennett Park 8,500 Ed Barrow
New York Highlanders
New York, New York
 Hilltop Park 16,000 Clark Griffith
Philadelphia Athletics
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 Columbia Park 9,500 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns
St. Louis, Missouri
 Sportsman's Park 8,000 Jimmy McAleer
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. American League Park 7,000 Tom Loftus
National League Boston Beaneaters
Boston, Massachusetts
 South End Grounds 6,600 Al Buckenberger
Brooklyn Superbas
New York, New York
 Washington Park 12,000 Ned Hanlon
Chicago Cubs
Chicago, Illinois
 West Side Park 13,000 Frank Selee
Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati, Ohio
 Palace of the Fans 12,000 Joe Kelley
New York Giants
New York, New York
 Polo Grounds 16,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 National League Park 18,000 Chief Zimmer
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania Exposition Park 16,000 Fred Clarke
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis, Missouri
 League Park (St. Louis) 15,200 Patsy Donovan

Standings

American League

American League
Team
W
L
 Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Americans 91 47 .659 — 49‍–‍20 42‍–‍27
Philadelphia Athletics 75 60 .556 14½ 44‍–‍21 31‍–‍39
Cleveland Naps 77 63 .550 15 49‍–‍25 28‍–‍38
New York Highlanders 72 62 .537 17 41‍–‍26 31‍–‍36
Detroit Tigers 65 71 .478 25 37‍–‍28 28‍–‍43
St. Louis Browns 65 74 .468 26½ 38‍–‍32 27‍–‍42
Chicago White Stockings 60 77 .438 30½ 41‍–‍28 19‍–‍49
Washington Senators 43 94 .314 47½ 29‍–‍40 14‍–‍54

National League

National League
Team
W
L
 Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 91 49 .650 — 46‍–‍24 45‍–‍25
New York Giants 84 55 .604 6½ 41‍–‍27 43‍–‍28
Chicago Cubs 82 56 .594 8 45‍–‍28 37‍–‍28
Cincinnati Reds 74 65 .532 16½ 41‍–‍35 33‍–‍30
Brooklyn Superbas 70 66 .515 19 40‍–‍33 30‍–‍33
Boston Beaneaters 58 80 .420 32 31‍–‍35 27‍–‍45
Philadelphia Phillies 49 86 .363 39½ 25‍–‍33 24‍–‍53
St. Louis Cardinals 43 94 .314 46½ 22‍–‍45 21‍–‍49

Postseason

The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 13 with the Boston Americans defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1903 World Series in eight games.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Boston Americans 5
NL Pittsburgh Pirates 3
1903 Boston vs Chicago at Huntington Avenue Grounds

"Battle of Ohio"

Termed the "Battle of Ohio", the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Naps played an unofficial best of 11-game exhibition series after the regular season, with Cleveland winning the series six games to three.[9]

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team Former Manager New Manager
Baltimore Orioles Wilbert Robinson Team folded
Chicago White Stockings Clark Griffith Jimmy Callahan
Detroit Tigers Frank Dwyer Ed Barrow
New York Highlanders Team enfranchised Clark Griffith
Philadelphia Phillies Bill Shettsline Chief Zimmer

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders[10]
Stat Player Total
AVG Nap Lajoie (CLE) .344
OPS Nap Lajoie (CLE) .896
HR Buck Freeman (BSA) 13
RBI Buck Freeman (BSA) 104
R Patsy Dougherty (BSA) 107
H Patsy Dougherty (BSA) 195
SB Harry Bay (CLE) 45
Pitching leaders[11]
Stat Player Total
W Cy Young (BSA) 28
L Patsy Flaherty (CWS) 25
ERA Earl Moore (CLE) 1.74
K Rube Waddell (PHA) 302
IP Cy Young (BSA) 341.2
SV Bill Dinneen (BSA)
George Mullin (DET)
Al Orth (WSH)
Jack Powell (SLB)
Cy Young (BSA) 		2
WHIP Addie Joss (CLE) 0.948

National League

Hitting leaders[12]
Stat Player Total
AVG Honus Wagner (PIT) .355
OPS Fred Clarke (PIT) .946
HR Jimmy Sheckard (BKN) 9
RBI Sam Mertes (NYG) 104
R Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 137
H Ginger Beaumont (PIT) 209
SB Jimmy Sheckard (BKN)
Frank Chance (CHC) 		67
Pitching leaders[13]
Stat Player Total
W Joe McGinnity (NYG) 31
L Togie Pittinger (BSB) 22
ERA Sam Leever (PIT) 2.06
K Christy Mathewson (NYG) 267
IP Joe McGinnity (NYG) 434.0
SV Carl Lundgren (CHC)
Roscoe Miller (NYG) 		3
WHIP Deacon Phillippe (PIT) 1.030

Home field attendance

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
New York Giants[14] 84 75.0% 579,530 91.3% 8,279
Philadelphia Athletics[15] 75 −9.6% 422,473 0.6% 6,306
Chicago Cubs[16] 82 20.6% 386,205 46.5% 5,290
St. Louis Browns[17] 65 −16.7% 380,405 39.7% 5,434
Boston Americans[18] 91 18.2% 379,338 8.8% 5,419
Cincinnati Reds[19] 74 5.7% 351,680 61.8% 4,627
Pittsburgh Pirates[20] 91 −11.7% 326,855 34.1% 4,669
Cleveland Naps[21] 77 11.6% 311,280 13.0% 4,206
Chicago White Stockings[22] 60 −18.9% 286,183 −15.3% 4,088
St. Louis Cardinals[23] 43 −23.2% 226,538 0.1% 3,283
Brooklyn Superbas[24] 70 −6.7% 224,670 12.4% 3,078
Detroit Tigers[25] 65 25.0% 224,523 18.5% 3,454
New York Highlanders[26] 72 211,808 3,161
Philadelphia Phillies[27] 49 −12.5% 151,729 35.4% 2,487
Boston Beaneaters[28] 58 −20.5% 143,155 22.4% 2,105
Washington Senators[29] 43 −29.5% 128,878 −31.5% 1,815

Events

References

  1. ^ "History of the World Series – 1903". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2006.
  2. ^ "World Series Summary". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "A guide to rules changes in MLB (and sports) history". MLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  4. ^ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (June 9, 2012). "Pitching Mound Is a Work of Art Often Abused". The New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  5. ^ "The National League Rules Committee decrees that all foul balls are to count as strikes, except after two strikes. - This Day In Baseball". February 27, 1901. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "This Day in Sports: The National League Makes it Way Harder for Fans to Catch a Foul Ball". ESPN.com. February 27, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Miskowiec, Abigail. "1902 Winter Meetings: A Peace Accord – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  8. ^ "1903 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ISBN 9781578603008
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  10. ^ "1903 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  11. ^ "1903 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  12. ^ "1903 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  13. ^ "1903 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
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