1924 World Series Film

This is a pretty interesting find from the Library of Congress. Here’s the story behind it.

H/T to my Mom, who texted a CNN story about this to me.

1924 World Champions

from baseballhalloffame.org

1924 World Series Game 7

Friday October 10, 1924
Griffith Stadium

“Johnson had sustained two heart-breaking setbacks at the hands of the Giants, and it seemed the irony of fate would keep him from the goal of a lifetime.” – Sporting News 10/16/1924

The only irony in the end was that Johnson, who was baseball’s best starting pitcher for a number of years (and possibly the all-time pitcher), had his most glorious moment in baseball come in a relief appearance.

National Anthem at Game 7 of the 1924 World Series

Early on, however, it seemed that the Nationals were prepared to, quite literally, throw away their first World Series. The team had committed eight errors in the first six games of the series, many of them costing runs (just 15 of the Giants 24 runs were charged as earned runs). During the season, the Nats had the AL’s best defensive efficiency rating, and were second in fielding percentage, but that seemed to all be out the window in the World Series.

After manager Bucky Harris gave his team a 1-0 lead with his second home run of the series, a solo shot off of Nehf in the fourth; his team’s defense almost cost Washington a World Series. The team commited two errors in the fifth, part of a three-run inning for the Giants, that gave the National League champions a 3-1 lead. The runs came off of George Mogridge, who relieved starter Curly Ogden after he faced only two batters.

Harris touches home after his fourth inning home run

The Ogden start was a case of Harris trying to out-maneuver his counterpart John McGraw. He announced the right-handed Ogden would start so that McGraw would send out his lefty-heavy lineup. After a strikeout and a walk, Harris quickly removed Ogden to bring in the lefty Mogridge.

By the time the score was 3-1, it seemed that the strategy, while possibly clever, was not working. The score stayed the same until the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Nemo Leibold doubled down the left field line. He reached third on Muddy Ruel’s single, and Bennie Tate drew a walk to load the bases. New York starter Virgil Barnes seemed close to working out of the jam when he got McNeely on a lazy fly to left, but the manager would not let his club lose. Harris lined a single to left that tied the game.

Shirley Povich, 70 years later, described the scene in the ninth inning.

Now Harris needed a new pitcher going into the ninth and the crowd was clamoring, “We Want Johnson!” When Johnson strode to the mound the stadium was in an uproar. He could yet win a World Series game and so much of America would be pleased.

Johnson ran into some trouble right away, and had to pitch around a one-out triple to get out of the ninth with the score still tied. He and Giant pitchers Hugh McQuillan and Jack Bentley exchanged scoreless innings until the 12th. Johnson had to pitch around a lead off single to get out of the top half of the inning, but, as it turned out, a Hank Gowdy fly out to left would be the ace pitcher’s last pitch of the game.

In the bottom of the 12th it was New York’s turn to have defensive difficulty. With one out, Muddy Ruel earned a second chance when his pop foul was dropped by Gowdy. He made the most of it, firing a double to left for his second hit of the game and the series. Johnson, batting for himself, reached when the short stop Jackson booted his grounder, bringing Earl McNeely to the plate with men at first and second and only one out.

Who better to describe the play than Washington’s long time sports writer, Shirley Povich:

Third baseman Lindstrom was poised for a routine play on McNeely’s sharp grounder, maybe an inning-ending double play. And then for the Giants — horrors. For the Senators — glee. Whatever McNeely’s ground ball hit, a pebble or a divot or a minefield, it took a freak high hop over Lindstrom’s head into the outfield for a single and Ruel flew home from second with the run that won everything for the Senators.

In Griffith Stadium the crowd catapulted out of the stands to thrash onto the field and to dance on the dugout roofs, refusing to leave the park until long after nightfall.

The next day, of course, it was up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House for the World Series champions, the streets lined by tens of thousands. The city’s joy was best expressed, perhaps, by the enthusiasm of the men on the hook-and-ladder float of the Cherrydale, Va., Fire Department, which flaunted a huge banner that read: “Let Cherrydale Burn.”

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 6

Thursday October 9, 1924
Griffith Stadium

Roger Peckinpaugh returned to the Washington lineup for the first time since he left Game 3 with what was originally reported as a “charley-horse,” but turned out to be a tendon problem. The return would be short-lived, however, as the veteran short stop re-injured himself in the ninth inning of Game 6.

He stuck around long enough, however, to get two hits and score a run in a game in which runs were particularly valuable. Game 6 was a duel of lefties; Tom Zachary of the Nats against Art Nehf of the Giants. Both pitchers had won their previous series start in impressive fashion, allowing just five earned runs between them in 20 1/3 innings pitched.

The Giants got to Zachary early with the help of a first inning RBI single by George Kelly. It was not a trend, however, as Zachary allowed just five more New York hits over the next nine innings, including a stretch in which he retired 14 out of 15 Giants.

The only Washington runs came on a single by Bucky Harris that scored both Peckinpaugh and Earl McNeely in the bottom of the fifth. The 2-1 lead held up thanks to Zachary’s pitching, and the Nats forced a seventh game.

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 5

Wednesday October 8, 1924
Polo Grounds

49,271 fans packed the Polo Grounds on what was the coldest day of the series. It was thought that Walter Johnson would bounce back from his game one defeat with a victory in Game 5, but it was not to be. Johnson’s second World Series start turned out worse than his first, and it looked like the book might be closed on the post season career of the best pitcher the game had ever seen.

The game, like the first three, was close most of the way, but the Giants used an eighth inning rally to put some distance between themselves and the Nats.

The Giants broke the scoreless tie in the third, when three straight off of Johnson netted a run, the last of which was an RBI hit by Freddie Lindstrom. Washington evened the score in the fifth, when Ralph Miller, still in the lineup due to Roger Peckinpaugh’s injury, singled home Joe Judge.

For the second time in the series, a Giants’ pitcher hit a home run. This time it was starter Jack Bentley, who, with a man on, took a Johnson pitch into the right-field stands to give New York a 3-1 lead. Unlike Rosy Ryan, Bentley’s power was not particularly surprising, considering that he had hit 11 during the season.

Johnson held the opposition scoreless in the sixth and seventh, while his offense pulled within one thanks to Goose Goslin’s third round-tripper of the series that came in the eighth inning with the bases empty. The home run chased Bentley from the game, who had allowed only two runs on nine Senator hits. Hugh McQuillan came on to retire the Nats in the eighth.

The home half of the eighth was a nightmare for Johnson and his team. The Giants managed to load the bases with no outs, thanks in part to a Johnson error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Travis Jackson hit a sacrifice fly to left, and one out later McQuillan and Lindstrom hit back-to-back RBI singles to give the home team a 6-2 lead.

McQuillan, despite a one-out walk, retired the Senators pretty easily in the ninth to clinch the victory. The Giants headed back to the nation’s capital needing just one victory to clinch the franchise’s fourth World Series win since the turn of the century.

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 4

Tuesday October 7, 1924
Polo Grounds

For the first time in the series, a team jumped to a comfortable lead and kept it. In the process, Washington was able to even the series with the Giants, and make the series a best-of-three.

The Giants actually took the early lead, however, when an error by Ossie Bluege at third allowed yet another unearned run. George Mogridge was able to get out of the first with no further damage, though it would not be the last Washington error of the game.

The Nats’ offense started taking over in the third inning. With two out and two on, Goose Goslin launched his second home run of the series, this time off of Virgil Barnes, to give Washington a 3-1 lead.

The Griffs added two more in the fifth when a Barnes wild pitch scored Earl McNeely from third, and Goslin’s bat struck again, this time with an RBI single to score manager Bucky Harris from second base.

Washington added two more runs in the eighth, helped in part by another Goslin hit. For the game, Goslin went 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. The Giants were able to add a few runs to make it somewhat interesting, including another unearned run in the ninth thanks to a Sam Rice mishap; but the game was in hand for Washington, who won by the final score of 7-4.

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 3

Monday October 6, 1924
Polo Grounds

The Giants took advantage of some costly Washington errors to take the first game at the Polo Grounds, and claim a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The scoring started in the home half of the second inning, when a Bucky Harris error caused a chain reaction that led to two unearned runs scoring in the inning. With one out and a man on first, Travis Jackson hit a ground ball to Ossie Bluege at third, who threw a perfect strike to the manager. Harris, a sure-handed fielder if there was one, dropped the ball allowing both runners to be safe on a potential double-play ball.

The Giants added a run in the third inning, when, for the second time this series, a double-play ball scored George Kelly. The Giants had a 3-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for the Senators to strike back. They managed to load the bases with just one out in the fourth. Ralph Miller, who subbed for Roger Peckinpaugh when he left with a “charley-horse” in the second inning, hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Sam Rice with the first Washington run of the game. After Muddy Ruel drew a walk to once again load the bases, McGraw yanked starter Hugh McQuillan in favor of Rosy Ryan. Ryan walked the pinch-hitter, Bennie Tate to score the second run of the inning before he coaxed Nemo Leibold to fly out to get out of the inning with a lead.

The Giants extended their lead, however, when Ryan, the pitcher, hit a home run into the upper right-field stands in the home half of the fourth. It was the first home run Ryan had hit in his career, and one of only two that he would retire with. New York went ahead 5-2 when another Washington error, this time charged to Peckinpaugh’s replacement at short stop, led to another unearned run.

A Mule Shirley single in the bottom of the eighth knocked in the third run for Washington, but McGraw’s team quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. The game entered the ninth with New York ahead 6-3.

Things looked good for Harris’ team when his own single to lead off the inning helped Washington load the bases with just one out. McGraw called on Claude Jonnard to get out of the situation, and like Ryan before him, Jonnard walked the first man he faced to force in a Washington run. Unlike Ryan, that ended Jonnard’s day (and his series). McGraw went to Mule Watson to close out the potential rally, and he did so by getting Miller to pop out, and coaxing a ground ball to third off the bat of Ruel to secure the 6-4 win.

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 2

Sunday October 5, 1924
Griffith Stadium

Washington came out on top in the second straight nail-biter of the 1924 World Series. This time, the Griffs jumped to an early lead when Goose Goslin launched a home run into right field off of Jack Bentley, scoring Sam Rice to make the score 2-0.

Though Bentley pitched well for the rest of the game, he did give up another long ball; a fifth inning shot to left by player-manager Bucky Harris, a man who had only one home run during the regular season, and only six in his career.

Lefty Tom Zachary took the early lead and ran with it, scattering just three New York hits over the first six innings. In the seventh, the Giants scored when George Kelly came home on a 5-4-3 double play. The Sporting News hailed the play as an example of the great strategy used by Harris, allowing the run to score in order to “clear the bases”.

Zachary entered the top of the ninth with a 3-1 lead. He started the inning by walking Frankie Frisch. After getting a pop out from Ross Youngs, Kelly lashed what was described as a long single to right. Frisch was off with the pitch on the hit-and-run, and never stopped on his way to cutting the lead to a single run. After Kelly reached second on a ground-out by Bob Meusel, Hack Wilson hit a single to right that scored Kelly and tied the game. Firpo Marberry came on to get the final out, but the damage had been done, and it looked as though Game 2 may be headed to extra innings.

Instead, the Nationals used their last at-bat to quickly squash the idea of extras. Joe Judge drew a walk, and was sacrificed to second by Ossie Bluege. In hindsight, the New York Times suggested that McGraw “stubbornly” refused to issue Roger Peckinpaugh an intentional walk. Whether the free pass was on his mind or not, McGraw let Bentley pitch to the veteran, who promptly took a curve-ball into deep left field for a game-winning RBI double.

Boxscore

1924 World Series Game 1

Saturday October 4, 1924
Griffith Stadium

U.S. Presidents had routinely been a part of baseball in Washington, but Calvin Coolidge was the first President to see a World Series game in Washington. He was present to throw out the first pitch, but there was controversy surrounding the game before it even started.

On October 2, two days before the series was to start, Judge Landis announced that two members of the Giants, Jimmy O’Connell and coach Cozy Dolan, were banned from the World Series for attempting to bribe a Philadelphia player to go easy on the Giants in an important late-season game. O’Connell, a backup outfielder and frequent pinch-hitter, was not a huge loss for the Giants, but up to the start of the series it was thought that other, more important parts of the team would be implicated as well.

Though the other players were cleared by Landis, Ban Johnson still felt that the series should not be played. When he was ignored by the owners, Johnson staged his own protest by not attending any games.

Managers Bucky Harris and John McGraw

The series went on, however, and Washington saw its first World Series. The lineups for game one:

   New York Giants               Washington Senators
1. Lindstrom           3b        McNeely             cf
2. Frisch              2b        Harris              2b
3. Youngs              rf        Rice                rf
4. Kelly               cf        Goslin              lf
5. Terry               1b        Judge               1b
6. Wilson              lf        Bluege              3b
7. Jackson             ss        Peckinpaugh         ss
8. Gowdy               c         Ruel                c
9. Nehf                p         Johnson             p

Walter Johnson looked strong initially in his first World Series game, retiring the Giants in order in the first. Art Nehf responded in kind to take the game into the second inning.

George Kelly led off the second inning with a home run into the temporary bleachers in left field off of Johnson. The Washington ace had allowed just 10 round trippers all season, but Kelly’s shot gave the Giants a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Bill Terry hit one to the same bleachers to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

Nehf, on the other hand, was cruising along, allowing just one hit in the first five innings. The Nats didn’t get to him until the top of the sixth. Earl McNeely led the inning off with a double, and reached third on a Bucky Harris ground out. Sam Rice hit a roller to second to put Washington on the board for the first time.

The two pitchers exchanged scoreless innings until the bottom of the ninth, when Washington came to bat down by a run. With one out, Ossie Bluege singled. Bluege scored from first when Roger Peckinpaugh launched a double to left field. The Nats had tied the game and forced extra innings.

Nehf and Johnson both stayed in the game, and the score remained tied into the 12th inning. The Nationals put a threat together in the 10th with two straight one-out singles, but Nehf closed the door by retiring the last two men in the inning.

The Giants’ half of the 12th started when Johnson issued a walk to Hank Gowdy, the fifth walk that Johnson had issued in the game. The pitcher Nehf followed with a single, and both runners advanced on an error charged to Washington center fielder McNeely. Jack Bentley drew his team’s sixth walk off Johnson to load the bases with no outs.

It looked like Johnson may get out of the mess when Frankie Frisch hit a hard grounder to second to force the runner at home. The next batter, Ross Youngs, singled to center to put the Giants ahead 3-2. Kelly then hit a sacrifice fly to score an important insurance run before Johnson got out of the inning.

The Nats made it interesting in the bottom of the 12th, scoring an unearned run to cut the lead to one. With one out, Sam Rice was caught trying to stretch a single into a double on a throw by Billy Southworth. Had Rice been safe, the Nats would have second and third with just one out. As it stood, the tying run was at third with two outs, and Art Nehf ended the game by getting Goose Goslin to hit a slow roller to Kelly at second, who made a bare-handed play to clinch game one for the Giants.

Boxscore