1903 Boston Americans

1903 Boston Americans / Franchise: Boston Red Sox / BR Team Page

Record: 91-47-3, Finished 1st in American League (1903 AL)

Clinched Pennant: September 17, 1903 Cleveland Naps

World Series Champs

Managed by Jimmy Collins

Ballpark: Huntington Avenue Grounds; Rocky Point Grounds (Warwick, RI - September 6)

History, Comments, Contributions

A plaque commemorating Boston's 1903 World Series win stands outside Fenway Park

The 1903 Boston Americans won the first World Series.

A number of sources claim that the team was known as the "Boston Pilgrims", but it was not so. One or two newspapers did occasionally used the name "Pilgrims" in 1907. However, the team actually never had a name but was most commonly referred to as the "Bostons" or the "Americans." In December 1908, the team was officially named the Boston Red Sox.

Before winning the World Series, Boston won its first American League pennant that season. They did it by having the best offence in the league, combined with a solid pitching staff that for the first time was not just a one-man show by the great Cy Young. Off course, Young had a great year, going 28-9 with an ERA of 2.08 in 341 2/3 innings, but the team was also great when he wasn't on the mound, going 63-38 in games in which he was not involved in the decision. The support staff included two twenty-game winners in Bill Dinneen (21-13) and Long Tom Hughes (20-7). Two other pitchers saw regular action - Norwood Gibson (13-9) and George Winter (9-8) - while young Nick Altrock, who was sold to the Chicago White Sox on July 2nd, was the only other man to take the mound all season, making one losing start on June 30th.

Standings

American League	W	L	T	GB	Pct.
Boston Pilgrims	91	47	3	--	.659
Philadelphia Athletics	75	60	2	14½	.556
Cleveland Naps	77	63	0	15	.550
New York Highlanders	72	62	2	17	.537
Detroit Tigers	65	71	1	25	.478
St. Louis Browns	65	74	0	26½	.468
Chicago White Sox	60	77	1	30½	.438
Washington Senators	43	94	3	47½	.314

World Series

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (BOS-PIT)	Attendance
1	October 1	Pittsburgh Pirates	7	Boston Americans	3	0-1	16,242
2	October 2	Pittsburgh Pirates	0	Boston Americans	3	1-1	9,415
3	October 3	Pittsburgh Pirates	4	Boston Americans	2	1-2	18,801
4	October 6	Boston Americans	4	Pittsburgh Pirates	5	1-3	7,600
5	October 7	Boston Americans	11	Pittsburgh Pirates	2	2-3	12,322
6	October 8	Boston Americans	6	Pittsburgh Pirates	3	3-3	11,556
7	October 10	Boston Americans	7	Pittsburgh Pirates	3	4-3	17,038
8	October 13	Pittsburgh Pirates	0	Boston Americans	3	5-3	7,455

Further Reading

• Roger I. Abrams: The First World Series and the Baseball Fanatics of 1903, Northeastern University Press, Boston, MA, 2003. ISBN 978-1555535612
• Boston Almanac "Baseball History in 1903 American League

The 1903 Boston Americans

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Pilgrims over Pirates (5-3)