1906 World Series

1906 World Series
Chicago White Sox 93 - 58 in the AL	4 - 2 Series Summary	Chicago Cubs 116 - 36 in the NL

The 1906 World Series featured a crosstown match-up between the Chicago Cubs, who had posted the highest regular-season win total (116) and winning percentage (.763) in the major leagues since the advent of the 154-game season; and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, known as the "Hitless Wonders" after finishing with the worst team batting average (.230) in the American League, beat the Cubs in six games for one of the greatest upsets in Series history. True to their nickname, the White Sox hit only .198 as a team in winning the series but it bettered the .196 average produced by the Cubs.

In Game 3, Ed Walsh struck out 12 Cubs, breaking the previous record of 11 set by Bill Dinneen in 1903.

Records: Chicago White Sox (W: 93, L: 58, Pct: .616, GA: 3) - Chicago Cubs (W: 116, L: 36, Pct: .622, GA: 20)

Managers: Fielder Jones (White Sox), Frank Chance (Cubs)

Umpires: Jim Johnstone (NL), Silk O'Loughlin (AL)

Johnstone was the umpire for Game 1, but the noise from the huge crowd made it impossible to hear his signals. When O'Loughlin worked home plate, he decided to use the hand signals developed by deaf ballplayer Billy Hoy a few years earlier, but that were only sparsely used until then. This proved to be a huge success, and within two years, it was made mandatory for all umpires to use such signals.

Summary

AL Chicago White Sox (4) vs NL Chicago Cubs (2)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (CHW-CHI)	Attendance
1	October 9	Chicago Cubs	1	Chicago White Sox	2	1-0	12,693
2	October 10	Chicago White Sox	1	Chicago Cubs	7	1-1	12,595
3	October 11	Chicago Cubs	0	Chicago White Sox	3	2-1	13,667
4	October 12	Chicago White Sox	0	Chicago Cubs	1	2-2	18,385
5	October 13	Chicago Cubs	6	Chicago White Sox	8	3-2	23,257
6	October 14	Chicago White Sox	8	Chicago Cubs	3	4-2	19,249

The "Hitless Wonder" Chicago White Sox lived up to their name in the 1906 World Series, hitting only .198 but defeating the Chicago Cubs four games to two in the only crosstown World Series in Chicago history.

Matchups

Game 1

October 9, 1906 at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Nick Altrock of the White Sox

Cubs hurler Mordecai Brown was sent to continue the dominance against Nick Altrock. Both pitchers pitched a perfect game through three innings. The Cubs had a runner at second, but couldn't score in the 4th. In the top of the 5th, George Rohe tripled to lead off, then scored on an error to home plate when Patsy Dougherty reached on a fielder's choice. In the 6th, the White Sox sought the add another run. Nick Altrock walked, then was sacrificed to second base by Ed Hahn. When Fielder Jones singled to center field, Altrock was thrown out at home, but Jones moved to second on the throw. When Cubs catcher Johnny Kling allowed a passed ball, Jones moved to third. Frank Isbell singled to make a 2-0 White Sox lead. In the bottom half, the Cubs struck back. Kling walked and Brown singled, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. After Solly Hofman moved the runners to second and third on a sacrifice bunt, Altrock threw a wild pitch, allowing Kling to score and Brown to go to third. With one out and a man at third, Altrock pitched with no margin for error. He got Jimmy Sheckard to pop out and Frank Schulte to ground out to end the threat. For the rest of the game Altrock pitched beautifully, allowing only one more Cub to reach second base. The lead would stand as the White Sox won Game One 2 to 1.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
White Sox	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	4	1
Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	2
W: Nick Altrock (1-0)  L: Mordecai Brown (0-1)

Game 2

October 10, 1906 at South Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Cubs pitcher Ed Reulbach was called upon to stem the tide against White Sox hurler Doc White. After each pitcher had a 1-2-3 first inning, things started to fall apart for White. After Frank Chance struck out to lead off, Harry Steinfeldt singled to left. Joe Tinker followed with a bunt single. Johnny Evers would then reach on an error by second baseman Frank Isbell, which also allowed Steinfeldt to score (unearned) and move Tinker and Evers to second and third. Johnny Kling was then intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Ed Reulbach was out on a sacrifice bunt which scored Tinker (unearned) and moved Evers to third and Kling to second. Solly Hofman then followed with a single to shortstop Lee Tannehill that scored Evers (unearned), but, when he tried to score, Kling was out at home, ending the threat. The Cubs added another unearned run in the 3rd, ending Doc White's night. Despite giving up four runs, none of them were earned. The White Sox were able to get on the board on the 5th with an unearned run thanks to a wild pitch and an error. The Cubs would score three more runs, all of them earned, in the 6th and 8th innings to take Game 2 by a score of 7 to 1 and tie the Series at one game a piece.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cubs	0	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	7	10	2
White Sox	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	3
W: Ed Reulbach (1-0)  L: Doc White (0-1)

Game 3

6th inning of Game 3, when the White Sox broke the game open.

October 11, 1906 at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

After allowing 2 first-inning hits, White Sox pitcher "Big" Ed Walsh didn't give up another and struck out 12 to give the Sox a 2-1 edge in the series. Third baseman George Rohe cracked a two out bases loaded triple to left field in the top of the 6th to account for the only runs of the game.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	4	1
Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
W: Ed Walsh (1-0)  L: Jack Pfiester (0-1)

Game 4

October 12, 1906 at South Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

"Three-Finger" Mordecai Brown pitched 5-2/3 innings of no hit ball for the Cubs, settling for a 2-hitter in evening the series at 2 games apiece. Nick Altrock was the hard luck loser with Johnny Evers 2-out single in the 7th scoring Frank Chance for the only score of the game. The White Sox had the tying run on second base in the 9th, thanks to a 2-out walk and a passed ball, but Frank Isbell gounded out to end the game.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	7	1
White Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
W: Mordecai Brown (1-1)  L: Nick Altrock (1-1)

Game 5

October 13, 1906 at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Game 5 saw a wild affair in which there were a total of 18 hits, 10 walks, 6 errors, 2 hit batsmen, 3 wild pitches and a steal of home. The Cubs allowed a first inning run to the Sox, then scored 3 of their own to take an early lead. The White Sox tied the game in the 3rd on George Davis' theft of home on a double steal and then took the lead for good with a 4 run rally in the 4th inning and held on for the victory to take a 3-2 lead in the series. A 12 hit attack led by Frank Isbell's 4 doubles were enough to overcome 6 errors committed by the porous White Sox defense. Ed Walsh gathered his 2nd win of the series, although he needed 3 innings of relief help from Doc White

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
White Sox	1	0	2	4	0	1	0	0	0	8	12	6
Cubs	3	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	6	6	0
W: Ed Walsh (2-0)  L: Jack Pfiester (0-2)  SV: Doc White (1)

Game 6

October 14, 1906 at South Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Mordecai Brown, pitching on only 1 day of rest, didn't make it out of the 2nd inning as the White Sox stunned the Cubs in the series finale. The White Sox battered Brown for 7 runs on 8 hits and received a solid pitching performance from Doc White in winning the series over a team that had won 116 games during the regular season.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cubs	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	7	0
White Sox	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	X	8	14	3
W: Doc White (1-1)  L: Mordecai Brown (1-2)

Composite Box

1906 World Series (4-2): Chicago White Sox (A.L.) over Chicago Cubs (N.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox	4	4	2	4	2	5	0	1	0	22	37	15
Chicago Cubs	4	3	1	1	1	4	1	2	1	18	36	7
Total Attendance: 99,845   Average Attendance: 16,641
Winning Player’s Share: – $1,874   Losing Player’s Share – $440

Stats

Chicago White Sox

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Nick Altrock	2	4	1	.250	0	0
George Davis	3	13	4	.308	0	6
Jiggs Donahue	6	18	5	.278	0	4
Patsy Dougherty	6	20	2	.100	0	1
Ed Hahn	6	22	6	.273	0	0
Frank Isbell	6	26	8	.308	0	4
Fielder Jones	6	21	3	.143	0	0
Ed McFarland	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Bill O'Neill	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Frank Owen	1	2	0	.000	0	0
George Rohe	6	21	7	.333	0	4
Billy Sullivan Sr.	6	21	0	.000	0	0
Lee Tannehill	3	9	1	.111	0	0
Babe Towne	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Ed Walsh	2	4	0	.000	0	0
Doc White	3	3	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Nick Altrock	2	18	1	1	1.00	5
Ed Walsh	2	15	2	0	0.60	17
Doc White	3	15	1	1	1.80	4
Frank Owen	1	6	0	0	3.00	2

Chicago Cubs

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Mordecai Brown	3	6	2	.333	0	0
Frank Chance	6	21	5	.238	0	0
Johnny Evers	6	20	3	.150	0	1
Doc Gessler	2	1	0	.000	0	0
Solly Hofman	6	23	7	.304	0	2
Johnny Kling	6	17	3	.176	0	0
Pat Moran	2	2	0	.000	0	0
Orval Overall	2	4	1	.250	0	0
Jack Pfiester	2	2	0	.000	0	0
Ed Reulbach	2	3	0	.000	0	1
Frank Schulte	6	26	7	.269	0	3
Jimmy Sheckard	6	21	0	.000	0	1
Harry Steinfeldt	6	20	5	.250	0	2
Joe Tinker	6	18	3	.167	0	1

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mordecai Brown	3	19.7	1	2	3.66	12
Orval Overall	2	12	0	0	1.50	8
Ed Reulbach	2	11	1	0	2.45	4
Jack Pfiester	2	10.3	0	2	6.10	11

Further Reading

• Hal Bock: The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty: Before the Curse, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2016. ISBN 978-1442253308
• R.A.R. Edwards: "The 1906 World Series: The First World Series with Umpire Hand Signals", The National Pastime, SABR, 51, 2023, pp. 27-31.
• Bruce A. Rubenstein: Chicago in the World Series, 1903-2005: The Cubs and White Sox in Championship Play, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.
• Bernard A. Weisberger: When Chicago Ruled Baseball: "The Cubs-White Sox World Series of 1906", William Morrow, 2006.

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