1908 World Series

1908 World Series
Chicago Cubs 99 - 55 in the NL	4 - 1 Series Summary	Detroit Tigers 90 - 63 in the AL

The 1908 World Series matched the defending champion Chicago Cubs against the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the 1907 Series. In this first-ever rematch of this young event, the Cubs won in 5 games for their second consecutive title.

The 1908 World Series is significant for being the last World Championship for the Chicago Cubs to date. The Cubs have go on to appear in the World Series in 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945, losing the Series all seven times. The Cubs had one of baseball's most dominant teams in the early 1900s, but unbeknownst to their fans in 1908 (the year "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" debuted) this would be the team's last title of the century.

1908 was the year of the infamous "Merkle Boner" play that allowed the Cubs to reach the World Series after beating the New York Giants in a one-game "playoff", actually the makeup game for the tie that the Merkle play had caused.

The Series was anti-climactic after tight pennant races in both leagues. Ty Cobb had a much better Series than in 1907, as did the rest of his team. The final two games, in Detroit, were shutouts. This was also the most poorly attended Series in history, with the final game drawing a record-low 6,210 fans. Attendance in Chicago was harmed by a ticket-scalping scheme that fans accused the club's owner of participating in, and the Series was boycotted to some degree.

Records: Chicago Cubs (W: 99, L: 55, Pct: .643, GA: 1) - Detroit Tigers (W: 90, L: 63, Pct: .588, GA: ½)

Managers: Frank Chance (Chicago), Hughie Jennings (Detroit)

Umpires: Jack Sheridan (AL), Hank O'Day (NL), odd-numbered games; Bill Klem (NL), Tommy Connolly (AL), even-numbered games

For the first time, four umpires were used in the series, in alternating two-man teams.

Summary

NL Chicago Cubs (4) vs AL Detroit Tigers (1)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Cubs - 10, Tigers - 6	October 10	Bennett Park	10,812
2	Tigers - 1, Cubs - 6	October 11	West Side Park	17,760
3	Tigers - 8, Cubs - 3	October 12	West Side Park	14,543
4	Cubs - 3, Tigers - 0	October 13	Bennett Park	12,907
5	Cubs - 2, Tigers - 0	October 14	Bennett Park	6,210

Matchups

Game 1

October 10, 1908 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago (NL)	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	10	14	2
Detroit (AL)	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	6	10	3
W: Mordecai Brown (1-0)  L: Ed Summers (0-1)

Game 2

October 11, 1908 at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (AL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	1
Chicago (NL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	x	6	7	0
W: Orval Overall (1-0)  L: Bill Donovan (0-1)
HR: CHC – Joe Tinker (1)

Game 3

October 12, 1908 at West Side Park in Chicago, Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (AL)	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	2	0	8	12	4
Chicago (NL)	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
W: George Mullin (1-0)  L: Jack Pfiester (0-1)

Game 4

October 13, 1908 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago (NL)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	10	0
Detroit (AL)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
W: Mordecai Brown (2-0)  L: Ed Summers (0-2)

Game 5

October 14, 1908 at Bennett Park in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago (NL)	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
Detroit	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
W: Orval Overall (2-0)  L: Bill Donovan (0-2)

The attendance during Game 5 (6,210) was the smallest World Series crowd in history.

Boss Schmidt, who made the last out of the 1907 Series with a pop-up to shortstop, also made the last out of this series by grounding out catcher to first.

Composite Box

1908 World Series (4-1): Chicago Cubs (N.L.) over Detroit Tigers (A.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago Cubs	1	0	6	3	1	0	1	6	6	24	48	3
Detroit Tigers	2	0	0	0	0	5	3	4	1	15	32	9
Total Attendance: 62,232   Average Attendance: 12,446
Winning Player’s Share: – $1,318   Losing Player’s Share – $870

The 1908 World Champion Chicago Cubs at West Side Grounds

Further Reading

• Hal Bock: The Last Chicago Cubs Dynasty: Before the Curse, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2016. ISBN 978-1442253308
• G.H. Fleming: The Unforgettable Season, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2006 (originally published in 1981). ISBN 0803269226
• George R. Matthews: When the Cubs Won It All: The 1908 Championship Season, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2009.
• Cait Murphy: Crazy '08: How a cast of cranks, rogues, boneheads and magnates created the greatest year in baseball history, Smithsonian Books, Washington, DC, 2007.
• Bruce A. Rubenstein: Chicago in the World Series, 1903-2005: The Cubs and White Sox in Championship Play, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.

Related Sites

• The Chicago Tribune's coverage of the final game

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Cubs over Tigers (4-1)