1910s

The 1910s were the latter half of the Deadball Era, but offensive levels were already starting to rise, especially batting averages, with .400 becoming much more attainable. Babe Ruth set a new home run record in 1919 as power levels were on the rise by small margins as the decade wore on.

The top teams of the 1910s were the New York Giants and Philadelphia Athletics (first half of the decade). The second half of the decade was marked by more parity - the Chicago White Sox looked to be on the verge of a mid-level dynasty before the Black Sox Scandal decimated the team a year after the decade ended. The Scandal obviously had its roots at the end of this decade as one of a couple of gambling scandals to hit baseball during this period. Another noteworthy team was the 1914 Boston Braves, who became known as the "Miracle Braves" for their stunning comeback over the last months of the season and upset of the A's in the Series.

Top players of the decade included Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Eddie Collins and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Ruth made his professional debut in 1914 and became a top left-handed pitcher for a few years before his move to the outfield.

The Federal League briefly challenged the American League and National League in 1914 and 1915 and included players like Albert Bender and Edd Roush but it was unable to maintain its assault on the big two leagues. World War I also took its toll on the AL and NL starting in 1917 - and especially on the minors, many of which closed down for the War, as they would during World War II.

The minor leagues were becoming fairly stable except for the War, with the top leagues becoming well-established. Membership in those leagues had become set for the most part and there would be little change over the next few decades.

The primary site of international competition remained the Cuban Winter League, where many Negro League stars spent their offseason to compete with Cuban greats, including major leaguers like Dolf Luque.

Years	American League	National League	Postseason	Other
1910	1910 AL	1910 NL	1910 WS
1911	1911 AL	1911 NL	1911 WS
1912	1912 AL	1912 NL	1912 WS
1913	1913 AL	1913 NL	1913 WS
1914	1914 AL	1914 NL	1914 WS	1914 FL
1915	1915 AL	1915 NL	1915 WS	1915 FL
1916	1916 AL	1916 NL	1916 WS
1917	1917 AL	1917 NL	1917 WS
1918	1918 AL	1918 NL	1918 WS
1919	1919 AL	1919 NL	1919 WS

Further Reading

• Alexander F. Barnes, Peter L. Belmonte and Samuel O. Barnes: Play Ball!: Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2019. ISBN 9780764356780
• Jim Chapman: Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era: Rediscovering the Early Lensmen and Their Indelible Images That Brought the Game from the Field to the Fans, self-published, 2023. ISBN 9798987035702
• Mark S. Halfon: Tales from the Deadball Era: Ty Cobb, Home Run Baker, Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Wildest Times in Baseball History, Potomac Books, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2014. ISBN 978-1612346489
• Bill James: "The 1910s", in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, The Free Press, New York, NY, 2001, pp. 94-119.
• Jim Leeke, ed.: Ballplayers in the Great War: Newspaper Accounts of Major Leaguers in World War I Military Service, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7864-7546-9
• Jim Leeke: From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2017. ISBN 978-0-8032-9072-3
• Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith: War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War, Basic Books, New York, NY, 2020. ISBN 9781541672666
• Tom Ruane: "A Retro-Review of the 1910s", Retrosheet.org [1]
• Ronald T. Waldo: Characters from the Diamond: Wild Events, Crazy Antics, and Unique Tales from Early Baseball, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2016. ISBN 978-1-4422-5868-6

Related Sites

• [2] Article examining the effect of the spitball on star batters' statistics in the 1910s in The Hardball Times, part 1.
• [3] Article examining the effect of the spitball on star batters' statistics in the 1910s in The Hardball Times, part 2.