Something Like a War

ANNOUNCER: CORPORATE FUNDING FOR THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTION OF "BASEBALL" WAS PROVIDED BY GENERAL MOTORS.

MAJOR FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES-- EXPLORING THE HUMAN ENDEAVOR; THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS, DRIVEN BY THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE TO SOLVE TODAY'S MOST CHALLENGING PROBLEMS; THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS, INVESTING IN OUR COMMON FUTURE; BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

ANNOUNCER: FOR WELL OVER A CENTURY NOW, BASEBALL HAS BEEN HELPING BOND PARENTS AND CHILDREN, UNITE COMMUNITIES, CLOSE GENERATION GAPS, OVERCOME LANGUAGE BARRIERS, SEAL FRIENDSHIPS, PATCH UP DIFFERENCES, AND INSTILL CIVIC PRIDE.

BANK OF AMERICA IS PROUD TO SUPPORT "KEN BURNS' BASEBALL" FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION AND HELP TELL THE STORY OF AMERICA THROUGH THE STORIES OF OUR NATIONAL PASTIME.

"THE FUNDAMENTAL REASON FOR THE POPULARITY OF THE GAME "IS THE FACT THAT IT IS A NATIONAL SAFETY VALVE.

"A YOUNG, AMBITIOUS, AND GROWING NATION "NEEDS TO LET OFF STEAM.

"BASEBALL SERVES THE SAME PURPOSE "AS A REVOLUTION IN CENTRAL AMERICA "OR A THUNDERSTORM ON A HOT DAY-- "A TONIC, AN EXERCISE, "BASEBALL IS SECOND ONLY TO DEATH AS A LEVELER.

"SO LONG AS IT REMAINS OUR NATIONAL GAME, "AMERICA WILL ABIDE NO MONARCHY, AND ANARCHY WILL BE TOO SLOW."

ALLEN SANGREE.

[DONALD HALL] THERE'S A LOT OF WONDERFUL STILLNESS IN BASEBALL THAT I LOVE-- MINISECONDS OF STILLNESS-- WHEN THE PITCHER HAS GOT THE SIGN, THE BATTER IS CROUCHED, THE BALLPLAYERS ALL LEAN FORWARD WITH THEIR HANDS ON THEIR KNEES, AND THEN, VERY SHORTLY, THE BALL IS DELIVERED.

BUT IN THAT TINY PERIOD WHEN THE PITCH AND THE FEVER OF THE CROWD IS TANGIBLE, THERE'S A MOMENT OF ABSOLUTE STILLNESS THAT I TREASURE.

[STAR SPANGLED BANNER PLAYING] [NARRATOR] BETWEEN 1900 AND 1910, THERE WERE REVOLUTIONS IN CHINA AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND JAPAN.

PABLO PICASSO SHATTERED THE ART WORLD, AND SIGMUND FREUD PUBLISHED THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS.

IN AMERICA, ORVILLE AND WILBUR WRIGHT FLEW AT KITTY HAWK, HENRY FORD BEGAN TURNING OUT MODEL-Ts, AND D.W. GRIFFITH BEGAN MAKING MOTION PICTURES.

GERONIMO AND SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND HENRY CHADWICK DIED.

CHARLES LINDBERGH AND LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND LOU GEHRIG WERE BORN.

IT WAS THE PROGRESSIVE ERA, A TIME WHEN AMERICA'S FATE AND THE INEVITABILITY OF PROGRESS WAS AS BOUNDLESS AS THE CONTINENT ITSELF.

BUT THE AMERICAN FRONTIER WAS CLOSING.

AMERICAN CITIES WERE FILLING WITH TENEMENTS, AND RACISM AND FEAR OF FOREIGNERS WAS SETTING AMERICANS AGAINST AMERICANS.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ENTERED THE 20th CENTURY IN TROUBLE, BESET BY DECLINING ATTENDANCE, ROWDYISM, UNHAPPY PLAYERS, AND FEUDING, GREEDY CLUB OWNERS, BUT THEN DIVIDED ITSELF IN TWO, CLEANED ITSELF UP, AND SUCCEEDED BEYOND ANYONE'S WILDEST DREAMS.

THE WORLD SERIES BEGAN, AND SEASON AFTER SEASON, MORE THAN FIVE MILLION FANS FILLED STADIUMS TO SEE THEIR HEROES PLAY, AND COUNTLESS MILLIONS MORE, WHO HAD NEVER BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO WATCH THEM IN PERSON, FOLLOWED THEIR EVERY MOVE IN THE SPORTS PAGES.

[GEORGE PLIMPTON] IT'S THE FIRST GAME THAT I THINK AS CHILDREN WE EVER SAW ADULTS PLAY, AND I REMEMBER BEING ENORMOUSLY TAKEN BY THE FACT THAT I WALKED OUT AND SAW THAT EXTRAORDINARY EXPANSE OF GREEN AND THAT THERE WAS AN ADULT ON THE PITCHER'S MOUND-- A MAN THE AGE OF MY FATHER.

THERE HE WAS THROWING A BALL, SOMETHING I DID AS AN 8-YEAR-OLD.

[NARRATOR] BETWEEN 1900 AND 1910, COUNTRY BOYS AND IMMIGRANT SONS AND FACTORY WORKERS AND STREET-WISE TOUGHS PLAYED ON THOUSANDS OF TEAMS IN HUNDREDS OF LEAGUES FROM MAINE TO CALIFORNIA.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, BIG-LEAGUE SCOUTS BEGAN TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRYSIDE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR FUTURE STARS.

SPORTSWRITERS CALLED THEM IVORY HUNTERS.

IT WOULD BE AN ERA THAT PLACED A PREMIUM ON PITCHING AND SPEED, IN WHICH RUNS WERE ASSEMBLED SLOWLY--ONE BASE AT A TIME.

IT WOULD SEE 1 PITCHER WIN 41 GAMES IN A SINGLE SEASON AND THE HARDEST-HITTING TEAM HIT JUST 16 HOME RUNS.

IT WOULD SEE THE RISE OF AN UNASSUMING FARM BOY WITH THE FASTEST ARM ANYONE COULD EVER REMEMBER.

IT WOULD SEE A ROOKIE'S SIMPLE BASE-RUNNING ERROR COST HIS TEAM THE PENNANT AND HAUNT HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

THE GAME WOULD BE GRACED BY A HULKING, INFINITELY SKILLED SHORTSTOP, SO FAIR-MINDED THAT HE ALMOST NEVER QUARRELED WITH THE UMPIRE.

BUT THE DECADE WOULD ALSO SEE THE SWIFT RISE OF AN ANGRY SOUTHERN SCHOOLBOY WHOSE ASTONISHING SKILLS BARELY MASKED HIS UNCONTROLLABLE RAGE.

[ROGER ANGELL] I THINK MAYBE THE BIGGEST APPEAL OF BASEBALL IS THAT IT LOOKS SO SIMPLE, IT LOOKS SO FAMILIAR, AND IN ITS OUTWARD DIMENSIONS, IT IS, STILL, ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME GAME THAT WE PLAYED WHEN WE WERE KIDS.

THERE IS A CONTINUITY THERE THAT IS VERY ATTRACTIVE TO US BECAUSE SO MANY OTHER INSTITUTIONS THAT WE'VE KNOWN HAVE DISAPPEARED OR FALLEN INTO DISARRAY-- OUR FAMILIES, OUR CITIES, OUR POLITICS.

BUT BASEBALL FEELS THE SAME.

IT FEELS VERY MUCH THE SAME.

THIS IS PROBABLY ITS PRIME ATTRACTION.

[NARRATOR] AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, MAJOR LEAGUE VETERANS OFTEN REFUSED EVEN TO SPEAK TO NEW PLAYERS.

ONCE, EARLY IN HIS CAREER, A SHY, YOUNG OUTFIELDER DARED COMPLIMENT A NEW YORK GIANT FOR HITTING A HOME RUN.

"NICE HIT," HE SAID.

THE VETERAN ANSWERED, "GO TO HELL."

THE YOUNG PLAYER WAS JOHANNES PETER WAGNER, HONUS WAGNER, ON HIS WAY TO BECOMING THE GREATEST PLAYER IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE.

"IF A MAN WITH A VOICE LOUD ENOUGH TO MAKE HIMSELF HEARD "ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES "SHOULD STAND ON PIKE'S PEAK "AND ASK WHO IS THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER?

UNTOLD MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WOULD SHOUT WAGNER!"

HUGH S. FULLERTON.

AMERICAN MAGAZINE.

"NO ONE EVER SAW ANYTHING GRACEFUL OR PICTURESQUE "ABOUT WAGNER ON THE DIAMOND.

"HIS MOVEMENTS HAVE BEEN LIKENED "TO THE GAMBLES OF A CARACOLING ELEPHANT.

"HE IS SO UNGAINLY AND BOWLEGGED "THAT WHEN HE RUNS, HIS LIMBS SEEM TO BE MOVING IN A CIRCLE "AFTER THE FASHION OF A PROPELLER, BUT HE CAN RUN LIKE THE WIND."

NEW YORK AMERICAN.

A PENNSYLVANIA COAL MINER WHO HAD ONCE HOPED TO BECOME A BARBER, WAGNER BECAME A STAR IN THE IRON AND OIL LEAGUE AND IN 1900 JOINED THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES, WHERE HE PLAYED SHORTSTOP FOR 18 YEARS.

HE HIT BETTER THAN .300 15 SEASONS IN A ROW, STEALING 722 BASES, SETTING LEAGUE RECORDS FOR AT-BATS AND NUMBER OF GAMES PLAYED THAT STOOD FOR FOUR DECADES.

"AND IT TURNED OUT THAT OL' HONUS "WAS THE BEST THIRD BASEMAN IN THE LEAGUE.

"HE WAS ALSO THE BEST FIRST BASEMAN, "SECOND BASEMAN, SHORTSTOP, AND OUTFIELDER.

"THAT WAS IN FIELDING.

"AND SINCE HE LED THE LEAGUE IN BATTING "8 TIMES BETWEEN 1900 AND 1911, "YOU KNOW HE WAS THE BEST HITTER, TOO, AS WELL AS THE BEST BASE RUNNER."

TOMMY LEACH.

[NARRATOR] HE HAD A POWERFUL BUILD.

HIS 5' 11", 200-POUND FRAME, IT WAS SAID, FEATURED A MASSIVE CHEST THAT MIGHT HAVE COME FROM A BARRELMAKER'S SHOP AND SHOULDERS BROAD ENOUGH TO SERVE DINNER ON.

HIS LEGS WERE BADLY BOWED, BUT HE HAD HUGE HANDS AND ARMS SO LONG, OPPOSING PLAYERS SWORE HE COULD TIE HIS SHOES WITHOUT BENDING OVER.

NOTHING SEEMED TO GET PAST HIM, AND HE THREW SO HARD TO FIRST BASE, PEBBLES SCOOPED UP AS HE FIELDED GROUNDERS WERE SAID TO ARRIVE ALONG WITH THE BALL.

"FEBRUARY 1901.

"IF WE HAD WAITED FOR THE NATIONAL LEAGUE "TO DO SOMETHING FOR US, "WE WOULD HAVE REMAINED A MINOR LEAGUE FOREVER.

"THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WILL BE THE PRINCIPAL ORGANIZATION "OF THE COUNTRY "WITHIN A VERY SHORT TIME.

MARK MY PREDICTION."

BAN JOHNSON.

BYRON BANCROFT "BAN" JOHNSON WAS A BIG MAN WITH EVEN BIGGER AMBITIONS.

A PROFESSOR'S SON, JOHNSON BECAME A SPORTSWRITER FOR THE CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, THEN TOOK OVER A STRUGGLING MINOR LEAGUE CIRCUIT CALLED THE WESTERN LEAGUE IN 1894 AND MADE IT A FINANCIAL SUCCESS.

IN 1900, HE CHANGED ITS NAME TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE AND BEGAN TO TALK OF MOVING EAST TO CHALLENGE THE BIG-CITY MONOPOLY OF ALBERT GOODWILL SPALDING'S TROUBLED NATIONAL LEAGUE.

HE PROMISED HONEST BASEBALL, CHEAPER TICKET PRICES, AND A WHOLESOME, FAMILY ATMOSPHERE.

AT FIRST, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OWNERS SIMPLY IGNORED HIM.

WHEN HE ASKED TO ADDRESS THEIR ANNUAL MEETING, THEY KEPT HIM WAITING IN THE HALL, THEN ADJOURNED WITHOUT EVEN GIVING HIM A HEARING.

IT WAS A MAJOR MISCALCULATION.

JOHNSON WAS HUMORLESS AND DICTATORIAL.

"HE LOOKED," ONE REPORTER SAID, "AS IF HE HAD BEEN WEANED ON AN ICICLE."

BUT HE WAS ALSO ABLE, RESOURCEFUL, AND DETERMINED.

WHEN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE DROPPED FOUR OF ITS LESS-PROFITABLE TEAMS, JOHNSON SAW HIS CHANCE.

HE ESTABLISHED NEW CLUBS IN BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, BALTIMORE, AND WASHINGTON, SNAPPED UP NEWLY UNEMPLOYED PLAYERS, THEN BEGAN RAIDING ACTIVE NATIONAL LEAGUE ROSTERS.

LURED BY AN AVERAGE OF $500 MORE PER SEASON, 111 NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYERS JUMPED TO BAN JOHNSON'S BRAND-NEW AMERICAN LEAGUE, INCLUDING THE GREAT PITCHERS CY YOUNG AND RUBE WADDELL AND THE NOTORIOUS JOHN McGRAW.

BY THE END OF THE 1902 SEASON, EVEN SPALDING'S GUIDE TO BASEBALL ADMITTED THAT THE AMERICAN LEAGUE HAS MORE STAR PLAYERS AND CAN FURNISH A BETTER ARTICLE OF BASEBALL THAN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OWNERS COMPLAINED, THREATENED, MOUNTED LAWSUITS, QUARRELED AMONG THEMSELVES, BUT THEY COULD DO NOTHING.

BAN JOHNSON WAS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER "WITH THESE NATIONAL LEAGUE MAGNATES?

"WHAT A SHAME IT IS THAT THE GREATEST OF SPORTS "SHOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF SUCH A MALODOROUS GANG "AS THESE MAGNATES HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE "ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.

"LEAGUE MEETINGS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY MUDSLINGING, "BRAWLING, CORRUPTION, BREACHES OF CONFIDENCE, "DISHONORABLE CONSPIRACIES, AND THREATS OF PERSONAL VIOLENCE."

[NARRATOR] IN 1903, WEAKENED BY THEIR OWN SQUABBLING, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OWNERS SUED FOR PEACE.

BAN JOHNSON HAD WON.

A NEW NATIONAL AGREEMENT WAS NEGOTIATED.

NOW THERE WOULD BE TWO MAJOR LEAGUES-- SEPARATE BUT EQUAL, HONORING ONE ANOTHER'S CONTRACTS, BOTH RETAINING THE RESERVE CLAUSE THAT KEPT PLAYERS BOUND TO THEIR OWNERS FOR LIFE.

A THREE-MAN NATIONAL COMMISSION WAS APPOINTED TO SETTLE DISPUTES AND SEE THAT THE REGULATIONS WERE ENFORCED.

POWER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SHARED EQUALLY, BUT BAN JOHNSON SAW TO IT THAT HE WAS REALLY IN CHARGE.

THE PLAYERS WERE NOT REPRESENTED.

THE IDEA OF GOING TO THE BALLPARK WAS THAT THE URBAN MASSES WOULD GET A TASTE OF COUNTRY, PASTORAL AIR THAT THEY WOULD BREATHE IN, THAT THEIR LUNGS WOULD EXPAND BY CHEERING, AND NONSENSE LIKE THIS.

BASEBALL GREW IN THE CITIES.

IT IS AN OUTGROWTH OF GAMBLING.

IT'S AN OUTGROWTH OF CROOKEDNESS.

IT'S AN OUTGROWTH OF DRINKING.

IT'S A ROISTERING, BOISTEROUS EVENT.

IT IS AS WILD AS THE WILD WEST.

[NARRATOR] JUST OUTSIDE THE OLD HUNTINGTON AVENUE BALLPARK, HOME OF THE BOSTON PILGRIMS OF THE NEW AMERICAN LEAGUE, STOOD THE THIRD BASE SALOON-- SO CALLED BECAUSE IT WAS THE FANS' LAST STOP ON THE WAY HOME.

ITS OWNER WAS THE BARTENDER, MIKE McGREEVEY, KNOWN AS 'NUF CED BECAUSE HE WAS THE FINAL ARBITER OF ALL BALLROOM DISPUTES.

HIS CUSTOMERS, IRISH IMMIGRANTS MOSTLY, CALLED THEMSELVES THE ROYAL ROOTERS AND CONSIDERED THEMSELVES THE MOST LOYAL OF ALL BOSTON FANS, THOUGH THEIR LOYALTY WAS ACTUALLY COMPARATIVELY NEW.

THEY HAD BEEN NATIONAL LEAGUE FANS UNTIL THE NATIONAL LEAGUERS RAISED TICKET PRICES TWO YEARS EARLIER.

"AT 11:00, 4 HOURS BEFORE THE GAME BEGAN, "A CROWD OF NEARLY A THOUSAND "WAS CLAMORING FOR ADMISSION.

"WITH THE OPENING OF THE GATE AT 12:00, "THERE BEGAN A STEADY RUSH, "WHICH GREW INTO A SURGING MASS.

"THE LONG LANE LEADING TO THE TICKET OFFICE "WAS COMPLETELY CHOKED WITH EXCITED FANS, "AND IN THE OFFICES, THERE WAS A VERITABLE DIN CAUSED BY THE MERRY RING OF THE COINS."

THE BOSTON GLOBE.

ON OCTOBER 1, 1903, 'NUF CED McGREEVEY AND HIS ROYAL ROOTERS WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO PASS THROUGH THE TURNSTILES TO SEE THE BOSTON PILGRIMS TAKE ON THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES IN THE VERY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES BETWEEN THE TWO LEAGUES.

IT WOULD BE A BEST-OF-NINE-GAME CONTEST.

REALIZING THAT THIS WAS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE THE SUPERIORITY OF HIS NEW LEAGUE, BAN JOHNSON ORDERED THE BOSTON OWNER TO BEAT PITTSBURGH.

PITTSBURGH HAD BEEN FAVORED TO WIN, BUT BOSTON WAS AIDED BY A SERIES OF DISASTERS THAT UNDERCUT THE PIRATES.

ONE PITCHER HAD BEEN INJURED.

THEIR STAR SHORTSTOP, HONUS WAGNER, WAS PLAYING HURT, AND JUST AS THE SERIES GOT UNDERWAY, ED DOHENY, ANOTHER PITCHER, SUFFERED A MENTAL BREAKDOWN AND WAS SENT TO AN ASYLUM.

"THAT WAS PROBABLY THE WILDEST SERIES EVER PLAYED-- "ARGUING ALL THE TIME BETWEEN THE TEAMS, "BETWEEN THE PLAYERS AND THE UMPIRES, "AND ESPECIALLY BETWEEN THE PLAYERS AND THE FANS.

"THAT'S THE TRUTH.

"THE FANS WERE PART OF THE GAME IN THOSE DAYS.

"THEY'D POUR RIGHT OUT ONTO THE FIELD "AND ARGUE WITH THE PLAYERS AND THE UMPIRES.

IT WAS HARD TO KEEP THE GAME GOING SOMETIMES."

TOMMY LEACH.

[NARRATOR] THE PIRATES TOOK AN EARLY 3-1 LEAD IN THE SERIES, THANKS TO DEACON PHILLIPPE, WHO PITCHED AND WON EVERY ONE OF PITTSBURGH'S THREE VICTORIES, BEATING THE GREAT CY YOUNG TWICE.

BUT SPURRED ON BY THE ZEAL OF 'NUF CED McGREEVEY AND HIS ROYAL ROOTERS, BOSTON ROARED BACK, WINNING THE NEXT THREE GAMES.

"I THINK THOSE BOSTON FANS "ACTUALLY WON THAT SERIES FOR THE PILGRIMS.

"WE BEAT THEM THREE OUT OF THE FIRST FOUR GAMES.

"THEN THEY'D START SINGING THAT DAMN TESSIE SONG.

"YOU COULD HARDLY PLAY, THEY WERE SINGING SO LOUD.

"ONLY, INSTEAD OF SINGING TESSIE, I LOVE YOU MADLY, "THEY'D SING SPECIAL LYRICS, "LIKE WHEN HONUS WAGNER CAME TO BAT, THEY'D SING, "HONUS, WHY DO YOU HIT SO BADLY?

"SORT OF GOT ON YOUR NERVES AFTER A WHILE, "AND BEFORE WE KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED, WE'D LOST THE SERIES."

TOMMY LEACH.

IN THE EIGHTH AND FINAL GAME, BOSTON SHUT OUT PITTSBURGH 3-0.

"BY DEFEATING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS FROM PITTSBURGH "AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE GROUNDS YESTERDAY, "THE BOSTON AMERICANS MADE IT FIVE VICTORIES OUT OF EIGHT GAMES PLAYED, "WHICH GIVES THEM A CLEAR TITLE "TO THE HIGHEST HONOR EVER ACHIEVED IN BASEBALL."

BOSTON GLOBE.

THE GAMES PROVED SO POPULAR THAT THE TWO LEAGUES DECIDED TO HOLD A CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES EVERY YEAR.

BOSTON MANAGER JIMMY COLLINS RAISED THE VERY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP FLAG OVER THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE GROUNDS.

A TEAM FROM BOSTON HAD BEATEN A TEAM FROM PITTSBURGH, JUST 650 MILES AWAY, BUT THE OWNERS INSISTED ON CALLING IT THE WORLD SERIES.

THE PILGRIMS WOULD SOON CHANGE THEIR NAME TO THE RED SOX AND WOULD GO ON TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES 4 TIMES IN THE NEXT 15 YEARS.

"PHILADELPHIA IS THE HOME "OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, "THE NUMBER EIGHT PRETZEL, "AND THE TRANSLUCENT HAM SANDWICH, "ALL OF WHICH ARE SERVED AT THE BALL ORCHARD.

"A SLICE OF BOILED HAM, "THROUGH WHICH AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN "COULD BE OBSERVED WITH COMFORT, "IS STRETCHED TO COVER THE AREA OF A BAKER'S BUN.

"THE SUSTENANCE DERIVED FROM THE HAM "IS EQUAL TO THAT OF A SIMILAR PORTION OF A RED TOY BALLOON, INFLATED."

SPORTING NEWS.

BAD FOOD AND OVERPRICED DRINK HAD BEEN SOLD AT BALL PARKS SINCE THE 1850s, BUT IT TOOK ONE VERY AMBITIOUS BRITISH-BORN CATERER TO TURN CONCESSIONS INTO AN EMPIRE.

PERRY M. STEVENS HAD BEGUN HAS CAREER HAWKING SCORECARDS IN THE 1880s, ALL THE WHILE REGALING THE CROWDS WITH QUOTES FROM BYRON AND SHAKESPEARE.

BY 1901, HE WAS PEDDLING HARD-BOILED EGGS, HAM SANDWICHES, ICE CREAM, AND SLICES OF PIE IN STADIUMS FROM NEW YORK TO OHIO.

THEN, ONE COLD AFTERNOON, WHEN ICE-CREAM SALES SLOWED AT THE POLO GROUNDS, HE SENT OUT FOR GERMAN SAUSAGES, WHICH HE PUT IN LONG BUNS SO FANS COULD HOLD AND EAT THEM.

HE HAD MADE HIS GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE GAME, INTRODUCING HOT DOGS TO THE BALL PARK.

[SHELBY FOOTE] IT'S ALL MIXED-UP WITH PEANUTS, TOBACCO JUICE, AND A HEARTY FEELING AMONG THE FANS, JOSHING EACH OTHER, AND ALWAYS THIS RAUCOUS GOOD SPIRIT.

EVERYBODY CAME TO HAVE A GOOD TIME.

THAT'S THE WAY I REMEMBER IT-- WHOLE STANDS FULL OF PEOPLE, ROARING.

AND I GUESS IT'S TRUE OF ANY SPORT, BUT IN BASEBALL, I'VE NEVER KNOWN AN INSTANCE WHERE SO INSTANTLY A WHOLE CROWD COULD BE BROUGHT TO ITS FEET, ROARING WITH DELIGHT OVER A CLEAN CRACK OF A BAT AGAINST A BALL.

"BAN JOHNSON NEVER MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY "TO MAKE A SPEECH.

"IT WAS ALWAYS THE SAME SPEECH-- "ALL ABOUT HOW HE, SINGLE-HANDED AND ALONE, "HAD MADE BASEBALL A GENTLEMAN'S SPORT, "AND IT MUST BE KEPT FOREVER CLEAN "BECAUSE SPORTSMANSHIP SPOKE FROM THE HEART OF AMERICA, "AND HE WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE "TO SAVE OUR BELOVED NATION... AT WHICH HE WOULD BEGIN TO CRY."

ALTHOUGH THE FIRST WORLD SERIES HAD BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS, THE REPUTATION OF THE GAME CONTINUED TO SUFFER AS BRAWLING FANS DROVE AWAY PAYING CUSTOMERS.

NOW, BAN JOHNSON ORDERED HIS AMERICAN LEAGUE OWNERS TO HAVE THEIR STADIUMS PATROLLED TO KEEP ROWDINESS DOWN.

PLAYERS AND MANAGERS, AS WELL AS FANS, WERE EXPECTED TO BEHAVE.

BUT THERE WAS ONE MAN WHO CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED HIS AUTHORITY.

JOHN JOSEPH McGRAW, PLAYER-MANAGER OF THE CONTENTIOUS BALTIMORE ORIOLES, HAD BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST NATIONAL LEAGUERS TO JUMP TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE IN 1901, BUT HE HAD NOT LIKED IT THERE.

HE COULDN'T BARE TO HAVE ANYONE TELL HIM HOW TO PLAY THE GAME.

WHEN McGRAW REFUSED TO STOP THE CONSTANT ABUSE OF UMPIRES, FOR WHICH HE WAS INFAMOUS, JOHNSON SUSPENDED HIM.

McGRAW NEVER FORGAVE JOHNSON.

HE RETURNED TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE AS MANAGER OF THE NEW YORK GIANTS, A JOB HE WOULD HOLD FOR 31 YEARS, LEADING HIS TEAM TO 10 PENNANTS AND ENDING IN THE FIRST DIVISION 28 TIMES.

HE WOULD PLAY HIS FURIOUS BRAND OF BALL AT THE POLO GROUNDS, A LOPSIDED, MAJESTIC STADIUM HARD AGAINST COOGAN'S BLUFF IN NORTHERN MANHATTAN.

"IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART "OF McGRAW'S GREAT CAPACITY FOR LEADERSHIP "THAT HE WOULD TAKE KIDS OUT OF THE COAL MINES "AND WHEAT FIELDS AND MAKE THEM WALK AND TALK AND CHATTER AND PLAY BALL WITH THE LOOK OF EAGLES."

HEYWOOD BROUN.

"YOU COULDN'T COME AROUND "AND SECOND-GUESS McGRAW'S PLAYERS IN HIS PRESENCE "WITHOUT HAVING A FIGHT ON YOUR HANDS.

"HE STOOD UP FOR US AT ALL TIMES.

"WE ALWAYS CALLED HIM MR. McGRAW-- NEVER JOHN OR MAC, ALWAYS MR.

McGRAW."

McGRAW'S VERY WALK ACROSS THE FIELD IN A HOSTILE TOWN WAS "A CHALLENGE TO THE MULTITUDE," WROTE THE SPORTSWRITER GRANTLAND RICE, AND THE FEROCITY OF McGRAW'S TEAMS AROUSED SUCH RESENTMENT ON THE ROAD THAT HE ROUTINELY DEMANDED POLICE PROTECTION AGAINST IRATE FANS.

HE WAS PROFANE, PUGNACIOUS, UNRELENTING.

NO ONE MADE A MOVE ON THE FIELD WITHOUT HIS CONSENT.

McGRAW WAS SAID ONCE TO HAVE FINED A PLAYER FOR HITTING A HOME RUN THAT DROVE IN TWO RUNS BECAUSE HE HAD ORDERED HIM TO BUNT.

"THE MAIN IDEA," JOHN McGRAW SAID, "IS TO WIN."

AND TO HELP HIM WIN, HE CARRIED IN HIS POCKET AS A GOOD-LUCK CHARM A PIECE OF ROPE ONCE USED AT A LYNCHING.

WHEN McGRAW WON THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT IN 1904, HE TOOK AN ESPECIALLY SWEET REVENGE ON BAN JOHNSON.

RATHER THAN HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE LEAGUE THAT HAD SUSPENDED HIM, HE SIMPLY REFUSED TO PLAY THE BOSTON PILGRIMS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

THERE WAS NO WORLD SERIES IN 1904.

"IN MR. McGRAW, I AT LAST DISCOVERED "THE REAL AND MOST AUTHENTIC, MOST REMARKABLE MAN IN AMERICA."

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW.

"AUGUST 3, 1903-- "TO THE EDITOR OF THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD, "IT MAKES SENSE TO TEACH A CHILD TO PLAY CHESS, "BUT WHAT IS THE POINT "OF A CRAZY GAME LIKE BASEBALL?

"HERE, IN EDUCATED AMERICA, "ADULTS PLAY BASEBALL.

"THEY RUN AFTER A LEATHER BALL LIKE CHILDREN.

"I WANT MY BOY TO GROW UP TO BE A MENSCH, "NOT A WILD AMERICAN RUNNER, BUT HE CRIES HIS HEAD OFF."

"DEAR SIR, LET YOUR BOY PLAY BASEBALL "AND PLAY IT WELL, "SO LONG AS IT DOES NOT INTERFERE "WITH HIS EDUCATION "OR GET HIM INTO BAD COMPANY.

"LET US NOT RAISE THE CHILDREN "THAT THEY SHOULD GROW UP FOREIGNERS IN THEIR OWN BIRTHPLACE."

ABRAHAM CAHAN, EDITOR, JEWISH DAILY FORWARD.

[THOMAS BOSWELL] MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID SHE LOVED TO GO TO CHURCH, BUT NOT FOR THE PREACHER.

SHE COULD READ HER BIBLE AT HOME, BUT SHE COULD ONLY BE IN CHURCH...IN CHURCH.

BASEBALL HAS SOME OF THAT SAME SENSE OF PEACE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY, BUT SIMPLY WITH RITUAL, FAMILIARITY, SMALL TRUTHS-- LESSONS OF THE DAY WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH BEFORE BUT MAY GET MORE LIGHT ON THEM THEN.

IN 1900, THE GIANTS HAD TAKEN A HUGE RISK AND TRADED THEIR GREATEST PITCHER, AMOS RUSIE, FOR A 19-YEAR-OLD ROOKIE.

RUSIE HAD 245 WINS BEHIND HIM, AND, AS IT TURNED OUT, NONE AHEAD OF HIM.

THE HOOSIER THUNDERBOLT WENT BACK TO DIGGING DITCHES IN INDIANA.

THE ROOKIE HAD NO MAJOR LEAGUE WINS WHEN HE JOINED THE TEAM.

HE HAD 373 AHEAD OF HIM.

HIS NAME WAS CHRISTY MATHEWSON.

"MATTY WAS WITHOUT A PEER.

"HE HAD A GREATER VARIETY OF STUFF "THAN ANY PITCHER I EVER KNEW OR HANDLED.

"HIS FAST BALL WAS THE EQUAL OF WALTER JOHNSON'S "OR AMOS RUSIE'S.

"HE HAD THE FADE-AWAY DOWN TO PERFECTION, "AND HE UTILIZED HIS KNOWLEDGE OF BATSMEN "WITH GREATER EFFECT THAN ANY TWIRLER IN THE GAME.

"HE POSSESSED WONDERFUL CONTROL, "REMARKABLE FIELDING ABILITY, "AND WAS ONE OF THE FINEST SPORTSMEN THE GAME HAS EVER KNOWN."

JOHN McGRAW.

JOHN McGRAW MAY HAVE CHAMPIONED THE OLD BRAWLING BRAND OF BASEBALL, BUT HIS GREATEST STAR WAS CHRISTY MATHEWSON, A PITCHER WITH A RECORD FOR CLEAN PLAY SO SPOTLESS THAT HIS WIFE ONCE FELT SHE HAD TO DEFEND HIM BY SAYING THAT WHILE HE WAS "A GOOD MAN," HE WAS NO "GOODY-GOODY."

[STUDS TERKEL] CHRISTY MATHEWSON WAS FRANK MERRIWELL IN THE FLESH.

HE WAS SO VIRTUOUS, HE WOULD NOT GIVE INTERVIEWS TO SPORTSWRITERS WHO HE HEARD CHEATED ON THEIR WIVES.

SMALL BOYS HAD ADMIRED OTHER PLAYERS.

THEY WORSHIPPED CHRISTY MATHEWSON.

HE WAS THE PERFECT HERO FOR HIS AGE.

HE SEEMED TO HAVE SPRUNG FROM THE PAGES OF THE DIME BASEBALL NOVELS AMERICAN BOYS NOW DEVOURED.

SPORTSWRITERS AND FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CALLED HIM THE CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN.

NO ONE DID MORE TO IMPROVE THE REPUTATION OF THE BASEBALL PLAYER, AND HE DID IT WITH STYLE.

"MATHEWSON WOULD ALWAYS WAIT "UNTIL JUST ABOUT 10 MINUTES BEFORE GAME TIME.

"THEN HE'D COME IN FROM THE CLUBHOUSE, "ACROSS THE FIELD IN A LONG LINEN DUSTER "LIKE AUTO DRIVERS WORE IN THOSE DAYS.

AT EVERY STEP, THE CROWD WOULD YELL LOUDER AND LOUDER."

HE WAS A COMMANDING PRESENCE ON THE MOUND, METHODICALLY DIRECTING THE RHYTHM AND PACE OF EACH GAME.

HE COULD THROW A BALL INTO A TIN CUP AT PITCHING RANGE, A PLAYER REMEMBERED.

HE TOOK A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO HIS WORK, CAREFULLY CATALOGUING HIS PITCHES.

HIS FAST BALL COULD ARRIVE WITH AN INWARD, AN OUTWARD, OR AN UPWARD SHOOT, HE ONCE EXPLAINED.

HE ALSO THREW A SLOW BALL, A DROP CURVE, AN OUT CURVE, A RISE BALL, A SPITBALL, AND THE FALL-AWAY, WHAT PITCHERS LATER CALLED THE SCREWBALL.

"THE FALL-AWAY WHICH I HAVE USED, "IF I MAY BE PARDONED FOR SAYING SO, "WITH GREATER EFFECTIVENESS THAN ANY OTHER PITCHER "IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY SLOW BALL "AND CALCULATED TO DECEIVE THE GREATEST BATTER.

"AS IT RUSHES TOWARD HIM, IT LOOKS FAST AND HIGH.

"6 FEET FROM HIM, WHEN IT BEGINS TO DROP, "IT LOOKS LIKE A SLOW DROP BALL.

"AND THEN AS HE SWINGS, IT IS TRAVELING IN TWO DIRECTIONS AT ONCE."

IN 1905, JOHN McGRAW AND HIS GIANTS WON THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT AGAIN, AND THIS TIME, WHEN CONNIE MACK'S PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS TOOK THE AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, HE AGREED TO TAKE THEM ON IN THE WORLD SERIES.

HIS DECISION NOT TO PLAY THE YEAR BEFORE HAD COST HIS PLAYERS $1,000 EACH, AS MUCH AS ONE-HALF THEIR YEARLY SALARIES.

MATHEWSON, WHO HAD WON 31 GAMES THAT SEASON, EASILY DECEIVED THE HITTERS ON THE ATHLETICS IN THE SERIES, PITCHING A RECORD THREE SHUTOUTS IN SIX DAYS-- 27 INNINGS AND NOT A SINGLE RUN, THE GREATEST PITCHING PERFORMANCE IN WORLD SERIES HISTORY.

THE GIANTS EASILY BEAT PHILADELPHIA FOUR GAMES TO ONE.

THE OPENING DAY OF THE NEW SEASON, THE WORLD CHAMPIONS TOOK A VICTORY LAP AROUND THE PARK IN A NEW KIND OF CONVEYANCE.

WITH CHRISTY MATHEWSON, NEW YORK LOOKED UNBEATABLE.

"MATHEWSON WAS THE GREATEST PITCHER WHO EVER LIVED.

"IT WAS WONDERFUL TO WATCH HIM PITCH...

WHEN HE WASN'T PITCHING AGAINST YOU."

CONNIE MACK.

"THOMAS JEFFERSON, "WHEN HE WROTE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, "MADE PROPER PROVISION FOR BASEBALL "WHEN HE DECLARED THAT "ALL MEN ARE, AND OF A RIGHT OUGHT TO BE, "FREE AND EQUAL.

"THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE AT THE BALL GAME-- "BANKER AND BRICKLAYER, LAWYER AND COMMON LABORER."

BASEBALL MAGAZINE.

IN 1901, JOHN McGRAW HAD TRIED TO ADD A BLACK SECOND BASEMAN NAMED CHARLIE GRANT TO HIS ROSTER BY RENAMING HIM CHARLIE TOKAHOMA AND CLAIMING HE WAS A CHEROKEE INDIAN.

GRANT PLAYED ALONG, BUT BLACK FRIENDS WHO CAME OUT TO CHEER HIM ON GAVE HIM AWAY.

HE NEVER GOT THE JOB.

FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS, IT REMAINED THE WORST OF TIMES.

858 BLACKS WERE LYNCHED DURING THE DECADE.

SEPARATE BUT UNEQUAL LAWS HELD THEM IN VIRTUAL BONDAGE IN THE SOUTH AND HELPED DRIVE THOUSANDS NORTH TO ALREADY DANGEROUSLY CROWDED CITIES IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

THE NATIONAL PASTIME, TOO, HAD NOTHING TO OFFER.

BLACKS WERE STILL BARRED FROM PLAYING IN ORGANIZED WHITE BASEBALL.

BACK IN 1887, MOSES FLEETWOOD WALKER, THE FIRST BLACK MAN TO PLAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES HAD BEEN DRIVEN FROM THE GAME.

NOW, HE BECAME THE EDITOR OF HIS OWN NEWSPAPER AND PUBLISHED A PAMPHLET ENTITLED OUR HOME COLONY.

IN IT, HE URGED BLACK AMERICANS TO EMIGRATE TO AFRICA.

"THEY COULD EXPECT NOTHING IN AMERICA," HE WROTE, "BUT FAILURE AND DISAPPOINTMENT."

IN 1901, A 20-YEAR-OLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER NAMED BRANCH RICKEY MANAGED TO SCRAPE TOGETHER ENOUGH MONEY TO ENTER OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY.

HIS MOTHER SENT HIM A DOLLAR BILL EACH MONTH TO HELP HIM OUT, BUT HE ALWAYS RETURNED IT.

RICKEY WAS DETERMINED TO MAKE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF AND TO DO IT ON HIS OWN.

TO PAY HIS SCHOOL BILLS, HE HELPED COACH THE OHIO WESLEYAN BASEBALL TEAM, URGING HIS PLAYERS ON WITH A BOOMING VOICE NO ONE EVER FORGOT.

"RICKEY IS ONE OF THE NOISIEST MEN WHO EVER PLAYED ON THE FIELD," WROTE A CAMPUS SPORTSWRITER.

WHEN THE TEAM STOPPED AT SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, A HOTEL MANAGER REFUSED TO ALLOW THE TEAM'S STAR, A CATCHER NAMED CHARLIE THOMAS, TO REGISTER.

THE MEMORY OF THE PLAYER'S HUMILIATION NEVER LEFT BRANCH RICKEY.

THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT BASEBALL THAT CALLS FOR ANY SORT OF SUPERHUMAN PROPORTION OR SKILL, OR IT AT LEAST APPEARS THAT WAY.

AS KIDS, WE GROW UP PLAYING IT OR SOFTBALL, AND WE SEE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PLAYING IT PROFESSIONALLY, AND THEY DON'T LOOK THAT DIFFERENT FROM US.

THEY'RE NOT 6' 8", 275 POUNDS, OR ON SKATES.

THEY'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, SO THE CONNECTION FOR THOSE OF US WHO PLAYED IT IN SCHOOLYARDS IS VERY EASILY GRASPED.

"I FOUND THAT YOU CAN'T PLAY BALL IN SKIRTS.

"I TRIED...AND NEARLY BROKE MY NECK.

"FINALLY, I WAS FORCED TO DISCARD IT.

"NOW I ALWAYS WEAR BLOOMERS, "BUT MADE SO WIDE THAT THE FULLNESS GIVES A SKIRTLIKE EFFECT."

ALTA WEISS.

ALTA WEISS WAS A DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER FROM RAGERSVILLE, OHIO, WHO BEGAN TO PITCH FOR BOYS' TEAMS AT THE AGE OF 14.

AT 17, SHE JOINED A MEN'S SEMI-PROFESSIONAL TEAM.

"MISS WEISS CAN EASILY LAY CLAIM "TO BEING THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HANDLE "THE BALL FROM THE PITCHER'S BOX "IN SUCH STYLE "THAT SOME OF THE BEST SEMI-PROS ARE MADE TO FAN THE ATMOSPHERE."

THE LORAIN TIMES HERALD.

1,200 PEOPLE TURNED OUT TO SEE HER MAKE HER PROFESSIONAL DEBUT.

SHE GAVE UP ONLY FOUR HITS AND A SINGLE RUN IN FIVE INNINGS.

SOON, SPECIAL TRAINS WERE BEING RUN OUT FROM CLEVELAND WHENEVER SHE PITCHED... AND THOUSANDS PAID TO SEE HER PLAY.

IN 1908, HER FATHER BOUGHT HER A BARNSTORMING, SEMI-PRO TEAM WHICH HE RENAMED THE WEISS ALL-STARS.

SHE EVENTUALLY PUT HERSELF THROUGH MEDICAL SCHOOL WITH HER EARNINGS, PRACTICED AS A PHYSICIAN, AND SPENT HER LAST YEARS SITTING ON HER PORCH IN OHIO, WATCHING CHILDREN PLAY THE GAME SHE LOVED.

BUT IT WOULD BE FOUR DECADES BEFORE WOMEN FINALLY GOT A CHANCE TO PLAY IN THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE.

[ANGELL] WAITING FOR EVERY PLAYER IS THE ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE THAT SOMEBODY OUT THERE THAT DAY WILL FAIL.

THIS IS HOW GAMES ARE WON, BECAUSE STATISTICS ARE KEPT, AND SOMEONE WILL BE SOUGHT OUT IN THE OPEN, AND THERE WILL BE NO SHARING OF BLAME.

"THESE ARE THE SADDEST OF POSSIBLE WORDS "TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE "TRIO OF BEAR CUBS AND FLEETER THAN BIRDS "TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE "THOUGHTLESSLY PRICKING OUR GONFALON BUBBLE, "MAKING A GIANT HIT INTO A DOUBLE, "WORDS THAT ARE WEIGHTY WITH NOTHING BUT TROUBLE TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE."

FRANKLIN P. ADAMS.

THE 1906 CHICAGO CUBS ARE BELIEVED BY MANY TO HAVE BEEN THE BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL HISTORY.

THEY MOVED SMOOTHLY TO THE PENNANT THAT YEAR, WINNING 116 GAMES AND LOSING JUST 36.

ONE KEY TO THE CUBS' CONSISTENCY WAS THEIR INFIELD, THE CELEBRATED DOUBLE-PLAY COMBINATION OF TINKER-TO-EVERS- TO-CHANCE.

CHICAGO FANS LOVED THEM, BUT THEY DID NOT MUCH LIKE EACH OTHER... OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

FIRST BASEMAN AND MANAGER FRANK CHANCE, ONCE CALLED THE GREATEST AMATEUR BRAWLER IN THE WORLD, FINED HIS PLAYERS $10 IF THEY SO MUCH AS SHOOK HANDS WITH AN OPPOSING PLAYER.

SECOND BASEMAN JOHNNY EVERS WAS SO TOUCHY THAT HIS TEAMMATES CALLED HIM THE HUMAN CRAB, AND HE MISSED ONE ENTIRE SEASON AFTER SUFFERING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

SHORTSTOP JOE TINKER WAS ORDINARILY A CHEERFUL MAN, BUT EVEN HE REFUSED TO SPEAK WITH EVERS FOR TWO WHOLE SEASONS AFTER A QUARREL OVER CAB FARE.

[OKRENT] WELL, I'M OF THE SCHOOL THAT BELIEVES WE KNOW THEM MORE BECAUSE THEY FIT THE METRIC REQUIREMENTS OF FRANKLIN P. ADAMS' POEM.

EVERS WAS A GREAT BALLPLAYER, TINKER WAS A DAMNED GOOD SHORTSTOP, AND CHANCE COULD HIT WELL, BUT THEY DIDN'T MAKE MORE DOUBLE PLAYS THAN ANYBODY ELSE.

[NARRATOR] THE CUBS' PITCHING MAINSTAY WAS AN INDIANA FARM BOY, MORDECAI PETER CENTENNIAL BROWN, BETTER KNOWN AS "THREE-FINGER" BROWN BECAUSE OF A BOYHOOD ACCIDENT WITH A FEED CUTTER THAT DESTROYED MOST OF HIS RIGHT INDEX FINGER, PARALYZED HIS LITTLE FINGER, AND GAVE HIM A DEVASTATING CURVE BALL.

BROWN WON 20 OR MORE GAMES 6 YEARS IN A ROW.

IN THE 1906 WORLD SERIES, THE CUBS WERE HEAVILY FAVORED TO BEAT THEIR CROSS-TOWN RIVALS, THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX-- CALLED THE HITLESS WONDERS BECAUSE THE TEAM AVERAGED JUST .230 AND HIT ONLY 7 HOME RUNS ALL SEASON.

BUT NO ONE HAD COUNTED ON THE SUPERB PITCHING OF WHITE SOX ACE ED WALSH, MASTER OF THE SPITBALL.

"BIG ED WALSH?

OH, BROTHER.

"YOU TALK ABOUT SPITBALLS.

"I THINK THAT THE BALL DISINTEGRATED "AND GOT BACK TOGETHER "WHEN THE CATCHER GOT IT.

"WHEN IT WENT PAST THE PLATE, IT WAS JUST SPIT GOING BY."

SAM CRAWFORD.

ED WALSH TOTALLY OVERPOWERED THE CUBS.

HE PITCHED A MASTERFUL TWO-HIT SHUTOUT TO WIN THE THIRD GAME, AND THEN WENT ON TO WIN THE FIFTH.

TO EVERYONE'S ASTONISHMENT, THE WHITE SOX HAD TAKEN THREE OF THE FIRST FIVE GAMES.

NOW THE MIGHTY CUBS HAD TO WIN JUST TO STAY ALIVE.

ALMOST 20,000 SPECTATORS TURNED OUT FOR GAME 6.

CUB FANS FELT CONFIDENT.

THEIR ACE, "THREE-FINGER" BROWN, WAS ON THE MOUND.

BUT THE WHITE SOX SCORED FIVE RUNS OFF BROWN BEFORE DRIVING HIM FROM THE FIELD, THEN SCORED 3 MORE OFF HIS REPLACEMENT TO WIN 8-3.

THE HITLESS WONDERS HAD WON THE WORLD SERIES.

THE INVINCIBLE CUBS HAD BEEN DEFEATED.

[BOSWELL] BALLPLAYERS HAVE TO BE ABLE TO COPE WITH DEFEAT MORE CONSTANTLY THAN ANYONE ELSE.

IT ISN'T LOSING FOUR OF SIX.

IT'S THAT THEY PLAY AGAIN TOMORROW.

IF THEY LOSE TOMORROW, THAT'S TWO IN A ROW.

A LOSING STREAK CAN MOUNT UP SO MUCH FASTER THAN A WINNING STREAK.

IT'S A TERROR THAT GRIPS A TEAM.

IT'S LIKE THE SPOOKY MUSIC THAT RUNS UNDER BASEBALL.

[NARRATOR] FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, A VAUDEVILLE COMEDIAN AND BASEBALL FANATIC NAMED DE WOLF HOPPER HAD BEEN RECITING A LENGTHY POEM BY ERNEST LAWRENCE THAYER CALLED CASEY AT THE BAT: A BALLAD OF THE REPUBLIC.

HE HAD FIRST TRIED IT OUT ON A BROADWAY AUDIENCE IN 1888 AND GOTTEN SUCH APPLAUSE THAT HE KEPT IT IN THE ACT.

HE WOULD GO ON TO RECITE THE POEM MORE THAN 10,000 TIMES.

[APPLAUSE] "THE OUTLOOK WASN'T BRILLIANT FOR THE MUDVILLE NINE THAT DA, "THE SCORE STOOD 4 TO 2 WITH BUT 1 INNING MORE TO PLAY.

"AND SO WHEN COONEY DIED AT FIRST, "AND BURROWS DID THE SAME, A SICKLY SILENCE FELL UPON THE PATRONS OF THE GAME..." BETWEEN SEASONS, BASEBALL'S BRIGHTEST STARS SUPPLEMENTED THEIR SALARIES ON THE VAUDEVILLE CIRCUIT.

OUTFIELDER "TURKEY MIKE" DONLIN OF THE NEW YORK GIANTS MARRIED AN ACTRESS AND PERFORMED WITH HER ON TOUR.

CAP ANSON RECITED A MONOLOGUE WRITTEN FOR HIM BY GEORGE M. COHAN.

EVEN CHRISTY MATHEWSON ONCE PLAYED THE PALACE.

[OKRENT] JOHN McGRAW, WHO HAD NO ACT-- HE DIDN'T SING OR DANCE, NOT THAT THE OTHER PLAYERS DID, BUT THEY TRIED-- JOHN McGRAW WOULD SIMPLY BE JOHN McGRAW.

HE WOULD RECITE.

HE WOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS.

IT WAS SORT OF A CHATAUQUA FORUM IN A LOWLIFE TERRITORY.

[HOPPER] "AND NOW THE PITCHER HOLDS THE BALL, "AND NOW HE LETS IT GO, "AND NOW THE AIR IS SHATTERED BY THE FORCE OF CASEY'S BLOW.

"OH, SOMEWHERE IN THIS FAVORED LAND "THE SUN IS SHINING BRIGHT.

"SOMEWHERE BANDS ARE PLAYING.

SOMEWHERE HEARTS ARE LIGHT.

"SOMEWHERE MEN ARE LAUGHING, AND SOMEWHERE CHILDREN SHOUT, "BUT THERE IS NO JOY IN MUDVILLE.

MIGHTY CASEY HAS STRUCK OUT."

ONE SUMMER DAY IN 1908, A POPULAR VAUDEVILLE ENTERTAINER NAMED JACK NORWORTH BOARDED A MANHATTAN TRAIN AND SAW AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT READ, "BASEBALL TODAY, POLO GROUNDS."

HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO A PROFESSIONAL GAME, BUT BY THE TIME HE REACHED HIS STOP, HE HAD WRITTEN THE LYRICS FOR A SONG ABOUT BASEBALL.

WHEN NORWORTH INTRODUCED THE SONG IN HIS ACT AT THE AMPHION THEATER IN BROOKLYN, IT FELL FLAT, BUT WHEN NICKELODEON AUDIENCES WERE ENCOURAGED TO SING ALONG WITH LANTERN SLIDES, IT BECAME A NATIONWIDE HIT.

♪ KATIE CASEY WAS BASEBALL MAD ♪ ♪ HAD THE FEVER AND HAD IT BAD ♪ ♪ JUST TO ROOT FOR THE HOMETOWN CREW ♪ ♪ EV'RY SOU, KATIE BLEW ♪ ♪ ON A SATURDAY, HER YOUNG BEAU ♪ ♪ CALLED TO SEE IF SHE'D LIKE TO GO ♪ ♪ TO SEE A SHOW, BUT MISS KATE SAID NO ♪ ♪ I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN DO ♪ ♪ TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME ♪ ♪ TAKE ME OUT WITH THE CROWD ♪ ♪ BUY ME SOME PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACK ♪ ♪ I DON'T CARE IF I EVER GET BACK ♪ ♪ LET ME ROOT, ROOT, ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM ♪ ♪ IF THEY DON'T WIN, IT'S A SHAME ♪ ♪ FOR IT'S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES, YOU'RE OUT ♪ ♪ AT THE OLD BALL GAME ♪ THE SONG WOULD BECOME BASEBALL'S ANTHEM.

[GEORGE WILL] PEOPLE WHO LONG FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS BEFORE BALLPLAYERS GOT RICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A BALLPLAYER BACK THEN.

IT WAS HARD.

THEY SLEPT TWO-TO-A-BED IN HOTELS.

RUBE WADDELL'S BUNK MATE REQUIRED CONNIE MACK TO PUT IN HIS CONTRACT THAT RUBE WADDELL WASN'T ALLOWED TO EAT CRACKERS IN BED.

CONNIE MACK HAD TO BEAR THE CROSS OF RUBE WADDELL OF PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

WHEN HE WENT TO SIGN RUBE TO HIS FIRST CONTRACT, HE WAS MET AT THE STATION IN PUNXSUTAWNEY BY THE TOWN LEADERS AS HE AND RUBE WERE LEAVING.

MACK WAS TERRIFIED THAT THEY CAME TO TELL RUBE NOT TO SIGN.

ONE OF THEM STEPPED FORWARD AND SAID, "MR. MACK, THANKS FOR GETTING HIM OFF OF OUR HANDS."

[NARRATOR] GEORGE EDWARD "RUBE" WADDELL MAY HAVE BEEN THE STRANGEST MAN EVER TO PLAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES.

A FARMER'S SON FROM PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA, HE POSSESSED A FAST BALL FEARSOME ENOUGH AND A CURVE WICKED ENOUGH TO LEAD THE AMERICAN LEAGUE IN STRIKE-OUTS FOR SIX STRAIGHT YEARS AND TO OUT-PITCH CY YOUNG FOR 20 INNINGS.

BUT IT WAS HIS PERSONALITY THAT MOST PEOPLE REMEMBERED.

HE POURED ICE WATER ON HIS ARM BEFORE HE PITCHED BECAUSE, HE SAID, OTHERWISE, HE'D BURN UP THE CATCHER'S GLOVE, AND WHEN HE WON A GAME, HE SOMETIMES TURNED CARTWHEELS ON THE MOUND.

HE DRANK TOO MUCH.

THE SPORTING NEWS CALLED HIM "THE SOUSEPAW," AND HE COULDN'T QUITE REMEMBER HOW MANY WOMEN HE'D MARRIED.

BETWEEN SEASONS, WADDELL WRESTLED ALLIGATORS AND TOURED IN A VAUDEVILLE MELODRAMA, THE STAIN OF GUILT.

ON THE FIELD, HIS ATTENTION TENDED TO WANDER.

OPPONENTS COULD BREAK HIS CONCENTRATION BY HOLDING UP PUPPIES OR BRIGHT, SHINY TOYS.

HE LOVED FIRES.

WHEN A FIRE BELL CLANGED, HE HAD TO BE RESTRAINED FROM LEAVING THE GAME TO CHASE THE FIRE ENGINE.

EXASPERATED TEAMMATES AND OPPOSING PLAYERS NEVER KNEW WHAT HE'D DO NEXT, BUT FANS LOVED HIM.

"SUNDAY WOULD COME.

"THE PARK WOULD BE PACKED WAY BEFORE GAME TIME, "EVERYBODY WANTING TO SEE THE GREAT RUBE WADDELL PITCH.

"NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

"MANAGER WOULD BE HAVING A FIT.

"A FEW MINUTES BEFORE GAME TIME, "THERE WOULD BE A COMMOTION IN THE GRANDSTAND.

"YOU'D HEAR PEOPLE, HERE COMES RUBE!

"HE'D COME RIGHT THROUGH THE STANDS.

"HE JUMPED ONTO THE FIELD, "WENT TO THE CLUBHOUSE, TAKING OFF HIS SHIRT.

"IN ABOUT THREE MINUTES-- HE NEVER WORE UNDERWEAR-- HE'D RUN BACK OUT IN UNIFORM AND YELL, LET'S GET 'EM!"

SAM CRAWFORD.

[OKRENT] PLAYERS LIKE WADDELL, WITH THEIR DRINKING, WITH THEIR BAD ACTING, WITH THEIR INABILITY TO TAKE THEIR PROFESSION SERIOUSLY, THEY CAME TO BASEBALL IN ITS EARLY YEARS IN VERY LARGE NUMBERS BECAUSE BASEBALL, THOUGH POPULAR, WAS OUTSIDE SOCIAL NORMS.

THE INSTABILITY OF A CAREER-- WHERE YOU MIGHT WORK ONLY FOR A YEAR OR TWO, THE JUMPING FROM TEAM TO TEAM-- SEEMED TO BE SUITED TOWARD INDIVIDUALS WHO COULDN'T FIT WELL IN THE REST OF SOCIETY.

IT HELPED RUBE WADDELL AND MANY OTHER SOCIOPATHIC FIGURES THAT, IN ADDITION TO BEING SOCIOPATHS, THEY HAD STRONG ARMS OR GOOD BATTING EYES.

IN 1904, WADDELL STRUCK OUT 349 BATTERS, A RECORD FOR AMERICAN LEAGUE LEFT-HANDERS THAT STILL STANDS.

BUT HE WAS JUST TOO HARD TO HANDLE.

THOUGH HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST PITCHERS IN BASEBALL, HIS UNRELIABILITY INFURIATED HIS TEAMMATES, AND HE WAS DRIVEN OUT OF THE BIG LEAGUES AND THEN THE MINORS.

WADDELL CONTRACTED TUBERCULOSIS HELPING VICTIMS OF A FLOOD AND DIED ON APRIL 1, 1914, AT THE AGE OF 37.

I LOVE WATCHING CLOSELY WHAT I THINK IS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DUEL BETWEEN THE PITCHER AND BATTER, AS WELL AS A PHYSICAL DUEL.

EACH ONE IS ANTICIPATING WHAT THE OTHER WILL DO, AND ONE WILL WIN, ONE WILL LOSE.

PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND BASEBALL THINK, "WHAT IS IT, THESE NINE GUYS?"

IF YOU LOVE IT AT THAT MOMENT, IT'S AS EXCITING AS BOXING.

THESE TWO PEOPLE ARE DUELING EACH OTHER, AND WITH ALL OF THEIR MEMORY OF THE OTHER PERSON.

AND THE GREAT PITCHERS AND BATTERS HAVE STUDIED THE OTHER PERSON.

THAT'S WHAT'S SO WONDERFUL.

SEASON AFTER SEASON, THE WASHINGTON SENATORS WERE ONE OF THE LEAST IMPRESSIVE TEAMS IN BASEBALL, BUT IN THE SUMMER OF 1907, THEIR FORTUNES SUDDENLY BRIGHTENED.

"ON AUGUST 2, 1907, "I ENCOUNTERED THE MOST THREATENING SIGHT "I EVER SAW ON A BALL FIELD.

"HE WAS ONLY A ROOKIE, "AND WE LICKED OUR LIPS AS WE WARMED UP.

"EVIDENTLY, MANAGER PONGO JOE CANTILLON "HAD PICKED A RUBE OUT OF THE CORNFIELDS "TO PITCH AGAINST US.

"HE WAS A TALL, SHAMBLING GALOOT, "WITH ARMS SO LONG THEY HUNG FAR OUT OF HIS SLEEVES "AND A SIDEARM DELIVERY "THAT LOOKED UNIMPRESSIVE AT FIRST.

"ONE OF THE TIGERS IMITATED A COW MOOING, "AND WE HOLLERED, GET THE PITCHFORK READY, JOE.

"YOUR HAYSEED'S ON THE WAY BACK TO THE BARN.

"THE FIRST TIME I FACED HIM, "I WATCHED HIM TAKE THAT EASY WINDUP, "AND THEN SOMETHING WENT PAST THAT MADE ME FLINCH.

"THE THING JUST HISSED WITH DANGER.

"WE COULDN'T TOUCH HIM.

"EACH OF US KNEW WE'D MET THE MOST POWERFUL ARM EVER TURNED LOOSE IN A BALL PARK."

TY COBB.

EARLIER THAT SEASON, WASHINGTON MANAGER JOE CANTILLON HEARD ABOUT A 19-YEAR-OLD PITCHER SAID TO BE TEARING UP THE IDAHO STATE LEAGUE.

"THIS BOY THROWS SO FAST, YOU CAN'T SEE 'EM," THE SCOUT SAID.

"HE KNOWS WHERE HE'S THROWING.

IF HE DIDN'T, THERE WOULD BE DEAD BODIES ALL OVER IDAHO."

WALTER PERRY JOHNSON WAS A MODEST COUNTRY BOY FROM HUMBOLDT, KANSAS, WITH BROAD SHOULDERS, LONG ARMS, AND A CURIOUS MOTION THAT DELIVERED THE BALL FASTER THAN ANY OTHER PITCHER HAD BEFORE HIM AND PERHAPS NONE HAS SINCE.

[OKRENT] HE WAS A KANSAS FARM BOY.

WHEN HE WAS FOUND BY THE WASHINGTON SENATORS' SCOUTS, HE WAS PITCHING IN IDAHO, 1,500 MILES AWAY, AND THE VERY IDEA OF THE SCOUT FINDING THIS UNLIKELY LEAGUE AND IN THAT LEAGUE, FINDING A DIAMOND, A TRUE JEWEL LIKE JOHNSON, IT REPRESENTS TO ME THIS NOTION OF THE GAME'S NATIONAL SPREAD AND NATIONAL APPEAL.

[NARRATOR] STILL, HE WAS CAUTIOUS.

BEFORE SIGNING UP, HE ASKED FOR A RETURN TICKET HOME JUST IN CASE THINGS DIDN'T WORK OUT BACK EAST.

THINGS DID WORK OUT.

JOHNSON HURLED THE BALL SO FAST THAT ONE BATTER LEFT THE BOX AFTER TWO SWINGS.

THE UMPIRE TOLD HIM HE HAD A THIRD SWING COMING.

HE SAID, "YOU CAN HAVE IT.

IT WON'T DO ME ANY GOOD."

"THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO TIME JOHNSON'S FAST BALL," SAID BIRDIE McCREE.

"WHEN YOU SEE THE ARM START FORWARD, SWING."

ANOTHER BATTER SIMPLY SHOOK HIS HEAD.

"YOU CAN'T HIT WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE."

[OKRENT] WELL, WALTER JOHNSON PROBABLY WASN'T A PATCH ON SOME OF THE FAST-BALL PITCHERS WE HAVE TODAY.

IT'S NOT THAT A PITCHER THROWS FASTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN HISTORY BUT THAT HE THROW FASTER THAN PEOPLE OF HIS TIME, AND CERTAINLY JOHNSON DID.

THE UMPIRE BILLY EVANS WAS ASKED, "WAS IT HARD TO CALL WALTER JOHNSON'S PITCHES?

WHEN YOU CALLED STRIKES, DID PLAYERS SECOND-GUESS YOU?"

HE SAID, "THEY WOULDN'T SECOND-GUESS ME BECAUSE NOT ONLY WERE MY EYES CLOSED, THEIRS WERE, TOO."

[NARRATOR] WALTER JOHNSON'S RECORD OF 110 SHUTOUTS STILL STANDS.

HE ONCE HELD THE NEW YORK HIGHLANDERS SCORELESS THREE TIMES IN FOUR DAYS, AND ALTHOUGH HE RARELY HAD THE BACKING FROM THE SENATORS THAT HE DESERVED, HE MANAGED TO WIN 417 GAMES OVER HIS CAREER AND TO WIN 20 OR MORE GAMES FOR 10 SUCCESSIVE SEASONS.

THE RELENTLESS VELOCITY OF HIS PITCHING WON HIM THE NICKNAME "BIG TRAIN."

[SHIRLEY POVICH] SOMETIMES HE'S REFERRED TO AS A LEGEND.

HE ISN'T A LEGEND.

A LEGEND, ACCORDING TO WEBSTER, HAS YET TO BE PROVED, IT'S A BIT MYTHICAL.

THERE'S NOTHING MYTHICAL ABOUT WALTER JOHNSON.

HE EXISTED AND WAS PROBABLY THE BEST PITCHER EVER.

NEW YORK WRITERS WERE DETERMINED TO MAKE CHRISTY MATHEWSON THE BEST PITCHER-HERO OF ALL TIME, AND IN THAT SENSE, THEY TENDED TO IGNORE WALTER JOHNSON.

THEY COULDN'T DO THIS BECAUSE WALTER JOHNSON SURPASSED MATHEWSON IN SO MANY WAYS.

IF WALTER JOHNSON WERE PITCHING FOR A TEAM THAT HAD THE WINNING PERCENTAGE OF MATHEWSON'S GIANTS, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO CONTEST.

[NARRATOR] BUT FOR ALL JOHNSON'S SKILL AND SPEED, THERE WAS ONE HITTER WHOM HE COULD NOT SEEM TO INTIMIDATE-- A YOUNG GEORGIAN PLAYING FOR DETROIT WHO SOON FOUND A WAY TO GET HITS OFF JOHNSON.

"WALTER JOHNSON WAS A KINDLY MAN," THE GEORGIAN EXPLAINED, "AND NEVER REALLY WANTED TO HURT ANYBODY."

"IT WAS USELESS TO TRY "FOR MORE THAN A SINGLE OFF JOHNSON.

"YOU HAD TO POKE AT THE BALL.

"IF YOU SWUNG, YOU WERE DEAD.

"AFTER HE TOLD ME HE FEARED HE MIGHT KILL A HITTER, "I CHEATED.

I'D CROWD THE PLATE TILL MY TOES WERE ON IT, "KNOWING HE'D PITCH WIDE.

"THEN, WITH TWO BALLS AND NO STRIKES, "HE'D EASE ONE UP TO GET ONE OVER.

THAT'S THE JOHNSON PITCH I HIT."

TY COBB.

"THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER OF ALL TIME?

"I'D PICK THE DETROIT MAN "BECAUSE HE IS, IN MY JUDGMENT, "THE MOST EXPERT MAN OF HIS PROFESSION "AND IS ABLE TO RESPOND "BETTER THAN ANY OTHER BALLPLAYER "TO DEMANDS MADE UPON HIM.

"HE PLAYS BALL WITH HIS WHOLE ANATOMY-- "HIS HEAD, ARMS, HANDS, LEGS, FEET.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN A MAN "WHO HAD HIS HEART MORE CENTERED IN A SPORT "THAN COBB HAS WHEN HE'S PLAYING.

"I BELIEVE COBB WOULD CONTINUE TO PLAY BALL "IF HE WERE CHARGED SOMETHING "FOR THE PRIVILEGE "AND IF THE ONLY SPECTATOR WERE THE GROUNDSKEEPER."

CHARLES COMISKEY.

"BASEBALL IS A RED-BLOODED SPORT FOR RED-BLOODED MEN.

"IT'S NO PINK TEA, "AND MOLLYCODDLES HAD BETTER STAY OUT.

"IT'S A STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY, A SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST."

[NARRATOR] TY COBB LIKED SENTIMENTALITY IN HIS OPPONENTS BECAUSE HE HAD NONE HIMSELF.

"BASEBALL," HE SAID, "IS SOMETHING LIKE A WAR."

TY COBB IS ONE OF THE GREAT NATURAL FORCES OF BASEBALL.

HE IS TESTAMENT TO HOW FAR YOU CAN GET SIMPLY THROUGH WILL.

I DON'T THINK TY COBB HAD TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS NATURAL ABILITY.

I DON'T THINK HE WOULD BE A GREAT ATHLETE TODAY, BUT HIS INTENSITY, HIS DRIVE WAS UNPARALLELED.

COBB WAS PURSUED BY DEMONS FROM HIS CHILDHOOD, FROM HIS PARENTAGE, FROM HIS RACIAL CONSCIOUSNESS, AND HE TOOK OUT ALL OF HIS AGGRESSIONS ON THE PLAYING FIELDS.

EVERYONE WAS HIS ENEMY.

IT WAS EASY FOR COBB TO PLAY THE GAME OF BASEBALL AS IF IT WERE THE GAME OF LIFE.

IT WAS A VIOLENT STRUGGLE EVERY DAY, 154 GAMES A YEAR.

[NARRATOR] HE WAS BORN ON A GEORGIA FARM IN 1886 AND NAMED TYRUS AFTER THE ANCIENT CITY OF TYRE THAT STUBBORNLY REFUSED TO SURRENDER TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

HIS MOTHER, AMANDA, WAS JUST 15.

HIS FATHER, WILLIAM H. COBB, WAS A SCHOOLMASTER WHO HAD MADE GOOD AND WAS GRIMLY DETERMINED THAT HIS SON MAKE GOOD, TOO, IN MEDICINE OR LAW OR THE MILITARY.

HIS FATHER WAS DISTANT, DEMANDING... "THE ONLY MAN WHO EVER MADE ME DO HIS BIDDING," HIS SON REMEMBERED, AND NOTHING YOUNG TYRUS COULD DO EVER SEEMED TO SATISFY HIM.

THE TENSE, SKINNY BOY TOOK OUT HIS ANGER ON THE DIAMOND AND ON HIS SCHOOLMATES.

IN THE FIFTH GRADE, HE BEAT UP A FAT BOY WHOSE ERROR HAD LET THE GIRLS' TEAM WIN A SPELLING BEE.

HE LEFT HOME AT 17 TO PLAY IN THE MINORS IN ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE.

HIS FATHER WARNED HIM, "DON'T COME HOME A FAILURE."

"THAT ADMONITION," COBB RECALLED, "PUT MORE DETERMINATION IN ME THAN HE EVER KNEW.

MY OVERWHELMING NEED WAS TO PROVE MYSELF AS A MAN."

WHEN NO BIG LEAGUE OFFERS CAME RIGHT AWAY, HE FORGED LETTERS PRAISING HIS OWN SKILLS AND DISPATCHED THEM TO GRANTLAND RICE, SPORTS EDITOR OF THE ATLANTA JOURNAL.

FINALLY, RICE WROTE, "THERE'S A YOUNG FELLOW NAMED COBB WHO SEEMS TO BE SHOWING AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF TALENT."

HE EVENTUALLY GOT A JOB PLAYING LEFT FIELD FOR AUGUSTA IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE AND SOON LED THAT LEAGUE IN HITTING.

SALE TO A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM SEEMED ONLY WEEKS AWAY, A SURE SIGN OF THE SUCCESS WITH WHICH HE HOPED TO WIN HIS FATHER'S FAVOR.

THEN COBB GOT A TELEGRAM.

HIS FATHER WAS DEAD, SHOTGUNNED.

COBB'S OWN MOTHER HAD SHOT HIM.

HER HUSBAND THOUGHT SHE WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR.

WHEN HE TRIED TO SLIP INTO HER BEDROOM WINDOW AT NIGHT TO TRAP HER WITH HER LOVER, SHE SHOT HIM TWICE.

LATER, SHE SAID SHE HAD MISTAKEN HIM FOR A PROWLER.

"MY FATHER'S HEAD WAS BLOWN OFF WHEN I WAS 18 BY A FAMILY MEMBER," COBB TOLD A WRITER WHEN HE WAS OLD.

"I DIDN'T GET OVER THAT.

I'VE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT."

THREE WEEKS AFTER HIS FATHER WAS KILLED, ON AUGUST 30, 1905, TY COBB PLAYED HIS FIRST GAME FOR THE DETROIT TIGERS.

"EVERY ROOKIE GETS A LITTLE HAZING, "BUT MOST OF THEM JUST TAKE IT AND LAUGH.

"COBB TOOK IT THE WRONG WAY.

"HE CAME UP WITH AN ANTAGONISTIC ATTITUDE "WHICH, IN HIS MIND, TURNED ANY LITTLE RAZZING "INTO A LIFE-AND-DEATH STRUGGLE.

"HE FIGURED EVERYBODY WAS GANGING UP ON HIM.

"HE CAME FROM THE SOUTH, "AND HE WAS STILL FIGHTING THE CIVIL WAR.

"HE THOUGHT WE WERE DAMN YANKEES BEFORE HE EVEN MET US."

SAM CRAWFORD.

"SURE, I FOUGHT.

"I HAD TO FIGHT ALL MY LIFE TO SURVIVE.

"THEY WERE AGAINST ME-- "TRIED EVERY DIRTY TRICK TO CUT ME DOWN, BUT I BEAT THE BASTARDS AND LEFT THEM IN THE DITCH."

[WILL] IT'S AN OLD BASEBALL APHORISM THAT YOU CAN'T PLAY BASEBALL WITH YOUR TEETH CLENCHED.

YOU HAVE TO BE RELAXED-- BALANCED TEMPERAMENT.

TY COBB PLAYED ALL HIS CAREER WITH HIS TEETH CLENCHED, HIS FISTS CLENCHED... DESPISED OFTEN BY HIS TEAMMATES.

ONCE, WHEN THEY THOUGHT HE'D LOST A BATTING TITLE, HIS OWN TEAMMATES SENT A TELEGRAM OF CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MAN WHO BEAT HIM.

A MAN OF SUCH FIERCE DETERMINATION TO PLAY THAT ONE TIME IN AN EXHIBITION GAME IN TOLEDO, OHIO-- HE HAD TONSILLITIS.

HE HAD HIS TONSILS OUT-- BY A QUACK WHO LATER WENT TO AN INSANE ASYLUM-- WITHOUT ANESTHETICS...

PLAYED LATER THAT DAY.

[NARRATOR] HE DEVELOPED ULCERS, TOOK TO SLEEPING WITH A REVOLVER UNDER HIS PILLOW, AND SOON BEGAN TO DISPLAY AN OBSESSIVE ANIMOSITY TOWARD BLACKS.

ONE DAY, A BLACK GROUNDSKEEPER TRIED TO SHAKE HIS HAND.

COBB SLAPPED HIM, CHASED HIM, THEN TRIED TO STRANGLE THE MAN'S WIFE WHEN SHE CAME TO HIS AID.

AND WHEN COBB'S TEAMMATES PULLED HIM OFF HER, HE TRIED TO PUNCH THEM, TOO.

ONE SPORTSWRITER SAID, "HE WOULD CLIMB A MOUNTAIN TO PUNCH AN ECHO."

ANOTHER SUGGESTED THAT HE WAS "POSSESSED BY THE FURIES."

HE WAITED AT THE PLATE, HANDS WIDE APART SO HE COULD BUNT, PUNCH, OR SLAP THE BALL JUST WHERE HE WANTED IT TO GO.

FEW COULD MATCH THE SPEED OF HIS TAKEOFF FROM FIRST, AND IT TOOK BRAVERY TO BLOCK THE BASE PATH WHEN HE SLID IN, SPIKES HIGH.

ONE PITCHER COVERING HOME, AS COBB CAME IN WITH WHAT HE CALLED "MY STEEL SHOWING," IS SAID TO HAVE FLED FROM THE FIELD.

"IF I HADN'T BEEN DETERMINED "TO OUTDO THE OTHER FELLOW AT ALL COSTS, "I DOUBT I WOULD HAVE HIT .320.

"IN OTHER WORDS, MY LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE "HAS BEEN INCREASED AT LEAST 50 POINTS BY QUALITIES I'D CALL PURELY MENTAL."

HE WAS THE BIGGEST DRAW IN BASEBALL, MORE ADMIRED THAN LOVED.

ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FANS NOW BEGAN TO ARGUE OVER WHO WAS BETTER-- COBB OR THE GREAT HONUS WAGNER.

COBB'S FEROCITY DROVE HIS TEAM TO THE PENNANT IN 1907 AND HIMSELF TO THE BATTING CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE.

AT 20 YEARS AND 10 MONTHS, TY COBB WAS THE YOUNGEST MAN EVER TO WIN A BIG-LEAGUE BATTING TITLE.

HE WOULD WIN SEVEN MORE IN A ROW, 12 IN 13 YEARS.

HE WAS, ONE WRITER SAID, "A CYCLONE, A TORNADO, A TYPHOON, ALL ROLLED INTO ONE."

"THE CRUELTY OF COBB'S STYLE FASCINATED THE MULTITUDES, "BUT IT ALSO ALIENATED THEM.

"HE PLAYED IN A CLIMATE OF HOSTILITY, "FRIENDLESS BY CHOICE "IN A VIOLENT WORLD HE POPULATED WITH ENEMIES.

"HE WAS THE STRANGEST OF ALL OUR SPORTS IDOLS, "BUT NOT EVEN HIS DISAGREEABLE CHARACTER COULD DESTROY THE IMAGE OF HIS GREATNESS AS A BALLPLAYER."

"TY COBB WAS THE BEST.

THAT SEEMED TO BE ALL HE WANTED."

JIMMY CANNON.

I THINK BASEBALL IS A GREAT SUPPORT TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE EMOTIONAL VOIDS, GAPS, EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES-- THAT IS TO SAY ALL OF US.

THOSE PARTS OF US THAT DON'T FUNCTION WELL, PARTS OF US THAT ARE SAD-- NOT EVERY DAY-- THEY CAN REALLY USE BASEBALL.

IT ISN'T JUST CHILDREN IN WHEELCHAIRS OR SHUT-IN SENIOR CITIZENS LISTENING TO THE RADIO THAT NEED THE GAME.

PART OF EVERYBODY WHO'S A BASEBALL FAN NEEDS THE GAME AT THAT LEVEL.

[BAT HITTING BASEBALL] [CHEERING] "NEXT TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND GEORGE WASHINGTON, "THE NAME OF A.G. SPALDING "IS THE MOST FAMOUS IN AMERICAN LITERATURE.

"IT HAS BEEN BLAZING FORTH "ON THE COVER OF GUIDES TO ALL SORTS OF SPORTS, "UPON BATS AND GLOVES FOR MANY YEARS.

"YOUNG AMERICA GETS ITS KNOWLEDGE OF THE PAST "IN THE WORLD OF ATHLETICS "FROM SOMETHING THAT HAS AL SPALDING ON IT "IN BIG, BLACK LETTERS.

"AND FOR THAT REASON, AS MUCH AS ANY OTHER, HE IS ONE OF THE NATIONAL FIGURES OF OUR TIME."

BOSTON HERALD.

[NARRATOR] ALBERT GOODWILL SPALDING, THE SPORTING GOODS KING, COULD LOOK BACK ON A LONG CAREER IN BASEBALL, FIRST AS A SUPERB PITCHER, THEN AS A RUTHLESS CLUB OWNER, FINALLY AS THE MAN WHO HAD MADE THE GAME BIG BUSINESS, BUT HE STILL HAD ONE MORE SERVICE TO PERFORM.

HE WAS DETERMINED TO PROVE THAT BASEBALL WAS AN EXCLUSIVELY AMERICAN INVENTION, THE BRAINCHILD OF SOME INGENIOUS AMERICAN LAD.

HE APPOINTED A COMMISSION TO PROVE IT, BUT TWO YEARS OF RESEARCH TURNED UP ALMOST NOTHING.

THEN, IN 1905, A LETTER ARRIVED FROM A FRAIL OLD MAN WHO CLAIMED THAT GENERAL ABNER DOUBLEDAY HAD INVENTED BASEBALL AS A BOY IN COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK, ONE AFTERNOON IN 1839.

IT WASN'T TRUE, BUT IT WAS JUST WHAT SPALDING HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR.

IT PROVED, HE SAID, THAT BASEBALL TRULY WAS THE NATIONAL GAME-- PLAYED BY AMERICANS, WATCHED BY AMERICANS, NOW INVENTED BY AN AMERICAN.

[STEVEN JAY GOULD] WE NEED DOUBLEDAY BECAUSE, AS A CULTURE, WE HAVE TO HAVE ORIGIN MYTHS.

NOW, BASEBALL HAS NO POINT OF ORIGIN.

IT EVOLVED.

WE KNOW THAT.

THEY SET UP A COMMISSION AND GINNED UP THIS ABSURD STORY ABOUT ABNER DOUBLEDAY WHO, SOMEONE WROTE, PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW A BASEBALL FROM A KUMQUAT, BUT HE FIRED THE FIRST RESPONSIVE UNION VOLLEY AT FORT SUMTER AND BRIEFLY COMMANDED TROOPS AT GETTYSBURG.

TO HAVE AN AMERICAN HERO AS THE GAME'S ORIGINATOR SEEMED APPROPRIATE INDEED.

IT'S MYTHOLOGY.

THERE'S NO SINGLE POINT OF ORIGIN.

LET'S NOT TRY TO FIND A STARTING PLACE FOR BASEBALL.

LET'S CONSIDER IT TO BE THE DARWINIAN PRODUCT OF CENTURIES OF MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND CONTINENTS AND OCEANS, AND SOMETHING RISING FROM THE SEA AND THEN TURNING EVENTUALLY, AFTER YEARS OF EVOLUTION, INTO BARRY BONDS.

[NARRATOR] DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20th CENTURY, AMERICANS SOUGHT TO SOLVE THEIR COUNTRY'S PROBLEMS BY ORGANIZING EVERYTHING.

THEY FORMED CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETIES, CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS, MUNICIPAL REFORM LEAGUES, AND BASEBALL TEAMS.

THEY PLAYED FOR THE READING ALERTS, UTICA PENT-UPS, BINGHAMTON BINGOES, SCRANTON CHOCTAWS, HAGERSTOWN ANTIETAMS, AND NEW JERSEY McCLELLANS.

THE LAREDO APACHES, UNION CITY GREYHOUNDS, CINCINNATI PORKERS, EVANSVILLE RIVER RATS, AND IOLA GAS BAGS.

THEY PLAYED FOR THE GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI, BUCKSHOTS, TROY COLLAR AND CUFF MAKERS, PROVIDENCE CLAM DIGGERS, TERRE HAUTE HOTTENTOTS, DES MOINES UNDERTAKERS, LEBANON PRETZEL-EATERS, YAKIMA PIPPINS, BANGOR BANGERS, AND THE HARTFORD WIDE-AWAKES-- SO EAGER TO PLAY, THEY GOT UP AT DAWN TO PLAY BEFORE WORK.

AND THEY ALSO PLAYED FOR THE ALL-AMERICAN BLACK TOURISTS, THE MERIDIAN SOUTHERN GIANTS, AND THE MONARCHS OF KANSAS CITY.

"THE COLORED BALLPLAYER SUFFERS A GREAT INCONVENIENCE "AT TIMES WHILE TRAVELING.

"ALL THE HOTELS ARE GENERALLY FILLED "FROM THE CELLAR TO THE GARRET "WHEN THEY STRIKE A TOWN.

"IT'S A COMMON OCCURRENCE "FOR THEM TO ARRIVE IN A CITY LATE AT NIGHT "AND WALK AROUND FOR SEVERAL HOURS "BEFORE GETTING A PLACE TO LODGE.

"WITH THE COLOR QUESTION UPPERMOST IN THE MINDS "OF THE PEOPLE AT THE PRESENT TIME, "SUCH PROCEEDINGS "ON THE PART OF HOTEL KEEPERS "MAY BE EXPECTED AND WILL BE DIFFICULT TO REMEDY."

SOL WHITE.

FOR YEARS, THE SO-CALLED GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT AMONG THE OWNERS HAD EXCLUDED 1/10 OF THE NATION'S CITIZENS FROM THE PLAYING FIELD, BUT AFRICAN AMERICANS PLAYED WHEREVER AND WHENEVER THEY COULD FOR DOZENS OF INDEPENDENT TEAMS THAT BARNSTORMED ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THEIR NAMES WERE AS SPLENDID AS THE MEN WHO PLAYED FOR THEM-- THE CUBAN X GIANTS, THE NEW YORK LINCOLN GIANTS, THE INDIANAPOLIS ABCs, THE FRENCH LICK PLUTOS, AND THE HOT SPRINGS MAJESTIC WHITE SOX.

THE CUBAN GIANTS, ORIGINALLY MADE UP OF WAITERS FROM THE ARGYLE HOTEL ON LONG ISLAND, ARE SAID TO HAVE SPOKEN GIBBERISH WHEN AWAY FROM HOME TO FOOL THE CROWD INTO THINKING THEY WERE SPEAKING SPANISH.

THE PAGE FENCE GIANTS, SPONSORED BY A WIRE MANUFACTURER, SPUN THROUGH THE STREETS ON BICYCLES TO DRUM UP CROWDS AND TOURED THE COUNTRY IN THEIR OWN PRIVATE RAILROAD CAR.

BLACK CHICAGO ALONE SUPPORTED THREE GREAT TEAMS-- THE LELAND GIANTS, THE UNIONS, AND THE UNION GIANTS.

"BASEBALL SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY "BY THE COLORED PLAYER.

"AN HONEST EFFORT OF HIS GREAT ABILITY "WILL OPEN THE AVENUE IN THE NEAR FUTURE "WHEREIN HE MAY WALK HAND IN HAND "WITH THE OPPOSITE RACE IN THE GREATEST OF ALL AMERICAN GAMES--BASEBALL."

TWO PLAYERS DOMINATED THE DECADE.

JOHN HENRY "POP" LLOYD WAS A HARD-HITTING SHORTSTOP WHOSE FANS CALLED HIM "THE BLACK HONUS WAGNER."

THE AUTHENTIC WAGNER SAID HE WAS HONORED BY THE COMPARISON.

BUT BEST OF ALL WAS ANDREW "RUBE" FOSTER, STAR PITCHER AND MANAGER OF THE CHICAGO LELAND GIANTS, WHO GOT HIS NICKNAME BY BEATING THE GREAT RUBE WADDELL IN 1902.

FOSTER'S TEAM HAD A RECORD ONE SEASON OF 123 WINS AND ONLY 6 LOSSES.

JOHN McGRAW HIMSELF QUIETLY HIRED FOSTER TO SHOW THE NEW YORK GIANT PITCHING STAFF WHAT HE KNEW.

CHRISTY MATHEWSON IS SAID TO HAVE LEARNED TO THROW HIS CELEBRATED FADE-AWAY FROM RUBE FOSTER.

EXCELLENT MIND.

EXCELLENT MIND.

HE WAS BORN TO BE BASEBALL, RUBE WAS, AND HE WAS ACTUALLY, MORE OR LESS, TWO INNINGS AHEAD OF EVERYBODY.

THAT WAS RUBE FOSTER.

RUBE GAVE ALL OF THE SIGNALS, RUBE PUT ON ALL OF THE PLAYS, AND HE HAD THE MEN THAT COULD DO JUST WHAT HE WANTED THEM TO DO.

[NARRATOR] ABANDONED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SEGREGATED FROM THE REST OF SOCIETY, BLACK AMERICANS WERE ON THEIR OWN.

THEY ESTABLISHED COLLEGES, STARTED NEWSPAPERS, FORMED ORGANIZATIONS TO STOP LYNCHING, AND NOW RUBE FOSTER BEGAN TO DREAM OF ORGANIZING A LEAGUE OF BLACK TEAMS WHICH WOULD ONE DAY COMPETE WITH THE MAJOR LEAGUES AS EQUALS.

W.E.B.

DU BOIS, EDITOR OF THE CRISIS, THE JOURNAL OF THE NEW NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, RECRUITED BOYS TO SELL SUBSCRIPTIONS DOOR-TO-DOOR BY PROMISING THEM BASEBALL EQUIPMENT.

"BASEBALL IS THE MOST POPULAR SPORT IN THIS COUNTRY.

"IN EVERY HAMLET, TOWN, AND CITY "MAY BE THE FUTURE RUBE FOSTERS, "ROMPING OVER CORNER LOTS, BATTING, PITCHING, "AND LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE GAME.

ORGANIZE YOUR TEAM."

W.E.B.

DU BOIS.

"MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1908.

"HERE'S SOMETHING FOR THE GIANT FANS TO CONSIDER.

"SUPPOSE FRED TENNEY SHOULD BE CRIPPLED.

"WOULDN'T THAT BE A CALAMITY?

"IT WOULD BE, "BUT IT WOULDN'T KEEP THE GIANTS "FROM WINNING THE PENNANT.

"THERE'S A YOUNG FELLOW ON THE BENCH--FRED MERKLE-- "WHO CAN FILL THAT JOB "BETTER THAN 9/10 OF THE FIRST BASEMEN IN THE LEAGUE.

HE IS CRYING FOR A CHANCE TO WORK."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

THE FINAL WEEKS OF THE 1908 NATIONAL LEAGUE SEASON SAW A FIERCE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CHICAGO CUBS AND THEIR ARCHRIVALS, THE NEW YORK GIANTS.

WITH THE PENNANT ON THE LINE, THEY MET AT THE POLO GROUNDS ON SEPTEMBER 23rd.

JOHN McGRAW HAD TO MAKE A LAST-MINUTE CHANGE IN THE GIANT LINE-UP.

FIRST BASEMAN FRED TENNEY WAS INJURED.

SUBSTITUTING FOR HIM WAS AN EAGER 19-YEAR-OLD ROOKIE NAMED FRED MERKLE.

IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH, THERE WERE TWO OUTS AND TWO MEN ON FOR THE GIANTS WITH THE SCORE TIED, 1-1.

GIANT PINCH HITTER MOOSE McCORMICK WAS ON THIRD, REPRESENTING THE WINNING RUN.

FRED MERKLE WAS THE RUNNER ON FIRST.

AL BRIDWELL, THE GIANT SHORTSTOP, WAS UP TO BAT.

HE LINED THE VERY FIRST PITCH PAST CUBS SECOND BASEMAN JOHNNY EVERS INTO CENTER FIELD FOR A CLEAN SINGLE.

MOOSE McCORMICK LUMBERED HOME.

THE GIANTS HAD WON THE GAME AND, MOST LIKELY, THE PENNANT.

JUBILANT GIANT FANS BEGAN POURING ONTO THE FIELD.

AT THAT MOMENT, FRED MERKLE WAS ON HIS WAY TO SECOND.

ALARMED BY THE ONCOMING CROWD AND CONVINCED THE GAME WAS OVER, HE TURNED AND RAN FOR THE CLUBHOUSE.

JOHNNY EVERS SAW THAT MERKLE HADN'T TOUCHED SECOND.

IF EVERS COULD GET THE BALL AND TOUCH SECOND HIMSELF, THE WINNING RUN WOULD BE CANCELED BY THE FORCE-OUT.

THE CUBS WOULD STILL HAVE A CHANCE...

BUT FIRST, HE HAD TO FIND THE BALL.

JOE McGINNITY, GIANTS THIRD BASE COACH, SAW WHAT EVERS WAS UP TO, WON A SCRAMBLE FOR THE BALL, AND THREW IT INTO THE STANDS.

A FAN IN A BROWN BOWLER CAUGHT IT, STARTING HOME WITH HIS TROPHY, BUT TWO CUBS CHASED THE MAN THROUGH THE MOB, KNOCKED HIM DOWN WHEN HE RESISTED, GRABBED THE BALL, AND TOSSED IT TO JOE TINKER, WHO RELAYED IT TO EVERS AT SECOND.

EVERS THEN JUMPED UP AND DOWN ON THE BAG TO MAKE SURE THE UMPIRE SAW WHAT HE HAD DONE "SOON WE SAW FRANK CHANCE ARGUING WITH HANK O'DAY, "THE UMPIRE IN CHARGE, "BUT WE DIDN'T FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT "UNTIL WE GOT INTO THE CLUBHOUSE.

"JOHNNY EVERS CLAIMED HE HAD GOTTEN THE BALL AND TOUCHED SECOND BASE, SO MERKLE WAS OUT."

AL BRIDWELL.

BOTH TEAMS CLAIMED VICTO IT TOOK HARRY C. PULLIAM, THE LEAGUE PRESIDENT, TWO DAYS TO DISALLOW THE GIANT RUN AND DECLARE THE GAME A TIE, TO BE REPLAYED AT THE END OF THE SEASON IF THE TWO TEAMS WERE DEADLOCKED.

[OKRENT] TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE MERKLE BONER IN 25 WORDS OR LESS IS LIKE TRYING TO EXPLAIN RELATIVITY TO KINDERGARTNERS.

IT'S A FORCE-OUT, AND UNDER THE RULES OF BASEBALL, THE PLAY WAS NOT COMPLETED SO LONG AS THERE WAS A FORCE-OUT POSSIBLE, AND WITH THE FORCE-OUT CONCLUDED, THE RUN THAT SCORED DIDN'T COUNT.

IT ENDED UP DETERMINING WHO WON THE PENNANT.

IT ALSO LEFT POOR FRED MERKLE WITH THIS EPONYM CREATED TO EMBARRASS AND HUMILIATE HIM AND HIS GHOSTLY PRESENCE EVEN TO THIS DAY.

[NARRATOR] AS A RESULT OF THE MERKLE BONER, THE CUBS AND GIANTS WERE DEADLOCKED WHEN THE REGULAR SEASON ENDED, AND ON OCTOBER 8, 1908, A ONE-GAME PLAYOFF WAS HELD AT THE POLO GROUNDS.

CHRISTY MATHEWSON, HAVING THE BEST YEAR OF HIS CAREER, WAS TO PITCH FOR THE GIANTS.

EVEN NEW YORK HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.

"THE POLO GROUNDS QUIT SELLING TICKETS ABOUT 1:00, "AND THOUSANDS WHO HELD TICKETS "COULDN'T FORCE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE STREET MOBS.

"THE UMPIRES WERE AN HOUR GETTING INTO THE PARK.

"BY GAME TIME, THERE WERE THOUSANDS ON THE FIELD "IN FRONT OF THE BLEACHERS.

"THE ELEVATED LINES COULDN'T RUN BECAUSE OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING ON THE TRACKS."

MORDECAI BROWN.

FIREMEN DROVE ONLOOKERS OFF THE ELEVATED TRACKS WITH HOSES, BUT THEY JUST CLIMBED BACK UP AGAIN.

FANS WITHOUT TICKETS TRIED TO BURN THEIR WAY INTO THE PARK AND HAD TO BE BEATEN BACK BY POLICEMEN.

THOUSANDS MORE COVERED THE ROCK-FACED CLIFF, CALLED COOGAN'S BLUFF, THAT OFFERED VIEWS OF ONLY PART OF THE FIELD.

"NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME," ONE REPORTER WROTE, "HAVE THERE BEEN SO MANY TO SEE A GAME WHO DIDN'T SEE IT."

FROM THE STANDS, THREE-FINGER BROWN REMEMBERED, "THERE WAS A STEADY ROAR OF ABUSE.

"I NEVER HEARD ANYBODY OR ANY SET OF MEN "CALLED AS MANY FOUL NAMES AS THE GIANTS FANS CALLED US THAT DAY."

THE CUB PITCHER JACK PFIESTER WAS RATTLED.

HE HIT FRED TENNEY AND WALKED BUCK HERZOG.

TURKEY MIKE DONLIN DOUBLED, SCORING TENNEY.

THE GIANTS LED, 1-0.

PFIESTER WALKED THE NEXT BATTER.

IT LOOKED AS IF THE GIANTS WERE ABOUT TO GET THEIR REVENGE.

THEN CUB MANAGER FRANK CHANCE SENT FOR THREE-FINGER BROWN.

BROWN HAD STARTED OR RELIEVED IN 11 OF THE LAST 14 GAMES.

HE HAD RECEIVED SIX LETTERS THREATENING HIM WITH DEATH IF HE DARED PITCH AGAINST THE GIANTS, AND HE HAD TO SHOVE HIS WAY TO THE MOUND THROUGH THE HOSTILE, MUTTERING CROWD THAT HAD SPILLED INTO THE OUTFIELD...

BUT HE WAS READY.

"ARTHUR DEVLIN WAS UP-- "A LOW-AVERAGE HITTER, GREAT FIELDER, "TOUGH IN THE PINCHES, BUT I FANNED HIM.

"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE HEARD THE NAMES "THAT FLEW AROUND ME.

"I WAS ABOUT AS GOOD THAT DAY AS I EVER WAS IN MY LIFE."

MORDECAI BROWN.

IN THE THIRD INNING, THE CUBS, SPARKED BY JOE TINKER'S TRIPLE, SCORED FOUR RUNS OFF MATHEWSON, DESPITE THE CEASELESS, ANGRY HISSING THAT GREETED EVERY CHICAGO BATTER.

IN THE SEVENTH, NEW YORKERS HAD REASON TO HOPE AGAIN AS FRED TENNEY DROVE IN ONE RUN.

THE SCORE WAS NOW 4-2, CUBS.

AND IT STAYED THERE THROUGH THE EIGHTH AND THE TOP OF THE NINTH.

THE TENSION BECAME TOO MUCH FOR THE GIANTS AND THEIR FANS.

"THE SCENE WAS REALLY THE MOST DISGRACEFUL "EVER PULLED OFF AROUND HERE.

"ONCE WHEN KLING WAS CHASING A FOUL "FROM DOYLE'S BAT, "TWO BEER BOTTLES, A DRINKING GLASS, "AND A DERBY HAT WERE THROWN AT HIM.

"IS THAT BASEBALL?

"DOES THAT DO NEW YORK ANY GOOD?

"GEE WHIZ... "IF WE CAN'T LOSE A PENNANT WITHOUT DIRTY WORK, LET'S QUIT ALTOGETHER."

NEW YORK EVENING JOURNAL.

PLAY WAS STOPPED FOR A TIME BECAUSE OF FISTFIGHTS IN THE STANDS.

A NEWSPAPER REPORTED THE NEXT DAY THAT SEVEN MEN HAD BEEN CARTED AWAY RAVING MAD.

THREE-FINGER BROWN STAYED CALM.

THREE GIANTS CAME UP IN THE NINTH, AND THREE WENT DOWN.

IT WAS ALL OVER.

THE CUBS HAD WON THE PENNANT AND HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES.

"SOME OF OUR BOYS GOT CAUGHT BY THE MOB AND WERE BEATEN UP SOME," BROWN REMEMBERED.

THE MANAGER, FRANK CHANCE, WAS HIT IN THE THROAT.

JACK PFIESTER WAS SLASHED IN THE SHOULDER.

THEY JUST BARELY MADE IT INTO THE CLUBHOUSE AND HAD TO BE DRIVEN TO THEIR HOTEL IN A PADDY WAGON GUARDED BY ARMED OFFICERS.

THE GIANTS OWNER HAD GOLD MEDALS STRUCK FOR HIS PLAYERS ANYWAY, READING, "THE REAL CHAMPIONS, 1908."

JOHN McGRAW NEVER BLAMED FRED MERKLE.

"IT'S CRIMINAL TO SAY MERKLE'S STUPID AND TO BLAME THE LOSS OF THE PENNANT ON HIM," HE SAID.

"WE WERE ROBBED OF IT.

YOU CAN'T SAY MERKLE DID THAT."

BUT THE PUBLIC DID BLAME HIM.

MERKLE STUCK IT OUT FOR 14 YEARS IN BASEBALL...

BUT NEVER GOT OVER THE REPUTATION OF BEING THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR "THE BONER PLAY."

EVEN AL BRIDWELL, WHOSE SINGLE SHOULD HAVE WON THE ORIGINAL GAME, CAME TO SYMPATHIZE WITH HIM.

"I WISH I'D NEVER GOTTEN THAT HIT," BRIDWELL SAID.

"I WISH I'D STRUCK OUT INSTEAD.

"IF I'D DONE THAT, THEN IT WOULD HAVE SPARED FRED A LOT OF HUMILIATION."

THE CUBS FIVE-GAME WORLD SERIES VICTORY OVER TY COBB AND THE DETROIT TIGERS CAME AS SOMETHING OF AN ANTICLIMAX, ALTHOUGH THE CUBS HAVE NEVER MANAGED TO WIN ANOTHER SINCE.

[WILL] I GREW UP IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS, MIDWAY BETWEEN CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS, AND I MADE AN HISTORIC BLUNDER.

ALL MY FRIENDS BECAME CARDINAL FANS AND GREW UP HAPPY AND LIBERAL.

I BECAME A CUB FAN-- EMBITTERED AND CONSERVATIVE.

I REMEMBER READING A STORY ONE TIME ABOUT COBB IN THE MINOR LEAGUES PLAYING, AND THEY DIDN'T SHOWER IN THE BALL PARK.

THEY WOULD GO BACK TO THEIR LITTLE APARTMENT, AND EVERY DAY, COBB WAS IN THE TUB AHEAD OF THE ROOMMATE.

THIS ONE PARTICULAR DAY, THE ROOMMATE GOT INTO THE TUB, AND COBB DRAGGED HIM OUT OF THE TUB AND SAID, FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART, "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND I HAVE TO BE FIRST?"

"I WAS LIKE A STEEL SPRING "WITH A GROWING AND DANGEROUS FLAW IN IT.

"IF IT IS WOUND TOO TIGHT "OR HAS THE SLIGHTEST WEAK POINT, THE SPRING WILL FLY APART, AND THEN IT'S DONE FOR."

TY COBB GOT INTO TROUBLE AGAIN IN 1909.

DURING A CRUCIAL AUGUST GAME BETWEEN THE TIGERS AND THE PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS, HE WAS ACCUSED OF DELIBERATELY SPIKING THE THIRD BASEMAN, FRANK BAKER.

EVEN THE NORMALLY COURTLY PHILADELPHIA MANAGER CONNIE MACK CALLED COBB THE DIRTIEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL, AND BAN JOHNSON HIMSELF SUGGESTED THAT IF HE DIDN'T "STOP THIS SORT OF PLAYING, HE WILL HAVE TO QUIT THE GAME."

COBB IGNORED THEM.

HE WENT ON PLAYING HIS SORT OF GAME-- SNARLING, SWEARING, SHOVING, SPIKING-- WHILE HITTING .650 IN 16 GAMES AT HOME AND AVERAGING ONE STOLEN BASE EVERY AFTERNOON.

BUT IN CLEVELAND, HE STABBED A BLACK HOTEL NIGHT WATCHMAN WHO HAD DARED ASK HIM TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF.

THE TIGERS PAID THE WATCHMAN'S MEDICAL EXPENSES IN EXCHANGE FOR THE VICTIM'S PROMISE NOT TO PROSECUTE.

IN THE MIDST OF THE CONTROVERSY THAT FOLLOWED HIM EVERYWHERE, COBB LEAD THE LEAGUE IN HITTING IN 1909, AND HIS TIGERS TOOK THEIR THIRD PENNANT IN A ROW.

THEY WOULD PLAY THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES IN THE WORLD SERIES.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, COBB WOULD FACE HIS GREAT RIVAL AND NEAR OPPOSITE IN ALL THINGS-- HONUS WAGNER.

FOR MOST OF THE DECADE, WAGNER HAD PLAYED QUIETLY AND EFFICIENTLY, WINNING SEVEN NATIONAL LEAGUE BATTING TITLES, STAYING OUT OF THE LIMELIGHT.

EVEN MEMBERS OF OPPOSING TEAMS CAME OUT JUST TO WATCH HIM TAKE BATTING PRACTICE.

NOW, IN THE OPENING GAME OF THE 1909 WORLD SERIES, THE TWO GREATEST PLAYERS IN BASEBALL WERE ABOUT TO MEET.

THE NATION WAITED TO SEE WHO WOULD COME OUT ON TOP.

"THEY MET TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, "THESE COBB AND WAGNER.

"IT WAS AN INTERESTING STUDY IN CONTRAST.

THE ONE HAND WAS THE GEORGIA BOY-- "LITHE AND TRIM AS A GREYHOUND, "HIS BUILD SPEAKING THE ATHLETE IN EVERY LINE.

"AND ON THE OTHER, "THE ENORMOUS HEAVY-BODIED GERMAN-- "A PICTURE OF STRENGTH AND STABILITY, "WITHOUT, HOWEVER, ANY APPARENT SUGGESTION OF QUICKNESS OR MOVEMENT."

THE DETROIT NEWS.

PLEASANTRIES ENDED WHEN THE SERIES BEGAN.

ONCE, WHEN COBB GOT TO FIRST, READY TO STEAL, HE SHOUTED, "WATCH OUT, KRAUT-HEAD, I'M COMING DOWN.

I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES."

"COME AHEAD," SAID WAGNER, AND WHEN COBB DID COME, WAGNER TAGGED HIM HARD IN THE MOUTH, SPLITTING HIS LIP.

THE SERIES TOOK THE FULL SEVEN GAMES.

WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER, PITTSBURGH HAD BEATEN THE TIGERS, AND HONUS WAGNER HAD COMPLETELY OUTPLAYED TY COBB.

WAGNER HIT .333, COBB JUST .231.

COBB HAD MANAGED TO STEAL TWO BASES.

HONUS WAGNER HAD STOLEN SIX...

INCLUDING HOME.

"IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER "IN AN IMPERFECT AND FRETFUL WORLD "THAT WE HAVE AN INSTITUTION "WHICH IS PRACTICALLY ABOVE REPROACH "AND ABOVE CRITICISM.

"NOBODY WORTH MENTIONING "WANTS TO CHANGE ITS CONSTITUTION "OR LIMIT ITS POWERS.

"THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT ASKED TO INSPECT IT, "REGULATE, SUPPRESS, GUARANTEE, OR OWN IT.

"THERE IS NO MOVEMENT AFOOT "THAT WE KNOW OF TO UPLIFT IT, "LIKE THE STAGE, "OR TO ABOLISH IT, LIKE MARRIAGE.

"NO ONE COMPLAINS THAT IT'S VULGAR, "LIKE THE NEWSPAPERS, "OR THAT IT ASSASSINATES GENIUS, LIKE THE MAGAZINES.

"IT ROUSES NO CLASS PASSIONS, "AND WHILE IT HAS MAGNATES, "THEY GO UNHUNG WITH OUR APPROVAL.

"THIS ONCE COMPARATIVELY PERFECT FLOWER "OF OUR SADLY DEFECTIVE CIVILIZATION "IS, OF COURSE, BASEBALL-- "THE ONLY IMPORTANT INSTITUTION, "SO FAR AS WE REMEMBER, "WHICH THE UNITED STATES REGARDS WITH A PRACTICALLY UNIVERSAL APPROVAL."

SATURDAY EVENING POST.

♪ WHO DISCOVERED THE LAND OF THE BRAVE AND THE FREE?

♪ ♪ I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ♪ ♪ 'TWAS CHRISTY COLUMBUS IS WHAT THEY TELL ME ♪ ♪ MAYBE SO, I DON'T KNOW ♪ ♪ THERE'S ONLY ONE CHRISTY THAT I KNOW AT ALL ♪ ♪ ONE CHRISTY THAT I EVER SAW ♪ ♪ HE'S THE ONE WHO DISCOVERED THE FADE-AWAY BALL ♪ ♪ AND HE PITCHES FOR MUGSY McGRAW ♪ ♪ BASEBALL, BASEBALL, AIN'T IT A WONDERFUL GAME?

♪ ♪ OLD CHRISTY COLUM FOUND THIS COUNTRY, BY GUM ♪ ♪ BUT THE EXTRAS DON'T CARRY HIS NAME ♪ ♪ IF OLD MAN COLUMBUS HAD SAT IN THE STANDS ♪ ♪ AND SEEN MATTY PITCHING THAT FADER SO GRAND ♪ ♪ HE'D HAVE SAID ♪ ♪ "BOYS, I'M GLAD I DISCOVERED THIS LAND" ♪ ♪ "GEE, IT'S A WONDERFUL GAME" ♪ ♪ WHO LOST OUT IN THE BATTLE OF OLD WATERLOO?

♪ ♪ I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ♪ ♪ THEY SAY 'TWAS NAPOLEON, MAYBE 'TIS TRUE ♪ ♪ MAYBE SO, I DON'T KNOW ♪ ♪ THE PINK SHEETS DON'T PRINT MR. BONAPARTE'S FACE ♪ ♪ NO STORIES ABOUT HIM TODAY ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE HE NEVER COULD HOLD DOWN ♪ ♪ THAT OLD SECOND BASE ♪ ♪ LIKE HIS NAMESAKE BIG NAP LAJOIE ♪ ♪ BASEBALL, BASEBALL, AIN'T IT A DANDY OLD GAME?

♪ ♪ THE GENERAL OF FRANCE COULDN'T LEAD 'EM LIKE CHANCE ♪ ♪ SO NO WONDER HIS WATERLOO CAME ♪ ♪ IF DOWN IN HIS POCKET NAPOLEON HAD DUG ♪ ♪ AND PAID HIS 5 FRANCS TO SEE TYRUS COBB SLUG ♪ ♪ HE'D HAVE SAID, "I GIVE UP, I'M A BUG, I'M A BUG" ♪ ♪ "GEE, IT'S A WONDERFUL GAME" ♪ ♪ BASEBALL, BASEBALL, AIN'T IT A DANDY OLD GAME?

♪ ♪ THE GENERAL OF FRANCE COULDN'T LEAD 'EM LIKE CHANCE ♪ ♪ SO NO WONDER HIS WATERLOO CAME... ♪ ♪ IF DOWN IN HIS POCKET NAPOLEON HAD DUG ♪ ♪ AND PAID HIS 5 FRANCS TO SEE TYRUS COBB SLUG ♪ ♪ HE'D HAVE SAID, "I GIVE UP, I'M A BUG, I'M A BUG" ♪ ♪ "GEE, IT'S A WONDERFUL GAME" ♪♪