1908 Chicago Cubs season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Chicago Cubs 1908 Chicago Cubs.jpg 1908 World Series championsNational League champions National League West Side Park Chicago, Illinois 99 55 y 1st Charles Murphy Frank Chance The 1908 Chicago Cubs season was the 37th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 33rd in the National League, and the 16th at West Side Park. It involved the Cubs winning their third consecutive National League pennant, as well as the World Series for the second consecutive year. They were the first team to repeat as World Series champions. This team included four future Hall of Famers: manager / first baseman Frank Chance, second baseman Johnny Evers, shortstop Joe Tinker, and pitcher Mordecai Brown. In 1908, Brown finished second in the NL in wins and earned run average. This would be the last World Series victory for the Cubs until 2016; it would also take until 2003 – an MLB and North American professional sports record of 95 years – for the Cubs to win their next playoff series. Regular season Season summary thumb|right|350px|Composite image of post-season eligible players of the 1908 Chicago Cubs. The Cubs started the season in Cincinnati. Orval Overall was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher. Overall gave up five hits and committed an error in the first inning as the Reds took a 5–0 lead.Murphy 2007 61 The Cubs tied the game in the sixth and won the game in the ninth. Cubs pinch hitter Heinie Zimmerman drove in Johnny Evers. Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown pitched in the ninth and got a save for the Cubs.Murphy 2007 62 The home opener was on April 22. Owner Charles Murphy had added several new seats to the stadium. Long-time Cub player-manager Cap Anson threw out the first pitch. Tinker, Evers, and Chance turned their second double play of the season as the Cubs beat the Reds by a score of 7–3.Murphy 2007 63 On June 30, the Pittsburgh Pirates took first place, as the Cubs lost to the Cincinnati Reds.Murphy 2007 95 Starting on July 2, the Pirates started a critical five-game series against the Cubs.Murphy 2007 99 In the first game, Three Finger Brown threw a six hit, no walk shutout, winning the game 3–0. Brown was 10–1 on the season. On September 26, starting pitcher Ed Reulbach became the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to pitch two shutouts on the same day. That day, the Cubs played a doubleheader against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Reulbach pitched both games to completion, which the Cubs won by scores of 5–0 and 3–0.Baseball Almanac http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_shut1.shtml 2010 Shutout Records July 5, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100701210342/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_shut1.shtml July 1, 2010 live The Merkle Game On Wednesday, September 23, 1908, while playing for the New York Giants in a game against the Cubs, 19-year-old Fred Merkle committed a base-running error that later became known as "Merkle's Boner" and earned him the nickname of "Bonehead." In the bottom of the 9th inning, Merkle came to bat with two outs and the score tied 1–1. At the time, Moose McCormick was on first base. Merkle singled, and McCormick advanced to third. Al Bridwell followed with another single, and McCormick trotted home to score the apparent winning run. The New York fans in attendance, under the impression that the game was over, ran onto the field to celebrate. Meanwhile, Merkle, thinking the game was over, ran to the Giants' clubhouse without touching second base (a gesture that was common at the time). Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers noticed this, and after retrieving a ball and touching second base, he appealed to umpire Hank O'Day to call Merkle out. Since Merkle had not touched the base, the umpire called him out on a force play, and McCormick's run did not count. The run was therefore nullified, the Giants' victory erased, and the score of the game remained tied. Unfortunately, the thousands of fans on the field (as well as the growing darkness in the days before large electric light rigs made night games possible) prevented resumption of the game, and the game was declared a tie. The Giants and the Cubs would end the season tied for first place and would have a rematch at the Polo Grounds on October 8. The Cubs won this makeup game, 4–2, and thus the National League pennant. Season standings Chicago Cubs Record vs. opponents CHC Notable transactions May 29, 1908: Doc Marshall was purchased by the Cubs from the St. Louis Cardinals.Doc Marshall Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshdo01.shtml 2025-03-22 Baseball-Reference.com en Roster 1908 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers Mordecai Brown Andy Coakley Chick Fraser Rube Kroh Carl Lundgren Bill Mack Orval Overall Jack Pfiester Ed Reulbach Carl Spongberg Catchers Johnny Kling Doc Marshall Pat Moran Infielders Frank Chance Johnny Evers Harry Steinfeldt Joe Tinker Heinie Zimmerman Outfielders Blaine Durbin Jack Hayden Solly Hofman Del Howard Frank Schulte Jimmy Sheckard Jimmy Slagle Other batters Vin Campbell Manager Frank Chance Player stats Batting Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Johnny Kling 126 424 117 .276 4 59 1B Frank Chance 129 452 123 .272 2 55 2B Johnny Evers 126 416 125 .300 0 37 3B Harry Steinfeldt 150 539 130 .241 1 62 SS Joe Tinker 157 548 146 .266 6 68 OF Jimmy Sheckard 115 403 93 .231 2 22 OF Frank Schulte 102 386 91 .236 1 43 OF Jimmy Slagle 104 352 78 .222 0 26 Other batters 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 Solly Hofman 120 411 100 .243 2 42 Del Howard 96 315 88 .279 1 26 Pat Moran 50 150 39 .260 0 12 Heinie Zimmerman 46 113 33 .292 0 9 Jack Hayden Jack Hayden (baseball) 11 45 9 .200 0 2 Blaine Durbin 14 28 7 .250 0 0 Doc Marshall Doc Marshall (catcher) 12 20 6 .300 0 3 Vin Campbell 1 1 0 .000 0 0 Pitching Starting pitchers 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 44 312.1 29 9 1.47 123 Ed Reulbach 46 297.2 24 7 2.03 133 Jack Pfiester 33 252.0 12 10 2.00 117 Orval Overall 37 225.0 15 11 1.92 167 Chick Fraser 26 162.2 11 9 2.27 66 Carl Lundgren 23 138.2 6 9 4.22 38 Andy Coakley 4 20.1 2 0 0.89 7 Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Rube Kroh 2 12.0 0 0 1.50 11 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Bill Mack Bill Mack (baseball) 2 0 0 0 3.00 2 Karl Spongberg 1 0 0 0 9.00 4 1908 World Series 1908 World Series NL Chicago Cubs (4) vs AL Detroit Tigers (1) GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1Cubs – 10, Tigers – 6October 10Bennett Park10,8122Tigers – 1, Cubs – 6October 11West Side Park17,7603Tigers – 8, Cubs – 3October 12West Side Park14,5434Cubs – 3, Tigers – 0October 13Bennett Park12,9075Cubs – 2, Tigers – 0October 14Bennett Park6,210 Notes Inline citations References Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History Cait Murphy Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins 2007 978-0-06-088937-1 registration https://archive.org/details/crazy08howcastof00murp References 1908 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference Category:Chicago Cubs seasons Category:National League champion seasons Category:World Series champion seasons Chicago Cubs season Chicago Cubs Category:1900s in Chicago