1903 Philadelphia Athletics season

March 2026 November 2013 Philadelphia Athletics 1903 Philadelphia Athletics Primary Logo (1902 to 1921).svg American League Columbia Park Philadelphia 75 60 y 2nd Benjamin Shibe, Tom Shibe, John Shibe, Connie Mack, Sam Jones, Frank Hough Connie Mack The 1903 Philadelphia Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 75 wins and 60 losses, 14½ games behind the Boston Americans. Offseason February 1903: Ollie Pickering's contract was purchased by the Athletics from the Cleveland Naps.Ollie Pickering page at Baseball Reference Preseason 1903 Philadelphia City Series thumb|right|The 1903 Philadelphia Athletics The A's had begun play in 1901 but National League and American League teams did not play each other in 1901 or 1902 as the leagues battled to expand their markets and customers. After the leagues made peace after 1902, the Phillies and Athletics scheduled a preseason series for the local championship. The Player League’s Philadelphia Athletics and American Association Athletics had contested the local championship with the Phillies between 1883 and 1890. Prior to the start of the series, the Athletics players threatened not to play unless they were paid a percentage of the gate receipts. Connie Mack refused his players on the grounds that while their contracts stipulated they receive gate receipts from mid-season exhibition games, the games against the Phillies would occur prior to the start of the official season and would be unpaid exhibition games as much as any preseason contest. The Phillies and Athletics played five of nine scheduled games; the Phillies defeated the Athletics, 4 games to 1. The series was scheduled to begin on April 4, 1903 at the Phillies’ Philadelphia Ball Park but was called off due to rain. April 5, 1903 Athletics Will Be Good Fellows Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 12 Games scheduled for April 7, 1903 April 8, 1903 Phillies and Athletics To-Day Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 at the Phillies’ park and April 8, 1903 at the Athletics’ Columbia Park were also canceled due to rain and wet grounds, April 9, 1903 Damp Day Diamond Dust Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 along with the final scheduled game of the series on April 14, 1903 at the Phillies’ park. April 14, 1903 National League Lines Up To-Day Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 AL Philadelphia Athletics (1) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (4) Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Philadelphia Athletics – 0 (10) April 6, 1903 Columbia Park 1:55 6,543 April 7, 1903 Athletics Lose First Game to Phillies, 2 to 0 Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Athletics – 5, Philadelphia Phillies – 6 (10) April 9, 1903 Philadelphia Ball Park 2:10 6,640 April 10, 1903 Monte Cross Benched; Athletics Lose 6-5 Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 6 Philadelphia Phillies – 6, Philadelphia Athletics – 3 April 10, 1903 Columbia Park 1:40 8,771 April 11, 1903 Phillies Outplay Those Champions Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Athletics – 7, Philadelphia Phillies – 1 April 11, 1903 Philadelphia Ball Park 1:38 13,050 April 12, 1903 Athletics Finally Secure a Victory Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 12 Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Philadelphia Athletics – 1 (10) April 13, 1903 Columbia Park 1:40 5,843 April 14, 1903 Nationals Cinch the Local Series Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Regular season Season standings Philadelphia Athletics Record vs. opponents PHA Roster 1903 Philadelphia Athletics Roster Pitchers Chief Bender Andy Coakley Jim Fairbank Weldon Henley Connie McGeehan Ed Pinnance Eddie Plank Tad Quinn Rube Waddell Catchers John Callahan Doc Powers Ossee Schreckengost Infielders Lave Cross Monte Cross Bert Daly Harry Davis Ed Hilley Danny Murphy Outfielders Topsy Hartsel Danny Hoffman Ollie Pickering Socks Seybold Manager Connie Mack Postseason 1903 Philadelphia City Series (Fall) The Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics played a postseason series for the local championship in addition to the preseason series played in April. The teams played seven of ten games scheduled; September 30, 1903 Passed Balls Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 games scheduled for October 8, 1903; October 9, 1903; and October 10, 1903 were canceled due to rain. The Athletics won the series, 4 games to 3. All of the series games were played at the Athletics’ Columbia Park with each team alternating as the home team. The Phillies’ Philadelphia Ball Park’s had collapsed on August 8 1903 leaving four dead, and closing the ballpark for the balance of the season. AL Philadelphia Athletics (4) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (3) Philadelphia Phillies – 3, Philadelphia Athletics – 7 September 30, 1903 Columbia Park 1:35 2,008 October 1, 1903 Athletics Bunch Hits in Eighth Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Athletics – 6, Philadelphia Phillies – 0 October 1, 1903 Columbia Park 1:45 2,439 October 2, 1903 Henley Too Deep for the Phillies Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Phillies – 5, Philadelphia Athletics – 1 October 2, 1903 Columbia Park 1:40 1,438 October 3, 1903 Sparks Ties Up Athletics Into Very Hard Knots Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Athletics – 5, Philadelphia Phillies – 0 October 3, 1903 Columbia Park 1:35 3,896 October 4, 1903 The Phillies Are Again Shut Out Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 12 Philadelphia Phillies – 1, Philadelphia Athletics – 6 October 5, 1903 Columbia Park 1:40 October 6, 1903 Phillies at the Mercy of Plank Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Athletics – 2, Philadelphia Phillies – 14 (8) October 6, 1903 Columbia Park 1:50 1,084 October 7, 1903 Mitchell Again Downs Athletics Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 Philadelphia Phillies – 13, Philadelphia Athletics – 3 October 7, 1903 Columbia Park 2:00 992 October 8, 1903 Phillies Put The Game Away On Ice Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 After the 1903 season, the Phillies had won 7 and the Athletics had won 5 of the 12 total games played in the city series. 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 Ossee Schrecongost 92 306 78 .255 3 30 1B Harry Davis Harry Davis (1900s first baseman) 106 420 125 .298 6 55 2B Danny Murphy Danny Murphy (second baseman) 133 513 140 .273 1 60 SS Monte Cross 137 470 116 .247 3 45 3B Lave Cross 137 559 163 .292 2 90 OF Topsy Hartsel 98 373 116 .311 5 26 OF Ollie Pickering 137 512 144 .281 1 36 OF Socks Seybold 137 522 156 .299 8 84 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 Danny Hoffman 74 248 61 .246 2 22 Doc Powers 75 247 56 .227 0 23 Bert Daly 10 21 4 .190 0 4 John Callahan John Callahan (catcher) 1 5 0 .000 0 0 Ed Hilley 1 3 1 .333 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 Eddie Plank 43 336.0 23 16 2.38 176 Rube Waddell 39 324.0 21 16 2.44 302 Chief Bender 36 270.0 17 14 3.07 127 Weldon Henley 29 186.1 12 10 3.91 86 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 Andy Coakley 6 37.2 0 3 5.50 20 Jim Fairbank 4 24.0 1 1 4.88 10 Ed Pinnance 2 7.0 0 0 2.57 2 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 Connie McGeehan 3 1 0 0 4.50 4 Tad Quinn 2 0 0 0 5.00 1 Danny Hoffman 1 0 0 0 3.00 0 Notes 2 References 1903 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1903 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com Category:Philadelphia Athletics seasons Philadelphia Athletics season Oakland Category:1900s in Philadelphia