1903 Los Angeles Angels season

Los Angeles Angels 1903 133–78 Pacific Coast League Chutes Park Los Angeles 1st Frank Dillon James F. Morley The 1903 Los Angeles Angels season was part of the first season of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The Los Angeles Angels had begun play in 1901 in the California League, joined the new league upon its inception, and won the first PCL pennant with a 133–78 record.1903 Los Angeles Angels Sports Reference LLC Baseball-Reference.com February 18, 2020 https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=84f46bb9 Los Angeles won its first 15 games of the season and was never out of first place. They were the only team in the league to finish above .500. The team, frequently referred to as the Loo-Loos in its early years, played its home games at Chutes Park, an amusement park south of downtown Los Angeles. In 2003, the 1903 Angels were selected by a panel of minor league experts as the fifth best team in the PCL's 100-year history.PCL top 10 Los Angeles Times March 30, 2003 D9 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44737497/pcl_top_10/ Newspapers.com The team was also selected by Minor League Baseball as the 29th best team in minor league history.Top 100 Teams: 29. 1903 Los Angeles Angels Minor League Baseball February 18, 2020 Bill Weiss Marshall Wright http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=29 Position players thumb|left|90px|Frank Dillon thumb|right|100px|Gavvy Cravath Frank Dillon was the team's manager and first baseman. He compiled a .364 batting average and led the PCL with 274 hits. The Angels' lead over its PCL opponents was so large that Dillon was able to leave the team late in August to be married and enjoy a honeymoon.Capt. Dillon in Love; Hildebrand Senseless Los Angeles Times August 16, 1903 8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45154995/capt_dillon_in_love/ Newspapers.com Second baseman George Wheeler appeared in 198 games, including 12 games a pitcher in which he compiled an 8–1 win–loss record and team-best 1.92 earned run average. Third baseman Jud Smith led the PCL in both assists and total chances.The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903-1957 https://archive.org/details/losangelesangels00beve limited Richard Beverage McFarland 2011 6 978-0786487882 He also was second on the team among the regulars with a .290 batting average. Jimmy Toman was the team's primary shortstop, appearing in 172 games and batting .224. Left fielder Art Ross was in his first of several seasons with the Angels and batted .288, good for 3rd on the team among the regulars. Center fielder Dummy Hoy, at age 41, appeared in every game for the Angels and led the PCL with 157 runs scored. He was the most accomplished deaf player in baseball history, having played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1902. Hoy set major league records for career putouts (3,958) and total chances (4,625) by an outfielder. After the 1903 season, he retired from professional baseball. Right fielder Gavvy Cravath, at age 22, led the team with seven home runs. Cravath remained with the Angels through the 1907 season, then played 11 seasons in the majors, leading the National League in home runs six times between 1913 and 1919. Harry Spies was the team's catcher. He played in 184 games and batted .251. Pitchers left|thumb|100px|Doc Newton right|thumb|100px|Joe Corbett Pitcher Joe Corbett, the younger brother of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Corbett, won 23 games and led the PCL with 150 strikeouts and eight shutouts.California Baseball: From the Pioneers to the Glory Years Chris Goode 2009 52 978-0557087600 Corbett also appeared as an infielder and outfielder and was the team's second best hitter with a .336 batting average. Two pitchers won at least 30 games: Doc Newton (34–12) and Warren "Rusty" Hall (32–19). Newton had played in the majors from 1900 to 1902 and threw the first no-hitter in PCL history on November 8, 1903. The only two hitters to reach first base did so on fielding errors.Doc Newton Made Coast League Record: Pitched Best Ball Game Ever in This City Los Angeles Times November 9, 1903 11 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45132747/doc_newton_made_coast_league_record/ Newspapers.com Hall was a workhorse who appeared in 53 games and pitched 468 innings. 1903 PCL standings Team W L Pct. GB Los Angeles Angels 133 78 .630 -- Sacramento Senators 105 106 .500 27.5 Seattle Indians 98 100 .495 28.5 San Francisco Stars 107 110 .493 29.0 Portland Browns 95 108 .468 34.0 Oakland Oaks 89 126 .414 46.0 Statistics Batting Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; AVG = Batting average; HR = Home runs; SLG = Slugging percentage Pos Player G AB H AVG HR SLG 1B Frank Dillon 190 752 274 .364 3 .479 P, 2B, OF, 3B Joe Corbett 79 262 88 .336 4 .450 3B Jud Smith 198 791 229 .290 1 .377 LF Art Ross 198 747 215 .288 2 .332 RF Gavvy Cravath 209 804 220 .274 7 .396 CF, LF Dummy Hoy 212 808 208 .257 0 .334 C, 1B, RF, LF Harry Spies 184 641 161 .251 2 .314 2B, P, SS George Wheeler 198 757 171 .226 3 .339 SS Jimmy Toman 172 594 133 .224 1 .291 Pitching Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Winning percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L PCT ERA SO Doc Newton 48 403 34 12 .739 2.43 146 Warren "Rusty" Hall 53 468 32 19 .627 2.31 100 Joe Corbett 41 347 23 16 .590 2.36 196 Dolly Gray 51 406 23 20 .535 3.55 91 Virgil Drinkwater 21 169 10 8 .556 2.72 44 George Wheeler 12 75 8 1 .889 1.92 21 References Further reading "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011) "The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903-1957", by Richard Beverage (McFarland 2011) Category:1903 in sports in California Category:Pacific Coast League seasons Category:1903 in Los Angeles Category:1903 in baseball