World Series History  

“World Series week indicates that baseball is one of America’s major disturbances.” Bugs Baer

The World Series is America’s annual celebration of its favorite past-time – baseball. The World Series is Babe Ruth telling everyone watching where he would hit the next pitch; it’s Don Larsen’s perfect game; it’s Willie Mays catching the impossible; it’s Willie McCovey’s last-out line drive to Bobby Richardson. The World Series is the game of all games, the best of seven series that provides us with the magic of autumn.  

The “Fall Classic” as we know it began in 1903. But Major League Baseball held versions of a post-series championship series as early as 1884, when the Providence Grays of the National League outplayed the New York Metropolitan Club of the American Association in a three-game series that was called “The Championship of the United States.” Several newspapers penned the Grays the “World Champions” and the new title stuck. Over the next several years, different version of the series took place, ranging from six-game to fifteen-game championships. In 1894, the Pittsburgh Pirate’s owner, William C. Temple, offered a trophy to the winner of a best-of-seven series played between the National League’s first and second-place teams. In addition, he stated that the winning franchise would receive 65% of all ticket sales and the losing team would receive 35%. Boston accepted this offer and went on to beat Pittsburgh, five games to three. Temple’s idea lasted for three years, when more changes occurred. Finally, in 1901, the American League was established, to the dismay of fans and players alike. Baseball now found itself engaged in an internal war, as the rival leagues competed separately for fans’ loyalty and attention. Two years later a truce was called. The resulting compromise redefined baseball’s employment, salary and travel requirements and produced the blueprint for major league baseball that stands today. That same year the first official “World Series” was organized. Once again, Pittsburgh and Boston battled it out for eight games, with the AL’s Boston Red Sox (aka Pilgrims, Puritans, and Americans) prevailing, 5 games to 3.  

The 1903 inaugural World Series was a huge success and chock full of firsts (of course) – Boston’s Cy Young, the winningest pitcher in baseball, threw the first pitch to Ginger Beaumont, Pittsburgh’s Jimmy Sebring hit the first home run, Honus Wagner stole the first base and Young recorded the first strikeout. The contest also represented the first step in healing the battered egos of both the veteran National League and the upstart American League. Despite the first year success, 1904’s World Series was cancelled. John T. Brush, president of the National League champion New York Giants, declined to play the returning World Series champions, the Boston Americans, stating that he refused to compete with a “representative of the inferior American League.” 1905 was a different story, however. Public reaction to Brush’s “No, thanks” attitude prompted him to willingly have his club take on the Philadelphia A’s in the 1905 championship series that would establish an uninterrupted annual “Fall Classic”. The about-face also established the “Brush Rules”, a set of guidelines presented by Brush for the on-field play and off-field finances of the World Series, as well as the best-of-seven format. These Rules continue to guide the World Series, as each Fall the best of the National League and the best of the American League battle it out to become the next World Series Champions. The year 2005 marked the official celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the World Series.

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