Memory Lane Inc. | The Leader in Vintage Sports Cards & Collectibles
Fully Scored w/Deacon Phillippe beating Cy Young 7-3!
The advent of the highly touted 'World Series" event dates back some 119 years to 1903, when the Pittsburgh Pirate and Boston Americans owners (Barney Dreyfus and Henry Killilea, respectively) agreed to have their pennant-winning clubs meet in a "best of nine games" contest in October to ultimately decide who would be crowned the "true" World's Champion. Largely supporting this new idea was American League founder and President Ban Johnson who started the Junior Circuit in 1901, and was clear bent on proving to the baseball community that his newly established American League was as formidable as the Senior Circuit. Arguably considered the most significant occurrence in MLB history, this inaugural Fall Classic set the tone for a sport that would ultimately be dubbed America's "National Pastime." Its unparalleled historical standing stems from the fact it was the "first" of a soon to be traditional ending to every baseball campaign, and the hobby has tagged any of the few remaining World Series programs from that inaugural Series as the undisputed "Holy Grails" of all baseball publications.
That said, Memory Lane is proud to present the key periodical from this earth-shattering Boston Red Sox program collection, an un-restored 1903 Huntington Grounds heirloom that is completely scored from game one! Indeed folks, this miraculous offering has been scored in light period-style pencil, thoroughly accounting for Deacon Phillippe's 7-3 victory over the immortal Cy Young. Obviously, any program from the 1903 Fall Classic is worthy of Cooperstown, New York, let alone a program that stands as one of the few known irrefutable game one periodicals that officially commemorates the inaugural World Series contest. To the best of our knowledge, only a single other "documented" game one program exists, with the other example selling for $108,000 in the Fall of 2021. For the most passionate and advanced collector, this extremely rare marvel is a bona-fide "must have", for any world-class periodical gathering could never be considered complete without a 1903 World Series program, and imagine capturing one of the two known examples that "jump-started" this iconic post-season event. We cannot even begin to visualize the utmost euphoria that took place at Huntington Grounds on October 1, 1903, with 16,242 ardent fans storming the gates to watch their team face-off against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were led by their iconic shortstop Honus Wagner.
Spearheading the Boston fan base was the legendary "Third Base" saloon owner "Nuf Ced" McGreevy, who was the leader of the most fanatical group of baseball fans ever known, the exalted "Royal Rooters." These rowdy group of fans never missed a Boston home game, belittling the opposition with a seemingly never-ending rant of vocal slurs as well as their "Tessie" theme song that rattled even the great Wagner. McGreevy's popularity amongst the Boston faithful was at such a pinnacle level that he and his classic "Nuff said" quote were incredibly placed on the front cover of this fold-over Huntington Grounds program, along with portrait images of Hall of Famer player/mangers Jimmy Collins and Fred Clarke. The game itself would see both team's aces face-off against each other, with A.L. victories leader Cy Young (28 wins) and Pirates 25-game winner Deacon Phillippe towing the rubber. Phillippe would best Cy Young by a 7-3 score, with the Pirates battering Young for four runs in the first inning to basically put the game away early. Both pitchers would go the distance, and Phillippe's 10 strikeouts were a sign of the quality stuff he brought to the table this October 1st Fall afternoon.
While only three of the seven runs yielded by Young were earned, he would surrender 12 hits including a homer to left-fielder Jimmy Sebring who was the game's batting star via his three hits and four R.B.I.'s. Phillippe would continue his masterful pitching by winning three Series games to give the Pirates a commanding 3-1 Series edge. However, led by Cy Young's two victories in games five and seven, Boston would win the next four games with Bill Dineen posting his third win (a 3-0 shutout) in the clinching game eight against Deacon Phillippe to capture the World Championship. Regarding the condition of this fragile 5-1/2" x 8-1/8" treasure, there are two lower corner diagonal chips as well as the standard full vertical fold/crease due to its original owner folding the program to place it in their pocket. Portrait images of McGreevy, Collins and Clarke are enclosed in an elaborate frame that includes a multitude of crossed bats and baseballs. Captions include: "SOUVENIR CARD 10 CENTS - World's Championship Games - Boston vs. Pittsburgh", and there is some modest soiling near the upper right corner as well as various stray wrinkles. The back cover includes various advertisements, and for full disclosure, an additional chip is evident along the lower edge.
As you can see by the images, this fold-over program has been detached at the spine. In speaking with our consignor, he made it very clear that while he considered re-attaching the two covers as well as fixing the aforementioned chips via professional restoration, he ultimately decided to pass on that option in order to preserve the original integrity of the program. As most sophisticated enthusiasts are well aware of, a majority of the still existing 1903 World Series have undergone some degree of professional restoration that can sometimes create a collecting conundrum for the most meticulous hobbyists. Most significantly, the interior scorecard pages have been fully scored, with simple "O's" utilized for every out as well as "1's" designated for both hits and runs.
The Boston scorecard has each American's hurler scratched out except the starting pitcher Cy Young, and the Pittsburgh's scorecard reveals "Seever" crossed out, leaving Phillippe as the designated starter. The pre-printed Pirates lineup has Fred Clarke and Honus Wagner batting second and fourth, respectively. The "Flying Dutchman" would stroke a hit while scoring and knocking in a run, with left-fielder/manager Clarke posting two safeties against the immortal Cy Young. Boston's lineup reflects Hall of Fame third sacker/manager Jimmy Collins in the second spot, who would be held hitless by Phillippe. Interestingly enough, this would be the only World Series whereby the loser's bonus would surpass the winner's share, with each Pirate player receiving $1,316.25 versus the $1,182 paid to each Boston player.
This payment irregularity was solely due to Pittsburgh's benevolent owner Barney Dreyfuss augmenting his player's bonuses in a losing effort due to the immense gate receipts incurred at his Exposition Park home field. Although the 1904 Fall Classic would be canceled due to John McGraw withdrawing his N.L. Pennant-winning Giants to spite his arch-enemy Ban Johnson (who had previously suspended McGraw as a Baltimore player), the World Series would resume in 1905, now forever standing as one of the most illustrious sporting events on the globe. With that in mind, this fully scored inaugural game one program from the 1903 World Series truly resides as one of the most significant and captivating collectibles imaginable; one of only two known "game one" examples and the undisputed "Magna Carta" of all sporting publications meriting the highest hobby accolades!
MIN BID $20,000