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Book: 100 Things Cubs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Jimmy Greenfield
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Authors: Jimmy Greenfield
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23 at the Polo Grounds, and there is no doubt the Cubs should have lost 2–1 on that fateful day.
The play that should have ended the game was exciting but routine. With two outs and the score tied 1–1 in the bottom of the ninth, Merkle was on first and Moose McCormick was on third. Giants shortstop Al Bridwell singled to center to easily score McCormick, who touched home plate with what should have been the game-winning run.
But Merkle, just 19 years old and making his first start of the season in place of the injured Fred Tenney, failed to touch second base before heading to the Giants clubhouse to avoid the happy mob of fans racing onto the field. That was never really in dispute despite later claims from some Giants that Merkle did indeed touch second.
It wasn’t that Merkle forgot to touch the bag; he was simply following the accepted protocol of the era. Even though the rulebook stated that a runner must always touch the next base even when a winning run is scored, the little-known rule wasn’t always followed or enforced.
In fact, on September 4, 1908, the Cubs were playing in Pittsburgh when the Pirates got a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. But the Pirates’ Warren Gill, just as Merkle would later do, ran to the clubhouse instead of touching second base.
Johnny Evers, the Cubs cranky but astute second baseman, retrieved the ball and alerted umpire Hank O’Day that Gill should be a force out at second and the run should not count. O’Day, who later managed the Cubs to a 78–76 record in 1914, would not change the call and despite a protest filed with the National League the call was upheld and the Cubs lost the game.
Nineteen days later, the Cubs were playing in New York and as fate would have it, O’Day was one of the two umpires working the game. Of course, Evers was manning second for the Cubs and it was his quick thinking that led to Merkle’s being called out.
After Bridwell’s hit, Cubs outfielder Solly Hofman threw the ball back to the infield but it rolled to Giants pitcher Joe McGinnity. Just what happened to the baseball at this point is still in dispute, but Evers told his version of the story in John Carmichael’s My Greatest Day in Baseball .
“We grabbed for his hands to make sure he wouldn’t heave the ball away but he broke loose and tossed it into the crowd,” Evers said. “I can see the fellow who caught it yet …a tall, stringy, middle-aged gent with a brown bowler hat on. [Harry] Steinfeldt and Floyd Kroh…raced after him. ‘Gimme the ball for a minute,’ Steinfeldt begged him. ‘ I’ll bring it right back.’ The guy wouldn’t let go and suddenly Kroh solved the problem.
“He hit the customer right on top of that stiff hat, drove it down over his eyes and as the gent folded up, the ball fell free and Kroh got it. I was yelling and waving my hands out by second base and Tinker relayed it over to me and I stepped on the bag and made sure O’Day saw me…he was waiting for that very play…he remembered the Pittsburgh game…and he said, ‘The run does not count.’”
There were thousands of fans on the field, and as word spread that O’Day had called Merkle out, a near-riot ensued. There was no way to continue the game even though the score was still tied 1–1. Protests were filed with the National League office by both clubs with the Giants claiming they won fairly and the Cubs claiming they should be awarded a forfeit victory since the Giants fans had made the game impossible to complete.
The outcome of the game wouldn’t matter if one team was able to win the pennant outright, but the Cubs beat the Pirates 5–2 in their final game to eliminate them and the Giants won their final three games to end the season tied with the Cubs. A decision was made to replay the tied game in its entirety on October 8 at the Polo Grounds.
Despite Cubs manager Frank Chance getting bloodied by a beer bottle thrown from the stands and starting
The play that should have ended the game was exciting but routine. With two outs and the score tied 1–1 in the bottom of the ninth, Merkle was on first and Moose McCormick was on third. Giants shortstop Al Bridwell singled to center to easily score McCormick, who touched home plate with what should have been the game-winning run.
But Merkle, just 19 years old and making his first start of the season in place of the injured Fred Tenney, failed to touch second base before heading to the Giants clubhouse to avoid the happy mob of fans racing onto the field. That was never really in dispute despite later claims from some Giants that Merkle did indeed touch second.
It wasn’t that Merkle forgot to touch the bag; he was simply following the accepted protocol of the era. Even though the rulebook stated that a runner must always touch the next base even when a winning run is scored, the little-known rule wasn’t always followed or enforced.
In fact, on September 4, 1908, the Cubs were playing in Pittsburgh when the Pirates got a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. But the Pirates’ Warren Gill, just as Merkle would later do, ran to the clubhouse instead of touching second base.
Johnny Evers, the Cubs cranky but astute second baseman, retrieved the ball and alerted umpire Hank O’Day that Gill should be a force out at second and the run should not count. O’Day, who later managed the Cubs to a 78–76 record in 1914, would not change the call and despite a protest filed with the National League the call was upheld and the Cubs lost the game.
Nineteen days later, the Cubs were playing in New York and as fate would have it, O’Day was one of the two umpires working the game. Of course, Evers was manning second for the Cubs and it was his quick thinking that led to Merkle’s being called out.
After Bridwell’s hit, Cubs outfielder Solly Hofman threw the ball back to the infield but it rolled to Giants pitcher Joe McGinnity. Just what happened to the baseball at this point is still in dispute, but Evers told his version of the story in John Carmichael’s My Greatest Day in Baseball .
“We grabbed for his hands to make sure he wouldn’t heave the ball away but he broke loose and tossed it into the crowd,” Evers said. “I can see the fellow who caught it yet …a tall, stringy, middle-aged gent with a brown bowler hat on. [Harry] Steinfeldt and Floyd Kroh…raced after him. ‘Gimme the ball for a minute,’ Steinfeldt begged him. ‘ I’ll bring it right back.’ The guy wouldn’t let go and suddenly Kroh solved the problem.
“He hit the customer right on top of that stiff hat, drove it down over his eyes and as the gent folded up, the ball fell free and Kroh got it. I was yelling and waving my hands out by second base and Tinker relayed it over to me and I stepped on the bag and made sure O’Day saw me…he was waiting for that very play…he remembered the Pittsburgh game…and he said, ‘The run does not count.’”
There were thousands of fans on the field, and as word spread that O’Day had called Merkle out, a near-riot ensued. There was no way to continue the game even though the score was still tied 1–1. Protests were filed with the National League office by both clubs with the Giants claiming they won fairly and the Cubs claiming they should be awarded a forfeit victory since the Giants fans had made the game impossible to complete.
The outcome of the game wouldn’t matter if one team was able to win the pennant outright, but the Cubs beat the Pirates 5–2 in their final game to eliminate them and the Giants won their final three games to end the season tied with the Cubs. A decision was made to replay the tied game in its entirety on October 8 at the Polo Grounds.
Despite Cubs manager Frank Chance getting bloodied by a beer bottle thrown from the stands and starting
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