When Boston Won The World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903 [Paperback]

Bob Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2004

The year 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the first World Series, in which the upstart Boston squad of the fledgling American League triumped over the Pittsburgh Pirates of the time-honored National League. Starring such legendary players as Boston's Cy Young and Bill Dinneen, and Pittsburgh's Honus Wagner and Deacon Phillippe, When Boston Won the World Series chronicles with stirring detail the events that led up to baseball's first Fall Classic: the 1901 creation of the American League, its roster "raids" against National League teams, the sea change of public interest that caused the American League to outsell the National by 500,000 tickets, and the subsequent concession of the Nationals. The resulting handshake deal established a season-ending series which would determine the best baseball team in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ryan didn't have to stray too far from the Boston Globe offices to pen this brief history of the 1903 World Series champion Boston Americans. For a firsthand account of the team, players and series, Ryan relies almost exclusively on the 1903 Globe and its top baseball writer of the era, Tim Murnane. Luckily, Murnane is a scribe worthy of the task Ryan appoints him. Although he can be biased, Murnane's insider perspective and stylish writing, aided by an impressive collection of illustrations and photographs, portray a time when Boston was the hub not only of American culture but also of the national pastime. Ryan picks up where Murnane leaves off, maintaining the flow of events from the beginning of the 1903 season to the last out of the World Series and beyond. He succeeds thanks to timely references to current baseball personalities (Joe Torre, Peter Gammons, etc.), and by complementing Murnane's turn-of-the-century vernacular with more modern phrases like "small ball" and "old school." Like Murnane, he focuses his attention on Boston (Pittsburgh, Boston's opponents, are first mentioned in chapter five), giving the book a defiantly one-sided take on its main focus, the first World Series. Instead of intending this as a slight, Ryan paints it as a fitting celebration of a team and a city that, despite it being close to a century since they ruled the baseball world, cherish their decisive roles in creating one of America's most proud and long-standing traditions.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"WHEN BOSTON WON THE WORLD SERIES gives us a great glimpse into baseball history..." -- Piper Jones Castillo, St. Petersburg Times --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762418400
• ISBN-13: 978-0762418404
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,455,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Lot of Fluff, June 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: When Boston Won the World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903 (Hardcover)

The cover of this book really caught my eye and the photos within are interesting to a fan of early 20th century baseball,but the work pales by comparison to other tomes using the same format i.e. relying on old newspaper stories to tell the story. As a member of SABR, however, I found the egregious error on page 177 more than I could take.

John McGraw did not receive any comuppance for boycotting the 1904 World Series. The Athletics did not win the 1905 Series. In fact this was one of the greatest Series of all times in which Christy Mathewson pitched three complete game shutouts. Mr. Ryan and his editor should be ashamed of this mistake. It just goes to show you what can be published as history just to make a buck. Next time get a real baseball historian to do your research! Mr.s Murname, McGraw and Mathewson must be rolling over in their graves! To the readers--SAVE YOUR MONEY or try Autumn Glory instead.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nostalgic baseball read, June 9, 2003

By 

Darrell Edward Ehrlick - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Boston Won the World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903 (Hardcover)

Bob Ryan has done a serviceable job in creating a nice, easy baseball read. This book is a light read and probably won't completely satisfy the die-hard baseball history buffs, but for the average fan or Boston Red Sox fan (or Pittsburgh Pirate fan), this is a must have.

Despite this book's heavy reliance upon the Boston Globe's archives, the book gives the reader an appreciation for the evolution of the game and the fanfare of the world series even without modern mass media hype. Again, while the book's research may not be comprehensive, it is certainly adequate.

Ryan tells the story of the 1903 in short chronological order, which may help some build towards the excitement of the world series, which (obviously) comes at the end. He also does a nice job of illustrating some of the characters who participated in the 1903 series. However, he said very little of the two stellar and intriguing seasons both respective teams had. The book jumps almost too quickly to the world series without explaining how these teams got to the post season.

Though the book may not delve deeply into the season, Ryan should be given credit for telling a succinct, precise story, one that moves the reader along without getting bogged down in minutae.

This book has plenty nostalgia for baseball historians as well as being a guided tour of a series 100 years ago. It gives any baseball fan an appreciation of how much the game has changed while still staying the same.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Baseball is the greatest outdoor sport ever known.", May 6, 2003

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: When Boston Won the World Series: A Chronicle of Boston's Remarkable Victory in the First Modern World Series of 1903 (Hardcover)

The best-of-nine series between Boston and Pittsburgh was tied, one game apiece, when Game Three of the 1903 World Series began in Boston, a city delirious about its new American League team. Third-baseman/manager Jimmy Collins was enormously popular, star pitcher Cy Young was just one of three Boston pitchers with more than twenty wins during the season, and, best of all, tickets to Game Three were only fifty cents. When those were gone, ticket sellers kept selling admission, and when the seats were filled, spectators jumped the ropes to line the baselines. When those became crowded, they lined the outfield, occasionally reaching the diamond itself. The crowd was so large that short fly balls were declared ground rule doubles, as were homeruns, the overly enthusiastic crowd causing Boston to lose the game with its excessive enthusiasm.

Ryan is immensely skillful in bringing the Series alive by characterizing the players for both teams, showing what makes them unusual and memorable. Among these are 36-year-old Cy Young, catcher Lou Criger (sickly already with the early stages of tuberculosis), the elegant and intelligent Jimmy Collins (a consummate player and respected captain/manager), the hot-tempered Hobe Ferris (later infamous for kicking a teammate in the face), and shortstop Freddy Parent of Sanford, Maine, who lived to become a 92-year-old commentator during Boston's 1967 World Series. For Pittsburgh, the legendary Honus Wagner and pitcher Deacon Philippe, who pitched in five of the eight games, sometimes with only one day off, are especially vivid.

He devotes an entire chapter to Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss, "the greatest ball fan on earth," a generous man who declared that he would take no profit from the Series and that every penny would go to his players. Numerous contrasts, both overt and implied, exist between Dreyfuss, whom Ryan believes belongs in the Hall of Fame, and Boston owner Henry Killilea, for whom the team was a business which he oversaw from out of state. Killilea eventually modified his original demands and agreed to a 60-40 split with his players, who as winners of the Series earned significantly less than the losers.

Comparisons and contrasts between between the games of 1903 and the present abound. As early as 1903, Globe writer Tim Murnane suggested a designated hitter. Boston's Royal Rooters began the concept of the traveling fan club, and their use of a song to upset the opposition was a deciding factor in the Series. Scalpers became a major problem in Game 8, the last game of the Series, and Ryan suggests that it was someone in owner Killilea's employ who was responsible. Ryan reminds us of the roots of "the American pastime," more than a decade before Babe Ruth appeared in a Boston uniform, and shows that after one hundred years the game is remarkably unchanged. Mary Whipple