In 1908, the Chicago Cubs were in a tight race for the pennant with the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. In late September, in a game at the Polo Grounds against the Giants, the Cubs lost on a single by Al Bridwell in the ninth inning that scored a runner from third with two outs. The final score: Giants 2, Cubs 1.
Except that’s not what actually happened.
In the frenzied celebration by the Giants on their apparent walk off win, Fred Merkle, who was on first base, neglected to touch second on Bridwell’s single. As a result, the ever-sharp Johnny Evers (possibly assisted by Cubs’ first baseman/manager Frank Chance) called for the baseball from center fielder Solly Hofman. Once Evers got the baseball (which may have been a different baseball than the one Bridwell batted for the single), he stepped on second base, forcing Merkle out. By rule, that negated the winning run. The umpires conferred and agreed: no run, no Giants win. The field was already occupied by fans celebrating the apparent win, and the umpires were escorted by police from the field for their protection. The game ended in a tie. The baserunning mistake would forever be known as “Merkle’s Boner.”
A few weeks later, wouldn’t you know it? The Cubs and Giants finished the season knotted atop the National League. The two teams would need to play a single game to decide the pennant, as a replay of the tie game. The contest was also played in the Polo Grounds, in front of a reported 40,000-plus fans, a record at the time. The Cubs scored four runs in the third and held a lead late into the game.
In the eighth inning of what amounted to this one-game playoff for the flag, the Giants put three runners on against Chicago ace Three-Finger Brown. With two outs, Larry Doyle, a hard-hitting Giants’ second baseman, popped up behind the plate, near the grandstands. Chicago catcher Johnny Kling (one of baseball’s 100 greatest catchers to this day) tossed aside his mask and sprinted for the play. As he camped under the popup, the sky filled with straw hats, programs, and beer bottles. The missiles were aimed by exasperated fans. Kling still managed to secure the baseball in his mitt, snuffing the last Giant rally. The game was over the next inning, and Chicago won their third straight pennant.