On This Date in Sports October 8, 1908: Merkle's Boner
After the end of the regular season, the Chicago Cubs return to the Polo Grounds to replay the game from September 23rd against the New York Giants. The replay was necessary after Fred Merkle, as a base runner, failed to touch second base on a walk-off single by Al Bridewell as fans flooded the field in celebration. The Cubs would win 4-2 to claim the pennant.
The National League had come down to a three-team race: the two-time defending champion Chicago Cubs, the New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. On September 23rd, the Cubs and Giants were in a flat-footed tie atop the National League at 90-53. The Giants, managed by John McGraw, had Christy Matthewson, the top pitcher of the era on the mound. The Cubs, led by player-manager Frank Chance, had Jack Pfiester on the mound. The game was a pitchers’ duel from the start, as nobody scored in the first four innings. In the fifth, the Cubs broke through on a home run by Joe Tinker. In the fifth inning, the Giants would answer as Mike Donlin singled home Buck Herzog. The game remained tied 1-1 until the ninth inning, when New York started a two-out rally, as Art Deviln’s takeout slide of Johnny Evers prevented the famous double play tandem of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance from advancing the game to the tenth inning, allowing Moose McCormick to reach base. Fred Merkle followed with a single as McCormick advanced to third with the winning run. Al Bridewell followed with a single, scoring McCormick with the apparent winning run to make it a 2-1 final in favor of the Giants. However, with fans rushing the field, Merkle failed to reach second base, canceling the run. The play would cause chaos and controversy that would drag on for days, earning the nickname “Merkle’s Boner.”
The play was a matter of controversy as the fans rushing the field was the reason Fred Merkle turned back to the dugout before getting to second base. The controversy came as the Cubs forced him out with a ball that may or may not have been the ball that was in play as Solly Hoffman had to fight the crowd to find a ball and throw it to Johnny Evers, who made the put-out. Unable to clear the field, the game was called due to darkness, to be replayed only if needed at the end of the season. The result remained in the air until October 6th, when National League President Hank Pulliam confirmed the umpire's call over the Giants' protest and declared the game a tie. The Giants and Cubs continued to battle for the first place with the Pirates. When the season was over, the Giants and Cubs were still tied at 98-55, while the Pirates were a half-game back at 98-56. The Merkle game did not count in the standings, so the Cubs and Giants would play for the pennant on October 8th at the Polo Grounds.
Once again, the Giants turned to Christy Matthewson, hoping to win the pennant in a rematch against Jack Pfiester. Pfiester, however, struggled to allow a first-inning run before being replaced with two outs. The Cubs' top pitcher, Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown, took over and shut down the Giants the rest of the way. Three Fingers Brown earned the nickname after losing two fingers in a childhood accident. The three-finger delivery helped him have a radical curve that confounded all hitters he faced. An estimated 40,000 fans were on hand at the Polo Grounds, setting a new record for attendance. In the third inning, the Cubs struck back as Frank Chance drove in a pair in the middle of a four-run rally. The Giants would get a run in the seventh, but it was not enough as the Cubs won 4-2 to claim their third straight pennant. However, as the game ended, they had to run for their lives as the fans in New York began to riot.
The Cubs would go on to beat the Detroit Tigers in five games for the second straight season, winning the World Series. It would take 108 years for them to win another World Series, as they did not win again until 2016.