The 1905 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1905. The regular season ended October 8, with the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Athletics as regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the second modern World Series on October 9 and ended with Game 5 on October 14. The Giants defeated the Athletics, four games to one, capturing their first modern championship in franchise history.

Stung by criticism from fans and writers for his team's refusal to play in the previous season's World Series, Giants owner John T. Brush drafted rules during the offseason to formally establish the World Series as a compulsory event. Both leagues then adopted the agreement in mid-February 1905.

Schedule

The 1905 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the season. This format would last until .

Opening Day took place on April 16 with all but the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Naps playing. The final day of the regular season was on October 8. The World Series took place between October 9 and October 14.

Teams LeagueTeamCityBallparkCapacityManagerBoston AmericansBoston, MassachusettsHuntington Avenue Grounds11,500Chicago White SoxChicago, IllinoisSouth Side Park14,000Cleveland NapsCleveland, OhioLeague Park (Cleveland)9,000Detroit TigersDetroit, MichiganBennett Park8,500New York HighlandersNew York, New YorkHilltop Park16,000Philadelphia AthleticsPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaColumbia Park13,600St. Louis BrownsSt. Louis, MissouriSportsman's Park8,000Washington SenatorsWashington, D.C.National Park9,000Boston BeaneatersBoston, MassachusettsSouth End Grounds6,600Brooklyn SuperbasNew York, New YorkWashington Park12,000Chicago CubsChicago, IllinoisWest Side Park14,200Cincinnati RedsCincinnati, OhioPalace of the Fans12,000New York GiantsNew York, New YorkPolo Grounds16,000Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaNational League Park18,000Pittsburgh PiratesAllegheny, PennsylvaniaExposition Park16,000St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis, MissouriLeague Park (St. Louis)15,200

Sunday games Blue laws restricted Sunday activities in several localities, causing the Detroit Tigers, in a rescheduled game, to play at a ballpark in a different locality. TeamCityBallparkCapacityGames playedDetroit TigersColumbus, OhioNeil Park6,0002

Standings

American League

National League

Tie games 19 tie games (11 in AL, 8 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again), occurred throughout the season.

American League Boston Americans, 1 Chicago White Sox, 6 Cleveland Naps, 1 Detroit Tigers, 1 New York Highlanders, 3 Philadelphia Athletics, 4 St. Louis Browns, 3 Washington Senators, 3

National League Boston Beaneaters, 2 Brooklyn Superbas, 3 Chicago Cubs, 2 Cincinnati Reds, 2 New York Giants, 2 Philadelphia Phillies, 3 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2

Postseason The postseason began on October 9 and ended on October 14 with the New York Giants defeating the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series in five games.

Bracket

Managerial changes Off-season Team Former Manager New ManagerCleveland NapsBill ArmourBill BradleyDetroit TigersBobby LoweBill ArmourWashington SenatorsPatsy DonovanJake StahlBoston BeaneatersAl BuckenbergerFred Tenney

In-season Team Former Manager New ManagerCleveland NapsBill BradleyNap LajoieChicago CubsFrank SeleeFrank ChanceSt. Louis CardinalsKid NicholsJimmy BurkeJimmy BurkeStanley Robison

League leaders American League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Elmer Flick (CLE) .308 OPS Elmer Flick (CLE) .845 HR Harry Davis (PHA) 8 RBI Harry Davis (PHA) 83 R Harry Davis (PHA) 93 H George Stone (SLB) 187 SB Danny Hoffman (PHA) 46

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Rube Waddell1 (PHA) 27 L Fred Glade (SLB) 25 ERA Rube Waddell1 (PHA) 1.48 K Rube Waddell1 (PHA) 287 IP George Mullin (DET) 347.2 SV Jim Buchanan (SLB) 2 WHIP Cy Young (BOS) 0.867 1 American League Triple Crown pitching winner

National League

+ Hitting leaders Stat Player Total AVG Cy Seymour (CIN) .377 OPS Cy Seymour (CIN) .988 HR Fred Odwell (CIN) 9 RBI Cy Seymour (CIN) 121 R Mike Donlin (NYG) 124 H Cy Seymour (CIN) 219 SB Art Devlin (NYG)Billy Maloney (CHC) 59

+ Pitching leaders Stat Player Total W Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 31 L Vic Willis2 (BSN) 29 ERA Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 1.28 K Christy Mathewson1 (NYG) 206 IP Irv Young (BSN) 378.0 SV Claude Elliott (NYG) 6 WHIP Christy Mathewson (NYG) 0.933 1 National League Triple Crown pitching winner 2 Modern (1901–present) single-season losses record

Milestones Batters Bill Dahlen (NYG): Recorded his 500th career stolen base against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 1. He became the 14th player to reach this mark.

Pitchers No-hitters

Christy Mathewson (NYG): Mathewson threw his second career no-hitter and the third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Chicago Cubs 1–0 on June 13. Mathewson walked none and struck out two. The only base-runners came on errors by Bill Dahlen and Billy Gilbert. Weldon Henley (PHA): Henley threw his first career no-hitter and the first no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the St. Louis Browns 6–0 of game 2 of a doubleheader on July 22. Henley walked three and struck out two. Frank Smith (CWS): Smith threw his first career no-hitter and the second no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Detroit Tigers 15–0 of game 2 of a doubleheader on September 6. Smith walked three and struck out eight. Bill Dinneen (BOS): Dinneen threw his first no-hitter and the third no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Chicago White Sox 2–0 of game 1 of a doubleheader on September 27. Dinneen walked none, hit one batter by pitch, and struck out two.

Miscellaneous Jack McCarthy (CHC): Set a National League record and tied a Major League record (as the second player) to throw out three base runners at home plate on April 26, achieving the feat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boston Beaneaters / Brooklyn Dodgers: For the first time in Major League history, two teams with at least 100 losses played each other, when the Brooklyn Superbas (103 losses) and Boston Beaneaters (100 losses) on game 2 of a doubleheader on October 5 met in their final series of the season. The game ends with Brooklyn defeating Boston.

Home field attendance Team nameWinsHome attendanceChicago White Sox92 3.4%687,419 23.4%8,383Philadelphia Athletics92 13.6%554,5768.3%7,494New York Giants105 −0.9%552,700 −9.4%7,272Chicago Cubs92 −1.1%509,900 16.1%6,295Boston Americans78 −17.9%468,828 −24.8%6,089Pittsburgh Pirates96 10.3%369,124 8.4%4,732St. Louis Browns54 −16.9%339,112 6.6%4,293Philadelphia Phillies83 59.6%317,932 125.9%4,183Cleveland Naps76 −11.6%316,306 19.5%4,108Cincinnati Reds79 −10.2%313,927 −19.9%3,974New York Highlanders71 −22.8%309,100 −29.6%4,121St. Louis Cardinals58 −22.7%292,800 −24.3%3,803Washington Senators64 68.4%252,027 91.3%3,273Brooklyn Superbas48 −14.3%227,924 6.2%2,960Detroit Tigers79 27.4%193,384 8.8%2,545Boston Beaneaters51 −7.3%150,003 6.6%1,974

Venues The Washington Senators' American League Park was renamed to National Park.

Due to horse races at main home ballpark, Bennett Park, the Detroit Tigers played two games at Neil Park in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Class A minor league Columbus Senators, on July 23 and 24.

See also 1905 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)

Notes

References

External links 1905 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference 1905 in baseball history from ThisGreatGame.com 1905 Major League Season at ESPN.com