The 1905 Philadelphia Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team finished first in the American League with a record of 92 wins and 56 losses, winning their second pennant. They went on to face the New York Giants in the 1905 World Series, losing 4 games to 1.
The pitching staff featured three future Hall of Famers: Rube Waddell, Eddie Plank, and Chief Bender. Waddell easily won the pitching triple crown in 1905, with 27 wins, 287 strikeouts, and a 1.48 earned run average.
Preseason 1905 Philadelphia City Series
The Athletics played eight games against the Philadelphia Phillies for the local championship in the pre-season city series. The Athletics and Phillies tied in the series, 4 games to 4.
Two games scheduled for April 5, 1905 at the Phillies' Philadelphia Ball Park, and for April 6, 1905 at the Athletics' Columbia Park were called off on account of wet grounds.
The A's all-time record against the Phillies was 14–14 through 1905.
Regular season
The A's offense scored the most runs in the league. Slugger Harry Davis led all players in home runs, runs scored, and runs batted in.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Birth of the Elephant mascot After New York Giants' manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Ben Shibe, who owned the controlling interest in the Athletics, had a "white elephant on his hands", manager Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, and presented McGraw with a stuffed toy elephant at the start of the 1905 World Series. McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously.
Roster 1905 Philadelphia Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Player stats = Indicates team leader
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 123 420 114 .271 0 45 1B 150 607 173 .285 8 83 2B 151 537 149 .277 6 71 3B 147 587 156 .266 0 77 SS 88 325 66 .203 3 29 LF 150 538 148 .275 0 28 CF 120 459 120 .261 1 35 RF 133 492 135 .274 6 59
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 79 252 67 .266 0 24 66 238 57 .239 0 13 40 121 18 .149 0 10 29 60 10 .167 0 3
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 41 346.2 24 12 2.26 210 46 328.2 27 10 1.48 287 35 255.0 18 8 1.84 145 25 183.2 4 11 2.60 82 1 5.0 0 0 3.60 5
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 35 229.0 18 11 2.83 142 6 35.1 1 4 4.33 24
1905 World Series
NL New York Giants (4) vs AL Philadelphia Athletics (1) GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1Giants – 3, Athletics – 0October 9Columbia Park17,9952Athletics – 3, Giants – 0October 10Polo Grounds24,9923Giants – 9, Athletics – 0October 12Columbia Park10,9914Athletics – 0, Giants – 1October 13Polo Grounds13,5985Athletics – 0, Giants – 2October 14Polo Grounds24,187
Awards and honors
American League top five finishers Andy Coakley #4 earned run average (1.84)
Lave Cross #2 runs batted in (77)
Harry Davis #1 runs batted in (83) #1 home runs (8) #1 runs scored (93) #4 slugging percentage (.422)
Topsy Hartsel #1 on-base percentage (.409) #4 runs scored (88) #4 stolen bases (37)
Danny Hoffman #1 in stolen bases (46)
Eddie Plank #2 wins (24) #2 strikeouts (210)
Rube Waddell #1 wins (27) #1 earned run average (1.48) #1 strikeouts (287) #2 shutouts (7)
Notes
References 1905 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1905 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com