The 1901 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing fourth in the American League with a record of 74 wins and 62 losses. The franchise that would become the modern Athletics originated in 1901 as a new franchise in the American League.
Before the 1901 season The Western League had been renamed the American League in 1900 by league president Bancroft (Ban) Johnson, and declared itself the second major league in 1901.
In 1901, Johnson created new franchises in the east and eliminated some franchises in the west."Seeks to snare Duffy of Boston", Chicago Daily Tribune, January 29, 1901, pg. 9. Philadelphia seems to have been a new franchise created to compete with the National League's Philadelphia Phillies. Former catcher Connie Mack was recruited to manage the club. Mack in turn persuaded Phillies minority owner Ben Shibe as well as others to invest in the team, which would be called the Philadelphia Athletics. He himself bought a 25 percent interest.
Regular season In 1901, Nap Lajoie jumped from the Phillies to the crosstown Philadelphia Athletics, owned by Connie Mack.Nap Lajoie Obituary Lajoie's batting average that year was .426, still a league record. The same year Lajoie became the second major leaguer to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded after Abner Dalrymple in 1881.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions June 1901: Tom Leahy was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Tom Leahy page at Baseball Reference July 1901: Tom Leahy was acquired from the Athletics by the Providence Grays. July 20, 1901: Snake Wiltse was signed as a free agent by the Athletics.Snake Wiltse page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1901 Philadelphia Athletics Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Player stats
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 116 431 108 .251 1 47 1B 117 496 152 .306 8 76 2B 131 544 232 .426 14 125 3B 100 424 139 .328 2 73 SS 98 338 73 .216 1 38 OF 114 449 150 .334 8 90 OF 82 308 85 .276 0 46 OF 132 561 164 .292 0 52
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 50 211 49 .232 0 23 51 211 56 .265 0 17 45 171 37 .216 0 16 27 88 23 .261 0 7 11 34 11 .324 0 3 9 34 3 .088 0 2 9 28 6 .214 0 6 5 22 5 .227 0 2 5 15 5 .333 0 1 3 9 1 .111 0 0 2 8 1 .125 0 0 2 8 1 .125 0 0 2 2 0 .000 0 0
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 40 331.0 22 16 3.81 110 33 260.2 17 13 3.31 90 31 257.0 17 10 4.52 58 19 166.0 13 5 3.58 40 18 140.0 5 12 4.63 45 1 6.0 0 1 10.50 1 1 4.0 0 1 11.25 0 1 1.0 0 1 27.00 0
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 6 33.0 0 3 4.36 5
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 1 0 0 0 0.00 1
Notes
References 1901 Philadelphia Athletics team page at Baseball Reference 1901 Philadelphia Athletics team page at www.baseball-almanac.com