The Boston Americans, who later became the Boston Red Sox, won the first modern era World Series in 1903, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in a best of nine series. The win has given Boston fans bragging rights for all time. More importantly at the time, it proved an American League team could beat a National League team.

Brief History Of The American League

At the time of the series, the American League was the upstart league, having been formed in 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Boston Americans were one of the founding teams of the American League. They played under the “Americans” name until 1908, when the team changed the name to Red Sox.

Best Moments of Red Sox Baseball

Background of the 1903 World Series

The American League formed from the Western League, which commissioner Ban Johnson had built up from 1894 to 1899. The league featured eight charter franchises, although not all of them play in their original cities. In addition to Boston, they were:

  • Baltimore Orioles (moved to New York in 1903 and became the Highlanders, then officially changed the name to Yankees in 1913)
  • Chicago White Stockings (soon known as the White Sox)
  • Cleveland Blues (became the Indians in 1915 and will be named something else in 2022 or 2023)
  • Detroit Tigers
  • Milwaukee Brewers (in 1902 they became the St. Louis Browns, and in 1954 they became the Baltimore Orioles)
  • Philadelphia Athletics (now the Oakland Athletics)
  • Washington Senators (became the Minnesota Twins in 1961)

Best Moments of Detroit Tigers Baseball

The National League, which had started in 1876, agreed to send its champion to play the American League champion in 1903. The New York Giants refused to play the Americans in what would have been the 1904 series. However, a World Series has been held every year since (except for the strike year of 1994).

Highlights of the 1903 World Series

The first World Series featured four future Hall of Famers, two from each team. They included Americans’ player/manager Jimmy Collins and pitcher Denton True “Cy” Young and the Pirates’ Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke.

Cy Young MLB Career

The series ran from Oct. 1 through Oct. 13. The first three games were in Boston at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, with the next four played in Pittsburgh at Exposition Park. The final game was back in Boston. Here are some other fun facts about the series that will win you the next baseball trivia contest you find yourself in.

  • Boston won the last four games to win the series, coming back from being down 3-1.
  • The very first batter in World Series history is Ginger Beaumont, who was the centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the Pirates. The Wisconsin native played from 1899 to 1910, most of them with the Pirates.
  • The first pitch was thrown by Cy Young – but he lost the game, giving up three earned runs in 9 innings
  • The first winning World Series pitcher was Deacon Phillippe, who outdueled the legendary Young that day, giving up two earned runs in a complete game effort. Young came back to win Game 5 and Game 7.
  • Phillippe went on to win each of the Pirates’ victories in three of the first four games, but a tired arm led to a drop off in his pitching later in the series and impacted the fortunes of the Pirates.
  • The Pirates’ Jimmy Sebring hit the first home run in World Series history in the 7th inning off Young
  • Wagner got the first steal in series history in Game 1, taking second base off Young and catcher Lou Criger
  • The average attendance at each game was 12,554

The first World Series in 1903 set the stage for the longest running championship game in the United States. It also has helped keep Major League Baseball as the longest running professional sports league in the country.

Teams That Have Never Won a World Series