| 1925 World Series | ||||||||||
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 Griffith Stadium during the series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 7–15 | |||||||||
| Venue | Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) Griffith Stadium (Washington) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Cy Rigler (NL), Brick Owens (AL), Barry McCormick (NL), George Moriarty (AL) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Pirates: Bill McKechnie (manager) Max Carey Kiki Cuyler Pie Traynor Senators: Stan Coveleski Goose Goslin Bucky Harris (2B/manager) Walter Johnson Sam Rice | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Radio | Westinghouse | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Graham McNamee and Quin Ryan | |||||||||
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The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates defeated the Senators four games to three to win the series.
Contents
- Summary
- Matchups
- Game 1
- Game 2
- Game 3
- Game 4
- Game 5
- Game 6
- Game 7
- Composite line score
- Notes
- See also
- References
- External links
In a reversal of fortune on all counts from the previous 1924 World Series, when Washington's Walter Johnson had come back from two losses to win the seventh and deciding game, Johnson dominated in Games 1 and 4, but lost Game 7.
The Senators built up a 3–1 Series lead. After Pittsburgh won the next two games, Johnson again took the mound for Game 7, and carried a 6–4 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. But errors by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh in both the seventh and eighth innings led to four unearned runs, and the Pirates become the first team in a best-of-seven Series to overcome a 3–1 Series deficit to win the championship. Peckinpaugh, the Senators' regular shortstop and the 1925 American League Most Valuable Player, had a tough Series in the field, committing a record eight errors.
Playing conditions were of no help. The 1925 Series was postponed twice due to poor weather, and Game 7 was played in what soon became a steady downpour, described as "probably the worst conditions ever for a World Series game." [1] Senators outfielder Goose Goslin reported that the fog prevented him from clearly seeing the infield during the last three innings of the game, and claimed that the Series-winning hit was actually a foul ball. [2] [3] In the next day's The New York Times , James Harrison wrote "In a grave of mud was buried Walter Johnson's ambition to join the select panel of pitchers who have won three victories in one World Series. With mud shackling his ankles and water running down his neck, the grand old man of baseball succumbed to weariness, a sore leg, wretched support and the most miserable weather conditions that ever confronted a pitcher." [4]
Twice in Game 7 the visiting Senators held leads of at least three runs over the Pirates but failed to hold them. In fact, after the top of the first inning, Washington led 4–0. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh eventually won the game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn a 6–7 deficit into a 9–7 lead. To date, the four-run deficit is the largest ever overcome in the seventh game of the World Series.
A memorable play occurred during the eighth inning of Game 3. The Senators' Sam Rice ran after an Earl Smith line drive hit into right center field. Rice made a diving "catch" into the temporary stands, but did not emerge with the ball for approximately 15 seconds. The Pirates contested the play, saying a fan probably stuffed the ball into Rice's glove. The call stood and Rice parried questions about the incident for the rest of his life—never explicitly saying whether he had or had not really made the catch. His typical answer (including to Commissioner Landis, who said it was a good answer) was always "The umpire said I caught it." Rice left a sealed letter at the Hall of Fame to be opened after his death. In it, he had written: "At no time did I lose possession of the ball."
Writer Lamont Buchanan wrote, "In 1925, the Senators hopped the Big Train once too often... earning Bucky [Harris] the criticism of many fans and American League head [Ban] Johnson who dispatched an irate wire to the Senators manager." In his telegram, Ban Johnson accused the manager of failing to relieve Walter Johnson "for sentimental reasons." Despite the second-guessing, Harris always said, 'If I had it to do over again, I'd still pitch Johnson.'" [5]
This was Walter Johnson's second and final World Series appearance. By the time the original Washington Senators next reached the Fall Classic in 1933 – their last before they became the Minnesota Twins, and the city's last until the 2019 Nationals – Johnson had retired.
