First World Series Played: Baseball's Grand Tradition
No league officials organized it. Pittsburgh's owner, Barney Dreyfuss, simply challenged Boston to a best-of-nine series after both teams won their respective pennants in 1903. They split the gate receipts and improvised rules as they went. Pittsburgh won the first game 7-3 at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds before 16,242 spectators, but Boston rallied to take the series five games to three. Pitcher Bill Dinneen threw a complete-game shutout to clinch it. The players' share was $1,182 per man for the winners. The following year, the National League champion New York Giants refused to play, and there was no World Series in 1904. The embarrassment forced both leagues to make the championship mandatory from 1905 onward.
October 1, 1903
123 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 1
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