1917 BOSTON RED SOX ... 
GAMBLING WITH HARRY FRAZEE ...

By 1917 all of Europe was engulfed in "The Great War" and by the spring the United States was pulled into the conflict. America had remained neutral on the other side of the Atlantic, but when German U-boats began to indiscriminately strike at ships with Americans on it, the U.S. declared war on Germany, just days before baseball began its 1917 campaign. Over the next year, few aspects of American society proved immune to the effects of war. As life changed forever in America, so did baseball.

In Boston, less than a month after winning the World Series, Joe Lannin decided to sell the Red Sox. In his three years as owner, he had reportedly made $400,000 while most other owners had been strapped in their battle with the Federal League. Now, with a real war on the horizon, nobody was sure what would happen next.

Apart from the worry about the war, Lannin was tired of American League president, Ban Johnson's constant interference. His intrusion into the sale of Tris Speaker had been the last straw. Not even a world championship could offset Lannin's growing dismay of the politics involved in major league baseball. He realized that the rules for doing business were different for those named Connie Mack or Charles Comiskey. Lannin was a baseball fan, didn't want to play political games, and with the Red Sox at the highest value they would probably be at, he decided to sell.

In the past, Ban Johnson had bullied his way into the sale of every franchise, by either initiating the transaction or engineering it outright. This is how Lannin had bought the Red Sox from James McAleer. Lannin was determined to leave on his own terms and for his own price. Although a handful of local investors and tried to broker a deal, including one that involved Mayor Honey Fitz's son-in-law, Joseph Kennedy, Lannin ignored the proposals and sold his club to Harry Frazee.

Frazee was a man symbolic of the age, a pure product of America, who started with nothing and built an empire. His empire was Broadway in New York City. Being an entertainment mogul, Frazee thought it would be beneficial to expand into the world of baseball. The local New York Giants and the Red Sox were baseball's diamond crowns. The Red Sox, having won two championships, would look good in Frazee's portfolio.

Frazee's social circle included the most popular actors of the era, as well as those who were at the pinnacle of politics and finance in New York City. His social register included everyone from George M. Cohan and New York Mayor, Jimmy Walker, to Charles Lindbergh and Yankees owner, Jacob Ruppert.

As early as 1909 he inquired about purchasing the Red Sox, and in 1911, after his first Broadway production, Madame Sherry, ran for nearly eight months and earned Frazee $250,000, he made a bid to buy the Boston Braves. Over the next five years, as Frazee produced hit after hit , he periodically made additional overtures about buying a major league team.

Meanwhile, he was printing money on Broadway. His shows "Ready Money", "A Pair of Sixes", "A Full House", and "Nothing But the Truth" were huge hits that Frazee made even more profitable by breaking with convention and putting the productions on the road while the show was still a hit on Broadway. In 1913, he built the Longacre Theater, which he kept full with both his own productions and those of others.

He was one of the most successful producers of his era. Nearly everything Frazee touched made money, and he continued to branch out, starting a real estate company and a brokerage business, managing professional wrestler Frank Gotch, and dabbling in the promotion of boxing. By 1916, he was a millionaire and knew everybody who was anybody, not just in New York, but all over the Northeast, including Boston.

HARRY FRAZEE

Although his initial efforts to buy his way into major league baseball had failed, he hired professional boxer James J. Corbett to appear in some of his theatrical productions. In 1915 he had made a splash when, after being rebuffed by the United States in trying to match the white boxer Jess Willard against black champion Jack Johnson, he put up the money behind their famous bout in Havana.

By 1916 his empire had expanded to include real estate management and a stock brokerage business. He was already a millionaire, successful, connected, gregarious and flamboyant. Although he loved baseball, he viewed it as just another production. To him baseball was essentially an arm of show business. To Frazee, purchasing the Red Sox or the Giants was the same as investing in another Broadway show.

In October of 1916, Lannin decided to cash in on his championship team and he sold the club to Frazee and a partner, Hugh Ward, an actor and theatrical entrepreneur, for $675,000, which was far more than anyone else would offer. It was too good for Lannin to refuse. And it was done without Ban Johnson’s permission.

From the outset, Johnson disliked the fact that Frazee had crashed his private party. When Johnson found out about the deal, he hit the roof. After the war with the Federal League and a real war on the horizon, Johnson thought the last thing that baseball needed was a spendthrift like Harry Frazee to drive up the costs for everybody else. To Johnson, Frazee was the ultimate outsider. He was a young, brash New Yorker, and not someone who was under his control. Part of the reason that Lannin sold to Frazee was to stick it to Ban Johnson.

Although Frazee was using profits from Broadway to buy the team, he was unwilling to risk the entire amount. So rather than buying the team outright, Frazee offered half the sale amount in cash and offered to pay the balance with the profits he would earn in the future. The deal included Fenway Park, which the Taylor family and the Fenway Park Realty company had finally divested themselves of. In fact, the ballpark may have been the key to landing a deal. Land in the Fens was becoming pricey. There was speculation that Frazee might sell off the land Fenway Park was on and move the team to Braves Field.

But the deal still worked for Joe Lannin. The Red Sox had always made money and the deal was structured in such a way that he would make a good profit and allowed him a percentage of the proceeds over the next few years until 1920, when Frazee had to make his final payment to Lannin.

It was this deal that eventually sent Babe Ruth and other Red Sox stars to the Yankees, because Frazee was so leveraged with his Broadway investments, that he didn't have the cash to make the final payment to Lannin. Frazee had to ask his friend Yankee owner, Jacob Ruppert to give him the money to payoff Lannin. Ruppert wouldn't lend him the money, but instead offered to buy some of his players instead for cash. He had Frazee over a barrel and so Ruth would be sold to the Yankees to get the money to pay off Lannin in 1920.

Accustomed to running the show, Frazee took control of the team. He tried, but failed to convince Bill Carrigan to return as manager and so Jack Barry was hired to be his replacement. The Red Sox began the 1917 season with virtually the same team that had won the World Series. Frazee remained in the background, at least as far as the public knew. But behind the scenes he was already rankling some feathers.

Free passes to the ballpark for local politicians and others, like the more influential members of the Royal Rooters, were long-established traditions. There were more city workers at Fenway Park for a baseball game than there were at City Hall on those days.

Frazee cut back on these popular perks, thereby alienating many longtime supporters, including the Royal Rooters. He similarly estranged the press, treating them like theater critics. When anyone criticized the Red Sox in the newspaper, he made the person pay his way into the ballpark, then threatened to ban him if the coverage did not improve.

Frazee's enemies were rapidly increasing in number, and the backlash soon started. Frazee was painted as a greedy, money-grubbing carpetbagger and a con man. It was easy for the press to paint Frazee in falsehoods because they told a better story. More than 80 years, the myth surrounding Harry Frazee, especially the ones about selling off Babe Ruth, have been erroneously taken as truth.

If there was ever any doubt as to how openly gamblers were allowed to operate at major league ballparks in the early 20th century, the "Gambler's Riot" on June 16th, should have expelled it forever.

The World Series involving the Red Sox, in 1912, had been plagued by rumors of game-fixing, and heavy betting was common on the team’s games. That this kind of business went on as usual after such a public spectacle illustrates just how little attention American League president Ban Johnson and other baseball officials paid to the gambling menace that would soon threaten to destroy the game with the Black Sox Scandal.  And it was no coincidence that the "Gamblers Riot" happened in Boston.

By the time Harry Frazee bought the Red Sox, the city was regarded as the biggest center of baseball gambling in the country. An American League investigator later reported that Frazee “entertains more gamblers in his right field pavilion every day than the rest of the majors combined.”

President Johnson, meanwhile, was livid after the "Gamblers Riot". He announced to the press that gambling “had never been tolerated by our league” and it would be stamped out in Boston “regardless of cost.” He pressed Frazee to take action against the gamblers and made a special trip to Boston to investigate the matter. Frazee rightfully suspected that Johnson was more interested in going after him instead.

Despite Johnson’s rhetoric, gambling remained as pervasive as ever, particularly in Boston. The following year, Lee Magee and Hal Chase of the Cincinnati Reds were accused of throwing games to the Boston Braves. And in 1919, the Black Sox Scandal had its roots at Boston’s Hotel Buckminster, where Chicago first baseman Chick Gandil met with gambler Joseph “Sport” Sullivan” to plan the fixing of the World Series.

While the 1917 season proceeded oblivious to world events, after the World Series it became obvious the sport would not be unaffected by the war. The American military mobilized, and by the end of October, American troops were in the trenches of France. The Selective Service Act had been passed in April and now threatened major league rosters. Scores of players either join the reserves, got married, had children, or made the acquaintance of friendly doctors to avoid the draft. Meanwhile, the 18th amendment, prohibiting the sale of alcohol had passed the Senate in August and soon became law.

The  Red Sox nearly repeated their pennant winning effort of the previous year. They stayed in a neck and neck race with the White Sox throughout most of the season. While both teams possessed strong pitching, the Red Sox could not match the White Sox in terms of offense. Bolstered by the .300 hitting of Joe Jackson and Happy Felsch, Chicago led the American League with 656 runs while batting a respectable .253 as a team. By way of comparison, the Red Sox could only manage a .246 team average with 555 runs.

Duffy Lewis batted .302 with a team-leading 167 hits. But Babe Ruth, as people were beginning to expect, provided most of the year's excitement. Cementing his reputation as the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, the Babe won a career-high 24 games and lost only 13 for a robust .649 winning percentage. He also pitched six shutout while completing an astonishing 31 games. At the plate, he finished the year with a .325 BA.

Given all the accolades that Ruth deserved, it was easy to overlook the pitching performance of his teammate Carl Mays. Mays broke out after two years of average pitching with a superb record of 22-9. In 289 innings pitched, he allowed just 230 hits while fanning 91. But Mays had a negative personality, found fault with teammates, and seemed to alienate everyone. But he had grit on the mound and gave no quarter to the batters he faced. He liked to pitch high and tight and eventually got a deserved reputation as a headhunter.

Ernie Shore’s greatest moment on a ball field happened when Babe Ruth took the mound at Fenway Park for the first game of a Red Sox-Washington doubleheader on June 23rd. Umpire Brick Owens called the first three pitches to leadoff batter Ray Morgan, all balls. After heated jawing, Ruth blew up on Owens’ ball four call and charged with fists flying. Babe admitted in his autobiography, “I really socked him right on the jaw…They’d put you in jail today for hitting an umpire.” Teammates had to drag the ejected hurler off the diamond.

Shore was brought in from the bench for an emergency start. He tossed his five allotted warm-up pitches and began. Morgan tried stealing on the first pitch but Boston catcher Sam Agnew gunned him down. Shore then retired two batters with five more pitches and returned to the dugout. He came back out and then retired the next 23 consecutive batters.

The Babe was suspended for nine games and fined $100. When he returned, his behavior was increasingly erratic, on and off the diamond. Fame and fortune created a volatile mixture for the Babe and his drinking and whoring between starts, became more and more frequent. He maintained an apartment Fenway's red light district while Mrs. Ruth stayed at the farm in Sudbury MA. Just after the end of the season, he was in the news after crashing one of his many automobiles into two trolley cars and sending the female passenger, not Mrs. Ruth, to the hospital. Babe, who seemed superhuman, was unhurt.

The Champion Red Sox buried the Yankees on opening day, by a score of 10 to 3 on April 11th in New York. Ruth pitched like he was in midseason form and limited the Yanks to three scattered hits, and only a few balls were hit into the outfield. A wild throw by Jack Barry accounted for the runs scored by the Yankees. The Sox knocked out 14 hits, including a homer from Dick Hoblitzell and two triples by Tillie Walker.

The next game was a 6-1 victory by Dutch Leonard, who was able to work his way out of multiple jams.

After losing the third game in New York, the Sox moved down to Philadelphia and took the next three games from the Athletics. On April 16th, the former A's shortstop Jack Barry, celebrated his return to Philly as the Red Sox manager, with a 6 to 1 victory. A throwing error by Larry Gardner kept Babe Ruth from racking up a shutout. Pinch Thomas knocked out a double and Duffy Lewis had a triple and two RBIs for the Sox.

The next game was a 3-1 win, thrown by Ernie Shore. He was erratic but kept the hits made against him, well scattered.

On April 6th, the United States Congress declared war on Germany, as the German submarine offensive not only continued to take Amercan lives, but paralysed trade ships who were afraid to put to sea.

Dutch Leonard pitched the third game, shutting out the A's, 2-0, striking out 10 batters. The A's outhit the Sox, but Dutch limited those hits to non-run producers.

The Red Sox home opener was on April 21st and they celebrated it with a 6-4 win over the Yankees. Babe Ruth was not in total control on the mound but at the plate he was an important factor in the game. In the second inning, his double brought home two runners, and in the fifth he led off the inning with a triple into the right field corner. He also banged a ball off the wall in the seventh inning that was good for two bases.

The Yanks won the next two games. One was highlighted by George Mogridge's no-hitter of the Sox on April 24th. The Red Sox did not manage a hit but scored a run on a wild throw. The final score was 2 to 1 in favor ofd Mogridge and the Yankees.

Babe Ruth stayed undefeated when he beat Washington on April 25th. His pitching was not particularly sharp, but his two hits drove in two runs. A suicide squeeze worked by Duffy Lewis' bunt and Harry Hooper sprinting home, gave the Sox a 5 to 4 win.

After two days of rain, the Sox beat the Nats again on April 28th, 7-1. Ernie Shore beat Walter Johnson, pitched effectively and also had two base hits, one of which drove in a run. Shore's catcher, Sam Agnew chipped in with three hits also.

The Sox finished off their opening homestand with two more wins against the visiting Athletics. Babe Ruth won his fifth game on April 30th with a 6-3 victory. He was knocked around for ten hits, but banged out two hits that drove home two runs.

Two more rain days were followed by a 2-0 shutout, spun by Dutch Leonard on May 3rd. None of the A's were able to advance beyond second base, as Dutch struck-out eight batters.

The Sox finished the homestand going 5-2, with four straight wins to close it out. Rain followed the Red Sox as they headed down to Washington and leading the American League by a game over the White Sox.

After two rain-outs, Babe Ruth was on the winning end of a 1-0 shutout, opposed by Walter Johnson on May 7th. Babe pitched one of the best games in his career and sent across the winning run himself with a sacrifice fly. He gave up only two hits for his sixth consecutive win.

The Sox won their sixth game in a row, beating Washington, 4-1, in the first game of a May 9th doubleheader. Ernie Shore got off to a bad start but allowed only one hit after the third inning. Harry Hooper smashed out two triples and a double, scoring five of the runs the Sox made in both games.

Three excellently pitched games followed with a trip to Detroit. Dutch Leonard pitched a strong game and won, 3-1 on May 10th. A muffed fly ball gave the Tigers their only run in the first inning. Babe stayed undefeated, winning his seventh game the next day, 2 to 1. He had two hits himself including a double.

The third win was an 8-0 shutout thrown by Carl Mays on May 12th. Mays gave up five hits, three of with never got out of the infield. The Sox had 12 hits, with Harry Hooper leading the way with a two-run homer. With two men on, Dick Hoblitzell slammed a triple, and Tillie Walker hit safely three times.

The Sox had nine wins in their last ten games and a three game lead over the second place Yankees.

In Cleveland, the Sox and Indians split a four game series. On May 15th, Babe won a 6-5 decision to notch his eighth consecutive win.

The next day, Carl Mays limited the Indians to four scattered hits, winning 5 to 1. In his last three games, Mays had allowed a total of 14 hits. Duffy Lewis led the Sox attack with a home run and two singles.

Ruth finally lost a game in Chicago, where the Red Sox lost 2 of 3. The game they did win, by a score of 2-1 on May 20th, was won by Mays, who drove in the game-winning run himself. They came into Chicago leading the White Sox by 1/2 game and left town, 1/2 game behind them.

But in St. Louis the Red Sox won four straight and put them into a tie for first place. In the third game on May 25th, Dutch Leonard had a no-hitter going into the sixth. After that, only two men ended up getting as far as second base in a 3-0 shutout.  Hooper knocked out three hits and stole three bases for the Sox.

The team traveled back to Washington and played two doubleheaders to make up for the rain-outs on the first stop of the long road trip. The Sox won all four games, three by one run. In the very first game of the doubleheader on May 29th, the Red Sox rallied in the ninth inning on three straight singles for a 2-1 win. Ruth (10-1) cruised to an easy victory in the second game, shutting out the Nats, 9 to 0. Hooper had three hits, including two doubles and stole three more bases in this game.

Manager Jack Barry and his Red Sox came home having won 16 games, losing six and one game ended in a tie. They had a lead of just one game over the White Sox.

The Red Sox and Indians ended May and started the month of June with a five game set. On May 31st, Carl Mays pitched a whale of a game, allowing four hits. He was helped by Larry Gardner who had 3 RBIs and a home run in the 5 to 1 victory.

The Sox were shut out in the next two games, but the third game was a great pitching duel between Ernie Shore and Stan Coveleski. Shore and the Red Sox prevailed, 2 to 1. Gardner again, starred in the game with three hits and a run batted in.

On June 5th the Sox bats came back to life, as they walloped the Indians, 11 to 4. The Sox had 12 hits, with Tillie Walker getting three of them, with three RBIS. Two hits came in the second inning when the Sox sent 13 men to the plate. Everett Scott also had three hits with a triple, also with two hits in the nine run second inning.

The Sox were tied atop the American League when the roof fell in. They lost three straight to the Tigers, two of three to the Browns and the first two games played with the first place White Sox at Fenway Park. As a result of losing eight of the nine games they played, the Red Sox fell 3 1/2 games behind the White Sox.

The "Gambler's Riot" on June 16th, should have expelled gambling on baseball games forever. The usual contingent of “sporting men” had taken their customary spots in the right-field bleachers. With rain threatening and Babe Ruth losing, 3-0 to the White Sox, some of the gambler's jumped onto the field in the top of the fifth inning to cause a delay, hoping the impending rain would cause an "unofficial" game at that point, to be called off and save their bets made on the Babe to be nullified.

Umpire Barry McCormick immediately called time and stood gazing in amazement. They didn’t rush at the players or umpires. Instead of fighting, the mob simply surged out upon the field … and stood around. The few officers present could not be found, so Red Sox manager Jack Barry took charge. He persuaded the mob to leave the field so the Red Sox did not have to forfeit the game. But the fans didn’t return to their seats in right field. Instead, they climbed into the infield grandstand. Just when play was about to resume, new leaders and recruits came from the gamblers’ stands, and the first group piled out of their boxes again.

McCormick ordered the Red Sox off the field, and both teams attempted to exit under the stands through the Boston dugout. A melee ensued with the mob converging on the players. The White Sox were forced to fight their way off the field. Infielder Buck Weaver was never one to back down from a brawl. He grabbed a baseball bat and started swinging in all directions. Utility man Fred McMullin used a more traditional weapon, his fists, to get away. Both teams managed to escape safely to the clubhouse. Boston police eventually sent officers on horseback from a nearby station to restore order.

Despite the gamblers’ efforts, or maybe because of them, umpires McCormick and Connolly ordered the game to resume. But they encountered surprising resistance from Red Sox owner Frazee, who inexplicably refused to permit his groundskeepers to remove the tarpaulin that covered the field. McCormick pulled out his watch and gave Frazee an ultimatum: Remove the tarp or forfeit the game. Frazee finally relented. After an approximate 45-minute delay, the White Sox put the game out of reach in the ninth, scoring four more runs to win 7-2 with the big blow being Buck Weaver’s home run over the left-field wall.

The Red Sox salvaged the White Sox series by winning both games of a doubleheader on June 18th. Gardner's triple in the seventh inning, with the bases loaded, gave the Red Sox a 6 to 4 victory. The Red Sox won the afternoon game by scoring four runs in the ninth inning for a walk-off 8 to 7 win.

In New York, Babe Ruth worked his was out of numerous jams, wining his 12th game on June 20th, 3 to 1. Two games later Carl Mays pitched the Sox to a 2-1 win allowing only three hits.

Back home, the Red Sox faced Washington for six games. They sat two games behind the White Sox for the league lead. In the first game of a  June 23rd doubleheader, Ernie Shore pitched to perfection. He gave up no hits, no runs and no runners reaching first base making it a perfect game. It was an unusual feat, because Babe Ruth was the starting pitcher. He pitched four balls to Morgan and then accused the umpire, Brick Owens of missing two of them.

BRICK OWENS

“Get in there and pitch,” ordered Owens.  “Open your eyes and keep them open,” chirped Babe.  “Get in and pitch or I will run you out of there,” was the comeback of Owens.  “You run me out and I will come in and bust you on the nose,” Babe threatened.  “Get out of there right now,” said Owens.

Then in rushed Ruth. Pinch Thomas tried to prevent him from reaching Owens, who had not removed his mask, but Babe started swinging both hands. The swinging left missed, but the right struck Owens behind the left ear.  Manager Barry and several policemen finally had to drag Babe off the field.

After a brief warm-up, Shore stepped to the hill and, after catcher Sam Agnew had taken care of Morgan when he tried to steal second, Ernie just calmly breezed along and was perfect thereafter. Not one Washington batter reached first. Shore retired 26 straight batters, and the Sox won 4-0.

In the second game, Washington knocked out three hits off Dutch Leonard in the first inning yet went runless. Between the first inning and the ninth only one of the Nats got beyond first and in the last inning Dutch had such a streak of wildness, he filled the bases but got away with it without any damage, with a 5-0 shutout. It was quite a day.
 

Originally considered a perfect game it was later changed to a combined no-hitter following a re-evaluation by Major League Baseball in 1991 under Commissioner Fay Vincent.

PEDRO MARTINEZ

Harvey Haddix pitched one of the greatest games ever, when with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959. He retired the first 36 Milwaukee Braves he faced over 12 innings.  In the 13th inning, the first Braves hitter, Felix Mantilla, reached on an error and eventually scored on Joe Adcock's line drive single, hanging a 1-0 defeat on Haddix.

Pedro Martinez had a perfect game against the San Diego Padres for nine innings when with the Montreal Expos in 1995. The Expos got a run in the top of the 10th inning and then Pedro  gave up a double to Bip Roberts in the bottom of the tenth to break up his "no-no". He was relieved by Mel Rojas, who retired the next three batters, winning 1-0.

On May 2, 1917, both Hippo Vaughn of the Cubs and Fred Toney of the Reds had no-hitters going in the same game through nine innings. Vaughn gave up a single with one out in the tenth inning and allowed another hit, losing 1-0. Toney completed his non-hitter through all ten innings.
 

The Sox and Nats each won two games and then the Yankees came to Fenway and were beaten in four straight games. They swept a doubleheader on June 28th. Herb Pennock, pitching in place of the suspended Babe Ruth, shutout the Yankees, 5-0 in the second game. He gave up just four scattered hits.

On June 29th, the Sox beat the Yankees, 2-1, thanks to Yankee catcher Roxy Walters, letting the winning run score in the 10th inning. Shortstop, Roger Peckinpaugh's throw to home, trying to retire Jimmy Walsh was muffed, giving the Sox the walk-off win.

Larry Gardner drove in three runs and one of Tillie Walker's doubles scored two more, in the Sox fourth straight win, 9-2, against the Yanks on June 30th.

Philadelphia lost four straight games at Fenway Park, after winning the first game, starting July. As a result the Sox bounced back into a first place, percentage points ahead of the White Sox.

In the first game of a July 3rd doubleheader, the A's knocked Babe Ruth around in his first game back after the suspension. Dutch Leonard gave up five hits in the second game, winning that one, 6 to 1.

DUFFY LEWIS

The Sox swept the July 4th doubleheader and took both games in a third doubleheader on July 5th. Both ends of the twin bill were won with Duffy Lewis' bat. The opener was an uphill affair, pitched by Carl Mays.

A squeeze bunt by Pinch Thomas helped decide the first game. Down 3-2, Tilly Walker opened the seventh inning with a free pass, went to second on Everett Scott's sacrifice, made it to third on a wild pitch and came home with the tying run on Thomas' squeeze. Mays then tripled into the right-field corner and Lewis' base hit brought him home with the winning run, 4-3.

In the second game, with the score tied in the seventh inning, Jack Barry was hit by a pitch and was followed by a walk to Larry Gardner. A wild pitch then advanced both runners to second and third. Duffy Lewis strolled to the plate and again knocked in the winning runs, as he ripped a single to center that scored both runners and ultimately gave the Red Sox 4 to 2 victory.

Three straight losses in Cleveland were followed by a trip to Detroit. One of the best games ever played at Navin Field was held on July 11th. The Red Sox won the game, 1-0 on a run scored in the ninth inning. Tillie Walker tripled and scored on another triple by Chick Shorten. Babe Ruth had a no-hitter going until the last of the eighth inning, when Donie Bush hit Babe's leg with a line drive, that bounced over to Hal Janvrin at second base. Bush crossed the bag before Janvrin could get to the ball and the no-no was gone.

The Tigers came back to shut out the Sox in the next two games. Sox batters had scored only five runs in their last six games and found themselves 1 1/2 games out of first.

Ruth followed up his near no-hitter with a 4-2, 10 inning win in St. Louis on July 15th. It was the first game of a doubleheader. Babe allowed five hits and struck out five batters. At the plate he had three hits and knocked in a run. The winning runs, in the 10th, came with two outs. Hoblitzell and Gardner singled and Lewis slammed a line drive that Burt Shotten bobbled around in left, allowing the two runners to score the winning runs.

The Sox also took the second game, scoring six runs on seven hits, winning 6 to 3. Tillie Walker's homer over the left field fence highlighted the victory. Only two runs were scored by Sox batters in the next two games, both of which were won by the Browns. A 1-0 win was the result in the fourth game on July 18th. Carl Mays (11-4, 1.77 ERA) gave up just four hits. The Sox got a hit in every inning except one, leaving eight runners on base.

One win, three losses and a tied game against the first place White Sox in Chicago, left the Red Sox 4 1/2 games behind. They had won only six games on the 17 game road trip, scoring only a total of 33 runs.

Home cooking must have suited the Red Sox because upon returning to Fenway Park, they won seven straight games. The last place Browns were the victims of the first five wins.

The Sox came back, after being down by three runs, to take a 5-4 victory on July 25th. Gardner and Harry Hooper each had three hits in the game. Gardner knocked out two doubles, bringing home the winning run in the seventh inning.

In a doubleheader the next day, Babe Ruth was hit hard, but worked his way out of jams, while the Sox batters clubbed the Browns, 11-2, with 13 safeties. The second game continued to see the Sox batters bang out another 14 hits, good for a 8-3 win. Hobby had three hits with two doubles, good for three RBIs in the second game.

It took 12 innings to win the first game of a second doubleheader the next day, 3-2. The second game was also a close one, won again by a 3-2 score. Ernie Shore took only 72 pitches to win the second game. Duffy Lewis had five hits in seven trips to the plate during the twin killing on July 28th.

Next came an important four game series with the White Sox. On July 30th, behind Babe Ruth (17-6, 2.08 ERA), the Sox won 3 to 1. After an opening triple in the second inning by Joe Jackson, Babe only allowed one more hit.

The next game on July 31st, was won 5 to 2. Hooper had a freak home run in the first inning that gave the Sox a lead they were able to keep. His line drive hugged the first base line as it rolled down into right field. Down near the foul pole it bounced to the right, striking the bleachers on the rebound and caromed off Shano Collins, taking another hop and skipping over the fence. Duffy Lewis also chipped in with a double and two singles, as the Red Sox goy a hit in every inning, but the second.

As a result of the two wins, both teams were tied for first place when July ended. But the White Sox came back and took the next two games, allowing the Red Sox only one run.

The Indians came to town and the two teams divided a four game series. The Sox won on August 4th, 3 to 2. Dutch Leonard had to labor for 11 innings to finally win on a single by Chick Shorten that drove in Larry Gardner with the winning run.

Down by three runs, the Sox came from behind, scoring four runs in the seventh inning, to beat the Indians, 8 to 6 on August 7th. Tris Speaker (.353 BA) had three hits for the Indians in the losing effort.

The Tigers lost three games to the Red Sox in their five game set, to finish out the homestand, leaving the Sox one game behind Chicago. The Sox swept a doubleheader from Detroit on August 10th. The curtain raiser was won in the ninth inning and was practically a gift. Dick Hoblitzell tripled after three men had been passed and scored on a hit that Harry Hooper dumped between Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann, giving the Sox a come-from-behind 5 to 4 walk-off win. Babe Ruth racked up his 18th win, giving up four hits but also four runs, only two of which, were earned.

What was probably one of the longest drives ever hit at Fenway Park, was a home run by Babe in the fifth inning. He crushed the ball into the centerfield bleachers, with the ball striking the eighth row of seats. It was such a huge blast that when Ty Cobb saw where it landed he just fell to his knees.

The big finish in the first game inspired the Sox, who were all business from start to finish in the nightcap, winning it 5 to 1.

The next day they split a doubleheader with the Tigers. The Sox won the first game 7 to 2 behind Carl Mays. The run that won the game was counted in the sixth inning on a steal of home by Hooper.

Going 12-6 on the homestand, the Sox next headed down to Philadelphia, sitting in second place, just one game behind in their battle with the White Sox for the A.L. lead. In Philly, they took two of the three games. In the third game on August 17th, the A's had a 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning, but the Sox came back to win the game, 4-2.

In Cleveland the two teams split a four game series, and then it was on to Chicago. The White Sox were ahead by two games.

A doubleheader was fought on August 20th. The first game was a 7-0 blowout by the White Sox. Jack Barry's double with the bases loaded in the second inning, sealed the deal in the second game, 3 to 1. It gave Mays his 15th win.

A pitcher's battle between Ruth and Reb Russell, on August 21st, resulted in a 2-0 loss for Babe. The Red Sox won their final game, 5 to 1. Gardner had three hits and drove in two runs. So no ground was gained and the Red Sox were still two games out.

In St. Louis the Sox took two games and in Detroit the two teams split two games. Ruth with a .348 BA was leading all  Red Sox batters and was fourth in the American League batting race.

Next back home, the Philadelphia A's lost three games to the Sox at Fenway, including a doubleheader loss on August 31st. The first game was a 5-3 win that gave Ruth his 20th win of the season. They won only one game against Washington and took three of four from the Yankees.

But the White Sox were winning also, finishing August with a nine game winning streak and taking a 4 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox going into the month of September. After losing a game on September 1st, the White Sox went on another nine game winning streak.

The Sox went on the road to Philadelphia on September 5th, seven games out of first. Dutch Leonard had the A's shutout until the ninth inning, winning 2-1. The next game the Sox won 3-1, before shutting out the A's 5-0, in their third game. In Washington the Sox could only manage one win.

At the Polo Grounds the Red Sox won three games against the Yankees. On September 14th, Carl Mays (20-7, 1.98 ERA) won his 20th game, 6 to 5. He enjoyed the day by going 4-for-4 with his bat and knocking in three runs.

Babe Ruth (22-11, 2.04 ERA) won the next game 8 to 3. Babe blasted his second homer of the year. It soared deep into the upper tier of the right field grandstand in the ninth inning.

The third win on September 17th, was won 6-1. Leonard (16-14, 1.99 ERA) allowed five scattered hits.

Back at Fenway, the Tigers held the Sox to two runs in three games and took them all. Then the White Sox came to town and knocked the Red Sox out of the race, if they weren't out of it already. On September 21st a 2 to 1 loss in 10 innings, put the White Sox up by 10 1/2 games. The White Sox would win the American League flag with 100 wins. The Red Sox finished with a 90-62 record in second place.

Babe Ruth finished the season by shutting out the White Sox 3-0 on September 24th and then beat the Browns 11-0 on September 29th. He went 3-for-3 with a double in that game and finished the year with a .325 BA. On the mound he finished 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA.