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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM August 31, 1912 ... The largest crowd that ever saw a game at Fenway Park, estimated at 30,000 people, saw one of the classes games played of the season between the Red Sox and the world champion Philadelphia Athletics. To the supreme delight of the rooters from Boston, the Red Sox came home as 2 to 1 winners. The big grandstand was packed to overflowing and the bleachers were so jammed, that 6000 people circled the playing field, where they were held in check by a rope barrier. Women held positions of advantage on stepladders and boxes, as well as from the top of the bank in left field. All hits that went into the crowd were ruled as ground rule doubles and the Red Sox got slightly the worst of it from that enforced condition. The crowd was good-natured and delighted to see the last man go out and Boston declared the winner of the third straight game with the Athletics. The game was played without the least amount of protest, with both teams getting down to business at the start, and playing from start to finish in a smooth fashion. Jack Coombs was Connie Mack's choice to take at least one game from Boston and he pitched a great game. Manager Stahl decided to give Buck O'Brien a chance to get a win and Buck was all good. With two down in the fourth inning and Stahl at third, Buck drove a single to center to send the first run over the plate, and this one run looked large for seven full innings. The Athletics got a man to second with one out in the second inning, only to see Steve Yerkes throw the next two men out at first. When Frank Baker opened the fourth with a double, it looked like trouble. Stuffy McInnis followed with a bunt, but O'Brien played the ball to third for an out and cut off a scoring threat for that inning. The A's got into a fine position with a double steal in the sixth inning, placing men at second and third with one down. It was here that O'Brien came through and struck out McInnis and got the next man to ground out. A single by Jack Lapp and Eddie Murphy's double put men at second and third in the seventh, but then Amos Strunk hit a line drive that was pulled in by Duffy Lewis. Tris Speaker scored, what proved to be the winning run, in the eighth inning. He walked and Lewis sacrificed him to second. Speaker saw an opening and then shot for third and catcher Jack Lapp was hurried when he threw the ball to the base. Baker partially blocked the throw but Speaker was on the move and kept on going, beating the return throw to the plate, to make the score 2 to 0. The Athletics were still in the game in the ninth-inning. Jack Barry led off with a double into the crowd in left-center and Yerkes handled grounders from Lapp and Coombs, which allowed Barry to score and cut the deficit to just one run. Murphy came up and worked a pass and then shot for second but was cut down on a great throw Bill Carrigan. It was now up to Amos Strunk with the tying run at second base. Strunk smashed the ball and it went soaring into the air, working back toward the grandstand. Carrigan took off his mask and went after it, breaking through the crowd and taking the ball a yard from the front of the stands and the game was over. O'Brien's support was nothing short of remarkable. Yerkes turned in seven assists, four of which were on hits well to his left. His work was as clean and smooth as possible, with several place preventing runs. Larry Gardner had only two chances at third and both were from the bat of Jack Barry. The first was a drive well to his left that Larry nipped with his left hand on the dead run and threw Barry out at first. Gardner's second play came when Barry hit a low line drive well to his left, the ball not going more than six inches off the ground. Gardner dove out like a shot and came out of the dirt with the ball clutched in the air. The crowd and players alike yelled their appreciation of the remarkable plays. The play was enough to take a flight out of the Philly team. The Athletics scattered their six hits throughout five innings. Coombs passed only two men and one of those scored, while the five walked by O'Brien gained nothing. The victory gave the Red Sox 13 wins in the 19 games played with Philadelphia. |
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