Chicago’s Cubs, three times national champions, won the world’s championship, beating the Tigers 2 to 0 in a fast, hard-fought game.
By winning yesterday Chance’s team accomplished a feat never before performed in baseball — and climaxed their wonderful fight to retain their title by a grandly won victory.
Detroit, driven to bay, desperate and fighting for the remnants of honor, sent Wild Bill Donovan back to the slab in the faint hope that he would stop the champions, but there was not a chance. Donovan’s arm had weakened under the strain of his brilliant attempt to hold the Cubs on Sunday, and yesterday he was forced to resort to trickery and slow curves. Twice, at opportune times, the Cubs landed on him and manufactured two runs, enough with one to spare.
Chance, determined to finish the series yesterday and clinch the championship beyond peradventure of a reasonable doubt, chose “Big Jeff” Overall to pitch. All during the morning he hesitated between Overall and Reulbach, but Reulbach’s arm was stiff from the effects of pitching in the rain on the opening day of the series, and Chance decided upon Overall. Jenning chose Donovan. It was a despairing chance, for he knew that Donovan’s terrific speed was lost, and yet he hoped that Wild Bill’s experience and trickery would carry him through.
Donovan pitched one of the cleverest, headiest games of the series. The terrific speed with which he dazzled the Cubs during the early stages of Sunday’s game was entirely missing. He used a slow, underhand, sidearm ball, a curve more or less fast and occasionally a flash of speed, and against him Overall cut loose the grandest array of curves yet shown in the series. His fast drop ball was breaking like a flash, and the batters who swung at it missed it a foot or more. His speed was wonderful and the break of a fast ball made it unhittable. He pitched almost a faultless game of ball.
Mechanical skill wins
There was little of the grand brain work and generalship of the previous day in the battle. This time it was mechanical skill and the Cubs showed that they are the best ball club in America by their wonderful execution. Only once did either team blunder in performing infield feats, and that was because Overall was too good. In the first inning he struck out a batter, and the curve that fooled him into swinging for the third time was so fast and broke so quickly and so low that it escaped Kilng entirely, and went on to the stands, filling the bases with two men out. That was the only chance the Tigers had to win, and Overall killed that opportunity by whipping three fast curves across the plate and striking out the next batter, leaving three Tigers standing still on the bases.
In every crisis of the game, whenever the Tigers even threatened to score, Overall began breaking his fast curve across — and the result was that they were helpless. He had an ace in the hole all the time and he used it whenever he needed it.
Detroit is in mourning. Not a house has been burned down and not a bonfire lighted. The claws of the Tiger have been clipped for good and all — and Ursa Minor shines brightly over the city.
Chance has great team
A perfect baseball day, one of the most glorious of Indian summer, was vouchsafed the teams for the final struggle of the series. The players took little account of the attendance — but almost 7,000 fans were out to witness the final battle. Tuesday’s struggle convinced the Michiganders that Chance has the grandest team in the world, and yet the throng poured out attend the obsequies and see the Cubs give the coup de grace to the wounded and desperate Tiger.
All was as friendly and mild and as pleasant as possible. The crowd was docile and appreciative. It came expecting defeat and was not disappointed. At times when Overall hurried and gave the Tigers a chance to drive home runs with hits the crowd waxed noisy, but mainly it rooted for the Cubs and applauded the grand work of the champions.
Detroit’s better chances
Nor was it an easy game to win. Detroit had as many chances and even better chances to score than did the Cubs. In the first, or in the fifth inning, a safe drive, or an error would have put them on even terms, or perhaps put them ahead. Donovan did not have much, but with every ounce of force in his being he was trying to keep the Cubs from running away with the game.
And through it all he managed to hold them within striking distance, and gave them a chance to win. It was not the fault of Donovan that the Tigers lost. Had they been able to score off Overall and break the grand defense of the Cubs, he would have given them victory. Pitching brainy, skillful and clever ball all the way, he managed to keep down the score of the champions in spite of their hitting, to keep their hits scattered and to keep Detroit hopeful until the last man went out. He could not stop Chance and Evers, and the slashing hits of these two forced runs across the plate and Chicago won.
The fielding of the champions was lean, fast and machine-like. Chance had his old pennant-winning machine working at top speed again and it was irresistible. Twice Sheckard, by wonderful exhibitions of playing position for batters, “just happened” to be there when hard drives were slammed into his field.
Chicago went away in the lead, and in the first inning it looked as though the Cubs would run away with the game. Evers, Chance and Schulte singled in succession and one run came home. Armed with the lead of one, the Cubs rolled along in clean fashion. Donovan was holding them in check and stopping the scoring, but in the fifth, with two men on bases, Evers turned on a fast pitch and smashed a line fly to center left field. The hit was perfectly placed and out of reach of both fielders who were playing him, one near the foul line and one over in right, and the ball, safe for a two-bagger, sent Kling across the plate with the second run of the game.
Cubs take liberties
After they got that lead the Cubs boldly attempted to take liberties with the Tigers to increase their lead, but it did not work. Schmidt and Schaefer cut them down on the bases, and their attempts to increase their score by bold base running yielded them nothing.
There was only one time during the entire battle that the Tigers grew dangerous — and that was in the last half of the fifth — and then the luck of the game turned their way and came near allowing the Michiganders to oven up the account. The start was bad, for Coughlin hit a slow, easy bounder down toward third. Steinfeldt had just set himself to grab the ball and throw the runner out when it struck a lump of limestone a quarter of an inch in diameter, took a quick side bound, and almost got past third base, Steinfeldt jumping sideways and blocking the ball with one hand. That minute remnant of the paleozoic age came near putting the Tigers on even terms, for later McIntyre, slashing wildly at a fast curve, hit a screaming bounder straight over first base. Chance hurled himself wildly at the ball but couldn’t reach it, and there were runners on second and third and only one out, with the revived hopes of Detroit voicing themself in vociferous outbursts of boise. But the noise soon stilled, for when O’Leary lifted a short fly to center, Hofman drove the ball to Kling so fast that Coughlin was forced to turn and flee back to third, diving to keep Kling from catching him off the base. And the next man, the mighty Crawford, took three healthy swings at Overall’s unhittable shoots and closed the incident.
Toward the end Overall had the Tigers tamed and eating out of his hand, and finally when Kling caught a cheap fould fly. Chance tied the fourth knot in the Tiger’s tail and made good his promise to bring to Chicago another world’s championship.
