1914 World Series Game 1

Lore & Background

The 'Miracle Braves' were in last place on July 4, then won the National League pennant by 10+1⁄2 games. The Braves' relatively unknown starting trio of pitchers, with a combined career record of 285–245, outperformed the Athletics' vaunted rotation (929–654) in all four games. Hank Gowdy hit .545 (6 of 11) with five extra-base hits and also drew five walks for Boston in the series and made the difference in Games 1 and 3. Adding to their supposed disadvantages, the Braves arguably lacked a notable home-field advantage. They had abandoned their 43-year-old home field South End Grounds in August 1914, choosing to rent from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park while awaiting construction of Braves Field (1915). Thus their home games in this Series were also at Fenway. This was the first official four-game sweep in World Series history. The Chicago Cubs had defeated the Detroit Tigers four games to none in 1907, but Game 1 had ended in a tie before the Cubs won the next four in a row. At least one publication, To Every Thing a Season by Bruce Kuklick, has suggested other factors that might have contributed to the sweep, noting that some of the A's may have been irritated at the penny-pinching ways of their manager/owner Connie Mack and thus did not play hard, and also noting the heavy wagering against Philadelphia placed by entertainer George M. Cohan through bookmaker Sport Sullivan, who was also implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Chief Bender and Eddie Plank jumped to the rival Federal League for the 1915 season. Mack unloaded most of his other high-priced stars soon after and, within two years, the A's posted the worst winning percentage in modern history (even worse than the 1962 New York Mets and the 2024 Chicago White Sox).

In Their Own Story

The autumn air hung heavy over Shibe Park as the crowd settled in for the opening contest. The dirt infield was packed hard from weeks of play, reflecting the late afternoon sun onto the wool uniforms of the Boston men. A hush fell over the stands when the Braves took the field, knowing they faced a Philadelphia team that had been building toward this moment for years.

Reader's Guide

Game 1: After having won 26 games, Dick Rudolph scattered five hits while striking out eight as the Braves won the opener in convincing fashion against the Athletics' ace, Chief Bender. Catcher Hank Gowdy had a single, double and triple as well as a walk in leading Boston's offensive attack. He was also on the back end of a double steal in the eighth inning, with Butch Schmidt's steal of home the Braves' final run. Game 2: Bill James, Boston's other 26-game winner, hooked up against Philadelphia's Eddie Plank in a classic pitcher's duel. James allowed only three base runners in the first eight innings, picking off two of them in holding Philadelphia scoreless. Plank matched him until the ninth, when Amos Strunk lost Charlie Deal's fly ball in the sun for a double. Deal then stole third, and scored on a two-out single by Les Mann. James walked two batters in the ninth, but got Eddie Murphy to ground into a game-ending double play to give Boston a 2–0 advantage in the series coming back home to Fenway. Game 3: Lefty Tyler of the Braves went up against Bullet Joe Bush in a 12-inning thriller. Frank 'Home Run' Baker's two-out single in the tenth plated two runs to give the Athletics a 4–2 lead and a seeming victory to get them back in the series. But Hank Gowdy led off the bottom of the tenth with a home run, and the Braves then tied the game on Joe Connolly's sacrifice fly later in the inning. Game 2 winner Bill James, coming on in relief for Boston in the 11th, earned the win after Gowdy led off the bottom of the 12th with a double and pinch-runner Les Mann scored when Bush threw wildly to third on Herbie Moran's bunt, giving the Braves a commanding 3–0 series lead. Game 4: Johnny Evers' two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth broke a 1–1 tie and the collective backs of the heavily favored Athletics as the 'Miracle Braves' completed their improbable sweep. Game 1 winner Dick Rudolph allowed only one base-runner after Evers' tie-breaking hit and struck out seven in notching his second win of the series. The powerful A's were held to a .172 team batting average and no home runs in the series.

Did You Know?

• The 1914 World Series was the first official four-game sweep in World Series history.
• The Braves played their home games in the 1914 World Series at Fenway Park, rented from the Boston Red Sox.
• Hank Gowdy hit .545 (6 of 11) with five extra-base hits and five walks in the series.
• Chief Bender and Eddie Plank jumped to the rival Federal League for the 1915 season after the series.