1903 New York Highlanders season
The Highlanders' first season, finishing 4th in the AL.
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The 1903 New York Highlanders season was the franchise's first, replacing the defunct Baltimore Orioles in the American League. Managed by Clark Griffith, the club played its home games at Hilltop Park and finished in 4th place with a 72–62 record. This was the inaugural season for the team later known as the New York Yankees.
Team name
The media called the team "Highlanders" because they played at one of the highest points on Manhattan, known as "The Hilltop," which was uphill from the Polo Grounds in Coogan's Hollow. Some writers, likely favoring the Giants, derisively referred to the club as "Invaders" in 1903. The press also used the alternate nickname "Yankees," a synonym for "American" and short for American Leaguers. This name may have been influenced by the popular George M. Cohan Broadway play "Little Johnny Jones" and its song "Yankee Doodle Dandy.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: 1903 New York Highlanders season (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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