1903 New York Highlanders | |
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League | American League |
Ballpark | Hilltop Park |
City | New York City |
Owners | William Devery and Frank Farrell |
Managers | Clark Griffith |
The New York Highlanders' 1903 season was the team's first. The team was founded as a replacement in the American League for the defunct Baltimore Orioles, and was managed by Clark Griffith and played its home games at Hilltop Park (formally "American League Park"). The club was at first officially the "Greater New York" baseball club, in deference to the established New York Giants, which were based in the Polo Grounds. This was the first season for the franchise that would be later known as the now-storied New York Yankees. They finished in 4th place in the AL with a record of 72–62.
The media dubbed the team as "Highlanders", due in part to playing at one of the highest points on Manhattan ("The Hilltop"), which was somewhat higher in altitude than the bulk of Manhattan and was considerably "uphill" from the Polo Grounds, the Giants' established home, which sat in the bottomland in Coogan's Hollow, a few blocks east and south of the Hilltop.
"Highlanders" was also originally short for "Gordon's Highlanders", a play on the name of the team President during 1903–1906, Joseph Gordon, along with the noted British military unit called The Gordon Highlanders. The club was also derisively called "Invaders" in 1903, presumably by writers favorable to the Giants.
The New York press was creative with analogous nicknames for teams. In addition to "Highlanders", the team would soon acquire the alternate nickname "Yankees", the name that would soon become official and more famous among baseball fans in the coming decades. That word is a synonym for "American" in general, and short for American Leaguers or "Americans" in this case. Given the media's penchant for citing popular culture, that nickname was also possibly influenced by the then-current and hugely popular America-centric George M. Cohan Broadway play, "Little Johnny Jones", and its centerpiece song, "Yankee Doodle Dandy". New York writers had similarly coined both the established nickname Brooklyn "[Trolley] Dodgers" and the nickname "Superbas" that the denizens of Flatbush carried for a while. As with the Highlanders, the latter was based on something unrelated, namely a circus act called "Hanlon's Superbas"; the Dodgers were managed by Ned Hanlon at that time.
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Boston Americans | 91 | 47 | 0.659 | — | 49–20 | 42–27 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 75 | 60 | 0.556 | 14½ | 44–21 | 31–39 |
Cleveland Naps | 77 | 63 | 0.550 | 15 | 49–25 | 28–38 |
New York Highlanders | 72 | 62 | 0.537 | 17 | 41–26 | 31–36 |
Detroit Tigers | 65 | 71 | 0.478 | 25 | 37–28 | 28–43 |
St. Louis Browns | 65 | 74 | 0.468 | 26½ | 38–32 | 27–42 |
Chicago White Stockings | 60 | 77 | 0.438 | 30½ | 41–28 | 19–49 |
Washington Senators | 43 | 94 | 0.314 | 47½ | 29–40 | 14–54 |
Sources: | |||||||||||||
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Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYH | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
Boston | — | 14–6 | 12–8 | 10–9–1 | 13–7 | 13–6 | 14–6 | 15–5–2 | |||||
Chicago | 6–14 | — | 10–10 | 10–9 | 7–11–1 | 6–14 | 9–11 | 12–8 | |||||
Cleveland | 8–12 | 10–10 | — | 9–11 | 14–6 | 9–11 | 11–9 | 16–4 | |||||
Detroit | 9–10–1 | 9–10 | 11–9 | — | 10–9 | 11–9 | 6–14 | 9–10 | |||||
New York | 7–13 | 11–7–1 | 6–14 | 9–10 | — | 10–8–1 | 15–5 | 14–5 | |||||
Philadelphia | 6–13 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 9–11 | 8–10–1 | — | 11–8 | 16–3–1 | |||||
St. Louis | 6–14 | 11–9 | 9–11 | 14–6 | 5–15 | 8–11 | — | 12–8 | |||||
Washington | 5–15–2 | 8–12 | 4–16 | 10–9 | 5–14 | 3–16–1 | 8–12 | — |
1903 New York Highlanders | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Monte Beville | 82 | 258 | 50 | .194 | 0 | 29 |
1B | John Ganzel | 129 | 476 | 132 | .277 | 3 | 71 |
2B | Jimmy Williams | 132 | 502 | 134 | .267 | 3 | 82 |
3B | Wid Conroy | 126 | 503 | 137 | .272 | 1 | 45 |
SS | Kid Elberfeld | 90 | 349 | 100 | .287 | 0 | 45 |
OF | Willie Keeler | 132 | 512 | 160 | .313 | 0 | 32 |
OF | Herm McFarland | 103 | 362 | 88 | .243 | 5 | 45 |
OF | Lefty Davis | 104 | 372 | 88 | .237 | 0 | 25 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Fultz | 79 | 295 | 66 | .224 | 0 | 25 |
Jack O'Connor | 64 | 212 | 43 | .203 | 0 | 12 |
Herman Long | 22 | 80 | 15 | .188 | 0 | 8 |
Ernie Courtney | 25 | 79 | 21 | .266 | 1 | 8 |
Pat McCauley | 6 | 19 | 1 | .053 | 0 | 1 |
Jack Zalusky | 7 | 16 | 5 | .313 | 0 | 1 |
Paddy Greene | 4 | 13 | 4 | .308 | 0 | 0 |
Tim Jordan | 2 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
Fred Holmes | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Jack Chesbro | 40 | 324.2 | 21 | 15 | 2.77 | 147 |
Jesse Tannehill | 32 | 239.2 | 15 | 15 | 3.27 | 106 |
Clark Griffith | 25 | 213.0 | 14 | 11 | 2.70 | 69 |
Barney Wolfe | 20 | 148.1 | 6 | 9 | 2.97 | 48 |
John Deering | 9 | 60.0 | 4 | 3 | 3.75 | 14 |
Snake Wiltse | 4 | 25.0 | 0 | 3 | 5.40 | 6 |
Eddie Quick | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harry Howell | 25 | 155.2 | 9 | 6 | 3.53 | 62 |
Ambrose Puttmann | 3 | 19.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.95 | 8 |
Doc Adkins | 2 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elmer Bliss | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
The 1904 New York Highlanders season, the team's second, finished with the team in second place in the American League with a record of 92–59. The team was managed by Clark Griffith and played home games at Hilltop Park.
The 1908 New York Highlanders season finished with the team in eighth place in the American League with a record of 51–103. Their home games were played at Hilltop Park.
The 1909 New York Highlanders season saw the team finishing with a total of 74 wins and 77 losses, coming in fifth in the American League.
The 1910 New York Highlanders season saw the team finishing with a total of 88 wins and 63 losses, coming in second in the American League.
The 1911 New York Highlanders season saw the team finishing with a total of 76 wins and 76 losses, coming in sixth in the American League.
The 1912 New York Highlanders season was the team's tenth. It was the final season for the "Highlanders" nickname, before officially adopting the already more common "Yankees" name. It was also their final season playing their home games at Hilltop Park. The team finished with a total of 50 wins and 102 losses, coming in 8th, last place in the American League. The club was managed by Harry Wolverton. The New York franchise would not finish in last place again until the 1966 season. To date, this remains the second and last 100-loss season in Yankees history, the other being a few years prior in 1908. After previously appearing on the team's caps, jackets, and even the sleeves of the uniform, this was the first season that the famous "NY" logo would appear on the front of the jerseys.
The 1913 New York Yankees season was the club's eleventh. This was their first season exclusively using the "Yankees" name. The team finished with a record of 57–94, coming in seventh place in the American League. The team also moved into the Polo Grounds which they would share with the New York Giants until 1923.
The 1916 New York Yankees season was the club's 14th season. The team finished with a record of 80–74 for their first winning season as the Yankees finishing 11 games behind the American League champion Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Bill Donovan. Their home games were played at the Polo Grounds. This would be the final season that the famous "NY" logo would appear on the front of the jerseys until 1936.
The 1963 New York Yankees season was the 61st season for the team. The team finished with a record of 104–57, winning their 28th pennant, finishing 10+1⁄2 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Ralph Houk.
The 1955 Baltimore Orioles season was the second season played in Baltimore. It involved the Orioles finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 57 wins and 97 losses, 39 games behind the AL champion New York Yankees. The team was managed by first-year manager Paul Richards and played their home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
The 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers held off the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National League title by one game. The Dodgers lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in five games.
The 1912 Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers finished in seventh place with a 65–76 record.
The 1908 Brooklyn Superbas suffered through another poor season, finishing in seventh place. After the season, manager Patsy Donovan was fired. The club set a Major League record which still stands, for the fewest doubles by a team in a season, with only 110. The Superbas hit only .213 as a team, second lowest in the modern era after the 1910 Chicago White Sox. No regulars hit .250, Tim Jordan led the team with a .247 batting average.
The 1906 Brooklyn Superbas saw Patsy Donovan take over as the team's manager. However, another poor season led to a fifth-place finish.
The 1905 Brooklyn Superbas fell to last place with a franchise-worst 48–104 record, costing manager Ned Hanlon his job.
The 1904 Brooklyn Superbas finished in sixth place with a 65–97 record.
The 1899 Brooklyn Superbas season was the 16th season of the current-day Dodgers franchise and the ninth season in the National League. The team won the National League pennant with a record of 101–47, 8 games ahead of the Boston Beaneaters, after finishing tenth in 1898.
The 1937 New York Giants season was the franchise's 55th season. The Giants won the National League pennant. The team went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series, four games to one.
The 1899 New York Giants season was the franchise's 17th season. The team finished in tenth place in the National League with a 60–90 record, 42 games behind the Brooklyn Superbas.
The 1941 New York Giants season was the franchise's 59th season. The team finished in fifth place in the National League with a 74–79 record, 25½ games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.