1915 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1915 MLB season
League
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 14 – October 7, 1915 (AL, NL)
  • April 10 – October 3, 1915 (FL)
World Series (AL vs. NL):
  • October 8–13, 1915
Number of games154
Number of teams24 (8 per league)
Pennant winners
AL champions Boston Red Sox
  AL runners-up Detroit Tigers
NL champions Philadelphia Phillies
  NL runners-up Boston Braves
FL champions Chicago Whales
  FL runners-up St. Louis Terriers
World Series
Champions Boston Red Sox (AL)
  Runners-up Philadelphia Phillies (NL)
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1915–1922 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1915 National League season
ButtonBlue.svg National League
Locations of teams for the 1915 Federal League season
ButtonGreen.svg Federal League

The 1915 major league baseball season began on April 10, 1915. The Federal League regular season ended on October 3, and saw the Chicago Whales winning the Federal League pennant. The regular season for the National League and American League ended on October 7, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 12th World Series on October 8 and ended with Game 5 on October 13. The Red Sox defeated the Phillies, four games to one, capturing their third championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1912. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the Boston Braves from the 1914 season. The World Series had again featured the cities of Boston and Philadelphia, though this time with their opposite-league counterparts.

Contents

The Indianapolis Hoosiers relocated to Newark, New Jersey as the Newark Peppers. The Buffalo Buffeds, Chicago Federals, and Cleveland Naps renamed as the Buffalo Blues, Chicago Whales, and Cleveland Indians, respectively.

The Federal League brought an antitrust lawsuit against the National and American Leagues prior to the 1915 season. The parties eventually reached a settlement and the Federal League disbanded after the season.

The major-league status of the Federal League was confirmed by the Special Baseball Records Committee (as convened by then-Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert) in 1969. [1]

Schedule

The 1915 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League, National League, and Federal League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place for the 1904 season, and which lasted until the 140-game schedule of 1919. Most teams played more than 154 games, due to tie games (called on account of darkness or weather) that had to be replayed; [2] tie games are excluded from team standings, but the statistics of individual players are included in their season totals.

The Federal League had its Opening Day on April 10, featuring all eight teams. [3] Opening Day for the American and National Leagues was on April 14, featuring the 16 teams of those two leagues, [4] as had been scheduled the season prior. The Federal League had the final day of its regular season on October 3. [5] The final day of the regular season for the National and American Leagues was October 7. [6] The World Series took place between October 8 and October 13. [7]

Rule change

The National League established that player-managers would count against the player limit, so the bench manager would be unable to insert himself in any game during the season without forfeiting the right to carry one of the players on his roster. The penalty for violating the rule was forfeiture of the game. [8]

Teams

An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager [9]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,000 Bill Carrigan
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 28,000 Pants Rowland
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio League Park 21,414 Joe Birmingham
Lee Fohl
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Navin Field 23,000 Hughie Jennings
New York Yankees New York, New York Brush Stadium 34,000 Bill Donovan
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 23,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 18,000 Branch Rickey
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 27,000 Clark Griffith
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 35,000 George Stallings
Braves Field*40,000*
Brooklyn Robins New York, New York Ebbets Field 30,000 Wilbert Robinson
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois West Side Park 16,000 Roger Bresnahan
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Redland Field 20,696 Buck Herzog
New York Giants New York, New York Brush Stadium 34,000 John McGraw
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania National League Park 18,000 Pat Moran
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 25,000 Fred Clarke
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Robison Field 21,000 Miller Huggins
Federal League Baltimore Terrapins Baltimore, Maryland Terrapin Park 16,000 Otto Knabe
Brooklyn Tip-Tops New York, New York Washington Park 18,800 Lee Magee
John Ganzel
Buffalo Blues Buffalo, New York Federal League Park 20,000 Larry Schlafly
Walter Blair
Harry Lord
Chicago Whales Chicago, Illinois Weeghman Park 15,000 Joe Tinker
Kansas City Packers Kansas City, Missouri Gordon and Koppel Field 12,000 George Stovall
Newark Peppers Newark, New Jersey Harrison Park 21,000 Bill Phillips
Bill McKechnie
Pittsburgh Rebels Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Exposition Park 16,000 Rebel Oakes
St. Louis Terriers St. Louis, Missouri Handlan's Park 15,000 Fielder Jones

Standings

American League

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 10150.669—55‍–‍2046‍–‍30
Detroit Tigers 10054.6492½51‍–‍2649‍–‍28
Chicago White Sox 9361.6049½54‍–‍2439‍–‍37
Washington Senators 8568.5561750‍–‍2935‍–‍39
New York Yankees 6983.45432½37‍–‍4332‍–‍40
St. Louis Browns 6391.40939½35‍–‍3828‍–‍53
Cleveland Indians 5795.37544½27‍–‍5030‍–‍45
Philadelphia Athletics 43109.28358½19‍–‍5324‍–‍56

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Philadelphia Phillies 9062.592—49‍–‍2741‍–‍35
Boston Braves 8369.546749‍–‍2734‍–‍42
Brooklyn Robins 8072.5261051‍–‍2629‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 7380.47717½42‍–‍3431‍–‍46
Pittsburgh Pirates 7381.4741840‍–‍3733‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals 7281.47118½42‍–‍3630‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds 7183.4612039‍–‍3732‍–‍46
New York Giants 6983.4542137‍–‍3832‍–‍45

Federal League

Federal League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago Whales 8666.566—44‍–‍3242‍–‍34
St. Louis Terriers 8767.565—43‍–‍3444‍–‍33
Pittsburgh Rebels 8667.562½45‍–‍3141‍–‍36
Kansas City Packers 8172.5295½46‍–‍3135‍–‍41
Newark Peppers 8072.526640‍–‍3940‍–‍33
Buffalo Blues 7478.4871237‍–‍4037‍–‍38
Brooklyn Tip-Tops 7082.4611634‍–‍4036‍–‍42
Baltimore Terrapins 47107.3054024‍–‍5123‍–‍56

Postseason

The postseason began on October 8 and ended on October 13 with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1915 World Series in five games. The National and American Leagues refused a postseason against the Federal League.

Bracket

World Series
   
AL Boston Red Sox 4
NL Philadelphia Phillies 1
1915 schedule of the Federal League Federal League Schedule 1915.jpg
1915 schedule of the Federal League

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Tip-Tops Bill Bradley Lee Magee
Chicago Cubs Hank O'Day Roger Bresnahan
Chicago White Sox Jimmy Callahan Pants Rowland
New York Yankees Roger Peckinpaugh Bill Donovan
Philadelphia Phillies Red Dooin Pat Moran

In-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Tip-Tops Lee Magee John Ganzel
Buffalo Blues Larry Schlafly Walter Blair
Walter Blair Harry Lord
Cleveland Indians Joe Birmingham Lee Fohl
Newark Peppers Bill Phillips Bill McKechnie

League leaders

Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

American League

Hitting leaders [10]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Ty Cobb (DET).369
OPS Ty Cobb (DET).973
HR Braggo Roth (CLE/ CWS )7
RBI Sam Crawford (DET)
Bobby Veach (DET)		112
R Ty Cobb (DET)144
H Ty Cobb (DET)208
SB Ty Cobb (DET)96
Pitching leaders [11]
StatPlayerTotal
W Walter Johnson (WSH)27
L Weldon Wyckoff (PHA)22
ERA Smoky Joe Wood (BRS)1.49
K Walter Johnson (WSH)203
IP Walter Johnson (WSH)336.2
SV Carl Mays (BRS)7
WHIP Walter Johnson (WSH)0.933

National League

Hitting leaders [12]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Larry Doyle (NYG).320
OPS Gavvy Cravath (PHP).902
HR Gavvy Cravath (PHP)24
RBI Gavvy Cravath (PHP)115
R Gavvy Cravath (PHP)89
H Larry Doyle (NYG)189
SB Max Carey (PIP)36
Pitching leaders [13]
StatPlayerTotal
W Grover Alexander 1 (PHP)31
L Dick Rudolph (BSB)
Pete Schneider (CIN)		19
ERA Grover Alexander 1 (PHP)1.22
K Grover Alexander 1 (PHP)241
IP Grover Alexander (PHP)376.1
SV Tom Hughes (BSB)9
WHIP Grover Alexander (PHP)0.842

1 National League Triple Crown pitching winner

Federal League

Hitting leaders [14]
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Benny Kauff (BTT).342
OPS Benny Kauff (BTT).955
HR Hal Chase (BUF)17
RBI Dutch Zwilling (CHW)94
R Babe Borton (SLT)97
H Jack Tobin (SLT)184
SB Benny Kauff (BTT)55
Pitching leaders [15]
StatPlayerTotal
W George McConnell (CHW)25
L Jack Quinn (BAL)22
ERA Earl Moseley (NWK)1.91
K Dave Davenport (SLT)229
IP Dave Davenport (SLT)392.2
SV Hugh Bedient (BUF)10
WHIP Dave Davenport (SLT)0.991

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
Boston Red Sox [16] 10111.0%539,88512.2%7,104
Chicago White Sox [17] 9332.9%539,46115.0%6,829
Detroit Tigers [18] 10025.0%476,10514.4%6,183
Philadelphia Phillies [19] 9021.6%449,898224.9%5,920
New York Giants [20] 69-17.9%391,8507.6%5,156
Boston Braves [21] 83-11.7%376,283-1.7%4,824
Brooklyn Robins [22] 806.7%297,766142.7%3,818
New York Yankees [23] 69-1.4%256,035-28.8%3,122
St. Louis Cardinals [24] 72-11.1%252,666-1.3%3,119
Pittsburgh Pirates [25] 735.8%225,74361.7%2,858
Cincinnati Reds [26] 7118.3%218,878117.2%2,771
Chicago Cubs [27] 73-6.4%217,0587.2%2,819
Washington Senators [28] 854.9%167,332-31.4%2,092
Cleveland Indians [29] 5711.8%159,285-14.4%2,069
St. Louis Browns [30] 63-11.3%150,358-38.6%1,978
Philadelphia Athletics [31] 43-56.6%146,223-57.8%1,976

Note: Attendance data for Federal League teams is unavailable.

Events

References

  1. ↑ Thorn, John (May 4, 2015). "Why Is the National Association Not a Major League … and Other Records Issues". Our Game. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. ↑ "The 1915 Season". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Events of Saturday, April 10, 1915". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Events of Wednesday, April 14, 1915". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Events of Sunday, October 3, 1915". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Events of Thursday, October 7, 1915". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ "The 1915 Post-Season Games". Retrosheet . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ Stern, Travis. "1914 Winter Meetings: Wars at Home and Abroad – Society for American Baseball Research" . Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1915 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "1915 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ "1915 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  12. ↑ "1915 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  13. ↑ "1915 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  14. ↑ "1915 Federal League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  15. ↑ "1915 Federal League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  23. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Cleveland Guardians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  32. ↑ Pellowski, Michael J (2007). The Little Giant Book of Baseball Facts . United States: Sterling Publishing Co. pp.  352. ISBN   9781402742736.
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