History of the World (Series) Began in 1903
Baseball's postseason is upon us as October is fast approaching. Ever wonder how this all started? In mid-September of 1903, the owner of the Pittsburg Pirates, Barney Dreyfuss, issued a challenge to Boston Americans owner, Henry Killilea, to a best of nine series to be played at the conclusion of the regular season. The Americans, champions of the 3 year old upstart American League, agreed and history was about to be made. Still, there were road bumps to navigate over and around, like the fact that Boston’s player contracts expired on September 30th, while Pittsburg’s ended on October 15th. (Apologies to those offended by the spelling of the Steel City, but in 1903, it was Pittsburg. For details on that, you can look it up for yourself, if s o inclined.) Plus the usual injuries and such; the Pirates’ Sam Leever, 25-7 and league leading 2.06 ERA, had been out since early September due to a hunting accident. Their third hurler, Ed Doheny, was, as it turns out, in the middle of