The Story of the 1912 Boston Red Sox World Series Trophy
The World Champion 1912 Boston Red Sox left an indelible mark on the game
of baseball, with two National Baseball Hall of Famers, six Boston Red Sox
Hall of Famers, and a World Series so monumental that it couldn't be kept
to a mere seven games...so they played eight. The team was the first to play
on the now hallowed ground of Fenway Park, and they gave the Park a first
outing worthy of its legendary status. This beautiful sterling silver trophy,
presented to Red Sox player/manager Jake Stahl by his teammates, is a monument
to a time when men played for the love of the game and to a franchise whose
"Red Sox Nation" still understands what that means.
The first major league baseball game to be played at Fenway Park took place
on April 20, 1912, between the Red Sox and the New York Highlanders (who later
became the Yankees). The Sox launched their new ballpark with a rousing 7-6
win. As the season progressed, that winning streak continued, with the Sox
and their ever-present "Royal Rooters" - led by Boston Mayor (and
grandfather to President John F. Kennedy) John "Honey-Fitz" Fitzgerald
and local tavern owner and Red Sox fanatic Michael T. "Nuf-Ced"
McGreevy - marching towards the American League Championship and the World
Series with a regular season record of 105-47. The 1912 roster included National
Baseball Hall of Famers Harry Hooper and Tris Speaker, and Boston Red Sox
Hall of Famers Bill Carrigan, Larry Gardner, Duffy Lewis and Smokey Joe Wood.
Though the Sox emerged as eventual champions, the 1912 World Series was
a real nail-biter, with the Sox clinching it only after reaching extra innings
in an unexpected eighth game. Indeed, the 1912 Series is the only
"best of seven" World Series to require an eighth game. (Game two
ended in a tie, called on account of darkness after eleven innings.) Four
of the eight games were decided by a single run, and two games went into extra
innings. This historic showdown also marks the first time a World Series was
decided in the last inning of the final game, or "sudden death."
John B. Forster, writing in the 1913 Spalding's Official Baseball Guide
had this to say about the series: "No individual, whether player, manager,
owner, critic or spectator, who went through the world's series of 1912 ever
will forget it. There never was another like it."
The competing New York Giants entered the post-season with a record of 103-48,
and their roster that season included pitcher Christy Mathewson, who was among
the first men to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936,
and whom even Boston newspapers hailed as "the greatest pitcher of all
time" (Boston Daily Globe, October 17, 1912). It was his teammate
Fred Snodgrass, however, who garnered more headlines at the time, for what
has come to be known as "Snodgrass' Muff." In the bottom of game
eight's final inning, Snodgrass committed an error by dropping an easy fly
ball that allowed pinch hitter Clyde Engle to reach second base. His error
did not immediately result in the Giant's loss-as Snodgrass himself lamented,
"I didn't let the tying and winning runs score; I couldn't very well,
because it happened with the first man up in the bottom of the 10th inning."
Despite his efforts to avoid any blame, the infamous "muff" has
gone down in baseball history as bringing an end to the game and the series,
and has come to define the man's career. The New York Times summed
up his life in an obituary whose headline read "Fred Snodgrass, 86, Dead;
Ball Player Muffed 1912 Fly." Ouch. It is worth noting, however, that
Snodgrass' esteemed teammate, Christy Mathewson, was kinder to Snodgrass than
his contemporaries, and freely acknowledged the ferocity of his opponents:
"As I look back upon the 1912 series, when we lost to the Boston Red
Sox, [...] the whole team collapsed under the strain."
Boston's reaction to its team's World Series victory, not unlike its reaction
to championship teams in recent years, was instant, overwhelming and infectious.
An article from the October 17, 1912 Boston Daily Globe began: "Words
were never invented that could fully describe the outburst of insane enthusiasm
that went thundering around Fenway Park yesterday afternoon as Steve Yerkes
crossed the rubber with the winning run in the 10th inning. Men hugged each
other, women became hysterical, youths threw their caps in the air, one man
in the bleachers fell in a dead faint, strong hearts lost a beat and started
off again at double time." A parade was scheduled for the day after game
eight, and in a display of team pride that rivals even today's Red Sox Nation,
the city of Boston rallied behind their champions as they made their way from
Fenway Park to Faneuil Hall, where a formal reception was held in their honor,
hosted by Mayor John "Honey-Fitz" Fitzgerald.
Before embarking on the parade route, a team photograph was taken at the
first base line of Fenway Park with "Honey-Fitz" and two identical
silver trophies, presented to manager Jake Stahl and team owner James McAleer.
The trophies were proudly displayed during the parade and also at the Faneuil
Hall reception. The current whereabouts of McAleer's trophy are unknown, but
it is believed that the trophy no longer exists, likely melted down for the
silver during the Great Depression. Stahl's trophy still remains, however,
to remind us of that historic time and place in baseball history and of the
Red Sox legacy.
This beautiful and historic sports artifact, crafted by Frank W. Smith Silversmiths
of Gardner, Massachusetts, stands 11 inches tall (14 1/8" when seated
on its custom-made stand) and is 9" wide, including the handles. It comes
atop a period round wooden stand with black lacquer finish. The trophy is
also accompanied by the original photograph by Carl Horner, taken on the first
base line of Fenway Park just before the victory parade. Horner is a photographer
well-known for capturing the images of many early 1900's ballplayers, including
the landmark shot of Honus Wagner for the famed 1909 T206 baseball card.
The 1912 Boston Red Sox World Series Trophy...a unique piece of American
history, and one of baseball's most enduring treasures.
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Top Row, Left to Right - William F. Carrigan, Joseph Quirk, Trainer,
Ray W. Collins, Larry Pape, Martin Krug, George E. Lewis, Hugh Bedient,
Leslie G. Nunamaker and Thomas J. O'Brien. Second Row, Left to Right
- Harry E. Hooper, Clyde Engle, Stephen D. Yerkes, C. D. Thomas,
Olaf Henriksen, Charles Wagner, Captain, Neal Ball and W. L. Gardner.
Bottom Row, Left to Right - Charles Hall, Hugh Bradley, Forrest
L. Cady, Mayor John F. Fitzgerald, Garland J. Stahl, Manager, James
R. McAleer, President, Tris Speaker and Joseph Wood. Jerry McCarthy,
Mascot, in Front.
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