The 1920 Brooklyn Robins, also known as the Dodgers, won 16 of their final 18 games to pull away from a tight pennant race and earn a trip to their second

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. They lost the series in seven games. The team featured four Hall of Famers: manager

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals ...

, pitchers

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

and

Rube Marquard Richard William "Rube" Marquard (October 9, 1886 – June 1, 1980) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Ba ...

, and outfielder

Zack Wheat Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Do ...

. Grimes anchored a pitching staff that allowed the fewest runs in the majors.

Offseason

* January 1920: Frank O'Rourke was purchased from the Robins by the Washington Senators. * January 12, 1920:

Mack Wheat McKinley Davis Wheat (June 9, 1893 – August 14, 1979), was a Major League Baseball catcher from 1915 to 1921. From 1915 to 1919, he was a teammate of his brother, Zack Wheat Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nickna ...

was purchased from the Robins by the Philadelphia Phillies. * March 1920: Bill Lamar was purchased by the Robins from the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Regular season

On May 1, Brooklyn and the Boston Braves played what remains the longest major league baseball game, tied 1 to 1 at the end of nine innings and then going scoreless for 17 more until the game 26-inning game was called because of darkness

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 22, 1920: Bill McCabe was purchased by the Robins from the Chicago Cubs. * July 1920: Wally Hood was purchased from the Robins by the Pittsburgh Pirates. * July 27, 1920: Doug Baird was purchased from the Robins by the New York Giants.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

League top ten finishers

* #2 in NL in strikeouts (131) * #3 in NL in wins (23) * #3 in NL in ERA (2.22)

* #4 in NL in batting average (.328) * #4 in NL in on-base percentage (.385)

1920 World Series

On October 10, 1920, which was the fifth game of the World Series, Elmer Smith of the Indians hit the first

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in World Series history. On the same day,

Bill Wambsganss William Adolf Wambsganss (March 19, 1894 – December 8, 1985) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics. He is best remembered ...

of the Indians had an

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under ...

. He caught a liner, touched second base, and tagged the runner coming from first base. During that same game, Indians pitcher Jim Bagby became the first pitcher to hit a home run in World Series history.

Game 1

October 5, 1920, at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Game 2

October 6, 1920, at

Game 3

October 7, 1920, at

Game 4

October 9, 1920, at Dunn Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 5

October 10, 1920, at Dunn Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 6

October 11, 1920, at Dunn Field in Cleveland, Ohio

Game 7

October 12, 1920, at Dunn Field in Cleveland, Ohio

References

External links

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page1920 Brooklyn Robins uniformAcme Dodgers page

Retrosheet
{{Los Angeles Dodgers * Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Brooklyn Robins season National League champion seasons Brooklyn Robins season 1920s in Brooklyn Flatbush, Brooklyn