The ''Chronicle-Telegraph'' Cup was the trophy awarded to the winner of a postseason competition in American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

in 1900. The series, played only once, was a precursor to the current

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

. The

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

The name of Pittsburgh at this time was often spelled without the 'h'. finished in second place, 4½ games behind the Brooklyn Superbas, in the 1900

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

season (the only Major League in American baseball at the time). Fans of the Pittsburgh club felt their club was every bit the equal of the Brooklyn nine. While Brooklyn led the league in offense, Pirates fans claimed their team, which led the NL in strikeouts and ERA, boasted the pitching to best Brooklyn. A local newspaper, the '' Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph'', offered to award a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series between the two teams. Despite the series being held in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, which was annexed into

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1907, the Superbas prevailed, 3–1. The teams were evenly matched in most statistical categories — both totaled 15 runs apiece, batted about .230 and had comparable numbers of

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any hit (baseball), base hit on which the batting (baseball), batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error (base ...

s (neither team hit any

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s) and walks. Both teams' ERAs were below 1.30. However, Pittsburgh committed 14 errors to Brooklyn's 4, letting the Superbas win by comfortable margins. Three unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning of Game 2 allowed the Superbas to break a 1–1 tie, and Pirates pitcher Sam Leever's crucial fourth-inning error in Game 4 broke the game open for Brooklyn. A 10–0 blowout behind

Deacon Phillippe Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe (originally Phillippi) (May 23, 1872 – March 30, 1952) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Born in Rural Retreat, Virginia ...

's six-hitter in Game 3 gave the Pirates their only win in the series. Pirates'

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner ( ; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955) was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nicknamed "the Flying Dutc ...

led his team in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.400), hits (6),

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s (1), RBIs (3) and

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s (2). Brooklyn's Wee Willie Keeler also cranked out 6 hits to lead his club, posting a .353 average. The Superbas' Fielder Jones had 4 RBIs. The Pirates won the next three National League pennants and played in the inaugural World Series in 1903. The Brooklyn baseball club did not win another postseason series until 1955, their first World Series championship.

The series

Game 1

''October 15, 1900'' Two future Hall of Famers faced off as NL ERA leader

Rube Waddell George Edward "Rube" Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the Nati ...

of the Pirates threw against Joe McGinnity, who led the league with 28 wins. McGinnity shut out the Pirates for eight innings before two unearned runs in the top of the ninth denied him the shutout. Waddell gave up 13 hits but only five runs, despite four errors by his fielders.

Game 2

''October 16, 1900'' Fielding flubs continued to stymie the Pirates in the second game as they held Brooklyn only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

, but allowed three unearned in the top of the sixth thanks to a series-high six errors in the field. Brooklyn hurler Frank Kitson held Pittsburgh to four hits.

Game 3

''October 17, 1900'' Pittsburgh avoided the sweep by battering Harry Howell for 13 hits — all singles — and 10 runs. It was Brooklyn's turn to hurt themselves, as seven of the 10 runs were unearned.

threw a six-hit shutout.

Game 4

''October 18, 1900'' Joe McGinnity was shaky in the final game, allowing nine hits, but the Brooklyn defense returned to form (they had the second-fewest errors in the league) as it allowed only one run to score. McGinnity did not allow an earned run in his two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

wins during the series. Three Brooklyn singles coupled with a fielding error by Pittsburgh hurler Sam Leever in the fourth inning gave the Superbas a comfortable 4–0 cushion which they would not relinquish.

Series stats

Brooklyn Superbas

Batting

Pitching

Pittsburgh Pirates

Batting

Pitching

References

* Ivor-Campbell, Frederick and Pietrusza, David, "Postseason Play" in '' Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball'', Total Sports Publishing (1989),
1900 National League
Baseball-Reference.com
''Joe McGinnity''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Baseball Biography Project

Notes

{{Pittsburgh sports Major League Baseball postseason Major League Baseball trophies and awards World Series trophies and awards 1900 Major League Baseball season Pittsburgh Pirates postseason Brooklyn Dodgers postseason October 1900 sports events in the United States

The series

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Series stats

Brooklyn Superbas

Batting

Pitching

Pittsburgh Pirates

Batting

Pitching

See also

References

Notes