May 8, 1901: The Panic of 1901

E.H. Harriman

May 17, 1901: The New York Stock Exchange has its 1st crash. It becomes known as the Panic of 1901.

Today, people know Edward Henry Harriman from his citation by Woodcock, the guardian of the safe on the Union Pacific Railroad trains robbed by the title characters in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But he was the chairman of UP, and the father of future New York Governor and Ambassador Averell Harriman. His attempt to buy the Northern Pacific Railway, in an attempt to monopolize rail service from Chicago on west, was the main cause of the Panic of 1901.

On May 8, stock in the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad declined. St. Paul Fire & Marine, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and Union Pacific followed. Panic selling ensued. A rumor spread that J.P. Morgan's main broker, Arthur Housman, had died, causing more selling. Housman was notified, and brought to the exchange floor, which signaled that The House of Morgan was still doing business.

One railroad not seriously affected by the Panic was the Northern Pacific, owned by James J. Hill, who was allied with Morgan. Hill and Harriman teamed up, and formed Northern Securities, to run both of their railroads. It immediately became the 2nd-most valuable corporation in America, behind United States Steel, which Morgan had recently bought from Andrew Carnegie. Northern Securities was broken up by a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1904.

Housman died in 1907, the year of the next Wall Street "panic." Harriman died in 1909, Morgan in 1913, Hill in 1916. None of them lived to see the Crash of 1929.

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May 8, 1901 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-8 at the 1890-1911 version of the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Superbas lost to the Boston Beaneaters, 7-6 in 12 innings at the 1894-1914 version of the South End Grounds in Boston. Hall-of-Famer Kid Nichols pitched the last 3 innings for the win. The Superbas became the Dodgers in 1911. From 1914 to 1931, they were managed by Wilbert Robinson, and were the Brooklyn Robins. After that, they went back to being the Brooklyn Dodgers.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Orphans, 8-7 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. Honus Wagner went 1-for-5. For 22 seasons, Adrian Anson was the 1st baseman for the team originally known as the Chicago White Stockings. He became their Captain and manager, and was nicknamed Cap. As he got older, he was nicknamed Pop. The team was renamed the Chicago Colts in 1890, because they were so young. Anson retired after the 1897 season, and the team was renamed the Orphans, because "they missed their Pop." In 1903, they again embraced youth, and became the Chicago Cubs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 14-3 at at League Park in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 5-1 at Oriole Park in Baltimore. Hall-of-Famer Joe McGinnity was the winning pitcher. Those Orioles folded at the end of the 1902 season, and were replaced by the New York Highlanders, who became the Yankees in 1913. The original AL Orioles and the Yankees are separate franchises.

* The Boston Americans beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 12-4 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. Cy Young was the winning pitcher. The Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Bluebirds, 3-1 at the 1891-1908 version of League Park in Cleveland. The Bluebirds became the Bronchos the next season, then acquired Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, and renamed themselves the Cleveland Naps in 1903. He left after 1914, and they became the Cleveland Indians, becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* And the Detroit Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers, were rained out at the Lloyd Street Grounds in Milwaukee. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 4. The Brewers won the opener, 4-3 in 11 innings; and also won the nightcap, 11-4. The Brewers moved the next season, becoming the St. Louis Browns, and they became the new Baltimore Orioles in 1954.