Silk O'Loughlin
September 3, 1906: Before they were the New York Yankees, the New York Highlanders had a few moments of glory. Not many, but a few.
Coming into this day, they were 2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League, with 34 games to play. The Philadelphia Athletics, who had won the Pennant the year before under young manager Connie Mack (the former catcher was 43), were 5 behind the South Side ballclub. The Cleveland Naps, led by manager, 2nd baseman and slugger Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, were 7 back. There was a chance.
That was more than could be said in the National League, where the Chicago Cubs were running away with the Pennant. Frank Chance's West Siders were 13 games ahead of Honus Wagner and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was Labor Day, and, after "blue laws" prohibited Sunday baseball in some States, ballclubs were anticipating big holiday doubleheader paydays. The White Sox were to play the Naps at League Park in Cleveland, while the Highlanders were hosting the A's at Hilltop Park, in Washington Heights at 165th and Broadway, the highest elevation on Manhattan Island, which game them team its name, although with its nickname, the Hilltoppers. The name "Yankees" was also being informally used.
The New York shortstop was Norman Elberfeld, usually known as "Kid," short for "The Tabasco Kid," because he was such a hothead. A's 2nd baseman Danny Murphy stole 3rd base in the opener, and Elberfeld was sure that Murphy was out. Umpire Frank "Silk" O'Loughlin said otherwise, and the Kid lost it, and tried to kick him. He was so unsportsmanlike that even the 20,000 or so home fans, who normally loved him, turned on him. He chased O'Loughlin around the field, trying to hit him, and the police had to come onto the field and arrest Elberfeld.
"Slow" Joe Doyle started for New York, and he couldn't quite go the distance. Manager Clark Griffith, himself a former pitcher for the Cubs, brought ace Jack Chesbro in to get the last out in the top of the 9th. Jimmy Dygert started for Philadelphia, and he took a 3-3 tie into the bottom of the 9th, when Frank Delahanty, younger brother of the late star Ed Delahanty, singled Jimmy Williams home, and the Highlanders won, 4-3.
Chesbro started the 2nd game, against the man then recognized as the best pitcher in the AL, Rube Waddell. It was 3-1 A's in the bottom of the 9th, when the Highlanders tied it. A's 1st baseman Harry Davis alleged that the Yankees' best hitter, "Wee" Willie Keeler, had interfered with him on the infield single that led to the tying run.
O'Loughlin, the lone umpire in the games, generally regarded as one of the better ones -- and doomed to die in the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic -- ruled that there was no interference. Mack pulled his team off the field in protest, and O'Loughlin awarded the game to the Highlanders as a forfeit, with the official score of 9-0.
Meanwhile, 500 miles away, in Cleveland, the Naps swept the ChiSox, 10-3 and 4-3. Over the 2 games, Lajoie went 7-for-8 with an RBI. When the day was done, the Highlanders and White Sox were tied for 1st, but having played fewer games meant that the Highlanders led by 1 game in the loss column; while the A's trailed by 5 games, and the Naps by 5 1/2.
The St. Louis Browns swept the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 and 5-0 at Bennett Park in Detroit, and were now 8 1/2 back. Maybe this wasn't just a 4-team race, but a 5-team race. Far back, the Boston Americans won the 1st game of a doubleheader at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston, 3-1, with Cy Young as the winning pitcher; while the Washington Senators won the 2nd game, 6-3.
In the National League:
* The New York Giants swept the Boston Beaneaters at the Polo Grounds. They won the 1st game, 4-0, on a shutout by Christy Mathewson; and the 2nd game, 3-2 in 11 innings.
* The Brooklyn Superbas had about as good a day as you could imagine, sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-0 and 10-0, at National League Park, later known as Baker Bowl, in Philadelphia, behind shutouts by Don Scanlan and Harry McIntire.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1 and 2-1 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.
* And the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-0 at The Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati, with Ed Reulbach pitching a shutout; then were leading the 2nd game, 5-2 after 7 innings, when the game was called due to darkness.
The Americans became the Boston Red Sox in 1908. The Superbas became the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1911. The Beaneaters became the Boston Braves in 1912. The Highlanders became the New York Yankees in 1913. The Naps became the Cleveland Indians in 1915.
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