October 2, 1908: Ed Walsh vs. Addie Joss

Addie Joss (left) and Ed Walsh

October 2, 1908:  In a wild 3-team American League race, every bit as tight as the 3-team race going on in the National League at the same time, the AL has perhaps its greatest pitching duel ever, between 2 future Hall-of-Famers, at League Park in Cleveland.

Big Ed Walsh of the White Sox strikes on 15 batters, setting a new AL record that stood for 30 years. It was his 40th win of the season. But it's not enough, as Addie Joss, a.k.a. the Human Hairpin for his slender build and his tight pitching motion, pitches a perfect game for the Cleveland Naps, who win, 1-0. Joss advanced to 24-11. Walsh "fell" to 39-15.

Napoleon Lajoie, one of the greatest all-around players of the era, a member of the 3,000 Hits Club and a great fielder, too, was the Cleveland team's 2nd baseman and manager. They were renamed the Naps in his honor in 1903, after being named the Blues. He left after the 1914 season, and they were renamed the Indians, which they would remain until becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

So the ChiSox and the Naps had played the greatest game in the American League's 8-year history, with both really needing it to win the Pennant. And yet, neither team does. The Detroit Tigers do, the Naps finishing half a game behind, the White Sox 1 1/2 behind: Detroit 90-63, Cleveland 90-64, Chicago 88-64.

Why wasn't the Tigers' missing 154th game made up? I don't know: Neither The Unforgettable Season by G.H. Fleming nor Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy explains why.

It's the 2nd of 3 straight Pennants for the Tigers. The ChiSox had won in 1901 and 1906. The Naps/Indians will not get this close to a Pennant again until they win it all in 1920.

Joss died of meningitis on April 14, 1911, the eve of what would have been his 10th in the major leagues. He was only 31. In 1978, the Baseball Hall of Fame gave him a special waiver on the rule that says players must have played at least 1 game in at least 10 different seasons to qualify for election, since he would have pitched in 1 such game had he been stricken just 1 week later. He was soon elected. It was deserved: He was 160-97, his WHIP of 0.968 is the lowest ever, and his ERA of 1.89 is the 2nd-lowest.

The lowest? Walsh, at 1.82. And his WHIP, exactly 1.000, is 2nd all-time to Joss. He would pitch a no-hitter of his own in 1911. He went 192-126 for his career. And, unlike Joss, he played on a Pennant winner, as the White Sox won the 1906 World Series. He died on May 26, 1959, the day Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but lost the game to the Milwaukee Braves in the 13th inning.

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October 2, 1908 was a Friday, the start of the last weekend of one of baseball's greatest regular seasons. Both Leagues had 3-way races.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-6 at Bennett Park in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs.

* The New York Highlanders lost to the Washington Senators, 12-2 at Hilltop Park in Manhattan. The proto-Yankees went 51-103 that season, and it remains the most games they've ever lost in a season.

* The Boston Red Sox lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-1 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia.

* In the National League, the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals at Robison Field in St. Louis, 7-4 and 2-1. Over the 2 games, Honus Wagner went 3-for-8 with an RBI.

* And the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers) beat the Boston Doves (Braves), 3-2 at Washington Park in Brooklyn.

July 24, 1911: The Addie Joss Benefit Game

July 24, 1911: A benefit game is played at League Park in Cleveland, for the family of Addie Joss.

Adrian Joss was born on April 12, 1880 outside Milwaukee in Woodland, Wisconsin. Known as the Human Hairpin for his slender build and his tight pitching motion, he pitched for the Cleveland Naps from 1902 to 1910, going 160-97.

The Cleveland Whats? Napoleon Lajoie, one of the greatest all-around players of the era, a member of the 3,000 Hits Club and a great fielder, too, was the Cleveland team's 2nd baseman and manager. Starting as the Cleveland Blues in 1901, and the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902, they were renamed the Cleveland Naps in his honor in 1903. He left after the 1914 season, and they were renamed the Indians, which they would remain until becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

Addie Joss' career WHIP -- walks plus his, divided by innings pitches -- of 0.968 is the lowest ever, and his ERA of 1.89 is the 2nd-lowest. The lowest ERA belongs to Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox, at 1.82. And his WHIP, exactly 1.000, is 2nd all-time to Joss. In the 1900s (the 1900-09 decade), Joss and Walsh were the 2 best pitchers in the American League.

On October 2, 1908, they opposed each other as their teams and the Detroit Tigers all went down to the wire for the AL Pennant. Walsh struck out 15 batters, and AL record that stood for 30 years. But Joss pitched a perfect game, and the Naps won, 1-0. It remains the greatest pitching duel in AL history, but it ended up not mattering, as the Tigers won the Pennant, by half a game over the Naps and one and a half over the ChiSox.

Joss led the major leagues in wins in 1907, and led the major leagues in ERA in 1904 and 1908. On April 20, 1910, he pitched a no-hitter against the White Sox, making him the 1st pitcher to pitch no-hitters against the same team twice. Only one pitcher since has matched that: Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, against the San Diego Padres in 2013 and 2014.

Addie Joss

Joss died of meningitis on April 14, 1911, the eve of what would have been his 10th in the major leagues. He was only 31. Upon hearing of his death, the Cleveland Press newspaper wrote "every train brings flowers" and "floral tributes by the wagonload are hourly arriving at the Joss home from all sections of the country." Billy Sunday, then America's foremost evangelist, had been a major league pitcher from 1883 to 1890, mostly with the team now known as the Chicago Cubs, and accepted the Joss' family's request to preside over Addie's funeral.

A benefit "all-star" game for Joss's family was scheduled by the Naps for July 24, 1911. They invited players from the other 7 AL teams to play against them. Jimmy McAleer would manage the All-Stars against Lajoie. At the time, he was the manager of the Washington Senators. He had been the Cleveland team's 1st manager in 1901, and had played for their previous National League team, the Cleveland Spiders. He said, "The memory of Addie Joss is sacred to everyone with whom he ever came in contact. The man never wore a uniform who was a greater credit to the sport than he."

Cy Young, who had also played for the Spiders, was in his last season in the major leagues, and started for the Naps, pitching the 1st 3 innings. (He would be traded later in the season, to the Boston team that became known as the Braves, and end his career there.) Lajoie played in the game, but went 0-for-2. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, in his 1st big season in the majors, also went 0-for-2. From the other 7 teams:

* From the Boston Red Sox: Pitcher "Smoky" Joe Wood (who started, and pitched the 1st 2 innings), center fielder Tris Speaker (who would be traded to Cleveland in 1916 and lead them to the 1920 World Series).

* From the Detroit Tigers: Right fielder Ty Cobb (who forgot his Tigers uniform, so he wore a Cleveland road uniform during the game), and left fielder Sam Crawford.

* From the New York Highlanders: 1st baseman Hal Chase, and pitcher Russ Ford, who pitched the last 4 innings.

* From the Philadelphia Athletics: 2nd baseman Eddie Collins, 3rd baseman Frank Baker (who would become known as "Home Run Baker" for his heroics in that year's World Series), and catcher Patrick "Paddy" Livingston.

* From the St. Louis Browns: Shortstop Bobby Wallace.

* From the Washington Senators: Pitcher Walter Johnson (who told the press, "I'll do anything they want for Addie Joss' family"), and pitched the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings; catcher Gabby Street and center field Clyde Milan.

* Only the Chicago White Sox did not send a representative. Ed Walsh had volunteered to play, but the team's travel schedule simply didn't allow it.

The game was attended by approximately 15,270 fans, and raised nearly $13,000 (about $40,000 in 2022 money) to help Joss' family members pay remaining medical bills. The All-Stars beat the Naps, 5–3. No home runs were hit.

Baseball would not have an official All-Star Game until 1933, when a team of AL stars beat a team of NL stars at Comiskey Park in Chicago, making the All-Star Game an annual event. Oddly, in 1920, when Ray Chapman, shortstop for the team by then known as the Cleveland Indians, became the only player ever to die as a result of an in-game incident, there was no benefit game for his family.

In 1978, the Baseball Hall of Fame gave Joss a special waiver on the rule that says players must have played at least 1 game in at least 10 different seasons to qualify for election, since he would have pitched in 1 such game had he been stricken just 1 week later. He was soon elected. It was deserved.

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July 24, 1911 was a Monday. One reason why this date was chosen for the game is that only 3 games were scheduled. All were in the National League:

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Rube Marquard went the distance for the win.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.