1903 Philadelphia Phillies season

The 1903 Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished seventh in the National League with a record of 49–86, 39+1⁄2 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1903 Philadelphia Phillies
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
OwnersJames Potter
ManagersChief Zimmer
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Offseason

James Potter and his syndicate of investors completed their acquisition of the Phillies, the "Philadelphia Base Ball Club", from Colonel John I. Rogers on April 3, 1903.[1] Potter and his partners acquired the Phillies for $117,000.[2]

Preseason

The Phillies held spring training in 1903 in Richmond, Virginia where the team practiced and played exhibition games at Broad Street Park. It was the lone season the Phillies trained in Richmond.

1903 Philadelphia City Series

The Philadelphia Athletics began play in 1901 with the founding of the American League. National League and American League teams did not play each other in 1901 or 1902 as the two leagues warred over markets and customers.

The two leagues made peace after 1902 and the Phillies and Athletics scheduled a preseason series for the local championship. The Phillies had last played for the city championship against the Player League’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1890. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted, "For the first time in thirteen years two local teams, representing rival base ball organizations, will come together in a friendly struggle for supremacy of the Quaker City." The Athletics had won the 1902 American League pennant, the Phillies had been newly acquired by John Rogers in February 1903, and interest was high.[3]

The Phillies and Athletics played five of nine scheduled games; the Phillies defeated the Athletics, 4 games to 1.

The series was scheduled to begin on April 4, 1903 at the Phillies’ Philadelphia Ball Park but was called off due to rain.[4] Games scheduled for April 7, 1903[5] at the Phillies’ park and April 8, 1903 at the Athletics’ Columbia Park were also canceled due to rain and wet grounds,[6] along with the final scheduled game of the series on April 14, 1903 at the Phillies’ park.[7]

AL Philadelphia Athletics (1) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (4)

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1April 6, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Philadelphia Athletics – 0 (10)Columbia Park1:556,543[8] 
2April 9, 1903Philadelphia Athletics – 5, Philadelphia Phillies – 6 (10)Philadelphia Ball Park2:106,640[9] 
3April 10, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 6, Philadelphia Athletics – 3Columbia Park1:408,771[10] 
4April 11, 1903Philadelphia Athletics – 7, Philadelphia Phillies – 1Philadelphia Ball Park1:3813,050[11] 
5April 13, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Philadelphia Athletics – 1 (10)Columbia Park1:405,843[12]

Regular season

On August 8, 1903, a balcony collapsed at Baker Bowl during a game against Boston. The New York Times reported the following day that four were killed and 125 injured.[13] The Phillies temporarily called Columbia Park home while Baker Bowl was repaired.[14] They played sixteen games at Columbia Park in August and September 1903.[15]

On September 18, 1903, Chick Fraser pitched a no-hitter in the second game of a double header against the Chicago Cubs at West Side Park. Fraser walked five batters, the Phillies committed four errors and won 10 to 0.[16]

Season standings
National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 9149 0.650 — 46–24 45–25
New York Giants 8455 0.604 6½ 41–27 43–28
Chicago Cubs 8256 0.594 8 45–28 37–28
Cincinnati Reds 7465 0.532 16½ 41–35 33–30
Brooklyn Superbas 7066 0.515 19 40–33 30–33
Boston Beaneaters 5880 0.420 32 31–35 27–45
Philadelphia Phillies 4986 0.363 39½ 25–33 24–53
St. Louis Cardinals 4394 0.314 46½ 22–45 21–49

Record vs. opponents
1903 National League record

Sources:
Team BOS BRO CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston —9–117–13–17–138–1210–8–15–1512–8
Brooklyn 11–9—8–1210–107–12–211–8–19–1114–4–1
Chicago 13–7–112–8—9–118–1212–612–816–4
Cincinnati 13–710–1011–9—12–1012–8–24–1612–7
New York 12–812–7–212–88–12—15–510–1015–5–1
Philadelphia 8–10–18–11–16–128–12–25–15—4–16–110–10
Pittsburgh 15–511–98–1216–410–1016–4–1—15–5
St. Louis 8–124–14–14–167–125–15–110–105–15—

Notable transactions

Roster
1903 Philadelphia Phillies
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Postseason

1903 Philadelphia City Series (Fall)

The Phillies and Athletics played a postseason series for the local championship in addition to the preseason series played in April. The teams played seven of ten games scheduled;[18] games scheduled for October 8, 1903; October 9, 1903; and October 10, 1903 were canceled due to rain. The Athletics won the series, 4 games to 3.

All of the series games were played at the Athletics’ Columbia Park with each team alternating as the home team. The Phillies’ Philadelphia Ball Park’s had collapsed on August 8, 1903 leaving four dead, and closing the ballpark for the balance of the season.

AL Philadelphia Athletics (4) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (3)

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1September 30, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 3, Philadelphia Athletics – 7Columbia Park1:352,008[19] 
2October 1, 1903Philadelphia Athletics – 6, Philadelphia Phillies – 0Columbia Park1:452,439[20] 
3October 2, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 5, Philadelphia Athletics – 1Columbia Park1:401,438[21] 
4October 3, 1903Philadelphia Athletics – 5, Philadelphia Phillies – 0Columbia Park1:353,896[22] 
5October 5, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 1, Philadelphia Athletics – 6Columbia Park1:40-[23] 
6October 6, 1903Philadelphia Athletics – 2, Philadelphia Phillies – 14 (8)Columbia Park1:501,084[24] 
7October 7, 1903Philadelphia Phillies – 13, Philadelphia Athletics – 3Columbia Park2:00992[25]

After the 1903 season, the Phillies had won 7 and the Athletics had won 5 of the 12 total games played in the city series.

Player stats

Starters by position

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CFrank Roth6822060.273022
1BKlondike Douglass10537796.255136
2BKid Gleason106412117.284149
SSRudy Hulswitt138519128.247158
3BHarry Wolverton123494152.308053
OFRoy Thomas130477156.327127
OFBill Keister100400128.320363
OFShad Barry138550152.276160

Other batters

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

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
John Titus7228080.286234
Bill Hallman6319842.212017
Red Dooin6218841.218014
Chief Zimmer3711826.220119
Roy Brashear207517.22704
John Walsh130.00000
Dutch Rudolph110.00000

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bill Duggleby36264.113163.7557
Chick Fraser31250.012174.50104
Tully Sparks28248.011152.7285
Fred Mitchell28227.011164.4869
Jack McFetridge14103.01114.8931
Libe Washburn435.0044.379
Pop Williams218.0113.008

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Fred Burchell644.0032.8612
Warren McLaughlin323.0037.043

Notes
  1. "Phillies' Organize". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 4, 1903. p. 10.
  2. The Reach Official American League Baseball Guide. 1903. p. 74.
  3. "Local Ball Games Will Begin To-Day". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Inquirer. April 6, 1903. p. 10.
  4. "Athletics Will Be Good Fellows". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 5, 1903. p. 12.
  5. "Phillies and Athletics To-Day". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 8, 1903. p. 10.
  6. "Damp Day Diamond Dust". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 9, 1903. p. 10.
  7. "National League Lines Up To-Day". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 14, 1903. p. 10.
  8. "Athletics Lose First Game to Phillies, 2 to 0". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 7, 1903. p. 10.
  9. "Monte Cross Benched; Athletics Lose 6-5". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 10, 1903. p. 6.
  10. "Phillies Outplay Those Champions". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 11, 1903. p. 10.
  11. "Athletics Finally Secure a Victory". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 12, 1903. p. 12.
  12. "Nationals Cinch the Local Series". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 14, 1903. p. 10.
  13. "Grand Stand Falls; 4 Killed, 125 Injured" (PDF). The New York Times. August 9, 1903.
  14. Macht, Norman L.; Connie Mack, III (2007). Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball. University of Nebraska Press. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-8032-3263-1. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  15. "Alternate Site Games Since 1901". Retrosheet. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  16. "Chick Pitches One of the Greatest Games of the Season for the Phillies Against Colts". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 19, 1903. p. 10.
  17. Pop Williams page at Baseball-Reference
  18. "Passed Balls". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 30, 1903. p. 10.
  19. "Athletics Bunch Hits in Eighth". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 1, 1903. p. 10.
  20. "Henley Too Deep for the Phillies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 2, 1903. p. 10.
  21. "Sparks Ties Up Athletics Into Very Hard Knots". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 3, 1903. p. 10.
  22. "The Phillies Are Again Shut Out". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 4, 1903. p. 12.
  23. "Phillies at the Mercy of Plank". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 6, 1903. p. 10.
  24. "Mitchell Again Downs Athletics". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 7, 1903. p. 10.
  25. "Phillies Put The Game Away On Ice". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 8, 1903. p. 10.

References
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