We’re Contacted by Relatives of the Pitcher-Catcher Battery Mates from the Very First World Series, 1903!

We’re Contacted by Relatives of the Pitcher-Catcher Battery Mates from the Very First World Series, 1903!



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We’re Contacted by Relatives of the Pitcher-Catcher Battery Mates from the Very First World Series, 1903!

The 2017 World Series is on the horizon…so check out my repost from last year about the first World Series, played from October 1-13, 1903 between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Americans. There’s something significant about this photo and we know it’s something baseball history fans who read our page are sure to enjoy.

Some of you may remember my post from last year about Deacon Phillippe. I called him “The Greatest Dead Ball Era Pitcher Most Baseball Fans Don’t Know.” He was the Pirates’ starting and winning pitcher in the first World Series game, played on October 1, 1903, striking out 10, while defeating the great Cy Young. Deacon Phillippe actually pitched five complete games in the series, posting three wins and two losses. 

I also mentioned that we had been contacted by actor Dean Phillipi, a distant relative of Deacon Phillippe. Shortly after that, it occurred to me that one of the regular readers of our Old-Time Baseball Photos Facebook page is Jim Phelps, the great-grandson of Eddie Phelps.

And who was Eddie Phelps? Eddie was none other than the Pirates’ starting catcher for the 1903 World Series, Deacon Phillippe’s catcher! Eddie Phelps was the starting catcher in all eight games of the series.

So 114 years after the 1903 World Series was played, here on our humble little Facebook page – dedicated to preserving baseball history – we now have as readers of our page relatives of Deacon Phillippe and Eddie Phelps, the battery mates in the very first World Series game! They were on the field and in the lineup together for five of the eight games of the Series.

We think that’s pretty neat…and we’re very happy to share this information with our readers.

To highlight the occasion, I’ve reposted this combined team photo of the Pirates and the Americans from the 1903 World Series. It’s amazingly clear for a photo taken in 1903. Eddie Phelps is in the top row, third from the left. Deacon Phillippe is also in the top row, fifth from left. I did the player IDs on this one a while back, so see if you can pick out some names before looking at the complete identifications below in the comments section.

1903 World Series Player Identifications:

Top Row, L-R (all Pirates): Claude Ritchey, Harry Smith, Eddie Phelps, Ginger Beaumont, Deacon Phillippe, Sam Lever, Bucky Veil, Gus Thompson, Tommy Leach, Jimmy Sebring, “Junkyard” Kennedy, Fred Carisch, Honus Wagner.
Middle Row, L-R (all Boston players after Clarke): Fred Clarke (Mgr.), Jimmy Collins (Mgr.), Chick Stahl, Bill Dineen, Buck Freeman, Cy Young, Candy LaChance, Patsy Dougherty, George Winter, Duke Farrell, Jack O’Brien, Tom Hughes

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the 1903 World Series Wikipedia page.

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I'm a baseball historian who also enjoys writing. My forte is identifying ballplayers in old photos, and my special interest is the Dead Ball Era.

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