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1917 White Sox and the 1917 World Series Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:
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- Action from the 1917 World Series
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- 1917 World Series Eddie Collins and Buck Herzog
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- Action from the 1917 World Series. Bill Rariden hits into a double play.
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- Jim Thorpe made a token appearence in the 1917 World Series. He was listed in the starting lineup but was lifted before batting.
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- Box score from Game Six of the 1917 World Series
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- Heine Zimmerman vaults over Eddie Collins at home plate in the 1917 World Series
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- Red Faber, one of the heros of the 1917 World Series
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- White Sox players entering the field at the Polo Grounds to start the 1917 World Series. The young guy in center is Clarence Rowland, Jr. son of White Sox manager Pants Rowland.
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- Fans celebrate as White Sox win the 1917 World Series
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- The 1917 World Series champion White Sox
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- Action from the 1917 World Series
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- The 1917 World Series White Sox
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- New York Giants portraits in 1917 World Series
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- Rare newspaper story on 1917 World Series
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- Joe Jackson with White Sox teammates, 1917: Eddie Murphy, Shano Collins, Joe Jackson, Happ Felsch, Nemo Leibold
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- Members of the 1917 World Champion White Sox: Mellie Wolfgang, Dave Danforth, Red Faber, Joe Benz, Reb Russell, Lefty Williams, Eddie Cicotte. (Getty Images)
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- 1917 White Sox manager Pants Rowland with his son
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- White Sox John “Shano” Collins and second basemen Eddie Collins
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- Members of the 1917 White Sox. Visible are Eddie Collins, Eddie Murphy, Shano Collins, and Ray Schalk.
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- 1917 White Sox team ogo
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- White Sox in military formation, 1917 at Comiskey Park
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- White Sox drilling in Army uniforms on the field at Comiskey Park, April 19, 1917.
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- Is this another bat boy? No, its White Sox outfielder, Nemo Leibold,
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- Beautiful colorization of Heine Zimmerman by Don Stokes
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- Eddie Collins crossed the unprotected plate before Heine Zimmerman could tag him.
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- Conference at the plate between Pants Rowland and John McGraw
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- Eddie Cicotte pitched first game for White Sox
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- Pants Rowland later became a major league umpire
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- Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1917
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- Happy Felsch in 1917 uniform
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- Opening Day, 1917 as the Giants are escorted on to the field by a military band
1917 World Series
“Who the hell was I supposed to throw to, Bill Klem?” –Heine Zimmerman, commenting a controversial play in the 1917 World Series
Tonight the White Sox are paying tribute to their World Series championship team of 1917, so I thought this is a good time to take a closer look. In the 1917 World Series, the White Sox beat the Giants four games to two. The Series featured one of the most memorable World Series S events in baseball history, as the bove quote would indicate (see a description of the play below).
In the featured photo above, we see the 1917 American League champion White Sox coming on to the field at the Polo Grounds to start the 1917 World Series amid fanfare and festivities. The young kid in the center is the son of Sox’ manager, Pants Rowland. To the right with the catchers’ mitt is back-up catcher Byrd Lyn; to his right is Lefty Williams, one of the eight Black Sox; and in the center of the photo is outfielder Nemo Leibold.
The Series was played against the backdrop of World War I, which dominated American newspapers that year and next. The White Sox were managed by Pants Rowland, making his only post-season appearance; while the Giants were managed by John McGraw, who had recently won pennants in 1911, ‘12, and ‘13, but lost all three World Series.
The Series featured a total of six Hall-of-Famers: umpires Bill Klem and Billy Evans; White Sox Eddie Collins, Red Faber, and Ray Schalk; and Giants John McGraw.
Eddie Collins was the hitting star, batting .409 over the six games; while Eddie Cicotte and Red Faber combined to pitch 50 out of a total 52 innings for the White Sox. The great athlete Jim Thorpe made his only World Series “appearance” during Game Five, where he was listed in the lineup as starting in right field, but for his turn at bat in the top of the first inning he was replaced by Dave Robertson.
The Famous 1917 World Series Play: Heinie Zimmerman Chases Eddie Collins Across the Plate!
The decisive game featured a controversial rundown in which Giants’ third baseman Heinie Zimmerman futilely chased the speedy Eddie Collins toward home plate with what was the Series-winning run. Catcher Bill Rariden had run up the third base line to start a rundown, expecting pitcher Rube Benton or first baseman Walter Holke to cover the plate. However, neither of them budged, forcing Zimmerman to chase Collins, while pawing helplessly in the air with the ball in an attempt to tag him.
Two years before the “Black Sox” scandal, Zimmerman found himself having to publicly deny purposely allowing the run to score, and that he had “thrown” the game. A famous quote often attributed to Zimmerman some years later was that when asked about the incident Zimmerman replied, “Who the hell was I supposed to throw to, Bill Klem?” Zimmerman would eventually be banned for life from baseball due to various accusations of corruption.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the 1917 World Series Wikipedia page
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