The 1912 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1912 season. The ninth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National League (NL) champion New York Giants. The Red Sox won the Series four games to three (with one tie).
This series, featuring close games and controversial decisions, was regarded as one of the most exciting World Series of its era. Nearly all of the games were close. Four games in this Series were decided by one run. A fifth ended in a tie. A sixth was decided by two runs. Game 7 was the only one with a margin greater than three runs. Two games, including the decisive Game 8, went to extra innings. In Games 1 and 3, the losing team had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended. To date, this is the only World Series to end on a sacrifice fly.
The series showcased star pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and Red Sox fireballer Smoky Joe Wood. Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game. In the deciding game, Boston rallied for two runs in the tenth inning thanks to two costly Giants fielding misplays.
This was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, and the only best-of-seven Series to do so. While the 1912 Series was extended to eight games due to a tie game being called on account of darkness, the , , and 1921 World Series were all best-of-nine affairs that happened to run eight games. This was the first World Series where a venue (Fenway Park) hosted five home games; of the four occasions this has occurred (1912, 1921, 1944, 2020), 1912 was the only one to have alternating venues.
This was the first of seven meetings between teams from Boston and New York City for a major professional sports championship. This occurred again in two more World Series (1916, 1986), two Stanley Cup Finals (1929, 1972), and two Super Bowls (2008, 2012).
In 2020, ESPN ranked the 1912 World Series as the 8th best World Series ever played.
Summary
Matchups Game 1
In batting practice before Game 1, Tris Speaker drove a ball not only over the right field grandstand but completely out of the Polo Grounds. The Series opened with the Red Sox as 10–8 betting favorites. Giants manager John McGraw surprised everyone by starting rookie Jeff Tesreau rather than the great Christy Mathewson against Boston ace Smoky Joe Wood. He preferred to save Mathewson for Game 2 and the hostile crowd at Fenway Park.
New York struck first. Josh Devore walked with one out in the third, and advanced to third base on a single by Larry Doyle lost in the sun by Duffy Lewis. After Fred Snodgrass struck out, Red Murray's single scored Devore and Doyle for a 2–0 Giants lead. Tesreau and his spitball held the Red Sox hitless for the first five innings, but Boston then cut the lead to 2–1 in the sixth on a triple by Tris Speaker that fell to the ground untouched when neither Snodgrass nor Devore called for the ball (in an Alphonse-Gaston act), and an RBI groundout by Lewis. The Red Sox scored three runs in the very next inning, on an RBI double by Harry Hooper and a two-run single by Steve Yerkes, after Giants second baseman Doyle had muffed Wood's potential inning-ending double play grounder and had to settle for the one out at second. In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants scored a run and had the tying run on third and the winning run on second, but Wood, a spectacular 34–5 in the regular season, struck out the last two batters for the 4–3 Boston win in a complete game with 11 strikeouts. Oddly, McGraw let relief pitcher Doc Crandall bat for himself for what turned out to be the last out rather than using backup catcher Art Wilson to pinch-hit. After the game Wood said, "I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body."
Game 2
Christy Mathewson later said of the moment when he took the mound at Fenway Park, "This was the only place in the world that I wanted to be. I could think of nothing greater than pitching this game for the glory of the New York Giants."
An error by Giants shortstop Art Fletcher led to three first-inning unearned Boston runs off Mathewson. Single tallies in the second and fourth by the Giants cut the lead to 3–2. Another error by Fletcher, who failed to tag Harry Hooper on a stolen base attempt, led to a fourth Boston run in the fifth when Yerkes followed the error with an RBI triple. In the top of the eighth Boston returned the favor, allowing New York to strike back for three runs. Left field at brand-new Fenway Park was unique for a incline in front of the wall (later to be called "The Green Monster"). Red Sox left fielder Duffy Lewis was so proficient at negotiating this incline that it was first named "Duffy's Cliff" in his honor, but this time Lewis tripped on the hill and failed to catch Fred Snodgrass' fly ball, putting him on first base. He scored on Murray's double, and two batters later third baseman Buck Herzog hit a two-run double to give New York a 5–4 lead.
The Giants' lead was brief. Lewis doubled in the bottom of the eighth, and then Fletcher's terrible day continued with his third error allowing Larry Gardner to reach base and Lewis to score. This tied the game at 5. In the ninth, Boston reliever Charley Hall, who had replaced Ray Collins in the eighth, got the first two outs but proceeded to walk Snodgrass, Larry Doyle and Beals Becker consecutively. But with the bases loaded, Red Murray grounded into a forceout and the Red Sox escaped. Boston went quietly in the bottom of the ninth, setting up extra innings. Fred Merkle led off the New York tenth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 6–5 lead. Mathewson, who pitched the entire game for New York, came back to the mound in the bottom of the tenth with a chance to slam the door on Boston and even the Series at one game apiece, but Tris Speaker, who had hit .383 in the regular season, slammed an extra-base hit to center field. Giant third baseman Buck Herzog deliberately collided with Speaker to prevent an inside-the-park home run, but Speaker got up and came home anyway. Becker threw the ball in to cutoff man Tillie Shafer, who threw to the plate but catcher Art Wilson dropped the ball—for New York's fifth error of the game—and Speaker, who was credited with a triple on the play, scored to tie it at 6. McGraw claimed, and reporters in the press box agreed, that Speaker had missed first base, but base umpire Cy Rigler ruled that he hadn't on appeal. Lewis followed with a double to put the winning run in scoring position, but Mathewson retired Gardner and Stahl to escape the inning with a tie.
New York had one last chance in the top of the 11th. Snodgrass led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, but was then thrown out attempting to steal second. After Doyle struck out, Becker drew a walk but was also thrown out on an attempted steal of second, ending the inning. After the Red Sox went down in order in the bottom of the 11th, the game was called on account of darkness tied at 6, Boston retaining a 1–0 lead in the Series. Though there had been experimental affairs in the minor leagues, night baseball wouldn't become a regular fixture in the MLB for another 2 decades. The first night game in World Series history wouldn't be played until 1971, 59 years later. The National Commission ruled that the players would still get a share of the gross receipts from only the first four games despite the Game 2 tie, a decision which caused much discontent among the players.
Game 3
In the top of the second, Red Murray doubled to center. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Merkle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Herzog, giving the Giants a 1–0 lead. Three innings later, Herzog doubled and scored on a single by Fletcher, stretching New York's lead to 2–0. It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth. Rube Marquard, who pitched a complete game for the Giants, got Speaker to pop up to start the inning. Lewis followed with a grounder to first baseman Merkle, who flipped to Marquard covering first, but Marquard couldn't find the bag and Lewis reached with an infield single. Gardner followed with an RBI double, narrowing the Giant lead to 2–1. First baseman / playing manager Jake Stahl grounded to Marquard, who threw out Gardner at third base for the second out as Stahl took first. Manager Stahl then took himself out of the game for pinch-runner Olaf Henriksen. The next Boston hitter, Heinie Wagner, reached on an error by Merkle, with Henriksen, representing the tying run, advancing to third. Wagner, the potential winning run, then stole second to get into scoring position but the next batter, Hick Cady, lined out to right field to end the game. Although Josh Devore missed the ball with his glove, he managed to catch it with his bare left hand, allowing the Giants to hang on for a 2–1 victory and even the series at a game apiece.
Game 4
The Red Sox won 3–1 on Wood's complete game, eight-strikeout effort. Boston took a 1–0 lead when Gardner tripled in the second and scored on a wild pitch by Tesreau, who had lost the nail on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand when a Harry Hooper grounder ripped it off in the first. Boston made it 2–0 on an RBI single by Cady in the fourth. In the seventh, Herzog singled and scored on Fletcher's double to cut the lead to 2–1, but in the top of the ninth, Wood helped his own cause with an RBI single. The Giants went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to give Boston a 2–1 series lead.
Game 5
The Red Sox scored two quick runs in the bottom of the third against Mathewson when Hooper led off with a triple, Yerkes also tripled, and Speaker reached on an error by Giants second baseman Doyle allowing Yerkes to score. Mathewson then proceeded to retire the next 17 Red Sox batters in a row, but that was all Boston pitcher Hugh Bedient needed. Merkle doubled and came around to score in the seventh inning to make the score 2–1, but Mathewson struck out to end the rally. Bedient retired the last seven Giant hitters in order for a three-hit complete game. Boston now led the Series 3–1, and was one victory away from a championship.
Game 6
Boston pitcher Buck O'Brien, who had pitched well in Game 3 but lost to Marquard, started again in Game 6 and was shelled for five runs in the bottom of the first inning. After left fielder Devore led off the inning with a groundout, Doyle singled and Snodgrass struck out, five Giants hitters in a row hit safely, with Buck Herzog scoring on a steal of home. The inning didn't end until O'Brien picked Fletcher off first base. Marquard took over from there, throwing a complete game for his second victory of the series, and the Giants won 5–2. New York stayed alive, but Boston still led the series 3–2.
Buck O'Brien started this game over Red Sox ace Wood at the insistence of Red Sox owner Jimmy McAleer, over the protests of Boston manager Stahl. Disgruntled Red Sox players believed their own front office was trying to extend the series and gather more box office receipts by starting a weaker pitcher. O'Brien, meanwhile, was not told he was pitching until the morning of the 14th, too late to prevent him from going out drinking and starting Game 6 with a hangover.
Game 7