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- #1. The Chicago Cubs Were The First Team To Go To Back-To-Back World Series.
- #2. This Would Be Ty Cobb's First Appearance In The World Series.
- #3. Game 1 Ended In A Tie
- #4. The First Person Was Ejected In World Series History
- #5. Mordecai Brown Won The Final Game
- #6. Four Pitchers Had Four Wins
- #7. Detroit's Best Chance To Win Was In Games 1 and 4
#1. The Chicago Cubs Were The First Team To Go To Back-To-Back World Series.
The 1907 World Series would feature the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers.
In the 1906 World Series, the Chicago Cubs were stunned when the Chicago White Sox upset them in six games. They had set a record in Wins that season but did not have an answer for the White Sox.
The 1907 season would be different. They would win 107 games (fewer than the previous season) and once again take the National League pennant. They would proceed to sweep the Detroit Tigers with their aggressive base running and impressive pitching.
#2. This Would Be Ty Cobb's First Appearance In The World Series.
The legendary Ty Cobb would make his first World Series appearance, and the Chicago Cubs pitching would make it a miserable one for him.
Cobb would see the plate 20 times and only net 4 hits, one of which being a triple. He was struck out 3 times and did not drive in a single run.
After a stellar season, he would struggle, similar to how Honus Wagner struggled in the 1903 World Series.
#3. Game 1 Ended In A Tie
The Tigers scored three runs, largely due to three Cub errors, in the eighth inning and held a 3–1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Cubs loaded the bases on a single, walk, and infield error with one out. Detroit conceded a run on a ground ball for the second out, and Cub player-manager Frank Chance then pinch-hit Del Howard for Joe Tinker.
Wild Bill Donovan (25–4 in the regular season) struck him out, but the ball got away from catcher Boss Schmidt, allowing Harry Steinfeldt to score the tying run.
Donovan got the next hitter, but the damage had been done.
The teams then played three scoreless extra innings before the game was called on account of darkness and declared a tie, a World Series first.
#4. The First Person Was Ejected In World Series History
One would think when reading that headline that the player ejected had to be Ty Cobb, but it was not him, although it was someone from the Detroit Tigers.
It was the Tigers manager, Hughie Jennings, that received the first ejection. He took issue with a call and argued with umpire Hank O'Day, who called out Germany Schaefer when he was trying to steal.
During the argument, O'Day had enough of Jenning's antics and tossed him from the game.
#5. Mordecai Brown Won The Final Game
The three-fingered Mordecai Brown had struggled the previous year in the World Series but would redeem himself in the 1907 World Series.
Detroit had runners on second and third with one out in the last of the fourth but left them there and never seriously threatened after that.
In Game 5, Brown threw a seven-hit-shutout that gave the Chicago Cubs its first World Series victory.
#6. Four Pitchers Had Four Wins
During the dead-ball era, it was common to see one pitcher pitch multiple games in a series and sometimes on back-to-back nights. This had been the case with Cy Young in 1903 and Christy Mathewson in the 1905 World Series.
However, in the 1907 World Series, the Cubs won four consecutive games with four different pitchers.
- Game 2: Jack Pfeister
- Game 3: Ed Reulbach
- Game 4: Orval Overall
- Game 5: Mordecai Brown
After the first game that resulted in a tie, the Cubs only allowed 3 runs for the rest of the World Series.
#7. Detroit's Best Chance To Win Was In Games 1 and 4
Technically, the Tigers did not get swept due to the game being called due to darkness in Game 1. However, they had a lead, and it would take some exceptional play by the Cubs to snatch the victory away from the Tigers in Game 1.
In Game 4, Ty Cobb hit a triple that drove in a run and gave the Tigers its first lead since Game 1. The game would be paused due to a rain delay, and afterward, Cubs pitcher Orval Overall out-dueled Tigers ace Wild Bill Donovan.
The Tiger's loss was not a surprise. The Cubs were believed to be the most dominant team and seemed to be establishing a dynasty.