New Britain herald., 1930-09-22

No. 7-Building the Greatest Team
 The greatest master minds of base ball, Mack and McGraw, were pitted against each other for the first time in the worlds championship of 1905, signalizing the dawn of a new era in the game.
 Boston had played an unofficial world series" with Pittsburgh as a post season transforming stunt in 1903, but the first legal battle be- tween the two major leagues for the title was conducted two years later under regulations which since have governed the competition. Peace had been declared and the ancient Ma tional league accepted its new rival on an equal footing.
 Contrast the financial picture of the first modern world series with the million dollar spectacles to which the American baseball public became accustomed in postwar boom days!
 The total attendance for the five games played by the Giants and Athletics of 91,723, an average of about 1S.000, as compared with the record of 63,600 at the Yankee sta dium in 1926.
 The total receipts were s6S,435, of which s27,394.20 was split among the players, each Giant collecting s1,142 and each Mackman sS32.
 In 1923 each members of the win ming New York Yankees collected s6,143.49 and the players pool reached its height in 1926, amount ing to s419,O00.
 Appropriate though it was to have the series involve the two managers who have been the most successful in their respective leagues, the fact is that the great right arm of Christy Mathewson had more to do with the outcome than any master-minding from the side lines.
 The series lasted only five games, every one of which was a shutout, and Mathewson won three of them for the triumphant Giants. The famous creator of the "fadeaway ball" blanked the Mackmen in the first, third and fifth games by scores of 80, 90 and 20. He allowed only 14 hits in the three games.
 Iron Man" Joe McGinnity regis tered the fourth victory for the New Workers and Chief Bender, then a comparative youngster with the As, contributed the only Philadelphia conquest to an exhibition of bril- liant pitching that has had no paral- Tel in world series history.
 Twenty-Five years later Mack still seemed to experience thrill in tell ing me of Mathewson's famous feat.
 T never felt particularly bad about losing that series,' he said Tt was marvellous baseball. Matty was in his prime and simply unbeat able. I have always regarded him a: the greatest pitcher of all time. don't recall that he made a mistake in the three games he won." Mack's club was no push over. Substantially it was the same outti that had captured the pennant 1T 1902. Bender was the most import ant pitching addition, second of the Big Three" that was to be com Coakley, product of Holy Cross col lege. also joined the curving corps. Boston nosed out the Athletics 1T close race in 1903 and the Red Sox again skillfully managed by Jimm, Collins, repeated in 1904, but Macl regained the upper hand in 1905 Plank, Waddell and Bender pitchet great ball all season, but just befor, the world series the Rube wandered from the reservation and was stil A. w. o. L. when the big battle be gan.
 Mack never forgave Waddell fo throwing him down" at this i'm portant junCture. The eccentric Rub, not long afterward was shipped to St Louis, even though he still had a To of stuff left in his pitching arm. II fact, Waddell took particular deligh in beating his old team mates. Il 1908 he set an American league rec ord by striking out 16 of the Ath letics.
 The champion Athletics of 190 were on the decline and Mack sool was forced to undertake one of hi famous reconstruction programs. Tn team dropped to fourth in 1906, bu braced and finished second to De troit in 1907, due somewhat to th