Mordecai Brown by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Mordecai Brown

Page 66

rigs made night games possible, prevented resumption of the game, and the game was declared a tie, to be replayed if necessary. It became necessary as the Giants and the Cubs would end the season tied for first place and would have a rematch at the Polo Grounds on October 8.

The Cubs traveled from Chicago to New York in style, on a luxury train called the Twentieth Century Limited. The trip took nearly 18 hours, but reporters noted that, rather than being tired, the players were “in the best frame of mind,” determined to capture their third straight pennant. The Giants were confident too; manager John J. McGraw told reporters his team was ready, saying, “Yes, we are going to play, and we are going to beat them too.” Referring to the disputed game, he added that even though his team still felt cheated, “We will force them to call us champions tomorrow night.”

Cubs manager Frank Chance planned to start 30 year old lefty Jack Pfiester. He had a record of only 12-10 in 1908, but four of his wins had come against the Giants, including two complete game wins in a four-day period in August, one of which was a dominating 5-1 performance. Besides, Ace Brown had pitched on 11 of 14 of the prior days, and was no doubt tired.