1919 World Series Replay: Game 6

By Mike Lynch

CINCINNATI — Facing the Cincinnati Reds’ ace hurler in a must-win situation in front of 32,006 hostile fans, the Chicago White Sox survived to play another day, with an emotional come-from-behind victory in Game 6 of the best-of-nine World Series. The Pale Hose pushed two runs across the plate in the top half of the eighth frame, then held on for a 5-4 victory that gives them the slightest glimmer of hope, despite being down four games to two heading into tomorrow’s contest.

The boys from Chicago, tired of watching the Reds manufacture runs from the outset of each contest, jumped on pitcher Dutch Ruether with two tallies in the first. Eddie Collins, the American League’s premier second baseman, took matters into his own hands when he walked, stole second and sprinted to third when Cincinnati backstop Bill Rariden fired the ball into center field while attempting to thwart the theft. Third baseman Buck Weaver wasted little time supporting Collins’ aggressiveness, dropping a blooper into short left field to drive in the first run of the game. Left fielder Joe Jackson followed with a scorching single to right that was hit so hard Weaver could only advance one base, but the Sox had runners at first and second with only one out and center fielder Happy Felsch coming to the plate.

Felsch could manage only a weak popup to shortstop Larry Kopf, but first baseman Chick Gandil delivered in his turn at the plate, lashing another single to right. Weaver had already made up his mind to score at the crack of the bat and was heading home when center fielder Edd Roush cut in front of right fielder Greasy Neale, fielded the ball and threw home. But it was too late to catch Weaver, and Jackson and Gandil ended up at third and second, respectively. Ruether stemmed the tide by coaxing shortstop Swede Risberg into an inning-ending ground out.

White Sox lefty Dickie Kerr set the hometown Redlegs down in order in the first, but ran into trouble in the second and coughed up his short-lived lead. As it had in Game 3, Kerr’s control escaped him, but only for a moment as he gave a free pass to Roush, who led off the bottom of the second. Perhaps fearful that he would repeat his performance, which saw him walk six men in seven innings, the diminutive portsider began laying strikes right over the plate and Cincinnati’s batters took advantage. Left fielder Pat Duncan collected his ninth hit of the series, when he blasted a triple to score Roush. The three-bagger was the fifth extra-base hit for Duncan, who showed a propensity for slugging during the regular season by collecting eight extra-base hits among his 22 safeties in a 31-game audition.

Kopf and Neale followed with consecutive singles, scoring Duncan and putting Reds at first and third. Rariden brought Kopf home with a sacrifice fly to left before Ruether flied out, giving the Ohio nine two outs, a runner at first and a one-run lead. Kerr plunked second baseman Morrie Rath and Neale pilfered third base on the first pitch to first baseman Jake Daubert, but Daubert bounced out to Gandil, who gloved the ball cleanly and stepped on the bag to stop the bleeding.

After the Chicagoans’ triumvirate of Eddie Collins, Weaver and Jackson went down in order in the top of the third stanza, the Reds widened their lead to 4-2. Kerr walked Roush for the second time with one out, then held his breath as Duncan launched a shot to deep right-center field. Duncan’s bid for a sixth extra-base hit nestled snugly in Felsch’s glove, however, and it appeared as if the White Sox’ young southpaw would escape the inning with nothing more than a scare. But Kopf slapped a single to center and the hustling Reds center fielder beat Felsch’s throw to third. Then Neale dumped a one-bagger to right to score Roush, before Kerr disposed of Rariden with a rare punchout.

By this time, Ruether had settled down, but he was walking a tightrope. After allowing only two baserunners on one hit and his own error from the second to the fourth, he ran into trouble in the fifth. In an ironic twist, Kerr tried redeeming himself by drawing a walk of his own to lead off the inning. Right fielder Shano Collins flied out to right, but Eddie Collins followed with a base hit that moved his pitcher along to second. Weaver loaded the bases with his second hit of the game, bringing up the ever-dangerous Jackson, whose .506 slugging percentage was bested during the regular season by only Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Ty Cobb and Bobby Veach. The slugging left fielder pounded one on the ground to Rath, however, who flipped the ball to Kopf, who, in turn, fired a strike to Daubert for the 4-6-3 double play.

Ruether could not live on the edge forever, and the White Sox finally nicked him again in the sixth. With two outs in the inning, Risberg pulled a fastball down the left field line for a single, stole second and scored on catcher Ray Schalk’s safety to left-center to pull the Sox to within one run.

Meanwhile, Kerr had finally settled into a groove. From the fourth to the seventh, Chicago’s hurler kept his mates in the contest by retiring 11 of 12 Cincinnati batters, the lone runner, third baseman Heinie Groh, reaching base courtesy of Risberg’s fifth-inning miscue. But Kerr was masterful in his handling of Duncan, who grounded into an inning-ending double play, Collins-to-Risberg-to-Gandil.

Only two innings separated the White Sox from a long offseason spent contemplating their failure to capture what was supposed to be a sure championship, when the club took its turn in the eighth. Jackson led off with a free pass that knocked Ruether from the box in favor of Dolph Luque, who was making his fifth World Series appearance. Felsch greeted the new Cincinnati pitcher with a high-hopper that eluded Reds infielders long enough to allow him to safely advance with an infield single and the White Sox had runners on first and second with nobody out. The throng, which stood in jubilant anticipation only an inning before, was growing unrestful.

Gandil did nothing to allay the fans’ fears as he smoked a hit to left that Duncan gobbled up in time to keep pinch runner Nemo Leibold from scoring, but the visiting team had the bases juiced with no outs. Luque, who had been so reliable in winning Game 2 and saving Games 3 and 5, finally lost his composure and walked Risberg to knot the score at four. Pinch hitter Eddie Murphy tagged a sacrifice fly to left, putting the White Sox ahead and silencing the crowd for good, before Luque worked his way out of the jam with consecutive groundouts by Fred McMullin and Shano Collins.   

Roy Wilkinson and Erskine Mayer took turns shutting down the Cincinnati lineup in the eighth and ninth and the White Sox were victorious. The boys from Chicago can be forgiven for being optimistic, but tomorrow’s tilt will feature staff ace Eddie Cicotte, who will face Slim Sallee, a pitcher this team beat twice in the 1917 Fall Classic, when he was with the Giants. Sallee was magnificent in game 2, however, allowing only one unearned run in nine innings, helping the Reds to a 2-1 victory.

Game 6
10/7/1919:
Chicago (A) at Cincinnati

BATTING:
Runs Batted In: B. Weaver (1), C. Gandil (1), S. Risberg (1), R. Schalk (1), E. Murphy (1)
Stolen Bases: E. Collins (2), S. Risberg (1)
Sacrifice Flies: E. Murphy (1)

FIELDING:
Errors: S. Risberg (1)

BATTING:
Triples: P. Duncan (1, 2nd inning off Kerr, 1 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: P. Duncan (1), L. Kopf (1), G. Neale (1), B. Rariden (1)

Stolen Bases: G. Neale (1), I. Wingo (1)
Sacrifice Flies: B. Rariden (1)

FIELDING:
Errors: D. Ruether (1), B. Rariden (1)

PITCHING:

Attendance: 32,006

Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune