1900s on the Diamond Trivia Quiz

Answer: 12

The National League lost one-third of its league at the turn of the century. Some teams went bankrupt and some were looking at creating a new team for the American League in 1901. The teams that the NL did not field in 1900 were the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and the Washington Senators.

The Brooklyn Superbas won the NL pennant in 1900 by eight games over the Boston Beaneaters.

Answer: Nig Clarke

Jay Justin "Nig" Clarke began his career with the Cleveland Naps in 1905. After only five games and getting thoroughly bruised in the legs, Clarke started to wear soccer shin guards under his socks in three games while on loan to the Detroit Tigers on August 1.

He came back to the Naps on August 11 and continued to wear the guards. Roger Bresnahan of the NL Giants was the second catcher to wear shin guards but a different type. Clarke retired in 1920 after only nine seasons.

Answer: Bill Dinneen

Dinneen was a Boston American in 1903 when he went to the first-ever World Series. The Americans met the Pittsburgh Pirates led by the arm of Deacon Phillippe. Dinneen's shutout came in game two in a 3-0 win. Dinneen would throw another shutout in the final game with another 3-0 win. The Americans won the first World Series five games to three.

Answer: Joe McGinnity

McGinnity led the National League in wins during the decade in four seasons. He took the crown in 1900 with Brooklyn, then 1903 and 1904 with the New York Giants, then again in 1906. Joe pitched in only 10 seasons and retired in 1908 with a 246-142 record.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946. The great Cy Young led the American League in three consecutive seasons from 1901-1903.

Answer: 14

The bat belonged to Nap Lajoie. He was Philadelphia Phillie in 1900 then jumped leagues to the new American League and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901. Lajoie's 14 home runs complimented his batting average of .426, 145 runs, 125 RBIs, and 232 hits in the season.

His bat also gave him the first American League Triple Crown Award. Nap would go on to win two more batting titles in the decade also. He retired in 1916 after 21 seasons and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the second round of inductions in 1937.

Answer: Pirates

The powerful Pittsburgh Pirates weren't very powerful prior to the 1900 season. The Louisville Colonels of the NL and the Pirates had the same owners in the 1890s. The National League didn't like it stating a conflict of interest so the two owners sold all the good players to the Pirates after the 1899 season and closed the doors on the Colonels. Louisville had some future Hall of Famers on the team that went to the Pirates and they finished in second place in the NL in 1900.

Then the Pirates won three consecutive NL pennants from 1901-1903 and went to the first-ever World Series in 1903.

Some of those Louisville players that became Pirates included Fred Clarke, Dummy Hoy, Tommy Leach, Deacon Phillippe, Rube Waddell, Honus Wagner, and Chief Zimmer.

Answer: Rube Waddell

George Edward "Rube" Waddell was a Philadelphia Athletic in 1905. He won the Triple Crown with his 27-10 season along with his 287 strikeouts. His arm was one to be dealt with as he won six consecutive strikeout crowns from 1902-1907 and topped out at 349 in 1904.

His 20th Century season record of 349 stood in the American League until Nolan Ryan broke it with 383 in 1973. Rube retired in 1910 after 13 seasons with a 193-143 record. The Hall of Fame accepted him in 1946.

Answer: Cubs

Not just three World Series but three consecutive. The Cubs won their three NL titles 1906-1907-1908. They lost their first series bid in 1906 to the White Sox, then won two consecutive World Series against the Tigers in 1907 and 1908. The Tigers also appeared in three consecutive World Series from 1907-1909 but lost all three.

Answer: Nixey Callahan

It was only the second season of the American League in 1902 when Callahan of the Chicago White Sox threw a no-no against the Tigers in a 3-0 win. Jimmy "Nixey" Callahan went 16-14 in the season and retired in 1903. The first American League perfect game was thrown by the great Cy Young in 1904 with the Boston Americans.

Answer: Senators

The Washington Senators became the first American League team to lose 100 games when they went 38-113 in 1904. Pitcher Casey Patten led the team with his 14-23 record while no other pitcher won more than six games. The Senators lost 94 games in the season prior.

This was all before the arrival of the great Walter Johnson later in the decade. The Phillies were the first team in the National League to lose 100 in the 20th Century when they went 52-100 in 1904 also but the Senators beat them to the punch.