1908 Cubs and Merkle's Boner

[jvett77]

The Cubs had been one of baseball's most dominant teams in the early 1900s. 1908 was the year of the infamous "Merkle's Boner" play that allowed the Chicago Cubs to reach the World Series after beating the New York Giants in a one-game "playoff", actually the makeup game for the tie that the Merkle play had caused.

With the game tied 1-1, bottom of the ninth, a runner on third and Merkle on first for the Giants, the batter hit a single, seemingly driving in the winning run for the Giants. Believing the game was over, fans rushed the field and Merkle did not run to 2nd but ran into the dugout (lol). Meanwhile, Cubs ss Evers called for the ball and Merkle was called out. Basically, since Merkle didn't touch second, he was still at first, nullifying the rbi single.

Merkle's Bar & Grill became a popular Wrigleyville bar, one block south of Wrigley Field in Chicago.


Chicago Cubs baseball team players, World Champions 1908, on the field at West Side Grounds, Chicago.

Evers was a part of a great double-play combination with Joe Tinker and Frank Chance, which was immortalized as "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon":

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

 

[packerzrule]

you said boner

 

[jvett77]

you said boner

An all-time favorite classic term.

 

[redseat]

This is worse than Steve Bartman! All dude did was catch a ball IN foul ground

 

[Omar 382]

I think everyone knows this story, at least to some degree jvett...