1901 in baseball

Year in baseball
this year = 1901

Champions

Major League Baseball

* American League: Chicago White Stockings
* National League: Pittsburgh Pirates
* No world series was played between these two clubs.

Other champions

* Minor leagues
** California League: San Francisco Wasps [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=71]
** Connecticut State League: Bristol Woodchoppers [http://www.mindspring.com/~luckyshow/baseball/bellmakers.htm]
** Eastern League: Rochester Bronchos or Hustlers [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Rochester_Bronchos]
** Inter-Mountain League: Ogden [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Inter-Mountain_League]
** Inter State League or Western Association: champion unknown
** New England League: Portland (ME)
** New York State League: champion unknown
** Pacific Northwest League: Portland Webfoots (OR)
** Southern Association: Nashville Vols

tatistical leaders

¹Modern (post-1900) single season batting average record

Notable seasons

* Nap Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics hits .426, an AL batting average record that still stands today. This record is also the modern or post-1900 batting average record and is often cited as the highest batting average of all time. The true all-time batting average leader is Hugh Duffy, who hit .440 in 1894.
* Cy Young of the Boston Americans leads the AL in ERA at 1.62 and wins 33 games, 41.8% of the Pilgrims' total.

Major League Baseball final standings

American League final standings

Note: The Baltimore Orioles of 1901 became the New York Highlanders in 1903. The Milwaukee Brewers of 1901 became the St. Louis Browns in 1902.

National League final standings

Events

January

* January 4 - The Baltimore Oriole club incorporates. John McGraw is manager and part-owner.
* January 28 - The American League formally organizes. The eight original clubs were the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Brewers, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Blues, Cleveland Lake Shores, Buffalo Bisons, and Minneapolis Millers. The Hoosiers, Bisons, and Millers are contracted; the Boston Americans, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Athletics are admitted. Teams are limited to 14 players and will play 140 games per season.

February

* February 8 - Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Nap Lajoie, along with pitchers Chick Fraser and Bill Bernhard, jump to the new American League Philadelphia club, the Athletics.
* February 27 - The National League Rules Committee decrees that all fouls are strikes, except those hit after two strikes. In order to prevent balls from fouled and lost, the committee urges that "batsmen who foul off good strikes are to be disciplined." Also, now a ball will be called if the pitcher does not throw to the ready batter within 20 seconds, or if the pitcher hits the batter with a pitch.

March

* March 2 - Jimmy Collins, Hugh Duffy, and Billy Sullivan jump the NL for the new AL. Collins will manage the Boston Americans, Duffy will manage the Milwaukee Brewers, and Sullivan will catch for the Chicago White Stockings.
* March 28 - Philadelphia Phillies owner John Rogers files an injunction to stop Nap Lajoie, Bill Bernhard and Chick Fraser from playing for the Phillies AL rival, the Philadelphia Athletics.

April

* April 3 - Connie Mack, famed Philadelphia Athletics manager, accuses Christy Mathewson of breaking a contract he had signed with the Athletics in January. Mathewson had in fact accepted money from the Athletics before rejoining the Giants in March.
* April 18 - With a six-run first-inning, the Brooklyn Superbas beat the Philadelphia Phillies 12-7 to open the National League's 1901 season.
* April 24 - The American League begins play as a new major league. The Chicago White Stockings defeat the Cleveland Blues 8-2 as Roy Patterson collects his first of 20 wins.
* April 25 - History is made in just the second day of play in the new American League. The Milwaukee Brewers are leading the Detroit Tigers 13-4 going into the ninth inning, when the Tigers rally and score 10 runs to win, 14-13.
* April 26 - Christy Mathewson records his first major league victory in the New York Giants' opener, beating the Brooklyn Superbas 5-3.

May

* May 2 - This was the date of the American League's first forfeit, with the Detroit Tigers playing the Chicago White Stockings. The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the ninth to put them on top, 7-5, and the White Stockings began stalling for a rainout. However, the umpire forfeited the game to the Tigers.
* May 8:
** Amos Rusie, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, makes his first start in more than two years. He loses, 14-3, and retires after two more appearances.
** With the New York Giants leading the Philadelphia Phillies 9-8 with two out in the ninth, John Ganzel of the Giants pulls the hidden ball trick on Harry Wolverton of the Phillies. This trick ends the game and preserves the Giants' win.
* May 9 - Earl Moore of the Cleveland Blues pitched nine hitless innings against the Chicago White Stockings before giving up two hits in the 10th inning to lose 4-2.
* May 17 - The Philadelphia Athletics are beating the Washington Senators 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth when Senators player Bill Coughlin hits an apparent game-ending home run. However, under the rules of the time, Coughlin is credited with just a single, as that is all that it would have taken for the Senators to beat the Athletics.
* May 21 - Andrew Freedman, owner of the New York Giants, refuses to allow umpire Billy Nash inside the Polo Grounds, accusing him of incompetence.
* May 23 - Nap Lajoie, on his way to hitting a record .426 for the Philadelphia Athletics, is considered such a dangerous hitter by the Chicago White Stockings that he is intentionally walked with the bases loaded.
* May 27 - Third baseman Jimmy Burke of the Milwaukee Brewers sets an American League record by committing four errors in an inning. This record will be tied in 1914 by the Cleveland Naps' Ray Chapman, and in 1942 by the Chicago Cubs' Len Merullo.
*May 30 - In the afternoon game of a holiday doubleheader, the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Giants 6-5 in 10 innings. An NL record 28,500 fans attend the game.

June

* June 9 - 17,000 fans attend the Reds-Giants game. The Giants are up, 15-4, after six innings, when the fans begin to overflow the field. Over the next two and a half innings, 19 runs score as ground-rule doubles multiply. As the crowd enters the infield, with the Giants leading 25-13, umpire Bob Emslie forfeits the game to the Giants. The game ends with a record 31 hits and 13 doubles.
* June 20 - Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates steals home twice in one game as the Pirates beat the Giants 7-0.
* June 24 - Mike Donlin of the Baltimore Orioles goes 6-6 with 2 singles, 2 doubles and 2 triples as the Orioles defeat the Detroit Tigers 17-8.

July

* July 1 - With the Chicago Orphans playing the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, Jack Doyle, first baseman of the Orphans who was formerly of the Giants, gets into a fight with a fan. Though the police arrive, Doyle does not get in trouble, though he has to take himself out of the game in the seventh as his hand is hurting.
* July 15 - New York Giants rookie pitcher Christy Mathewson pitches a no-hitter as the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0.

August

* August 10 - Dale Gear of the Washington Senators sets an American League record by giving up 41 total bases as he loses 13-0 to the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics pitcher Snake Wiltse has two doubles and two triples, only the third time a pitcher has collected four extra base hits in a game.

eptember

* September 3 - Joe McGinnity of the Baltimore Orioles collects two complete games in one day, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 10-0 and losing to them, 6-1.
* September 5 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which would later become known as Minor League Baseball, was formed at a meeting of minor league executives at the Leland Hotel in Chicago. Patrick T. Powers, president of the Eastern League, became the first president of the NAPBL. [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/history/]
* September 19 - All games are cancelled due to the recent death of President William McKinley.
* September 21 - Though the Chicago White Stockings lose to the Philadelphia Athletics 10-4, they clinch the first pennant of the American League as the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Americans 3-1.
* September 23 and 24 - Jimmy Sheckard hits grand slams in two consecutive games, as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 25-6 on the 23rd and 16-2 on the 24th.
* September 26 - The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-3, thus clinching the 1901 National League pennant.

October-December

Births

January-April

* January 5 - Luke Sewell
* January 13 - Fred Schulte
*January 24 - John Freeman
*January 24 - Grant Gillis
* January 24 - Flint Rhem
* January 27 - Fred Heimach
* February 6 - Glenn Wright
*February 17 - Eddie Phillips
* March 18 - Johnny Cooney
* April 9 - Vic Sorrell
* April 22 - Taylor Douthit

May-August

* May 8 - Turkey Stearnes
* May 19 - Newt Allen
*June 1 - Lou Legett
*July 9 - Lou Polli
* July 20 - Heinie Manush
* July 28 - Freddie Fitzsimmons
*August 9 - Phil Todt
* August 23 - Guy Bush
*August 27 - Phil Collins

eptember-December

*September 2 - Marty Griffin
*September 11 - George Loepp
*October 1 - Jimmie Reese
*October 27 - George Smith
*October 30 - Al Kellett
*November 22 - Harry Rice
*November 30 - Clyde Sukeforth
*December 3 - Bennie Tate
*December 14 - Les Bell
*December 26 - Doc Farrell

Deaths

*February 3 - Tom O'Brien, 27, outfielder/infielder for the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants National League clubs between 1897 and 1900.
*April 30 - Dude Esterbrook, 43, infielder who batted .314 for the pennant-winning 1884 New York Metropolitans
*June 17 - Bill Craver, 57, catcher and manager who later was expelled from organized baseball for gambling.
*July 24 - Joe Simmons, 56, player in National Association for three seasons, them managed the 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps of the Union Association.