1907 Detroit Tigers season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969‎
name = Detroit Tigers
season = 1907
misc = 1907 American League Champions

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
Uniform
ballpark = Bennett Park
y4 = 1901
city = Detroit, Michigan
y5 = 1901
owners = William H. Yawkey
managers = Hughie Jennings
television = none
radio = none|The by|1907 Detroit Tigers won the American League pennant with a record of 92-58, but lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 1907 World Series, four games to none (with one tie). The season was their 7th since they entered the American League in 1901.

The Players

Catchers: Boss Schmidt and Fred Payne

Catching duties were split between Boss Schmidt (67 games), Fred Payne (46 games), and Jimmy Archer (17 games).

Schmidt hit .244 in 1907. As a young man, Schmidt worked in the coal mines and was a skilled brawler who fought an exhibition match with the heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Schmidt_Boss.stm] Schmidt also beat Ty Cobb in at least two fights. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Schmidt_Boss.stm] . In the second fight, Schmidt knocked Cobb unconscious but admired Cobb's resiliency, and the two became friends until Schmidt's death in 1932. Schmidt never wore shinguards and could force nails into the floor with his bare fists. [http://www.deadball.com/schmidt.htm]

Infield: Rossman, Downs, O'Leary, Coughlin, and Schaefer

First baseman Claude Rossman played for the Tigers from 1907-1909. In by|1907, Rossman hit .277 and had 69 RBIs -- third most on the team after Cobb and Crawford. Rossman had a peculiar emotional quirk where he sometimes froze and could not throw the ball when he became excited. Runners would lead off first to draw a throw from the pitcher, then run to second when Rossman froze. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Claude_Rossman_1881] He was 28 when he played his last major league game and died at age 46 in a New York hospital for the insane where he had been a patient for several years.

Red Downs and Germany Schaefer platooned at the second base position for the Tigers in 1907 and 1908. Downs hit .219 in 1907 with 42 RBIs and 28 runs scored. In March 1932, Downs and another man robbed a jewelry store at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Downs was convicted of first-degree robbery and sentenced to five years to life. He was paroled after 3-1/2 years and returned to Iowa.
Germany Schaefer was a backup second baseman and utlity infielder for the 1907 Tigers. He played 74 games at second base, 18 at shortstop, and 14 at third base. Schaefer is remembered more for his antics than for his performance on the field, including trying to steal first base (from second base) and, coming to bat in the rain with a raincoat and boots (to persuade the umpire to call the games). Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning, and his vaudeville act with teammate Charley O'Leary was inspiration for the MGM musical film "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. [http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/online-exhibits/baseball/popculture.html] In 1919, a little over a year after Schaefer played his last game, he died at age 42 of tuberculosis at the sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York.

Charley O'Leary was Detroit's starting shortstop from 1904-1907. In 1907, he hit .241 and scored 61 runs. On September 30, 1934, O'Leary pinch hit for the St. Louis Browns at age 51 and became one of the oldest players to collect a hit and score a run.

Third baseman Bill Coughlin, known as "Scranton Bill," was named team captain in 1907 and 1908. He was a light-hitting defensive player, who never hit higher than .252 for the Tigers. His 232 putouts in 1901 is the 8th highest single season total in history by a major league third baseman. He is also one of the few MLB players to have stolen 2nd base, 3rd base and home in a single game. Coughlin was also the maestro of the hidden ball trick. Although no known comprehensive list is known to exist of all times when the hidden ball trick has worked, Coughlin reportedly pulled it off seven times (and at three different positions) -- more than any other player in MLB history. [http://forums.nyyfans.com/archive/index.php/t-87848.html] [http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/dialed_in/discussion/august_18_2005/] In Game 2 of the 1907 World Series, Coughlin caught Jimmy Slagle with a hidden ball trick, the only one in World Series history. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Bill_Coughlin_1877&page=chronology]

Outfield: Cobb, Crawford and Jones

1907 was Ty Cobb's first as an every-day starter. He won his first batting crown with a .350 average and led the American League in RBIs (119), slugging percentage (.468), hits (212), total bases (283), stolen bases (49), and runs created (106).

Right fielder Sam Crawford, known as “Wahoo Sam,” was one of the greatest sluggers of the deadball era and still holds the major league records for triples in a career (309) and for inside-the-park home runs in a season (12) and a career (51). He finished his career with 2,961 hits and a .309 batting average. Crawford was among the AL leaders in hits, RBIs, extra base hits, slugging percentage, and total bases every year for twelve consecutive years from 1905-1915. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/crawfsa01.shtml] In 1907, Crawford finished second in the AL in batting average (.323) behind Cobb, and led the league in runs scored (102) and extra base hits.

Davy Jones played for the Tigers from 1906-1912. With Cobb and Crawford solidly entrenched in the outfield, Jones was forced to battle for the third outfield spot with Matty McIntyre each year from 1906-1910. As a speedy leadoff man, he was a reliable run scorer with Cobb and Crawford following him in the lineup. Jones' speed also made him a fine outfielder, with tremendous range In 1907, he finished second in the AL with 101 runs. In his three World Series for the Tigers, Jones played in 18 games, had a .357 on base percentage, scored 8 runs, and had a home run in the 1909 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pitching: Mullin, Killian, Siever, and Donovan

"Wild Bill" Donovan was the Tigers ace in 1907 with a 25-4 record -- the best win percentage in Tigers' team history. On May 7, 1906, Donovan stole second base, third base, and home on the front end of a double steal and also hit a triple in the same game. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Donovan_Wild_Bill.stm] In June 1923, Donovan died in a train wreck. [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Donovan.William.Obit.html]
Ed Killian led the team (and was 2nd in the AL) with a 1.78 ERA and compiled a 25-13 record. Killian's career ERA of 2.38 is tied for 24th best in MLB history. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/ERA_career.shtml] Killian also holds the record for fewest home runs allowed, giving up only 9 in his entire career. At one point, Killian pitched a record 1001 innings (from Sept. 1903 - Aug. 1907) without allowing a home run. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/K/Killian_Ed.stm]

George Mullin won 20 games in 1907, but he also lost 20 games. His ERA of 2.59 was the highest among the four Detroit starting pitchers. Mullin holds the Detroit Tigers franchise record for innings pitched (in a career and in a season) and has the second most wins in the team's history. He also pitched the team's first no-hitter; had five 20-win seasons (including a league-leading 29 wins in 1909; twice hit over .310 as a batter; and ranks 7th in major league history for fielding assists by a pitcher.

The fourth Tiger starter was Ed Siever who had a 2.16 ERA in 1907 with a record of 18-11. Siever'a Adjusted ERA+ of 191 for the 1902 Tigers is the second-best (after Hal Newhouser in Tigers franchise history for a pitcher with more than 150 innings pitched. (See Detroit Tigers award winners and league leaders) Ironically, Siever won fewer games in 1902 than he did any other full season he played.

Player/Manager Hughie Jennings

Hughie "Ee-yah" Jennings led the Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants, in by|1907-08-09. Jennings continued to manage the Tigers through the 1920 season, though his team never won another pennant. During his years as Detroit’s manager, Jennings became famous for his antics, mostly in the third base coaching box, which variously included shouts of “Ee-Yah,” and other whoops, whistles, horns, gyrations, jigs, and grass-plucking. The "Ee-Yah" whoop became his trademark and was accompanied with waves of both arms over his head and a sharp raising of his right knee. In 1907, he was suspended for taunting opponents with a tin whistle. [http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/Archive/2004mayjun/depts/Cornelliana.html] The "Ee-Yah" shouts continued and became such a trademark that Jennings became known as Hughie "Ee-Yah" Jennings, and Detroit fans would shout "Ee-Yah" when Jennings would appear on the field. [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Jennings.Hughie.Obit.html] [http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=58&category=sports] (See also Jack Smile, "Ee-yah: The Life And Times Of Hughie Jennings, Baseball Hall Of Famer")

Behind the antics was a great coaching mind. Connie Mack called Jennings one of the three greatest managers in history, along with John McGraw and Joe McCarthy. [http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=58&category=sports]

Players Ranking Among Top 100 All Time at Position

The following members of the 1909 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract:
* Ty Cobb: 2nd best center fielder of all time
* Sam Crawford: 10th best right fielder of all time

Regular Season

American League final standings

Roster

eason Highlights

* September 27: The Tigers beat the A's, 5-4‚ to take over first place.
* September 30: The Tigers and A's, battling for the pennant, play to a 17-inning 9-9 tie in one of the most momorable games of the 1907 season. In the first game of a planned double header‚ the A's got off to a 7-1 lead against "Wild Bill" Donovan. The Tigers came back to tie the game, 8-8, against Rube Waddell, on a two-run home run by Ty Cobb. Both teams scored once in the 11th, and an umpire's ruling cost Philadelphia the game in the 14th inning. Harry Davis hit a long fly. Detroit outfielder Sam Crawford went to the crowd's edge‚ and a policeman stood up and moved‚ either to interfere or to get out of the way. Home plate umpire Silk O'Loughlin ruled there was no interference‚ then reversed his ruling when base umpire Tom Connolly offered a different opinion. The game was called because of darkness in the 17th‚ a 9-9 tie. The Tigers‚ in first place‚ left for Washington where they won four games.
* October 2: The Tigers swept a double header against Washington‚ winning 9-5 and 10-2. Ty Cobb got his 200th hit.

Regular season player stats

Batting

"Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In"

Pitching

"Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts"

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1907.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 1907 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/teams/1909tigers.stm BaseballLibrary 1907 Detroit Tigers Season Summary]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1907_WS.shtml Baseball-Reference.com 1907 World Series Statistics, Box Scores and Play by Play]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1907 Charlton's Baseball Chronology 1907]

succession box
title = American League Champions
Detroit Tigers
years = by|1907
before = Chicago White Sox
by|1906
after = Detroit Tigers
by|1908
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