While the World Series is the high point of every baseball season, not even a seventh and deciding contest is the most anticipated game of the year. That honor belongs to Opening Day – a time of hope for all teams and their fans, no matter how woeful the past or bleak the future. But the celebration of the new season is usually more important than what happens in the game itself. It is, after all, just the first of 162 contests and the result typically has little, if any, impact on the season's outcome. In addition, the players are far from midseason form which, especially when combined with less-than-ideal playing conditions, makes memorable performances unlikely. But what if the season opener is one of the greatest games imaginable, bordering on historic? It’s an opening day like no other and such was the case when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants began the 1909 season.
Few teams and their fans had more reason to want to turn the page to a new season than the Giants and the Dodgers. Brooklyn was coming off a poor season that saw the team win only 53 games, avoiding last place only because the St. Louis Cardinals somehow won even fewer. Understandably, Brooklyn had a new manager, and a player-manager at that, Harry Lumley, the club’s right fielder. No matter how bad the off-season was in Brooklyn, however, it couldn’t compare to the Giants’ winter of discontent. Their last game at the Polo Grounds was the replay of the controversial Merkle Game, a devastating loss that cost the Giants the National League pennant. The new season was a chance for the players and fans to put the bitter memories of the 1908 season behind them.
As badly as everyone wanted to begin the 1909 campaign, however, they had to wait another day when rain wiped out the scheduled April 14th opener. The following day began with drizzle, but by noon the sun was out, feebly attempting to offset temperatures more like those encountered on “Greenland’s icy mountains.” Cold weather did not, however, deter the Giants faithful or their Brooklyn counterparts. Fortunately, the Giants ownership had added center field bleachers that “completely encircled” the playing field so there was plenty of room. Attendance inside the park was estimated at 30,000 with others watching from “Coogan’s bluff, the Viaduct, and even the “L” [subway] structure.”
Those who had arrived when the gates opened at noon had a long wait for the 4:00 first pitch. Finally, the Giant players appeared “in their brand-new uniforms” which was "the signal for the letting loose of a six months pent-up enthusiasm.” Manager John McGraw was not on the field, supposedly because of “a badly inflamed hand.” A source, however, suggested McGraw’s absence was in protest of owner John Brush's refusal to meet second baseman Larry Doyle's salary demands. Doyle did not play in the opener and his place was taken by promising rookie Art Fletcher. Also not in the starting lineup, was the aforementioned Fred Merkle who was greeted warmly by the fans offering some understanding, if not forgiveness for 1908.
Even without Doyle, the Giants had a far stronger lineup than Brooklyn. Befitting a team that won only 53 games, the 1908 Dodgers’ batting average was an anemic .182. The only bright spot was Tim “Big City” Jordan who led the National League with 12 home runs, offset by a league-leading 70 strikeouts. One interesting newcomer in the Brooklyn lineup was center fielder Jimmy Sebring . Labeled a “can’t miss” prospect when he broke in with the Pirates in 1903, Sebring hit the first home run in World Series history while batting .367 in the initial Fall Classic. Despite a reputation for “a strong and accurate throwing arm, speed and a natural hitting ability from the left side,” he had never lived up to his potential. As disappointing as Sebring’s career had been, however, he still had a few throws left in his arm.
Opening Day often offers a matchup between the two teams’ best pitchers and fans were probably looking forward to watching Giants ace Christy Mathewson go against Brooklyn’s top pitcher, Napoleon Rucker. Rucker, however, didn’t like pitching in cold weather so Irwin "Kaiser" Wilhelm took his place. Whether Mathewson would have pitched in the cold became academic when the future Hall of Fame pitcher was injured during pre-game practice. Instead, when the Giants took the field, Wilton "Red" Ames, headed to the mound. Although Ames won only seven games in 1908, they all came during the stretch run of the incredibly intense pennant race. Wilhelm, who predictably attracted the nickname, “Kaiser,” which he supposedly hated, won 16 games in 1908 with a 1.87 ERA. Unfortunately, he also lost 22, the third time he lost more than 20 games, thanks to a career spent pitching for bad teams.
After what must have seemed like an eternity of waiting, it was finally time for Tammany Hall boss Richard Croker to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Perhaps, not believing the season was actually going to begin, there was “a dead silence over the ballpark.” But when umpire James Johnstone “shouted “play ball!” A roar went up from the assembled crowd” and “the game [and the season] was on.” While the big crowd was ecstatic to watch baseball again, no one could have anticipated what they would witness over the next two hours. The Giants faithful quickly had another reason to exercise their vocal cords when Ames struck out Al Burch, Brooklyn’s leadoff hitter, prompting “a mighty roar” from the home team's fans. The strikeout set the tone for the inning as both Ames and Wilhelm set the side down in order.
Ames also retired the Dodgers in order in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the inning, the first of Wilhelm’s several lapses of control gave the Giants a scoring opportunity. Two, one-out walks, followed by a force play, put runners on first and third with two out. The stage was set for a delayed double steal, a popular strategy in the Deadball Era. Al Bridwell, the runner on first, was supposed to get caught in a rundown, allowing the runner on third to score before Bridwell was tagged out. Brooklyn, however, was ready. When Bridwell broke for second, Dodger shortstop John Hummel blocked catcher Bill Bergen's low throw and bluffed a throw home, freezing the runner at third. Hummel then tagged out Bridwell “who had stopped in his tracks,” ending the threat without a run. The estimated 5000 Brooklyn fans doubtless roared their approval of their team thwarting the lordly Giants’ attempt at inside baseball.
Through the top of the fifth, Brooklyn managed just two baserunners, one on a walk and another because of a New York error. Neither went any further thanks to the Giants’ defense which wiped out the first by a double play and caught the other trying to steal second. The Brooklyn fielders were also supporting their pitcher, especially Burch who made a “beautiful running catch” of a ball off Fred Tenney's bat that the Brooklyn Daily Eagle thought was “ticketed for a three-timer [triple].” Wilhelm walked another batter in the sixth, but Brooklyn ended the threat with a caught stealing of their own.
Despite Wilhelm’s occasional wildness, no Giant had hit safely, but nor had any of the Dodgers. Surviving pictures of the Polo Grounds scoreboard suggest it didn’t display hits, so it’s likely only those keeping score knew both pitchers had no-hitters through six innings. But the rest of the large throng surely knew they were witnessing dominant pitching supported by solid defense. Equally rapt attention was being paid by large crowds following the game on bulletin boards outside the offices of the Eagle and the Brooklyn Daily Times. There were so many people at the latter paper that additional police had to be summoned to control the crowd.
Ames continued the almost perfect pitching in the top of the seventh, setting down the side in order with two strikeouts. As the Giants came to bat in the bottom of the inning, the fans celebrating both the season's first seventh-inning stretch and the quality of play, “arose, stretched and rooted as of yore.” No matter how enthusiastic the rooting, however, it was in vain. Matching Ames almost batter for batter, Wilhelm delivered a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Brooklyn was again helpless against Ames in the top of the eighth and the Giants came to bat with a golden opportunity. If they could push a run across the plate, they would set the stage for a historic opening day no-hitter and victory that would begin the redemption of 1908.
With one out, Wilhelm, again living dangerously, walked Art Devlin and Bridwell, putting that desperately desired go-ahead run in scoring position. Next up was catcher George Schlie who delivered the first hit of the day, a “clean, solid drive that went with lightning speed to center.” Devlin “had a big lead off second” and was immediately “on his toes, digging for home.” Unfortunately for Devlin and the Giants, however, Brooklyn center fielder, Jimmy Sebring, at least for this moment, showed why he had been such a highly-rated prospect. After fielding the ball “with startling brevity,” Sebring, “fired it home with disconcerting accuracy.” The throw was “like a pea”, as “swift as a bullet and as straight as an arrow,” and “never more than six feet from the ground.” Behind the plate, Bergen "gauged the throw to a nicety" and Devlin was out by six feet.
One paper called the throw “probably the most remarkable" in baseball history, "for speed and accuracy” while another said it “was voted the greatest throw seen on the Polo Grounds.” The highest praise came from the fans who gave “the greatest applause of the day.” Even Giant rooters felt obligated to recognize Sebring’s great play even though it cost their team the potential winning run. The throw is even more noteworthy considering it was made with a ball that had been used and abused throughout the contest, perhaps since the first pitch. The game was becoming one of those rare occasions where appreciation for the quality of play, almost matches the desire for one’s team to win. Reprieved by his defense, Wilhelm got the next batter, and the threat was over. Sadly, for Sebring, it was his last big moment in baseball and perhaps life. He was released by Brooklyn in mid-June and died a few days before Christmas from kidney disease.
After Sebring’s game-saving throw, it was only fitting both teams went out in order in the ninth. Thus far, the crowd had witnessed a rare display of pitching and defense. As thrilling as such games are to watch, however, fans like to see at least some hitting and offense. Making this day even more special was how an historic pitcher’s duel, “suddenly became wildly exciting” when the offenses finally got going in extra innings. With one out in the top of the tenth, Whitey Alpermann, doubled for Brooklyn’s first hit, reaching second “on a daring slide.” Incredibly, it was the first ball hit by the Dodgers to the outfield on a day the Giants outfielders didn’t record a single putout. With power hitting Tim Jordan up, the Giant fans were understandably “anxious,” but Ames was up to the challenge “and the fans breathed easier for a moment.” In the bottom of the inning, Wilhelm walked two Giants, but again escaped unscathed, making Brooklyn fans wonder how much longer he, and they could live a charmed life.
The Dodgers put a runner in scoring position in the top of the eleventh but were again denied by the Giants' defense, thanks to a fine play by Art Fletcher. Few, if any, rookies playing in their first major league game have had a more memorable experience. Not to be outdone, New York put the winning run on base in the bottom of the inning, but didn’t score, thanks to another defensive gem from Sebring who made a “pretty running catch close to the ground.” By this point, the fans must have wondered how long both teams, especially the pitchers could keep this up. But after Ames worked around another Alpermann double in the top of the twelfth, Wilhelm, “grim and forbidding” set the Giants down in order and the game headed to the thirteenth.
It was a little after 6:00, “darkness was swooping down on Coogan’s Hollow, a harbinger of the end and it behooved either side to get busy.” Without lights or daylight-saving time, this was likely the last inning. With one out and Lumley at the plate, Ames threw “one of his great drops and Lumley leaned on it with all his weight.” Had it not been for the new bleachers, the shot might have been a home run, but it hit the center field fence and bounced back at least thirty feet. It took a “great relay” by Bill O’Hara, Fletcher and Bridwell to hold Lumley at third. The blow produced a roar that “started in the bleachers, rose through the grandstand,” up to the top of Coogan bluff and “came billowing back to the diamond,” - a “cry of surprise, joy and disgust.” The joy or disgust depended, of course, on one’s rooting interest.
With the dangerous Jordan at the plate, Giants captain Fred Tenney and Ames decided to walk him and hope newcomer Ed Lennox would hit into a double play. Not pleased, Brooklyn fans called the Giants “Quitter[s]”, “Yellow Dog[s]” and other names that couldn’t be printed. If the Brooklyn fans were angered by the move, Lennox was more so and he was in a position to do something about it. On a 2-1 pitch, he “delivered a stinging single” to left driving in Lumley with the game’s first run. Bergen wasted no time singling to right and when "Red" Murray's quick throw” home got away from catcher Schlei, Jordan also scored. Nor was Brooklyn finished. After Wilhelm fouled out, Burch bunted down the third baseline. Devlin let it roll, but it stayed fair, and Lennox scored. After 12 innings of offensive futility, Brooklyn had broken through with three runs.
Needless to say, the Giants weren’t going to go quietly. Bridwell hit one behind third base, but was denied by Burch’s “beautiful running catch.” Having tested the Dodgers’ left fielder’s ability to come in on the ball, Schlie, the next Giant batter “sent one to the bleachers in left field” which Burch also tracked down. Just as Brooklyn fans got ready to celebrate the great victory, however, rookie John Meyers pinch hit for Ames and singled, the Native American’s first hit of his career. Incredibly in 12 2/3’s innings, it was only New York’s third hit. Herzog followed with an infield hit, bringing the tying run to the plate. Acting Giants manager, Wilbert Robinson sent "Moose" McCormick up to pinch hit and he worked the count to 3-2. With the Giant fans begging and praying for a home run, Wilhelm induced McCormick to ground back to him to end a game no one present would ever forget.
Having witnessed, “the greatest opening contest ever played,” it was only natural that fans of both teams would jump to conclusions about their teams’ prospects. For Brooklyn fans, the hard-earned triumph over their hated rivals was a rebirth of hope. Surely under the leadership of new manager Lumley, they would, at the very least, surpass last year’s miserable performance. Sadly, however, the improvement was barely discernable – 55 wins, two more than the prior year and Lumley was fired when the season ended.
The one good thing for Giants’ fans was the game didn’t lead to any such false hopes. The New York faithful had hoped the 1909 opener would wipe out some of the bitter taste from the Giants' last game at the Polo Grounds – the devastating loss of the Merkle replay game. Instead, their team suffered another frustrating defeat despite their pitcher no hitting the opposition for nine innings. Any fan who thought the result was a bad omen for the season was wise beyond their sight. Even though the Giants won 92 games, they finished a distant third, 19 games back of the Pirates. While the loss must have been the most heartbreaking of Ames’ career, it was only the first of three consecutive tough opening-day defeats. In 1910 and 1911, Ames also lost the Giants opener despite pitching at least six innings of no-hit ball on each occasion.
As time passed though, those fortunate enough to have been part of the 1909 opener, fans, players and sportswriters alike, probably came to appreciate the game in its own right. After all, they couldn't have come any closer to playing in or witnessing a double no-hitter. And if that wasn't enough, there was the added drama of four extra innings with both clubs having chances to win. Surely, over the years, as they shared baseball memories with family and friends, perhaps over a cold beer, that special day at the Polo Grounds was “in their flowing cups freshly remembered.”
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