The Merkle Game Remembered

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MELISSA BLOCK, host:

In mid September of 1908, the Cubs were not yet in first place. They were chasing their archrivals, the New York Giants. And when the two teams met at the Polo Grounds in New York, events unfolded that were so bizarre, they are still unrivaled, even in the freakish late-season history of the Chicago Cubs.

Cait Murphy is the author of a book about the 1908 season called "Crazy '08," and we've asked her to join us to tell the story of what she calls the most controversial game in the history of baseball, September 23rd, 1908. Cait, welcome to the program.

Ms. CAIT MURPHY (Author, "Crazy '08"): Thanks for having me.

BLOCK: Let's set the scene here. The two teams are at the Polo Grounds in New York, it's the bottom of the ninth inning, the game is tied one to one, two outs, the Giants are up, what happened?

Ms. MURPHY: Well, the Cubs are half a game behind the Giants, so whoever wins this game will be in first place. This is also the fiercest rivalry in baseball. So the mood is very intense. There's men on first and third. The runner on first is Fred Merkle, who on this day, has started his first Major League game. The batter hit a clean single to right field. The man on third trots home. The crowd comes streaming onto the field in celebration. And Fred Merkle, on first base, sees the run score, sees the crowd coming, and he just sprints for the clubhouse.

BLOCK: He doesn't touch second base?

Ms. MURPHY: He does not touch second base. Johnny Evers, the second base man for the Cubs (unintelligible) name, he sees that Merkle does not touch second, and he gets the ball from somewhere and by no means clear it's the game ball, which by some accounts has been thrown into the stands at this point. He gets the ball, he touches second, and he screams at the umpire, Merkle never touch second. So the run doesn't score and the game is tied.

The umpires consult. They have to be escorted under the stands. But they consult and they agree, Merkle did not touch second, and under the rules of baseball, when the third out is the force, the run on third does not score.

BLOCK: And the stadium, at this point, is pandemonium. It's a mob scene?

Ms. MURPHY: Absolute mob scene. The Cubs are arguing around second base with the umpires to make their case. The Giants players realized something unusual is happening, so they're all coming back to argue the case. There's 20,000 fans on the field. So this is a New York crowd, it can get pretty edgy pretty fast.

BLOCK: And this 19-year-old rookie, Fred Merkle, becomes just (unintelligible). He's the biggest loser ever?

Ms. MURPHY: He becomes, actually, a lifelong scapegoat. And there's a real tragic element to that. He made a rookie mistake. And he used the term bonehead for the first time the next day and literally hears it for the rest of his life.

BLOCK: This becomes known as Merkle's Boner. And Merkle itself becomes a verb, to Merkle.

Ms. MURPHY: It means to not arrive when expected.

BLOCK: And there's a rematch, a grudge match at the Polo Grounds?

Ms. MURPHY: This tie game, it's immensely controversial. Both teams think they should win the game - the Giants because in their estimation, they scored a fair run. The Cubs say they should get it by forfeit because they couldn't resume the game because the field was in such chaos.

And for weeks, there's a series of affidavits and hearings and it's all very tedious. Bottomline is this, the board of directors of the National league says, we uphold the umpires. It's a tie game. And at the end of the season, the Giants and Cubs have identical records, so they have to replay this game and whoever wins the game, wins the pennant and thus, goes on to the World Series.

BLOCK: And the Cubs win.

Ms. MURPHY: Fortunately, it's a clean game. The Cubs win four to two. They beat Christy Mathewson, who has the best year of his wonderful career of winning 37 games, but by his own estimation, his saddest, because you can't quite carry the Giants to the pennant.

Now, the starting pitcher for the Cubs was Jack Pfiester, who had also started the Merkle game. But Pfiester doesn't pitch very well. He is relieved by Mordecai, "three-finger" Brown. And this is really the match-up that everyone wants. Brown and Mathewson are by far the two best pitchers in the National League. And Brown wins.

BLOCK: So the Cubs win, they go on to the World Series, they win the World Series. And you write it in the end, the Cubs deserved to win.

Ms. MURPHY: I think they did. In this era, the Cubs were a dynasty. They were the first dynasty of the 20th century. 1908, though, was difficult. They have a lot of injuries. The Giants are better. The Pirates are better. Near the end of the season, the team really begins to click, and they have one of the great stretch runs in history. But it was a very difficult season and I think their sheer will and then their excellence down the stretch makes them more the champions.

BLOCK: Cait Murphy, thanks so much.

Ms. MURPHY: Thank you very much.

BLOCK: Cait Murphy, author of the book "Crazy '08," talking to us about the Merkle game of 1908, 100 years ago this month, a game that helped send the Cubs to their last World Series championship.

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