Chicago White Sox - The Turn of the Century (1901-1909)

Chicago
Home
Click
on Logo

1900

1901

1904

Decade

Click

on Logo

Titles: AL Champs 1901 (No World Series)

Top White Sox Players of the first decade of the Century

1906 World Champs (Beat Cubs)

Pitchers:

BallPark: South Side Park

Doc White (26.66) - 78

Ed Walsh (29.11) - 69

Team Name: White Stockings

Frank Smith (18.79) - 63

Frank Owen (7.01)- 50

Owner: Charles Comiskey

Nick Altrock (11.47) - 46

Roy Patterson (16.39) - 45

Managers: Clark Griffith (1901-1902)

Clark Griffith (6.41) - 25

Nixey Callahan (1903-1904)

Nixey Callahan (5.25) - 20

Fielder Jones (1904-1908)

Billy Sullivan (1909)

Catchers:

Billy Sullivan (5.01) - 36

No Hitters:

Nixey Callahan (1902)

First Basemen:

Frank Smith (1905)

Jiggs Donahue (13.08) - 38

Frank Smith (1908)

Second Basemen:

Hall of Famers:

Frank Isbell (15.57) - 57

Charles Comiskey

George Davis

ShortStop:

Clark Griffith

George Davis (33) - 69

Ed Walsh

Freddy Parent (8.22) - 18

Notable Events:

Third Base:

Lee Tannehill (16.14) - 29

1900 - Charles Comiskey moves the St. Paul franchise of the

Sammy Strang (3.94) - 12

Western League to Chicago in preparation for moving the

Fred Hartman (3.77) - 10

franchise to the newly formed American League in 1901

Outfield:

1901 -- Comiskey, who was a former player and manager, was

Fielder Jones (31.79) - 99

a huge part of the establishment of the American League as

Patsy Dougherty (7.96) - 36

a second major league to rival the established National League.

Danny Green (13.01) - 35

Nixey Callahan (7.99) - 22

1901 - The White Stockings win the first American League title

Ed Hahn (5.3) - 21

continuing their dominance from their days in the

Sam Mertes (5.07) - 17

Western League where they won in 1900.

Dummy Hoy (4.22) - 15

Herm McFarland (6.91) - 13

1901 - The initial American League Chicago club contains a

Ducky Holmes (3.7) - 10

number of Western League stars who carry the Sox along thru

Dave Altizer (2.54) - 10

the beginning of the decade. Notably Frank Isbell, Sam Mertes,

Fielder Jones, Roy Patterson and Clark Griffith

Notable Events:

1902 - Shortstop, Jumping George Davis, jumps to Chicago from

1905 - The White Sox pitching staff has a team 1.99 ERA

the NL Giants at the age of thirty one. He jumps back to the

and Chicago still only finishes second thus spawning their

Giants in 1903 and then, back again to Chicago in 1904.

reputation as the hitless wonders.

He remains a top performer for the Sox thru the 1908 season

when he is thirty seven years old.

1906 -The Sox team ERA skyrockets to 2.13, but Chicago manages

to win the pennant. The Sox, as a team, slug seven home runs

1902 - Clark Griffith leaves Chicago as player / manager and

and bat .230. Meanwhile, across town, the Cubs are a juggernaut,

moves to New York in the same role at the behest of Commissioner

winning 116 games. The Cubs are prohibitive favorites to win

Ban Johnson. The idea is to strengthen the New York franchise

the World Series - so, of course, the White Sox become champs.

which would benefit the viability of the entire league

1907 - The Sox finish above .500 for the remainder of the decade behind

1903 - The Sox start rebuilding their pitching staff. Twenty four

outstanding pitching and despite awful hitting. For example, in 1908,

year old Doc White jumps from the Phillies. Twenty six year olds

the Sox bat .224 with three homers as a team.

Nick Altrock and Frank Owen are purchased from Boston and

Detroit respectively. White is a mainstay on the Chicago staff

1908 - Ed Walsh wins forty games for Chicago, one off of Jack

for the next ten years.

Chesbro's record of forty one wins. However, the Sox only manage

to finish third with eighty eight wins.

1904 - The White Stockings become the White Sox.

1909 - Twenty One year old Right Hander Jim Scott is obtained from

1904 - Charles Comiskey's rebuild of the pitching staff is complete

Wichita of the Western League.

as he grabs two young pitchers in the rule 5 draft. Twenty three year

old future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh and twenty four year old Frank

Smith. The Walsh, Smith, White, Altrock, Owen, Patterson rotation

would be dominant thru the end of the decade