Washington Senators - The Turn of the Century (1901-1909)

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1900

Decade

1901

1904

113

1907

102

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110

Titles:

Top Senators Players of the first decade of the Century

None

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Case Patten (14.72) - 64

National Park

Long Tom Hughes (7.67) - 32

Walter Johnson (11.48) - 23

Team Name:

Al Orth (2.86) - 17

Nationals

Charlie Smith (5.39) - 17

Senators

Watty Lee (2.72) - 15

Bill Carrick (2.36) - 12

Owner:

Cy Falkenberg (4.69) - 12

American League (1901-1904)

Jack Townsend (0.11) - 11

Local Group of Businessmen led by Tom Noyes (1905-1909)

Catchers:

General Managers:

Boileryard Clark (4.2) - 13

None

First Basemen:

Managers:

John Anderson (6.95) - 22

Jim Manning (1901)

Charlie Hickman (6.76) - 17

Tom Loftus (1902-1903)

Jake Stahl (4.81) - 16

Mel Kittridge (1904)

Patsy Donovan (1904)

Second Basemen:

Jake Stahl (1905-1906)

Larry Schlafly (1.97) - 10

Joe Cantillon (1907-1909)

Jim Delahanty (6.06) - 9

No Hitters:

ShortStop:

None

Dave Altizer (4.12) - 13

George McBride (6.3) - 9

Hall of Famers:

Walter Johnson

Third Base:

Ed Delahanty

Bill Coughlin (5.56) - 15

Notable Events:

Outfield:

Charlie Jones (3.5) - 23

1901 - The Senators are born as an American League team. They

Jimmy Ryan (4.84) - 22

had been a National League franchise for years up until 1899 when

Bob Ganley (5.39) - 18

the National League contracted from twelve to eight teams. Ban

Clyde Milan (3.26) - 16

Johnson, the founder of the American League, who was the

Ed Delahanty (7.99) - 12

Commissioner of the Western League, brought the WL Kansas City

John Farrell (2.01) - 10

franchise to Washington. The league was the owner of the Senators

Bob Unglaub (4.2) - 8

through the first four years of their existence. Eerily, a century later,

the new Washington franchise also was owned owned by the league

Notable Events:

for roughly four hears [2002-2006], (two of those years in Montreal).

Without the force of a committed owner to run the team, the Senators

1907 - Speedy centerfielder Clyde Millan, 20, comes up to the Senators

flounder throughout the decade. Early on, sportswriter Charlie Dryden

from Wichita. He would play sixteen years, all with Washington, as one

coined the phrase "Washington - first in war, first in peace and last

of the top centerfielders in the game.

in the American League". It stuck, as the Senators average a 53-93

record for the decade and for most of the team's tenure in Washington.

1908 - Gabby Street catches a ball dropped from the top of the

Washington Monument with his bare hands

1901 - Lefthander Case Patten, 27, is obtained from Kansas City. He

will be Washington's best player for most of the decade.

1908 - Shortstop George McBride, 27, who had been with the

Cardinals, is picked up by Washington. He will be the Senators

1903 - Ed Delahanty falls off of a train and dies at the age of thirty

starting shortstop for the next thirteen years.

five. He was a Hall of Famer who hit .376 in 1902 with Washington.

1909 - William H Taft becomes the first president to throw out the first ball of

1905 - The Senators are purchased by a group of local businessmen

the season. The Taft family were big baseball fans as brother Charles

owned the Cubs for a couple of years (1914-1915)

1907 - Nineteen year old righthander, Walter Johnson, debuts.

Johnson will go on to have a twenty one year Hall of Fame big league

1909 - The Senators play an eighteen inning 0-0 tie with the Tigers

career, all with the Senators, as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

1909 - Walter Johnson loses 25 games (despite a 2.21 ERA).

Twenty four year old rookie righthander Bob Groom goes him one

worse, losing a record 26