by Bob Warrington

Introduction

Between the first World Series in 1903 and the Athletics departure from Philadelphia after the 1954 season, the A’s and Phillies had over 50 opportunities to play each other in the Fall Classic. They never did, of course, but it’s intriguing to wonder, “How close did Philadelphia ever come to hosting an intra-city World Series?” The short answer is, “Not very.” However, the historical record is far more interesting than that answer suggests and is summarized in this article.

The Athletics Triumphant

The Philadelphia Athletics won the American League championship in 1902, 1905, 1910-11, 1913-14, and 1929-31. Some years, the A’s were involved in close pennant races before winning, such as when they played nip and tuck with the Chicago White Sox for first place during the 1905 season. In other years, they jumped out in front early and never looked back, as was the case in 1931 when the team reached first in May and stayed there the rest of the season.

Technically, 1902 shouldn’t be included in this comparison since the World Series didn’t exist that year. The National Agreement, in which the American and National Leagues recognized the legitimacy of each other-thereby allowing the World Series to take place-wasn’t signed until January 1903. But, including it allows some explanation of the relative fortunes of the Athletics and Phillies at the turn of the century, so it’s discussed.

For those years when the Athletics finished in first place in the American League, the Phillies’ final standings and number of games out of first place in the National League were as follows:

In evaluating the Phillies performance during the early years of the century, it’s important to remember that the team was devastated by the loss of several quality players who were lured away for more money by the newly formed American League. The latter, created in 1901, was not above raiding the older National League for its star players to attract customers and establish itself as a major league. Until the National Agreement was negotiated and signed in 1903, the National League lost a number of its better players to the higher salaries offered by the American League, and no team was injured more by these defections than the Phillies.

Ironically, it was Connie Mack, manager of the Athletics, who opened his purse strings enough to convince eventual Hall of Famers Nap Lajoie and Elmer Flick to jump from the Phillies to the A’s. Coupled with the loss of another future Hall of Famer, “Big” Ed Delahanty, to a different American League team, the Phillies dropped from a respectable second place finish in 1901 to seventh place in 1902 and did not seriously contend for the National League title for over a decade.

Year Position Games Behind

1902 7th 46

1905 4th 21.5

1910 4th 25.5

1911 4th 19.5

1913 2nd 12.5

1914 6th 20.5

1929 5th 27.5

1930 8th 40

1931 6th 35

As the above statistics show, 1913 was the closest the Phillies ever came to playing the Athletics when the latter were the American League representative in the Fall Classic. It was a dominant year for the A’s as they reached first place in April and never relinquished it. The Phillies led the National League through much of April and from May 3rd to June 30th. On July 1st, however, the New York Giants took over first place and kept a comfortable lead ahead of the second place Phillies through the rest of the season. The Phillies fall to sixth place in 1914 was again caused by the loss of several key players (Otto Knabe, Mickey Doolan, etc.) to another rival league-this time the Federal League.

The Athletics coasted to the pennant during 1929-31. The team went over the century mark in wins all three years, including a remarkable 107 wins in 1931. At the same time, the Phillies were going through the worst period in the franchise’s history. They finished in the National League’s first division only once between 1917-1948, achieving a fourth place finish in 1932. The Phillies organization teetered on the brink of financial insolvency during the 1920s-30s, and players with talent were dealt away ruthlessly for money to keep the franchise afloat. Without going into all of the sad details of their plight, it is adequate for this article to simply note that the Phillies did not contend for the National League crown during the years of the Athletics last great dynasty (1929-31).