After many years of being an also-ran in the National league, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ fortunes changed dramatically following the 1899 season after a monumental deal with the Louisville Colonels. The addition of star players such as Fred Clarke, Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach and Deacon Phillippe allowed Pittsburgh to become the first baseball dynasty of the twentieth century as they won National League pennants in 1901, 1902 and 1903.
Without question, the 1902 Pirates aggregation was the greatest of those three squads. This definitive historical account examines the record-breaking 1902 Pittsburgh season, the politics that shaped baseball’s landscape during that era and the players responsible for that squad’s claiming its rightful place in baseball history.

Ronald T. Waldo, a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, lives in Pittsburgh. His articles have appeared in Pittsburgh Pride Magazine and Sports Collectors Digest, and he is the author of several books on baseball history.

Ronald T. Waldo
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 300
Bibliographic Info: 17 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7832-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1506-6
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments  v

Preface  1

1. Player Influx Catapults Pittsburgh into a Pennant Contender  5

2. Williams Jumps to the Americans, Pirates Win the Pennant  25

3. Barney Dreyfuss Battles Fellow National League Magnates  46

4. Pittsburgh Breaks Out of the Gate in Splendid Fashion  68

5. Executive Discipline Fails to Derail the Pirates Train  88

6. Honus Wagner and Jack ­O’Connor Heading to St. Louis?  109

7. Jack Chesbro Becomes the National League’s Top Pitcher  129

8. Pirates Rooters Demand a Shift to the American League  149

9. Ban Johnson Lures Pirates Stars to the American League  169

10. Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill Issue an Ultimatum to Dreyfuss  190

11. Pittsburgh Breaks Record as Tommy Leach Fight Intensifies  211

12. Pirates Win Third Consecutive Pennant Despite Loss of Stars  232

Appendices

A: 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster  255

B: 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates Statistics  257

Chapter Notes  259

Bibliography  282

Index  285