1920 World Series

1920 World Series
1920 World Series
Dates	October 5–12
Venue	Ebbets Field (Brooklyn); League Park (Cleveland)
Umpires	Bill Klem (NL), Tommy Connolly (AL), Hank O'Day (NL), Bill Dinneen (AL)
Hall of Famers	Umpires: ; Bill Klem; Tommy Connolly; Hank O'Day ; Indians: ; Stan Coveleski; Joe Sewell; Tris Speaker ; Robins: ; Wilbert Robinson (mgr.); Rube Marquard; Zack Wheat; Burleigh Grimes

The 1920 World Series was the championship series for Major League Baseball's 1920 season. The series was a best-of-nine format played between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National League (NL) champion Brooklyn Robins, with the Indians defeating the Robins five games to two. The only World Series triple play, the first World Series grand slam, and the first World Series home run by a pitcher all occurred in Game 5 of this series. This was also the first World Series and first Big Four championship series to feature two brothers on opposing teams, with Doc Johnston playing for Cleveland and Jimmy Johnston playing for Brooklyn.^[1]

The Indians won the series in memory of their former shortstop Ray Chapman, who had been killed earlier in the season when struck in the head by a pitched ball.

In Game 5, Cleveland second basemen Bill Wambsganss turned an unassisted triple play. He caught a line drive off the bat of Clarence Mitchell, stepped on second base to put out Pete Kilduff, and tagged Otto Miller coming from first base. It was the second of 15 (as of 2022) unassisted triple plays in major-league baseball history, and it remains the only one in postseason play. Mitchell made history again in the eighth inning by hitting into a double play, accounting for five outs in two straight at-bats.

The fifth game also saw the first grand slam in World Series history (hit by Cleveland's Elmer Smith) and the first Series home run by a pitcher (Cleveland's Jim Bagby, Sr.). And in that same game, Brooklyn outhit Cleveland but lost 8–1.

Cleveland had won the American League pennant in a close race with the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. The Sox's participation in the Black Sox Scandal the previous year had caught up to them late in the season, and their star players were suspended with three games left in the season, when they were in a virtual tie with the Indians. The Yankees, with their recently acquired star Babe Ruth, were almost ready to start their eventual World Series dynasty.

This was the second of three consecutive World Series to use a best-of-nine format, instead of the usual best-of-seven. To reduce travel during the Series, the 2-3-2-2 format that was used in 1919 was changed to 3-4-2. Notably, all seven games of the 1920 World Series were won by the team who scored first. In fact, Game 4 was the only game in which the losing team scored a run before the winning team had scored all of its runs. The lead never changed hands in any game.

This would be the last World Series until 1980 to feature two franchises that had not previously won a championship.

^ McEvoy, Colin (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". Biography. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

[1] McEvoy, Colin (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". Biography. Retrieved February 12, 2023.

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