By Ron Griffitts
Contributing columnist
In fall 1920, the Cleveland Indians (98-56) managed by player/manager Tris Speaker met the Brooklyn Dodgers (93-61-1) or Robins as they were also known managed by Wilbert Robinson.
The Indians were led on offense by Tris Speaker ( .388 BA, 107 RBI, 137 R, 214 H, 50 2b, 11 3b), Steve O’Neill (. 321 BA), Larry Gardner ( .310 BA, 118 RBI, 11 3b), Charlie Jamieson ( .319 BA) and Elmer Smith ( .316 BA, 12 HR, 103 RBI, 10 3b).
Jim Bagby (31-12, 2.89 ERA), Stan Coveleski (24-14, 2.49 ERA), Ray Caldwell (20-10) and Guy Morton (8-6) were the Indians’ starting pitchers.
The Dodgers were led on offense by Ed Konetchy (.308 BA, 12 3b), Hi Myers (.304 BA, 22 3b) and Zach Wheat (.328 BA, 9 HR, 89 R, and 13 3b).
Their pitching staff was led by Burleigh Grimes (23-11, 2.11 ERA), Leon Cadore (15-14, 2.62 ERA), Jeff Pfeffer (16-9), Rube Marquard (10-7) with Al Mamaux (12-8, 2.68 ERA), Sherry Smith (11-9, 1.85 ERA) and Clarence Mitchell (5-2) in the bullpen.
Game one was played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn with Stan Coveleski starting for Cleveland and Rube Marquard for Brooklyn. Coveleski was better on that day as he pitched a complete game five hitter for a 3-1 Indians’ win as they went up 1-0 in the series. Steve O’Neill provided much of the Cleveland offense with two RBI.
In game two, it was the Brooklyn pitcher, spitballer Burleigh Grimes ( the spitball was legal) who threw a seven hitter and allowed no runs. With the help of two RBI from Tommy Griffith, they won 3-0 to even the series at one game each.
In another close game in game three, Brooklyn right-hander Sherry Smith held the Indians to three hits and one run for a 2-1 Dodger win and Brooklyn took a 2-1 series lead.
For game four, the teams switched to League Park in Cleveland with Stan Coveleski back, pitching another complete victory as the Indians won 5-1. George Burns provided two RBI and the series was tied at 2-2.
Game five featured Burleigh Grimes against Jim Bagby and this time Bagby had the better outing as he pitched a complete game, helping his own cause with a home run as the Cleveland won 8-1 to take a 3-2 series lead. Elmer Smith added a home run for the Indians as those were the first home runs of the series.
In game six, Cleveland starter Duster Mails pitched a three hitter for a 1-0 win. Tris Speaker scored the game’s only run on a double by George Burns in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Indians had a 4-2 series lead and needed only one more win for the title.
In game seven, Coveleski was back against Grimes and he held the Dodgers to five hits and no runs for a 3-0 win in the game and the series. Future Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski was only one of a few pitchers to ever pitch three complete game wins in a World Series. The next was Lew Burdette in 1957 for the Milwaukee Braves.
The Indians didn’t return to the World Series until 1948 while the Dodgers were back in 1941.
The Indians’ player/manager Tris Speaker played 22 major league seasons with 3514 hits for fifth place on the all-time list behind Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial.
Statistics for this article were from baseball-reference.com and sabr.org.
