[FuzzyRussianHat]

Game seven of the 1897 World Series was a beautiful clear 55 degree Monday afternoon in front of 20,093 fans at Indianapolis’s West Washington Street Park. The game was scoreless until the Clowns plated two in the fifth on two hits, two walks, and an error. Two singles and two walks led to two more runs for Indianapolis in the seventh. Athletics starter Jack Stivetts gave up 10 hits, four runs, five walks, and five strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

Lady Baldwin pitched five scoreless innings for the Clowns with two holds after that. They brought in Sadie McMahon, the game six starter, to wrap it up in the ninth but he struggled. The leadoff man got on via an error, followed by a single and a fielder’s choice. The next three batters got hits, capped off by Ollie Smith’s two-RBI triple to put the score at 4-3. With the tying run at third, Bob Clark struck out, allowing Indianapolis to escape with a 4-3 result in the game and the series. This was the first time that the World Series had only home wins the entire way.



Indianapolis completes the repeat, becoming three-time major league champs. It also breaks up a run of parity for the top spot, as there had been nine different champs in nine years. In the finale, Biff Sheehan went 4-4 with a run, RBI, and walk. LF Fred Clarke won series MVP, going 10-23 with two homers and five RBI.

All of McMahon’s allowed runs in the ninth were unearned. He became the first pitcher in playoff history with a zero ERA with 15+ innings pitched. McMahon had four unearned runs allowed over 18 innings. Philadelphia’s Tom Cahill had 16 RBI for the playoffs (the fourth-best), but notably 13 in the World Series.