The 1906 Chicago Cubs season was the 35th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 31st in the National League and the 14th at West Side Park. Skippered by player-manager Frank Chance, the Cubs won the National League pennant with a record of 116–36, a full 20 games ahead of the second-place New York Giants. The team's .763 winning percentage, with two ties in their 154-game season,[1][2] is the highest in modern MLB history. The 2001 Seattle Mariners also won 116 games, but they did that in 162 games, resulting in a .716 winning percentage.
| 1906 Chicago Cubs | ||
|---|---|---|
| National League Champions | ||
 | ||
| League | National League | |
| Ballpark | West Side Park | |
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Record | 116–36 (.763) | |
| League place | 1st | |
| Owners | Charles Murphy | |
| Managers | Frank Chance | |
| ||
The 1906 Cubs are often considered the greatest MLB team to not win the World Series.[3] In a major upset, the Cubs were beaten by their crosstown counterparts Chicago White Sox in that year's World Series.
Regular season
editLed by new manager Frank Chance, the Cubs dominated the NL. They led the league in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed by large margins. Their record of 116 wins has never been beaten, although it was tied by the 2001 Seattle Mariners (who played a longer 162-game season).
The team included four future Hall of Famers: manager and first baseman Chance, second baseman Johnny Evers, shortstop Joe Tinker, and pitcher Mordecai Brown. Brown finished second in the NL in wins to Joe McGinnity, but his 1.04 ERA set a major league record. Although the record was broken by Dutch Leonard in 1914, Brown's mark still stands as the National League record.
The pitching staff led the majors with a team earned run average of 1.76. Six members of the pitching staff had double digit victories – Mordecai Brown (26), Jack Pfiester (20), Ed Reulbach (19), Carl Lundgren (17), Orval Overall (12), and Jack Taylor (12). In addition, Mordecai Brown set a major league record with the lowest earned run average attained with at least 250 innings pitched (1.04).[4] The offensive star was third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, who led the NL in both hits and RBI.
The team's .763 winning percentage also set a modern-era record, and was the best overall since 1885. However, it set neither a National League record nor even a franchise record, as the 19th-century White Stockings finished with better records on three occasions (1876, 1880, and 1885). The all-time major league record belongs to the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association at .832.
On August 9, Jack Taylor threw the last of a major league record 187 consecutive complete games that he pitched[5] (not counting appearances as a relief pitcher), a streak that began in 1901 when Taylor was pitching for the Chicago Orphans. Taylor had been re-acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 1, having been traded to the Cards after the 1903 season.[6]
Season standings
edit| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Cubs | 116 | 36 | .763 | — | 56–21 | 60–15 |
| New York Giants | 96 | 56 | .632 | 20 | 51–24 | 45–32 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 93 | 60 | .608 | 23½ | 49–27 | 44–33 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 71 | 82 | .464 | 45½ | 37–40 | 34–42 |
| Brooklyn Superbas | 66 | 86 | .434 | 50 | 31–44 | 35–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64 | 87 | .424 | 51½ | 36–40 | 28–47 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 52 | 98 | .347 | 63 | 28–48 | 24–50 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 49 | 102 | .325 | 66½ | 28–47 | 21–55 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 9–13 | 5–17 | 11–10–1 | 6–15 | 6–16 | 3–19 | 9–12 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 13–9 | — | 6–16 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 8–13 | 9–13 | 13–8–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 17–5 | 16–6 | — | 18–4 | 15–7–1 | 19–3–1 | 16–5 | 15–6–1 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 10–11–1 | 14–8 | 4–18 | — | 5–16 | 11–11 | 8–14–1 | 12–9–2 | |||||
| New York | 15–6 | 13–9 | 7–15–1 | 16–5 | — | 15–7 | 11–11 | 19–3 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 16–6 | 13–8 | 3–19–1 | 11–11 | 7–15 | — | 8–14 | 13–9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 19–3 | 13–9 | 5–16 | 14–8–1 | 11–11 | 14–8 | — | 17–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 12–9 | 8–13–1 | 6–15–1 | 9–12–2 | 3–19 | 9–13 | 5–17 | — | |||||
Roster
edit| 1906 Chicago Cubs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager | ||||||
Player stats
edit| = Indicates team leader |
Batting
editStarters by position
editNote: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Johnny Kling | 107 | 343 | 107 | .312 | 2 | 46 |
| 1B | Frank Chance | 136 | 474 | 151 | .319 | 3 | 71 |
| 2B | Johnny Evers | 154 | 533 | 136 | .255 | 1 | 51 |
| SS | Joe Tinker | 148 | 523 | 122 | .233 | 1 | 64 |
| 3B | Harry Steinfeldt | 151 | 539 | 176 | .327 | 3 | 83 |
| OF | Jimmy Sheckard | 149 | 549 | 144 | .262 | 1 | 45 |
| OF | Frank Schulte | 146 | 563 | 158 | .281 | 7 | 60 |
| OF | Jimmy Slagle | 127 | 498 | 119 | .239 | 0 | 33 |
Other batters
editNote: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Moran | 70 | 226 | 57 | .252 | 0 | 35 |
| Solly Hofman | 64 | 195 | 50 | .256 | 2 | 20 |
| Doc Gessler | 34 | 83 | 21 | .253 | 0 | 10 |
| Pete Noonan | 5 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Walsh | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bull Smith | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mordecai Brown | 36 | 277.1 | 26 | 6 | 1.04 | 144 |
| Jack Pfiester | 31 | 250.2 | 20 | 8 | 1.51 | 153 |
| Ed Reulbach | 33 | 218.0 | 19 | 4 | 1.65 | 94 |
| Carl Lundgren | 27 | 207.2 | 17 | 6 | 2.21 | 103 |
| Jack Taylor | 17 | 147.1 | 12 | 3 | 1.83 | 34 |
| Orval Overall | 18 | 144.0 | 12 | 3 | 1.88 | 94 |
| Bob Wicker | 10 | 72.1 | 3 | 5 | 2.99 | 25 |
| Jack Harper | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Beebe | 14 | 70.0 | 6 | 1 | 2.70 | 55 |
1906 World Series
editAL Chicago White Sox (4) vs NL Chicago Cubs (2)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White Sox – 2, Cubs – 1 | October 9 | West Side Park | 12,693 |
| 2 | Cubs – 7, White Sox – 1 | October 10 | South Side Park | 12,595 |
| 3 | White Sox – 3, Cubs – 0 | October 11 | West Side Park | 13,667 |
| 4 | Cubs – 1, White Sox – 0 | October 12 | South Side Park | 18,385 |
| 5 | White Sox – 8, Cubs – 6 | October 13 | West Side Park | 23,257 |
| 6 | Cubs – 3, White Sox – 8 | October 14 | South Side Park | 19,249 |
Awards and honors
edit- Highest team winning percentage in one season in the modern era (.763) [4]
- Chicago Cubs pitching staff led the majors with a team earned run average of 1.76.
- Mordecai Brown, major league record, lowest earned run average with at least 250 innings pitched (1.04)
References
edit- ^ 1906 Chicago Cubs Schedule
- ^ SABR: Schedule Changes Since 1876
- ^ "The Best MLB Teams Of All-Time, According To Elo". FiveThirtyEight.com. May 9, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p. 28, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p.62, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ Jack Taylor page at Baseball Reference