Phillies 100 Years Ago: At Mid-Point, Phillies Posses Pennant Pace

June 30, 1915

Phillies vs. Boston Braves

Athletics @ Boston Red Sox

Athletics @ Boston Red Sox

While the Athletics were up at Fenway Park in Boston showing their defensive deficiencies (the Sox scored 20 runs in the doubleheader), the Phillies were at the Baker Bowl with ace Grover Cleveland Alexander strutting his stuff on the mound.  And luckily for him (and the fans) the Phillies offense decided they would contribute to today’s win!  What a novel idea!  Their opponent was Iron Davis, who was making his first appearance of the year.  Davis, who did not have a particularly “long” or “successful” career, started this one off on the right foot by allowing only one base runner in the first two innings.  Alex matched him. 

Phillies 100 Years Ago: Phils Gut Out Win Vs. Brooklyn and Germany Destroying Russia In Galicia

June 29, 1915

Phillies vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Athletics @ Washington Senators

The German and Russian armies were engaged in a months long battle that will result in the Great Retreat of 1915.  The Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive was launched in early May as a way for the German’s to relieve the Austrian army from the mounting pressure of the Russians.  For the past two months Germany shattered the Russian armies time and time again, gaining large chunks of territory in the area between Poland and Ukraine known as Galicia.  Today the news got worse for the Russians as they lost yet another battle, capitulating Halych and allowing the Germans to stream across the Dniester River.  Reports were that Russian General Grand Duke Nicholas was pulling his troops to the River Bug where he would attempt a resistance to save Warsaw from the Central Powers (spoiler, it wouldn’t work).  The Russians have spent the past year of the war getting embarrassingly manhandled by the Germans, and while the retreat was tactically the right thing to do, it none-the-less was a major blow to morale.[1]    

Phillies 100 Years Ago: The World Changed One Year Ago

June 28, 1915

Phillies vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Athletics @ Washington Senators

Today marks the one-year anniversary of arguably the biggest turning point of world events in the twentieth century.  A 19-year old member of the Yugoslav Nationalist group the Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip fired shots into the automobile of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, killing him and his wife, and knocking over the first domino that lead to World War I.  It’s an incredible story with tentacles that stretch all the way through the century and reach into our own time, and since I don’t know that many people know the story, I’ll tell a brief version. 

Phillies 100 Years Ago: International Intrigue With Mexico And Germany; Alexander Throws A Maddux In Phils Win

June 26, 1915

Phillies vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Athletics @ Washington Senators

Well it looks like the bad news coming from Mexico, or not coming out if you want to be literal, was reaching a new boiling point.  Just a month or so after President Woodrow Wilson threatened intervention if the sides in the Mexican Revolution did not make means to adequately feed the starving citizens, General Gonzales, leader of Venustiano Carranza’s Constitutionalist Army, cut wires from Mexico City to Vera Cruz, effectively isolating the capital from the rest of the world since June 18^th.  Emiliano Zapata, who along with Pancho Villa had been allies with Carranza as of only a year or so ago, was now engaged in an artillery battle with Gonzales’ forces outside the city.  All the while the famine continued.  The United States wasn’t prepared to make a statement or take action until after President Wilson returned from his trip to Cornish.[1]

Phillies 100 Years Ago: Stop, Thief! Dodgers Steal A Win From Phils But Aren't Only Burglars On Long Island

June 25, 1915

Phillies vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Athletics @ Washington Senators

Out of the Interesting Information Department comes this story: there was a jewel thief running rampant on Long Island this summer!  On the night of June 21^st a rather wealthy couple left their Southampton home to enjoy a nice dinner out on the town.  Upon returning, surely full of all kinds of wonderful spirits, the woman discovered that her 71-pearl necklace, diamond ring, and other assorted jewelry, valued at around $40,000, were missing!  The police and private detective hired for the case concluded that a “porch jumper” (a phrased used repeatedly in multiple papers) had climb his way into a second-story window and had his way with the resident’s valuables.  But the unnamed victims were not the only Long Island family to be relieved of their luxury items; a porch jumper robbed three other homes in a similar fashion in just the past few weeks.  In a strange 1915-ish way, the newspapers actually listed all of the names of people that recently moved into summer homes in the area, essentially rounding up a list of suspects with no suspicion other than they were strangers.  The victims of the most recent robbery offered a $10,000 reward for the return of their jewelry, no questions asked.  By the way, $40,000 adjusted for inflation is about $1 million in today’s money.[1]