1906 Chicago Cubs season

1906 Chicago Cubs
National League Champions
LeagueNational League
BallparkWest Side Park
CityChicago, Illinois
Record116–36 (.763)
League place1st
OwnersCharles Murphy
ManagersFrank Chance
← 1905 Seasons 1907 →

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.

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

Led 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

National League
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

1906 National League record

Sources: [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

1906 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: 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

Note: 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

Starting pitchers

Note: 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

Note: 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

Main article: 1906 World Series

AL 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

  • 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

  1. ^ 1906 Chicago Cubs Schedule
  2. ^ SABR: Schedule Changes Since 1876
  3. ^ "The Best MLB Teams Of All-Time, According To Elo". FiveThirtyEight.com. May 9, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records, p.62, Kerry Banks, 2010, Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC, ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
  6. ^ Jack Taylor page at Baseball Reference