'Deadball Mayhem'

Scandals and mischief in the early years of major league baseball

Rube Waddell, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers of the early 20th century, warming up before a game (early 1900s). The eccentric southpaw was the subject of illicit payoffs by gamblers.

Posted Sunday, March 30, 2025 8:00 am

By Ronald Waldo

Two questions arose after star pitcher, Rube Waddell, missed the 1905 World Series:

Did he skip the Fall Classic because he injured his pitching shoulder brawling with teammate Andrew Coakley who was sporting a straw hat past the acceptable seasonal time of the year?

Or, did New York gamblers, headed by Tammany Hall politician Timothy ‘Little Tim’ Sullivan, pay him to fabricate an injury?

Readers can ponder those curiosities after digesting Chapter 6 of my latest baseball book, ‘Deadball Mayhem: Scoundrels, Scandalous Behavior, and Tragic Events’.

On a broader question, did the future Hall of Famer fall into the mayhem category as he frequently had, or did he participate in scandalous behavior?

BUY- 'Deadball Mayhem'

As baseball entered the 20th century, its rough-and-tumble years of the 1890s transitioned into a period of immense growth and prosperity in America.

The first 2 decades of the new millennium came to be known as the Deadball Era because of the low running scores the game produced by today’s standards.

Still, the sport grew in popularity as fans flocked to new ballparks such as Forbes Field, Shibe Park, Fenway Park, and Braves Field, seeking out their favorite teams and players.

They witnessed Honus Wagner, Nap Lajoie, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Rube Waddell, Tris Speaker, and other icons perform their marvelous diamond feats.

With two major leagues firmly in place by 1903 and sixteen clubs battling for pennant supremacy and a trip to the World Series, the Deadball Era established consistency following a two-year bidding war over players between the infant American League and the Senior Circuit.

BUY- 'The 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates'

Peace between the two factions brought normalcy until the Federal League briefly disrupted the harmony in 1914.

The game’s rowdy legacy from the 1890s was still prevalent, and men like Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss were dedicated to placing a product on the field that would attract all facets of clientele.

But it wasn’t easy eradicating some of the old scurrilous habits that still surfaced. Those who learned their craft in the late 19th century found it difficult to change, while also passing their combative style to a new generation of ballplayers.

As a result, chaos still erupted, placing roadblocks in front of big-league owners hoping to sanitize the sport and squeeze more profits at the gate.

BUY- 'Deadball Trailblazers'

Besides the mayhem, tragic moments and events also occurred due to human nature’s fragility and parties succumbing to negative vices.

It should come as no surprise that many of my books contain chapters about eccentric southpaw hurler George Edward ‘Rube’ Waddell, whose legendary exploits are still remembered a century after he died (April 1, 1914).

Born outside Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1876, Rube spent 13 years in the majors and posted an earned run average of 2.16 while striking out 2,316 batters.

Playing for five organizations, his best seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics from 1902-05, where he won 97 games, led the league in strikeouts, and earned the Triple Crown.

BUY- 'Detroit Tigers Gone Wild'

During his career, the erratic Rube drank heavily, chased fire trucks, wrestled alligators, and was arrested for bigamy. At times, he would even disappear during games without warning.

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His incorrigible behavior, including assaulting his in-laws, culminated in the Fall of 1905 when everything came crashing down.

BUY- 'A Franchise on the Rise'

Despite his dominant performance on the mound during the season, Waddell did not appear in any of the games versus New York in the 1905 World Series.

Sportswriters Charles Dryden and Horace Fogel wrote articles claiming that gamblers compromised Waddell by paying him to fake an injury and miss the championship.

When information reached the public in September 1920 about the eight members of the Chicago White Sox implicated in the 1919 World Series fix, Fogel once again brought up the 1905 incident related to Waddell and gamblers.

Fogel claimed that although the accomplished pitcher eventually admitted to accepting money, Organized Baseball never punished the huge drawing card at American League ballparks.

BUY- 'Red Sox vs Braves'

Athletics manager Connie Mack performed a tightrope balancing act while dealing with the situation surrounding his lead hurler.

Before a doubleheader at American League Park on September 19 against the New York Highlanders, Mack ordered Rube to appear on the field in uniform for pregame practice.

Waddell obliged but refused to participate. The following day, after Rube executed separate maneuvers with a baseball and a bat, the well-respected manager informed the pitcher that nobody with that type of shoulder injury could pull off such stunts.

Mack changed his tune and preached the company line after Rube performed miserably in a relief outing against the Detroit Tigers on September 27 at Columbia Park.

BUY- 'Tinker to Evers to Chance'

Following this futile endeavor, Connie talked to the press and informed them that Waddell was likely done for the season because of rheumatism in his left arm.

When rumors first surfaced that Rube Waddell had accepted money from New York’s gambling apparatus, the twirler issued a statement on September 22, denying the accusation:

“I have not been approached by anyone with a view of crippling my team…I want all I can to land the pennant, and while I am suffering with a sore arm, will go in the box tomorrow if Mack wants me to, and I will pitch my arm off to help the team out. The rumors that I am lying down on Manager Mack are pure rot.”

Waddell also offered to pay $1,000 to anybody who stepped forward with information proving this false allegation, and another $1,000 to the man who had the nerve to ask him to lose.

BUY- 'Invisible Men'

Without their talented tosser, the Athletics ended up losing the 1905 World Series to the Athletics, 4-1.

Five years later, Waddell’s major league baseball career came to an end with the St. Louis Browns shortly after he passed out in the middle of a game against New York following a night of heavy drinking.

Ronald Waldo is an author and baseball historian. He has written multiple books on the Deadball Era and Roaring Twenties and was the 2023 finalist for SABR’s Larry Ritter Award. His current project is ‘Western Pennsylvania Deadballers: Diamond Home Cooking’.

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