The 1902 Baseball Season: AL Strengthened by Adversity, NL Struggles

This podcast is part of the Sports History Network - the headquarters of sports' yesteryear. SHOW DESCRIPTION: These days, the New England Patriots are often thought of as one of the elite teams in the NFL. However, that hasn’t always been the case, especially during the team’s infancy, when they were a charter member of the upstart AFL and chaos and confusion often reigned. The Patriots of the 60s and early 70s were a transient team and played its home games in no less than 5 different stadiums. The Pats also cycled thru its head coaches quite frequently back then and one coach in particular is often remembered as the one who best epitomized the team’s failings during this time. In this 4-part series, we will take a look at the team’s humble beginnings in Boston in 1960 to their first years in Foxboro. We will also do a deep dive into the timeline between 1969 – 1972 to relive some of the most shocking and bizarre events to ever impact a professional sports franchise. The Patriots: From Boston to Foxboro. HOST - JOE SANTOS: Joe Santos grew up in Massachusetts and is an avid football fan, with a special fondness for the NFL in the early 70s. This Week in Pro Football and NFL Game of the Week were must-see TV back in the day. And living in Massachusetts meant you saw all of the NY Giants games on tv, both home and away, as they were the de facto home team for the NFC. Due to the blackout rules at the time, only the Patriots away games were shown. Being a huge sports history fan, Joe will continue to tell the unusual stories from an era that's considered to be the golden age of pro football.

In 1907, the Detroit Tigers claim their first AL pennant, but an anomaly in the final standings causes baseball to make a vital change. And the Chicago Cubs win their first of consecutive world titles.

The city of Chicago writes most of the headlines during the 1906 baseball season. The Cubs and White Sox face off in an intracity World Series. I forget to mention it in the episode, but for an in-depth look at Chicago’s 40-year-long annual postseason City Series, check out Terry Bonadonna’s great podcast called “Chicago’s Civil War.”

In the 1905 MLB season, New York Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson becomes the first iconic athlete of 20th century America by dominating the season and the World Series, which is formally established as the sport’s world championship.

The Dead Ball era of modern baseball begins in earnest in 1904. The greatest rivalry in the game’s history premieres in the first true pennant race of the century. However, the season unfortunately ends without a second World Series.