Phillies Spring Training 1915 – A Harbinger One Hundred Years Later?

OCEAN CITY – An over-capacity audience of Phillies fans, most were experts in Phillies’ history as evidenced by their performance during the trivia contest, gathered in the Ocean City Public Library Chris Maloney Auditorium Feb. 21. They were attracted by the opportunity to hear Bill Warrington present through narrative, slides and memorabilia why Spring Training 1915 was a pivotal moment in Phillies’ development.
On display was a modest felt pennant commemorating the Phillies’ National League championship that year as well as a team photo with the caption “from the home of the Stetson Hat.” Warrington, a noted authority and author about the Phillies, travelled from Maryland for the program and was given the keys to Ocean City as well as a mayoral citation in appreciation.
Among a number of pieces of historic items, Warrington brought a bat used by Fred Luderus in 1915. Luderus played first base for the Phillies and is distinguished by having played at that position for the most games of any Phil.
In 1915, the Phillies were the “unloved stepchild of Philadelphia fans,” per Warrington. Since their forming in 1883 they had not won any pennant or title in the ensuing 32 years, a period known as the Dark Ages, although they had been able to field decent albeit unsuccessful teams at Baker Bowl, their home field. By contrast, same-town baseball rivals, the Philadelphia Athletics playing at Shibe Park, had won six American League Championships and three World Series in the period 1909-1915. They were considered, said Warrington, “the darlings of baseball” and their attendance outdrew the Phillies by more than 1 million fans annually.
Spring training 1915 for the Phillies turned out to be the impetus for their season known as the “oasis in the desert.” Travelling by ship, the “Apache,” from New York City to Jacksonville, Fla. – this was the cheapest way to get there – then on by train to St. Petersburg, the Phillies embarked on their spring training for the month of March.
During their ocean journey, the Phillies braved a British warship, the “Essex,” stopping their boat in international waters off the Atlantic to inspect for German war munitions; while the U.S. was still neutral, World War I had already launched in Europe.
This was the first time the team had used St. Pete’s for spring training, lured by the discounted hotel and meals and free baseballs offered by the town’s mayor Al “Sunshine” Lang, eager to promote his still primitive town to potential Yankee tourists.
After their disastrous 1914 season, the Phillies underwent a complete revamp, with a new manager, Pat Moran, and new talent from other leagues throughout the U.S. Prominent among them was shortstop Dave Bancroft, playing for $3,000 a year and an eventual Hall of Famer.
“Bancroft, like many of today’s Phillies,” quipped Warrington, “made his Hall of Fame reputation on another team. And his salary equals about one half at-bat for Ryan Howard!”
Moran was a tough disciplinarian and emphasized what he called “inside play,” i.e. baseball fundamentals as well as relentless drills. While there was no training on Sunday, which would have been unthinkable in that era, let alone playing a game, Moran had his players under Spartan conditions – one cold-water shower for the entire team, for example – focused on the ultimate success: winning a pennant.
Since there was no TV, Internet or even radio or movies in 1915, fans back home relied on newspaper coverage of Phillies’ spring training. And as the team racked up wins against the Havana Reds, the Birmingham Barons and others throughout the South, the word sent to eagerly awaiting supporters was that this could be the year to change the destiny of the Phillies.
The Phillies played their opening day game in Boston April 14 against the Braves. They won that day 1-0 and went on to post a 90-62 record and ultimately to win the National League Championship, their first pennant ever.
The Phillies played the Boston Red Sox for the World Series championship with Woodrow Wilson being the first president to attend a series game; the series had become that important. The team lost to the Sox 4-0 but had accomplished Moran’s definition of “success” with their League championship.
That pennant, however, ushered in a 35-year era of a new Dark Ages, until 1950 when the Phillies’ Whiz Kids won the National League Championship in 1950, losing the World Series to the Yankees in four straight.
Will the results of Spring Training 2015 forecast a great season for this year’s Phillies? That was the question on the minds of most everyone who attended Warrington’s lecture.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.