HILLTOP PARK (1903-1914) ************************ HOME OF THE: NEW YORK HIGHLANDERS (YANKEES) This home-made ball park has been created for use with Diamond Mind Baseball v8. LFL L LFG C RFG R RFL *** *** *** *** *** *** *** DISTANCE: 365 390 435 485 445 415 400 HEIGHT: 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 SURFACE: Natural Grass FOUL TERRITORY: Large *** Note *** The New York Giants also played in this park from April 15th, 1911 to June 28th, 1911, while the Polo Grounds was being repaired from severe fire damage. The Highlanders first manager was Clark Griffith, later to become patriarch of the Washington Senators. Griffith managed and pitched for the Highlanders from 1903 through 1908. The first star pitcher of the Highlanders was "Happy" Jack Chesbro, whose 41 victories in the 1904 season still remains the major league record. Chesbro's record in 1904 was 41-12 and he completed a whopping total of 48 of his 51 starts. Despite the 41 wins Chesbro's season ended on a sour note, when he threw a wild pitch in the first game of a season ending doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. The Highlanders entered the final day of the regular season, needing to win both games of the doubleheader to win the pennant. If the Red Sox split the series, they would win the pennant. With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the 9th and a Boston runner on third, Chesbro unleashed a spit ball, which sailed over the head of the catcher. Boston scored, and then held the Highlanders without a run in the bottom half of the 9th, to win the pennant. In 1908, in a span of just 4 days, the Senators Walter Johnson shutout the Highlanders 3 times. All at Hilltop Park. Johnson won by scores of 3-0, 6-0, and 4-0. In the three games he allowed just 12 hits, walked 1, and struck out 12. One of the worst stories associated to Hilltop Park occurred on May 15th, 1912 and involved the Detroit Tigers, Ty Cobb. Cobb became enraged with a heckling fan (Claude Lueker) and vaulted over the railing into the third-base stands and gave Lueker a severe beating. It turned out that Lueker had no hands, having lost both of them in a printing press accident the previous year. This is the incident which triggered the Tiger players "one day strike" (in support of Cobb), while the team dressed amateur players and lost 24-2, in Philadelphia's Shibe Park. The 1912 season was the last for the Highlanders (or the Yankees as they were now commonly known), at Hilltop Park, as it was now woefully out of date. After 1912 the Yankees played for the next 10 years at the Polo Grounds. Hilltop Park was demolished in 1914. Although no records exist to prove it one way or another, it is doubtful that anyone ever muscled a fair ball over one of it's outfield fences. Some memorable moments at Hilltop Park, ... October 7th, 1904: Highlanders pitcher Jack Chesbro beats the Boston Red Sox 3-2, to win his forty-first game, which remains the major league record. October 10th, 1904: The Boston Red Sox clinch the American League pennant when Chesbro unleashes a wild pitch in the ninth inning that allows the winning Boston run to score from third base. September 1st, 1906: The Highlanders beat the Washington Senators in a doubleheader, 5-4 and 5-3, their third doubleheader win over the Senators in three days. June 28th, 1907: Yankees catcher Branch Rickey allows 13 Washington Senator stolen bases in a 16-5 Washington romp over New York. June 30th, 1908: Forty-one-year-old Cy Young pitches his third career no-hitter as the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees, 8-0. September 7th, 1908: Washington's Walter Johnson pitches his third consecutive shutout against the Yankees in four days. August 30th, 1910: New York's Tom Hughes pitches a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians for nine innings - but then give up a hit in the tenth and loses the game in the eleventh, 5-0. September 20th, 1911: The Yankees commit 12 errors in a doubleheader - 7 in the first game and 5 in the second - but still manage to gain a split with the Cleveland Indians, losing the first game, 12-9, but winning the second, 5-4. May 15th, 1912: An angry Ty Cobb of the visiting Detroit Tigers jumps into the stands and assaults a heckling fan (for which he will be suspended). The above comments are from the book: "Lost Ballparks - A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields," by Lawrence S. Ritter. ************************************* HILLTOP PARK IS FROM THE CREATORS OF: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Baseball's Analytical Search Engine +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tdmilne Tom Milne - tdmilne@compuserve.com Ron Gudykunst - ronlg@aol.com