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When baseball staged its inaugural World Series in 1903 it pitted the National League champion vs. their American League counterpart. The Pittsburgh Pirates represented the Senior Circuit. They earned the right behind the leadership and playing skill of player/manager Fred Clarke.

Pushing the right buttons came naturally for the Pirates skipper. The all-time winningest manager in the history of the franchise, Clarke led them to four National League pennants and the 1909 World Series title. As a player in 1903 Clarke hit .351 with league-leading numbers in doubles (51), slugging percentage (.532), OPS (.946) and OPS+ (165).

Clarke and the Pirates lost the 8-game tilt against the Boston Americans 5-games-to-3. In 1953 baseball decided to have a Golden Jubilee in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Series.

In the collection is a baseball signed at that reunion with the signatures of six of the players who competed in 1903. Hall of Fame Pirate left fielder and manager Fred Clarke has signed at the top of the quartet.

Still the Pittsburgh franchise record holder for wins by a manager, Clarke guided his teams to four NL championships and one World Series title. As a player Clarke finished with 2,678 career hits and a .312 lifetime average. Below Clarke is the signature of Art Krueger utility player and catcher for the Pirates. The third signature on the ball is that of Boston second baseman Fred Parent while Pirate shortstop Tommie Leach signed the bottom.

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Fred Clarke and the Pirates tallied 94 wins against just 49 losses in 1903. They won the NL pennant by 6 1/2 games over the second-place New York Giants. In the World Series they ran into a Boston club that won the AL by 14 1/2 games.

In the World Series the Pirates had a tough time against Boston pitchers. With five wins needed to clinch the 9-game Series, Pittsburgh scored just eight runs in the five Boston wins.

On this panel of the signed reunion ball from the first Fall Classic is the pair of pitchers who secured the title for the Boston club. Bill Dinneen claimed three of the necessary five victories while Denton True “Cy” Young pitched his way to the other two. A four-time 20-game winner, Dinneen won 170 games over the course of his 12-year playing career.

When his pitching career ended Dinneen became a highly respected American League umpire from 1909-1937. In fact Dinneen was so well regarded that he was selected to call balls and strikes in the first All Star game in 1933. Young of course went on to win 511 games and have the most prestigious award given to pitchers named in his honor.

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Hall of Fame executive Ed Barrow spent most of his adult life in professional baseball. Though he spent more than a half century in the game, not a single season was spent in the National League. Along the way he introduced lifetime Senior Circuit man Fred Clarke to baseball and eventually helped him get into the Hall of Fame.

In the late 1880s Barrow was a newspaper man with the Des Monies Leader. Soon he organized a highly-competitive amateur baseball team, the Des Moines Mascots.

According to Angelo Louise’s SABR biography, Clarke began delivering papers for Barrow’s outfit where he was first exposed to the game. Seeing the 16-year old’s interest and enthusiasm for baseball, Barrow asked him to try out for the team. Clarke performed well enough to earn a promotion to an Iowa semipro team two years later. Then in 1892 Clarke became a full time professional player with the Hastings club of the Nebraska State League.

By the time he retired as a player, Clarke had 2,678 hits, 1,622 runs, 1,015 RBI, 509 stolen bases and a 133 OPS+. He also turned in a 19-year managerial career that included four National League pennants and the 1909 World Series title.

Despite his accomplishments, Clarke had to wait for Cooperstown induction. As the Hall of Fame cleared the generals off the shelf, the deserving Clarke was on the outside looking in after the first 8 elections.

That changed when old friend Ed Barrow stepped up. Shown here is a letter dated January 10, 1945 written by Barrow to Hall of Fame treasurer and future Hall president Paul Kerr.

Barrow writes, “Please add the name of Fred Clarke to my list of candidates to Baseball’s Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.”With Barrow in his corner, Clarke was elected in the very next vote.

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Fred Clarke is a Hall of Fame player who very well might have gained induction on the strength of his managerial career. As an outfielder, Clarke compiled 2,672 career hits and a .312 lifetime average; for good measure, he also had over 500 stolen bases.

During the course of his 19-year career as a player/manager, Clarke guided his teams to four National League pennants and one World Series Championship. Indeed for six years, Clarke held the all-time record for wins as a manager.

His 1,602 wins at the helm of the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates rank above Hall of Fame skippers Tommy Lasorda, Dick Williams, Earl Weaver, Miller Huggins, Al Lopez, Wilbert Robinson, Ned Hanlon, and Whitey Herzog.

Clarke’s 1,422 wins as Pirates pilot remains the most in franchise history. Second on the list is Danny Murtaugh with 1,115. The 307-win difference between the two represent 27.5% more than two-time World Series champ Murtaugh has.

When Murtaugh retired as a player after 17 professional seasons, he quickly turned to managing. He got his start when Hall of Fame GM Branch Rickey hired him to pilot the Double-A New Orleans Pelicans. After three seasons he moved up to Triple-A as the manager of the Charleston Senators.

It was in this capacity that Murtaugh signed this letter in 1955. The 38-year old skipper of the Senators advises pitcher Ross Grimsley to come into camp in shape and ready to compete. Murtaugh signed the bottom of the letter. Correspondence from Murtaugh before he was a big league manager rarely surface.

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When the NL and AL got together to award Lifetime Passes, men who played 20 or more years received solid gold passes. Only 17 were initially issued.

Upon receiving his gold pass Fred Clarke, a veteran of 21 Major League seasons was so pleased that he was compelled to write this thank-you note to NL president Ford Frick.

In the letter, Clarke also thanks Frick for the previously-received NL-only Lifetime Pass. As a player Clarke tallied 2,678 hits and a .312 lifetime average. As a manager Clarke guided teams to four pennants and a World Series championship.

For a brief history of Lifetime Passes through the years, click here.

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All of Fred Clarke’s 21 years in the big leagues as a player and as a manager were spent with owner Barney Dreyfuss. Clarke spent three years as a player for the Louisville Colonels before being entrusted with player-manager duties. Clarke and Dreyfuss worked together helping each other gain induction into Cooperstown. Having Honus Wagner around for almost all of Clarke’s career certainly helped the cause.

In the collection is a letter handwritten by Hall of Fame Pirates owner Dreyfus. Dreyfus alludes to a feud with newspaper men before closing the letter with an assessment of his team’s fortunes for the upcoming 1908 season.

“With Fred (Clarke), Honus (Wagner), and (Tommy) Leach to build around we expect to put together another first division on the field.”

Though his Pirates would win 98 games, they would finish second to the Chicago Cubs who went on to win the World Championship.

Inducted 76 years after his 1932 death, Barney Dreyfus presents a challenge to autograph collectors.