The Temple Cup

Created by Pittsburgh Pirates president William Chase Temple during the years when the National League was the only professional baseball league, the Temple Cup series attempted to capture some of the post-season excitement generated by previous World Series matchups. The Temple Cup trophy was awarded to the winner of a best of seven, post-season series between the first and second place teams. The 1894 Temple Cup series featured the pennant-winning Baltimore Orioles and second place New York Giants who swept the birds, earning them the Cup and this musical tribute [image 1]. The Baltimore Orioles received their own team anthem, “Our Orioles March,” [image 2] despite their loss to the New York Giants in the Temple Cup. It was, in fact, the second place teams that won three of the four series titles from 1894 to 1897, results that seemed to undermine the regular season’s outcome and created an aura of artificiality to the post-season event. By 1897, the series folded due to lack of interest. Temple’s family later sold the trophy to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, where it remains today.

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  • John W. Cavanagh. “The Temple Cup Two-Step March.” New York: Howley, Haviland & Co., 1894. Sheet Music. Music Division, Library of Congress (014.00.00)

  • R. M. Stults. “Our Orioles March.” Baltimore: Sanders & Stayman, 1894. Sheet music. Music Division, Library of Congress (015.00.00)

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Chicago: A Tale of One City

“The White Sox March” [image 1] commemorates one of the greatest upsets in World Series history, featuring a powerful Chicago Cubs team and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, known as the “Hitless Wonders” after finishing the 1906 season with the worst team batting average (.230) in the American League, defeated the Cubs in six games—earning them the nickname “The Hitting Wonders.” Six decades later, the 1969 Chicago Cubs held on to first place most of the season, inspiring this hopeful song by jazz violinist, bassist, and composer Johnny Frigo. [image 2] The lyrics invoke the legendary WGN broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, whose “Hey, Hey!” punctuated every Cubs home run. After a spectacular crash in mid-September, the Cubs lost the National League championship to the New York Mets, who went on to win the World Series, beating the Baltimore Orioles. That year the ill-fated Cubs were dubbed “the most celebrated second-place team in the history of baseball.”

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  • T. F. Durand. “The White Sox March.” Chicago: Tomaz F. Deuther, 1907. Sheet music. Music Division, Library of Congress (019.00.00)

  • John Frigo and I. C. Haag. “The Chicago Cubs Song—Hey Hey! Holy Mackerel!” Chicago: Marjon Music Pub. Co., 1969. Sheet music. Music Division, Library of Congress (018.00.00)

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You Win Some, You Lose Some

“The Red Sox Speed Boys” [image 1] celebrated in song the 1912 World Series championship team’s triumph over the New York Giants. That year marked Fenway Park’s inaugural season, and it was an exceptional one. The Red Sox won 105 regular season games, including the first major league game ever played at the park where they beat the New York Highlanders (who became the New York Yankees the following year) 7–6, in 11 innings. In 1909, the Detroit Tigers [image 2] won their third consecutive American League pennant, thanks in part to the legendary bat of Ty Cobb. It was the Pittsburg[h] Pirates, however, that went on to win the World Series in seven games.

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  • Henry E. Casey and Martin Barrett. “Red Sox Speed Boys.” Brookline, Massachusetts: Martin Barrett, 1912. Sheet music. Music Division, Library of Congress (017.00.00)

  • Anna M. de Varennes. “Oh You Tigers: Rag and Two-Step.” Bay City, Michigan: Anna M. de Varennes, 1909. Sheet music. Music Division, Library of Congress (020.01.00)

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