Lot # 2199: 1920 Cleveland Indians (vs. Brooklyn Robins) World Series Game 5 Program - Scored for Bill Wambsganss' Unassisted Triple Play!

Exceedingly rare Cleveland Indians program issued for the 1920 World Series against the Brooklyn Robins. The preprinted lineups include Wambsganss, Speaker, Smith, and Sewell for Cleveland, and Wheat, Olson, Myers, and Konetchy for Brooklyn. In addition to being far rarer than its Brooklyn Robins counterpart, this program is especially notable because it is neatly scored in pencil for Game 5, in which three historic World Series "firsts" occurred: unassisted triple play (made by Bill Wambsganss, still the only one ever in a World Series game); grand slam (by Cleveland's Elmer Smith); and home run by a pitcher (by Cleveland's Jim Bagby). While both Smith's and Bagby's home runs were significant "firsts," it is Wambsganss who is best remembered today. An unassisted triple play is the rarest feat in all of baseball, less likely than even a perfect game. In the history of Major League Baseball, only 15 players have ever accomplished the trick. Because the play is more the result of luck rather than of individual skill, few fans can recall the names of even one or two players who have made an unassisted triple play, with the exception of one: Bill Wambsganss. Unlike those other 14 players, Wambsganss had the good fortune to record his triple play in the World Series, thereby ensuring that his name would forever remain prominently etched in the annals of baseball history. Wambsganss, who was playing second base for Cleveland, accomplished the feat in the fifth inning. The play helped Cleveland earn an 8-1 victory en route to winning the Series in seven games (the World Series was a best of nine in 1920). The program (5.5 x 8.75 inches) displays a vertical fold and creasing. The interior scoring pages have detached from the staples. In Fair condition overall.