1920 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1920 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 39th in franchise history; the 34th in the National League.

1920 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	Barney Dreyfuss
Manager(s)	George Gibson
Local television	none
Local radio	none
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Regular season

• Pirates pitcher Babe Adams had outstanding control, allowing only 18 bases on balls in 263 innings pitched.[2]
• October 2, 1920: The Cincinnati Reds and the Pirates played in the last tripleheader of the 20th century. Umpire Peter Harrison officiated all three games.[3]

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Robins	93	61	0.604	—	49–29	44–32
New York Giants	86	68	0.558	7	45–35	41–33
Cincinnati Reds	82	71	0.536	10½	42–34	40–37
Pittsburgh Pirates	79	75	0.513	14	42–35	37–40
St. Louis Cardinals	75	79	0.487	18	38–38	37–41
Chicago Cubs	75	79	0.487	18	43–34	32–45
Boston Braves	62	90	0.408	30	36–37	26–53
Philadelphia Phillies	62	91	0.405	30½	32–45	30–46

Record vs. opponents

1920 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	8–14–1	7–15	9–12	10–12	10–11	7–15	11–11
Brooklyn	14–8–1	—	13–9	10–12	15–7	14–8	12–10	15–7
Chicago	15–7	9–13	—	9–13	7–15	14–8	11–11	10–12
Cincinnati	12–9	12–10	13–9	—	6–16–1	14–8	12–10	13–9
New York	12–10	7–15	15–7	16–6–1	—	12–10	13–9	11–11
Philadelphia	11–10	8–14	8–14	8–14	10–12	—	9–13	8–14
Pittsburgh	15–7	10–12	11–11	10–12	9–13	13–9	—	11–11–1
St. Louis	11–11	7–15	12–10	9–13	11–11	14–8	11–11–1	—

Game log

1920 Game Log: 79–75 (Home: 42–35; Away: 37–40)
April: 6–5 (Home: 0–3; Away: 6–2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 14 @ Cardinals 5–4 (10) Adams (1–0) Goodwin Hamilton (1) — 1–0 2 April 15 @ Cardinals 2–3 Schupp Cooper (0–1) — — 1–1 3 April 16 @ Cardinals 5–0 Carlson (1–0) Sherdel — — 2–1 4 April 17 @ Cardinals 3–0 (13) Ponder (1–0) Haines — — 3–1 5 April 18 @ Reds 2–1 Adams (2–0) Ruether — — 4–1 6 April 21 @ Reds 5–3 Cooper (1–1) Ring — — 5–1 7 April 23 Cardinals 7–9 Jacobs Hamilton (0–1) — — 5–2 8 April 24 Cardinals 0–6 Doak Ponder (1–1) — — 5–3 9 April 25 @ Cubs 4–1 (15) Adams (3–0) Hendrix — — 6–3 10 April 28 @ Cubs 1–11 Alexander Cooper (1–2) — — 6–4 11 April 29 Reds 2–8 Ring Carlson (1–1) — — 6–5
May: 13–12 (Home: 11–8; Away: 2–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 12 May 1 Reds 1–7 Ruether Adams (3–1) — — 6–6 13 May 2 @ Reds 3–0 Cooper (2–2) Sallee — — 7–6 14 May 5 Cubs 2–0 Adams (4–1) Martin — — 8–6 15 May 6 Cubs 3–1 Cooper (3–2) Hendrix — — 9–6 16 May 7 Cubs 4–6 Alexander Carlson (1–2) — — 9–7 17 May 8 Cubs 1–4 Vaughn Hamilton (0–2) — — 9–8 18 May 9 @ Cubs 7–8 Martin Adams (4–2) Carter — 9–9 19 May 10 Phillies 3–1 Cooper (4–2) Causey — — 10–9 20 May 12 Phillies 5–3 Hamilton (1–2) Rixey — — 11–9 21 May 15 Giants 0–2 Nehf Adams (4–3) — 12,000 11–10 22 May 17 Giants 7–6 (15) Ponder (2–1) Douglas — 6,000 12–10 23 May 18 Braves 7–2 Hamilton (2–2) Oeschger — — 13–10 24 May 19 Braves 2–1 Cooper (5–2) McQuillan — — 14–10 25 May 20 Braves 5–1 Adams (5–3) Fillingim — — 15–10 26 May 21 Braves 9–0 Carlson (2–2) Eayrs — — 16–10 27 May 22 Robins 1–4 Grimes Cooper (5–3) — 18,000 16–11 28 May 23 @ Robins 1–0 Ponder (3–1) Pfeffer — 10,000 17–11 29 May 24 Robins 0–1 Mamaux Adams (5–4) — 2,500 17–12 30 May 25 Robins 2–0 Carlson (3–2) Cadore — 3,000 18–12 31 May 26 Robins 2–3 Grimes Wisner (0–1) — — 18–13 32 May 28 @ Reds 1–6 Ruether Cooper (5–4) — — 18–14 33 May 29 @ Reds 2–3 Luque Carlson (3–3) — — 18–15 34 May 30 @ Reds 3–5 Sallee Wisner (0–2) — — 18–16 35 May 31 Cardinals 4–5 Sherdel Ponder (3–2) Jacobs — 18–17 36 May 31 Cardinals 7–4 Cooper (6–4) Doak Carlson (1) — 19–17
June: 10–13 (Home: 2–2; Away: 8–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 37 June 1 Cardinals 4–5 (15) Haines Ponder (3–3) — — 19–18 38 June 2 Cardinals 2–6 Schupp Carlson (3–4) — — 19–19 39 June 6 @ Reds 3–1 (10) Cooper (7–4) Ruether — — 20–19 40 June 9 @ Braves 6–7 (10) Fillingim Adams (5–5) — — 20–20 41 June 10 @ Braves 1–2 Scott Cooper (7–5) — — 20–21 42 June 11 @ Braves 0–3 Fillingim Hamilton (2–3) — — 20–22 43 June 12 @ Phillies 6–4 Carlson (4–4) Rixey — 4,000 21–22 44 June 14 @ Phillies 6–1 Cooper (8–5) Gallia — — 22–22 45 June 15 @ Phillies 7–6 (10) Ponder (4–3) Causey — — 23–22 46 June 18 @ Giants 4–5 Barnes Cooper (8–6) — 1,000 23–23 47 June 19 @ Giants 3–0 Adams (6–5) Nehf — 15,000 24–23 48 June 20 @ Giants 0–8 Douglas Carlson (4–5) — 23,000 24–24 49 June 22 @ Robins 9–7 Cooper (9–6) Pfeffer — 5,000 25–24 50 June 23 @ Robins 2–5 Marquard Carlson (4–6) — — 25–25 51 June 24 @ Robins 2–6 Mamaux Adams (6–6) — 3,500 25–26 52 June 25 Cubs 6–3 Cooper (10–6) Hendrix — — 26–26 53 June 26 Cubs 9–4 Ponder (5–3) Vaughn — — 27–26 54 June 27 @ Cubs 8–3 Carlson (5–6) Alexander Cooper (1) — 28–26 55 June 28 @ Cubs 2–5 Tyler Adams (6–7) — — 28–27 56 June 28 @ Cubs 4–5 Gaw Ponder (5–4) — — 28–28 57 June 29 @ Cubs 4–3 (11) Cooper (11–6) Martin — — 29–28 58 June 29 @ Cubs 3–14 Hendrix Meador (0–1) — — 29–29 59 June 30 @ Cubs 0–1 Vaughn Ponder (5–5) — — 29–30
July: 18–15 (Home: 12–8; Away: 6–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 60 July 1 @ Cardinals 6–2 (10) Carlson (6–6) Sherdel Adams (1) — 30–30 61 July 2 @ Cardinals 0–3 Doak Hamilton (2–4) — — 30–31 62 July 3 @ Cardinals 3–1 Cooper (12–6) Goodwin — — 31–31 63 July 4 @ Reds 0–5 Ruether Adams (6–8) — — 31–32 64 July 5 Reds 4–1 Carlson (7–6) Fisher — — 32–32 65 July 5 Reds 6–5 (11) Hamilton (3–4) Luque — — 33–32 66 July 6 Reds 2–7 Ring Meador (0–2) — — 33–33 67 July 7 Phillies 2–1 Cooper (13–6) Smith — — 34–33 68 July 8 Phillies 1–0 Adams (7–8) Meadows — — 35–33 69 July 9 Phillies 1–4 Rixey Carlson (7–7) — — 35–34 70 July 10 Phillies 7–8 (11) Meadows Cooper (13–7) — — 35–35 71 July 10 Phillies 1–3 Hubbell Ponder (5–6) — — 35–36 72 July 12 Braves 3–2 (11) Adams (8–8) Fillingim — — 36–36 73 July 13 Braves 5–2 Carlson (8–7) Scott — — 37–36 74 July 14 Braves 4–3 Cooper (14–7) Oeschger — — 38–36 75 July 15 Braves 9–8 Carlson (9–7) Watson — — 39–36 76 July 16 Giants 0–7 (17) Benton Hamilton (3–5) — 4,000 39–37 77 July 17 Giants 2–0 Adams (9–8) Toney — — 40–37 78 July 17 Giants 2–4 Barnes Carlson (9–8) — 25,000 40–38 79 July 20 Giants 2–5 Nehf Cooper (14–8) — 3,000 40–39 80 July 21 Robins 4–3 Ponder (6–6) Marquard — 3,800 41–39 81 July 22 Robins 5–2 Carlson (10–8) Cadore — 4,000 42–39 82 July 23 Robins 5–6 Smith Adams (9–9) — 4,000 42–40 83 July 24 Robins 5–1 Cooper (15–8) Grimes — 15,000 43–40 84 July 25 @ Robins 5–4 Ponder (7–6) Mitchell — 22,000 44–40 85 July 26 @ Robins 4–6 Smith Carlson (10–9) — — 44–41 86 July 27 @ Phillies 7–1 Hamilton (4–5) Meadows — — 45–41 87 July 28 @ Phillies 6–3 Cooper (16–8) Smith — — 46–41 88 July 28 @ Phillies 4–5 Causey Adams (9–10) Gallia — 46–42 89 July 29 @ Phillies 3–7 Rixey Ponder (7–7) — — 46–43 90 July 30 @ Phillies 2–7 Hubbell Carlson (10–10) — — 46–44 91 July 31 @ Braves 4–2 Cooper (17–8) Rudolph — — 47–44 92 July 31 @ Braves 1–6 Fillingim Hamilton (4–6) — — 47–45
August: 16–13 (Home: 7–8; Away: 9–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 93 August 2 @ Braves 3–2 Adams (10–10) Oeschger Carlson (2) — 48–45 94 August 3 @ Braves 3–2 Ponder (8–7) McQuillan — — 49–45 95 August 4 @ Braves 3–0 Cooper (18–8) Fillingim — — 50–45 96 August 5 @ Robins 8–5 (10) Hamilton (5–6) Grimes — 7,000 51–45 97 August 7 @ Robins 7–0 Adams (11–10) Smith — 12,000 52–45 98 August 8 @ Robins 1–2 Cadore Ponder (8–8) — 20,000 52–46 99 August 9 @ Giants 0–9 Nehf Cooper (18–9) — 12,000 52–47 100 August 11 @ Giants 1–5 Benton Hamilton (5–7) — — 52–48 101 August 11 @ Giants 3–6 Douglas Carlson (10–11) — 20,000 52–49 102 August 12 @ Giants 2–0 Adams (12–10) Barnes — 15,000 53–49 103 August 13 Cardinals 2–4 Schupp Cooper (18–10) — — 53–50 104 August 14 Cardinals 0–1 Doak Ponder (8–9) — — 53–51 105 August 14 Cardinals 1–1 (8) — — 53–51 106 August 15 @ Cardinals 4–2 (11) Hamilton (6–7) May — — 54–51 107 August 15 @ Cardinals 2–3 Kircher Wisner (0–3) — — 54–52 108 August 16 @ Cardinals 3–2 Adams (13–10) Haines — — 55–52 109 August 17 @ Cardinals 10–6 Cooper (19–10) Schupp Carlson (3) — 56–52 110 August 19 Phillies 2–5 (12) Enzmann Hamilton (6–8) — — 56–53 111 August 20 Phillies 2–4 (11) Betts Ponder (8–10) — — 56–54 112 August 21 Phillies 1–3 Rixey Cooper (19–11) — — 56–55 113 August 21 Phillies 5–0 Adams (14–10) Hubbell — — 57–55 114 August 23 Robins 0–3 Pfeffer Hamilton (6–9) — 3,500 57–56 115 August 24 Robins 4–3 Carlson (11–11) Grimes — 3,000 58–56 116 August 25 Robins 3–4 Mamaux Ponder (8–11) — 4,000 58–57 117 August 26 Braves 2–1 Adams (15–10) McQuillan — — 59–57 118 August 27 Braves 8–1 Cooper (20–11) Oeschger — — 60–57 119 August 28 Braves 1–5 Fillingim Hamilton (6–10) — — 60–58 120 August 30 Giants 4–2 Carlson (12–11) Douglas — — 61–58 121 August 30 Giants 2–1 Ponder (9–11) Toney — 5,000 62–58 122 August 31 Giants 6–5 Wisner (1–3) Nehf Hamilton (2) — 63–58
September: 14–15 (Home: 9–4; Away: 5–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 123 September 1 Giants 4–3 Cooper (21–11) Benton — — 64–58 124 September 2 Giants 1–5 Barnes Hamilton (6–11) — 5,000 64–59 125 September 3 Cubs 2–4 (13) Vaughn Carlson (12–12) — — 64–60 126 September 4 Cubs 3–2 Adams (16–10) Tyler Cooper (2) — 65–60 127 September 5 @ Cubs 0–2 Alexander Ponder (9–12) — — 65–61 128 September 6 Cubs 2–5 Martin Cooper (21–12) — — 65–62 129 September 6 Cubs 12–1 Hamilton (7–11) Bailey — — 66–62 130 September 7 Cubs 7–4 Carlson (13–12) Vaughn Adams (2) — 67–62 131 September 9 @ Phillies 7–6 Ponder (10–12) Causey Hamilton (3) — 68–62 132 September 10 @ Phillies 8–3 Cooper (22–12) Hubbell — — 69–62 133 September 11 @ Phillies 3–2 Hamilton (8–11) Meadows — — 70–62 134 September 13 @ Braves 0–3 Scott Adams (16–11) — — 70–63 135 September 15 @ Braves 2–1 Cooper (23–12) McQuillan — — 71–63 136 September 15 @ Braves 1–4 Fillingim Carlson (13–13) — — 71–64 137 September 16 @ Giants 3–1 Hamilton (9–11) Barnes — — 72–64 138 September 16 @ Giants 0–4 Nehf Ponder (10–13) — 10,000 72–65 139 September 17 @ Giants 3–4 (10) Toney Adams (16–12) — 6,000 72–66 140 September 18 @ Giants 7–8 Douglas Ponder (10–14) — 12,000 72–67 141 September 19 @ Robins 3–4 Pfeffer Cooper (23–13) — 25,000 72–68 142 September 20 @ Robins 1–2 (10) Mamaux Hamilton (9–12) — 6,000 72–69 143 September 22 Reds 2–0 Adams (17–12) Luque — — 73–69 144 September 22 Reds 3–1 Ponder (11–14) Ruether — — 74–69 145 September 23 Reds 4–0 Cooper (24–13) Eller — — 75–69 146 September 24 Cardinals 12–7 Hamilton (10–12) Schupp — — 76–69 147 September 25 Cardinals 2–1 (12) Zinn (1–0) Sherdel — — 77–69 148 September 25 Cardinals 1–3 Haines Ponder (11–15) — — 77–70 149 September 26 @ Reds 0–8 Napier Adams (17–13) — — 77–71 150 September 28 @ Reds 0–2 Eller Cooper (24–14) — — 77–72 151 September 28 @ Reds 3–5 Brenton Hamilton (10–13) — — 77–73
October: 2–2 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 152 October 2 Reds 4–13 Fisher Cooper (24–15) — — 77–74 153 October 2 Reds 3–7 Brenton Zinn (1–1) — — 77–75 154 October 2 Reds 6–0 (6) Morrison (1–0) Napier — — 78–75 155 October 3 @ Cubs 4–3 Carlson (14–13) Tyler — — 79–75
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

1920 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Babe Adams Sheriff Blake Hal Carlson Wilbur Cooper Whitey Glazner Earl Hamilton Johnny Meador Johnny Morrison Elmer Ponder Mule Watson Jack Wisner Jimmy Zinn		Catchers Nig Clarke Bill Haeffner Cliff Lee Walter Schmidt Infielders Walter Barbare Clyde Barnhart Howdy Caton George Cutshaw Charlie Grimm Bill McKechnie Cotton Tierney Pie Traynor Possum Whitted		Outfielders Carson Bigbee Max Carey Fred Nicholson Billy Southworth Homer Summa Other batters Bill Hinchman Wally Hood		Manager George Gibson

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Walter Schmidt	94	310	86	.277	0	20
1B	Charlie Grimm	148	533	121	.227	2	54
2B	George Cutshaw	131	488	123	.252	0	47
SS	Howdy Caton	98	352	83	.236	0	27
3B	Possum Whitted	134	494	129	.261	1	74
OF	Billy Southworth	146	546	155	.284	2	53
OF	Carson Bigbee	137	550	154	.280	4	32
OF	Max Carey	130	485	140	.289	1	35

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Fred Nicholson	99	247	89	.360	4	30
Walter Barbare	57	186	51	.274	0	12
Bill Haeffner	54	175	34	.194	0	14
Bill McKechnie	40	133	29	.218	1	13
Cliff Lee	37	76	18	.237	0	8
Pie Traynor	17	52	11	.212	0	2
Cotton Tierney	12	46	11	.239	0	8
Clyde Barnhart	12	46	15	.326	0	5
Homer Summa	10	22	7	.318	0	1
Bill Hinchman	18	16	3	.188	0	1
Nig Clarke	3	7	0	.000	0	0
Wally Hood	2	1	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Wilbur Cooper	44	327	24	15	2.39	114
Babe Adams	35	263	17	13	2.16	84
Hal Carlson	39	246.2	14	13	3.36	62
Elmer Ponder	33	196	11	15	2.62	62

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Earl Hamilton	39	230.1	10	13	3.24	74
Johnny Meador	12	36.1	0	2	4.21	5
Jimmy Zinn	6	31	1	1	3.48	18
Johnny Morrison	2	7	1	0	0.00	3

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Jack Wisner	17	1	3	0	3.43	13
Sheriff Blake	6	0	0	0	8.10	7
Mule Watson	5	0	0	0	8.74	1
Whitey Glazner	2	0	0	0	3.12	1

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
B	Wichita Falls Spudders	Texas League	Walter Salm

References

1. From 1882-1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.88, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
3. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.43, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0

External links

• 1920 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1920 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac