In the 19th Century, forfeited games were fairly frequent, and they were quite a few in the first two decades of the 20th Century. Even in the 1970s there were four of them, and the most recent one was in 1995. Three of the last four resulted from promotions that backfired.
This list contains a description of forfeited games along with their newspaper reference. The words enclosed in parentheses at the end are the keywords used to find the newspaper articles through ProQuest. Gary Frownfelter compiled this information and generously donated it for publication here. Updates have been provided by many volunteers.
For a list of games that were
forfeited but the forfeit was overturned, click here.
Latest additions and changes
(on 10/19/2021): 7/23/1901 added
(on 02/24/2021): New York at Brooklyn, unknown date in 1905 removed because research showed no forfeited games
between those teams that year
(on 01/26/2020): 09/23/1887, 09/24/1887, 05/23/1890, 04/26/1894, 05/23/1894 removed because not forfeits, but no decision games
(on 12/17/2105): revised 10/5/1907
(on 09/23/2013): 6/29/1882 added
(on 04/21/2009): score corrected in 5/26/1894 game
(on 03/24/2009): 4/23/1909 removed because it was not a forfeit,
but a no decision game
(on 07/29/2008): score corrected in 9/26/1942 game
(on 01/27/2008): lost HR added to 7/18/1954 game
05/11/1871 - Chicago at Cleveland - NA - Chicago White Stockings were ahead 18 to 10 and awarded the forfeit.
05/17/1871 - Washington at Rockford - NA - The Washington Olympics were awarded the win although they were trailing at the time 12 to 10.
05/23/1871 - Rockford at Fort Wayne - NA - The Fort Wayne Kekiongas were trailing 17 to 13, but were awarded the win.
06/05/1871 - Rockford at Philadelphia - NA - The Philadelphia Athletics were trailing 11 to 10 but were awarded the win. A baseball game was reported in the paper between Brooklyn and Chicago, but there was no mention of this game. New York Times, 06/06/1871, p 2 (Base-Ball)
06/15/1871 - Rockford at Philadelphia - NA - The home team was trailing 10 to 7, but was awarded the win. A baseball game was reported in the paper, but there was no mention of this game. New York Times, 06/16/1871, p 2 (Base-ball)
06/19/1871 - Fort Wayne at Troy - NA - Troy Haymakers were awarded the victory, but were trailing 6 to 3 at the time. The score was reported in the paper, but there was no mention of a forfeit. New York Times, 06/20/1871, p 1 (Telegraphic Brevities)
05/20/1872 - Philadelphia at Baltimore - NA - With Baltimore leading 7-3, a dispute over a decision in the Philadelphia half the 8th inning caused the umpire to forfeit the game in favor of the Baltimore club. The Athletics protested and left the field. Later, the protest was upheld and the game was declared a no decision. New York Times, 05/21/1872, p 5 (Athletics)
08/31/1872 - Brooklyn at Philadelphia - NA - The score was tied 5 to 5 when the game was awarded to Philadelphia. There was a close play at third base that the Eckfords disagreed with and then refused to continue play. Umpire Tom Pratt gave the game to the Athletics. New York Times, 09/01/1872, p 8 (Base-ball)
09/28/1874 - Chicago at Philadelphia - NA - Philadelphia was ahead in the game, 15 to 7 at the time they were awarded the win.
05/29/1875 - New Haven at Washington - NA - The Nationals lead 11 to 10 when they were awarded the win.
08/21/1876 - Chicago at St. Louis - NL - With the score tied 6 to 6 in the 9th, St. Louis put a runner on third. The next batter hit a drive down the third base line that hit the runner. The runner was allowed to score. Chicago left the fie ld in protest. The game was awarded to St. Louis. New York Times, 08/22/1876, p 2 (St. Louis)
06/29/1882 - Louisville at St. Louis - AA - We have no details. (Total Baseball V)
07/04/1883 - Providence at Philadelphia - NL - Philadelphia was leading 11 to 9 at the end of 7 innings when Providence left the field to catch a train to New York. They then played in New York and lost by a score of 1 to 0. Meanwhile Boston was in New York, losing 10 to 7. They then traveled to Philadelphia, played and won 17-3. New York Times, 07/05/1883, p 2 (Philadelphia)
08/01/1883 - Boston at Cleveland - NL - Boston was ahead 10 to 3 in the fifth. The Cleveland pitcher, Hugh Daily, was in bad shape and disabled. Cleveland replaced him with Will Sawyer. Boston objected claiming the Sawyer was not on the grounds when the game started. The umpire agreed and gave the game to Boston. New York Times, 08/02/1883, p 2 (Boston)
05/31/1884 - Cincinnati at Washington - AA - During the previous four games in which umpire Terence Connell had officiated in Washington there was trouble. This game was no exception. In the 4th, Washington had two men on with a count of 2 strikes and 6 balls to the batter (at the time, it took 8 "called balls�" for a walk), when a wild pitch was thrown. The batter stepped back to avoid being hit, but the umpire called him out. It the 5th inning, Cincinnati had two men on base and two out. The batter hit a ground ball to third and was thrown out at first. However, Connell called him safe and the runs scored. Washington's president pulled the team from the field in the 6th. Cincinnati was leading at the time 6 to 0. The umpire had to be esc orted from the field by two policemen. New York Times, 06/01/1884, p 2 and Washington Post, 06/01/1884, p 2 (Cincinnati)
07/05/1884 - Cincinnati at Baltimore - UA - Baltimore won the game 13 to 3. There is no mention of a forfeit in the newspaper. Washington Post, 07/06/1884, p 2 (Out-Door)
08/11/1884 - Buffalo at Chicago - NL - In the first inning, with a runner on first, the Chicago batter hit a groundball to the second baseman, who ran the runner back toward first to tag him. The runner threw his arms around the fielder to prevent him from throwing the ball. The umpire called the runner and the batter out. Cap Anson of Chicago did not think the batter should be out and refused to continue. Washington Post, 08/12/1884, p 1 (Baseball)
08/22/1884 - St. Louis at Kansas City - UA - Kansas City Unions withdrew from the game while leading 6 to 3 in the 9th inning over a dispute with umpire George Seward. New York Times, 08/23/1884, p 2 (Kansas City)
08/23/1884 - Detroit at Boston - NL - Boston was leading 7 to 5 after 5 innings. Detroit had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth. On the third strike to Ned Hanlon, Boston catcher Mike Hines dropped the ball. He picked it up and stepped on the plate to force the runner from third base. Hines then chased Hanlon down the first base line before throwing him out to complete the double play and the inning. Current rules would prevent this play as the batter is automatically out when first base is occupied on a dropped third strike with less than two out. Detroit captain Frank Cox objected to the call by umpire John Gaffney saying that Hines had intentionally dropped the ball to make the double play. The rest of the Detroit squad took the field but Cox refused to continue the game. Gaffney gave Cox five minutes to change his mind and when, at the end of that time Cox still refused to play, Gaffney forfeited the game to Boston. There is detailed coverage of this game in the Boston Globe. New York Times, 08/24/1884, p 2 (Detroit)
08/25/1884 - Wilmington at Boston - UA - The Wilmington Quicksteps failed to arrive for the first game of a doubleheader. The Boston Reds won the second game 6-0. New York Times, 08 /26/1884, p 2 (Baseball)
08/30/1884 - St. Louis at Toledo - AA - In the first half of the 8th inning of the second game of a doubleheader with St. Louis leading 3 to 2, umpire Billy Quinn called a St. Louis batter out on a foul strike and the entire St. Louis team walked off the field. New York Times, 08/31/1884, p 5 (Toledo)
09/08/1884 - Chicago at Washington - UA - The game was awarded to Washington. There was no mention of the game in the Washington Post, 09/09/1884, p 1 (Baseball)
09/20/1884 - Cincinnati at Washington - UA - The Cincinnati team failed to appear for the game. However, an exhibition game was played with the disbanded Pittsburgh team. Washington Post, 09/21/1884, p 2 (Out-Door)
09/24/1884 - Baltimore at Pittsburgh - AA - The appointed umpire failed to show for the game and the Baltimore manager, Billy Barnie, was selected as a substitute. He made several calls in favor of his team that upset the crowd. One call in the 8th sent them over the edge. Police had to escort the team from the field. Washington Post, 09/25/1884, p 1 (Baseball)
09/24/1884 - Richmond at Toledo - AA - Richmond left for home declining to stay and replay a tie game. Umpire Kelly gave the game to Toledo. Washington Post, 09/25/1884, p 1 (Baseball)
10/11/1884 - Boston at Cincinnati - UA - The game was awarded to Boston. There was no mention of this game in the Washington Post, 10/12/1884, p 2 (Baseball)
10/11/1884 - Washington at St. Louis - UA - St. Louis was ahead 2-0 in the 4th when the ball was hit out of play. The Washington team called for a new ball, but the St. Louis team retrieved the old one. Washington refused to continue with t he old one and the umpire gave the game to St. Louis. Washington Post, 10/12/1884, p 2 (Baseball)
08/05/1885 - Philadelphia at Baltimore - AA - Philadelphia refused to complete their bats in the 9th inning after scoring 2 runs. Umpire Red Connolly gave the game to the home team, ahead at the time anyway, 8 to 7. New York Times, 08/06/1 885, p 5 (Baseball)
07/30/1886 - Detroit at Washington - NL - Washington was ahead 9 to 6 in the top of the 7th inning. Throughout the game, the Washington team was upset by several calls made by umpire Joe Ellick in favor of Detroit. After several bad calls in the last inning, the Washingtons started delaying the game in hopes the umpire would call the game because of darkness. They made no attempt to put the Detroit team out, allowing them to scor e 7 runs. The umpire, seeing this, started calling the Detroit batters out for no apparent reason. The last out was a play at the plate where the catcher caught the ball three feet in front of the plate and made no attempt to tag the runner. Washingt on refused to take their bats and the game was forfeited to Detroit. The umpire had to be escorted to safety by police. Washington Post, 07/31/1886, p 2 (Baseball)
09/29/1886 - St. Louis at Washington - NL - A St. Louis player was called out on strikes in the 7th inning of a 2-2 tie game. The St. Louis team claimed it was too dark to continue and refused to play. Umpire Gracie Pierce gave the game to Washington. Washington Post, 09/30/1886, p 2 (Baseball)
10/07/1886 - Kansas City at Washington - NL - By an oversight the Kansas City Cowboys failed to show up for the morning game of a morning / afternoon doubleheader. Umpire Joe Quest forfeited the game to the home team. Kansas City lost the second game on the field by a score of 12-3. Washington Post, 10/08/1886, p 2 (Baseball)
10/08/1886 - Kansas City at Washington - NL - Kansas City refused to play the first game of a morning / afternoon doubleheader and a forfeit was awarded to Washington. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie in the scheduled second game of the day.
10/09/1886 - Kansas City at Washington - NL - Prior to the game, Washington manager John Gaffney received several telegrams from St. Louis manager Gus Schmelz claiming that there was a plot to throw the game. Washington won this game 3 to 0. There was no mention of a forfeit. However, the Washington Post of 10/12/1886, did mention t hat that there were 3 forfeits awarded to Washington. Washington Post, 10/10/1886, p 2 (Nationals)
04/30/1887 - Cincinnati at Louisville - AA - Cincinnati was detained by a railroad accident and failed to show up for the game. Washington Post, 05/01/1887, p 2 (Baseball)
07/03/1887 - St. Louis at Louisville - AA - The game was awarded to Louisville. There was no score given.
07/22/1887 - Cleveland at Philadelphia - AA - In the 6th inning, Philadelphia had runners on first and third. The runner on first took off for second. The catcher threw the ball to the shortstop who ran the runner back towards first. The ru nner on third started home. The shortstop threw back to the catcher, but the batter blocked the catcher allowing the runner to return to third. Umpire Mitchell first called the runner at third out and later changed his mind and called the batter out. Cleveland started to argue and then to everyone's surprise the umpire gave the game to Philadelphia. The Athletics were leading at the time 4 to 2. Washington Post, 07/23/1887, p 2 (Baseball)
08/12/1887 - Philadelphia at New York - AA - New York was the home team, and as was common then it chose to bat first. In the top of the sixth, the Metropolitans scored three times to take a 9-7 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Athletics players rufused to obey the umpire's rulings, and the game was forfeited to New York. Washington Post, 08/13/1887, p 2 (Sporting News)
05/31/1888 - Pittsburgh at New York - NL - Pittsburgh did not appear for the game. They later claimed that they telephoned the Polo Grounds and were told that the game had been canceled. New York was awarded the ga me. Washington Post, 06/ 01/1888, p 2 (Baseball)
07/14/1888 - Brooklyn at Kansas City - AA - Because of earlier trouble, the league decided to employ a two man umpiring crew for the game. However only one umpire showed up and Kansas City insisted that there should be two. One of the substitute players was assigned as umpire. All was OK until the 9th. The substitute umpire called a Brooklyn player out at first on a pickoff play. Brooklyn objected and a wrangle started. The regular umpire, Terry, got involved and ended up refusin g to continue. Brooklyn left the field without completing their at-bats and the remaining umpire gave the game to Kansas City. Kansas City was leading 5 to 4 at the time. Washington Post, 07/15/1888, p 1 (Baseball)
09/12/1888 - Chicago at New York - NL - At the end of the fifth inning with Chicago leading 9 to 2, Buck Ewing of New York claimed that he was too hurt to continue playing. Cap Anson, the Chicago manager, protested, arguing that he was not hurt and was only trying to save himself for the next game. The umpires agreed. New York refused to continue a nd, after waiting the required time, the umpires gave the game to Chicago. - New York Time; 09/13/1888; p 6 (Chicago)
10/13/1888 - Philadelphia at Chicago - NL - Chicago forfeited the game to Philadelphia when they failed to appear. Los Angeles Times, 10/14/1888, p 5 (Chicago)
05/05/1889 - Philadelphia at Brooklyn - AA - The largest crowd ever to see a ballgame at Ridgewood Park was present to see a 1-1 game go into the 6th inning. In the top of that inning, the visitors scored 4 times. As the home team came to bat the crowd in centerfield began to close in. Soon the entire field was overrun by fans. The field could not be cleared, and the umpire called the game in favor of Philadelphia. Brooklyn later claimed that Philadelphia had incited the trouble. Los Angeles Times, 05/06/1889, p 4 (Baseball)
06/24/1889 - Columbus at Brooklyn - AA - The first game of a doubleheader was forfeited to Brooklyn because of a first inning quarrel with the umpire. Washington Post, 06/25/1889, p 2 (Columbus)
09/08/1889 - St. Louis at Brooklyn - AA - Brooklyn was awarded a win by umpire Fred Goldsmith when the St. Louis team failed to show up for the game. St. Louis had notified the home team that they would not show up because they were afraid for their safety. Washington Post, 09/09/1889, p 2 (Association)
04/20/1890 - St. Louis at Louisville - AA - In the home half of the 3rd inning, the game was given to the Colonels by umpire Terence Connell after a protest about a ball hit up against the left field seats. St. Louis was leading at the time 3 to 0. The teams then agreed to continue the game as an exhibition. The game ended in a 13 to 13 tie. - Washington Post, 04/21/1890, p 6 (Association)
04/24/1890 - New York at Boston - NL - Boston tied the game at 2 in the 7th inning on a double steal of 2nd and home. The Giants complained to umpire Sandy McDermott and the dispute was soon settled. Meanwhile, the Giant pitcher, Mickey Welch, started complaining about pitches that the umpire had called balls. McDermott ordered Welch to continue, but he refused. The umpire gave the game to Boston. Later, Welch claimed that he did not continue because the umpire had fined him and ordered him out of the game. Washington Post, 04/25/1890, p 6 (National league)
07/02/1890 - Philadelphia at Toledo - AA - Philadelphia was ahead 5 to 2 in the 8th. They complained too long about a decision and umpires Sadie McMahon and Fred Smith called the game in favor of Toledo. Washington Post, 07/03/1890, p6 (Toledo)
07/27/1890 - Columbus at Brooklyn - AA - Columbus was awarded the game when Brooklyn could not furnish a new ball after the old one was hit out of the grounds. The game was in the eighth inning with Brooklyn leading 18 to 8. - Washington Po st; 07/28/1890; p 6 (Columbus)
08/03/1890 - Louisville at Syracuse - AA - The chief of police notified both teams that playing Sunday baseball was illegal and their scheduled game should not be played. The Syracuse team showed up at the Iron Pier field anyway. Louisville and the regular umpire, Wes Curry, did not. A local umpire then called the game in favor of the home team. The Louisville manager, Jack Chapman, said that he was not forfeiting the game, but was only afraid of being detained in Syracuse. New York Times, 08 /04/1890, p 2 (Syracuse)
08/05/1890 - Rochester at Toledo - AA - Toledo rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th to take the lead 7 to 3. The Rochester Hop Bitters refused to abide by a ruling made by umpire Jimmy Peoples, who gave the game to the home team. Washington Post, 08/06/1890, p 6. (American Association)
09/21/1890 - Rochester at St. Louis - AA - In the second game of a doubleheader with St. Louis leading 10 to 3 in the 8th inning, umpire Herm Doscher ordered Rochester's Sandy Griffin out of the game for arguing. He refused to go and the game was called in favor of St. Louis. Washington Post, 09/22/1890, p 6 (American Association)
04/08/1891 - Cincinnati at St. Louis - AA - The game was awarded to the Browns when Cincinnati attempted to delay the game in the 9th inning by allowing St. Louis to score eight times in an already lopsided game. - New York Time; 04/09/1891, p 3 (Baseball)
09/12/1891 - Boston at St. Louis - AA - In a close American Association game, the Browns were awarded a victory by umpire Thomas McLaughlin after a Boston player got out of hand protesting a close play in the 8th. - Washington Post; 09/13/1891, p 3 (Baseball)
09/20/1891 - Philadelphia at Louisville - AA - Louisville took both ends of a doubleheader. The 2nd game was awarded to Louisville by umpire Thomas McLaughlin after he ordered Henry Larkin from the game and Captain George Wood refused to replace him. Louisville was leading at the time 3 to 0. - Washington Post, 09/21/1891, p 6 (Louisville)
09/25/1891 - Pittsburgh at Chicago - NL - Umpire James McQuade awarded the game to Chicago with 2 out in the 8th inning and the scored tied 4 to 4. Chicago had just scored 2 runs to tie the game. Pittsburgh's Doggie Miller objected to a cal l made by the umpire and was asked to leave the game. Pirate manager Bill McGunnigle refused to take him out. - Washington Post, 09/26/1891, p 6 (National league)
10/05/1891 - Baltimore at Washington - AA - After 6 innings John McGraw's Orioles were leading 4 to 1. Baltimore thought the game should be called because it was too dark. Umpire Jack Kerins disagreed and ordered the game to continue. Baltimore started kicking and throwing the ball around. Washington scored 20 runs in the 7th inning before purposely making the final out. Again, Baltimore claimed it was too dark, but the umpir e ordered the game on. Baltimore continued to delay play and finally the umpire called the game and gave a forfeit to Washington. Washington Post, 10/06/1891, p 6 (Baltimore)
04/20/1892 - New York at Baltimore - NL - In the visitor half of the 6th inning with Baltimore ahead 6 to 5, Baltimore quit so they could catch a train to Boston. New York claimed that they were not told about Baltimore leaving early. Balti more countered saying that was the reason the game started early. Umpire Michael Mahoney sided with New York and gave them the game. New York Times, 04/21/1892, p 2 (Baltimore)
04/23/1892 - Louisville at Chicago - NL - The game started out in sunny warm weather, but by the 9th inning it was a raw cold day. Chicago was leading 4 to 2 when the crowed poured onto the field. The field could not be cleared and umpire Jack Sheridan gave the game to the visitors. Washington Post, 04/24/1892, p 10 (Louisville)
05/10/1892 - New York at Pittsburgh - NL - It was raining and the game had not yet started. At 4:10 PM New York manager Pat Powers took the team and left the park. Umpire Jack McQuaid had not yet called the game. At 4:45 the rain stopped and since the New York club was not there, gave the game to Pittsburgh. New York Times, 05/11/1892, p 2 (Forfeited)
08/16/1892 - Washington at Pittsburgh - NL - With the score tied at two in the bottom of the 10th inning, Doggie Miller of Pittsburgh was hit by a pitch. Washington protested claiming the batter purposely tried to get hit. Umpire Charles Mitchell disagreed. Washington refused to continue and the game was awarded to Pittsburgh. Washington Post, 08/17/1892, p 6 (Forfeited)
09/22/1892 - Chicago at Pittsburgh - NL - In the middle of the fourth inning with Pittsburgh leading 9 to 2, Chicago started delaying the game hoping for a rain out. Umpire John Gaffney called the game a forfeit for the home team. Washington Post, 09/23/1892, p 6 (Chicago)
10/12/1892 - Cleveland at Pittsburgh - NL - The Cleveland team did not appear for the game and the game was awarded to Pittsburgh. The game the day before had ended in a tie. Pittsburgh wanted to replay the game and according to the rules n otified all concerned. Cleveland had a benefit game scheduled back in Cleveland and left on the midnight train. Umpire John Gaffney declared the game a forfeit win for Pittsburgh. Washington Post, 10/13/1892, p 6 (Forfeited)
09/16/1893 - Baltimore at Cleveland - NL - In the last of the 8th inning, Cleveland scored 4 times to go ahead 15 to 11. Baltimore Captain Wilbert Robinson thought it was too dark to continue play, and refused to return the ball to the pitcher after being asked three times by umpire Tim Hurst, who eventually called the game in favor of Cleveland. - Washington Post, 09/17/1893, p 6 (Baltimore)
05/01/1894 - Brooklyn at Washington - NL - A close call at first base against the Washington club was the last in a series of calls that the club objected to. They complained too long about the call for umpire Billy Stage and he forfeited the game to Brooklyn. The game was in the 6th inning with Washington leading 2 to 1. New York Times, 05/02/1894, p 3 (Baseball)
05/26/1894 - Pittsburgh at Cleveland - NL - Several boys in the bleachers started throwing seat cushions at the visiting team in the 9th inning. The situation soon got out of hand and the crowd stormed the field. Umpire Bob Emslie waited the appropriate amount of time and called the game in favor of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was leading 12 to 3 at the time. Los Angeles Times, 05/27/1894, p 2 (Baseball)
07/17/1894 - Boston at Philadelphia - NL - The Phillies scored 7 times in their half the 8th inning to go ahead 12 - 2. Boston, in an attempt to delay the game long enough for it to be called because of rain, refused to make an effort to put out batters. Umpire Dan Campbell, who was subbing for the ill Billy Stage, called the game. The crowd rushed on to the field and started punching the visitors. As a result of the melee, 25 policemen and several Philadelphia players had to escort the Boston players to safety. New York Times, 07/18/1894, p 8 (Philadelphia)
08/03/1894 - Chicago at Louisville - NL - Cap Anson of Chicago refused to play with the balls furnished by Louisville. Umpire Tom Lynch awarded the game to the home team. The previous day Louisville protested the game because they claimed Chicago slipped a "lively" ball into the game that allowed them to get a few hits. Washington Post, 08/04/1894, p 6 (Baseball)
08/18/1894 - Chicago at New York - NL - Chicago won the first game of a doubleheader 6-4. The second game ended in a tie when the game was called because of darkness in the 10th. The first game was later declared a no-decision. Chicago Daily Tribune, 08/19/1894, p 5 (Giants)
08/25/1894 - Louisville at New York - NL - The Giants won both games of a doubleheader, the first game by a score of 18-8. This was a make up game for an earlier postponed game in Louisville. The National League declared this game a no-decision because the change in venue. New York Times, 08/26/1894, p 7 (Louisville) - Chicago Daily Tribune, 09/08/1894, p 6 (Cincinnati AND Philadelphia)
08/27/1894 - Cincinnati at Philadelphia - NL - Cincinnati won both games of a doubleheader to end Philadelphia-s ten game winning streak. The score of the first game was 19-9. It was reported on 09/08 that the National League declared the game a no-decision because the game was played in Philadelphia instead of Cincinnati. Chicago Daily Tribune, 08/28/1894, p 8 (Cincinnati) - Chicago Daily Tribune, 09/08/1894, p 6 (Cincinnati AND Philadelphia)
09/05/1894 - St. Louis at Washington - NL - Umpire William Betts called the game in favor of the home team in the top half the 9th inning with Washington leading 7 to 4. Several calls went against the Browns and they complained at every opportunity. The newspaper article concerning the game claimed the umpire was just trying to make up for some bad calls made the previous day that went against Washington. Washington Post, 09/06/1894, p 6 (Baseball)
09/06/1894 - Cincinnati at Philadelphia - NL - The Phillies won both ends of a doubleheader for their fourth consecutive win over the Reds. The newspaper account of the game did not mention any arguments or protests. Later, the first game was declared a no-decision. - Washington Post, 09/07/1894, p 7 (Cincinnati)
05/23/1895 - Brooklyn at Louisville - NL - Louisville started the game with 3 new balls, but by the third inning, the supply was exhausted. The umpire waited 8 minutes for a new ball before he called the game. Brooklyn was ahead 3 to 1 at t he time. New York Times, 05/24/1895, p 6 (Forfeited)
06/01/1895 - Pittsburgh at Brooklyn - NL - Brooklyn won the game 12-4. Later it was declared a no-decision. New York Times, 06/02/1895, p 6 (Pittsburgh)
07/14/1895 - Cleveland at St. Louis - NL - St. Louis won the game 5-4. The Cleveland captain, Patsy Tebeau, protested the game because the umpire allowed a run to score when the batter was called out interfering with a fielder in the 5th inning. The game was later declared a no-decision. - Washington Post, 07/15/1895, p 6 (St. Louis)
08/12/1895 - Washington at Boston - NL - Washington scored 2 runs in the 9th to send the game into extra innings only to have Boston score in the 10th. The final score was 4-3. Both teams were upset with calls made by umpire George Burnham. Washington protested the game and it was later declared a no-decision. - Washington Post, 08/13/1895, p 6 (Boston)
08/28/1895 - Pittsburgh at Baltimore - NL - The first game of a scheduled doubleheader was awarded to Baltimore when Pittsburgh did not arrive in time. Baltimore won the second game 11 to 5. New York Times, 08/29/1895, p 6 (Baltimore)
05/13/1896 - Boston at Chicago - NL - Umpire Tim Keefe gave the game to Boston. Each team scored 4 runs in the tenth and Boston scored 6 more in the eleventh. With one out the Chicago team started playing slowly hoping for it to be called due to darkness. They purposely muffed, fumbled and threw wild. Los Angeles Times, 05/14/1896, p 3 (Baseball)
07/24/1896 - Baltimore at St. Louis - NL - Baltimore took the lead in the 13th inning and St. Louis attempted to delay the game so it would be called because of darkness. The umpire did not allow it and called the game Los Angles Times, 0 7/25/1896, p 3 (Baseball)
05/03/1897 - New York at Washington - NL - New York scored 7 times in the second inning on a cold, rainy day. Washington started stalling and umpire Tom Lynch called the game. Los Angeles Times, 05/04/1897, p 2 (Baseball)
06/01/1897 - Pittsburgh at New York - NL - Pittsburgh lead 7 to 0 going into the bottom of the 6th inning. The Giants rallied and scored four runs on three singles and a double. Umpire Sandy McDermott called a runner safe at second on a close play. The entire Pittsburgh team ran to the umpire and started arguing. Several of the players kicked too much and were asked to leave. When they refused, the game was called. Fans rushed onto the field and escorted the umpire to safety. New York Times, 06/02/1897, p 5 (Pittsburgh)
06/04/1897 - Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - NL - Philadelphia was awarded a victory in the 4th inning when umpire James McDonald said Pittsburgh was throwing the ball around the field to delay the game so it would be called because of the weather. Philadelphia was leading 4 to 0 at the time. New York Times, 06/05/1897, p 4 (Philadelphia)
07/24/1897 - Philadelphia at Cleveland - NL - The regular umpire, Bob Emslie, was sent to Cincinnati and two substitute players were used as umpires. McGinty from Cleveland was behind the plate and Jack Boyle from Philadelphia was on the base paths. Philadelphia was ahead 4 to 3 going into the last half of the eighth. McGinty, called several pitches balls and the visiting team started to complain. After a few more called balls, Philadelphia ref used to continue. After waiting three minutes McGinty forfeited the game. New York Times, 07/25/1897, p 4 (Philadelphia)
08/01/1897 - Louisville at St. Louis - NL - Red Donahue and Charlie Dexter, substitute players for St. Louis and Louisville respectively, were acting as umpires. In the top half of the 9th inning of the second game with St. Louis batting and Louisville leading 5-4, Donahue forfeited the game to his team because Louisville pitcher Bert Cunningham persisted in soiling new balls passed to him. Eventually, the game was declared a no decision. Washington Post, 08/02/1897, p 8 (Cunningham)
08/04/1897 - Cleveland at Louisville - NL - With Louisville leading 3 to 2 in the second inning of the first game of a doubleheader, Cleveland's Jesse Burkett called umpire Jimmy Wolf a vile name. The umpire ejected him from the game and when the Captain Patsy Tebeau refused to name a substitute, the game was called. Louisville was ahead in the second game when, in the ninth inning, Burkett again insulted the umpire and was ejected for the second time that day. This time two policeman escorted him out of the grounds and game continued. New York Times, 08/05/1897, p 3 (Louisville)
09/08/1897 - Cleveland at Washington - NL - The second game of a doubleheader was forfeited to the Washington Senators in the fifth inning. The Cleveland captain, Patsy Tebeau, told the batter Ed McKean to get hit by the ball. However, the plan was overheard by umpire Bill Carpenter and when the batter was hit, refused to send the batter to first. Tebeau argued and refused to continue the game. Washington was ahead 6 to 2 at the time. Washington Post, 09/09/1897, p 8 (Cleveland)
09/10/1897 - Louisville at Baltimore - NL - Louisville refused to continue playing when they disagreed with umpire Kick Kelly about a call at first base that allowed the leading run to score in the 7th inning. Kelly called the game with Baltimore leading 6 to 5. New York Times, 09/11/1897, p 4 (Louisville)
07/25/1898 - Baltimore at New York - NL - In the 4th inning with the score tied at 1, Ducky Holmes, the Baltimore leftfielder, made an obscene remark to the crowd after he struck out. Mr. Freedman, the owner of the Giants, heard the remark and demanded that the outfielder be removed from the game. Umpire Tom Lynch refused. Freedman then instructed his team not to continue and Lynch gave the game to Baltimore. - New York Time; 07/26/1898; p 5 (Baltimore)
09/16/1898 - Chicago at Philadelphia - NL - In the fifth inning, Ed McFarland overslid the plate, but got back before being tagged. The Chicago captain complained so long about the play that umpire John Gaffney called the game. Chicago was ahead at the time 2 to 1. New York Times, 09/17/1898, p 4 (Baseball)
05/03/1899 - Louisville at Pittsburgh - NL - Louisville was ahead 6-1 going into the home half the 9th inning. Pittsburgh scored 3 runs and had two men on base when a strange play occurred. Jack McCarthy hit a ball down the right field line. It looked foul but the umpire called it fair. The ball hit a snag in the field and kicked to the right. The ball headed toward a small boy standing near a door to the dressing room. As the ball approached, the boy opened the door, the ball and the boy passed through it, and the boy closed the door behind them. By the time Charlie Dexter, the right fielder, opened the door and retrieved the ball three run had scored. Louisville claimed fan interference, but umpires Oyster Burns and Billy Smith thought otherwise. Louisville protested the game. It was later called a no-decision. - Chicago Daily Tribune, 05/04/1899, p 4 (Louisville)
05/19/1899 - New York at St. Louis - NL - The game was awarded to St. Louis by umpire Oyster Burns. New York was leading 10 to 3 going into the bottom of the 6th. New York pitcher Jouett Meekin gave up 5 walks and 3 singles allowing St. Louis to score 6 times. The Giants' second baseman, Kid Gleason, questioned Burn's ability to call balls and strikes. He kept up his rant, eventually being ejected. Gleason refused to leave the field and after four minutes Burns, a former player, declared the forfeit. - New York Times; 05/20/1899; p 9 (Baseball)
05/30/1899 - Cincinnati at New York - NL - New York scored 2 runs in their final at bat to win the 2nd game of a doubleheader 7-5. With runners on second and third and one out, the New York batter, hit a grounder to first. The first baseman threw home, but umpire John Gaffney ruled that the catcher failed to touch the runner. The entire Cincinnati team came rushing out of the dugout to argue. After several minutes they gave up and play resumed.. Cincinnati protested the game and it was later declared a no-decision. - New York Times, 05/31/1899, p 10 (Cincinnati)
06/16/1899 - Brooklyn at New York - NL - The game was called in the top of the 2nd inning with Brooklyn already leading 5 to 1, Umpire Oyster Burns, who had had run-ins with the Giants in the past, made some questionable calls that upset the crowd and players. Almost every decision the umpire made was met with arguments from the Giants. Finally, after one of the Giants was too slow to leave the grounds after being removed from the game, Burns had enough and forfeited the game to Brooklyn. - N ew York Times; 06/17/1899; p 3 (Baseball)
10/14/1899 - Baltimore at Brooklyn - NL - Jimmy Sheckard of Baltimore assaulted umpire John Hunt after being called out while attempting to steal second base in the second inning. Hunt ejected the player, who refused to leave the game. The umpire then appealed to the Orioles' field captain, Aleck Smith, and manager, John McGraw, but they refused to order Sheckard off the field. The umpire next asked the Brooklyn manager, Ned Hanlon, who also happened to be the President of the Baltimore club. Hanlon told Hunt he would support any action taken by the arbiter and Brooklyn was awarded the game. According to the rules of the day, the Baltimore club had to pay a $500 fine to the other team because they forfeited the game. Since both clubs were owned by the same parties it was a case of a club paying money to itself. New York Times, 10/15/1899, p 13 (Baseball)
06/22/1900 - Brooklyn at Philadelphia - NL - Brooklyn scored 7 runs in the top of the 11th inning to go ahead 20 to 13. The home team started delaying the game, by walking batters and refusing to tag runners out. Umpire Hank O'Day forfeited the game to Brooklyn. New York Times, 06/23/1900, p 9 (Baseball)
09/19/1900 - St. Louis at Brooklyn - NL - In the third inning, Bobby Wallace of St. Louis fielded a grounder and threw poorly to the plate. Brooklyn runner Duke Farrell slid under Wilbert Robinson's tag and umpire John Gaffney called him safe. Robinson threw the ball at the arbiter, rushed up and struck him on the chest with his fist. Gaffney swung his mask at Robinson, just grazing his nose. Gaffney then ejected Robinson, who refused to leave the field. Manager McGraw backed him up. Gaffney forfeited the game after waiting the customary time. The spectators received their money back. New York Times, 09/20/1900, p 3 (Baseball)
05/02/1901 - Detroit at Chicago - AL - Detroit scored 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning to go ahead 7 to 5 as rain started falling. The Chicago team then started stalling trying for a rain out. The umpire awarded the game to Detroit. This was the first American League forfeit. - Detroit Tigers Lists and More, Washington Post, 05/03/1901, p 8 (Detroit)
05/13/1901 - Brooklyn at New York - NL - The Brooklyn team came to bat in the top of the 9th inning trailing New York 7 to 6. With the bases loaded and two outs, a clean single was hit to left field that appeared to score two runs. However, the runner on first was thrown out at third base for the third out before the go-ahead run scored. Brooklyn, thinking they were ahead, headed out to their fielding positions. Some of the fans started asking umpire Hank O'Day if both runs counted. He said no, only one scored and the out was made before the second one crossed the plate. The Brooklyn team was extremely upset and started to complain. Before peace could be restored the time limit for arguing had expired and O'Day called the game in favor of New York. New York Times, 05/14/1901, p 7 (Baseball)
05/31/1901 - Baltimore at Detroit - AL - Detroit came to bat in the bottom of the 9th trailing 5 to 4. The first man was easily put out. Ducky Holmes, the Detroit right fielder, hit a massive drive to deep center. Jim Jackson retrieved the ball and threw it home. Catcher Wilbert Robinson applied the tag to the diving Holmes. Umpire Jack Sheridan declared the tag late and the runner safe for an inside-the-park home run. John McGraw and Harry Howell were ejected for arguing. The Baltimore team was enraged and charged the umpire. Mike Donlin threw a bat at the umpire from behind. Sheridan ordered the game to resume and when the players refused, called the game in favor of Detroit. - Washington Post, 06/01/1901, p 8 (Detroit)
06/09/1901 - New York at Cincinnati - NL - A sellout crowd of over 17,000 fans crowded into League Park and surrounded the field. Throughout the game the crowd kept pushing towards the diamond. Many hits that would normally be outs ended up in the crowd as doubles. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the crowd overran the field and caused so much confusion that umpire Bob Emslie called the game for the visitors. The score at the time was New York 25, Cincinnati 13. - New York Times, 06/10/1901, p 5 (Baseball)
07/23/1901 - Washington at Cleveland - AL - Washington led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, then Jack O'Brien walked, was singled to second by Erve Beck, and then scored all the way from second when Candy LaChance beat out a bunt. Bill Coughlin and Bill Clingman both called for the ball to be thrown to third, claiming that O'Brien had taken a shortcut via the pitcher's box in order to score, and when Umpire Tommy Connolly refused to uphold the protest, team captain Bill Clarke pulled Washington off the field, causing the game to be forfeited to Cleveland. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Washington Times)
08/21/1901 - Detroit at Baltimore - AL - Baltimore and their fans had been upset for a week because of some calls made by umpire Tommy Connolly. Management had warned the umpire before the game that there may be trouble and asked him to arrange for a substitute but he refused. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Detroit was leading 7 to 4. The lead-off batter for Baltimore was called out at first, although he clearly looked safe. The Orioles immediately surrounded the umpire arguing the call. Players started fighting amongst themselves and Kid Elberfeld was arrested and escorted off the field. Fans poured onto the field and rushed the box office for refunds. Connolly escaped to the groundskeeper's office, but not without taking a couple stiff blows from some fans. He stayed in the office for over an hour before the crowd thinned out enough for him to leave. Club officials asked the police to keep Connolly away from the ballpark for the next game. - Washington Post, 08/22/1901, p 8 (Detroit)
06/16/1902 - Pittsburgh at Boston - NL - Boston forfeited the game after four plus innings when the umpire refused to call the game because of rain. Pittsburgh was leading at the time 4 to 0. The Boston captain thought the game should be ca lled and when umpire Joe Cantillon refused, the Boston team started kicking the ball around to delay the game. Cantillon called the game as a forfeit to Pittsburgh. - Chicago Daily Tribune, 06/17/1902, p 13 (forfeit)
06/28/1902 - Boston at Baltimore - AL - Umpire Tommy Connolly forfeited the game to Boston in the bottom half of the 8th inning with the visitors leading 9 to 4. During a rundown play between third and home the runner on first moved to third, but failed to touch second base. Connolly called him out but John McGraw disagreed. Connolly ordered McGraw to leave the field but he refused. The umpire then called the game. Washington Post, 06/29/1902, p 9 (Connolly)
07/17/1902 - St. Louis at Baltimore - AL - Andrew Freedman, the owner of the National League New York Giants, with the help of the Baltimore manager, John McGraw, obtained controlling interest in the American League Baltimore club. They rea ssigned most of the Baltimore players to the Giants and others to the NL Cincinnati team. Only three players refused to go. Baltimore therefore could not field a team for the scheduled game with St. Louis and had to forfeit it. Ban Johnson, the AL President, then removed the Baltimore franchise from the league. He established a new team in the city to finish the season. Several AL teams supplied some of their surplus players to fill the roster. - Washington Post, 07/17/1902, p 9 (baseball ) - Chicago Daily Tribune, 07/18/1902, p 6 (baseball)
08/08/1903 - Detroit at Cleveland - AL - In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Detroit was ahead 6 - 5. Detroit threw an old dirty ball into play. The Cleveland team protested to umpire Tommy Connolly to no avail. Nap Lajoie then picked the ball up and threw it over the grand stand. The umpire awarded the game to Detroit. Fans surged around the umpire but no violence occur red. - New York Times, 08/09/1903, p 14 (Detroit) - Ty Cobb, My Life in Baseball, p 84 (Cobb describes this game as if he was there, but he did not start his career until 1905).
10/04/1904 - St. Louis at New York - NL - In the second game of a doubleheader on the last day of the season, Jack Dunn of the Giants homered, but was called out by umpire Jim Johnstone for missing first base. New York argued too long and c aused the arbiter to forfeit the game to St. Louis. The incident occurred in the fourth inning with St. Louis leading 2 to 1. Johnstone, on his way to his dressing room after the game, was struck in the head by a fan. The attacker was arrested, but t he umpire refused to press charges. - Washington Post, 10/05/1904, p 8 (St. Louis)
08/05/1905 - New York at Pittsburgh - NL - Over 18,000 people, the largest crowd of the year at Exposition Park, attended the game between the New Yorkers and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was ahead most of the game until New York scored 4 runs in the 7th inning to tie the game at 5. In the bottom half of the 9th Claude Ritchey led off the inning with a double. George Gibson then bunted to move Ritchey to third base. Christy Mathewson fielded the ball and tried unsuccessfully to retire the runner at third. The New York team objected to the call at third. Umpire George Bausewine called play and when the Giants refused to continue Bausewine forfeited the game to Pittsburgh. - New York Times, 08/06/1905, p 1 (Giants)
08/22/1905 - Washington at Detroit - AL - Detroit and Washington battled through 10 innings with the scored tied 1 to 1. In the Washington half of the 11th inning with 2 out, two on, and a three-and-one count on batter John Anderson, Hunter Hill, the runner on third, bolted for the plate as George Mullin wound up to deliver the pitch. Jack Warner, the catcher, brushed past the batter, caught the ball and tagged the runner out by at least 10 feet. Umpire Jack Sheridan ruled the runner safe because of the catcher's obvious interference with the batter. Anderson was awarded first on a walk. The Detroit club objected and started to argue. Sheridan calmly waited the required two minutes and called the game. The crowd then rushed the field to confront the umpire. The Tigers team surrounded the umpire and escorted him to safety. The police were called to quell the riot. - New York Times, 08/23/1905, p 4, Washington Post, 08/23/1905, p 9 (Detroit)
06/09/1906 - Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - NL - Pittsburgh scored 7 runs in the top half of the 8th inning with the help of several intentional misplays by Philadelphia. The Phillies, who were leading at the end of seven 1-0, thought the gam e should be called because of darkness and a pending rainstorm. One pitcher hit a batter and committed a balk, and when challenged about it, got mad and refused to pitch. The umpire asked him to leave. His replacements threw wildly and refused to pla y right. With no prospects of the team making any outs, umpire Bill Klem called the game in favor of the visiting team. On the way to his dressing room, Klem was the target of seat cushions and pop bottles. - Chicago Daily Tribune, 06/10/1906, p A2 ( Klem)
07/02/1906 - New York at Philadelphia - AL - The second game of a doubleheader was forfeited by the home team when the crowd swarmed onto the field with two out in the 9th inning. New York was leading at the time 5 - 1. Tim Hurst and Silk O'Loughlin were the umpires. - Washington Post, 07/03/1906, p 8 (Athletics)
08/07/1906 - Chicago at New York - NL - The trouble really started in the game the day before. Umpire Jim Johnstone removed manager John McGraw and third baseman Art Devlin from the game over a disputed call. The crowd objected and the police had to escort the umpire from the field after the game. A half-hour before the scheduled start of this game Johnstone arrived at the Polo Grounds to assume his duties, but was denied entry by the club. He then immediately called the game a forfeit in favor of the Cubs. The other umpire assigned to the game, Bob Emslie, had already entered the grounds, but by league rule, quickly left when he heard of Johnstone's situation. At 4 PM, the scheduled game time, the New York team took the field and not seeing an official umpire in the stadium, appointed one of its reserve players as umpire as was the custom. The Chicago team refused to take the field and bolted for the clubhouse. McGraw and his appointed umpire declared the game a forfeit for New York. The New York club later claimed that the police requested that the umpire be barred because a fear of a possible riot. This was denied by the police. National League president Harry C. Pulliam ruled with the umpires and the forfeit to Chicago stood. - New York Times; 08/08/190 6, p 4 (Giants)
09/03/1906 - Philadelphia at New York - AL - With 2 outs in the 9th inning of the second game of a doubleheader, the New York team was awarded a forfeit win after tying the game at 3. Trailing 3-1 with runners on 2nd and 3rd (Willie Keeler and Wid Conroy), Jimmy Williams came to the plate. Plate umpire Silk O'Loughlin called two strikes before Williams hit a ground ball toward third baseman John Knight. Knight took a step backwards to field the ball and stepped into the path of Keeler. Keeler fell flat on his face while the ball rolled into left field. Keeler got up and scored. Several Philadelphia players stormed the umpire demanding that he called out on runner's interference. Two of the players, Harry Davis and Topsy Hartsel, were very vocal and kept arguing. O'Loughlin finally had enough and called the game. After the game he said that the third baseman clearly obstructed the runner. Washington Post, 09/04/1906, p 9 (Philadelphia)
04/11/1907 - Philadelphia at New York - NL - Trouble started in the 7th inning of this Opening Day game. The Giants were down 3 to 0 when fans, who had been throwing snowballs at each other throughout the game, started walking across the field causing a delay. By the 9th inning the fans realized that there were no policemen to stop them and poured onto the field making it impossible to continue the game. Umpire Bill Klem forfeited the game to the Phillies. - New York Times, 04/12/1907,p 10 (Baseball)
10/05/1907 - Chicago at St. Louis - NL - In the first game of a doubleheader, umpire Cy Rigler called Johnny Evers out on a pick-off at third base in the top of the fourth inning. Evers was ejected by Rigler for arguing the call and replaced by Heinie Zimmerman. In the bottom of the frame, Shad Barry of the Cardinals was called safe at first on an infield single. The Cubs exploded over the call and Rigler ejected Player/Manager Frank Chance, Joe Tinker, Harry Steinfeldt and Orval Overall. Rigler told Chance to put nine players on the field, took out his stop watch and then forfeited the game to the Redbirds. Chance stated that he had nine players on the field: Kid Durbin pitching, Frank Olis catching, Del Howard 1B, Heinie Zimmerman 2B, Ed Reulbach (a pitcher) SS, Frank Schulte (an outfielder) 3B, Jack Pfeister (a pitcher) LF, Johnny Kling (a catcher) CF and Solly Hofman RF. St. Louis did not send up their next batter but the Cubs were ready to play. The teams played the second of the doubleheader later. James Gilruth scorebook; Chicago Tribune, 10/06/1907, p. S1
10/04/1909 - Philadelphia at New York - NL - In the 4th inning of the second game of a doubleheader and the last game of the season, Phillies pitcher Lew Moren complained about a pitch being called a ball. By the time the argument was over, umpire John Mullin had ejected Moren, Otto Knabe and Red Dooin. The latter two players refused to leave and the game was forfeited to New York. At the time of the forfeit, the score was tied at one run each. - Washington Post, 10/05/1909, p 8 (forfeit)
07/06/1913 - St. Louis at Chicago - NL - The second game of a doubleheader was forfeited to St. Louis by umpire Mal Eason. Both managers had agreed before the start of the game that it would end at 5 PM to allow the visiting team to catch a train to the east. Chicago manager Johnny Evers started Orval Overall, who had not started a game in over a month while nursing a bad back. Overall allowed three runs in the first inning. When Chicago came to bat in the second, they started to stall. Overall came to the plate and took a strike. Evers then summoned a player in the clubhouse as a pinch hitter, who took his time coming to the plate. When the pitcher started his wind up, the batter stepped away to wipe his eyes. The umpire called a strike. The next inning the new pitcher, Ed Ruelbach, took his time warming up. In the fourth St. Louis' Ivey Wingo laid down a bunt. The pitcher threw the ball wild to first base and Wingo headed for second. The ball came in to second but no effort was made to put the runner out. Wingo headed for third and no play was made on him again. The umpire had enough and called the game. - New York Time; 07/07/1913, p 6 (St. Louis)
06/26/1914 - Washington at Philadelphia - AL - The first game of the doubleheader was given to the home team by umpire Ollie Chill in the 4th inning. Chill had called numerous pitches made by Washington pitcher Joe Engle balls because the pitcher had both feet off the rubber when the pitch was delivered. Clark Griffith, the Washington manager, protested and refused to continue play. Philadelphia won the second game in 10 innings. - New York Times; 06/27/1914, p 8 (Athletics)
07/18/1916 - Brooklyn at Chicago - NL - The score was tied 4 to 4 when Brooklyn came to bat in the tenth. Hi Myers reached second base on a wild throw and went to third on a bunt by Jimmy Johnston. Johnston then stole second. With the count 2 and 2, Hippo Vaughn, the Chicago pitcher, took too much time to deliver the next pitch and umpire Lord Byron called a ball. Cubs manager Joe Tinker protested, claiming that Brooklyn was stealing their signs and Hippo Vaughn was trying to communicate that to the catcher. Byron asked Tinker to leave the field, but he refused and kept arguing. Byron then asked a policeman to escort Tinker off the field. Tinker still refused to go, so Byron called the game in favor of Brooklyn. - New York Time; 07/19/1916 p 10, Washington Post; 07/19/1916 p 6 (Cubs)
09/09/1917 - Cleveland at Chicago - AL - With the scored tied 3-3 in the tenth inning, Cleveland had two runners on with no one out. Umpire Brick Owens called a Cleveland runner out on a close play and the Cleveland players protested. The game was delayed for over 10 minutes. Play resumed, but the Cleveland players tossed their gloves in the air and rolled in the dirt. When Chicago came to bat in the next inning, the Cleveland catcher intention ally threw the ball to center field. Owens called the game for Chicago. - Washington Post; 09/10/1917 p 4 (Indians)
07/20/1918 - Cleveland at Philadelphia - AL - The second game of a doubleheader was awarded to the Cleveland Indians. With Cleveland leading in the ninth inning, 9 to 1, a barrage of seat cushions poured out of the stands onto the field. Th e fans in the lower levels ran out onto the field to escape the cushions raining down on them. No police were there to help. A few employees tried to clear the field, but could not. Umpire Dick Nallin called the game for the visitors. - The Athletics of Philadelphia, p 78 , New York Times; 07/21/1918, p 24, Washington Post; 07/21/1918, p 17 (Indians)
08/20/1920 - Chicago at Philadelphia - AL - The second game of a doubleheader was forfeited to the visiting team with two outs in the last of the 9th inning. The bleacher fans poured out onto the field when they thought a foul ground ball was the last out of the game. Umpire Ollie Chill could not clear the field so he declared the forfeit. - New York Times; 08/21/1920, p 11 (Athletics)
06/13/1924 - New York at Detroit - AL - Babe Ruth led off the 9th inning of a game at Navin Field with the Yankees leading 10-6. A young left-handed Tiger pitcher, Bert Cole, was on the mound. Ruth had to duck out of the way twice from pitches near his head before fouling out to the first baseman Lu Blue. The next batter, Bob Meusel, was plunked in the ribs with the first pitch. He dropped his bat, walked to the mound and took a swing at the pitcher, but missed. Umpires Billy Evans and Red Ormsby grabbed Meusel and pulled him away. About that time Ruth charged from the dugout swinging his fists and claiming that the pitcher was throwing at the Yankees. Players poured onto the field and shoving and pushing ensued. After a few minutes, peace seemed to be restored and players started to return to their positions. However, Meusel and Ruth took a detour on the way back to their dugout and headed to the Tiger bench and started fighting again. The fans could no longer control themselves and streamed onto the field. Police quickly surrounded the dugout and escorted the players to safety. Fist fights between fans and policemen and among the fans broke out all over the field. It took over a half hour to clear the field but by that time the umpires had already called the game for New York. - New York Times, 06/14/1924, pg 8, Los Angeles Times; 06/14/1924, p B1, Washington Post; 06/14/1924 p S1 (Yankees)
04/26/1925 - Cleveland at Chicago - AL - Because of the large crowd at Comiskey Park, fans were allowed to stand behind roped off areas in right and left fields. Cleveland was leading 7 to 2 in the bottom of the 9th inning with two out when Willie Kamm hit a soft grounder to the shortstop who threw a perfect ball to first. First baseman Ray Knode caught the ball two feet in front of the bag and tried to find the bag with his foot. However, after several attempts, he could not find it and the batter was called safe by umpire Billy Evans. The fans, thinking the play resulted in the final out of the game, rushed the field. The field could not be cleared and the chief umpire, Pants Rowland, had no choice but to call the game in favor of Cleveland. - Chicago Daily Tribune, 04/27/1925, p17 (Indians)
06/06/1937 - St. Louis at Philadelphia - NL - The first game of this doubleheader had been delayed 88 minutes by rain thus delaying the start of the second game. The games had to be completed by 7 PM due to a Philadelphia law. The Cardinals were leading 8-2 in the top of the fourth inning of game two when the Phillies started stalling. They made unnecessary pitching changes, holding mound conferences and asking for different baseballs. Eventually Bill Klem forfeited the game to the Redbirds. All players statistics were wiped out due to the fact that the game failed to go the required five innings. Manager Jimmie Wilson was fined $100 later by Ford Frick for his stalling tactics. Joe Medwick of St. Louis lost a home run which would have been his tenth of the season. Medwick still won the Triple Crown even though he tied for the home run title with Mel Ott with 31. - New York Time; 06/07/1937; p 27 (Philllies)
08/15/1941 - Boston at Washington - AL - The game was called in the 8th inning after a 40 minute rain delay by umpire George Pipgras. The Senators were leading at the time 6-3. Boston manager Joe Cronin protested the game claiming that the field was not playable because it was not covered by canvas. On 08/27, AL president Will Harridge upheld the Boston protest and awarded them the victory. He said that Washington violated rules by not having a grounds crew available to cover the field. The Cleveland club then proteste d the Harridge decision claiming the decision was unfair to them in their pennant race with Boston. Washington Post, 08/16/1941, p 12 (Red Sox) New York Times, 08/28/1941, p 25 (forfeit) New York Times, 08/28/1941, p 20 (forfeit)
09/26/1942 - Boston at New York - NL - In the second game of a doubleheader with the score 5-2 in favor of the Giants, hundreds of children swarmed on to the field after the final out of the 8th inning. The children were the guests of the Giants as part of a promotion. They had brought scrap metal to the game for the war effort. The field could not be cleared and umpire Ziggy Sears called the game for the visitors. - Washington Post; 09/27/1942, p SP4 (Boston Braves)
08/21/1949 - New York at Philadelphia - NL - A pop bottle barrage with one out in the top of the ninth inning of the second game of a doubleheader resulted in a forfeit win for the visiting team. New York was ahead 3-2 when umpire George Barr ruled that Richie Ashburn had missed a diving catch of a ball off the bat of Joe Lafata, scoring Willard Marshall with the fourth run. The players objected, but when the call was not reversed the fans got involved. The barrage continued despite pleas over the load speaker system. Umpire Lee Ballanfant was grazed by a bottle and Al Barlick was struck by a tomato. After waiting more than 15 minutes Barlick called the game for the Giants. - New York Times; 08/22/1949, p 1 (forfeit)
07/18/1954 - Philadelphia at St. Louis - NL - Because of the delaying tactics of the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning, umpire Babe Pinelli forfeited the second game of the doubleheader to the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time the Phillies were leading 8-1 with one man on base and two outs. A few minutes earlier players from both teams had swarmed onto the field where several punches and wrestling matches broke out. Redbirds catcher Sal Yvars and Philles batter Earl Torgeson started the brawl and were both ejected. Managers Terry Moore and Eddie Stanky also tangled. Moore had previously been fired as a Cardinal coach by Stanky. Moore came out of his dugout after Yvars but Stanky tackled Moore. With darkness approaching and the game not yet official, Eddie Stanky brought in three new pitchers in the inning. As the game was not official, no statistics counted for the players, and the Cards Joe Frazier had a lost home run. The first game had been delayed 78 minutes by rain. - New York Times; 07/19/1954, p 22 (Phillies)
09/30/1971 - New York at Washington - AL - The last American League game played in Washington ended in a forfeit win for the New York Yankees. The Senators were leading 7-5 with two out in the ninth inning when souvenir hunters stormed onto the field. The field could not be cleared and the umpire had no choice except to call the game. The fans had been unruly most of the night due to the fact that the club was moving to Texas for the 1972 season and some had run onto the field in the eighth inning delaying the game. - New York Times; 10/01/1971, p 49 (Yankees)
06/04/1974 - Texas at Cleveland - AL - It was 10-cent beer night in Cleveland. The Indians had just tied the score at 5 with a sacrifice fly and had the winning run at third when hundreds of fans jumped the right field fence and attacked the Ranger's right fielder Jeff Burroughs an d other players. Chief umpire Nestor Chylak, who was struck on the head, declared the game a forfeit win for Texas. Six fans were arrested. - New York Times - 06/05/1974; p 35 (forfeits)
09/15/1977 - Baltimore at Toronto - AL - The Orioles were behind 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning when manager Earl Weaver asked umpire Marty Springstead to have a tarpaulin that was covering the Toronto bull pen area removed. The game was being played in a light rain and Weaver felt that the tarpaulin posed an injury risk to his left fielder. The umpire refused and Weaver pulled his team from the field. Springstead waited 15 minutes for the team to retake the field before declaring the forfeit. - New York Times; 09/16/1977 , p 93 (Orioles)
07/12/1979 - Detroit at Chicago - AL - In the most ill-fated promotion in baseball history, thousands of fans overran the Comiskey Park playing field during "Disco Demolition Night" between games of a doubleheader and caused the Chicago White Sox to forfeit the second game after losing to Detroit 4-1 in the first. Umpire Dave Phillips declared the field unplayable after an hour and 1 6 minute delay and postponed the game. Later American League President Lee MacPhail ruled the game a forfeit win for the Tigers. - New York Times; 07/13/1979; p A16, Washington Post; 07/14/1979; p C2 (Tigers)
08/10/1995 - St. Louis at Los Angeles - NL - Baseballs were distributed to fans as they entered Dodger Stadium. The game was delayed in the 7th inning when some fans started throwing their souvenir baseballs onto the field. In the bottom of the 9th with St. Louis leading 2-1, the first batter, Raul Mondesi, was called out on strikes. He started to complain to umpire Jim Quick and was ejected. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda was ejected as well. The fans became upset and started throwing the balls onto the field again. The umpires brought the Cardinal team in from the field while the grounds crew cleared the field. When play resumed, the fans again bombarded the field and the umpires forfeited the game in favor of St. Louis. New York Times, 08/11/1995, p B9 (Dodgers)