1913–1919
The Dead Ball Yankees
Renamed the Yankees, the club moves to the Polo Grounds. The dead-ball era favors pitching and small ball -- the Bronx Bombers identity hasn't arrived yet.
Home Run
Frank Baker→KEY PLAYERS
The Stars of The Dead Ball Yankees
Frank Chance
Record: 117-168
Dead Ball Yankees
Roger Peckinpaugh
AVG: .257
Dead Ball Yankees
Fritz Maisel
AVG: .244
Dead Ball Yankees
Bill Donovan
G: 459
Dead Ball Yankees
Del Pratt
AVG: .294
Dead Ball Yankees
Ping Bodie
AVG: .274
Dead Ball Yankees
Les Nunamaker
AVG: .262
Dead Ball Yankees
Elmer Miller
AVG: .251
Dead Ball Yankees
Hugh High
AVG: .249
Dead Ball Yankees
Doc Cook
AVG: .273
Dead Ball Yankees
Frank Gilhooley
AVG: .276
Dead Ball Yankees
Duffy Lewis
AVG: .273
Dead Ball Yankees
Truck Hannah
AVG: .236
Dead Ball Yankees
Chick Fewster
AVG: .268
Dead Ball Yankees
George Mogridge
ERA: 2.91
Dead Ball Yankees
Paddy Baumann
AVG: .285
Dead Ball Yankees
Charlie Mullen
AVG: .263
Dead Ball Yankees
Roxy Walters
AVG: .243
Dead Ball Yankees
Lee Magee
AVG: .250
Dead Ball Yankees
Muddy Ruel
AVG: .251
Dead Ball Yankees
SEASONS
1913–1919 Season by Season
HISTORIC MOMENTS
Defining Moments of The Dead Ball Yankees
Yankees Move to the Polo Grounds
In April 1913, the New York Yankees walked into the Polo Grounds as tenants and started a decade-long arrangement that would shape the franchise's...
Hal Chase Traded to the White Sox
On June 1, 1913, the New York Yankees traded their most talented -- and most troublesome -- player. Hal Chase, the first baseman who'd been accused of...
Yankees Send Birdie Cree to Baltimore
On July 6, 1914, the New York Yankees traded outfielder Birdie Cree and cash to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. The deal was...
Roger Peckinpaugh Becomes MLB's Youngest Manager
In late September 1914, with three weeks left in a lost season and his Hall of Fame manager walking out the door, the New York Yankees turned to a...
Ray Caldwell's 1914 Breakout and Collapse
Ray Caldwell opened the 1914 season with three consecutive shutouts and had 17 wins by July 31 with two full months remaining. Then he vanished. The...
Jacob Ruppert and Til Huston Buy the Yankees
On January 11, 1915, two wealthy men with no experience running a baseball team paid $460,000 for the worst franchise in New York and called it an...
Babe Ruth Hits His First Home Run at the Polo Grounds
In May 1915, a 20-year-old Boston Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth stepped into the batter's box at the Polo Grounds and drove a pitch from Yankees...
Ray Caldwell's Hard-Luck 1915 Season
During the 1915 season, Ray Caldwell pitched 52 consecutive innings without his teammates scoring a single run. Nearly six complete games of...
Yankees Buy Home Run Baker from the Athletics
Before the 1916 season, the New York Yankees paid $37,500 for Frank "Home Run" Baker -- the Philadelphia Athletics' legendary third baseman who'd sat...
Wally Pipp Leads the AL in Home Runs and Strikeouts
In 1916, Wally Pipp did something no American League player had done before: he led the league in both home runs and strikeouts in the same season. His...
George Mogridge Throws the First Yankees No-Hitter
On April 24, 1917, George Mogridge threw the first no-hitter in New York Yankees history -- a 2-1 victory over the defending World Series champion...
The Yankees' 1917 Wartime Season
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. The 1917 baseball season was already underway, and overnight, every game, every at-bat...
Yankees Hire Miller Huggins to Replace Bill Donovan
After the 1917 season, Jacob Ruppert made the decision that would define the New York Yankees for the next twelve years. He fired Bill Donovan, the...
Miller Huggins's First Blockbuster Trades
Before the 1918 season opened, Miller Huggins tore the Yankees' roster apart and rebuilt it. In his first weeks as manager, Huggins engineered two...
The Work or Fight Order and the Shortened 1918 Season
In 1918, the United States government told baseball players to get a real job or pick up a rifle. The "Work or Fight" mandate -- issued with a July 1...
Yankees Acquire Carl Mays from the Red Sox
On July 29, 1919, the New York Yankees traded Bob McGraw, Allen Russell, and $40,000 in cash to the Boston Red Sox for Carl Mays -- a...
Pipp, Pratt, Peckinpaugh, Baker: The 1919 Infield
The 1919 New York Yankees fielded the best infield in franchise history to that point -- four players who combined for more than 20 WAR and gave Miller...
Bob Shawkey's 20-Win Season and 15-Strikeout Game
Bob Shawkey came back from World War I and pitched the best season of his Yankees career. The right-hander won 20 games against 11 losses in 1919...