1903–1912
The Highlanders
The franchise begins as the New York Highlanders, playing at Hilltop Park in upper Manhattan. A scrappy club finding its footing in the American League.
Prince Hal
Hal Chase→KEY PLAYERS
The Stars of The Highlanders
Willie Keeler
AVG: .293
Highlanders
Jack Chesbro
ERA: 0.99
Highlanders
Clark Griffith
ERA: 1.80
Highlanders
Hal Chase
AVG: .285
Highlanders
Wid Conroy
AVG: .249
Highlanders
Birdie Cree
AVG: .291
Highlanders
Roy Hartzell
AVG: .261
Highlanders
Jimmy Williams
AVG: .261
Highlanders
Kid Elberfeld
AVG: .268
Highlanders
Frank LaPorte
AVG: .272
Highlanders
Red Kleinow
AVG: .220
Highlanders
Ray Caldwell
ERA: 3.02
Highlanders
Bert Daniels
AVG: .260
Highlanders
John Knight
AVG: .267
Highlanders
Harry Wolter
AVG: .276
Highlanders
Charlie Hemphill
AVG: .271
Highlanders
Dave Fultz
AVG: .244
Highlanders
George Moriarty
AVG: .246
Highlanders
George Stallings
G: 295
Highlanders
Jack Quinn
ERA: 3.13
Highlanders
SEASONS
1903–1912 Season by Season
New York Highlanders · 4th in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders · 2nd in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders · 6th in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders · 2nd in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders · 5th in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith
New York Highlanders · 8th in AL · Mgr: Clark Griffith / Kid Elberfeld
New York Highlanders · 5th in AL · Mgr: George Stallings
New York Highlanders · 2nd in AL · Mgr: George Stallings / Hal Chase
New York Highlanders · 6th in AL · Mgr: Hal Chase
New York Highlanders · 8th in AL · Mgr: Harry Wolverton
HISTORIC MOMENTS
Defining Moments of The Highlanders
Farrell and Devery Buy the Franchise for New York
On January 9, 1903, two men with no baseball experience bought a franchise with no players for $18,000. Frank Farrell, a racehorse owner and gambling...
The Highlanders' First Game in Washington
April 22, 1903. Washington, D.C. The New York Highlanders -- a franchise that hadn't existed three months earlier -- took the field for the first time...
Hilltop Park Opens in Washington Heights
The ballpark wasn't ready. Everyone knew it wasn't ready. A swamp sat in right field, the outfield grass hadn't grown in, and the clubhouse was so far...
Jack Chesbro Emerges as the Highlanders' Ace
Jack Chesbro was signed before the franchise had a name. In September 1902, while the Baltimore Orioles were stumbling through their final season, the...
Jack Chesbro Wins 41 Games in 1904
Jack Chesbro won 41 games in 1904. That sentence contains everything you need to know about why the record has stood for more than 120 years and why it...
The Giants Refuse to Play the 1904 World Series
In March 1904, before the season had even started, New York Giants owner John T. Brush announced that his National League champions wouldn't play the...
Jack Chesbro Masters the Spitball
Jack Chesbro walked into spring training in 1904 as a 21-game winner. He walked out as a spitball pitcher. The difference between those two things --...
Jack Chesbro's Wild Pitch Costs the 1904 Pennant
October 10, 1904. Hilltop Park. Thirty-five thousand people jammed into a wooden ballpark in Washington Heights to watch the New York Highlanders fight...
Jack Chesbro Returns to Earth in 1905
Jack Chesbro went 19-13 with a 2.20 ERA in 1905. On any other pitcher's resume, those numbers would've looked just fine. On Chesbro's, they looked like...
The 1905 Highlanders' Home and Road Split
The 1905 New York Highlanders were two different teams. At Hilltop Park, they went 40-35 -- a .533 winning percentage that would've put them in...
Willie Keeler Carries the 1905 Offense
Wee Willie Keeler stood 5-foot-4 and weighed 140 pounds. He swung a 30-inch bat that weighed 29 ounces -- the smallest bat in the American League. And...
The August 1906 White Sox Sweep at Hilltop Park
The Chicago White Sox arrived at Hilltop Park on August 18, 1906, riding a 14-game winning streak and leading the American League. The New York...
The Highlanders Win 15 Straight in 1906
One week after the worst series in franchise history -- a four-game sweep by Chicago that dropped them to fourth place and seven games out -- the 1906...
Al Orth and Jack Chesbro Carry the 1906 Staff
Al Orth won 27 games in 1906 -- the most in the American League. Jack Chesbro won 23. Between them, the two pitchers accounted for 50 of the...
Jack Chesbro's 1907 Salary Holdout
Jack Chesbro didn't report for the 1907 season. The man who'd thrown 41 wins in 1904 -- a record that still stands in the American League -- wanted...
Clark Griffith Nearly Breaks Down in 1907
In April 1907, Clark Griffith -- the 38-year-old player-manager of the New York Highlanders -- nearly collapsed. He'd been running the club since 1903...
Hal Chase's 1907 Season and the Gambling Whispers
Hal Chase played first base like nobody else in the dead-ball era. His hands were quick, his feet were quicker, and his throwing arm could fire across...
Clark Griffith Resigns as Highlanders Manager
On June 24, 1908, Clark Griffith stood before reporters at Hilltop Park and said he was done. The man who'd managed the New York Highlanders since...
Cy Young No-Hits the Highlanders at Hilltop Park
On June 30, 1908, Cy Young walked to the mound at Hilltop Park and threw a no-hitter against the New York Highlanders. That alone would've been enough...
Highlanders Sweep Cleveland in the 1908 Pennant Race
On July 11, 1908, the worst team in the American League swept a doubleheader from one of the best. The New York Highlanders beat the Cleveland Naps 3-2...
Hal Chase Returns from Smallpox
In the spring of 1909, Hal Chase -- the best defensive first baseman in baseball and the New York Highlanders' most important player -- contracted...
Willie Keeler's Final Season with the Highlanders
Willie Keeler spent 1909 doing what he'd always done -- hitting the ball where they weren't -- except his body couldn't get him there anymore. The...
Hal Chase Ousts George Stallings as Highlanders Manager
In mid-August 1910, Hal Chase did something that players weren't supposed to be able to do: he fired his manager. George Stallings had publicly accused...
Russ Ford's 26-Win Rookie Season
Russ Ford carried a piece of emery board hidden in his glove, and with it he rewrote the American League record book. The Canadian right-hander's 1910...
1910 City Series: Highlanders vs. Giants
For seven years, the Highlanders and the Giants had shared New York City without sharing a baseball field. Since the Highlanders' founding in 1903, the...
Polo Grounds Fire Sends the Giants to Hilltop Park
In the early morning hours of April 14, 1911, fire consumed the Polo Grounds. The Giants' wooden grandstand -- the horseshoe-shaped structure that had...
Highlanders Steal 15 Bases in One Game
In September 1911, the New York Highlanders stole 15 bases in a single game against the St. Louis Browns. Fifteen. Five different players ran wild on a...
Birdie Cree's .348 Season in 1911
Birdie Cree hit .348 in 1911 and nobody cared. Not because the numbers weren't impressive -- they were extraordinary, one of the finest individual...
Highlanders Wear Pinstripes for the First Time
On Opening Day 1912, the New York Highlanders walked onto the field at Hilltop Park in something new. White jerseys with black pinstripes -- thin...
The Last Game at Hilltop Park
On October 5, 1912, the Highlanders played their last game at Hilltop Park. There was no ceremony. No speeches. No retired numbers or commemorative...
The Last Season of the New York Highlanders
The New York Highlanders existed for exactly ten seasons -- 1903 through 1912 -- and then they were gone. Not because the franchise folded, but because...