1903 Season

19 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1903 Major League Baseball season was played by 19 teams. The Boston Americans won the World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates. Buck Freeman led with 13 home runs, Buck Freeman and Sam Mertes led with 104 RBI, and Ginger Beaumont led with 209 hits. This page carries the 1903 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1903 Bracket
World Series BOS def. PIT (5-3)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

⏳ Browse Seasons

1893 1898 1902 1903 1904 1908 1913

⚾ Batting Leaders

1903 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 430 plate appearances at 139 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Honus Wagner .355 2 Fred Clarke .351 3 Mike Donlin .351 4 Roger Bresnahan .350 5 Nap Lajoie .344

OPS qualified

1 Fred Clarke .946 2 Mike Donlin .936 3 Roger Bresnahan .936 4 Honus Wagner .931 5 Jimmy Sheckard .899

Home Runs all players

1 Buck Freeman 13 2 Charlie Hickman 12 3 Hobe Ferris 9 4 Jimmy Sheckard 9 5 Socks Seybold 8

RBI all players

1 Buck Freeman 104 2 Sam Mertes 104 3 Honus Wagner 101 4 Charlie Hickman 97 5 Nap Lajoie 93

Hits all players

1 Ginger Beaumont 209 2 Patsy Dougherty 195 3 Cy Seymour 191 4 George Browne 185 5 Sam Crawford 184

Runs all players

1 Ginger Beaumont 137 2 Mike Donlin 110 3 Patsy Dougherty 107 4 George Browne 105 5 Jimmy Slagle 104

Stolen Bases all players

1 Frank Chance 67 2 Jimmy Sheckard 67 3 Sammy Strang 46 4 Honus Wagner 46 5 Harry Bay 45
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1903 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 139 innings at 139 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Earl Moore 1.74 2 Sam Leever 2.06 3 Cy Young 2.08 4 Bill Bernhard 2.12 5 Doc White 2.13

WHIP qualified

1 Addie Joss 0.95 2 Cy Young 0.97 3 Deacon Phillippe 1.03 4 Bill Bernhard 1.04 5 Earl Moore 1.04

Wins all pitchers

1 Joe McGinnity 31 2 Christy Mathewson 30 3 Cy Young 28 4 Sam Leever 25 5 Deacon Phillippe 25

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Rube Waddell 302 2 Christy Mathewson 267 3 Bill Donovan 187 4 Eddie Plank 176 5 Cy Young 176

Saves all pitchers

1 Carl Lundgren 3 2 Roscoe Miller 3 3 Clarence Currie 2 4 Bill Dinneen 2 5 Ed Doheny 2
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

WES

Algona Brownies ★ 11-4

American League

Boston Americans ★ 91-47 Philadelphia Athletics 75-60 Cleveland Naps 77-63 New York Highlanders 72-62 Detroit Tigers 65-71 St. Louis Browns 65-74 Chicago White Sox 60-77 Washington Senators 43-94

National League

Pittsburgh Pirates ★ 91-49 New York Giants 84-55 Chicago Cubs 82-56 Cincinnati Reds 74-65 Brooklyn Superbas 70-66 Boston Beaneaters 58-80 Philadelphia Phillies 49-86 St. Louis Cardinals 43-94

EAS

Cuban X Giants ★ 5-2 Philadelphia Giants 2-5

The 1903 season in brief

The best record in the 1903 standings belonged to the Algona Brownies, who finished 11-4. The weakest record belonged to the Philadelphia Giants, 2-5. By season's end, the Cuban X Giants topped the EAS group at 5-2, a few games clear of the Philadelphia Giants, the Pittsburgh Pirates owned the National League with a 91-49 mark, the New York Giants next at 84-55, and the American League was not close, the Boston Americans finishing 91-47 to the Philadelphia Athletics's 75-60. The Pittsburgh Pirates reached the 1903 World Series and lost it to the Boston Americans, 5 games to 3. On the home run tile, Buck Freeman sat first with 13, ahead of Charlie Hickman with 12. The qualified batting-average board starts with Honus Wagner at .355, with Fred Clarke next at .351. That 1903 rate board needs 430 plate appearances (139 team games times the per-game rule). Among qualified pitchers, Earl Moore had the lowest ERA, 1.74; Sam Leever followed at 2.06. First place on the remaining pitching boards: Joe McGinnity in wins (31) and Rube Waddell in strikeouts (302). Frank Chance had the most stolen bases, 67. Beyond the top five in each tile, the 1903 leaders page ranks the whole 1903 field.

1903 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1903?
The Boston Americans won the 1903 World Series, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates.
How many teams played in 1903?
19 teams played in the 1903 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1903?
Buck Freeman led with 13 home runs in 1903.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1903?
Buck Freeman and Sam Mertes tied for the lead with 104 RBI in 1903.
Who led MLB in hits in 1903?
Ginger Beaumont led with 209 hits in 1903.
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