Last year, as the Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series, we went back in time and wrote about how baseball fans in Pasadena and Lamanda Park took in the 1926 World Series. The ’26 World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals was one for the ages. Last year’s post recounts a great baseball story featuring the Babe, an over-the-hill pitcher and even a former president.
This year, our jumping off point remains this excellent 1926 Harold A. Parker photograph of Lamanda Park fans “watching” the 1926 World Series. Even though the game was in New York, thanks to telegraph lines, a guy with a megaphone and this scoreboard, local fans could follow the game literally pitch-by-pitch.
We covered the ’26 World Series last year. So, this year, lets go back a full century and check out Lamanda Park and the 1925 World Series.
The 1925 Series was “Watched” Real Time at the Lamanda Park Junction
For the ’25 World Series, the Star News arranged for scoreboards to be placed in Lamanda Park and at Pasadena’s Library Park. Here is the newspaper’s announcement of the Lamanda Park site near the Lamanda Park Junction:
The Lamanda Park Junction was near the intersection of East Colorado Blvd. and Sierra Madre Blvd. At that intersection two Pacific Electric rail lines converged — the Lamanda Park Line, which ran down Colorado Blvd. into Pasadena, and the Sierra Madre Line, which ran northeast along Sierra Madre Blvd. Yet a third rail, the Santa Fe, ran east-west along Walnut St.
So, a century ago, Lamanda Park fans gathered at a scoreboard near the corner of East Colorado and Sierra Madre Blvd. to see the 1925 World Series. On the scoreboard and over the megaphone, they saw and heard the game unfold in near real time. The papers do not report how many locals were there, but judging from the 1926 photo there may have been 75 to 100 people “watching” the game.
Star News Hosts More than 5,000 Pasadenans for World Series “Party”
In 1925, Lamanda Park was but a remote outpost and that, more or less, would remain the case for little Lamanda Park. Pasadena is and was the big city. In the 1920’s, Pasadena was in its Golden Age that saw its magnificent civic buildings rise. And, in the 1920’s, the city had a vibrant hometown newspaper pacing city life.
Per its own article, the Pasadena Star News constructed a “great magnetic scoreboard that shows each play exactly as it is made in the East.” The newspaper invited all comers to Library Park (now Memorial Park) for a World Series “party.” A crowd of more than 5,000 people was expected.
Whether at the Lamanda Park Junction or the party at Library Park, I think it would have been a lot of fun to “watch” the World Series in 1925.
So, What About the Games? Who Won the 1925 World Series?
Let’s get on to the games. The 1925 World Series featured the American League champion, Washington Senators vs. the National League champion, Pittsburgh Pirates.
The ’25 Series is remembered for the Pirates come-from-behind wins. The Senators jumped out to a 3-1 game lead and looked poised to win the Series. But, Pittsburgh won the next three games, including a see-saw seventh game, to walk away as World Series champs.
The Series also featured one of the most unusual plays in World Series history. In game 3, Washington outfielder, Sam Rice, ran down a long fly ball to right-center field. As he tumbled into the stands, it was not clear whether or not he had caught the ball. Fifteen seconds passed before Rice emerged from the stands holding the ball. Pittsburgh protested claiming Washington fans stuffed Rice’s glove with the ball. But, the umpire signaled Rice made the catch and the batter was out. Controversy dogged Rice the rest of his life and he finally wrote letter to the Hall of Fame to be opened upon his death. In the letter, which was not opened until 1974, Rice explained that he did, really and truly, catch the ball.
Baseball Heroes — Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson
Though the Pirates won the Series, the storyline of the day was dominated by two near-mythic baseball personalities — Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson.
Walter Johnson, known as the “Big Train,” was 38 years old and near the end of his storied career. By all accounts a good citizen and one of history’s best pitchers, Johnson received continual adulation from the press. The story with Mathewson, was much the same — sterling character and dominant pitcher. Johnson and Mathewson were among the first five players ever inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Stories of these two gentlemen dominated the reporting. This would be a sort of last hurrah for Johnson, who spent most of his career pitching for bad teams. He was finally in the limelight and had led the Washington Senators to the Series. As it happened, Mathewson passed away on the first day of the Series. He had contracted tuberculosis while serving in the Army during World War I. The condition worsened over time and claimed his life at a young 45 years old.
Both Johnson and Mathewson were and are baseball legends. Though over-the-top by today’s standards, I enjoyed reading the Star News’ glowing descriptions of the two men. And, I enjoyed the untempered aspirational spirit of the writing.
Here’s a selection from the October 8, 1925 Star News:
Today, in our highly advanced 2025 American society, we hardly see words like this applied to American men or anyone else. Could we even imagine an LA Times article describing Kershaw, Betts or Ohtani as clean, gentlemanly, generous, chivalrous, sportsman who would scorn anything dishonorable? Yet, these players are likely all of these things and more.
Last add — Walter Johnson has a southland connection having spent his teen years in Brea and going to school at Fullerton High School. A few years back, LA Times sports reporter, Chris Dufresne, wrote a fun piece about Johnson’s local connection and the time he brought Babe Ruth to play an exhibition at the Brea Bowl.
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