The Philadelphia Athletics dominated the league, then defeated the Cubs to win the World Series. This was the first of three Athletic dynasties this century; the Athletics have won nine World Series, second-most behind the Yankees, though they have had to endure decades of ineptness between dynasties. This team, owned and managed by Connie Mack, had one of the finest pitching staffs ever assembled; the team ERA was only 1.79.

         Jack Coombs won 31 games for Philadelphia, and was probably the best pitcher in the league. "Colby Jack" was 27 years old; before this year, his career high in wins was 12. This year, Coombs put it all together; his record may have been helped a bit by the powerful Athletic offense, but you can't ignore 13 shutouts and a 1.30 ERA. Coombs led the AL in wins again in 1911, but his career in Philadelphia was soon ended by injuries. He pitched a few years with Brooklyn, then retired with 158 career wins.
        Walter Johnson was just 22 years old; his career record before this season stood at 32-48. He had pitched well, though, and this year took a couple of steps forward to greatness. Not only did the Big Train win 25 games this year (with a lousy Washington team), but he would win at least 25 games for each other the next seven seasons as well. Johnson would eventually pitch for 21 seasons, and win 417 games in his career.
        Whitey Ford is usually considered to be the greatest Yankee pitcher ever. But in the early days, the New Yorkers had another pretty good Ford on their staff, named Russ. Russ Ford was a Canadian, who at age 27 had a great rookie year. His 26-6 record speaks for itself; a master of the "shine ball", Ford was also the toughest pitcher to hit, in a league that included the likes of Walter Johnson and Ed Walsh. Russ Ford had another outstanding season in 1911; the following two seasons he had ugly losing records, though that was more the fault of the team than it was poor pitching. In 1914, Ford moved to Buffalo in the Federal League, and had another great season; after the FL folded, Ford never again pitched in the big leagues.
        A case can be made that Ed Walsh deserves to rank among the top four. Big Ed was certainly one of the best pitchers in the league; he had a losing record, but that was because he played for the "Hitless Wonders", who this year were exceptionally hitless and not so wonderful. On the other hand, Chief Bender also had a fine season, going 23-5 for the champion Athletics. Walsh or Bender? I'm inclined to believe that Walsh was the better pitcher; he threw many more innings, and had a lower ERA. But there really is very little difference among these pitchers; as good as Walsh was, the point of the game is to win, and the Chief did plenty of that this year.
        Chief Bender was born on an Indian reservation in Crow Wing Co., Minnesota. He was a very fine pitcher who won 212 games in 16 seasons, then pitched for many more years in the minor leagues. He is in the Hall Of Fame, but I am not sure why. Bender was a very good pitcher with a great team, almost exactly what Allie Reynolds was to the Yankees. Bender's record isn't much different from a bunch of other pitchers from the era — Ed Ruelbach, Deacon Phillippe, Carl Mays — who are not in the Hall Of Fame. Anyways, the Chief was a still a pretty good pitcher, and this was probably his best season.