1909 New York Yankees (Highlanders)

The final standing	5th in AL (Did not qualify for World Series)
Regular season record	74-77 (.490)
Post-season record	(Not played)
AL rank	5th
World Series record and opponent	(Not played)
Manager	George Stallings
Captain	Willie Keeler
Top batter	Home run: Hal Chase, Ray Demmitt (4) BA: Frank LaPorte (.298), Hal Chase (.283), Clyde Engle (.278) Runs: Ray Demmitt (68), Clyde Engle (66), Hal Chase (60)  RBI: Clyde Engle (71), Hal Chase (63), John Knight (40)
Top pitcher/ (W-L, ERA)	Joe Lake: 14-11, 1.88
Attendance record	501,000 (3rd of 8)

1909 New York Yankees season: A brief summary

The 1909 season for the New York Highlanders, who would later become universally known as the Yankees, was a period of transition and moderate performance, culminating in a fifth-place finish in the American League with a record of 74 wins and 77 losses. Under the leadership of George Stallings, the team’s fourth manager in just as many years, the Highlanders sought stability and growth in the competitive landscape of early 20th-century baseball.

Playing their home games at Hilltop Park, the Highlanders showed both promise and inconsistency throughout the season. The emergence of the curving “NY” logo on the team’s uniform sleeves and caps marked a significant moment in the franchise’s history, signaling the beginning of a new era and the slow adoption of the “Yankees” nickname by the media and fans alike.

Despite the middling finish in the standings, the 1909 season was notable for the Highlanders. The management under Stallings was an effort to bring continuity and success to the team, and while the immediate results were not groundbreaking, they laid the groundwork for the future. The team’s performance on the field was reflective of a squad in the midst of rebuilding, with moments of brilliance overshadowed by stretches of underperformance.

The significance of the 1909 season extends beyond the win-loss record. It represented a time of change for the franchise, with the introduction of the iconic “NY” logo and the gradual embrace of the “Yankees” nickname, both of which would become central to the team’s identity. This season encapsulated a moment in time before the Yankees emerged as a powerhouse in American baseball, offering a glimpse into the early struggles and aspirations of one of the sport’s most storied teams.

Overall, the 1909 New York Highlanders’ season is a fascinating study of a team in evolution. With modest success on the field and significant developments off it, this year served as a stepping stone towards the eventual greatness the Yankees would achieve. As such, it remains an important chapter in the rich tapestry of New York Yankees’ history.

Postseason result

(Did not qualify – Eliminated in regular season)

1909 New York Yankees roster

Name	Age	B	T	Ht	Wt	DoB	Yrs	G	GS	WAR
Jimmy Austin	29	B	R	5′ 7″	155	Dec 8, 1879	1st	136	129	1.4
Neal Ball	28	R	R	5′ 7″	145	Apr 22, 1881	3	8	8	-0.1
Walter Blair	25	R	R	6′ 0″	185	Oct 13, 1883	3	42	29	0.1
King Brockett	28	R	R	5′ 10″	168	Jul 23, 1880	2	26	18	2.2
Dick Carroll	24	R	R	6′ 2″		Jul 21, 1884	1st	2	1	-0.3
Hal Chase	26	R	L	6′ 0″	175	Feb 13, 1883	5	118	117	1.4
Jack Chesbro HOF	35	R	R	5′ 9″	180	Jun 5, 1874	11	9	4	-1.9
Birdie Cree	26	R	R	5′ 6″	150	Oct 23, 1882	2	105	86	1.2
Ray Demmitt	25	L	R	5′ 8″	170	Feb 2, 1884	1st	123	108	2.1
Slow Joe Doyle	27	R	R	5′ 8″	150	Sep 15, 1881	4	17	15	1.8
Kid Elberfeld	34	R	R	5′ 7″	158	Apr 13, 1875	11	106	104	2.2
Clyde Engle	25	R	R	5′ 10″	190	Mar 19, 1884	1st	135	132	3.6
Russ Ford	26	R	R	5′ 11″	175	Apr 25, 1883	1st	1	0	-0.2
Earle Gardner	25	R	R	5′ 11″	160	Jan 24, 1884	2	22	22	0.5
Charlie Hemphill	33	L	L	5′ 9″	160	Apr 20, 1876	9	75	46	0.5
Tom Hughes	25	R	R	6′ 2″	175	Jan 28, 1884	3	24	15	2
Willie Keeler HOF	37	L	L	5′ 4″	140	Mar 3, 1872	18	99	95	0.8
Red Kleinow	31	R	R	5′ 10″	165	Jul 20, 1877	6	79	73	1
John Knight	23	R	R	6′ 2″	180	Oct 6, 1885	4	117	107	0.4
Joe Lake	28	R	R	6′ 0″	185	Jan 6, 1881	2	31	26	2.4
Frank LaPorte	29	R	R	5′ 8″	175	Feb 6, 1880	5	90	83	1.3
Rube Manning	26	R	R	6′ 0″	180	Apr 29, 1883	3	26	21	1.5
George McConnell	31	R	R	6′ 3″	190	Sep 16, 1877	1st	13	12	-0.2
Irish McIlveen	28	L	L	5′ 11″	180	Jul 27, 1880	3	4	0
Doc Newton	31	L	L	6′ 0″	185	Oct 26, 1877	8	4	4	-0.5
Al Orth	36	L	R	6′ 0″	200	Sep 5, 1872	15	23	7	-0.1
Jack Quinn	25	R	R	6′ 0″	196	Jul 1, 1883	1st	23	11	1.4
Charles Schmidt	22	L	L	6′ 1″	200	Jul 19, 1886	1st	1	0	-0.4
Ed Sweeney	20	R	R	6′ 1″	200	Jul 19, 1888	2	67	51	0.8
Eddie Tiemeyer	24	R	R	5′ 11″	185	May 9, 1885	3	4	4	0.1
Bobby Vaughn	24	R	R	5′ 9″	150	Jun 4, 1885	1st	5	3	-0.2
Jack Wanner	23	R	R	5′ 11″	190	Nov 29, 1885	1st	3	2	-0.1
Joe Ward	24		R			Sep 2, 1884	2	9	8	-0.3
Jack Warhop	24	R	R	5′ 9″	168	Jul 4, 1884	2	37	23	4.4
Pete Wilson	24		L	5′ 10″	150	Oct 9, 1884	2	14	13	-0.4

1909 New York Yankees player additions, transactions, and trades

January 1909

• January 4: Purchased Joe Ward from Altoona (Tri-State).
• January 14: George Moriarty player rights sold to the Detroit Tigers.

February 1909

• February 17: Wid Conroy player rights sold to the Washington Nationals.

May 1909

• May 18: Neal Ball player rights sold to the Cleveland Naps.

June 1909:

• June 7: Joe Ward player rights sold to the Philadelphia Phillies.

August 1909

• Purchased Bert Daniels from Altoona (Tri-State). (Approximate date)
• Purchased Otis Johnson from Portland (PCL) for $4,000. (Approximate date)
• Purchased Roxey Roach from Lancaster (Tri-State) for $2,500. (Approximate date)
• Purchased Joe Walsh from Rocky Mount (Eastern Carolina). (Approximate date)
• Purchased Ray Fisher and Jack Wanner from Hartford (Connecticut State) for $5,000. (Approximate date)
• August 6: Purchased John Frill from Newark (Eastern) for $2,500.
• August 12: Purchased Eddie Tiemeyer from Altoona (Tri-State).
• August 19: Purchased Dick Carroll from Akron (Ohio-Pennsylvania) for $2,500.
• August 23: Purchased Tommy Madden from Utica (New York State). Purchased Fred Mitchell from Toronto (Eastern).

September 1909

• September 1: Drafted Les Channell from Fort Wayne (Central) in the 1909 rule 5 draft.
• September 11: Jack Chesbro selected by the Boston Red Sox off waivers.

1909 New York Yankees player debuts

• Jimmy Austin – 04-19-1909 – 29 years old
• Dick Carroll – 09-25-1909 – 25 years old
• Ray Demmitt – 04-12-1909 – 25 years old
• Clyde Engle – 04-12-1909 – 25 years old
• Russ Ford – 04-28-1909 – 26 years old
• George McConnell – 04-13-1909 – 31 years old
• Jack Quinn – 04-15-1909 – 25 years old
• Butch Schmidt – 05-11-1909 – 22 years old
• Bobby Vaughn – 06-12-1909 – 24 years old
• Jack Wanner – 09-28-1909 – 23 years old

1909 New York Yankees team stats (batting)

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA
C	Red Kleinow	31	78	244	206	24	47	11	4	0	15	7	25	31	0.228
1B	Hal Chase	26	118	513	474	60	134	17	3	4	63	25	20	50	0.283
2B	Frank LaPorte	29	89	343	309	35	92	19	3	0	31	5	18	36	0.298
SS	John Knight	23	116	419	360	46	85	8	5	0	40	15	37	68	0.236
3B	Jimmy Austin	29	136	503	437	37	101	11	5	1	39	30	32	61	0.231
OF	Willie Keeler	37	99	427	360	44	95	7	5	1	32	10	24	6	0.264
OF	Ray Demmitt	25	123	500	427	68	105	12	12	4	30	16	55	43	0.246
OF	Clyde Engle	25	135	563	492	66	137	20	5	3	71	18	47	55	0.278
IF	Kid Elberfeld	34	106	433	379	47	90	9	5	0	26	23	28	17	0.237
OF	Birdie Cree	26	104	403	343	48	90	6	3	2	27	10	30	31	0.262
OF	Charlie Hemphill	33	73	222	181	23	44	5	1	0	10	10	32	23	0.243
C	Ed Sweeney	20	67	200	176	18	47	3	0	0	21	3	16	19	0.267
C	Walter Blair	25	42	121	110	5	23	2	2	0	11	2	7	17	0.209
2B	Earle Gardner	25	22	89	85	12	28	4	0	0	15	4	3	8	0.329
1B	George McConnell	31	13	46	43	4	9	0	1	0	5	1	1	9	0.209
2B	Al Orth	36	22	40	34	3	9	0	1	0	5	1	5	9	0.265
2B	Neal Ball	28	8	34	29	5	6	1	1	0	3	2	3	10	0.207
IF	Joe Ward	24	9	33	28	3	5	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	0.179
MI	Bobby Vaughn	24	5	15	14	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0.143
1B	Eddie Tiemeyer	24	3	13	8	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.375
SS	Jack Wanner	23	3	10	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	0.125
	Irish McIlveen	28	4	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
P	Jack Warhop	24	36	91	86	6	11	1	1	0	3	0	2	16	0.128
P	Joe Lake	28	31	83	81	10	14	3	2	0	8	0	2	19	0.173
P	King Brockett	28	26	65	60	6	17	0	0	0	4	1	1	5	0.283
P	Rube Manning	26	26	65	60	5	11	1	0	0	3	0	2	11	0.183
P	Jack Quinn	25	23	50	45	2	7	1	0	0	2	0	3	9	0.156
P	Slow Joe Doyle	27	17	49	42	5	7	0	0	0	1	0	3	7	0.167
P	Tom Hughes	25	24	42	39	2	5	1	1	1	3	0	1	15	0.128
P	Pete Wilson	24	14	36	34	2	4	0	1	0	2	0	1	10	0.118
P	Jack Chesbro	35	9	19	17	1	3	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	0.176
P	Doc Newton	31	4	8	6	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0.167
P	Charles Schmidt	22	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
P	Dick Carroll	24	2	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.5
P	Russ Ford	26	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Team Totals	27.9	153	5689	4981	590	1234	143	61	16	473	187	407	598	0.248
	Rank in 8 AL teams				5	4	4	7	4	4		5	2	4	4
	Non-Pitcher Totals	28.1	153	5175	4506	550	1153	136	56	15	444	186	389	500	0.256
	Pitcher Totals	26.4	153	514	475	40	81	7	5	1	29	1	18	98	0.171

1909 New York Yankees team stats (pitching)

Pos	Name	Age	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER
SP	Jack Warhop	24	13	15	0.464	2.4	36	23	12	21	3	2	243.1	197	84	65
SP	Joe Lake	28	14	11	0.56	1.88	31	26	5	17	3	1	215.1	180	81	45
SP	Rube Manning	26	7	11	0.389	3.17	26	21	5	11	2	1	173	167	76	61
SP	King Brockett	28	10	8	0.556	2.12	26	18	6	10	3	1	170	148	68	40
SP	Slow Joe Doyle	27	8	6	0.571	2.58	17	15	2	8	3	0	125.2	103	49	36
SP	Tom Hughes	25	7	8	0.467	2.65	24	15	8	9	2	2	118.2	109	42	35
RP	Jack Quinn	25	9	5	0.643	1.97	23	11	12	8	0	1	118.2	110	45	26
RP	Jack Chesbro	35	0	4	0	6.34	9	4	4	2	0	0	49.2	70	47	35
	Pete Wilson	24	6	5	0.545	3.17	14	13	1	7	1	0	93.2	82	55	33
	Doc Newton	31	0	3	0	2.82	4	4	0	1	0	0	22.1	27	17	7
	Dick Carroll	24	0	0		3.6	2	1	1	0	0	0	5	7	6	2
	Charles Schmidt	22	0	0		7.2	1	0	1	0	0	0	5	10	8	4
	George McConnell	31	0	1	0	2.25	2	1	1	0	0	0	4	3	2	1
	Russ Ford	26	0	0		9	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	4	4	3
	Al Orth	36	0	0		12	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	6	4	4
	Team Totals	26.4	74	77	0.49	2.65	153	153	59	94	17	8	1350.1	1223	588	397
	Rank in 8 AL teams		5	4		6				7	4	3	8	5	7	6

1909 New York Yankees record vs. opponents/ Team splits

Opponent (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
Boston Red Sox (22)	9	13	0.409
Chicago White Sox (23)	8	14	0.364
Cleveland Naps (22)	14	8	0.636
Detroit Tigers (22)	8	14	0.364
Philadelphia Athletics (22)	8	14	0.364
St. Louis Browns (22)	13	8	0.619
Washington Senators (20)	14	6	0.700

1909 New York Yankees monthly record

Month (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
April (12)	7	5	0.583
May (21)	11	9	0.550
June (28)	11	17	0.393
July (33)	14	19	0.424
August (27)	11	16	0.407
September (28)	17	10	0.630
October (4)	3	1	0.750

How do you rate the 1909 New York Yankees?