1911 New York Yankees (Highlanders)

The final standing	6th in AL (Did not qualify for World Series)
Regular season record	76-76 (0.500)
Post-season record	(Not played)
AL rank	6th
World Series record and opponent	(Not played)
Manager	Hal Chase
Captain	Hal Chase
Top batter	Home runs: Birdie Cree, Harry Wolter (4) BA: Birdie Cree (.348), Hal Chase (.315), Harry Wolter (.304) Runs: Birdie Cree (90), Hal Chase (82), Harry Wolter (78) RBI: Roy Hartzell (91), Birdie Cree (88), Hal Chase, John Knight (62)
Top pitcher/ (W-L, ERA)	Russ Ford: 22-11, 2.27 Ray Caldwell: 14-14, 3.35
Attendance record	302,444 (6th of 8)

1911 New York Yankees season: A brief summary

The 1911 New York Yankees (Highlanders) season was a study in middling performance, camaraderie amidst rivalry, and the unforeseen circumstances that can dramatically impact the world of baseball. Finishing with an evenly split record of 76 wins and 76 losses, the Highlanders (who would become better known as the Yankees) landed squarely in the middle of the pack, sixth in the American League, under the management of Hal Chase. Their performance on the field was as balanced as their win-loss record suggests, indicating a team with potential that perhaps struggled to find the consistency needed to climb higher in the standings.

Playing their home games at Hilltop Park, the Highlanders were in the midst of solidifying their identity in New York’s baseball scene, with the press increasingly favoring the nickname “Yankees.” This season, however, would be remembered not just for the games played on the field but for an act of sportsmanship that transcended team rivalries.

The regular 1911 New York Yankees season was marked by an event that today would be considered extraordinary. Relations between the Highlanders and their cross-town rivals, the New York Giants, were tense, mirroring the competitive spirit that defines New York sports. However, this tension was set aside following a catastrophic fire in April that destroyed a significant portion of the Polo Grounds, the Giants’ home field. In an act of generosity, the Highlanders offered the Giants the use of Hilltop Park, allowing their rivals a place to play while their home field was being rebuilt.

This gesture of goodwill, coming at a time when sports rivalries were as heated as ever, is a poignant reminder of the camaraderie that can exist even among fierce competitors. Although the Giants were able to return to a partially rebuilt Polo Grounds two months later, the Highlanders’ act of kindness would not be forgotten. It laid the groundwork for a reciprocal act of generosity two years later, further entwining the destinies of these two iconic New York teams.

The 1911 New York Yankees season, therefore, is a fascinating chapter in the early history of the Yankees franchise. It reflects not only the trials and tribulations of a baseball team trying to find its footing but also the unexpected moments of unity and support that define the sports community. This blend of on-field performance and off-field camaraderie offers a unique perspective on the era and the evolving landscape of baseball in New York.

Postseason result

(Did not qualify – Eliminated in regular season)

1911 New York Yankees roster

Name	Age	B	T	Ht	Wt	DoB	Yrs	G	GS	WAR
Harry Ables	27	R	L	6′ 2″	200	Oct 4, 1883	3	3	2	-0.7
Bill Bailey	29	L	R	5′ 10″	170	Nov 19, 1881	1st	5	1	-0.1
Walter Blair	27	R	R	6′ 0″	185	Oct 13, 1883	5	85	65	-0.5
King Brockett	30	R	R	5′ 10″	168	Jul 23, 1880	3	18	10	0.7
Ray Caldwell	23	L	R	6′ 2″	190	Apr 26, 1888	2	59	34	5.8
Hal Chase	28	R	L	6′ 0″	175	Feb 13, 1883	7	133	132	2.2
Andy Coakley	28	L	R	6′ 0″	165	Nov 20, 1882	9	2	1	-0.4
Birdie Cree	28	R	R	5′ 6″	150	Oct 23, 1882	4	137	136	5.5
Jim Curry	25	R	R	5′ 11″	160	Mar 10, 1886	2	4	4	-0.3
Bert Daniels	28	R	R	5′ 9″	180	Oct 31, 1882	2	131	117	2.4
Cozy Dolan	28	R	R	5′ 10″	160	Dec 23, 1882	2	19	19	0.6
Gene Elliott	22	L	R	5′ 7″	150	Feb 8, 1889	1st	5	3	-0.2
Ray Fisher	23	R	R	5′ 11″	180	Oct 4, 1887	2	29	22	3.3
Justin Fitzgerald	20	L	R	5′ 8″	160	Jun 26, 1891	1st	18	9	-0.1
Russ Ford	28	R	R	5′ 11″	175	Apr 25, 1883	3	37	33	7.3
Earle Gardner	27	R	R	5′ 11″	160	Jan 24, 1884	4	102	98	0.3
Mike Handiboe	23	L	L	5′ 10″	155	Jul 21, 1887	1st	5	4	-0.2
Roy Hartzell	29	L	R	5′ 8″	155	Jul 6, 1881	6	144	142	3
Charlie Hemphill	35	L	L	5′ 9″	160	Apr 20, 1876	11	69	52	0.6
Red Hoff	20	L	L	5′ 9″	162	May 8, 1891	1st	5	1	0.6
Otis Johnson	27	B	R	5′ 9″	185	Nov 5, 1883	1st	71	63	1.1
Ed Klepfer	23	R	R	6′ 0″	185	Mar 17, 1888	1st	2	0	-0.1
John Knight	25	R	R	6′ 2″	180	Oct 6, 1885	6	132	131	0.8
Stubby Magner	23	R	R	5′ 3″	135	Feb 10, 1888	1st	13	10	0
Johnny Priest	20	R	R	5′ 11″	170	Jun 23, 1891	1st	8	6	-0.2
Jack Quinn	27	R	R	6′ 0″	196	Jul 1, 1883	3	40	16	0.4
Roxey Roach	28	R	R	5′ 11″	160	Nov 28, 1882	2	13	12	0.1
Ed Sweeney	22	R	R	6′ 1″	200	Jul 19, 1888	4	82	74	0
Hippo Vaughn	23	B	L	6′ 4″	215	Apr 9, 1888	3	26	19	0.4
Joe Walsh	24	R	R	6′ 2″	170	Oct 14, 1886	2	4	0	0
Jack Warhop	26	R	R	5′ 9″	168	Jul 4, 1884	4	33	25	1.7
Ed Wilkinson	21	R	R	6′ 0″	170	Jun 20, 1890	1st	10	2	-0.1
Bob Williams	27	R	R	6′ 0″	190	Apr 27, 1884	1st	20	14	-0.2
Harry Wolter	26	L	R	5′ 10″	175	Jul 11, 1884	4	122	114	3.6
Guy Zinn	24	L	R	5′ 10″	170	Feb 13, 1887	1st	9	6	-0.1

1911 New York Yankees player additions, transactions, and trades

January 1911:

• January 3: Fred Mitchell player rights sold to Rochester (Eastern).

February 1911:

• February 11: Traded Jimmy Austin and Frank LaPorte to the St. Louis Browns. Received Roy Hartzell and cash.

June 1911:

• June 15: Roxey Roach player rights sold to Jersey City (Eastern).

July 1911:

• July (exact date uncertain): Traded Justin Fitzgerald, Ed Klepfer, and cash to Sioux City (Western). Received Jeff Clarke (minors).

September 1911:

• September 1 (approximate date): Drafted Bill Stumpf from York (Tri-State) in the 1911 rule 5 draft.

1911 New York Yankees player debuts

• Bill Bailey – 04-21-1911 – 29 years old
• Gene Elliott – 04-13-1911 – 22 years old
• Justin Fitzgerald – 06-20-1911 – 19 years old
• Mike Handiboe – 09-08-1911 – 24 years old
• Chet Hoff – 09-06-1911 – 20 years old
• Otis Johnson – 04-12-1911 – 27 years old
• Ed Klepfer – 07-04-1911 – 23 years old
• Stubby Magner – 07-12-1911 – 23 years old
• Johnny Priest – 05-30-1911 – 19 years old
• Ed Wilkinson – 07-04-1911 – 21 years old
• Bob Williams – 07-03-1911 – 27 years old
• Guy Zinn – 09-11-1911 – 24 years old

1911 New York Yankees team stats (batting)

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA
C	Ed Sweeney	22	83	267	229	17	53	6	5	0	18	8		14	26	0.231
1B	Hal Chase	28	133	571	527	82	166	32	7	3	62	36		21	40	0.315
2B	Earle Gardner	27	102	397	357	36	94	13	2	0	39	14		20	27	0.263
SS	John Knight	25	132	543	470	69	126	16	7	3	62	18		42	63	0.268
3B	Roy Hartzell	29	144	616	527	67	156	17	11	3	91	22		63	34	0.296
OF	Birdie Cree	28	137	589	520	90	181	30	22	4	88	48		56	61	0.348
OF	Bert Daniels	28	131	551	462	74	132	16	9	2	31	40		48	44	0.286
OF	Harry Wolter	26	122	517	434	78	132	17	15	4	36	28		62	37	0.304
MI	Otis Johnson	27	71	265	209	21	49	9	6	3	36	12		39	43	0.234
C	Walter Blair	27	85	256	222	18	43	9	2	0	26	2		16	24	0.194
OF	Charlie Hemphill	35	69	250	201	32	57	4	2	1	15	9		37	18	0.284
3B	Cozy Dolan	28	19	81	69	19	21	1	2	0	6	12		8	12	0.304
C	Bob Williams	27	20	53	47	3	9	2	0	0	8	1		5	9	0.191
MI	Roxey Roach	28	13	49	40	4	10	2	1	0	2	0		6	5	0.25
OF	Justin Fitzgerald	20	16	47	37	6	10	1	0	0	6	4		4	4	0.27
MI	Stubby Magner	23	13	41	33	3	7	0	0	0	4	1		4	8	0.212
OF	Guy Zinn	24	9	33	27	5	4	0	2	0	1	0		4	5	0.148
IF	Johnny Priest	20	8	25	21	2	3	0	0	0	2	3		2	3	0.143
OF	Mike Handiboe	23	5	18	15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		2	2	0.067
UT	Gene Elliott	22	5	16	13	1	1	1	0	0	1	0		2	2	0.077
2B	Jim Curry	25	4	14	11	3	2	0	0	0	0	0		1	2	0.182
OF	Ed Wilkinson	21	10	13	13	2	3	0	0	0	1	0		0	4	0.231
C	Joe Walsh	24	4	9	9	2	2	1	0	0	0	0		0	2	0.222
UT	Bill Bailey	29	5	9	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	0		0	2	0.111
P	Ray Caldwell	23	59	159	147	14	40	4	1	0	17	5		11	23	0.272
P	Russ Ford	28	37	111	102	10	20	2	1	0	8	2		3	31	0.196
P	Jack Warhop	26	33	84	77	6	12	0	1	0	4	0		3	9	0.156
P	Jack Quinn	27	40	68	61	4	10	2	0	1	5	1		5	15	0.164
P	Ray Fisher	23	29	64	59	5	7	2	0	1	1	0		2	15	0.119
P	Hippo Vaughn	23	26	60	49	4	7	1	0	0	3	1		9	20	0.143
P	King Brockett	30	18	42	39	5	12	2	0	0	4	1		3	4	0.308
P	Red Hoff	20	5	7	7	0	2	0	0	0	0	1		0	2	0.286
P	Andy Coakley	28	2	5	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0		1	1	0.25
P	Harry Ables	27	3	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	0
P	Ed Klepfer	23	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0
	Team Totals	27.1	153	5835	5052	684	1374	190	96	25	577	269		493	601	0.272
	Rank in 8 AL teams				6	5	6	5	1	4		2		2	3	5
	Non-Pitcher Totals	27.3	153	5230	4502	635	1263	177	93	23	535	258		456	477	0.281
	Pitcher Totals	25.4	153	605	550	49	111	13	3	2	42	11		37	124	0.202

1911 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	Russ Ford	28	22	11	0.667	2.27	37	33	4	26	1	0	281.1	251	119	71
SP	Ray Caldwell	23	14	14	0.5	3.35	41	26	13	19	1	1	255	240	115	95
SP	Jack Warhop	26	12	13	0.48	4.16	31	25	5	17	1	0	209.2	239	118	97
SP	Ray Fisher	23	10	11	0.476	3.25	29	22	5	8	2	0	171.2	178	85	62
SP	Hippo Vaughn	23	8	10	0.444	4.39	26	19	3	10	0	0	145.2	158	92	71
RP	Jack Quinn	27	8	10	0.444	3.76	40	16	19	7	0	2	174.2	203	111	73
RP	King Brockett	30	2	4	0.333	4.66	16	8	6	2	0	0	75.1	73	45	39
	Red Hoff	20	0	1	0	2.18	5	1	4	0	0	0	20.2	21	8	5
	Andy Coakley	28	0	1	0	5.4	2	1	1	1	0	0	11.2	20	13	7
	Harry Ables	27	0	1	0	9.82	3	2	1	0	0	0	11	16	15	12
	Ed Klepfer	23	0	0		6.75	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	5	3	3
	Team Totals	25.4	76	76	0.5	3.54	153	153	63	90	5	3	1360.2	1404	724	535
	Rank in 8 AL teams		6	3		6				6	8	5	5	5	5	6

1911 New York Yankees record vs. opponents/ Team splits

Opponent (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
Boston Red Sox (22)	10	12	0.455
Chicago White Sox (22)	9	13	0.409
Cleveland Naps (23)	8	14	0.364
Detroit Tigers (22)	15	7	0.682
Philadelphia Athletics (21)	6	15	0.286
St. Louis Browns (21)	16	5	0.762
Washington Senators (22)	12	10	0.545

1911 New York Yankees monthly record

Month (Games)	Won	Lost	WP
April (12)	7	5	0.583
May (27)	11	16	0.407
June (24)	17	7	0.708
July (31)	13	18	0.419
August (28)	15	13	0.536
September (26)	13	12	0.520
October (5)	0	5	0.000

How do you rate the 1911 New York Yankees?