1929 Philadelphia Athletics season


The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 1st in the American League with a record of 104 wins and 46 losses. After finishing in second place to the New York Yankees in 1927 and 1928, the club won the 1929 pennant by a large 18-game margin. The club went on to win the World Series over the NL champion Chicago Cubs, four games to one.

Offseason

Led by longtime owner-manager Connie Mack, the Athletics dominated during the regular season. Mack had purchased quite a few players from the Baltimore Orioles minor league club, and many of them would contribute to the A's 1929–31 dynasty.
The most famous of these players was ace Lefty Grove. In 1929, Grove led the American League in ERA and strikeouts on his way to a 20–6 record. Big George Earnshaw was the number two pitcher on the squad. He led the league in wins and was second in strikeouts. Led by these two, Philadelphia allowed the fewest runs of any AL team.
On the offensive side, the A's boasted Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Simmons. Simmons beat out Babe Ruth for the RBI crown in 1929.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C135514170.331795
1B149517183.35433118
2B129475110.232336
3B101379105.277140
SS9130376.251247
LF143581212.36534157
CF139578181.3131682
RF147556184.331893

Other batters

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
INF119401131.3271379
OF378122.272010
C387616.21109
INF255613.23204
OF305113.25506
IB294913.265111
OF454512.26719
2B8272.07400
OF12165.31302
SS484.50003
PH970.00000
C361.16700
OF260.00000
3B241.25001
SS440.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGGSIPWLERASO
4237275.12062.81170
4033267.218113.6094
4433254.22483.29149
3518161.01193.9741

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
39152.21163.6049
32113.21222.8525
1154.2723.2920
310008.102

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVERASO
191014.5811
120214.8012

1929 World Series

AL Philadelphia Athletics vs. NL Chicago Cubs

Farm system

Awards and honors

League leaders

and the 1929–1931 Athletics were the subject of an August 19, 1996, cover-story in Sports Illustrated with the teaser, "The Team that Time Forgot". Author William Nack wrote, "according to most old-timers who played in that era, the 1927 and '28 Yankees and the 1929 and '30 Athletics matched up so closely that they were nearly equal, with the A's given the nod in fielding and pitching and the Yankees in hitting."
On August 16, 2009, the Oakland Athletics celebrated the 80th anniversary of the 1929 team by wearing 1929 home uniforms against the Chicago White Sox. First pitches were thrown out by Kathleen Kelly, the granddaughter of Connie Mack, and Jim Conlin, the grandson of Jimmie Foxx. The A's won the game on a walk-off home run by Mark Ellis.