The Streak’s Gotta End, but Won’t Unless We Take a Stand

by Patrick Reddick

The Philadelphia Phillies took the field on Sunday, September 25, 1932 with the opportunity to accomplish something that had not happened for a decade and a half.

Finish a season over .500.

It was the first of two games against the New York Giants; the Phillies had to win at least half of the double header to accomplish their goal.

Carl Hubbell took the mound at The Polo Grounds for the Giants, starting his 32nd contest of the summer. He was still two years away from striking out Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons, and Cronin—five Hall of Famers—in a row during the All-Star game, but his stuff was plenty good today. An hour and 37 minutes later it was over, and the Phillies were on the short end.

They had one more remaining, Game 154. They were 77-76. Lose and they would be .500. Win and they would break the streak they had started in 1918.

Perhaps it was destined, 1932 was not going so well. The height of the Great Depression, the Dow Jones had dropped to its lowest point ever earlier that summer. Across town, the Philadelphia Athletics won 34 more games than they lost and still finished 13 games behind the Yankees in the AL race. The Phillies probably should have felt fortunate this was their first time in 4th place since 1917 and glad another year was in the books.

But they took the field once again. And they never trailed in that final contest. Flint Rhem threw a complete game and Philadelphia’s colorfully named lineup of Kiddo Davis, Pinky Whitney, Spud Davis, and Hal Lee managed to score three in the third, add another in the seventh, and two more in the eighth. The game was called after eight innings sans reasoning in the box score.

And so Philadelphia finished 78-76, for a win percentage of .506. It was the first time they had finished with a record over .500 for 14 years… and the last time for 17 more.

They dropped right back down to seventh place and a 60-92 record in 1933, not hitting rock bottom until 1940 and ‘41 when they failed to win 30% of their games in back-to-back years, finishing with a combined record of 85-220.

It was their second streak of 17 losers in a row that the Pirates now look at in their rearview mirror. As any sensible fan will tell you, it is far too early to tell how this summer will turn out for the Bucs, or if this is the year we will finally break it.

We have heard time and time again that it has to end eventually. That is true. But it doesn’t have to be soon. The Phillies were a few bounces away from finishing .500 in 1932. They headed into the nightcap of that double header losers of their past four games; there is no doubt that some figured it would be five by the time the sun set. Had they given in to those doubts, the Pirates would still be a long way from the record of 32 straight years without more wins that losses.

But those Phillies took a stand, and they won that game. Maybe it didn’t mean much in the long run, but then again, they’re probably proud to have at least prevented a streak of 32 consecutive losing years from happening.

And that’s why, no matter how bad it may get, the Pirates can’t get down on themselves. Because even if we have lost ten in a row, we can still win the next one. And that one could be the difference between on winning season or a losing streak of 20.

Fun fact: After the Phillies had sub-.500 records in 31 of 32 seasons, it took them just two to make it to the World Series.