The original Mr. October

Jimmy Sebring

Jimmy Sebring hits the first home run in the first game of the first World Series 121 years ago today at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds.

Sebring’s inside-the-park homer off Cy Young – yes, that Cy Young – helps the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Boston 7-3 before a Thursday afternoon, overflow crowd of 16,242.

Sebring’s solo homer past center fielder Chick Stahl with one out in the top of the seventh inning gives the Pirates a 7-0 lead.

Boston eventually wins the best-of-nine Series in eight games.

Sebring, who drives in four runs in the opener and hits .333 in the inaugural World Series, spends only a couple of more seasons in the major leagues before drifting back to the minors. in 1905. He plays there in such exotic ports of call as Williamsport, Wilmington and Harrisburg before briefly returning to the majors in 1909 with Brooklyn and Washington.

Alas, he is only 27 years old when he dies of kidney disease in December 1909 in Williamsport.