On a Sunday off-day, which arose from baseball's adherence to the so-called blue laws which banned playing on the Sabbath day -- the Nationals had time to contemplate the prospect of doing no worse than going into a play-off with the Yankees. That play-off was not in the cards. On the Monday, September 29, Zachary and Marberry teamed up in a 4-2 win over Boston. The offensive hero was Wade Lefler, a 28-year-old refugee from the Eastern League whose big-league experience up to then had consisted of one solitary at-bat. Lefler had driven in the only run in the 2-1 loss the previous Friday and, pushed into a crucial situation by Harris in this game, delivered a three-run double to determine the outcome. In all, Lefler went 5-for-8 for the Nats, including three doubles, before disappearing into eternal obscurity with the enviable career major-league batting average of .556.
The Yankees were rained out in Philadelphia, although it made no difference. The improbable had finally happened. The Washington Senators, last in the league in home runs, had fought off Goliath and were the new champions of the American League. There were tears in Walter Johnson's eyes -- he kept his head down as he made his way to the clubhouse from the bullpen. There were many tears in the clubhouse following the game, including some shed by Clark Griffith and Bucky Harris, who was hoisted up on the shoulders of Johnson and Altrock and paraded around the clubhouse in celebration of what he had been able to achieve up to this point. Washington baseball fans finally had a champion.
When Babe Ruth found out that Washington had won its game and the pennant, he began rousing his teammates in a Philadelphia hotel. He added to the cheerlessness of an already gloomy day by shaking his teammates out of their slumber to announce that not only were they sleeping, but they were now also dead. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
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