View source for Baseball's Sad Lexicon

{{Short description|Baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams}}
{{Redirect|Tinker to Evers to Chance|the 1990 compilation album by Game Theory|Tinker to Evers to Chance (album)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox poem
  | name                = Baseball's Sad Lexicon
  | image               = {{multiple image
	| align     = center
	| direction = horizontal
	| total_width = 330
	| caption_align = center
	| image1    = Tinker baseball card.jpg
	| alt1      = A man with brown hair wearing a grey baseball uniform with a blue collar and the word "CUBS" on his chest in front of a red background
	| caption1  = [[Joe Tinker]]
	| image2    = Evers baseball card.jpg
	| alt2      = A man with blonde hair wearing a grey baseball uniform with a blue collar and the word "CUBS" on his chest in front of a green background
	| caption2  = [[Johnny Evers]]
	| image3    = Frank Chance Baseball Card.jpg
	| alt3      = A man with brown hair wearing a grey baseball uniform with a blue collar and the word "CUBS" on his chest in front of a red background
	| caption3  = [[Frank Chance]]
	}}
  | caption             = The three [[Chicago Cubs]] of the poem
  | image_size          = 300px
  | author              = [[Franklin Pierce Adams]]
  | original_title      = That Double Play Again
  | subject             = Baseball
  | publisher           = ''[[New York Evening Mail]]''
  | publication_date    = {{Start date|1910|07|12}}
  | lines               = 8
  | wikisource          = Baseball's Sad Lexicon
}}

"'''Baseball's Sad Lexicon'''," also known as "'''Tinker to Evers to Chance'''" after its refrain, is a 1910 baseball poem by [[Franklin Pierce Adams]]. The eight-line poem is presented as a single, rueful [[stanza]] from the point of view of a [[History of the New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] fan watching the [[Chicago Cubs]] infield of [[shortstop]] [[Joe Tinker]], [[second baseman]] [[Johnny Evers]], and [[first baseman]] [[Frank Chance]] complete a [[double play]]. These three players helped the Cubs win four [[National League (baseball)|National League]] championships and two [[World Series]] from 1906 to 1910.

"Baseball's Sad Lexicon" became popular across the United States among sportswriters, who wrote their own verses along the same vein. The poem only enhanced the reputations of Tinker, Evers, and Chance over the succeeding decades as the phrase became synonymous with a feat of smooth and ruthless efficiency. It has been credited with their elections to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1946.

==Publication==
The poem was first published in the ''[[New York Evening Mail]]'' on July 12, 1910, under the title "'''That Double Play Again'''."<ref name="Bales"/> The day before, the Cubs had defeated the Giants, 4–2, in Chicago, having squelched a late-inning Giants rally with a double play from shortstop Tinker to second baseman Evers to first baseman Chance. Per standard [[baseball positions]], this play is recorded as 6-4-3 (shortstop to second baseman to first baseman).
[[File:Baseballs's Sad Lexicon, a reading.ogg|thumb|A reading of Baseball's Sad Lexicon]]
{{poemquote|These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon{{#tag:ref|A [[gonfalon]] is a pennant or flag, referring in this context to the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] title.<ref name=gonfalon/>|group=lower-alpha}} bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double{{#tag:ref|"Hitting a double" in baseball means a two-base hit, but "hitting into a double" refers to hitting into a double play (two outs on a single play), most commonly accomplished by a ground ball hit to the shortstop (Tinker) thrown to the second baseman (Evers) to force the runner out who had been on first base and then thrown to first base (Chance) to complete the play.|group=lower-alpha}}&nbsp;–
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
}}

==Background==
Tinker, Evers, and Chance began playing together with the Cubs in September 1902, forming a double play combination that lasted through April 1912. The Cubs won the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] pennant four times from 1906 to 1910 and won back-to-back [[World Series]] championships in 1907 and 1908, a five-year span that saw them regularly defeat their archrival Giants en route to the pennants and World Series.<ref name="Rapp"/>

===Context in baseball history===
[[Frank Chance]] joined the [[Chicago Cubs]] in 1898 as a reserve catcher, backing up [[Tim Donahue]] and [[Johnny Kling]]. [[Frank Selee]], the Cubs' manager, decided that Chance would be better suited as a [[first baseman]]. Chance at first opposed the move and even threatened to quit, but he ultimately obliged.<ref name="sabr_chance"/> 

[[Joe Tinker]] was a [[third baseman]] in [[minor league baseball]] but in 1902 made the Cubs as a [[shortstop]], replacing [[Barry McCormick]].<ref name="sabr_tinker"/> 

[[Johnny Evers]] made his major league debut with the Cubs on September 1, 1902 at shortstop, with Selee moving Tinker from shortstop to third base.<ref name="sabr_evers"/> Three days later, Selee returned Tinker to shortstop and assigned Evers to [[second base]] to back up [[Bobby Lowe]].  Lowe suffered a knee injury late in the 1902 season, providing Evers with more playing time.<ref name=sabr_evers/>[[File:Merkles Boner game Polo Grounds Sept23 1908.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Fans watch [[Merkle's Boner]] from [[Coogan's Bluff]], September 23, 1908]]

Tinker, Evers, and Chance first appeared in a game together on September 13, 1902. They turned their first double play on September 15, 1902.<ref name="mlb.com"/> Lowe's injury did not properly heal during the off-season, making Evers the new permanent second baseman for the Cubs in 1903.<ref name=sabr_evers/> Chance succeeded Selee as manager during the 1905 season when Selee became ill.<ref name=sabr_chance/>

The Cubs, led by Tinker, Evers, and Chance, won the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] pennant in 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1910. In 1908 the Cubs clinched the pennant after defeating the Giants, in part due to [[Merkle's Boner]]. In the Merkle game, Tinker hit a home run off [[Christy Mathewson]],<ref name=sabr_tinker/> and Evers alerted [[umpire (baseball)|umpire]] [[Hank O'Day]] to Merkle's base-running gaffe.<ref name=sabr_evers/> In the replay of the Merkle game, Tinker hit a [[triple (baseball)|triple]] off Mathewson that started the rally that gave the Cubs the victory, clinching the pennant.<ref name=sabr_tinker/><ref name="NYT1908"/>

From 1906 to 1910, the Cubs turned 491 double plays, the third most in the NL during that time. According to [[Bill James]]' "expected double plays" formula, the Cubs led the NL with 50 more double plays than expected during those five seasons.<ref name="Neyer2000"/> From 1906 through 1910, the "Tinker, to Evers, to Chance" double play happened 54 times in 770 [[games played]], and the trio did not collaborate on a double play during any of their 21 [[World Series]] games.<ref name=houk/> In 1906, the trio committed 194 [[error (baseball)|errors]], though this was in part due to poor field conditions and scorers.<ref name="Verducci1999"/>

===Composition===
[[Franklin Pierce Adams]] wrote a weekly column for the ''[[New York Evening Mail]]'' called "Always in Good Humor". Adams hoped to leave work to attend a Giants game, but his editor found that Adams had not produced enough content for his column. While reflecting on Tinker, Evers, and Chance as he traveled to the [[Polo Grounds]] to see the Giants play the Cubs, Adams wrote the poem that would become ''Baseball's Sad Lexicon''.<ref name=mlb.com/> He considered the lines to be forgettable as he wrote them, and an editor at the paper told him that he did not consider the work to be "much good".<ref name=tribune/>

This work was first published as "That Double Play Again" in the ''New York Evening Mail'' on July 12, 1910 (not on July 10 as numerous sources state).<ref name="tribune"/><ref name=Adams1910a/> The ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' reprinted it as "Gotham's Woe" on July 15, 1910.<ref name=Adams1910b/> Three days later, on July 18, the ''New York Evening Mail'' republished it under the title by which it is best known today, "Baseball's Sad Lexicon."<ref name=Adams1910c/><ref name=Wiles1/><ref name=Wiles2/> The poem was such a hit that other sportswriters submitted additional verses.<ref name=tribune/>

For the poem's 100th anniversary, Tim Wiles, director of research at the Baseball Hall of Fame, conducted research on the poem. He revealed that the poem was part of series of poems published in the ''New York Evening Mail'' and the ''Chicago Tribune''.  During the research process, combing the archives in the [[New York Public Library]] and the [[Center for Research Libraries]], they uncovered 29 poems, 15 of which detail a specific play or game that had occurred during the 1910 season, with "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" the first poem published.<ref name=tribune/>

==After publication==
In 1911, the Giants overcame the Cubs, capturing the first of three consecutive [[National League (baseball)|National League]] pennants.<ref name=NYT1911/> The trio played their final game together on April 12, 1912.<ref name=mlb.com/> While Chance was hospitalized for a brain injury suffered while playing, club owner [[Charles Murphy (baseball owner)|Charles Webb Murphy]] released him after an argument about Murphy's releasing other players with high salaries.<ref name=sabr_chance/> Murphy named Evers manager for the 1913 season, which displeased Tinker, who was traded to the [[Cincinnati Reds]].<ref name=sabr_tinker/>

Murphy fired Evers as manager after one season, trading him against his will to the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] in February 1914.<ref name=SABR-Sweeney/> As a consequence, [[National League (baseball)|National League]] president [[John K. Tener]] and newspaper owner [[Charles P. Taft]] (who also owned the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]) made a successful effort to drive Murphy out of baseball.<ref name=allen/> Taft purchased the Cubs from Murphy in 1914.<ref name="cubs-owners"/> ''[[Sporting Life (American newspaper)|Sporting Life]]'' commemorated the affair with this variation on the poem:<ref name="allen"/>
{{quote
| source= "C. Murphy – His Lyric," ''Sporting Life'', Mar. 14, 1914, p. 12.<ref name=allen/>
| quote = <poem>Brought to the leash and smashed in the jaw,
Evers to Tener to Taft.
Hounded and hustled outside of the law,
Evers to Tener to Taft.
Torn from the Cubs and the glitter of gold,
Stripped of the guerdons and glory untold,
Kicked in the stomach and cut from the fold,
Evers to Tener to Taft.</poem>
}}

==Impact and legacy==
Chance died in 1924, Evers in 1947, and Tinker in 1948. The poem was regularly used to memorialize each of the players after his death.<ref name=AP1947/><ref name=Rochester1924/><ref name=AP1948/>

All three players were inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1946|1946]]. Their inductions have been credited in part to the fame generated by Adams' poem.<ref name=tribune/> [[Andy Coakley]], a teammate with the Cubs as well as a coach for [[Columbia University]], regarded Tinker, Evers, and Chance to be the best infield in baseball history.<ref name=Grayson/> Bill James, in his 1994 book, ''[[Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?]]'', argued that Tinker was less accomplished than [[George Davis (shortstop)|George Davis]], who at the time was not a member of the Hall of Fame.{{#tag:ref|Davis was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998.|group=lower-alpha}}

The poem gave the trio "everlasting fame".<ref name="houk"/> Evers made an appearance on ''[[Information Please]]'', a radio show on which Adams was a panelist in 1938. Evers thanked Adams for writing the poem, which he credited for his being remembered.<ref name=tribune/> However, many forgot [[Harry Steinfeldt]], the third baseman who started alongside Tinker, Evers, and Chance from 1906 through 1910.<ref name=houk/><ref name=Weir/> Including Steinfeldt, the Cubs infield set a record for longevity surpassed by the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] infield of first baseman [[Steve Garvey]], second baseman [[Davey Lopes]], shortstop [[Bill Russell (shortstop)|Bill Russell]], and third baseman [[Ron Cey]], who played together for eight years, from 1973 through 1981.<ref name=Shaikin/>

Despite their celebrated success at turning spectacular plays in collaboration, relations between the teammates were said to have been often strained. Tinker and Evers feuded for many years.<ref name=sabr_tinker/> On September 14, 1905, Tinker and Evers engaged in a fistfight on the field because Evers had taken a cab to the stadium and left his teammates behind in the hotel lobby. They did not speak for years following this event.<ref name="legend"/> According to some tellings, Tinker and Evers did not speak to one another again following their fight for 33 years, until they were asked to participate in the radio broadcast of the [[1938 World Series]], between the Cubs and the [[New York Yankees]]. Neither Tinker nor Evers knew the other had been invited.<ref name=Whitley/><ref name=BaseballLibrary/> However, in 1929, Tinker joined Evers in signing a ten-week contract to perform a theatrical skit on baseball in different cities across the United States.<ref name=legend />

==In popular culture==
=== As a metaphor for teamwork or precision ===
The phrase "Tinker to Evers to Chance," and variations using other names, have been colloquially used to characterize high-caliber teamwork. Examples include:


* The song "O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" in the 1949 musical film ''[[Take Me Out to the Ball Game (film)|Take Me Out to the Ball Game]]''<ref name=Rielly2006/>
* In a 1966 episode of ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' titled "The Safecracker Suite", after Corporal Newkirk bypasses Colonel Klink to toss Colonel Hogan an envelope containing secret plans, Hogan remarks to Klink, "Tinker to Evers to Chance is the play. You're only Evers, I'm Chance."
* In an episode of the 1970s TV series, ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'', Alice, the housekeeper, refers to Greg, Peter and Bobby as "Tinker to Evers to Chance" as the boys enter the kitchen after a baseball game.
* An advertisement for ''[[The Hours (film)|The Hours]]'', a [[2003 in film|2003 film]], praising the trio of [[Nicole Kidman]], [[Meryl Streep]], and [[Julianne Moore]] as the "acting version" of the three baseball players<ref name=tribune/>

The poem's title has also been used to characterize any process that happens with smoothness and precision, as a near-synonym to expressions such as "like clockwork" or "a well-oiled machine." For example:

* In [[Raymond Chandler]]'s ''[[The Long Goodbye (novel)|The Long Goodbye]]'' (1953), detective [[Philip Marlowe]] goes through his mail, opens it, and tosses it into the waste bin, remarking, "Mail slot to desk to wastebasket, Tinker to Evers to Chance."<ref name="IPT1954"/>
* ''[[The Washington Post]]'' journalists [[Carl Bernstein]] and [[Bob Woodward]] used the phrase "Tinker to Evers to Chance" in their account of the ''Post'' investigation of the [[Watergate scandal]] in their 1974 book, ''[[All the President's Men]]''. The reference described the smooth operation of President [[Richard Nixon]]'s White House staff in responding to allegations of misconduct.<ref name=Bernstein/>

=== Other references ===
[[File:Tinker, Evers, and Chance.jpg|thumb|250px|Tinker, Evers, and Chance]]
[[Ogden Nash]], in his 1949 poem "[[Line-Up for Yesterday|Line-Up For Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals]]," referred to the trio of players in a [[stanza]] for the letter "E":<ref name="Nash"/>
{{quote
| quote = <poem>'''E''' is for Evers
His jaw in advance;
Never afraid
To Tinker with Chance.</poem>
}}

[[Walt Kelly]], in the May 7, 1953 installment of the [[Pogo (comic strip)|''Pogo'']] comic strip, depicted the character Simple J. Malarkey (a caricature of Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]) advising a preacher that the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] "'''can't''' guarantee what happens '''after''' you speak up... it don't pay to '''tinker''' for'''ever''' with '''chance''', ha ha like the fella says."<ref name=Freedman2008/>

Musician [[Scott Miller (pop musician)|Scott Miller]], leader of the 1980s band [[Game Theory (band)|Game Theory]], chose ''[[Tinker to Evers to Chance (album)|Tinker to Evers to Chance]]'' as the ironic title of a 1990 [[compilation album]] of the band's greatest would-be hits which, despite significant critical acclaim, had struck out commercially.<ref name="tinkeralbum"/><ref name="caro1990"/> Like Nash, Miller emphasized the double meaning of the names, creating a visual pun by featuring a piece from a [[Tinkertoy]] set ("tinker"), a [[pocket watch]] ("evers"), and a [[dice|die]] ("chance") on the album cover.<ref name=option1993/>

The poem was set to music and recorded in 2010 by Chicago singer/songwriter guitarist [[Chris McCaughan]].<ref name=Innocent1/> The song, also titled "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," appears on the album ''[[We Chase the Waves]]'' by McCaughan's solo project, [[Sundowner (band)|Sundowner]].<ref name=Innocent2/>

==See also==
*"[[Casey at the Bat]]"

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<!-- Converted to LDR format
     using [[User:PleaseStand/References segregator]] -->

<ref name="Adams1910a">{{cite news |first=Franklin P. |last=Adams |title=That Double Play Again |newspaper=New York Evening Mail |date=July 12, 1910 |page=6 }}</ref>
<ref name="Adams1910b">{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Franklin P. |date=July 15, 1910 |title=Gotham's Woe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-gothams-woe/90921088/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
<ref name="Adams1910c">{{cite news |first=Franklin P. |last=Adams |title=Baseball's Sad Lexicon |newspaper=New York Evening Mail |date=July 18, 1910 |page=6 }}</ref>
<ref name="allen">{{cite book |title=The National League Story: The Official History |author-link=Lee Allen (baseball) |first=Lee |last=Allen |publisher=Hill & Wang |location=New York |year=1961 |page=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWcFAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Evers+to+Tener+to+Taft%22 }}</ref>
<ref name="AP1947">{{Cite news |date=1947-03-29 |title=Passing of Johnny Evers Brings to Memory Famous Double Play Combo, Series of 1908 |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/title/ynfkqbvgbwoflmmjgexkoxfcwltyoikd_ip-10-166-46-147_1737931257180 |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=[[The News and Courier]] |page=7 |publication-place=[[Charleston, South Carolina]] |via=[[GenealogyBank.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
<ref name="AP1948">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UOYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4030,5490613&dq=joe-tinker&hl=en |title=As Cubs shortstop... Joe Tinker's Death Comes as Surprise: Famous Cub Shortstop Dies Unexpectedly on 68th Birthday |agency=Associated Press |page=16 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=July 28, 1948 |access-date=May 14, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Bales">{{Cite web |url=http://wrigleyivy.com/almost-a-dynasty/ |title=Almost a Dynasty |last=Bales |first=Jack |website=WrigleyIvy.com |date=March 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731184445/http://wrigleyivy.com/almost-a-dynasty/ |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=November 19, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
<ref name="BaseballLibrary">[https://baseballbiography.com/joe-tinker-1880 Joe Tinker] Joe Tinker at Baseballbiography.com</ref>
<ref name="Bernstein">{{Cite book |title=All the President's Men |last1=Bernstein |first1=Carl |publisher=Warner Books |year=1975 |isbn=0-446-32264-4 |location=New York |pages=284 |last2=Woodward |first2=Bob }}</ref>
<ref name="caro1990">{{cite news |last=Caro |first=Mark |title=Game Theory: ''Tinker to Evers to Chance'' |date=June 10, 1990 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/06/07/game-theorytinker-to-evers-to-chance-enigma/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213152840/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-06-07/features/9002160424_1_game-theory-star-evers |archive-date=2013-12-13 }}</ref>
<ref name="cubs-owners">{{cite web |title=Cubs All-Time Owners |website=Chicago Cubs |publisher=Major League Baseball |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/chc/history/owners.jsp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026040603/http://mlb.mlb.com/chc/history/owners.jsp |archive-date=2012-10-26 }}</ref>
<ref name="Freedman2008">{{cite book |last=Freedman |first=Leonard |title=The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klGs8fB3HvgC&pg=PA40 |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-35601-8 |page=40 }}</ref>
<ref name="gonfalon">{{Cite news |date=1986-10-27 |title=Glossary: 'Gonfalon' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-glossary-gonfalon/164018049/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=14 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
<ref name="Grayson">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8hBeAAAAIBAJ&pg=1770,2749177&dq=tinker+evers+chance+gonfalon+pennant&hl=en |journal=The Telegraph-Herald |title=About Tinker, Evers, Chance: Grayson Tells of Famous Double Play Infield |first=Harry |last=Grayson |author-link=Harry Grayson |agency=[[National Newspaper Association|National Editorial Association]] |page=10 |date=April 21, 1943 |access-date=August 25, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="houk">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fwhPAAAAIBAJ&pg=7291,1807019&dq=tinker+evers+chance+gonfalon+pennant&hl=en |title=Forget Tinker-Evers-Chance: Current Double-Play Combos Far Superior To Old-Timers |newspaper=Toledo Blade |page=40 |date=May 29, 1963 |access-date=August 25, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Innocent1">{{cite web |title=Still Stripped Down&nbsp;– Chris McCaughan Returns with Side Project Sundowner |publisher=Innocent Words Magazine & Records |date=October 31, 2010 |url=http://iwm.accuraty.us/Magazine/ItemDisplay/tabid/807/itemId/1665/pageId/4/catpageid/1/Default.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503200719/http://iwm.accuraty.us/Magazine/ItemDisplay/tabid/807/itemId/1665/pageId/4/catpageid/1/Default.aspx |archive-date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=May 9, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Innocent2">{{cite web |url=http://innocentwords.com/sundowner-chris-mccaughan-returns-with-side-project/ |title=Sundowner: Chris McCaughan Returns with Side Project |first=John B. |last=Moore |date=November 1, 2010 |work=Innocent Words |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331171112/http://innocentwords.com/sundowner-chris-mccaughan-returns-with-side-project/ |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |access-date=March 18, 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="IPT1954">{{Cite news |date=1954-03-21 |title=Raymond Chandler Book Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/independent-raymond-chandler-book-review/164017929/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=Independent |page=31 |publication-place=[[Long Beach, California]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
<ref name="legend">{{cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2003/07/27/tinker-field-has-real-baseball-legend-behind-it/ |title=Tinker Field Has Real Baseball Legend Behind It |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=July 27, 2003 |access-date=May 8, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="mlb.com">{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080625&content_id=3000452&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |title=Power of poem immortalizes Cubs trio: Tinker to Evers to Chance flourished in early 1900s |first=Tom |last=Singer |work=MLB.com |date=June 25, 2008 |access-date=May 9, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Nash">{{Cite journal |author-link=Ogden Nash |last=Nash |first=Ogden |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml |title=Line-Up for Yesterday |journal=[[Baseball Almanac]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028091707/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_line.shtml |archive-date=2017-10-28 }}</ref>
<ref name="Neyer2000">{{cite book |first1=Rob |last1=Neyer |first2=Eddie |last2=Epstein |year=2000 |title=Baseball Dynasties |pages=37–38 }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT1908">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/10/09/archives/the-cubs-win-the-pennant-hit-mathewson-for-four-runs-in-third.html |title=The Cubs Win The Pennant&nbsp;– Hit Mathewson for Four Runs in Third Inning of Decisive Game and Beat the Giants. Giants Score Two Runs "Three-Fingered" Brown, Chicago's Star Twirler, Has Home Team at His Mercy. 40,000 See Great Contest: Probably as Many More Shut Out&nbsp;– Wall Street Left Outside&nbsp;– One Would-Be Spectator Killed by a Fall |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 1908 |access-date=May 9, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT1911">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/10/05/archives/giants-win-pennant-matty-in-the-box-shutout-in-brooklyn-clinches.html |title=Giants Win Pennant&nbsp;– Matty in the Box&nbsp;– Shutout in Brooklyn Clinches First Honors in National League for New York |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 5, 1911 |access-date=May 9, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="option1993">{{cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Jason |title=Exploded View: With the Loud Family, Scott Miller Engineers a Brand New Theory |date=September–October 1993 |journal=[[Option (music magazine)|Option]] |volume=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xi1LAAAAYAAJ }}</ref>
<ref name="Rapp">{{Cite book |title=Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America |year=1951 |last=Rapp |first=David |isbn=9780226415048 |location=Chicago |oclc=1004248970 }}</ref>
<ref name="Rielly2006">{{cite book |last=Rielly |first=Edward J. |title=Baseball in the Classroom: Essays on Teaching the National Pastime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxrmVhcJjAUC&pg=PA59 |year=2006 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8152-1 |page=59 }}</ref>
<ref name="Rochester1924">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ixlgAAAAIBAJ&pg=4913,682376&dq=tinker+to+evers+to+chance&hl=en |title=Baseball Men Mourn Passing of Chance |newspaper=Rochester Evening Journal and the Post Express |date=September 16, 1924 |access-date=August 25, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="SABR-Sweeney">{{Sabrbio|3afc412c|Bill Sweeney|Peter Morris|July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="sabr_chance">{{Sabrbio|21604876|Frank Chance|Gregory Ryhal|September 20, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="sabr_evers">{{Sabrbio|efe76f7c|Johnny Evers|David Shiner|October 15, 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="sabr_tinker">{{Sabrbio|bc0df648|Joe Tinker|Lenny Jacobsen|2009-10-15}}</ref>
<ref name="Shaikin">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodinfield29mar29-story.html |title=Infield of dreams: Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey made history by playing together for nine seasons |first=Bill |last=Shaikin |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 29, 2008 |access-date=May 21, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="tinkeralbum">{{cite web |title=Review of Game Theory: ''Tinker to Evers to Chance (Selected Highlights 1982–1989)'' |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[All Media Guide]] |first=Mark |last=Deming |url={{Allmusic|album|mw0000653893|pure_url=yes}} |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313015932/http://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000653893 |archive-date=2016-03-13 }}</ref>
<ref name="tribune">{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ct-tinker-cubs-story,0,7702405.story |title=Remembering 'Tinker to Evers to Chance': Even though Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance last played together in 1912&nbsp;– indeed, all have been dead more than 60 years&nbsp;– their names live on among baseball fans. All because of an eight-line poem |first=William |last=Hageman |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=July 5, 2010 |access-date=May 9, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Verducci1999">{{cite magazine |first=Tom |last=Verducci |url=http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1016975/index.htm |title=New York's foursome ranks with the best ever |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=September 6, 1999 |access-date=May 21, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Weir">{{Cite news |last=Weir |first=Tom |date=1999-09-03 |title=Harry, we hardly knew ye |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/usa-today-harry-we-hardly-knew-ye/164017723/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |work=USA Today |page=5C |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
<ref name="Whitley">{{cite web |date=July 27, 2008 |first=David |last=Whitley |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2008/07/27/ol-joe-tinker-deserves-better-than-dead-cats/ |title=Ol' Joe Tinker deserves better than dead cats |work=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=May 7, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Wiles1">{{cite journal |first1=Jack |last1=Bales |first2=Tim |last2=Wiles |title=Franklin P. Adams's 'Trio of Bear Cubs' |journal=Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture |volume=19 |issue=2 |date=Spring 2011 |pages=114–40 |doi=10.1353/nin.2011.0007 |s2cid=154884752 }}</ref>
<ref name="Wiles2">{{cite magazine |first=Tim |last=Wiles |title=Reason for the Rhyme: Adams' 'Baseball's Sad Lexicon' Turns 100 |magazine=Memories and Dreams |publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame |date=Summer 2010 |pages=10–13 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Tinker to Evers to Chance}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://wrigleyivy.com/almost-a-dynasty/ |title=Almost a Dynasty |last=Bales |first=Jack |website=WrigleyIvy.com |date=March 3, 2013 }}
* {{cite web |title=Baseball Cards – Tinker to Evers to Chance! |work=Prints & Photographs Online Catalog |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/bbc/tinker_evers_chance.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902021648/http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/bbc/tinker_evers_chance.html |archive-date=September 2, 2013 |access-date=December 29, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2010/7/12/1566133/baseballs-sad-lexicon-100-years |title='Baseball's Sad Lexicon': 100 Years Old Today |website=Bleed Cubbie Blue |first=Al |last=Yellon |date=July 12, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401193832/http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2010/7/12/1566133/baseballs-sad-lexicon-100-years |archive-date=2016-04-01 }}

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[[Category:1910 poems]]
[[Category:American poems]]
[[Category:Baseball poems]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs]]
[[Category:Works originally published in American newspapers]]