In 1903, The Face of Baseball Changed Forever. While the time-honored National League had enjoyed a monopoly as America's favorite game since the mid-nineteenth century, the upstart American League, just two years old, was quickly becoming a hot ticket. By the end of the 1903 season, their fates would merge and a new national treasure-the World Series-would be born. One hundred years after this landmark match-up, Bob Ryan, award-winning Boston Globe sports columnist, takes you back to the season that climaxed with the creation of the Fall Classic. He tells a compelling tale of time and place, of intriguing people, and of the beginnings of a tradition. The first World Series remains one of the best ever, defining that underdog, against-all-odds spirit that makes baseball such a timeless sport, and our national pastime.