Cup playoffs: Go West!
 

AMERICAN CUP

New York 9, Richmond 7 (NY: Punch Devinney 3 hits, 2 RBI)
New York 8, Richmond 7 (NY: Devinney walk-off single in 10th)

Keokuk 9, Toledo 4 (KEO: Leonidas Lee double, triple, 3 RBI)
Toledo 4, Keokuk 3 (TOL: Count Campau 2 RBI triple)
Keokuk 14, Toledo 11 (KEO: Phil Baker 2 hits, HR, 2 RBI)


New York 7, Keokuk 4 (NY: Bill Hawes 4 hits 2 RBI)
New York 12, Keokuk (NY: Bill White two triples, 5 runs)
Keokuk 3, New York 1 (KEO: John Coleman 10 IP, 7 H, 0 ER; 2 runs in 10th)
Keokuk 4, New York 2 (KEO: Jumbo McGinnis 3-hitter, 0 ER)
Keokuk 6, New York 1 (KEO: Lee Richmond 7-hitter)

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UNION CUP

Boston 3, Paterson 0 (BSP: Charles Griffin 7-hitter)
Boston 7, Paterson 4 (BSP: 3 runs in 12th)

Kansas City 4, Wilmington 3 (KCC: Charley Jones go-ahead single in 12th)
Kansas City 3, Wilmington 1 (KCC: Tom Lovett 5-hitter, 0 ER)


Kansas City 12, Boston 5 (KCC: Bill Boyd HR, 6 RBI)
Boston 4, Kansas City 3 (BSP: Duke Farrell two-run HR in 7th)
Kansas City 3, Boston 2 (KCC: Dave Foutz 8-hitter; 2 hits, 1 run)
Kansas City 3, Boston 1 (KCC: Tom Lovett 7-hitter; hit, run)

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Cup Finals: Go Midwest!
 

With all the excitement in Cincinnati for the Centennial Cup, there were three other midwestern cities battling for Cups in 1889 -- including one with just 14,000 people. After just missing relegation in 1887, the Western club of Keokuk, Iowa soared to fourth place in the AA in '89, then knocked off Toledo and the mighty New York Giants to make their first Cup Final. With Altoona as their opponent, the American Cup took on a small-town feel, but with plenty of crazed fans to provide excitement.

In the first game, Mountain City laid down the Law -- first baseman Law Daniels, that is, as he had three hits and three RBI in a 6-2 win. But the Westerners unleashed their bats in Game 2, storming to an 8-0 lead, keyed by a bases-clearing double by Ed Cogswell. Keokuk won, 11-3, tying the series as it headed to a place no Cup Final had ever been: Iowa.

Seemingly the entire town flooded Perry Park for the third game, and they went home disappointed as Mountain City ripped Westerns starter Jumbo McGinnis for seven markers in the fifth inning -- all unearned, thanks to six Keokuk errors. It looked like Altoona would take Game 4 as well, as starter Charlie Ferguson cruised into the bottom of the eighth with a 2-0 lead. But back came Keokuk as they scored five times, three of the runs coming on Walt Wilmot bases-clearing triple; final score, 5-2, Keokuk, and the series was tied.

The fifth game -- seen by an estimated 18,000 people in a ballpark that officially held less than 10,000 -- was similar to the previous one, with Keokuk needing some runs as they came to bat in the eighth (although it was 2-2, not 2-0). Joseph Stewart broke the tie with a line single scoring Ballplayer Dougherty. ("That's my real name," said Dougherty afterwards. "My daddy wanted a ballplayer, so here I am. The guys just call me Ted.") The Westerns added two more and once again won, 5-2, as the series headed back to Pennsylvania.

In the sixth game, in which Altoona hurler Jim Handiboe was eager to secure his 37th win of the season (including playoffs), Keokuk started George Washington "Jumbo" McGinnis, who may or may not been unable to tell a lie, but he certainly chopped down the Mountain Citys for seven innings, as the game stood at one run apiece. In the eighth, Keokuk struck for four straight singles (including one from ol' Jumbo) and took a 4-1 lead. Elmer Cleveland finished off the Altoonas in the ninth with a run-scoring single, his third RBI of the day, and tiny Keokuk had won the game, 5-1, and the American Cup!

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Meanwhile, the battle for the Union Cup had even more of a Wild West flavour, with two teams that had claimed the Cup previously: the Detroit Wolverines and the Kansas City Cowboys. The first game, at Brady and Brush streets in Detroit, saw the Cowboys hogtie Wolves' starter Toad Ramsey in short order, scoring twelve times in the first five innings in a 13-7 slaughter. Detroit scored seven times in Game 2, as well, but this time the rout was in the other direction as John Healy held KC to five hits in a 7-1 laugher. On to Kansas City!

The Cowboy Bowl is probably the toughest place to play in all of pro ball, with thousands of fans who are jus' plain loco. Chief Zimmer put Kansas City on the warpath in the opening frame with a three-run homer, as Dave Foutz held Detroit to six hits in a 6-2 in and a 2-1 series lead. In the fourth game, Healy tangles with KC's Tom Lovett, and the clubs were even at one after seven. In the eighth, UA batting champion Jimmy Say (.376) smacked an RBI double as the Wolverines won, 3-1, tying the Cup Final at two. Game 5 lived up to its name, as both clubs plated five runs in three innings. But Detroit starter Fleury Sullivan bore down while the Wolves' batters went wild, as Bernie Graham drove in four runs as KC fell, 11-5.

The sixth game in Detroit, Wolves pitcher Toad Ramsey stepped up and slammed a two-run double to give himself a 2-0 lead, a lead that was cut in half by Bill Boyd's RBI single in the fifth. But that was all the Cowboys would get, as Ramsey tossed a seven-hitter in a 4-1 Wolverines win, claiming the Union Cup.

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1889: Battle of the river cities
 

The 1889 Centennial Cup Final pit two river cities against each other: the Cincinnati Red Stockings on the Ohio, and the St. Paul Saints on the Mississippi, just across from Minneapolis. The Reds were legendary, but the Saints didn't even exist until the Union Association was formed in 1884 -- and finished next-to-last. But with stars like Ross Barnes, Jim Donnelly and George Van Haltren, the Saints quickly ascended through the ranks, finishing second in the UA in '87 and second in the AA in '88, earning promotion to the National Association, where they ended up in third, then knocked off Tri Mountain and Fort Wayne to qualify for their first Cup Final.

Cincinnati's reaction to the Saints was predictable: "They're a bunch of rubes, and the Reds will take them apart," said one reporter. And in the first two games at the Palace of the Fans, that was what happened: rookie batting champ Tommy Tucker drove in three runs in an easy 7-3 win in Game 1, while George Gore socked a three-run blast in the very first inning en route to a 10-2 laugher.

The very first Cup Final game in Minnesota went differently, though. The great Van Haltren held Cincy to six hits, while Tom Sexton had three hits including a double as St. Paul pulled one back, 4-2, giving Saints fans a glimmer of hope.

But, alas, it was only a glimmer, even after St. Paul took a 6-5 lead into the ninth inning of the fourth game. The Red Stockings' ageless Bill Atwater led off the inning with a single, scoring the tying run on Scott Stratton's two-run double that put Cincy ahead for good. Atwater got the win, his 31st of the season (including two in the playoffs) and the 448th in his illustrious career (including 15 in Cup play). But St. Paul refused to give up: in another slugfest, the Saints took an 8-4 lead into the ninth inning of Game 5. But the Reds lashed back again, with two-run doubles by Dan Brouthers and pinch-hitter Ed Whiting tying the game at eight. Finally, in the top of the twelfth, Tucker smashed a triple, and scored the go-ahead run on Bob Black's single. Little-used reliever Ren Deagle set the Saints down in order in the bottom of the inning, and the Red Stockings had claimed their sixth Centennial Cup!

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Award winners: Roger that
 

In the race for the Creighton MVP Award, Fort Wayne's Roger Connor edged out George Gore of the Cup-winning Red Stockings...

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...while Hugh O'Neil of the second-place Atrlantic club won Pitcher of the Year.

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In the American, Emil Gross (and his 38 home runs) won MVP honours, while Altoona's Jim Handiboe was awarded PoY.

Philadelphia's Joe Visner nabbed the Union Association MVP award, while Elton "Ice Box" Chamberlain took hurler honours.

Moving up, moving down in 1890
 

Relegated from NA to AA: Elizabeth, Worcester and Brooklyn Eckfords

Promoted from AA to NA: Altoona, NY Giants and Toledo

Relegated from AA to UA: Jersey City, Buffalo and Philly Centennials

Promoted from UA to AA: Detroit Wolverines, Paterson and Wilmington

...at least, that was the way it was supposed to be. The Keokuk Westerns were apparently under the impression that, despite the club's fourth-place finish, their American Cup victory would automatically punch their ticket to the top-tier National Association in 1890. Baseball's brain trust, not wanting yet another bout of promotion and relegation drama, firmly turned Keokuk down -- especially since they were not exactly thrilled about the idea of adding a town of 14,000 to their ranks in the first place. The club promptly ordered a change of venue: from the ballfield to the courtroom -- and even got the Iowa Supreme Court to agree with them.

A young lawyer from Nebraska, William Jennings Bryan, argued the case in front of the federal Supreme Court. "The National Baseball Agreement clearly states that 'the top three teams shall advance to the National Association the following season'. Justices, the Western club proved their supremacy by winning the Cup! How could not be among 'the top three'?" Chief Justice Melville Fuller was unmoved, however, and the Court split, 5-4, against forcing the NA to admit Keokuk.

Once again, a new rule would be needed: from now on, the top two from the American and Union Associations would be promoted, and if the Cup winner was not among the top three, they would take on the third-place team for the other promotion spot in a winner-takes-all playoff. The ruling was too late for Keokuk, but the Western club remained defiant: "Just wait 'til next year...!"

The Players (Don't) Revolt!