The seventh game of the 1883 Centennial Cup Final was held in front of a packed house at the Palace of the Fans, and the Red Stockings put up runs in the first and third innings off Forest City starter Joe Blong. Cleveland finally broke through in the ninth with RBI hits by Frank Selman (double) and Tom Barlow (triple), then went ahead 4-2 in the sixth on Harry Stovey's two-run blast.
But Blong began to tire in the bottom of the sixth, allowing three runs to put Cincy back on top. Then in the seventh, speedy George Gore singled, raced to second on a bobble in the outfield, took third on a groundout, then made it 6-4 on Charley Mills' single. Creighton finally entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth, but grounded out and then headed to his semi-regular spot in left field.
Forest City would not give up; in the ninth, Stovey and Selman each slammed triples, then Selman came home on a passed ball to knot the game at six. Reds fans held their breaths, wondering if Big Jim would come in to pitch the ninth; instead Blong took his place on the mound...and promptly walked Sam Lake on four pitches. Gore grounded to third and Lake was put out at second. Up came Dan Brouthers, who grounded to Selman, but the second baseman failed to come up with it, putting runners at first and second.
If Jim Creighton's perfect game just a few days earlier was a stunner, what happened next was perhaps even more so. Mills met a 2-1 pitch from Blong and sent it out to left field. Gore rounded third, trying to score the Cup-winning run. Creighton reached for the ball, ready to toss it homeward with his legendary arm, and..it skipped through his legs. Gore (unnecessarily) slid into home plate, then was mobbed by his teammates and several thousands fans at the Palace. The Red Stockings legend had been extended, with their third Centennial Cup and second in a row.
And Jim Creighton? He became a ghost, slipping away from the ballpark and back to his home in Brooklyn, talking to no one.
