On Opening Day in Cleveland, a sellout crowd cheered wildly for their new manager, the one and only Jim Creighton. As the game (eventually won by Tri Mountain of Boston, 6-2) wore on, the crowd got progressively quieter -- knowing that the club was missing its better hitter
and its best pitcher.
As it happened, Forest City never quite got on track in '86, struggling near the .500 mark all season. They won nine of their last ten to make a run for a Cup playoff spot, but in the end they had to settle for sixth place -- the first time CFC would not play for the Centennial Cup since the trophy's founding in 1875.
Meanwhile, the Red Stockings made it six pennants in a row by holding off Newark; Dave Orr socked an NA record 29 homers, but it wasn't enough to give Baltimore a winning record; and the other former AA clubs also were in the bottom half of the standings, with Middletown barely missing a return trip to the AA.
In the American, the National club copped the pennant and will join their capital brethren, the Olympic club in the NA in '87; Indianapolis edged out Providence on the last day of the season to make the Cup playoffs; and the Philly Centennials finished a disatrous 18th and were outdrawn by not just Athletic, but also by the brand-new Phillies club of the UA!
In Chicago, the Colts raced to the Union pennant, with the first-year Phillies also finishing in the money; Paul Hines and Amos Cross led tiny Altoona to a Cup playoff spot; and there was a stolen base boom leaguewide, as Chicago's Ed Andrews nabbed a pro record 130 bags.
