In their six years in the American Association, the Indianapolis Hoosiers had made the Cup playoffs only once, in 1881, and had tumbled to 19th of 20 clubs in 1885. In '86, Indy improved to their best record to 68-52 and qualified for the Cup playoffs with a win on the last day of the season -- and then upset Worcester and Syracuse to qualify for their first American Cup Final.
Their opponent would be the National club of Washington, DC, clinching their first pennant and earning their eighth Cup playoff spot. Many predicted a four-game sweep...and they were right.
The Nats never had a chance, shut out by John Ward in the opener at National Park, 4-0, then were crushed, 7-3, in Game 2, thanks to Thomas Tinney's four hits and four RBI. Back in Indiana, though, Washington looked like they were getting back into things as Pretzels Getzein shut out the Hoosiers through eight innings and clung to a 1-0 lead. But Indy got two runners on, and -- boom! -- Ed Crane hit a three-run homer for a 3-1 win and a 3-0 lead. In Game 4, the Hoosiers jumped to a 6-0 lead, lost it, then won the Cup, 7-6, on Bill Kienzle's game-winning hit.
