When young millionaire Henry Lucas formed the St. Louis Maroons -- and the league in which they would play, the Union Association -- in 1884, he imagined his team would bring glory to the Mound City. But the club has failed to win a pennant or a Cup, although they were promoted to the AA in 1889 and their second-place finish this season guarantees them a spot in the National in 1894. Still, playoff success is what Lucas and the Maroons craved -- and after losing the playoff opener to Indianapolis, 3-2, they were one loss away from elimination. But back to back wins at Lucas Park, 6-3 and 9-1, put them through to the semifinals.
The Maroons met the Providence Grays, who brushed aside the Nationals in two straight. The first four games of the best-of-five were split, with both teams taking a contest home and away, setting up a decisive Game 5 in St. Louis. Leading 5-3, the Maroons seemingly broke open the contest with a five-run seventh, aided by Charles Fisher's bases-clearing triple. But the Grays weren't done: they stormed back with four in the top of the eighth. Providence could get no closer, though, and St. Louis headed to the American Cup Final with a 10-7 triumph.
When Lowell, Mass. started playing "the Massachusetts Game" in the 1860s, the local teams were often given the nickname "Chippies", after businesses involved in "chipping" wood or stone. The Chippies turned pro and joined the Union in 1887, and made their second Cup appearance in 1893 -- but it wasn't easy. The Chips were down (sorry) late in the season, but a five-game winning streak forced a fifth-place tie with Paterson and a one-game playoff, won by Lowell, 6-3, rebounding from a first-inning three-run deficit.
In the Union Cup quarterfinals, the Chippies stunned Kansas City in two straight contests at the Cowboy Bowl, 6-2 and 8-5, while the Buffalo Upstatesmen topped the Reading Actives two in a row: 4-2 in the opener and by an incredible 21-11 count in Game 2, as every Buffalo starter drove in or scored at least a pair of runs.
In the semifinals, Buffalo was confident that they would reach their first Cup Final, but Lowell had other ideas as they took the opener at Chippie Field, 10-4, as Barney McLaughlin had three hits and four RBI. The Upstatesmen looked to even the series in Game 2, taking a 2-1 lead into the seventh behind hurler Dave Williams, but the Chips went ahead on Irv Ray's seeing-eye, two-run single; Lowell held on to win, 3-2. In the third game, the U-Men scored in the opening frame off Lowell's Sadie McMahon, but that was all they could get as McLaughlin had a trio of safeties, including a triple, as Lowell swept the series with a 7-1 victory.
