1871 re-imagined

[RMc]

The Atlantic club of Brooklyn was all even atop the AA table with the perennial champions from Newark with three games to go: all of them in Newark. But Atlantic swept Eureka and grabbed the American pennant:



In the quarterfinals, Elizabeth hurler George Knight held Baltimore to five hits in a 4-2 win, while Newark's Pidgey Morgan drove in five runs in a 10-1 rout over National. In the semifinal, Newark spotted Resolute a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before roaring back with three runs in the bottom of the frame, thanks to three hits, three errors and two passed balls. Then Pud Galvin went to work, holding Elizabeth to just one more run on four hits to put Eureka back in the American Cup Final, 3-2.



The American Cup Final, played before a full house at Centennial Park in Philadelphia, was settled quickly as Brooklyn scored six times off Eureka's Joe Blong -- in just the first three innings. Blong did not belong for long, as Atlantic banged out 14 hits in a 9-4 win to seize the Cup.

[RMc]

Here's a hint: probably not.



Jim Creighton continues to be the greatest hurler in history, with another 29 wins, while batting a surreal .459 (264 OPS+), albeit in only half a season's at-bats.

The Centennial Cup playoffs have been expanded, but the Quarterfinals remain a one-game concern. First, the Red Stockings' Bill Atwater scattered nine hits as they eliminated Athletic, 6-1. Meanwhile, the Tri Mountains played a wild one in Rockford, scoring seven times before Forest City could even come to bat. Rockford wouldn't give up, though, as Bill Boyd drove in five runs as RFC cut the lead to 11-10 after six innings. But Boston would not be denied, putting up six more runs to win the highest-scoring game in Cup history, 17-10.

Next up was the Semifinals, which is now a best-of-three, with all contests in Cincinnati. Boston started the first game out right with four runs in the first two innings, but that was all they would get as Charley Mills' two-run double in the eighth would give the Red Stockings a 5-4 win. In the second game, in front of an overflow crowd at the Palace of the Fans, Tri Mountain would again take a quick lead with a run in the top of the first. But Cincy hurler Bill Atwater bore down both on the mound at the plate, lashing a double to give the Red Stox a 2-1 lead in the second. Boston threatened in the ninth, but the Reds held on to win, 3-2, and qualify for the Cup Finals.

[RMc]

The two base ball centers of the state of Ohio lie 250 miles apart, or the better part of a day's journey by carriage. This bothered the crazed "cranks" of the Red Stocking and Forest City clubs not at all, as they gleefully "hit the road" to watch the three (or four, or five) games of the 1879 Centennial Cup Final.

The first game was nearly a long day's journey into night. Jim Creighton and Cincinnati's Hugh Campbell matched pitches for eleven innings, each allowing only a single tally. But it began to get dark at the Palace of the Fans, and the umpires were ready to call it a day. "Just one more inning!" the fans implored, and they got their wish...boy did they ever!

With two out and two on in the top of the twelfth, who else by Jim Creighton came to bat, smashing a double to give Forest City a 3-1 lead. Then came the bottom of the frame, and all Creighton needed to do was the one thing he did even better than batting -- pitching, of course!

But in the last of twelfth, everything came apart for Cleveland. First, Charley Jones dropped an easy fly ball to left field -- ironically, Creighton's position on the field when he isn't pitching -- followed by back-to-back-to-back singles cutting the lead to 3-2. A towering fly to center by Campbell evened the score at three. Light-hitting (.219) John McKelvey came to bat and managed to squirt a ground ball past third base, sending Cal McVey rounding third. A good throw would've got him at the plate, but alas Jones made his second miscue of the inning, firing the ball well above the catcher's head. The crowd went wild as the Reds has taken the first game. Afterwards, Jones was seen weeping in the locker room, and Big Jim approached, using language far too inappropriate for this account. Jones looked up, and Creighton broke into a big smile, throwing this thousand-dollar arm around his teammate's shoulders. "Don't worry, Cholly," he implored, "We'll get 'em tomorrow!"



Game 2 was the Red Stockings' chance to go two up in the series; an advantage they would need, as the remaining games would be held in Cleveland. Cincy jumped to a 3-0 lead after five, but back came Forest City, led by Paul Hines' two singles and two doubles. Cleveland scored four times in the sixth, piled on three more markers, then held off the Reds in the ninth for 7-5 victory. All even!



If the first two games of the Cup Final were all-out brawls, game 3 was an example of the "sweet science". Both teams scored in the first inning (with both pitchers, Creighton and Campbell delivering RBI singles), making it a 1-1 game. In the third, however, Forest City lead-off man Paul Hines decided to try a different strategy: hitting Campbell's first pitch deep to center, well over George Gore's head. Hines got on his horse and made it all the way around for a home run and 2-1 Cleveland lead. That was all Creighton needed as he hurled a three-hit gem, giving Forest City a 2-1 advantage in the series.



The day of Game 4 dawned bright and sunny, though there some groans when the fans realized that Jim Creighton would not be in the lineup at all, not even in his semi-usual position in the outfield. At first, it looked like Forest City wouldn't need him, as they rolled up five runs in the first three innings off the Reds' Asa Brainard.to take a 5-1 lead. Back came the Red Stockings off Cleveland hurler Tim Buckley, as RBI singles by George Gore and Sam Lake cut the advantage to 5-4. "We want Creighton!" chanted the fans, but the legend stayed firmly on the bench, in case he was needed to pitch a deciding fifth game. In the end, Jim could relax: Paul Hines scored and drove in a run in the late innings to seal a 7-4 win, and the Cleveland Forest City club's fourth Centennial Cup and seventh National Association title.

[RMc]

Oh, go ahead and guess who won the hardware. Go ahead. I dare you.

[RMc]

Are there?

[Lord Byron]

Good start; wonder how the 1880s is going to evolve in this sim...

On a side note, Jim Creighton will go into the Hall of Fame, and probably with 0 votes against his induction...

[RMc]

For years now, the top teams in the American Association -- the Eureka club of Newark and the Atlantic club of Brooklyn -- have claimed they could beat any team in the "senior" National Association. The NA has long been unimpressed with this argument: what "junior league" club could possibly compete with the likes of Forest City (either of them), Olympic or the Red Stockings? Calls for the AA champions to meet the NA's top teams has always fallen on deaf ears.

So...if Newark and Brooklyn couldn't beat the NA, they would join them!



Needless to say, the Americans were shocked and threatened legal action, claiming that the NA was in breach of contract, saying that the Base Ball Agreement forbid either league from "poaching" the other league's players. Nonsense, said the National owners: players, yes, but there was no rule that said entire teams couldn't switch sides!

The AA had already announced a twelve-team schedule, so they had to come up with two more clubs...fast. None of the big independent teams on the east coast (such as Star of Brooklyn or Syracuse BBC) wanted to rock the boat, so the AA had to look farther afield. Finally, the Americans managed to entice the Hoosiers of Indianapolis, and the Western club of...Keokuk.

Keokuk? Yes, indeed. Despite having only 12,000 citizens, they were apparently all base ball-mad, and the Western club was four times champion of Iowa. Having no better options, pro ball had extended to two new states in Indiana and Iowa.

[RMc]

The now-14 team National Association has produced a tight race as we enter the first campaign of the 1880s. No fewer than seven teams are within five games of the top...including the "traitorous" Newark Eurekas!

[RMc]

With the defection of the Newark Eurekas, the Resolut club of Elizabeth had the Garden State all to themselves in the AA, and took the opportunity to dominate the field:



The real surprise were the new teams from Keokuk and Indianapolis, who both finished above .500 (the Western club finished just two games out of a Cup playoff slot) and the once-woeful Centennials, who slipped into a tie for fourth and gave themselves a shot at a trophy!

In the quarterfinals, alas, the Philly C's were knocked out by Baltimore, 8-4, as Marylands pitcher Foghorn Bradley held the Cents to five hits (and drove in two runs himself), while New Haven beat Washington by the same 8-4 count, scoring five times in the fifth, keyed by Gene Kimball's 2 RBI single.

In the semifinal, Elm City jumped out two a 2-0 lead in the second, before Baltimore cut the lead in half on John Keerle's RBI groundout in the third. In the seventh, the Marylands' King Kelly reached on an error, and Pete Gillespie smashed a Dooley McDoolan fastball into the deepest part of the ballpark. The King rounded third and slid, Kelly, slid...safe! game tied!

The game stay tied after nine, and while New Haven threatened in the tenth and eleventh, it was Baltimore's Sam Trott led of the bottom of the 11th with a triple off Dooley McDoolan. Al Metcalf followed with a deep sac fly, and Sam trotted home to put Maryland in the Cup Final.



In the American Cup Final, it looked like the Resolutes would bring the cup back to New Jersey by taking a 6-2 lead after six. In the seventh, Maryland cut the lead to 6-4 as Foghorn Bradley hit and RBI double, then scored on an error. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Metcalf slammed a bases-clearing triple to give Baltimore a 7-6 lead. John O'Rourke got as far as second base in the bottom of the ninth, but Ed Williamson grounded out to give the Cup to Baltimore.

[RMc]

The Forest City club proved they were the cream of the NA crop again in 1880, clinching a spot in the Centennial Cup Final. But the others weren't too far away from Jim Creighton's club. Half the loop finished within nine games of the top, including AA "defector" Newark and the White Stockings (who lost a one-game playoff to Rockford, 6-0).



In the quarterfinals, Jim Devlin pitched eleven innings and slapped a game-winning triple to give Tri Mountain a 5-4 win over Rockford, while the Red Stockings and Athletic battled for eight scoreless innings before Philly scored three times in the final inning, keyed by doubles from Jimmy Buck and George Lines.

The Semifinals were a corker, as well. All three games were played at The Fens in Boston, and Tri Mountain held a 5-2 lead after six in the opener. The A's cut the lead to 5-4 in the seventh, then went out in front on Levi Meyerle's double in the eighth. Athletic held on for a 6-5 win and a 1-0 lead. In Game 2, Harry McCormick was brilliant, holding Philly to seven hits in a masterful 6-0 shutout, with Henry Galliker scoring two runs.

The deciding contest was neither fish nor fowl -- actually, it was Fisler and Fowler, as the Athletic stars proved to be the difference in a 5-4 win. Tri Mountains touched hurler Fowler for a trio of runs in the fifth for a 4-2 lead, but the A's rebounded with two runs in the seventh to knot the contest at 4. In the top of the eighth, Fisler, who had three hits on the day, socked a Jim Devlin pitch over the wall to put Athletics up front, 5-4. Then Bud Fowler went to work, setting Tri Mountain down in order in the eighth and ninth to send the A's to the Cup Final,

[RMc]

When the Athletic Club of Philadelphia defeated Boston in the Centennial Cup semifinal and punched their first-ever ticket to the championship round, few people in the ballpark were happy. Not just because the game was played at The Fens in Boston, but because the Athletics' biggest star was a man born John W. Jackson -- but known to A's fans as Bud Fowler, the first Negro in professional baseball. Many in the unfriendly crowd called Fowler a slew of filthy names that will not be duplicated here; but this reporter noticed a number of "cranks", including some Boston rooters, grudgingly giving Fowler his due. "He's all right, for a darkie," said one unidentified Tri Mountains fan.

Fowler is not a greenhorn; he's won 59 games (including 22 in '80) in his four years on the club, and is said to quite popular with his teammates and the fans who crowd into Centennial Park. He also batted a solid .304 while serving time on both ends of the battery, leading some in Philadelphia to call him "the black Creighton".

Meanwhile, the "white Fowler" and his Forest City teammates travelled to Philadelphia for Game 1 of the Cup Finals. Creighton, of course, started for Cleveland, but found himself trailing 2-1 after six innings after -- who else? -- Bud Fowler knocked an RBI single to give the A's the lead. But Forest City knows how to win big games, and they pulled out a pair of Charlies -- Jones and Hodes -- who drove in two runs apiece as Cleveland won, 5-2.



Fowler was the star in Game 2, holding the high-powered Cleveland lineup to eight hits in a 6-4 win, knotting the series at one apiece. Fowler was aided by twelve A's hits (including two by the pitcher himself) and five costly Forest City errors.



Back in northeast Ohio for the third game, Athletic was in the unenviable spot of having to win twice at Forest City Park. Even more unenviable, they were facing Jim Creighton. But the A's other two-way star, pitcher/left fielder Henry Luff, wasn't intimidated, touching Big Jim for a home run in the second inning. Unfortunately for Philly, Luff was less astute as a pitcher than he was as a hitter, as Cleveland bit back with four runs over the next four innings -- including Creighton's run-scoring single that was one of his four hits on the day. Athletic cut the lead to 5-4 with a pair of markers in the eighth, keyed by Andy Parker's triple. In the ninth, Luff singled, but was stranded as Fowler, Meyerle and Parker were set down in order, giving Cleveland a 2-1 Cup Final lead.



It looked like a fifth and deciding game would be on order, as some sloppy play by Forest City and solid pitching from Fowler gave Philadelphia a 4-1 advantage after four and half. But it all came apart for Athletic in the fifth, as Forest City sent 11 batters to the plate -- six of whom singled and two drew walks. Toss in two errors and two passed balls, and Cleveland suddenly had a 7-4 advantage. Neither team threatened much after that, and Cleveland Forest City had won their fifth Centennial Cup and eighth National Association championship.

[RMc]

It's no shock to discover that Forest City is the team of the NA's first decade:



It's even less of a shock to discover that Big Jim Creighton is base ball's best hitter...and hurler!

[RMc]

It took ten years, but Baltimore finally became the first team outside the New York area to win the American Cup!






A word about Dooley McDoolan: the real McDoolan (first name unknown) pitched exactly one game in his MLB career. On April 14, 1873, McDoolan took the mound for the Maryland club of Baltimore against Washington, allowing only three earned runs...and 21 unearned runs, on 18 hits (and God knows how many errors). The Marylands club played only five more games, losing them all (often by ugly scores as 20-0 and 35-1), and then folded.

I gave McDoolan the whimsical first name of "Dooley", assuming he would fade away as quickly as he did in real life...instead he's become one of the AA's most reliable hurlers, twice leading the league in ERA and forging a 92-90 mark with mostly mediocre New Haven teams. (Ya never know, do ya...?)

[RMc]

The Olympic club made history in 1881 -- not just by leading the pennant race, but by having James A. Garfield attend their opening match in May, making Garfield the first Chief Executive to attend an Association game. On the field, Washington's Jim Britt threatened to take Diamond Jim Creighton's crown as the loop's top pitcher, while Jim Devlin led Tri Mountain on a torrid winning streak.

[RMc]

The Resolute club of Elizabeth, NJ claimed their third AA pennant in '81 with a hard charge at the end, beating out Eckford by six games:



In the Quarterfinals, the Eckfords tangled with the Indianapolis Hoosiers, who were making their first playoff appearance in just their second season in the AA. Leading 7-4 after eight innings, Brooklyn saw their lead disappear in the top of the ninth when Jack Chapman hit a bases-clearing double. But Eckford settled matter in the last of the ninth when Molly Moore (yes, that's a dude) singled home Andy Harris. In the other quarter, "King" Kelly ruled over the Centennials with a two-run double in the ninth, snapping a 2-2 tie and giving Baltimore a 4-2 win. In the semifinal, the Marylands put up single runs in the fourth and fifth, only to see Elizabeth do the same in the sixth and seventh. It remained tied at 2 until the 11th, with Al Metcalf walked, stole second, went to third on a groundout, then came home on a George Flanly single. Hurler Elias Cope set Brooklyn down in the bottom of the inning, and the Marylands were off to the Cup Final.



In the finale, rookie star George Derby, winner of 21 games in the regular campaign, took the hill for the Resolutes -- and quickly wished he had stood in bed. Baltimore scored four runs before Elizabeth could even come to bat, then added six more in the next three stanzas. Pete Gillespie and Sam Trott each drove in four runs in a 11-5 laugher -- allowing the Maryland club to retain the American Cup!

[RMc]

Charging to the end of the 1881 regular season, Cleveland and Washington were all even on the season's final day -- would there be a one-game playoff, like a decade earlier? As it turned out, no: Forest City clobbered Troy, 11-6, but the Olympics were shut out by the "Old Hoss", Chicago's Charley Radbourn, 6-0, so Washington would have to settle for second place...and Cleveland would take their eighth pennant.



The Cup playoffs began in the Nation's capital, as Bud Fowler and the fifth-place Athletics stunned the second-place Olympic club, 5-0. The game was almost over before it began, as Philly notched a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, capped off by Jimmy Buck's two-run triple. Fowler did the rest, shutting out Washington on five hits.

In the other Quarterfinal, the Red Stockings delighted the crowd at the Palace of the Fans by notching four markers in the opening frame on four singles and three errors. Tri Mountain came back with two in the second to cut the lead in half. Cincy did not score again off Jim Devlin, but Bill Atwater bore down, allowing only four hits in a 4-3 victory.

In Game 1 of the Semifinal, the A's spotted the Reds a run in the second before scoring three in the top of the sixth. That was all pitcher Henry Luff would need as Cincy could manage only three safties in a 4-1 defeat. In the second game, the old "Count" himself, Asa Brainard, outdueled Bud Fowler to give the Red Stockings a 4-2 win, tying the series. Cal McVey had three hits and two runs scored. Trailing, 4-0, going into the ninth, the A's threatened by scoring twice and putting batters on second and third, with Bud Fowler at the plate. Alas, Bud popped up, setting up a rubber match the next day. In the deciding game, Athletic jumped on Bill Atwater for a pair of runs in both the first and second innings, then held on to a 6-3 win. Wes Fisler had three hits while young George Weidman, only 20, sacttered nine hits to send Athletic to the Cup Final against -- who else? -- Forest City.

[RMc]

Was the 1881 Centennial Cup Final the greatest yet played? Put it this way: after the season, the NA decided to expand the championship series to a best-of-seven affair, spread over nine days (if need be).

The lid-lifter was familiar to base ball fans throughout the nation: Diamond Jim Creighton starting, and winning, a Cup game: his tenth victory in twelve playoff starts. He had plenty of help: Forest City banged out thirteen hits, three of them from rookie star Pete Browning, which Cleveland had signed just the week before. (The A's also helped out, with eight miscues in the field.) Forest City 1, Athletic 0.



The second game was just the opposite of the first, and gave the Athletic supporters (sorry) some hope. The A's put up eight tallies in the second, sending 12 batters to the plate. Wes Fisler and Jimmy Buck each drove in three runs in the 14-1 slaughter. One notable feature of the Cleveland line-up was who wasn't there: Jim Creighton. The 41-year-old, exhausted from his brilliant performance in the first game, appeared only as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, well after the contest was out of hand.



When they arrived in Cleveland for the third game, Athletic was in the same tight spot as they were in the year before: to lift the Cup, they would need two wins at Forest City Park...and they were facing That Man again in Game 3. Creighton would allow the A's only four hits on the day, but two of them were a triple by Levi Meyerle in the second and a Bud Fowler double in the third, both of which scored runs to put Philly up 2-0. In the sixth, back-to-back-back safties by Jones, Hodes and Sutton cut the lead in half. Forest City threatened afterward, and Creighton himself came up with a man on and a man out in the last of the ninth, but Big Jim grounded to Andy Parker, who triggered a quick 4-6-3 double play to end the game, causing some in the crowd to do the unthinkable: they booed Jim Creighton! Either way, the Athletics had a 2-1 series lead.



The fourth game bounced back and forth: Jimmy Say, a 19-year-old signed at the same time as Browning, slammed a two-run home run to give Cleveland a 3-1 lead, then Philly tied it with two in fourth, only to see Forest City to open a 5-3 advantage in the fifth. The A's cut the lead to 5-4 in the seventh, but Cleveland blew the game open with four runs in the bottom of the frame, keyed by Harry Stovey's two-run triple. They added two more and won going away, 11-4. And Creighton? He came in as a pinch hitter in the second inning, reaching on an error and scoring ahead of Say on the latter's home run.



Forest City fans weren't happy that their team hadn't clinched the series the previous day, but a full house filled Forest City Park for Game 5, confident that the greatest base ball player of all time would lead Cleveland to their sixth Centennial Cup. Except...Jim Creighton wasn't on the hill -- it was John Riley, the club's number-three hurler. Riley was no faker -- he'd won 23 games on the season -- but many in the stands were outraged that Big Jim wasn't pitching, or even playing in the field. It appeared that if CFC wanted the Cup again, they'd have to do it without the great man's arm or bat.

And...they couldn't. Instead, the A's pounded Riley for four runs in the second, another in third, and three more in the fifth, keyed by Wes Fisler's 2 RBI double. By the time Creighton replaced Riley on the mound -- inducing much sarcastic whistling by the crowd -- it was already 9-0, Philadelphia. Creighton managed a single and scored Cleveland's third (and final run) in the ninth, but when Tom Forker grounded out to end the 12-4 Athletic victory, the crowd simply filed out of the ballpark, unable to bear the sight of the Cup being presented to the interlopers.

[RMc]

For the first time in years, there was an actual race for MVP in 1881. Big Jim Creighton actually finished in third place, despite garnering five first-place votes. But the winner was Boston shortstop Sam Woolverton, whose .373 led the circuit. (Note: Woolverton [real first name unknown] was one of the "extra players" I added back in 1871. He played for the Albany Nationals and Lansingburgh Unions from 1866 to 1870, but not in the real National Association.)



Oh, yeah, and Creighton was Pitcher of the Year for the seventh time. (Maybe they should name the award after him or something...?)

[RMc]

Mid-way through the 1882 season, base ball fans were contemplating the impossible: a Centennial Cup playoff without Cleveland Forest City!

OK, let's not panic, Cleveland fans. True, Forest City was only a game over .500 at one point, but now they're even with Boston for the last playoff spot! They won't fail you...will they...?



Meanwhile in the AA, Elizabeth wrapped up their third straight pennant:



In the American Cup quarterfinals, Eckford eliminated the Centennials, 7-4, as Brooklyn banged out 14 hits, including four by Dasher Troy; Meanwhile, Baltimore scored three times in the second inning and held on to a 4-2 win over Providence (who were making their first playoff appearance).

In the semifinal game, Eckford first baseman Mike Powell slapped am RBI single in the seventh to snap a 2-2 tie against the Maryland club, en route to a 4-2 win and a spot in the Cup Final vs. Resolute.



In the Cup Final, Resolute's rookie catch Jackie Hayes had four hits and hurler George Derby was rolling along, allowing just two runs through eight innings, putting Elizabeth three outs away from the American Cup...



...then came the top of the ninth. Ouch.



And Brooklyn claims their third AA title, and the first by the Eckfords!

[szathkey]

Love the premise.

I too also like to start in 1871 and am curious what you did to set this up with those players. Did you extend the excel sheet backward and import? Did you manually add?

If you added pre-1871 stats I'm assuming you used excel to add all these players and would be interested in the actual process of how you set up the world...More importantly, if you would be able to share those resources as a "mod" of sorts.