History
In 1884, Metropolitans manager Jim Mutrie issued a challenge to his NL counterpart, Frank Bancroft of the Grays. Mutrie's challenge was for a best-of-three series. Each team would put up a thousand dollars with the winner taking all.
This pre-modern-era World Series would feature a pitching match-up of future Hall of Famers and 300-game winners Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn and Tim Keefe. That was the year Radbourn won his season-record 59 games (some sources say 60) for the Grays. Keefe was a "mere" 37–17. Playing under American Association rules, Radbourn and the Grays defeated the New York team in the first two games, 6–0 and 3–1.
Only the first game went the full nine innings; the others were called after seven and six, because of darkness and extreme cold, respectively. The third game arguably should never have been played as the format was best-of-three, and Providence clinched in two. It was played with the hope of generating further revenue.
The crowd for the third game comprised only 300 people due to bitter cold. The Grays did not want to play due to the weather but were given the option of choosing the umpire if they would play. The Grays accepted and strategically chose Keefe, the Mets best pitcher. Radbourn, pitching his third complete game in three days, led the Grays to a 12–2 rout. For the series, Radbourn allowed 11 hits and no earned runs in 22 innings.
Local newspaper The New York Clipper called the series "The Championship of the United States." Several newspapers such as The Sporting Life penned the Grays as "World Champions", and the new title stuck.
The total attendance for the three games was 3,800. Despite the low attendance, the two leagues continued the series, and attendance and prize money increased each of the next two years.
The World Series of 1884
Providence Grays (NL) (84–28) vs New York Metropolitans (AA) (75–32)
Charles Gardner Radbourn, nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881–1885), Boston (1886–1889), Boston (1890), and Cincinnati (1891).
The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from 1878 until 1885. The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National League title twice, in 1879 and 1884. Following the 1884 season, they won the first World Series over the New York Metropolitans of the American Association. The team folded after the 1885 season.
Timothy John Keefe, nicknamed "Smiling Tim" and "Sir Timothy", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg). He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and posted impressive statistics in one category or another for almost every season he pitched. He was the second MLB pitcher to record 300 wins. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.
The Metropolitan Club was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1882 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1885 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1884 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1883 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1881 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1880 throughout the world.
Charles Joseph Sweeney was an American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1883 through 1887. He played for the Providence Grays, St. Louis Maroons, and Cleveland Blues, and is best known for his performance in 1884, when he won 41 games.
George Edward "Stump" Weidman was an American professional baseball player from 1880 to 1893. He played nine years in Major League Baseball, principally as a pitcher and outfielder, for five different major league clubs. He appeared in 379 major league games, 279 as a pitcher and 122 as an outfielder, and his longest stretches were with the Detroit Wolverines and the Kansas City Cowboys.
James J. Mutrie was an American baseball pioneer who was the co-founder and first manager of both the original New York Metropolitans and the New York Giants. He had a winning percentage of .611, the highest for the 19th century for managers. It remains the third highest by any major league manager with at least 600 wins, trailing only Joe McCarthy's mark of .615 and Dave Roberts.
Joseph H. "Cyclone" Miller was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He played just two seasons in the majors, but did play with four teams in three leagues. He stood at 5'9".
The Providence Grays went 84–28 during the 1884 season to win the National League championship. The team started out with two main pitchers, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn and Charlie Sweeney. After Sweeney jumped to the Union Association in mid-season, Radbourn pitched most of the Grays' remaining games and led the team to the pennant. Radbourn won 60 games by himself, setting a Major League Baseball record that has never been broken.
The 1884 New York Metropolitans finished with a 75–32 record, first place in the American Association. After the season, they played the National League champion Providence Grays in the 1884 World Series and lost three games to zero.
The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball franchise based in Providence, Rhode Island from 1878 to 1885. During the team's eight seasons in the National League (NL), which then comprised eight teams, they finished third place or higher in the final standings seven times, and won the league championship in both 1879 and 1884. Providence played their home games at the Messer Street Grounds, which was located in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. The Grays were officially organized on January 16, 1878 by Benjamin Douglas, who became the team's general manager. Henry Root was hired as the team president‚ and Tom Carey was initially hired to be the on-field captain, whose duties were similar to the modern-day manager. On January 21, 1878, Providence applied for membership in the NL, and was officially approved on February 6. On April 10, Root took over ownership of the team, fired Douglas for incompetence and insubordination, and hired Tom York to replace Carey as captain.
The New York Giants were a Major League Baseball team in the National League that began play in the 1883 season as the New York Gothams and became known as the Giants in 1885. They continued as the New York Giants until the team moved to San Francisco, California after the 1957 season, where the team continues its history as the San Francisco Giants. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the Brooklyn Dodgers, also in the National League, moved to Los Angeles in southern California as the Los Angeles Dodgers, continuing the National League, same-state rivalry.
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