The sun., 1919-09-28
OCTOBER CLASSIC,t
Is TWENTY-FIVE
For Thirty-five Years Bal
Honors Have Been De
ed in the Fall.
FIRST SERIES IN 1884
Providence Grays Cleaned I'm
the Metropolitans in
That Year.
Copyright. 1919, all right. reservcd.

The coming worlds series between ,bo
Reds and the White Sox will be the
twenty-elghth played for the premier
honors OF baseball, though these series
have been stretched over period OF
thirty-flve years. Many OF the 40
called worlds series of the days before
the American League were merely po,t-
season series between the National
League pennant winners and the team
which finished in second place Such
series were known as the Temple Gun
series. Frequently the team in second
place won the series. This brought
about the freak state of affairs by which
the second place team gained the worlds
title.
Then there were lapses in the worlds
series due TO baseball politics. One OF
these iapses occurred in 1904, when the
Giants, taking an arbitrary stand de-
clined to play the Boston Red Sox, de-
spite the fact that the Boston club had
won the worlds series in 1903.
The first worlds series was played in
1884, when the Providence Grays. cham
pions of the National League. cleaned
up the Metropolitans Of New York,
champions of the American Association,
In the only three games played. George
Wright was manager Of the Providence
team, and had for his leading pitcher
the famous Radbourne. Arthur Irwin,
for years scout Of the Yankees, and last
year manager of the Rochester Interna-
tionals, was shortstop for the first
worlds champions.
The champions OF the National League
and the American Association then
played some interesting post-seaSon Sc
ries. The first team to win a series from
the National League was the St Louis
Browns Of 1886. managed by Charley
Comiskey, now president of the Chicago
White SoX Strangely enough Comlskey
defeated the team representing the city
where he is now the leading baseball
character-Chicago. The Browns bea.
the old Chicago White Stockings lto2
The Giants, champions of 1888 and
1889, won both their worlds series from
their American Association rivals h
1888 the Giants defeated Comlskeys 81
Louis Browns, ten games to four, and
in 1899 the Giants defeated the Brooklyn
Association champs six games to three
The combination of the National
League and American Association In
1891 ended these series. but In 1892 The
National League tried n double serIa
In the playofr Boston, winner In the sec.
of the first half. IN five straight games
From 1894 to 1897 inclusive the Tenn
pie cup series was the fad. and in three
out Of four series the team finishing
SECOND won the cup.
The baseball war between the Ma
tlonal and American leagues prevented
Il series until 1908, when the Boston
Americans defeated Plttsburg Ave glmes
to three. In series which was TO be for
the best out of nine.
There was no series in 1904. but the
National Commission took charge Of the
games in 1906, and they have grown in
the Wilderness of their scope ever since
Ten States have floated the champion
ship banner Once II crossed the Missis-
sippi, the St. Louis Browns having dis
posed of all opposition in 1886. That
was the last chance OF any st. Louis en-
try. Eleven cities have been decorated
by the pennant-Providence Chicago, St
Louis. Detroit, New York, Louisville
Boston, Cleveland. Baltimore. PttsburG
and Philadelphia. The following table
traces. the flight of the flag from season
to season: