Evening star., 1935-10-09
SPoR7ScopE
Detroit's Delirious Joy
Something Not Soon
to Be Forgotten.
BY FRANCIS e. STAN.

EUE Is LeVlIlSky cranklng up
- his Sunday punch. Maryland
awaiting the North Carolina
- game, Gallagher facing the
perennial crossroads of his career"
and Catholic U. climbing to grid
heights but, somehow, it's hard to
forget Detroit so quickly.
I don't mean that 1885 world
series will live forever as a competitive
test. Next year somebody else, maybe
Jake Powell, will break up the classic
with single in the pinch and Goose
Goslin may be just guy on the
waiver list. Base ball fans will have
to think vice to recall how many
games the 1886 series lasted.
But probably never again in
diamond history will be re-
corded the sheer ecstacy and
fanaticism that followed the
Tigers triumph. Several mil
lion Detroiters. seemingly. had
just won the big prize in the
grand national lottery. 1t was
an almost unbelievable demon-
stration OF JOY.
Mickey's Tigers Just Copy Cats.
TT WAS one of the greatest tributes
= of all time to the national pastime
1t was an encouraging commentary
on the American public. to be able to
wrap itself up so in play.
What did 1t matter to Detroiters II
the street cars they were pushing of
the tracks couldn't run and carry
them to work the next day? They'd
walk, or take a taxi. or not 90 to work
at all What difference did 1t make?
The Tigers won.
The Motor City accepted the
triumph as Detroit's first world
championship. but, now that
the celebrants all have hang
overs and souvenir sprouts Of
grass from Navin Fields infield,
1t can be disclosed. with fear Of
creating disillusionment, that
they are wrong.
Mickey Cochrane's Bengals of 1885
are the second world champions in
Detroit's history. BY way Of proving
how absent-minded are the natives Of
the old fur trading post, Detroit won
its first title in 1887.
81 Series Covered Ground.
YEP, nearly so years ago a Tiger
team, then playing in the National
League, defeated the st. Louis Browns
of the American Association, which
was big league at the time. The
score was 10 games to S.
The 1887 series hardly resembled
the classics Of modern times. 1t went
Is games and was played In nine diff
ferent cities.
After opening in st. Louis,
where two games were played.
the Tigers and Browns moved
to Detroit for a single game and
then played one or more tits in
Pittsburgh, Washington, Brook.
lyn, New York, Philadelphia,
Boston, Baltimore and Chicago.
Detroit clinched the title in the
first II games, of which the Tigers
won eight, but the clubs kept playing
anyway. Two of the games were
played as double-header, a morning
game being staged in Washington on
October 81 and an afternoon game be-
ing held in Baltimore. The Browns
won here and the Tigers triumphed
in Baltimore.
Paid a Batboy's Cut"
I IKE the 1885 series. the classic of
nearly five decades ago was huge
financial success. More than $50,000
was crossed for the IS games, which
is little more than one-third of the
gate" for Mondays sixth and final
game between the current Bengafs
and the Cubs.
The club owners moaned over
the big salaries they had to pay
the athletes when each Of the
players was handed $500 as his
share of the receipts. This years
series netted each Of the Tigers
well over $4,000.
The Detroiters Of 81 we're q ter
rife hitting club which had a team
batting average of 347 and 10 men,
bers hitting well over 800. The
pitchers stood only so feet from the
plate in those days.
Rowe, White Starred Then.
nESPITE the distant relationship
between the two series. however,
there are two parallels The 1887
band. like the current Bengal team,
had a Rowe and White in the reg
ular lineup, the Rowe playing short
stop and the White holding forth at
third base.
Also. like the 1885 edition, the
old Detroit team lost the first
game of the series and then
won the next three in q row
before losing again.
1t Is not likely that ticker tape and
confetti covered the streets like snow
within an hour after the title was won,
or that thousands Of automobile horns
were blown for hours, or that the be-
whiskered fans worshiped the ground
the victorious athletes walked upon.
Otherwise, the world champions OF
1887 would be better remembered.
You can bet the same forgetfulness
never will be evidenced again in De-
troit. As the years roll by, whenever
celebrations are compared, Detroits
Of 1885 always will live in the memory
OF those who saw or took part in the
idolatry of bald-headed Goose Goslin,
skinny Tommy Bridges and weeping
Mickey Cochrane.