The Original World Series Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cincinnati Red Stockings

In the first season of the American Association, the standings were led by the Cincinnati Red Stockings with a record of 55-25, 13 games ahead of the second place Louisville Eclipse. The team played its home games at Bank Street Grounds in Cincinnati for the 1882 and 1883 seasons. In 1890, the Red Stockings would make the jump to the National League and in the 20th century became known as the Reds.

Over in the national League, the Chicago White Stockings would win the pennant with a record of 55-29, three games over the second place Providence Grays. The team played its home games at Union Base-Ball Grounds (also called Lake-Shore Park) from 1878 to 1884. The White Stockings stayed in Chicago and by the 20th century were known as the Chicago Cubs.

While there was no formal World Series, the two teams did meet in a pair of exhibition games. In the first (October 6), the Red Stockings won 4-0. The next day, the White Stockings would win the rematch 2-0. Interestingly, pressure from the newer American Association forced Cincinnati to not continue further. (There had been a number of exhibition games between the two leagues during the season.)

Answer: Philadelphia Athletics

In 1883, the Philadelphia Athletics (66-32) would win the AA Pennant by a single game over the second place St. Louis Browns. From 1883 to 1890, the team played its home games at Jefferson Street Grounds, which had a seating capacity of about 5,000. The Athletics would collapse and fold by the end of the 1890 seasons. The Philadelphia Athletics of the 20th century were a separate franchise.

With a record of 66-32, the Boston Beaneaters led the second place Chicago White Stockings by four games in the National League. The team played its home games at the South End Grounds from 1871 to 1887. (The replacement facility at the same site sat about 6,800 in 18888.) Dating back to 1871 when it was known as the Boston Red Stockings, the franchise is the oldest active one in Major League Baseball. By the end of the 20th century, the franchise was known as the Atlanta Braves.

There was a planned exhibition series for 1883 but it ultimately was cancelled. Who knows what might have been?

Answer: New York Metropolitans

The New York Metropolitans (75-32) won the Pennant in an American Association that had expanded to 13 teams, leading the Columbus Buckeyes by six games. The New York team began as an independent team in 1880 and joined the AA in 1883 and would continue until 1887 before folding. The team played some of its home games at Metropolitan Park (located in East Harlem) during the 1884 season only. The team's regular home was the original Polo Grounds

The Providence Grays (84-28) won the National League Pennant by 11 games over the Boston Beaneaters. The team played its home games at Messer Street Grounds, with a capacity of approximately 6,000, during its entire tenure in the National League (1878-1885). The Providence Grays had actually won a previous pennant in 1879.

For the first time, champions of the League and the Association would meet in a true championship series. The Polo Grounds were the site of the full best of three series. Providence would win the series three games to zero. (Some believe that the third game was played solely as a way to increase gate revenue. The three games were held on October 23 (6-0), October 24 (3-1 in 7 innings), and October 25 (12-2 in 6 innings). The second game was called because of darkness and the third game was called because of extreme cold.

Answer: St. Louis Browns

The 1885 St. Louis Browns (79-33) would take the AA Pennant by 16 games over the second place Cincinnati Red Stockings. St. Louis had begun play in the AA in 1882 as the Brown Stockings but changed its name to Browns in the following year. The Browns played their home games at Sportsman Park from 1882 to 1893.

The Chicago White Stockings (87-25) returned to the top of the standings, surpassing the second place New York Giants by two games. The team had a new home--West Side Park--where it hosted home games from 1885 to 1891. The park's capacity was approximately 10,000.

Standing out compared to the modern post-season, the 1885 World Series ended in a 3-3-1 tie. Game 1, the only one played in Chicago, was played on October 14 and ended in a 5-5 tie when the game was called after eight innings due to darkness. In Game 2 (October 15), the umpire decided that St. Louis forfeited the game after the team left the field to protest a controversial call made by the umpire. (At the time, Chicago was winning 5-4 in the 6th inning.) Games 2, 3, and 4, were held in St. Louis. St. Louis won Game 3 (October 16) and Game 4 (October 17), by scores of 7-4 and 3-2.

Game 5 (October 22) was held in Pittsburgh and Chicago was leading 9-2 when the game was called after seven innings because of darkness. Games 6 (October 23) was played in Cincinnati where Chicago won 9-2. Game 7 (October 24, also in Cincinnati) was won by St. Louis 13-4.

Answer: St. Louis Browns

The St. Louis browns (93-46) won their second consecutive AA pennant, leading the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (later the Pittsburgh Pirates) by 13 games. The team was still playing its games at Sportsman's Park. Manager Charlie Comiskey would later become the owners of the American League's Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Stockings (90-34) led the Detroit Wolverines in the National League Standings by three games. The White Stockings still played their home games at West Side Park. Manager Cap Anson led the team with ten home runs and a .371 batting average.

This six-game series proved to be the one clear triumph by an American Association team in a 19th century World Series. Chicago took Game 1 (October 18) in a 6=0 shutout. St. Louis returned the favor in Game 2 (October 19) with a 12-0 shutout. Chicago took Game 3 (October 20) with a score of 11-4. After the first three games, the site switched form Chicago to St. Louis. The next three games (October 21-23) were all won by the host, St. Louis (8-5, 10-3, and 4-3). Games 2 through 5 in this St Louis triumph (4-2) were all called for darkness before eight innings were played.

Answer: St. Louis Browns

For the third time, the St. Louis Browns (95-40) led the standings in the American Association. The second place Cincinnati Red STockings followed 14 games behind, but were the only AA team to have a winning record against St. Louis. The Browns still played their home games at Sportsman's Park.

The Detroit Wolverines (79-45) won the National League Pennant by four games over the second-place Philadelphia Quakers (later known as the Phillies). The Wolverines were founded in 1881 and folded after the 1888 season. The team played its home games at Recreation Park.

The 1887 World Series featured a mammoth 15 game schedule. Detroit would win ten of those games to five for St. Louis. In addition to games in St. Louis and Detroit, the series was also played in Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore and Chicago. The series featured two games on the same day (October 21): one in Washington and one in Baltimore.

Answer: St. Louis Browns

The St. Louis Browns (92-43) won its fourth and final consecutive American Association Pennant by four games over the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. As in other pennant-winning years, St. Louis played home games at Sportsman's Park. Pitcher Silver King led the roster with 45 wins for the season.

The New York Giants (84-47) won the National League Pennant by seven wins over the Chicago White Stockings. (The Giants began play as the Gothams in 18883 and changed their name to Giants two years later.) The Giants played its home games at the first iteration of the Polo Grounds (the same location for the New York Metropolitans) from 1883 until 1888. First baseman Roger Connor led the team that season with 14 home runs.

In the 1888 World Series, the Giants won six games to four for the Browns. Games 1 through 5 (October 16-20) were played in New York. Game 6 (October 22) was played in Philadelphia--the last neutral site World Series game until 2020. Games 7 through 10 (October 24-27) were played in St. Louis. Game 5 had the largest official attendance with 9,124.

Answer: Brooklyn Bridegrooms

The St. Louis Browns finished the season three games behind the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (93-44) in the AA. The Bridegrooms began play in 1883 as an independent team named the Grays. They moved to the American Association in 1884 as the Atlantics and adopted the name Bridegrooms in 1888. After the 1889 season, the Bridegrooms would jump to the National League. The team played its home games at Washington Park from 1883 until 1890.

The New York Giants (83-43) repeated as the winner of the National League Pennant, leading the Boston Beaneaters by a small margin. Roger Connor and Mike Tierman each had double digit home runs that season. Mickey Welch and Tim Keefe were each won over 25 games for the team as pitchers. The Giants moved from New York to San Francisco after the 1957 season.

Retroactively the game could be considered the first example of a "subway series", with all of the games taking place in what after 1898 would be New York City. The Giants won the series six games to three. The series featured an 11-inning game (6), and five games (1, 4-5, 7-8) where at least one team scored 10 runs. Despite a strong start, cold and rainy weather left many of the games thinly attended.

Answer: Louisville Colonels

The Louisville Colonels (88-44) won the only pennant of its existence, leading the second place Columbus Solons by nine games in the AA. The team began as the Louisville Eclipse in 1882 and changed its name to the Colonels in 1885. When the American Association folded after the 1891 season, the Colonels moved to the National League when it played until the 1899 season and then folded. The team played its Eclipse Park from 1882 until 1893

The Brooklyn Bridegrooms (86-43) won the National League Pennant in their first season in the league, leading the second place Chicago Colts (later Cubs) by three games. The Bridegrooms have the distinction of winning back to back pennants (each in a different league). The Bridegrooms were first known as the Dodgers in the 1913 season and would make a permanent switch by 1932. The team would move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.

The 1890 World Series, like the 1885 World Series, ended in a 3-3-1 tie. The first four games of the series were played in Brooklyn with the third being a tie and Louisville winning the fourth. The final three games were played in Louisville with Brooklyn only winning the fifth game. There were plans to have a culminating final game the next spring but relations between the Association and the League broke down over the winter.

Answer: Boston Reds

The Boston Reds (93-42) won the AA pennant by eight games over the St. Louis Browns. The Boston Reds began play in 1890 in the Players' League (a rival third league) and moved to the American Association after the Players' League folded. With the Reds winning the 1890 Players' League Pennant and the 1891 American Association Pennant, the Reds repeated what the Bridegrooms had previously done. The Reds played their home games in both seasons at Congress Street Grounds and folded after the 1891 season. When the National League and American Association merged after the 1891 season, the Reds were not one of the teams invited to join.

The Boston Beaneaters (87-51) finished the season with five more wins than the second place Chicago Colts. The team played its home games at the second version of the South End Grounds from 1888 until 1894. The seating capacity of the park was about 6,800. The team won the pennant by finishing strong, winning 25 of their 29 final games.

There was no World Series this season. The Boston Beaneaters were instructed by the National League not to play the Reds in a post-season series as a posturing strategy in service of a merger of the two leagues. This is unfortunate as it would have been the second (or first, depending on your interpretation) "subway series" in baseball history and the first outside of New York City.