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Cubs' great September in 1882

The Cubs have a long history of meltdowns in September.

But 140 years ago, they put together a remarkable final month that earned them their third consecutive National League pennant.

They went 16-2, for a winning percentage of .889, their best in any September.

They came very close to matching it once, going .885 (23-3) in 1935. They were .850 (17-3) in 1885 and .808 (21-5) in both 1906 and 1938.

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DOMINATION

In 1882, the Cubs were known as the White Stockings.

Two years earlier, the "Whites" had been out of first place once all season -- after they lost the second game on the schedule. They won the next 13 and coasted to the title by 15 games.

The next year, they got off to a 6-5 start, then won 6 in a row to take over first. They held the top spot alone from June 16 on and finished in front by 9 games.

...

But in 1882, after a 13-14 defeat at Boston, they were 2 games under .500, at 12-14, and in fifth place, 5 games behind.

The Whites won their next game, and the 4 after that. Following a loss on June 24, they won 9 more in a row. The last of those wins, on July 11, made them 26-15, good for a lead in the standings of 1.5 games.

On July 24, they completed a 3-game sweep of Cleveland with a resounding 35-4 victory, in which they scored in 8 of 9 innings.

Chicago's hitters "never before enjoyed a game so thoroughly," the Chicago Tribune declared, after the Whites amassed 29 hits, including exactly 4 by 7 of their 9 players.

The next day, they made a grand total of 6 and lost, 2-3, when Cleveland scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

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TROUBLED TRIP

That setback left their record at 31-19 and their lead at half a game as they embarked on a 15-game, 5-city road trip.

The odyssey began well, as the Whites won 2 of 3 at Detroit, the last by 17-1, to close out July at 33-20, still up by half a game.

Then they dropped 2 of 3 at Boston, did the same at Providence and lost the opener of a series at Troy, to fall to second, 3 games behind Providence.

The Whites went 4-1 the rest of the trip, only to lose to Boston, 1-3, in their first game back at home on Aug. 29.

The loss made them 6-7 in August and 39-27 overall, 2.5 games to rear.

...

Boston's Jim Whitney had held the Whites to 2 hits in the August finale. When the teams met again, on Sept. 1, he surrendered 12, 5 of them doubles, and the Whites beat him, 7-1.

"The affairs of the Chicago Club are again looking brighter," said the Tribune. "The victory over yesterday was very cheering to both the club and their friends. . . . The home team are in high spirits, and feel assured of winning the game today."

It did not.

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MISPLACED INDIGNATION

The Whites tied the score at 2 in the fourth inning, then gave up a run in the fifth, 3 in the sixth and 1 in the seventh to go down to defeat, 2-7.

"There was a great deal of indignation manifested yesterday on account of a silly decision by the umpire, and it seemed to a time that he was in danger of personal violence at the hands of some loafers lying in wait to attack him after he should leave the grounds," the Tribune wrote.

"Threats of the kind were heard, and at President [Al] Spalding's request the umpire remained in the club-house until after the crowd dispersed.

"This was a case of indignation wholly misplaced. There was a million times more reason to mob the Chicago team than to mob the umpire, if anybody was going to be mobbed, but it never occurred to the rowdy element to lie in wait for the nine men who insulted an assemblage of 3,500 people and disgraced the city and humiliated their friends by the abominable play.

"The umpire's only offense was to lose his wits at one point in the game; the Chicago players lost their wits at all points in the game. . . .

"It was game full of horrible misplaying by the local team, and the umpire was not in the slightest degree responsible for the result."

...

That result dropped the Whites 3 games behind Providence once more.

They remained 3 back despite victories over Troy on Sept. 5, 7 and 9, by lopsided scores of 10-0, 7-1 and 24-1.

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Whites hosted front-running Providence in the first of 3 games in as many days.

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BIRTHDAY PRESENT

This is the start of the Tribune's account of the series opener (paragraph breaks added for easier reading):

...

"Can't lose today," said Capt. Anson, sententiously but confidently, before the game.

"Why?" was asked.

"Because," said the big man, "I've just got a telegram. It's a boy; weighs ten pounds."

Now, as all this relates to a matter not directly connected with the affair in hand, it is not exactly why Capt. Anson was able to announce emphatically that Chicago "couldn't lose."

But let that pass; he was right -- Chicago didn't lose.

Six thousand people packed the grounds to witness the import contest -- the first of three games the result of which will surely determine the championship for 1882.

There have been larger crowds on the Chicago grounds, but never one so intensely wrought up with interest and excitement. Every play from first to last was watched with breathless intentness, and every good hit and sharp field stroke -- and there were many of both -- was enthusiastically and impartially cheered.

[end of excerpt]

...

The Whites took 1-0 lead in the first, then fell behind in the third, when the Grays scored twice and had a runner thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

After the first 2 Whites were retired in the fifth, an error and a single brought up Abner Dalrymple, who drove both home with double over the head of the center fielder.

The Whites added 3 runs in the eighth, then gave up 2 in the ninth before completing a 6-4 triumph.

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CRUCIAL ERROR

The next day, the White scored in the first again, but were down by 1-4 when they came to bat in the top of the sixth.

A double by Ed Williamson, a passed ball and a single by Anson produced 1 run. After a forceout, a wild pickoff attempt and a single brought the Whites to within 3-4.

In the eighth, Anson hit into a forceout, then went to third on a single by King Kelly.

"Burns followed with a sharp hit to [shortstop George] Wright, who handled it clean and touched second base for Kelly," said the Tribune, "but in his hurry to complete a double play he threw far over [first baseman Joe] Start's head into the right field seats, and before the ball could be returned to the pitcher in his position both Anson and Burns tallied amid tremendous cheering."

A triple and a sacrifice fly in the ninth made the score 6-4. That run proved decisive when the Grays scored once in the bottom half.

"Chicago is now but two games behind Providence in games won, and the two clubs are a tie on games lost," the Tribune explained. "Chicago has now almost an even show for the championship, having two more games to play than Providence has.

"If Chicago wins today it will be really ahead in the race, and in all human probability the game this afternoon will decide the championship. . . . Arrangements are in readiness for seating a big crowd."

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RECORD TURNOUT

And what a crowd it was.

From the Tribune:

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The largest crowd ever seen at a league game in Chicago outside of a holiday attended yesterday's final meeting of the Chicago and Providence Clubs.

Fully 7,000 people paid to witness what was generally conceded to be the most important contest of the year.

There was a large overflow into the field that completely filled the north seats and also the temporary benches in the left field, but the big crowd was remarkably quiet and orderly, even submitting to two or three grossly unfair decisions of the umpire with nothing more than a few moderate expressions of disapproval.

It was indeed fortunate that the home team outplayed their opponents at every point and were in the lead from the start, because the manifest purpose of the umpire to favor Providence would surely have decided a two game in favor of the visitors. . . .

The game was a beautiful exhibition in every respect. It was clean, clever, sharp work from start to finish, and peculiarly brilliant and free from poor play.

[Hoss] Radbourne again found that he could not baffle the Chicago batsmen. They hit him freely and finely, earning three out of six runs . . . by the prettiest work with the stick.

It was a great day for [Fred] Goldsmith all round. He led his side at bat, bringing in four of the six runs, and pitched in grand style."

[end of excerpt]

...

The Whites got their expected first-inning run, broke a 1-1 tie with 2 runs in the fourth and pulled away by tallying 2 more in the sixth. The final score was 6-2.

On the mound, Goldsmith scattered 6 singles and a double. At the plate, he smacked 2 doubles and a single. Kelly doubled twice as well.

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BACK ON TOP

The Whites (46-28) and Grays (47-29) now were tied for first place.

Neither team played the next afternoon. The following day, Sept. 16, the Grays lost at Detroit, 1-2. The Whites beat Worcester, 5-1, and claimed the top spot in the standings by themselves for the first time in 22 games, since July 29.

On Sept. 19 and 20, the Whites defeated Worcester twice more, 13-5 and 5-0. Providence won both days, too, to stay 1 game behind.

...

The Whites' 9-game winning streak ended with a thud in their next game, on Friday, Sept. 22, as they lost at Cleveland, 6-15.

"Today's game was loosely played by both nines, and much resembled a burlesque," according to the Tribune. "The weather was cool, which accounted for some of the errors and also for the small attendance of 600.

"The Clevelands had their batting clothes, and Goldsmith was at their mercy.

"The champion made a strong effort to win in the first three innings, but after that became disheartened and seemed to play with little purpose."

After scoring 4 runs in the first, the Whites were shut out in 7 of the final 8 innings. Cleveland scored in every inning but 2.

The Grays were idle, so the Whites' lead was sliced to half a game, 49-29 to 49-30.

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TIMELY GROUNDOUTS

Both teams posted shutouts the next day, the Whites by 8-0 at Cleveland and the Grays by 4-0 over Worcester at home.

Both were idle on Sunday.

On Monday, Sept. 25, the Whites were blanked for 5 innings, then Ed Williamson tied the game by hitting a triple and coming home on a groundout.

In the eighth, George Gore walked, stole second, advanced to third on a single by Williamson and scored on another groundout.

That was enough to beat the Blues, 2-1, as Larry Corcoran worked around 9 hits, the last a 1-out double in the ninth.

When the Grays split 2 games against Worcester, the Whites moved ahead by a full game, 51-29, to 51-31.

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LATE ARRIVAL, LATE RALLY

After completing their sweep at Cleveland, the Whites headed for Buffalo, to make up a game rained out in early May.

"The Chicagos did not arrive on the grounds until time for calling [the start of] the game, being delayed by a late train," the Tribune reported. "They entered the contest, therefore, without practice."

The Bisons, batting first, took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. The Whites tied the score in the third, but Buffalo responded with 3 runs in the fourth and added 1 each in the sixth and seventh to gain a 7-2 advantage.

In their half of the seventh, the Whites turned a walk, 2 doubles and 2 singles into 4 runs.

In the eighth, Silver Flint singled home the tying run with 1 out, then Williamson drove in Flint with a 2-out hit.

The 8-7 comeback win was only the Whites' fourth of the season in 10 games against the Bisons.

It gave them a a lead of 1.5 games over the idle Grays as they headed home to close out the season with 3 more games against Buffalo.

...

The games had been scheduled to take place in upstate New York, but the Bisons had agreed to move them to Chicago, in hopes of attracting larger crowds and more revenue.

"The wisdom of the Buffalo management . . . was demonstrated by the attendance of close upon 3,000 people, or more than four times the number that would have attended had the game been played in Buffalo," the Tribune said after the series opener on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The fans had plenty to cheer about. The White scored twice in the first inning and never looked back en route to an 8-1 victory.

Providence did not play, so the win put the Whites in front by 2 games, with 2 to go, at 53-29 to the Grays' 51-31.

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CLINCHED OR NOT?

Aware that one more victory would secure the pennant, the Whites wasted no more in Thursday's rematch, scoring 3 times in the bottom of the first.

After Buffalo rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the third, the Whites pulled even in the bottom half.

Dalrymple opened the fifth with a single but was caught stealing.

But Gore walked, stole second and went to third on a wild throw by the catcher. With 2 out, he scored the go-ahead run on a hit by Anson.

A steal, an RBI single, a RBI double and a wild throw toward home resulted in 3 more runs and and an 8-4 lead.

The final score was 11-5.

"Yesterday's game decides the long and exciting race for the league championship," the Tribune explained, "as Chicago has now won fifty-four games, or one more than it will be possible for Providence to win."

...

But the Grays wanted the league to void the Whites' win at Buffalo, maintaining the game had not been rescheduled properly.

Were that win erased, the Whites would need 1 more to claim the pennant.

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DRAMATIC FINISH

They concluded their schedule 2 days later, on Saturday, Sept. 30, with a final game against Buffalo.

The Whites trailed, 2-5, before scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh and 1 in the eighth.

In the top of the ninth, Cleveland had runners on first and second with 1 out.

"[Blondie] Purcell then sent up a high fly which [second baseman Joe] Quest dropped in the cleverest manner possible," the Tribune explained, "and then passed the ball to [shortstop Tommy] Burns, who first touched White, on second base, and then touched the bag and put out Gavin on the force.

"It was the cleanest double play of the kind ever seen here, and the big crowd cheered heartily."

There was no infield fly rule in 1882, it should be noted.

...

Williamson, already 4 for 4, began the bottom of the ninth with a double.

21-year-old Milt Scott, 2 for 4 in his big league debut, then "gave [second baseman Hardy] Richardson a very puzzling fly which was muffed, Williamson going to third, and Scott to second.

"Kelly sent a furious high-liner to left, which Purcell got under but could hold, and Williamson came in with the winning run, amid profound cheering."

...

The walk-off made the Whites' final record 55-29, including their win at Buffalo, which was upheld.

The Grays also won on Saturday, then lost their last game on Monday to wind up 52-32, 3 games behind the Whites, whom they had led by 3 games at the end of August.

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