Tri-State League | 10 | 10


THE LEAGUE'S PENNANT RACE OF 1888.

The championship campaign of the League for 1888 began on April 20, with
the customary home games between the eight clubs, each in its respective
section, the New York team opening the season at Washington, and the
Bostons at Philadelphia; while in the West Detroit opened at Pittsburg,
and the Chicagos at Indianapolis, the winning clubs being New York,
Boston, Pittsburg and Chicago. By the end of the first week of the
campaign, Boston was in the van without a defeat being charged to them,
while every other club had suffered at least one defeat, Boston leading in
the race, followed by Chicago, New York, Pittsburg, Detroit, Indianapolis,
Washington and Philadelphia, the latter suffering from the great drawback
of the death of their best player Ferguson, a loss which handicapped them
all through the season. By the end of the first week in May the contest
had assumed quite an interesting phase in one respect, and that was the
remarkable success of the Boston team, which, up to May 2 had won every
championship game they had played, the record on May 4 leaving them in the
van. By May 5, however, Chicago pulled up even with them, the two teams
standing with a record of 11 victories and 2 defeats each, and a
percentage of .862 at the close of the third week of the spring campaign.
In the meantime Philadelphia had rallied and had pulled up to seventh
place, and Detroit had overhauled Pittsburg, Indianapolis falling into the
last ditch. By the end of May quite a change had been made in the relative
position of the eight clubs, Chicago having gone to the front and Boston
to second position, while Detroit had moved up to third place, and New
York had fallen back to fourth; while Philadelphia had worked up well and
had got into fifth position, Pittsburg having made a bad tumble to sixth