clubs which stood in the last ditch were Chicago, up to May 10th;
Washington, from May to August 15th, and afterwards Louisville up to the
finish of the season.

For the first time in the annals of the League, but one western club
occupied a position in the first division as early in the season as July
2d, when the Pittsburgh club stood fourth in the race, following
Baltimore, Boston and Brooklyn, being followed by Philadelphia and New
York, Cleveland at that date being in the second division. On July 17th
Cleveland replaced Brooklyn in the first division, and remained there to
the finish of the race. Pittsburgh was driven into the ranks of the
second division on August 21st, and failed to get back again. Baltimore
had the pennant virtually in hand in August, and New York drove Boston
out of the second place on September 6th, the percentage figures of the
three leaders on that day showing Baltimore to be in the van with .676,
New York .652, and Boston .646; with the "Phillies" fourth, the
Brooklyns fifth and the Clevelands sixth, these relative positions not
afterwards being changed. Neither were those of the clubs in the second
division at that date, except in the case of the Cincinnati and
St. Louis clubs, the team under the Boss Manager, Chris Von der Ahe
beating the Brush-Comiskey combination team of Cincinnati out the very
last day of the race, greatly to the disgust of the Cincinnati cranks.

A great disappointment to the Louisville cranks, whose pet club started
the season with a picked team of star players, containing three
ex-captains of League teams, in Pfeffer, D. Richardson and Tom
Brown--was the sad falling off of that club from the position of being
tied for first place with Baltimore and Boston in April, to a permanent
place in the last ditch in August, a result which relieved Manager
Schmelz considerably, as up to August 22nd Washington had occupied the