Code:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division W L Pct GB Pyt Home Away Xinn 1Run
Philadelphia 89 65 .578 -- 91-63 45-32 44-33 12- 8 28-22
New York 75 79 .487 14 79-75 40-37 35-42 9-16 24-35
Washington 61 93 .396 28 56-98 30-47 31-46 8-13 23-31
Boston 59 95 .383 30 58-96 27-50 32-45 10- 8 21-27
West Division W L Pct GB Pyt Home Away Xinn 1Run
Cleveland 87 67 .565 -- 88-66 46-31 41-36 8- 6 35-25
Detroit 86 68 .558 1 81-73 42-35 44-33 15- 4 34-15
St. Louis 82 72 .532 5 78-76 43-34 39-38 9-11 32-26
Chicago 77 77 .500 10 84-70 42-35 35-42 6-11 20-36
FEDERAL LEAGUE
East Division W L Pct GB Pyt Home Away Xinn 1Run
Buffalo 88 66 .571 -- 83-71 45-32 43-34 8-12 36-20
Pittsburgh 83 71 .539 5 83-71 38-39 45-32 4- 8 29-27
Baltimore 76 78 .494 12 77-77 41-36 35-42 11- 7 22-34
Newark 63 91 .409 25 66-88 31-46 32-45 10- 8 22-23
West Division W L Pct GB Pyt Home Away Xinn 1Run
New Orleans 92 63 .594 -- 88-67 47-31 45-32 12- 8 32-29
Kansas City 91 64 .587 1 87-68 47-30 44-34 9- 6 39-20
Milwaukee 64 90 .416 27.5 66-88 31-46 33-44 13-10 22-32
Indianapolis 60 94 .390 31.5 67-87 29-48 31-46 5-13 22-39
October Highlights
Oct. 1: Kansas City grabbed a one game lead in the FL West, posting a 5-3 win at Newark as Paul Parker earned his 24th win. Meanwhile, New Orleans lost a 2-1 decision at home to Baltimore. Terrapins ace Ben Mays helped his former Packer teammates, pitching a four-hitter to improve to 25-9.
Oct. 2: Pittsburgh’s hopes in the FL East are fading, but Roger Spindler kept the Rebels alive with a one-hit shutout in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win over Indianapolis at Exposition Park. Spindler (18-12) fanned four and allowed only Joel Harrison’s fourth-inning single. Washington shut down righthander Barney Wolfe for the season after he left in the sixth inning of the Senators’ 4-1 loss at Chicago with back pain. Wolfe finishes the year 9-19 with a 2.85 ERA in 34 starts.
Oct. 3: Rube Waddell became the first 30-game winner in NABF history, authoring a three-hit shutout as Philadelphia won at Boston, 2-0. Waddell (30-9) walked two and fanned eight and handed another loss to beleaguered Bill Dineen (6-29).
Oct. 4: Matt Ward doubled home Tim Thomas in the top of the seventh and Buffalo clinched no worse than a share of the FL East title with a 2-1 win at Milwaukee. Rex Washington (21-12) scattered six hits in going the distance for the Blues, walking two and striking out five. Buffalo got their share of the division title when Pittsburgh lost at New Orleans, 7-4.
Oct. 5: Baltimore second baseman Bob Van Buskirk giftwrapped the FL East title for Buffalo, committing two throwing errors in the top of the ninth that led to three runs for the Blues, who came from behind for a 4-3 victory to clinch the division crown at Oriole Park.
Oct. 6: Despite allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth at St. Louis to lose 4-3, Cleveland clinched a share of the AL West crown when Detroit also lost. The Tigers were shut down at Bennett Park 7-0 by New York as Doc Newton (5-6) tossed a three-hit shutout.
Oct. 7: The remaining postseason berths will come down to the final day. Cleveland has completed its schedule and leads Detroit by ˝ game, meaning the Tigers must beat New York at Bennett Park to force a one-game playoff in the AL West. Similarly, Kansas City sits with a ˝ game lead in the FL West. New Orleans is in a must win situation when it takes on Newark at Meadowbrook Oval.
Oct. 8: Hal Chase singled, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on an infield single by Patsy Dougherty in the top of the 13th inning and New York eliminated Detroit from playoff contention with an 8-7 win at Bennett Park. The Tigers’ loss means Cleveland wins the AL West and will square off with Philadelphia in the American League Pennant Series. Meanwhile, there will be a one-game playoff in New Orleans after the Pelicans hammered Newark, 8-2, to forge a tie with Kansas City atop the FL West at 91-63. The Pelicans had earlier won a coin flip for the right to host the game. However, the Packers look to have the advantage having had a day off, while the weary Pelicans’ train isn’t scheduled to arrive back in New Orleans until just a few hours before the scheduled start of the playoff.
FL WEST DIVISION PLAYOFF
Kansas City Packers (91-63) at New Orleans Pelicans (91-63)
Athletic Park, New Orleans, La.
The New Orleans Pelicans capped its three-month long comeback in the Federal League’s West Division, claiming the division title in dramatic fashion when George Laughlin blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Pelicans to a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Packers.
Kansas City manager Fred Crane will forever be second-guessed on this one, as he lifted 23-game winner Howie Hillis to start the ninth inning, bringing in reliever Jerry Brian to try and protect the Packers’ 2-1 lead. The strategy backfired in the worst way imaginable as Brian (2-2) faced just two hitters, getting neither of them out.
Bill Weber led off with a sharp single to left field and Laughlin followed it with a towering blast down the left-field line to make a champion out of the Pelicans, who will meet Buffalo in the Federal League Pennant Series. Mike Jarrett (20-17) got the win for New Orleans, scattering seven hits and four walks while striking out three.
The Packers jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the top of the first when Dixie Rogers led off with a double and scored on a single by Lore Riley. Kansas City upped the lead to 2-0 in the top of the sixth. After Bill Kemper walked, Chris Arnold found the gap in left-center field with a drive. Kemper scored all the way from first on Arnold’s double.
New Orleans got a run back in the bottom of the seventh, finally touching Hillis. Laughlin and Buck Allen stroked back-to-back singles to lead off the inning and Jarrett sacrificed them into scoring position. Laughlin then scored on Bull Prior’s ground ball to short.
“I just thought Howie looked beat,” Crane said of his decision to make the pitching change. “He’d already thrown a lot of pitches and they hit him hard in the seventh and eighth. I thought Jerry could get it done. I suppose I’ve got a long winter to think about it.”