BASEBALL MONTHLY
September 1876
St. Louis Holds on to Face Reds in Series
Quite a dramatic finish in the Western division of the National League. In its first organized season the league was hoping for a pennant race like this, and the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Blues delivered.
St. Louis was leading by 6 games going into the month but it was the Blues who made a furious run for the title. The Blues went 7-2 in September and swept the first place Browns in Cleveland at the end of the month. By the last day of the season both teams were tied in the standings and had one game to define their fate.
St. Louis on the other hand went 1-8 in the month and was widely choking at the worse possible time. The Browns however did their part beating the Brooklyn Atlantics in the big city on the last day of the season. The Vlues however couldnt do their part and lost on their home field to the Philadelphia A's by a score of 9-3.
The pennant was lost but Cleveland and stars like George Bradley (31 wins) and Bob Fergusen (31 RBI) can be proud of their late season run.
So the World Series will see the St. Louis Browns take on the eastern pennant holders the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds won their first pennant and unseated the Boston Red Caps from wire to wire. The Reds had the best record in baseball finishing 38-22.
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Batting Champions
Charlie Gould led the west in batting with a .347 average. The Athletics first baseman had 77 hits in 222 at bats and is a career .292 hitter.
Star Levi Meyerle led the eastern division in batting for the second time. Meyerle who is heading to his first world series with the Cincinnati Reds batted .347 for the season and was a key part to the pennant winning team.