Final Standings for 1871
Athletics Awarded Pennant Amid Controversy
Wallace Luthor Disputes Philly Championship
Chicago -- The owners of the NPBL voted 6-1 to award the 1871 league pennant to the Philadelphia Athletics. Wallace Luthor, owner of the Metropolis Stars voted for the pennant to be awarded to his own franchise. The Stars won more games than Philadelphia. However, the Athletics had a better win to loss ratio (.567 vs. .565 for Metropolis). Charles Kane, owner of the New York franchise didn't attend the meeting, nor did he send a surrogate, so technically New York abstained from voting on awarding the pennant.
Luthor made his displeasure known to reporters following the meeting. He felt that since his team won the most games during the season, it should have been the team awarded the championship. Luthor threatened to withdraw his Stars from the NPBL, however considering the financial windfall the team brought him, it is highly unlikely he'll follow through with the threat.
The controversy has hilighted some of the shortcomings of the league. Teams have not played a consistent schedule, with some teams playing more games than others. Owners have talked about using a balanced schedule in 1872 where all the teams would play an equal number of games. In addition, there was also talk of instituting a championship series between the first and second place teams 1872.
Despite the controversy, the first season of the NPBL has been a great success. Attendance at the games was very good, aided by a tight pennant race that went into the final weeks of the season. All the franchises turned a nice profit, even New York, which languished in the cellar of the standings for most of the season. The owners plan on meeting again in a month in Metropolis to plan for the 1872 campaign.
Team batting statistics -- 1871
Individual batting leaders -- 1871
Team pitching statistics -- 1871
Individual pitching leaders -- 1871