When the Cincinnati Monarchs club left the Century League (taking St. Louis along with them), there were a lot of hard feelings on both sides. Though neither club returned to the Century League, both continued to operate independently as touring clubs. But Cincinnati owner James Tice continued to keep an eye on the Century League and how it did business. And in the winter of 1881, he decided to take the lessons he felt he'd learned, and started his own professional circuit - the Border Association. The TBA would feature eight clubs (same as the Century) with six clubs in the U.S. and two others in Canada. Cincinnati and St. Louis were joined by four other clubs: New York and Pittsburgh, plus two Canadian cities - Montreal and Toronto. Tice, as Border Association President, promptly declared he would not honor Century League player contracts - and the war was on.
The impact of the new league was both immediate and massive. The rosters of the Century League clubs were altered drastically as many players left to join the new circuit. The CL clubs exacerbated the problem by feeding on themselves - the restriction on signing other teams' players was universally ignored. Even Whitney's own Chicago club began poaching players. When the dust settled, the face of baseball was changed.
On the field, the Philadelphia Centennials, under new manager Zebulon Banks, captured their third pennant with a solid 61-24 season. Banks hit .337 and got good production from James Eubanks (.352) and Frank Sobreville (.346). Martin Tucker and Will Bullock split the pitching duties and each won 30 games (Bullock won 31, Tucker 30). Chicago finished second with a 56-28 record, followed by Detroit (the shuffled rosters benefited their low-rent approach for a change) at 50-34 and Boston at 44-40 was fourth. The sub-.500 clubs were Cleveland (38-48), Brooklyn (36-48), Providence (who was hit hard and fell to 31-53) and Baltimore in last place with a 22-63 mark. Whitiney's Chicago club debuted catcher Chuck Embry who led the league with a .396 average (he also hit 12 home runs and second to Banks in RBIs with 78).Chicago also had the league's top pitcher in Edwin Dudley who topped the circuit in wins (34) and ERA (2.07) and finished second to Bullock in strikeouts with 176,
The debut season of the Border Association saw the Toronto Provincials win the league's first pennant with a 53-27 mark, good for a 5.5-game cushion over second-place Pittsburgh. Toronto boasted the league's best pitching with Henry Ganus (28-11, 1.33 ERA) and Mack Walker (25-13, 1.70) finishing first and third, respectively, in ERA and taking the top two spots in wins. The hitting was good too as Toronto led the circuit in the three Triple Crown categories and had the second and third place hitters in the batting race with John Dorce (.352) and Gustav Gray (.348) finishing behind Montreal's John Bates (.366).
The Pittsburgh Quarries (45-30) were second, with the Cincinnati Monarchs (43-31) third. The three other teams all finished below .500 : the St. Louis Brewers (36-43), Montreal Saints (33-47) and New York Stars (24-56).
Century League
Code:
LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team W L WPct GB R RA
Philadelphia Centennials 61 24 .718 - 721 444
Chicago Chiefs 56 28 .667 4½ 555 387
Detroit Woodwards 50 34 .595 10½ 526 437
Boston Pilgrims 44 40 .524 16½ 498 480
Cleveland Cuyahogas 38 48 .442 23½ 534 610
Brooklyn Unions 36 48 .429 24½ 433 452
Providence Gems 31 53 .369 29½ 428 608
Baltimore Bannermen 22 63 .259 39 449 726
Border Association
Code:
LEAGUE STANDINGS
Team W L WPct GB R RA
Toronto Provincials 53 27 .662 - 577 332
Pittsburgh Quarries 45 30 .600 5½ 446 372
Cincinnati Monarchs 43 31 .581 7 359 321
St. Louis Brewers 36 43 .456 16½ 393 468
Montreal Saints 33 47 .412 20 377 456
New York Stars 24 56 .300 29 359 562