[RMc]

The "cranks" of St. Louis and Cincinnati know their beer, and they know their baseball. And the well-lubricated followers of the Cardinals and Reds would see one the greatest Temple Cup Finals in history.

The first game, in front of a packed house in St. Louis, went back and forth until the Reds' Bob Woods singled home Kip Selbach to give Cincy a 5-4 lead in the 10th. The Cards' Lou Criger led off the bottom of the inning with a double, but was stranded, giving Cincinnati the win.

The city of St. Louis is also known for its gambling, and the two teams led with a pair of Jacks -- as Jack Powell of the Cardinals and Jack Taylor of the Reds locked into a pitching duel, with neither team scoring for 7 1/2 innings. Finally, Bobby Wallace led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, then scored the game's only run on Cupid Childs' triple. A 1-0 win for St Lou, and a tie series.

The next two games at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati were also a split decision. Criger and Donlin each homered an drove in a pair as the Cardinals took Game 3 by a 5-3 count, but the Redlegs ran over the Cards in Game 4, 6-2, as Jimmy Barrett and Sam Crawford each had three of Cincy's 12 hits. Series even, 3-2.

Game 5 in front of a packed house in Cincinnati, put the Reds on the brink of the claiming the Cup, as Pink Hawley (a fitting name for a Red) held the Cards to six hits in a 6-3 win. Barett and Selbach each slammed RBI triples, and Cincy led the Temple Cup series, 3 games to 2.

In the sixth game, back in St. Louis, the Reds' Noodles Hahn was masterful, shutting out the home team on just four hits. Cincinnati's offense wasn't stellar, either, but they did manage to score a run off Cy Young, on an RBI single by Selbach in the third inning. So, the teams went to the bottom of the ninth, with the Reds up, 1-0, and three outs away from the Cup.

After Burkett grounded out, the next three batters -- Wallace, Heidrick and O'Connor -- each swung at the first pitch they saw from the obviously tiring Hahn and slapped them into the outfield, with Wallace scoring on O'Connor blow and tying the game. The raucous crowd threatened to storm the field, but they held off just long enough to watch Criger slap a 2-2 pitch past the shortstop to settle the matter, 2-1.

And once again, the Cup Final would go to a seventh game:



The seventh game would see the third match-up of the series between Taylor and Powell. At first, it seemed Powell would be the Jack that was aces, as he held the Redlegs motionless for eight innings, scattering six hits. Meanwhile, St Lou touched Taylor for three runs, including a homer by Donlin. The fans at Sportsman's Park looked ready to celebrate wildly for a second straight day, as the Cards were themselves three outs from the Cup, leading 3-0..

Ah, but what fools these mortals be! After Selbach grounded out, Smith and Irwin each singled off a tiring (does this sound familiar?) Powell. Algie McBride (a back-up player most of the season) proceeded to lash a double to cut the lead to 3-2, then Bob Wood slammed the ball to the top of the center field fence for a triple, tying the game. Heinie Pietz drew a walk, setting up a potential inning-ending double play -- and the Cards seemingly had it, when Barrett grounded to short. But 2B Childs' throw to first was late, allowing Wood to score the go-ahead run. 4-3, Cincinnati!

The Cards still had three outs to tie or win the game, but Taylor sent them down quickly in front of the stunned crowd. With two away, Stenzel hit a foul pop-up that was nabbed by the catcher Pietz, and the Cincinnati Reds had made of the greatest comebacks in baseball history. Meanwhile, the crowd, ready to break loose at any moment, finally did -- but there was no violence, only the fans congratulating both teams for a fine series and ushering the players to the beer garden beyond the left field fence.