Just as the Giants were looking to achieve baseball supremacy in the nation's largest city, the Philadelphia Phillies were looking to do the same in America's
second-largest town. In the American Cup opener at 23rd and Parkdale, the hometown Phils trailed 2-1 until Bill Joyce homered to tie the game in the sixth. Then the dam broke in when the Phillies put up three more runs in the seventh and another two in the eighth,
en route to a 7-2 triumph. In Game 2, though, the New Yorkers scored twice in the top of the first on a long double by Podge Weihe. Hurler Gus Krock did the rest, shutting down the Phils on a run and five hits for his fourth win of the postseason.
But when the Cup Final made it to New York, the Giants proceeded to flop on Broadway, as the Phillies never trailed for the rest of the series. In the third game, Joyce had three more hits and Joe Visner drove in three in an 8-5 decision; in Game 4, Walt Goldsby had a triple and a home run as Philly won, 7-2; and in the finale, Goldsby had three hits and two RBI, while Joyce had two more hits -- he would finish the Cup Final with a .500 average and be awarded the MVP -- as the Phillies phinished off the phools phrom the Big Apple, 6-3, giving Philadelphia its phirst Cup since Athletics took the Centennial back in '81!
Originally built as a football field (and actually over the border from Fall River in North Tiverton, Rhode Island), Mark's Park became the home of the Marksmen when Fall River was awarded an American Association franchise in 1885. By 1890, the club was in the Union Association and struggled at mid-table before a surprise pennant in '95, led by the incredible Pete O'Brien and a solid pitching core of Clem Kimerer, Hank Gastright and Bill Hoffer. In the first two games of the Union Cup at Mark's Park, the Marksmen were firing on all cylinders, snapping a 7-7 tie with six runs in the eighth in the first game, then walking off the Rebels on a game-winning grand slam by Pete O'Brien, 14-10.
Things did not improve much for Richmond at home. After both teams scored in the first inning, Fall River put up a trio in the third, thanks mostly to Bill Niles' two-run double. The Rebels fought back with a pair of tallies in the fifth on a ground out and an error. But Richmond could get no closer, as Hoffer sent down the last nine Rebels in order to claim a 4-3 win and a 3-0 lead in the Cup Final. Richmond managed to pull one back in Game 4, as the rookie, 31-game winner Jim Gardner set down the Marksmen on just three hits, 2-1.
After holding the high-flying Marksmen to only five runs in the last two games (as opposed to 27 in the first two!), the Rebels could send the series back up north with another strong pitching performance. Frank Killen shut out Fall River for eight innings, giving Richmond a 4-0 lead. And then, with two out in the top of the ninth and the bases empty, the Marksmen rallied. First, O'Brien socked a home run on the first pitch. Then a single, double and a single scored another run, William Chouquette hit a ground ball to third baseman Bill White, seemingly ending the game -- but White bobbled it, allowing the third Fall River run to score. With the bases loaded, Dick Phelan drew a walk, and the game was tied at four!
But that...was NOT the end of the game...not by a long shot. Neither team scored in the next five innings, and when the Marksmen put up a run in the top of the 15th on another bases-loaded walk, Richmond evened the game up again with an error. Still tied. Finally, Fall River struck four times in the 16th on two hits, two walks and two errors. The exhausted Rebels went down in order, giving Fall River its first Union Cup! (Cup play records broken include longest game [16 innings and 4 hours, 57 minutes] and most pitchers used in a game [five for Fall River, seven for both teams].)
