1886—The schedule in both leagues was increased again, now running to 126 games. The season started a few days before May Day and was extended through mid-October.
Both leagues had fairly tight races until the eventual winners pulled away late in the season. Buffalo took the NBBL flag by five games over Chicago and six games over Detroit, and Cincinnati won in the ABBA, besting Brooklyn by seven games and Baltimore by nine.
The NBBL batting champion was New York’s Mike O’Sullivan, whose .357 mark was the highest in either league to date; Cincinnati’s Frank Fry captured the ABBA title by hitting .325. Buffalo’s Hugh West posted the best ERA in the Senior Circuit, a 2.08 mark, while his teammate Eli Taylor paced the loop in victories with 31. Royal Ricketts of Cincinnati led the Junior Circuit both in ERA (1.83) and wins (32).
For the first time, the two league champions faced off in a postseason series. Billed as the “World’s Championship”, it was a two-game affair on neutral fields (Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania, respectively). The teams split the two games. As the clubs did not carry full rosters (Buffalo ace Eli Taylor was not present) and apparently treated the game more as an exhibition than an actual championship bout, it is not considered the first World Series, but it certainly put the taste for postseason baseball in the public's mouth, if it wasn't already there.
The off-season was uneventful, as all 16 teams stayed afloat. It would be the last such off-season for the next five years.
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