There wasn't a lot of drama to be found in the pennant races in 1895 - the New York Gothams and Chicago Cougars both came out fast, stayed that way, and powered their way to pennants in their respective leagues. There was some excitement to be found outside the standings, however. A pair of hitters who shared a last name but weren't related had terrific seasons. Last season's big story was a story for another reason this time around. And the grand old man of baseball reached a milestone that was hardly acknowledged at the time but has since become known as one of the primary yardsticks by which greatness is measured.
The Gothams were the thousand-pound gorilla of the Federal Association. They became the sport's first 100-game winner as they ran off an incredible 105-35 record. They did it by dominating their opponents at the plate and on the mound, leading all of FABL in runs scored and runs allowed, setting a team record for runs scored (1033) and just generally displaying excellence in every possible facet. The lineup was built around two stellar hitters in John Jones, who hit .420 and drove in an amazing 174 runs (eclipsing the one-year-old record of Fred Roby by more than 30 RBIs) and George Dunlap who hit .394 - they also played next to each in the outfield had a nice friendly rivalry going on. On the pitching side they had the FA's top ace in Charlie Wilson, who won a Triple Crown with 35 wins, 2.81 ERA and 205 strikeouts and Morris Harris who also won 35 games, with a 3.03 ERA and 169 strikeouts. The second-place Washington Eagles were 24 games back.
The Philadelphia Keystones were making some news themselves. They were third, but far back (35 games back to be exact) but had several storylines going on during the 1895 season. First, there was Claude Jones, the young catcher who shared a name with New York's John Jones, and apparently shared his hitting prowess too as he finished second in the batting race with a .393 average. Another was the surprisingly ho-hum season turned in by last year's star. Fred Roby came down to earth in a big way - his average dipped by more than a hundred points, all the way down to .307 - still above average, but nowhere near the stratospheric heights he'd achieved in '94. He still drove in 114 runs, so it wasn't all bad news. The other story, which was mostly ignored at the time, was that Zebulon Banks, the 39-year-old face of the sport, knocked his 3000th hit on August 13th in New York. Banks was a trail blazer - no one had more hits than he did and he was the career leader in nearly every batting category, so the 3000-hit mark was, at the time, not much noted. That number obviously has become a benchmark since, and Banks was the first to get there.
The Continental Association was the playground of the Chicago Cougars - they left the two-time defending CA champion Sailors in their dust, winning the pennant with a 95-45 record, good for an 18-game cushion on Philly and Baltimore. They did it in much the same way as the Gothams did - with all-around excellence. They scored 1002 runs and their pitching was astoundingly good. So good in fact was their pitching, that they had three 30-game winners. Allan Allen, the most talented, led the league in ERA (2.81) and won 30 games. Charles Atkinson went 32-11 (with a somewhat bloated 4.07 ERA) and George Jefferson went 30-13 with a 3.46 ERA. With Calvin Kidd (.366-3-118), Bob Sykes (.331-7-129), Johnny Terrell (.342-4-90) and Virgil Manuel (.343-0-94) in the heart of the order, the Cougars scored plenty.
With the races all but decided before September, the anticipation for the World's Championship Series was extremely high. Both teams were excellent in all facets of the game. In the end, the Series was entertaining, but the Gothams were clearly the superior club. The Cougars grabbed the first game as Allen held the Gotham lineup to just three runs in a 7-3 Chicago victory. New York had game two in control until an eighth-inning rally by Chicago made them sweat - ultimately the Gothams claimed a 4-3 win. That was the first of three straight wins for the Gothams before the Cougars put up a fight in game five to eke out a 9-8 win and stay alive. It was all for naught however - the Gotham bats woke up in a big way in game six and New York claimed the title with a blowout 20-8 victory.
Federal Association
Code:
Team W L WPct GB R RA
New York Gothams 105 35 .750 - 1033 601
Washington Eagles 81 59 .579 24 799 657
Philadelphia Keystones 70 70 .500 35 885 913
Pittsburgh Miners 69 71 .493 36 795 809
Boston Brahmins 66 74 .471 39 765 814
Detroit Dynamos 58 82 .414 47 688 812
St. Louis Pioneers 57 83 .407 48 682 807
Chicago Chiefs 54 86 .386 51 606 840
Continental Association
Code:
Team W L WPct GB R RA
Chicago Cougars 95 45 .679 - 1002 658
Baltimore Clippers 77 63 .550 18 835 733
Philadelphia Sailors 77 63 .550 18 751 684
Cleveland Foresters 75 65 .536 20 710 660
Brooklyn Kings 71 69 .507 24 844 851
Montreal Saints 62 78 .443 33 781 914
New York Stars 55 85 .393 40 706 857
Toronto Provincials 48 92 .343 47 711 983