1881—A Detroit franchise, at first known as the Maroons, was approved as a replacement for Cincinnati.
This year there was little drama in the pennant chase, as Chicago rebounded from their heartbreaking second place finish the previous season to take the title by a comfortable six games. The most interesting development was the sudden emergence of Buffalo as a contender; in just their third season in the league, the Colts finished 20 games above .500 and in second place.
Chicago’s Jim Newton hit .336 to edge Detroit’s John Wyatt for the batting championship; Wyatt hit .335. Eli Taylor of Buffalo topped the leagues’ hurlers in ERA with a 1.73 mark, while the Haymakers’ George Stonge notched 36 victories to best Taylor by a single win; as Taylor also led the league in strikeouts with 236, Stonge’s last win of the year—which came on the final day of the season—denied Taylor the Triple Crown.
League President Williams, having affirmed his authority the previous season by ousting Cincinnati, drummed both Philadelphia and Cleveland from the loop after the conclusion of the 1881 campaign. The Keystones were accused of throwing games, although no individual players were singled out, and the Blues were deemed guilty of the infraction that doomed their Ohio brethren: selling alcohol at games. The loss of two of its larger cities put the league in a poor position to face the challenge that would arrive in 1882.
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