The 2015 NL Central Title and Playoff Run

Lore & Background

The first series meeting between the two teams was actually played only in St. Louis and Chicago. On October 15, Browns manager Charles Comiskey pulled his team off the field in the 6th inning in protest of umpire Dave Sullivan's call. The White Stockings were in the lead at the time 5–4 and were declared a winner on forfeit. The two clubs split the $1000 prize. The first series played in 1885 ended in dispute with no winner making the rematch a year later more heated. Game 2 of the 1886 series saw the Browns win in a 12–0 romp. Bob Caruthers pitched a one-hitter, and left fielder Tip O'Neill smacked two inside-the-park home runs. It was the first two-home-run game by a player in a World Championship game. Despite the win, the White Stockings had won Games 1 and 3 and took the series lead into St. Louis. Oddities happened in Game 5. With Jim McCormick and Jocko Flynn lame and John Clarkson tired, Chicago tried to use a minor league recruit in the pitcher's box, only to be refused by the Browns. Shortstop Ned Williamson and right fielder Jimmy Ryan ended up having to pitch. The Browns won easily 10–3. The sixth and final game began at an earlier time of 2:18 PM, so the full nine innings could be played. Pitching his fourth game in six days, Clarkson held St. Louis hitless for six innings as Chicago built a 3–0 lead. However, in the 8th, the Browns finally got to Clarkson to tie the game at 3, with Arlie Latham hitting a 2-run triple. In the 10th, Curt Welch scored on the '$15,000 slide' after a wild pitch to win it in front of a fired-up St. Louis home crowd.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Wrigley Field on October 4th felt different, thicker with expectation than it had been for generations. As Kris Bryant stepped into the batter's box against the Pirates' ace, the roar of the crowd wasn't just noise; it was a collective exhale of eight years of waiting. When he connected, the ball seemed to hang in the Chicago sky longer than physics allowed, arcing toward the bleachers as the stadium erupted. In that moment, the ghosts of 1945 and 1908 didn't haunt the field; they watched on, finally seeing the team they loved ready to fight.

Reader's Guide

After the dissolution of the American Association, the Browns franchise moved to the National League in 1892 and become known as the Cardinals in 1900. (The Browns name was later used by an AL team that had previously been known as the Milwaukee Brewers, and is now the Baltimore Orioles.) St. Louis would not achieve much success in its early years in the NL. On the other hand, the Cubs won three straight pennants from 1906 to 1908 and two World Series during that time. The Cubs would also go on to win seven more pennants from then until 1945. The Cardinals would eventually put together a team to win the pennant and World Series in 1926. It would be their first National League pennant and first championship since defeating the White Stockings. Although the Cubs would also win a few pennants, their championship run stopped in 1908. Eventually, the Cubs' pennant wins would also stop in 1945, and they did not win another until 2016, when they also won the World Series. The Cardinals have won the World Series 11 times, the most of any National League team and second New York Yankees (27) in all of MLB. Cubs' Slugger Hack Wilson had a combative streak and frequently initiated fights with opposing players and fans. On June 22, 1928, a riot broke out in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field when Wilson jumped into the box seats to attack a heckling fan. An estimated 5,000 spectators swarmed the field before police could separate the combatants and restore order. The fan sued Wilson for $20,000, but a jury ruled in Wilson's favor. One game in particular was cited for putting Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, as well as the 1984 Cubs in general, 'on the map', an NBC national telecast of a Cardinals–Cubs game on June 23, 1984. The Cubs had been playing well throughout the season's first few months, but as a team unaccustomed to winning, they had not yet become a serious contender in the eyes of most baseball fans. Sandberg had played two full seasons in the major leagues, and while he had proven himself to be a top-fielding second baseman and fast on the basepaths (over 30 stolen bases both seasons), his .260-ish batting average and single-digit home run production were respectable for his position but not especially noteworthy, and Sandberg was not talked about outside Chicago. The Game of the Week, however, put the sleeper Cubs on the national stage against their region

Did You Know?

• The Cubs lead the regular season series 1,287–1,233–19.
• The teams' lone MLB playoff meeting occurred in the 2015 National League Division Series, which the Cubs won, 3–1.
• The Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the most of any National League team.
• The 1885 pre-modern World Series between the teams ended in a tie, and the 1886 series ended with a Browns (Cardinals) victory.