The 1886 World Series: The Betting Was Running In The Same Way

The Browns' friends in St. Louis were not discouraged yesterday on having lost $10,000 on the 6 to 0 score of the day before, and went in with even more enthusiasm and greater expectations than the day before. The Chicagos' friends also seemed to be disposed to push things, the Merchant's Exchange crowd particularly having a leaning that way. Several of these later gentlemen remained in Donovan's early in the game, and before the first inning was announced they rather freely offered and bet $120 to $90 on the Chicagos. Then they dropped to $100 to $80, and when the big "two" was put down to the credit of the Browns in the first inning they dropped out of sight, and the friends of the St. Louis nine came to the front in offers to bet $100 to $75 that the Browns would win, and found it to be a most difficult matter to secure takers. At all of the other exchanges the betting was running in the same way, and at Wiseman's the crowd was bigger than on the day before, and decidedly more enthusiastic. In front of the Globe-Democrat the crowd extended out to the street car tracks, and such expressions as "Bobby's got the heart disease bat," were frequent. When the Browns marked two more runs in the fourth inning, and the row of goose-eggs placed to the credit of the Chicagos was continued out, the crowds became a little boisterous, and offers of $25 to $5 on the Browns were made, or $5 to $1 straight, with but few takers. When there more runs were scored in the seventh the Browns' friends went wild, and offers of $50 to $1 were made. Before that time, however, the betting on the game itself had almost ceased, and the business was confined almost exclusively to gambles on certain innings and on the Chicagos being entirely shut out. There were quite a number of bets of the latter kind. Altogether, the betting was heavier than on Monday, even though sufficient Chicago money could not be secured to take the offerings on the Browns, and the day wound up with Monday's loss recovered and a little added to the score on the profit side. The betting in the pool-rooms amounted to about $7,000, while the amount on the outside was fully as large as on Monday.

At the same time betting was tolerably free on to-day's game and on the series. The Browns' friends were confident they would win on the series, and even money backing that opinion went begging. Bets on to-day's game were taken a little more freely, but all even, neither side caring to give out odds. The amount estimated as being up on the series up to the close of the game yesterday was $10,000, about two-thirds of which is in the exchanges.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 20, 1886