1894 Temple Cup

{{Infobox baseball championship tournament

| country = Temple

| year = 1894

| series_type = Cup

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| champion = New York Giants (4)

| champion_manager = John Ward

| champion_games = {{winpct|88|44|7|record=y}}, GA: —

| runnerup = Baltimore Orioles (0)

| runnerup_manager = Ned Hanlon

| runnerup_games = {{winpct|89|39|1|record=y}}, GA: 3

| date = October 4–8

| venue = Union Park (Baltimore)
Polo Grounds (New York)

| MVP =

| umpires = Bob Emslie, Tim Hurst

| HOFers = Giants:
John Ward (player-manager)‡
George Davis
Amos Rusie
Orioles:
Ned Hanlon (manager)
Dan Brouthers
Hughie Jennings
Willie Keeler
Joe Kelley
John McGraw†
Wilbert Robinson†
‡ elected as a player.
† elected as a manager.

| alt2 =

| image2 =

| previous = 1892
World's Championship Series

| next = 1895

}}

The 1894 Temple Cup was an end-of-the-year best-of-seven playoff between the National League champion Baltimore Orioles and runner-up New York Giants. The series began on October 4 and ended on October 8 with the Giants sweeping in four games.

This was the first form of a championship series in professional baseball since the 1892 World Series, which saw the first and second-half winners of the National League face off in a best-of-eleven playoff.

Summary

New York won the series, 4–0.

class="wikitable sortable"
align="center"\|Game !Date !Score !Location
align="center" \| 1 \| October 4 \| New York Giants – 4, Baltimore Orioles – 1 \| Union Park{{Cite news \|date=October 5, 1894 \|title=TEMPLE CUP SERIES; THE GIANTS LEAD OFF WITH A DECISIVE VICTORY\|url=https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=oh18941005-01.1.8&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- \|access-date=2025-01-24 \|work=Olean Herald \|language=en}}
align="center" \| 2 \| October 5 \| New York Giants – 9, Baltimore Orioles – 6 \| Union Park{{Cite news \|date=October 6, 1894 \|title=NEW YORK-BALTIMORE; An Immense Attendance at the Game for the Temple Cup \|url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18941006-01.2.61&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------ \|access-date=2025-01-24 \|work=Rocky Mountain News (Daily) \|language=en \|issn=2642-1445}}
align="center" \| 3 \| October 6 \| Baltimore Orioles – 1, New York Giants – 4 \| Polo Grounds{{Cite news \|date=October 7, 1894 \|title=GIANTS ARE HARD TO BEAT; THEY WON FROM THE BALTIMORES WITH APPARENT EASE; A Scratch Hit by Brouthers Saved the Champions from a "Whitewash"—About 20,000 Persons Assembled on the Polo Grounds to Witness the Contest—Rusie Pitched Strong Ball When the Baltimores Had Men on Bases—It Was an Interesting Game \|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/07/106836403.html?pageNumber=8 \|url-access=subscription \|access-date=2025-01-24 \|work=The New York Times \|language=en \|issn=0362-4331 \|at=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/07/106836403.pdf}}
align="center" \| 4 \| October 8 \| Baltimore Orioles – 1, New York Giants – 7 \| Polo Grounds{{Cite news \|date=October 9, 1894 \|title=GIANTS WIN THE TEMPLE CUP; THEY CAPTURED FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES FROM BALTIMORE; The Decisive Contest Was Simply a Practice Game for the Local Players—Both Hawke and Gleason Were Used to Deceive the Giants' Batsmen, but Both Failed—Meekin Was in Grand Form and Proved an Enigma—The Profits $21,000 \|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/09/106836843.html?pageNumber=8 \|url-access=subscription \|access-date=2025-01-23 \|work=The New York Times \|language=en \|issn=0362-4331 \|at=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/09/106836843.pdf}}

class="wikitable sortable"

align="center"|Game

!Date

!Score

!Location

align="center" | 1

| October 4

| New York Giants – 4, Baltimore Orioles – 1

| Union Park{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1894 |title=TEMPLE CUP SERIES; THE GIANTS LEAD OFF WITH A DECISIVE VICTORY|url=https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=oh18941005-01.1.8&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=Olean Herald |language=en}}

align="center" | 2

| October 5

| New York Giants – 9, Baltimore Orioles – 6

| Union Park{{Cite news |date=October 6, 1894 |title=NEW YORK-BALTIMORE; An Immense Attendance at the Game for the Temple Cup |url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18941006-01.2.61&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------ |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=Rocky Mountain News (Daily) |language=en |issn=2642-1445}}

align="center" | 3

| October 6

| Baltimore Orioles – 1, New York Giants – 4

| Polo Grounds{{Cite news |date=October 7, 1894 |title=GIANTS ARE HARD TO BEAT; THEY WON FROM THE BALTIMORES WITH APPARENT EASE; A Scratch Hit by Brouthers Saved the Champions from a "Whitewash"—About 20,000 Persons Assembled on the Polo Grounds to Witness the Contest—Rusie Pitched Strong Ball When the Baltimores Had Men on Bases—It Was an Interesting Game |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/07/106836403.html?pageNumber=8 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331 |at=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/07/106836403.pdf}}

align="center" | 4

| October 8

| Baltimore Orioles – 1, New York Giants – 7

| Polo Grounds{{Cite news |date=October 9, 1894 |title=GIANTS WIN THE TEMPLE CUP; THEY CAPTURED FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES FROM BALTIMORE; The Decisive Contest Was Simply a Practice Game for the Local Players—Both Hawke and Gleason Were Used to Deceive the Giants' Batsmen, but Both Failed—Meekin Was in Grand Form and Proved an Enigma—The Profits $21,000 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/09/106836843.html?pageNumber=8 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331 |at=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/10/09/106836843.pdf}}

Game summaries

=Game 1=

{{Linescore|

|Date = Thursday, October 4, 1894

|Location = Union Park in Baltimore, Maryland

|Road=New York|RoadAbr=NY

|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=1|R6=1|R7=1|R8=1|R9=0|RR=4|RH=12|RE=2

|Home=Baltimore|HomeAbr=BAL

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=1|HR=1|HH=7|HE=1

|RSP=Amos Rusie|HSP=Duke Esper

|WP=Amos Rusie (1–0)|LP=Duke Esper (0–1)|SV=

|RoadHR=|HomeHR=

|Time=

|Attendance=11,720{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1894 |title=THE TEMPLE TROPHY; ALMOST A RIOT AT THE BALTIMORE GAME YESTERDAY |url=https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=RD18941005.1.1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=Richmond Dispatch |language=en |issn=1941-2967}}

|Notes=Game duration: 1:55

|}}