A wild first series in 1888, Part 2 By JohnW53 on May 14, 2021, 3:49am CDT + .......... The Cubs, then known as the White Stockings, had won on Opening Day, Friday, April 21, thanks to Jimmy Ryan's walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth. Although the game was played at Seventh Street Park in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers had batted last, having won the coin flip held before each game and choosing to bat first. The dramatic victory had featured a fifth-inning brawl in which, as the Chicago Tribune put it, "[Whites catcher Dell] Darling scored a single with his right duke on [Indianapolis center fielder] Paul Hines' neck and [Hoosiers first baseman Dude] Esterbrook got in his right for three singles on [Whites left fielder Marty] Sullivan's face."