1984 (1) SABR Recreation of the 1884 World Series Providence Grays New York Metropolitans, Both Teams In 1984 the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first World Series, which was played in 1884 between the Providence Grays of the National League and the New York Metropolitans of the American Association. Providence won the series, 3 games to 0.