Honus Wagner was on that Pirate team. ....one of the best ever. I'd like to see the box score of this series.
why aren't the previous ones in the 1800s considered first?
History of the World Series - 1903
After going at each other viciously for two years, the established National League and fledgling American League buried the hatchet, at least temporarily, in 1903 -- thanks in large part to the owners of the NL's Pittsburgh club and the AL's Boston team.
With their clubs apparently headed toward pennants, Pittsburgh's Barney Dreyfuss and Boston's Henry Killilea agreed during the 1903 season to stage a best-of-nine postseason playoff for the "world championship." The accommodation came in the wake of open hostilities -- punctuated player raids -- that had existed between the National League and American League since the junior's entry on the major-league scene in 1901.
Dreyfuss' Pirates appeared to be stellar representatives for the league, whose history dated to 1876. Pittsburgh had third consecutive pennant in '03. Boston also seemed a worthy competitor in this first modern World Series, having won the AL flag by 14 1/2 games.