[legendsport]

Egypt, GA: December 5, 1923:

Harry Barrell was asleep on the couch, his arm thrown over the family's old coonhound. Ol' Blue, despite Alice's best efforts, had never quite gotten the memo on dogs not being permitted on the furniture. A light snore could be heard from that corner of the room. Rufus Barrell smirked as he looked at his youngest son and the dog, idly wondering which one was snoring.

Normally Rufus would be out of the house, doing... something. Despite having passed his fiftieth birthday, the Barrell patriarch hadn't yet lost his drive towards keeping busy. But today was a special day - it was draft day for the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues, and for the first time in several years, there was a Barrell on the lengthy list of eligible draftees.

That the Barrell in question, his son Daniel, was hundreds of miles away in Chicago, likely (hopefully, Rufus corrected himself) sweating his way through his final exams, was not really pertinent. Rufus figured it was a longshot that his middle son - fifth of nine - would ever play in FABL. Still, his dreams of playing in the league had never quite left him, even all these long years later and though Jack hadn't made it, Rufus thought Danny could... if he applied himself in that direction.

Rufus looked at his wife. Alice was sitting in her favorite chair, knitting. Rufus and Alice had just that evening discussed their "middle son" as they liked to call him (as if they had three boys rather than nine) - it was as inside a joke as you'd find in the Barrell house.

"I hope he finds some direction in his life," Alice had said. "He pined over Claudia something fierce," she added, shaking her head.

Rufus' nod was slow and short as he replied, "I think in his heart he always knew that was not going to work out."

"And the head doesn't always listen to the heart."

"Exactly so," Rufus had replied with a warm smile. He and his wife had been together a long time and their thoughts were often - but not always - in sync. This was one of those times.

If he'd been a betting man, Rufus would have put his money on Danny following Joe and Jack into professional football. He was more like Joe than Jack, but where Joe and Jack primarily relied on their great strength, stamina, and toughness, Danny combined those attribues with great speed. Rollie was athletically gifted too, but less strong and imposing. His younger boys... Fred and Tom were earnest, hard-working boys - they'd succeed at whatever they put their minds to, Rufus reckoned. Bobby showed every sign of being an outstanding athlete; everything seemed to come so easily to him. Harry was a revelation. His reflexes, even at just ten years old, astounded Rufus. His scout's eye said Harry could end up being one of the best shortstops (or maybe centerfielders) to ever play if he chose baseball over his other passion: basketball. He quickly chided himself on "scouting his offspring" as Alice called it and turned his attention to his teletype as the next pick came over the wire.

He glanced over and read, "Round 16... pick 8... Montreal Saints select.... OF Daniel Barrell, Capital Academy, District of Columbia"

He took a deep breath and let out a whoop of relieved joy.

On the couch, Ol' Blue's head popped up and he let out a startled chuffing noise. Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What...?" he muttered.

Alice was peering at Rufus intently. "Dan?" she asked.

Rufus nodded with a grin on his face. "Saints, 16th round."

Harry, who had gamely hung on for as long as he could before falling asleep as he waited with Rufus to see Danny's name called, said, "16th round? He should stay in school."

Alice quirked an eyebrow at her youngest boy and said, "You said it, buster."

Rufus shrugged, but the happiness was still evident on his face. "It'll be up to him. I'd like to see what they'll offer. I might give Pierre a call in the morning."

Now Alice turned his gaze on her husband. "You will keep your nose out of this, Rufus," she said.

Rufus put a hurt look on his face. "I'm not going to interfere. I just want to see if there'll be some kind of bonus offering."

Even Alice knew this was unlikely. "He was a 16th round pick, Rufus."

Rufus shrugged and replied, "Only because they know he's playing football in college and unlikely to sign. I can, erm... realign their perspective." Rufus smiled, proud of himself for his phrasing.

Alice shook her head. "That would be interfering. Let them deal with Danny on their own."

Rufus grumbled and nodded, knowing he'd end up calling Pierre Lafitte anyway. After all what the heck use was having the direct line of every scouting director and GM in baseball if you couldn't use it when your own kid got drafted?



NOTE: We currently have an opening in the Figment League if you're interested in being a part of FABL. The available team is our defending champion club in Cleveland. Shoot me a PM if you'd like more info or want to sign on.