THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
OCTOBER 25, 1937
WINDS OF CHANGE GUST THROUGH DETROIT AND GOTHAM CITY
The expectation was this would be a very busy off-season but news today shocked the baseball world on two fronts. First there came word out of Detroit that the rumours were true: Max Morris was leaving his post as the Dynamos manager to embark on a political career. His replacement was also announced and that was entirely unexpected. George Theobald, minority owner of the club and arguably the most successful manager in league history will take over for Morris in the Detroit dugout. While many fans will be saddened to see Morris leave the game - he also retired as a player at the end of the season - I am sure all who were touched by 'Mighty Mo' wish him great success in wherever his political ambitions lead him.
Politics may have played a role in today's other big off-field news as New York Gothams owner Charles Bigsby announced he is stepping down effective immediately and has sold the ballclub. The Bigsby family is well known in New York, as much for it's nefarious activities over the years as it was for it's baseball club. There are a number of rumours circulating that the owner's hand was forced following the uncovering of something he and his family preferred remained hidden, either by the league, by New York Mayor La Guardia or perhaps by G-Men (and by that I don't mean Gothams players). Nothing has been made public, and expectations are it never will be but the most credible rumour making the rounds is that pressure from NYC mayor LaGuardia’s attempts to crackdown on government corruption might have opened a can of worms Bibsby would have preferred stay buried and an agreement was made that he and his family would fade from public view.
Sources close to Bigsby claim that he has simply tired of the stress and wants to retire. However, it has been noted that men in Bigsby‘s primary line of work don’t typically retire….they expire with the cause usually being lead poisoning.
Fueling the speculation that there must be more to the story was the fact the club has been in the control of the Bigsby family since the formation of the league in 1892 and their involvement in the pro game stretches even further back than that. As result it is extremely surprising that the club has been sold to outside interests and not remained within the family. While it is true that Charles has no children of his own but he does have many cousins or nephews and when asked why he did not award the team to one of them he simply gave a small, sad smile and replied with a terse "No comment."
While little is known about the new owner of the Gothams, Manhattan businessman Leland Winthrop, it is expected that he will be welcomed with open arms by his 15 league associates as even the foulest odor wafting over the Bigsby Oval would be a breath of fresh air compared to the stench that was the Bibsby clan.
The 40 year old Winthrop made his fortune in real estate and while he has no personal connection to the sport, his family certainly does as it was Winthrop's grandfather, an architect by trade, who designed the Gothams home stadium, the Bigsby Bowl. The venue has since been renovated three times. Winthrop was not at the press conference but Bigsby offered this when asked about his successor. "He's a good man, a New Yorker to the core, and I am sure he will be a big part of returning the Gothams to greatness."
WHEELER WINS TIGHTEST WHITNEY AWARD RACE IN YEARS
In what might have been the tightest race for the Continental Association Whitney Award on record the Brooklyn Kings Al Wheeler claimed his third straight Whitney and fifth of his career by narrowly outpointing Chicago Cougars third baseman John Lawson. Whitney finished with 159 points, four more than Lawson accumulated despite the fact that the veteran Cougar garnered 7 first place votes, one more than the slugging Brooklyn outfielder. Two of the other three first place votes went to Wheeler's Brooklyn teammate Frank Vance, who finished third in the balloting with the final one going to fourth place finisher George Dawson of the Cleveland Foresters.
For Wheeler it is his third straight Whitney as he has won in each of the three seasons since joining the Kings, along with Frank Vance, in a 1935 trade from Detroit. Wheeler also won the award while in the Federal Association in 1930 and again in 1932.
The Kings made it a clean sweep of the awards for the third year in a row but this time it was not Tom Barrell joining Wheeler as instead 32 year old Kings lefthander Joe Shaffner won the first Allen Award of his career and the CA's top hurler. Barrell had won the three previous seasons but missed much of this year with an injury. Shaffner, who posted a 20-4 record with a FABL leading 2.32 era received 13 of the 16 first place votes with Cleveland's Sergio Gonzales claiming the other three to finish second.
ALLEN WINS ALLEN
Voters made it pretty clear who they felt the best pitcher was in the Federal Association and with good reason. 23 year old Pittsburgh Miners ace Lefty Allen wins the award named after another great pitcher by the name of Allen. It will be a long time and take a lot more seasons like this one before Lefty ever draws comparisons to Double-Al but he certainly took a step in the right direction this season as the southpaw tied for the FABL lead in wins with 22 and was second in the Federal Association in era with a 3.27 mark but what really set him apart from the rest was his strikeouts. Allen fanned 230 hitters, a total that you need to go all the way back to 1916 in order to have a pitcher surpass it. In fact since Brooklyn's George DiMarzo struck out 227 in 1917 there has only been one other pitcher fan at least 200 before Allen's season this year. That pitcher was Rabbit Day, who finished third in the voting this year by the way, and he struck out a career best 211 in 1930.
The Federal Association Whitney Award winner also had a special season as Washington's Mel Carrol won the award for the first time after hitting .409 with 26 homers and 130 rbi's. The 25 year old third baseman became the first player to hit over .400 since Max Morris last did it in 1925. Carrol received 13 of the 16 first place votes with Frank McCormick of St Louis getting the other 3.