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Jiggs McGee · 10-16-2021, 03:12 PM

April 24, 1939 - Special Edition

WILD 24 HOURS LEADS TO CHANGES IN CLEVELAND

Surprising news from Cleveland caught the baseball world by surprise on the eve of Opening Day. Few outside of Foresters owner Richard Marshall know exactly what happened and none of them are talking following an incident of some sort that led to the sudden retirement of legendary catcher T.R. Goins and the dismissal of the club's General Manager. It is purely speculation at this point but sources indicate that Goins decided to retire after learning he did not fit into the club's plans for this season and was told by GM Nigel he would be assigned to AAA Cincinnati as the Foresters wanted 23 year old Ken Vance to be the starter and Mickey Patterson to remain the back-up. Nigel, who had only been on the job since the former GM left for the New York Stars in October, apparently did not run the move past Marshall and the Cleveland owner was incensed when word of why Goins was leaving reached his office. At that point there reportedly was a heated discussion which culminated, depending upon who you ask, with Nigel either quitting or being fired by Marshall.

Marshall is believed to have asked Goins, who won 2 Whitney Awards in his 16 year big league career, to reconsider his retirement decision but the 39 year old, who hit a career worst .234 last year, decided it was best for him to step aside. Goins won a pair of World Championship Series rings - one with Washington as a rookie in 1923 and one with the Foresters in 1934- and was named to participate in the all-star game 4 times since it's inception in 1933. His 2,622 career hits are the most all-time by a catcher and the 18th highest total in FABL history. At his retirement Goins sits 4th all-time in homers and 7th in rbi's. He will almost assuredly be called a Hall of Famer one day.

As for the Foresters front office vacancy it was revealed at a hastily called press conference that they have secured a new General Manager, who will be the third man to take the job since DD Martin left for Detroit in 1935. The new GM, Andrew, did hold the same post in the big leagues before, briefly running the Boston Minutemen for a couple of seasons but most recently was in charge of the Kyoto Bears of the Japanese League.

BNN TABS FORESTERS AND MINERS FOR SERIES

The news was not all bad for Cleveland fans as just before the controversy broke BNN, the Baseball News Network, issued it's official preseason predictions and surprisingly they picked the Foresters to dethrone the 3-time pennant winning Brooklyn Kings atop the Continental Association. The call seems a far-fetched one as several other prognosticators feel the Foresters will be hard pressed to escape the second division. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact BNN has the Kings finishing 5th in the CA. The selection of the Pittsburgh Miners as the Federal Association winner is far less controversial although few expect the defending World Champion Chicago Chiefs to finish 11 games back of the front-runners.

The complete predictions from BNN are below but some other oddities include the News Network calling for Deuce Barrell of the Baltimore Cannons to win more games than his uncle, three time Allen Award winner Tom of the Kings. In addition BNN thinks the Washington Eagles pitching staff will yield nearly 100 fewer runs than the Chicago Chiefs will surrender, and they also believe Bill Anderson, who has been awful the past two years in Washington, will regain his 1936 form when he won 22 games.

WHAT OTHERS ARE PREDICTING

While BNN sees the Cleveland Foresters as the surprise winner of the Continental Association each of the other major publications that posted predictions are in agreement that the Brooklyn Kings will retain their title. On the matter of the Federal Association there is much debate with Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit each being tabbed by two of the six experts listed below.

On the topic of the Federal Association OSA co-founder and Hall of Fame selection committee chair Rufus Barrell had the following to say. "Until someone knocks them off, the Chiefs' pitching and veteran lineup get my pick. The three-way battle may come down to who stays healthy, which is why the Miners' injury history drops them to third in the list. The next four are somewhat akin to the 2-5 group in the CA in that you can jumble them up in any order and have a reasonable chance of being right. If the Minutemen stay healthy, they're good for at worst fourth place in a top-heavy league. The Gothams, Keystones and Eagles are all in various stages of rebuild but NY has the edge in young talent... if it's ready. The Pioneers' big sell-off leaves them as most likely to finish last, but that's no sure bet either."

Rufus feels Brooklyn is the class of the Continental Association but beyond that a lot of things could happen. "you could throw numbers 2 through 5 in a hat and pull them out in any order and have a reasonably good chance of success," explained Barrell. "The only clear things are that the Kings are still ruling the roost and that the Cannons and Saints are going to be "fighting" for the cellar. The Stars should be improved under new management and with the moves made over the winter, but the clump of clubs in the CA behind Brooklyn is both deep and tough."

Like Rufus, Percy Sutherland, sports editor of the Chicago Herald-Examiner and frequent contributor to TWIFB, feels the Chiefs are the team to beat in the Fed citing age and durability as the reason. "BNN sees both George Cleaves and Mahlon Strong playing in 150+ games, which is rather unlikely. I also doubt that the trio of Stedman, Johnson, and Ketterman will combine for 950 innings. While BNN is discounting the Chiefs pitching tremendously."

As for the Continental Association Sutherland sees a real gap between the haves and the have-nots. "The 2nd division of the CA really could be in any order. I think there will be a big gap between the first and second divisions."

McGee had outlined his reasons for taking Pittsburgh and Brooklyn in an earlier edition of TWIFB but he feels the Miners will be rewarded for going all-in this season but expects it to be a very tight three-way race with the Chiefs and Detroit- noting injuries may be the deciding factor. McGee feels the Cougars are improving and Philadelphia is always strong but Brooklyn is just too powerful not to win the CA title again this season.

Fast Freddie Farhat passed his picks along with no explanation but that is fine as most readers are just happy to see the controversial Detroit World columnist out of the drunk tank and finally stringing complete sentences together again.

DID THEY OR DIDN'T THEY? THE TRADE NO ONE KNOWS IF IT HAPPENED OR NOT

Word trickled out yesterday that the New York Stars had sent a pair of pitchers and their second round draft pick in 1940 to the Baltimore Cannons for second baseman Clark Car. There was some confusion caused by the new split draft in which rounds 1-3 take place in January and the remaining rounds occur in June so the two clubs were under the impression that they could deal next years picks but it was quickly clarified by the commissioner as the rules state future years draft picks may not be dealt until after the current season draft has fully concluded. It is easy to see how the confusion occurred and Baltimore offered to accept New York's 4th and 5th round picks this season instead of the second next year but so far no official confirmation has come out of New York.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: I hope this one just dies a quick death and does not occur as from my corner it looks like a rare deal that would actually see both teams end up as losers in the exchange. The move makes little sense for either club in my books. Car is a 25 year old second baseman who hit .264 last season and has decent speed plus is very good in the field. in short, just the type of player the offensive-starved Cannons should be hanging on to. Now Baltimore does have some pretty good middle infielders in their system (Charlie McCullough, Jim Hensley and Howard Rivers are 3) but none have played at the big league level and with 5 straight last place finishes it seems foolish for Baltimore to further prolong the rebuild by dealing guys who are proven big league players away to make room for future talent.

Add in the fact that two players the Cannons would get back are both pitchers in Glenn Payne and AAA arm Lou Barker and I am at a complete loss to explain Baltimore's reasoning behind the deal. The 25 year old Payne went 4-10 last season with the Stars and has some potential but Baltimore already has Rufus Barrell, Gus Goulding, Art Edwards and Rusty Petrick on the big league roster who fit the description of rising young pitchers so it really seems like overkill to add another one at the expense of one of the few productive infielders they have.

As for the Stars, one FABL source summed it up this way: "Car is ok, but it's a lateral move from Hancock to Car at 2B. The defense isn't much better and the bat is arguably worse. Plus, where does Hancock go? He's got a pretty good 3B and 1B already and Hancock's glove isn't a great fit at SS - plus Angevine is going to be a stud. And the OF is crowded already."

In short the deal makes little sense from New York's perspective either, especially considering Payne could fit into their rotation this season - a rotation that appears at this stage to be the weak spot of the Stars club after all of the upgrades over the winter to their offense.

QUICK HITS

For the first time since 1933 President Roosevelt will not be available to throw out the first pitch when the new baseball season begins today with the Washington Eagles hosting the Philadelphia Keystones in the first ever game at their new stadium, Columbia Park. There is also one Continental Association game on the Monday docket with the Cleveland Foresters entertaining the Philadelphia Sailors.
In addition to Columbia Park in Washington there are two other new ballparks this season. Cougars Park will see the Chicago side hosting Cleveland in the first game at their new venue tomorrow. The new stadium for the Chicago Cougars was constructed right beside the North Side Grounds, which served as their home since 1903. It is a big change in New York as the Gothams had played at the Bigsby Oval on Broadway since 1883 although it did undergo several renovations over that time period. Their new home is called Gothams Stadium and is located in Queens. It will also see it's first action tomorrow with the defending World Champion Chicago Chiefs providing the opposition.
Both the Gothams and St Louis will have a tough go out of the gate as each play 11 of their first 14 games against either Detroit or Chicago.
The time is now in Detroit. The Dynamos GM told the Detroit World "I always pointed to the '39 season as where I'd like to see Detroit contend seriously. Last seasons 94 wins was certainly a surprise. The Dynamos arrived a season earlier than expected. Now it's time to take the next step. I think in 1939 after a 10 year drought will see a Fed pennant flying in Detroit barring serious injuries."
It is a clear division in both the Fed and the CA according to Rufus Barrell. " I would be shocked if 1-2-3 in the Fed is not comprised of the Chiefs, Miners & Dynamos in some order of that trio and the same could be said in the CA where three from the group of the Kings, Cougars, Wolves and Sailors seems a lock. Cracking either group would be a monumental achievement."
Rufus Barrell did add if there are going to be surprise teams he pegs the two New York clubs as the ones to do it. "Both the Stars and Gothams could raise some eyebrows this season. I would like to see some of the top prospects get a shot in Queens..."
The Opening Day updated list for the top prospects in the game seems to lean heavily towards pitchers with the top 4 and 6 of the top ten prospects being arms. The Gothams have the deepest farm system in the league and according to OSA they own four of the top ten prospects including number one overall Ed Bowman. Bowman is a 19 year old pitcher selected out of high school in Texas with the first actual draft pick in 1938. That was one of the years where the players judged to be first and second round talents were free to sign with clubs in a lottery system so the first actual draft pick selected by the teams was Bowman at the top of round three.
The Montreal Saints have the second and third ranked prospects in 20 year old lefthander Wally Doyle and 18 year old righty Pat Weakley. Doyle made his big league debut late last season but appears poised to start this year in AAA while Weakley made his pro debut last summer, going 6-11 for Class C Dubuque.
A recent article in the Chicago Daily News focused on 36 year old John Lawson being a lock to make the Hall of Fame one day. Can't argue with that as Lawson is a 5-time All-Star, 2 time Whitney Award winner who owns 4 batting titles and has 2306 career hits and counting entering the season. The column also speculates that 3 other current Cougars have an outside shot at making the Hall one day. They are newcomer Freddie Jones as well as Milt Fritz and Lou Kelly.
The Daily News story was inspired by speculation in the Washington Times Herald that Jack Bush could be a Hall of Famer. It sounds a bit like pure propaganda from a mouthpiece for the Eagles as Bush is 25 and has yet to make his big league debut. Percy Sutherland responded best when he said if he set the over/under on career games for Bush at 500, he would take the under.
Others mentioned by their hometown papers as potential Hall of Famers are all a lot more realistic than the Bush prediction from the Times Herald. They include Toronto's Fred McCormick, Lefty Allen and Jack Cleaves of Pittsburgh and while it is a long ways away there is already speculation in the Detroit World about Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson.
The owner of the AAA Sacramento Governors passed away this week. The Governors, one of 5 independent clubs in the Great Western League, were a powerhouse a couple of decades ago as they won 6 league titles in a 9 year stretch beginning in 1914 but have struggled much of the past decade. His son will take over running the club.

The Week That Was
Current events from the day of 04/24/1939

Britain says the decision to recall it's German ambassador is not permanent and Sir Neville Henderson will return to Berlin in the near future. When he does Henderson is said to be delivering a message to Hitler that London is close to introducing conscription to increase it's military might.
The President of Bolivia is now a dictator after issuing a decree establishing a totalitarian state in the South American country.
In New York, Mayor LaGuardia officially opened a new subway express service that will reach as far as Flushing.

10-16-2021, 03:12 PM	#265
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	This Week In Figment Baseball - 1939 Opening Day (part 2) April 24, 1939 - Special Edition WILD 24 HOURS LEADS TO CHANGES IN CLEVELAND Surprising news from Cleveland caught the baseball world by surprise on the eve of Opening Day. Few outside of Foresters owner Richard Marshall know exactly what happened and none of them are talking following an incident of some sort that led to the sudden retirement of legendary catcher T.R. Goins and the dismissal of the club's General Manager. It is purely speculation at this point but sources indicate that Goins decided to retire after learning he did not fit into the club's plans for this season and was told by GM Nigel he would be assigned to AAA Cincinnati as the Foresters wanted 23 year old Ken Vance to be the starter and Mickey Patterson to remain the back-up. Nigel, who had only been on the job since the former GM left for the New York Stars in October, apparently did not run the move past Marshall and the Cleveland owner was incensed when word of why Goins was leaving reached his office. At that point there reportedly was a heated discussion which culminated, depending upon who you ask, with Nigel either quitting or being fired by Marshall. Marshall is believed to have asked Goins, who won 2 Whitney Awards in his 16 year big league career, to reconsider his retirement decision but the 39 year old, who hit a career worst .234 last year, decided it was best for him to step aside. Goins won a pair of World Championship Series rings - one with Washington as a rookie in 1923 and one with the Foresters in 1934- and was named to participate in the all-star game 4 times since it's inception in 1933. His 2,622 career hits are the most all-time by a catcher and the 18th highest total in FABL history. At his retirement Goins sits 4th all-time in homers and 7th in rbi's. He will almost assuredly be called a Hall of Famer one day. As for the Foresters front office vacancy it was revealed at a hastily called press conference that they have secured a new General Manager, who will be the third man to take the job since DD Martin left for Detroit in 1935. The new GM, Andrew, did hold the same post in the big leagues before, briefly running the Boston Minutemen for a couple of seasons but most recently was in charge of the Kyoto Bears of the Japanese League. BNN TABS FORESTERS AND MINERS FOR SERIES The news was not all bad for Cleveland fans as just before the controversy broke BNN, the Baseball News Network, issued it's official preseason predictions and surprisingly they picked the Foresters to dethrone the 3-time pennant winning Brooklyn Kings atop the Continental Association. The call seems a far-fetched one as several other prognosticators feel the Foresters will be hard pressed to escape the second division. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact BNN has the Kings finishing 5th in the CA. The selection of the Pittsburgh Miners as the Federal Association winner is far less controversial although few expect the defending World Champion Chicago Chiefs to finish 11 games back of the front-runners. The complete predictions from BNN are below but some other oddities include the News Network calling for Deuce Barrell of the Baltimore Cannons to win more games than his uncle, three time Allen Award winner Tom of the Kings. In addition BNN thinks the Washington Eagles pitching staff will yield nearly 100 fewer runs than the Chicago Chiefs will surrender, and they also believe Bill Anderson, who has been awful the past two years in Washington, will regain his 1936 form when he won 22 games. WHAT OTHERS ARE PREDICTING While BNN sees the Cleveland Foresters as the surprise winner of the Continental Association each of the other major publications that posted predictions are in agreement that the Brooklyn Kings will retain their title. On the matter of the Federal Association there is much debate with Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit each being tabbed by two of the six experts listed below. On the topic of the Federal Association OSA co-founder and Hall of Fame selection committee chair Rufus Barrell had the following to say. "Until someone knocks them off, the Chiefs' pitching and veteran lineup get my pick. The three-way battle may come down to who stays healthy, which is why the Miners' injury history drops them to third in the list. The next four are somewhat akin to the 2-5 group in the CA in that you can jumble them up in any order and have a reasonable chance of being right. If the Minutemen stay healthy, they're good for at worst fourth place in a top-heavy league. The Gothams, Keystones and Eagles are all in various stages of rebuild but NY has the edge in young talent... if it's ready. The Pioneers' big sell-off leaves them as most likely to finish last, but that's no sure bet either." Rufus feels Brooklyn is the class of the Continental Association but beyond that a lot of things could happen. "you could throw numbers 2 through 5 in a hat and pull them out in any order and have a reasonably good chance of success," explained Barrell. "The only clear things are that the Kings are still ruling the roost and that the Cannons and Saints are going to be "fighting" for the cellar. The Stars should be improved under new management and with the moves made over the winter, but the clump of clubs in the CA behind Brooklyn is both deep and tough." Like Rufus, Percy Sutherland, sports editor of the Chicago Herald-Examiner and frequent contributor to TWIFB, feels the Chiefs are the team to beat in the Fed citing age and durability as the reason. "BNN sees both George Cleaves and Mahlon Strong playing in 150+ games, which is rather unlikely. I also doubt that the trio of Stedman, Johnson, and Ketterman will combine for 950 innings. While BNN is discounting the Chiefs pitching tremendously." As for the Continental Association Sutherland sees a real gap between the haves and the have-nots. "The 2nd division of the CA really could be in any order. I think there will be a big gap between the first and second divisions." McGee had outlined his reasons for taking Pittsburgh and Brooklyn in an earlier edition of TWIFB but he feels the Miners will be rewarded for going all-in this season but expects it to be a very tight three-way race with the Chiefs and Detroit- noting injuries may be the deciding factor. McGee feels the Cougars are improving and Philadelphia is always strong but Brooklyn is just too powerful not to win the CA title again this season. Fast Freddie Farhat passed his picks along with no explanation but that is fine as most readers are just happy to see the controversial Detroit World columnist out of the drunk tank and finally stringing complete sentences together again. DID THEY OR DIDN'T THEY? THE TRADE NO ONE KNOWS IF IT HAPPENED OR NOT Word trickled out yesterday that the New York Stars had sent a pair of pitchers and their second round draft pick in 1940 to the Baltimore Cannons for second baseman Clark Car. There was some confusion caused by the new split draft in which rounds 1-3 take place in January and the remaining rounds occur in June so the two clubs were under the impression that they could deal next years picks but it was quickly clarified by the commissioner as the rules state future years draft picks may not be dealt until after the current season draft has fully concluded. It is easy to see how the confusion occurred and Baltimore offered to accept New York's 4th and 5th round picks this season instead of the second next year but so far no official confirmation has come out of New York. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: I hope this one just dies a quick death and does not occur as from my corner it looks like a rare deal that would actually see both teams end up as losers in the exchange. The move makes little sense for either club in my books. Car is a 25 year old second baseman who hit .264 last season and has decent speed plus is very good in the field. in short, just the type of player the offensive-starved Cannons should be hanging on to. Now Baltimore does have some pretty good middle infielders in their system (Charlie McCullough, Jim Hensley and Howard Rivers are 3) but none have played at the big league level and with 5 straight last place finishes it seems foolish for Baltimore to further prolong the rebuild by dealing guys who are proven big league players away to make room for future talent. Add in the fact that two players the Cannons would get back are both pitchers in Glenn Payne and AAA arm Lou Barker and I am at a complete loss to explain Baltimore's reasoning behind the deal. The 25 year old Payne went 4-10 last season with the Stars and has some potential but Baltimore already has Rufus Barrell, Gus Goulding, Art Edwards and Rusty Petrick on the big league roster who fit the description of rising young pitchers so it really seems like overkill to add another one at the expense of one of the few productive infielders they have. As for the Stars, one FABL source summed it up this way: "Car is ok, but it's a lateral move from Hancock to Car at 2B. The defense isn't much better and the bat is arguably worse. Plus, where does Hancock go? He's got a pretty good 3B and 1B already and Hancock's glove isn't a great fit at SS - plus Angevine is going to be a stud. And the OF is crowded already." In short the deal makes little sense from New York's perspective either, especially considering Payne could fit into their rotation this season - a rotation that appears at this stage to be the weak spot of the Stars club after all of the upgrades over the winter to their offense. QUICK HITS For the first time since 1933 President Roosevelt will not be available to throw out the first pitch when the new baseball season begins today with the Washington Eagles hosting the Philadelphia Keystones in the first ever game at their new stadium, Columbia Park. There is also one Continental Association game on the Monday docket with the Cleveland Foresters entertaining the Philadelphia Sailors. In addition to Columbia Park in Washington there are two other new ballparks this season. Cougars Park will see the Chicago side hosting Cleveland in the first game at their new venue tomorrow. The new stadium for the Chicago Cougars was constructed right beside the North Side Grounds, which served as their home since 1903. It is a big change in New York as the Gothams had played at the Bigsby Oval on Broadway since 1883 although it did undergo several renovations over that time period. Their new home is called Gothams Stadium and is located in Queens. It will also see it's first action tomorrow with the defending World Champion Chicago Chiefs providing the opposition. Both the Gothams and St Louis will have a tough go out of the gate as each play 11 of their first 14 games against either Detroit or Chicago. The time is now in Detroit. The Dynamos GM told the Detroit World "I always pointed to the '39 season as where I'd like to see Detroit contend seriously. Last seasons 94 wins was certainly a surprise. The Dynamos arrived a season earlier than expected. Now it's time to take the next step. I think in 1939 after a 10 year drought will see a Fed pennant flying in Detroit barring serious injuries." It is a clear division in both the Fed and the CA according to Rufus Barrell. " I would be shocked if 1-2-3 in the Fed is not comprised of the Chiefs, Miners & Dynamos in some order of that trio and the same could be said in the CA where three from the group of the Kings, Cougars, Wolves and Sailors seems a lock. Cracking either group would be a monumental achievement." Rufus Barrell did add if there are going to be surprise teams he pegs the two New York clubs as the ones to do it. "Both the Stars and Gothams could raise some eyebrows this season. I would like to see some of the top prospects get a shot in Queens..." The Opening Day updated list for the top prospects in the game seems to lean heavily towards pitchers with the top 4 and 6 of the top ten prospects being arms. The Gothams have the deepest farm system in the league and according to OSA they own four of the top ten prospects including number one overall Ed Bowman. Bowman is a 19 year old pitcher selected out of high school in Texas with the first actual draft pick in 1938. That was one of the years where the players judged to be first and second round talents were free to sign with clubs in a lottery system so the first actual draft pick selected by the teams was Bowman at the top of round three. The Montreal Saints have the second and third ranked prospects in 20 year old lefthander Wally Doyle and 18 year old righty Pat Weakley. Doyle made his big league debut late last season but appears poised to start this year in AAA while Weakley made his pro debut last summer, going 6-11 for Class C Dubuque. A recent article in the Chicago Daily News focused on 36 year old John Lawson being a lock to make the Hall of Fame one day. Can't argue with that as Lawson is a 5-time All-Star, 2 time Whitney Award winner who owns 4 batting titles and has 2306 career hits and counting entering the season. The column also speculates that 3 other current Cougars have an outside shot at making the Hall one day. They are newcomer Freddie Jones as well as Milt Fritz and Lou Kelly. The Daily News story was inspired by speculation in the Washington Times Herald that Jack Bush could be a Hall of Famer. It sounds a bit like pure propaganda from a mouthpiece for the Eagles as Bush is 25 and has yet to make his big league debut. Percy Sutherland responded best when he said if he set the over/under on career games for Bush at 500, he would take the under. Others mentioned by their hometown papers as potential Hall of Famers are all a lot more realistic than the Bush prediction from the Times Herald. They include Toronto's Fred McCormick, Lefty Allen and Jack Cleaves of Pittsburgh and while it is a long ways away there is already speculation in the Detroit World about Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson. The owner of the AAA Sacramento Governors passed away this week. The Governors, one of 5 independent clubs in the Great Western League, were a powerhouse a couple of decades ago as they won 6 league titles in a 9 year stretch beginning in 1914 but have struggled much of the past decade. His son will take over running the club. The Week That Was Current events from the day of 04/24/1939 Britain says the decision to recall it's German ambassador is not permanent and Sir Neville Henderson will return to Berlin in the near future. When he does Henderson is said to be delivering a message to Hitler that London is close to introducing conscription to increase it's military might. The President of Bolivia is now a dictator after issuing a decree establishing a totalitarian state in the South American country. In New York, Mayor LaGuardia officially opened a new subway express service that will reach as far as Flushing. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports