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The 1915 Season
The 1915 season opens with all eyes on Chicago's North Side, as the Whales welcome a familiar face to the three-year-old Weeghman Park: Walter Johnson. Johnson leaves the Senators after eight seasons during which he established himself as the undisputed best pitcher in baseball. His defection to the Federals leaves the established leagues uncertain as star players and role players alike see the chance at real money for the first time after struggling under the reserve clause.
On the Whales, Johnson joins aging veteran Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, who has signed on with the Whales, spiting his old crosstown club the Cubs. Eddie Plank and Charles Bender have also fled, leaving the AL Champion Athletics and Connie Mack behind to sign with the Louisville Colonels and Baltimore Terrapins, respectively. Others who have hoped to strike it big, like pitchers Lefty Williams and Jim Bagby, 2B Lee Magee, C Art Wilson, are hopeful that the Federal League will provide real money and a path to a long career.
Things could have been even more promising for the Federals. At nearly the same moment as Johnson signed his contract with Chicago, star pitcher Rube Marquard of the New York Giants inked one with the Newark Peppers, across the Hudson River. While Clark Griffiths of the Senators failed in his efforts to reclaim Johnson, however, the Giants were able to retain Marquard for the two years he had left on his Polo Grounds contract. But despite that setback, the future appears bright for the new league.
Even with the newfound strength of 1914 runner-up Chicago, Federal League prognosticators are still eyeing Indianapolis to claim their third straight title behind the efforts of star RF Edd Roush and SP Cy Falkenberg. With the Peppers and Whales nipping at their heels, however, and a new league coming up behind them, who knows what surprises 1915 will bring?
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