OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - At the Keystone: The Philadelphia Keystones of the FABL

gstatman · 06-11-2019, 12:09 PM

In the 1893 season, a playoff was staged to determine the true champion of the two “associations”. And, it was the cross-town Sailors who represented the rival association in its first two years. The Sailors lost in both Series, but they were the upstarts and would end up out-drawing the Keystones as early as 1896 before winning the only World’s Championship Series either team won in the “pre-play” era in 1897.

To start the Series Era, the Keystones were flat with a 66-74 season. But, for the rest of the decade, the Keystones were earning a reputation as the best team not to win a Fed pennant with three second-place finishes and a couple of third-place finishes over the next six years. Out of the years 1894-99 inclusive, four of them were 80-win campaigns where the team finished 20 or more games above .500. Even including the 1893 season, the Keystones had a record of 533-447 (.544 winning percentage) in the 19th century “Series” era.

The best hitter during this era was Claude Jones, one of the two best hitting catchers of his time along with the Gothams’ Marsh Perry. Jones had four 200-hit seasons, topping out at 251 hits as the everyday rightfielder in 1897, which stood fourth all-time in FABL history through the “pre-play” era. Jones also reached the hallowed .400 mark batting average in back-to-back years (1896-97), with his .425 average in 1897 standing as the third-best single-season batting average in league history through the 1925 season.

An honorable mention for the top Keystone around this time was Fred Roby, in part because of his early success. Roby led the league in hits in 1889 (212) and after a two-year sojourn with the Philadelphia Maroons in the Peerless League, came back to the Keystones in time for a championship in 1892, but his career year was in 1894. In his age-27 season, Roby paced the FABL in hits (249), home runs (19), runs batted in (142), average (.416), slugging percentage (.617), on-base-plus-slugging (1.097) and WAR (10.3). While the rest of Roby’s career, which lasted until 1910, was not as magical as his early-career heroics, he did manage over 3,000 “major league” hits. Out of his 3,026 hits, 2,280 came in a Keystones uniform, which places him second all-time behind the great Zebulon Banks (3,307).

However, as the new century approached, the Keystones to which Philadelphia fans had grown accustomed – Banks, Wilkes, Jones, Roby, and Tucker – were out the door or almost out the door. The next generation did not extend the winning tradition in Philadelphia and that was putting it mildly.

06-11-2019, 12:09 PM	#5
gstatman Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Northern New Jersey Posts: 24	The Last Vestiges of Success in the 19th Century (1893-1899) In the 1893 season, a playoff was staged to determine the true champion of the two “associations”. And, it was the cross-town Sailors who represented the rival association in its first two years. The Sailors lost in both Series, but they were the upstarts and would end up out-drawing the Keystones as early as 1896 before winning the only World’s Championship Series either team won in the “pre-play” era in 1897. To start the Series Era, the Keystones were flat with a 66-74 season. But, for the rest of the decade, the Keystones were earning a reputation as the best team not to win a Fed pennant with three second-place finishes and a couple of third-place finishes over the next six years. Out of the years 1894-99 inclusive, four of them were 80-win campaigns where the team finished 20 or more games above .500. Even including the 1893 season, the Keystones had a record of 533-447 (.544 winning percentage) in the 19th century “Series” era. The best hitter during this era was Claude Jones, one of the two best hitting catchers of his time along with the Gothams’ Marsh Perry. Jones had four 200-hit seasons, topping out at 251 hits as the everyday rightfielder in 1897, which stood fourth all-time in FABL history through the “pre-play” era. Jones also reached the hallowed .400 mark batting average in back-to-back years (1896-97), with his .425 average in 1897 standing as the third-best single-season batting average in league history through the 1925 season. An honorable mention for the top Keystone around this time was Fred Roby, in part because of his early success. Roby led the league in hits in 1889 (212) and after a two-year sojourn with the Philadelphia Maroons in the Peerless League, came back to the Keystones in time for a championship in 1892, but his career year was in 1894. In his age-27 season, Roby paced the FABL in hits (249), home runs (19), runs batted in (142), average (.416), slugging percentage (.617), on-base-plus-slugging (1.097) and WAR (10.3). While the rest of Roby’s career, which lasted until 1910, was not as magical as his early-career heroics, he did manage over 3,000 “major league” hits. Out of his 3,026 hits, 2,280 came in a Keystones uniform, which places him second all-time behind the great Zebulon Banks (3,307). However, as the new century approached, the Keystones to which Philadelphia fans had grown accustomed – Banks, Wilkes, Jones, Roby, and Tucker – were out the door or almost out the door. The next generation did not extend the winning tradition in Philadelphia and that was putting it mildly. Attached Images __________________ Figment League Baseball: Philadelphia Keystones (1926-) Mythic League Baseball: Philadelphia Keystones (1886-) OOTP Dynasty Reports: At the Keystone: The Philadelphia Keystones of the FABL Greatest Team Tournament Last edited by gstatman; 06-11-2019 at 04:09 PM.