The Continental Baseball Union: An OOTP 17 Dynasty

[PhillieFever]

January 2nd, 1922


The Little League That Could
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A Look Back At 20 Seasons Of The CBU

A product of the late 19th and early 20th century baseball wars, the Continental Baseball Union was given little hope of succeeding when it began play in the spring of 1903. Concepts such as free agency, arbitration, an entry draft and farm teams were the backbone of a league built on fairness, honesty and integrity, and ridiculed as they were, those ideas proved to be just what the doctor ordered for a game that was as dirty and wretched as anything seen in these great United States at the time.
Now headed into it's 20th season, the CBU has become a rousing success, so in honor of that we here at The Sporting News have decided to do a multi part chronicle on the history of the Continental Baseball Union. Each part will focus on a different area of the league's history, part one is up next!

Before I go any further I'd like to offer up a huge, huge thank you to txranger, Knuckler, and the rest of the talented crew over in the mod section. Without you, this universe DOES NOT exist! Thank you so much for what you do.

[PhillieFever]

Continental Baseball Union
Champions

1903: Brooklyn Robins defeat San Francisco Seals 4 games to 0

1904: Salt Lake City Bees defeat Chicago Green Sox 4 games to 1

1905: Portland Beavers defeat Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 2

1906: San Francisco Seals defeat Louisville Sluggers 4 games to 1

1907: Los Angeles Angels defeat Louisville Sluggers 4 games to 1

1908: St. Louis Browns defeat Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 0

1909: Hollywood Stars defeat Cincinnati Redlegs 4 games to 2

1910: St. Louis Browns defeat Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 3

1911: Milwaukee Brewers defeat Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 3

1912: Chicago Green Sox defeat Salt Lake City Bees 4 games to 1

1913: Portland Beavers defeat Milwaukee Brewers 4 games to 3

1914: Los Angeles Angels defeat Cincinnati Redlegs 4 games to 3

1915: Los Angeles Angels defeat Chicago Green Sox 4 games to 0

1916: San Francisco Seals defeat Chicago Green Sox 4 games to 0

1917: Brooklyn Robins defeat Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 0

1918: Sacramento Solons defeat Brooklyn Robins 4 games to 1

1919: Chicago Green Sox defeat Portland Beavers 4 games to 1

1920: Brooklyn Robins defeat Sacramento Solons 4 games to 2

1921: St. Louis Browns defeat Portland Beavers 4 games to 2

[PhillieFever]

Continental Baseball Union
Hall Of Fame

Class Of 1920




Class Of 1921

[PhillieFever]

Continental Baseball Union
Record Book

Single Season Batting Records

Batting Average: .391 Fred Kulikowski(StL) 1920

On Base Percentage: .476 Bill May(Sea) 1912

Slugging Percentage: .566 Hal Frey(Mil) 1921

Games: 155 Emil Ganzhorn(LAA) 1910

At Bats: 665 Henry Fischer(Sea) 1903

Runs: 126 Fred Kulikowski(StL) 1921

Hits: 247 Fred Kulikowski(StL) 1920

Total Bases: 354 Fred Kulikowski(Stl) 1920

Singles: 186 Joe Dobek(Mil) 1921

Doubles: 53 Jesse West(Phi) 1920

Triples: 41 Tom Stanley(SLC) 1904

Home Runs: 28 Hal Frey(Mil) 1921

Runs Batted In: 126 Tom Stanley(SLC) 1904

Stolen Bases: 95 Manuel Pagan(Chi) 1911

Walks: 144 Bill May(Sea) 1912

Strikeouts: 151 Bill Bundy(Oak) 1914

Single Season Pitching Records

Wins: 31 George Little(Lou) 1907

Earned Run Average: 1.12 Ad Loe(LAA) 1908

Losses: 31 Frank Kidd(StL) 1906

Games: 67 Charlie Walker(Mil) 1916

Games Started: 42 Jerry Entrekin(SLC) 1913

Complete Games: 37 Dick Holcomb(Oak) 1906

Innings Pitched: 384.0 Cy Andrews(SFS) 1906

Strikeouts: 276 Red Hayward(Phi) 1916

Walks: 236 Manuel Garcia(StL) 1917

Saves: 26 Phil Fuller(Lou) 1917

Shutouts: 15 Jack Mullins(LAA) 1909

Home Runs Allowed: 23 Bill Leih(Lou) 1920

[PhillieFever]

Continental Baseball Union
No Hitters & Perfect Games

July 2nd, 1903: Cincinnati's Charlie Genter fans 7 and walks 3 during his history making no hitter against Chicago.

August 10th, 1903: Milwaukee's John Carpenter strikes out 5 and walks none in a no hit victory over Brooklyn

July 16th, 1905: San Francisco's Elias Chandler strikes out 8 and walks 2 in a no hit victory over Seattle

June 9th, 1906: While playing for Portland, pitcher Amos Wright strikes out 4 and walks 1 on his way to a no hitter against Los Angeles

July 7th, 1907: 7/7/07 was a lucky day for the Seals' Bill Greene who fans 2 and walks 3 in a no hit victory over the Angels

September 17th, 1907: The Browns' Adam Crutcher strikes out 3 and walks 1 in a no hit victory over Milwaukee

July 16th, 1909: George Whipple fans 3 and walks 4 while firing a no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles

August 31st, 1909: Hollywood's Levin Crosby strikes out and walks 2 in a no hit victory over San Francisco

July 5th, 1914: Nearly five years after the last one, Brooklyn's Kid Hess fans 4 and walks 2 during his no hitter against Baltimore

May 1st, 1915: Sacramento's Pete Sapp fans 2 and walks 6 in a no hitter against Hollywood

May 30th, 1915: Oakland's Jim Bedell strikes out 1 and walks 4 in a no hit victory over San Francisco

September 15th, 1916: Brooklyn's Sam Clark fires the 12th no hitter in league history, striking out 3 and walking 1 in a victory over Chicago

May 22nd, 1918: Seattle's Fred Atkinson fires the 13th no hitter in league history, fanning 1 and walking 2 in a victory over Oakland.

July 16th, 1920: Baltimore's Al Welsh fires the first perfect game in league history in a 6 strikeout and zero walk victory over Louisville

August 11th, 1920: Sacramento's Jim Logan fans 3 and walks 1 in a no hit victory over Hollywood

***I apologize for not having the actual results of each game, but for some reason OOTP does not track that long term.

[PhillieFever]

Continental Baseball Union
Grab Bag Of Historical Significance

October 1st, 1910: With a triple slash of .338/.400/.464, 10 home runs, 95 RBI and 96 runs scored, Browns RF Ambrose McClellan becomes the first hitter ever to win the triple crown.

September 1st, 1911: The Angels' Jack Mullins becomes the first CPU hurler to reach the 200 win mark in a shutout of the Salt Lake City Bees. Since that time, 14 others have reached the milestone.

October 1st, 1911: The Angels' Jack Mullin finishes the season with a record of 28-7 with a 1.98 ERA, 210 strikeouts, and 60 walks in 331.1 innings pitched on his way to becoming the first(and to date the only) pitcher in CBU history to win the triple crown

September 5th, 1912: The Angels' Jack "Sneezy" Mullins becomes the first pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts for his career. Since that time, just three other pitchers: Bill Greene(SF), Lester Vaughan(Por), Red Hayward(Sea) have been able to reach the milestone.

September 19th, 1913: The Angels' Jack Mullins becomes the first hurler to 250 wins. Four other pitchers: Lester Vaughan(Por), Jim Brandon(SLC), John Adams(Chi), and Amos Wright(SF) have since reached the milestone

October 1st, 1914: Coming off an injury plagued 1913 in which he played in just eight games, Redlegs SS Jesse "Cupcakes" Farrand goes for a triple slash of .347/.379/.504 with 11 home runs, 118 RBI, 118 runs scored, 25 doubles, 21 triples, and 65 stolen bases on his way to the triple crown, the second ever in league history.

April 28th, 1916: Brooklyn's Al Rust becomes the first hitter to reach 2,000 hits for his career. Two other hitters: Charlie Hanson(SLC), and Jesse Farrand(SAC) have since reached the mark.

July 5th, 1916: Chicago's Charlie Hanson becomes the first person to score 1,000 runs in his career. Since then only Al Rust(Mil) has reached the mark.

July 30th, 1916: The Angels Jack Mullins becomes the first and only pitcher to reach 2,500 strikeouts for his career.

May 21st, 1917: Cementing his status as the greatest pitcher in the history of the CBU, the Angels' Jack Mullins becomes the first and only hurler to reach 300 wins for his career.

Running from September 2nd, 1919 until April 23rd, 1920, Oakland 1B Bill "Jukebox" Bundy puts together an historical league best 44 game hit streak.

[PhillieFever]

Hey guys, some of you long-timers may have feint memories of me, newer guys won't know a lick about me lol, but from OOTP 8 to about OOTP 13 I was a regular here on the forums, especially here in the dynasty section, but over the last several years I've not played much OOTP, so in turn I've not been around these parts much.
Like most though I've finally found my way back and I've decided to do a dynasty thread centered around a universe that I created a couple of years back, but never really got rolling with. Now new and improved, the Continental Baseball Union is back! Over the next few days I'm going to introduce you to each and every one of the 16 clubs in the CBU. From there I'll choose a club to manage and begin season #20!

[PhillieFever]

Baltimore Orioles

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1422-1504(.486)
League Pennants: 1(1905)
CBU Championships: 0

Without a pennant since 1905, the Baltimore Orioles have been also-rans for most of their existence, finishing in the bottom two in 7 of their 19 seasons. Since finishing a dismal 56-98 in 1919, the O's have steadily improved however, ending 1921 at 81-73, just five and a half games off the pace in the ACL. Is 1922 the year they break thru?

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Brooklyn Robins

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1545-1381(.528)
League Pennants: 4(1903, 1917, 1918, 1920)
CBU Championships: 3(1903, 1917, 1920)

Winners of the inaugural CBU championship, and two in the past 5 seasons, the Brooklyn Robins are always a club to be reckoned with. Despite championships in 1917 and 1920, the club's regular season win total has dropped steadily for five straight seasons(97, 91, 90, 89, 82). Anomaly, or a sign of things to come?

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Chicago Green Sox

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1582-1384(.541)
League Pennants: 5(1904, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1919)
CBU Championships: 2(1912, 1919)

Boasting the highest winning percentage of any club in the CBU, the Green Sox have shockingly hit hard times. Finishing with back to back losing records for the first time in their history, Chicago will be looking the right the ship quickly. Their offense, anchored by reigning rookie of the year RF Charlie "Hot Stuff" Welch(354/.423/.542, 12 HR, 45 2B, 89 RBI, 84 R), looks on its way to recovery, but their league worst pitching staff still has holes to fill.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Cincinnati Redlegs

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1482-1445(.506)
League Pennants: 2(1909, 1914)
CBU Championships: 0

Following years of mediocrity, the Redlegs exploded to life in 1921, but came up just short in the end, dropping a 5-4 decision to the St. Louis Browns in a one game playoff for the ACL pennant. A definite team to watch in 1922.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Louisville Sluggers

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1523-1403(.521)
League Pennants: 2(1906, 1907)
CBU Championships: 0

Second place finishers in 1918, 19, and 20, the Sluggers slumped badly in 1921, ending the season in 6th place with a record of 68-86.
26 year old 1B Ike Taylor(.311/.349/.485, 22 2B, 8 3B, 9 HR, 60 RBI) who put together a second straight all-star season before being lost for the season in late July, is fully healthy again and will be expected to lead the way for the Sluggers.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Milwaukee Brewers

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1365-1561(.467)
League Pennants: 2(1911, 1913)
CBU Championships: 1(1911)

Since last winning the pennant in 1913, the Brewers have had finishes of 7th, 2nd, 6th, 8th, 7th, 5th, 7th, and 7th. They've reached the 80+ win mark just four times in 19 seasons, and finished in seventh or eighth place eight times. The bright spot in the darkness, catcher Hal "Toast" Frey(.322/.399/.566, 43 2B, 28 HR, 103 RBI, 103 R) is a former rookie of the year, a three time all-star, and the reigning league MVP. His 28 homers a year ago is the most ever in a single season, and his .566 slugging percentage is also a CBU record. If anyone can pull this team out of the depths of the dungeon, it's Frey.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Philadelphia Athletics

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1349-1577(.461)
League Pennants: 0
CBU Championships: 0

With nary a pennant to their name and the worst winning percentage in the history of the CBU, the Philadelphia Athletics have long been the doormats of the Atlantic Coast League. Lately however things have started to change. Back to back winning seasons for the first time in their history has fans in Philly feeling positive about their club, but until they can prove sustained success, and maybe actually win something, this writer will remain skeptical.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

St. Louis Browns

League: Atlantic Coast
All-Time Record: 1437-1490(.491)
League Pennants: 3(1908, 1910, 1921)
CBU Championships: 3(1908, 1910, 1921)

One of the strongest clubs in the league in the early days, the Brownies fell off badly midway through the last decade, finishing no better than 7th between 1915 and 1920. Sick of his club's losing, Browns owner Nat Hartley Jr. splashed the cash, signing free agent hurler Red Hayward to a 5 year $16,600 deal prior to the 1921 season. Hayward(28-11, 3.06 ERA, 189 K's, 103 BB) goes on to have a monster season leading the Browns to the CBU championship title while winning the pitcher of the year award, and a gold glove. His title firmly in hand, Hartley shockingly releases Hayward on November 1st citing his age(32) and his high price tag. The 9 time all-star remains on the free agent market as of January 1st.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Hollywood Stars

League: Pacific Coast
All-Time Record: 1466-1460(.501)
League Pennants: 1(1909)
CBU Championships 1(1909)

Forever in the shadow of LA and the vaunted Angels, the Stars always seem to come up just short(save for their magical 1909 campaign). The last two seasons have been no different, back to back 2nd place finishes. Is 1922 their year? probably not.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Los Angeles Angels

League: Pacific Coast
All-Time Record: 1564-1363(.534)
League Pennants: 7(1907, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1917)
CBU Championships: 3(1907, 1914, 1915)

Seven time Pacific Coast League champions and the darlings of the CBU, the Los Angeles Angels have hit the skids. Following 13 straight seasons of finishing either 1st or 2nd, LA has gone 67-87 and 64-90 over the past two years. Can this be the start of the long road down? Looks that way...

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Oakland Oaks

League: Pacific Coast
All-Time Record: 1358-1568(.464)
League Pennants: 0
CBU Championships: 0

The most consistently bad club in the PCL, the Oakland Oaks have finished as high as second just once in 19 seasons. Winners of just 69 games a year ago, the Oaks do have some talent at the plate, LF Celerino "Sinner" Avila(.331/.375/.481, 12 HR), 1B Bill "Jukebox" Bundy(.351/.413/.466, 17 SB), and 3B Tim Burnett(.323/.408/.467, 13 HR), are young talented and exciting to watch, but until they come up with a pitching staff to match, the Oaks will never be more than also-rans.

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Portland Beavers

League: Pacific Coast
All-Time Record: 1565-1361(.535)
League Pennants: 4(1905, 1913, 1919, 1921)
CBU Championships 2(1905, 1913)

A club loaded with talent, including the 1920 & 1921 most valuable player award winner in 2B Fred Kulikowski(.371/.434/.541, 44 2B, 12 HR, 99 RBI, 14 SB), as well as the 1921 pitcher of the year in Gerardo Enriquez(26-8, 2.91 ERA, 92 K's, 72 BB) the Portland Beavers are without a doubt the favorites to win the PCL in 1922. Can they however win the big one?

Meet The Team

[PhillieFever]

Sacramento Solons

League: Pacific Coast
All-Time Record: 1393-1533(.476)
League Pennants: 2(1918, 1920)
CBU Championships: 1(1918)

Following years of ineptitude, the Sacramento Solons are finally getting it right. Two pennants and a CBU championship in four years, and a strong young club loaded with live young arms. Definite contenders.

Meet The Team