The Third Major League - a fictional history of the Federal League

[Tiger Fan]

WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 1922
LANDIS BANS 7 FROM BASEBALL FOR FIXING WORLD SERIES

Former Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis promised a thorough investigation and swift justice for those involved in fixing the 1921 World Series and the new Commissioner made good on his vow today as he announced he has banned 7 players from the game for their involvement.

Those banned included 4 current major leaguers: Cincinnati pitcher Lefty Gervais and outfielder Edd Roush along with former Reds outfielder Elmer Smith and current New York Yankee outfielder William Rumler. Gervais, Roush and Smith were all found to have conspired along with now-retired teammate Tod Sloan to throw the Series. Rumler, who played for the Yankees in the series, and went 2-for-3 as a pinch-hitter, was also banned by Landis for being aware of the fix and betting a substantial sum of money on his own team to win.

In addition, minor leaguers Babe Borton and Gene Dale were also found to have played a role in linking the Reds players with gamblers. Borton has spent most of the past seven seasons with Newark of the Federal League while Dale was playing for the Hutchinson Salt Packers of the Western League this season. Finally, former major leaguer Hal Chase, who last played professionally in 1919, was also banned for his role in helping co-ordinate the scheme.

The Federal League immediately announced it would also recognize the permanent ban of each of the players mentioned, which quickly ended speculation Gervais and the others could continue to play in that league.

Despite a grand jury investigation being dropped for lack of evidence, Landis said he was extremely satisfied with his findings and while he would not reveal all the details, confirmed there was substantial proof against Gervais, Roush, Smith and Sloan for consorting with gamblers to intentionally lose games. Landis added that Borton, Dale and Chase all aided the scheme by connecting gamblers to the players and profited by betting against the Reds. After hearing about the fix prior to game one, Landis said Yankee outfielder Rumler had bet more than a year's salary on his team to win the series and, although he did not do anything on the field to contribute to the fix, he was aware of the scandal and did nothing to alert baseball executives about it. For that reason, Landis found him guilty of being complicit with the scheme.

Landis issued the following statement:

"Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing ball games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball. Of course, I don't know that any of these men will apply for reinstatement, but if they do, the above are at least a few of the rules that will be enforced. Just keep in mind that, regardless of the verdict of juries, baseball is competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the game."


Babe Ruth was not mentioned by Landis in his announcement and would be unaffected directly by the scandal, although his team would certainly suffer with the loss of it's best pitcher and a solid outfielder. Ruth, despite allegations during and after the series, had always maintained his innocence and that has been confirmed by Landis' findings. Former Reds first baseman Vic Saier, now with Cleveland, was also suspected at the time of being involved but, like Ruth, he was not identified by Landis as one of the culprits.


EDITORS NOTE: I used random numbers to help decide the outcome for the players involved. In real life Borton, Dale and Rumler all were suspended for fixing or betting on Pacific Coast League games - hence their involvement here - while Chase had been accused of throwing games or trying to bribe others to throw games on several occasions and was rumoured, but never proven, to be involved as a go-between in the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

[imhoff2]

I was thinking they were going to get away with it in the beginning . Love this thread and the way you tie everything together with real life tidbits on the players. Keep up the great work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tiger Fan]

I love how this game almost writes the stories itself...if you take the time to look.

I had simmed through June 13 and the wrote the story about Landis' banning players after using the random number generator to determine who gets banned.

I noticed that Ruth had not homered since May 28th, a span of 15 games. Tonight I simmed the games of June 14th and suddenly, with the weight of waiting on Landis' decision finally off his shoulders, Ruth hits two homeruns.

I know he was on a 6-game hitting streak in the days leading up to the announcement, so it was hardly a slump but I can imagine having all of this finally over allowed the Ruth in my sim to let out a huge sigh of relief and belt a couple of homeruns raising his season total to 16.

[Tiger Fan]

Got a bunch of things going on right now so updates won't be as detailed but really enjoying some of the storylines I am following so sims will keep coming.

JULY 1, 1922

With the scandal of the 1921 World Series now hopefully behind us the focus can once again return to what happens on the field. The Cincinnati Reds, despite losing ace pitcher Gervais and outfielder Roush seemed to settle down and won 8 of 13 games after Landis made his decision. Babe Ruth hit 9 homeruns during that span to tie him with young Chicago White Sox slugger Hack Wilson for the major league lead at 23.

Despite the Reds fine performance they found themselves 13.5 games out of first place as June came to an end. The St Louis Cardinals went 18-8 during the month and, at 50-23, are a full 7 games ahead of second place Brooklyn. The Cards could always hit, with the likes of Rogers Hornsby (.424,14,67), Joe Sewell (.408,1,50), Harry Heilmann (.352,4,50) and Austin McHenry (.366,9,41) leading the way, but what really put St Louis over the top was the off-season signing of ex-Federal Leaguer Bullet Joe Bush. The 29 year old 4-time Federal League pitcher of the year started the season with the Cards by going 14-3 with a 2.36 era.

It is very early but there is some talk of an all-St Louis World Series - the second ever - as the Browns are leading the American League by a game over the White Sox. Ty Cobb (.364,2,36) and 24 year old rookie Riggs Stephenson (.401,6,41) lead the Browns. Stephenson missed all of last season after breaking his elbow in spring training.

Last year the Yankees won their first American League pennant, this season the Chicago White Sox are hoping to do so. The White Sox, who debuted in 1882, have never finished second and only finished as high as third twice in franchise history. The big story in Chicago, and throughout the American League, has been 22 year old outfielder Hack Wilson (.324,23,71), who is matching the legendary Babe Ruth homer for homer this year. Last season as a rookie Wilson started just 83 games but still managed to hit 16 homeruns.

[Tiger Fan]

AUGUST 2, 1922
NNL SEASON COMES TO AN END

The Chicago American Giants two year run of appearances in the Negro World Series has come to an end as the Giants will not make the playoffs. Six teams were involved in a tight race all season with the Giants ending up in 5th place, 5 games back of the league leading Havana Cuban Stars. The Indianapolis ABC's, who beat the American Giants in last year's Negro Series, will be making a third straight appearance as they managed to hold off the Kansas City Monarchs to claim the second series berth.

August 14, 1922
HAVANA WINS NNL SERIES AFTER BLOWING 3-0 LEAD

The Indianapolis ABC's nearly pulled off an amazing comeback in the Negro World Series. Trailing the Havana Cuban Stars 3 games to none, the ABC's reeled off 3 straight victories to force a decisive 7th game in the series. Game seven went back and forth before the Havana club eventually was able to get back on track and claim the series with a 9-7 victory.

Havana outfielder Harry Kenyon, who homered twice in game seven, was named the series MVP after hitting .344 in the playoffs. The 27 year old Kenyon was in his second season with the club, as he also played for them last year when they were known as the Cincinnati Cuban Stars. Kenyon hit .323 with 8 homers and 55 rbi's this season. Prior to joining the NNL, Kenyon played 4 seasons with Grand Rapids of the Central League and also one game for the Federal League's Newark Pepper.

In real life Keynon played primarily before the formation of the Negro National League but did spend 1921 with the Indianapolis ABC's where he pitched and played in the outfield. Here is a brief bio of Kenyon from the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia:

Harry Kenyon was the son of Girley "G. A." Kenyon, an educator who served as principal of several black schools in Texas and Oklahoma during Harry's youth. With a family background in education, Harry was able to attend school at multiple black institutions, including Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, AR and Paul Quinn College in Waco, TX, as well as Shorter College in North Little Rock, AR, where Kenyon served as athletic director. Later, he became a teacher and professor, instructing university classes during the baseball offseason.


Kenyon's baseball career likely began with the local Hot Springs Bear Cats in 1917. In June, Hot Springs traveled to play in Longview, TX, where the team subsequently combined with the Longview club to become the Texas All-Stars. Kenyon journeyed north with the new team, playing outfield and catcher in games against the region's best clubs, including the Chicago American Giants and the Indianapolis A.B.C.'s. The exposure perhaps helped Kenyon earn a position with the Dallas Black Giants of the Texas Negro League, with whom he played part of the 1919 season. Mid-way through the year, Kenyon left Dallas to play with the Royal Giants of Brooklyn, NY, where numerous other former Texas Negro Leaguers were playing under the leadership of Texas native Louis Santop. While playing for the Royal Giants during the remainder of 1919 and the whole of the 1920 season, Kenyon displayed remarkable versatility. Although his performance both at the plate and on the mound was fairly average, Kenyon's ability to pitch and also play nearly any position on the field proved him to be a valuable player.

In 1921, Kenyon was recruited to play with the Indianapolis A.B.C.'s of the Negro National League. During what became perhaps the best season of his career, Kenyon pitched more than 150 innings for Indianapolis, recording a decent 4.02 ERA. In addition, he played more than 65 games in the outfield, displaying above average hitting. The combination made Kenyon one of the A.B.C.'s most productive players.

Kenyon later became a principal and reverend. Kenyon died November 3rd, 1973 and buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Morrilton, AR.

[Tiger Fan]

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 1922
CARDS CLASS OF NL BUT ALL EYES ON RUTH

While the Cincinnati Reds continue to struggle one player on the club is helping Reds fans forget the embarrasment the team caused the sport during last year's World Series. Babe Ruth (.370,45,125) likely won't win his second straight triple crown but the slugger is on pace to break the homerun record he set last year when he recorded 52 round-trippers.

While Ruth has prospered the rest of the Reds have struggled or, in the case of George Sisler, been injured for much of the season. As a result the defending National League champions find themselves 19 games behind the first place St Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals have led the way pretty much all season and are presently 6 games up on second place Brooklyn with Philadelphia 7.5 off the pace. St Louis could always hit but it is the off-season signing of Bullet Joe Bush (24-6, 2.46) that continues to be the difference. Bush has stepped in as the number one starter but just as important is the addition of another Federal Leaguer in catcher Jimmie Wilson (.309,5,68). The 22 year old, who spent 2 seasons with Columbus, has been a steadying influence on the pitching staff and is a big reason that George Baumgardner (14-8, 3.81) has regained the form he showed in the mid-teens. Elmer Knetzer (14-8, 4.00), a 37 year old journeyman who had a couple of solid seasons in the Southern Association, has also been a big surprise.

Knetzer made real life history by throwing the first pitch in the Federal League opener in 1914. A Pittsburgh area native, Knetzer lasted 10 innings before the Pittsburgh Feds lost to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops 1-0. There is a good article on Knetzer from the Pittsburgh Tribue 3 years ago. It can be found here http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5...etzer-baseball

An interesting fact I learned from the article is the Tip-Tops got their name from a famous bread brand of the time.

In real life Knetzer was 69-69 over 8 major league seasons including a pair in the Federal League with Pittsburgh. He also pitched for Brooklyn, Boston and Cincinnati of the National League. In the sim he was signed by the Boston Braves in 1909 but spent three years on their reserve roster before finally appearing in 6 games in 1912 before being released at the end of the year. He bounced around from there spending 1913 with the Yankees but started just 3 games before once again being released. His 1914 season was spent with the White Sox were he went 4-2 primarily in relief before jumping to the Newark Pepper of the Federal League. Before playing a game with the Pepper he was dispatched to the St Louis Terriers and spent all of 1915 on the Terriers reserve roster.

Knetzer then bounced around the minors with stops in Kansas City, Montgomery and Little Rock. It was in Little Rock that he had his best season at any level, going 23-10 in 1919 and was named pitcher of the year in the Southern Association as he helped the Travelers win the Southern Series for the first time. With the new Texas League forming the St Louis Cardinals purchased Knetzer's contract prior to the 1920 season and assigned him to their new affiliate in Houston. He split the 1920 campaign between the Cardinals and the minor league Buffaloes and then in 1921 was named Texas League pitcher of the year after going 18-15 for Houston. He earned a major league job out of camp this spring and is presently 14-8 with a 4.00 era as the number 4 starter in the Cardinals rotation at the age of 37.

[Tiger Fan]

Now that another season is winding down I will go back into the daily updates. I like doing that as it allows me to notice and discuss players and items that might otherwise be overlooked, but I can't do it all season or it will take forever to get through even a couple of years. Hard to find that balance, enough detail so I don't miss things but also simming quick enough to progress through multiple years and build a long history.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 1922

While there isn't much of a pennant race in the National League as the St Louis Cardinals have been dominant all season, the American League has quite a race going and it is between two unlikely clubs.

While the past decade has primarily belonged to the Philadelphia Athletics with the New York Yankees chasing them, the White Sox and Browns have spent most of the time near the bottom of the standings. This year both those clubs are enjoying the type of season neither has seen in a long, long time.

The White Sox have been a second division club for nearly their entire existence, although they did sneak into third place - albeit 14 games back - two years ago. Fans in Chicago have endured a lot of bad baseball as the White Sox have never won a pennant and the Cubs, who spent 6 straight seasons starting in 1913 in last place in the National League, have not tasted champagne since 1892. There is no relief for Cubs fans this year as they are presently 40 games behind the Cardinals but the White Sox are enjoying their best season in franchise history.

Standing between the White Sox and their first trip to the World Series are the St Louis Browns. The once proud franchise won 4 pennants in the first 5 years of the American League starting in 1871 and won a World Series title - the third in franchise history - in 1904. The Browns gave the Athletics a run for their money in 1918 but finished 4 games back. Other than that most of the past two decades has seen the Browns finish well off the pace despite having superstars Ty Cobb and Zack Wheat leading the team.

The 35 year old Cobb, who has been a Brown since 1904, surpassed the 3000 hit mark this season and owns 7 American League MVP awards and the same number of batting titles. This season he is again leading the American League in batting at .381 with 4 homers and 65 rbi's while Wheat (.373,10,70) is also putting up strong numbers. The 34 year old Wheat is in his 12th season with the Browns and won a batting title in 1913. He has 2165 career hits in 1816 major league games, all with St Louis.

The third offensive star in St Louis is rookie Riggs Stephenson who is hitting .372 with 8 homers and 70 rbi's in 123 games. The 24 year old second baseman joined the Browns organization prior to last season but broke his elbow in spring training, causing him to miss the entire season. It is the offense that carries the Browns as George Grantham (.323,6,71), Bobby Veach (.331,7,77) and Earl Sheely (.334,13,66) are all putting up solid numbers.

Pitching, on the other hand, has been merely adequate for the Browns. Fred Toney (15-7, 3.86) is continuing the fine form that saw the 33 year old win 20+ games last year for the first time in his 12 year major league career. George Kahler (13-13, 3.86), Fred Witte (13-10, 3.67) and James Allen (13-10, 3.90) round out the rotation. Only Kahler and Toney pitched in the major leagues in real life with only Toney having much success.

The White Sox, on the other hand, have relied on two outstanding pitchers and the amazing power exploits of Hack Wilson. Wilson, a 22 year old third baseman is drawing comparisons to Babe Ruth with his numbers (.320,32,121) in just his second pro season. Bob Fothergill (.352,5,76), Frankie Frisch (.316,10,61), Irish Meusel (.317,10,68) and Ray Grimes (.326,11,84) provide secondary offensive support but Wilson, of course, has earned most of the attention.

Meanwhile pitchers Louis Drucke (17-5, 2.22) and Flame Delhi (216-8, 2.65) continue to post strong numbers year after year. Drucke is 167-126 for his 13 year major league career, all with the White Sox, and is a 3-time all-star. The 29 year old Delhi has been even more impressive, going 189-143 with 9 all-star appearances and the 1917 Charlie Geggus Award. In the sim Delhi made his debut with Everett of the Northwest League as a 16 year old in 1909 and joined the White Sox 3 years later.

In real life Delhi was the first Arizona born player to appear in the major leagues but pitched just 1 game for the White Sox in 1912. He was nicknamed by a Los Angeles sportswriter not for a blazing fastball, but instead for his red hair. Drucke is from Waco, Texas and pitched part of 4 seasons with the New York Giants from 1909-12 going 18-14 during that time. He was the first major leaguer who attended and played at TCU. Both pitched briefly for San Francisco of the PCL in 1913 so it is possible they might have been real life teammates for a short stretch.

TODAY'S GAMES
Both the Browns and White Sox came out on the short end of the scoreboard today as they each lost on the road. George Uhle (14-11) equaled his career high in wins by pitching Cleveland past the Browns 6-1 while Detroit beat Chicago 5-4 as Tigers ace Dutch Leonard (17-13) outpitched Drucke (17-5). In the National League, Rogers Hornsby (.419,23,105) had a big day, going 4-for-5 with a triple, a homerun and 3 rbi's to lead the Cardinals past the lowly Cubs 9-3.

MINOR LEAGUE HITTING STREAK
The big news today in the minors is a pair of hitting streaks. Sparky Adams of the Everett Smokestackers got a single in his club's 3-1 victory over the Tacoma Tigers in Northwestern League action to extend his hitting streak to 42 games. The 42 gamer matches the league record set by Ballplayer Connor of Butte back in 1896. Adams, a 26 year old shortstop, is in his first season with Everett after spending 3 years as a backup infielder with the Cleveland Indians. He has 357 career major league hits in 277 games before being dealt by the Tribe to the Northwestern League club this past off-season.

The all-minor league consecutive games with a hit record is 51 set by Tuck Turner of Mobile from the Southern League in 1893. Turner would go on to play 2294 major league games with the Red Sox and Pirates, winning 2 World Series titles and 4 batting titles.

Meanwhile 22 year old infielder Jud Wilson (.396,19,110) is continuing his incredible rookie pro season with the Jersey City Skeeters. Wilson, who set an International League record earlier in the season with a 38 game streak, is now riding a 30 gamer after getting 2-hits in a 2-1 win over Rochester. Wilson is second in batting in the IL, trailing teammate Les Bell (.405,13,118), a 20 year old who is also in his rookie pro season. In real life Wilson played 2 decades in the Negro Leagues and was enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame in 2006 as one of 17 Negro League players added that year.


The win also allowed the Skeeters to clinch second place in the International League and set them up for a playoff series against the league leading Newark Bears. The Bears have a pair of high-profile rookie pros in 20 year old Al Simmons (.378,6,76) and 23 year old Chili McDaniel (.360,27,121).

[Tiger Fan]

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 1922

I apologize for the lack of updates. Still playing the dynasty but with some other committments I have less time to do writeups. We are nearing the end of the major league season and there are a pair of excellent pennant races.

The American League race is especially good as the Browns and White Sox are tied at 88-62 with 4 games remaining for each of them. Chicago hosts Washington today while St Louis entertains Philadelphia before the two clubs finish the season with a 3 game series in the Windy City.

The St Louis Cardinals have been chased all season by Brooklyn and a recent streak of 13 wins in 15 games including a 3 game sweep of St Louis has the Robins within a game and a half of St Louis. The Cardinals have 5 games remaining- all on the road - with 2 against the Giants and 3 vs the Cubs. The Robins have 6 games remaining with 4 of them at home - 2 vs Pittsburgh and a season ending 2 game set vs Philadelphia. In between Brooklyn travels to Boston for a pair with the Braves.

Meanwhile the Federal League season came to an end with Brooklyn finishing first yet again. Attendance was terrible in the league and expect more players to move to the major leagues. But first the Federal Series needs to be decided as the Tip-Tops look for their 5th straight title while the Whales are hoping for their first since winning in the league's inaugural season of 1914.

[Tiger Fan]

MONDAY OCTOBER 2, 1922

The St Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox are two teams that I have written very little about over the past 50 season. The Browns were one of the original teams debuting in 1871 and won 4 pennants in the first 5 years of the American League. The Browns also won pennants in 1881 and 1890 but, aside from their 1904 World Series winning club, have had little to celebrate since then.

The White Sox joined the American League in 1882 and are still looking for their first pennant. Regularly found at or near the bottom of the AL standings, the White Sox have finished last 15 times, and have never been in a pennant race - until now.

Entering the final 3 games of the season the White Sox, led by young slugger Hack Wilson (.320,38,140) and pitchers Louis Drucke (19-8, 2.46) and Flame Delhi (20-10, 2.76), find themselves 1 game ahead of the Browns as the two clubs prepare for a final series in St Louis to end the regular season.

Drucke gets the call on the mound for the series opener and responds with a complete game 5-2 victory for his 20th win of the season. Wilson leads the Chicago offense with his American League leading 39th homerun.

Meanwhile Babe Ruth hits his major league leading 55th homerun in Cincinnati's 8-5 win over Pittsburgh. There will be no postseason for the Reds as the win leaves them a game under .500 at 75-76 and mirred in 4th place in the National League. At the top of the standings are the St Louis Cardinals (98-54), who beat the Cubs 5-2 yesterday for their third straight win. The Cardinals are just 1 game up on the hard charging Brooklyn Robins with 2 to play for each squad.

FEDERAL LEAGUE
The Brooklyn Tip-Tops dominance of the Federal loop continues as the Tip-Tops dropped Chicago 10-6 to go up 3 games to one in their league championship series. Just 13,459 fans weathered the rain in Chicago to watch game four. Brooklyn can wrap up the series with a win in the Windy City tomorrow.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3, 1922

The Browns stay alive with a 12-4 pounding of Flame Delhi (20-11) and the Chicago White Sox. 24 year old rookie second baseman Riggs Stephenson (.370,9,90) led the way for St Louis with 3 hits, including a homerun, 4 rbi's and a pair of runs scored. Veteran Ty Cobb (.375,4,76) and catcher Jim Mattox (.286,2,40) also had 3 hits each for the Browns who now trail the White Sox by 1 game. A St Louis victory tomorrow would force a 1-game playoff to determine the American League champion.

The National League may also need a playoff to determine a champion as St Louis remains 1 game ahead of Brooklyn after both clubs lost today. Meanwhile, Cincinnati's Babe Ruth hit his record 56th homerun of the season. Ruth's has one more game tomorrow to add to that total.

In Federal Series action the Chicago Whales stayed alive with a 7-2 victory over the Brooklyn Tip-Tops. Brooklyn leads the series 3 games to two with game six scheduled for Thursday in Brooklyn. Whales starter Mike Prendergast (18-13, 3.25) tossed a complete game 5-hitter for the win today.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 4, 1922
WILSON HOMER SENDS SOX TO SERIES

Hack Wilson hit 40 homeruns this season but none were more important that his final round-tripper of the season. The White Sox and St Louis Browns were tied 2-2 in the 8th inning with the American League pennant on the line when Wilson ripped a 3-1 pitch 356 feet over the rightfield wall to put the Sox ahead 3-2. The game would finish by that score and allow the 91-63 White Sox to win their first pennant in franchise history. Wilson, who also had a triple and was walked twice, scored all 3 Chicago runs in the victory. Former Federal League pitcher Adolph Schinkle (20-13, 4.03) allowed 6 hits in going the distance for the win.

The White Sox will face the St Louis Cardinals in the World Series after the Cards backed into the National League pennant with a 7-6 loss to the Cubs in Chicago. St Louis finished a game ahead of the Brooklyn Robins, who fell 4-3 in 10 innings to Philadelphia. A Brooklyn victory would have forced a 1-game playoff with St Louis.

Also of note, Babe Ruth homered for the third straight game extending his major league record for homeruns in a season to 57. The homerun helped the defending champion Cincinnati Reds to a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh allowing them to finish the season at .500.

Ruth would lead the major leagues in homeruns and tie Chicago White Sox third baseman Hack Wilson for the RBI lead with 144. Wilson's 40 homers were tops in the American League. St Louis Browns outfielder Ty Cobb won his 8th American League batting title after the 35 year old finished the season with a .373 average. Rogers Hornsby of the St Louis Cardinals hit .420 to lead the National League. Horsnby's mark establishes a new National League single season batting average. Ty Cobb holds the modern day (post 1900) major league record when he hit .426 for the Browns in 1918. The only player to surpass Cobb was Jesse Burkett of the Philadelphia Athletics, who hit .477 in 1894.

[RMc]

Are the Cuban Stars merely representing Havana or do they actually play their home games in Cuba? (That seems unlikely in 1922, before air travel became commonplace.)

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by RMc

Are the Cuban Stars merely representing Havana or do they actually play their home games in Cuba? (That seems unlikely in 1922, before air travel became commonplace.)

I believe they strictly played road games and were called the Cuban Stars because they featured almost exclusively Cuban players in their lineup. In 1921 they were called the Cincinnati Cuban Stars so it is possible they used Cincinnati as a home base in other years also.

There would also be a Cuban Stars East team appear a few years later and they played out of New York I believe but as far as I know, neither team actually played home games in Havana.

[Tiger Fan]

FEDERAL SERIES RECAP
The Chicago Whales would win again in Game Six to even the series at 3 wins apiece. The WHales got a complete game 5-hitter from Mike Prendergast in a 7-2 win in the fifth game. Prendergast would be called on to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning of game six as the Whales won 8-6 thanks to a 2-run double off the bat of catcher Cy Perkins (.299,5,45) in the top of the 10th.

The Whales would complete the comeback froma 3 games to 1 deficit thanks to another tremendous effort from Prendergast. The 33 year old's arm had to be falling off after he pitched a complete game 8-hitter as the Whales upset the heavily favoured Tip-Tops 8-3 in the deciding game.

WHALES WIN SAVES THE FEDERAL LEAGUE
The Chicago victory not only ended Brooklyn's 4 year run as league champion but it also kept the Federal League afloat for at least one more season. Prior to the series there had been talk that 7 of the 10 teams planned to defect from the Federal League and join either the Central League or the International League. The thinking was since they are considered a minor league due to concessions reached with MLB they might as well cut travel and salary expenses by joining a true minor league - especially considering the resentment that had built up over Brooklyn's dominance.

However, the Whales win changed the thinking of not only the Chicago franchise, which was one of the teams rumoured to be heading to the Central League, but most of the others as well. In the end only the Kansas City Packers and Indianpolis Indians would drop down a level, leaving the Federal League with 8 teams.

In early November the St Louis Terriers announced a move to Hartford, citing travel costs as the main reason. That would also cost Chicago it's Federal League club as the Whales announced a move to Cleveland a short time later. The result was a much more travel friendly layout for the Federal League that now contained just 8 teams.

	1923 FEDERAL LEAGUE CLUBS
Baltimore Terrapins
Boston Pilgrims
Brooklyn Tip-Tops
Cleveland Whales
Hartford Terriers
Newark Pepper
Philadelphia Patriots
Pittsburgh Rebels

[Tiger Fan]

1922 WORLD SERIES
CHICAGO WHITE SOX vs ST LOUIS CARDINALS

For the first time in a franchise history dating back to 1882 the Chicago White Sox are American League champions. They will make their World Series debut against the St Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds have won 6 National League pennants prior to this season with their most recent being 3 years ago. St Louis has 3 World Series titles to their name: in 1905, 1906 and 1911. After a using the best of nine format the past couple of seasons the 1922 series will go back to being a best of seven affair.

GAME ONE October 8th in Chicago
St Louis broke open a tight contest by exploding for 6 runs in the top of the 10th to take the series opener by a 10-4 score. Bullet Joe Bush (29-8, 2.78), the ex-Federal League star, went the distance for the victory while Sox starter Louis Drucke (20-8, 2.47) was chased in the 7th when the Cardinals plated a pair of runs to tie the game at 4. The offensive star for the Cardinals was third baseman Ossie Bluege (.332,0,27), who hit a 3-run homer in the 10th after going the entire season without one. Bluege was 3-for-5 with 4 rbi's on the day. NL batting champion Rogers Hornsby (.420,28,127) also homered.

GAME TWO October 9th in Chicago
Another win for the Cardinals as they score three times in each of the first two innings and coast to a 9-3 victory. Hornsby and catcher Jimmie Wilson (.319,7,84) lead the way with 3 hits each while Austin McHenry (.351,19,124) and Heavy Johnson (.277,2,55) each deliver two hits and a pair of rbi's.

GAME THREE October 11th in St Louis
Harry Heilmann's (.352,4,52) 3-run homer in the seventh inning carries the Cardinals to a 6-2 victory and a 3 games to none lead in the series. Heavy Johnson had a 3-for-3 day while Cardinals starter Ed Wahl (15-12,4.79) allowed just 7 Chicago hits in going the distance. Young White Sox slugger Hack Wilson (.326,40,144) has had a hit in each of the 3 games but has yet to drive in a run or have an extra base hit.

GAME FOUR October 12th in St Louis
The Cardinals complete the sweep with a tight 2-1 victory. Rogers Hornsby, who tripled and walked in 4 trips to the plate, scored both St Louis runs. Elmer Knetzer (18-9, 4.05) tossed a complete game 5-hitter for the series clinching victory.


While the arrival of Bullet Joe Bush made most of the headlines in St Louis, and rightly so after his 29 win season, the Cardinals other pickup from the Federal League was named World Series MVP. Catcher Jimmie Wilson, who turned 22 in July, joined the Cardinals this season after two years with Columbus of the Federal League. Wilson would play 130 games for St Louis and hit .319. In 4 World Series contests he hit .538 (7-for-13) with 3 rbi's and a pair of runs scored.

In real life Wilson, a native of Philadelphia, began his pro sports career as a soccer player before leaving the sport in 1923 to concentrate strictly on baseball. While playing first division soccer he made a name for himself as an amateur baseball player with the Bethlehem Steel - where he also starred on their soccer club. In the winter of 1923 he gave up on soccer when his contract was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies. He would go on to play 18 seasons in the National League and was a career .284 hitter.

He made baseball history when he was traded from the Phillies to the Cardinals in the middle of a game in 1928. According to an account, he was a Phil for the first two innings and then changed into Cardinals attire and sat on the St Louis bench for the remainder of the game. He was also player-manager of the Phillies for 5 seasons late in his career.

[Tiger Fan]

I have not had time to write much lately about my league but I have been playing and it is still going strong. Had to post this screenshot and will document the final 3 days of the American League season because, as you can see below, this is the best pennant race I have seen in the history of the league.

There are 3 days left in the season.

[Tiger Fan]

MONDAY OCTOBER 8, 1923
The American League pennant race is a 5 team battle with just 3 games remaining.

TEAM		 W  L  GB
CHICAGO		86 65   -
NEW YORK	86 65   -
DETROIT		85 66  1.0
PHILADELPHIA    84 67  2.0
WASHINGTON	84 67  2.0

The defending champion White Sox, fresh off dropping 3 of 4 at home to Detroit, go to Cleveland for a season ending series against the seventh place Indians. The New York Yankees won the opener of a 4-game set at home against Philadelphia yesterday. That victory keeps the Yankees tied with the White Sox. The hard charging Detroit Tigers have won 9 of their last 10 games and finish the season with 3 games at home to the 6th place St Louis Browns. Washington ends it's season with 3 more games against last place Boston. The Senators started the four game set at Fenway with a 1-0 victory yesterday.


MONDAY'S GAMES
The White Sox scored 6 times in the 9th inning to beat Cleveland 8-2 as Flame Delhi (28-8) extended his league leading win total. The Sox now find themselves alone in first place as the Yankees fell 4-2 in 14 innings to the Athletics. Detroit remains 1 game off the pace after a 16-2 pounding of St Louis. Tigers ace Dutch Leonard (26-13) got the victory. Washington also won, blasting Boston 8-0, but the Senators remain 2 games back.

TEAM		 W  L  GB
CHICAGO		87 65   -
NEW YORK	86 66  1.0
DETROIT		86 66  1.0
PHILADELPHIA    85 67  2.0
WASHINGTON	85 67  2.0

TUESDAY'S GAMES
Only Chicago and Detroit remain alive in the pennant chase. The White Sox trimmed Cleveland 3-2 behind a pair of rbi's from Frankie Frisch to win for the third straight day. Detroit remained a game back after the Tigers scored 3 times in the bottom of the ninth to hold off St Louis 8-7. Frank Parkinson, the former Chicago Whale infielder, drove in a pair of runs with a walkoff single to end the contest.

Philadelphia beat New York 6-5 to eliminate the Yankees while Washington, despite beating Boston 3-2, was eliminated along with the Athletics when the White Sox won.

TEAM		 W  L  GB
CHICAGO		88 65   -
DETROIT		87 66  1.0
NEW YORK	86 67  2.0
PHILADELPHIA    86 67  2.0
WASHINGTON	86 67  2.0

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
The Tigers did what they had to do by beating St Louis 8-5 but the Chicago White Sox clinched their second straight American League pennant with an 8-6 win in Cleveland. Hack Wilson hit his major league leading 37 homerun in the victory. His two rbi's allowed the 23 year old Wilson to tie Lou Gehrig of the Phillies for the major league rbi lead with 121 each.

The White Sox will face the St Louis Cardinals in the World Series - a repeat of last season in which the Redbirds swept Chicago in 4 games.

Babe Ruth homered in Cincinnati's season ending 8-7 win over Pittsburgh. The 28 year old finished with 26 homers and 81 rbi's despite being limited to 118 games due to injury.


WORLD SERIES UPDATE
The White Sox avoided the sweep this time around, but just barely as St Louis prevailed in 5 games. Rogers Hornsby led the way for the winning Cardinals, batting .545 with 2 homers and 7 rbi's in the series. White Sox pitcher Flame Delhi, who dominated the American League by going 28-8 during the season, was lit up by Cardinals bats in both of his World Series starts. He finished 0-2 with a 9.24 post-season era.

[Tiger Fan]

I did not have much time recently for updates but I have still been playing and the league is still going very strong. However, we have a large time jump as I have simmed through until 1976, making the universe 105 years old and the Federal League has turned 66.

Due to downsizing at my former employer and a new career I don't have the same amount of time to devote to this as I used to, but my hope is I can get back to somewhat regular updates as I am excited to see how the Federal League develops through the 1980s.

First a quick recap to bring you up to speed as to how the league has progressed.


The Federal loop was a trendsetter in being the first league to break the color barrier, ultimately forcing MLB to do the same in the early 1920's. Free agency was another area where the Federal League made it's mark well ahead of the American and National Leagues. In 1960 the Federal loop abolished the reserve clause and granted players free agency. The Federal League could never compete financially with the majors, but the league did lure many future superstars to play a season or two in it's league as youngsters instead of the minors. The introduction of the major league first year players draft following the 1964 season put an end to that, and for the next decade the Federal League was composed almost exclusively of MLB castoffs and career minor leaguers.

A NEW AGREESIVE FEDERAL LEAGUE
However, that changed in 1976 when a number of investors who had previously been involved in the American Basketball League turned their attention to baseball. Their goal was to accomplish the same thing their ABA had done, and the AFL before it - gain enough strength so that at least some of their teams could merge with Major League Baseball. With an influx of new money, and new larger stadiums for several Federal League clubs the loop was ready to once again compete head to head with major league baseball, just like it attempted in 1914. After nearly 60 years of allowing MLB clubs to pick the Federal rosters clean by signing players for a small stipend at any point in the season, the Federal clubs declared an end to that practice, and an end to their alliance with MLB in early 1977. It would be the beginning of the Federal League's second battle to be considered an equal to the major leagues.

The Federal League would no longer allow players to be purchased by major league teams and, while they could not quite match major league budgets for superstars, the Federal clubs would prove to be very competitive in bidding for average to slightly above-average talent. Before we look ahead to 1977 lets look back at what we missed over the past 50 odd-years of simming.


FEDERAL LEAGUE HISTORY
The greatest player in Federal League history remains Oscar Charleston. One of the first to break the color barrier, Charleston played 7 seasons with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops before being lured across town by the National League's New York Giants where he would play for 4.5 seasons. At the age of 32, Charleston would leave the Giants and return to the Federal League as he signed with the Newark Pepper, where he would remain for the final 9 seasons of his career. Charleston finished with 3,174 career hits including a Federal League record 2587. A two-time Federal League MVP and a member of three Federal Series championship clubs he was arguably the best player ever to play in the Federal Loop but was overlooked by the Baseball Hall of Fame.

One thing the Federal League has had going for it throughout the years has been stability. That was certainly not the case in the early years as there were plenty of franchise shifts but since the mid-1920's the league has consisted of the same 8 teams.

The most successful club has been the Hartford (formerly St Louis) Terriers - winners of 15 league titles and made 28 playoff appearances. The Brooklyn Tip-Tops dominated the early days of the league and have 14 titles, but only one since 1940. The Pittsburgh Rebels have won 10 championships with the Baltimore Terrapins next with 7 followed by the Cleveland (formerly Chicago) Whales and Boston Pilgrims with 6 each. Rounding out the totals are the Philadelphia Patriots with 3 and the Newark Pepper, who celebrated their only Federal League title in 1915.

In the past, at least prior to the institution of the first year player draft in 1965, most of the top prospects would play a year or two in the Federal League before jumping to the established leagues but with the beginnings of the draft that changed as the top talent went into the major league farm systems - further eroding the Federal League's appeal. Despite being a league composed of major league has-beens and never-were's the Federal League has carved out a decent fan base and the clubs are profitable - thanks primarily to a payroll the fraction of the size of a major league club.

This season, 1976, the Baltimore Terrapins finished with the best regular season record by winning 101 games, 11 more than second place Pittsburgh. The Terrapins, other than long time major league Willie Davis, do not have many recognizable names on their roster. Pittsburgh's lineup includes veteran infielder Davey Johnson and catcher Fred Kendall as the only 'name' players. The quality of talent in the Federal League as a whole would be the equivalent of AA ball.


MLB
It is the major leagues, and now their minor league systems, where all of the top stars end up and the mid-seventies are quite the era for big league talent. Among the stars on the mound are 31 year old Don Sutton (181-136) of San Francisco, Cincinnati 32 year old Denny McLain (168-120), 31 year old Jim Nash (183-99) of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Nolan Ryan (100-75), 29, and 31 year old Andy Messersmith (131-70).

The top hitter in the game is White Sox 27 year old third baseman Mike Schmidt, who has 243 rbi's over the past two seasons and has already hit 162 homeruns in his first 6 years in the majors. 29 year old Mets outfielder Ken Singleton, young slugger Jim Rice, 23, of Detroit along with Cincinnati's 24 year old catcher Darrell Porter and Cardinals 22 year old first baseman Keith Hernandez all have bright futures in the game.


The player they are chasing is Mickey Mantle. The recently retired future hall of famer had an incredible major league career. Mantle, who patrolled the St Louis Cardinals outfield for his entire 23 year major league career is the game's all-time homerun king with 874, dwarfing the 669 that Eddie Mathews hit to rank second and the 657 slugged by Babe Ruth.

Mantle is second to Jimmie Foxx in rbi's with 2339, second in runs with 2633 and third in hits behind Foxx (4438) and Rogers Hornsby (4131) with 3866. Mantle was a 10 time winner of the National League MVP award and was an all-star 21 times in his career. His only World Series ring was earned in 1966 when the Cardinals swept the Kansas City Athletics.


1976 POSTSEASON
The Mike Schmidt (.294,28,110) led White Sox knocked off heavily favoured Detroit in the ALCS 3 games to one. The Tigers had the best offense in the AL led by Robin Yount (.304,3,45), Hal McRae (.295,15,99), Jim Rice (.338,22,98), Fred Lynn (.285,12,81), Rusty Staud (.295,14,66) and Carl Yastrzemski (.308,16,86).

In the National League Championship Series the New York Mets beat San Francisco in 4 games. For the Mets it was their 5th division title in the past six years. New York relied on the arms of John Curtis (17-8), Jim Nash (16-11) and Nelson Briles (14-12) but also had some offense from Rod Carew (.321,5,62), Ken Singleton (.317,24,120) and Bob Watson (.281,12,92).

The White Sox struck first in the series winning the first two games at home. Fred Talbot tossed 7 innings of 1-hit ball in a 2-1 series opener while game two was 10-3 thanks to 2-rbi games from bottom of the order guys Doug Rader, Billy Sample and Chris Speier.

After the Mets took the third game 8-4 thanks to a complete game from Nelson Briles, Chicago went up 3 games to one in the series with a 12-11 win in 10 innings. Lyman Bostock had 4 hits for the White Sox in game four while Mike Schmidt drove in 3 runs including the game winner with a sac fly.

The Mets stayed alive with a 6-0 win in game five behind a 4-hit shutout from Jim Nash and a pair of rbi's from third baseman Brooks Robinson. New York would even the series two nights later with an 8-4 win in Chicago to force a 7th game. Game Seven was all White Sox as Carlos May hit a 2-run homer off of Briles in the bottom of the first to help the Sox build a 5-0 lead through 4 innings. Ken Singleton hit a 2-run shot for the Mets in the 6th to start a comeback attempt that would ultimately fall short as Chicago hung on for a 6-4 win giving the White Sox their first World Championship since 1968 and 5th in team history (1936, 1959,1965,1968,1976).

EXPANSION-1977
I have done a lot of historical replays and focused very much on pre-1969 baseball. I have rarely delved into baseball in the 1970's which is weird considering that is the era when I grew up with the game. I was 12 years old in 1977 and remember following the Blue Jays - even though thanks to Mark Fidrych I was already a diehard Tiger fan -in their infancy.

I am going to slow my sim down here and go back to documenting things in more detail with a focus on the not just the Federal League's resurgence but also the expansion Seattle Mariners - Just can't do the Blue Jays as I am inundated with Blue Jays news on a daily basis living in southern Ontario.

So while the focus will be on Seattle and the leagues as a whole in the late seventies-early eighties I will also look back at the history of the past 105 years that have been simmed and also provide some updates on the Federal League as it rises in power through the 1980s.

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 24, 1976 THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Major League Baseball is getting closer to returning to the Pacific Northwest. Here is hoping we have a more successful union than the last attempt. You might have blinked and missed it but seven years ago we had a major league team in Seattle - or at least a squad that was deemed to be major league quality. The Seattle Pilots lost what was then a record 122 games before high tailing it out of town and settling in Milwaukee as the Brewers. The '69 Pilots were 40-122, good for the worst record in baseball - since eclipsed by the 1970 Kansas City Royals who lost 123 games.

That Pilots club featured four pitchers who lost at least 18 games with Barry Latman (8-18, 5.38) and Alfred Madigan (8-18,4.39) tying for the team lead in wins. Latman would go on to lose 20-games twice with the Brewers while Madigan, a former 22 game winner with St Louis, was still active last season at the age of 40 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and has won over 200 major league games in his long career that started with Boston of the Federal League in 1960.

18 year old outfielder Gary Matthews was the prize prospect for the Pilots. Their first round pick in the winter rookie draft, Matthews played 99 games in the Pilots outfield and lead the club with 18 homers while batting just .224. He remains a solid talent in the organization with Milwaukee and is a lifetime .284 hitter through 8 major league seasons.

No reference to the Seattle Pilots is complete without mention of Jim Bouton. The 'Ball Four' author never played in Seattle in this sim...in fact he never made the major leagues. He bounced around the minors for over a decade primarily in the Red Sox and Cubs organization, getting as high as AAA but never got the call to the big leagues. Primarily a reliever in AAA he was 6-7 with 6 saves in 83 appearances. Overall, he was 79-84 with a 4.25 era in 12 minor league seasons.

As for the club that left for Milwaukee. Well, the Brewers are 404-892 over the 8 seasons the franchise has existed and they have finished last in their division five straight years. The club has yet to enjoy even a 60 win season as they peaked with a 59-103 record in 1974.

THE EARLY DAYS
Professional baseball has a rich history in Seattle and it's roots can be traced all the way back to 1888 when the Seattle Giants joined the Northwestern League. The Giants won three league titles, back in 1897, 1898 and 1906 before moving to Spokane. One of the top players on those early teams was Shad Berry, who would go on to play nearly two decades in the major leagues with the Red Sox and the Phillies. Berry would win 3 World Series titles to go with the 2 Pacific States Association crowns he claimed while playing for Seattle.

Seattle also has a tie to the Federal League as the Boston Pilgrims franchise originally was based in Spokane and later in Seattle. Known as the Siwashes, the club played in the Northwestern League briefly but it did manage to win 2 Pacific States titles -in 1913 and 1915. Following the 1918 season the club was purchased and moved to Columbus where it joined the Federal League as the Buckeyes. After a short stay in Columbus the team was moved to Boston and has been the Pilgrims ever since, winning 6 Federal League titles along the way.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
After the Siwashes fled to Columbus in 1919 it took just one year to have baseball return to the Emerald City as the newly formed Pacific Coast League had the Seattle Rainiers as one of it's original 8 teams. Seattle won the first two PCL titles - one as the Rainiers in 1921 and the following year under the moniker Indians, a name they would keep through the thirties and win 3 more titles as. The squad would change it's name back to the Rainiers in the forties and win 4 more league titles.

Probably the best known player from Seattle's PCL days is minor league legend Harry Blaeholder. The righthander is the PCL's all-time leader in most career pitching categories including wins and losses with a 345-266 career record. Blaeholder, a California native, joined the Rainiers in 1921 as a 22 year old and spent the 17 years pitching for Seattle. He never played for another team and never had the opportunity to play in the major leagues although several Federal League clubs approached him through the years and the Washington Senators attempted to sign him at the age of 39 in 1938 but he elected to retire. Blaeholder's 345 PCL victories are 69 more than Bill Hopper - who also spent plenty of time with Seattle - and ranks second on the list. Hopper did pitch 2 seasons for the Chicago Cubs and one more with Milwaukee of the Federal League.

The other name area oldtimers will fondly recall is that of outfielder Chink Outen. A North Carolina native, Outen came west as a 24 year old in 1930 and spent the next dozen seasons in Seattle. He is best known for posting back to back 311 hit seasons, of course this was at a time when the Pacific Coast League played around 200 games a year. Outen was also a career .395 hitter in 24 PCL playoff games but like Blaeholder he never got a shot at the major leagues.


THE NEW NORTHWEST LEAGUE
The PCL was forced out of Seattle following the 1968 campaign when the Pilots joined the American League. However, after they fled to Milwaukee, the city of Seattle was left without a professional baseball team in 1970 and 1971. That changed in 1972 when the Seattle Rainiers were reborn as members of the Northwest League, a low level minor league that has been around since 1955. Seattle was a farm club of the Cincinnati Reds and their roster last season included Reds 1973 first round pick shortstop Garry Templeton.

Now with the addition of the Mariners they will have their own affiliate in the Northwest League as the Bellingham Dodgers have been renamed the Bellingham Mariners and will be the sole minor league club associated with the big league M's this season.

Seattle has a rich baseball history, certainly much more than just the single season of major league baseball nearly a decade ago. There is a new team in town. Now to find out who the players will be as the expansion draft is just over a month away.

[skyballer455]

Hey TigerFan! Nice to see you back doing this. Being a uniform guy, I'm curious as to what the Federal League jerseys look like in the 70s.

Keep up the more than awesome work!

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by skyballer455

Hey TigerFan! Nice to see you back doing this. Being a uniform guy, I'm curious as to what the Federal League jerseys look like in the 70s.

Keep up the more than awesome work!

Thank you.
I am still using the Federal League jerseys that TxRanger made. All look like they belong in the 1920s or 30s but it would be great to see a 1970s take on them.

[skyballer455]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Thank you.
I am still using the Federal League jerseys that TxRanger made. All look like they belong in the 1920s or 30s but it would be great to see a 1970s take on them.

That's pretty interesting. If you don't mind I could take a shot at making some 70s jerseys for the Federal League.