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

[DreamTeams]

Interesting read, Tiger Fan. When it rains it pours. Really like the Federal League loop especially the Chicago Whales and Kansas City Packers. Sad to see those team names possibly disappear. Well, here's to one more season for the Fed, at least.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by DreamTeams

Interesting read, Tiger Fan. When it rains it pours. Really like the Federal League loop especially the Chicago Whales and Kansas City Packers. Sad to see those team names possibly disappear. Well, here's to one more season for the Fed, at least.

Thank you. As you will see below the Whales aren't done losing players yet.

[Tiger Fan]

JANUARY 1920
WHALES DEAL SHOELESS JOE TO PHILLIES

The mass exodus from Chicago continued but at least the Federal League's Chicago Whales managed to get something in return for Shoeless Joe Jackson. After 5 players fled the cash-strapped club over the winter for MLB clubs the Whales decided to further cut payroll by dealing the franchise's best known (and most expensive) player to the National League Phillies.

The deal saw Jackson return to the city he played his first decade of major league ball in, although that was with the Athletics. The 30 year old gives the Phillies a solid outfield bat having hit .306 for his major league career which included the past two seasons with the Whales. Despite hitting .366 a year ago for Chicago, the move to sign Jackson and several others from the major leagues has to be considered a complete failure as the talent did not translate into wins, nor did it put enough seats in the stands to warrant the expense - which is what got Chicago into the financial trouble it is in now.

The Whales got three inexpensive players in return for Jackson. The best of which is likely 21 year old Homma Summa, who appeared in 20 games as a rookie outfielder with the Phillies last season, but hit just .147. The Whales also acquire 25 year old outfielder Dan Boone and Eddie Bogart, a 24 year old third baseman, neither of whom have played professional baseball before.

A couple of days later the Whales sent Boone along with 3B Art Phelan and reliever Rudy Kallio to Indianapolis in exchange for outfielder Charlie Johnson. Johnson, a 35 year old with over 900 games at the major league level under his belt, hit .268 for the Indians last season and will likely be called on to replace Jackson in the Whales outfield. He was named to the Federal League's West Division all-star team last year.

The moves lower the Whales payroll to near the bottom of the Federal League and likely ensure the club should at least break even this season at the gate....what they do on the field remains to be seen.

APRIL 1920
FEDERAL LEAGUE SEES SMALL CROWDS FOR OPENING DAY

A year ago the Federal League champion Brooklyn Tip-Tops opened their season at home to a near capacity crowd of almost 17,000 fans. This year as the club raised it's championship banner on Opening Day there were only 5,009 paying customers on hand to witness the ceremony and the Tip-Tops 5-1 victory over Columbus. Dwindling attendance was the norm for all Federal League parks on opening day as the bad press of team's folding and players defecting to other leagues took it's toll.

In Brooklyn the Tip-Tops might have been missing homerun king Ken Williams, who moved to the New York Yankees over the winter, but the team that won a league record 114 games a year ago still looks to be the class of the Federal Loop. Catcher Val Picinich had 2 hits, including a grand slam homerun to make a winner out of ace pitcher Bullet Joe Bush, who has won the last 3 Federal League top pitcher awards.

In other action St Louis beat Indianapolis 4-3 in front of the biggest crowd of the day as nearly 5500 came out to see their hometown Indians come up just short. Ex-New York Giants pitcher Orlie Weaver went the distance for the win in his Federal League debut. The other two games saw Kansas City beat Pittsburgh 6-5 while Chicago topped the Terrapins 3-2 in Baltimore.

In contrast the Major League Baseball season opener's crowds averaged well over 12,000 including 16,867 fans at Shibe Park to witness the New York Yankees and hometown Philadelphia Athletics start the season. It marked the MLB debut of Ken Williams with New York. The much anticipated debut of the man who hit a professional baseball record 41 homeruns a year ago with Brooklyn of the Federal League did not go well as Williams went 0-for-4 in 5-2 Yankee loss.

[Tiger Fan]

JUNE 1, 1920
MLB ROUND-UP

By the beginning of June it was clear the Federal League pick-ups were having a big effect on the New York Yankees. Ken Williams (.326,4,23) was not having a triple crown type start to the season but he was a key contributor as the Yankees finished May in second place, just 3 games back of the mighty Philadelphia Athletics. It was a far cry from a year ago at this time when the Yankees were in seventh place. Pitcher Bill Steen, who jumped from the St Louis Terriers, is also off to a pretty good start. The 32 year old righthander is 4-2 with a 3.39 era and has given the Yankees a third starter to go with Rube Benton (6-0, 1.62) and Urban Shocker (5-4. 3.51). Wally Pipp (.242,2,10), the third Federal Leaguer to join the Yankees, missed the beginning of the season with injury but is slowly finding his way.

The big news in New York, centers around another Williams in the Yankee outfield. Cy Williams(.398,4,33) is leading the American League in batting and the team in rbi's. The 34 year old, who is not related to Ken Williams, joined the Yankees last year in a mid-season trade with the Boston Red Sox. The deal has helped both clubs as 28 year outfielder Jack Tobin (.377,1,19), who went the other way, is off to a great start for Boston.

The Philadelphia Athletics seem to be well on their way to a 4th straight pennant. Philadelphia is getting a breakout season from 23 year old Bob Meusel (.391,3,33) and a breakout year from 29 year old shortstop Dave Bancroft (.292,2,42) who presently leads the league in rbi's. Pitcher Herb Pennock (10-1, 3.29) is bidding for his third straight Charlie Geggus Award.

The big surprise in the American League is Chicago White Sox pitcher Flame Delhi. The 27 year old is off to a 10-2 start with a 2.06 era and is quietly putting together a great career in the relative obscurity of Comiskey Park. In real life Delhi's entire major league career consisted of 3 innings (and 3 earned runs allowed) for the 1912 White Sox as a 19 year old. He was the first major league player born in Arizona and a bio of him can be found here http://sabraz.org/flame-delhi/

In the sim, Delhi has won a Charlie Geggus Award (1917) and is a 6-time all-star. He is 146-117 for his career and at just 27 looks like he has a shot at 300 wins if he stays healthy. He made his pro debut as a 16 year old with Everett of the Northwestern League, going 15-20 with a 3.08 era and capturing the attention of the White Sox, who signed him that off-season. After 3 seasons on the Sox reserve roster he made his MLB debut in 1912 and has been an fixture in the White Sox rotation ever since.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are off to a quick start in the National League (see team lineup image below) despite the fact that Babe Ruth(.308,3,19) is off to what, by his standards, is a slow start. Roger Peckinpaugh (.377,0,13) who joined the Bucs after the Federal League's Hartford Oaks folded, has been the perfect lead-off man for the Pirates powerful offense. Every Pittsburgh starter is hitting at least .300 except for first baseman Roy Leslie (.295,4,29). Pittsburgh also got a gem in the resurgent Eddie Cicotte (8-2, 3.53). The 35 year old has rediscovered his knuckleball after being cut lose by the Federal League's Kansas City Packers over the winter.

Rogers Hornsby (.423,6,39) is having a season to remember. There seems to be no limit to what the 24 year old St Louis Cardinals second baseman can accomplish. Another youngster, 21 year old Chicago Cubs first baseman Bill Terry (.416,4,36) is off to a similar start. Terry, despite his age, is already in his fourth season as an everyday player.

[Tiger Fan]

JUNE 1, 1920
A WHALE OF A START IN CHICAGO

The Chicago Whales are the surprise team of the Federal League. After underachieving with a number of ex-MLBers the past few seasons the Whales lost almost all of their star power but they have suddenly started winning ball games.

As May comes to an end the Whales find themselves is second place in the 10 team Federal League, trailing only the powerhouse Brooklyn Tip-Tops. Despite a lineup comprised mainly of castoffs from other teams and includes only two starting position players from last year - 2B Fred Lear (.268,5,29) and catcher Cy Perkins (.238,2,15)- the Whales are off to their best start in team history.

Chicago made another cost cutting move in mid May as they dealt pitcher Bud Moe (6-2, 2.89), a 15 game winner a year ago, to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for 32 year old Ballplayer Gharity, who was 1-for-4 this season with the American League club. Gharity immediately stepped into rightfield and after 15 games was batting .319 for the Whales.

The big surprise offensively has been Fred Lear. The 26 year old second baseman already has the same number of homeruns in 48 games this season (5) that he hit over the previous 3 seasons combined- a span of 385 games. I could not find much out about the real Fred Lear, other than he played at Villanova before appearing in 75 major league games with 3 teams over 4 seasons between 1915-20. He did serve in the navy during WWI, which is likely why he did not show any stats for the 1917 season and I did see that he was a scout for the Pirates and White Sox after his playing days.

On the mound the Whales have seen Andy Briswalter (9-3, 3.15) get off to a strong start in his second season with the club. The 32 year old spend a decade pitching for Omaha of the Western Association before joining the Whales prior to the 1919 campaign. In real life Briswalter had a decent start to his career with the Los Angeles Angels but died of tuberculosis in 1912 at the age of 22.

The Brooklyn Tip-Tops, as usual, lead the way in the Federal League. George H Burns (.349,1,33), Oscar Charleston (.302,4,28) and Jack Hannibal (.353,1,25) give them plenty of offense even without Ken Williams while the pitching of Bullet Joe Bush (7-4, 1.86) and Jeff Tesreau (9-3, 2.09), a 32 year old who was acquired from the Boston Braves in the off-season, has been very strong.

[Tiger Fan]

JUNE 1, 1920
NEGRO NATIONAL LEAGUE SEASON UNDERWAY

The inaugural season of the Negro National League got off to a solid start as a number of players who had been restricted to barnstorming teams in the past have found some success in the early going. Through the first two months the Chicago American Giants proved to be the league's best team. The American Giants were led by 21 year old shortstop Biz Mackey (.430,2,24), 22 year old third baseman Bill Riggins (.432,3,33) and 22 year old lefthander Wade Johnson (8-0, 1.93) none of whom had played professional baseball prior to this season. 37 year old Pete Hill (.257,3,10), who played 4 seasons with the St Louis Terriers of the Federal League after over a decade in the Western Association provided veteran leadership.

Hill was one of the few ex-Federal Leaguers to find a home in the Negro National League. Others included outfielder Blainey Hall, a 28 year old who appeared in 70 games for Hartford last season but led the Federal League in batting in 1914 while with Newark. Hall joined the Indianapolis ABC's and was among the league batting leaders through June with a .406 average. Lorenza Cobb played 5 seasons with Indianapolis in the American Association and Federal League before joining the Detroit Stars this year. The 29 year old catcher was batting .339 with a homerun and 19 rbi's through June.

The best known pitcher was 40 year old Alfredo Arcano who joined the Dayton Marcos. Arcano's career began with Fresno of the Pacific Coast League in 1902 and he had a lifetime professional record of 271-224 including going 5-3 for the Marcos this season.

Arcano spent 12 seasons in Fresno, winning the 1904 PCL pitcher of the year award, and he ranks 19th all-time in Northwest League (formerly Pacific States Association) wins with 232 in his career. In 1916 he got his first taste of major league level ball when the Baltimore Terrapins purchased his contract. At the age of 36 Arcano went 24-13 in his first season with Baltimore. He was hurt in spring training the following year and lost his job in the Terps rotation. They dealt him to Brooklyn at mid-season and he pitched just 7 innings of relief for the Tip-Tops the rest of the season. Injuries struck again as he blew out his knee and missed the entire 1918 campaign. Brooklyn released him after the 1918 season and at 39 he caught on with the Hartford Oaks last year, going 8-6 with a 3.54 era. When the Oaks folded he joined Dayton.

I could find very little on the real life Arcano. It appears he was better known as an outfielder than a pitcher. What I found states he played in the Cuban league from 1888 to 1912 with several teams and was elected in to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1940. However, I am suspecting there might have been two Alfredo Arcano's or the data is incorrect in the game as in the game he is shown as being born in 1880 which means he started playing in the Cuban League as an 8 year old. Either way, he has enjoyed a pretty good career in this sim.

[satchel73]

There was only one Alfredo Arcaño, and in real life he was an outfielder, not a pitcher. He was a pretty good player too--a batting champ in Cuba in the 1890s. Like you said, his career started in 1888. His real birthdate is currently unknown, but for the game's purposes it probably ought to be something like 1868 or so, instead of 1880. But yeah, this alternate universe version of him is not bad either.

[Tiger Fan]

JULY 1, 1920
ATHLETICS TAKING CONTROL OF AMERICAN LEAGUE RACE

A 14-4 stretch during the middle of June allowed the 3 time defending champion Philadelphia Athletics to open a 7 game lead on second place Chicago atop the American League. The A's, winners of the last two World Series and 7 American League pennants in the past nine years, are riding the best offense in baseball.

Bob Meusel (.366,4,48), Dave Robertson (.352,4,48), Max Carey (.337,1,38), Cliff Heathcote (.337,3,31), Dave Bancroft (.271,3,57) and Jack Fournier (.331,4,35) are all off to great starts while pitcher Herb Pennock (14-4, 2.79) continues to challenge for the league win lead.

Chicago has passed the Yankees for second place as after decades of bad baseball the Windy City may finally have a contender to support. First baseman Ray Grimes (.298,5,36) is a little off of the form that helped him win his first batting title a year ago but second year pro Frankie Frisch (.325,0,35), just 21 years old, has picked up the slack. 27 year old righthander Flame Delhi (15-2, 2.07) is pitching even better than he did in 1917 when he won the Charlie Geggus Award and 31 year old Louis Drucke (11-4, 2.24) is an outstanding number two starter. Bud Moe (3-3, 3.95), who was acquired in May from the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, has fit in nicely at the bottom of the rotation.

Dropping 3 out of 4 to the Athletics got the New York Yankees month of June off to a bad start and there is concern July may begin the same as Philadelphia pounded the Yanks 9-6 yesterday in the opener of a 4-game set between the clubs at Shibe Park. The Yankees are 4-9 vs Philadelphia this season and 37-23 against the rest of the league. Former Federal League star Ken Williams (.325,5,34) is having a decent season but Wally Pipp (.244,2,22), who also jumped leagues has struggled. Veterans Cy Williams (.346,6,44) and Larry Gardner (.283,2,38) remain the clubhouse leaders. Rube Benton (11-1, 2.06) is putting together a career year on the mound while Urban Shocker (7-10, 3.74) has struggled.

In other news of note Ty Cobb of the St Louis Browns is bidding for his 7th American League batting title. The 33 year old Cobb (.371,1,36) is also climbing the all-time hit leader chart. His 2622 career base hits move him up to 19th all-time and if he stays healthy he should be in 13th by the time the season ends. John J McGraw (1891-1918) is the all-time hit king with 3733, 8 more than Nap Lajoie (1896-1916). McGraw is also the stolen base leader with 1204, nearly 500 more than Jimmy Sheckard (1897-1917), who is second on the list. Cobb is not a factor in this sim as he has stolen just 357 bases so far in his career.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Frank Arellanes is having a tough time in his return to the major leagues. The 38 year old went 21-13 with a 2.54 era for the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League last year but is 2-11, 6.03 in 17 starts with the Tribe.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
While the Pittsburgh Pirates continue to lead the National League the big story remains Rogers Hornsby (.414,12,64). The 24 year old St Louis Cardinals second baseman leads the major leagues in just about every offensive category. Hornsby's teammates Austin McHenry (.370,10,55) and Harry Heilmann (.371,4,41) are also off to a great start but the Cardinals pitching has been average at best.

The first place Pirates have allowed the fewest runs in MLB as starters Eddie Cicotte (12-2, 2.91) and George Baumgardner (9-3, 2.81) have been outstanding. Babe Ruth (.328,9,44) has overcome a slow start. After hitting just 3 homers in his first 46 games, Ruth belted 6 in his past 24 contests and improved his average nearly 40 points. Roger Peckinpaugh (.360,0,20), Baby Doll Jacobson (.318,4,40), Roy Leslie (.324,4,49) and Billy Southworth (.338,1,33) are all big reasons the Pirates led the National League in runs scored.

FEDERAL LEAGUE
Brooklyn continues to lead the way in the Federal League as Oscar Charleston (.311,11,55), Jack Hannibal (.348,4,43) and George H Burns (.334,2,50) are making up for the loss of Ken Williams to the New York Yankees. Pitching has also been very sound with Bullet Joe Bush (10-6, 2.11), Jeff Tesreau (12-6, 2.30) and Walter Seaman (10-3, 2.93) leading the rotation.

Baltimore and St Louis are battling for second after the Chicago Whales endured a June slump that dropped them to third place. The Whales dealt pitcher Bud Moe to the Chicago White Sox in May after Moe started the season 6-2 and they followed that up by dealing away another pitcher in June. Andy Briswalter, who was off to a 10-4 start with the Whales, was sent to Columbus for outfielder Ted Cather (.274,0,10) in another cost-cutting move.

Briswalter might help the Buckeyes climb back into the race as they have plenty of offense but their pitching has been suspect so far this season. Columbus outfielders Chuck Dressen (.368,0,47) and Eddie Murphy (.365,3,52) are ranked 1-2 in Federal League batting

[Tiger Fan]

July 26, 1920
NEGRO NATIONAL LEAGUE SEASON COMES TO AN END

The first Negro National World Series will feature the Chicago American Giants squaring off with the Indianapolis ABC's after the two clubs finished 1-2 in the inaugural NNL season. The American Giants, led by the bats of Bill Riggins (.394,6,58) and Biz Mackey (.392,3,43) and the arms of Tom Johnson (13-5, 3.26), Bob McClure (13-6, 3.10) and Wade Johnston (12-4, 3.06) finished with a record of 59-27, good for a game and a half lead on Indianapolis.

The American Giants become the third Chicago team to win a league title in the first season of the loop's existence. The Chicago Whales won the Federal League title in 1914, the year before it declared itself a major league, and the Chicago Cubs won the first Major League World Series in 1871. The other Chicago based team, the American League White Sox began play in 1882 and are still looking for their first title.

The ABC's led the NNL in most runs scored as well as fewest runs allowed but still finished behind the American Giants despite the fact Indianapolis was 7-2 against the CAG during the season. ABCs pitcher Bill Holland (15-7, 2.35) led the league in wins while Jim Jeffries (13-5, 2.05) and Jack Marshall (10-6, 2.39) were also solid starters. Ben Taylor (.381,2,56) and Dobie Moore (.358,8,49) were the club's offensive stars.

The big story offensively in the loop's opening season was the play of 21 year old George Carr (.399,17,60). The Havana Cuban Stars West first baseman won the league triple crown and also led the loop with 34 stolen bases. He finished tied with Fred Long (.312,17,60) of the last place Chicago Giants for the lead in homeruns and rbi's.

In real life George 'Tank' Carr was a first baseman who played 10 seasons in the Negro Leagues from 1920-34, batting .309 for his career. Born in Atlanta, Carr grew up in Los Angeles before joining the Los Angeles White Sox, a highly competitive semi-pro team in 1915. He would spend the next 5 seasons playing for a number of barnstorming teams before joining the Kansas City Monarchs for the first season of the Negro National League in 1920.

There is a long but very interesting article on Carr and his experiences in the early days of the Negro National League here:

http://www.cnlbr.org/Portals/0/Hero/...le%20Pages.pdf

[Tiger Fan]

1920 NEGRO WORLD SERIES

The Chicago American Giants might have struggled during the regular season against the Indianapolis ABC's but the American Giants had no trouble with ABC's in the inaugural Negro World Series. The American Giants were just 2-7 against Indy in league play but Chicago swept the best of seven championship series with four straight victories.

Chicago outfielder Chaney White(.313,1,41) was the hero of the series as he hit a series best .500 (8-for-16) and led the way with 7 rbi's including 3 hits and 2 rbi's in an 8-4 series clinching win in Game Four.

The American Giants took the opener 6-4 in front of a Negro League record 29,197 fans at Chicago's Schorling's Park (formerly known as Southside Park). Tom Johnson (13-5, 3.26) went the distance for the win, allowing 8 Indianapolis hits while Bill Holland (15-7, 2.35) was tagged with the loss. Rafael Almeada (.279,0,5) and Otto Ray (.289,0,32) led the way offensively for Chicago with 3 hits each while Bill Riggins (.394,6,58) hit a 3-run homer.

Game Two went to extra innings with Chicago winning 4-3 on a 10th inning game ending sacrifice fly from Otto Ray. Biz Mackey(.392,3,43) had 3 hits to lead the American Giants while Wade Johnston (12-4, 3.06) pitched all 10 innings for the win.

Game Three was a slugfest that saw Indianapolis plate 8 runs in the fifth inning but still lose 13-8. Series MVP Chaney White had 3 hits and drove in 3 runs while Otto Ray had 2 more hits and drove in a pair of runs.

The American Giants completed the sweep with another extra inning victory. Tied at 4 after 9 innings, Chicago scored 4 times in the 11th to win 8-4. Biz Mackey hit a 2-run triple in the big inning while White drove in the other two runs, with his third hit of the game.

[Tiger Fan]

AUGUST 1, 1920

As the major league season enters the dog days of August not a lot has changed from a month ago. The Philadelphia Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates remain positioned to set up an all-Pennsylvania World Series but much of the league's attention is focused on the incredible numbers being put up by Rogers Hornsby of the St Louis Cardinals.

Hornsby is leading in all three triple crown categories and he is challenging Ty Cobb's modern day record of hitting .426, which the St Louis Browns star accomplished in 1918. Thru July Hornsby is hitting .424, nearly .050 higher than the next closest batter: the Cubs Bill Terry (.378). Hornsby also leads in homeruns with 16, two ahead of teammate Austin McHenry (.366,14,80) and three up on Babe Ruth (.324,13,61) of Pittsburgh. Hornsby and McHenry share the rbi lead with 80.

The future is incredibly bright for St Louis as the Hornsby, McHenry and Ben Paschal (.297,4,38) are all 24 years old while Harry Heilmann (.375,5,68) is just 25. The Cards also have 21 year old rookie shortstop Joe Sewell (.304,2,39). The issue in St Louis remains pitching although Harry Krause (14-7, 3.33) and Byron Houck (14-7, 3.77) have both had solid season so far.

The first place Pirates have plenty of pitching, although that depth will be tested with the recent news that Eddie Cicotte (13-3, 2.89) blew out his elbow and is done for the year. A sad finish to what had been an amazing comeback season for the 36 year old who enjoyed back to back 20 win seasons for the Tigers a decade ago but had struggled in the Federal League last year before being released by Kansas City and ending up finishing the year out in the Southern League.

Pittsburgh should be okay with George Baumgardner (13-4, 2.65), Ed Willett (12-7, 3.59), Mike Prendergast (10-7, 3.96) and Tom Seaton (11-6, 3.12). To replace Cicotte, the Pirates yesterday added Chet Carmichael (9-9, 2.98), a 20 game winner for Cleveland each of the past two seasons, in a deal for 29 year old outfielder Baby Doll Jacobson (.315,5,58). There should be enough offense from Ruth (.324,13,61), Roy Leslie (.314,6,64), Roger Peckinpaugh (.336,1,38), Eddie Collins (.343,1,40) and Billy Southworth (.327,2,45) all going strong.

The Chicago White Sox did cut into Philadelphia's lead atop the American League slightly over the past month, but the 3 time defending league champion Athletics still enjoy a 4.5 game lead. The White Sox are the Cinderella story of the league, a woeful franchise that has not finished within 10 games of first place since the club's third season in the league, back in 1884.

Frankie Frisch (.315,1,52), Irish Meusel (.297,6,45), Ray Grimes (.309,5,48) and Bunny Brief (.248,6,34) have given Chicago some timely hits and the top two starters Flame Delhi (19-3, 2.22) and Louis Drucke (14-5, 2.42) have been outstanding. Whether they can keep up with the Athletics powerful offense that includes Bob Meusel (.368,5,70), Irish's brother, along with Jack Fournier (.304,1,29), Dave Robertson (.360,5,64), Cliff Heathcote (.358,3,44) and Max Carey (.324,3,53) remains to be seen.

The New York Yankees are hanging in the race as Ken Williams (.309,8,40) continues to put up decent numbers. The other Federal League transplant, Wally Pipp (.239,2,23) did not fare as well. After struggling thru June he was moved to the Yankees reserve roster and lost his job to Jim R Poole. Poole is hitting just .149 since coming over from Boston in a trade so Pipp might be back with the big club soon.


FEDERAL LEAGUE
Brooklyn continues to be the pace setter in the Federal League thanks in a big part to the bat of Oscar Charleston (.317,14,76), who leads the league in homers and rbi's. Ex-Brooklyn Robins pitcher Bill Cadreau (19-7, 2.41) has been a real find for the Pittsburgh Rebels. The 31 year old was just 7-11 last season with the Robins and was 33-46 lifetime in MLB.

[RMc]

I don't understand...why would black players form their own league if they were not banned from the FL? And why wouldn't the NNL allow white players?

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by RMc

I don't understand...why would black players form their own league if they were not banned from the FL?

The short answer regarding the NNL is I have full minors enabled so it is automatically created when I advanced to 1920 by the game meaning I have no choice but to include it. I did not want to mess around with deleting or changing the NNL because I think if I did so it would reappear in 1921 again. The only change from real evolution I used was to unaffiliate the Federal League (in the year it folded) and change it to an independent as well as create some independent minor leagues like the PCL that I will fold as they become affiliated with MLB.


As for why the NNL forms in 1920 in this replay. I probably should have done more back story but since so many Negro League players import in 1920 they needed a place to play. My briefly touched upon story line was there were a number of barnstorming or semi-pro negro leagues around the nation and they decided to organize themselves into a professional league with a set schedule.

My thinking is these teams have existed for a while and they may have lost a few players to the Federal League or independent minor league teams but there were still plenty of talented players to stock NNL rosters. It makes sense for the owners of the NNL teams to organize into a formal league for a couple of reasons:

1- To capitalize on the growing audience for baseball across the nation. The owners see a potential source of increased revenue if they organize into a professional league.

2- Negro players are still presently barred from MLB and as more and more minor leagues become affiliated with MLB they will be barred from those leagues as well. For example, my International League is presently an independent league so negro players are not barred but when the real IL is added by the game in 1927 it will be segregated as it is affiliated with MLB.

3- The Federal League is on very shaky ground. It could lose more teams or fold altogether which makes the NNL a necessity unless MLB ends the color barrier.

Originally Posted by RMc

And why wouldn't the NNL allow white players?

Primarily because of the limitations of the game. If MLB has a color barrier it applies to all feeder leagues, of which the NNL is one. Not sure the color barrier can be turned off for a single affiliated league.





I am getting a little ahead of the storyline here but my idea was that the final straw in folding the Federal League - if indeed it does fold - would be for MLB to end the color barrier much earlier than it did in real life.

I am envisioning someone like perhaps Oscar Charleston, who is a star with Brooklyn in the Federal League jumping to the major leagues as MLB drives a dagger in the heart of the FL by taking away it's one advantage in player signings - the ability to sign Negro stars without bidding competition from MLB.

I think that would make a fitting end for the Federal League's existence in this replay. My first choice would be to see some Federal League teams survive and merge with MLB but because of automatic league evolution I don't think that can happen without a ton of work on my end to keep those teams in existence year to year.

Failing that I think it would be a great story and a fitting end to the Federal League if, although it did not survive, it's legacy would be it forced MLB in this sim to allow Negro League players much earlier then 1947.

I don't know what year that will happen yet, as I let chance, along with the events of the sim, play a role but I could see the beginnings of the great depression in the fall of 1929 being the end of the Federal League.

[Tiger Fan]

SEPTEMBER 1, 1920
YANKEES MAKING A RUN AT PENNANT

A 14-1 stretch to start to start August allowed the New York Yankees to get within shouting distance of their first pennant in franchise history. The Yankees, who have finished 2nd three times since 1871 but never tasted victory, find themselves 5.5 games back of the American League leading Philadelphia Athletics. New York has 28 games remaining including 6 more with the A's.

New York will have to finish the season without Cy Williams (.309,7,55) after the outfielder suffered a broken kneecap in a mid-August game. Ken Williams (.304,10,56) and Steve O'Neill (.341,2,59) continue to lead the offense while Rube Benton (18-4, 2.62) and Phil Douglas (17-9, 3.27) are the top pitchers.

The Athletics, with the best offense in the American League, will be tough to catch. Bob Meusel (.358,7,86) is leading the league in batting while Dave Robertson (.333,5,75), Dave Bancroft (.276,4,72), Max Carey (.320,3,64) and Jack Fournier (.295,7,63) continue to put up big numbers. Herb Pennock (23-7, 2.77) leads the majors in wins.

While New York was climbing the standings the Chicago White Sox went the other direction as they dropped 12 of 14 in early August including 7 of 8 to the A's and Yankees. Pitchers Flame Delhi (22-6, 2.25) and Louis Drucke (19-6, 2.44) have been solid but the rest of the rotation including former Chicago Whale Bud Moe (8-9, 3.95) has stuggled.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Pittsburgh Pirates remain well positioned to win their first pennant since 1908. The Bucs have a 7 game lead on second place St Louis and seem to have weathered the loss of Eddie Cicotte (13-3, 2.89) for the season. Newcomer Chet Carmichael is 6-3 since coming over in a trade with Cleveland and 15-12 overall. The rest of the rotation is sound with Ed Willett (15-9), George Baumgardner (13-8), Tom Seaton (13-8) and Mike Prendegast (13-9) but the Pirates real strength is their offense. Babe Ruth (.337,18,80) has picked up the pace after a slow start. He has been getting plenty of help from the likes of Eddie Collins (.332,1,53), Roy Leslie (.304,6,88), Roger Peckinpaugh (.308,1,47) and Bubbles Hargrave (.284,3,68).

Rogers Hornsby (.415,19,103) continues to be the big story for second place St Louis. Hornsby presently leads in all 3 triple crown categories but is being pressued by teammate Austin McHenry (.362,18,102) in two of them. Hornsby had the longest hitting streak of the season, a 35 gamer thaat is 9 shy of the record 44 game streak set by Cincinnati's Frank Baker in 1911.

FEDERAL LEAGUE
The Brooklyn Tip-Tops are closing in on another regular season title as, at 94-42, they have a 15 game lead on second place Baltimore. While the box office was hurt by the defection of triple crown winner Ken Williams to the New York Yankees, the Tip-Tops offense has barely missed a beat. 26 year old Oscar Charleston (.322,17,91) has taken over as the league's top slugger while Jack Hannibal (.364,9,85) and George H Burns (.352,2,78) also playing key roles.

After four straight Brooklyn -St Louis matchups in the Federal Series we might finally see something different as the Baltimore Terrapins presently enjoy a 5-game lead on the Terriers for second place and the right to play Brooklyn in the championship series. The pitching of Bob Steele (17-12, 2.92) and Matt Clarke (18-13, 3.01) are two big reasons why Baltimore is in second. First baseman Jimmy Lyons (.301,3,62) and outfielder Charlie High (.309,5,50) are two more.

SCOUTING THE MINORS
The Central League, which is now affiliated with the Federal League, has quite a homerun race going on as Clarence Kraft and Babe Ellison are making plenty of noise. Kraft (.285,31,101), who plays for Newark's farm team the Grand Rapids Black Sox, leads the loop in homers and rbi's. He is one ahead of Zanesville's Babe Ellison (.307,30,100) in each of those two categories. The pair have a month left in their season as they attempt to surpass Ken Williams professional baseball record of 41 homers established last season in the Federal League.

The two player have had quite different career paths. Kraft is a 33 year old first baseman who has spent his entire 10 year pro career in Grand Rapids. His previous high for homeruns was 16 which he established in 1912. In real life he played 3 major league games for the Boston Braves in 1914 and well over a decade in the minors with the majority of the time in Fort Wayne of the Western Association. He was a feared power hitter in the teens and early twenties. SABR has a good article on his career here https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/63fccd1f

Babe Ellison is a 23 year old shortstop who is already playing for his 5th team in his 5th different league. He played 12 games for the St Louis Cardinals as a 21 year old rookie in 1918 but was traded to the Dallas Giants of the now-defunct South Texas League in July of that year. He split last season between Buffalo of the International League and the Baltimore Terrapins, but went 0-for-7 with the Federal League club. This season the Terrapins assigned him to their new farm team in Zanesville and he has enjoyed an outstanding season.

In real-life Ellison played 135 major league games over parts of 5 seasons for the Detroit Tigers, hitting just 1 homerun in his MLB career. He also played 7 seasons with San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League and was inducted into the PCL hall of fame.

[Tiger Fan]

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 1920
YANKEES WIN 6 STRAIGHT, JUST 2.5 BACK

The New York Yankees are putting some pressure on the American League leading Philadelphia Athletics the past week. New York swept 3 games from St Louis to start the month and blanked Boston 7-0 yesterday on a 4-hit shutout from Rube Benton (19-4,2.52). The win is the sixth straight for New York and 9th victory in their last 10 games. While New York was winning the Athletics dropped 3 of 4 games at home to Detroit to see their lead on the Yankees shrink by 3 games in the opening week of Septmber. The Athletics record is 79-48 while New York sits at 78-52. The two teams have a big 3 game series in New York this weekend.

Pittsburgh's lead on St Louis in the National League is up to 8.5 games as Babe Ruth and the Pirates are rolling. Ruth (.335,20,83) is now tied with Rogers Hornsby of St Louis for the homerun lead after the Babe belted 2 in a 9-6 win over the New York Giants on Saturday. Hornsby (.410,20,105) is trying to hold off Ruth as well Austin McHenry (.354,18,104) in the rbi race as he bids to become the first major leaguer since Levi Meyerle in 1872 to win the triple crown.

[Tiger Fan]

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 1920
TIP-TOPS CLINCH FEDERAL TITLE

The Brooklyn Tip-Tops beat Columbus 4-2 today for their 100th victory of the season and more importantly clinched another first place finish. Oscar Charleston(.340,17,98) led the Tip-Tops with 2 hits including an rbi triple while Jeff Tesreau (22-7, 2.54) moved into a tie for the league lead in wins with a complete game performance. This is the fourth straight season the Tip-Tops have finished 1st in the league. Brooklyn now waits to see who they will play in their bid for a third straight Federal Series title.

Baltimore has the inside track on the second berth in the series as the 82-63 Terrapins have a 4 game lead on the St Louis Terriers (77-66) for second place. The Chicago Whales are also still in the race as they sit 5.5 games behind Baltimore.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
The top two clubs in the American League are preparing to face each other in 3 games over the next two days beginning tomorrow with a doubleheader. The New York Yankees trail first place Philadelphia by 3 games after their 7 game losing streak came to an end in the opener of a doubleheader with Boston yesterday. The Yankees did rebound with a 7-5 as young catcher Bob O'Farrell (.328,0,7) had 4 hits to pace the New York attack.

New York will entertain the Athletics at the Polo Grounds for the series after both clubs had today off. The Athletics took a pair of 1 run games from Washington on Monday and Tuesday ending a stretch of 4 losses in 5 games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Pittsburgh Pirates have won 6 straight and now enjoy a 10.5 game lead on second place St Louis atop the National League. Cardinals second baseman Rogers Hornsby (.411,21,106) still leads the batting race but his triple crown bid is in jeopardy as teammate Austin McHenry (.357,19,108) has passed him in the rbi race thanks to a 4 rbi performance in a 9-6 win over Cincinnati yesterday. Meanwhile Pittsburgh's Babe Ruth (.335,21,87) remains tied with Hornsby for the homerun lead. Ruth hit a 2-run homer in the Bucs 7-6 win over Chicago yesterday to keep pace with Hornsby, who hit his 21st homer in a 3-1 loss to the Reds on Monday.


CENTRAL LEAGUE HOME RUN RACE
Veteran minor leaguer Clarance Kraft is slowing in his chase of the professional baseball homerun record. Kraft hit is Central League leading 32nd round tripper on September 3 against Terre Haute but has not hit one since then. Babe Ellison has also hit just 1 homerun in September, his 31st which came on Monday in a loss to Louisville. They have already established a Central League record but time is running out for them to catch the all-level record of 41 established by Ken Williams last season with Brooklyn of the Federal League.

Speaking of Brooklyn, the Tip-Tops Central League affiliate Terre Haute Tots are just as dominant as their parent club. The Tots, at 93-54, lead the Central League by 14 games over both Dayton and Canton. Among the prospects on the farm team a pair stand out in 25 year old catcher John Bischoff and 26 year old pitcher Howard Ehmke.

Bischoff (.277,18,81) is in his rookie pro season. In real life he played a couple of seasons as a backup catcher with the White Sox and Red Sox but also was one of the first foreign ballplayers to play in Cuban baseball as a member of Habana in 1923. A biography of Bischoff from SABR can be found here https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ee647260.

Howard Ehmke is a much better known name as in real-life he pitched 15 seasons in the majors with a lifetime record of 166-166. In the sim he signed with the Tigers in 1913 but was traded to the Yankees organization the following year. After spending 2 years on MLB reserve rosters and never appearing in a game he jumped to the Federal League and signed with the Chicago Whales. He played sparingly for the Whales in 1915 and 1916, going 1-2 in 33 appearances, all but 2 in relief. The Whales released him following the 1916 campaign and he spent the next 3 seasons on the reserve roster of the Athletics, Senators and Yankees. For the 1920 season he signed with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops and was assigned to their new farm club in Terre Haute. He is 14-10 with a 4.15 era in 29 starts so far this season.

SCOUTING THE MINORS
New Orleans Pelicans outfielder Jack Kibble is up to his old tricks. The 28 year old fleet-footed outfielder stole 4 bases, one shy of a league record, in a win over Memphis last week. Kibble leads the Southern League in stolen bases with 50 so far this season. Leading the league is nothing new for the veteran as Kibble has been the league's stolen base king for each of the past 6 seasons. He also led the American Association with 72 steals as a rookie in 1912 while with Columbus. A lifetime .279 hitter, Kibble had a brief stint in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1913, going 2-for-7 in 2 games. He was thrown out in his only MLB stolen base attempt.

Kibble is the single season Southern League steal leader with 97 in 1914 when he broke Kohly Miller's mark of 80 established in 1896. Miller, who played 20 years in the league with Mobile, Shreveport and Montgomery, is the Southern loop's all-time stolen base leader with 782 but Kibble, in his 7th season in the league. is closing fast with 474 steals - good for 4th all-time.

In real life Kibble got just 8 major league at bats, all with the Cleveland Naps in 1912. He was 0-for-8 but did get on base with a hit by pitch. He played briefly for New Orleans in real life but spent most of his minor league career with Evansville of the Central League.

[Tiger Fan]

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 1920
YANKEES SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER

The New York Yankees swept both ends of their doubleheader at the Polo Grounds against the Philadelphia Athletics. The two wins move New York to within 1 game of the first place Athletics in the battle for the American League pennant.

New York took the opener 4-1 as Phil Douglass (19-9, 3.27) outduelled Philadelphia ace Herb Pennock (24-9, 2.82) as both pitchers went the distance. Rookie Yankee second baseman Lew Fonseca (.356,3,48) was the hero as the 21 year old had 3 hits including a 2-run triple in the fifth inning. Outfielder Nemo Leibold (.285,0,49) also added 3 hits for the winners.

John Kelleher (.294,2,43) was the hero of the second game as he delivered a walk-off rbi single in the bottom of the ninth to lift New York to a 4-3 win. Kelleher's dramatics came after the Athletics Dave Robertson (.338,6,80) had tied the game with a 2-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. Bill Steen (15-7, 2.75) got the win despite allowing the Robertson blast, one of 8 hits he surrendered. Dick Rudolph (11-4, 2.58) took the loss after taking over in the ninth inning from Philadelphia starter Johnnie Williams (16-10, 4.03).

The St Louis Cardinals remain 10.5 games off of Pittsburgh's lead in the National League after both clubs split doubleheaders yesterday. The Cardinals lost the opener 7-3 to Cincinnati before coming back to win the afternoon game 8-5. Rogers Hornsby (.409,22,108) hit a two run homer in the defeat to move back in a tie with teammate Austin McHenry in the rbi race. Pittsburgh split a doubleheader with Chicago, losing the opener 6-2 in 12 innings before taking the second game in a 9-1 romp. Babe Ruth (.335,22,90) tied Hornsby for the homer lead with his 22nd in the nightcap.

AMERICAN LEAGUE	 W  L  GB	NATIONAL LEAGUE	 W  L  GB
Philadelphia	81 50   -	Pittsburgh	88 48   -
New York	82 53  1.0	St Louis	77 58  10.5
Chicago		72 62 10.5	Brooklyn	72 63  15.5
Detroit		68 64 13.5	Cincinnati	70 65  17.5
St Louis	61 70 20.0	Chicago		62 72  25.0
Boston		61 74 22.0	Philadelphia	60 71  25.5
Washington	58 75 24.0	Boston		53 77  32.0
Cleveland	48 83 33.0	New York	53 81  34.0

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 1920

The Athletics extended their lead back to 2 games with an 11-6 pounding of the New York Yankees in the final game of their 3 game series. Yankees hurler Rube Benton (19-5, 2.68) suffered through his worst outing of the season as he allowed 6 earned runs on 11 hits through 5 innings. Every Philadelphia starter including pitcher Oscar Harstad (9-7, 3.90) had at least one hit as the A's pounded out 21 hits in the game. Right fielder Cliff Heathcote (.330,4,61), a 22 year old who joined the A's after two season with Hartford of the Federal League, led the way with 4 hits including a pair of doubles and 2 rbi's. Bob Meusel had 2 hits and drove in 3 runs while pitcher Harstad had 3 hits in the win.

The St Louis Cardinals had the day off but they did pick up a half game in the National League race as the Pittsburgh Pirates fell 7-3 at home against Chicago. Pirates outfielder Babe Ruth hit his major league leading 23rd homerun in the contest. The Pirates lead on St Louis is down to 10 games.

FEDERAL LEAGUE
The Chicago Whales are making a charge for the second playoff spot in the Federal League. The Whales have won 4 straight including 2 over second place Baltimore followed by a pair over St Louis including an 8-3 win today. Those wins allow the Whales to move past the Terriers and to within 4.5 games of the Terrapins for second. Baltimore snapped a 3 game losing skid with a 6-5 win over first place Brooklyn today. Matt Clark (20-13, 3.01) won his team leading 20th game.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
Clarence Kraft had a 2-homer game in Grand Rapids 7-4 victory over Wheeling in Central League play. The two homers improve Kraft's total for the season to 34 - the most at any level of pro ball this season. He has 18 games left to try and hit 7 more which would tie him with Ken Williams record 41 set a year ago. Speaking of Williams, the New York Yankees outfielder is still stuck on 10 homers this season, which is the best in the American League.

NORTHWEST LEAGUE
The Northwest League playoff series between the Victoria Bees and the Everett Smokestackers continues today. The Bees took the first two games of the series on the road by scores of 10-1 and 8-3.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE
The league regular season champion Atlanta Crackers have taken a 2 games to nothing lead on the Memphis Chickasaws in the Southern League series. The Crackers can complete the sweep of the best of five series with a win tomorrow. Atlanta, which finished second in the regular season each of the past two seasons but lost in the playoffs both times, took the opener 4-3 on a two-out walk-off run scoring single from John P Henry in the bottom of the 10th. Henry is a 30 year old catcher who played 110 games for the Yankees in 1910-11 but has been with the Crackers for the past 8 seasons. Game two was a 10-3 win as Henry had 2 hits and a pair of rbi's while veteran infielder Bert Niehoff had 2 rbi's and scored 3 runs. The 36 year old Niehoff has played for well over a decade and has had stops in the major leagues with the Cubs, Braves and Browns as well as St Louis and Newark of the Federal League.

This is the 7th time in Niehoff's 13 year career that he has made the post-season. Niehoff won a Pacific States Association championship with Fresno in 1909 and a Federal Series championship with St Louis in 1916. He was also named MVP of the Pacific Coast League in 1909 and the Southern League in 1919.

Niehoff made his pro debut with Fresno in 1908 as a 24 year old. After 3 seasons with the Raisin Eaters he was signed by the Chicago White Sox but then immediately dealt to the Chicago Cubs. He spent most of the next two seasons on the Cubs reserve roster but did appear in 18 major league games. The Cubs released him prior to the 1913 season but his contract was scooped up by the Boston Braves. By June of 1913 Niehoff had only played in 9 games for the Braves but did go 5-for-11 at the plate. The St Louis Browns made a deal for him and he would start a major league career high 42 games with the Browns that season, hitting .239.

Following the 1913 season the Browns dealt the much travelled infielder to the Victoria Bees of the Northwestern League in exchange for journeyman catcher John Murphy. Niehoff would never suit up for the Bees as the Boston Red Sox purchased his contract and he would spend the entire 1914 season on the Red Sox roster, hitting .258 in 27 games.

Promised a chance to be an everyday player, Niehoff jumped to the Federal League St Louis Terriers for the 1915 season - that league's first year as a major league - and he hit .272 in 92 games but missed 7 weeks with a rib injury. Despite hitting .292 with 4 rbi's in 6 Federal Series games the Terriers decided to send Niehoff to San Francisco of the PCL in an off-season deal for pitcher Sam Crawford (not the same player as the outfielder). Again his stay out west was very short as before the 1916 season started the Newark Pepper came calling and he returned to the Federal League. However, Niehoff hit just .191 in 39 games for the Pepper and was sold to St Paul of the American Association in August. He appeared in just 2 games for St Paul before the St Louis Terriers signed him as an injury replacement.

Niehoff did not play in a regular season game for the Terriers in 1916 but did get into two Federal Series games as a defensive replacement and was a member of their championship team. He would remain with St Louis for 1917, hitting jsut .194 in 109 at bats. The Federal League does not have a trade deadline so he made history by being the only player traded from one playoff team to another just before the series started as the Terriers sent him to Brooklyn. He started 4 games for the Tip-Tops in the series but went just 2-for-13 as Brooklyn fell in 6 games. The Tip-Tops released him in spring training of 1918 and he signed with the Atlanta Crackers, helping them to Southern League series appearances last year and again this season.


In real life Niehoff, a Colorado native, played for 4 major league teams from 1913 to 1918 including the 1915 National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. In 581 career games he was a .240 hitter with 12 homeruns. After his playing career he stayed in baseball as a manager, coach and scout. He was one of the first managers selected for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. He was 1824-1713 in 24 seasons as a minor league manager, primarily in the Southern Association. He managed 3 teams to minor league titles: the 1922 Mobile Bears, 1925 Atlanta Crackers and 1935 Oklahoma City Indians.

[Tiger Fan]

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 1920

The Yankees have the day off as the only American League contest sees Philadelphia in Detroit for the opener of a 4-game set with the Tigers. The Athletics get a sparkling performance from Guy Morton (10-6) as the righthander gets the start and twirls a 3-hit shutout in a 2-0 Philadelphia win. Both Philadelphia runs came on a 5th double from Dave Bancroft (.277,5,79). The win puts the A's 2.5 games ahead of the Yankees and lowers their magic number to 18.

The top two teams in the National League both had an off-day so the Pirates remain 10 games up on St Louis. In the Federal League the Baltimore Terrapins lost again, 5-3 to first place Brooklyn, and have now dropped 8 of their last 11. Chicago failed to take advantage, losing 7-0 to St Louis as Orlie Weaver (22-14, 3.23) tossed the shutout for the Terriers. As a result St Louis leaps ahead of Chicago into third place by a half game, with the Terriers 4 games back of Baltimore for the second playoff berth.

In minor league playoff action Everett stayed alive in the Northwestern League Series with a 5-3 win over Victoria. The Bees had won the first two games of the best-of- five series. Game four is today.

Atlanta can clinch the Southern League series with a win in Memphis tomorrow. The Crackers lead 2-0.

It was a travel day in the International League series as the Bisons and Skeeters move to Jersey City for game three after splitting the first two in Buffalo. Long-time Bison catcher William Tenny had back to back 3 hit games to start the series.

The Texas League series begins tomorrow in Fort Worth with the Panthers hosting the Beaumont Exporters in the opener of a best of seven series. The Panthers, who are affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, lost the series in 7 games to San Antonio last year despite finishing with the best regular season record in the league.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 1920

The Athletics lead remains at 2.5 games after both Philadelphia and New York lost today. The A's fell 4-3 to Detroit thanks to a strong outing from Tigers starter Dutch Leonard (18-15, 2.76) while the Yankees lost 5-4 in the opener of a 3-game set against lowly Cleveland. Baby Doll Jacobson set the tone early with a big two-run double for the Indians in the bottom of the first inning.

Babe Ruth was the show in Philadelphia as the Sultan of Swat belted 2 homeruns to lead the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-2 victory. Ruth boosted his league leading homerun total to 25. The Pirates are now 11 games ahead of St Louis after the second place Cardinals were shutout 3-0 by Lee Meadows (14-15) and the Brooklyn Robins. Elsewhere of note, Walter Johnson (12-16, 3.23) pitched his second straight complete game shutout as the New York Giants blanked Chicago 5-0.

Baltimore continues to fade in the Federal League playoff race. The Terrapins dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Brooklyn while Chicago and St Louis split their twin bill. As a result Baltimore's hold on the second playoff berth is down to 3 games over St Louis and 3.5 over Chicago. The big news of the day was the performance from Brooklyn outfielder Oscar Charleston (.342,18,103) who increased his lead in homeruns and rbi's by hitting a grand slam and driving in 5 runs in total in the doubleheader sweep of Baltimore.

Clarence Kraft remains stuck on 34 and Babe Ellison on 31 homers in the Central League. Terre Haute has clinched first place but there is quite a battle raging for the other playoff spot as Dayton has a 1 game lead on both Louisville and Canton with 2 weeks remaining in the season.

Jersey City took a 2 games to one lead on Buffalo in the International League series. The Skeeters pulled out a 6-5 win in 10 innings today as Huddy Oliver delivered a walk-off rbi single. The 31 year old career back up has played nearly a decade in the International League but only started more than 60 games in a season once. This year he hit .301 but got just 104 regular season at bats for the Skeeters. It was his first hit in 5 playoff at bats.

A dramatic end to the Northwestern Series as the Victoria Bees claimed the crown with a 1-0 victory in a 13 inning marathon. The lone run came after Snake Henry led off the bottom of the 13th with a double and scored on a 1-out single off the bat of Ballplayer Wheeler. 27 year old rookie pitcher Walter Upchurch was named the series MVP after pitching 2 scoreless innings to earn his second win of the series.

St Paul has all but clinched the North Division title in the Western Association but there is a real battle waging for the South Division. The St Joseph Drummers and Hutchinson Salt Packers are tied with identical 75-67 records with close to a month remaining in the season. Oklahoma City, at 4 games back and Topeka, 5 games off the pace, are also still in the mix.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 1920
YANKEES ARE FADING

The New York Yankees lost their third straight game, including 2 in a row to last place Cleveland, and are now 3.5 games back of the Philadelphia Athletics. Ross Youngs had 4 hits while Henry Demoe and George W Harper added 3 each as the Indians ripped New York pitching for 15 hits in an 8-5 victory. Meanwhile, Philadelphia - a team that always seems to be in a battle down the stretch but always seems to prevail with a pennant - beat Detroit 7-2 as Herb Pennock (25-9, 2.81) won his league leading 25th game. Jack Fournier hit a 2-run homer for the A's while Cliff Heathcote went 4-for-4 and Max Carey delivered 3-hits.

St Louis moved back to within 10 games of Pittsburgh in the National League after the Cardinals beat Brooklyn 7-6 while Pittsburgh fell 3-2 to Philadelphia. Rogers Hornsby (.409,22,109) went 3-for-5 to keep his chances for hitting .400 in a good position, but the triple crown seems out of the question as he trails Pittsburgh's Babe Ruth by 3 homers.

The St Louis Federal League team is really putting the pressure on Baltimore. The Terrapins lead is just 2.5 games after the Terriers beat Columbus 4-2 yesterday. Baltimore had the day off before opening a 3 game series with Newark tomorrow.

MINOR LEAGUES
Game One of the Texas League Series went to visiting Beaumont as the Exporters pulled out a 5-4 victory over league regular season champion Fort Worth. Red Massey (.277,0,45) had the key hit, a 2-run double in the top of the ninth to give Beaumont the come from behind win. The 29 year old spent 7 seasons with Greys Harbor of the Northwestern League before joining Beaumont last season. His real life career consisted of 66 major league games for the 1918 Boston Braves.

Babe Ellison hit his 32nd homerun for Zanesville of the Central League. Clarence Kraft of Grand Rapids remains stalled on 34.

Jersey City claimed the International League Series title with a 5-4 win over Buffalo. The Skeeters take the series for the fifth time since the league formed in 1886 by winning it 3 games to one. Like Game Three, this one also required extra innings with John Shovlin delivering a one out sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th after Huddy Oliver had singled and moved to third on an error.

Atlanta claimed the Southern League title for the fifth time overall but first since 1908 with a 3 games to one victory over Memphis. Larry Pape (22-12, 2.74) pitched a 2-hit shutout in a 6-0 victory for his second win of the series. He was named the MVP for his efforts. Pape is a 35 year old righthander who has a career record of 174-166, all in the minors with Buffalo, St Paul and for the past 5 seasons Atlanta. In real-life he was 13-9 over parts of 3 seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

[Tiger Fan]

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 1920

The Yankees halt their losing streak at 3 games by taking the final game of their series in Cleveland 4-1. Bill Steen, who joined the Yankees after leaving the Federal League's St Louis Terriers over the off-season, pitched a complete game 4-hitter to improve his record to 16-7. Rookie first baseman Joe Hauser drove in a pair of runs in just his 10th game of the season. The Yankee win, coupled with Philadelphia's 2-0 loss in Detroit, pulls New York back to within 2.5 games of the first place Athletics.

Meanwhile, Rogers Hornsby (.413,23,113) kept his triple crown hopes alive with a 4-for-5 day that included a grand slam homerun to lift St Louis past Brooklyn 10-3 in National League play. Hornsby leads the NL in batting average and rbi's but trails Pittsburgh's Babe Ruth (.337,25,97) by 2 homeruns.

In Federal League play Baltimore fell 8-2 to Newark as the Terrapins dropped their fourth straight game. Meanwhile St Louis beat Columbus 5-1 to stretch their winning streak to 3 and leaves the Terriers just 1.5 games behind Baltimore for the second berth in the Federal Series. Chicago lost for the third straight game so the Whales and Newark are each 4 games back of Baltimore.

MINOR LEAGUES
In Texas League series action the Beaumont Exporters went up 2 games to nothing on first place Fort Worth with a 7-4 victory. 29 year old outfielder Bob Emmerich (.295,1,31) was the hero of the day for Beaumont, as he went 4-for-5 in the contest.

In Central League play the Terre Haute Tots had their 13 game winning streak come to an end with a 1-0 loss in the opener of a 3-game series at Canton. Central League veteran Willie Mitchell (17-5, 3.95) tossed a 2-hit shutout to lead the Statesmen to victory. Mitchell made his major league level debut this season with the Chicago Whales, going 2-2 before being returned to the Central League. The 30 year old is 178-177 in his 12 year Central League career. In real life he went 84-92 over 11 seasons with Cleveland and Detroit.

The Canton win moves the Statesmen to within a half game of Dayton for the rights to face Terre Haute in the Central Series. Dayton had a 9 run inning today but still lost 21-16 in wild game against Fort Wayne.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 1920

No change atop the American League standings as both Philadelphia and New York earn victories so the Athletics lead remains at 2 games. In Cleveland, the visiting A's scored 6 times in the 6th inning and cruised to a 9-3 victory. Jack Fournier (.293,8,68) had 4 hits for Philadelphia while veteran Jim Viox (.318,0,55) had a pair of hits and 4 rbi's. The Yankees opened a 3-game set in Detroit with a 6-3 victory as Phil Douglass (20-9) reached the 20-win mark for the second straight season.

Meanwhile Rogers Hornsby had his second straigh 4-hit day including his 24th homerun of the season as St Louis pounded the New York Giants 7-1. Hornsby raised his league leading batting average to .417 and is now 1 homerun shy of Babe Ruth's 25 for the league lead in that department. In his last 3 games, the Cardinals young star is 11-for-15 with 4 doubles, 2 homers and 6 rbi's.

The Cardinals win over the Giants leaves them 7.5 games back of idle Pittsburgh for the NL lead but time is running out as the Cards have just 15 games remaining, including a pair at Pittsburgh.

In the Federal League slumping Baltimore finally got back in the win column. After dropping 7 of their previous 8 the Terrapins blanked Newark 3-0 behind a 6-hit shutout from Bob Steele (18-15, 2.96). The St Louis Terriers kept pace with a 6-3 doubling of Columbus which keeps St Louis 1.5 games behind Baltimore in the battle to see who gets to face league leading Brooklyn in the Federal Series.

[Tiger Fan]

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 1920

The Athletics and Yankees both lose today so Philadelphia remains 2.5 games ahead. Cleveland doubled the A's 6-3 as former Baltimore Terrapin Frank Arellanes (9-16) had one of his best starts of the season to lead the Indians to victory. Detroit thumped the Yankees 11-1 as Joe Judge homered, tripled and drove in 5 rbi's for the Tigers.

In the National League Babe Ruth (.342,26,100) hit another homerun to go back to being 2 up on Rogers Hornsby of the Cardinals. Hornsby was 1-for-4 in a 7-4 win over the Giants and now is batting .415 with 115 rbi's. Teammate Austin Henry is second with 110 rbi's. Ruth's Pirates remain 8.5 up on the Cardinals and their magic number for clinching the pennant is down to 6.

In the Federal League playoff race Baltimore and St Louis both lost so the Terrapins remain a game and a half ahead of the Terriers for second place. First place Brooklyn is 23.5 ahead of Baltimore after the Tip-Tops won 8-7 over St Louis today. Oscar Charleston (.340,19,104) hit his league leading 19th homerun in the game.

MINOR LEAGUES
Fort Worth got it's first win in their Texas League championship series against Beaumont. After dropping the first two games at home the regular season champion Panthers won game three on the road by a 12-2 score. Ballplayer Jones(.286,0,40) and Frank Gay (.285,0,32) each had 5 hits for the winners while 18 year old rookie pitcher Dutch Henry (20-8, 2.62) went the distance for the win.


Clarence Kraft continues to chase the professional all-league homerun record. The 33 year old slugger for the Grand Rapids Black Sox of the Central League hit 2 homers in a 7-6 loss to Toledo today. That gives Kraft 36 round-trippers on the season - 5 shy of the record 41 hit by Ken Williams with Brooklyn of the Federal League last year. Kraft (.294,36,113) has 13 games remaining in his season.

Terre Haute has long clinched first place in the Central League - which is the farm league of the Federal League. The Tots, the farm club of the Brooklyn Tip-Tops, are still waiting to see who their playoff opponent will be. Dayton has a half game league on Canton and is a game and a half up on Louisville in the battle for second place.

The only other minor league season that is still underway is that of the independent Western Association. The St Paul Saints have won 10 in a row including back to back wins over second place Sioux City to open an 8-game lead on the Packers in the North Division. The South Division race is much tighter as the Hutchinson Salt Packers lead the St Joseph Drummers by 1 game and the Oklahoma City Indians by 4. The Salt Packers and Drummers begin a big 3 game series in Hutchinson tomorrow. The clubs will also meet for 3 games in St Joseph next week.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 1920

Philadelphia's lead on the Yankees atop the American League is up to 3.5 games after today's action. The Athletics beat Cleveland 11-4 to take 2 of three from the Tribe while New York dropped it's second straight game in Detroit, losing 5-3. Middle infielders Jim Viox (.320,0,59) and Dave Bancroft (.281,5,84) were the heroes for Philadelphia as each delivered 3 hits. Viox drove in 4 runs while Bancroft added two rbi's. In Detroit, Yankee starter Rube Benton (19-6, 2.59) was cruising along, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits through 6 before Detroit bats exploded for four runs in the 7th to make a winner out of Ballplayer Harle (12-13, 3.02). Tris Speaker's (.332,5,69) 2-run triple was the big blow.

Pittsburgh (91-51) blasted Boston 11-3 while the second place Cardinals (81-60) fell 5-4 in extra innings to the Giants moving the Pirates one step closer to their first pennant since 1908. Babe Ruth continues to be red-hot for the Pirates as he homered for the second straight game and now has 27 homeruns on the season, including 9 in 15 September games.


In the Federal League the Baltimore Terrapins fell for the second straight day to Kansas City, losing by a 6-1 score. St Louis was rained out in Brooklyn so the Terrapins hold on second place over the Terriers is down to just 1 game with Newark 3 games off the pace and Chicago 3.5 back. The Pepper beat Indianapolis 8-2 today while the Whales lost a heartbreaker in 17 innings to Pittsburgh. Joe Mulligan (.266,0,25) ended the game with a walk-off rbi single to give the Rebels a 6-5 win.

MINOR LEAGUES
The road team has won all 4 games in the Texas League series as Fort Worth evened things at 2 wins apiece with a 4-2 victory over Beaumont in game four of the best of seven series. Dud Branom and Ballplayer Jones each had 2 rbi's for the Panthers, who got a complete game 4-hitter from John Singleton (13-15, 4.51). The 23 year old Singleton is considered to be the top pitching prospect of the parent Detroit Tigers. In real life Singleton was 1-10 in a brief major league career that consisted of 1 season with the Philadelphia Phillies.


Another homerun for Clarence Kraft (.294,37,114) in the Central League. The Grand Rapids slugger followed up a 2 homer performance yesterday with another one today in the Black Sox 2-1 win over Toledo. Babe Ellison (.299,33,114) also homered today as the 23 year old Zanesville Potters outfielder tries to keep pace with Kraft.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 1920

After an off-day the Yankees and Athletics are back in action and each records a victory in the opener of their respective 3 game series. The first place Athletics, who remain 3.5 games ahead of New York, defeated St Louis 7-3 as Herb Pennock (26-9) won his league leading 26th game. Ty Cobb (.356,2,77) of the Browns went 1-for-4 in the game so he continues to lead the American League in batting average. Philadelphia's Bob Meusel (.352,7,99), who is second, was 1 for 5. The Yankees beat the White Sox 7-2 in Chicago behind a 4-for-4, 2 rbi performance from Ken Williams (.300,10,62).

The 87-53 A's have 14 games remaining while the Yankees (85-58) have 11 contests left. The two clubs will end the season with a 3-game set in Philadelphia.

Rogers Hornsby(.415,25,116) went 2-for-4 and hit his 25th homerun of the season to help St Louis beat Boston 8-6. Babe Ruth did not homer in Pittsburgh's 5-3 loss to the Giants so Hornsby remains 2 homers behind Ruth in his bid to become the first triple crown winner since Levi Meyerle in 1872.


Oscar Charleston (.337,20,105) hit his Federal League leading 20th homerun in Brooklyn's 2-1 loss to St Louis in the second game of a doubleheader. The Terriers took 2 of 3 from the Tip-Tops over the weekend but trail Baltimore by a game in the race for the second playoff spot after the Terrapins beat Kansas City each of the past two days.

TEXAS LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The Beaumont Exporters can claim the Texas Series title with a win today. Beaumont snapped the streak of visiting team wins by beating Fort Worth 5-3 at home yesterday to go up 3 games to two. Exporters catcher Pickles Dilhoefer (.271,1,38) was named the player of the game after he went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an rbi. The 26 year old Cleveland native is in his first season in Beaumont after playing the previous 6 years in Toledo.

In real-life Dillhoefer played 247 major league games between 1917 and 1921 for the Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals. Dillhoefer was famously one-fourth of what is generally considered one of the worst trades in Phillies history: Dillhoefer was sent with Mike Prendergast from the Cubs to the Phillies in exchange for catcher Bill Killefer and Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander on December 11, 1917. Dillhoefer would appear in just eight games for the Phillies while Alexander would win 183 games for the Cubs and Cardinals. Dillhoefer died from typhoid fever in the winter of 1921-1922.