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KCRoyals15 · 11-30-2024, 02:32 AM

1936

The Rochester Stars had their moments in the early part of the century, but more than two decades of awful play, combined with sliding attendance in a small market ultimately doomed them, as not even a name change (to the Red Wings) could save them. Only one man thought New York could handle a third team, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the dominant New York Gothams firmly established in the market.

Nonetheless, that one man was new Red Wings owner Gordon Feldman, a bold, flashy man was able to strike a deal with the Gothams to share the Polo Grounds as his franchise moved to town. One club was wildly successful in the Big Apple, he thought. Why couldn't another? And so, the newly christened Manhattan Yankees were born.

Meanwhile, the once-proud Cleveland Buckeyes had fallen on hard times and looked to change that as they changed their name to the Cleveland Spiders.

Manhattan was never competitive as they lost 108 games and finished a staggering 65 games behind New York, whose 113 wins was one off their own EBF record. They repeated in the New England League, like the Philadelphia Quakers, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Kansas City Blues, all of whom repeated after winning their respective leagues in 1935. The Western League was far and away the weakest league, as Kansas City was the only winning club and needed just 83 wins to earn the pennant, the fewest by a pennant winner in USBF history.

Earlier in the decade, Kansas City earned a reputation for knocking off teams substantially better than them in October. This time, though, a New York team that finished 30 games ahead of KC wiped out the Blues in a four-game sweep. Indianapolis, meanwhile, took down Philadelphia in a six-game set. The Gothams then claimed the EBF title in a seven-game showdown with the Hoosiers, earning a trip to the National Championship.

Like the EBF, name changes occurred out west as well, as the Seattle Indians paid homage to the notable nearby mountain by changing their name to the Rainiers. The Salt Lake City Mavericks had inherited the name from a previous move from San Jose changed their name to the Bees, matching that of the previously successful Rocky Mountain League franchise that had much success.

Once again, the Bay Area dominated the PCL as San Francisco and Oakland finished tied at the top, though the Seals won the tiebreaker that earned them the top seed. Even the third-place Mission Reds were a Bay Area team, sharing Seals Stadium with San Francisco. For the third year in a row, the Seals and Oaks squared off, and for the second time, it was San Francisco on top, as the Seals won a six-game series.

The National Championship saw a New York team that won one less game in 45 fewer games face San Francisco. Despite the clear favorite, an upset occurred, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the New York Gothams, 4-3 to claim their third National Championship in six seasons.

Detroit Wolverines outfielder Mike Walker had broken out with a pair of strong seasons. However, he upped his game further this season. Walker slashed .396/.431/.600, leading the EBF with 264 hits and 148 runs, while ripped 38 doubles, 16 triples, and 22 home runs with 144 RBIs, plus 30 stolen bases. Amazingly, Walker did not win the batting title (more on that in a moment).

Jarrod Fell spent three excellent seasons at Triple-A Wichita before the New York Gothams purchased his contract before the 1930 season. After winning 28 games as a rookie, Fell continued to excel. In addition to a 22-5 record, Fell shaved his ERA to an EBF-best 2.25, earning Pitcher of the Year despite making only 29 starts.

The EBF saw the tightest batting race to date with two hitters chasing .400. Buffalo’s Joe Christian already owned a .400 season, hitting .409 in 1931. He came up three hits shy of a .400 campaign, but hit .3962, edging out Mike Walker’s .3958 to earn his second batting title. This race would be the closest run at .400 for decades.

Several milestones were hit, most notable that of Chicago Colts outfielder Dean Hevner. On April 21, Hevner stroked his 3,000th hit, becoming just the second player to reach that mark in USBF play. Exactly three months later, Kansas City’s Jason Confer, a year after his stunning Pitcher of the Year victory, earned his 350th victory as he became the third USBF pitcher to reach that mark. Lastly, longtime Minneapolis Millers ace Carlos Perez ended 1934 with 294 wins, but won just four games in ’35. After that season, the Millers gave up on him on him and he signed with Newark. After winning just one games over an injury-riddled season, Perez finally came through in the final start of his career, at last earning win #300 on September 29.

Los Angeles centerfielder Cody Kulzer burst on the scene to win Rookie of the Year in 1935, then one-upped his performance the following year. In year two, Kulzer slashed .367/.476/.589, leading the PCL in on-base, slugging, OPS, runs (176), doubles (68), and walks (155), while hitting 27 homers and driving in 154 RBIs to win first MVP award as the Angels firmly found their successor in center to Jared Krieger.

A year after many felt he was snubbed out of the Pitcher of the Year trophy, Oakland’s John Pryor earned his second award in three years, leading the PCL in wins (27) for the third year in a row, as he posted a 3.07 ERA in 354.1 innings over a league-high 44 starts.

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Birmingham Barons, 98-56, defeats New Orleans
Colonial League: Scranton-Wilkes Barre Steamers, 88-53, defeats Hartford
Texas League: El Paso Texans, 80-60, defeats Galveston
River Valley League: Peoria Distillers, 81-59, defeats Des Moines
Rocky Mountain League: Great Falls Explorers, 73-53, defeats Cheyenne
Coastal League: Miami Gators, 93-61, defeats Jacksonville (3rd straight)
Northern League: Duluth Dukes, 85-41, defeats Sioux City (2nd straight)
Great Lakes League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 101-39, defeats Akron
Southwest League: Tucson Javelinas, 85-69, defeats San Bernardino
Southern Association: Little Rock Travelers, 78-62, defeats Beaumont (3rd straight)
Northwest League: Vancouver Mounties, 68-52, defeats Spokane

With Birmingham's Southeastern League title, Skipper Jr. earned his first league title

11-30-2024, 02:32 AM	#43
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	New Men in Manhattan 1936 The Rochester Stars had their moments in the early part of the century, but more than two decades of awful play, combined with sliding attendance in a small market ultimately doomed them, as not even a name change (to the Red Wings) could save them. Only one man thought New York could handle a third team, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the dominant New York Gothams firmly established in the market. Nonetheless, that one man was new Red Wings owner Gordon Feldman, a bold, flashy man was able to strike a deal with the Gothams to share the Polo Grounds as his franchise moved to town. One club was wildly successful in the Big Apple, he thought. Why couldn't another? And so, the newly christened *Manhattan Yankees* were born. Meanwhile, the once-proud Cleveland Buckeyes had fallen on hard times and looked to change that as they changed their name to the *Cleveland Spiders. Manhattan was never competitive as they lost 108 games and finished a staggering 65 games behind New York, whose 113 wins was one off their own EBF record. They repeated in the New England League, like the Philadelphia Quakers, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Kansas City Blues, all of whom repeated after winning their respective leagues in 1935. The Western League was far and away the weakest league, as Kansas City was the only winning club and needed just 83 wins to earn the pennant, the fewest by a pennant winner in USBF history. Earlier in the decade, Kansas City earned a reputation for knocking off teams substantially better than them in October. This time, though, a New York team that finished 30 games ahead of KC wiped out the Blues in a four-game sweep. Indianapolis, meanwhile, took down Philadelphia in a six-game set. The Gothams then claimed the EBF title in a seven-game showdown with the Hoosiers, earning a trip to the National Championship. Like the EBF, name changes occurred out west as well, as the Seattle Indians paid homage to the notable nearby mountain by changing their name to the Rainiers. The Salt Lake City Mavericks had inherited the name from a previous move from San Jose changed their name to the Bees, matching that of the previously successful Rocky Mountain League franchise that had much success. Once again, the Bay Area dominated the PCL as San Francisco and Oakland finished tied at the top, though the Seals won the tiebreaker that earned them the top seed. Even the third-place Mission Reds were a Bay Area team, sharing Seals Stadium with San Francisco. For the third year in a row, the Seals and Oaks squared off, and for the second time, it was San Francisco on top, as the Seals won a six-game series. The National Championship saw a New York team that won one less game in 45 fewer games face San Francisco. Despite the clear favorite, an upset occurred, as the San Francisco Seals defeat the New York Gothams, 4-3 to claim their third National Championship in six seasons. Detroit Wolverines outfielder Mike Walker* had broken out with a pair of strong seasons. However, he upped his game further this season. Walker slashed .396/.431/.600, leading the EBF with 264 hits and 148 runs, while ripped 38 doubles, 16 triples, and 22 home runs with 144 RBIs, plus 30 stolen bases. Amazingly, Walker did not win the batting title (more on that in a moment). Jarrod Fell spent three excellent seasons at Triple-A Wichita before the New York Gothams purchased his contract before the 1930 season. After winning 28 games as a rookie, Fell continued to excel. In addition to a 22-5 record, Fell shaved his ERA to an EBF-best 2.25, earning Pitcher of the Year despite making only 29 starts. The EBF saw the tightest batting race to date with two hitters chasing .400. Buffalo’s Joe Christian already owned a .400 season, hitting .409 in 1931. He came up three hits shy of a .400 campaign, but hit .3962, edging out Mike Walker’s .3958 to earn his second batting title. This race would be the closest run at .400 for decades. Several milestones were hit, most notable that of Chicago Colts outfielder Dean Hevner. On April 21, Hevner stroked his 3,000th hit, becoming just the second player to reach that mark in USBF play. Exactly three months later, Kansas City’s Jason Confer, a year after his stunning Pitcher of the Year victory, earned his 350th victory as he became the third USBF pitcher to reach that mark. Lastly, longtime Minneapolis Millers ace Carlos Perez ended 1934 with 294 wins, but won just four games in ’35. After that season, the Millers gave up on him on him and he signed with Newark. After winning just one games over an injury-riddled season, Perez finally came through in the final start of his career, at last earning win #300 on September 29. Los Angeles centerfielder Cody Kulzer burst on the scene to win Rookie of the Year in 1935, then one-upped his performance the following year. In year two, Kulzer slashed .367/.476/.589, leading the PCL in on-base, slugging, OPS, runs (176), doubles (68), and walks (155), while hitting 27 homers and driving in 154 RBIs to win first MVP award as the Angels firmly found their successor in center to Jared Krieger. A year after many felt he was snubbed out of the Pitcher of the Year trophy, Oakland’s John Pryor earned his second award in three years, leading the PCL in wins (27) for the third year in a row, as he posted a 3.07 ERA in 354.1 innings over a league-high 44 starts. Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Birmingham Barons, 98-56, defeats New Orleans Colonial League: Scranton-Wilkes Barre Steamers, 88-53, defeats Hartford Texas League: El Paso Texans, 80-60, defeats Galveston River Valley League: Peoria Distillers, 81-59, defeats Des Moines Rocky Mountain League: Great Falls Explorers, 73-53, defeats Cheyenne Coastal League: Miami Gators, 93-61, defeats Jacksonville (3rd straight) Northern League: Duluth Dukes, 85-41, defeats Sioux City (2nd straight) Great Lakes League: Grand Rapids Griffins, 101-39, defeats Akron Southwest League: Tucson Javelinas, 85-69, defeats San Bernardino Southern Association: Little Rock Travelers, 78-62, defeats Beaumont (3rd straight) Northwest League: Vancouver Mounties, 68-52, defeats Spokane With Birmingham's Southeastern League title, Skipper Jr. earned his first league title Last edited by KCRoyals15; 12-11-2024 at 01:45 AM.