I have been going through the FABL league history and discovering so many interesting players that I thought this would be a good thread to share what I run across. I will try to add a story I discover about one guy every day or so.
Let's begin with a pitcher from the early days of the sport
PRETZELS CRONAUER
Pretzels caught my attention because I was looking at foreign born players and I had well expected a Canadian to top the list of most pitching wins by a player born outside of the US. Instead it is the German born Cronauer who holds that distinction. Pretzels went 185-135 over 10 seasons starting in 1884.
Code:
WINS BY A NON AMERICAN BORN PITCHER
Pretzels Cronauer 185-135 Germany 1884-93
Frank Maroney 173-127 Ireland 1882-94
Jim Cannon 169-189 Scotland 1878-87
Charles Atkinson 133-163 Canada 1890-99
Adolph Cash 111-103 Canada 1890-96
Hartigan O'Carroll 103-103 Ireland 1876-96
Johnson Lee 90-100 Canada 1911-16
Al Allen Jr. 56-50 Canada 1926-current
Pretzels was a key piece of one of the old Century League's powerhouse team called the Providence Gems just prior to the birth of FABL. He broke in with the Gems at the age of 20 in 1884 and would help them to 3 straight league titles begin in 1886 when he went 29-6. Over a 3 year span Cronauer won 94 games and his 43 wins in 1888 are one shy of the FABL record set by Jack Manning of the New York Gothams in 1885.
Code:
PITCHING WINS IN A SINGLE SEASON
Jack Manning 44-9 1885 New York Gothams
Pretzels Cronauer 43-22 1888 Providence Gems
Jason Young 42-33 1881 Boston Pilgrims
Pete Hood 41-9 1885 New York Gothams
Eddie Jordan 38-22 1888 Chicago Chiefs
Charles Wilson 37-12 1896 Philadelphia Stars
Price Adams 37-7 1898 Philadelphia Stars
The Gems could not be beat on the field those three years but it was the heart of the battle between the Century League and Border Association and they succumbed to bankruptcy due to overspending and mismanagement. William Whitney's Chicago Chiefs purchased the contract of most Providence players but they immediately sold Cronauer to the Boston Minutemen. He spent just one season in Boston compiling a 14-23 record before Whitney brought him to Chicago and his final 2 years as a solid contributor where with the Chiefs, winning 20 games in 1890 and 26 the following season.
In 1892 peace came to the sport as FABL was formed but Cronauer, despite being just 28 years of age would never win a game in FABL. He pitched just 28 innings over the next 2 seasons with 4 teams and his career was over. No known injury. He just stopped being an effective pitcher but he left a legacy that included 3 Century League titles, a no-hitter thrown in 1885 and a 43 victory season as well as the greatest German born baseball player in FABL history.
Incidentally there have been 9 German born players to play at least one major league game. The only active German born player has not yet made it to the big leagues. Heinie Buehler, is a 23 year old catcher who played at Commonwealth Catholic before being drafted by the Montreal Saints in the 25th round in 1932. Buehler had a decent season split between Class A and B a year ago, hitting .331 in 95 games.