BILL CRAIGEN
It is hard to imagine that anyone could have a greater impact in multiple ways on a franchise than the contributions Bill Craigen made to the New York Stars. First as a player where Craigen spent the first 14 of his storied 19 year career where he won 3 World Championships and is second to the great John Waggoner in most team offensive categories and later as a the manager, a role he still holds and has piloted the Stars to 4 more World Championships including a record 3 straight from 1924-26. His 7 World Championship rings in total are believed to be the most anyone has ever achieved in FABL history.
The outfielder fraom Wahoo, Nebraska adapted to the big city very quickly and was a terrific player right from day one when he debuted with the Stars as a 19 year old. He would play all 140 games that season and made an immediate impact. Wahoo Willie's combination of power and speed allowed him to set a FABL record that year with 42 triples, smashing the previous highwater mark of 34 set two years earlier by Willie Winder of St Louis. His record stood until 1912 when Joe Ward hit 44 triples and to this day Craigen, Ward and John Dibblee are the only players to hit at least 40 triples in a season. Craigen also became the first player to hit for the cycle twice as a rookie. Only 14 other players have ever hit for two cycles in their career, let alone in one season and as a teenage rookie.
While he would never top 40 three-baggers again, Craigen would led the Continental Association in triples each of his first five seasons in the league and seven times in total. He also led the CA in homers three times, rbi's five times and batting average once, when he hit .340 in 1906.
As Craigen's career hit it's peak so did many of his Stars teammates and they would become a powerhouse, winning 4 CA pennants and 3 World Championship Series between 1902 and 1906. Craigen was a clutch playoff performer, hitting .398 with 37 hits including 10 triples in 22 World Championship Series games. Max Morris just recently tied Craigen for third all-time in Series hits while Craigen's 11 triples are 6 more than any other player in the history of the sport has ever hit in postseason play. He is also the all-time post-season leader in doubles with 9 and total bases with 68 (3 more than Morris, who is second) and tied for 16th in World Championship Series games played with 22.
When the Stars started to fade as the second decade of the twentieth century began he was traded to the Philadelphia Keystones prior to the 1913 season. He would spend his final five years on some very bad Keystone clubs before playing his final big league game at the age of 37 in 1917. His playing days would end with two seasons for Louisville of the AAA Union League - the only minor league contests he would ever play.
In all, Bill Craigen appeared in 2,405 FABL games (12th most all time) and today sits third on the career triples leaderboard with 381, 11th in hits with 2,906 and 13th in rbi's with 1,294. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 1902 World Championship Series. What also often gets forgotten is Craigen was a terrific defensive corner outfielder. He spent some time at first base and even in center field when needed, but is work in left and right field was always outstanding. He recorded at least 10 outfield assists in a season eight times including 23 in his first season with the Keystones in 1913.
Following his playing days he embarked on the second stage of his legendary baseball career as Wahoo Willie was immediately brought back to New York and was named the Stars manager in 1920. The Stars had finished dead last in the Continental Association 3 of the previous 4 years before Craigen arrived and it was slow going early as a skipper for Craigen as he began with back to back seventh place finishes but then the tide turned. In 1922 the team won 80 games, their highest total since 1911 when Craigen was still a player, and two years after that they were champions - winning the first of 3 straight CA pennants and World Championship Series. He would guide them to a fourth title in 1932 and in his 15 years running the team he has a 1244-1061 career record.
Craigen presently ranks 10th all-time in manager wins and second among active skippers behind only Oscar Julious of Baltimore, but Julious has been a manager 14 years longer the Craigen. Craigen and the now retired Boston and Detroit legendary manager George Theobald are the only men to manage a team to 4 World Championship Series. At 54 years of age Craigen appears to have plenty of time left to take over sole possession of top spot in that category and perhaps even challenge Theobald's career record for wins by a manager with 2,237.