THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
Monday September 28, 1936
KINGS FINALLY OVERCOME FORESTERS
After back to back final week of the season collapses that caused Brooklyn to lose the Continental Association pennant to the Cleveland Foresters each of the past two years, the Kings finally get their chance to taste October baseball. It was not so much a stellar finish for the Brooklyn nine as the Kings stumbled down the stretch, winning just 11 of their final 23 games but they were aided by a Kings-like collapse from the Cleveland club. The Foresters, who had come up big when Brooklyn collapsed late in each of the past two seasons, fell apart in the final days of this campaign, dropping 8 of their last 9 decisions and slipping to third in the standings as the rapidly improving Philadelphia Sailors won their last 7 straight including a pair in Cleveland to leapfrog the Foresters.
The upcoming Series meeting will be the first ever between the Brooklyn Kings and Chicago Chiefs, each of whom have rarely tasted victory. Brooklyn's troubles are well documented as the club's collapse each of the past two September's adds to the credibility of the so-called Hawkins Curse placed on the club so many decades ago. The Curse has not been lifted yet, mind you, as the Kings have been to the Series before: in 1912, 1923 and 1927, but lost on each occasion and former Kings star pitcher Ferdinand Hawkins is said to have cursed the club from ever winning a World Championship Series. Hawkins past away last year and had always steadfastly refused to ever confirm or deny what he was reported to have said when the Kings cut him following the 1892 season, the year that FABL was formed.
While the Chiefs have never had to worry about a curse, fans of one of baseball's original franchises - one formed by FABL founder William Whitney himself - have seen little in the way of playoff baseball. They did win a pair of Century League crowns in the late1800's before the dawn of the Federal and Continental Associations but since then they have won the Federal pennant just twice. The first title came in 1917 when they won 92 games and finished 2.5 up on the Pittsburgh Miners before beating Cleveland in 6 games for their first and, to date at least, only World Championship Series victory. Some might draw a few parallels between 1917 squad and this edition of the Chiefs:
- Each had a hotshot rookie pitcher. In 1917 it was 24 year old Bob Wilson who won 20 games and led the league in ERA. This year it is 21 year old Al Miller who won 21 games and would have led the Fed in ERA were it not for the incredible second half teammate Rabbit Day enjoyed.
- Both this year's edition and the 1917 club finished first with Pittsburgh in second and Boston in third place.
- Both finished in the middle of the pack run wise as pitching was the story for both teams. the '17 squad had Wilson (20-11) as well as Denny Wren (24-11) and Marty Jones (22-11) leading the way, while this season's version had Rabbit Day (25-3), Miller (21-8) and Charlie Bingham (19-12).
The Chiefs only other pennant came in 1928 when Joe Masters (.388,56,195) and Jim Hampton (.397,18,117) lifted the club on their backs and carried them to a title. It could have been the middle of a mini-dynasty in Chicago as the Chiefs narrowly missed 3 straight pennants, finishing 2 games out in 1927 as Philadelphia and Detroit tied for the lead forcing a 1-game playoff that the Keystones won, and in 1929 the Chiefs finished second, 2 back of the Dynamos. There have been some lean seasons to start the 1930's but with a storybook 1936 season fans many are thinking the Chiefs are a team of destiny. It could be quite a series if the Kings can get back on track as Brooklyn sends the league's best offense up against FABL's best pitching staff.
The series is a coming home of sorts for 4 Chiefs, who all have ties to the Kings organization. Ron Rattigan and Tom Aiello were both Kings draft picks who were dealt to Chicago in the Milt Fritz trade. Aiello’s father also played briefly for Brooklyn in the teens. Bill White was signed originally by Brooklyn as an undrafted free agent and dealt to the Chiefs for a draft pick in ‘34 while Larry Brown was an out of options casualty the Kings sent to Chicago just prior to the start of the 1935 season. The 27 year old Rattigan (.335,20,101) had a breakout year his second season as a big leaguer while the 25 year old White (.272,4,78) established himself as the Chiefs everyday shortstop. Aiello(.290,1,13), who made his big league debut with 2 games for Brooklyn in 1929, was the Chiefs starting catcher last season but was relegated to a backup role with the acquisition of Tom Bird from Montreal. Brown spent parts of 4 seasons with Brooklyn and won a career high 11 games last season in his debut with Chicago but spent much of this year in the Chiefs pen and finished with a 4-9 record.
GOTHAMS TAKE INVENTORY OF HAUL FROM SUMMER SELL-OFF
Courtesy of the New York World-Telegram
As we watch Rabbit Day win 25 games and cruise into the Series let's take a look at what the New York Gothams received in their tear down. It will be years before we know if it was worth it but here is the haul the Gothams received for gutting a championship club:
Ed Reyes - OF/1B - (23) - Former 1st rd pick and top 100 prospect. Has established himself as a solid .300 hitter and .400 OBP AAA hitter. Hit .375/.423/.708 in a brief ML shot with the Gothams.
Billy Dalton - 3B - (22) - Former 1st rd pick and top 20 prospect. Had a solid season in A ball this year then struggled in a very brief look in AA.
Earl West - 1B/2B/OF - (20) - Former 3rd rd pick and top 200 prospect - Hit .300 at AA this season and held his own at the AAA level in 67 games
Fred Ratcliffe - SP - (22) - 5th rd pick. Had a 3.19 ERA and 1.17 Whip at AA Jersey City, then was 4.60 and 1.02 in two starts AAA. Had been struggling in AA Atlanta before being acquired by the Gothams.
Mule Earl - SP - (23) - Former 6th rd pick. Earl moved towards the top of the Gothams pitching prospects going 4-2 2.24 ERA and 0.88 Whip in 6 starts at single A Albany before injuries shut him down.
Chuck Johnson - 1B - (22) - Slashed .360/.415/.460 at single A as a 21 year old for the Kings and Gothams organizations.
Gary Heuser - SP - (26) - Struggled in the majors this season since coming over from the Chiefs as part of the Day trade. Bone spurs that ended his season are the likely reason.
Dick Canfield - 1B - (22) - A late round pick who never showed up on the prospect lists he hit .360/.418/.602 at AAA this season before going .275/.385/.330 for the Gothams in 130 PAs. The Gothams hope he will show more of his minor league power as a backup to Bud Jameson.
Charlie Wheeler - SP - (22) - Former 1st rd pick and top 100 prospect. He became the Gothams top pitching prospect. Wheeler struggled at AA since coming over to the Gothams.
Dick Gentry - SP - (23) - Former 2nd rd pick. Pitched well at AA and a short stint at AAA before taking a spot in the Gothams rotation for 12 starts (4-5, 5.79)
Howard Brown Jr. - OF - (24) - Former 3rd rd pick and top 100 prospect. Brown slashed .266/.310/.375 at AAA before getting a cup of coffee with the Gothams. Brown is a good defender at all 3 OF positions.
In addition to these players who helped improve the Gothams low ranked minor league system, the team also added 5 draft picks (while losing a 3rd rd) and will be drafting 3 times in round 1 and 3 times in round 2 this December.
KINGS INVITE TOP AREA PROSPECTS TO KINGS COUNTY BUT IS THE MOVE DESIGNED TO REMOVE A CURSE
The Brooklyn Kings might be busy preparing to host the opener of the World Championship Series but their scouting department led by Director John Spears is fully focused on the future, although perhaps Spears has also sprinkled in a hope to aide the present as well. Spears has invited a number of New York area prospects eligible for the December draft to tour Kings County Stadium and play a pick-up game against some Kings prospects and local sandlot players at the Stadium Tuesday, a day before the World Championship Series gets underway between the Kings and the Federal Association pennant winning Chicago Chiefs.
Included in those invited are number one ranked prospect Sal Pestilli of Narragansett College in Rhode Island, who will square off against his older brother Alf, a Kings minor leaguer, in the informal game. Other prospects invited are all players who appeared on the mock draft such as Joe Zell, a New York native who played for Ferguson College in North Carolina and Brooklyn born catcher Bill Wilson who played his high school ball in Philadelphia, but there was one notable exception. The group invited also included lightly regarded catcher Ian Weber of Brooklyn Catholic University.
No big deal you would think right as Weber is a local college product. Well, it isn't a big deal until you also recognize the fact that Weber is the grandson of former Kings hurler and rumoured curse creator Ferdinand Hawkins. The Kings called questions about whether Weber's inclusion was some sort of attempt to appease the spirit of Weber's late grandfather in an effort to remove the curse in advance of the Series opener as "pure hogwash." Brooklyn Scouting Director John Spears towed the company line by elaborating "we don't believe in curses," but he did add at the end of the conversation as he was leaving the room "but if can help us get our first title then why not?"
Brooklyn has never won a World Championship Series and Hawkins is said to have vowed they never would after he was unceremoniously cast aside from the organization in 1892 at the age of 27 after leading the team to two championships in the old Border Association. The 21 year old Weber played 3 seasons at Brooklyn Catholic University, hitting .266 with 11 homers in 166 games. OSA's scouting report in Weber calls him a quality defensive catcher but has a below average bat and his ceiling is a bench role.
COUGARS CLASS OF MINOR LEAGUES
The Chicago Cougars are loaded with young talent so it comes as little surprise the Cougars have the best minor league system in FABL if we strictly look at wins and losses. The Cougars have 13 players listed in the BNN's top 100 prospects led by #4 overall Billy Hunter, a 21 year old shortstop they selected 14th overall out of Cincinnati High School in 1932. Hunter spent most of the season at AA where he helped the Mobile Commodores win a Dixie League pennant before being promoted to AAA Milwaukee late in the year. No Cougar affiliate finished below third in it's league led by AA Mobile and Class B San Jose who each won pennants.
The Philadelphia Sailors finished a close second as they had three pennant winning clubs in AAA San Francisco, AA Providence and Class B Miami. There downfall to surpass the Cougars system was Class C where the Gulfport Sailors finished with a .500 record and were 4th in the Gulf States League.
Here is a look at the cumulative minor league record for each organization and the 1936 Minor League pennant winners.
Code:
1936 MINOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
LEVEL LEAGUE TEAM PARENT CLUB
AAA Great Western San Francisco Hawks Philadelphia Sailors
AAA Union League Rochester Rooks Brooklyn Kings
AAA Century League Indianapolis Hoosiers Baltimore Cannons
AA Eastern Assn Providence Sailors Philadelphia Sailors
AA Dixie League Mobile Commodores Chicago Cougars
AA Lone Star Assn Austin Violets Independent
A Heartland Lg. Davenport Dusters Toronto Wolves
A Middle Atlantic Allentown Cokers Philadelphia Keystones
A Western League Des Moines Bears Independent
B C-O-W League San Jose Cougars Chicago Cougars
B Southeastern Lg Miami Sailors Philadelphia Sailors
C Gulf States Lg Hattiesburg Top Hats Boston Minutemen
C UMVA Moline Pioneers St Louis Pioneers
QUICK HITS
- You have to wonder if this is the end of the line for Ossie Julious' managerial career. The 63 year old is the dean of FABL managers. No one has managed in more games than Julious and his 2,276 career wins and 2,418 career losses are both records. Julious won his only World Championship in 1911 when he was piloting Toronto and he has had some pretty successful seasons early in his stay in Baltimore, where he has skippered the Cannons since 1929 but with 3 straight last place finishes and a record of 239-377 over the past 4 seasons you have to think it is time for the Cannons to bring in a new voice.
-Staying with the Cannons, last year's number one overall pick Rufus Barrell II has finally been given a clean bill of health, although it is obviously too late for him to return to the mound this season. After two dominating seasons at Macon High School in Georgia, Barrell's minor league debut was highly anticipated. Unfortunately it lasted just 3 games before he hurt his shoulder and has been sidelined ever since. Cannons sources say Deuce is as good as new and ready to enjoy a great season next year and certainly the entire league is hoping he makes a full recovery, but shoulders can be a tricky thing with pitchers.
- While we are talking Baltimore pitching did anyone notice the great start another former high first round pick had to begin his big league career? Gus Goulding was taken 2nd overall by the Cannons in 1934 right after the Washington Eagles selected his St Blane College teammate Bobo White with the first pick. White struggled to a 6-15, 6.45 season at AAA this year but Goulding beat his former college teammate to the big leagues, jumping from AA in April to AAA in June and landing in Baltimore in late August. Since joining the Cannons, Goulding won all eight of his starts and boasts a very impressive 2.90 era. Things might be looking up for the Cannons as John Edwards, who was taken third overall in 1933, also looked sharp in his big league debut this month. Like Goulding, Edwards had a teammate drafted adjacent to him but Edwards, who played his high school ball at Hartford HS, has been overshadowed by his former school chum. That player was Al Miller, who was taken 4th overall by the Chiefs. You might have heard of him as all he has done is go 21-8 and help lead the Chiefs to the World Championship Series.
- The 1895 Chicago Cougars Continental Association record 1,002 runs will survive as a late slump caused the Brooklyn Kings to fall 8 runs short of that mark. The Kings total of 994 breaks their own team record of 916 runs scored established last season and becomes the second highest total ever recorded in the CA. The overall FABL record remains 1,033 set by the 1895 New York Gothams.
- Philadelphia Keystones slugger Rankin Kellogg had a bad May (.233/.281/.442, 16 K), but had an OPS above 1.000 every other month and came to the wire like the thoroughbred he is with back-to-back 31 RBI months and 10 HR in September. Final season numbers were solid: .311/.395/.594, 36 HR, 137 RBI. His 86 extra-base hits were the second-most in his career, thanks to his career high in doubles (38). But, it was the first time since 1926, his second season, where he did not finish with 200 hits, and this is also his first season where he did not lead the FABL in HR, RBI, OPS, runs, hits, walks, or any the three slash categories.
- Kellogg's Philadelphia teammate Bobby Barrell had a tremendous season, leading the league in HR (53), RBI (162), SLG (.679), OPS (1.079), and WAR (9.2). He surpassed his previous power high by 19 HR. Barrell also reached 230 hits for third time and finished at 200 hits or above for the fifth time in six seasons. His 53 homers tie Max Morris for 5th on the all-time single-season home run list.