LOOK BACK AT THE 1926 FABL DRAFT
Each year just before the FABL draft I have been doing annual recaps where I look back at the draft class from 10 years prior so with the 1936 draft fast approaching let's grade our clubs on how they did back in 1926. The 1926 draft was just the second for the human GM's and it was thought of at the time and certainly has proven to be a much weaker class then we had in 1925 which gave us among others Al Wheeler, Bud Jameson, Bill Ashbaugh, Doug Lightbody and Jack Cleaves. If there is one name that stands out from the 1926 class it is Karl Stevens and he stands out for all the wrong reasons. So looking back a decade later, how did we do with the first draft pick each of us made?
1- KARL STEVENS OF CLEVELAND FORESTERS
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is probably all that needs to be said about Stevens. Here is a list of every position player selected first overall in the history of the FABL draft and their career major league games played:
The only positive thing we can say about Cleveland's choice is at least it was a bad draft year and you will see Stevens was not the only bust.
2- WALT PALMER P PITTSBURGH MINERS
One could say this was the pick that started the trend of FABL teams reaching for pitchers, although to be fair it probably began the previous year when Toronto traded up to select Eddie Quinn second overall. Another point in the Miners favour is the fact that Palmer had an amazing college career at Bayou State, posting a 29-8 record and a 2.48 era and helped his school to a National Title in 1925. Palmer was not a bad pick, just a pick saddled with a number of bad injuries that destroyed his career really before it could get started. Palmer missed 2 months his rookie pro season with elbow soreness and that started a trend that saw him suffer serious injuries each of his first five seasons. He would go 7-18 with a 5.10 era in 43 appearances with the Miners before they finally gave up and released him in 1933. They hung on to him that long likely because he showed the occasional flash of the skill he had in college such as tossing a 10-strikeout no-hitter in a AAA game in 1932 but in true Walt Palmer fashion he hurt his back 3 weeks later and missed over a month. Palmer is still active today and bouncing around the Lone Star League as a spare part.
3- FRED BARRELL C CHICAGO COUGARS
With a redo the catcher from Georgia Baptist would likely be the number one pick. Barrell is now 31 years old and a key piece of the Brooklyn Kings pennant winning club. He spent 3 and a half seasons in Chicago and was dominant in leading the Cougars to the 1931 World Championship Series, hitting .609 and being named Series MVP. Barrell was traded to Brooklyn along with his brother Tom and Mike Murphy in the deal that brought Tommy Wilcox and catcher Mike Taylor to the Windy City. He has played 966 FABL games and has 1,063 hits and a .297 career batting average to go along with 2 all-star game appearances.
4- LARRY BROWN P DETROIT DYNAMOS
It has been a long road to the big leagues for Larry Brown but he seems to have finally found a home in the Chicago Chiefs bullpen. Selected out of Oakland High School Brown went 20-11 at Class B in his second year of pro ball prompting the Brooklyn Kings to send catcher Dave Armstrong to Detroit for him. He would have some decent years in the minors for the Kings but struggled often when called up to the big club. He finally ran out of minor league options so he was sent to the Chiefs prior to opening day 1935 where he has had some modest success. Brown is 22-23 with 10 saves in his career. Detroit can't be too disappointed about the pick as Armstrong had several solid years with the Dynamos but their second round pick that year, pitcher Sam Sheppard, is enjoying much greater success although it did not come in Detroit as Sheppard was lost to St Louis in the 1931 Rule V draft. Sheppard won an Allen Award in 1935 after a 28-7 season and won 20 games again this year.
5- LEE GRIFFIN OF MONTREAL SAINTS
Griffin had strong career at Grafton but his numbers were down in his draft year. He did show some power in AAA but struggled to keep his average up and it was even more obvious in Montreal, where he hit just .223 in 233 big league games before the Saints cut him loose in 1933. He ended his career last year with a stop in the independent Western Baseball League.
6- GEORGE JOHNSON P CHICAGO CHIEFS
Owns probably the most common name in FABL and don't confuse him with pitcher George A Johnson or third baseman George X Johnson. This George Johnson is 14-16 in 80 FABL appearances with Brooklyn, the Philadelphia Sailors and for the last 3 seasons the Chicago Cougars.
7- ART HART 3B BALTIMORE CANNONS
Hart hit .403 with 16 homers for Opelika State in his draft year and would go on to hit 87 homers in 413 AAA games but bat just .228. He hit just .201 in 55 games with the Cannons and now at 31 is unemployed after being released last winter.
8- REX KAISER OF BOSTON MINUTEMEN
Another one of those guys who really did very little in his career but at least at 28 and having spent each of the past two seasons as the 5th or 6th outfielder in Boston he still has a career. Hit .252 in 44 games this past season and is a .249 hitter in 141 career games. Nothing more than a spare part but with the quality of this draft class that makes him not too bad a selection.
9- EVERETT JUERGENS OF PHILADELPHIA SAILORS
Juergens had a 28 game hitting streak when he batted .323 as a sophomore at Sadler College but after slashing just .227/.272/.318 as a junior you have to wonder what the Sailors saw in him at the time. He spent the next 6 years in the Sailors system but never advanced past A ball before being released in 1933 at age 27. Signed with Austin of the Lone State League and has spent the past four seasons with the Violets as a decent AA outfielder.
10- FRANK CRAWFORD P PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES
Crawford proved to be the best of the first round pitchers taken as he has spent the past 6 seasons in the Keystones rotation, compiling a 61-50 record. There were a number of other good pitchers selected after him such as second rounders Del Lyons, Sam Sheppard and Gene Stevens and later picks Earle Whitten, Les Zoller and Ben Turner but this draft certainly lacked star power on the mound so Crawford becomes a very good pick under the circumstances.
11- FRANK HUDDLESTON SS TORONTO WOLVES
Of the 11 position players taken in the first round, Huddleston is one of just 3 to play in more than 300 big league games. Not the most gifted offensively but he has hit .252 in 785 games for the Wolves, Huddleston's biggest strength is his work in the field making him a solid big league shortstop.
12- BILL WHITTING OF WASHINGTON EAGLES
Bill Who? It was a poor class so you can't blame Washington for taking a chance on Whitting but he becomes another of the many outfielders from this class who did nothing. Whiting only played everyday for one season at Brooklyn State, but he did hit .344 for the Bears that season with 15 doubles. He didn't have much longball power and the game was shifting so corner outfielders without power would begin to have very little value. He spent most of his time in the Eagles system in AAA and did hit 23 homers and bat .302 at that level in 1931 but he was 26 years old at the time. Played a grand total of 8 big league games and went 1-for-6 at the plate. He has been a reserve outfielder for Galveston of the independent Lone Star League the past 3 seasons.
13- MIKE WILLIAMS OF CLEVELAND FORESTERS
Well all I can say about Williams is at least he lasted longer with the Foresters than #1 overall pick Karl Stevens. He had an up and down college career but put up some good numbers at AAA Cincinnati over the next couple of seasons prompting the Foresters to give him a shot in 1930. Williams started 73 games in the Cleveland outfield that season and hit a respectable .275 with 12 homers. It was the pinnacle of his career as the following season he was in the starting lineup for the entire year but hit just .239. The numbers got worse the next two seasons and now he appears to be nothing more than an after thought in Cleveland - just a player to fill a vacancy on a minor league level if there is a shortage of prospects. He is 31 and still in the Foresters system so who knows, maybe he will get another chance but with a .241 batting average in 276 games with the big club chances seem remote.
14- JACK ROGERS 3B ST LOUIS PIONEERS
Originally a 5th round pick of the Philadelphia Sailors in 1923, Rogers elected to attend College of San Diego instead where a strong junior year led to the Pioneers selecting him. He made his big league debut in St Louis in 1930, hitting just .240 but he belted 10 homers in 77 games for a last place club. He was waived by two teams over the next 6 months and eventually the Chicago Cougars claimed him. Rogers appeared in 8 games in 1931 for Chicago and 20 the following season before being cut loose again. He is now in the Western Baseball League after a big league career that lasted 105 gams and saw him hit .227.
15- GEORGE WILLIAMS P NEW YORK STARS
It was a long route to the majors for Williams but he finally cracked the Stars roster in 1935, going 6-7 in 35 appearances including 23 starts. He was 6-9 this season and appears to have settled in as a swingman for New York but it will likely be a challenge to keep his roster spot as the club improves. A high school draft pick, Williams spent 7 years in the minors before finally getting his chance in New York at the age of 27.
16- WOODY ARMSTRONG SS-3B CLEVELAND FORESTERS
What a terrible break for the Foresters to have three first round picks but have them be in what was just an awful year for top end talent. Imagine what the Foresters could have built with 3 first round picks in the 1925 draft? While they missed on the first two, Armstrong was a solid selection, although they did deal him to Montreal just a few months into his rookie pro season. Armstrong was selected to play in the first all-star game in 1933 but missed the game with an injury, something that plagued him throughout his career. He spent 7 and a half seasons in Montreal before being traded to the Chicago Cougars midway through the 1934 season. After another injury this past May the Cougars released him and he is presently playing in Newark, Detroit's AAA affiliate. His 847 major league games are third behind only a pair of catchers in this draft class (Fred Barrell and 6th rounder Jim Pool) and Armstrong has 795 hits and a .259 career average.
SUMMARY
A very weak crop but there was some talent that slipped through the cracks like 6th rounder Jim Pool or 10th round selection Bobby Allen or in the auto draft portion we have 11th round selection Ed Stewart or 16th round pick Walt Layton, who both have surpassed the 500 career FABL game plateau. In a redraft Fred Barrell, Huddleston, Armstrong and Crawford would really be the only first round selections who delivered much value. It is hard to give any team a failing grade as this draft class as a whole really rates as one of the worst I have seen.