THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
March 8, 1937
HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES ORIGINAL INDUCTEES
While everyone might have a personal favourite or two they believe warrant inclusion it is hard to dispute the case for any of the five who will comprise the first class. Here is a look at each of them.
ALLAN ALLEN (1890-1909 Cougars, Toronto, Cleveland)
Double Al is the greatest pitcher of all-time, so good that the trophy awarded to the top pitcher in each circuit every season is named after him. Had the award been around when he was a player Allen may well have won over a dozen of them. He won a record 514 games in his career and is the all-time leader in a number of categories including games and innings pitched.
MAX MORRIS 1914-present Cleveland, St Louis, Gothams, Detroit
Might Mo revolutionized the game and to his credit he is the only active player inducted in to the Hall. He is best known for his power, as his 702 homeruns and counting are 259 more than the second player on the list. Morris is also one of only three players (fellow 1937 HOF class members Powell Slocum and John Dibblee are the others) to surpass the 3,500 hit plateau. He owns a record 8 Whitney Awards as the league's top hitter and now, after an off-season trade to Detroit, will try his hand at managing while also finishing out his playing career with the Dynamos.
CHARLIE SIS 1903-1921 St Louis, Toronto
Only Double Al won more than the 395 victories Sis posted over his stellar career. He is the all-time leader in career strikeouts and one of just 2 pitchers to top the 3,000 mark. Sis' 94 shutouts are also a FABL record
POWELL SLOCUM 1905-1925 Baltimore, Brooklyn
The career batting average and hits leader won 15 batting titles and 4 Whitney Awards in his career. His .435 average in 1913 is the highest single season total in FABL history and he has more career singles (3194) than all but 7 players have hits in their career. He has had two stints as a manager with Brooklyn and led the Kings to the Continental Association pennant this past season.
JOHN WAGGONER 1897-1914 Stars, Gothams
His 194.4 is the highest career WAR in FABL history and Waggoner is 7th all-time with 3,207 hits. He never won a batting title or led his association in a triple crown category but he led in doubles 4 times, stolen bases twice and triples once and was a key member of 3 World Championship New York Stars teams in the first decade of this century.
SO WHO IS NEXT?
The Hall has confirmed that 4 players will be added next season as well as a manager and a builder. The builder will quite clearly be league founder William Whitney but the names of the other inductees will cause some speculation. This reporter expects the manager will be George Theobald, who led Boston and Detroit to a total of 8 Federal Association pennants and 4 World Championship Series victories. The other possible candidate is Ossie Julious, who recently passed Theobald to become the all-time leader in games managed and career victories. Julious won his only World Championship with Toronto in 1911 on a team that featured Hall of Famer Charlie Sis. He also managed Baltimore before leaving the Cannons this season to take a job as the bench coach (with Hall of Famer Max Morris as a first year manager) in Detroit. Theobald is also a part of the Dynamos organization as a consultant to owner Eddie "Big Money" Thompson.
The players under consideration for the second group of inductees are said to Ed Ziehl, John Dibblee, Jack Arabian, Zebulon Banks, Woody Trease, Mike Marner, Calvin Kidd and Joe Ward. The expectation is the voting will be open to members of the media beginning with the class prior to the 1939 season.