This Week in Figment Baseball: 1937 World Championship Series Game Four
THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
OCTOBER 12, 1937: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES GAME FOUR
KINGS ONE WIN AWAY FROM ENDING THE CURSE
The Brooklyn Kings are the only FABL team never to win a World Championship Series since the trophy was first awarded in 1893. The Kings have won 4 Continental Association pennants prior to this year but came up short against their Federal Association counterparts each time. Many blame the Kings lack of success on a long ago tale that claims a pitcher by the name of Ferdinand Hawkins hexed the club by pledging they would never win a World Championship after Hawkins was unceremoniously released by the team following FABL's first season in 1892. Hawkins, the legend goes, after receiving news of his release told Barnabas Colson, who owned the Kings at that time, that his team would never win a title. Now that was the year before the World Championship was first played (there was no playoff series in 1892, the year the Border Association and Century League merged) and the Kings did actually win pennants in 1912, 1923, 1927 as well as last year but believers in the Curse claimed Hawkins meant a World Championship Series, knowing one was coming the following year, and not merely just a CA pennant.
We will never know for sure as Hawkins passed away close to two years ago and went to his death bed refusing to say anything about Brooklyn, a team he won 191 games for. The Kings tried to extend an olive branch , inviting him to the park a few years back as part of the club's 50th anniversary All-time team but he was said to be in too poor health to travel. Brooklyn also selected his grandson, college catcher Ian Weber in the 9th round of the 1936 draft, in a move many said was designed to try and counter the curse. Since Weber joined the organization the Kings have made two straight appearances in the Series and perhaps now are on the verge of ending the curse, whether it is real or not. For his part young Weber has said he has nothing to say about his grandfather or the curse. "My only focus is on making the big leagues," said Weber recently after helping Class B Tampa to a Southeastern League title.
SHAFFNER TOSSES A 3-HIT SHUTOUT TO LEAD KINGS
Joe Shaffner allowed just 3 Pittsburgh hits and overcame a nearly as impressive performance on the mound from Pittsburgh's Lefty Allen to lead the Brooklyn Kings to a 2-0 lead over Allen's Pittsburgh Miners and gave Brooklyn a commanding 3 games to one lead in the World Championship Series.
"I had a lot to make up for," smiled Shaffner who was obviously much happier following this game than he was after a rough outing in a 7-2 loss to open the Series. "I feel I let the guys down the other day and just wanted to do my part for the team, and our fans. But the work isn't done. We need one more."
Shaffner is the biggest single reason the Kings are even in this position. He has been absolutely outstanding since mid-July, going 12-2 over that span including the two Series games despite missing a month with a sore back. The complete game shutout of Pittsburgh is his 6th such game since September 1st and he was so dominating on this night the Miners had just one runner advance past first base all afternoon.
Lefty Allen, who was outstanding for Pittsburgh in a game one win over Shaffner, had another great outing as well. Allen allowed just 5 hits on the day but the difference was two of them left the yard as Al Wheeler and John Langille each hit solo shots, Brooklyn's first two homers of the series, to account for all of the offense. For Wheeler, it was the second consecutive game he drove in the winning run and helps to slowly erode away the reputation the great slugger has for owning a slumbering bat in October's past.
Trailing 3 games to one in the series the Miners now have no margin for error and may have to play game five without their all-star catcher George Cleaves. The 23 year old, who homered in game three, was forced out of the contest in the top of the first inning when a Shaffner offering plunked him in the knee. Word is that it is only a bruise and Cleaves is adamant he will be taking the field with his teammates for today's fifth game.
NOTES: An unusual fact from this series is that Cleaves has been hit by a pitch just 6 times in his career entering the series, but now has been hit twice in 4 games, both by Joe Shaffner. No other Kings pitcher hit a batter either this season's WCS or last year but Shaffner hit 2 Chicago Chiefs a year ago to go with the two times he has nailed Cleaves this series.
Game five will be a rematch of the second game with Tom Barrell trying to clinch the series against Charlie Stedman. The second game was the one the Miners seemed comfortably in control of until Stedman was relieved by Lou Ellertson in the the 8th inning with a 3-1 lead and the Kings scored 7 times to win the game and even the series.