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Jiggs McGee · 07-28-2021, 01:50 PM

THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL

January 17, 1938: Off-Season Edition

HALL OF FAME ADDS 6 NEW MEMBERS

Baseball's most exclusive club welcomed in 6 new members this week including the founder of FABL William Whitney. Joining Whitney in the 1938 class are John Dibblee, Mike Marner, Woody Trease, Ed Ziehl and George Theobald. They join the original class of five that was announced last year and consisted of Al Allen, Max Morris, Charlie Sis, Powell Slocum and John Waggoner.

Whitney becomes the first non-player to be enshrined. He truly is the founding father of not only FABL but really deserves credit for creating the sport of professional baseball as it was his efforts that were instrumental in the formation of the Century League back in 1876. To further recognize Whitney's impact on the game it was announced last year that the building housing the Hall of Fame will be constructed in Whitney's hometown of Boone County, Illinois. The building is slated to open in 1941.

John Dibblee had 3,913 career hits, all with the Chicago Cougars over a career that spanned from 1906 to 1931 and included 3 World Championships. Only fellow hall of famer Powell Slocum had more hits over his career than Dibblee, who won a pair of Continental Association batting titles and was named the winner of the Whitney Award in 1911. That 1911 season saw Dibblee hit .422 which is the third highest single season total since the turn of the century. Dibblee is FABL's all-time leader in at bats and ranks in the top five in virtually every career offensive category.

Mike Marner won 325 games over an 11 year career primarily with Baltimore but also included stops in Brooklyn, Detroit and Washington. The 325 victories, which is tied with fellow inductee Woody Trease, for 6th most all-time are even more impressive when one considers the fact his career ended at the age of 31. Marner burst on to the scene with Baltimore as a 19 year old in 1907 when he led the CA in wins and ERA. He would lead the CA in wins seven more times in the next 8 years, surpassing the 30-victory mark six times but by the age of 29 his career was basically over. Arm troubles, possibly caused by the strain of throwing over 400 innings in six of his first 9 seasons led to Baltimore releasing him in 1917. He bounced around for the next 3 years including a final season in the minors before retiring following the 1919 campaign. Marner was a member of 3 World Championship winners in Baltimore.

Trease and Marner are not only tied in career victories but also linked by the relative brevity of their careers. Like Marner, Trease was out of baseball at the age of 31 due to arm troubles. He led the Federal Association in wins 5 times and was a key member of a pair of World Championship clubs with Boston. He would win a third title after being dealt to Detroit, pitching in 8 World Championship Series over his career. He is the all-time WCS leader in career games pitched, innings thrown and strikeouts. Trease also holds the rare distinction of being the only FABL player ever to have his father catch a major league game with him on the mound. His dad was Lynwood Trease, a turn of the century star who also managed the Boston club to the 1904 WCS, with Woody as his star pitcher. Like his dad, Woody would go on to have a long minor league managerial career and remains in charge of the San Francisco Hawks, the Great Western League affiliate of the Philadelphia Sailors. He has led the Hawks to 3 GWL titles in the past five years. His son Lyn Trease is a high school senior in California and considered a top prospect for the 1938 draft.

Ed Ziehl was and still remains the face of the New York Gothams. He has been with the organization for over 30 years, first as a player where he appeared in 3025 FABL games and had 3,496 hits to go with a .322 career average and then since 1928 he has been the club's manager. Ziehl won 4 Whitney Awards as a player and led the Federal Association in batting average on 7 occassions. He never played in a World Championship Series but since taking over as skipper he has led the Gothams to four of them including 1935 when the club won it's first WCS since 1896.

The final inductee played over 1400 FABL games but George Theobald is in the Hall because of what he did after his playing career. He has spent 30 years in a big league dugout as manager first with Boston and later Detroit while guiding his clubs to 4 WCS titles which ties him with current New York Stars skipper Bill Craigen for the most WCS wins. Theobald's record 2237 career wins as a manager was recently surpassed by the now-retired Ossie Julious. That should change soon as Theobald, despite being 75 years old, was lured out of retirement by the Detroit Dynamos - a club he is a minority owner of - and back into the dugout following the abrupt retirement of Max Morris a couple of months ago.

It was also announced that the Hall of Fame will add new players each January and that going forward the nominees will be determined by a vote of club executives and media members who cover the league.

CHAMPS HAVE HOLE TO FILL WITH BARRELL'S SUDDEN DEPARTURE

With the sudden announcement that Dan Barrell's playing career is over the Brooklyn Kings are left with a big hole in their lineup. Barrell spent most of the past six seasons patrolling the area around first base at Kings County Ballpark and while his defense was suspect to say the least, he did provide a solid bat in the lineup hitting at a .320 clip for his career. The 33 year old was an all-star in 1936 when he had a career high .354 batting average and helped the Kings to the first of two consecutive Continental Association pennants. He was a key factor in Brooklyn's first ever World Championship Series victory, hitting .500 (8-for-16) as the Kings knocked off Pittsburgh in 5 games last October.

While not entirely unexpected the timing of Barrell's decision did catch the Kings brass off-guard. Brooklyn had known it was just a matter of time before Barrell's knee would give out for good but as the calendar turned to 1938 the Kings had expected the 33 year old to return for at least one more season. Instead Barrell decided the timing was right for him to move into another phase of his baseball life. So where do the Kings go from here?

Brooklyn did make overtures to St Louis last month when the Pioneers talked about the possibility of moving Fred McCormick but in truth the Kings did not have the assets available to get such a deal done. There is a chance they may still explore a trade but the most likely scenario is one of Brooklyn's deep crop of outfielders gets shifted to first base. Doug Lightbody, another aging star who's body is on the verge of failing him, has spent some time at first in the past and might be an option. Veteran Joe Perret is another candidate, as is the chance that Frank Vance makes the shift from third to first, or possibly even rising young star Alf Pestilli. Odds are it won't be Pestilli as the Kings really only need a short-term solution to their first base woes as highly touted prospect Tiny Tim Hopkins continues to work his way up the system.

Brooklyn does not have a deep collection of minor league talent but they do have a pair of top 100 prospects in Joe Herman and Jim Lightbody. Herman may be ready this year and does have some experience at first base while Lightbody, the cousin of Kings outfielders Doug and Frank, projects as a very good young second baseman. Lightbody is likely not ready until 1939 but his arrival could force John Langille back to third base which would free up Frank Vance to play first. In the meantime look for Doug Lightbody and Joe Perret to get plenty of reps at the position in spring training.

QUICK HITS

Near tragedy in Boston as young Minutemen infielder Joe Nichols fell off his roof and there were originally fears he might be paralyzed. Fortunately the diagnosis came back much better but the 25 year old will miss all of the 1938 season with a broken back and a head injury. Doctors are optimistic Nichols may be able to resume his career at some point. The 16th overall selection out of Golden Gate University in 1934 has spent the past two plus seasons in Boston, hitting .278 in 293 games.
The Chicago Chiefs are dealing with an injury setback to 25 year old centerfielder Bennie Griffith. The 1934 fifth overall selection blew out his elbow in August and now there are question on whether he will be ready for opening day. Griffith had a strong season in 1936, hitting .300, but struggled thru an injury plagued campaign last season that limited him to 62 games and a .225 batting average.
Chicago Cougars prospect Bill Scott has decided to retire but says it has nothing to do with the rash of injuries he has suffered in his first 4 seasons of pro ball. The 22 year old, who recently cracked the top 50 prospect list, has decided to quit the game in order to pursue a pro basketball career. Scott was a 1933 7th round pick out of high school and went 5-5 for Class A Lincoln last season despite missing more than 2 months with a bad back. He was a three sport star in high school and by all accounts could have gone on to succeed in any sport when he graduated but he chose baseball. Now he feels he made a mistake and says his heart has always been with basketball.
Boston prospect Joe Sargent has been a rapid riser up the OSA rankings. The 19 year old lefthander who was selected in the 6th round of the 1936 draft by the Minutemen out of nearby Everett (MA) High School has moved up to #30 in the latest top 100 prospect list. He is expected to get a shot at AAA this season despite looking overmatched in A ball as a rookie pro. Boston execs feel he has added some velocity and might be ready for the challenge.
Looks like Bob Worley might get another shot at the big leagues. The Detroit Dynamos acquired the 29 year old former Montreal Saint from Sacramento in the Indy trade window. Worley split last season between Fort Worth of the Lone Star Association and the Great Western League's Sacramento Governors while hitting a professional league high 57 homeruns. He had previously spent parts of six seasons in Montreal batting just .242 with 39 homers in 497 big league games. Montreal's Parc Cartier was not the type to showcase Worley's power and Detroit's Thompson Field is not much better for the lefthanded hitting outfielder. There is some talk the Dynamos may look to move Worley to another team although we are not sure if he has much value as the prodigious power numbers he amassed last season were in two of the more homer friendly minor league parks for lefthanded batters.
Hardin Bates recently returned to the New York Gothams after the club claimed him on waivers from Detroit. Bates won an Allen Award in 1934 and helped the Gothams win the WCS the following year but he has gone 13-28 with an era approaching 6.00 over the past two seasons. He has just turned 31 and will provide some veteran leadership to a very young Gothams team and who knows, maybe he can recapture whatever it is that allowed him to go 75-53 over 161 starts with New York.
Another member of the Gothams 1935 title team is on the move as Gary Harris has ended up in Brooklyn. The 29 year old, who led the Fed in saves (13) and relief appearances (60) in 1936 was picked up by Detroit on waivers and then immediately flipped to Brooklyn for a late round draft pick. Harris has made 168 FABL appearances, all with the Gothams and all in relief, posting a 22-23 career record. He played his high school ball in Brooklyn and was originally selected by Montreal in the 10th round of the 1926 draft.

The Week That Was
Current events for the week ending 01/21/1938

Pope Pius sends a message to German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler that mankind calls for peace, to which Hitler replies he pledges to "honorably and confidently" co-operate with all nations.
The Japanese Cabinet declares it's efforts in the conflict with China must continue to it's "ultimate objective." Editorials in the newspaper Tomiuri warn the United States and Britain must not get involved in the conflict.
In a move aimed at halting the recession and stabilize business President Roosevelt has invited leaders of the largest US industries to the White House for a thorough discussion of business conditions.
There is speculation that FDR is considering supporting the nomination of a woman to the Supreme Court. If it happens Circuit Judge Florence E. Allen would become the first female Supreme Court Associate Justice.

07-28-2021, 01:50 PM	#211
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	This Week in Figment Baseball: Off-Season edition THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL January 17, 1938: Off-Season Edition HALL OF FAME ADDS 6 NEW MEMBERS Baseball's most exclusive club welcomed in 6 new members this week including the founder of FABL William Whitney. Joining Whitney in the 1938 class are John Dibblee, Mike Marner, Woody Trease, Ed Ziehl and George Theobald. They join the original class of five that was announced last year and consisted of Al Allen, Max Morris, Charlie Sis, Powell Slocum and John Waggoner. Whitney becomes the first non-player to be enshrined. He truly is the founding father of not only FABL but really deserves credit for creating the sport of professional baseball as it was his efforts that were instrumental in the formation of the Century League back in 1876. To further recognize Whitney's impact on the game it was announced last year that the building housing the Hall of Fame will be constructed in Whitney's hometown of Boone County, Illinois. The building is slated to open in 1941. John Dibblee had 3,913 career hits, all with the Chicago Cougars over a career that spanned from 1906 to 1931 and included 3 World Championships. Only fellow hall of famer Powell Slocum had more hits over his career than Dibblee, who won a pair of Continental Association batting titles and was named the winner of the Whitney Award in 1911. That 1911 season saw Dibblee hit .422 which is the third highest single season total since the turn of the century. Dibblee is FABL's all-time leader in at bats and ranks in the top five in virtually every career offensive category. Mike Marner won 325 games over an 11 year career primarily with Baltimore but also included stops in Brooklyn, Detroit and Washington. The 325 victories, which is tied with fellow inductee Woody Trease, for 6th most all-time are even more impressive when one considers the fact his career ended at the age of 31. Marner burst on to the scene with Baltimore as a 19 year old in 1907 when he led the CA in wins and ERA. He would lead the CA in wins seven more times in the next 8 years, surpassing the 30-victory mark six times but by the age of 29 his career was basically over. Arm troubles, possibly caused by the strain of throwing over 400 innings in six of his first 9 seasons led to Baltimore releasing him in 1917. He bounced around for the next 3 years including a final season in the minors before retiring following the 1919 campaign. Marner was a member of 3 World Championship winners in Baltimore. Trease and Marner are not only tied in career victories but also linked by the relative brevity of their careers. Like Marner, Trease was out of baseball at the age of 31 due to arm troubles. He led the Federal Association in wins 5 times and was a key member of a pair of World Championship clubs with Boston. He would win a third title after being dealt to Detroit, pitching in 8 World Championship Series over his career. He is the all-time WCS leader in career games pitched, innings thrown and strikeouts. Trease also holds the rare distinction of being the only FABL player ever to have his father catch a major league game with him on the mound. His dad was Lynwood Trease, a turn of the century star who also managed the Boston club to the 1904 WCS, with Woody as his star pitcher. Like his dad, Woody would go on to have a long minor league managerial career and remains in charge of the San Francisco Hawks, the Great Western League affiliate of the Philadelphia Sailors. He has led the Hawks to 3 GWL titles in the past five years. His son Lyn Trease is a high school senior in California and considered a top prospect for the 1938 draft. Ed Ziehl was and still remains the face of the New York Gothams. He has been with the organization for over 30 years, first as a player where he appeared in 3025 FABL games and had 3,496 hits to go with a .322 career average and then since 1928 he has been the club's manager. Ziehl won 4 Whitney Awards as a player and led the Federal Association in batting average on 7 occassions. He never played in a World Championship Series but since taking over as skipper he has led the Gothams to four of them including 1935 when the club won it's first WCS since 1896. The final inductee played over 1400 FABL games but George Theobald is in the Hall because of what he did after his playing career. He has spent 30 years in a big league dugout as manager first with Boston and later Detroit while guiding his clubs to 4 WCS titles which ties him with current New York Stars skipper Bill Craigen for the most WCS wins. Theobald's record 2237 career wins as a manager was recently surpassed by the now-retired Ossie Julious. That should change soon as Theobald, despite being 75 years old, was lured out of retirement by the Detroit Dynamos - a club he is a minority owner of - and back into the dugout following the abrupt retirement of Max Morris a couple of months ago. It was also announced that the Hall of Fame will add new players each January and that going forward the nominees will be determined by a vote of club executives and media members who cover the league. CHAMPS HAVE HOLE TO FILL WITH BARRELL'S SUDDEN DEPARTURE With the sudden announcement that Dan Barrell's playing career is over the Brooklyn Kings are left with a big hole in their lineup. Barrell spent most of the past six seasons patrolling the area around first base at Kings County Ballpark and while his defense was suspect to say the least, he did provide a solid bat in the lineup hitting at a .320 clip for his career. The 33 year old was an all-star in 1936 when he had a career high .354 batting average and helped the Kings to the first of two consecutive Continental Association pennants. He was a key factor in Brooklyn's first ever World Championship Series victory, hitting .500 (8-for-16) as the Kings knocked off Pittsburgh in 5 games last October. While not entirely unexpected the timing of Barrell's decision did catch the Kings brass off-guard. Brooklyn had known it was just a matter of time before Barrell's knee would give out for good but as the calendar turned to 1938 the Kings had expected the 33 year old to return for at least one more season. Instead Barrell decided the timing was right for him to move into another phase of his baseball life. So where do the Kings go from here? Brooklyn did make overtures to St Louis last month when the Pioneers talked about the possibility of moving Fred McCormick but in truth the Kings did not have the assets available to get such a deal done. There is a chance they may still explore a trade but the most likely scenario is one of Brooklyn's deep crop of outfielders gets shifted to first base. Doug Lightbody, another aging star who's body is on the verge of failing him, has spent some time at first in the past and might be an option. Veteran Joe Perret is another candidate, as is the chance that Frank Vance makes the shift from third to first, or possibly even rising young star Alf Pestilli. Odds are it won't be Pestilli as the Kings really only need a short-term solution to their first base woes as highly touted prospect Tiny Tim Hopkins continues to work his way up the system. Brooklyn does not have a deep collection of minor league talent but they do have a pair of top 100 prospects in Joe Herman and Jim Lightbody. Herman may be ready this year and does have some experience at first base while Lightbody, the cousin of Kings outfielders Doug and Frank, projects as a very good young second baseman. Lightbody is likely not ready until 1939 but his arrival could force John Langille back to third base which would free up Frank Vance to play first. In the meantime look for Doug Lightbody and Joe Perret to get plenty of reps at the position in spring training. QUICK HITS Near tragedy in Boston as young Minutemen infielder Joe Nichols fell off his roof and there were originally fears he might be paralyzed. Fortunately the diagnosis came back much better but the 25 year old will miss all of the 1938 season with a broken back and a head injury. Doctors are optimistic Nichols may be able to resume his career at some point. The 16th overall selection out of Golden Gate University in 1934 has spent the past two plus seasons in Boston, hitting .278 in 293 games. The Chicago Chiefs are dealing with an injury setback to 25 year old centerfielder Bennie Griffith. The 1934 fifth overall selection blew out his elbow in August and now there are question on whether he will be ready for opening day. Griffith had a strong season in 1936, hitting .300, but struggled thru an injury plagued campaign last season that limited him to 62 games and a .225 batting average. Chicago Cougars prospect Bill Scott has decided to retire but says it has nothing to do with the rash of injuries he has suffered in his first 4 seasons of pro ball. The 22 year old, who recently cracked the top 50 prospect list, has decided to quit the game in order to pursue a pro basketball career. Scott was a 1933 7th round pick out of high school and went 5-5 for Class A Lincoln last season despite missing more than 2 months with a bad back. He was a three sport star in high school and by all accounts could have gone on to succeed in any sport when he graduated but he chose baseball. Now he feels he made a mistake and says his heart has always been with basketball. Boston prospect Joe Sargent has been a rapid riser up the OSA rankings. The 19 year old lefthander who was selected in the 6th round of the 1936 draft by the Minutemen out of nearby Everett (MA) High School has moved up to #30 in the latest top 100 prospect list. He is expected to get a shot at AAA this season despite looking overmatched in A ball as a rookie pro. Boston execs feel he has added some velocity and might be ready for the challenge. Looks like Bob Worley might get another shot at the big leagues. The Detroit Dynamos acquired the 29 year old former Montreal Saint from Sacramento in the Indy trade window. Worley split last season between Fort Worth of the Lone Star Association and the Great Western League's Sacramento Governors while hitting a professional league high 57 homeruns. He had previously spent parts of six seasons in Montreal batting just .242 with 39 homers in 497 big league games. Montreal's Parc Cartier was not the type to showcase Worley's power and Detroit's Thompson Field is not much better for the lefthanded hitting outfielder. There is some talk the Dynamos may look to move Worley to another team although we are not sure if he has much value as the prodigious power numbers he amassed last season were in two of the more homer friendly minor league parks for lefthanded batters. Hardin Bates recently returned to the New York Gothams after the club claimed him on waivers from Detroit. Bates won an Allen Award in 1934 and helped the Gothams win the WCS the following year but he has gone 13-28 with an era approaching 6.00 over the past two seasons. He has just turned 31 and will provide some veteran leadership to a very young Gothams team and who knows, maybe he can recapture whatever it is that allowed him to go 75-53 over 161 starts with New York. Another member of the Gothams 1935 title team is on the move as Gary Harris has ended up in Brooklyn. The 29 year old, who led the Fed in saves (13) and relief appearances (60) in 1936 was picked up by Detroit on waivers and then immediately flipped to Brooklyn for a late round draft pick. Harris has made 168 FABL appearances, all with the Gothams and all in relief, posting a 22-23 career record. He played his high school ball in Brooklyn and was originally selected by Montreal in the 10th round of the 1926 draft. The Week That Was Current events for the week ending 01/21/1938 Pope Pius sends a message to German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler that mankind calls for peace, to which Hitler replies he pledges to "honorably and confidently" co-operate with all nations. The Japanese Cabinet declares it's efforts in the conflict with China must continue to it's "ultimate objective." Editorials in the newspaper Tomiuri warn the United States and Britain must not get involved in the conflict. In a move aimed at halting the recession and stabilize business President Roosevelt has invited leaders of the largest US industries to the White House for a thorough discussion of business conditions. There is speculation that FDR is considering supporting the nomination of a woman to the Supreme Court. If it happens Circuit Judge Florence E. Allen would become the first female Supreme Court Associate Justice. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 09-26-2021 at 08:42 PM.