[legendsport]

Egypt, GA: December 25, 1929:

The Barrells had gathered, as they did every year, for a family Christmas. And as had been the case increasingly often in recent years, not every one of Rufus and Alice's ten children was on hand.

Joe had phoned his father and explained that he and his wife would remain in Hollywood for the holidays. He had claimed that this was because Dorothy was having a difficult pregnancy and was not up to a lengthy train ride. And she had openly scoffed at Joe's suggestion of flying on one of America's fledgling "airlines" calling them "deathtraps" and noting that it would take several flights to get all the way from Los Angeles to Atlanta, with each being an opportunity for disaster to strike. "She's quite irrational on that score," Joe had told Rufus.

Rollie and Francie were likewise absent. With their child due in less than a month, Francie was confined to bed. Unlike Alice's open skepticism over Dorothy's "condition" she and Rufus had both been present for a house call in Rollie's Brooklyn brownstone where the doctor told Francie flat out that she should stay in bed as much as possible.

Making it three-for-three, Jack was in New York preparing for his first season with the Eagles. Marie and their daughters were in the couple's Chicago home. Jack had intimated to Rufus that the separation was "difficult" and he wasn't sure how much longer he'd continue to play as he missed his "three girls" more and more with each successive hockey season since being traded from the Chicago Packers two years before.

Danny and his wife, the former Gladys Summers, were on hand. Like her sisters-in-law Dorothy and Francie, Gladys was pregnant. For them it would be their first child and the baby wasn't due until April. "By then I'll be sitting on a bench somewhere," Danny groused. He was unhappy with the Kings' steadfast refusal to give him "a real shot" at making the big league club and his playing time in the '29 season consisted of just 25 games over the A, AA and AAA levels, hitting .256 over 78 total at-bats. He was underwhelmed... and so were the brass in Brooklyn. Worse still, he was openly considering quitting.

Still... Rufus encouraged his son to stick it out. "The fact that you're a professional athlete at all considering that injury is a miracle. And don't spit on miracles. You're young and there's time for you to make it to FABL." And Powell Slocum, who had recently accepted a job managing the Pittsburgh Miners after two years managing Sacramento in the Great Western League, had promised to work with Dan over the winter and he and Gladys would head over to Birmingham to see Powell, Claudia and James.

Danny, sitting with his parents and his wife, wondered openly whether Powell and Claudia would have a child of their own. "She's only thirty, so I would think she'd be capable," he noted. Gladys snorted; Alice gave her son a level look and said, "There's more to it than just being able. Plus it takes two to tango, as they say." Danny wisely decided not to pursue the matter further (it was none of his business anyway).

Fred and his new wife Tillie were also there. Fred was now a big leaguer, having finished his just-over-half-a-season with the Chicago Cougars with a modest .247 average. He did drive in 48 runs over 79 games, so as he pointedly remarked to a skeptical Danny, "My goal for next season is to get a hundred RBIs."

"You won't," Danny said, the left side of his mouth curled up in a half-smile.

"Wanna bet?" Fred retorted.

Danny saw his mother glaring at him and Gladys was giving him a look as well. So he hesitated a bit and then said, "Naw... but tell you what. Whoever gets more RBIs next season has to take the other out to a steak dinner."

"Deal!" Fred said.

Danny put up a hand. "And it doesn't matter what level either, because who knows if the Kings will bring me up. So if I end up in AA or something and drive in more than you.... it still counts."

Fred frowned for a moment, then stuck out his hand and the brothers shook on it.

Gladys shook her head. "You're a fool, Dan Barrell," she told him and then kissed him on the cheek. "But I love you anyway."

The man of the hour, thanks to his being drafted first overall by the Chicago Cougars, was Tommy. He had finished a stellar collegiate career at Georgia Baptist in the spring. Now he and Fred would be team mates once again, just as they had been in college. "I doubt you'll make the club," Fred told his brother. Tommy, for his part, just shook his head. Fred sure seemed full of himself these days, he reckoned. Getting to the FABL had gone to his head apparently. Still... he admitted it was unlikely he'd go right from campus to the big time. Sure, Doug Lightbody had done it, but that guy was a straight-up killer at the plate.

Bobby, already a pro thanks to having skipped college after being drafted third overall in the prior draft, was home from a season that had been a rousing success any way you sliced it. He'd started in Class C, hit .436 with nine homers there in just 33 games. Then he tore up Class B to the tune of .391 with 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 59 games. That had earned him some time at Class A. He hit .376 there, with six homers and 34 RBIs in 48 games. All told, he hit .396 over the three levels with 30 homers and 126 RBIs in 142 games and 565 at-bats. All this made Rufus extremely proud, and he didn't bother to hide it. "You'll be in Philadelphia in no time, Bob," he told his son. Bobby shrugged and told his father that he'd been told he'd likely spend the 1930 season with Double A New Orleans.

Then there were the two kids that were still at home with their parents. Harry, whose sophomore season of high school baseball in Atlanta had been a good one (.323 average and stellar defense) and Betsy. The only downer for Harry was the deteriorating condition of his grandfather. Joe Reid was not doing well. Cooter Daniels had taken to stopping by often, helping to ease the burden on Harry who loved his granddad dearly, but was sometimes out of his depth dealing with an increasingly frail - and bitter about it - old man.

Betsy was a prodigy in her right. She was considered a top-notch tennis player and, despite being just 15 years old, routinely beat opponents who were sometimes a decade older than her. Rufus, aware that she had grown up in the shadow of her brothers and sometimes felt left out due to being the only girl, made sure she knew he was just as proud of her accomplishments as he was of those of her brothers.

"Y'all know what you have here, don'tcha?" Possum asked Rufus and Alice at Christmas dinner. Rufus and Alice had looked at each other then back at Possum. He let the question hang out there for a moment before blurting out, "Y'all have a gen-u-ine sports dynasty in the making, son!"

Author's note: I decided to use the 'Christmas' post to recap the goings-on amongst the various Barrells. Now that the boys are reaching the ages at which they are playing pro baseball, this could become a regular way of just recapping their various seasons as we move forward. As always - thanks for reading!