OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

Jiggs McGee · 11-11-2021, 11:00 AM

SEPTEMBER 4, 1939

A GOLDEN AGE BEGINS AT HOME WHILE IT IS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS ABROARD

A stark contrast this week as what looks to be a long and deadly war begins in Europe while at the same time FABL ushers in the dawn of a new era full of new technology. The situation in Europe escalated quickly as Germany launched an attack on Poland prompting Great Britain and France to join the fight on behalf of the Poles. Civilian casualties were reported high in Poland as German bombers failed to discriminate between military targets and civilian ones while in the waters of the North Atlantic a German submarine sank a British ocean liner killing 311 including a number of Americans. Despite that attack the United States has vowed to remain out of the war.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn and across much of the New York City area it was technology at it's best for a few baseball fans unable to witness Saturday's game between the hometown Kings and the visiting Cleveland Foresters in person. The game was broadcast on television station W2XBS in New York, making it the first professional game ever televised. Not that there were a lot of viewers as television is in it's infancy, regular programming does not yet exist, and there are reported to be only about 400 television sets in the New York area. It was the second baseball game to be broadcast by the station as a trial run was done in May at a college game between Henry Hudson and Sadler.

The coverage was very limited. While the college broadcast used just a single camera situated 50 feet from home plate this one at Kings County Park employed a second camera. The first was placed down the third base line to pick up infield throws to first, and the second was placed high above home plate to get an extensive view of the field. It was also difficult to capture fast-moving plays: Swinging bats looked like paper fans, and the ball was all but invisible during pitches and hits. Nevertheless, Kings owner Daniel Prescott called the experiment a great success, adding he feels future broadcasts will help drive interest both in baseball and the development of television technology, particularly for sporting events.

As for the game itself it was far more than the picture quality that made it tough to watch for Brooklyn fans. The slumping Kings were hammered 10-3 by the Foresters in a contest that was all but decided very early when Cleveland plated 4 runs in the top of the first. Cleveland is also starting to run away with the Continental Association, widening their lead on second place New York to 6 games. The Stars are another club that is struggling, having lost 5 straight and have the worst record in the CA since the all-star break at 18-24. Cleveland on the other hand is 25-19 since the midseason celebration game.

The Federal Association race is starting to tip in Detroit's favour although the Pittsburgh Miners are still in it thanks to taking two of three from the Dynamos last week. Included in those two Pittsburgh wins was Charlie Stedman's (10-16, 3.01) first win since June 28th. It was more a lack of run support from teammates than poor outings but Stedman had dropped 10 straight decisions prior to snapping the streak. The Boston Minutemen are in a freefall and now trail Detroit by 5.5 games. The Minutemen have won just 11 of their 30 games.

MILWAUKEE MAYOR. "NOT SO FAST, CINCINNATI"

Last week's news conference by Baltimore Cannons owner Oscar Banner appears to have raised eyebrows and spurred discussion across far more than just the 15 other FABL clubs' front offices. Mr. Banner mentioned that an unnamed businessman in Cincinnati, Ohio had made an offer to purchase the Cannons. Though Banner did not specifically say so, this immediately caused speculation that the end result of such a sale would be the relocation of a Cannons club that has called Baltimore home since 1890 trading one port city for another.

Now a new voice has been heard: that of long-time Milwaukee mayor Daniel Hoan. Mayor Hoan was speaking with members of his city's media when he was asked if he believed his city, which has a larger population then Cincinnati, would be a good home for a FABL team. His response, "Of course it would. We have great fans in this city and they have supported the Blues for years. I can't imagine how excited our citizens would be to have top-flight baseball here in Milwaukee." It should be noted that the Milwaukee Blues are a Century League Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cougars.

One intrepid reporter from the city of Milwaukee managed to get Mr. Banner on the phone and asked him if he would consider an offer from a potential owner in Milwaukee. His response: "Of course. I'll listen to any offer, from anyone. I've always believed that in business you need to explore all options."

The potential move of the Baltimore Cannons is a continuing story. And it may all end up to be a bunch of wind as there are still the very real possibilities of Banner simply keeping the team, or of selling it to the consortium attempting to raise the capital to purchase the Cannons and keep them in Baltimore.

Adding to the buzz around this story are rumors that there are interested parties in Buffalo, New York, New Orleans, Louisiana and even Atlanta, Georgia. FABL President Sam Belton has been firm in his statement that the league would not allow a franchise to move to the Deep South or the West Coast, "at this time."

Stay tuned.

The season started with title expectations for one of the three New York area FABL teams and high hopes for a step forward from each of the other two. As the season enters the homestretch things have not gone as expected for any of the three area teams.

This was supposed to be the year the Brooklyn Kings won their record 4th straight Continental Association pennant and continued to extend their amazing string of 90+ win seasons that stretched to 5 last season. It was supposed to be the year the New York Stars and New York Gothams each took a big step forward as a new front-office and some key veteran additions were to guide the Stars to respectability while the Gothams, with a brand new stadium in Queens and a boatload of young talent, were to make a solid run at a .500 record and first division status in the Fed.

Nothing has really gone according to the plan laid out for the three New York area teams this season. The Brooklyn Kings got off to a slow start and never recovered. They abandoned any hopes of that 4th straight pennant in July when they dealt veteran pitchers Mike Murphy and Joe Shaffner to Detroit and the second half has been an even bigger mess than the first half of the year was for Powell Slocum's boys. How the mighty have fallen. From 90 wins and a pennant a year ago to currently sitting ahead of only the woeful Baltimore Cannons and 5 games below the break even mark. If the Kings .479 winning percentage holds form it will be their worst season output since 1929 and if the last few weeks are any indication we could see a Kings club that fails to win 70 games for the first time in the modern era.

Turning our attention to the Gothams this was expected to be the year they took a step forward after three seasons of posting a consecutive seasons of 69,54 and 60 victories. Many of the young prospects were deemed ready. The Gothams were back, maybe not the team that started this decade with 4 pennants in 6 seasons, but a young competitive club with plenty of potential and a shiny new baseball cathedral near the World's Far to show off. There were some positive signs early as they were 2 games over .500 at the beginning of June. Since then the Gothams are 33-54 and their pitching staff is a mess. Certainly Nate Spear (6-0, 2.21) has been a bright spot but with 4 arm injuries in less than a year one has to be concerned about the 23 year old's long-term future.

This paragraph penned by the New York World Telegram sums up the Gothams:
With the big club sinking into a virtual tie for the basement and the farm system giving up its #1 ranking due to promotions this will be an interesting offseason for the Gothams. While much focus is being directed to the chaos in Baltimore, one has to wonder what is happening with one of the important franchises in the league's largest city. Certainly it is a good sign that the top prospects are advancing and performing well, at least on the offensive side. But who is coming along to keep the other teams off the board? The pitching remains a disaster and the waning fan interest indicates the faithful want answers.

Finally let's look at the Stars, who were an amazing story until the past couple of weeks.

The Stars exceeded even the most lofty of expectations with an outstanding start and as late as August 1st they had a 3.5 game cushion on their seat atop the Continental Association. You better read that again as I can barely believe what I wrote. It was August 1st and the New York Stars...the Stars...a team that has gone downhill so quickly following their 1932 World Championship that it would have probably crashed through the cellar of the CA had it not been for the cushion of the brutal Baltimore Cannons to slow the slide. The Stars won 99 games in 1932 before winning progressively less each of the next four seasons. Then in 1937 the Stars won just 63 games, but that was an improvement on the previous season. The won 71 a year ago thanks to a strong finish as they, like the Gothams, started to reap the benefit of several years with high draft choices.

Flash forward to this past April and there were hopes of a .500 season. But first place? In 1939? Even the most optimistic of Stars fans could never hope for that, but there they were perched atop the Continental Association on August 1st, looking down at the Brooklyn Kings and everyone else. Sure the defense was awful and the pitching inconsistent but the bats were booming at just the right time, with big hits when they were needed most. Moxie Pidgeon (.303,17,75), who came over in what is proving to be a steal of a deal from Washington over the winter, was his usual consistent self and Dave Trowbridge (.336,12,77) looked like he was 32 years old, not his actual 42 as he led the club. There was also a rapidly developing teenage outfielder by the name of Bill Barrett (.285,10,48) to make going to Dyckman Stadium exciting again.

Many said it wouldn't last. The odds would catch up to the Stars eventually, the terrible defense would catch up to them and the rest of the Continental Association would catch up to them. Yet the Stars kept shining brightly, the one beacon of hope in an otherwise terrible season for New York baseball....until just as suddenly they weren't.

August seemed like it flicked a switch and turned off the Stars. A late July injury that still keeps Barrett sidelined to this day didn't help. A 6 game losing streak to start the month was even worse, dropping the Stars out of first place. A 10-18 month of August left them 4.5 games back of Cleveland. Three straight losses to begin September and now they are 6 back as reality seems to be setting in on what was the last glimmer of hope to prolong what on the whole has been a special decade for New York baseball.

It is looking more and more like this will end a 5 year run of a New York team being in the World Championship Series. Eight of the last nine years there has been a New York club in the Series with 1933's Keystones-Cougars matchup the lone exception. In fact, the New York run stretches well beyond a decade as 13 of the previous 16 seasons at least one of the New York clubs has played on the biggest stage. Just think about this incredible run for Big Apple baseball

Code:


NEW YORK AREA TEAMS IN THE WCS
1923 Brooklyn
1924 Stars
1925 Stars
1926 Stars & Gothams
1927 Brooklyn
1928   -
1929   -
1930 Gothams
1931 Gothams
1932 Stars
1933   -
1934 Gothams
1935 Gothams
1936 Brooklyn
1937 Brooklyn
1938 Brooklyn
1939   ?

Prior to 1923 there were very few Series appearances for New York's 3 clubs. Brooklyn's 1912 trip was the only one that decade and before that you need to go back to 1902-06 when the Stars made 4 appearances in a 5 year span. The Gothams trips to the Series in 1893, 1895 and 1896 are the only ones prior to the turn of the century.

What will the 1940's bring for New York baseball? Brooklyn looks like it is rebuilding, not a complete tear down like the Gothams endured or a slow prolonged collapse the Stars are just emerging from but it is clear the Kings are no longer favourites to win a pennant every year. The Gothams have had the prospect cake in the oven for several years now and while there is plenty of tasty offensive talent, the pitching staff continues to cause heartburn for manager Ed Ziehl and fans alike. The Stars seem to be close based upon their great start this season but the roster makeup might be flawed due to subpar defense at so many key positions and the pitching staff really needs someone to emerge as the leader.

A decade from now will New Yorkers be celebrating another 10 years filled with pennants claimed by the three area teams, or will we be merely left yearning for the glory years from 1923-1938? Either way it is looking like we can put an RIP on 1939 October baseball for New York, as the Stars - our cities last hope - appear to be losing their glimmer- and hope has long vanished for Kings fans while it was never really there this season for Gothams supporters.

QUICK HITS

Brooklyn rookie Jim Lightbody (.316,5,29) is off to a quick start in his young career and appears to be drawing the respect of opposing pitchers very quickly. The 22 year old second sacker was walked 4 times in a game two weeks ago against Baltimore and he went one better last week as the Toronto Wolves issued a free pass to Lightbody in all 5 of his plate appearances last Tuesday. The move paid off as while Lightbody scored three times the Wolves prevailed 8-6 in the game. Those 5 walks equal a Brooklyn team record accomplished 6 times before, most recently by Clarence Hall in 1926. The FABL record is 6 which has been done three times but only once since the turn of the century. Bernie Trumaine walked 6 times in 1922 while playing for the Chicago Cougars.
Quite a big league debut for Chicago Chiefs rookie Sam Vaughan. The 22 year old was called up last week and made his debut against Philadelphia. All the 1935 third round pick did was toss a complete game 3-hitter to beat the Philadelphia Keystones 2-1.
Far too late but the Chiefs are finally playing the way they were expected to. Chicago has won 10 of it's last 14 and is creeping closer to .500 on the year at 60-64. They also moved into a 4th place tie with St Louis.
Another bad week for the New York Gothams as they went 2-5 and were outscored 29-6 in two losses to Pittsburgh. One positive is rookie Walt Messer (.361,2,15) looks like the real deal just 15 games into his big league career. The arrival and early success of the 21 year old points towards the end of veteran Bid Jameson's days as an everyday player for the Gothams.
Montreal also has a youngster they are very pleased with. 53rd ranked prospect CF Heinie Billings, 23 years old, will make the fans forget about Pablo Reyes if he is able to maintain the level of stats he is showing. Promoted during the season due to CF Dilly Ward injury, he is shining in defense patrolling the CF and establishing himself as a leadoff hitter in Montreal lineup. In 48G in FABL, he scored 44 runs, got 32 RBIs, .335 BA and stole 10 bases being caught only once...add in the fact that the Saints drafted highly touted CF Bill Green as the first round pick and he is at AAA already and in the near future we could seen a dominant outfield squad in Montreal with Green, Billings and Bond.
Watch out CA, the Cougars with a 6-0 week climb back to within 7.5 games and just 2 games out of 2nd. If Cleveland stubs their toe in the next week or two we might have a race.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 09/04/1939

The week began with Britain sending word to Berlin they have declined to accept Adolf Hitler's terms for solution of the Germany quarrel with Poland but did leave the door open to future talks. Hitler is said to welcome talks and reportedly is willing to allow Premier Mussolini of Italy act as a mediator in the dispute which has led Europe to the brink of war.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Chamberlain warned Hitler the British fleet is ready and this is his last chance to find a peaceful solution.
Wednesday Hitler responds with a demand for Danzig to be returned to Germany before he will entertain any talk of peace. Poland calls 500,000 more reservists to active duty. in Paris, the government takes over all railroads in France as a military measure. Staff leave the Romanian Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York, heeding a call to arms from their homeland.
As the week comes to a close Britain announces that she has decided on complete mobilization of her vast navy, regular army and air power against the threat of war. In addition orders have been given to evacuate 3 million sick and elderly persons from major cities to England's countryside. In Berlin, the Nazis announce talks have broken off while in Warsaw there are accusations that German secret police have occupied Danzig's railway station and hoisted the Swastika flag over it. Pope Pius makes a last ditched appeal to the big powers to maintain peace.
As September begins Nazi bombers attack Warsaw and other Polish cities as German troops cross Polish borders. Germany also warns the United States for the first time not to violate it's stance of neutrality as FDR vows to keep America out of the war. Britain's Chamberlain gives Hitler one last warning to cease war on Poland or face full might of Great Britain.
Despite objections of many in the House of Commons, Chamberlain extends the deadline for Hitler to withdraw from Poland by 9am Sunday. When that deadline passes unanswered France and Britain open military operations against Germany. Meanwhile German troops are easily advancing through Poland and closing in n Warsaw and a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the British ocean liner Athenia but fortunately most of the 1347 aboard, including 311 Americans, were safely rescued as British destroyers chased off the sub. However, 28 American Citizens did perish prompting German fears it might cause the US to enter the war.

11-11-2021, 11:00 AM	#284
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	September 1939 SEPTEMBER 4, 1939 A GOLDEN AGE BEGINS AT HOME WHILE IT IS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS ABROARD A stark contrast this week as what looks to be a long and deadly war begins in Europe while at the same time FABL ushers in the dawn of a new era full of new technology. The situation in Europe escalated quickly as Germany launched an attack on Poland prompting Great Britain and France to join the fight on behalf of the Poles. Civilian casualties were reported high in Poland as German bombers failed to discriminate between military targets and civilian ones while in the waters of the North Atlantic a German submarine sank a British ocean liner killing 311 including a number of Americans. Despite that attack the United States has vowed to remain out of the war. Meanwhile in Brooklyn and across much of the New York City area it was technology at it's best for a few baseball fans unable to witness Saturday's game between the hometown Kings and the visiting Cleveland Foresters in person. The game was broadcast on television station W2XBS in New York, making it the first professional game ever televised. Not that there were a lot of viewers as television is in it's infancy, regular programming does not yet exist, and there are reported to be only about 400 television sets in the New York area. It was the second baseball game to be broadcast by the station as a trial run was done in May at a college game between Henry Hudson and Sadler. The coverage was very limited. While the college broadcast used just a single camera situated 50 feet from home plate this one at Kings County Park employed a second camera. The first was placed down the third base line to pick up infield throws to first, and the second was placed high above home plate to get an extensive view of the field. It was also difficult to capture fast-moving plays: Swinging bats looked like paper fans, and the ball was all but invisible during pitches and hits. Nevertheless, Kings owner Daniel Prescott called the experiment a great success, adding he feels future broadcasts will help drive interest both in baseball and the development of television technology, particularly for sporting events. As for the game itself it was far more than the picture quality that made it tough to watch for Brooklyn fans. The slumping Kings were hammered 10-3 by the Foresters in a contest that was all but decided very early when Cleveland plated 4 runs in the top of the first. Cleveland is also starting to run away with the Continental Association, widening their lead on second place New York to 6 games. The Stars are another club that is struggling, having lost 5 straight and have the worst record in the CA since the all-star break at 18-24. Cleveland on the other hand is 25-19 since the midseason celebration game. The Federal Association race is starting to tip in Detroit's favour although the Pittsburgh Miners are still in it thanks to taking two of three from the Dynamos last week. Included in those two Pittsburgh wins was Charlie Stedman's (10-16, 3.01) first win since June 28th. It was more a lack of run support from teammates than poor outings but Stedman had dropped 10 straight decisions prior to snapping the streak. The Boston Minutemen are in a freefall and now trail Detroit by 5.5 games. The Minutemen have won just 11 of their 30 games. MILWAUKEE MAYOR. "NOT SO FAST, CINCINNATI" Last week's news conference by Baltimore Cannons owner Oscar Banner appears to have raised eyebrows and spurred discussion across far more than just the 15 other FABL clubs' front offices. Mr. Banner mentioned that an unnamed businessman in Cincinnati, Ohio had made an offer to purchase the Cannons. Though Banner did not specifically say so, this immediately caused speculation that the end result of such a sale would be the relocation of a Cannons club that has called Baltimore home since 1890 trading one port city for another. Now a new voice has been heard: that of long-time Milwaukee mayor Daniel Hoan. Mayor Hoan was speaking with members of his city's media when he was asked if he believed his city, which has a larger population then Cincinnati, would be a good home for a FABL team. His response, "Of course it would. We have great fans in this city and they have supported the Blues for years. I can't imagine how excited our citizens would be to have top-flight baseball here in Milwaukee." It should be noted that the Milwaukee Blues are a Century League Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cougars. One intrepid reporter from the city of Milwaukee managed to get Mr. Banner on the phone and asked him if he would consider an offer from a potential owner in Milwaukee. His response: "Of course. I'll listen to any offer, from anyone. I've always believed that in business you need to explore all options." The potential move of the Baltimore Cannons is a continuing story. And it may all end up to be a bunch of wind as there are still the very real possibilities of Banner simply keeping the team, or of selling it to the consortium attempting to raise the capital to purchase the Cannons and keep them in Baltimore. Adding to the buzz around this story are rumors that there are interested parties in Buffalo, New York, New Orleans, Louisiana and even Atlanta, Georgia. FABL President Sam Belton has been firm in his statement that the league would not allow a franchise to move to the Deep South or the West Coast, "at this time." Stay tuned. The season started with title expectations for one of the three New York area FABL teams and high hopes for a step forward from each of the other two. As the season enters the homestretch things have not gone as expected for any of the three area teams. This was supposed to be the year the Brooklyn Kings won their record 4th straight Continental Association pennant and continued to extend their amazing string of 90+ win seasons that stretched to 5 last season. It was supposed to be the year the New York Stars and New York Gothams each took a big step forward as a new front-office and some key veteran additions were to guide the Stars to respectability while the Gothams, with a brand new stadium in Queens and a boatload of young talent, were to make a solid run at a .500 record and first division status in the Fed. Nothing has really gone according to the plan laid out for the three New York area teams this season. The Brooklyn Kings got off to a slow start and never recovered. They abandoned any hopes of that 4th straight pennant in July when they dealt veteran pitchers Mike Murphy and Joe Shaffner to Detroit and the second half has been an even bigger mess than the first half of the year was for Powell Slocum's boys. How the mighty have fallen. From 90 wins and a pennant a year ago to currently sitting ahead of only the woeful Baltimore Cannons and 5 games below the break even mark. If the Kings .479 winning percentage holds form it will be their worst season output since 1929 and if the last few weeks are any indication we could see a Kings club that fails to win 70 games for the first time in the modern era. Turning our attention to the Gothams this was expected to be the year they took a step forward after three seasons of posting a consecutive seasons of 69,54 and 60 victories. Many of the young prospects were deemed ready. The Gothams were back, maybe not the team that started this decade with 4 pennants in 6 seasons, but a young competitive club with plenty of potential and a shiny new baseball cathedral near the World's Far to show off. There were some positive signs early as they were 2 games over .500 at the beginning of June. Since then the Gothams are 33-54 and their pitching staff is a mess. Certainly Nate Spear (6-0, 2.21) has been a bright spot but with 4 arm injuries in less than a year one has to be concerned about the 23 year old's long-term future. This paragraph penned by the New York World Telegram sums up the Gothams: With the big club sinking into a virtual tie for the basement and the farm system giving up its #1 ranking due to promotions this will be an interesting offseason for the Gothams. While much focus is being directed to the chaos in Baltimore, one has to wonder what is happening with one of the important franchises in the league's largest city. Certainly it is a good sign that the top prospects are advancing and performing well, at least on the offensive side. But who is coming along to keep the other teams off the board? The pitching remains a disaster and the waning fan interest indicates the faithful want answers. Finally let's look at the Stars, who were an amazing story until the past couple of weeks. The Stars exceeded even the most lofty of expectations with an outstanding start and as late as August 1st they had a 3.5 game cushion on their seat atop the Continental Association. You better read that again as I can barely believe what I wrote. It was August 1st and the New York Stars...the Stars...a team that has gone downhill so quickly following their 1932 World Championship that it would have probably crashed through the cellar of the CA had it not been for the cushion of the brutal Baltimore Cannons to slow the slide. The Stars won 99 games in 1932 before winning progressively less each of the next four seasons. Then in 1937 the Stars won just 63 games, but that was an improvement on the previous season. The won 71 a year ago thanks to a strong finish as they, like the Gothams, started to reap the benefit of several years with high draft choices. Flash forward to this past April and there were hopes of a .500 season. But first place? In 1939? Even the most optimistic of Stars fans could never hope for that, but there they were perched atop the Continental Association on August 1st, looking down at the Brooklyn Kings and everyone else. Sure the defense was awful and the pitching inconsistent but the bats were booming at just the right time, with big hits when they were needed most. Moxie Pidgeon (.303,17,75), who came over in what is proving to be a steal of a deal from Washington over the winter, was his usual consistent self and Dave Trowbridge (.336,12,77) looked like he was 32 years old, not his actual 42 as he led the club. There was also a rapidly developing teenage outfielder by the name of Bill Barrett (.285,10,48) to make going to Dyckman Stadium exciting again. Many said it wouldn't last. The odds would catch up to the Stars eventually, the terrible defense would catch up to them and the rest of the Continental Association would catch up to them. Yet the Stars kept shining brightly, the one beacon of hope in an otherwise terrible season for New York baseball....until just as suddenly they weren't. August seemed like it flicked a switch and turned off the Stars. A late July injury that still keeps Barrett sidelined to this day didn't help. A 6 game losing streak to start the month was even worse, dropping the Stars out of first place. A 10-18 month of August left them 4.5 games back of Cleveland. Three straight losses to begin September and now they are 6 back as reality seems to be setting in on what was the last glimmer of hope to prolong what on the whole has been a special decade for New York baseball. It is looking more and more like this will end a 5 year run of a New York team being in the World Championship Series. Eight of the last nine years there has been a New York club in the Series with 1933's Keystones-Cougars matchup the lone exception. In fact, the New York run stretches well beyond a decade as 13 of the previous 16 seasons at least one of the New York clubs has played on the biggest stage. Just think about this incredible run for Big Apple baseball Code: NEW YORK AREA TEAMS IN THE WCS 1923 Brooklyn 1924 Stars 1925 Stars 1926 Stars & Gothams 1927 Brooklyn 1928 - 1929 - 1930 Gothams 1931 Gothams 1932 Stars 1933 - 1934 Gothams 1935 Gothams 1936 Brooklyn 1937 Brooklyn 1938 Brooklyn 1939 ? Prior to 1923 there were very few Series appearances for New York's 3 clubs. Brooklyn's 1912 trip was the only one that decade and before that you need to go back to 1902-06 when the Stars made 4 appearances in a 5 year span. The Gothams trips to the Series in 1893, 1895 and 1896 are the only ones prior to the turn of the century. What will the 1940's bring for New York baseball? Brooklyn looks like it is rebuilding, not a complete tear down like the Gothams endured or a slow prolonged collapse the Stars are just emerging from but it is clear the Kings are no longer favourites to win a pennant every year. The Gothams have had the prospect cake in the oven for several years now and while there is plenty of tasty offensive talent, the pitching staff continues to cause heartburn for manager Ed Ziehl and fans alike. The Stars seem to be close based upon their great start this season but the roster makeup might be flawed due to subpar defense at so many key positions and the pitching staff really needs someone to emerge as the leader. A decade from now will New Yorkers be celebrating another 10 years filled with pennants claimed by the three area teams, or will we be merely left yearning for the glory years from 1923-1938? Either way it is looking like we can put an RIP on 1939 October baseball for New York, as the Stars - our cities last hope - appear to be losing their glimmer- and hope has long vanished for Kings fans while it was never really there this season for Gothams supporters. QUICK HITS Brooklyn rookie Jim Lightbody (.316,5,29) is off to a quick start in his young career and appears to be drawing the respect of opposing pitchers very quickly. The 22 year old second sacker was walked 4 times in a game two weeks ago against Baltimore and he went one better last week as the Toronto Wolves issued a free pass to Lightbody in all 5 of his plate appearances last Tuesday. The move paid off as while Lightbody scored three times the Wolves prevailed 8-6 in the game. Those 5 walks equal a Brooklyn team record accomplished 6 times before, most recently by Clarence Hall in 1926. The FABL record is 6 which has been done three times but only once since the turn of the century. Bernie Trumaine walked 6 times in 1922 while playing for the Chicago Cougars. Quite a big league debut for Chicago Chiefs rookie Sam Vaughan. The 22 year old was called up last week and made his debut against Philadelphia. All the 1935 third round pick did was toss a complete game 3-hitter to beat the Philadelphia Keystones 2-1. Far too late but the Chiefs are finally playing the way they were expected to. Chicago has won 10 of it's last 14 and is creeping closer to .500 on the year at 60-64. They also moved into a 4th place tie with St Louis. Another bad week for the New York Gothams as they went 2-5 and were outscored 29-6 in two losses to Pittsburgh. One positive is rookie Walt Messer (.361,2,15) looks like the real deal just 15 games into his big league career. The arrival and early success of the 21 year old points towards the end of veteran Bid Jameson's days as an everyday player for the Gothams. Montreal also has a youngster they are very pleased with. 53rd ranked prospect CF Heinie Billings, 23 years old, will make the fans forget about Pablo Reyes if he is able to maintain the level of stats he is showing. Promoted during the season due to CF Dilly Ward injury, he is shining in defense patrolling the CF and establishing himself as a leadoff hitter in Montreal lineup. In 48G in FABL, he scored 44 runs, got 32 RBIs, .335 BA and stole 10 bases being caught only once...add in the fact that the Saints drafted highly touted CF Bill Green as the first round pick and he is at AAA already and in the near future we could seen a dominant outfield squad in Montreal with Green, Billings and Bond. Watch out CA, the Cougars with a 6-0 week climb back to within 7.5 games and just 2 games out of 2nd. If Cleveland stubs their toe in the next week or two we might have a race. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 09/04/1939 The week began with Britain sending word to Berlin they have declined to accept Adolf Hitler's terms for solution of the Germany quarrel with Poland but did leave the door open to future talks. Hitler is said to welcome talks and reportedly is willing to allow Premier Mussolini of Italy act as a mediator in the dispute which has led Europe to the brink of war. On Tuesday Prime Minister Chamberlain warned Hitler the British fleet is ready and this is his last chance to find a peaceful solution. Wednesday Hitler responds with a demand for Danzig to be returned to Germany before he will entertain any talk of peace. Poland calls 500,000 more reservists to active duty. in Paris, the government takes over all railroads in France as a military measure. Staff leave the Romanian Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York, heeding a call to arms from their homeland. As the week comes to a close Britain announces that she has decided on complete mobilization of her vast navy, regular army and air power against the threat of war. In addition orders have been given to evacuate 3 million sick and elderly persons from major cities to England's countryside. In Berlin, the Nazis announce talks have broken off while in Warsaw there are accusations that German secret police have occupied Danzig's railway station and hoisted the Swastika flag over it. Pope Pius makes a last ditched appeal to the big powers to maintain peace. As September begins Nazi bombers attack Warsaw and other Polish cities as German troops cross Polish borders. Germany also warns the United States for the first time not to violate it's stance of neutrality as FDR vows to keep America out of the war. Britain's Chamberlain gives Hitler one last warning to cease war on Poland or face full might of Great Britain. Despite objections of many in the House of Commons, Chamberlain extends the deadline for Hitler to withdraw from Poland by 9am Sunday. When that deadline passes unanswered France and Britain open military operations against Germany. Meanwhile German troops are easily advancing through Poland and closing in n Warsaw and a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the British ocean liner Athenia but fortunately most of the 1347 aboard, including 311 Americans, were safely rescued as British destroyers chased off the sub. However, 28 American Citizens did perish prompting German fears it might cause the US to enter the war. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 11-11-2021 at 11:28 AM.