HELP WANTED- FORESTERS SEEK NEW HEAD MAN
For anyone not already in the league who is following along here is a perfect opportunity for you to join in on the fun. The Cleveland Foresters General Manager position has come open. Those following here likely realize already it is a very active league but it is also a great group of GMs who are always willing to help someone new to our league, or new to playing stats-only, learn the ropes. The new General Manager in Cleveland will have some nice pieces to work with but the club does need some overhauling as while they are coming off a second place finish last season they have gotten off to a slow start this year.
The Cleveland Foresters have a rich history dating back to 1890 in the old Border Association. The club seemed snake bitten for years as they were the second to last FABL club to win a World Championship Series despite being the initial home of the greatest slugger in the game - Max Morris. Cleveland won a Continental Association pennant in 1901 but lost in the WCS to Pittsburgh (it would be the Miners only WCS title to date despite playing in 8 of them). The Foresters did not win their second pennant until 1917 when they were led by a 22 year old two-way player named Max Morris. Morris won 21 games on the mound that season and joined 24 year old teammate Mose Smith (27-17) to form a formidable 1-2 pitching punch but it was at the plate where Morris (.318,13,50) really shined, leading the CA in homers. The pennant did not come easy for Cleveland that year as they needed a 1 game playoff to defeat Montreal, taking that thrilling contest by a 1-0 score. In the Series Cleveland again came up short as the Chicago Chiefs finally snapped a 35 year title drought with four games to two win over the Foresters. Both Cleveland wins in the series came with Morris on the hill but his destiny would lie in the outfield, not on the mound.
By 1919 Morris, who preferred to be an everyday outfielder, was granted his wish and nearly won the Triple Crown, falling just short by finishing second to the great Baltimore batter Powell Slocum in batting average. Despite Morris' best efforts the Foresters finished a disappointing 7th. It would be the end of Morris' first stint in Cleveland as, wanting to play for a winner he demanded a trade, and was dealt to St Louis of the Federal Association. Ironically the players the Foresters received in return actually helped Cleveland win it's third pennant. The Federal Association champs ended up being the St Louis Pioneers, led by Max Morris, who would go 7-for-20 with 5 rbi's in the Series and lead St Louis to a win in 5 games.
The Foresters would not win another pennant until 1934, which was Morris' second full season back in Cleveland after a stop with the New York Gothams following his Pioneer days. During the time without the legendary slugger the Foresters franchise had a couple of close calls, such as finishing just 2 games out but in fourth place in the wild 1927 season (the second one in the human GM era) but for the most part Cleveland was a second division ballclub.
As the decade change to the 1930's so did the fate of the Foresters.
Morris arrived back on the shores of Lake Erie midway through the 1932 season and Cleveland, now a rising young team with talented players like Moxie Pidgeon, Leon Drake, 22 year old shortstop George Dawson and newly acquired veteran catcher T.R. Goins finished second in 1933 before their break through 1934 campaign. 1934 featured the first of several tight races for the Foresters with another talented young squad that, like Cleveland, had never won a WCS in the Brooklyn Kings. The Foresters would beat Brooklyn by a single game for the pennant in both '34 and again in '35 but the magical season was that 1934 campaign as Cleveland finally won it's first WCS.
That '34 Series saw Cleveland fall behind 3 games to one to the New York Gothams only to win three straight including an 18-3 laugher in Game Seven in which Morris had 3 hits, including a homerun and drove in 4. 1935 was a repeat of the '34 Series but this time Morris was injured, at age 41 and with 691 career homeruns on his resume his back was starting to give out. The Gothams waltzed to a Series win in 5 games and Cleveland has not played October baseball since.
Morris left the club in a trade to Detroit prior to the 1937 season and after one year in the Motor City as a player-manager he retired, taking his 3,651 career hits and 711 homeruns and heading off to be enshrined in Boone County (site of FABL's Hall of Fame). As for Cleveland, in the four seasons since their last pennant they have finished in the first division each time and always within 10 games of the leader including last season when they surprised some observers by finishing just 2 games back of the New York Stars.
This year has seen a rough start for the club and they presently sit at the bottom of the Continental Association standings. Many of the stars from the pennant winners are gone but there is still a lot of talent including third sacker Mel Carrol, a 28 year old who hit over .400 in 1937, becoming the first player to accomplish that since Morris did it in 1925 when he was with St Louis. There is also shortstop George Dawson, now a seasoned veteran at age 29 and still one of the better infielders in the league. 28 year old Bill Moore mans first base and not so long ago the two-time Christian Trophy winner (College baseball MVP) was named the greatest player in the first 25 years of AIAA college baseball. All the years of high finishes has left the Foresters with a somewhat depleted minor league system but pitcher Dick Lamb, a 20 year old 1938 third round pick, shows promise as does first round pick Richie Hughes, a high school All-American as a junior but just missed that designation this season.
You have been reading about this great league here. Now is your chance to be a part of the rich history that is FABL baseball. You can either DM me here or contact our commissioner directly. He goes by legendsport on this board. All of us in FABL look forward to meeting the new GM of the Cleveland Foresters.
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