OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 06-06-2022, 06:35 PM

(NOTE FROM EC: Please let me know by Private Message if any Native Americans are offended by some of the things posted here and I will remove the offending words)

AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA

CHICOPEE BRAVES

Owner : Jenkins Lumber Company
CEO: Benny Jenkins
GM : Kurt Gustavsen
Manager: Ryan Ledbetter

Chicopee was founded in 1852 by a small band of Chicopee Indians who had left America because of the constant persecution by the American government and rich land owners. To understand the story of Chicopee, we have to go back to 1828 in North Carolina, USA. The Chicopee had spent generations living in Carolina, but because of the influx of the white man, their lands were shrinking all the time. Before this, the Chicopee shared Carolina with the Creek Nation, but by 1849 the Creek Nation had left Carolina and it wasn’t long before the Chicopee Nation would follow.

The Chicopee Nation at the time were split with many wanting to fight the “Indian Removal Act“ but also many, who didn’t want to fight. By 1851 the United States began to relocate the Chicopee from North Carolina to Oklahoma. But a small group of about 20 Chicopee led by Chief Black Fox decided they want to live on free land. So one night, they slipped away from the soldiers and headed on up to Alaska. However, before they got to Alaska they met up with famous mountain man and fur trapper Jim Beckworth in Colorado. Beckworth had been a friend of many Native Americans and took pity on the plight of the few Chicopee he had met.

So he told Chief Black Fox about Tycobbia and that it was a country that welcomed any man, woman or child, no matter what their skin color or background. He then travelled to San Francisco with the band of Chicopee, where he managed to persuade a ship's captain to take them to the new world of Tycobbia. He gave up all the furs and money he had to pay the captain and said farewell to the Chief and his people, who would always be in debt to Beckworth.

On reaching Tycobbia in 1852, the Chicopee settled along the coast near Bay St. Clair, a remote spot that had good hunting and fishing to help them survive their new environment. In 1860 land rights were granted to them by the Tycobbia government as a thank you to them for being law-abiding citizens and good neighbors. It was when these land rights were granted that Chief Black Fox and the Chicopee council decided on naming the land where they lived Chicopee. Thus the town of Chicopee was born in 1860. The Chicopee had found what they had always wanted...a land they could call their own and which would be theirs for generations to come.

As the years went by more and more people came to live in Chicopee. A rich, multicultural society began to grow up. Besides the Chicopee, there were also Negro slaves who had also fled America. Irish, Scotch and English emigres also arrived. The land was rich for farming, lumber, fishing and hunting. The first enterprises were the Jenkins Lumber Company and a Chicopee company, Happy Hunting Grounds, that arranged hunting and fishing for rich gentlemen from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia.

Baseball came to Chicopee and its townspeople in the early 1900s. At first it wasn't organized, but it was a popular sport among the people and was played everyday during the spring and summer and even by some hardier souls during winter. The most popular team was the Towners, who even travelled to places like Colchester, Tuckanarra and Denton City to play games against teams from those towns. They even went to distant Valdar Island and promoted the game there. These other towns referred to the team as the Chicopee Indians, since so many of the players were Indians. It was due to this that the team voted on changing their name to the Chicopee Braves as they felt it would be more suitable than Indians. So in 1922 the Chicopee Braves were born.

The Chicopee Braves have played baseball since the early 1900s. When baseball first caught on in Chicopee there were about 6-7 teams, but two teams always stood out, the Chicopee Towners and the Chicopee Atlantics. Both teams were equally good, but the Towners had the more progressive leadership. The Towners owner was Benjamin Jenkins, owner of Jenkins Lumber Company. He took his team to other towns on barnstorming trips. It was also because of his forward thinking that the Towners first started to use the name Chicopee Braves.

It was in 1922 that the Braves and Atlantics decided to merge their talent into a Chicopee all-star team, but keeping the name Chicopee Braves as that was the one most people in Tycobbia recognized. In 1924 the town started to build a baseball park for the Braves, which was finished in 1925. The stadium has been used over the years for amateur and industrial league teams.

Brewster Street Ballpark is still used today for the IPA Chicopee Braves. Because of its age and history, baseball fans from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia come to visit the vintage stadium located at 4th & Brewster. It is heresy to speak of a new stadium in Chicopee. The citizens still hold onto its small town identity, not just in the town, but also at the ballpark, where there’s no fancy food on sale...just the usual hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, soda pop and good old fashioned peanuts and crackerjacks. No beer or alcoholic beverages are allowed at the ballpark or even in the county. Chicopee is a dry county and it is strictly enforced.

A trip to Brewster is exciting. Chicopee fans are constantly doing tomahawk chops, war chants and war dances to rally their beloved Braves. They have been known to do rain dances when the Braves are losing early in the game, hoping for a rainout. It is all in good fun and nobody in Chicopee takes offense. It really is special in the top of the 9th inning when the whole stadium sings the Chicopee national anthem.

They took the whole Chicopee Nation
And put us on a reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife

They tried to take our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan

Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

They took the whole Indian Nation
And locked us on this reservation
And though I wear a shirt and tie
I'm still a red man deep inside

Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

But maybe someday when they learn
Chicopee Nation has returned
Has returned
Has returned
Has returned
Has returned
(lyrics by Paul Revere and the Raiders...adapted a little bit by EC)

The Braves are still owned by the Jenkins Family. The Jenkins family were really excited about the new Islandian Pro Alliance and managed to get a franchise. The story goes that the Chicopee tribe threatened to go on the warpath, if the town was left out it. We think they were just kidding...but then again...they really do take their baseball seriously in Chicopee.

Overall in their IPA history, Chicopee has struggled. The Braves have been a .500 team only 25 times in its 74 seasons and they have never won a Pro Cup. Only 3 times have they made the IPA postseason. The first Chicopee General Manager was Lou Littlefeather, a longtime baseball player and executive in company league baseball. The first Braves skipper was Harry Fleetfoot, a very successful player, noted for stealing bases in the industrial leagues, and also a fine manager. Both were full-blooded Chicopee... the Braves enjoyed little success until Ivan Burkholder took over as skipper in 2034. Burkholder starred for Chicopee at catcher for 22 seasons (2202-2023), batting .271 with 312 homers and 1185 RBIs. Twice he was an All-Star. It was under Burkholder tutelage that the Braves blossomed. They won the TU West pennant 3 years in a row from 2034 to 2036 and make a lot of noise in the Pro Cup playoffs. Tbis was the Golden Age of Chicopee baseball. Each season the Braves were beaten out by the eventual Pro Cup champion in tight series. They lost to North Hills in 2034 and 2036 and to Tuckanarra in 2035... Burkholder was acclaimed the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year in 2034.

Two of his prime players during that era are now running the Braves. GM Kurt Gustavsen and manager Ryan Ledbetter. Gustavsen was an All-Star infielder for 18 years with a .306 lifetime BA, 347 homers and 1275 RBIs. He batted .331 in 29 postseason games.

Ledbetter only spent 4 seasons with Chicopee out of his 13-year career, but they were good ones. Ledbetter was a capable and quality pitcher, posting a 148-126 record and a 3.83 ERA overall. Ledbetter was even better in the postseason with a 5-3 mark and 3.18 ERA in 9 starts... he was 59-50 with a 3.81 ERA in his time with the Braves. Ledbetter retired in 2039 as a player. Chicopee called on him to become skipper in 2066. Slowly, but surely the team has risen up to contending status in the TU West.

Brewster Street Ballpark (1925)
Capacity: 8,250

Dimensions:
LF Line 334
LF 360
LCF 387
CF 400
RCF 410
RF 360
RF Line 331

Brewster Street Ballpark (1925)

Capacity: 8,250

Dimensions:
LF Line 334
LF 360
LCF 387
CF 400
RCF 410
RF 360
RF Line 331

Brewster Street Ballpark (1925)

Capacity: 8,250

Dimensions:
LF Line 334
LF 360
LCF 387
CF 400
RCF 410
RF 360
RF Line 331

06-06-2022, 06:35 PM	#8849
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	*(NOTE FROM EC: Please let me know by Private Message if any Native Americans are offended by some of the things posted here and I will remove the offending words)* AROUND THE TOWN IN THE IPA CHICOPEE BRAVES Owner : Jenkins Lumber Company CEO: Benny Jenkins GM : Kurt Gustavsen Manager: Ryan Ledbetter Chicopee was founded in 1852 by a small band of Chicopee Indians who had left America because of the constant persecution by the American government and rich land owners. To understand the story of Chicopee, we have to go back to 1828 in North Carolina, USA. The Chicopee had spent generations living in Carolina, but because of the influx of the white man, their lands were shrinking all the time. Before this, the Chicopee shared Carolina with the Creek Nation, but by 1849 the Creek Nation had left Carolina and it wasn’t long before the Chicopee Nation would follow. The Chicopee Nation at the time were split with many wanting to fight the “Indian Removal Act“ but also many, who didn’t want to fight. By 1851 the United States began to relocate the Chicopee from North Carolina to Oklahoma. But a small group of about 20 Chicopee led by Chief Black Fox decided they want to live on free land. So one night, they slipped away from the soldiers and headed on up to Alaska. However, before they got to Alaska they met up with famous mountain man and fur trapper Jim Beckworth in Colorado. Beckworth had been a friend of many Native Americans and took pity on the plight of the few Chicopee he had met. So he told Chief Black Fox about Tycobbia and that it was a country that welcomed any man, woman or child, no matter what their skin color or background. He then travelled to San Francisco with the band of Chicopee, where he managed to persuade a ship's captain to take them to the new world of Tycobbia. He gave up all the furs and money he had to pay the captain and said farewell to the Chief and his people, who would always be in debt to Beckworth. On reaching Tycobbia in 1852, the Chicopee settled along the coast near Bay St. Clair, a remote spot that had good hunting and fishing to help them survive their new environment. In 1860 land rights were granted to them by the Tycobbia government as a thank you to them for being law-abiding citizens and good neighbors. It was when these land rights were granted that Chief Black Fox and the Chicopee council decided on naming the land where they lived Chicopee. Thus the town of Chicopee was born in 1860. The Chicopee had found what they had always wanted...a land they could call their own and which would be theirs for generations to come. As the years went by more and more people came to live in Chicopee. A rich, multicultural society began to grow up. Besides the Chicopee, there were also Negro slaves who had also fled America. Irish, Scotch and English emigres also arrived. The land was rich for farming, lumber, fishing and hunting. The first enterprises were the Jenkins Lumber Company and a Chicopee company, Happy Hunting Grounds, that arranged hunting and fishing for rich gentlemen from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia. Baseball came to Chicopee and its townspeople in the early 1900s. At first it wasn't organized, but it was a popular sport among the people and was played everyday during the spring and summer and even by some hardier souls during winter. The most popular team was the Towners, who even travelled to places like Colchester, Tuckanarra and Denton City to play games against teams from those towns. They even went to distant Valdar Island and promoted the game there. These other towns referred to the team as the Chicopee Indians, since so many of the players were Indians. It was due to this that the team voted on changing their name to the Chicopee Braves as they felt it would be more suitable than Indians. So in 1922 the Chicopee Braves were born. The Chicopee Braves have played baseball since the early 1900s. When baseball first caught on in Chicopee there were about 6-7 teams, but two teams always stood out, the Chicopee Towners and the Chicopee Atlantics. Both teams were equally good, but the Towners had the more progressive leadership. The Towners owner was Benjamin Jenkins, owner of Jenkins Lumber Company. He took his team to other towns on barnstorming trips. It was also because of his forward thinking that the Towners first started to use the name Chicopee Braves. It was in 1922 that the Braves and Atlantics decided to merge their talent into a Chicopee all-star team, but keeping the name Chicopee Braves as that was the one most people in Tycobbia recognized. In 1924 the town started to build a baseball park for the Braves, which was finished in 1925. The stadium has been used over the years for amateur and industrial league teams. Brewster Street Ballpark is still used today for the IPA Chicopee Braves. Because of its age and history, baseball fans from all over Tycobbia and Ruthlandia come to visit the vintage stadium located at 4th & Brewster. It is heresy to speak of a new stadium in Chicopee. The citizens still hold onto its small town identity, not just in the town, but also at the ballpark, where there’s no fancy food on sale...just the usual hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, soda pop and good old fashioned peanuts and crackerjacks. No beer or alcoholic beverages are allowed at the ballpark or even in the county. Chicopee is a dry county and it is strictly enforced. A trip to Brewster is exciting. Chicopee fans are constantly doing tomahawk chops, war chants and war dances to rally their beloved Braves. They have been known to do rain dances when the Braves are losing early in the game, hoping for a rainout. It is all in good fun and nobody in Chicopee takes offense. It really is special in the top of the 9th inning when the whole stadium sings the Chicopee national anthem. They took the whole Chicopee Nation And put us on a reservation Took away our ways of life The tomahawk and the bow and knife They tried to take our native tongue And taught their English to our young And all the beads we made by hand Are nowadays made in Japan Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die They took the whole Indian Nation And locked us on this reservation And though I wear a shirt and tie I'm still a red man deep inside Chicopee people, Chicopee tribe So proud to live, so proud to die But maybe someday when they learn Chicopee Nation has returned Has returned Has returned Has returned Has returned (lyrics by Paul Revere and the Raiders...adapted a little bit by EC) The Braves are still owned by the Jenkins Family. The Jenkins family were really excited about the new Islandian Pro Alliance and managed to get a franchise. The story goes that the Chicopee tribe threatened to go on the warpath, if the town was left out it. We think they were just kidding...but then again...they really do take their baseball seriously in Chicopee. Overall in their IPA history, Chicopee has struggled. The Braves have been a .500 team only 25 times in its 74 seasons and they have never won a Pro Cup. Only 3 times have they made the IPA postseason. The first Chicopee General Manager was Lou Littlefeather, a longtime baseball player and executive in company league baseball. The first Braves skipper was Harry Fleetfoot, a very successful player, noted for stealing bases in the industrial leagues, and also a fine manager. Both were full-blooded Chicopee... the Braves enjoyed little success until Ivan Burkholder took over as skipper in 2034. Burkholder starred for Chicopee at catcher for 22 seasons (2202-2023), batting .271 with 312 homers and 1185 RBIs. Twice he was an All-Star. It was under Burkholder tutelage that the Braves blossomed. They won the TU West pennant 3 years in a row from 2034 to 2036 and make a lot of noise in the Pro Cup playoffs. Tbis was the Golden Age of Chicopee baseball. Each season the Braves were beaten out by the eventual Pro Cup champion in tight series. They lost to North Hills in 2034 and 2036 and to Tuckanarra in 2035... Burkholder was acclaimed the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year in 2034. Two of his prime players during that era are now running the Braves. GM Kurt Gustavsen and manager Ryan Ledbetter. Gustavsen was an All-Star infielder for 18 years with a .306 lifetime BA, 347 homers and 1275 RBIs. He batted .331 in 29 postseason games. Ledbetter only spent 4 seasons with Chicopee out of his 13-year career, but they were good ones. Ledbetter was a capable and quality pitcher, posting a 148-126 record and a 3.83 ERA overall. Ledbetter was even better in the postseason with a 5-3 mark and 3.18 ERA in 9 starts... he was 59-50 with a 3.81 ERA in his time with the Braves. Ledbetter retired in 2039 as a player. Chicopee called on him to become skipper in 2066. Slowly, but surely the team has risen up to contending status in the TU West. Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 Brewster Street Ballpark (1925) Capacity: 8,250 Dimensions: LF Line 334 LF 360 LCF 387 CF 400 RCF 410 RF 360 RF Line 331 Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-06-2022 at 06:37 PM.