OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Federal Baseball League: Historical/Fictional Hybrid

ericnease84 · 02-07-2023, 03:11 PM

Just before Spring Training, retired Cardinals star Buck Weaver chawed his mind and came out of retirement, coming back to the Cardinals for one more season.
As the 1934 season got underway, there was some tension among several teams. The Knights got off to a good start again, but there were rumors that it would be Babe Ruth's last year with the team. The Cardinals were also dealing with rumors of Shoeless Joe Jackson retiring, even as he approached 4,000 career hits. The Kentucky Kings' fan base was dwindling, and what remained was clearly getting tired of the team's perennial losing ways. And the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets got off to one of the worst starts in the history of ANY franchise. On June 1, they sat with an unsightly 6-36 record, a whopping 22 games behind the first place Washington Eagles (the Lions and Tigers, tied for third place, were 7 games out with a record of 21-21 at the time).
Unlike last season, this season had virtually no drama when it came to playoff races, and for over half the season it was obvious who the four playoff teams would be. On August 1, the smallest division lead was the New York Bears' 11-game lead in the NBC East. The Bears and Browns were running away with the NBC divisions, and the Knights and Fireflies were running away with the ABC divisions. Needless to say, all four teams won their divisions by a large margin.
The only drama toward the end of the season was to see if the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets could avoid the first 100-loss season in FBL history. The Boston Patriots had set the record for most losses in a season with 97 back in 1929, and the Yellow Jackets beat that record in the last weekend of the season. They were 40-99 going into their final game of the season against the Atlanta Colonels. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Colonels in that game to avoid 100 losses, but their 41-99 record still cemented their place as one of the worst teams in league history. They finished a whopping 50 games behind the Bears.
In the playoffs, the New York teams did not get off to a good start, as both the Fireflies and Browns jumped out to a 2 games to 0 lead. The Browns finished off the sweep, but the Knights rallied to win the next three games to send Indiana home and advance to the World Series.
The World Series featured the Knights, winners of 8 World Series, against the Browns, who were 0-3 in the World Series in their history. The Browns jumped out to a 2 games to 0 lead and looked poised to capture their first championship. However, the Knights then rallied to win the next four games and defeated the Browns in the World Series.
After the season, Chicago's Shoeless Joe Jackson decided to retire. He retired with 4,068 hits, second all time to Ty Cobb. Buck Weaver also decided to retire, and this time he really did retire and stay retired.
Babe Ruth also decided to retire. However, a month later he decided that he wanted to play one more season, but the Knights had already moved on and told him that they were not going to bring him back. Ruth, a Baltimore native, wound up signing with the Baltimore Blackbirds for the 1935 season.

02-07-2023, 03:11 PM	#46
ericnease84 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2019 Posts: 144	1934 Just before Spring Training, retired Cardinals star Buck Weaver chawed his mind and came out of retirement, coming back to the Cardinals for one more season. As the 1934 season got underway, there was some tension among several teams. The Knights got off to a good start again, but there were rumors that it would be Babe Ruth's last year with the team. The Cardinals were also dealing with rumors of Shoeless Joe Jackson retiring, even as he approached 4,000 career hits. The Kentucky Kings' fan base was dwindling, and what remained was clearly getting tired of the team's perennial losing ways. And the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets got off to one of the worst starts in the history of ANY franchise. On June 1, they sat with an unsightly 6-36 record, a whopping 22 games behind the first place Washington Eagles (the Lions and Tigers, tied for third place, were 7 games out with a record of 21-21 at the time). Unlike last season, this season had virtually no drama when it came to playoff races, and for over half the season it was obvious who the four playoff teams would be. On August 1, the smallest division lead was the New York Bears' 11-game lead in the NBC East. The Bears and Browns were running away with the NBC divisions, and the Knights and Fireflies were running away with the ABC divisions. Needless to say, all four teams won their divisions by a large margin. The only drama toward the end of the season was to see if the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets could avoid the first 100-loss season in FBL history. The Boston Patriots had set the record for most losses in a season with 97 back in 1929, and the Yellow Jackets beat that record in the last weekend of the season. They were 40-99 going into their final game of the season against the Atlanta Colonels. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Colonels in that game to avoid 100 losses, but their 41-99 record still cemented their place as one of the worst teams in league history. They finished a whopping 50 games behind the Bears. In the playoffs, the New York teams did not get off to a good start, as both the Fireflies and Browns jumped out to a 2 games to 0 lead. The Browns finished off the sweep, but the Knights rallied to win the next three games to send Indiana home and advance to the World Series. The World Series featured the Knights, winners of 8 World Series, against the Browns, who were 0-3 in the World Series in their history. The Browns jumped out to a 2 games to 0 lead and looked poised to capture their first championship. However, the Knights then rallied to win the next four games and defeated the Browns in the World Series. After the season, Chicago's Shoeless Joe Jackson decided to retire. He retired with 4,068 hits, second all time to Ty Cobb. Buck Weaver also decided to retire, and this time he really did retire and stay retired. Babe Ruth also decided to retire. However, a month later he decided that he wanted to play one more season, but the Knights had already moved on and told him that they were not going to bring him back. Ruth, a Baltimore native, wound up signing with the Baltimore Blackbirds for the 1935 season.