OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The Ballad of the Brothers Barrell

legendsport · 10-04-2024, 03:09 PM

1959 BARRELL BROTHERS UPDATE

ROLLIE BARRELL
As Rollie aged and he began to have health problems, he also began to make fewer decisions about his football club. The Detroit Maroons had a general manager after all (in Francine's words) and he was well-paid, so Rollie let the man do his job. But in 1959 that hands-off metality was difficult to maintain. The team had drafted QB Sled Hicks at #3 overall in 1958 and the kid had performed well, replacing the disruptive Sam Burson under center. But GM Aaron Barkley had drafted a second QB - Tom Griffin - in the fourth round of '58. This got under Rollie's skin and when Griffin was named starter for 1959, Rollie quietly fumed, seeing no reason to replace Hicks. But Francie stressed that Rollie should "let the football people run the team" and so he did. And the team went 4-6 as Griffin struggled, Hicks stewed on the bench, and all this came on the heels of an 8-4 season in 1958. Rollie was very unhappy, his doctor was unhappy with Rollie's blood pressure and Francie was unhappy with Rollie's threats to take over as GM himself, fire Wiggins, and pay "whatever it took" to bring Tom Bowens back as coach.

JACK BARRELL
1958-59 was a great season for Coach Jack Barrell. His Toronto Dukes were the class of the NAHC, posting a 43-16-11 record (good for 97 points, 11 more than second-place Boston). Things went even better in the postseason as the swept Montreal and followed that by sweeping Detroit for the Cup. Jack had spent decades in the NAHC as a player and then coach and could not remember a more satisfying season in his career. He was well aware that the magic of 1958-59 would be hard to repeat: Tommy Burns was a key part of their success (23 goals, 41 assists) but he was now 39 years old and likely to not last much longer. Even Quinton Pollack, Jack's son-in-law and a man generally considered the best player in the league (he finished second in scoring to Detroit's young star Alex Monette). was now 36 years old, and though he showed no real signs of slowing down, he did miss 13 games (probably costing him another scoring title). But those were worries for the off-season, and Jack celebrated the Cup win as if he hadn't already won several before.

DAN BARRELL
It was a middling year for Chicago Poly and their Athletic Director Dan Barrell. The baseball squad won a national championship, but the football team went 4-6. Ed Webber was gone and Gardner Rosso was now the coach, so the head man had changed, but the results had not. On the hardwood, the Catamounts maintained the balance of the school's three major sports by going 16-15, about as middle-of-the-road as they could get. Dan wasn't satisfied by any stretch, but the school did win one title, and that was certainly a welcome boost to the athetlic department.

FRED BARRELL
With Hobie turning 18 in early April (and playing junior hockey in Halifax anyway), Fred and Tillie were down to one child living at home - their "surprise" baby was now ten years old. Loretta was more and more like her mother every day and the apple of Fred's eye. And when his superiors offered him the position of Chief of Station in West Berlin, Fred knew it was something that could be managed. So he spoke to Tillie about it and to his surprise, she agreed. "I'll miss the boys, but they're men now and doing well. And we'll visit whenever we can," Tillie told Fred. Loretta was less than thrilled about the idea, but didn't have much choice with both her parents in favor of the move. So Fred Barrell because the CIA's Chief of Station for Berlin in July of 1959. He was surprised at the state of the city's eastern sector, still filled with rubble as the Soviets hadn't bothered to rebuild thmuch of the city. Fred realized that whatever else could be said about it, working in a city divided into four sectors where American, French and British soldiers, civilians and diplomats brushed up against their Soviet counterparts was never going to be boring.

TOM BARRELL
Tom continued to work with James Slocum, helping to run the day-to-day operations of the National Automobile Racing Federation from its headquarters in Charlotte.

BOBBY BARRELL
Bobby continued to be a prime target of several FABL clubs for either a front office or coaching role. This time it was the Los Angeles Stars who pushed the hardest. By midseason Thomas X. Bigsby was unhappy with the hotshot young manager he'd just hired and offered Bobby the managerial job during a reception at the All-Star hotel in Montreal. Bobby was sorely tempted - the Stars had called his son up just three weeks before and the kid was off to a fantastic start (see more on that below), but Bigsby and Bobby had both been drinking and Bob wasn't sure the offer was real. He wanted to ask his nephew Charlie (who had made the Continental All-Star team) but the kid was engrossed in what looked like a serious discussion with a young woman Bobby thought was Adrian Czerwinski's sister. Regardless, Bobby turned it down and Bigsby didn't mention it the next day. Bobby did have one source of irritation in '59: his younger son, Bobby Jr., decided to stop playing baseball and concentrate on football. Annette was firmly against this, fearing a serious injury. Bobby Jr. was much like his mother athletically - fast, much faster than Bobby had been, and thinner than Bobby who had always been "big-boned" and strong. Junior was strong, but he was built like a track athlete. Bobby told his son that if he was going to play football he'd need to be an end where his speed and athleticism would benefit him most. Annette included a requirement of her own - he had to remain a part of the track team in high school and also in college (assuming he made the team, and she told him she'd be there to ensure he gave it his all).

HARRY BARRELL
1959 was the year in which the Boston Minutemen put it all together. With Harry enjoying the most peace in his life since his marriage to Sarah had fallen apart, his positive attitude seemed to infect his team too. Boston got off to a hot start and never really cooled off all season long. They posted a 96-58 record to capture the club's first pennant since 1943. The pitching was strong with both Don Griffin (20-7, 3.09) and Dick Wilson (22-6, 2.51) having great years and Harry patching together enough behind them to make it all work. The lineup produced enough homers to lead the Fed again (173) with Rick Masters (.301-34-108) and Jack Denis (.309-21-90) leading the way as usual, and 3B Ed Wise hadded 30 homers of his own, and covered shortstop during an injury to Joe Kleman (.320-12-51). In the WCS the Minutemen faced the Cleveland Foresters, won the first three games, and took the title in five. After the game, Ruth Barton Barrell hugged her husband and tearfully said, "I wish Dad could have lived to see this!"

TOM BOWENS
Tom's third year as the head coach of CC Los Angeles went very well. The team finally began to reflect Tom's professional approach that prioritized personal responsibility. The Coyotes went 9-2 and grabbed a spot in the Lone Star Classic on New Year's Day. Their lone losses were at #12 Redwood and at #5 Northern Cal. In the Lone Star, they took on Penn Catholic and defeated them by a score of 37-14. Their performance earned CCLA the #7 ranking in the final poll.

DEUCE BARRELL
Deuce Barrell turned 42 in June of '59 and spent that month on the disabled list. He'd suffered a triceps injury in his third start, going on the DL for four months stuck in limbo with a 2-0 record and 1.71 ERA. When he came back, he wasn't quite the same. He made three rehab starts for AAA Rochester, going 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA but AAA was not FABL. He was roughed up in two August starts and September wasn't much better. Ironically, left-handed hitters were killing him. He had a 5.30 ERA across eight starts post-injury and went 3-2. The club won the pennant (in large part thanks to the continued excellence of Adrian Czerwinski, Sherry Doyal and John Low). Deuce was handed the ball in the first game - and lost. The Foresters dropped the first three - Czerwinski held Boston to just one run over nine strong innings, but the Foresters could only score one themselves and Boston took the game in the tenth with a run off reliever Lynn Horn. After a game three loss, the Foresters staved off a sweep with a 6-3 win behind their fourth starter Jake Pearson. But Deuce took the ball for game and gave up four in the first, got into another jam in the second, and left after one and two-thirds with his club down 5-0. Cleveland played Boston even after that, but it resulted in an 8-3 loss and a championship for Deuce's uncle Harry and his Minutemen. After the game, Deuce pondered whether he would try one more season. He'd achieved a lot in his career: he had 317 wins, a lifetime 3.20 ERA and nearly 2500 strikeouts. He'd won five Allen Awards, three championships and been an 11-time All-Star. Maybe that was enough? But after discussing it with Debbie, he realized it wasn't - he was coming back in 1960. He'd debuted with the then-Baltimore Cannons in 1938, so he had a chance to pitch across four decades and he wasn't passing that up.

ROGER CLEAVES
Roger Cleaves saw the end coming and accepted it. Both George and Jack had gone through it - the aging, the degradation of skills, etc. Of course, they were both Hall-of-Fame level players and he wasn't quite on that level, but their advice was welcomed nonetheless. As for his other half-brothers, Deuce was, as usual, mostly interested in himself, and Charlie was too young to understand. Roger read the writing on the wall by May: Stan Czerwinski was embedded at catcher and though first base looked to be a "by committee" situation, Roger wasn't part of that committee. He played six and a third innings across three games at first base, started 27 games behind the plate (and played there in ten more). His knees ached and his bat was slow - he hit just .176 in 108 at-bats and had just two homers. He announced his retirement at season's end, leaving the game with 246 career home runs, a .263 average and 1353 hits in 5140 at bats across 13 FABL seasons. After discussing it with Evelyn, he put himself forward as a managerial prospect and was hired by Toronto in December to be the skipper of their Davenport affiliate in the Class A Heartland League. "One door closes, another one opens," he told his wife and kids. "Hope you won't be too bored in Iowa," he added.

CHARLIE BARRELL
Charlie missed spring training in 1959 because of basketball - not because he was playing, but because he'd broken his ankle early in the season. He'd only played eight games, and with Anna popping up in LA again to chide him about it, he suspected he might not play basketball in the future either. He told himself this wasn't because of Anna, but just because it seemed to make sense: he was running himself ragged and the injuries were just proof of it. Speaking of Anna, she showed up in Montreal at the All-Star game with her brother, cornered Charlie at a reception and talked his ear off all night. Charlie was surprised that he felt admiration for her dogged pursuit of him while still telling himself -and her- that it wasn't going to happen. Charlie was beginning to get frustrated with the losing in LA as the Stars again stumbled to a last-place finish. The only bright spots he could see were that his cousin Ralph had joined the team in late June despite being only 19 and only having a brief spell in AA aside from a half-season in Class C. Added to that, another top prospect -LF Don Hall- was called up later and both #15 prospect OF Frank Kirouac and #26 prospect Don Ferguson were likely to make the club in '60. Bigsby's "wonder boy" manager - John J. Wilson - was only 37 when the season started, and was no better than the skipper he'd replaced at getting wins out of the club. Charlie began quietly hoping they could get a proven skipper to run the team - Wilson hadn't even made the big leagues as a player. He vowed to speak with Bigsby about it, given he had excellent access to the club owner.

MIKE BARRELL
Mike spends his third year in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia.

STEVE BARRELL
Steve Barrell was drafted as the 2nd overall pick in the 1958 FBA Draft and entered his rookie season of pro basketball with high hopes. He was drafted by the Boston Centurions, and this meant he could visit his uncle Harry as often as he wanted, which was nice. The team itself - as you'd expect from a club picking second - wasn't particularly good. Steve ended up as the starting off guard, played (and started) all 72 games and put up 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. The team's coach, Chuck O'Connor, told him that his plan was to have Steve play point guard, a position currently held by Charlie Stark. Stark was 28 years old and a very good passer, but his poor shooting made him something of a liability. He also knew Steve was tapped as his replacmement and made no bones about his dislike for the new kid on the team. This resulted in some dysfunction on the team and Boston finished 33-39 on the year and in last place in the Eastern Division.

FREDDY BARRELL
Freddy turned 27 in 1959 and had established himself as a mid-tier professional golfer. He made the cut in slightly less than half the tournaments he entered. And thanks to his uncle Rollie sponsoring him, he entered about 70% of the tournaments on the tour. He made enough money that he could now support himself and began considering asking his long-time girlfriend, whose name was Evelyn Mae Carter, and whom Freddy figured he loved. She went by Mae and was a Georgia girl, two years young than Freddy. They'd met in Savannah and been dating for two years. Freddy did ask her to marry him in October after months of screwing up his courage. She accepted and the wedding was set for June of 1960.

BENNY BARRELL
Benny Barrell made it to the big time in 1958-59. The Detroit Motors, his favorite team growing up, had finally signed him to a contract after holding his rights for a couple of years. He ended up staying with the team throughout the season, though he was often a healthy scratch. He did play in 41 games, getting little ice time and scoring a measly (to his mind) three goals, with six assists. When his parents left for Berlin, his father told him to "stick it out" and that his time would come. Benny wasn't a patient guy by nature, but he promised his parents that he'd try to keep a positive attitude.

HOBIE BARRELL
Hobie spent 1958-59 with Halifax in the CAHA - or juniors. He managed to stay reasonably healthy, appeared in 61 of 64 games and scored 39 goals with 51 assists. He would be eligible for the 1959 NAHC draft and there was a reasonable chance he could end up being the first overall pick. That pick belonged to the Chicago Packers. If, for some reason, they passed on him, Hobie believed he'd be the #2 pick, and that was owned by the New York Shamrocks. He figured either way he'd end up in a big city and that was exciting. The thought of playing in the minors didn't cross his mind - Hobie believed he'd make the jump right away.

RALPH BARRELL
After spending the 1958 season in Class C, Ralph Barrell was pleased as punch to get to start 1959 in Double-A. Houston was a far sight better than Mobile - the weather was just as hot & humid, but Houston was a big city, and Ralph had spent his entire childhood in Philadelphia so he figured himself a city boy. Double A was also just a couple steps from Los Angeles and the big time. Ralph put himself to work - he tore up the Lone Star Association in the 33 games he played there. He hit .312, but his on-base percentage was .460 and he had six doubles, two triples and six homers in the 109 at-bats he took, giving him an OPS of 1.029 and earning himself a promotion. But not to AAA Salt Lake City... his promotion was straight to LA. He slid into the Stars lineup hitting cleanup right behind his cousin Charlie. And he continued to rake. His first game, he went three-for-four with a single, triple and his first of what he hoped would be many FABL home runs. He cooled off -some- and finished the year having appeared in 85 games for LA, slashing .305/.357/.523 with 19 home runs to go with seven doubles and four triples amongst his 101 hits in 331 at-bats. He was playing third base - one of the things scouts had liked about him was his flexibility as he could play infield or outfield. He figured he could catch too, but had no interest in doing so; something with which his father had wholeheartedly agreed. Ralph received some votes for the Kellogg Award, but didn't win it. Nevertheless he felt he'd gotten his career off to a great start.

REID BARRELL
Reid Barrell had made it to Class B in 1958 and had been hoping to start at Class A in '59. The Miners brass had other plans, and started Reid right back in Spokane. He played most of the year there, and spent it playing well. He hit .311 and had an .803 OPS. The club reined in his basestealing, and he ended up stealing four bases in Spokane (with six caught stealings). He showed a little pop - more than his dad had shown in his career at least - with ten homers to go with 32 doubles and nine triples. He earned a late promotion to Class A Gary. After being in Spokane which he told his father "felt like a million miles from home," he was glad to be in Indiana. He went 16-for-59 with Gary, adding three doubles, a triple and a homer to his resume. Though he was jealous of his cousin Ralph, who ended up in FABL (and performing well), Reid told himself he'd get there. One thing he picked up in Spokane was a nickname: "J.R." which were his initials as his name was Joseph Reid Barrell. His team mates wanted to know why he didn't go by "Joe" which took a bit of explaining, and in the end he became simply "J.R." to his team mates and the nickname stuck with him in Gary as well.

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Harry Barrell celebrates the Boston Minutemen's
1959 World Championship Series victory
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10-04-2024, 03:09 PM	#383
legendsport Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Behind The Lens Posts: 2,933	1959 BARRELL BROTHERS UPDATE ROLLIE BARRELL As Rollie aged and he began to have health problems, he also began to make fewer decisions about his football club. The Detroit Maroons had a general manager after all (in Francine's words) and he was well-paid, so Rollie let the man do his job. But in 1959 that hands-off metality was difficult to maintain. The team had drafted QB Sled Hicks at #3 overall in 1958 and the kid had performed well, replacing the disruptive Sam Burson under center. But GM Aaron Barkley had drafted a second QB - Tom Griffin - in the fourth round of '58. This got under Rollie's skin and when Griffin was named starter for 1959, Rollie quietly fumed, seeing no reason to replace Hicks. But Francie stressed that Rollie should "let the football people run the team" and so he did. And the team went 4-6 as Griffin struggled, Hicks stewed on the bench, and all this came on the heels of an 8-4 season in 1958. Rollie was very unhappy, his doctor was unhappy with Rollie's blood pressure and Francie was unhappy with Rollie's threats to take over as GM himself, fire Wiggins, and pay "whatever it took" to bring Tom Bowens back as coach. JACK BARRELL 1958-59 was a great season for Coach Jack Barrell. His Toronto Dukes were the class of the NAHC, posting a 43-16-11 record (good for 97 points, 11 more than second-place Boston). Things went even better in the postseason as the swept Montreal and followed that by sweeping Detroit for the Cup. Jack had spent decades in the NAHC as a player and then coach and could not remember a more satisfying season in his career. He was well aware that the magic of 1958-59 would be hard to repeat: Tommy Burns was a key part of their success (23 goals, 41 assists) but he was now 39 years old and likely to not last much longer. Even Quinton Pollack, Jack's son-in-law and a man generally considered the best player in the league (he finished second in scoring to Detroit's young star Alex Monette). was now 36 years old, and though he showed no real signs of slowing down, he did miss 13 games (probably costing him another scoring title). But those were worries for the off-season, and Jack celebrated the Cup win as if he hadn't already won several before. DAN BARRELL It was a middling year for Chicago Poly and their Athletic Director Dan Barrell. The baseball squad won a national championship, but the football team went 4-6. Ed Webber was gone and Gardner Rosso was now the coach, so the head man had changed, but the results had not. On the hardwood, the Catamounts maintained the balance of the school's three major sports by going 16-15, about as middle-of-the-road as they could get. Dan wasn't satisfied by any stretch, but the school did win one title, and that was certainly a welcome boost to the athetlic department. FRED BARRELL With Hobie turning 18 in early April (and playing junior hockey in Halifax anyway), Fred and Tillie were down to one child living at home - their "surprise" baby was now ten years old. Loretta was more and more like her mother every day and the apple of Fred's eye. And when his superiors offered him the position of Chief of Station in West Berlin, Fred knew it was something that could be managed. So he spoke to Tillie about it and to his surprise, she agreed. "I'll miss the boys, but they're men now and doing well. And we'll visit whenever we can," Tillie told Fred. Loretta was less than thrilled about the idea, but didn't have much choice with both her parents in favor of the move. So Fred Barrell because the CIA's Chief of Station for Berlin in July of 1959. He was surprised at the state of the city's eastern sector, still filled with rubble as the Soviets hadn't bothered to rebuild thmuch of the city. Fred realized that whatever else could be said about it, working in a city divided into four sectors where American, French and British soldiers, civilians and diplomats brushed up against their Soviet counterparts was never going to be boring. TOM BARRELL Tom continued to work with James Slocum, helping to run the day-to-day operations of the National Automobile Racing Federation from its headquarters in Charlotte. BOBBY BARRELL Bobby continued to be a prime target of several FABL clubs for either a front office or coaching role. This time it was the Los Angeles Stars who pushed the hardest. By midseason Thomas X. Bigsby was unhappy with the hotshot young manager he'd just hired and offered Bobby the managerial job during a reception at the All-Star hotel in Montreal. Bobby was sorely tempted - the Stars had called his son up just three weeks before and the kid was off to a fantastic start (see more on that below), but Bigsby and Bobby had both been drinking and Bob wasn't sure the offer was real. He wanted to ask his nephew Charlie (who had made the Continental All-Star team) but the kid was engrossed in what looked like a serious discussion with a young woman Bobby thought was Adrian Czerwinski's sister. Regardless, Bobby turned it down and Bigsby didn't mention it the next day. Bobby did have one source of irritation in '59: his younger son, Bobby Jr., decided to stop playing baseball and concentrate on football. Annette was firmly against this, fearing a serious injury. Bobby Jr. was much like his mother athletically - fast, much faster than Bobby had been, and thinner than Bobby who had always been "big-boned" and strong. Junior was strong, but he was built like a track athlete. Bobby told his son that if he was going to play football he'd need to be an end where his speed and athleticism would benefit him most. Annette included a requirement of her own - he had to remain a part of the track team in high school and also in college (assuming he made the team, and she told him she'd be there to ensure he gave it his all). HARRY BARRELL 1959 was the year in which the Boston Minutemen put it all together. With Harry enjoying the most peace in his life since his marriage to Sarah had fallen apart, his positive attitude seemed to infect his team too. Boston got off to a hot start and never really cooled off all season long. They posted a 96-58 record to capture the club's first pennant since 1943. The pitching was strong with both Don Griffin (20-7, 3.09) and Dick Wilson (22-6, 2.51) having great years and Harry patching together enough behind them to make it all work. The lineup produced enough homers to lead the Fed again (173) with Rick Masters (.301-34-108) and Jack Denis (.309-21-90) leading the way as usual, and 3B Ed Wise hadded 30 homers of his own, and covered shortstop during an injury to Joe Kleman (.320-12-51). In the WCS the Minutemen faced the Cleveland Foresters, won the first three games, and took the title in five. After the game, Ruth Barton Barrell hugged her husband and tearfully said, "I wish Dad could have lived to see this!" TOM BOWENS Tom's third year as the head coach of CC Los Angeles went very well. The team finally began to reflect Tom's professional approach that prioritized personal responsibility. The Coyotes went 9-2 and grabbed a spot in the Lone Star Classic on New Year's Day. Their lone losses were at #12 Redwood and at #5 Northern Cal. In the Lone Star, they took on Penn Catholic and defeated them by a score of 37-14. Their performance earned CCLA the #7 ranking in the final poll. DEUCE BARRELL Deuce Barrell turned 42 in June of '59 and spent that month on the disabled list. He'd suffered a triceps injury in his third start, going on the DL for four months stuck in limbo with a 2-0 record and 1.71 ERA. When he came back, he wasn't quite the same. He made three rehab starts for AAA Rochester, going 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA but AAA was not FABL. He was roughed up in two August starts and September wasn't much better. Ironically, left-handed hitters were killing him. He had a 5.30 ERA across eight starts post-injury and went 3-2. The club won the pennant (in large part thanks to the continued excellence of Adrian Czerwinski, Sherry Doyal and John Low). Deuce was handed the ball in the first game - and lost. The Foresters dropped the first three - Czerwinski held Boston to just one run over nine strong innings, but the Foresters could only score one themselves and Boston took the game in the tenth with a run off reliever Lynn Horn. After a game three loss, the Foresters staved off a sweep with a 6-3 win behind their fourth starter Jake Pearson. But Deuce took the ball for game and gave up four in the first, got into another jam in the second, and left after one and two-thirds with his club down 5-0. Cleveland played Boston even after that, but it resulted in an 8-3 loss and a championship for Deuce's uncle Harry and his Minutemen. After the game, Deuce pondered whether he would try one more season. He'd achieved a lot in his career: he had 317 wins, a lifetime 3.20 ERA and nearly 2500 strikeouts. He'd won five Allen Awards, three championships and been an 11-time All-Star. Maybe that was enough? But after discussing it with Debbie, he realized it wasn't - he was coming back in 1960. He'd debuted with the then-Baltimore Cannons in 1938, so he had a chance to pitch across four decades and he wasn't passing that up. ROGER CLEAVES Roger Cleaves saw the end coming and accepted it. Both George and Jack had gone through it - the aging, the degradation of skills, etc. Of course, they were both Hall-of-Fame level players and he wasn't quite on that level, but their advice was welcomed nonetheless. As for his other half-brothers, Deuce was, as usual, mostly interested in himself, and Charlie was too young to understand. Roger read the writing on the wall by May: Stan Czerwinski was embedded at catcher and though first base looked to be a "by committee" situation, Roger wasn't part of that committee. He played six and a third innings across three games at first base, started 27 games behind the plate (and played there in ten more). His knees ached and his bat was slow - he hit just .176 in 108 at-bats and had just two homers. He announced his retirement at season's end, leaving the game with 246 career home runs, a .263 average and 1353 hits in 5140 at bats across 13 FABL seasons. After discussing it with Evelyn, he put himself forward as a managerial prospect and was hired by Toronto in December to be the skipper of their Davenport affiliate in the Class A Heartland League. "One door closes, another one opens," he told his wife and kids. "Hope you won't be too bored in Iowa," he added. CHARLIE BARRELL Charlie missed spring training in 1959 because of basketball - not because he was playing, but because he'd broken his ankle early in the season. He'd only played eight games, and with Anna popping up in LA again to chide him about it, he suspected he might not play basketball in the future either. He told himself this wasn't because of Anna, but just because it seemed to make sense: he was running himself ragged and the injuries were just proof of it. Speaking of Anna, she showed up in Montreal at the All-Star game with her brother, cornered Charlie at a reception and talked his ear off all night. Charlie was surprised that he felt admiration for her dogged pursuit of him while still telling himself -and her- that it wasn't going to happen. Charlie was beginning to get frustrated with the losing in LA as the Stars again stumbled to a last-place finish. The only bright spots he could see were that his cousin Ralph had joined the team in late June despite being only 19 and only having a brief spell in AA aside from a half-season in Class C. Added to that, another top prospect -LF Don Hall- was called up later and both #15 prospect OF Frank Kirouac and #26 prospect Don Ferguson were likely to make the club in '60. Bigsby's "wonder boy" manager - John J. Wilson - was only 37 when the season started, and was no better than the skipper he'd replaced at getting wins out of the club. Charlie began quietly hoping they could get a proven skipper to run the team - Wilson hadn't even made the big leagues as a player. He vowed to speak with Bigsby about it, given he had excellent access to the club owner. MIKE BARRELL Mike spends his third year in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia. STEVE BARRELL Steve Barrell was drafted as the 2nd overall pick in the 1958 FBA Draft and entered his rookie season of pro basketball with high hopes. He was drafted by the Boston Centurions, and this meant he could visit his uncle Harry as often as he wanted, which was nice. The team itself - as you'd expect from a club picking second - wasn't particularly good. Steve ended up as the starting off guard, played (and started) all 72 games and put up 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. The team's coach, Chuck O'Connor, told him that his plan was to have Steve play point guard, a position currently held by Charlie Stark. Stark was 28 years old and a very good passer, but his poor shooting made him something of a liability. He also knew Steve was tapped as his replacmement and made no bones about his dislike for the new kid on the team. This resulted in some dysfunction on the team and Boston finished 33-39 on the year and in last place in the Eastern Division. FREDDY BARRELL Freddy turned 27 in 1959 and had established himself as a mid-tier professional golfer. He made the cut in slightly less than half the tournaments he entered. And thanks to his uncle Rollie sponsoring him, he entered about 70% of the tournaments on the tour. He made enough money that he could now support himself and began considering asking his long-time girlfriend, whose name was Evelyn Mae Carter, and whom Freddy figured he loved. She went by Mae and was a Georgia girl, two years young than Freddy. They'd met in Savannah and been dating for two years. Freddy did ask her to marry him in October after months of screwing up his courage. She accepted and the wedding was set for June of 1960. BENNY BARRELL Benny Barrell made it to the big time in 1958-59. The Detroit Motors, his favorite team growing up, had finally signed him to a contract after holding his rights for a couple of years. He ended up staying with the team throughout the season, though he was often a healthy scratch. He did play in 41 games, getting little ice time and scoring a measly (to his mind) three goals, with six assists. When his parents left for Berlin, his father told him to "stick it out" and that his time would come. Benny wasn't a patient guy by nature, but he promised his parents that he'd try to keep a positive attitude. HOBIE BARRELL Hobie spent 1958-59 with Halifax in the CAHA - or juniors. He managed to stay reasonably healthy, appeared in 61 of 64 games and scored 39 goals with 51 assists. He would be eligible for the 1959 NAHC draft and there was a reasonable chance he could end up being the first overall pick. That pick belonged to the Chicago Packers. If, for some reason, they passed on him, Hobie believed he'd be the #2 pick, and that was owned by the New York Shamrocks. He figured either way he'd end up in a big city and that was exciting. The thought of playing in the minors didn't cross his mind - Hobie believed he'd make the jump right away. RALPH BARRELL After spending the 1958 season in Class C, Ralph Barrell was pleased as punch to get to start 1959 in Double-A. Houston was a far sight better than Mobile - the weather was just as hot & humid, but Houston was a big city, and Ralph had spent his entire childhood in Philadelphia so he figured himself a city boy. Double A was also just a couple steps from Los Angeles and the big time. Ralph put himself to work - he tore up the Lone Star Association in the 33 games he played there. He hit .312, but his on-base percentage was .460 and he had six doubles, two triples and six homers in the 109 at-bats he took, giving him an OPS of 1.029 and earning himself a promotion. But not to AAA Salt Lake City... his promotion was straight to LA. He slid into the Stars lineup hitting cleanup right behind his cousin Charlie. And he continued to rake. His first game, he went three-for-four with a single, triple and his first of what he hoped would be many FABL home runs. He cooled off -some- and finished the year having appeared in 85 games for LA, slashing .305/.357/.523 with 19 home runs to go with seven doubles and four triples amongst his 101 hits in 331 at-bats. He was playing third base - one of the things scouts had liked about him was his flexibility as he could play infield or outfield. He figured he could catch too, but had no interest in doing so; something with which his father had wholeheartedly agreed. Ralph received some votes for the Kellogg Award, but didn't win it. Nevertheless he felt he'd gotten his career off to a great start. REID BARRELL Reid Barrell had made it to Class B in 1958 and had been hoping to start at Class A in '59. The Miners brass had other plans, and started Reid right back in Spokane. He played most of the year there, and spent it playing well. He hit .311 and had an .803 OPS. The club reined in his basestealing, and he ended up stealing four bases in Spokane (with six caught stealings). He showed a little pop - more than his dad had shown in his career at least - with ten homers to go with 32 doubles and nine triples. He earned a late promotion to Class A Gary. After being in Spokane which he told his father "felt like a million miles from home," he was glad to be in Indiana. He went 16-for-59 with Gary, adding three doubles, a triple and a homer to his resume. Though he was jealous of his cousin Ralph, who ended up in FABL (and performing well), Reid told himself he'd get there. One thing he picked up in Spokane was a nickname: "J.R." which were his initials as his name was Joseph Reid Barrell. His team mates wanted to know why he didn't go by "Joe" which took a bit of explaining, and in the end he became simply "J.R." to his team mates and the nickname stuck with him in Gary as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harry Barrell celebrates the Boston Minutemen's 1959 World Championship Series victory -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________ Hexed & Countered on YouTube Figment League - A fictional history of baseball, basketball, football, hockey & more! Want to join in the fun? Shoot me a PM! Read the story of the Barrell Family - A Figment Baseball tale Same Song, Different Tune - The Barrells in the Modern Era Last edited by legendsport; 10-04-2024 at 06:11 PM.