National Baseball League

[ericnease84]

The year is 1990, and the National Baseball League has been around for 95 years now. The league was founded in 1895 with a total of 16 teams. Of those 16 teams, 7 of them still play in their original cities, and 6 of those 7 teams are still playing under their original nicknames.

All team names are fictional, as are players. Each of the 30 real life Major League teams have a fictional "counterpart" in this league that is patterned after them and will at times behave like their real-life version (for example, the Miami team is likely going to go through multiple rebuilding processes, the New York and Los Angeles teams will spend lots of money, etc). But I will let you all figure out which teams represent which real-life ones (some will be easy to figure out; others maybe not so much). There will be some players in this league that are a direct parallel to a real-life player, but most of those players have retired by now, and there will not be very many of them going forward.

Teams have moved and re-branded over the years, and the league currently sits at 32 teams, with plans already in the works to add four more teams in the next ten years. It has not yet been determined exactly where these teams will play or when they will begin play, but there is plenty of speculation out there.

As for now, I will list the 32 teams that are playing up to this point, and will follow with a brief history of each team before getting into the season. I will not update with many individual games, but will provide updates throughout each season. Seasons are typically simmed a month at a time, pausing for the amateur draft (held on June 5 of each year) and the All-Star break in the middle of July.

The league is currently divided into 2 conferences (the American Baseball Conference and the National Baseball Conference). Each conference has 4 divisions, and the current playoff format is three rounds where only the division winners qualify; there have been wild cards in the past but the league currently does not have any. The wild card will come back in the future.

The current league configuration is as follows (the 16 original teams are in red):

ABC East
Baltimore Blackbirds
Boston Rebels
New York Knights
Pittsburgh Ironmen

ABC North
Buffalo Destroyers
Indiana Fireflies
Minnesota Lakers
Toronto Giants

ABC South
Atlanta Colonels
Cincnnati Silverbacks
Denver Wolves
Miami Gators

ABC West
California Stars
Oakland Panthers
San Diego Sharks
Seattle Sea Monsters

NBC East
Detroit Dragons
Montreal Dragonflies
New Jersey Stallions
Philadelphia Hornets

NBC North
Chicago Cardinals
Cleveland Lions
St. Louis Tigers
Wisconsin Bears

NBC South
Charlotte Roadrunners
Kansas City Cyclones
New Orleans Bobcats
Washington Eagles

NBC West
Dallas Coyotes
Houston Apollos
Los Angeles Captains
San Francisco Seals

[ericnease84]

Next up will be posts of team histories, from their inception until the 1989-90 offseason. They will be listed in alphabetical order. It may take a while to post all of them, as I will do so as I have time. Then the simulation will continue with 1990 and beyond, with updates throughout each season. If you want to follow this and have any specific requests of things you would like to see in the team histories, please post your requests below as I am preparing posts for each team. The Atlanta Colonels will be the first team up.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 111-51 (1963)
Worst Record: 22-103 (1928)
Playoff Appearances: 15
Championships: 5 (1961, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970)

The Atlanta Colonels are one of the original 16 teams, although they have not always played under that name. They were founded in 1895 as the Cleveland Blue Sox. They finished in third place with a respectable 66-59 record in 1895, but that turned out to be their best season in Cleveland. They spent a total of 33 seasons in Cleveland, and never again posted a winning record. The Cleveland Blue Sox were irrelevant every single year, and fan interest seemed to dwindle more and more. After owner Tom Hess died in 1920, his son Ryan took over the organization and spent the next seven years trying to find a new home for the team. The 1927 season was their last in Cleveland, and they posted the second-best record in team history, at 54-71.
The team moved to Atlanta for the 1928 season and re-branded themselves as the Atlanta Colonels. Their first season in Atlanta was a complete disaster, as they posted a horrible record of 22-103, the worst in team history and tied with the 1933 Indianapolis Blues for the worst record in NBL history. They slowly improved, finishing over .500 in 1933 for the first time since 1895. However, they finished under .500 for the next 13 seasons after that. In 1947, they finally posted another winning record, this time finishing in first place for the first time ever. In their first ever World Series, they lost to the Chicago Cardinals in 5 games. Over the next five seasons, they posted a winning record each year but did not make the playoffs. Then in 1953, they called up a young center fielder named Aaron Henry, who very quickly blossomed into a star. With Henry leading the way, the Colonels struggled for the rest of the 1950s before they finally made it back to the World Series in 1961, this time winning it all for the first time in team history. After missing the playoffs in 1962, they returned in 1963 as they posted the best record to date in team history, at 111-51. However, the playoffs had a championship round now and they lost in the ABC Championship Series to the Toronto Giants. In 1965, they returned to the World Series and won it all for three seasons in a row. Their run ended in 1968 when the Fireflies swept them in the ABC Championship Series. However, they remained a force as they returned to the World Series in 1970 and won it all again. But then their star center fielder Aaron Henry retired after the 1970 season and the Colonels' run of dominance ended. They posted the same record in 1971 as they had in 1970, but this time it only got them a second place finish. After an 81-81 season, they fired manager Robert Earl Padilla, who had guided them since their 111-win season in 1963. With Padilla and Henry both gone now, they tumbled fast, bottoming out in 1974 with a 59-103 record and a last place finish. They began a slow climb back to relevance and respectability over the next decade, finally winning a weak division in 1982 with an 82-80 record. They took down the Giants and Sea Monsters--both of whom had much better records--and made a surprise run to the World Series before being taken down by the 106-win Seals. They won a wild card in 1983, the last year to date that the wild card has existed, and then won their division for the next five seasons. Despite their run of success in the 1980s, they never were able to capture another championship.

Outlook for 1990: The Colonels were consistently contending for the playoffs in the 1980s, and hope to continue to do so going into 1990 and beyond.

Current manager: Ryan Skinner has been the Colonels' manager for the past five seasons, guiding them to four division titles and one World Series appearance. He is going into the last year of his contract. Skinner previously managed in the minor leagues prior to being hired by Atlanta. He played in the Oakland Panthers' minor league system from 1957 until 1961 as a center fielder, only making it as high as AA.


HALL OF FAMERS

Aaron Henry, CF, 1953-1970
Aaron Henry is the greatest player to ever put on an Atlanta Colonels uniform, and one of the greatest of all time. He signed with the Colonels in 1953 at age 22, made the team out of Spring Training and immediately became a star. His only time in the minor leagues was due to rehabilitation assignments due to injuries. Over an 18-year career, he batted .340 and hit 731 home runs, the current all-time record. He also holds the single season record for home runs, hitting 82 home runs in 1958. He also holds the single season record for highest batting average, hitting .413 in both 1958 and 1965. Only one qualifying player ever hit over .400 before him (Josh Kahrs of the Baltimore Browns in 1911), and none have done it since him. He also set the single season record for most RBI in a season in 1958 with 174. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1976, his first year on the ballot. The team retired his #18 in 1974, but un-retired it in 1982 when they drafted his son, J.R. Henry, so that he could wear the same number as his father. The younger Henry was called up in 1984 and has been on the team ever since. He is currently signed through 1994. Henry's two younger sons also play baseball: his middle son Matthew is currently a pitcher in the San Diego Sharks' minor league system, and his youngest son Malachi plays for his high school team and hopes to go pro someday.

Eric McClanahan, P, 1933-1953
Eric McClanahan first came up with the Charlotte Roadrunners at age 19. After three seasons in Charlotte, he was traded to the Colonels where he spent the rest of his 21-year career, pitching in Atlanta from 1936 until his retirement in 1953. McClanahan won 270 games in his career, and like Nate Kinney he was never a superstar but was a consistent winner for years. He struck out 3,023 batters in his career, currently 9th all-time and one of only nine pitchers to achieve that feat. He pitched two no-hitters in his career, against the Cincinnati Silverbacks in 1939 and then again against the New York Knights in 1942. Considered one of the best pitchers in Colonels history, McClanahan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1959, his first year on the ballot. He was a minor league pitching coach from 1958 until 1976.

Nate Kinney, P, 1932-1949
Nate Kinney signed with the Boston Rebels in the fall of 1931, and then traded him to Atlanta prior to the 1932 season. He had a rough first season, but soon settled in as one of Atlanta's best pitchers. He never lit the world on fire or stood out as a superstar, but he was a consistent winner for some pretty bad Atlanta teams. He was on the Colonels' first playoff team toward the end of his career. He pitched for the Colonels for a total of 18 years, winning 264 games and retiring in 1949. Kinney was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964, his 10th and final year on the ballot. His grandson, Ryan Kinney, currently pitches for the San Diego Sharks and just won the ABC Rookie of the Year award in 1989.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 100-25 (1910)
Worst Record: 63-99 (1977)
Playoff Appearances: 25
Championships: 11 (1895, 1898, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1914, 1915, 1939, 1954, 1989)

The Baltimore Blackbirds, originally known as the Baltimore Browns until 1956, are one of the most successful NBL teams. They sit third in both playoff appearances and championships, trailing only the Knights and Captains in both departments. However, most of their success came early in their history when they were known as the Browns. In the first 21 years of the league's history, the Browns had been to 13 World Series and won 8 of them. They won the very first World Series played in 1895, and then won it all again four years later in 1898. After a few years where they lost a couple series and then failed to finish in first place, they returned to the World Series in 1906 and won the next four of them. They set a record for one of the best teams ever in 1910, going 100-25, but their bid for a 5th straight championship was thwarted by the New York Dragons. They tacked on two more championships in 1914 and 1915. Since 1915, however, they have only won three championships, including the most recent one. However, they continued to win consistently for years and have yet to experience a 100-loss season.
The Browns did not finish in first place again until 1932, when they were defeated by the Louisville Captains in the World Series. Their next appearance was in 1939, when they defeated the Connecticut Coyotes and denied their bid for a three-peat. The Browns continued to be consistent winners, as they never posted a losing record in their history until 1950, when they went 72-82. They very quickly went back to their winning ways, returning to the World Series in 1954 and defeating the Orlando Seals. With ace pitcher Calvin Cunningham leading the way, they made it back to the playoffs seven more times in the next decade but never were able to win another World Series. They traded Cunningham to the Knights after the 1967 season, and have not really been the same since. They won their division in 1980 but lost in the first round of the playoffs. Aside from that season, they have mostly been irrelevant throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s. In 1989, they were one of two teams to somehow win their division with an 81-81 record, the other being the Miami Gators. Somehow, both the Gators and the Blackbirds defeated their opponents in the ABC Division Series. The Blackbirds defeated the Gators in the ABC Championship series, going on to face the 103-win Philadelphia Hornets. The Blackbirds defeated the heavily favored Hornets in the 1989 World Series, and now are heading into 1990 as the defending champions.

Outlook for 1990:
They just won a weak division with an 81-81 record and shocked the world with a surprise run to a World Series championship. They proved that anything can happen once you get to the playoffs. Look for them to continue to be contenders, but don't count on them sneaking in with only 81 wins again.

Current Manager:
Josh Munson just finished his first season as the team's manager and given how that season went, he should be around for a while still. Munson had no managerial experience prior to being hired by the Blackbirds. He spent 14 seasons in the big leagues as an outfielder, playing for the San Diego Sharks and Toronto Giants from 1957 to 1971.

Hall of Famers
Craig Ahlquist, SS, 1950-1969
Craig Ahlquist played in the NBL for 20 seasons. He came up with the Browns in 1950 and was a mainstay in the Browns/Blackbirds lineup (when healthy) through the 1966 season. He was traded to the Atlanta Colonels after the 1966 season, and played with the Colonels for three years before retiring. He won two World Series in his career, one with each team he played for. Ahlquist was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, his third try. He has kept a low profile since his retirement, teaching Health and P.E. at the local high school and coaching the baseball team while his sons played on the team.

Calvin Cunningham, P, 1953-1977
The son of Hall of Fame pitcher Curtis Cunninghan, Calvin Cunningham is the first (and to date, only) son of a Hall of Famer to also be elected to the Hall of Fame. He came up with the Browns in 1953 as an 18-year old, with his father already having been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He lived up to every bit of hype as he quickly became one of the greatest pitchers in Browns/Blackbirds history. He won a World Series in his second season in 1954, and while he returned to the World Series numerous times with both Baltimore and Cincinnati, he never won another one. He did win 403 games in his career, which was the second-most of all time when he retired (and now is third). He held the NBL record for strikeouts with 4,034 until Will Newman broke it in 1981. Cunningham pitched for Baltimore until the end of the 1967 season, when they dealt him to the New York Knights. Cunningham missed half of 1968 and all of 1969 with injuries, but came back with a strong 1970 season that included his 300th career win. In 1971, the Cincinnati Silverbacks picked him up in a trade, and he pitched for them for six seasons. Knowing his career was coming to an end, Cunningham signed with the Blackbirds for 1977 before retiring. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983, his first year on the ballot. He has been twice hired as a manager but did not last long either time. He managed the Chicago Cardinals from 1979 until he was fired mid-season in 1981. After spending several years as the first base coach for the Miami Gators, Cunningham was hired by the Pittsburgh Ironmen as their manager in 1988. He was fired midway through the 1989 season. His son Charles is currently a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals, but has yet to come close to the success of his father or grandfather.

Alexis Fernandez, 1B, 1924-1943
Alexis Fernandez played first base for the Baltimore Browns from 1924 until 1943, spending his entire career in Baltimore. He was a good and patient hitter, leading the league in walks several times and not striking out very much until later in his career. He never set any records, but his consistent play earned him the NBL's ultimate honor. He retired after the 1943 season, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951 on his third attempt. He worked for years as a minor league instructor for the Blackbirds until retiring due to poor health in his early 80s. He just recently passed away during the 1989 season at the age of 90. The Blackbirds dedicated their playoff run to his memory this past season.

Chris Gill, 3B, 1930-1951
Chris Gill played in the NBL for 22 seasons. He broke in with the Browns in 1930 and was a mainstay at third base for 11 years through the 1940 season, after which he was traded to the Pittsburgh Ironmen. He played for Pittsburgh through the 1951 season. He was close to the coveted 3,000 hit mark, but never reached it, retiring with 2,951 hits. He admitted that he really wanted to make the Hall of Fame but was not sure he would get in without 3,000 hits. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1965 after being on the ballot for nine years.

Mark Lynch, P, 1915-1935
Mark Lynch was the first player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with a Baltimore cap on his plaque. He pitched for 22 years in the NBL, coming up with the New York Knights in 1915. He pitched for the Knights for 5 years, having a couple good seasons which included a no-hitter against the Cleveland Blue Sox in 1917. He was traded to the Baltimore Browns after the 1919 season, and pitched for the Browns for the next twelve years. In 1921, he pitched a second no-hitter; this time it was a perfect game, and it was against the Cleveland Blue Sox again. After the 1921 season, he was moved to the bullpen and was the Browns' primary closer for the next decade. He missed the entire 1932 season due to injury, and was then traded to the Trenton Tigers. Lynch pitched for the Tigers for three more seasons before retiring. He was among the five original members of the Hall of Fame, elected in its first year of existence in 1943. He was a pitching coach for the minor league South Portland Patriots from 1954 to 1956.

Jason Tyson, LF, 1957-1976
A left-handed outfielder from Utah, Jason Tyson first came up with the Washington Generals in 1957. He was an aggressive baserunner who was known for stretching doubles into triples. Tyson led the league in triples six times in his career, and currently sits at 3rd all time in the record books for the most triples. After three seasons in Washington, he was traded to Baltimore where he played for the next 17 years. He retired in 1976 and was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1982.

Jason Underwood, 1B, 1961-1982
One of the more recent additions to the Hall of Fame, Jason Underwood played first base for four teams over a 21-year career. He first came up for the Oakland Panthers in 1961. He was acquired by the Blackbirds at the trade deadline in 1966 in exchange for 5 players, none of whom ever played a game for the Panthers. Only one of the five--reliever Joe Bass--even made the Majors, but he was cut by Oakland and multiple other teams before he ever made it. After that lopsided trade (one of the worst in Panthers history), Underwood became a mainstay in the Blackbirds' lineup for the next decade. He was among the first free agent class in the 1976-77 offseason, and he signed with the LA Captains as a free agent. He played for the Captains for five seasons before being traded again. This time, the Captains dealt him to the San Diego Sharks in exchange for four players. Underwood played for one season in San Diego before retiring. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988, his first year on the ballot.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 1973 (101-61)
Worst Record: 1920 (26-99)
Playoff Appearances: 4
Championships: 0

The Boston Rebels are one of the least successful franchises in the NBL. They have been consistently in debt for the past 25 years, and are among the 13 teams (including 3 original teams) who have yet to win a World Series. They have only appeared in the World Series one time, a 1971 appearance in which they lost to the San Francisco Seals. They have lost 100 games three times in their history (100 in 1938, 101 in 1944 and 111 in 1937), but their 1920 record of 26-99 is counted as their worst ever due to the fact that they played less games at the time, therefore their winning percentage was lower than any of their 100-loss seasons.
The Rebels finished with a few winning records in the early part of their history, but never finished closer than 10 games out of first place until 1957. They had a few close races in the late 1950s, but fell short each time. They finally broke through in 1970 with their first ever playoff appearance, the last of the original teams to do so. They were bounced in the Championship Series by the Atlanta Colonels that year, and made it to the World Series in 1971 before losing to the Seals. They missed the playoffs in 1972 but then returned in 1973, losing in the ABC Championship Series again to the Cincinnati Silverbacks. Their fourth and final (to date) playoff appearance came in 1981, when they finally won a playoff series by taking down the Toronto Giants in the ABC Division Series before losing to the San Diego Sharks in the ABC Championship Series.

Outlook for 1990:
Since that 1981 playoff appearance, they have just polished off their 8th losing season in a row. Nobody knows when (or if) this team will ever win consistently, but not much will be expected out of them in 1990.

Current Manager:
Jeff Moyer has managed the team for two years now and is planning on being back in 1990. Moyer pitched for 15 years for the Seals, Silverbacks and Knights, retiring in 1977. He was the original manager of the Miami Gators, leading them for three years before being fired. After taking the 1987 season off, he was hired by the Rebels and has been with them ever since.

Hall of Famers

James Gunther, P, 1925-1941
James Gunther had some ups and downs in his first season in 1925 with the Rebels. He improved over the years and became a consistent starter for a team devoid of star power and overall success. Following the 1933 seasons, the Rebels flipped him to the Connecticut Coyotes, where he pitched until his retirement in 1941. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947, his first year of eligibility. He never coached on the professional level, but was a college baseball coach and adjunct professor at Boston College for many years.

Mike Harding, P, 1929-1943
Mike Harding began his career in 1929 with the Charlotte Roadrunners. After two seasons, he was traded to the Rebels, where he spent the rest of his career. He was a very good pitcher on a not-so-good Boston team, sharing the starting rotation for three years with the only other Hall of Famer (to date) with a Boston cap on his plaque, James Gunther. Harding remained with the Rebels until he retired in 1943. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951, his third year on the ballot. However, he never lived to see it as he died in a motorcycle accident in 1949. His father, Glenn Harding, pitched for the inaugural Cincinnati Silverbacks team in 1895, and then for the Cleveland Blue Sox from 1896 to 1902. The older Harding was the Baltimore Browns' pitching coach from 1915-1934 and was his late son's representative at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1951.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 107-47 (1945)
Worst Record: 34-91 (1932)
Playoff Appearances: 4
Championships: 4 (1940, 1941, 1943, 1945)

The Norfolk/Buffalo Destroyers had a rough beginning. After the 1928 season, the popular and well-liked Virginia Beach Captains were forced by the league to relocate to Louisville, Kentucky in order to salvage a market left void by the recently-departed Kentucky Kings, who had moved to Orlando prior to the season. To help offset the loss of their beloved team, the league had its first expansion and placed one of its expansion teams in nearby Norfolk, and the Destroyers were born. However, this expansion team was nowhere near as good or exciting as its predecessor, who was continuing to win consistently in its new home. Following a 108-loss season in 1934, help came to this struggling franchise from an unlikely source. The Captains had just won the World Series, and several of their players who had played for the team when it was still in Virginia Beach--led by star pitcher Chris Brubaker--requested to be traded from the Captains to the Destroyers, in order to come back to their former home and help this new franchise build a winner in front of the Captains' old fans. With Brubaker and rising star rookie Bob Kent on top of the pitching rotation, the Destroyers finally began to improve. They finished under .500 in 1935 and 1936 before finally posting their first ever winning record in 1937. They finally finished in first place in 1940, facing and defeating the Trenton Tigers in the World Series.
Brubaker retired following the 1940 season, but the team returned to the World Series in 1941, again defeating the Tigers. They missed the playoffs in 1942, before returning to the World Series in 1943 and winning it all again, this time over the Charlotte Roadrunners. After finishing third in 1944, they posted their best season ever in 1945, capping it off by winning another World Series, again defeating Charlotte. They have not been back to the playoffs since 1945, although that run does give them the distinction of being only one of two teams that are undefeated in all of their playoff appearances (and the other team is the California Stars with only one playoff appearance, so that doesn't really count). The Destroyers posted winning records in 1946 and 1947 before falling back under .500. Kent was soon dealt to the Knights as the team slipped back into mediocrity.
After the 1962 season, the team relocated from Norfolk up to Buffalo, New York, becoming the Buffalo Destroyers. However, the new home did not help the team as they continued to wallow in mediocrity. In 1972, after more than a decade of irrelevance, the Destroyers called up a young first baseman named Andy Grossman, who quickly became a star. Despite Grossman's presence, the Destroyers remained irrelevant and only finished with a winning record once, in 1975. That was their last winning record until 1989, when they just posted an 86-76 record.

Outlook for 1990:
They just posted their first winning record since 1975. They are on the rise, but nobody knows what to expect out of them. For 1990, they are probably a fringe playoff contender at best.

Current Manager:
Pete Marshall has been the Destroyers' manager for the past seven years. He had not managed or coached professionally before being hired by the Destroyers in 1983. He played as a first baseman in the minor leagues from 1958 until 1975 but never made the Majors.

Hall of Famers
Bob Kent, P, 1935-1953
Bob Kent is the only Canadian born player in the Hall of Fame and is also the only player in the Hall of Fame with a Destroyers cap on his plaque. He came up with the Norfolk Destroyers in 1935 and quickly established himself as a top pitcher for the Destroyers, including pitching a no-hitter against the Dover Green Sox in 1936. He was very consistent and very durable and was part of every single Destroyers team that has won the World Series. After the 1949 season, Norfolk dealt him to the Knight. Kent pitched with declining skills for four years in New York before he retired in 1953. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959, his first year on the ballot, with a near unanimous vote, the second highest voting percentage in history (99.6%). Kent does not hold any all-time records, but he is 8th all time with 320 wins.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 93-69 (1972)
Worst Record: 54-108 (1968)
Playoff Appearances: 1
Championships: 1 (1969)

With the ABC wanting to tap into the West Coast market, the California Stars were born for the 1962 season, alongside the Seattle Sea Monsters, New Jersey Stallions and Wisconsin Bears. They got off to a rough start by losing 107 games in their inagural season, but a 115-loss season by the Sea Monsters kept them out of last place. They lost 105 games in their second season, before improving to 78-84 in 1964, but still finishing in sixth place. They never could figure out how to win, bottoming out with a 108-loss season in 1968. Then in 1969, something changed. The team was actually competitive for the first time ever. Despite many saying that they were bound to fade away, they never did. They won a weak ABC West division with an 85-78 record, their first ever finish above .500. Facing the 102-win Indiana Fireflies in the ABC Championship Series, nobody gave them much of a chance. However, they quickly asserted their dominance over the supposedly superior Fireflies, knocking them out in four games to reach the World Series in their 8th season of existence. They took down the Philadelphia Hornets to win their first--and to date only--championship.
The Stars remained competitive for a few years after that, but never made it back to the playoffs and are still at this time searching for their next playoff appearance. They have only posted 8 winning seasons in 28 seasons of existence (and on the flip side, they have posted 11 seasons where they lost 90 or more games). They have only finished in second place twice since their championship, and one of those 2nd place finishes was accomplished with a 76-86 record. Outfielder Christiopher Stone has brought excitement to the team in his decade roaming the outfield for them, and is likely to be the first Hall of Famer to feature a Stars cap on his plaque. He is currently playing for the San Diego Sharks, having departed as a free agent two seasons ago after never winning anything significant with the Stars.

Outlook for 1990:
Not much excitement surrounds this team, although they did just improve from 95 losses in 1988 to a .500 finish in 1989. They have the pieces to be a playoff contender in 1990, but are just as likely to sink back to the bottom. They will not be expected to do all that much next season.

Current Manager:
Corey Presser just finished his first season as Stars manager, taking over from the fired George O'Farrell. Presser is a Los Angeles native, and was a first baseman in his playing days. He put up good minor league numbers from 1956 through 1971 with several teams, but he never made the Major Leagues. He had no prior managerial experience before taking the Stars' job. He is signed for one more season, and should earn an extension if the team plays well in 1990.

Hall of Famers: none

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 109-45 (1942)
Worst Record: 42-83 (1932)
Playoff Appearances: 12
Championships: 0

The Charlotte Roadrunners were born for the 1929 season, as one of the first four expansion teams in the NBL. One year after the Cleveland Blue Sox and Kentucky Kings moved south, the league forced the Hartford Lions and Virginia Beach Captains to move to Ohio and Kentucky, respectively, to replace them. The league then replaced them with expansion teams: the Connecticut Coyotes and the Norfolk Destroyers. They also placed two new teams in new markets, and one of those two was the Charlotte Roadrunners (the other was the Birmingham Bobcats). The Roadrunners went 63-62 in their inaugural season, and to this day are still the only expansion team in the NBL to ever finish with a winning record in their first season. They experienced growing pans during the next few years before finally becoming competitive in 1937, winning 91 games only two years removed from what to this day is still their only 100-loss season. After winning 109 games in 1942 but still falling short of the playoffs, they finally finished in first place in 1943. They met up with the Norfolk Destroyers, one of the expansion teams they were born with, as they lost the first of what would be three World Series in a row. They lost to Norfolk, then to the Dover Green Sox the following year, and then again to Norfolk in 1945. After missing out for two seasons, they had another run of three World Series appearances in a row, and once again they lost all three. This time, it was the New York Knights that defeated them all three times.
After tumbling to 91 losses and suffering through six losing seasons in a row, the Roadrunners returned to the playoffs in 1957. By now, the playoff format had four teams as the league had two divisions per conference, so the Roadrunners had to get through the Los Angeles Captains to reach the World Series again. The Captains swept them, and when the two had a rematch in 1958 Charlotte got its revenge by defeating the Captains. They moved on to the World Series, where they lost to the Oakland Panthers in a seven-game thriller. It would be another 25 years before the Roadrunners would make the playoffs again, when they won a weak division in 1984. They made it all the way to the World Series again, losing again to the New York Knights. This was their 8th World Series appearance--all losses--and most recent to date. They have made the playoffs each of the last three seasons, but have not made it back to the World Series yet.

Outlook for 1990:
They have been a regular playoff contender for most of the 1980s, and going into 1990 should still be considered a serious contender. They are clearly the strongest team in their division and should have a relatively easy path back to the postseason. Once they get there, who knows?

Current Manager:
Jeremy Stowell just finished his first year as the Roadrunners' manager. Before then, he was the LA Captains' bench coach for most of the 1980s. Stowell was a first baseman in the Dragons' organization from 1958 to 1963, but never made the Majors. He is under contract for two more seasons as Charlotte's manager and has already stated his intention to retire when his contract is up. It is widely speculated that longtime Roadrunners bench coach Jeremy Leonhardt, a Hall of Fame pitcher, is in line to be the Roadrunners' next manager once Stowell does retire.

Hall of Famers
Chris Allison, P, 1936-1952
Chris Allison was a workhorse who led the league in innings pitched five times, and had five seasons with an ERA under 2 en route to 273 wins over a 17-year career. He came up with the Roadrunners in 1936, and won double-digit games every year until 1951. 1951 was his worst season as he went 8-18 with a 4.05 ERA. Following that season, the Roadrunners traded him to the New York Knights. He pitched for one final season in New York in 1952 before deciding to retire. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1958, his first year on the ballot. His grandson, Cody Allison, currently pitches in the Miami Gators' minor league system.

Bobby Raub, P, 1960-1979
Bobby Raub came up in 1960 with the Norfolk Destroyers, turning in a very impressive rookie season. Following t he season, the Destroyers dealt him to Charlotte for outfielder Danny Hernandez. Hernandez was a backup for the Destroyers for a decade, but Raub turned into a star for the Roadrunners. He never got the opportunity to pitch in the postseason, but he was a mainstay in the Roadrunners' rotation from 1962 through 1979, winning a total of 259 games. He retired after the 1979 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. He is currently serving as the Denver Wolves' third base coach.

Jeff Shedlock, 3B, 1932-1948
Shedlock came up initially with the Atlanta Colonels in 1932. After the 1935 season, he was dealt to Charlotte in a deal that sent another future Hall of Famer--pitcher Eric McClanahan--the other way to Atlanta. He played for Charlotte until he retired in 1948. A triples machine and a very consistently good hitter, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954, his first year on the ballot. From 1950 to 1971, he worked as a minor league hitting coach but never coached on the Major League level. He retired from coaching in 1971 and passed away from a heart attack in 1985.

Gene Temple, P, 1933-1951
Gene Temple signed with the Cincinnati Silverbacks, earning a "cup of coffee" on their Major League roster at the end of the 1933 season. Following the season, he was traded to Charlotte, where he spent the rest of his career. Temple pitched with the Roadrunners until his retirement in 1951, winning 264 games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957, his first year on the ballot. He spent time as a minor league pitching coach in the 1970s and has been retired for about 13 years now.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 92-33 (1923)
Worst Record: 35-90 (1910)
Playoff Appearances: 11
Championships: 3 (1923, 1929, 1947)

The Chicago Cardinals were one of the better teams in the league when it was first formed, as they finished in first place in three of the first four years of the league's existence. Their early success did not last, as they spent most of the 1900s and 1910s near the bottom of the league. In the early 1920s, their fortunes changed. Led by the only two players currently in the Hall of Fame as Cardinals--pitchers Jay Kaseman and Matt Tart--they won their first championship in 1923 over the New York Knights. After just missing out on the playoffs in 1924 and finishing third in 1925-27, the Cardinals returned to the World Series in 1928, once again facing the Knights. This time the Knights beat them, but the Cardinals got their revenge in 1929 by beating the Knights in a World Series rematch. They fell on hard times after that, as Tart and Kaseman were both soon retired, and they did not finish near first place for quite a while. They came out of nowhere in 1947 to win their first pennant in 18 years, and they captured their third ever championship by taking down the Atlanta Colonels. That was, to date, their last World Series appearance. After being decidely mediocre in the 1950s and 1960s, they returned to the playoffs in 1969. However, the playoffs consisted of multiple rounds now, and the Cardinals were bounced by the Hornets in the NBC Championship Series. They had some pretty bad teams in the 1970s and early 1980s, especially from 1977 through 1982 when they lost 109, 116, 97, 109, 106 and 102 games. They slowly began to climb their way out of the basement after that, and have been pretty good over the last couple years. They have been to the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, but have not made it to a World Series yet.

Outlook for 1990:
Winners of their division for three years in a row, look for them to continue to contend for the playoffs and possibly a championship. This team is built to win right now, as they just polished off their highest win total ever with 109 wins.

Current Manager:
Matt Fox has been the Cardinals' manager for four years now. He is entering the final year of his contract, and intends to retire after the 1990 season. As a player, he was an outfielder in the Panthers' minor league system from 1946 to 1958, but never made it to the Majors.

Hall of Famers:
Jay Kaseman, P, 1921-1933
Jay Kaseman signed with the Cardinals prior to the 1921 season, and spent 13 years with the team. His career was shorter than most players in the Hall of Fame, considering he was 26 when he made his debut. He was dominant when he was on the mound, until his skills dwindled and he retired at the end of the 1933 season. He was a member of two of the Cardinals' three World Series championship teams. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1944, his second year on the ballot and the second year that the Hall of Fame existed, being inducted alongside his longtime teammate Matt Tart. Kaseman worked as a banker after his baseball career ended. He died in 1973.

Matt Tart, P, 1919-1934
Matt Tart first debuted with the Philadelphia Hornets in 1919. After four years in Philadelphia, he was traded to the Chicago Cardinals for outfielder Steve Schantz. Schantz did not do much for Philadelphia, while Tart helped lead the Cardinals to their first World Series championship in his first year with the team. He remained with the team through the 1934 season, after which he retired. In 1944, the second year of the Hall of Fame's existence, he was inducted alongside his teammate Jay Kaseman. Tart turned to politics after his baseball career was over, serving as an Illinois State Senator for 8 years, but lost multiple elections in his attempt to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He died in 1980.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 123-39 (1976)
Worst Record: 35-90 (1915)
Playoff Appearances: 18
Championships: 5 (1903, 1905, 1957, 1959, 1977)

The Cincinnati Silverbacks are one of the original teams. They had a rough first season, but quickly rose to the ranks of one of the better teams in the league. They reached the World Series for the first time in 1902, losing to the Virginia Beach Captains who were claiming their third straight championship. Those two teams met again in the 1903 World Series, and this time Cincinnati won their first title while ending the Captains' bid for four in a row. In 1905, the Silverbacks and Captains faced off again in the World Series, and Cincinnati won that one as well. Unfortunately for the Silverbacks, that was the last bit of success they would have for a while. They remained competitive for a few more years but soon slipped into a decades-long run of irrelevancy. They would not reach the playoffs again for nearly 50 years, before they finally made it back in 1954, losing to Baltimore in the ABC Championship Series. From 1955 through 1959, they appeared in the World Series every year except 1958. They lost to the Dragons in 1955 and the Captains in 1956 before defeating the Captains in a 1957 re-match. Those two teams met again in 1959, and again Cincinnati defeated the Captains, having now won all four of their championships against the Captains franchise.
The Silverbacks did not do much in the 1960s, aside from one single playoff appearance in 1964 that ended in a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Blackbirds. Toward the end of the 1960s, the Silverbacks had built one of the best lineups in baseball. However, their lack of pitching was holding them back. Jeremy Burns had retired, and aside from left-hander Eli Childers, they did not have much depth. After the 1970 season, they acquired star second baseman Joe Leonard and center fielder Cesar Zorillo in a huge trade with the Houston Apollos to add to their already potent lineup, along with frontline starter Mike Ziegler. They picked up pitchers Kerry Lackey and Jeff Moyer in separate trades with the Seals and Tigers, respectively to fill out their starting rotation. They also hired Minnesota Lakers bench coach Lee Anderson as their manager that offseason. The result would be a super team that would win 100+ games for the next 8 years straight, and would capture 9 straight division titles through 1979. However, they would only win one championship during that stretch. They lost in the ABC Championship Series to the Rebels in 1971, and then got swept by the Indiana Fireflies in 1972. They finally made it to the World Series in 1973, but were defeated in six games by the Wisconsin Bears. 1974 resulted in another Championship Series loss to the Fireflies, and they were met with the same result in 1975. They won 123 games in 1976, the highest win total ever by a team in a single season. They met their in-state rivals the Cleveland Lions in the World Series, but were met again with disappointment as the Lions swept them. Those two teams would face off again in the 1977 World Series, and this time the Silverbacks finally were able to win that elusive championship. In 1978, they lost in the Division Series to an 88-win wild card Toronto Giants team. In 1979, they won "only" 99 games but again won their division, but the playoffs ended in disappointment again as they lost in the first round to the Seattle Sea Monsters. By this time, their core from the 1970s was breaking apart and most of their star players had moved on. The team slipped to a 77-85 record in 1980, which resulted in Anderson being fired. They improved for a while in the early 1980s but could not make it back to the playoffs, and at this point they have finished under .500 in the past four seasons.

Outlook for 1990:
They have not made the playoffs since 1979, and they do not look to be strong enough to end that streak in 1990. They are not terrible, but they are not good enough to make the playoffs either.

Current Manager:
Steve George is taking over as manager for 1990, following the retirement of previous manager Bryan Norman. George was a pitcher for the Cleveland Lions from 1968 until 1971, when injuries cut short his playing career at age 29. He immediately turned to coaching and spent most of the 1970s as the Houston Apollos' 3rd base coach. George got his first Major League managerial position in 1979 with the Boston Rebels. That stint did not go so well, as George was fired during the 1980 season. In 1983, he was hired as the manager of the New York Knights, and that went much better for him. He led them to a World Series title in 1984 and again in 1987, making the playoffs every year that he managed the team until this past season. With the Knights struggling for the first time in quite a while, they were quick to make a change, firing George midway through the 1989 season. He will now get a chance to lead Cincinnati back to the playoffs.

Hall of Famers:
Jeremy Burns, P, 1949-1966
Jeremy Burns signed initially with the Trenton Tigers, and made his debut in 1949, the team's first year in St. Louis. He won 17 games in his rookie year and quickly established himself as one of the more reliable pitchers in the game. After six years in St. Louis, he was traded to Cincinnati during the 1954-55 offseason for 4 players, only one of whom made any meaningful contribution to the Tigers. Burns continued to pitch at a high level in Cincinnati, contributing to two World Series victories for Cincinnati in 1957 and 1959. He retired after the 1966 season, winner of 238 games in his career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, his first year on the ballot. His son, Jonathan Burns, currently is a pitcher for the Cleveland Lions.

Elijah Johnson, OF, 1954-1971
Elijah Johnson came up with the Silverbacks in 1954 and quickly established himself as a mainstay in their outfield. He spent the rest of the 1950s and 1960s in Cincinnati, through the 1970 season. That offseason, he was dealt to the San Francisco Seals for young outfielder Art Foster. Johnson only played with the Seals for a couple months before being released in June. Johnson opted to retire at that point. In 1977, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.

Peter Edwards, 3B, 1963-1983
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Peter Edwards originally signed with the Detroit Dragons in 1959, but was traded to Cincinnati before he made it to the Majors. The Silverbacks called him up in 1963 and he quickly became a mainstay in the Silverbacks' lineup. He led the way for many years as they built a potent offense and then tried to acquire enough pitching to push them over the top. Edwards played for the Silverbacks through 1979, and then signed with the Philadelphia Hornets as a free agent. He spent two seasons in Philadelphia, and then played for the California Stars in 1982. He signed back with the Silverbacks in 1983, but they released him in May. Edwards' playing career was now over, but the very next season he returned to Cincinnati as the Silverbacks' manager. He managed Cincinnati for five years before he was fired after the 1988 season. After taking the 1989 season off (and being elected to the Hall of Fame), he was hired to manage the Washington Eagles for the 1990 season. His son, Peter Edwards Jr, was drafted by the Eagles in 1989 and is currently playing in their minor league system. His cousin, Homer Edwards, starred on the New York Knights for years and is now playing for the Minnesota Lakers.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 88-37 (1933)
Worst Record: 53-101 (1945)
Playoff Appearances: 18
Championships: 8 (1933, 1962, 1963, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)

The Cleveland Lions started out in Hartford, Connecticut as the Hartford Lions. They were not very competitive in their beginning years, as it took 12 seasons before they finished over .500. They had a few good seasons and a few not-so-good ones until they finally won the pennant for the first time in 1918. They lost to the Pittsburgh Ironmen. After missing out in 1919, they made it back to the World Series in 1920, this time getting swept by the New York Knights. They were competitive throughout the 1920s, but did not finish in first again until 1927. This led to another matchup with the Knights, who swept them again.
The Lions had another good season in 1928 but finished in second place. The real drama came after the season. The Cleveland Blue Sox and Kentucky Kings had relocated prior to the 1928 season, and the NBL did not like the idea of losing those markets. They expanded the league by four teams, in part to replace the teams that had left those markets. However, they made a very controversial move to not just place expansion teams in Ohio and Kentucky. Along with forcing the Virginia Beach Captains to move to Louisville, the league also forced the Lions to relocate to Columbus, Ohio, and placed two of the four expansion teams in the markets that they had just forced two established teams out of.
The Lions made a good first impression in their new city, narrowly missing the World Series in 1929 before finishing first in 1930. They faced the New York Knights again, and although they went a full seven games, the Knights still defeated them yet again. They finished a game out of first in 1931, a distant second (but still well over .500) in 1932, and then finished first in 1933 to return to the World Series. This time their opponent was the Dover Green Sox, and this time the Lions finally were able to win their first ever championship. THey returned to the Series in 1936, once again facing the Knights and once again losing to them. That would be their last playoff appearance for a while. They remained competitive until 1941, when they fell on some hard times. They lost more games each season until bottoming out with 101 losses in 1945, to date the only season in which they have lost 100 or more games. They also tried and failed to secure a new ballpark in Columbus, and in 1946 they moved from Columbus to Cleveland, where they were able to get a new ballpark. Once they got to Cleveland, they were for the most part irrelevant and mediocre until they reached the 1962 World Series, sweeping the San Francisco Seals in the NBC Championship Series to get there. They then went on to defeat the Baltimore Blackbirds for their second title. In 1963, they returned to the World Series and won it all again, taking down the Toronto Giants this time. After a couple competitive but non-playoff seasons, they made the playoffs again in 1967. This time, however, the Los Angeles Captains knocked them out in the NBC Championship Series.
The Lions had some down years in the early to mid 1970s, but were quietly building what would become a dynasty and by far the most successful run the franchise had ever seen. After losing 95 games in 1974, they improved to 85 wins (but no playoffs) in 1975 and a 100-win season in 1976 with a trip to the playoffs. The Lions swept the Captains in the Championship Series, and went on to face their in-state rivals the Cincinnati Silverbacks, who had just finished with the best regular season record ever. The Lions were unfazed, however, and they swept the Silverbacks to win the World Series. They won 113 games in 1977, but they were taken down in the NBC Championship Series by the St. Louis Tigers. Over the next four years, they won three more division titles and one wild card berth, while that still existed. They parlayed all that into four straight World Series championships, taking down the Toronto Giants in 1978 and then the San Diego Sharks in 1979, 1980 and 1981. In their quest for a 5th straight championship in 1982, they went 94-68 but finished a single game behind both the Detroit Dragons for the division title and the Kansas City Cyclones for the NBC Wild Card spot and missed the playoffs. They won their division again in 1983, but were swept by the Philadelphia Hornets in the Division Series. They came in second in 1984, but with the latest expansion the league now had four divisions per conference, and the wild card was no more, so they missed the playoffs. They won their division again in both 1985 and 1986. The Captains knocked them out of the Division Series in 1985. In 1986, they got their revenge and beat the Captains, and then faced the Washington Eagles in the NBC Championship Series. The Lions took a 3-games-to-0 lead in the series before suffering a "reverse sweep," as the Eagles won four straight to win the series. That choke job led to the firing of manager Seth Bailey. The Lions have now missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

Outlook for 1990:
In 1989, the Lions suffered their first losing record since 1974. They fired manager Kevin Sturgill as a result, and now are facing an uncertain future going into 1990. They've been too successful as of late to write them off completely, but they need to prove that 1989 was just a fluke and not a sign of rapid decline.

Current Manager:
With previous manager Kevin Sturgill just fired after three seasons, George Knox is taking over as the Lions' new manager for 1990. Knox was a catcher for the Ironmen and Bears from 1967 to 1974 before a knee injury led to his premature retirement. He managed the New Jersey Stallions in 1981 and 1982, but after two poor seasons was fired. He has spent the last five seasons as the San Diego Sharks' bench coach, winning two World Series with them in the process.

Hall of Famers:
Tyler Boyer, P, 1914-1934
Tyler Boyer first signed with the Hartford Lions in 1914 and quickly rose to the top of their rotation. He helped lead them to respectability and to multiple World Series appearances, but they were never able to win one. He was on the team when it was force-moved to Columbus in 1929 and was one of the players who fought against the move. However, things went fairly well for him in Columbus. Despite the fact that age and injuries were catching up with him, he was able to be part of the 1933 team that finally won their first World Series. He pitched one more year and then retired after the 1934 season. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1943, his first year on the ballot. He died in 1974, just missing out on seeing the Lions' dynasty.

Randy Bender, P, 1923-1940
Randy Bender signed with the Hartford Lions in 1923. It took him a while to get established, but his career took off once the Lions moved to Columbus. He wound up winning 216 games in his career, all of which was spent with the Lions. He was on their 1933 World Series championship team and their competitive teams of the 1930s. He retired in 1940, just before the Lions' descent into the basement. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946. His brother, Steve Bender, was a pitcher for the Green Sox and Captains and worked for many years as the lead scout for the San Diego Sharks. Both Randy and Steve Bender are still alive today, in their eighties. His son, Jesse Bender, was a catcher for the Tigers, Stars and Giants from 1957 to 1968.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 104-50 (1939)
Worst Record: 35-90 (1929)
Playoff Appearances: 3
Championships: 2 (1937,1938)

The Connecticut Coyotes, in the controversial expansion of 1929, replaced the Hartford Lions when the league forced them to move to Ohio to take over the market of the Cleveland Blue Sox turned Atlanta Colonels. They did not get off to a good start, as their first four seasons are also to date the four worst seasons in their history (aside from the four in which they lost 100 games or more, in which they actually had a higher winning percentage due to playing more games). However, they began to rebound after those four seasons as they were able to get some talent and figure out how to win. They finished with a winning record for the first time in 1933, and they finished in first place in 1937, the first of the four expansion teams to do so. Facing the defending champion New York Knights, the Coyotes defeated them in six games to become the first expansion team to win a championship. They were even better in 1938, winning 102 games and returning to the World Series. They drew the New York Knights as their opponent again, and once again they took down the Knights, this time in a full seven games. In 1939, they had an even better season with 104 wins, still their best season to date. This time their opponent was the Baltimore Browns. The Browns defeated the Coyotes in six games, denying them a three-peat. That was the last time to date that this franchise has made the playoffs.
The Coyotes spent the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as a team that was mired in mediocrity. They were not a bad team for the most part, but they also were not good enough to make the postseason. The closest they came was in 1955 when they finished a single game out of first place. Even though they were doing well enough on the field and financially, they watned a new ballpark. The city of Harttford would not build them one, so finally they pulled up stakes and moved to Dallas, Texas prior to the 1971 season. Now known as the Dallas Coyotes, the team lost 90 games or more every season in the 1970s. They have been a little better in the 1980s with a couple over-.500 finishes, but they also have suffered two 100-loss seasons. They tried to remedy their situation after the 1986 season, by trading the #1 overall draft pick that they had "earned" to the Seattle Sea Monsters, along with star third baseman Bo Duke who would soon get too expensive for them, in exchange for multiple draft picks and six players. That trade already is looking like a disaster, even though Duke did not lead Seattle to the playoffs and has just departed as a free agent. Only two of the six players they acquired are on their Major League roster now, and one of the other four has already retired.

Outlook for 1990:
The Coyotes are not very good, and that does not look to change in 1990. They seem to be more likely to get the #1 drat pick than a playoff berth this season.

Current Manager:
Luke Addley is entering his second season as Coyotes manager. He was previously the California Stars' bench coach, and Dallas hired him after firing previous manager Jason Dodson following the 1998 season. Addley previously managed the Boston Rebels in 1981 through 1983, being fired after three seasons. He was a minor league outfielder from 1955 through 1971, retiring without ever making the Majors.

Hall of Famers
Randy Cross, CF, 1930-1945
Randy Cross broke in with the Louisville Colonels at age 24 in 1930 and immediately established himself as a starter. He won the NBC MVP in 1931, 1932 and 1934 and was part of three World Series winning teams in Louisville. Then after the 1936 season, the Captains traded him to the Connecticut Coyotes along with Blake Burroughs. The four players the Captains got back all did well in Louisville, but the Coyotes walked away with two future Hall of Famers, who would eventually go into the Hall as Coyotes rather than Captains. Cross was part of both of the Coyotes' championship teams and all three of their World Series teams, as he continued to excel. He retired after the 1945 season, and was elected to the Hall of Fame the first year he came eligible in 1951. His son, Dave Cross, was an outfielder for the New Jersey Stallions from 1964 to 1968, and his grandson Dave Cross Jr. is currently an outfielder in the Atlanta Colonels' minor league system. He has another grandson, Bobby Cross (younger brother of Dave Jr), who will be eligible for the MLB draft this upcoming summer.

Blake Burroughs, 3B, 1934-1951
Blake Burroughs had an amazing start to his career. He first came up with the Louisville Captains in 1934, and was part of a World Series winner in both 1934 and 1935. Then after the 1936 season, he was traded to the Connecticut Coyotes, who proceeded to win the World Series in both 1937 and 1938, as well as play in (but lose) the 1939 World Series. Burroughs continued to play at a high level for another decade, even though he never got another opportunity to play in the World Series. He retired after the 1951 season, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1957, his first year on the ballot. His son, Dustin Burroughs, pitched briefly in the minor leagues in 1965 and 1966. He then coached college baseball for a number of years and is currently the new bench coach for the Miami Gators.

Joachim Wagner, P, 1948-1967
Joachim Wagner came up with the Boston Rebels In 1948 and quickly became one of their better pitchers. After the 1952 season, in which he dealt with injuries all year long, the Rebels traded him to the Coyotes. He played for the Coyotes through the 1967 season, winning a total of 249 games over his career. He missed out on election to the Hall of Fame by 0.3% in 1973, his first year of eligibility. He was elected in 1974 on his second try. After his playing days, he purchased and currently owns and runs a hardware store near Boston.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 1988 (74-88)
Worst Record: 61-101 (1985)
Playoff Appearances: 0
Championships: 0

The Arizona Wolves are one of the two most recent expansion teams to come into the league, joining the ABC in 1984. They have, like any other expansion team, struggled in their early years. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, they had a temporary home for their first few seasons before the plan was to build their own ballpark. However, things never worked out for them to build a ballpark in Flagstaff, and they were losing money (and games). When they were given an opportunity to build a new ballpark in Denver, the team was quick to pull up stakes and move, becoming the Denver Wolves for the 1988 season. They have been better off financially since the move, although the on-field product has not improved much.

Outlook for 1990:
This is still a struggling expansion team, although the team born with them (the Miami Gators) just made the playoffs last year. In all likelihood, they will continue to be non-competitive next season.

Current Manager:
Chris Trent is the current manager of the Wolves, the second in their history. He was hired after the Wolves fired their original manager Franklin Kennedy the same offseason that they moved from Arizona. Trent was a Major League pitcher--mostly a reliever--from 1964 through 1980. He spent time with the California Stars, Houston Apollos, Cincinnati Silverbacks, San Diego Sharks, Philadelphia Hornets, Boston Rebels and San Francisco Seals, pitching as a reliever.

Hall of Famers:
None

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 106-48 (1952)
Worst Record: 21-104 (1928)
Playoff Appearances: 13
Championships: 7 (1904, 1910, 1913, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955)

The New York Dragons have had varying degrees of success over the years. They have largely been defined by mediocrity, although they have had three stretches where they were competitive for several years in a row. The first came in the early 1900s, when they won the first three World Series they played in, winning it all in 1904 against the Green Sox, 1910 against the Browns and 1913 against the Browns again. They won the NBC pennant again in 1914, but this time lost to the Browns. They lost another World Series in 1917 to the Pittsburgh Ironmen. At that point, they had more pennants and championships than their cross-town rivals the Kinghts. That changed in the early 1920s, when the Knights became a super-team and the Dragons quickly (and permanently) became the "little brother" team of New York, never again achieving the success or popularity of the Knights. After years of playing second fiddle, they finally gave it up and relocated to Detroit, Michigan for the 1950 season.
The Detroit Dragons were very quick to get their revenge, as they faced off against their old rivals the New York Knights in the 1951, 1952 and 1953 World Series and defeated them three years in a row. When the playoffs expanded in 1954, the Dragons faced the Orlando Seals in the first ever NBC Championship Series and got swept. They returned to the playoffs in 1955, sweeping the Captains in the NBC Championship Series and then defeating the Cincinnati Silverbacks in a seven-game series. That is to date their last championship, as they soon slipped back into mediocrity and occasional awfulness. They made the playoffs three years in a row in the early 1980s, but they never made it back to the World Series.

Outlook for 1990:
Their window from the early 1980s appears to have firmly slammed shut, as they have just polished off back-to-back seasons with 90+ losses. Most likely, they will once again be irrelevant in 1990.

Current Manager:
The Dragons just hired a very familiar face, Bobby French, as their manager. French, a Hall of Fame pitcher who spent 13 years out of his 17-year career in Detroit, has managed two teams previously but not with much success: he managed the Dallas Coyotes from 1979 through 1983, and then the Kansas City Cyclones from 1984 through 1988. Their previous manager, Ray Solis, was not fired but opted to retire following two 90-loss seasons. He retired the day after the 1989 regular season ended, prompting rumors that he did so to avoid being fired. Neither Solis nor the team has confirmed or denied said rumors.

Hall of Famers:
Bobby French, P, 1960-1976
Bobby French, the team's current manager, is the only player in the Hall of Fame with a Dragons cap on his plaque. French originally signed with the Dragons but was traded as a minor leaguer, being sent to the San Diego Sharks in a seven-player deal in which most players involved never did anything significant in the Majors. French was called up to the Sharks in 1960, where he lost 20 games as a reliver in his rookie season. After two mediocre years in the bullpen, the Sharks made him a starter and he rewarded them with two great seasons. Then after the 1963 season, the Sharks traded him back to the Dragons for two players; second baseman Xavier Hudson who was a bench player in San Diego for several years, and outfielder Bruce Wampler who won many Gold Gloves for San Diego. French joined the Dragons' starting rotation alongside Chris Burks, one of the players that the Sharks traded to Detroit to get him back in 1957. The two of them anchored the Dragons' rotation through the 1973 season. Burks retired after 1974, and French went back to the bullpen that season. French pitched for two more seasons, retiring in 1976. He has since managed the Dallas Coyotes and Kansas City Cyclones, and is just this offseason returning to Detroit as their new manager. His son, Eric French, is currently an outfielder in the Los Angeles Captains' minor league system.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 91-72 (1973)
Worst Record: 59-103 (1965)
Playoff Appearances: 1
Championships: 0

The Houston Railmen were born in 1956 as an expansion team. They looked to have the makings of success early on, as it took only three years for them to emerge as playoff contenders, finishing in 2nd place with a winning record and only 6 games out of first place. However, 8 straight losing seasons following that proved them to have been a one-year wonder. During that stretch, they renamed themselves as the Houston Apollos in honor of the Apollo space program. They began to show signs of life in the late 1960s as exciting young second baseman Joe Leonard electrified their lineup. However, he was dealt to Cincinnati in a shocking 13-player trade following the 1970 season and subsequently went from a top player to a superstar. All four players the Silverbacks received made notable contributions to their 1970s super teams, while most of the nine players Houston acquired did not do much for them. The Apollos remained competitive despite that lopsided trade, as one of the main pieces of that trade--second baseman Ernie Waite--did help lead them to their first (and to date, only) playoff appearance in 1973, although they were promptly swept by the Bears. That was the end of their run of success, as they were 90+ loss bottom-feeders within two seasons. They have not finished with a winning record since 1974.

Outlook for 1990:
This team is not very good. This team has not been very good in a very long time. This team will not be very good in 1990. The future does not look that bright for them. Need we go on?

Current Manager:
Desperate for a spark, the Apollos have just hired former star second baseman and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Joe Leonard as their manager. Leonard spent the first five years of his career in Houston before being traded to Cincinnati, where he had his best seasons. He spent one year in San Francisco, two in Baltimore, one in Pittsburgh and hsi final season in Washington before retiring after the 1984 season. His son, Jimmy Leonard, is a senior in high school and is expected to be drafted this coming summer.

Hall of Famers:
None

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 92-33 (1933)
Worst Record: 36-89 (1922)
Playoff Appearances: 9
Championships: 4 (1944, 1972, 1974, 1975)

The Dover Green Sox had a decent first year, but then suffered through several losing seasons early on. Success was few and far between for this ballclub, as they made it to the 1904 World Series (losing to the Dragons), but did not do much else of note. In the 1910s and 1920s, they never finished any higher than fourth place. They made it back to the World Series in 1933, facing the Columbus Lions and losing. They made it back in 1944, after winning 100 games, and this time they finally got a championship, taking down the Charlotte Roadrunners. Unfortunately for them, within a couple years they slipped back into mediocrity and occasional horribleness. Attendance and finances declined, and following a 100-loss season in 1963 the Green Sox packed up and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, renaming themselves as the Indiana Fireflies.
After a few years in Indianapolis, the Fireflies began to build a competitive team. They made it to the World Series in 1968, but lost to Philadelphia. They made it back three times in 1972, 1974 and 1975 and brought home the championship each time. Also, each year in the ABC Championship Series they faced and took down a Cincinnati Silverbacks team that had a feared offense and was favored on paper. Unfortunately for the Fireflies, they slipped into mediocrity after that and have only made one return trip to the playoffs: a 1984 playoff appearance where they lost in the first round. They have remained competitive, but currently they reside in a division with four playoff contenders.

Outlook for 1990:
They just finished last in their division, but with an 81-81 record that would have tied them for first in two other ABC divisions this season. They play in the strongest division right now but cannot be counted out as a playoff contender in 1990.

Current Manager:
Adrian Kerry has been the Fireflies' manager for the past five seasons and is under contract for one more season. Whether or not he returns in 1991 will probably be determined by how the Fireflies do in 1990. Kerry pitched briefly in the minor leagues in 1957 before elbow injuries ended his career before it really got started.

Hall of Famers
Brian Carlile, P, 1925-1941
The only Hall of Famer in franchise history credited to this team, Brian Carlile spent 17 years in Dover from 1921 through 1937. He won 225 games and struck out 2,136 batters. He won one pitching award in 1933 and was a consistent winner for a consistently mediocre team. He retired in 1937 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947, his first year on the ballot. He was firmly against the franchise's move to Indianapolis and distanced himself from the team. In 1968 and 1972, they offered him the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the World Series, but he declined both times. Until the day he died, he refused to associate with the team or participate in any team-sponsored events, and he always referred to his history with the team as his time with the Dover Green Sox, never acknowledging their new name or home.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 96-66 (1978)
Worst Record: 51-103 (1956)
Playoff Appearances: 3
Championships: 0

One year after the Seals and Captains moved to California, the league made an effort to put more teams out west by putting two expansion teams out west: the Houston Railmen and the Oklahoma City Twisters. The Twisters began play in 1956 and lost 103 games, a loss total that they have never matched since. However, they still were not very good and also were not all that popular with the fans. It quickly became apparent that they were not going to make it as they were a dull team that, aside from slugging first baseman George O'Farrell, did not produce much excitement--and even O'Farrell did not have his best seasons in Oklahoma City. After nine losing seasons in Oklahoma City, the team packed it up and moved north to Kansas City, Missouri, renaming themselves as the Kansas City Cyclones. They continued to struggle early on and did not finish over .500 until an 82-80 finish in 1970. With O'Farrell leading the way on offense, the team began to improve and finally were able to get into the playoffs in 1978. In their first ever playoff series, they took down the Captains in a 5-game division series before running into the buzz saw that was the Lions' dynasty. A return trip to the playoffs in 1979 saw them face those Lions in the Division Series, and the Lions promptly swept them.
After collapsing to 90 losses in 1980, they fought their way back up and finally made the playoffs again in 1982 as a wild card that narrowly denied the Lions a playoff berth (by a single game) in their search for a fifth championship in a row. However, the Cyclones got swept in the Division Series again, this time by the eventual champion San Francisco Seals. They came back in 1983, promptly lost 98 games and have not been a factor in the playoff race ever since.

Outlook for 1990:
The Cyclones have been twisting in the wind for a while, and do not look very likely to be a factor in the playoff race in 1990.

Current Manager:
The Cyclones just hired Franklin Kennedy as their manager for 1990. Kennedy pitched for the Panthers in the 1940s (including the last few years that they were known as the Blues), and has managed two other Major league teams. He managed the Baltimore Blackbirds from 1979 to 1981, and then was named the Arizona Wolves' original manager for the 1984 season. Kennedy managed the Wolves for four seasons but was fired in the same offseason that the Wolves relocated to Denver. His son, Franklin Kennedy Jr, has pitched for numerous teams in the Majors since 1972 and just signed with the Wolves as a free agent this offseason.

Hall of Famers:
None

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 94-31 (1932)
Worst Record: 51-111 (1971)
Playoff Appearances: 42
Championships: 12 (1896, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1916, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1956)

The Virginia Beach Captains, located in one of the smaller markets when the league first started, quickly became one of the most successful franchises in league history. They won it all in the league's second year, taking down the initial defending champion Baltimore Browns. They returned to the World Series in 1899, losing to the Knights. They went to and won the next three series, and then in their fifth straight appearance they lost to Cincinnati. Then after not making it to the World Series in 1904, they made it to seven of the next ten, but lost all seven of them, including four in a row to the Baltimore Browns. They won their next championship in 1916 against the Ironmen, finished a single game out of first place in both 1917 and 1918, and then lost to Pittsburgh in 1919. They took down the Knights in both 1921 and 1922, and then beat Pittsburgh again in 1924. In both 1925 and 1926, they went to the World Series again but lost to the Knights both times. They did not make it in 1927 or 1928, but were competitive both times. But then the league threw a wrench into things. Prior to 1928, the Kentucky Kings and Cleveland Blue Sox had both relocated to Orlando and Atlanta respectively, and the league wanted to stay in the Ohio and Kentucky markets. They agreed to expand for the 1929 season by four teams, but they made the controversial decision to move two teams to the vacated markets and replace them with expansion teams. The Captains became one of those teams, as the league forced them to move to Louisville, Kentucky for the 1929 season, replacing them in eastern Virginia with the expansion Norfolk Destroyers.
Several Captains players, including star pitcher Chris Brubaker, fought the move but in the end had no choice: they had to go with the team. The Captains had never finished with a losing record in a single season in Virginia Beach (and would not suffer a losing season until 1942). They continued to win in Louisville while their replacement in their old home market struggled, adding to the wrath of the fans. After two third place finishes to open their time in Louisville, the Captains made it back to the World Series in 1931, losing to the Knights yet again. In 1932, they returned to the World Series and beat the Browns. They missed out in 1933, but then returned in both 1934 and 1935, beating the Knights twice. At that point, Brubaker and a few other players decided to request a trade to the Destroyers. They wanted to go back to their old home and help the struggling Destroyers to earn the goodwill of their old fans. The team allowed this and traded Brubaker, reliever Miguel Rodriguez and first baseman Adam Jones to Norfolk. They received seven players in return but the trade turned out to be a bust for the Captains. Not only did Brubaker help turn the Destroyers into a contender, but none of the seven players that the Captains got back made any meaningful contribution. A couple stuck around for a while in backup roles, but that was it. The Captains went 77-77 in 1936, narrowly avoiding their first ever losing record. They rebounded to remain competitive, but did not return to the World Series until 1955.
And about 1955…it was their first year in a new home, again. They had not been a bad team in Louisville, but after 1935 their relevance shrunk. They finally suffered their first losing season in 1942 and had several more following that, but no real bad ones, only eclipsing the 90-loss threshhold once. Despite their relative success on the field, they wanted a new stadium and were also enticed with the possibility of moving to a new market out west. The Orlando Seals were wanting to move out west but the league would not permit it unless another NBC team went with them. Seals owner Eric Enoch met with several teams in an attempt to persuade them to move out west, and he finally was able to get Captains owner Adam Rios on board. The Seals moved to San Francisco and the Captains moved to Los Angeles, effective for the 1955 season. Captains manager Kory Pritchard abruptly quit when the move was made official, citing his refusal to move to California. The Captains hired former Lions manager Aaron Jacobs as their new manager as they kicked off their time in Los Angeles.
1955 saw them not only begin their time out west, but they won their division. However, the Dragons bounced them in the NBC Championship Series. In 1956, the Captains won their division again and this time they returned to the World Series for the first time since 1935, ending a 20-year World Series drought (still to this day their longest in team history). They also ended their championship drought by defeating Cincinnati in the World Series, and to date that is their last World Series championship. They lost two more World Series in the 1950s, and then went to three straight in 1965, 1966 and 1967, losing all three to the Aaron Henry-led Atlanta Colonels. After that streak, they descended into one of the darkest periods of their history, which included their two worst seasons in team history, losing 109 games in 1970 and then 111 games in 1971. After five 7th place finishes in a row, they climbed back to the top and won their division for 5 straight years from 1975 through 1979, but did not make it to the World Series in any of those years. Then after four winning (but non-playoff) seasons, they ripped off four more division titles in a row. The fourth of those came in 1987, when they made it to the World Series to avoid a second 20-year World Series drought. They lost that series to the Knights, however. As of the 1990 season, their 34-year championship drought is the longest in team history--which is not all that bad considering that there are 13 other teams with an active drought as long or longer (including several expansion teams that have never won the World Series before).

Outlook for 1990:
The Captains have a rich history, but their more recent history has been a bit more meager. They are a fringe contender for 1990, and if they do make the playoffs they do not look like a team that can make a deep run. Most likely, they miss the playoffs again in 1990.

Current Manager:
C.J. Lefebvre is going into his second season as the Captains' manager. He was a minor league relief pitcher in the early 1950s, but his career never took off. He coached college ball for several years before becoming LA's manager. He had not managed at the professional level before this past season.

Hall of Famers:
Ed Coats, P, 1916-1928
Ed Coats played for the Virginia Beach Captains from 1916 through 1928. He was a consistent winner on the mound and a leader in the clubhouse. He won 184 games over an 11-year career. He retired in 1928 out of proteset of the league forcing the Captains to move. After fighting to stop the forced move, he refused to go with them and decided instead to retire. He attempted to come out of retirement in Spring Training 1929 to sign with the expansion Norfolk Destroyers, but he injured his shoulder during conditioning and ultimately opted to stay retired. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1944, his second year on the ballot. He and his wife adopted two boys, both of whom grew up to be involved in professional baseball. His older son Dwayne never played, but was the general manager of the Minnesota Lakers and San Diego Sharks from 1967 through 1984. His younger son, Alex Coats, played minor league ball from 1946 to 1962 but never made it to the Majors. His grandson Chris Coats (Alex's son), was an outfielder in the Pittsburgh Ironmen organization from 1983 to 1985. He retired when the Ironmen released him, but after four years out of the game is attempting a comeback and currently looking for a team to sign him for 1990.

Chris Brubaker, P, 1922-1940
Chris Brubaker is one of the most popular Captains players in their history. He joined the team in 1922 at age 23 and was instantly a top pitcher for them as he helped them win two World Series in his first three seasons. He teamed up with Ed Coats and several other players to fight the team's forced move to Louisville in 1929, but when they lost the fight he agreed to go to Louisville with the team. Brubaker led the league in wins in his first three seasons in Louisville, and the Captains won two more championships with him on the team. Then after the 1934 season, Brubaker requested the team to trade him to the Norfolk Destroyers, sending him back to his old home. He wanted to help the struggling Destroyers win, so they could win over the fans that Brubaker had played for previously. The team was at first unwilling to do so, but they agreed to the move after Brubaker threatened to retire if they did not trade him. They sent him, along with reliever Miguel Rodriguez and first baseman Adam Jones, to Norfolk for a packagae of seven players that turned out to be a huge disappointment. Brubaker stepped in as a team leader in Norfolk and helped the Destroyers end their culture of losing. His efforts were rewarded when he was part of the Destroyers' first championship team in 1940. Having been hampered by injuries for most of the year, Brubaker retired after 1940. He was a first ballot Hall of Famer in 1946, an easy choice as he won 307 games over his career and is beloved by two different fan bases. He then worked as a first base coach and bench coach for the Rebels, Green Sox and Silverbacks from 1947 through 1960. The Captains retired his number after he retired in 1940, and the Destroyers retired his number as well in 1978, wanting to honor him in person after it was announced that he had a terminal illness. He died in 1980. His son, Allen Brubaker, pitched in the minors from 1967 to 1961, but drug problems ended his career before he reached the Majors and he died of an overdose in 1963.

Victor Gecaj, P, 1921-1931
Victor Gecaj was a late bloomer, joining the Captains in 1921 at age 28. He was sensational on the mound, pitching for 11 seasons and never posting an ERA over 3.00 in any of them. He went 19-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 1931 and planned to come back for 1932, but he had an accident chopping wood during the winter of 1931, slicing open his leg and developing an infection. He eventually made a complete recovery, but had to retire from playing as a result of the injury. Despite his stellar play and his final career numbers (174-82, 1.96 ERA), he was not inducted into the Hall of Fame until his fourth year on the ballot, in 1946. Gecaj was the Seals' manager from 1951 through 1960, which included their move from Orlando to San Francisco. As of the beginning of the 1990 season, he is still alive at age 96.

Alan Jacobs, 3B, 1928-1944
Allen Jacobs was a third baseman whose rookie season was 1928, the Captains' last year in Virginia Beach. He played for the team in Louisville through the 1944 season, getting 2,135 hits in 17 seasons. He dealt with injuries toward the end of his career, retiring in 1944. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1950, his first year on the ballot. He worked in the front office for several teams in his post-playing career, including spending one year as the Indiana Fireflies' general manager in 1966 before retiring. His son, Bryan Jacobs, pitched for the Birmingham Bobcats from 1956 through 1961. Alan Jacobs is still living today, at 85 years old.

Devon Neece, P, 1939-1963
Devon Neece had a long Major League career as a pitcher. He came up with the Orlando Seals in 1939 and pitched for them through the 1950 season. That offseason, he was dealt to the Louisville Captains in exchange for 5 players, two of whom (Cesar Lopez and Matt Williams) spent a good number of years on the Seals' pitching staff (the other three never made the Majors). Neece continued to excel for the Captains and was on the team when they moved to Los Angeles and became the main rival of his old team, the Seals. Neece retired in 1963, having won one championship with each of his teams, and he won 340 games in his career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, a near unanimous choice in his first year on the ballot. He was given a choice between going in as a Seal or a Captain, and he chose the Captains. Today he is 69 years old, retired and traveling around the world with his wife every chance he gets. He is an avid golfer, and his goal is to play a round of golf in all 50 states. He is currently up to 42.

William Chrisman, P, 1951-1969
William Chrisman is the most recent Hall of Fame inductee to go in as a Captain. Like Devon Neece, he originally came up with the Seals. He came up in 1951 and moved with them to San Francisco in 1955. Also like Neece, Chrisman was traded to the Captains for five players in a trade that the Seals later came to regret. Chrisman was traded to the Captains in the middle of the 1959 season, and remained with Los Angeles until he retired in 1969. He won 266 games over his career, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, his first year on the ballot. Chrisman is currently the bench coach for the Wisconsin Bears.

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 84-78 (1987)
Worst Record: 59-103 (1984)
Playoff Appearances: 1
Championships: 0

The Miami Gators are, along with the Denver Wolves, the most recent expansion team to enter the league, having only been around for six years. They had a rough start, as most expansion teams do, but just finished in first place this season, despite only posting an 81-81 record. Not only did they win a weak division with an even .500 record, but they beat a higher seeded team (the Oakland Panthers) in the ABC Division Series to move on to the ABC Championship Series, facing a Baltimore Blackbirds team that had just pulled off the exact same feat. The Blackbirds prevailed and went on to win the World Series.

Outlook for 1990:
The Gators are not the strongest team in the world, but in a weak division there should be no reason that they can contend again. They may not be a threat to win it all, but a division title and another trip to the playoffs is a definite possibility.

Current Manager:
Brock Reyes is the third manager in Gators history, and just led them to their first playoff appearance and their first playoff series win. Reyes was previously the pitching coach for the San Francisco Seals. As a player, he was a relief pitcher for the Oklahoma City Twisters/Kansas City Cyclones from 1962 to 1973.

Hall of Famers:
None

[ericnease84]

Best Record: 101-61 (1985)
Worst Record: 19-106 (1913)
Playoff Appearances: 4
Championships: 0

The Washington Generals, like several other teams, had a good first season in 1895 but sank toward the bottom of the league soon after. They were fringe contenders for a while, finally breaking through in 1906 and winning their first NBC pennant, although they lost the World Series taht year to the Browns. They quickly reverted back to mediocrity and eventually sank down to posting what is still the worst record in NBL history. In 1913, they went 19-106. That team still holds two dubious records: lowest winning percentage ever (.152), and the only team in history to fail to win 20 games in a season. Chances are, neither of those records will ever be broken. They had a team batting averagea of .225 that year, and a team ERA of 7.35. Manager Dan Jeremiah was fired after the season and while he was the Kings' third base coach from 1916 to 1919, he never managed again.
The Generals were never that bad again, but they were a team defined by mediocrity and irrelevance. They were one of the least popular teams in the league and only finished within 10 games of first place one time for the rest of their time in Washington, never being a serious contender for more than a couple months. When Orlando Seals owner Eric Enoch was trying to find a second NBC team to move to California with him, he spent a lot of time with Generals owner Jerry LaPlante trying to convince him to move the team. LaPlante worked with Enoch to get the deal done, but he could not come up with the money to make the move, and the Louisville Captains ended up moving with them instead. Once word got out that LaPlante had tried to move the team to California, the fans turned on him. Five years later, LaPlante found a home and enough money and moved the team to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Washington Generals became the Minnesota Lakers. LaPlante died five years later, passing the team on to his grandson Thomas Heywood, the son of LaPlante's oldest daughter. The Lakers made it back to the World Series in 1970 but were defeated by the Colonels. They have made the playoffs twice since then, but have still never won a World Series, as one of the three original teams (the others being the Boston Rebels and the Trenton/St. Louis Tigers) who still have yet to win a championship. When the league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Miami Gators and Arizona Wolves in 1984, each conference went to four 4-team divisions. To make that alignment make more sense geographically, the Lakers were moved from the NBC to the ABC, with the New Orleans Bobcats going the other direction to join the NBC.

Outlook for 1990:
The Lakers have looked like a solid team as of late, but just don’t seem to have what it takes to get over the top. They are a fringe contender for 1990 but probably not a big threat to win it all.

Current Manager:
George O'Farrell is taking over as the Lakers' manager in 1990, replacing Ryan Kramer who was just fired after 9 seasons at the helm. O'Farrell was a good and productive first baseman from 1960 to 1978, spending most of those years with the Kansas City Cyclones. He managed the California Stars from 1986 to 1988, but was fired after a 95-loss season where he had numerous fights with his own players and was ejected from 32 games during the season.

Hall of Famers:
Mike Siefkas, P, 1914-1933
Mike Siefkas joined the Washington Generals for the 1914 season, just after they had finished their historically awful season. Siefkas was 19 years old in 1914, and he went 1-26 with an ERA of 5.99 that year. 1915 went a little better, as he went 7-19 with a 4.42 ERA. Having led the league in losses for the first two years of his career, Siefkas barely looked like he would stick around at all, much less become a Hall of Famer. But as time went on, he improved. He never led the league in losses again, he led the league in wins twice, and won 20 games in 1923. He pitched for the Generals until 1933, retiring at age 39 having never pitched in the World Series. In 1943, he was among the first five players to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Siefkas went on to be a pitching coach in the minor leagues from 1949 until 1956. He died in 1969.