Chicago Chiefs -- A Mythic Timeline

mjj55409 · 03-31-2021, 04:36 PM

If you are a regular reader of this forum, you have undoubtedly come across a thread or two about the Figment Universe (currently there are 11 threads that are chronicling various bits and pieces of the Figment world: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...archid=6266405). The creator of Figment (@legendsport) is on the verge of launching another online league: Mythic Baseball. Mythic will be a divergent form of the Figment timeline. Mythic will begin in 1886 using the Figment Universe from 1885 as a starting point. From there, how the story unfolds is an open question.

As in the Figment timeline, I will be running the Chiefs in the Mythic timeline. As least for now that is. One of the twists in Mythic is that clubs may fold based on on-field and economic performance. Of course, given that the Chiefs are owned by William W. Whitney, the founder of the Century League, seems to indicate that the Chiefs are safe from folding. But ultimately, one never knows what the future holds.

I'll be using this thread to chronicle the history of the Chiefs in this--the Mythic--timeline. In the next few posts--while we wait for the start of league activities next week--I'll cover some of the history of baseball up to our 1886 starting point.

mjj55409 · 04-01-2021, 01:44 PM

Throughout the 1860s, interest in baseball was burgeoning. In 1858, members of a New York City amateur club had called a convention of all similarly organized clubs in the metropolitan area. Twenty-two clubs were represented. They formed themselves into a permanent body: The National Association of Base Ball Players. This National Association governed baseball for next 17 years.

The post-Civil War period saw tremendous growth in baseball. From an organization of clubs in the New York metropolitan area, the National Association became truly national in scope. At the convention of 1865, ninety-one clubs from across the country were represented. And as America became more urban and more industrial, the demand for leisure activities increased. A demand that was increasingly met by attending baseball matches. This lead to the clubs beginning to charge for attendance. And since the National Association was an amateur association, prohibitions were in place against paying the players. But this of course just meant that the players were being paid underneath the table. Charles Bigsby--a backer of the New York Knights club--would lure players to the Knights by providing jobs on the city payroll.

By 1869, the Cincinnati Monarchs had rejected the amateur tenets of the National Association and became the first openly professional team. The total payroll for the season of 1869, which in those days lasted from March 15 to November 15, was $9300. The team took on all comers, and they finished the season with a record of 56 victories, 1 tie, and 0 defeats. Professionalism in baseball had arrived.

By the end of 1875, the professionals were in virtual control of the Association convention and were bitterly attacked by last-ditch amateur supporters. At the 1875 convention, about twenty professional clubs were able to dominate the amateurs, who gave way under the pressure and adjourned.

So on January 11th, 1876, Chicago fruit magnet William Whitney invited a group of men to a meeting at the Chicago Grand Pacific Hotel. The group consisted of men who had backed the touring, professional clubs of the Association: Whitney (representing Chicago), Jason Kirkham (Boston), Charles Bigsby (New York) and his brother Miles (Brooklyn), Jefferson Edgerton (Philadelphia), James Tice (Cincinnati), Hans Fuchs (St. Louis) and Nicholas Welch (Detroit). Invited to attend, but declining, were three others: Percival Upton (Baltimore), John Q. Miller (Cleveland) and Henry Pulver (Buffalo).

By the end of the meeting the men had agreed to form the Century League. The clubs would play a series of championship matches with one another in a schedule provided by the league office. Half of a club's games would be at a park the club designated a "home" park and the other half would be on the road. The one winning the greatest number of games during the season would be declared champion by the championship committee at the convention following the close of the season. The club could then fly the championship "whip pennant" at its park the following season.

The initial members of theCentury League:

* Brooklyn Unions
* St. Louis Brewers
* Chicago Chiefs
* Cincinnati Monarchs
* New York Knights
* Detroit Woodwards
* Boston Pilgrims
* Philadelphia Centennials

mjj55409 · 04-10-2021, 09:58 AM

The Chiefs had a decent first season, finishing with a record of 39-26 and drawing an attendance of over 40,000. But while the club was not involved in the championship, William Whitney--as league president--certainly was.

The Philadelphia club won 43 games and won the greatest percentage of games played (71%). But they also refused to make their final trip west, citing financial difficulties. Brooklyn, which had won 46 games, and Boston, which had won 47, also made claims to championship. In the end, Whitney awarded the championship pennant to Boston. In protest, both Cincinnati and St. Louis would withdraw their clubs from the league before the 1877 season.

Philadelphia's Roy Frazer was the winner of the Century League's first batting title with a .379 average. Boston's Albert Friermood--who was credited with 4 round trippers--collected the most bases in the league with 172. Frazer's 20-year-old team mate, Zebulon Banks, led the league with 59 runs batted in.

For the pitchers, Boston's Daniel Fallow led the circuit in wins (28), innings (335), and strikeouts (62). Hartigan O'Carroll, pitching for Brooklyn, had the league's best earned runs average (1.46).

mjj55409 · 04-10-2021, 02:48 PM

For it's 2nd season, the Century League fielded just 6 clubs--they chose not to replace Cincinnati and St. Louis. Of those 6, the Chiefs were the best. Whitney's Chicago club claimed the whip pennant with a record of 40-20. The Chicago bats were led by 19-year-old catcher Al Lowther, who hit .320 and led the league with 22 doubles, and third sacker John Martin (.335), who jumped to the club when St. Louis left the league. But it was the Chicago pitching that separated the club from the rest of the league. Hartigan O'Carroll--who had pitched for Brooklyn in 1876--led all pitchers with 21 wins. O'Carroll and A.W. Morton (19-10) were a formidable duo for the Chiefs.

The Detroit Woodwards club were in 2nd, finishing 6 games behind Chicago. They were led by the Century League batting champion Leonard Ziegler, who terrorized pitchers with a .392 average. Ziegler also hit an impressive 14 home runs and totaled 169 bases overall.

The New York Knights were the 3rd place club, and they were led by rookie pitcher Samuel Schuyler. Schuyler debuted a "curved ball" that allowed him to lead the league in earned runs average (1.90) and strikeouts (168).

mjj55409 · 04-11-2021, 09:50 AM

The problem with the Chiefs in 1878 was that they seemingly forgot how to hit. They had a team batting average of .211 and were easily last in the league in runs scored. They scored nearly 2 runs/game less than pennant winning Brooklyn--which had a team batting average of .300. The pitching for the Chiefs was good enough to keep them in 2nd place, but their 33-28 record was 15 games behind the Brooklyn's 48-13 record.

For Chicago, Lynwood Trease (.289) was the top batsman, and Will Ryan (17-14, 1.93) and Henry Walsh (16-14, 1.98) handled the pitching. The league batting championship was Brooklyn outfielder Bill DeVilbiss, who was tops in average (.390), home runs (6), runs (65), and runs batted in (55). The circuit's top hurler was Brooklyn rookie Buster Scott, who won 25 games with a 1.23 earned runs average. Nine of Scott's 33 starts were shutouts.

mjj55409 · 04-11-2021, 10:13 AM

For 1879, the league got back to 8 clubs with the addition of Milwaukee and Cleveland. The newcomers performed better than expected, but the pennant race was a spirited one between Chicago (57-26) and Brooklyn (59-20), with Brooklyn becoming the first club to win multiple pennants.

The Chicago offense improved greatly over 1878, led by newcomer Sam Sorenson at first base. Sorenson had jumped his contract with the independent St. Louis club to join the Chiefs. Sorenson hit .362--good for 3rd in the batting race--and led the league in home runs (8). The pitching was primarily handled by a pair of 22-year-old rookies: Willie Davis (19-3, 1.84) and Elmer Manuel (20-6, 2.35). When Manuel wasn't pitching he played right field and hit a respectable .330 on the season with 59 runs scored.

The league batting champion was Milwaukee second baseman Charlie Dozier (.365). Brooklyn pitcher Billy Roberson led the league in wins (31), earned runs average (1.39), and strikeouts (299).

Chicago's Sam Sorenson

03-31-2021, 04:36 PM	#1
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	Chicago Chiefs -- A Mythic Timeline If you are a regular reader of this forum, you have undoubtedly come across a thread or two about the Figment Universe (currently there are 11 threads that are chronicling various bits and pieces of the Figment world: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...archid=6266405). The creator of Figment (@legendsport) is on the verge of launching another online league: Mythic Baseball. Mythic will be a divergent form of the Figment timeline. Mythic will begin in 1886 using the Figment Universe from 1885 as a starting point. From there, how the story unfolds is an open question. As in the Figment timeline, I will be running the Chiefs in the Mythic timeline. As least for now that is. One of the twists in Mythic is that clubs may fold based on on-field and economic performance. Of course, given that the Chiefs are owned by William W. Whitney, the founder of the Century League, seems to indicate that the Chiefs are safe from folding. But ultimately, one never knows what the future holds. I'll be using this thread to chronicle the history of the Chiefs in this--the Mythic--timeline. In the next few posts--while we wait for the start of league activities next week--I'll cover some of the history of baseball up to our 1886 starting point. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

04-01-2021, 01:44 PM	#2
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	The Beginning Throughout the 1860s, interest in baseball was burgeoning. In 1858, members of a New York City amateur club had called a convention of all similarly organized clubs in the metropolitan area. Twenty-two clubs were represented. They formed themselves into a permanent body: The National Association of Base Ball Players. This National Association governed baseball for next 17 years. The post-Civil War period saw tremendous growth in baseball. From an organization of clubs in the New York metropolitan area, the National Association became truly national in scope. At the convention of 1865, ninety-one clubs from across the country were represented. And as America became more urban and more industrial, the demand for leisure activities increased. A demand that was increasingly met by attending baseball matches. This lead to the clubs beginning to charge for attendance. And since the National Association was an amateur association, prohibitions were in place against paying the players. But this of course just meant that the players were being paid underneath the table. Charles Bigsby--a backer of the New York Knights club--would lure players to the Knights by providing jobs on the city payroll. By 1869, the Cincinnati Monarchs had rejected the amateur tenets of the National Association and became the first openly professional team. The total payroll for the season of 1869, which in those days lasted from March 15 to November 15, was $9300. The team took on all comers, and they finished the season with a record of 56 victories, 1 tie, and 0 defeats. Professionalism in baseball had arrived. By the end of 1875, the professionals were in virtual control of the Association convention and were bitterly attacked by last-ditch amateur supporters. At the 1875 convention, about twenty professional clubs were able to dominate the amateurs, who gave way under the pressure and adjourned. So on January 11th, 1876, Chicago fruit magnet William Whitney invited a group of men to a meeting at the Chicago Grand Pacific Hotel. The group consisted of men who had backed the touring, professional clubs of the Association: Whitney (representing Chicago), Jason Kirkham (Boston), Charles Bigsby (New York) and his brother Miles (Brooklyn), Jefferson Edgerton (Philadelphia), James Tice (Cincinnati), Hans Fuchs (St. Louis) and Nicholas Welch (Detroit). Invited to attend, but declining, were three others: Percival Upton (Baltimore), John Q. Miller (Cleveland) and Henry Pulver (Buffalo). By the end of the meeting the men had agreed to form the Century League. The clubs would play a series of championship matches with one another in a schedule provided by the league office. Half of a club's games would be at a park the club designated a "home" park and the other half would be on the road. The one winning the greatest number of games during the season would be declared champion by the championship committee at the convention following the close of the season. The club could then fly the championship "whip pennant" at its park the following season. The initial members of theCentury League: * Brooklyn Unions * St. Louis Brewers * Chicago Chiefs * Cincinnati Monarchs * New York Knights * Detroit Woodwards * Boston Pilgrims * Philadelphia Centennials __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

04-10-2021, 09:58 AM	#3
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	1876 The Chiefs had a decent first season, finishing with a record of 39-26 and drawing an attendance of over 40,000. But while the club was not involved in the championship, William Whitney--as league president--certainly was. The Philadelphia club won 43 games and won the greatest percentage of games played (71%). But they also refused to make their final trip west, citing financial difficulties. Brooklyn, which had won 46 games, and Boston, which had won 47, also made claims to championship. In the end, Whitney awarded the championship pennant to Boston. In protest, both Cincinnati and St. Louis would withdraw their clubs from the league before the 1877 season. Philadelphia's Roy Frazer was the winner of the Century League's first batting title with a .379 average. Boston's Albert Friermood--who was credited with 4 round trippers--collected the most bases in the league with 172. Frazer's 20-year-old team mate, Zebulon Banks, led the league with 59 runs batted in. For the pitchers, Boston's Daniel Fallow led the circuit in wins (28), innings (335), and strikeouts (62). Hartigan O'Carroll, pitching for Brooklyn, had the league's best earned runs average (1.46). __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

04-10-2021, 02:48 PM	#4
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	1877 For it's 2nd season, the Century League fielded just 6 clubs--they chose not to replace Cincinnati and St. Louis. Of those 6, the Chiefs were the best. Whitney's Chicago club claimed the whip pennant with a record of 40-20. The Chicago bats were led by 19-year-old catcher Al Lowther, who hit .320 and led the league with 22 doubles, and third sacker John Martin (.335), who jumped to the club when St. Louis left the league. But it was the Chicago pitching that separated the club from the rest of the league. Hartigan O'Carroll--who had pitched for Brooklyn in 1876--led all pitchers with 21 wins. O'Carroll and A.W. Morton (19-10) were a formidable duo for the Chiefs. The Detroit Woodwards club were in 2nd, finishing 6 games behind Chicago. They were led by the Century League batting champion Leonard Ziegler, who terrorized pitchers with a .392 average. Ziegler also hit an impressive 14 home runs and totaled 169 bases overall. The New York Knights were the 3rd place club, and they were led by rookie pitcher Samuel Schuyler. Schuyler debuted a "curved ball" that allowed him to lead the league in earned runs average (1.90) and strikeouts (168). __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

04-11-2021, 09:50 AM	#5
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	1878 The problem with the Chiefs in 1878 was that they seemingly forgot how to hit. They had a team batting average of .211 and were easily last in the league in runs scored. They scored nearly 2 runs/game less than pennant winning Brooklyn--which had a team batting average of .300. The pitching for the Chiefs was good enough to keep them in 2nd place, but their 33-28 record was 15 games behind the Brooklyn's 48-13 record. For Chicago, Lynwood Trease (.289) was the top batsman, and Will Ryan (17-14, 1.93) and Henry Walsh (16-14, 1.98) handled the pitching. The league batting championship was Brooklyn outfielder Bill DeVilbiss, who was tops in average (.390), home runs (6), runs (65), and runs batted in (55). The circuit's top hurler was Brooklyn rookie Buster Scott, who won 25 games with a 1.23 earned runs average. Nine of Scott's 33 starts were shutouts. __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

04-11-2021, 10:13 AM	#6
mjj55409 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 1,166	1879 For 1879, the league got back to 8 clubs with the addition of Milwaukee and Cleveland. The newcomers performed better than expected, but the pennant race was a spirited one between Chicago (57-26) and Brooklyn (59-20), with Brooklyn becoming the first club to win multiple pennants. The Chicago offense improved greatly over 1878, led by newcomer Sam Sorenson at first base. Sorenson had jumped his contract with the independent St. Louis club to join the Chiefs. Sorenson hit .362--good for 3rd in the batting race--and led the league in home runs (8). The pitching was primarily handled by a pair of 22-year-old rookies: Willie Davis (19-3, 1.84) and Elmer Manuel (20-6, 2.35). When Manuel wasn't pitching he played right field and hit a respectable .330 on the season with 59 runs scored. The league batting champion was Milwaukee second baseman Charlie Dozier (.365). Brooklyn pitcher Billy Roberson led the league in wins (31), earned runs average (1.39), and strikeouts (299). Chicago's Sam Sorenson __________________ FABL -- Chicago Chiefs Last edited by mjj55409; 04-11-2021 at 10:14 AM.