Federal Baseball League: Historical/Fictional Hybrid

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In 1927, the Knights continued to dominate the ABC East, a division that they had not lost one time ever since the league went to divisional play. The Buffalo Destroyers and Virginia Beach Captains hung around for a while, but the Captains fell away and the Destroyers kept up but never could catch them. In the ABC West, the Indiana Fireflies got off to a hot start and led the division for about half the season, until they were caught by the Pittsburgh Prowlers. The Fireflies fell behind but stayed at it, trying desperately to catch up to the Prowlers. They never were able to, and had a terrible August to finish ten games out of first place. The ABC Championship Series would feature, yet again, the Knights and Prowlers (Year 5).
Over in the NBC, the Atlanta Colonels got off to a hot start, but nobody expected this second-year expansion team to do anything. But there they were, in first place for almost all the season. The St. Louis Browns hung around and stayed close, but could never seem to catch them. On September 1, the Colonels held a 5.5 game lead with two weeks to go. However, they lost 9 of their final 10 games, including the last 6 games of the season. The Browns, meanwhile, went 9-1 during that same stretch. That enabled them to leap over the Colonels and steal the division. As for the NBC East, the Bears continued their dominance by winning the division for the fourth year in a row. Would this be the year that the Bears finally make it into the World Series? As of now, they are one of the three original teams (the others being the Kentucky Kings and Dover Green Sox) to have never played in the World Series--alongside the four expansion teams, of course. The Browns, on the other hand, had been to the World Series three times, but lost all three times. They are among the 11 teams to never win a World Series (including the four expansion teams and the Green Sox, Kings, Ravens, Yellow Jackets, Bears and Patriots).

So the Bears and Browns would face off in the NBC playoffs, with one long-suffering team guaranteed to get a shot at a championship. And in the ABC, the Knights and Prowlers would face off for the fifth year in a row (with Pittsburgh winning 3 of the last 4...seemingly the only team with any sort of dominance over the Knights). This time, however, the Knights emerged victorious by winning the series in four games. In the NBC, the Bears finally made it through on their fourth try, beating the Browns in four games to make it an all-New York World Series.

It was an exciting back-and-forth World Series. The Knights won Game 1, and after the game a Knights player reportedly commented that, "We are still the kings of New York, and they (the Bears) are still our little brothers!" The Bears responded by winning the next three games. They had trouble putting the Knights away, though, as the Knights won Game 5 and Game 6. In a winner-take-all Game 7, the New York Bears dealt the Knights a humiliating 10-3 loss to win their first World Series championship in team history.

In 1928, the two New York teams continued their dominance over their divisions, as both jumped out to big leads early and easily won the two East divisions: the Knights by 16 games and the Bears by 20. In the ABC West, the Prowlers jumped out to a big lead, but the Cincinnati Silverbacks hung in there with them and the Prowlers could never pull away. The Prowlers finally won the division by two games, setting up yet another playoff meeting between the Prowlers and Knights. This is the fifth straight first place finish for both the Prowlers and the Bears, and the Knights' 13th in a row. They last missed the playoffs in 1915.

The only division to change hands in the past five years was the NBC West. Once again, the Atlanta Colonels--an expansion team that has now not posted a losing record in its first three seasons--challenged for the top spot. But once again, they had a challenger who would not go away. In fact, this time they had two: the Toledo Ravens and the Chicago Cardinals. The Ravens fell behind and stayed close, but could never catch up. The Cardinals and Colonels went neck and neck, including remaining tied on top of the division for more than a week straight in the stretch run. But in the final game of the season, the Cardinals won while the Colonels lost, giving the NBC West to the Cardinals. Both West divisions were won by a single game.

Speaking of the Colonels' finishing at or above .500 in their first three seasons: the current record for most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a team's history goes to the Pittsburgh Prowlers, who went 13 seasons before finally finishing under .500 for the first time in 1914. The Colonels (who finished at an even .500 in their first season) need to post a record of .500 or better every year until at least 1930 to beat that record. And who knows how many teams will even have an opportunity to challenge this record? The other three expansion teams all posted losing records in their first seasons (the Fireflies have had 2 winning seasons, the Silverbacks just posted their first, and the Tigers have yet to have one).

Okay, back from that rabbit trail. On to the playoffs. In their sixth consecutive playoff meeting, the Prowlers and Knights went head to head once again. And the Prowlers got the best of the Knights again, sweeping them to win their fourth of those six meetings. They would face off against the Chicago Cardinals, the team that beat them in the World Series two years ago. The Cardinals swept the Bears, ending their chance at a repeat championship. A win in this series would give the Cardinals their seventh championship, which would be the most in the league. They are currently tied with the Knights at 6. The Prowlers are second with 4 championships, tied with the Washington Eagles (who have only posted one winning record in the 1920s).

This was another thrilling World Series that went seven games, the third consecutive series to do so. And just like two years ago, the Chicago Cardinals emerged victorious in Game 7, winning their 7th championship in team history, most of any team in the league.

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The 1929 season started off with a very competitive ABC East race between the Knights (of course), the Destroyers and the Captains. As late as early June, Buffalo was in first place. Meanwhile in the ABC West, the Prowlers got off to a hot start and ran away with the division; by the middle of the season it was clear that they would win it. The Knights did pull ahead and won their division yet again, finishing with an 11-game lead. So that makes it now seven years in a row with the Prowlers and Knights meeting in the ABC Championship Series.

Things looked different in the NBC. The Colonels once again got off to a good start, and once again they had a challenger: the defending champion Chicago Cardinals. The Colonels built up a big lead but, as in the previous two seasons, it began to shrink in mid August. Meanwhile, in what turned out to be a very weak NBC East, the Bears sunk to the bottom of the division. It was soon clear that their 5-year run of first place finishes was over. The Washington Eagles, Hartford Lions and Philadelphia Yellow Jackets were all competing for the top spot in the division, while simultaneously fighting to keep their records above .500. In the end, the Lions and Eagles finished the season tied with records of 71-69, while the Yellow Jackets finished third at 70-70. The Eagles and Lions played a one-game playoff to decide the division, and the Eagles won the game. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Colonels finally did not collapse in the end, winning the NBC West to become the first of the four expansion teams to make the playoffs, in their fourth season of existence.

In the playoffs, the Colonels did as was expected and beat the barely-over-.500 Washington Eagles to win their first ever pennant. In their fourth year of existence, the Colonels have now achieved something that two of the original teams--the Kentucky Kings and Dover Green Sox--have never done in now 29 years.

In the yearly Prowlers/Knights series, that probably everyone outside of New York or Pittsburgh was tired of hearing about, the Knights took the series in five games and went on to face the 4-year old Atlanta Colonels in the World Series. The Colonels put up a fight, but in the end they were no match for the Knights, who defeated them in six games to win their 7th championship in team history.

There had been talk of expanding each league to 12 teams during the 1929 season, but after the stock market crashed at the end of the season, those talks were quickly put on the back burner.

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With the nation reeling from the effects of the Great Depression, baseball continued on anyway in 1930. Games were sparsely attended at times, but they continued anyway. The Pittsburgh Prowlers continued their dominance over the ABC West division, jumping out to a huge lead that they would never relinquish. But in the ABC East, the New York Knights looked vulnerable for the first time in years. The Virginia Beach Captains and a Boston Patriots team that had not been relevant for years were challenging them for the top spot. The Knights fell behind early, but the second half surge that always would propel them to the top did not happen this time. The Virginia Beach Captains became the first ever division winner in the ABC East not named the New York Knights. The Knights missed the playoffs for the first time since 1915, although they did finish with a winning record at 77-63 (tying their lowest win total since that 1915 season, although their last losing season was 1913, when they finished 69-71).
In the NBC, the Atlanta Colonels continued their winning ways, racing to the top of the NBC West and holding on to win it again. Their only real challenger, the Chicago Cardinals, finished ten games behind them. And in the NBC East, the Washington Eagles won a close division race with the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets.
In the playoffs, the Prowlers dealt the Captains a quick 3-game sweep, while the Eagles did the same to the Colonels. The Eagles would face the Prowlers, both of whom were tied for second most championships with 4 (the Knights and Cardinals each have 7, tied for first). The Eagles quickly took care of the Prowlers, winning their 5th championship in team history in 5 games.

In 1931, the ABC East was a very competitive division, with everyone but the Buffalo Destroyers playing solid baseball and contending for the division--even the long suffering Dover Green Sox. But in the end, the Knights reclaimed division supremacy by winning the division, finishing 4 games ahead of the Captains. The ABC West was not competitive, as the Pittsburgh Prowlers continued their dominance, winning the division by 15 games. This was their 9th straight division title.
Over in the NBC, both divisions changed hands. The Eagles were contending to win the NBC East again in defense of their World Series championship, but they fell just short. The New York Bears returned to relevance and won the division by a single game over the defending champs. And in the NBC West, the Toledo Ravens finished with a solid 80-60 record to take the crown. The Chicago Cardinals finished second, only 3 games behind (since 1920, they have only finished lower than second one time, and that was a 3rd place finish in 1927 where they still won 79 games; they have not suffered a losing season since 1917). Speaking of losing seasons, the Atlanta Colonels finally suffered their first losing season, finishing in third place with a record of 68-72.
In the playoffs, the ABC Championship Series was back to its normal matchup of the Knights vs. the Prowlers. It was a hard fought series that went the distance, but the Knights prevailed in five games. And the NBC Championship Series went the distance as well. The Bears won it in five games, setting up another all-New York World Series. This time the Knights got their revenge for the last matchup, winning the World Series in six games. This also broke the tie for most championships won, giving the Knights 8 championships, over the 7 won by the Cardinals.

After the 1931 season, three all-time greats all announced their retirements.

TY COBB
Ty Cobb joined the New York Knights organization in 1904, making his Major League debut in 1905 at age 18. He quickly became a star, establishing himself as one of the Knights' best players. He played in the World Series as a rookie in 1905 when the Knights fell to the then-Chicago Outlaws. He won his first World Series championship in 1907 when the Knights downed the Yellow Jackets to capture their first championship. Cobb remained with the Knights through the 1920 season, winning four World Series in his final four seasons in New York. Following the 1920 season, the Knights were tired of Cobb's attitude and sometimes violent behavior, and they dealt him to the Toledo Ravens for pitcher Johnny Couch and outfielders Babe Twombley and Fred Snodgrass, along with a first round draft pick (which the Knights used on Bob "Fats" Fothergill).
Cobb spent seven seasons in Toledo, but his acquisition did not propel the Ravens to greatness as they thought it would. The Ravens continued to be mediocre, only posting two winning records in that stretch in 1922 and 1925. The Ravens did win their division in 1925--Cobb's only playoff appearance in a Toledo uniform--and they went to the World Series but promptly got swept by the Prowlers.
After the 1927 season, the Ravens traded Cobb. As his nickname was "The Georgia Peach," it seemed fitting that he was traded to the Atlanta Colonels. The Colonels sent young catcher Rollie Hemsley and veteran outfielder Frank Welch to Toledo in exchange for Cobb. Cobb played in Atlanta for four seasons. The Colonels narrowly missed the playoffs in 1928, went to the World Series in 1929 (losing to the Knights) and lost to the Eagles in the NBC Championship Series in 1930. They suffered their first losing season in 1931, and Cobb decided to retire. He retires with the all-time record in games played (3,402), at-bats (12,532), hits (4,205) and total bases (5,889). He also has the record for most times caught stealing with 516, but that is not really one to be proud of.

TRIS SPEAKER
Tris Speaker was drafted #1 overall by the Boston Patriots in 1906. He made his Major League debut in 1908 and played seven seasons in Boston. The Patriots were not that good for most of this time, but they did go to their first (and so far only) World Series with Speaker on the team in 1912, but they lost to the Eagles. After the 1914 season, Speaker was traded to the New York Knights, along with pitcher Tom Hughes. In exchange, the Patriots acquired pitcher Pol Perritt, pitcher Weldon Wyckoff, pitcher Dutch Hinrichs, outfielder Amos Strunk and two draft picks: a second round pick and a 3rd round pick. The Patriots used those picks on pitchersTim McCabe and Jing Johnson. Amos Strunk was a starter in the outfield for several years for the Patriots, but none of the pitchers (including the two they drafted with the Knights' picks) contributed much at all.
As for Speaker, he joined the Knights and won four World Series with them, playing in New York through the 1922 season. After the 1922 season, the Knights traded him to the Cleveland Blue Sox for outfielder Sam Rice and pitcher Sad Sam Jones. The two teams also swapped first round draft picks, allowing the Knights to pick earlier in the first round (and the Knights used that pick on a first baseman named Lou Gehrig).
Speaker played the final nine seasons of his career in Cleveland. He briefly retired after the 1929 season before changing his mind and coming back. The Blue Sox never made the playoffs with Speaker on the team. Speaker retired holding the all-time record for doubles with 808.

WALTER JOHNSON
Walter Johnson was drafted by the Washington Eagles in 1906, making his Major League debut late that season. He played his entire career in Washington, being part of all five of their World Series winning teams. There were rumors in the early 1920s that the Knights were trying to trade for him (and it almost happened in 1922, as the Eagles later admitted), but no deal was ever made. Johnson retires as one of the best pitchers to ever pitch, holding the following career records: wins (472), games pitched (1,077), shutouts (73), innings pitched (7,263) and strikeouts (3,439). He also holds some records he may rather not have: losses (353), hits allowed (6,912) and home runs allowed (255; at least he did not face Babe Ruth much, as they played in opposite conferences and only faced off in the World Series one time, the only time Ruth ever batted against Johnson).

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As the Depression continued in 1932, baseball continued on. What did not continue on, though, was the Pittsburgh Prowlers' domination of the NBC West division. The Prowlers' reign finally ended after nine straight first place finishes, as they posted their first losing season since 1922, finishing 69-71 in third place. The Indiana Fireflies and Baltimore Blackbirds were contending for the division, and the Fireflies prevailed in the end, for their first playoff appearance in team history. In the ABC East, the Knights battled it out with the Captains for the division title, and in the end the Knights won it.
Over in the NBC, the Bears beat back challenges from the Yellow Jackets and the Walter Johnson-less Eagles to win the East. Meanwhile in the West, the Colonels and Cardinals battled it out for the crown, with the Cardinals winning the division by two games.
The Bears and Cardinals faced off in the NBC Championship Series again, a familiar meeting (since the playoffs expanded in 1921, this is the fourth time these two teams have faced off, and the NBC Championship Series has featured at least one of those two teams every year except 1929 and 1930, when the Colonels and Eagles played each other both times. In their previous three playoff meetings, the Cardinals had beaten the Bears all three times. That streak continued in 1932, as the Cardinals took down the Bears in five games to win their 13th pennant in team history (they have, in fact, only been beaten in the NBC Championship Series one time, losing to Philadelphia in 1923).
The New York Knights did not share the Chicago Cardinals' Championship Series success. From 1921 through 1931, they have played in it 10 times and lost it 6 times, including 4 times to Pittsburgh. This time, they faced an Indiana Fireflies team that was making its first playoff appearance ever. The Knights could not overcome this hungry young team, as the Fireflies swept them.
The 1932 World Series featured the Chicago Cardinals, who were going for their 8th championship in team history (which would tie the Knights for most all time), and the Indiana Fireflies, who were going for their first championship in team history. In the end, the Fireflies would not be denied as they swept the Cardinals to win their first championship. They also became the first of the expansion teams to win the World Series (the Colonels were the first to win a pennant, but they lost in the World Series).

1933 boasted some exciting divisional races. In fact, there was not a single team that was running away with a division and playing out the season as a virtual lock for the playoffs. On July 31, the day of the trading deadline, the biggest divisional lead was the Chicago Cardinals' 5-game lead over the Toledo Ravens, who had been in first place in the NBC West earlier that month. The Bears and Yellow Jackets were tied for first in the NBC East, with the Eagles and Tigers only two games behind and the Lions in last place, 7 games out (although all 5 of those teams had a losing record as of July 31).
In the ABC, the surprising Dover Green Dox were refusing to hand the Knights their "birthright" and go away, and the two were tied on top of the ABC East on July 31, with identical 56-42 records. And in the ABC West, the defending champion Indiana Fireflies were clinging to a slim one-game lead over the Cincinnati Silverbacks. The Blue Sox had an even .500 record, but were struggling financially and in serious talks of relocation once again. The Prowlers, who had dominated this division for so long in the 20s, were mired in last place.
The Green Sox decided to go for it, and they pulled a fast one over the Knights. With less than an hour to go before the trading deadline, the Green Sox swung a deal with the hapless Kentucky Kings for star outfielder Sam West, sending four minor league players to Kentucky. The Green Sox front office had done a marvelous job of keeping these talks under wraps, and by the time the Knights heard of the deal in the works a couple days before it was done, it was too late for them to get any talks started. If only they could communicate faster. Maybe someday...
Down the stretch, the Cardinals pulled away as the Ravens continued to collapse and fall way behind, even behind the moderately competitive Colonels. The Bears pulled ahead, but not by much. They clinched a winning season at least and then were the next to clinch the division. In the ABC, the Fireflies beat out the Silverbacks to win the West again, and the Green Sox faded away in the last couple weeks, going 2-8 to close out the season, as the Knights won their final five games and the division (again).
In the playoffs, the Knights got revenge on the Fireflies for last year, defeating them in four games to win yet another ABC pennant. And in the NBC, the Bears and Cardinals faced off yet again in the NBC Championship Series. The Bears finally got the best of the Cardinals, defeating them in four games to set up another all-New York World Series. This is the third time these two teams had met in the World Series; each had previously won one World Series over the other.
In the World Series, the Knights won their first two games, but then dropped the next three. Back in their home park, the Knights won Game 6 to force a Game 7. In Game 7, the Bears went into the late innings clinging to a one-run lead. Hack Wilson batted in a much needed insurance run in the top of the 8th inning, and then the Bears got another run on a wild pitch to make it a 6-3 game. The Knights threatened in the bottom of the 8th, but did not score. In the bottom of the 9th, Knights first baseman Lou Gehrig doubled off Bears pitcher Ray Prim with one out. Prim got Babe Ruth to harmlessly fly out to center field for the second out, bringing young catcher Bill Dickey to the plate as the last hope for the Knights. Dickey flew out to deep center field, and the Bears won the World Series over the Knights.

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After the 1933 season, two longtime Chicago Cardinals stars announced their retirement: outfielder Happy Felsch and infielder Buck Weaver.


Weaver was originally drafted by the Yellow Jackets in 1911, and made his Major League debut in 1913. That same year, he was traded at the deadline to the St. Louis Browns. He played for the Browns for the rest of 1913 and in 1914, playing in the World Series for the Browns in 1914 (a loss to Buffalo). After the season, Weaver was traded to the then-Chicago Outlaws for second baseman Hal Janvrin, first baseman Wally Pipp and a second round draft pick (which they used on pitcher Marsh Williams).
Felsch came along in Chicago a year later. He played with the Dover Green Sox as a rookie in 1915, and then was traded to Chicago in exchange for pitcher Harry Eccles and outfielder Dave Robertson.
Felsch and Weaver played in a total of 8 World Series with the Cardinals, winning three of them in 1922, 1926 and 1928. Neither hold any all-time records, but Felsch retires with 3,159 hits, 220 home runs and 1,636 RBI. Weaver retires with 3,297 hits, 600 doubles, 23 home runs and 1,113 RBI.

Their teammate, Shoeless Joe Jackson, was considering retirement as well but decided to play at least one more season. He just turned in a strong season, and is within striking distance of Ty Cobb's all time hits record.

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

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The 1935 season had some pretty thrilling divisional races. In fact, it was much more like 1933 than 1934. By the middle of August, the biggest divisional lead was the Knights' 4-game lead over the Captains. The Fireflies led the ABC West by one game over the Silverbacks. The Bears and Eagles were tied on top of the NBC East, with the Tigers in the hunt as well. And in the NBC West, the Browns had a 2-game lead over both the Cardinals and the Ravens.
The Fireflies and Knights both pulled away late to win their divisions in the ABC, while the Bears did the same in the NBC East. The NBC West, however, went down to the wire. Going into the final games of the season, the Ravens and Cardinals were tied for first place, with the Browns a game behind. A Browns win over the Eagles, coupled with losses by both the Cardinals (to the Lions) and Ravens (to the Tigers) would create a 3-way tie for the division title.
However, there would be no play-in games. The Ravens did their part by defeating the Tigers, but the Browns and Cardinals both lost their final games. The Ravens won the division.
In the playoffs, the two New York teams both went down in defeat, as the Indiana Fireflies and the Toledo Ravens moved on to the World Series. The Fireflies won the World Series in six games, having now won both World Series that they have appeared in. The Ravens are now 0-3 in their World Series appearances, having also lost to the Knights in 1917 and the Prowlers in 1925.


After the season, another historical great retired. Babe Ruth had not gotten much playing time, and neither had he contributed much, with a mediocre Baltimore Blackbirds team. At the end of the season, Ruth decided to retire. He retires with the following all-time records: highest on-base percentage (.457), highest slugging percentage (.692), most home runs (776) and most RBI (2,279). He also holds the single season records for most home runs (68, set in 1921) and most RBI (179, set in 1929).

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There were a couple division races to watch in 1936. The Knights ran away with the ABC East yet again, as they were the only winning team in the division. In the NBC East, the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets--yes, the same Yellow Jackets who lost 99 games 2 years ago--ran away with their division. The West division races were much closer. The St. Louis Browns had a big lead in the NBC West that shrunk toward the end of the season as a red-hot Atlanta Colonels team made a race of it. The Browns held them off to win the division by two games. The ABC West was between the Cleveland Blue Sox and Baltimore Blackbirds for most of the season, until the Cincinnati Silverbacks put on a late-season surge, jumped into first place and stole the most competitive division. There were five teams that won 80 games or more in 1936; three of them (Cincinnati, Cleveland and Baltimore) were in the NBC West. The other two were the Knights and Yellow Jackets.

With the Silverbacks punching their ticket to the playoffs for the first time, that left only three teams to have never made the playoffs in their history so far: the Trenton Tigers (who have only existed for 11 years, never finished at or above .500 until last year's 70-70 season, and posted their best record ever at 71-69 just this year), the Dover Green Sox (who have the misfortune of playing in the same division as the Knights) and the Kentucky Kings (who have had the misfortune of first being good-but-not-good-enough, and now have the misfortune of their own horribleness, plus a dwindling fan base that is getting tired of constant losing; they have not had a winning season since 1923, when they won 80 games and finished a game out of first).

The NBC Championship Series featured the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets and the St. Louis Browns, both of whom are 0-4 in the World Series in their history. In a thrilling five-game series, the Yellow Jackets emerged victorious. They would face the New York Knights, who took down the Silverbacks in four games. In the World Series, the Knights took down the Yellow Jackets for their 10th championship in team history. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, fell to 0-5 in their total World Series appearances.

[U]PLAYOFF STATISTICS[ (as of 1936)/U]
With the Silverbacks losing in the ABC Championship Series, they stand as the only team as of now to have made the playoffs but not the World Series. The Trenton Tigers, Dover Green Sox and Kentucky Kings are the other teams to have never played in a World Series; they also have never made the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Yellow Jackets and St. Louis Browns are on top of the list of teams to make the World Series but never win it, with 5 and 4 losses, respectively. The Toledo Ravens also have 4 losses in the World Series with no wins. The Atlanta Colonels and Boston Patriots have each made the World Series once, each losing in their only appearance.
Of the teams to have won the World Series at least once:
The New York Knights have 10 championships, most all time.
The Chicago Cardinals are second, with 7.
The Washington Eagles have won it all 5 times.
The Pittsburgh Prowlers have won it all 4 times.
The New York Bears, Buffalo Destroyers and Indiana Fireflies each have 2 championships.
The Hartford Lions, Cleveland Blue Sox, Baltimore Blackbirds and Virginia Beach Captains each have won 1 championship.
Of all these teams, the Blue Sox and Blackbirds are the only ones to be undefeated in the playoffs: they have each made it only one time, but won the World Series when they did. The Fireflies, Captains and Lions have also never lost a World Series, but those three teams have each been bounced in the Championship Series at least once.

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In early 1937, rumors began to swirl that several teams were on the move; rumors had circulated before, but nobody had actually moved since the New York Bears had moved from Milwaukee in 1905. The Kentucky Kings had been rumored to be a candidate to relocate for some time now, but in early 1937 their owner confirmed that he was searching for a new home. The fans' response was a lot of empty seats, and the lowest attendance in the league. The Dover Green Sox had the second lowest attendance, and while they were also rumored to be on the move, their owner denied it. The other team rumored to be looking for a new home was the Cleveland Blue Sox. All three teams were near the bottom in attendance, and also were having serious money problems. And to top off the Kings' money problems especially, they had the lowest payroll in the league.
As the season got underway, the Green Sox and Kings found themselves in the bottom of the standings again. The Blue Sox, on the other hand, got off to a great start and spent much of the season in first place. The Blackbirds challenged them for the division, but ultimately the Blue Sox prevailed to punch their ticket to the playoffs for only the second time in their history. Their first playoff appearance, winning the ABC West with a losing record in the first year of divisional play in 1921, had resulted in an unexpected World Series championship. Their opponent from the ABC East would be (who else?) the New York Knights.
In the NBC, the Trenton Tigers distanced themselves from the Kings and Green Sox, as they won the NBC East in a close race with the Yellow Jackets. With this division crown, the Tigers made the playoffs for the first time in their history, leaving the Kings and Green Sox as the only teams to have never made the playoffs in their history. In the NBC West, the St. Louis Browns ran away with the division, posting the league's best record at 94-46 and winning the division by 19 games.
In the playoffs, the Tigers won Game 1 but then dropped the next three as the Browns returned to the World Series, who would be going for their first championship in their fifth try. The Knights got their revenge on the Blue Sox, beating them in four games as well to set up a rematch of the 1934 World Series. And then in the World Series, the Browns got revenge on the Knights and beat them in six games, finally capturing their first championship in team history.

In 1938, attendance continued to dwindle in both Dover and Kentucky. By the end of 1938, the Kings were insolvent and clearly unable to function in their current market. It was announced that 1939 would be their last season playing in Louisville before finding a new home. If they did not find a new home by the end of 1939, then it was decided that both they and the Green Sox would be contracted, and a team would switch leagues to balance things out.
As for the teams that were actually good...the Knights won 99 games and ran away with the ABC East, winning the division by 30 games. As for the ABC West, the Prowlers and Silverbacks fought over the division title all season long until Cincinnati pulled away in the end to win it. Over in the NBC, the Yellow Jackets cruised to the NBC East championship, while the defending champion Browns won the NBC West by a wide margin.
In the playoffs, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Browns in four games to advance to the World Series, to try to win their first championship in their sixth try. In the ABC Championship Series, the Knights barely got past Cincinnati, winning the series in five games.
In a World Series re-match from two years ago, the Knights quickly asserted their dominance as they denied the Yellow Jackets their first championship, sweeping them to drop them to 0-6 in the World Series. As for the Knights, that was their 11th championship in team history.

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The 1939 season was the last season the Kentucky Kings played in Louisville. They were remarkably competitive all things considered, as they were relevant in the division race for most of the season and finished 68-72. But they still played in front of thousands of empty seats, and it was clear that their fan base had given up on them. They have not posted a winning record since 1923, and in 39 years in existence they have never once made the playoffs.
As for who did make the playoffs...the Knights, of course. Who else? They went 100-40 to once again run away with the ABC East. The Cincinnati Silverbacks won their division for the second year in a row and the third time in the past four years. Over in the NBC, the Eagles took their turn to win the East, which has not had a repeat champion since the 1934 & 1935 New York Bears (who have not returned to the playoffs since). Between 1935 and 1939, every team in the NBC East has finished first at least once except for the Lions. And in the NBC West, the Browns narrowly fended off the Atlanta Colonels to win the division.
In the playoffs, the Knights and Silverbacks went a full five games, but Cincinnati could just not get past New York, as the Knights bounced them for the third time in as many meetings. In the NBC, the Browns swept the Eagles to advance to the World Series, the third Knights/Browns World Series of the decade. The Knights got their revenge for 1937, defeating the Browns in five games to win yet another championship. It was their 2nd in a row, their 5th in the 1930s alone, and their 12th in team history.

After the season, the relocation of the Kentucky Kings was made official: they would be moving to Charlotte, North Carolina and would be renamed the Charlotte Roadrunners. Even though they were moving east, they would remain in the NBC West, as all five teams in the NBC East were located just as far east, and it made no sense to move one of them to the West division.

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As the 1940 season began, it soon became clear that the New York Knights were in trouble. Favorites to win the World Series again after having won the last 2, and 3 of the last 4, the Knights quickly found themselves in last place as the Buffalo Destroyers and Boston Patriots battled it out for the division crown. Although the Knights usually made their move toward the top in the middle of the summer, it never happened this time. The 2x defending champions not only missed the playoffs (for only the second time since 1916), but posted their first losing record since 1913. The Patriots and Destroyers battled it out all season long, and in the end the Boston Patriots won the division for the second playoff appearance in team history (the first was in 1912).
Over in the ABC West, the Cleveland Blue Sox ran away with that division, despite the fact that the team was struggling with dwindling fan support as well as lack of money. The fan support grew throughout the season as the team continued to dominate their division, and they made enough money to get out of debt. There was still no guarantee that they would be able to survive long-term in Cleveland, but finishing with the best record in baseball in 1940 sure helped.
Over in the NBC, the St. Louis Browns continued their dominance of their division by winning it by a large margin once again. And the NBC East continued its streak of no back-to-back champions, as the Trenton Tigers pulled a worst-to-first and won the division.
The playoffs now featured two teams that had one World Series championship apiece, both facing teams that had none (and in the case of the Tigers, not even an appearance). The more experienced teams prevailed, as the Blue Sox and Browns both swept their series to advance to the World Series. The World Series went a full seven games, but in the end it was the Browns who prevailed, winning the second championship in team history.

If 1940 seemed strange, 1941 seemed even more strange. The two teams that had existed for 40 years and never made the playoffs once--the Dover Green Sox and the Charlotte Roadrunners (formerly the Kentucky Kings)--both appeared to be playoff contenders. In fact, on July 1 both teams were in first place. The Roadrunners were tied with the Browns for first in the NBC West, and the Green Sox held a 3-game lead over the New York Knights, who were back to try to reclaim their top spot in the ABC East. At that same point, the Tigers held a slim 1-game lead in first place in the NBC East in their bid to become that division's first repeat champion in almost a decade, and the Blackbirds and Silverbacks were tied for first in the ABC West, with the defending ABC Champion Blue Sox (still struggling financially, by the way) only two games back.
The Green Sox then proceeded to go 7-21 in the month of July, and ended the month with a losing record and sitting in third place, 10 games behind the now-first-place Knights. That month saw losing streaks of 10 games and 6 games. Then in August, they went 12-17 and were in last place by the end of the month. Rumors began to intensify that they would not be in Dover much longer.
The Knights won the ABC East, and the Silverbacks pulled ahead to win the ABC West. Over in the NBC, the Browns pulled ahead to win the division again, although the Roadrunners posted their first winning record since 1923. The NBC East race went down to the wire between the Lions and the Tigers. The two teams tied for first place and needed a one-game playoff to decide the division. The Lions won the game at home, winning the NBC East and once again extending that division's streak of no repeat winners. Between 1935 and 1941, nobody won the division twice in a row and all five teams won it at least once (previously, the Bears had won it for five years in a row). But none of them won the World Series, and only one of them (the Yellow Jackets, twice) even made it that far. The Lions extended that streak as well, falling to the defending champion Browns in four games. The Browns would face the Knights in the World Series, after the Knights took down the Silverbacks in the playoffs once again.
This was the fourth time since 1934 that the Knights and Browns had played in the playoffs (and remarkably, the Browns had won two of the previous three meetings). This one belonged to New York, however, as the Knights swept the Browns in four games to win another World Series.

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After the 1941 season, it was announced that the Cleveland Blue Sox were moving. Despite their recent run of success (5 winning records in the past 6 seasons, and a World Series appearance), the fan base just was not supportive enough and the team was not making enough money to survive. Ownership had kept the news quiet during the season after seeing how low attendance got for the Roadrunners before their move, but the announcement was made two days after the World Series: the Blue Sox would be moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 1942 season and would become known as the Minnesota North Stars.

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As the United States entered World War II, baseball continued on (minus a few players who had enlisted in the military). There were not too many big names who went to the military (at least not yet), but there were still several of them. The New York Knights were competitive once again, but the Boston Patriots were proving to be a challenge for them. In the end, the Patriots finally vanquished their long-time rival and won the division out from under them. The Knights stayed close all season long, but could never quite catch up. And in the ABC West, the Silverbacks ran away with the division. In the NBC East, the Lions ended the streak of no repeat division winners by capturing the division crown again. And the St. Louis Browns continued their dominance of the NBC West, winning it again.
In the playoffs, the NBC Championship Series had the same result as last year: the Browns defeated the Lions in four games. And in the ABC Championship Series, the Cincinnati Silverbacks won it in four games to go to the World Series for the first time in their history. In the World Series, the Silverbacks won it in six games for their first ever championship.

In 1943, several more players went to the military, including several New York Knights stars. And as expected, that hurt them. They looked somewhat competitive, but they were not the same. The Patriots wound up running away with the ABC East division. And in the ABC West, the defending champion Silverbacks won the division again over the Blackbirds. In the NBC, the Trenton Tigers won the East narrowly over the Bears. The Browns' reign ended in the NBC West, as the Charlotte Roadrunners won the division and punched their playoff ticket for the first time ever. That left only one team that has never appeared in the playoffs: the hapless Dover Green Sox, who finished in last place once again.
The playoffs featured three teams who had never won a World Series, and the defending champions who had just won their first. In the NBC, the Roadrunners swept the Tigers to win their first ever NBC pennant...it only took 43 years for them to get one. And in the ABC Championship Series, the Patriots got revenge on the Silverbacks for last year and defeated them. Now the World Series, featuring the Patriots and the Roadrunners, was guaranteed to see someone win their first ever championship. At first it appeared to be Charlotte, who won the first three games. But then the Patriots won Game 4, and continued on to pull the "reverse sweep," winning the final four games and the World Series.

As the war dragged on, the 1944 season began. The defending champion Boston Patriots got off to a blistering hot start and took a big lead in their division right off the bat. The other three divisions looked competitive, at least in the early part of the season. The leaders put some distance between themselves and their competitors as the season wore on, but their leads were never as comfortable as Boston's. In the end, the same four playoff teams from last year all went back for another go at it: Boston vs. Cincinnati in the ABC, and Charlotte vs. Trenton in the NBC. And just like 1943, the Patriots and Roadrunners won their respective series once again to set up a World Series re-match. The World Series looked similar to the year before as well, as the Roadrunners won the first three games and then lost Game 4. They dropped Game 5 as well, but they rebounded to win Game 6 and capture their first World Series championship in team history.

As the 1945 season began, the war was coming to an end. Several star players were still gone from their teams due to military service, but it looked like a good chance that they would all be back for 1946, at least, if not before. The Dover Green Sox also announced that the 1945 season would be their last in Dover as they were moving to Orlando, Florida for the 1946 season. They were deep in debt and had given up even trying to make it where they were. Their hope was that a new fanbase and an untapped market would give them the boost that the Roadrunners had gotten after moving from Kentucky. Dover still stands as the only team to have never made the playoffs in FBL history.
As the season began, the Green Sox were playing in front of a bunch of empty seats, as the fans were giving them the same treatment that the Kentucky Kings' fans had given them in their final season. But the Green Sox were competitive, hanging around in the division race for much of the first half of the season. The real story was the Toledo Ravens, who got off to a blistering hot start and sat with a 43-12 record in mid-June with a whopping 16-game lead in the division. They continued to tear through the league, going 101-39 to easily win the NBC West. On the flip side, the New York Bears won the NBC East with a 70-70 record (and they had to win 7 of their last 10 games just to get to that point). Over in the ABC West, the Indiana Fireflies took control of the division to win it by 7 games over Cincinnati. And the Virginia Beach Captains captured the ABC East division title, although the Green Sox finished the season--and their tenure in Dover--with a respectable 72-68 record and second place finish. That did not change the fact that they still played in front of a bunch of empty seats and were deep in debt. The move to Orlando was seemingly the only thing that could save this franchise.
Almost everyone expected the Ravens to demolish the Bears in the NBC Championship Series, given how they looked in the regular season. It was not the sweep many expected, but the Ravens did win the series in four games. In the ABC Championship Series, the Fireflies won it in five games to face the Ravens in the World Series. In a hard-fought seven game series, the Fireflies defeated the heavily favored Ravens to keep Toledo without a championship. This was the Fireflies' third championship in team history. Toledo was now 0-4 in their World Series appearances.

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With the war being over, the teams got all their players back. That was good news for the New York Knights especially, who had actually finished with the worst record in the entire league in 1945. That gave them the first overall pick in the draft this year, which by the way they used on a catcher named Yogi Berra.
However, the Boston Patriots were still too strong for the Knights, or anyone else in the division for that matter. The Orlando Seals, playing with a good number of fans in the stands again, finished in second place, but a whopping 22 games behind Boston. They also had made enough money to get out of debt!
The Silverbacks beat out the defending champion Fireflies for the ABC West title. The Lions beat out the Tigers to win the NBC East, and the Colonels won the NBC West over the Ravens, but they needed an extra game to do it. Yes, they finished the season tied for first and the Colonels hosted and won a one-game playoff. Then they proceeded to get swept by the Hartford Lions in the championship series. The Lions made it back to the World Series for the first time since 1911. They would face the Patriots, who beat Cincinnati in four games for their first World Series appearance since 1944.
The Patriots defeated the Lions in five games to win the World Series.

In 1947, the Knights were back! They got off to a red-hot start and quickly surged to the top of the ABC East. The Patriots gave chase and kept it close, but could never catch them, finishing a single game behind the Knights. The Silverbacks won the ABC West again, this time by 20 games. In the NBC, the Lions won the East again and the Cardinals finally returned to the postseason for the first time since 1933. In the playoffs, the Silverbacks finally got the best of the Knights in a playoff series, defeating them in five games to win the pennant. The Cardinals defeated the Lions, denying them a return trip to the World Series. Then the Cincinnati Silverbacks took down the Chicago Cardinals in five games to win their second World Series championship.

There was not a lot of competition for the playoffs in 1948, except for the ABC East, where the Patriots and Knights fought it out all season long. The Patriots won the division in the end. The Indiana Fireflies won the ABC West, as the defending champion Silverbacks were a non-factor in the playoff race all year long. The Toledo Ravens, who were fighting what looked like a losing battle for a new stadium, ran away with the NBC West, and the Washington Eagles won the NBC East by a wide margin.
In the playoffs, the Eagles swept the Ravens away, while the ABC Championship Series went a full five games before Boston emerged victorious. The Patriots then cemented themselves as team of the decade by winning their third World Series in the 1940s as they swept the Eagles away.

The 1949 season began with an expanded schedule, as each team would now play 154 games, instead of the 140 they had been used to. Thanks to this expanded schedule, we had two 100-game winners in 1949. The Boston Patriots won 103 games to win the ABC East, while the Hartford Lions won 102 games to win the NBC East. In the ABC West, the Indiana Fireflies took the division with a 77-77 record. The NBC West looked a little better, with the St. Louis Browns going 81-73 to win it. So, this meant that the Lions and Patriots were on their way to the World Series, right? Nope. The Patriots knocked off the Fireflies in 4 games, but the Browns defeated the Lions in five games to win the pennant. The Patriots then promptly swept the Browns to win their second straight World Series.

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It's time for the 1950 season: the 50th anniversary of the Federal Baseball League. In honor of this milestone, we will be posting a brief history of each team upon the conclusion of this season, to see how everyone has done so far. We will then proceed on through the 1950s, as the league begins to evolve. As things progressed in real life during this time, we will not only see more teams move in order to expand out west, but the league will be expanding and adding additional teams in the near future.

As for the 1950 season...it began with three close divisional races, and the Indiana Fireflies quickly running away with the ABC West. The other three races stayed competitive well into August, even though all five NBC West teams were having trouble staying above .500 (on August 1, the Chicago Cardinals led that division with a 54-55 record). The Cardinals maintained the lead and went 81-73 overall to win that division by 11 games. The Washington Eagles went 93-61 to win the NBC East (the 4th place Yellow Jackets went 81-73). The Fireflies won the ABC West, of course, with a record of 93-61. And the Boston Patriots captured the ABC East again with a record of 85-69.
In the playoffs, the Fireflies and Eagles each won their first two games at home. Going on the road, the Eagles completed the sweep while the Fireflies dropped the next two games in Boston. The series went back to Indianapolis, where the Fireflies won Game 5 to win the pennant.
The World Series went back and forth, and the Eagles emerged victorious in a seven-game series.

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The Atlanta Colonels have an interesting history. They came into the league as an expansion team in 1926 and finished with a .500 record (which usually does not happen with expansion teams). They were serious playoff contenders by their second season, and in 1929 (their fourth season) they posted their best record ever and went to the World Series, although they lost to the New York Knights. They did not suffer a losing record until their sixth season in 1931, but they have tailed off since then. Since 1931, they have only been back to the playoffs once, in 1946 when they lost in the NBC Championship Series. They have not been that great lately, but they do still have a winning record all-time, so that is something. They are, however, one of the five teams who have never won a World Series.


Best Season: 1929 (90-50)
Worst Season: 1949 (60-94)

Some notable players currently on roster


No Hall of Famers

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The Baltimore Blackbirds have been, for the most part, mediocre. Over half of their seasons have ended with a 3rd or 4th place finish, and they have only made the playoffs once. That was in 1915 before divisional play, when they won their only pennant and got their only championship, defeating the Eagles in the World Series. They have not been back to the playoffs since then (which means they are undefeated in the playoffs, although that doesn't say much since they have only been there once). They have a losing record all-time, but they do have a better overall record than five teams (only one of whom is an expansion team). They have good fan support, though, so they are likely to stay put long-term.
Fun fact: of the four players in the Hall of Fame with a Baltimore Blackbirds cap, three of them were on that 1915 championship team.


Best Season: 1915 (88-52)
Worst Season: 1930 (49-91)

Some notable players currently on roster

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For the first 40 years of their existence, the Boston Patriots were a perennial loser. Between 1901 and 1939, they only made the playoffs one time: a 1912 World Series loss to the Washington Eagles. In the 1930s, there was talk of the team moving or even folding (when the Kentucky Kings were considering folding before their move, a second team would have had to go as well, and Boston was being considered as that second team).
But then in 1940, their fortunes changed almost overnight. Since 1940 (11 seasons), they have won their division 8 times, and won 5 pennants and 4 World Series, including back to back titles in 1948 and 1949 (they won 104 games in 1949, but that was the first season with a 154-game season, so they had a lower winning percentage than in 1946, which is why 1946 is considered their best season). They have nobody in the Hall of Fame with a Patriots cap on, but that should change when some of their current players retire. This 1940s decade has definitely saved baseball in Boston.


Best Season: 1946 (98-42)
Worst Season: 1929 (43-97)

Some notable players currently on roster


No Hall of Famers

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The Buffalo Destroyers have had an interesting history, but have also had some incredibly bad luck. They weren't very good in the beginning, but then twice in their first two decades they won a pennant, lost the World Series and then returned to the World Series and won it the very next season. Then the league went to divisions, and that is where their bad luck really began. They began in the ABC West, winning the division in 1922 and defeating the New York Knights in the ABC Championship Series before falling to the Chicago Cardinals in the World Series. According to their trend, they would return to the World Series and win it in 1923, but that did not happen. They went 60-80 that year, and then when the Fireflies and Silverbacks joined the ABC, someone had to move to the ABC East. That lucky team was the Buffalo Destroyers, who now had to play in the same division as the New York Knights. They went 84-56 (their best record ever) in 1924, but finished second to the Knights. This team has not sniffed the playoffs since that 1922 season, having never once won the ABC East. They have a losing record all-time. Their fan support is dwindling, as the fan base is getting tired of the consistent mediocrity. They have contended from time to time, but always fall short. They have had some good players over the years, however, as is evidenced by the presence of 9 players with Buffalo caps in the Hall of Fame. They just can't seem to find that right formula to win consistently.


Best Season: 1924 (84-56)
Worst Season: 1902 (48-92)

Notable players currently on roster

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For their first 39 seasons, this franchise played in Louisville, Kentucky as the Kentucky Kings. In most of their early years, they were good but never good enough as they finished in 2nd place in 7 of their first 14 seasons, finishing within 6 games of first place in 5 of those seasons. They just could never break through and come in first place. They do, however, have one big accomplishment: in the pre-divisional era (1901-1920), they never once finished in 7th or 8th place. Nobody can claim that, not even the Knights. They also finished with a .500 record or better in 15 of those first 20 seasons.
The closest the Kings came to the playoffs was in 1923, when they finished tied for first in the NBC West with the Chicago Cardinals, but lost a one-game playoff to decide the division. That was the last time they posted a winning record in Kentucky, as they quickly descended into laughingstock status. Fan support dwindled, and the team ran out of money. During the Great Depression, they were seriously considering folding and ceasing operations, but a second team had to go as well and they were having trouble finding another team to get rid of (the Boston Patriots and Dover Green Sox were the two top contenders, but both played in the ABC and would force a team to have to switch conferences). In 1940, they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and rebranded as the Charlotte Roadrunners. Their fortunes reversed almost immediately, as they posted a winning record in their second season in Charlotte. They made their first playoff appearance in 1943, going to the World Series but losing to the Boston Patriots. They had a rematch with Boston in 1944, this time winning their first championship. They have not returned to the playoffs since, but they've been way more successful in Charlotte than they ever were in Louisville. They do have four Hall of Famers, all with Kings caps on, so at least their previous identity will be preserved in some way (that is not laughable).


Best Season: 1944 (90-50)
Worst Season: 1938 (58-82)

Some notable players currently on roster