Federal Baseball League: Historical/Fictional Hybrid

[ericnease84]

The 1957 season began with the knowledge that the Trenton Tigers and Hartford Lions would both be moving out west after the season. So of course, they were the two teams that wound up battling it out for the NBC East division title. It was a hard fought battle, but the Tigers pulled away in mid August and won the division. The Detroit Ravens took an early lead in the NBC West, but they faded in the second half as the Chicago Cardinals raced up to the top to take the division. Over in the ABC East, the Coyotes, Patriots and Knights were in the hunt for most of the season. The Knights had a bad last couple months, and the Coyotes held off the Patriots to win the division, capturing their first playoff berth since 1922. And in the ABC West, the Fireflies and Cyclones battled it out, with the Silverbacks attempting to jump in late. The Fireflies went into the final game of the season on a 7-game losing streak and clinging to a 1-game lead in the division. With a win over the North Stars, and an Indiana loss to Cleveland, the Cyclones would tie for the division. However, they were beaten by Minnesota as the Fireflies won their final game to clinch the ABC West.
In the playoffs, the Tigers cemented their farewell tour in New Jersey by sweeping the Cardinals to win their second pennant. In the ABC, the Coyotes took a full five games to beat the Fireflies, giving them their first pennant since 1922. In the World Series, the Coyotes jumped out to an early 2 games to 0 lead, but they could not close it out. The Tigers won their first World Series, and for the second time this decade a team won it all in their final season before relocating. The circumstances were different this time, though, as the Tigers would be taking their history to San Francisco.

With the Lions and Tigers relocating out west, the two new expansion teams were coming in. One of them was located in Dallas, Texas and named the Dallas Bulls. The other was located in East Rutherford, New Jersey as a replacement for both the Tigers and the Bears in the New York City area. They would be known as the New Jersey Stallions.

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The 1958 season began with 12 teams in each league now, and two in California. The NBC decided that rather than move a bunch of teams around, they simply switched the Lions and Tigers into the NBC West Division, and placed the two new teams, the Dallas Bulls and New Jersey Stallions, in the NBC East.
The ABC looked like it belonged to the state of Ohio, as the Cleveland Coyotes and Cincinnati Silverbacks both jumped out to leads in their divisions and went on to win them. The Atlanta Colonels led the NBC East most of the season and wound up winning the division by 13 games. The NBC West was the most competitive division, with the defending champion Tigers--in their new home in San Francisco--battled it out with the Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Ravens and Milwaukee Browns for the division crown. The Ravens rode a hot August to jump ahead and take the division.
In the playoffs, the Ravens toppled the Colonels in four games, giving the Ravens their first pennant since 1945, when they were still in Toledo. The ABC Championship Series battle of Ohio went a full five games, with the Silverbacks emerging victorious.
The World Series featured the Silverbacks (undefeated in the World Series at 4-0) and the Ravens (winless in the World Series at 0-4). It was a hard fought series, but both trends continued as the Silverbacks won the World Series in six games, putting them at 5-0 in the World Series, and dropping the Toledo/Detroit Ravens to 0-5 in the World Series.

As the 1959 season was approaching, another team announced a pending relocation. The Virginia Beach Captains, in desperate need of a new stadium but unable to secure one where they were (and fresh off a 100-loss season), announced that they would be moving to Miami, Florida for the 1960 season, where they had a new stadium currently being built for them. They would then become known as the Miami Gators.

The Captains got off to a hot start, making many wonder if they would continue the odd trend of teams with pending relocations winning the World Series in their final season in their old home, like the Pittsburgh Prowlers and Trenton Tigers both have done earlier this decade. But they faded back to earth soon enough and were at 33-33 and 10 games out of first by mid June.
Of the four playoff teams from 1958, only one of them returned for 1959: the Atlanta Colonels won the NBC East again. The San Francisco Tigers won 99 games to run away with the NBC West. The New York Knights ran away with the ABC East with 103 wins. The Captains finished second in their final season in Virginia Beach, going 80-73. The defending division champion Cleveland Coyotes went 63-90 and finished last. And the ABC West went to the Indiana Fireflies, who won it by four games over the defending champion Silverbacks.
The Colonels' bad luck in the playoffs continued, as the Tigers swept them in the NBC Championship Series. The Fireflies also went on to upset the Knights in four games in the ABC Championship Series. In the World Series, the Fireflies won Game 1 before the Tigers won the next four games to win their second championship in three years.

Following the season, the Virginia Beach Captains officially became the Miami Gators. Rumors were circulating that the Minnesota North Stars and Orlando Seals were also searching for new homes, having not found as much success as they have hoped where they are now.

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The 1960 season, the league's 60th anniversary, had some exciting division races. The Knights ran away with the ABC East again, but the ABC West was more competitive. The Silverbacks won the division, but they had to fend off Kansas City and Houston all season long. The NBC was much closer. On the final day of the season, nothing was decided yet. The Washington Eagles and Atlanta Colonels were tied for first, and the Detroit Ravens had a one-game lead over the Chicago Cardinals.
For the final games of the season, the Eagles were hosting the New Jersey Stallions and the Colonels were visiting the Milwaukee Browns. The Ravens, who were visiting the St. Louis Bears, could clinch the division with a win. The Cardinals, hosting the San Francisco Tigers, needed a win and a Detroit loss to tie for first and force a one-game playoff.
The Ravens won their game, which did not matter in the end because the Cardinals lost. The Colonels and Eagles also both lost their games, forcing a one-game playoff for the NBC East. Playing on the road in Washington, the Colonels rode a 6-run second inning to an 8-6 victory and their third straight NBC East division crown.
In the playoffs, the Silverbacks won their first two games over the Knights, but New York won the next two games to tie the series. Cincinnati prevailed in Game 5 to win their 4th pennant in the past 9 seasons. The Colonels' bad luck in the playoffs continued, as the Ravens took them down in four games, setting up a rematch from 1958: the Silverbacks (5-0 in the World Series) against the Ravens (0-5 in the World Series). No trends were reversed this time either, as the Silverbacks swept the Ravens to win the 1960 World Series.
After the season, the Minnesota North Stars dropped a bomb on their fans: they were moving to Nashville, Tennessee for the 1961 season and renaming themselves the Nashville Stars. Even though the team had struggled in its tenure in Minnesota, the fans were upset in the manner in which the team left. The league approved the move, but promised to look into placing a future expansion team in Minnesota later in the decade.

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The league changed so much in the 1950s with expansion and multiple teams relocating. As the 1960s began, we had a few more changes. The league implemented an All Star game and Home Run Derby beginning in 1962. A World Baseball Classic began to be played in 1963, and would occur every three years. And baseball began to be played in the Olympics starting in 1964.

The Orlando Seals started off 1961 strong and led their division at mid-season, but they fell back to earth as the New York Knights got hot, and New York wound up winning the division by 18 games, winning 101 games total. The defending champion Silverbacks held off the Kansas City Cyclones to capture the ABC West division. The defending NBC champion Detroit Ravens did not return to the playoffs, as they lost on the final day of the season to cede the division to the St. Louis Bears. The Washington Eagles ran away with the NBC East.
The Knights and Silverbacks played in the ABC Championship Series again, keeping their playoff rivalry going. This time, the Knights got the best of Cincinnati and won the series in four games. The former division rivals Eagles and Bears went the distance in the NBC Championship Series, with the Bears emerging victorious. Once again, the Bears would see the Knights in the World Series, although they no longer were neighbors. The Knights defeated them in 5 games to win the 1961 World Series.

Two teams changed their names for the 1962 season as well. Wanting to distinguish themselves from their past in Toledo, the Detroit Ravens announced that they were going to be known as the Detroit Red Barons. And the Houston Railmen--in honor of the new space program that was working to put a man on the moon and had deep connections to Houston--changed their name to the Houston Rockets. Both changes would be in place for the 1962 season.

The 1962 All Star game was held at Eisenhower Coloseum, the home of the Washington Eagles. The NBC won the game, with San Francisco's Willie Mays taking MVP honors. Mays also won the first ever Home Run Derby (which consisted of a couple players who were not on the All-Star teams), beating his teammate Willie McCovey in the final round.

As for the regular season, three of the four playoff teams from 1961 failed to make it back to the playoffs; the only one who did was the defending champion New York Knights. The Knights won the ABC East by a large margin, while the Indiana Fireflies barely held off the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the ABC West. In the NBC, the Yellow Jackets won the NBC East by 12 games, while the Los Angeles Lions won their first division title since moving out west by a margin of 11 games. The Knights and Lions both swept their respective playoff series to face off in the World Series. The Knights went on to win the World Series in six games, winning consecutive championships for the first time since 1938 & 1939.

The first ever All-Star teams


Results of the first ever Home Run Derby

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January 2: Hall of Fame voting results announced. Paul Derringer and Lee Grissom, both pitchers who spent their entire careers with the Trenton Tigers and Hartford Lions, respectively, are elected to the Hall of Fame. Hal Newhouser, who spent most of his career with the Toledo Ravens, was next closest to election with 72.6% of the vote in his fourth year of eligibility.

February 25: The World Baseball Classic begins.

March 3: World Baseball Classic final tournament is set. The countries in the running are: The Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the United States, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Nations that participated but failed to qualify: China, Cuba, Taipei, Israel, Dominican Republic, Canada, Italy and Venezuela.

March 4: Japan defeats The Netherlands 7-2. South Korea defeats Australia 6-5.

March 5: USA defeats Colombia 6-1. Puerto Rico defeats Mexico 4-2.

March 10: Puerto Rico defeats Japan 6-1 in WBC Semi-Finals.

March 11: USA defeats South Korea 7-2 in WBC Semi-Finals.

March 15: WBC Finals: USA defeats Puerto Rico 12-5 to win first WBC title. St. Louis Bears outfielder Bob Allison from Team USA earns MVP honors.

March 16: All WBC participants return to Spring Training with their teams.

June 24: New York Knights' Mickey Mantle hits his 500th career home run off Baltimore Blackbirds pitcher Don Lee. The Knights defeat the Blackbirds 10-5.

July 2: The 2nd annual Home Run Derby is held at Chavez Ravine, home of the Los Angeles Lions. Willie Mays wins the Home Run Derby for the second year in a row, defeating the New York Knights' Roger Maris in the final round.


July 3: The NBC defeats the ABC 12-8 in the All-Star game at Chavez Ravine.

August 7: Los Angeles Lions pitcher Sandy Koufax no-hits the Chicago Cardinals as the Lions win 1-0.

August 22: With an 8-3 win over the San Francisco Tigers, Atlanta Colonels pitcher Warren Spahn earns his 300th career win.

September 1: Going into the final month of the season, the Boston Patriots' 4.5 game lead over the New York Knights in the ABC East is the largest lead of any of the four divisions.

September 7: The Nashville Stars fire manager Pete Donohue with the team sitting with a 51-79 record and in last place in the ABC West. General manager Rogelio Maldonado is also let go.

September 20: On an 8-game winning streak, the Boston Patriots clinch the ABC East division title with a 10-0 blowout win over the Cleveland Coyotes.

September 21: The Chicago Cardinals defeat the Los Angeles Lions 6-5 in 14 innings, clinching the ABC West.

September 27: The Philadelphia Yellow Jackets defeat the Washington Eagles 2-0 to clinch the NBC East.

September 29: Thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins' 3-2 loss to the Nashville Stars, the Cincinnati Silverbacks are the ABC West champions.

October 9: The Boston Patriots win the ABC pennant, defeating the Silverbacks in the ABC Championship Series in four games.

October 10: After a full five-game series, the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets defeat the Chicago Cardinals to win the NBC pennant. It's Philadelphia's first World Series appearance since 1938.

October 12: Boston Patriots win World Series Game 1 by a score of 6-5.

October 13: The Yellow Jackets win Game 2 to even the World Series, as the series shifts to Philadelphia.

October 15: In front of their home crowd, the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets defeat the Boston Patriots 5-3 to win Game 3.

October 16: The Yellow Jackets win Game 4 by a score of 8-5, putting them one win away from their first ever championship, with Game 5 scheduled for tomorrow at home.

October 17: The Philadelphia Yellow Jackets defeat the Boston Patriots 3-2, winning the World Series for the first time in their history after 6 previous defeats. This leaves two of the original teams--the Detroit Red Barons and Orlando Seals--who have yet to win a championship.

November 1: Among the players announcing their retirements: Ted Williams, Monte Irvin, Bobby Doerr and Pee Wee Reese. Stan Musial was considering retirement but decided to play one more season.

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In 1964, minor league players were able to compete in the Olympics in baseball for the first time. Team Mexico emerged victorious, defeating Puerto Rico in the finals.

Meanwhile, the Bears' Bob Allison won the Home Run Derby and the ABC won the All-Star game. Meanwhile at the break, the Miami Gators and Atlanta Colonels held slim leads in their divisions, while the Cincinnati Silverbacks and San Francisco Tigers had comfortable leads in theirs. By the trade deadline, the Gators had a slim half-game lead over the Knights, and swung a big trade with Dallas to bring in young third baseman Dick Allen to fill a weak spot in their lineup. The move paid off, as they built their lead back up and retained the top spot in the division through August. They fended off the Knights to win the division in the end, their first playoff appearance since 1945 as the Virginia Beach Captains. The Silverbacks won the ABC West again. The Tigers won the NBC West, and the defending champion Yellow Jackets won a close NBC East race.

The Gators defeated the Silverbacks in four games, reaching the World Series for the first time since 1904. On the NBC side, the San Francisco Tigers fought and clawed their way to a 5-game victory to knock off the defending champs. In the World Series, the Gators defeated the Tigers in 5 games.

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For the 1965 season, it was announced that the Championship Series was moving to a 7-game series, instead of the 5-game series it had been since it was implemented. It was also announced that the ABC would be expanding once again, year to be determined.

The St. Louis Bears' Bob Allison won the Home Run Derby again, going back to back just as Willie Mays did before him. Mays participated again this year as well, losing to Allison in the second round.

The Miami Gators did not defend their title well, slipping to 4th place in the ABC East. The Boston Patriots won the division in a close battle with the Cleveland Coyotes. The Silverbacks won the ABC West again. In the NBC, the Chicago Cardinals and Philadelphia Yellow Jackets took their respective divisions.
The Yellow Jackets and Silverbacks were the first teams to get to 3 wins in their championship series, but that was no longer enough now that the CS is a best of 7. The Yellow Jackets won their next game to win the pennant, but the Patriots took Game 6 to force a Game 7. Cincinnati won Game 7, however, to emerge victorious.
In the World Series, the Silverbacks suffered their first World Series defeat, as the Yellow Jackets captured their second championship in three years.

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The second World Cup of Baseball was played at the beginning of the 1966 season, and once again Team USA won the tournament, beating Puerto Rico in the finals.

As the season was about to begin, an announcement was made that would shake up the league. The ABC would be expanding in 1967, and would be re-aligning to three divisions. The Orlando Seals were moving to Oakland, California, and to balance that out an expansion team would be placed in San Diego. To give the league an even number of teams, a second expansion team would be placed in Montreal, Canada. The playoffs would also be expanding to allow for three division winners and one wild card team. The NBC would not be expanding yet, but would also re-align to three divisions to keep the same balance with the ABC.

Norm Cash of the Detroit Red Barons won the Home Run Derby, beating the Knights' Mickey Mantle. Bob Allison, the two-time defending champion, declined to participate.

The San Francisco Tigers and Milwaukee Browns were locked into a tight battle for the NBC West crown, but the other division races were not that competitive with the Patriots, Penguins and Colonels building up big leads as the season went on. The Knights made a race of the ABC East, but the Patriots held them off to win the division in the end. The Penguins and Colonels easily won their divisions, and the Browns took the NBC West.

The Penguins swept the Patriots in the ABC Championship Series, while the Colonels took down the Browns in six games. This was the Colonels' first World Series appearance since 1929, when they made it in their fourth season. The Colonels then went on to sweep the Penguins, winning their first championship in team history.

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1967: More. There are two more teams in the ABC, which means one more division in each conference. The schedule was also expanded to include more games: 162, to exact.

There also were more compelling divisional races, as not one division had a runaway favorite, at least not in the beginning part of the season. The biggest division lead at the All-Star break was a 7-game lead enjoyed by the Kansas City Cyclones in the ABC West.

Hank Aaron won the Home Run Derby in 1967, defeating Harmon Killebrew in the final round.

Going into September, the Cyclones and the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets enjoyed 10 and 12 game leads in their respective divisions. The other four division races were very close, with a total of 12 teams within 7 games or less of the top spot. The ABC East had a 3-team race, with the Boston Patriots in first and the New York Knights and Baltimore Blackbirds a game behind them.

The Philadelphia Yellow Jackets won the ABC East, the first team to clinch a playoff spot. Then before any of the other divisions were clinched, both the Milwaukee Browns and Atlanta Colonels clinched playoff spots; one would win the NBC Central and the other would take the NBC Wild Card spot.
The Kansas City Cyclones were next to clinch, winning the ABC West and punching their ticket to the playoffs for the first time in their history. Then the Baltimore Blackbirds ripped off a 10-game winning streak en route to clinching the ABC East and going to the playoffs for the first time since 1915: ending a 52-year drought.
The Cincinnati Silverbacks clinched the ABC Central, with the Indiana Fireflies and Pittsburgh Penguins battling it out for the ABC Wild Card spot. The Fireflies clinch the spot on the final day of the season.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lions and San Francisco Tigers were fighting for the NBC West title, despite both teams being well under .500. On the final day of the season, the Lions defeated the Tigers to clinch the NBC West...with a 73-89 record!

The wild card teams would typically play the division winner with the best record, but both of these scenarios would create a matchup of division rivals in the first round, and the rules did not allow for that. So, the playoff matchups were as follows:
Kansas City Cyclones vs. Cincinnati Siverbacks
Indiana Fireflies vs. Baltimore Blackbirds
Los Angeles Lions vs. Atlanta Colonels
Milwaukee Browns vs. Philadelphia Yellow Jackets

The Los Angeles Lions (73-89) were considered no match for the Atlanta Colonels (103-59) in the first round. However, reminiscent of what the then-Cleveland Blue Sox did to the New York Knights in 1921 (the first year of divisional play), the Lions won the series in four, eliminating the Colonels and advancing to the NBC Championship Series. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets swept the Browns in three straight to advance.
In the ABC, the Cyclones took down the Silverbacks in four games to win their first playoff series. The Blackbirds went the distance and defeated the Fireflies in five games, advancing and remaining undefeated all-time in the playoffs (albeit in only their second appearance, with a 52-year gap since their first).
In the ABC Championship Series, the Kansas City Cyclones rose to the occasion and took down the Blackbirds in six games, advancing to the World Series in their first ever playoff appearance. And in the NBC, the Yellow Jackets ended the Lions' unprecedented run by taking them down in six games.
The 1967 World Series featured the Kansas City Cyclones vs. the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. The series began in Kansas City, where the Cyclones won Game 1 in front of their home crowd. They lost Game 2, and the series headed to Philadelphia tied at 1-1. At home, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Cyclones in Game 3, and then won again in Game 4. The Yellow Jackets then won Game 5, winning the World Series in front of their home fans and continuing their odd-year trend. They've won the World Series in 1963, 1965 and now 1967.

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In 1968, Bob Allison of the St. Louis Bears returned to the Home Run Derby and won it again, defeating Oakland's Willie Horton in the final round.

As for the playoff races, there were some compelling races (and thankfully, no losing teams this time). The Baltimore Blackbirds, a year off of snapping a 52-year playoff drought, won the ABC East for the second year in a row. The Indiana Fireflies won the ABC Central, with the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the wild card. Both won over 100 games, and the Cincinnati Silverbacks finished a distant third, winning over 90 games but not getting into the playoffs (only one team in the NBC, the Tigers, won more than 90 games). The Oakland Panthers ran away with and won the ABC West.
As for the NBC, the Charlotte Roadrunners took the NBC East. The San Francisco Tigers, with the best record in the conference, won the NBC West. The Chicago Cardinals won the NBC Central. The wild card race went down to the wire. In fact, there were three teams still in the running for it on the final day of the season. The Washington Eagles sat at 82-79, needing to simply defeat the Cardinals to win the wild card. If they lost, that could allow either the Atlanta Colonels or the New Jersey Stallions (or both) to tie them and force a one-game playoff. The Colonels and Stallions both sat at 81-80. Atlanta had their final game against the Lions in Los Angeles, while the Stallions finished up at home against the Milwaukee Browns.
The Cardinals defeated the Eagles 5-1, denying them a chance to clinch the wild card outright. The Colonels were shut out 2-0 by the Lions, ending their season. The Stallions, however, defeated the Browns 5-1 to tie the Eagles and force a one-game playoff in Washington. The Eagles defeated the Stallions 4-0 to take the wild card.

In the ABC Division Series, the Penguins faced off against the Panthers, while the Fireflies faced the Blackbirds. In the NBC Division Series, the Roadrunners faced the Cardinals while the Eagles played the Tigers.

Both ABC series went four games, with the Blackbirds upsetting the top-seeded Fireflies and the Penguins taking down the Panthers. Both series in the NBC went a full five games, with the Tigers knocking off the wild card Eagles and the Cardinals taking down the Roadrunners.
The Penguins beat the Blackbirds in the ABC Championship Series, while the Cardinals defeated the Tigers in the NBC Championship Series. Both series went six games. In the World Series, it was the Cardinals who emerged victorious in six games.

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The Philadelphia Yellow Jackets have won the World Series in 1963, 1965 and 1967 after having never previously won one before then. So that means that they are destined to win it all again in 1969, right?
They started the season off well enough, although the New Jersey Stallions were proving to be a formidable challenge in the division. At the All-Star break, the Stallions were in first place with the Yellow Jackets not too far behind them.
The All-Star game was played in Chicago this year. Lee May of the Cincinnati Silverbacks won the Home Run Derby, taking down Charlotte's Rico Petrocelli in the final round. Then the ABC defeated the NBC in the game itself.
After the All-Star break, the Yellow Jackets caught fire and surged ahead of the Stallions, claiming first place for good and winning the NBC East well on their way to another odd-year championship. Their opponent in the Division Series was the San Francisco Tigers, the winners of the NBC West. Elsewhere in the league: the Atlanta Colonels won the NBC Central and would take on the Stallions, who claimed the NBC Wild Card spot.
In the ABC, the Baltimore Blackbirds continued their newfound dominance by running away with the ABC East. The Montreal Dragonflies put up a fight before fading and finishing a distant second, but with an 84-78 record they posted their first winning record ever in their third season. The Houston Rockets also posted their best season ever--they had finished over .500 before, but this was the first time that they finished in first and won their division, claiming the ABC West with a 97-65 record. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the ABC Central with a league-best 100-62 record, while the Oakland Panthers captured the ABC Wild Card to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time ever. In the playoffs, Houston would face Pittsburgh while Oakland would face Baltimore.
The Yellow Jackets' trend ended as the Tigers took them down. The Colonels defeated the Stallions, the Rockets knocked off the Penguins and the Panthers took down the Blackbirds. Then in the championship series, the Colonels and Rockets won to face off in the World Series. In a full seven-game series, the Rockets defeated the Colonels for their first ever championship.

[ericnease84]

As this league has progressed, it is now going into its 70th season. As we are approaching the more modern era, I would like to post more detail going forward than just a brief summary of each season. For those of you who are following this historical/fictional hybrid simulation, what kind of detail would you want to see going forward? I'll take suggestions and consider what to add for each season; 1970 will be played and posted soon.

[ericnease84]

As the league's 70th season began, the Houston Rockets were out to defend their first ever championship. With their World Series win, that now left 7 teams (out of 26) that had never won a World Series: the San Diego Dolphins, Montreal Dragonflies, New Jersey Stallions, Dallas Bulls, Kansas City Cyclones, Detroit Red Barons and Oakland Panthers. 5 have never even played in a World Series (Dolphins, Dragonflies, Bulls, Stallions and Panthers) and only 3 (Bulls, Dragonflies and Dolphins) have never made the playoffs. But the Dolphins and Dragonflies are only in their 4th season, and the Dolphins have yet to NOT lose 100 games in a season. The Bulls are starting their 13th season, and have only finished above .500 once (the Dragonflies finished above .500 last season). The New York Knights have still won the most championships of any team, with 16 (but only 4 have come in the past 30 years). The Chicago Cardinals come in second with 9 championships, but only 2 of those have come in the past 40 years.

As the season progressed, it soon became abundantly clear that neither the Knights nor the Cardinals were going to be contending for a playoff spot this year. The Baltimore Blackbirds, after decades of futility, continued to dominate their division as they held off the competitive but distant second place Miami Gators to win the ABC East. The Pittsburgh Penguins started off the season on fire, starting 21-9. They cooled off, however, and soon fell behind the Indiana Fireflies (who finished April in last place, by the way). Indiana won the ABC Central with a league best 104 wins. The Penguins finished with 104 wins, settling for the wild card. The defending champion Houston Rockets returned to the playoffs by winning the ABC West again. The Dolphins once again failed to not lose 100 games, finishing at 62-100 (the best record in their history so far--how embarrassing).
Over in the NBC, the Tigers and Lions were battling it out to win the NBC West and finish with a winning record. The Tigers acquired starting pitcher Wade Blasingame from the Silverbacks at the trading deadline in an attempt to push themselves over the top (sending an outfield prospect named George Foster to Cincinnati in exchange). It helped as they finished 88-74 and won the West. The Detroit Red Barons led the NBC Central virtually all season long, easily winning the division. The Atlanta Colonels came in second and captured the wild card. The most interesting race was the NBC East, where the New Jersey Stallions jumped out to an early lead but could not put the Yellow Jackets away. Philadelphia won their final five games of the season, but a Stallions win on the final day of the regular season clinched the division for New Jersey.

In the Division Series, the Rockets faced the Fireflies, the Penguins faced the Blackbirds, the Tigers faced the Red Barons and the Colonels faced the Stallions. Indiana made quick work of the defending champion Rockets, sweeping them out of the playoffs. The other three series all went a full five games. The Pittsburgh Penguins won their first two games, but then proceeded to drop the next three as the Blackbirds rallied to advance and send the Penguins home. The Red Barons knocked off the Tigers, and the Colonels eliminated the Stallions.
In the ABC Championship Series, the Baltimore Blackbirds won their first three games and looked on their way to a sweep, before the Fireflies rallied to win the next three games, force a Game 7 and put the Blackbirds in danger of the dreaded "reverse sweep." However, Baltimore managed to win Game 7 to advance to the World Series, winning their first pennant since 1915. Their opponent would be the Atlanta Colonels, who took down the heavily favored Red Barons in five games.
In the World Series, the Blackbirds and Colonels traded wins in the first four games before Baltimore pulled ahead and won Games 5 and 6, winning the 1970 World Series.

The 1970 All Star teams

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1971 produced the most exciting playoff race yet. There were a couple run-away races, as the Baltimore Blackbirds defended their championship by cruising to another division title in the ABC East. The New Jersey Stallions ran away with the NBC East, making the playoffs for the third year in a row. The other races were all close.
The Indiana Fireflies and the Pittsburgh Penguins traded first place back and forth throughout the season before the Fireflies pulled ahead to win the division. The Penguins wound up finishing tied for the wild card with both the Houston Rockets and Oakland Panthers, who finished tied on top of the ABC West. This produced a 3-way tie for two playoff spots. The Rockets could have avoided this fate, but they could not hold a 2-game lead with 2 games to go as they suffered a 3-game season-ending sweep at the hands of the Blackbirds.
The Detroit Red Barons and Chicago Cardinals also finished tied on top of the NBC Central, but the runner up also make the playoffs as the NBC Wild Card team. And in the NBC West, the Lions and Tigers battled it out all year before the Lions won their final game to clinch the division.

To decide the playoffs: the Cardinals and Red Barons had a one-game playoff in Detroit, with the winner taking the division and the loser settling for the wild card. And in the ABC that same day, the Panthers and Rockets played in Houston. The winner would take the ABC West, and the loser would play the Penguins for the wild card.

The Cardinals defeated the Red Barons in Detroit to claim the NBC Central, and leave the Red Barons as the wild card. Then later in the day, the Panthers defeated the Rockets to take the ABC West. The Rockets, however, had one more life. They traveled to Pittsburgh, to play the Penguins the next day for the ABC Wild Card spot. The Penguins defeated the Rockets, ending their season and claiming the wild card spot. If only the Rockets could have beaten Baltimore one time...

As for playoff matchups: the Penguins would face the Blackbirds in the first round, while the Panthers would take on the Fireflies. The Red Barons drew the Stallions, while the Lions were matched up with the Cardinals.
The Stallions, after being one-and-done in their first two playoff appearances, finally broke through and won a playoff series by beating Detroit in four games. The Penguins knocked off the Blackbirds in four games as well. The other two series went a full five games. The Cardinals knocked off the Lions, and the Panthers defeated the Fireflies.
The Penguins faced the Panthers in the ABC Championship Series, while the Stallions faced the Cardinals in the NBC Championship Series. Both series went six games, but in the end both teams looking for their first pennant went down, and the Cardinals and Penguins faced off in the 1971 World Series. The World Series also went six games, and the Chicago Cardinals emerged victorious as 1971 World Champions.

1971 All Star Teams
Attachment 936216

HR Derby winner: Norm Cash, Detroit Red Barons

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There were rumors swirling that the NBC was looking to expand by 2 teams to have an equal number of teams the ABC, which were confirmed early in the season. However, locations and any sort of timetable were not revealed--just that expansion was indeed in the works.

There were many teams that were in the playoff hunt in 1972. Only one team, the New Jersey Stallions, truly ran away with their division, winning the NBC East by a lot. The San Francisco Tigers won the NBC West, and the Detroit Red Barons won the NBC Central. Over in the ABC, the Baltimore Blackbirds won the East, the Indiana Fireflies narrowly won the ABC Central, and the Oakland Panthers won the ABC West. Both World Series participants from 1971--the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Cardinals--failed to make the playoffs or even finish with a winning record in 1972.

Going into the final day of the season, neither wild card was decided. In the NBC, the Charlotte Roadrunners held a one-game lead over the St. Louis Bears. The Roadrunners played their final game on the road against the Stallions, while the Bears finished up at home against the Red Barons.

The ABC was far more complicated: there were four teams that were still in the running for the wild card. Three teams--the Houston Rockets, Cincinnati Silverbacks and Nashville Stars--sat with identical 86-75 records. In addition, the Miami Gators had an 85-76 record: if they won their final game against the Panthers in Oakland, they could create a 4-way tie for the wild card if the other three teams all lost. The Silverbacks' final game was at home against the Blackbirds, the Stars finished on the road in Kansas City, and the Rockets finished at home against the Patriots.

The Gators won their final game, but they were still eliminated because Cincinnati, Houston and Nashville all won too and there was a 3-way tie for the wild card. The NBC had a tie as well, as the Roadrunners lost their final game while the Bears won.

The NBC was pretty straightforward: the Bears hosted the Roadrunners for a one-game playoff to decide the wild card spot. The ABC was a little more complicated. That same day, the Rockets hosted the Stars, and the winner would go on to play the Silverbacks the next day.
The Roadrunners defeated the Bears by a score of 9-6 to win the NBC Wild Card, while the Stars defeated the Rockets 3-2. Houston headed on home, as Nashville headed home to host the Silverbacks. The Stars won, capturing the ABC Wild Card and making the playoffs for the first time since 1940, when they were still the Cleveland Blue Sox.

In the ABC Division Series, the Stars played the Blackbirds while the Fireflies faced the Panthers. In the NBC, the Roadrunners faced the Tigers while the Red Barons faced the Stallions. The Stars went on and defeated the Blackbirds in 4 games, while the Panthers took four games to knock off the Fireflies. The Stallions' playoff woes continued as the Red Barons knocked them off in four games. The other NBC Division Series went a full five games, with the Tigers emerging victorious over the Roadrunners.

The Oakland Panthers won the ABC Championship Series and finally won their first ever pennant, the last of the original teams to do so. They took down the Stars in five games, while the Tigers defeated the Red Barons in six games to capture the NBC pennant. In the World Series, the Tigers defeated the Panthers in six games to win the 1972 World Series.

1972 All Star Team
Attachment 937917

Home Run Derby winner: John Milner, Pittsburgh Penguins

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