Legacy Baseball League - Fictional Deadball League

[LBL_Brendan]

JOIN US ON A JOURNEY THROUGH THE BASEBALL AGES.

Two years in the making, the LEGACY BASEBALL LEAGUE is a combination of creativity, history, writing, and competition. We are currently recruiting passionate, competitive, and creative GMs to join us on our baseball journey from 1895 to present day.

Full League Name (Initials): Legacy Baseball League (LBL)
Main URL: LBL Home Page
Reports URL: League Reports
Commissioner(s) OOTP Forum Username(s): catamount_kid
Email Address: andrew.visscher@gmail.com
OOTP Version: OOTP 24
Game Needed: Required
Players: Fictional
# of Teams: 16
Sim Times: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
League Time Per Sim: One week/seven game days
First Season: 1895
Latest Season: Currently 1908
Special Rules & Settings: Constitution, StatsPlus integration, Writing Encouraged, Upgrades to Newest OOTP Version Required, Discord for casual communication, Salary Cap


HOW DO I JOIN?

Apply here. As this is the labor of love for the founders, we are discerning in who we permit to manage teams in the LBL.

More information regarding our founding principles, rules, and League Constitution can be found at our website.

APPLY HERE
LEAGUE PODCAST
LEAGUE WEBSITE
LEAGUE REPORTS
STATS+
LEAGUE CONSTITUTION
PODCAST

CURRENT OPENINGS:

Boston Banshees (See Below for More Franchise Information)

Credit to CooleyVol for the uniform presentation template throughout this thread.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Juby and Jones

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

Monroe Tobacco Baseball Cards

Monroe Tobacco Co., owned by the Richmond Rifles owner, Michael J. Monroe, issued a set of baseball cards to be included in packs of its cigarettes in 1901. Recognizing the growing popularity of baseball, Monroe seized on the promotional potential of including some of the game’s most famous players and most promising youngsters with its tobacco productions. Below is a subset of the cards put out in that infamous set.

Baltimore Clippers - SS Clovis Juby

Adjusting to life in the big leagues can be hard. Despite showing immense talent with his glove from the very beginning, Juby’s scuffling bat led the Clippers, already overstocked with talented leathermen, to ship him to the Whales of Brooklyn ahead of the 1903 season. The change of scenery helped the athletic shortstop to discover an approach at the plate that worked well-enough for him. Since joining Brooklyn, Juby has been something approximating an average bat while being among the best defenders in the LBL.

Boston Banshees - SS Kensington Jones

Debuting with the Boston Banshees in the LBL’s inaugural year—all frenetic energy and hustle—the rookie SS immediately made an impression on Boston baseball fans and the LBL at-large. Jones' high-energy style was at-once a perfect match for the outright hostile and often violent atmosphere at the Boston Yards. Hustle, grit, and spikes-up slides, Jones played to the preferences of his hometown Boston rooters. The dazzling shortstop—as likely to make a diving play as to be the first of his teammates into a scrum—has secured seven Grande Snagger awards at SS. But, as he has developed, he has also become a threat with his bat. He has won two Golden Bat awards in his career. The unexpected trade from Boston to Twin City just prior to Opening Day 1903 left the city of Boston devastated. Since the trade, Boston has mostly floundered in the standings without their passionate leader—never seriously challenging for a division title—while Twin City has won several Western League pennants and one Legacy Cup behind their ever-charging shortstop.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Webb, Emig, and Johnson

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

Brooklyn Whales - P Alberto "Pappy" Webb

An unlikely baseball hero. After a career spent in obscure cornfields, freezing diamonds in the northern Midwest, and blazing baseball fields in the humid South, the soft-tossing righty debuted in the LBL as a 41 year old rookie and immediately finished third in Pitcher of the Year voting. A cerebral pitcher, reliant on guile rather than physical prowess, Pappy Webb immediately endeared himself to the Brooklyn rooters. An integral part of the Whales’ threepeat championship run from 1900-1902, Webb’s postseason heroics are already the stuff of legends. Down 3-2 to the dominant Twin City Empire in the 1901 Legacy Cup in a best of nine series, Webb stood his ground against legendary Empire starting pitcher Jim Nemmers and breathed new life into the somehow underdog defending champions. The Whales would go on to win the 1901 Legacy Cup in Minnesota in eight games. A revered baseball mind, Webb is a possible managerial candidate after serving as a bench coach for the Detroit Giants.

Chicago Doves - P Billy Emig

The original ace for the Windy City Birds—Chicago’s more successful baseball franchise—since their days as an exhibition squad, Emig is the all-time leader for the Doves in WAR. Now retired, Emig’s smooth, effortless delivery was emblematic of the Doves’ striving to capture the most beautiful version of America’s great game. To any unbiased observer, Emig’s natural arm talent was easily among the best in the game throughout his tenure. But, Emig did not always put in the work to excel beyond his own physical limits. Nevertheless, Emig was a durable pitcher and a hard thrower; he led the LBL in both innings pitched and strikeouts in each of 1897 and 1898. He also led the LBL in WAR in 1897 but was not honored with the Pitcher of the Year award, losing out to Cleveland’s always great Matthew Holiday. Emig was above average in each of the first eight years of his nine-year career—only failing to post an ERA+ above 100 in his age 40 season—and had a stellar postseason in 1900 when the Doves won the Western League pennant. Emig’s casual, easy dominance was a strong foundation for the early Doves’ teams. Whether he ever captured the most of his enormous natural arm talent is a question that Doves fans will be left debating for a long time.

Chicago Packers - 1B/OF Gary Johnson

Johnson, no matter how bad the Packers were—and there have been many bad Packers’ seasons—has always been among the best hitters in the LBL. Johnson is second all-time on the LBL leaderboard for OBP and third all-time for OPS. As good as he is at hitting, he is equally hopeless with the glove. Likely miscast as an outfielder for much of his career, it is difficult to say if it was a lack of interest in fielding or some unresolved deficiency in technical ability that so limited him with the glove. But, none of the Packers’ faithful came to Powers Field to watch him field. They came to watch the lefty twist opposing pitchers into knots—like a cat toying with a mouse before delivering the killing blow. The two-time Golden Bat award winner has willed the Packers’ offense to something resembling competence—despite a limited supporting cast—nearly singlehandedly for most of his career. And, while he will likely never earn a Legacy Cup during his playing career, he has deservedly earned the respect of fans of baseball and his peers alike.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Holiday, McCoy, and Nash

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

Cleveland Athletics - P Matthew "Troll" Holiday

Simply, Matthew Holiday is the greatest pitcher the Legacy Baseball League has known. Joining the Cleveland Athletics at league inception in 1895, the big righty from Kansas City has befuddled LBL hitters in each of his professional seasons. By the time he finally hangs up his cleats, he will have nearly single-handedly written the LBL pitching record book. At 6'2", the mammoth right-hander is an intimidating sight when he takes the mound. Emerging from the old independent leagues in the Midwest, Holiday has never posted a season with less than 6.0 WAR/100 games. He has won 4 League Pitcher of the Year awards during his career (and come in second twice and third once) and has continued his dominance into his late 30s after a trade to the Eastern League’s Richmond Rifles for a king’s ransom.

Detroit Giants - OF Ricky "Lightning" McCoy

Two-time Western League MVP and two-time Legacy Cup Champion, Ricky "Lightning" McCoy was the first LBL power-speed threat, while playing an above average defensive CF for most of his career. An extremely productive player in the field and at the plate, McCoy is a national fan favorite for his uniquely exciting brand of baseball. He plays with an all-consuming edge, unparalleled in the Western League, that has earned the respect of his teammates and competitors alike. McCoy led the Western League in stolen bases in nearly all of his professional seasons, finishing outside the top spot once in 1901 (he finished third). McCoy is the all-time LBL leader in both stolen bases and homeruns. He has won the WL Golden Bat Award for CF four times.

New York Bakers - 2B Moe Nash

Moe Nash. Humble and hardworking, Moe debuted with the Bakers—the more humble of the New York franchises—and the fit should have been perfect. In limited time in 1900, Nash slashed .292/.346/.417 as a 20 year old rookie. He displayed a jack-of-all-trades skillset that made him a promising piece for the Bakers’ future. Unfortunately, Nash has yet to regain the initial spark that led to such a sterling slash line at a young age. Floundering in each of the next four seasons at the major league level, Nash unfortunately played his way out of the Legacy Baseball League.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Dwyer, McKenzie, and Sliger

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

New York Kings - 2B Demetrius Dwyer

Demetrius Dwyer was blessed with an unbelievable batting eye. At times, his approach at the plate has been mistaken for passivity, but his mantra has always been consistent: do not swing at anything outside of the strike zone and make the pitcher beat him. Several Kings’ managers have accused him over the years of placing his own stats above the good-of-the team, often drawing a walk rather than swinging the bat with men in scoring position. Despite the criticisms, Dwyer can indisputably count himself among the best second basemen to ever play in the LBL. He debuted with the inauguration of the LBL in 1895 and, like his batting approach, has been quietly consistent throughout his time in the majors. He has won both a Golden Bat award and a Grande Snagger aware at 2B and generally finishes each season between 2 and 3 WAR like clockwork.

Philadelphia Brewers - 1B/OF Leo "Dizzy" McKenzie

Leo McKenzie is the most decorated ballplayer in the LBL. McKenzie has won the MVP Award nine times, and is a big reason the Brewers have won an LBL-leading five Legacy Cups. It would be impossible to overstate his impact at the plate. The living legend boasts an impossible career slash line with nearly unparalleled speed on the bases. He has wrecked the Eastern League since his debut with the Brewers in 1895 with his bat and with his legs. When McKenzie retires (hopefully many seasons from now), the baseball world will mourn and weep. But, his legacy will endure and the impact that he has made on the early LBL will be the stuff of legends passed down over generations of LBL fans.

Pittsburgh Oilers - OF Randy Sliger

All he’s done since joining the Legacy Baseball League is hit. The unquestioned leader of the Pittsburgh offense, Sliger has compiled an impressive career line. He has taken home the Golden Bat award five times (1895 and 1899, 1901, 1902, and 1904). Solidly built at 5’9” and 200 lbs., the Ohio native is well-known around Pittsburgh for the show he puts on at the plate. His exploits around town are nearly as legendary. On four occasions, the slugger has led the Western League of the LBL in hits and four times in total bases. He is routinely among the league leaders in batting average and extra base hits. The all-time hit king, he is the engine that makes the Oilers' offense go and the emotional leader of the squad from Western PA.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Griffith, Maw, and Pizza

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

Providence Angels - P John Griffith

The hometown boy—born in Eastern Providence, RI—captured the hearts of his friends and neighbors during his time on the mound for the Angels. The 1895 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year (he would finish second in 1896) led Providence to the postseason in each of 1895, 1896, 1898 and 1903. The solid righty dominated the 1890s with great command and a repertoire featuring a sinker and forkball, inducing weak contact while limiting walks. Endlessly adaptable—a must while playing under Judge Cartwright’s ever tightening set of restrictions and prescriptions for his players—and a natural leader, Griffith was as revered in the clubhouse as he was in the community. While never able to recapture the early brilliance that he flashed in his 20s, Griffith nevertheless aged gracefully through his age 32 season. A lifer in Providence, he can still be found frequently around town generously signing autographs for youngsters with professional baseball ambitions—just like him.

Richmond Rifles - P Ivy "Iron Horse" Maw

A favorite in Richmond, Maw joined the team in its second year in 1896. What has followed is a brilliant career. Maw, a cerebral pitcher who finishes the games he starts has won two Pitcher of the Year awards (finishing second twice and third once) and two Legacy Cups for the LBL’s only Southern team. He has led the LBL in WAR three times, BB/9 six times, complete games three times, and wins three times. Arguably the best pitcher in the LBL from 1898-1901, Maw has flourished for Monroe’s squad by matching pinpoint control with a five-pitch arsenal that keeps batters guessing. His cerebral approach to pitching is allowing him to continue to thrive despite diminishing stuff. At present, he ranks second all-time in WAR in the LBL behind current teammate Matthew Holiday.

St. Louis Beavers - OF Zach Pizza

Blessed with one of the sillier names in the LBL and an above-average ability to swing a bat, Zach Pizza made his debut with the inaugural 1895 St. Louis Beavers’ team. Subsequently, he has won four Golden Bat awards as an outfielder and mainstay in the Beavers’ lineup. Pizza routinely finishes among the best hitters in the game and sports an impressive career slash line. His mighty bat has propelled the Beavers’ to a dominant run atop the Frontier Division in the Western League of late, having won the division five of the last six seasons and winning three Western League pennants. There are no signs of Pizza slowing down either, continuing to chug along as a feared hitter in his 40s.

[LBL_Brendan]

Monroe Tobacco Cards: Melin and Nemmers

All of the images were traced from T206 cards using Inkscape and then texture was added using GIMP. The GMs in the league were offered the opportunity to sign the card for their team as the relevant player. So, that’s the source of the signatures on the cards below.

St. Louis Reds - OF Mike Melin

A big part of the Running Reds teams that annually led the LBL in team steals, Melin led the St. Louis squad that challenged for the first Legacy Cup in 1895 against the Philadelphia Brewers. Time, however, comes for us all. As Melin’s knees got balkier with age—the change robbed him of much of the running speed and range that had made him such an exciting centerfielder for the Reds—his production began to decline. Melin will always be revered by Reds’ fans for his class in accepting a move to the bench to make room for superstar Golden Reeves and the relentless motor that helped the Reds run all over the Western League from its inception.

Twin City Empire - P Jim Nemmers

The anchor of Twin City’s highly effective experiment with a two-man rotation in the early aughts—an experiment only possible because of Nemmers’ legendary work ethic and durability—Nemmers holds the distinction of being the first player in the LBL to have his number retired. Number 16 was cursed with the unfortunate timing of the LBL’s inauguration given that he was 35 during the inaugural 1895 season. Despite his short tenure in the LBL, and his advanced age, Nemmers was nevertheless dominant during his eight year career. He won three Pitcher of the Year awards (also finishing second once and third once) and pitched well in two playoff runs, both times helping his team reach the Legacy Cup, before the toll of the extreme workload inevitably caused him to underperform in the championship series. It takes a special type of player to take the ball every second day—and to excel while doing so—but Nemmers was cut from a rare cloth. His legend will only continue to grow as the details of his career begin to blur with time and his tenacity and work ethic come to the fore of popular memory.

[LBL_Brendan]

Franchise Highlight: The Pittsburgh Oilers

The Oilers began as an oilman’s tribute to his deceased wife. Since their inception, the Oilers have been among the unluckier franchises in the LBL. The Oilers need a GM ready to fall in love with the tough luck franchise to secure a place at the top of their division.

The playful shrieks of children in the streets rang out through the midsummer air in Titusville. Their shrieks clashed with the morning song of several persistent birds. As soon as the disjointed melody between the children and birds started to die down, it would soon pick back up again. Meanwhile, the bright morning sun took its righteous place in the rich blue sky of Western Pennsylvania.

The Colfax residence was quiet, as usual. After all, it was home to only one inhabitant. Chester Colfax, deep in slumber just a few minutes ago, had finally woke up to start his day. The fragile man lifted himself from his bed and stumbled down into his living room, still groggy and half-asleep. He squinted as he tried to decipher the time on his grandiose grandfather clock, a family heirloom that had endured several generations.

As his vision steadied, Chester sighed. The clock read 10:13 in the morning, much later than Chester would have guessed. He was supposed to be at the oil field by 8 AM.

Despite him running late, Chester moved with no urgency. Tardiness was nothing new to him. In fact, he had made somewhat of a routine out of being late.

After Chester had finally prepared himself to leave, he emerged from his front door into the oppressive summer heat and began his 20 minute walk to work.

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Chester had never been late for work a day in his life up until 1892. His tireless work ethic everyone knew him for also came to a screeching halt right around this time, and it’s no secret as to why. In 1892, Chester’s beloved wife Eunice had tragically passed away from a bout with pneumonia. Ever since that dark time, Chester had been a shell of the man he once was. Chester’s former enthusiasm, loved by all, had been erased. He never learned to cope with his loss and found it impossible to move on.

In fact, one of the reasons it took so long for Chester to leave his house each morning was because he would converse with a framed picture of his beloved Eunice at the start of every day. Part of Chester still believed that Eunice was there as he stared into her frozen eyes wistfully.

Chester’s workers at the Colfax Oil Company never questioned him or attempted to overstep his boundaries. They held for him a great deal of compassion and knew he wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

Chester’s self-imposed responsibility at his job was to play the role of field supervisor. Chester, hampered by his fragility, was no longer a productive team member. He used to be willing to get his hands dirty. He used to be willing to work right alongside all those who had helped to build his fortune. No longer.

In fact, one of the mottos that he lived by was that he would never expect his workers to do something that he was unwilling to do himself.

But those days were long gone. Chester internally resented himself for his departure from the motto, but never did what was necessary to restore his belief in it.

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Little did Chester know that his commute to work on a muggy morning in mid-July would change his life. Lately, Chester had taken notice of a group of young boys who often played in a park that was on his way to work. He was particularly intrigued with what exactly it was that the young boys were doing.

Much to Chester’s delight, the boys were at the park once again. He stopped a moment and observed. One boy threw a ball, another attempted to hit it, and if the ball was in play, the boy who hit the ball would run with glee around the stations that they had set up. Though it was foreign to him for the most part, Chester was filled with a sense of joy. He approached the young men.

“Are you boys playing baseball?”

“Yes we are. It sure is a lot of fun!” The young boy that responded to Chester grinned from ear-to-ear.

The boy’s smile made Chester feel at ease. He continued, “I’ve heard much about this game but have never taken the time to understand it. Would you boys be so kind as to teach an old coot like me how to play baseball?”

The boys were thrilled to let someone else in on their game. They went on to explain to Chester the rules to the best of their ability. In truth, Chester didn’t learn much from what seemed like gibberish that came out of the boy’s mouth. They were young boys, to be fair. But what Chester extracted from that interaction was something he hadn’t felt in years – passion.

Chester was invigorated by the idea of baseball and wanted to involve himself with it in some way. He just wasn’t sure how he’d go about doing it.

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A few months later, Chester settled in to read the November 11th,1894 edition of The Sporting Times. Chester scanned the title of the featured article in disbelief. It read, “Rumor of a New League Sparks Hope.” As he learned, the competition to own a team in this potential new baseball league was fierce – “Several herculean obstacles lay before the feet of many organizations vying for control of a “national” baseball organization—the greatest of which is organizing the funds and vast horde of independent ball clubs across the nation.”

Chester knew he had the necessary financial standing to purchase his own club and did not want this incredible opportunity to slip through the cracks. From that point forward, he committed himself to doing anything it took to establish his own baseball club. Chester submitted an offer for ownership of a team and waited impatiently for a response from the office of the commissioner.

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Chester’s offer was competitive, and therefore it was entertained. As a result, Chester’s next step in starting his baseball journey would be to meet with Legacy Baseball League commissioner Alexander Madigan at his headquarters in Manhattan in order to discuss some of the logistics. After the men had worked through the tedious details, they shook each other’s hands and made it official – Pittsburgh would be home to one of the LBL’s 16 inaugural franchises.

Madigan couldn’t help but ask – “What will you name your new franchise, Mr. Colfax?”

Chester was prepared for this question. “The Oilers, sir.”

It was an apt name considering the decades of work that Chester performed in the oil fields.

In 1895, Chester retired from his role as supervisor at the Colfax Oil Company. He sold ownership of the company to his nephew, Chris. In doing so, Chester was able to invest his full attention toward baseball.

While it’s true that the Oilers have not enjoyed much success since their birth, Chester has made it clear that he hasn’t regretted one minute of his baseball life. After years of despair, it turned out to be the formation of the Legacy Baseball League that rescued Chester from his paralyzing emotional rut.

Most of all, Chester is overjoyed that he finally has something uplifting to share with his beloved Eunice.

Apply for the GM Position Here!

[LBL_Brendan]

Franchise Highlight: The St. Louis Beavers

The Beavers have had a dominant run at the top of the Western League’s Frontier Division for most of the 1900s. Founded by the younger brother of a wealthy St. Louis family, the Beavers’ have played with a chip on their shoulder since their inception. The Beavers need a GM willing to embrace the scrum of the Frontier Division and their owners' sibling rivalry with the cross-town St. Louis Reds while shrewdly planning for the transition to the younger generation of Beavers’ stars.

By the time venture capitalist and team owner Robert Schilling arrived at his recently constructed Riverlands Field the morning of October 19, 1894, the flames had mostly subsided. The large, newly painted grandstand and its buttressing block towers lay charred and crumbled. Firefighters scrambled about, and layers of smoke leapt and danced in the breeze, like silent, stinging taunts. Or, at least, that’s how it seemed to Robert Schilling.

Scorned by his family, Robert set out on his own as an investor and venture capitalist. After older brother Andrew moved considerable family capital into upscale department stores across Midwestern cities, Robert founded a rival chain of department stores, more appealing to the burgeoning middle class in the region, which he named, simply, “Robert’s.” When Saint Louis newspapers heralded Andrew’s purchase of a baseball franchise, to become the Saint Louis Reds in the newly minted Legacy Baseball League, Robert moved quickly to land a team of his own to rival and outlast his brothers’.

The younger brother of the famed Schilling Shipping and Trade Company family, Robert was left from his father’s will after what many in the family described simply as a disagreement concerning morality, horses, and the necessary quality of leather for workmen’s boots. However, whispers over expensive whiskey tell of Robert’s hatred for his favored older brother, Andrew, the heir to the family’s vast assets, as the reason.

Robert secured a parcel of land to build a ball field to the south of the city, overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi River and the winding River Des Peres. He took great care and foresight in the ballpark’s construction, designing the tall block towers himself down to the slightest of details, and hiring, for above normal wages, only local skilled carpenters and craftsmen. He wanted to build a park where the more common of men could watch a ballgame as kings.

The fire turned his dream black and smoldered. When onlookers and firefighters noticed the stoic expression on Robert’s face as he took in the devastation, all became quiet. The sound of a falling tree along the banks of the River Des Peres interrupted the silence. It was soon discovered a beaver had felled the tree. Robert took the moment as a sign to rebuild.

A humbler grandstand was erected during the winter months, and, upon the first game played in the spring of 1895, locals began referring to the team as the Beavers, in recognition of the moment of hope provided by a beaver, the tenacious spirit of their team’s owner, and the hardworking laborers who rebuilt the field and now watch their team as fans.

A sign over the main gate, painted in blocked white letters, reads, “Built by you, for you. Beat the Reds”.

Apply for the GM Position Here!

[LBL_Brendan]

Beavers claimed.

[LBL_Brendan]

Pittsburgh claimed. Currently full, but still accepting applications for the next vacancy. Please feel free to apply. Thank you, all!

[LBL_Brendan]

Franchise Highlight: The Detroit Giants

This gritty, blue-collar team embodies the industrious spirit of the Great Lakes, laying claim to the Old Grounds on Jefferson Avenue, near the Detroit River. A 2-time Legacy Cup Champion, Detroit was the dominant force in the 19th Century Western League. Currently led by an aging front of stars led by one of the league's all-timers, 1B Ricky McCoy, the Giants are attempting to avoid becoming a nostalgia act. Fortunately, Detroit is blessed with one of the best outfields in the Legacy Baseball League with three young, defensive wizards in RF Fletcher Pluttock, CF George Anderson and LF Vernon German catching everything hit out of the infield. SS Earl Secombe provides a strong defensive option up the middle as well. A GM with the spirit to match Detroit's industrious style will find plenty of success in the Great Lakes Division.

To an uncommon cathedral—both pastoral and timeless—distinct from a city exploding with industry and lurching towards the future, generations of Detroit natives and immigrants journey in exultant pilgrimage to root for the local team. The Old Grounds, an unassuming ballpark located just off of Jefferson Avenue near the Detroit River, had served as the primary home of organized baseball in Detroit for as long as anyone could remember.

The Grounds’ primary tenant since the early 1870s, Detroit’s most popular team has loomed large over baseball in the Great Lakes region throughout its various incarnations. Originally a semi-professional team comprised of workers from the Michigan Stove Company, the Giants have been known by many names over their various stages of professionalization—the Grays, the Beaters, and the Ironworkers. Regardless of the name on the program, however, the result has mostly been the same—the Detroit team wins.

The Giants’ long-standing affiliation with the Michigan Stove Company is the root of their current moniker. As part of promotional efforts in connection with the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the Michigan Stove Company produced a giant replica of their popular Garland stove. At the end of the World’s Fair, the giant stove was returned to Michigan and displayed outside of the Michigan Stove Company’s factory on Jefferson Avenue, not far from the Old Grounds. It was not long after that local sportwriters drew a connection between the Garland’s dominance in global commerce and the extraordinary on-field results of Detroit’s baseball team.

The current owner of the Giants, Marcus Finch, was an initial partner in the Michigan Stove Company and a frequent presence on the factory floor where he would routinely help meet construction quotas by working alongside his employees. As a result of his willingness to roll up his sleeves and get dirty, Mr. Finch was beloved among the Company’s workers and personal friend to many. Accordingly, he was also a frequent presence at the Old Grounds, rooting fervently for the earlier Detroit teams. After a long career, Mr. Finch finally cashed out his stock in the cast-iron manufacturing giant and purchased the Detroit ball club.

Apply for the GM Position Here!

[LBL_Brendan]

Franchise Highlight: The Providence Angels

The Angels are a hard-charging, no frills, no nonsense ballclub owned by a devout New England judge. The Angels were the cream of the Ivy Division at its outset but have struggled more recently. Nevertheless, the Angels have some strong building blocks with which to reclaim their perch at the top of their division (including former MVP SS Loyal Wright, offensive juggernaut OF Rufus Burnell and powerful 1B/OF Madison Allighan, the Angels’ offense is well set to dominate in the coming years. Young pitchers Jimmie Ablewhite, Phil Beer and Christop Burnard could help fortify the starting rotation, with a plethora of starting pitching prospects waiting in AA. So, with a good offense in place, a little attention to the pitching staff should allow a relatively quick turnaround. The Angels need a disciplined GM ready to roll his/her sleeves up in pursuit of the eternal glory of a Legacy Cup.

The life work of sporting enthusiast and Superior Court Judge Jacob Cartwright, the Providence angels are a successful and strait-laced ballclub who play in the scenic center of Roger Williams Park on “Angel Island.”

A successful lawyer, respected judge and soft-spoken Roman Catholic deacon, Jacob Cartwright purchased the center of Roger Williams Park in 1893 to build a “holy, disciplined, and transcendent” baseball club. Originally formed from Judge Cartwright’s highly competitive diocesan club, the Angels were opened to non-Catholics in 1893 to comply with LBL mandates.

Likely the most rigid team in the Legacy Baseball League, Angels players are held to “Cartwright’s Canons,” a handbook of strict protocols, courtesies, and exercises written in the fashion of a Liturgy of the Hours. “Non-Catholic brethren are welcome to participate in the organization,” the introduction of Cartwright’s Canons reads, “just as our Savior Jesus Christ healed the gentiles and shared a well with the harlots.”

Players are fined for failure to shave, unkempt hair, cursing, rudeness, impiety, drunkenness, and failure to observe the sabbath.

Judge Cartwright’s no-nonsense franchise is often seen as the complete foil to Father Thomas Carlow’s rowdy Baltimore club. Archdiocesan gatherings between Baltimore and Rhode Island clergy are less than warm during the baseball season, with the respective Archbishops famously devoting pre-series homilies and Prayers of the Faithful to their respective teams.

Apply for the GM Position Here!

[LBL_Brendan]

Providence taken. Detroit still available.

[LBL_Brendan]

Detroit claimed. Currently full, but still accepting applications for the next vacancy. Please feel free to apply. Thank you, all!

[LBL_Brendan]

Currently one opening: Detroit Giants (see above)

[LBL_Brendan]

Detroit claimed. Currently full, but still accepting applications. Please feel free to apply to be added to the waitlist for the next vacancy. Thank you, all!

[LBL_Brendan]

A Captain's Duty

It had been four straight years of playoff disappointment, but the streak looked like it could extend to half of a decade. For the second consecutive year, Brooklyn and Richmond had battled to a standstill in the Eastern League Cup 2-2. The Western League Champion–a familiar foe from 1901 and 1902–had already been declared with the perpetual Twin City Empire besting the Cleveland team with the best record in the Legacy Baseball League 3-1.

Brooklyn had already pitched Lefty Fain and Cliff Wollett twice in the League Cup and neither was available for the decisive game at the Field of the Whales. The Rifles had parried the Whales attempts to close out the series in Game 4 and carried the momentum into the final game. The Brooklyn locker room was justifiably nervous.

Maybe it was always an obvious choice to Whales’ manager Marques Williams who would take the mound for Brooklyn in Game 5. After all, it had been a long time since 1902, and the number of Whales players that had emerged from the playoff crucible was limited–only the eventual Game 5 battery of catcher Deacon Dunkley and pitcher Chick Benney remained. And so, Williams turned once more to his captain–the man that had twice been named the best pitcher in the Eastern League–to close out the series.

The game began with a cold stare from the mound as the 35 year old hurler watched Rifles shortstop Scud Scranton enter the batters’ box. Benney got the signal from Dunkley, and tried to overpower Scranton with a fastball. Scranton flicked the ball foul as if swatting a fly. Again the signal. Same result. Scranton flashed a cocky smile at the mound–maybe the graying ace had lost what had made him great.

The jawing from the Richmond bench was deafening despite being the visiting team. And, so, the veteran let them know–with some urgency–that such behavior was not going to be tolerated in Brooklyn. Not in 1908.

Benney threw another fastball to Scranton. Or, more accurately, threw another fastball at Scranton. The ball richocheted off of Scranton’s hand, and the star shortstop collapsed to the dirt in pain immediately.

Robley was the first one out of the dugout. “It made sense,” as his teammates would tell it in their renditions later, “he always hated the Whales.” He wasn’t the last, as a sea of maroon poured onto the Field of the Whales, but he was arguably the most effective. He would not take home another Legacy Cup in 1908, but he did leave the playoffs with a trophy–Benney’s top left incisor–and a shiner to call his own.

Pandemonium descended on Brooklyn. The infield was a turbulent sea of navy and maroon. A large portion of the grandstands similarly spilled onto the field.

Rifles’ players would complain for years that Brooklyn law enforcement seemed suspiciously lackadaisical in pulling overly spirited Brooklyn rooters off of them. It took hours to sort out the mess.

Had it not been Game 5, the umpires likely would have called the Game–likely should have called the game. But, when play resumed, standing on the mound for the Whales was Chick. He had a hole in his head and a cocky smile on his face. He was ready to pick up where he left off.

The first pitch to Arvel Payton came in high and tight. “A mistake,” he claimed later, although no one ever really believed him, “after the long delay.” Law enforcement physically prevented Richmond from leaving the dugout this time.

The smile stayed, though. For 9 innings.

Benney struck out 6, walked three, and allowed 2 earned runs. Robley, to his credit went 2 for 3, with an RBI. Brooklyn won 5-4 and handed star starting pitcher Jellybean Jacks his second loss of the League Cup.

Benney was promptly suspended by the Madigan Hall for the Legacy Cup, but Brooklyn still let him lead the victory parade after they bested Twin City 5 games to 1.

[LBL_Brendan]

Franchise Highlight: The New York Kings

Bread and circuses? The pursuit of great wealth at all costs, unscrupulous though the methods may have been had been a successful one for Alexander Bingley. The son of an Episcopalian clergyman, the native New Yorker had treated the accumulation of vast sums of capital as his divine right throughout his lifetime. He started his impressive career in the backbone of the American capital markets—serving as an errand boy at the age of 14 before becoming a member of the New York Stock Exchange in his late teens. He would later use the wealth earned on Wall Street by acquiring, rehabilitating, and then selling flagging railroad lines—always at considerable profit.

Throughout his journey to the peak of capitalism—a journey aided by price-fixing, stock manipulation, collusion, bribery, and blackmail—one thing had become clear about the native-born Midas, Mr. Bingley: he was not to be trifled with and knew no boundaries in his pursuit of profit.

When the man who’s name had become synonymous with the phrase “robber baron” acquired a New York baseball organization of affiliated ball clubs in order to form a national caliber team to compete in Michael Monroe’s new baseball venture, those that had done business with Mr. Bingley in the past rightly assumed that he had done so in further pursuit of making money. Others assumed that he had done so to help rehabilitate his public image and to associate his name with America’s beloved sport in order to whitewash his own sullied reputation. While Bingley’s true motivations cannot be known, his actions suggest that both theories may ultimately be true.

Prior to the inaugural 1895 LBL season, Bingley acquired the plot of land for, and constructed, Kings Park using the proceeds of an insurance policy purchased on a dilapidated railyard that had burned under mysterious circumstances. Using his virtual monopoly on local New York talent to exact concessions from the new league, Bingley has been able to secure a larger percentage of the gate than his league rivals for games played in his ostentatious park.

Naming his New York club the “Kings,” a choice that would not have even been of interest in the burgeoning field of psychoanalysis given its obvious roots in his ego, Mr. Bingley has encouraged his players to pursue fame and celebrity and, most crucially, to reference Mr. Bingley’s largesse frequently. Conversely, the Kings are the only LBL ballclub known to include non-disparagement clauses regarding club ownership in their contracts. Breach of these clauses is thought to carry with them significant penalties, although no reporter can get any current or former players to comment on the nuances of the contract in any detail.

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[LBL_Brendan]

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