To the Beat of a New Drum: The Chicago Chiefs of the FABL

[HerbD]

For five seasons I watched the FABL progress from the outside looking in after spending 17 seasons running the St. Louis Pioneers. Watching was tough. There were some bad years in there but there were certainly some good years as well. There were mixed emotions as I watched my Pioneers win back-to-back FABL championships the two seasons after I stepped away. I couldn't take the pressure to win anymore but I was happy to see that group, my guys, win those titles and bring joy to St. Louis as the war was wrapping up.

So after 17 years with the Pioneers and then five years sitting on my hands following the league in the papers I felt it was time to get back into the game. I knew there would be some openings in the league but when the Pioneers again won the Fed in 1951 the harsh reality was that I would be doing it for a different franchise than the only one I had ever known. Could I do that? Did I even want to? The itch was there and the time was right. I was given the opportunity to take over one of the most storied franchises in the FABL in the Chicago Chiefs. How could I say no to that?

Despite being around since 1876, this franchise has only won six championships. Three of those since 1936 including one just three seasons ago when they surprised everyone by going from 61 wins in 1948 to 90 in 1949. They won the Series in seven games and quietly went back to a 72 win team in 1950 and 73 win team in 1951. Now it's up to me to find that 1949 magic again.

1951 ~ 1952 Offseason(November 1951)
One thing I noticed right away was that this team was getting old at a few spots. Veterans Walt Pack and Charlie Artuso were waived and designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster in anticipation of the Rule V draft in December. Artuso had come to the Chiefs in the middle of the championship season and he brought great defense posting an almost six zone rating in just 68 games but his age quickly caught up to him and over the next two full seasons he played over 300 games at short for a combined minus three-ish zone rating and a .237 batting average(.212 last year). Artuso didn't want to go back to the minors so he became a free agent. I appreciate what you did Arty, but I wasn't here then so don't let the door hit you on the way out. I'm pretty sure Pack would have left the same way but he didn't get the chance as he was claimed on waivers by Pittsburgh. Pack hit just .236 in 250 games for us so it shouldn't be too tough to replace those guys on the field, the clubhouse may be a different story.

[HerbD]

1951 ~ 1952 Offseason(December 1951)

Heading into the Rule V draft the Chiefs had exactly one top 120 prospect and that was last year's first-round pick, 19-year-old OF Hugh Ferebee. After signing with the Chiefs Ferebee hit just .182 in Class C ball proving to everyone that he is a long way away from Chicago. We certainly didn't expect to get a top-30 prospect in the Rule V draft...especially in the second round.


We had the fifth pick in the Rule 5 draft but none of the four teams in front of us submitted a pick so essentially we had the first pick. After cutting ties with veteran Charlie Artuso we were on the lookout for a shortstop. We'd love to get one that could hit and field but those are not usually left unprotected. We settled on 25-year-old Archie Cunningham from the crosstown Cougars farm system. Cunningham was an 8th-round pick of the Cougars in 1948 after two years at Carolina Poly. He's never been listed as a top 100 prospect but the kid knows how to win helping his teams take home minor league championships the last three seasons. In two years at AA he's hit almost .280 and stole over 90 bases while drawing 150 walks. If he comes close to those numbers this year then the Chiefs will be happy because he has the glove of a big leaguer and he should only get better.


What's wrong with Earl Leckie? You see a guy like that on the Rule V eligible list and you think it's a mistake and that he'll be pulled back. But you put his name on your list just in case. This time it paid off as the 30th overall prospect in the FABL, one Earl Leckie, was somehow left unprotected by the Boston Minutemen and somehow everyone missed him. It's not like Leckie is stuck in the low minors or has been hurt for several seasons in a row. No, the 24-year-old Leckie played the entire season for Boston's AAA club scoring 84 runs and drawing 77 walks while hitting .261 and playing outstanding defense in centerfield.


Bob Hobbs is a curious choice for our third round pick in the Rule V draft. Everyone is always looking for pitching and Hobbs, at 30 years old, is no secret to the FABL front offices. But he's worth a look after spending all of part of the past six seasons in AAA for the Cougars. Hobbs finished last season with a 3.09 ERA and he only gave up eight homers in over 177 innings and it doesn't really cost us anything to give him a try. If he bombs he goes back to AAA for the Cougars but if he works out then he's a steal for us.

[HerbD]

The Pitching Staff



The 1951 Chicago Chiefs pitching staff saw a whole lot of phenom John Stallings, a little bit of veteran Charlie Bingham, and not much more.
On a better all-around squad, the 26-year-old Stallings would have walked away with the Fed Allen. He led the entire FABL with a 2.57 ERA
while also leading the FED in strikeouts with 134. Despite issuing 111 walks he still managed a respectable, fourth in the FED, 1.27 WHiP.
He started 33 games but only managed 15 victories to go with 10 losses and 8 no decisions. Nine times in 1951 he gave up two runs or fewer
and didn't get the win. 41-year-old Charlie Bingham won 17 games and was the only Chiefs pitcher not named Stallings to keep his ERA under
four at 3.90. Combined the two were responsible for 32 of the team's 73 wins. Al Miller(11-13) and Ernie Esanosa(11-11) saw the majority of
the rest of starts for the Chiefs but they are both, just like Bingham, on the wrong side of thirty. 24 year old Bill Kline showed some promise in
taking the hill for 11 starts at the end of the season for Chicago going 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA. He walked a ton of guys but he's working on that
in the Cuban League as well as the in the development lab this offseason.



The team will once again lean heavily on Stallings. It's unknown how much Bingham will have left in his tank after tossing 244+ innings and
turning 42 at the end of April. Miller, Espanoza, and Kline will all get a shot at the rotation but it won't be handed to any of them. From the
40-man roster expect 30-year-old Frank Sears and 24-year-old Freddie Snyder to get looks in the spring. Sears posted a 3.34 ERA at AAA
while Snyder put up a 2.75 ERA in A ball. Those not currently on the 40-man roster who may get a look are 24-year-old Hersh Williams(2.72/A),
29-year-old Clay Strother(3.15/AAA), 30-year-old Rule V pickup Bob Hobbs(3.09/AAA) and 27-year-old Joe Hollis(3.41/AA).

Position Player Locks
With the FABL using only eight pitchers, nine at the most, we will need to fill 15 roster spots with position players. There are
10 guys that although they may still be competing for a starting spot, they're pretty much guaranteed a place on the opening day roster.
Five of the ten players are under 30 years old so there is a pretty good mix of veterans and youth. Here are those 10 guys in alphabetical order:


Bloom is an on-base machine leading the FABL with 150 walks, more than 30 more than the next guy, as a 23-year-old.
He also played pretty good defense at third base. He'll lead off for this team so the big bats should almost always have
someone on base for them when they come up.


I don't know of any player in the FABL who had a worse season than Casstevens. He stopped 80 points on his
batting average, 20 home runs, and more than 60 RBI from 1950 to 1951. If he can make up half those numbers
in 1952 I think the Chiefs would be happy. He'll get the first opportunity to be the main guy behind the plate but
there are a couple of other alternatives if he just can't find his stroke, again!


D'Alessandro is a statue on defense but he can still get on base with the best of them, even at 35 years old.
Even if he doesn't win the second base job he'll keep a roster spot for his ability to get on base as a pinch hitter.


Cunningham is a Rule V pickup who was brought in for his glove at short. He's only 25 so he'll be sticking
around the majors even if he stumbles out of the gate. The SS job is his to lose but he's hit well in the minors
so there really is no worries for him. The team already forced Charlie Artuso to make a choice between sitting
the bench or being a free agent and he quickly headed out of town.


Hopkins is second in Chiefs history in career homers behind the great Joe Masters. He's still the team's biggest
power threat at 33 years old clubbing 31 homers last season despite his sub .250 batting average. He knocked
in 94 runs last year but he should have plenty of opportunities do do even better this year with runners always on
base in front of him.


Like Cunningham, Leckie is another Rule V draftee so he has to stay on the major league roster or be returned to
Boston. His potential is too good no matter how he performs this season. He'll battle veteran John Moss for the
centerfield position which he can already play defense better than most in the league. If he can hit at all then he'll
win the job.


We just mentioned Moss and his hopes for playing time depend as much on how Leckie performs during spring
training as it does how he performs. If he doesn't win the starting job then he'll be a veteran bench off the bat that
can play all three outfield positions and pinch hit effectively. He'll likely be a late inning defensive replacement for
Rutherford.


Rutherford plays in the same mold as D'Alessandro. He can hit but he's a statue in the field. Whoever wins the
centerfield job will have to cover a lot of ground in left as well. That's why Leckie has the leg up going into spring
training. Rutherford walked 100 times and scored 94 runs from the leadoff spot last year but he will be dropping
in the order to start 1952 as Bloom moves into the leadoff position. How far he will fall is uncertain right now.
It could be to second or it could be all the way down to sixth. I can see a situation where Bloom and Rutherford
hit one, two to get the big bats up with runners on base.


Rod Shearer just turned 23 and he's coming off his first FABL season in which he knocked in 104 runs and
slugged 66 extra-base hits. It should only get better for him as he sees even more opportunities with runners
on base in 1952. He doesn't take walks like the majority of this Chiefs team does but he doesn't miss many
RBI chances. He'll bat in the middle of the lineup, anywhere from third ~ fifth.


Smith did enough in his first year to earn a spot on the roster. He hit .315 in a pinch-hit role and that is what
he's looking at again this year unless Hopkins gets hurt. The 24-year-old slammed 12 extra-base hits while
scoring 14 runs and knocking in 14 in only 120 plate appearances.

[DD Martin]

Glad to see you back in the FABL. Good luck wit the Chiefs, there is some talent there despite some of the age and the lack of any real future pitching besides Stallings. Will lie to see how Leckie does in CF, but don’t sleep totally on Moss. He is a great defensive CF and has a knack for a solid OBP and run scorer.

[HerbD]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Glad to see you back in the FABL. Good luck wit the Chiefs, there is some talent there despite some of the age and the lack of any real future pitching besides Stallings. Will lie to see how Leckie does in CF, but don’t sleep totally on Moss. He is a great defensive CF and has a knack for a solid OBP and run scorer.

Thanks DD, good to be back. Too bad I couldn't get the Pioneers back. I like Moss, I just got lucky with Leckie. I thought about moving Rutherford to make room but his bat is too good.

[HerbD]

So the Figment Universe is doing a time jump from 1952 to 1969. The process
will take some time, real-time months will pass before we see an online version
again. The OOTP AI will be in charge of all of the teams during this time and it will
be a painful trip. I just took this team over so I'm surprised at how attached to
some of these players I became in such a short time. We will be getting the league
file after every season so that we can keep up with things and in my case keep this
thread updated. When the dust settles I plan to take over pro football and pro basketball
teams, hopefully also in Chicago. For now, sit back and enjoy the ride as we watch
history unfold.




I'm showing you the final standings now because if I had kept them for the end you would have thought one of two things: 1. How did you win so many games?
2. How many could you have won had the GM and manager hadn't worked so hard to make other teams better?

We started the season 3-10 and we had to fight to stay close to .500 for the rest of the season. If the proper lineups had been used(yes, I know the entire league
had problems but I don't care about them!) and our ACE had not been traded mid-season then what could have been? We probably don't catch Detroit but we
absolutely should have finished above .500.





-Ed Bloom led the FABL in bases on balls for the second season in a row and he was also the only All-Star selection from the Chiefs starting
at third base and leading off the bottom of the first with a hit.

-Shearer, Moss, and Leckie started 460 of 462 possible games in the outfield and they were all great with the bat and the glove.
Shearer led the FABL with 130 RBI while Leckie won the FED Kellogg for the top rookie. Moss boasted a 26.6 ZR while getting on base
almost 38% of the time. The three combined for 36 OF assists.

-Tim Hopkins had averaged 36 homers and 114 RBI heading into this season so manager Irv Howard benched to start 1952. Bloom
would move to first base and Len Stewart would be handed the third base job. Then Stewart was traded to Detroit for his own replacement,
Jim Gaiter. Gaiter and Stewart combined for a .230 BA, 13 homers, and 52 RBI. Hopkins finished the season with the year at .247, 4 homers,
and 20 RBI in just 102 plate appearances. Oh yeah, and over $48k in his bank account.




-John Stallings led the FED in ERA in 1951 and yes he did struggle out of the gate in 1952 posting an ERA of 5.10 in his first 23 starts. It was
at that point that GM BJ Smith decided to trade Stallings, our ACE, for a couple of middling prospects. With New York Stallings went 7-0 in
73 innings while posting a 2.45 ERA(.12 lower than he won the league title with in 1951). We sure showed him, didn't we BJ!

-After Stallings' departure the team was led by 42 year old Charlie Bingham, 37 year old Al Miller, and 34 year old Ernie Espanoza. You get
the pattern here?

-28 year old Johnny Duncan did show some promise finishing the season with a 2.20 ERA split between the pen and the rotation.
[someone whispers in my ear] Oh wait...BJ Smith traded Duncan away after the season for a 20 year old 2B who has never hit above
.231 in professional ball.

-At least we have 25 year old Bill Kline who posted a 2.73 ERA for the Chiefs in 89 innings this year.
[Again someone whispers in my ear] HE DID WHAT??? Apparently BJ Smith has traded Kline to St. Louis for...another outfielder?
Didn't we just say we had one of the best outfield in the FABL? Does Smith know we have to pitch to the other teams? Is he aware how
baseball works?




Fans and sports writers all over Chicago are demanding these two be fired. "How long will Billy Whitney put up with this garbage?" one sportswriter asked.

Billy Whitney responds....TWO YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR BOTH!!!

1969 cannot come fast enough!!

[HerbD]

The Dynamos won their second consecutive Federal League title but they couldn't beat Cleveland in the Championship Series. I should say they couldn't
beat Cleveland pitcher Adrian Czerwinski. Czerwinski didn't pitch great but he did enough to win three games in a seven-game series. He gave up 13 runs in
his three starts but it was enough to bring the FABL Championship to Cleveland for the second time in the past four seasons. Czerwinski is not 7-1 in FABL
Championship game decisions. He's also the older brother of last season's number-one overall pick catcher Stan Czerwinski of the Chiefs organization.



Early in the season Chiefs fans had a lot to cheer about. They sitting in first place, percentage points ahead of the Miners and playing .600 ball
with a 27-28 record. On July 5 they were 10 games over .500 and just 2.5 games out of first with a real hope of not just a winning season, but a Fed
pennant. After a win in the first game of a double header on July 12th Chicago was 10 games over .500, in third place, at 48-38. They would
win just 27 more games the rest of the season. The second game of that double header was a loss that kick started a nine-game losing streak that
all but ended any hopes of playoff baseball in the Windy City. They would win just six of their next 30 games. It was too late but they did finish the
season 21-17 to show they stilled cared. Since the 90 win Championship winning season four years ago the Chiefs have been consistently
mediocre winning between 72 and 76 games every season.



Most years Rod Shearer's 8.7 WAR season would have been enough to run away with the Whitney award but not 1953. Shearer did finish second
for the award given to the best hitter in the league as he led the FABL with 48 homers and 149 RBI while scoring 116 runs and hitting .316. Shearer
and 1B Ed Bloom carried the team at the plate. Bloom led the FED in walks for the third straight campaign while also leading the FED with 42 doubles.

Shearer(1st), Bloom(3rd), C Pete Casstevens(3rd), and OF John Moss(2nd) all made the FED All-Star team for 1953. Bloom also collected
six hits in a game on August 12 in a 9-8 walk-off loss to the Dynamos in extra innings. He was 6-7 with two doubles, two runs scored, and three RBI.
It was the first six-hit game in the FABL in over two seasons.


No folks! That's not a roster for an old-timer's game at Whitney Park, that's a list of the 1953 Chiefs' pitchers that tossed over 200 innings and
they're all over 35 years old. Charlie Bingham keeps showing up to the ballpark and the Chiefs keep running him out to the mound. Bingham is 43
years old and all indication is that he'll be back for another season in 1954. Bingham picked up his 200th win on April 14 and finished the season
with 210 wins, good for 50th on the all-time list. Al Miller(38) joined Bingham and youngsters Angel Lopez and Ernie Espanoza, both 35, on the
Chiefs staff this past season and the four of them combined for 54 of the team's 75 victories.



When I took over the Chiefs had just one top 100 prospect and now they have five. I know I said that like I was responsible for that difference when
in reality I didn't get to do much before we started making the time jump. Last year's number one pick, catcher Stan Czerwinski, is the second overall
prospect behind only 1953's number one pick. Czerwinski is followed on the Chiefs' list of top prospects by their 1953 number-one pick Tom Sexton.
The team has traded or released 12 of their 20 1953 draft picks bringing back pitchers Jim Carter and Gene Amico and 3B Homer Mills.

[HerbD]

Dear FABL Human General Managers,



Welcome back fellas!! The time jump was cut short by almost a decade but we did fast forward from 1952 to 1962. I had just taken over the Chiefs that offseason
so I didn't get a chance to put my stamp on that team. That means I didn't get a chance to ruin them. The computer GM of the Chiefs did a decent job averaging 79 wins
over the 10-year span with a high of 91 wins in 1957 with a low of 71 wins just last season. Having said that the expectations are not very high on this side of the Windy City.

As you would expect the Chiefs roster looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago. With the exception of slugger Rod Shearer and on-base machine Ed Bloom,
there is no one left from the 1952 squad. Of course, Shearer and Bloom are 10 years older so they aren't the same players they once were but now they have
solidified their spots among the Chiefs' all-time greats.


Shearer sits ninth on the all-time homer list in the history of the FABL with 368. Six more dingers this season will put him alone in eighth ahead of Hank Koblenz.
He's also 25th all-time with 1347 RBI. As far as the Chiefs go "Hot Rod" is the franchise leader in slugging percentage, OPS, and homers and he will take over
as the franchise leader in RBI after he plates his 19th run of the 1962 season. With over 1800 hits the Odessa, Texas native has become a franchise player
for the Chicago Chiefs. Shearer finds himself in his familiar clean-up spot in the batting order for the new season but he'll be roaming center field at Whitney Park this
year, a position he has played just 176 times during his illustrious career.


Ed Bloom's resume may not shine as bright as his more popular teammate but to the people of Chicago he is just as important. Bloom ranks ninth all-time
with 1457 bases on balls entering the 1962 season and with just under 1,900 career hits under his belt he is the engine that keeps the train running. Eight
more walks and he will pass the great Fred McCormick for eight all-time. He has paced the Federal League in walks for nine of the last eleven seasons and
has never drawn less than 104 walks in any of his full seasons in the FABL. Bloom has hit in many different spots over the years but I like him in the leadoff
spot so the big guns will have someone to drive in more often than not.

The Rest of the Lineup
With the exception of one guy on either side of the line the rest of the lineup is late twenties-early thirties. Veteran Irv Clifford returns to second base and at
36-years old he's the elder statesman of the roster. After almost 1,800 games in Pittsburgh Clifford was traded to the Chiefs before the 1960 season and
he's had a huge impact on the lineup. With over 2,500 hits in his FABL career Clifford has his eye on the fountain of youth and 3,000 hits.

Batting third will be 1B Joe Flanagan. Flanagan came over in an offseason trade with the expansion Imperials in a deal that saw us send a couple of
prospects to New York. Flanagan has not done anything to prove he can hit at the big league level but with an impressive spring showing(.348 BA, 10 RS) he's
earned the chance to play every day.

Batting fifth and playing RF is 27-year-old Gene Radar. Everyone knows Radar can hit but he's a statue in the field and that's why he's never received extended
opportunities in the FABL. How much we can tolerate his horrible fielding ability will depend on how good he's doing at the plate. To start the season I felt we
needed the juice in the lineup and we don't have a lot of other options

In the six spot will be LF Doc Zimmerman. Zimmerman joined the Chiefs in a cross-town trade with the Cougars before the start of the 1957 season.
Zimmerman's career has been a roller coaster with last season being the lowest of his lows with an OB% of just .322 and his first full season OPS+ under 100 at 92.
The Chiefs are hoping for a return to 1960 form when Doc drove in over 100 runs and was good for a 5.8 WAR.

The seven spot will see a platoon at catcher. Incumbent Al Padgett returns and will hit against righties where he .301 with 11 homers in just over 200
plate appearances. Ray Smith will hit against lefties. Smith was acquired in the same trade with New York that brought Flanagan to New York and he has
a similar resume as Flanagan in that he doesn't have one. He'll have to prove he belongs in Chicago or his stint on the club could be a short one.

21-year-old Tom LeClerc has earned the job at short out of spring training. LeClerc slapped 20 hits during exhibition play, good for a .323 batting average,
but he's never played above A ball so the leash on him will be
short.

U]The Bench [/U]
Veteran Elmer Walters could be the most important player on the bench for Chicago. The 32-year-old lost the shortstop job to the youngster but if LeClerc falters
Walters will be called upon to take over. He brings solid defense to the team but his bat is weak. Mickey Tucker hit 10 homers last season in just over 200
plate appearances and he'll back up first base while also taking some innings behind the plate. Dave Price is the glove in the outfield. He'll come into
the game in obvious defensive situations and the team hopes his bat will develop in the process. Guy Johnson and Gene Burton will make rare appearances
in the field but have decent bats that could prove useful during the season. 39-year-old Del Johnson still has a pulse so he can still hit but he
can't do much
more than that. He wasn't expected to make the club but his .386 spring batting average made it tough to leave him off the squad as it headed
north.

The Rotation

30-year-old Vern Osborne is the unquestioned ace of the Chiefs' rotation. He's won 87 games during his eight-year career and last season was the first time
he had lost more games than he won since joining the rotation at the start of his second season. He's just three seasons removed from a sub-three era year and
Chicago is hoping for a return to that form.

Jack Halbur(33 years old), Dick Champ(30), Joe Cipolla(25), and Fred Moore(22) round out the rotation. This rotation has a chance to exceed expectations
but Halbur will have to pitch as well as he did last season when he posted a 3.84 ERA and matched Osborne with a 3.9 WAR. Champ and Cipolla finished '61
with mid-four ERAs and they will have to both do better than that for the club to have a chance at a winning record. Moore earned a spot in the rotation
with a spring that saw him strike out 22 compared to just three walks.

The Bullpen
The bullpen could be a complete disaster or it could be a major strength. 22-year-old Dutch Lane and 23-year-old Joe Lancaster could make or break the
team as the late-inning regulars. The lefty-righty duo will be counted on to either shut the door or make the hearts of Chiefs fans explode across the Windy City.
Veterans Tom Fisher and Joe Campbell will handle most of the middle/long relief innings and youngster Carl Davis made the club with a very good
spring of his own.

Here you have it folks, your 1962 Chicago Chiefs!!

[HerbD]

Two weeks into the 1962 season and its mixed results for the Chicago Chiefs. The bats are hot but the pitching has been hit or miss, especially from the rotation.
The bats are off to a hot start after 13 games sitting on top of the Fed in batting average, on base percentage, and hits while averaging 5.9 runs per game which is
good for third. Unfortunately, the pitching staff is giving up an average of 5.9 runs per game which is why the Chiefs are sitting at just one game over .500 at 7-6.

The team started the season with a split of a two game series at Detroit before coming home to host Philly where they lost two of three. They then won
four consecutive games including a three game sweep of Washington before losing two of three to the expansion Suns.

Gene Rader, you heard that right, Gene Rader whose career has consisted of just 30 big league plate appearances up until now is leading the Fed with a
.444 batting average. 28-year-old rookie Joe Flanagan is not far behind at .418. The Chiefs outfield of Rader, Rod Shearer, and Don Zimmerman have combined
to drive in 34 runs while scoring 29 and hitting .387. On the flip side of that rookie SS Tom LeClerc and veteran catcher Ray Smith have both started the
season in a 6-34 slump good for .176 batting average and putting both players in line fora place on the bench at best and a trip to the minors at worst.

Jack Halbur is the only starter that has pitched well posting a 2-0 record and a 2.42 ERA in spite of walking 10 batters in just over 22 innings. Fred Moore is also
2-0 but he's been the beneficiary of 16 runs from the high-powered Chicago offense.



Transactions
The team sent P Carl Davis to the minors and designated OF Gene Burton for assignment to make room on the big league roster for P Al Mielcarek
and OF Hippo Wallace who were picked up on waivers. Wallace never really received a chance to make it in Montreal and being selected in the expansion
draft by Minnesota gave him some hope for steady playing time. Despite a .333 batting average in limited playing time this spring, Minnesota waived the 33-year-old
and he was picked up by the Chiefs who are in need of someone who can field and get on base. Mielcarek is a 27-year-old with just 24.1 innings of big league ball
under his belt. After a poor spring he found himself being waived by the Suns.

[HerbD]

The last two weeks have been good for the Chiefs who have posted an 8-4 record after finishing April at 7-6. The hot start has Chicago
buzzing with the Cougars and the Chiefs a combined 12 games over .500 after 25 games each. If you consider the Chiefs were
predicted to finish the 1962 season with just 72 wins I'd say Mr. Whitney must be giddy. Let's take a look at how we got to this fantastic 15-10 record.

The Good


As you can see the Chiefs are swinging some hot bats. Leading the entire FABL in runs scored at just over six per contest.
They have scored twice as many runs per game in their wins(7.6) as they have in their losses(3.8). So who's leading this band
of merry men you might ask? It has to be veterans Rod Shearer or Ed Bloom, right? Nope, it's still Gene Rader!! Shearer
and Bloom are certainly doing their part to push the Chiefs in a winning direction but it's definitely Rader who is the catalyst
for the offensive surge. Radar is a rookie eligible 27 year-old who totaled 30 plate appearances between 1958 and 1960
and didn't even sniff the majors in 1961. We all know he can't keep up his torrid pace but it's fun to watch him and fellow
rookie, 28 year-old Joe Flanagan battle for the Fed batting race until reality sets in on both of them. Currently Rader
sits on top with an FABL best .444 average(to go along with a league best 26 RBI) with Flanagan next in the FED at .416.
Both players have likely surpassed what anyone thought they would do this year and we still have almost 130 more games
to play.

Along with the hitting the bullpen has done extremely well this season. Dutch Lane is tied for the league lead with six saves while he and Tom
Fisher both sport a 2.08 ERA. Waiver wire pick up, Al Mielcarek has done well sporting a thin 1.59 ERA in his first few outings with the club.

The Bad

We knew when the season started that we would sacrifice some defense for offense so it's not a surprise the Chiefs are near the bottom of the
league in efficiency, zone rating, and just about every other defensive metric not yet known to man. With Rader in the field, it's like having just
guys in the outfield. It's so bad that the pigeons have started to swirl above right field of Whitney Park on game days. He'll have to drop
at least 150 points on his batting average before we consider putting
him on the bench. If only there was a position for hitters that can't field!!

The So Very Ugly!!



One thing Mr. Whitney and all of the baseball fans in Chicago are not happy about is the half-million-dollar rotation the Chiefs trotted out to
the mound for the first 25 games of the 1962 season. What does $ 500k get you in 1962? It gets you a starter's ERA near 5.5 and a lot of
scrambling in the front office. It's too early to bench any of the top four as they are all veterans with proven track records. So despite having just
the fourth-worst ERA in the rotation, it's 22-year-old Fred Moore who gets the demotion to AAA. Paul Magee, the man Moore beat out in spring
training, has gotten the call after a dominant start in AAA to the tune of a .53 ERA in his first five starts.

Up Next

Up next for the Chiefs is seven games in seven days starting with a three-game set at home with Detroit, the team looking directly down on
us in the standings. Then it's three games with Philly and the first game of three with Pittsburgh. Can the bats stay as hot as they have been?
Can the starting pitching stay as bad as it has been? Most likely both answers wind up somewhere in between.

[HerbD]

June 18, 1962

It's been five game weeks since our last update and the Chiefs continue to play much better than anyone around the league expected. On May 13 we
were 15-10 but we immediately hit a bit of a rough patch losing seven of our next 10 games including dropping two of three to Detroit and Philly and
finishing the run with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Miners. The expansion Suns then took two of three from us before we started to play
better. Sitting at 18-17 we then swept a three game set with Minnesota before taking taking two of three games in the next five series against
St. Louis, New York, Boston, Detroit, and Philly.





As we discussed earlier in the season the bats were carrying the Chiefs into any success they were having and it was all despite the starting
pitching which was supposed to be the best part of the squad entering the 1962 season. At least for this 18-game stretch from May 23 to June 18
the tables have turned. The starting pitching, still with room to improve, is starting to be more than expected, and the bats have started to cool.

So far this season has played out much better than anyone in the Chiefs' organization could have expected. OSA predicted we would win just 72
games but in the middle of June we already have 29 victories and are on pace to win 87 and sit tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the Fed.
The problem with that is the Pioneers are currently seven games ahead of us and on pace to win 106. Someone has to slow St. Louis down. It's a
funny game we play, we are the only team to play better than .500 ball
against the Pioneers so far this year at 4-2 but we understand it's still
early in the season. The funny part is the expansion Millers are 3-3 against St. Louis with the rest of the Fed going 11-35 against them. We
will definitely need some help from the other teams if we want to make up any ground.

Check this out...we are a third of the way through the 1962 season and All-Star voting has just opened so let's take a look at some of the surprises from
the first 51 games of 1962.



Joe Flanagan is a 28-year-old rookie who came to the Chiefs in a preseason trade with the expansion Imperials with veteran catcher catcher
Ray Smith. Smith has not played the way the GM Herb DeSpain had hoped when he was acquired but Flanagan has more than pulled his weight
so far this season. Up until this past week Flanagan was leading the FED in batting average. He currently is at .372 due to some struggles in June but
he was at .409 after the June first game against the Millers. He's on pace for over 200 hits, 117 runs scored, and 4+ WAR. That's more than the Chiefs
could have hoped for when they gave up two young prospects and $50k in cash for him and Smith.



Rod Shearer has seen his share of great individual seasons since he broke into the FABL as a 21-year-old in 1950 but the 1962 season could
go down as one of his best and he's only 33 years old and he continues to add to a great career. This is a great stat, if Shearer finishes 1962 at his
current pace he will finish the season as just the fifth player in history to accumulate 300 doubles, 100 triples, 375 homers, 1200 runs scored, and
1400 RBI. His company on that list includes four Hall of Famers named Barrell, Kellogg, Morris, and Wheeler. He would also break into the top
50 all-time in WAR.



23-year-old Dutch Lane won the stopper role with a great spring training that saw him post a 1.56 ERA in 17+ innings. Despite some recent rough
outings Lane is on pace for 32 saves which would set a new single-season record in the FED. The team record is only 20 saves set by Gene
Amico in 1957. The old FABL record is 29 set by the Kings' Del Lyons back in 1938. The Forresters have their own rookie stopper in 21-year-
old Johnny Ogden who is on pace for 40 saves but that won't overshadow the great season that Lane is having.

Next up we play a crucial three-game series in Pittsburgh before hosting Washington and finishing the month with six games
against the two expansion teams.

We will take a look at our farm system before the draft hits next sim.

[HerbD]

Coming out of the computer run era the Chiefs find themselves near the bottom of the prospect list sitting at 14 out of 16(not counting the four
expansion teams as they have not had a chance to draft yet). Not only is our farm system considered bad by OSA but we are very much pitcher-heavy with our top seven prospects and ten of our top eleven being
hurlers. The only position player slotted in the top ten for us is SS Tom
Spruill who we just recently traded for...you guessed it, we gave up a pitcher for him. Spruill just turned 21 and he projects to be a solid fielder
whom we are hoping can learn to hit. He already has a pretty good eye for the strike zone posting a .390 OB% in 218 AA plate appearances.
Charlie Green, our scout, thinks his glove is ready for the big leagues now but we will let him finish out the year in the minors unless injuries force
our hand.



21 years old/Round 1, 11th overall 1959 draft
4-2, 3.43 ERA, 1.43 WHip between 55 AA/A innings
Andrews is not as far along as the front office would have liked him to be at his age but they are determined to be patient with him considering the
veterans we have at the big league level. He only has three pitches but he induces a lot of ground balls and Green swears he'll be an ace some
day. GM Herb DeSpain hopes the team can move him up to AAA before the end of the 1962 season.




19 years old/Round 2, 30th overall 1961 draft
3-1, 2.17 ERA, 58 IP, 1.19 WHiP, 1 HR/18 IP, AAA
Thomas just turned 19 this past January but he is pitching above his age right now by dominating AAA. DeSpain doesn't like to rush his draft picks
to the big leagues but what Thomas is doing is hard to ignore. He's the youngest player in the Century League by over two years and the second
youngest player in all of AAA behind the Wranglers' Joe Harrison.




21 years old/Round 3, 43rd overall 1958 draft
1-2, 2.43 ERA, 63 IP, 39/3 K/BB ratio, 1.03 WHiP
Brandt is too good for B ball where he is pitching well and soon will get called up to A where the team will give him a look. The front office is
hoping he can make the jump to AA by the end of the year and maybe even AAA. Just like with the rest of the pitchers there is no rush to make
it to Chicago but AAA rotation consisting of Andrews, Thomas, and Brandt would make everyone happy in the front office.




18 years old/Round 1, 14th overall 1961 draft
0-1, 7.13 ERA, 17.2 IP, 2.04 WHiP
Jack Turner has been the disappointment of the top four pitchers in the system so far this year. He'll turn 19 in August and there's a good
chance he'll be sent down to C ball once the draft is finished. Green still considers him a sure bet to make the rotation although not near the top.
He throws seven pitches; at least five are expected to be average or better.

Four Position Players Out Performing Expectations

C Bill Riley(19 years old) B .356/.389/.667, 95 PA, 7 2B, 7 HR, 14 RS, 17 RBI
IF Eddie Kellum(20 years old) B .338/.367/.524, 221 PA, 11 2B, 8 HR, 34 RS, 22 RBI, 12 SB
OF Howie Bryant(24 years old) AAA .290/.355/.565, 76 PA, 9 XBH, 11 RS, 16 RBI
UT Jim Thomas(20 year old) A .320/.402/.433, 224 PA, 14 XBH, 29 RS, 12 RBI, played six positions

Next we will take a look at the Chiefs' 1962 draft results and see where those players will fall into the organization and if they will stick around or be released.

[HerbD]

ROUND 1
There was a huge fog of war hanging over the 1962 Ammy Draft. With us just getting control of our teams in January there wasn't a lot of time to scout
the players so I focused on the college players thinking they would be more advanced and quicker to scout. As it turned out the draft was kind of all
over the place once it started. The LA Suns stunned everyone by taking prep pitcher Joe Conner with the first overall pick. OSA had Conner
predicted to go in the middle of round four so I started to doubt not just my scout Charlie Green but also the OSA rankings. I was also starting to think
that one of the elite guys might drop to us at pick 13. If you read our last update then you know that we need quality position players in our minor
leagues. We have eleven prospects in the top 350 and according to OSA only one of them is a position player and we just acquired him in the past
month through a trade. The problem, as I saw it, is that there were no great college hitters left when our turn hit so we went with the best available.
The best available certainly is subjective but in Charlie Green's eyes there was no doubt. He threatened to retire if we didn't take 21-year-old Larry
Gifford out of Bluegrass State.

If Gifford had entered the draft a year earlier it's likely he's be doing something other than playing baseball for a living but this year it clicked with him.
In 1961 he was just another bad college pitcher but in 1962 he was an ace. He dropped his ERA a full three runs and gave up only four homers the
entire season compared to 19 in fewer innings pitched a year ago. OSA called him an impact player but Green swore he'd be an anchor for years to come.

He has six pitches and three of them are already considered elite. He still needs to work on his control but that's true of just about every pitcher in this draft.
He's a high work ethic guy who tends to motivate his teammates despite his seemingly low IQ. OSA had him going in the middle of the second round
so we are taking a pretty good leap of faith but that's what we pay Green to do.


Larry Gifford(Bluegrass State Mustangs) 1962
10-4, 3.26 ERA, 18 GS, 124.1 IP, 109 HA, 45 ER,
4 HRA, 121 K, 2.8 WAR

ROUND 2
When the second round of the draft rolled around there was still some first-round talent, especially hitters, that we were hoping would continue
to drop to us. We had our eyes on catcher John Vance but he was taken with the fourth pick in the second round. Our attention then turned to
1B Dick Vitt but he was selected with the next pick. Herb Connelly was a guy we really liked and so did OSA. OSA had him as a first-round talent
but with a run of pitchers a few picks in front of us we were chomping at the bit to draft this kid who had just stolen 110 bases in 37 games. We
watched as the Kings drafted Connelly in the pick just before ours. We settled for high school third baseman Freddie Mitchel. The 17-year-old
Mitchel hit .435 and stole 73 bases himself while also scoring 73 runs. Green says at worst he'll be an average big leaguer. It's not the ringing
endorsement we were hoping for but the guys rated above him, like Bailey and Woods could hit better but neither could field worth a dime.
Mitchel has the potential to stay at third but may be better suited for a corner OF spot.


3B Freddie Mitchel(Poplar Ridge HS(NY) 1962 40 G, 73-201,
21 XBH, 73 RS, 49 RBI, 29 BB, 73 SB, 7 K

ROUNDS 3 ~ 12
Rounds three and four saw us take two more pitchers. Bert Davis was another college guy who showed big
improvements from '61 to '62. The back of the rotation is his floor, and if he continues to improve, he can do much
better than that. He can eat up innings and save the bullpen when things are going well.

High schooler George Wilbur was scooped up in the fourth. Wilbur tossed 106-plus innings his senior year
of high school and posted an ERA under 2.30. In his four years, it was his worst season and that may have been
what scared off some of the other teams. Of his seven pitches three are already considered elite and two more
are above average. He could end up towards the back of the rotation or he could end up as a stopper.

For the next eight picks, we selected just one pitcher and seven high school hitters. We tried to focus on
good work ethic and leaders among the top-rated by Green. We ended up with one catcher, four middle
infielders, two outfielders, and a partridge in a pear tree. If one or two of these guys ever crack the forty-man
roster then it will be considered a great draft. We still have eight more rounds to go for the established
teams and then 15 rounds after that for the four expansion squads.

[HerbD]

Loss: Lancaster(0-2)BS(1)
MaGee 8.0 IP, 4 HA, 1 ER(POG)
Flanagan, MaGee, Tucker, and Zimmerman each with 2 hits


Loss: Cipolla(8-2)
Cipolla 8.0 IP, 8 HA, 2 ER
Zimmerman 2 hits


Win: Osbourne(6-4)
Osbourne 8.2 IP, 2 ER
Tucker 4 hits
Osbourne, Padgett, Rader, and Zimmerman 3 hits

We entered this series tied for second place with Pittsburgh but after losing two of three we left it tied with Detroit for third, a game behind
the Minors. The starters were very good in this series. Reliever Joe Lancaster gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth of game one while
the three starters gave up just six runs in a combined 24.2 innings. With the starters giving up just two runs per game I feel we should have
swept the series so it's really disappointing to lose two of three.

Player of the Series

31-year-old Doc Zimmerman slapped seven hits in the series in 14 at-bats for a hefty .500 batting average.
He had multiple hits in each of the three games and he knocked in a team-best five runs.
Zimmerman came to the Chiefs in a 1956 trade with the crosstown Cougars as a 26-year-old
entering his second full season. He's been a rock in the Chiefs' lineup since the day he arrived.

[HerbD]

Loss: Halbur(4-8)
Halbur 8.1 IP, 5 HA, 2 ER
Zimmerman 2 hits


Loss: Champ(4-3)
Cipolla 7.2 IP, 7 HA, 2 ER
Chiefs 3 hits


Win: Jack Thomas(1-0)
Save: D. Lane(13)
Osbourne 8.2 IP, 2 ER
Flanagan and Padgett 2 hits

After dropping two of three to the Eagles we now sit alone in fourth place at 35-29, nine games behind the Fed leading Pioneers and one
game behind the Miners and Dynamos. All four losses this week were by one or two runs and in the last three losses we scored a total of
one run. It's disappointing but we are getting ready to take on the two expansion teams and it couldn't have come at a better time.
We host the Suns for three games before heading to Minnesota to take on the Millers for three more. Once again the starters didn't get
the credit they deserved. Halbur, Champ, and MaGee combined for 8 ER allowed in their 23 innings pitched but didn't see a single win.

Player of the Series

Veteran pitcher Jack Halbur receives the Player of the Series for the three games against Washington for his performance in the
series-opening loss that saw the Chiefs get shut out by a score of 2-0. Halbur did all he could pitching 8.2 innings allowing
just 5 hits and 2 runs. Halbur came to the Chiefs in a trade with Detroit before the 1960 season after winning four championships
with the Dynamos. Coming into the 1962 season he's posted a 25-20 record in Chicago with an ERA around 4.00. He also
recorded one of the team's seven hits in the game.

[HerbD]

Win: Cipolla(9-2)
Cipolla CG, 6 HA, 1 ER(POG)
Clifford and Zimmerman each with 2 hits


WIN: Osbourne(7-4)
Osbourne 8.2 IP, 7 HA, 3 ER
Bob Gellatly 3 Hits, 2 HR, 3 RBI(POG)
Padgett 3 RBI


Win: Halbur(5-8)
SAVE: D. Lane(14)
Halbur 8.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER(POG)
Tucker 2 hits, HR, RBI



Sweeping the Suns felt good, but it didn't do much for us in the big picture. We head to Minnesota tied with Detroit for second a full eight games
behind the Pioneers and the Miners drop a game behind us. St. Louis, who looked human when it lost back-to-back series with us and the
Dynamos in the first week of June, has not lost a series since and is back on track to dominate the Fed. If we can't make up a good chunk of ground
in the near future we may have to be realistic and look at the future.

Player of the Series

Bob Gellatly is one of those guys you root for. He was an 18th-round pick out of high school in 1952 by the Miners and in no way was he ever
supposed to sniff the big leagues. But he bounced around the minor leagues for nine seasons, never giving up, before signing another minor
league deal with the Chiefs before the 1962 season started. He didn't get invited to spring training but when he hit .346 in 22 games at AAA
Fort Wayne the Chiefs had to take notice especially since the guys on the major league roster couldn't hit their weight. Gellatly knows he'll
probably be fighting for a job somewhere else next season but for now, he's done a pretty good job holding down the spot at short until
someone comes along to make him move. The 28-year-old rookie wins the Player of the Series, mostly for his work in the second game
where he hit two home runs and drove in three. For the series with the Suns, he was 5-10(.500).

[HerbD]

Win: Champ(5-3)
Champ CG, 6 HA, 1 ER(POG)
Clifford and Zimmerman each with 2 hits


Win: MaGee(2-2)
Magee CG, 10 HA, 3 ER
Rader 2-3, 3 RS, 5 RBI, 2B, HR, 2 BB(POG)


Loss: Cipolla(9-3)
Cipolla 5.2 IP, 5 ER
Rader 2 hits
Padgett solo HR

Winning five of six against the expansion teams didn't do anything for us. We are still nine games back of the Pioneers and two behind
second-place Detroit. We do have third place to ourselves but that really doesn't mean anything in this win-or-go-home format. I'm not
complaining, I believe that's the way it should be in baseball. We host St. Louis for three games to open July and that series will go a
long way in deciding our direction for the rest of the 1962 season.

Player of the Series

After a blazing-fast start to his FABL career OF Gene Rader has cooled off considerably. The 27-year-old rookie entered June hitting a
robust .351 but with the help of the 4-10 performance in this three-game series, he's sitting at .312 going into July. That's a hefty 39-point
drop. Of his four hits against the Millers Rader slapped one double and one homer, driving in five while scoring three and walking three
times for an OB% of .500.

[HerbD]

Loss: Osbourne(7-5)
Osbourne 6.0 IP, 9 HA, 5 ER
Flanagan and Tucker one hit and one BB each


Loss: Halbur(5-9)
Halbur 2.2 IP, 6 HA, 7 ER
Bloom 2B, 2 RBI


Loss: D. Lane(5-4), BS(4)
Champ 7.0 IP, 7 HA, 2 ER
Tucker 2-4, RS, 2 RBI, HR
Zimmerman 2 Hits


This home series against the FED leading Pioneers answered a lot of questions about how good we really are. St. Louis kicked
our butts so the answer is obvious that we have been fooling ourselves and our fans. We were outscored 30-6 with our top three
pitchers taking the mound and we were embarrassed in front of our home crowd. Now we have to decide what direction we want to
go. We have a ton of young pitchers knocking at the door wanting promotions to Chicago but nowhere to put them. We have a
farm system that is rated in the bottom third and a lineup that is getting older by the day. Something has to give and I'm afraid it's
time to start looking to the future. We are now a full 11 games back of the Pioneers and in third place.

Player of the Series

Mickey Tucker
After being outscored 30-6 in three games it's tough to pick a player of the series that doesn't play for the other team. Tucker collected
three hits in his three starts, two at first base and one behind the plate. His two-run homer in the fourth inning of game three gave
the Chiefs their only lead of the series.

[HerbD]

Loss: MaGee(2-3)
MaGee 6.2 IP, 10 HA, 7 ER
Zimmerman and Rader 2 hits each, Bloom 2 RBI


Loss: Cipolla(9-4)
Halbur 8.0 IP, 12 HA, 4 ER
Zimmerman 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
Clifford 2 hits


Win: Osbourne(8-5)
Save: Lane(15)
Osbourne 7.2 IP, 7 HA, 2 ER(POG)
Rader Grand Slam(6), 4 RBI
Zimmerman 3 Hits, Flanagan 2 hits


We managed to stop the bleeding by salvaging the final game of the series at the Gothams. The win stops a six-game skid and we
are still 11 games back and now tied with Pittsburgh for third behind Detroit and St. Louis. Something is brewing as GM Herb
DeSpain has locked himself in his office and refuses to talk to the press. Rumors are he's on the phone with most of the Continental
teams but no one knows who he's peddling. "A lot of guys on this team think they are untouchable but when you play as poorly as we
just did...that's just not true." said assistant GM Antonio Mendoza.

Player of the Series

SP Vern Osbourne
Veteran Osbourne allowed just two runs in 7.2 innings pitched earning the only win of the series and leading the Chiefs to their first win in a week.
It was his eighth win in thirteen decision for the 1962 season lowering his ERA to 5.01. "It's been a tough year for the starters," Osbourne told
reporters after the game. "We don't like being the negative focus of the press or the fans but we have to pitch better if we want that to change."

[HerbD]

Win: J. Thomas(2-0)
Save: Lane(16)
Halbur 6.0 IP, 11 HA, 4 ER
Padgett(POG) 2-3, RS, 3 RBI, 2 2B
Rader 2 run homer(7)


Win: D. Lane(6-4)
Champ 7.0 IP, 5 HA, 0 ER(POG)
Flanagan/Zimmerman 3 hits each


Loss: MaGee(2-4)
MaGee 3.0 IP, 5 HA, 6 ER
Shearer 4-5, RS, RBI, 2B, HR(10)
Clifford, Rader, and Zimmerman 2 Hits each


The Dynamos are making a move on the Pioneers(five games out) but we were only able to make up one game after taking two of three from
the Minutemen. The players are nervous as GM Herb DeSpain usually travels with the team but sent assistant GM Antonio Mendoza on this
six-game stretch through New York and Boston. When will the hammer drop? Who will it be?

Player of the Series

Al Padgett
Padgett contributed to both wins in this series slapping three doubles and knocking in four while scoring a run and drawing two walks. Padgett
is having a great year, especially as a guy who entered the year as the backup to Ray Smith who is now playing in AA. Padgett is making
his case to make his first All-Star game.