The Arizona League: Real Players. Fictional Teams

[AZTarHeel]

1918 All-Star Game

(Forgot to post this earlier) ...

Northern League standouts boot Southern boys, 5-1
SHOW LOW — LF Harry Wolter from Cottonwood hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning to set the tone for the NL All-Stars. Wolter earned MVP honors for the game, scoring twice himself. Payson's Charley Hall got the pitching victory, winning about everything this season except for the league title.

Babe Ruth was the only Southern League player with multiple hits, earning two for the game.

Show Low proved a gracious host for the mid-summer showcase once again, and a move is on to make the White Mountains town the permanent location for the All-Star Game. Of course, Clyde Cooley, president of the Show Low Baseball Association (which runs the game and the Double A franchise for Payson) wants a full-fledged team in his beloved hometown. But he'll make do with this for now at least...

Here are your complete all-star line-ups for 1918:

Northern League
P Charley Hall from Payson
P Fred Link from Jerome
P Pete Schneider from Payson
P Bob Steele from Kayenta
P Herb Pennock from Flagstaff
P Rube Marquard from Kayenta
P Erskine Mayer from Kayenta
P Tommy Atkins from Kayenta
P Harley Young from Flagstaff
P Dave Black from Prescott
C Ted Easterly from Payson
C Red Mckee from Prescott
1B Vic Saier from Flagstaff
2B Jack Barry from Payson
3B Cliff Daringer from Kayenta
SS Otis Johnson from Flagstaff
LF Harry Wolter from Cottonwood
CF Tris Speaker from Payson
RF Harry Heilmann from Cottonwood
1B George Burns from Kayenta
CF Olaf Henriksen from Prescott
CF Benny Kauff from Sedona
RF Danny Moeller from Payson
2B Eddie Collins from Prescott
2B Steve Yerkes from Flagstaff

Southern League
P Howie Camnitz from Tucson
P Jeff Tesreau from Carefree
P Willie Mitchell from Tucson
P Mike Regan from Tempe
P Barney Pelty from Tombstone
P Bert Gallia from Bisbee
P Jim St.vrain from Yuma
P Mellie Wolfgang from Tombstone
P Alex Malloy from Carefree
P Jack Ryan from Tucson
C Nig Clarke from Tombstone
C Mike Gonzalez from Nogales
1B George Sisler from Phoenix
2B Rogers Hornsby from Bisbee
3B Heinie Zimmerman from Tucson
SS Buck Weaver from Phoenix
LF Bobby Veach from Tucson
CF Ty Cobb from Tucson
RF Jimmy Sebring from Yuma
1B Jack Fournier from Tucson
RF Babe Ruth from Tempe
RF Ross Youngs from Yuma
LF Joe Jackson from Nogales
SS Simon Nicholls from Tempe
2B Larry Doyle from Carefree

[AZTarHeel]

Breaking News: Fire Destroys Sedona Ball Park

Arizona Republic • Oct. 30, 1918

SEDONA — A major fire, which investigators deemed "suspicious in nature," engulfed Sedona's baseball park last night, leveling the structure and surrounding out buildings.

The park, known as Red Rock Stadium, has been home to the Sedona Scorpions of the Arizona League since the franchise made its debut in 1901. Sedona's season has been over for about a month.

"There is nothing left here," a distraught Sedona owner Hans Larsen said. "They're telling me that it was arson, but who would do this? Why?"

The stadium had been in a state of disrepair for years and was considered one of the poorest structures among AZL "big clubs." Larsen had approached Sedona town officials about renovations or a new complex but had been rebuffed several times. There had been whispers the franchise might move or be sold for some time.

"I don't know what we're going to do this coming season," Larsen said. "Even if we started working on a new stadium right this second, there is no way it would be done in time for opening day. We're homeless."

AZL Commissioner Doc Victory is in San Diego on vacation the next few weeks and could not be reached for immediate comment. Investigators have no leads or suspects at this time, they say, other than it appears a group of unknown men had been lingering around the stadium yesterday afternoon.

Stay tuned as this story develops.

[AZTarHeel]

1918 Hall of Fame Inductions

This year's Hall of Fame class features one pitcher who was truly dominant and three who steadily contributed across numerous seasons. Introducing, your 1918 Hall of Famers — Christy Mathewson, Otto Hess, Henry Thielman and Howie "Red" Camnitz.



Pitcher Christy "Big Six" Mathewson (1901-1918)
Big Six, the seventh selection in the initial AZL draft, spent half of his career in the Southern League with the Phoenix Dust Devils and the other half up north with the Prescott Antelopes. He excelled in both locales, finishing with a 336-228 record. His ERA across all of those games (639 appearances, 621 starts) was a stellar 2.86.

Mathewson won the very first Rookie of the Year Award in the Southern League (then known as the Best Young Player) back in 1901, and also claimed Top Hurler honors that season after posting a 28-12 record with a 2.31 ERA. Matthews showed his longevity by winning Top Hurler honors again in 1913 with Prescott, posting an amazing 30-7 record with a stingy 2.15 ERA.

He won 16 games in 1917 despite fighting the usual career decline that affects 37-year-olds.

As you can imagine, Big Six is all over the career leaderboard. He's first by far in career wins, 40 ahead of Jim St. Vrain, who at 35 may catch Matthewson if he can last a few more years (St. Vrain was 26-13 for Yuma in 1918 by the way).

Mathewson is also first by a mile in career strikeouts with 3,638 (!!). Orval Overall, who just retired this season, is second with 2,899. The next active player is Fred Beebe, who has 2,183 Ks. But Beebe is 37 and no threat to challenge the record, which looks to stand for a long time.

Mathewson is seventh in career complete games (419) and sixth in career shutouts (41). Looking at past leader boards, Big Six led the league 12 times in season strikeouts. His 301 K's in 1911 with Phoenix is still a Southern League record.

Interestingly, this big flame-throwing pitcher only got to appear in three playoff games. He was 0-2 with a 5.18 ERA -- and only eight strikeouts. He still holds a bit of grudge for when Prescott never used him during its 1913 title run. That was the year Big Six went 30-7 and Antelopes coaches kept saying they were "saving Mathewson" for more important situations. Those situations never came up, good news for Antelopes fans but not so good news for Mathewson.

Our Arizona League Mathewson was as dominant as the real Big Six, who won 373 games. His real-life career ERA was much tougher (2.13), though his AZL self had more strikeouts (2,502 was his true tally).



Pitcher Otto Hess (1904-1918)
Hess was a journeyman pitcher, playing for Bisbee, Jerome, Nogales, Carefree and Prescott (the last three teams in the same season, 1914). But he was a good one and it makes you wonder why teams were so eager to trade him.

Hess threw three no-hitters within a short span of each other -- against Prescott in 1909, against Kayenta in 1909 and against Bisbee in 1910. He never won the Top Hurler Award but was a pretty consistent 20-game winner, earning that feat nine times. One of his best seasons was 1915, when he went 26-14 with a 2.38 ERA.

Hess finishes 274-229 with a career ERA of 2.85. He struck out 1,388. He retires fifth best on the career list for wins, 20th best in strikeouts. He was an Iron Man type pitcher, throwing 480 complete games (second best behind Addie Joss on the career ledger. Thirty-four of those games were shutouts.

The real-life Otto Hess went 70-90, with an ERA of 2.98. He once led the American League in wild pitches. Nice to see him become a star in the Grand Canyon State...


Pitcher Henry Thielman (1902-1918)
The eighth pick in the 1902 Arizona League draft went on to have a lengthy, productive career. Like Hess, Thielman wasn't necessarily the dominant force year after year. He was just steady-as-she-goes during a 16-year stint spent entirely with the Jerome Copper Miners.

Thielman finished with a career record of 264-230, with an ERA of 3.15. He won 20 games just three times but won 18 or more nine different seasons. Again, steady as she goes.

Thielman quietly worked his way up to No. 7 on the all-time wins list and finishes up 17th on the career strikeouts list (1,447). During his career, he missed just two periods with injuries, amounting to a span of seven weeks total. He was a clubhouse leader that the Copper Miners will miss.

(This is kind of neat — the real-life Henry Thielman lasted just two years in the Majors, breaking in during the 1902 season with the Giants and exiting in 1903. He was 9-19 with an ERA of 3.37. Definitely another Field of Dreams type story line for a player in the Arizona League who wasn't a star in real life).



Pitcher Howie "Red" Camnitz (1907-1918)
Red's career didn't last quite as long as the others, but he compacted some great feats into 12 seasons. He won 250 games (10th best in the league) against 204 losses and kept his ERA just under the magical 3.00 mark (2.97).

Camnitz struck out 1,491 (17th best in the league) and threw 428 complete games (fifth best), with 34 shutouts (12th best).

Howie was a nomad, starting his career in Jerome after getting picked No. 10 overall in 1907. He was traded to Sedona in 1911, to Carefree in 1913, to Nogales in 1914, to Tucson in 1917 and then to Tempe in 1918. With all those stops, he never managed to make it to the post-season, though he did play in a few All-Star games.

In real life, Howie was 133-106, with an ERA of 2.75...

[AZTarHeel]

1918 Retirees

At the bottom is a list of all the players who hung up their cleats and put away their gloves and bats for good after the 1918 season. First, a few notes on some of the guys:

• Pitcher Babe Adams, 36 years old, had a nice career with the Nogales Apaches, finishing his nine-year stint with a 150-95 overall record and a lifetime 2.92 ERA. This Babe was 32-8 in 1910 (earning Top Hurler honors) and went 24-13 in 1914. He also was the league's Rookie of the Year in 1909 (20-14). Imagine if he would have come into the league earlier...

• Prescott pitcher Lew "King" Brockett didn't have a royal career from an overall record standpoint (44-57). His career best season was 18-16 back in 1911. But Lew was the King in 1910 when he threw TWO no-hitters, including one against Cottonwood in the playoffs. His first came against Jerome in June. He only had five shutouts his entire time in the AZL...

• Catcher Hick Cady didn't have much of a career in the AZL's Major Leagues (just 18 games for Grand Canyon back in 1912). But he had some notable injuries, like getting teeth knocked out, breaking his nose and bruising some fingers. None of the injuries kept him out for long (broken nose = one week out, and that's it). He was one tough cat you wouldn't want to mess with in a back alley or a bar brawl...

• RF Watty Lee had exactly 2,000 hits during his career, with 330 doubles, 92 triples and 24 homers. His 2,000th hit came against Prescott's Claude Thomas on Sept. 11, 1917. Lee suited up for just two games in 1918 before being sent down to train the younger kids on Flagstaff's Triple A team.

"It was just God's will for me to have exactly 2,000 hits," Lee said. "It's a nice round number." His career batting average was .281 in 18 years with Grand Canyon, Kayenta and Flagstaff...

• 2B Oscar "Jake" Dugey had just nine Major League at-bats -- and none for hits, so he retires with a .000 average. "But I made the Big Show," he said...

• Bisbee pitcher Harry Gaspar retired with a 154-154 record and two Top Hurler Awards (1911 when he was 29-11 and 1912 when he was 24-15). Gaspar was a perfect 4-0 in four post-season starts (all in 1911), posting a nice 1.22 ERA.

• CF Charlie Hanford of the Phoenix Dust Devils drove in seven runs two times against Tombstone during his career and had a 23-game hitting streak in 1917.

• In addition to having a great name, pitcher Orval Overall posted 242 wins (11th all-time in AZL) and a career ERA of 3.21. He went to six All-Star games with Grand Canyon and had a no-hitter in 1910 while with the River Runners. He still holds the Arizona League record for season strikeouts (321), set back in 1911 with Grand Canyon.

Overall was the 1905 Rookie of the Year (14-13, 3.19 ERA), though interestingly he got traded from Yuma to Grand Canyon that June. "Whew, I'm glad. I just did not like Yuma at all," he would later say.

He retires tied with Doc White on the career list for shutouts. Each had 46. Doc is a Hall of Famer. Should Overall get in? He barely misses the cut using the default standards set by the game...

• 2B Hack Simmons' first career hit was a triple for Flagstaff back in 1910. But ol' Hack only managed 59 more hits in his career, spending most of his time in AA or AAA...

• Pitcher Burt Humphries threw a no-hitter for Bisbee in 1915, then got traded later in the season to Jerome. He was 15-21 that season and finished with a 104-108 career record (3.33 ERA). Humphries' best year was 1916, when we finished 23-14...

Babe Adams retires ...
Johnny Beall retires ...
Lew Brockett retires ...
Bobby Byrne retires ...
Hick Cady retires ...
Watty Lee retires ...
Gus Fisher retires ...
Oscar Dugey retires ...
Art Kores retires ...
Red Killefer retires ...
Harry Gaspar retires ...
Jimmy Lavender retires ...
Elmer Knetzer retires ...
Elmer Koestner retires ...
Otto Hess retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
Charlie Hanford retires ...
Jack Lapp retires ...
Bill Schwartz retires ...
Gene Ford retires ...
Art Hoelskoetter retires ...
Orval Overall retires ...
Joe Kutina retires ...
Rip Vowinkel retires ...
Frank Jude retires ...
Lefty Leifield retires ...
George Moriarty retires ...
Jim Nealon retires ...
Jim Pastorius retires ...
Ed Konetchy retires ...
Glenn Liebhardt retires ...
Mike Mitchell retires ...
Fred Osborn retires ...
Tex Pruiett retires ...
Grover Land retires ...
George Perring retires ...
Jack Ryan retires ...
Eddie Higgins retires ...
Jack Lelivelt retires ...
Ed Sweeney retires ...
Bill Mckechnie retires ...
Roy Mitchell retires ...
Charlie Mullen retires ...
Hub Northen retires ...
Lou Schettler retires ...
Hack Simmons retires ...
Frank Truesdale retires ...
Bert Whaling retires ...
FLG: Pete Wilson retires ...
FLG: Jack Lewis retires ...
JER: Bert Humphries retires ...
JER: Henry Thielman retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
PRE: Bill Steele retires ...
PRE: Christy Mathewson retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
PRE: Zinn Beck retires ...
SED: Bob Rhoads retires ...
BIS: George Mullin retires ...
CAR: Gavvy Cravath retires ...
NOG: Joe Tinker retires ...
NOG: Jim Kelly retires ...
TEM: Howie Camnitz retires ...
He will be in the Hall Of Fame!
TEM: Slow joe Doyle retires ...
TOM: Carl Druhot retires ...
TUC: Chief Wilson retires ...
YUM: Fred Carisch retires ...

[Sir Lurksalot]

Originally Posted by AZTarHeel

1918 Retirees

Overall was the 1905 Rookie of the Year (14-13, 3.19 ERA), though interestingly he got traded from Yuma to Grand Canyon that June. "Whew, I'm glad. I just did not like Yuma at all," he would later say.

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by Sir Lurksalot

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry my friend ... couldn't resist ...

[AZTarHeel]

News Update


Sedona's franchise has a home for 1919 season

On the eve of the 1918-19 Winter Meetings, one big issue got settled -- what to do with the Sedona Scorpions franchise following the fire that gutted their stadium and left them essentially homeless.

Many options were tossed around. One was for Sedona to use its own Minor League parks for the 1919 season. But those were all too small, and some in obscure locations, to be feasible for a Major League season. Another option was for Sedona to play all of its games on the road, and just receive some financial compensation for each series that would have been at home.

Yet another option was to have Sedona play its "home" games at other nearby Arizona League parks like Cottonwood, Jerome or Flagstaff. Again, Sedona officials didn't really want that because they'd have to share facilities and it would create a scheduling nightmare. What if some players showed up in Cottonwood while the game that day was being played in Flagstaff? Ugg.

Finally, Clyde Cooley rode into town to save the day.

If you've followed the Arizona League for awhile, you probably remember Clyde. He's the guy from Show Low who's been obsessed for years about bringing an Arizona League franchise to his fair town. He even built a Major League ready stadium (that honestly was better than Sedona's old park in many ways), using it as the home for Payson's Double A franchise and for the yearly Arizona League All-Star game. "If you build it, a franchise will come," has been his motto since the groundbreaking several years ago.

Cooley and Sedona owner Hans Larsen go way back, both as business associates and major competitors around the poker table whenever AZL dignitaries got together. Once he learned about the fire, Cooley visited Larsen and offered his Show Low park, and all of its amenities, for Sedona to use for the 1919 season -- free of charge.

"There is only one thing I ask," Cooley said. "That you put Show Low somewhere in the name while the team uses our park. As for everything else, it's all yours. Offices. Concessions, etc."

So it was settled, for the 1919 season -- and as long as it takes for Sedona to build a new park -- the team would officially be known as the Sedona-Show Low Scorpions. Kind of clunky, but it works. Everyone seemed happy.

And amazingly, the fire -- while tragic -- seemed to galvanize Sedona leaders and citizens to finally embrace their baseball team after so many years of neglect. A major grassroots move began soon after the fire to rebuild the Scorpions' park. And to (finally!) build one of the AZL's most beleaguered franchises into a winner.

Sedona officials planned to unveil designs for a new ballpark at the Winter Meetings. Even some of the previously crusty town leaders planned to attend to show their support for "bringing winning ball to Red Rock Country."

The Arizona League had survived another storm. And the town of Show Low, at least for a little while, had a full-fledged team in its midst (Payson's Double A team would work its schedule around the Scorpions for this season)...

[AZTarHeel]

More Team News

Carefree no longer ready to sing the Blues...

The Carefree franchise has announced that it will unveil its new nickname and logo at the upcoming Winter Meetings in Tucson. The franchise has been known as the "Blues" since its inception in 1901 when it was located in Lake Havasu.

"We just felt like 'Blues' had a negative connotation in our club house," said Don Gustafson, Carefree's new marketing and promotions manager. "Since we're at the point where we are ready to take that next step as a franchise, being so close to making the Cactus Champions Cup the past few seasons, we wanted something more uplifting."

Carefree officials have been tight-lipped about what the nickname might be, only to say that the color scheme will say pretty much the same and that 'Blue' could be part of the new nickname.

"We tossed around a lot of ideas," said Gustafson, who said he came up with the final logo and nickname scheme himself. "Being a transplanted New Englander, I got inspiration from the team of my youth..."

[AZTarHeel]

1918-19 Winter Meetings

The latest meeting of owners, players and fans of the Arizona League, held this year in Tucson, seemed as full of business as ever. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Old Pueblo, eager to catch the latest hot stove news. Here are some of the items:


New look for Carefree
The Carefree Blues are no longer. The team will now be known as the Carefree Blue Sox. Their official logo is pictured above.

"We feel like we are right on the cusp of becoming one of the elite teams in the Southern League, and we just didn't feel like 'Blues' adequately represented our franchise," said Don Gustafson, the chief of Carefree's marketing and promotions department. "We kicked around a lot of names and finally this one sounded great to all of us."

Gustafson, who grew up in the Boston area before moving to Carefree in the same year the franchise landed there from Lake Havasu, said the team almost was named the Carefree Cardinals. Blue Jays was another possibility. He came up with the design for the logo himself.

"The guys had picked up the informal nickname 'the Blue-Stocking Boys' from our local paper because the players have worn either royal blue or sky blue socks every game since the Arizona League debuted 1901," Gustafson said. "This was a neat way to pay tribute to that and give us a little confidence boost going into what we think can be our first championship season."

Welcome, the Carefree Blue Sox!! (As a Red Sox and UNC Tar Heels fan, I couldn't resist mixing the two!! )



Grand plans in Sedona
Fire gutted the Scorpions stadium at the end of last season, and it was decided before the Winter Meetings that the franchise would spend 1919 and maybe all or part of 1920 playing in Show Low. In the meantime, Sedona team leaders and town officials made a presentation of what they hope will be the newest -- and grandest -- ball park in the Arizona League.

The new Cathedral Park will be positioned on the western edge of town and will afford great views of Cathedral Rock, as well as popular landmarks like Coffee Pot Rock. The stadium blueprint was a neat collaboration between the strong artist community and sports lovers.

Sedona officials said there are still some legal issues to work through as far as the land purchases and such, but they hoped to break ground at the latest by the All-Star break.

"We're just pleased to see this whole town and region get behind Sedona baseball," the mayor said. "It's sad that it took a fire to realize what a treasure our Arizona League franchise is to us."


New Arizona League logo
Commissioner Doc Victory unveiled a new Arizona League logo. Many kudos to designer, SandMan


This and that
• Sedona team owners may want to take a lesson from Tempe as it builds its new park. Tempe owners have gotten themselves heavily in debt in building its new stadium complex.

While they have a great stadium now, the folks in charge are wondering how in the heck they are going to pay for everything. The chief owner has said he may have to sell off part of the team if things got too bad and too many bills came due. Yikes. After winning the AZL title in 1917, Tempe was 24 games out in the SL last season, posting a 75-87 record.

• The Hall of Fame committee has announced that it is planning to overhaul its process of electing new members to the Hall. There may be a waiting period of three to five years after a player retires for them to be eligible for induction.

Also, fan voting may play a role in the induction process. "There has been some controversy over who gets in and who doesn't," Commissioner Doc Victory said. "We want to get it right. This way we can have a lot of voices weighing in."

Nothing official has been decided yet on that front...

• Of course everyone wanted to know who the big winner would be in this year's Owners and Friends poker showdown. What had started as a way to pass time when a snowstorm crippled the Winter Meetings in Prescott several years back had grown into a phenomenon.

Show Low's Clyde Cooley was the man to beat, it seemed, every time the players got together. Hans Larsen, Sedona's owner, was tough as well, but struggled time and again to overcome the deft-playing Cooley.

Most of the time the marathon poker matches would wind up with Cooley and Larsen playing for the entire pot, with everyone else folding in disgust but sticking around to watch the action. Maybe "The Game" had gotten out of hand in recent years? But it was likely to stay a "backroom" tradition at the Winter Meetings and other AZL functions for years to come...

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Player Draft

Despite all the excitement for the Arizona League this season, the player talent pool is thin at best. Here is how things shook out on draft day. Hats off to Pitcher Jack Scott, picked first by the Cottonwood Monsoon:

(My favorite name in this bunch: Sedona's second-round pick - Sweetbreads Bailey!)

Round 1:
Cottonwood pick: P Jack Scott
Tombstone pick: P Dolf Luque
Phoenix pick: CF Ira Flagstead
Yuma pick: P Waite Hoyt
Tempe pick: P Dutch Ruether
Flagstaff pick: P George Uhle
Prescott pick: P Dickie Kerr
Sedona pick: C Pat Collins
Grand Canyon pick: LF Rube Bressler
Jerome pick: LF Billy Zitzmann
Nogales pick: P Rollie Naylor
Kayenta pick: LF Bevo Lebourveau
Carefree pick: C Lena Styles
Bisbee pick: P Jack Wisner
Tucson pick: CF Charlie See
Payson pick: P Jimmy Zinn

Round 2 :
Cottonwood pick: SS Wally Kimmick
Tombstone pick: LF Lloyd Christenbury
Phoenix pick: 1B Dick Burrus
Yuma pick: P Bill Snyder
Tempe pick: 2B Chick Fewster
Flagstaff pick: LF Al Wingo
Prescott pick: P Hal Haid
Sedona pick: P Sweetbreads Bailey
Grand Canyon pick: P Harry Thompson
Jerome pick: LF Turner Barber
Nogales pick: P Pat Murray
Kayenta pick: P Dan Boone
Carefree pick: SS Ike Davis
Bisbee pick: P Al Schacht
Tucson pick: SS Wally Gerber
Payson pick: P Jesse Winters

Round 3 :
Cottonwood pick: C Fred Hofmann
Tombstone pick: P Lefty York
Phoenix pick: SS Harvey Mcclellan
Yuma pick: P Ed Gill
Tempe pick: 1B Ivy Griffin
Flagstaff pick: 1B Johnny Walker
Prescott pick: P Tony Faeth
Sedona pick: P Charlie Eckert
Grand Canyon pick: RF Charlie High
Jerome pick: P Mike Kircher
Nogales pick: P George Winn
Kayenta pick: P Pat Martin
Carefree pick: P Luke Nelson
Bisbee pick: P Rolla Mapel
Tucson pick: SS Harry Lunte

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Season Recap — Northern League



Old powers return to top, tie for NL crown
The Flagstaff Lumberjacks and Grand Canyon River Runners shared the regular season title in the NL this year, and boy did the 'Jacks have to work for it.

When the calendar rolled into September, Flag had several games to make up. Then in the last two days of the regular season, Flag trailed Grand Canyon by two games. The River Runners had to lose two, and the Lumberjacks obviously had to win two.

On Oct. 2, Grand Canyon cooperated by falling to Jerome 4-3. Flag stayed alive by knocking off Kayenta 4-2. The next day, the teams switched opponents. Grand Canyon lost again, getting drilled by Kayenta 7-1. Flag, meanwhile, got locked in an epic pitching struggle with Jerome.

The Lumberjacks scored a run in the second, and Jerome knotted the game 1-1 in the sixth. Then no one scored again for the next six innings. Jerome kept pitcher Fred Link out there the entire time, and finally in the bottom of the 13th, he blinked.

Pinch hitter Swede Risberg doubled for the Lumberjacks to lead off the frame. Then shortstop Otis Johnson bunted Risberg to third. Link walked RF Armando Marsans, and then CF Lee Magee singled to the gap in left-center to score Risberg and end the game.

"We had no idea how Grand Canyon had done that day," Magee said. "We knew we had to win, even if it took more than four hours. We celebrated after the victory like we had won the Cactus Cup or something."

The good news is that both Flagstaff and Grand Canyon made the playoffs. But Flag earned home-field advantage by forging the tie in the standings (I'm pretty sure the game used the alphabet to determine the teams' order). That could prove critical, obviously.

Notable players this season for Flagstaff included pitchers Al Schulz (24-14, 2.67 ERA) and Herb Pennock (27-10, 2.45). 2B Steve Yerkes hit 12 HRs and had 89 RBIs to go with his .288 average. SS Otis Johnson batted a cool .300 with 10 homers and 69 RBIs.

Claude Cooper has filled in nicely in left field since the retirement of Hall-of-Famer Sam Crawford. He batted .266 with 11 HRs and 86 RBIs for the Lumberjacks. (As a side note, Crawford has been nowhere to be found in Flagstaff since being abruptly released by the Lumberjacks in September of his final year, 1917. He's still sore the team didn't allow him the grace of finishing out the final few weeks of his career in the town where he played 16+ years).

Byron Houck (23-17, 2.75 ERA) and Dan Marion (23-14, 2.54 ERA) paced the Grand Canyon rotation. Carl Mays added another 18 wins. Long-time 2B Johnny "Crab" Evers, now 38 years old, showed he's still got it. Though he appeared in just 94 games, Evers batted a robust .343 with 41 RBIs. He also stole 17 bases. SS John Knight was Grand Canyon's masher, with 11 homers and 96 RBIs.

This will be Flagstaff's first trip to the playoffs since 1915. The Jacks were seventh, sixth and seventh in the NL the three prior seasons. Grand Canyon's playoff drought had been a decade, with River Runners last appearing in the post-season in 1909. Both teams have one AZL championship to their credit, Flagstaff in 1907 and Grand Canyon in '09.

The big news in the NL was the end of Payson's playoff streak. The mighty Longhorns had won five of the last seven division titles and had advanced to the post-season seven years in a row before coming up a few games short this year. Maybe the tide is finally shifting away from the Tris Speaker-led 'Horns?

As for the Sedona franchise, which spent this season in Show Low as it rebuilds its fire-ravaged stadium? Well, the two-city Scorpions started off pretty hot, even leading the Northern League for awhile. But they turned back into a normal Sedona-type franchise after awhile, finishing seventh (70-92). Prescott's woes continued, and the franchise with the most Cactus Champions Cup titles (five) missed the playoffs for the sixth-straight season.

Here are the complete Northern League standings:

Team	         W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Flagstaff	93	69	.574	-	94-68	-1	 	44-37	49-32	8-9	34-29	1	W3	6-4
Grand Canyon	93	69	.574	-	93-69	0	 	47-34	46-35	12-8	26-21	1	L2	5-5
Payson  	88	74	.543	5.0	88-74	0	 	42-39	46-35	8-10	21-25	-	W1	7-3
Cottonwood	84	78	.519	9.0	78-84	6	 	46-35	38-43	9-8	23-22	-	W4	7-3
Kayenta 	79	83	.488	14.0	88-74	-9	 	36-45	43-38	8-13	11-30	-	W1	5-5
Jerome  	73	89	.451	20.0	65-97	8	 	44-37	29-52	11-5	30-24	-	L1	4-6
Sedona-Show Low	70	92	.432	23.0	71-91	-1	 	35-46	35-46	11-14	26-25	-	L3	5-5
Prescott	68	94	.420	25.0	67-95	1	 	38-43	30-51	8-8	26-21	-	L1	1-9

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Season Recap — Southern League


New-look Blue Sox lead the way in the South
After three straight seasons of close-but-no-cigar finishes in the Southern League, the Carefree franchise decided it was time for an image makeover. Out went the Carefree Blues (which folks believed had a negative connotation in the club house -- the team is always "singing the blues.") In came the Carefree Blue Sox.

So far, so good (and I'll admit I'm pretty proud of the logo I put together from various things I found on Mods sites). The newly renamed franchise won the Southern League division title in 1919, nipping Bisbee by four games in the final standings. As in the Northern League, the traditional power (Tucson) will be left out of the post-season fun this year.

Carefree actually underachieved mightily if you look at the Pythagorian Record (the Blue Sox should have won 105 games instead of 93 according to that formula). But that doesn't mean anything once the playoffs start. Carefree rallied behind the sharp pitching of Jeff Tesraeu, who went 28-12 as the No. 3 man on the staff. George Ferguson missed a month and a half with an elbow injury but recovered to post a 19-12 record with a mean 1.57 ERA.

Shortstop Harry Spratt (.275, 13 HRs, 95 RBIs) and CF Tex McDonald (.267, 8 HRs, 80 RBIs) led the offense, though eight guys had 59 or more runs driven in. In a lot of ways, this team tried to just outscore its foes. The Blue Sox were first in runs scored (742) but also first in runs allowed (550), home runs allowed (28) and walks allowed (338).

Smokey Joe Wood had a smokin' season for the Bisbee Prospectors. He went 32-8, giving up an average of just 2.66 earned runs per contest. The 32 wins is a new Southern League and overall Arizona League record (31 is tops in the NL). The 29-year-old, who has thrown two no-hitters in his career, may very well add a Top Hurler Award to his resume this time around.

Bisbee's offensive leaders included CF Benny Kauff (.323, 90 RBS, 66 SBs), 2B Rogers Hornsby (.324, 7 HRs, 91 RBIs) and 1B Dick Hoblitzel (80 RBIs, 66 SBs).

This should be a fun series as both teams like to score runs, and both teams like to fly around the bases. Bisbee swiped 292 this season (tops in the AZL). Carefree stole 241 (third).

Right-fielder Babe Ruth mashed 29 home runs this season and drove home 95 in all, but that still wasn't enough to put the Tempe Sun Devils anywhere close to getting back in the playoffs (71-91 record). Sun Devil owners secretly worry about the impact of another poor season will have on their bottom line. They owe a lot of people a lot of money for the new ballpark that got built after their AZL championship a few years ago. Languishing at the back of the SL pack isn't going to pay those bills...

The Southern League pennant race was pretty tight most of the season. Four teams finished within nine games of league-leading Carefree.

Alas, Yuma finished JUST off the playoff pace, one game behind Bisbee (sorry SirLurksAlot). The Prisoners did have three 20-game winners in the bullpen -- Jim St. Vrain (22-16), Red Causey (20-20) and Jing Johnson (21-17). Second year RF Ross Youngs posted a .263 average with 75 RBIs.

Here are the complete Southern League standings for 1919:

Team	         W	L	PCT	GB	 Pyt.Rec	Diff	 	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Carefree	93	69	.574	-	105-57	-12	 	45-36	48-33	7-11	21-29	*	W2	6-4
Bisbee   	89	73	.549	4.0	93-69	-4	 	45-36	44-37	7-9	23-26	-	W2	5-5
Yuma    	88	74	.543	5.0	85-77	3	 	44-37	44-37	6-9	20-22	-	L1	7-3
Tombstone	84	78	.519	9.0	86-76	-2	 	38-43	46-35	12-8	30-30	-	W1	8-2
Tucson  	84	78	.519	9.0	80-82	4	 	39-42	45-36	6-9	33-23	-	L4	4-6
Nogales 	71	91	.438	22.0	69-93	2	 	38-43	33-48	4-5	20-27	-	L5	3-7
Tempe   	71	91	.438	22.0	65-97	6	 	35-46	36-45	8-5	30-23	-	L2	2-8
Phoenix 	68	94	.420	25.0	67-95	1	 	31-50	37-44	11-5	25-22	-	W4	5-5

[AZTarHeel]

Breaking News


Sedona Scorpions franchise sold, will move

The Arizona Republic • Sunday, Oct. 5, 1919

In a move that surprised nearly everyone, the Sedona Scorpions baseball franchise has been sold and will move to Show Low permanently beginning with the 1920 season, it was announced yesterday.

It was thought that the Scorpions were only renters in Show Low while Sedona officials built them a new stadium to replace the one ravaged by fire last year. But long-time Sedona owner Hans Larsen released a written statement yesterday — one day after the 1919 regular season had concluded — saying that he had "no choice" but to sell his team.

Clyde Cooley, who has been angling for an Arizona League team for his beloved town of Show Low for years, is the buyer. He plans a complete overhaul of the franchise beginning immediately.

"We'll have a new nickname, a new look, new players, new managers and hopefully a new winning attitude when Arizona League baseball officially — permanently — comes to Show Low starting in the spring," Cooley told reporters for the White Mountains Independent. "This is a dream come true for me, for our town and for the White Mountains in general, which has enjoyed great baseball in Payson for many years. Now there will be two powerhouses to deal with in the White Mountains instead of just one once we build what I want here."

The stunning announcement left baseball fans and followers in Sedona shocked and outraged. When the stadium burned following the 1918 season, a grassroots movement began to rebuild not only the ballpark but the whole organization, which had been at the back of the Arizona League pack for most of the league's existence. Ground had already been broken for a new stadium, and excitement was probably at an all-time high to make Sedona an arts AND baseball town. Even some of the most crusty town leaders who had opposed the baseball team before said they were now sold on keeping a successful franchise in town. Now they won't get the chance.

"We just don't get it," Sedona ticket holder Dennis Mobley said. "We want answers. Why did Mr. Larsen sell out on us? Something sounds fishy about the whole deal. I don't trust that Cooley fellow one bit."

Larsen apparently hasn't stuck around to answer any questions. He said in his written statement that he "has left the country for awhile" and that he "appreciates everything Sedona has done for me and for the baseball franchise over the past 19 years. We tried our best but I had no choice but the sell at this time. Good luck to Mr. Cooley, to the players and may the team enjoy success in the future."

The Sedona-Show Low franchise finished 70-92 this past season, seventh out of eight teams in the Northern League. The Scorpions were 23 games behind NL champs Flagstaff and Grand Canyon.

The Arizona Republic will have more on this story as it develops.

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Divisional Playoffs


Northern League: Flagstaff fends off Grand Canyon in 6

Game Scores
Flagstaff 4, Grand Canyon 3 — WP: Al Schulz
Grand Canyon 3, Flagstaff 2 — WP: Byron Houck
Grand Canyon 3, Flagstaff 2 (11) — WP: Carl Mays
Flagstaff 6, Grand Canyon 4 — WP: Al Schulz
Flagstaff 4, Grand Canyon 1 — WP: Pol Perritt
Flagstaff 3, Grand Canyon 1 — WP: Herb Pennock

The two best teams in the Northern League staged a great series, with the first three games decided by one run.

Flagstaff scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to steal Game One from the River Runners. In baseball, managers like to push the importance of getting that first out in an inning. Grand Canyon didn't do it, as SS Otis Johnson singled. Then 1B Vic Saier got hit by a pitch. 2B Steve Yerkes followed with a double to score Johnson for a 3-2 game. After intentionally walking LF Claude Cooper, GC pitcher Dan Marion gave up a single to PH Zip Collins, scoring the tying run. While Saier's pinch-runner was thrown out trying to take home on the play, 3B Jim Breton singled in the winning run on the next at-bat.

Obviously, that would be an important inning for both teams. Grand Canyon, which went on to win Games Two and Three, could have been up 3-0 in the series instead of 2-1. The Lumberjacks finally started to find their rhythm in Game Four, winning 6-4, and cruised the rest of the way behind strong pitching from Pol Perritt and Herb Pennock.

Centerfielder Lee Magee had a great series for Flag. Batting leadoff, he stroked 10 hits in the sixth games, including a 4-for-5 performance in Game Three. 1B Joe Judge was Grand Canyon's most productive offensive player, rapping eight hits, with two doubles. The problem was, the 'Runners didn't have too many men on base when Judge came up.

Amazingly, Flagstaff won the decisive Game Six with only two hits. Both turned out to be home runs, by Johnson in the sixth and by Magee in the eighth

Flagstaff has been to the Cactus Champions Cup series three times, winning in 1907. The 'Jacks' last appearance was 1915 when they lost to Phoenix 4-2.



Southern League: New-look Carefree team chops down Bisbee in 5

Game Scores
Carefree 5, Bisbee 1 — WP: George Ferguson
Carefree 7, Bisbee 3 — WP: Raymond Bressler
Bisbee 1, Carefree 0 (10) — WP: Brad Hogg
Carefree 7, Bisbee 3 — WP: George Ferguson
Carefree 9, Bisbee 1 — WP: Raymond Bressler

Carefree's baseball team wants people to know there is more to them this season than just new uniforms, a new nickname and a new logo. The recently re-named Blue Sox proved that in the Southern League Divisional playoffs, whipping Bisbee in five games.

Aside from one hiccup in Game Three, where the bats didn't show up, Carefree was a buzz saw. The Sox outscored the Prospectors 28-9 in five games.

George Ferguson tossed a one-hitter for Carefree in Game One. The Sox, meanwhile, pounded out 11 hits, jumping out to a 4-0 lead early. Bill "Rough" Carrigan (of Pat O'Farrell dynasty fame) broke up the no-hit bid with a double in the fifth.

Bisbee outhit Carefree 13-9 in Game Two but still lost because it couldn't get those guys home. Game Three was a barn-burner. Brad Hogg held the Blue Sox to only four hits over 10 innings. But Carefree's bats didn't stay quiet the rest of the series, and the team erupted for 20 hits and 16 runs the next two nights to close things out.

LF Chet Chadbourne (.318), DH Al Scheer (.333, 3 RBIs), CF Tex McDonald (.333, 5 RBIs) and 3B Cliff "Shanty" Daringer (.364, 6 RBIs) carried the heaviest bats for Carefree during the five-game stint. (An aside: ever notice there is always a Tex somewhere in the playoffs?).

Carefree will make its first-ever appearance in the Cactus Champions Cup. That leaves only one team out of the 16 Arizona League franchises that has never made it to the championship round, the Sedona Scorpions (who will begin play in Show Low in 1920 - maybe a new look for that club will help them like it seems to be helping Carefree).

Count me excited about this Flagstaff vs. Carefree series. A chance to meet some new players for a change...

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Cactus Champions Cup


No doubt about it: Carefree wins 1st title

Game Scores
Carefree 9, Flagstaff 6 (13) — WP: Doc Crandall
Flagstaff 4, Carefree 3 — WP: Pol Perritt
Carefree 3, Flagstaff 2 — WP: Jeff Tesreau
Carefree 9, Flagstaff 3 — WP: George Ferguson
Carefree 2, Flagstaff 1 — WP: Raymond Bressler

They aren't singing the blues in Carefree any longer. These days, baseball fans are saluting the Blue Stockinged kings of the Arizona League. Carefree completed a magical journey by winning the Cactus Champions Cup in five games over the top team from the Northern League, the Flagstaff Lumberjacks.

Shortstop Harry Spratt scored what would be the title-clinching run in the bottom of the ninth in Game Five — on a Flagstaff error of all things.

With the score tied 1-1, RF Sam Rice began the frame with a double. Spratt was then walked intentionally by pitcher Pol Perritt to create a force play at two bags. Perritt got CF Tex McDonald to line out to third, but 2B Larry Doyle followed with a single.

The game appeared won at that point, but Flagstaff RF Armando Marsans made a great throw home, gunning down Rice's pinch-runner at the plate, Buck Herzog. The Carefree runner slid, Flag catcher William Rumler applied a hard tag, and the home plate umpire stepped out of a cloud of dust to declare Herzog "OUT!"

That brought 3B Cliff Daringer to the plate, with Spratt on third and Doyle on second. Daringer only had one hit in the series to that point and was 0-for-3 in the game.

Perritt got what he wanted on a 2-2 count to Daringer, luring him into what appeared to be a routine grounder. But Flag's 2B Steve Yerkes booted the ball. Spratt scored and a massive celebration erupted on the field after he stomped on home plate. The boys in blue piled on Spratt, and the celebrations lasted well into the night in Carefree, once home to one of the lowliest franchises in the league. Yerkes, who had committed 35 errors on the season, just sat there at second base with his head down for several minutes, in disbelief.

Even had Carefree lost that game, it still would have been up 3-2 in the series, with two more chances to close things out. What a crazy game this is.

Carefree scored four runs in the top of the 13th to take Game One. Spratt got things started in that one as well, walking to lead off the frame. Rice, Doyle, PH Buck Thrasher (great name!) and C Ray Schalk all singled to drive runs home.

A sacrifice fly in the seventh inning by 1B Hap Myers gave Carefree the winning run in a 3-2 triumph in Game Three.

Myers and Schalk batted No. 8 and No. 9 in the Carefree order throughout the playoffs. But both had eight RBIs and hit home runs in the post-season. Schalk batted .389. Rice finished with a .359 playoff average with three RBIs.

OF Lee Magee kept up his torrid hitting pace in the Cactus series, finishing with a .306 batting average in the post-season. 3B Jim Breton had seven RBIs for the Lumberjacks, who are now 1-for-4 in Cactus Cup series. Carefree is 1-for-1.

Cactus Champions Cup History

Through 1919 season

Arizona League Championships
Prescott: 5
Payson: 3
Bisbee: 2
Tucson: 2
Cottonwood: 1
Flagstaff: 1
Grand Canyon: 1
Nogales: 1
Phoenix: 1
Tempe: 1
Carefree/Lake Havasu: 1
TOTAL = 19

Cactus Champions Cup appearances (and winning percentage):
Prescott: 6 (.833)
Payson: 4 (.775)
Tucson: 4 (.500)
Grand Canyon: 4 (.250)
Flagstaff: 4 (.250)
Nogales: 3 (.333)
Yuma: 3 (.000)
Bisbee: 2 (1.000)
Jerome: 2 (.000)
Carefree/Lake Havasu: 1 (1.000)
Cottonwood: 1 (1.000)
Tempe: 1 (1.000)
Phoenix: 1 (1.000)
Tombstone: 1 (.000)
Kayenta: 1 (.000)
Sedona: 0
TOTAL = 38

Past Results
1901:Payson beat Nogales 4 to 2
1902:Nogales beat Grand Canyon 4 to 1
1903:Prescott beat Jerome 4 to 2
1904:Prescott beat Grand Canyon 4 to 2
1905:Bisbee beat Flagstaff 4 to 3
1906:Prescott beat Grand Canyon 4 to 3
1907:Flagstaff beat Tombstone 4 to 3
1908:Cottonwood beat Yuma 4 to 1
1909:Grand Canyon beat Yuma 4 to 3
1910:Prescott beat Nogales 4 to 1
1911:Bisbee beat Prescott 4 to 1
1912:Payson beat Yuma 4 to 1
1913:Prescott beat Tucson 4 to 1
1914:Tucson beat Payson 4 to 2
1915:Phoenix beat Flagstaff 4 to 2
1916:Payson beat Tucson 4 to 1
1917:Tempe beat Jerome 4 to 3
1918:Tucson beat Kayenta 4 to 3
1919:Carefree beat Flagstaff 4 to 1

[AZTarHeel]

1919 Award Winners

With the latest Arizona League season in the books, it's time to dole out player awards:

Top Hurler Awards
The Cottonwood Monsoon didn't make the playoffs, but the 'Soon did have the Northern League's top pitcher, at least according to voters. Russ Ford, a hard-throwing right-hander, earned this year's NL Top Hurler Award winner. This season Ford compiled an ERA of 2.54, going 29-11 in 40 starts. He fanned 241 while giving up 306 hits in 362 innings. He threw 38 complete games and posted six shutouts. He was 3rd in the Northern in ERA and the leader in wins.

Smokey Joe Wood had a dominating season for Southern League runner-up Bisbee for sure. He posted a 32-8 record in 40 starts, posting an ERA of 2.66. He fanned 151 while giving up 207 hits in 348.2 innings. Smokey Joe pitched six shutouts and 36 complete games. He ended up fifth in the Southern in ERA and obviously was first in wins, breaking an AZL record in the process.

**I went back and looked at how Smokey Joe fared in the playoffs. Well, he got smoked by Carefree. In his first start, Wood allowed nine hits, walked seven and gave up seven earned runs. In his second start, Wood walked ELEVEN (!!) and allowed seven hits and eight runs. Yikes. Not sure what happened there... He was 7-1 in his previous eight starts. No indication of injury. Just nerves I guess...

*
Big Stick Award honors
The Sedona-Show Low franchise had a turbulent season for sure. But CF Olaf Henriksen brought the in-limbo team a little limelight, winning the Northern Big Stick Award this year. Olaf hit .314, with 182 hits in 579 at bats. He drove in 92 runs and slugged .492. He was 2nd in the Northern in batting, 1st in homeruns and 3rd in RBI. At least the new manager will have something to work with when the team begins play in Show Low in 1920.

Ho hum, Babe Ruth wins another Big Stick in the Southern League. The Tempe Sun Devils slugger won for the fourth time in four years, posting these numbers: .278 AVG, 150 hits, 41 doubles, 7 triples and 29 longballs, along with 95 RBI and 87 runs scored. He was 1st in the Southern in RBIs and 1st in homeruns. It will be interesting to see if Ruth, age 24, can challenge Sam Crawford's record of nine Big Stick trophies...


Rookie of the Year
Dickie Kerr was named the Northern Rookie of the Year winner. Prescott's pitcher put up pretty good numbers for a rookie. Opposing players hit .266 against him this season. While posting an ERA of 3.62 he went 14-12 in 25 starts, fanning 87 and walking 107 hitters. Dickie pitched 3 shutouts and 23 complete games.

Phoenix's Ira Flagstead, a 26 year old centerfielder, was named the Rookie of the Year winner in the Southern. What a way to begin a career. He hit 6 longballs while batting .246 this season. His 115 hits and 39 walks add up to a .315 on-base percentage. Not bad.


Field General Awards
Northern Field General Award Winners:
Pitcher: Hooks Dauss (SED)
Catcher: Bob Coleman (GCA)
First Base: Bunny Brief (PRE)
Second Base: Eddie Collins (PRE)
Third Base: Lee Mcelwee (CTW)
Shortstop: Charlie Hollocher (KAY)
Leftfield: Edd Roush (JER)
Centerfield: Clyde Milan (JER)
Rightfield: Danny Moeller (PAY)

Southern Field General Award Winners:
Pitcher: Brad Hogg (BIS)
Catcher: Art Wilson (CAR)
First Base: Dick Hoblitzel (BIS)
Second Base: Del Pratt (YUM)
Third Base: Tillie Shafer (PHX)
Shortstop: Buck Weaver (PHX)
Leftfield: Chet Chadbourne (CAR)
Centerfield: Ty Cobb (TUC)
Rightfield: Sam Rice (CAR)

[AZTarHeel]

1919 News & Notes

All-Star Game: NL hammers Southern boys
Payson 3B Del Paddock went 3-for-5, helping the Northern League enjoy a 9-1 win over the Southern League in the 1919 edition of the Midsummer Classic, played in Show Low. Paddock had a triple and four RBIs to earn MVP honors. Payson teammate Tris Speaker had two hits and an RBI. 2B Morrie Rath of Kayenta also had a triple and two hits for the game. Rube Marquard of Kayenta got the win. The NL pitching staff held the SL to five hits on the day...


No-Hit Club
Flagstaff's Leon Cadore and Payson's Charley Hall joined the exclusive group this season, throwing no-nos in the early part of the season. It was the first no-hitter for each player. Cadore's came against Grand Canyon, while Hall's was against Kayenta...


Big Hittin'
Bisbee's Benny Kauf slammed six hits against Tucson on May 27, tying a Southern League record. He was 6-for-6 with three RBIs...


2,000 and Counting
Grand Canyon's Johnny Evers rapped career hit No. 2,000 on June 14 ... Payson's Tris Speaker reached the 2,000 milestone in late August ... Tucson's Ty Cobb, second on the career list behind Sam Crawford, needs just eight more hits to reach 2,500. Cobb is 32-years-old so he should be just fine ...


300 and Counting
Yuma pitcher Jim St. Vrain notched his 300th pitching victory, giving Prisoners something to be happy about in the midst of their playoff drought. The future Hall of Famer ended the season with 318, needing just 18 to reach career leader Christy Mathewson. St. Vrain is 36, however, and needs to have one more great season to overtake Big Six.

[Sir Lurksalot]

I could have sworn I heard rumors about Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker wanting to move to Yuma....

[asurob]

I followed this dynasty quite a bit before...has it gone to the great ballpark in the sky?

[AZTarHeel]

Originally Posted by asurob

I followed this dynasty quite a bit before...has it gone to the great ballpark in the sky?

Hey asurob, it's funny you should ask ... i've been working on a sequel of sorts to this dynasty since buying OOTP9 earlier this summer...

this particular league is pretty much a goner. It was played on OOTP5 and I had a computer crash awhile back that pretty much put this one on the ropes. I recovered most of the files but lost some history and other stuff... Plus I haven't had the best of luck upgrading my old leagues into OOTP9...

Anyways, my plan is to start an "Arizona League: New History" story, probably beginning earlier than 1901 and trying to be more historically accurate than the other one (i.e. not having a team in Lake Havasu before there was a place called Lake Havasu in real life). I've spent a lot of time the past few weeks just reading about the Arizona in the late 1800s and it's pretty fascinating stuff... Hopefully I can weave a neat baseball story around that...

I've run a few test leagues and hope to get things rolling soon ...

Thanks for asking, hopefully the new and improved Arizona League will be one worth following as well ...

AZ