The History Of The Pan-American Baseball League, est. 1871

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 03:55 PM

In the early days of baseball, organization of any kind was hard to come by. Players would jump from team to team on a regular basis. As a result, any leagues that would be founded would be gone after only a couple of seasons. Also, there was no sense of competition whatsoever. Baseball was a chaotic, disorganized mess

Then along came Paul Jackson Mullaney. Mullaney was the owner of a prominent department store in downtown Chicago.

Born on May 17, 1829, he was the son of another prominent Chicago businessman, Dwight Mullaney. While attending Notre Dame University, he played on the college’s baseball team. At that time, baseball was sweeping the nation. Often his team would play against other area colleges. This is most likely what planted the seeds in his mind for a professional baseball league.

Upon graduating from Notre Dame, he started working his way up in the business world. Just two years after he bought the struggling department store he would later make a success, the Civil War broke out. Baseball was extremely popular among the soldiers, and Mullaney played on his unit’s baseball team. As with the college team, his team would play other unit’s teams. It was at this time that Mullaney realized at a truly organized baseball league could work.

After the Civil War ended, Mullaney moved back to Chicago and reopened the department store. He also formed a baseball team of his own, the Chicago Northsiders. The Northsiders grew in popularity throughout the city. In the meantime, he tried pitching his idea of a professional baseball league to other teams. Hardly anyone believed it would be a good idea. Three teams, however, felt that they should try this “gimmick” for a few seasons. The teams were the Detroit Flags, the Akron Buckeyes, and the Erie Keystones.

The four owners met at the Chicago Westin Hotel in October of 1870 to come up with rules for the league. The owners and their teams were:

Paul Mullaney (Chicago Northsiders)
Daniel McLeary (Detroit Flags)
Henry Davis (Akron Buckeyes)
Dwight Kaufmann (Erie Keystones)

One of the novel ideas decided upon was that new players would enter the league via a draft held in November and placed on teams. The team with the worst record would get the first pick, the second worse, the second, and so on. Also, trading was disallowed for the time being. It was decided that the name of the league would be the Pan-American Baseball League. The owners also voted to play a 60 game schedule starting in April 1871, playing only weekends. There would be no playoff. The team with the best record at the end of the season would be named the champion. The owners appointed Mullaney to be the first commissioner of the league. The league constitution was unanimously ratified by all the owners.

Thus the Pan-American Baseball League was born.

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 04:27 PM

Welcome to my restart of the Pan-American Baseball League!

The first time I tried to start it up, I was not satisfied with the way it was turning out. I hope this time around it will get off to a better start.

The concept for this dynasty is to be an alternate fictional history of the major leagues starting in 1871 and going to the present day.

The concept for this thread is inspired by George_Bell's wonderful MLB Replay dynasty.

I will be the commisioner, so, as with the MLB Replay thread, I won't interfere with anything that goes on in the league unless it's drastic. I will be simply reporting on them.

I will try to follow great players, teams, storylines etc. to the best of my ability. I'm not the best at interpreting stats for the time being so please bear with me.

First I will post screenshots of the initial rosters of the four teams, and my best interpretation of them.

Thanks to txranger and Knuckler for the excellent jerseys and logos they made for me.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

GamerGramp · 11-09-2014, 05:21 PM

Best of luck this time around.

Let's play ball!

GG

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 05:27 PM

BATTERS

There's not very much power on this team, which can be expected in the 19th Century. George Robinson appears to be the lone bright spot on an otherwise mediocre team. I don't expect them to make any noise in the league early on.

PITCHERS

Interesting that on this team, two relievers are better than the starting pitcher. Keep in mind that at this time, there is one starting pitcher per team. This pitching staff does not help the Buckeyes cause.

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 05:57 PM

BATTERS

Now THIS is a team! They are very multidimensional, with plenty of offense and defense to boot. Being a fairly young team, they have plenty of time to develop. I think they'll be a competitor in the league this year.

PITCHERS

Yet another lackluster pitcher backed by a better relief staff. However, considering the defense that will be behind them, I don't think it will make much of a difference.

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 09:31 PM

BATTERS

Five great players anchor this team, however I like J. B. Cameron the most. He can hit the ball well, and put the ball where the defense isn't. All in all, they should be a decent team.

PITCHERS

This must be an epidemic in this league. There's always a reliever better than the starter. Although in this case, I think the four stars for Tom Glatczak are misleading, as his ratings are comparable to the starter, Bill Farmer. This is a decent pitching staff though.

skyballer455 · 11-09-2014, 10:11 PM

BATTERS

This is a similar situation to the Akron Buckeyes, being that there's one bright spot amongst an otherwise unremarkable team. That bright spot is Jim Thompson. As with the Buckeyes, I don't think they'll be a contender early on.

PITCHERS

The epidemic continues, and here it's in full force. Candy Lowe is obviously much better than the rest of the pitching staff! A very unbalanced pitching staff to say the least.

baseballonly · 11-09-2014, 11:06 PM

2 things:
1) Relievers are gonna have a higher stuff rating than an equally as good starter, because they don't have to worry about saving anything for later in the game.

2)All the starters are about the same, which is correct for that time, as basicly they are just gonna throw the ball in and let them hit it. So defense is what really matters.

skyballer455 · 11-14-2014, 01:44 PM

1871 Season Preview

The Detroit Flags apparently are the favorites to win the very first Pan-American League Championship. It is possible, although I don't think they really can do it. Meanwhile, my favorite team, the Chicago Northsiders, are predicted to be only a mediocre team at best. I still have faith in them though.

TOP PLAYER

TOP PITCHER

TOP PROSPECT

11-09-2014, 03:55 PM	#1
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	The History Of The Pan-American Baseball League, est. 1871 In the early days of baseball, organization of any kind was hard to come by. Players would jump from team to team on a regular basis. As a result, any leagues that would be founded would be gone after only a couple of seasons. Also, there was no sense of competition whatsoever. Baseball was a chaotic, disorganized mess Then along came Paul Jackson Mullaney. Mullaney was the owner of a prominent department store in downtown Chicago. Born on May 17, 1829, he was the son of another prominent Chicago businessman, Dwight Mullaney. While attending Notre Dame University, he played on the college’s baseball team. At that time, baseball was sweeping the nation. Often his team would play against other area colleges. This is most likely what planted the seeds in his mind for a professional baseball league. Upon graduating from Notre Dame, he started working his way up in the business world. Just two years after he bought the struggling department store he would later make a success, the Civil War broke out. Baseball was extremely popular among the soldiers, and Mullaney played on his unit’s baseball team. As with the college team, his team would play other unit’s teams. It was at this time that Mullaney realized at a truly organized baseball league could work. After the Civil War ended, Mullaney moved back to Chicago and reopened the department store. He also formed a baseball team of his own, the Chicago Northsiders. The Northsiders grew in popularity throughout the city. In the meantime, he tried pitching his idea of a professional baseball league to other teams. Hardly anyone believed it would be a good idea. Three teams, however, felt that they should try this “gimmick” for a few seasons. The teams were the Detroit Flags, the Akron Buckeyes, and the Erie Keystones. The four owners met at the Chicago Westin Hotel in October of 1870 to come up with rules for the league. The owners and their teams were: Paul Mullaney (Chicago Northsiders) Daniel McLeary (Detroit Flags) Henry Davis (Akron Buckeyes) Dwight Kaufmann (Erie Keystones) One of the novel ideas decided upon was that new players would enter the league via a draft held in November and placed on teams. The team with the worst record would get the first pick, the second worse, the second, and so on. Also, trading was disallowed for the time being. It was decided that the name of the league would be the Pan-American Baseball League. The owners also voted to play a 60 game schedule starting in April 1871, playing only weekends. There would be no playoff. The team with the best record at the end of the season would be named the champion. The owners appointed Mullaney to be the first commissioner of the league. The league constitution was unanimously ratified by all the owners. Thus the Pan-American Baseball League was born. Last edited by skyballer455; 11-09-2014 at 04:40 PM.

11-09-2014, 04:27 PM	#2
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Welcome! Welcome to my restart of the Pan-American Baseball League! The first time I tried to start it up, I was not satisfied with the way it was turning out. I hope this time around it will get off to a better start. The concept for this dynasty is to be an alternate fictional history of the major leagues starting in 1871 and going to the present day. The concept for this thread is inspired by George_Bell's wonderful MLB Replay dynasty. I will be the commisioner, so, as with the MLB Replay thread, I won't interfere with anything that goes on in the league unless it's drastic. I will be simply reporting on them. I will try to follow great players, teams, storylines etc. to the best of my ability. I'm not the best at interpreting stats for the time being so please bear with me. First I will post screenshots of the initial rosters of the four teams, and my best interpretation of them. Thanks to txranger and Knuckler for the excellent jerseys and logos they made for me. Sit back and enjoy the ride! Last edited by skyballer455; 11-09-2014 at 04:33 PM.

11-09-2014, 05:27 PM	#4
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Akron Buckeyes BATTERS There's not very much power on this team, which can be expected in the 19th Century. George Robinson appears to be the lone bright spot on an otherwise mediocre team. I don't expect them to make any noise in the league early on. PITCHERS Interesting that on this team, two relievers are better than the starting pitcher. Keep in mind that at this time, there is one starting pitcher per team. This pitching staff does not help the Buckeyes cause. Last edited by skyballer455; 11-09-2014 at 05:29 PM.

11-09-2014, 05:57 PM	#5
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Chicago Northsiders BATTERS Now THIS is a team! They are very multidimensional, with plenty of offense and defense to boot. Being a fairly young team, they have plenty of time to develop. I think they'll be a competitor in the league this year. PITCHERS Yet another lackluster pitcher backed by a better relief staff. However, considering the defense that will be behind them, I don't think it will make much of a difference.

11-09-2014, 09:31 PM	#6
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Detroit Flags BATTERS Five great players anchor this team, however I like J. B. Cameron the most. He can hit the ball well, and put the ball where the defense isn't. All in all, they should be a decent team. PITCHERS This must be an epidemic in this league. There's always a reliever better than the starter. Although in this case, I think the four stars for Tom Glatczak are misleading, as his ratings are comparable to the starter, Bill Farmer. This is a decent pitching staff though.

11-09-2014, 05:21 PM	#3
GamerGramp Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 35	Best of luck this time around. Let's play ball! GG

11-09-2014, 10:11 PM	#7
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	Erie Keystones BATTERS This is a similar situation to the Akron Buckeyes, being that there's one bright spot amongst an otherwise unremarkable team. That bright spot is Jim Thompson. As with the Buckeyes, I don't think they'll be a contender early on. PITCHERS The epidemic continues, and here it's in full force. Candy Lowe is obviously much better than the rest of the pitching staff! A very unbalanced pitching staff to say the least.

11-09-2014, 11:06 PM	#8
baseballonly All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 806	2 things: 1) Relievers are gonna have a higher stuff rating than an equally as good starter, because they don't have to worry about saving anything for later in the game. 2)All the starters are about the same, which is correct for that time, as basicly they are just gonna throw the ball in and let them hit it. So defense is what really matters. __________________ Former OOTP Leagues: CBL-Admirals (2016-17 Champs) MMB-Phillies

11-14-2014, 01:44 PM	#9
skyballer455 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 701	1871 Season Preview The Detroit Flags apparently are the favorites to win the very first Pan-American League Championship. It is possible, although I don't think they really can do it. Meanwhile, my favorite team, the Chicago Northsiders, are predicted to be only a mediocre team at best. I still have faith in them though. TOP PLAYER TOP PITCHER TOP PROSPECT