The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Snap Wilson

Not only peaceful in a global sense, but in Patrick's life as well. I think prior to Sarah's car accident, the worst thing that happened to him was his poor friend Bill being temporarily sent down to the minors. When Boston's management wants to trade away Josh Gibson and Martin Dihigo for a 35-year old pitcher, it's not racism, but benign incompetence. There don't seem to be any bad guys in Pat's world. He's a walking Norman Rockwell painting.

Not that I'm criticizing, I understand where you're coming from with the escapist approach, and you certainly do it well. I'm more of an Eight Men Out person than a Natural/Field of Dreams person (and honestly, even Eight Men Out is escapist fantasy of a sort), but I find this thread very readable.

You could easily turn Pat's story into a novel, and probably do very well with it. It would definitely appeal to the "baseball as mythology" crowd, but you would need to introduce conflict at some point.

Thanks for the comments, Snap. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

You're right; there haven't been too many dark clouds blocking the sunlight in Pat's world. I had a storyline in which there was actually a villain, but in the couple of posts I wrote featuring him, he was such a stock character that he wasn't intriguing at all. I never included him in the story, and then the window of opportunity passed.

There is, however, another idea percolating in my mind, one that does introduce some conflicts to Pat's story.

And as for Pat being a "walking Norman Rockwell painting," let's just say there's a reason why Pat grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts...where Rockwell lived and worked, and where his museum is located.

[Big Six]

So far, it looks like more of you want to see me continue the story in this thread, rather than create a "spin-off," in which Mike O'Farrell shares the lead role with his father. Unless there's a rush of support for a new thread in the next day or so, I'll just keep on truckin' here.

Thanks for the support, everybody. I'd have written Pat's story even if nobody outside my own family read it, but it's nevertheless encouraging to realize that someone out there is enjoying it, too.

[Mach_1]

Keep on truckin' Big Six, I've been following this thread long before I was a member here, or even owned the game... in fact it was probably Pat's story that was one of the influences in me purchasing the game ...

[Snap Wilson]

Originally Posted by Big Six

And as for Pat being a "walking Norman Rockwell painting," let's just say there's a reason why Pat grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts...where Rockwell lived and worked, and where his museum is located.

Ah, the penny drops!

An appropriate, and dare I say, subversive auctorial conceit. Well done, sir. May the eternal sunlight of Pat's world shine on all of us. I take note that your wife's favorite hobby is quilting, also appropriately Rockwellian (unless "quilting" is code for "playing Doom 3 and screaming at the television.")

[onnel]

Just finished reading through the whole dynasty from its humble beginning (took a good 4 hours!). Kudos to you for keeping the story going for these few years and here's to many more!

I look forward to seeing how the future unfolds in Pat's world!

Onnel

[William4192]

Big Six,

Stick with this thread. But I'd prefer you getting back to the league stuff with perhaps his son(s).

[ODell]

I remember reading the first few years of Pat's career way back when it was starting out. Three years later I come back and immediately recognize it, and 4 hours later I must say I've never been more entertained reading a story. Keep it going!

[AZTarHeel]

I'm only on page 5 of this thread -- and only skipped here to post -- but to me this is the gold standard of all dynasties. A great story line and very well-writen, and I'm obviously just getting into it.

I guess I just like stories that revolve around a single player dropped into a certain time period (Bubba Jones and Willie Cotton Love are my other favorites) ..... Keep up the good work and I look forward to catching up to the present time in the coming days...

AZ

[NCBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Big Six

Thanks for the bumps, guys.

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't worried about the "hows" and "whys" behind the more peaceful United States in which Pat O'Farrell lived and played. I teach history for a living, and when I play OOTP I'm looking for an escape from the "real world." I have to help sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds make sense of the way their world has become, and it's not an easy thing to do.

While I'm here, I think I'll pose a question to the thread's readers, whichever of you are still with us!

Would you like it better if I started a new thread and continued the story there? Or, should I continue this one, which is now almost FOUR years old? I can see advantages to both, honestly. It's been a while since I updated here at all, and I was wondering if there's still an audience for Pat's story.

There is most definitely still an audience.

Personally I'd rather that you kept in this thread, but I'd just change my bookmark if you made a new one, so it's no big deal.

[Big Six]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies and encouragement. I'll keep the story going right here, in this thread...and I promise there will be an update very soon. I'll be finishing Mike's NFL season very soon (I confess that because I'm not in a football mood right now, it's seeming tedious) so the tale will be moving along.

[Big Six]

Detroit News, December 10, 1938

LIONS PLAY FOR NFL CHAMPIONSHIP TOMORROW
Detroit Takes on Brooklyn Dodgers, Champions of the East

NEW YORK--Tomorrow at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, the National Football League will crown its champion for 1938. The Western Division champion Detroit Lions will seek to recover the form that carried them to victory in each of their first seven games. Their opponents, the Brooklyn Dodgers, will certainly give the Lions all they can handle.

Both division champions enter the game with 9-2 records. Without the services of star tailback Ace Parker, who was recovering from a sore hamstring, the Dodgers lost their final regular season game to their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 16-0. Parker will be back at full strength for tomorrow's game.

The Lions, too, struggled as their passer fought off the effects of an injury. Mike O'Farrell missed most of the Lions' last two games--a loss to the Chicago Bears and a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles--with a sore leg. O'Farrell has also recovered fully, and the Lions will welcome his ability to pile up yardage on the ground and through the air.

The weather is expected to be clear and cold, ideal conditions for the Lions' stable of rushers. Detroit was second among the twelve NFL teams, averaging almost 160 rushing yards per game. Four Lions backs--Ace Gutowsky, Bill Shepherd, Lloyd Cardwell, and O'Farrell--ranked among the league's top twenty ballcarriers during the regular season.

They will undoubtedly find the going tough against a stout Dodgers defense, led by tough tackle Frank "Bruiser" Kinard and rugged linebacker John Golemgeske. Look for O'Farrell to pass more often against the Dodgers than he has during much of the season...

[Big Six]

Here are Mike O'Farrell's stats for the 1938 NFL regular season. He appeared in nine of the Lions' eleven games, although he played only one quarter in one of them.

PASSING

ATT COM  PCT   YDS  Y/AT  LNG BD  25+  INT   I%  SK TD  TD%  RATING
 88  44  50.0  691  15.7   47  6   7    11  12.5  1  3  3.4  48.2

Mike was hit hard by the sophomore jinx. His completion percentage fell 13 points, he threw six fewer TD passes, and he threw for barely half as many yards.

RUSHING

ATT  YDS  AVG  10+  FD  LG  TD
 58  233  4.0   5   12  41   2

He improved as a ball-carrier, however, raising his average from 2.8 yards per carry to 4.0, a very respectable total for 1938.

DEFENSE

TKL  DFL   INT  YDS  AVG   LG  TD
 16   3     4    63  15.8  20   0

DFL= passes deflected

Mike once again played very well on the defensive side of the ball. He won a place on the All-Pro third team as a safety.

[cgreg1978]

Great to see this thread still around, Six. I found you last year, and I spent an entire morning reading the story. Excellent stuff. I hope things continue successfully for this story.

Anyway, after Monday morning's events, I hope all is well. I know you are a high school teacher from the Hampton Roads area (Newport News here), so I can imagine that you may know students at VT. My brother was in attendance there until about six months ago. This one hits close to home. Hope all is well.

Sometimes it'd be nice if the real world could be a little more like Pat's. Oh well. Keep up the good work, and I apologize to anyone who finds this post a drag.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by cgreg1978

Great to see this thread still around, Six. I found you last year, and I spent an entire morning reading the story. Excellent stuff. I hope things continue successfully for this story.

Anyway, after Monday morning's events, I hope all is well. I know you are a high school teacher from the Hampton Roads area (Newport News here), so I can imagine that you may know students at VT. My brother was in attendance there until about six months ago. This one hits close to home. Hope all is well.

Sometimes it'd be nice if the real world could be a little more like Pat's. Oh well. Keep up the good work, and I apologize to anyone who finds this post a drag.

Thanks very much for your kind words, cgreg. You're right; I know quite a few Virginia Tech students, among them some of the most memorable students and athletes I've ever taught and coached. I'm very lucky that no young man or woman I knew personally was injured last week. I got to spend some time with several of my former students and athletes last week, when they came home for a visit. Each of them decided to return to VT, at least for now; none of them could imagine going to school anywhere else.

One of my current students, however, is the younger cousin of Reema Samaha, who was among those killed. Needless to say, I haven't felt much like playing OOTP or posting for a few days. Now I think I need a good dose of "unreality."

[Big Six]

Detroit News, December 12, 1938

LIONS WIN NFL CHAMPIONSHIP
Western Division Champions Triumph In Defensive Struggle, 7-6

NEW YORK--Two formidable defenses and a stiff, wintry wind combined to turn the 1938 NFL Championship game into a classic defensive struggle. How appropriate, then, that a player who did his best work on that side of the line of scrimmage would make the most important offensive play of the game--the play that gave the Detroit Lions a 7-6 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In the first half, Mike O'Farrell, a third team All-Pro selection at safety, twice halted Dodger drives by intercepting passes. Both pickoffs occurred deep in Detroit territory, ensuring that the half would end in a scoreless tie. Neither team was able to advance the ball with regularity, as both defenses pursued ballcarriers with reckless abandon and slammed into enemy passers with frightening force.

Bill Reisig kicked a pair of field goals for the Dodgers to give the Eastern Division champions a 6-0 lead by the first minutes of the fourth quarter. It appeared the game might end that way, as the Dodgers halted both of the Lions' next drives.

Detroit forced the Dodgers to punt and, behind the efforts of fullback Ace Gutowsky and halfback Rip Ryan, the Lions marched to the Brooklyn 33-yard line. On third down and four, O'Farrell aimed a pass at Ryan, but it was intercepted by Boyd Brumbaugh. An official had dropped a penalty flag, however, citing Dodger tackle "Bruiser" Kinard for jumping offside and negating the turnover.

With a new lease on life, the Lions picked up a first down, and three plays later, O'Farrell zipped a short pass to end Maury Patt. He broke a tackle and raced for the corner of the end zone, arriving there an instant before Dodger Ace Parker cut his feet from under him. Monk Moscrip hammered the extra point through the uprights, giving the Lions the eventual winning margin.

O'Farrell was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, on the basis of his strong play on both sides of the ball. The Notre Dame alumnus completed exactly half of his fourteen pass attempts for 94 yards and the game's only touchdown, and he gained 20 more yards on seven runs from scrimmage. Defensively, O'Farrell added two tackles to his aforementioned interceptions.

His opposite number, Ace Parker--like O'Farrell a big league baseball player--suffered through a disappointing game. He completed almost as many passes to the Lions as he did to his own team, throwing four interceptions and five completions in seventeen attempts. Parker picked up only 24 yards on twelve carries...

* Championship * 12-11-1938   Ebbets Field    Temp:39 Wind:20-30     MVP:O'Farrell

1938 Detroit (10-2)                   0   0   0   7         7
1938 Brooklyn (8-4)                   0   0   3   3         6

3 BRO FG Reisig 11 (6-25-4:51) 8:59                                         0-3
4 BRO FG Reisig 21 (6-24-4:39) 12:14                                        0-6
4 DET TD O'Farrell 23 pass to Patt (Moscrip) (3-33-1:58) 5:11               7-6

                   DET        BRO
First Downs         10         11
Rushes           30-90     38-107
Passes         14-7-92    17-5-72
Sacked            2-13        1-8
Fumble               2          1
Penalties         4-20       1-15
Turnovers            2          5
Time             23:12      36:48
Third Down        1-10      10-15
Fourth Down        2-3        0-0
Net Offense        169        171

Injuries:none


1938 Detroit 

Rushing    Att  Yds  Ave 10  FD Lg TD  Receiving   Rec Dp  Yds  Ave 25 FD Lg TD
Shepherd     6   26  4.3  0   0  9  0  Cardwell      3  0   29  9.7  0  2 14  0
Gutowsky    12   24  2.0  0   0  4  0  Ryan          2  0   27 13.5  0  3 16  0
Ryan         2   20 10.0  1   1 11  0  Moscrip       1  0   13 13.0  0  0 13  0
O'Farrell    7   20  2.9  0   2  5  0  Patt          1  0   23 23.0  0  1 23  1
Cardwell     1    0  0.0  0   0  0  0                7  0   92 13.1  0  6 23  1
Klewicki     2    0  0.0  0   0  1  0
            30   90  3.0  1   3 11  0


Passing     Att Cmp    C%  Yds  Ave  Lg  Bd 25  In    I%   Sk  TD   TD%  Rate
O'Farrell    14   7  50.0   92 13.1  23   1  0   0   0.0    2   1   7.1  94.9
             14   7  50.0   92 13.1  23   1  0   0   0.0    2   1   7.1  94.9

Kicking      XPA XPM   XP%  FGA FGM   FG%    40+   50+   Lg   Pts
Moscrip        1   1 100.0    0   0   0.0    0.0   0.0    0     1
Monahan        0   0   0.0    1   0   0.0    0.0   0.0    0     0

Punting        No Yards  Lg TB BK 20   Ret  Yds    Net   Gross
Clark           5   209  51  0  0  3     0    0   41.8    41.8

Kick Returns  No Yards  Ave   Lg TD      Punt Returns No FC Yards  Ave  Lg TD
Clark          2    42  21.0  24  0      Clark         1  1    -2 -2.0   0  0
Huffman        1    16  16.0  16  0                    1  1    -2 -2.0   0  0
               3    58  19.3  24  0

Fumbles                                                                        
Gutowsky  1   Moscrip    1   Moscrip    1

Sacks        Hurries      Stuffs       Deflections  Forced Fmb   Fumble Rec
Morse     1  Klewicki  2  Christen  3  O'Farrel  2  Wojciech  1  Moscrip   1
             Morse     2  Johnson,  1  Huffman   1
             Christen  1               Morse     1
                                       Clark     1
                                       Wojciech  1

[CMH]

I started reading the first page and this story is amazing.

You started this in 2003 and I've ignored the Dynasty Section for too long.

I'm bookmarking this to read during my break.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by YankeePride

I started reading the first page and this story is amazing.

You started this in 2003 and I've ignored the Dynasty Section for too long.

I'm bookmarking this to read during my break.

Thanks very much, YankeePride. Considering Pat O'Farrell played for the Red Sox, your compliments are even more meaningful.

I hope you enjoy the story. I know I've enjoyed writing it.

[William4192]

Pat is the man!

[Level]

I haven't posted here in a few years but I wanted to let you know that I still thoroughly enjoy reading the story. Helps to keep me sane during down times at work I suppose. Also, my heart goes out to you and the students you know connected to VT. I graduated college four years ago (can't believe its been that long) and something like that is simply unfathomable. As to the thread, I'll continue reading as long as you decide to keep posting.

Have a good weekend.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Level

I haven't posted here in a few years but I wanted to let you know that I still thoroughly enjoy reading the story. Helps to keep me sane during down times at work I suppose. Also, my heart goes out to you and the students you know connected to VT. I graduated college four years ago (can't believe its been that long) and something like that is simply unfathomable. As to the thread, I'll continue reading as long as you decide to keep posting.

Have a good weekend.

Thanks very much, Level. Things are getting back to normal here, because we were fortunately not as closely affected as we could have been. I've been busy with track season and AP exams, but the light is appearing at the end of the tunnel, so I should be posting more regularly soon.