Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Prequel--An OOTP History

SelzShoes · 04-25-2005, 10:04 PM

1873-1874 Offseason

At a meeting between Boston, New York and the prospective Hartford owner results in terror from the establish team’s owners. When asked what players Hartford might be signing for the upcoming season, Hartford’s Raleigh Bourne replies that the amateur nine that were runner ups in the Connecticut State Tournament should do well enough. Faced with a possible disaster as the Philadelphia Brotherhood club of 1871 had, Boston’s Mick Avery and New York’s William Temple immediately offer to secretly buy the interest of the club to assure a competitive club. When the matter comes to light in 1877, it is found that Bourne realized he did not have the capital to operate a professional club and “conned” Boston and New York into buying him out.

Horace Soleabea sells his interest to a group who moves the club to Philadelphia. The group, which featured some of the original investors in the Brotherhood club, feels betrayed over the lack of support Boston and New York supplied during that first season, will side with the Western clubs in votes of league matters. This 5/5 split will make it impossible to conduct league business with no tiebreaker available.

The clubs do agree that the practice of naming a captain prior to each game to deal with the umpires and line-ups must end. Each team is required to name a field captain at the beginning of the season. Most teams give little thought to this, but the new Philadelphia club names Aron Mousser, the man who invented the shortstop position, as their field captain. Mousser will start the process of not only the field captain making line up and pitching decisions, but start taking over strategic decisions—which to this point were determined by the individual players based on the game situation--as well. In a sense, he is the first modern manager.

To combat the ban on selling liquor, the Saint Louis club tears down the half of the seats on the visitor’s side, and builds a two-story beer garden overlooking the playing field. Despite on the lowest official attendance in the league, they are indirectly the most profitable, as the beer garden is filled for every game. To protect the visitors from the many tossed bottles and glasses, the visitors bench is enclosed, becoming the first “dugout’ in baseball history.

04-25-2005, 10:04 PM	#14
SelzShoes High School Varsity Join Date: Apr 2005	1873-1874 Offseason At a meeting between Boston, New York and the prospective Hartford owner results in terror from the establish team’s owners. When asked what players Hartford might be signing for the upcoming season, Hartford’s Raleigh Bourne replies that the amateur nine that were runner ups in the Connecticut State Tournament should do well enough. Faced with a possible disaster as the Philadelphia Brotherhood club of 1871 had, Boston’s Mick Avery and New York’s William Temple immediately offer to secretly buy the interest of the club to assure a competitive club. When the matter comes to light in 1877, it is found that Bourne realized he did not have the capital to operate a professional club and “conned” Boston and New York into buying him out. Horace Soleabea sells his interest to a group who moves the club to Philadelphia. The group, which featured some of the original investors in the Brotherhood club, feels betrayed over the lack of support Boston and New York supplied during that first season, will side with the Western clubs in votes of league matters. This 5/5 split will make it impossible to conduct league business with no tiebreaker available. The clubs do agree that the practice of naming a captain prior to each game to deal with the umpires and line-ups must end. Each team is required to name a field captain at the beginning of the season. Most teams give little thought to this, but the new Philadelphia club names Aron Mousser, the man who invented the shortstop position, as their field captain. Mousser will start the process of not only the field captain making line up and pitching decisions, but start taking over strategic decisions—which to this point were determined by the individual players based on the game situation--as well. In a sense, he is the first modern manager. To combat the ban on selling liquor, the Saint Louis club tears down the half of the seats on the visitor’s side, and builds a two-story beer garden overlooking the playing field. Despite on the lowest official attendance in the league, they are indirectly the most profitable, as the beer garden is filled for every game. To protect the visitors from the many tossed bottles and glasses, the visitors bench is enclosed, becoming the first “dugout’ in baseball history.