1915 Chicago Whales: Ending the Outlaw League

1915 Chicago Whales: Ending the Outlaw League

1915 Chicago Whales: Ending the Outlaw League

The Federal League served as a third option for making it to the Major Leagues in the mid 1910’s, but for many reasons the league would have to fold after a couple seasons. The main reasons for the Federal League’s collapse were the ongoing financial issues of the league as well as the rapid departures of its players to either the National or the American Leagues. The other 2 Major Leagues were said to feel pressured by the Federal League’s presence. In truth the Federal League constantly had to relocate some of its franchises just to keep going, which led to the league looking unhealthy and unstable.

Formerly known as the Chicago Federals because they couldn’t come up with a team name, the Chicago Whales took the field in 1915 to play one of the most memorable seasons in the history of Chicago baseball, and that includes the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Weeghman Park would soon become a storied ballpark that many baseball fans still love today as it would be better known as Wrigley Field. The Whales had no problem at all attracting star players to their team as they played in a big market.

The Chicago Whales went 86-66 in 1915, finishing in a tie with the St. Louis Terriers at the top of the Federal League standings. The Terriers went 87-67, so by way of .001 percentage point the Whales would be declared the Federal League Champions. The Whales had a winning percentage of .566 and the Terriers had a .565 winning percentage. The Whales and the Terriers went an even 11-11-1 against each other in head-to-head play. The Whales went 44-32 at Weeghman Park and 42-34 on the road.

With the exception of August the Whales played solid baseball throughout each month of the regular season as they went 8-5 in April, 15-11 in May, 14-13 in June, 17-11 in July, 17-6 in September and 3-1 in October. In blowout games where the end results were margins of 5 runs or more, the Whales went 22-12.

Right fielder Max Flack batted .314 with 164 hits, 20 doubles, 14 triples and 37 stolen bases. Outfielder Les Mann batted .306 with 144 hits, 12 doubles, 19 triples and 18 stolen bases. Catcher Art Wilson batted .305 with 7 home runs, 82 hits, 11 doubles and 8 stolen bases in 96 games. Center fielder Dutch Zwilling batted .286 with 13 home runs and 94 RBI’s off 157 hits, 32 doubles, 7 triples and 24 stolen bases. Catcher William Fischer batted .329 with 96 hits and 15 doubles in 105 games. Second baseman Rollie Zeider had 112 hits, 22 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Fred Beck had 83 hits and 9 doubles in 121 games. Shortstop Jimmy Smith had 69 hits and 11 doubles in 95 games. Third baseman Harry Fritz had 59 hits and 8 doubles in 79 games.

The pitching staff for the Whales featured Major League talent where some of the pitchers would go on to have successful careers in the other 2 Major Leagues. George McConnell went 25-10 with 151 strikeouts and a 2.20 ERA, recording 23 complete games, 4 shutouts and 1 save. Mordecai Brown went 17-8 with 95 strikeouts and a 2.09 ERA, recording 17 complete games, 3 shutouts and 4 saves. Claude Hendrix went 16-15 with 107 strikeouts, recording 26 complete games, 5 shutouts and 4 saves.

Mike Prendergast went 14-12 with 95 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA, recording 16 complete games and 3 shutouts. Ad Brennan recorded a 3.74 ERA, 7 complete games and 2 shutouts despite going 3-9. In 10 starts Dave Black recorded a 2.45 ERA and 2 complete games despite going 6-7. Rankin Johnson had 3 complete games and 1 save in 6 starts despite going 2-4. In 5 starts Bill Bailey went 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA, recording 3 complete games and 3 shutouts.

One fine example of a Chicago Whale style of game was an 8-0 shutout victory over the Buffalo Blues on June 18 at Federal League Park (not to be confused with the park of the same name in Indianapolis). Mordecai Brown pitched a complete game, giving up just 1 hit and 3 walks while recorded 3 strikeouts. Rollie Zeider had 3 hits and 1 RBI in the game while Max Flack had 3 hits and a stolen base while drawing a walk. Dutch Zwilling had 2 hits, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base while drawing a walk. Fred Beck and Les Mann also had 2 hits and 1 RBI each. Mordecai Brown helped himself out with 1 hit and 1 RBI.

Another defining game in the season for the Whales would come on July 16 at Handlan’s Park in St. Louis when they handed the St. Louis Terriers a 6-0 defeat. Dave Black pitched 8 solid innings where he gave up 5 hits and 3 walks while recording 3 strikeouts. Harry Fritz was the star of the game as he had 2 hits and 3 RBI’s while drawing a walk. Dutch Zwilling had 2 hits, 2 RBI’s and a stolen base. Jimmy Smith had 1 hit and 1 RBI, Max Flack, Les Mann and William Fischer all had 2 hits each.

The Chicago Whales would be the last Federal League Champions in the league’s existence as the league would bring to federal court an antitrust lawsuit against both the National and American Leagues during the 1914-1915 offseason. The Federal Judge overseeing this lawsuit was none other than future Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who preferred both sides to negotiate through their legal troubles. This in part led to the Federal League’s growing financial issues.

The team owners of the National and American Leagues eventually bought out half of the Federal League team owners, particularly the teams in Newark, Buffalo, Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. St. Louis Terriers owner Phil Ball was given permission to buy the American League’s St. Louis Browns while Charles Weeghman, the owner of the Chicago Whales, was allowed to buy the National League’s Chicago Cubs. Both Ball and Weeghman merged their defunct FL teams with their newly bought teams. The Federal League was the last true attempt to break the 2 league establishment in Major League Baseball, so ending the “Outlaw” League was a significant part of MLB’s long-term survival.