Brooklyn Tip-Tops | |
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Information | |
Location | Brooklyn, New York |
Year founded | 1914 |
Year disbanded | 1915 |
Nickname(s) | Feds BrookFeds |
League championships | 0 |
Former league(s) | |
Former ballparks | |
Ownership | Robert Ward |
Manager | Lee Magee John Ganzel |
The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were a team in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team's name came from Tip Top Bread, a product of Ward Baking Company, which was also owned by team owner Robert Ward. [1] [2] They were sometimes informally called the Brooklyn Feds or BrookFeds due to being the Brooklyn team of the Federal League. They played in Washington Park, which the Brooklyn Dodgers had abandoned after the 1912 season to move to Ebbets Field.
The team finished a disappointing 4th in 1914. Federal League officials believed it was important to have a successful franchise in the New York City area and when the Indianapolis Hoosiers were transitioned to Newark, New Jersey, the "Federal League Ty Cobb", as 1914 FL batting champ Benny Kauff was known, was placed on the Brooklyn roster. In 1915, Kauff led the league with a .342 batting average and 55 stolen bases, but the Tip-Tops still finished in seventh place. The Newark and Brooklyn FL teams played three holiday doubleheaders during the 1915 season where one game was in Newark and the second was in Brooklyn.
On September 19, 1914, Tip-Top Ed Lafitte threw the only no-hitter in Federal League history, beating the Kansas City Packers 6–2.
Had the Federal League (FL) lasted just one more season, night baseball might have been introduced two decades earlier. The Tip Tops had announced plans for the 1916 season to play some games at night.
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from 1914 to 1915.
John Kinley Tener was an American politician and Major League Baseball player and executive. He served as the 25th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1911 until 1915. A Republican, he had previously served as a U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 24th congressional district. During his baseball career, Tener played as a pitcher and outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association, the Chicago White Stockings of the National League, and the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Players' League; after his playing career, he served as President of the National League.
The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Federals" to distinguish them from the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.
The Newark Peppers, originally known as the Indianapolis Hoosiers, were a Federal League baseball team from 1913–1915. The Federal League (FL), founded in 1913, was a third major league in 1914 and 1915.
The Pittsburgh Rebels were a baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived Federal League. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that played in the Union Association in 1884, but became known as the Rebels by the end of the 1914 season. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's Northside. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League left the stadium for Forbes Field in 1909. After the Rebels left Exposition Park in 1915, the field was demolished and its property became part of the adjacent rail yards.
David L. Orr was a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1883 through 1890. Orr played most of his career in the American Association for the New York Metropolitans (1883–1887), Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888) and Columbus Solons (1889). He also played for the New York Gothams in the National League for one game in 1883 and for the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders of the Players' League in 1890.
The Kansas City Packers were a Federal League baseball club in Kansas City from 1914 to 1915. They finished sixth in 1914 with a 67–84 record, and fourth in 1915 with an 81–72 record.
Louis Richard (Steve) Evans was a right fielder in Major League Baseball.
Bennie Michael "Benny" Kauff was a professional baseball player, who played centerfield and batted and threw left-handed. Kauff was known as the "Ty Cobb of the Feds." Though he appears on many lists of Jewish baseball players, such as Harry Stein's 1976 Esquire magazine article "All Time All-Star Argument Starter", Kauff was not Jewish. Kauff was banned from baseball in 1921 amid charges of auto theft; despite his acquittal, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis refused to overturn the ban.
Arthur Carle Griggs was an American professional baseball player. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball in Major League Baseball between 1909 and 1918, compiling a .277 batting average. He appeared in 442 major league games, including 195 games as a first baseman, 96 games as an outfielder, and 60 games as a second baseman.
Jim Bluejacket was a major league pitcher in the early 20th century. Bluejacket played for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–1915) and Cincinnati Reds (1916).
Frederick Peter "Cy" Falkenberg was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1903 to 1917 for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, the Washington Senators, Cleveland Naps, and Philadelphia Athletics of the American League and the Indianapolis Hoosiers, Newark Peppers, and Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League.
William Charles Fischer was a catcher in Major League Baseball.
William Corcoran Phillips, nicknamed "Whoa Bill" or "Silver Bill", was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball.
The 1916 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The team finished tied for seventh and last place in the National League with the St. Louis Cardinals. Both teams finished with a record of 60–93, 33½ games behind the Brooklyn Robins
The 1916 New York Giants season was the franchise's 34th season. The team finished in fourth place in the National League with an 86-66 record, 7 games behind the Brooklyn Robins. This season introduced a new uniform design.
The 1914 Brooklyn Tip-Tops season was a season in American baseball. The Tip-Tops finished in 5th place in the Federal League, 11½ games behind the Indianapolis Hoosiers.
The 1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops season was a season in American baseball. The Tip-Tops finished in 7th place in the Federal League, 16 games behind the Chicago Whales. The season was notable in that it featured one of the only known major-league professional baseball games of the modern era in which admission was free.
The 1915 Newark Peppers season was a season in American baseball. After the 1914 season, the Indianapolis Hoosiers' remaining interest was purchased by Harry F. Sinclair and moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Newark, New Jersey. The club also sold one of its top players, Benny Kauff, to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops to offset financial losses. After winning the Federal League championship the previous year, the Peppers dropped to fifth place. They finished 80–72, six games behind the Chicago Whales.
Ralph Mattis, known also as Matty Mattis, was a professional baseball outfielder whose career spanned seven seasons, one of which was spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914). In his only season in the majors, Mattis batted .247 with 14 runs scored, 21 hits, four doubles, one triple, and eight runs batted in (RBIs) in 36 games played. The majority of his career was played in the minor leagues. He played with the Richmond Colts (1911), Newport News Shipbuilders (1912), Roanoke Tigers (1913), Parksley Spuds (1923–24), and Crisfield Crabbers (1925) over his career in the minors. Combined between those teams, Mattis batted .303 with 698 hits in 610 games played. During his career, he stood at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 172 pounds (78 kg). He batted and threw right-handed. Mattis served as a manager for one season with the Parksley Spuds (1923).
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