Max Morris had, quite literally, hammered home the concept of the home run as a primary weapon long before the 1928 season dawned. But that philosophy also ran against a long-entrenched trend in the game favoring "inside baseball" which sneered at the homer in favor of bunts, hit-and-runs and stolen bases. The 1928 season marked a turning point in this philosophical battle as the players themselves began to embrace the power game.

The clearest example of this shift came in Chicago. The Chicago Chiefs boasted a particularly friendly park for power hitters. The problem had always been that the Chiefs' roster didn't feature anyone particularly fond of trying to hit the ball over the fence. That too changed in 1928.

Joe Masters, the Chiefs incumbent third baseman had been a fairly average player in his first six seasons in the Windy City. He hit close to .300 every year and had shown some middling power,reaching double-figures in all but one year (he had 9 that year) but topping out at 15 (which he did twice, including in 1927). Masters focused on improving his swing over the winter of 1927-28 and came to camp with an improved stroke aimed at putting the ball into the air. And it worked - big time.


3B Joe Masters, CHC

Masters stroked 56 home runs, drove in 195 runs (a new record) and hit .388 - numbers that would likely win a Triple Crown most years, but not in the Federal Association in 1928. The batting crown went to Masters' team mate LF Jim Hampton who was over .400 most of the season before settling for a .397 mark and the batting title.

With Masters & Hampton leading the way, the Chiefs were out in front most of the season, won 95 games and took the pennant by a nice round 10-game margin over the second-place Detroit Dynamos. Chicago was not one-dimensional, with a pair of 20-game winners - and a pair of 19-game winners as well, giving them the league's second stingiest staff to go along with their league-leading offense.

Second-place Detroit won 85 games and the '28 season saw the Dynamos finally bring up 1926 #1 overall pick Al Wheeler. The 20-year-old right fielder hit .306 with 18 homers and 101 RBIs but was second fiddle to breakout star Frank Vance, a third baseman who flirted with .400 most of the season before fading a bit and finishing tied for second with a .388 average.



3B Frank Vance, DET

Third-place went to the Boston Minutemen in a bit of a surprise. The Minutemen thrived on their fielding ability, which was outstanding and helped them overcome the league's 6th-best (or 3rd worst, depending on your viewpoint) offense to post a solid 80-74 mark. Boston's star was 29-year-old 3B Charlie Barry who hit .359 with 15 homers and 95 RBIs.

The Pittsburgh Miners finished fourth with a tidy 77-77 mark to put them right at .500 on the year. The Miners were in the thick of the race for a good portion of the summer before fading down the stretch and their rebuilding project looks to be in good shape and paying early dividends. The Miners' strength lies in their pitching where they feature three solid starters that are the envy of several other teams, led by Jim Smith who went 17-9 with a league-best 2.99 ERA.


P Jim Smith, PIT

Where are the Philadelphia Keystones you ask? The defending World Champs took a big tumble in 1928 finishing in a fifth-place tie with the Gothams at 73-81. The problem was pitching - the Stones' staff was flat out terrible in 1928, with a league-worst 871 runs allowed. The offense, led by 1B Rankin Kellogg (.387-42-164) remained potent and fans who loved seeing runs scored definitely got their money's worth at Keystone games.

The Gothams too had a disappointing season with their fifth-place tie with Philadelphia being a letdown from what was considered a promising season by many prognosticators. The blame could be laid on several factors, but one which certainly played a role was injury. Franchise cornerstone 1B Bud Jameson was lost to a knee injury in June, short-circuiting the offense, though LF Carlos Cano was a revelation with a .342-26-85 campaign for player-manager Ed Ziehl's squad. "Mr. Gotham" himself also had injury issues, twice missing games in what might end up being his final season as an active player. If this is indeed Ziehl's swansong, the legendary 2B goes out with a resume that includes 3465 hits and a .323 lifetime average in a career stretching back to 1906.


2B/MGR Ed Ziehl, NYG

St. Louis was one game behind both NY and Philly, in seventh place with a 72-82 record. The big story in the Gateway to the West was - as usual - Max Morris. The game's biggest name was absent for the first half of the season as he recovered from an injury suffered in the middle of the 1927 season. When he returned, he came back in a big way, hitting 29 homers with 92 RBIs in 90 games. One of those homers pushed his career mark over 400, and every home run Morris hits represents a new career mark. Unfortunately for Morris and Pioneer fans, the club didn't perform well without Morris and wasn't that much better with him.

Last place Washington had a lost season. The Eagles feature the game's best catcher - there's a guy in the other league who may challenge that title in the near future, but for now T.R. Goins is the best in the business behind the dish. Goins had his usual stellar season: .321-16-83 but the rest of the team was a big disappointment and Washington scored the fewest runs in the loop with just 646. When you also allow the 7th most runs (815) that adds up to a terrible season and the Eagles' 61-93 record reflects that. The only positive on the '28 season in the capital is that they will have the top pick in the upcoming amateur draft.


C T.R. Goins, WAS

 The sea change in the Fed was not missed in the Continental in 1928 both in terms of the long ball and also in terms of a new club rising to the top of the heap and simply overpowering the competition in winning the pennant for the first time in a long while.

The team in question was the Philadelphia Sailors and like Fed champion Chicago (who hadn't won a pennant since 1917), the Sailors seized the flag for the first time since 1897 and did it with style, winning 102 games and finishing nine games ahead of second-place New York.

In keeping with the theme of similarity (which only goes so far and we'll get to that in a moment), the Sailors, like the Chiefs, had a breakout slugger of their own: RF Tom Taylor. The switch-hitting 23-year-old was a rookie and started the season in AAA after playing in both A and AA in 1927 where he showed moderate power. Things were different in '28 though - he hit 10 home runs in 118 at-bats with San Francisco before getting the call to the big club where he was even better. Taylor slugged 44 homers, drove in 126 runs and scored 124 - all tops in the CA. He also hit .342, which was good for sixth.


RF Tom Taylor, PHS

With 2B Jack Cleaves (.289-8-99) and C Alex Diaz (.324-8-69) joining Taylor in the heart of the order for the Sailors, Philly topped the CA in runs scored with 815. And the pitching was also outstanding, topping even the vaunted New York Stars staff for #1 in runs allowed with just 558 opponents crossing the dish in '28. The stellar staff was led by Johnny Davis, a 25-year-old Texan who jumped up from AA Providence (where he had been primarily a reliever) and went 24-8 with a 2.73 ERA and became a near-lock for the CA's 1928 Al Allen Award honors.

Second-place New York bounced back from a disappointing fifth-place finish in 1927 to get back in the thick of things, winning 93 games (which was more than their pennant-winning clubs of 1924 and '25 had won). The Stars were excellent on both sides with the 2nd-best run-scoring output (794) and 2nd-best pitching effort (628 runs allowed). Losing ace Dick Richards (13-4, 3.28) for two stretches during the season hurt their chances but the staff overall was as solid as ever. And the offense... well, it was outstanding: 2B Pete Layton won the batting crown with a .370 average and posted 27 homers and 108 RBIs hitting in front of the stellar tandem of 3B John Lawson (.344-22-106) and 1B Dave Trowbridge (.354-16-87), who came over in an early May trade from Pittsburgh and led the league in doubles.


2B Pete Layton, NYS

Cleveland finished third, 16 back of Philly, but with a solid 86-68 campaign. The Foresters found themselves a star in LF Joe Perret, a rookie from Sacramento who impressed in brief stint in '27 after jumping up from AA Toledo, but really broke out in 1928 to the tune of a .347 average with 30 doubles, 18 triples, 24 homers and 117 runs batted in. Though a bit old for a rookie at 26, Perret looks like the franchise cornerstone the Foresters have lacked since trading Max Morris to St. Louis back in 1919. Cleveland also boasts an ace in righty Wayne Robinson, acquired from the Saints in 1927, who went 20-9 with a 3.04 ERA - Allen-worthy numbers in any league that didn't feature a Johnny Davis.


P Wayne Robinson, CLE

Defending CA champion Brooklyn had a disappointing season. Though their offense remained extremely potent, the pitching was a sore spot and Kings' management made a mid-season decision to cast away any hope of a pennant repeat by rolling the dice on a retooling for 1929 and the near future. A series of trades sent away such franchise landmarks as LF Bud Rogers (sent to rival NY) and SS Lloyd Carter (to Cleveland) and several pitchers were sent packing as well. Coming on board were both younger players and draft picks, giving Brooklyn some promising pieces for the future. Sticking around was star RF Doug Lightbody, who fell off from his outstanding sophomore campaign, but still was third in the league in batting with a .356 average and young catcher Mike Taylor (.325-7-39) looks like a star in the making. So despite a .500 finish in '28, things are not at all gloomy in Brooklyn.

Baltimore got off to a historically poor start, posting a 2-16 mark in April to bury their season almost before it began. The Cannons righted the ship and went 72-66 after that terrible start, not good enough to get them into the pennant race, but good enough to get them to fifth-place. Catcher Joe Welch (.355-25-93) looks like he might give T.R. Goins a run for his money as the game's top backstop (that rookie in Brooklyn is sure to be in the mix too) and 1B Lou Kelly (.330-31-104) had a great season as well and the club finished with 90 home runs, good for 2nd in the CA. The pitching was up-and-down: Oscar Jefferson (8-15, 5.03) was bad but Rabbit Day (15-14, 3.20) was good. The club has a pair of promising 19-year-old pitchers in Johnny Jacob and Lou Forbes who could make a difference in the not-too-distant future, although Forbes suffered a severe shoulder injury, clouding his future development.


C Joe Welch, BAL

Montreal topped a trio of rebuilding clubs at the bottom of the pile. The Saints are improving, slowly but surely, and 1928 was another stepping stone in the right direction. Rookie CF (and #1 pick) Cliff Moss forced his way onto the big club and produced to the tune of .309-10-57 in 116 big league games. The Saints offense let them down in a big way with a collective .255 batting average (7th) and 572 runs scored (8th) but the pitching might have turned the corner. 26-year-old Charlie Stedman (15-14, 3.78) and 24-year-old Al Allen (yeah - that guy's son) give the rotation a possible 1-2 punch to envy. Allen posted a 4-0 mark with a 2.87 ERA in April before going down with a season-ending back injury. AA pitcher Walker Moore, acquired in the Phil Sandman trade with the Keystones before the season, is a 22-year-old lefty who might be the third arm the Saints need in their rotation. The Saints lineup is young but Moss looks like a cornerstone piece and though LF Jim Broome (.262-7-68) had a down year, if they develop and the pitching comes together, things will look much more sunny in Montreal.

The other Canadian club, Toronto, finished seventh with a 60-94 record and only the poor performance of the Chicago Cougars kept the Wolves out of the basement. The Wolves can run - they led the CA with 104 steals, but they didn't hit particularly well (8th in batting average, 7th in runs scored) nor did they pitch all that well (7th in runs allowed). Still, the right-left tandem of Birdie Smith (14-19, 3.75) and Don Cannaday (15-19, 4.54) both had down years but are proven arms, rookie LF Jimmy Faulhaber looked competent despite a jump from AA to the big leagues and there are some good looking farm hands in the system. So the rebuild needs to continue and the front office still has its work cut out for it - good drafting and a trade or two could put Toronto back in the mix.


P Birdie Smith, TOR

Last-place Chicago, at 59-95, had the worst record in either league in 1928. The Cougars' fall can be attributed to several factors. For one thing, they lost pitcher Johnny Douglas early - he was 4-4 with a 2.99 ERA in 10 starts before an arm injury ended his season in June. They had Benny Walker, a capable pitcher, sit on the injured list all season with shoulder trouble and aside from a stalwart season from lefty Dick Lyons (9-18, 3.88) and a midseason boost from 35-year-old Babe Wilder (6-7, 3.58 in 14 starts), the Cougars pitching was the league's worst. Getting Walker and Douglas back to team with Lyons should improve things in '29. The club still has the ever dependable John Dibblee (he had injury issues as well) and his .324 average and 2B Bill Ashbaugh (.287-25-101) is a star-in-the-making at age 24. With 3B Mack Deal (.310 with 28 doubles and 21 triples across AA, AAA and the CA) and C Fred Barrell (.321-3-102 at AA Mobile), a bumper crop from the farm may be the medicine the ailing Cougars need for 1929.


C Fred Barrell, AA Mobile

 The 1928 edition of the FABL World Championship Series featured an interesting matchup.

  • Representing the Federal Association were the Chicago Chiefs - the original professional club with a history stretching back to the very beginnings in 1876, the Chiefs had enjoyed surprisingly little success since those very early days, winning two titles in 1877 and '81 and then going into a dry spell that lasted until a 1917 pennant and WCS victory. They followed that up with another drought which they ended in spectacular fashion in 1928 to reach just their second WCS.
  • And on the Continental side, there was the Philadelphia Sailors. They got a later start than the Chiefs, joining the rival Border Association in 1889 (largely to spite the Keystones) and won the BA title in 1890. After the FABL consolidation, the Sailors again enjoyed a few years of success with pennants in 1893, '94 and '97 and a single WCS win in the latter year. Alas, that 1897 title was followed by a thirty-year drought that only ended with the club's 1928 pennant win.


The 1928 WCS began on a seasonably warm autumn afternoon at Sailors Memorial Stadium in South Philadelphia. The pitching matchup featured Sailors breakout ace Johnny Davis (24-8, 2.73) and another pitcher who had a breakthrough in 1928: 30-year-old Chiefs lefty Ruben Reyes (19-11, 3.99). A crowd of 39,646 extremely partisan Sailor fans filled the stands for what turned out to be a very exciting game.

The visiting Chiefs and their potent offense drew first blood in the third when 1B Johnny Rasberry doubed to lead off and later came around to score on a single by Reyes. The Chiefs added two more in the fourth when Jim Hampton led off with a single, was erased on a fielder's choice off the bat of star 3B Joe Masters who went first-to-third on a single by Hank Odegaard. Masters then scored on a sac fly by Jim Shelton before Rasberry - the hitting star on this day for Chicago - lined another double, this one into the right-field corner to score Odegaard.

With the score 3-0, and the crowd getting nervous, the Sailors bounced back in the home fourth to tie it up. Reyes had control issues, handing out three walks around a pair of singles by David Merchant and Jack Cleaves (who drove in a pair with his hit) and Tom Taylor (one of the walks) scored the tying run on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. Gene Aldrich hit into a double-play to end the inning without further damage.

A single run in the fifth by the Chiefs made it 4-3, but the Sailors tied it again in the seventh. Things remained knotted until the bottom of the ninth when Reyes again had control issues. WIth two outs, he issued back-to-back walsk to Aldrich and Forrest Sylvester, bringing his opposing number, Johnny Davis, to the plate. Davis won the game for himself with a clutch lined single to center, scoring Aldrich to give the Sailors a walk-off 5-4 victory.

Davis was the hero, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs at the plate (he had driven in the run in the 7th as well) and went the distance on the hill, allowing four runs (all earned) on eight hits with a single walk and strikeout. Reyes took the loss, with five runs (all earned) on six hits and five costly walks against a lone strikeout.

Game two was a different story entirely. The Chiefs sent 35-year-old veteran righty Lou Felkel (20-8, 4.31) to face Sailors righty Rollie Beal, a 26-year-old who had been extremely solid since joining the club in 1926, posting 16, 17 and 16 wins over those three seasons with ERAs in the low threes (3.10, 3.05 and 3.25). Beal did not have his good stuff on this day however as the Chiefs' potent lineup tore him apart early and sent him to the showers in the fourth.

Five Sailors had multiple hits and only C Odegaard and SS Mike Pierce failed to join Chicago's 13-hit parade. Johnny Rasberry rapped his third double of the series and added a pair of RBIs in his 2-for-4 effort; star Joe Masters went 2-for-4 as well, with a pair of doubles, driving in two and scoring twice as well; the Jims (Hampton & Shelton) had two hits apiece with Hampton scoring twice and Shelton driving in two (and scoring once); but the biggest contributor was 2B Moe Davis who went 3-for-4, scored three times and hit the first home run of the series. That in itself was a surprise when the series featured the home run champions of both leagues in Masters (56) and Philly's Tom Taylor (44).

The Chiefs led 8-2 in the fourth when Beal's day ended and rode out a determined Sailors comeback attempt to hold on for the 9-6 victory to even up the series. Felkel went the distance despite allowing six runs on 14 hits and walking four batters - an incredible 18 baserunners allowed and he got the victory anyway. Beal was touched up for eight runs in three-plus frames with seven hits allowed and four free passes handed out. Walter Pelfrey (14-8, 3.71 in the regular season) came on in relief and tossed four scoreless frames, allowing the Sailors to get back into the game, though ultimately in vain.

With the series knotted at a game apiece, the scene shifted to Chicago's Whitney Field, a hitter-friendly bandbox that Hampton, Masters and their friends had used to full advantage during the Chiefs' pennant-winning campaign. After both lineups had unlimbered in game two, fireworks were expected in this third contest - but it turned out that pitching had the upper hand as the teams ended up combining for just thirteen hits.

Sailors skipper Jim Cathey, a former pitcher who had racked up 267 victories for the Foresters and Stars over a career spanning 15 years, surprised everyone by running ace Johnny Davis back out there after just two days of rest. And Davis delivered in a big way, quieting the raucous crowd at Whitney Park with a six-hit gem in which only one Chief crossed the plate.

On the other side, 35-year-old Al Wood (19-13, 4.44) took the hill for the Chiefs and pitched well in a complete-game effort of his own. Unfortunately for him, a Moe Davis error in the third proved costly, extending an inning that saw the Sailors plate three with run-scoring singles by Dick Walker, Tom Taylor and Jack Cleaves.

The score remained 3-0 until the home seventh when the Sailors finally dented Davis when Shelton led off with a double and later came around on a single off the bat of SS Mike Pierce. That ended up being Chicago's only tally with the Sailors adding a run in the eighth on Tom Taylor's first WCS home run, and then another in the ninth on a Gene Aldrich single after Earl Lambert had led off with a single and stolen second base. The 5-1 victory gave the Sailors the upper hand in the series.

Game Four was back at Whitney the next day, a blustery 49 degree afternoon in the Windy City that saw the Sailors take charge of the series with an 8-7 victory that wasn't as close as it seemed. With 31-year-old Norm Austin (20-7, 4.33) on the hill, the Chiefs needed the win in a game where the dominating Davis was not throwing for the Sailors. Philly trotted out 32-year-old Dan Waldman, a journeyman who spent half the year with AAA San Francisco before going
8-5 with a 2.74 ERA for the Sailors down the stretch.

The Sailors jumped on Austin early with three first-inning singles adding up to a single run and then getting a three-run homer off the bat of Dick Walker in the 2nd. Walker's homer traveled just 330 feet - and would have been a loud out in Sailors Memorial, but was a round-tripper in the cozy confines of Whitney Park. Cleaves doubled home Merchant in the fifth to make it 5-0 and with Waldman cruising, things looked bleak for the Chiefs.

That 5-0 lead held up until the eighth when Chicago's one-two punch finally landed. After Bert Hartman and Moe Davis both struck out, batting champ Jim Hampton delivered a single on a 3-2 fastball. This brought Masters to the plate and the slugger finally broke through, crushing a blazing 100 mph fastball to left for his first postseason homer to cut the lead to 5-2.

In the top of the ninth, the Sailors added three runs of cushion. Dick Walker led off with a single, which chased Austin from the game. Against Si Day, Merchant sacrificed Walker to second. After Day whiffed Taylor on a breaking ball, Cleaves delivered a run-scoring single. Catcher Alex Diaz then came to the plate and hit a 2-run shot to left off Day to cap off the Sailors' day. The visitors took a seemingly commanding 8-2 lead into the home ninth.

Shelton led off with a single to bring the red-hot Johnny Rasberry to the dish. The first sacker worked a full-count and then drilled a single through the hole between short and third, with the fleet-footed Shelton going to third. At this point it was becoming obvious that Waldman had lost it, but Cathey stuck with him, with disastrous results. Mike Pierce doubled on the first pitch, scoring Shelton and sending Rasberry to third. Bernie Rutledge came on to pinch-hit for Day and he also doubled, scoring both Rasberry and Pierce.

Cathey was now forced to make a move, calling on Maurice Demby to put out the fire in a suddenly close 8-5 game. Demby got Bert Hartman to ground out with Rutledge moving to third. Then the Chiefs got their third double of the frame, off the bat of Moe Davis, to make it 8-6. Now things were truly precarious for Philly: one out, Davis on second, and the killer tandem of Hampton & Masters up next. Hampton hit a sharp grounder that bounced off third baseman Gene Aldrich, caroming to shortstop Forrest Sylvester, whose throw to first was beaten by Hampton. Davis moved to third on the throw and Masters came to the dish with two on, one out and an 8-6 score. Masters lined a 1-1 pitch into right-center field that was caught by centerfielder Merchant. Davis trotted home without a throw and it was 8-7. But now there were two out and Demby only needed to worry about the man at the plate: pinch-hitter Dan Brady, hitting for Hank Odegaard. Brady hit a 2-2 pitch to left-center, where Merchant squeezed it - ending the game 8-7 and giving the Sailors a commanding three-one lead in the series.

October 8th was game five - a must-win for the Chiefs.Chicago sent game one loser Ruben Reyes back to the hill while the Sailors had everyone in Chicago on tenterhooks wondering if Chief-killer Johnny Davis would go again on short rest. He did not. Cathey sent 24-year-old 13-game winner Willie Jones to the mound, keeping Davis in reserve for a fully-rested game six start if the series shifted back to Philly.

Jones (13-5, 2.88) was sharp early. Reyes was too - until the third. After Aldrich struck out, Sylvester singled on the first pitch he saw and went to second on a sac bunt by Jones. With the top of the order now up, leadoff man Earl Lambert delivered a single to center to score Sylvester, advancing to second on the throw home. Merchant also swung on the first pitch, grounding it between first and second into right to score Lambert. With the very dangerous Tom Taylor now at the plate, Reyes needed to work carefully, but he made a mistake on a 1-1 pitch, laying it over the heart of the plate where Taylor ripped it to deep right center for a double, scoring Merchant and making it 3-0. Reyes was able to get the dangerous Jack Cleaves on a groundout to third to end the inning, but the damage had been done.

It remained 3-0 until the top of the seventh when the Sailors got an insurance run with three singles against Reyes, the last of which was a run-scoring effort by Taylor to score pitcher Jones to make it 4-0.

Down to just nine outs, the Chiefs showed a lot of fight in the home seventh, finally breaking through against Jones. Moe Davis had a one-out single to start the rally and went to second on a walk by Hampton. With Masters at the plate, the Whitney Park crowd was on the edge of their seats waiting for a heroic blast from their star hitter. Masters did deliver, but it was with a lined single over third to score Davis with the Chiefs' first run of the game. Desperate to force the action, Chiefs skipper Dan Andrew gave Hampton the green light to steal third.The ploy worked as Hampton slid in safely and came around to score when Diaz's throw sailed into the outfield. Hank Odegaard followed with a groundout to second that scored Masters (who went to third on the the throwing error) and suddenly it was 4-3. Unfortunately for Chicago, Jim Shelton was unable to keep the inning alive, flying out to center the end the frame.

Reyes and Jones each worked a scoreless eighth and Reyes a 1-2-3 ninth. Cathey had pinch-hit for Jones in the top of the ninth, so Maurice Demby came out to try to give the Sailors their first world championship in 31 years. Demby got Hartman to pop up to first base for the first out. He then got Rutledge to pop up as well, this time to third, for the second out. The brought up Hampton, who attacked the first pitch and drove a single through the shortstop-third base hole to keep hope alive. Now it was interesting: Joe Masters at the dish, tying run on base, two outs, bottom of the ninth with the World Championship on the line. Demby was the better man on this occasion however: he poured in a called first strike, got Masters to chase on the second pitch for an 0-2 count and then repeated the feat to get Masters swinging to end the game and the Series. The Sailors were champions.

Sailors catcher Alex Diaz was named the Series MVP after recording a .444 average (9-for-18) with three doubles and a home run, scoring seven runs and driving in six.

The 1928 FABL season came to an official end shortly thereafter with the awarding of the Allen and Whitney Awards.

The Federal Association Allen Award went to Detroit Dynamos righty Roy Calfee. Calfee went 19-13 with 2 saves, posting a 3.34 ERA. He narrowly outpointed Pittsburgh's Jim Smith (17-9, 2.99) in the voting to earn his first Allen Award.

The Continental's Allen winner was not much of a surprise. After displaying his talent on the game's biggest stage, Johnny Davis of the Sailors took home the game's most prestigious pitching honors as well. Davis posted a 24-8 mark with a 2.73 ERA and was a unanimous winner. Finishing second in the voting was Cleveland's Wayne Robinson (20-9, 3.04) who had a great season of his own.

The Fed's Whitney Award as Most Valuable Player was also not much of a surprise. Chicago's stellar third baseman Joe Masters earned the hardware after a breakout season for the ages. The 29-year-old hit .388 with 56 home runs and a record 195 runs batted in. He was also a unanimous choice far outpointing runner-up Rankin Kellogg (.387-42-164) of Philadelphia. Detroit's Frank Vance (.388-24-114), another breakout star, was third.

It wasn't unanimous, but Philadelphia Sailors RF Tom Taylor, like Masters a breakout star in 1928, copped the Continental's Whitney Award after a campaign in which he hit .342 with a league-leading 44 home runs and 126 RBIs. Taylor garnered 13 of the 16 first-place votes, with the other three going to New York Stars 2B Pete Layton who hit .370 with 27 homers and 108 RBIs for the CA runners-up.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
W L PCT GB
Chicago Chiefs 95 59 .617 -
Detroit Dynamos 85 69 .552 10.0
Boston Minutemen 80 74 .519 15.0
Pittsburgh Miners 77 77 .500 18.0
Philadelphia Keystones 73 81 .474 22.0
New York Gothams 73 81 .474 22.0
St. Louis Pioneers 72 82 .468 23.0
Washington Eagles 61 93 .396 34.0
CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
W L PCT GB
Philadelphia Sailors 102 52 .662 -
New York Stars 93 61 .604 9.0
Cleveland Foresters 86 68 .558 16.0
Brooklyn Kings 77 77 .500 25.0
Baltimore Cannons 74 80 .481 28.0
Montreal Saints 65 89 .422 37.0
Toronto Wolves 60 94 .390 42.0
Chicago Cougars 59 95 .383 43.0