1932 featured some intriguing stories as things evolved in surprising ways. There were big trades, some seriously poor luck, some tremendous individual (and team) performances (and some really poor ones too) and plenty of drama as well. Coming out of the 1931 season you would have been laughed out of the room if you suggested the New York Gothams would be a non-factor in the Federal League pennant race. And you would have raised eyebrows by suggesting that the Chicago Cougars would tamper with a pennant-winning recipe. But both those things happened in 1932.
Among the big trades was an Independence Day deal that sent Max Morris from the Gothams back to where it all began: the Cleveland Foresters. That made plenty of headlines, but one that certainly changed the trajectory of both parties came three weeks later in the form of a blockbuster deal between the Chicago Cougars and Brooklyn Kings.
We'll get to that Kings/Cougars deal in a moment. But we'll start with the New York Gothams and the strange scenario that brought about the deal with the Foresters. New York was riding high after two straight pennants and it seems likely that they might have actually won it all in the '31 Series if they hadn't been without the potent bats of Joe Perret and Bud Jameson. We'll never know, but the hangover of that bitter defeat seemed to infect the 1932 edition of the Gothams. They finished last after a season that could easily be described as a disaster. And for most of it, before the team gave up the ghost, the Gothams were scoring runs in bunches and losing close games at a clip far greater than they should have, statistically-speaking. Ultimately they posted a 69-85 mark, 17 games out and in the basement. Ace Jim Lonardo stumbled to a 14-15 mark with a 4.07 ERA following two straight Allen Awards. Joe Perret had another injury-riddled season, only playing about half the season. Though Bud Jameson was back and productive (.350-20-105), GM Tom Ward pulled the trigger on a deal that sent Max Morris (hitting .344 with 20 HRs through 72 games at the time) to Cleveland for a quartet of prospects, only one of whom (1B Alex Thompson) appeared for the Gothams in 1932. The consolation prize for the Gothams was the top pick in the 1932 draft, which they'd spend on one of the most promising arms in a generation in right-hander Curly Jones who had pitched in the team's backyard for Henry Hudson College. If Lonardo returns to form, he and Jones could form a lethal one-two punch in New York.
For the New York Gothams, 1931 represented an "all-in" opportunity to win the franchise's first championship since 1896. They certainly had the firepower to make it happen, having acquired the game's pre-eminent slugger in a big offseason trade following a disappointing finish to the 1930 World Championship Series, a seven-game loss to the Philadelphia Sailors. Max Morris was brought on board to push the Gothams over the hump. And he did his part with a .331 average, 34 homers and 105 RBIs, all of which led the team. The pitching was there too - Jim Lonardo offered up an encore to his 1929 Allen Award season with another Allen Award, going 20-9 with a 3.18 ERA and cementing himself as the Fed's best pitcher. Walter Murphy (14-13, 3.86) was a nice lefty complement to Lonardo as well. The problem turned out to be health. Big contributors such as Bud Jameson, Al Allen and the newly-acquired Joe Perret all missed significant time, which weakened the club, albeit not by enough to cost them the pennant. The Gothams did win the flag, posting a 93-61 mark to beat out their rivals from Philadelphia by three games.
Speaking of those Philadelphia Keystones, they had another "almost-but-not-quite" year behind the Fed's most potent lineup and a middle-of-the-road pitching staff. 1B Rankin Kellogg (.367-36-139) was phenomenal as always and a new star burst onto the scene in 20-year-old phenom Bobby Barrell. The eighth-son of OSA co-founder Rufus Barrell was a revelation in his rookie campaign, with 202 hits, 34 doubles, 12 triples and 19 home runs, finishing with a .325 average, 112 runs scored and 97 RBIs while providing excellent defense in right field. With three other .300-plus hitters in the lineup, Philly as usual had no problem scoring in bunches. Stopping the opposition was still something of a problem - though not as much as it had been. Bill Ross (16-9, 3.28) was dependable and 23-year-old lefty Frank Crawford (8-3, 3.15) was tantalizing in his 11 starts, but overall the pitching was average, and with the Gothams' star-studded roster, it wasn't quite good enough to catch the New Yorkers.