Federal League

Chicago Whales History

By Wikipedia

The Chicago Whales were a Federal League baseball club in Chicago from 1914 to 1915. The Whales won the Federal League championship in 1915.

At a glance... CHICAGO WHALES Franchise Facts Established 1913 (minor league) 1914 Disbanded 1915 Located Chicago Owner Charles Weeghman Year by Year Results W L % 1914  87 65 .575 1915  86 66 .566 Affiliations Federal League (1913-1915) Postseason/Titles FL Titles (1) 1915 Nicknames Chicago Browns (1913-1914) aka Chifeds (1914) Chicago Whales (1915) Ballparks Weeghman Park (1914-1915) (A.K.A. Wrigley Field) Top Performances Single-Season Career

Chicago was one of the more successful franchises, at least at the box office. They drew a reported crowd of 28,436 to the first game at the brand new Weeghman Park against the Kansas City Packers (April 23, 1914).

Founded by Charles Weeghman, the Whales finished 1 1/2 games behind the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the inaugural season for the league, during which the team was known as the Chicago Federals. Prior to the start of the season, Weeghman built a stadium for the team, called Weeghman Park. Now used by the Chicago Cubs and known as Wrigley Field, it is the only Federal League stadium still in use (and has been since Oriole Park burned down in 1944).

In the League's second and final season, the Whales won the championship, finishing .001 percent ahead of the St. Louis Terriers. When Kenesaw Mountain Landis brokered a deal between the Federal League, American League and National League that ended the Federal League's existence, Weeghman was allowed to purchase the Cubs. As part of the peace settlement with the older leagues, the Cubs were allowed to keep as many of the Whales players as they wanted.

Interest in the league was not sustained as the inaugural season wore on and when a after "peace" agreement was signed, it was revealed that Weeghman's Federal League franchise was over $500,000 in debt after the 1915 season. It is hard to imagine the league surviving for long with one of the most successful franchises in one of America's biggest cities losing a such a staggering sum (at least in WWI-era terms).

Many Whales players had American and National League experience, including the manager, Joe Tinker, Dutch Zwilling, Mordecai 'Three Finger' Brown, and Rollie Zeider.

Federal League sources/bibliography:
The Federal League of 1914-1915 by Marc Okkonen.
The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present by David Pietrusza.
May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy by Andrew Zimbalist.
Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia by John Thorn, et al.