We finish with the last club to join the PBL and the last club alphabetically. Yonkers Athletic Club represents the suburbs of New York, a consistent opposing force to the inner-city teams Republic and Brooklyn. They're actually the oldest club in the PBL, approaching their 80th anniversary in 1952. Real estate mogul Stewart Shelby is the majority owner of the team and is determined, in all aspects, to be better than the NYC proper clubs.

To that end, he's employed the services of a certain Nicholas Backer, widely regarded as the best player currently playing the game. He can hit, he can defend, he's even taken the mound and done relatively well for a position player. Shelby has poured money into this Ys team and if they can't compete with the big boys it would spell disaster for everyone involved.

YAC has had a relatively consistent look since cap logos were first introduced in the 1910s. A large block Y is the logo and finds itself on the cap and sleeve, while the home uniform uses a script "Yonkers", replaced by a block "YONK" on the road. Why YONK and not YONKERS? When the first set of jerseys was made a spacing error left the last three letters off. It's stuck ever since.

Yonkers Stadium is an average stadium that the Ys have called home for quite a while. The field used to host a horse racing track, so the dimensions are wacky, but that has created some of the most famous moments for Yonkers, such as a deep triple from Lucky Red (when he was a player) driving in the pennant-winning run in 1936.

Last edited by QCS (9/06/2022 8:19 pm)

I'm not dead yet! Surprisingly, being a full-time college student doesn't leave me with lots of time to write about fictional baseball. But I will carry on! The PBL will continue!

Midway through the inaugural season, here's where we stand!

At a Glance: Boston Harbor and Yonkers are at the top of the East while Federal and Brooklyn find themselves at the bottom. In the west, Forest City and Queen City reign with White City and Buffalo in the basement.

In-depth:
BOS: Boston Harbor, to no one's surprise, is on top of the East. In fact, they have the best record in the PBL as the only team over 40 wins at this point. The Anchors are looking to continue their dominance over the next 60 games.
YNK: Yonkers is behind Boston, but owner Stewart Shelby is satisfied with the team. They had a "rough" 1-2 start, after which Shelby reportedly visited the locker room and shouted "If you don't stay above .500 for the rest of the season, EVERYONE'S GETTING FIRED!!" It seems like the team listened.
NRK: Newark has been the surprise of the season for everyone, currently at third in the East with plenty of steam to go. Every player has improved and they've had a dominant bullpen, playing lights out day in and day out. That builds championship teams, so if the Maroons keep playing well, they could be on top sooner rather than later.
KEY: The Franklins are having a great season, their bats on fire like never before. In conjunction with Franky Livingstone, the team is a real contender in the East. The question still remains, however: can they beat Boston?
CHS: The Peaks haven't been living up to their name, actually playing a little worse than they were hoping to. The team was hoping to be in the top 3 of the the division but instead find themselves in 5th after a rough May.
NYC: Republic is also below where they wanted to be, as Cyrus Rowe hasn't been his usual self. Regularly he's been blown up by opposing teams and just hasn't been his usual self. Fans and teammates are worried and there have been rumors flying around that he's been injured all year.
HAR: The Greens have been as good as they can be, which is frustrating because they hold tons of talent. They're being held up by a managerial staff that doesn't know what to do and ownership that won't spend to improve. If things don't get better for them soon they could see fans starting to leave.
PIT: Having made the jump from the GLBA to the East to play with Keystone Athletic, the Triangles find themselves in tough competition. With this being his 9th straight year on a poor team, fans have been bringing signs that are asking Lucky to leave the team for greener pastures.
FED: Federal has been way worse this year than expected. It's honestly surprising to see them this bad. What happened? The bats went ice cold and pitching imploded. Nothing good has come from this season unless you're a Chespeake fan, in which case you're grateful for the opportunity to laugh.
BKN: Brooklyn, on the other hand, is right where people thought they would be. Hometown hero Gordy Fields has continued his slump and fans are not happy. The Blue Sox need a turnaround, and quick.

FC: The Foresters are, as expected, on top of the West. They're a good team from top to bottom and expect to be playing Harbor come championship time.
QC: It's Ohio taking the top two spots as the Monarchs are currently in second place. They are, surprisingly, actually living up to expectations and everyone in Southern Ohio is hoping they can keep it up.
MKE: Sporting is also challenging for the pennant, but there are still some concerns as the bullpen has been sloppier than usual. A few blown saves here and there are nothing unusual but it's been more often than normal for the team and some Brewers brass could be looking at a way to fix the problem.
FTW: Ft. Wayne is competing, but isn't quite at the level where they can truly challenge for the top. Maybe with a few extra pieces the Municipals could be near the Forest Citys and Milwaukees of the division.
CHI: CAC is just where they thought they'd be: right in the middle, not too good, not too bad. The Wind Sox will keep the course and carry on, hoping for improvement next season.
DET: It seems like the team is too focused on the "Cupids" nickname to bother winning baseball games. Detroit needs an overhaul fast if they want to be competing anytime soon.
STL: 96 has aged too much to try and take the top. The team is simply too old and is past its glory days, at least, with this current core. You can expect the front office to begin attempting to reload and in order to return the team to the pennant.
TOR: Toronto is a decent team stuck in a top-heavy division. Like other teams, they just don't have the talent to be one of the top teams but Athletic is still performing well in front of their home crowd.
WC: The Expos needed a spark, but they sure didn't get it. After an abysmal 6-12 start, they fired their manager before proceeding to perform even worse. An entire overhaul of the front office might be in order for White City.
BUF: Well, at least they look good. The Lakers have been awful but that's sadly to be expected for this team. The good people of Buffalo have slowly begun to lose hope but there are some holdouts who believe John White will eventually bailout the struggling team.

Please leave some C&C, it's always appreciated!

Sorry for the delay, being a full-time college student will do that you. But I'm back with the 1950 standings!

The 1950 season has come to a close and here's where we stand:


At a Glance: Nothing really changed as Boston Harbor and Forest City remained on top of each division for the whole season. They'll face each other in the battle for the crown. Meanwhile, Brooklyn and Buffalo maintained their last place.

In-depth:
BOS: Harbor has the finished the season on top in the East, and by a good margin, too. It wasn't particularly close after a great September put the pennant out of reach for Yonkers. As expected, Boston Harbor will be playing for the title.
YNK: Yonkers maintained their second place position, staying on the exact same pace they were at at the halfway point. They weren't able to catch up to Boston but at the very least they beat Republic and Brooklyn. Everyone's jobs are safe for another offseason.
KEY: Keystone overtook Newark for third place in the East. Their bats continued to impress, outperforming most of the other teams in the PBL. The Franklins' biggest weakness is their pitching, which let down their batting in many games this year. They'll be looking to fix that come the offseason.
NRK: Newark's hot start cooled off slightly, but the Maroons were still the surprise of the season. This unexpected improvement could lead the team to hold off on major changes, as rumor had it that their manager was on the hot seat at the start of the year. If they keep getting better maybe they'll be in the pennant hunt next year.
CHS: The Peaks were able to turn their season around a little bit and finish above .500, but they're not where they wanted to be. Truth be told, fans were expecting to be up closer to Boston Harbor and that didn't happen. That said, they still won the season series against Federal, so it's not all bad.
NYC: Republic continued their downwards trajectory and it's honestly disappointing to see. They should be better than they are and there's no clear way to improve the team. Odds are good they'll just run it back next year and hope things come together in a way they didn't this year.
PIT: The Triangles' transition to the East wasn't as smooth as they hoped and many fans are wondering if they would've had a better year had they been in the West. Lucky is reportedly fed up with management's disinterest in actively improving the team and has threatened to leave if something doesn't change soon.
HAR: Well, they didn't improve, and fans didn't show up. Ownership has been thoroughly disinterested in the team with owner Earl Blackbourne too busy getting Connecticut State University to name buildings after him than making efforts to win baseball games. The Greens are at a crossroads and if nothing changes their future in the PBL, maybe even in Hartford, is in jeopardy.
FED: Federal kept up their massive implosion and only slightly improved compared to the first half of the season. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did and the whole team is faced with lots of questions after this season.
BKN: The Blue Sox finished exactly where everyone expected, the basement. They'll have to thank Buffalo for not having the worst record in the PBL but the team just has no direction. Thank goodness for the Brooklyn faithful who made sure to show up for all 60 home games, otherwise this team would be even more miserable.

FC: Forest City finished on top of the former GLBA once again and will take on Boston Harbor in a 7-game series for the PBL crown. The team was firing on all cylinders this season and expects to put up a good fight against the Anchors.
MKE: The Tappers took the two spot from Queen City as their bullpen got themselves turned around. Still, the team is left to wonder what would've happened had their first half been better. They were only 4 games back of FCBC when the season wrapped up and if they can find their groove again next season they could be representing the West in the final series.
QC: The Monarchs continued to finally live up to expectations with an excellent season that gives a lot of hope for the future. Expect to see Queen City loading up for a deep push at the pennant.
FTW: Ft. Wayne still couldn't quite keep up with the top teams of the West but still had a solid season. The Municipals hope to make another run next year.
CHI: What can really be said about the Wind Sox? They were perfectly average right up til the end, finishing at a perfect .500.
DET: Just like the first half, Detroit had nothing remarkable this year. Washington Cannon hit career home run number 450 this season, an impressive stat for a team that couldn't capitalize on those runs. Those dingers couldn't save the team from not being where the fans want them to be, so expect changes to finally occur.
STL: St. Louis just couldn't put it together. They've got aging talent but that didn't convert to the PBL unfortunately. Odds are good that the 96ers will be looking at overhauling their roster heading into next season and some fan-favorites may be on the chopping block.
TOR: The Athletics just didn't have what it took this year. Hoping for an above-.500 season, the team finished 7th in the West and well below 60 wins. Their pitching was solid, but the hitting corps let them down. They'll probably try to plunder the Ontario League for solid prospects.
WC: The interim manager for White City did not do the job. The Columbians were awful through and through and it's an organizational problem. Odds are good that house is cleaned.
BUF: The Lakers are a terrible team. No two ways about it. There's nothing good about the play on the field and it doesn't look like that'll change anytime soon. General Manager Johnson Everton was fired after the season and Buffalo went with a surprise hire in Evan Knotts, a young scout from Rochester who must've made a great pitch to Lakers brass.

PBL Championship Series:
It's Boston Harbor vs. Forest City for the crown. Boston holds the better record but the Foresters have a tenacity to win some tough games, so it's going to be a tight series. However, I think the Anchors will come out on top after 6.

Please leave some C&C, it's always appreciated! 

The first season of the Premier Baseball League has finally come to head. The first-ever Championship Series between Boston Harbor and Forest City has begun!

The 7-game series began in Boston's Harbor Stadium. The Anchors got off to a quick start with a run in the first inning before their bats went cold and FCBC struck back with 4 runs of their own. Cleveland's Finest had stolen Game 1 in Harbor Stadium, much to the shock of the home fans. Harbor would strike back the next day with a 2-0 shutout to even the series.

As the teams headed to Cleveland, the Foresters had a huge chance to upset Boston at home. However, the Anchors had other plans and blasted Forest City away with a 5-3 win. They would repeat the affair next game, taking a 3-1 series lead with a 4-2 victory. With their backs against the wall, FCBC delivered for their fans, shutting out Harbor 3-0.

As the series returned to Boston, Forest City had a challenging task ahead: take two straight games against the toughest home crowd in baseball. Midway through the game, and it was tied 2-2. However, in the bottom of the 7th inning, Boston slugger Lewis Golde would put the game, and the series, away with a deep double that drove in two to win 4-2.


YOUR 1950 PBL CHAMPIONS ARE: BOSTON HARBOR BASEBALL CLUB!

Last edited by QCS (10/11/2022 7:41 pm)

Congrats to Boston Harbor on taking it home in year one! Now it's Cincy's time to shine in '51!