Federal League

Buffalo Blues History

By Patrick Mondout

The Buffalo Blues were a team in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team folded after the 1915 season before the league itself decided to enter peace negotiations with the other leagues.

At a glance... BUFFALO BLUES Franchise Facts Established 1914 Disbanded 1915 Located Buffalo Owners Walter F. Mullen (1914) William E. Robertson (1914-1915) R.T. Carroll Owen B. Augsperger Year by Year Results W L % 1914  80 71 .530 1915  74 78 .487 Affiliations Federal League (1914-1915) Postseason/Titles FL Titles (0) Nicknames Buffalo Blues (1914-1915) (also known as the Buffeds or Buf-Feds) Ballparks Federal League Park (1914-1915) Top Performances Single-Season Career

The Blues outbid the Brooklyn FL franchise for the services of Hal Chase. Chase was one of the bad boys of baseball and played up to his considerable talent only when he felt like doing so. He might well be in the Hall of Fame today were it not for his attitude.

"Prince Hal" was traded to the Chicago White Sox by the New York Highlanders (later Yankees) in July of 1913 after his lackluster play left the slugger with a Mario Mendoza-like .212 average.

Chase got along with Charles Comiskey for a while, but gave 10 days notice on June 15, 1914 and soon joined the Buf-Feds (a number of players jumped their American or National League contracts during the 1914 season). He led the league with 17 home runs in 1915, a rather staggering total in the Dead Ball Era (only Babe Ruth, Vic Saier, Frank Schulte, Gavvy Cravath, and Fred Luderus hit more home runs in a season from 1900-1919). Chase later lead the National League in hitting in 1916 with the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite the presence of Chase and his .347 batting average, the biggest offensive contributor to the success (80-71 record) of the Blues was 33 year old Charlie Hanford. The career minor leaguer was 5th in the league in hits and total bases, third in home runs and 6th in RBIs in 1914. He was perhaps too old to capitalize on his FL success and never played in either the American or National League.

Russ Ford lead the pitching staff with a 21-6 record in 1914 and was second in the league with a 1.82 ERA. Al Schultz with a 21-14 record and Fred Anderson with a 19-13 record and a 2.51 ERA were the leaders of the 1915 Blues staff.

The Blues owners wanted the citizens of Buffalo to buy in to the team - literally. They sold preferred shares of the club for $10 each. The team never finished better than 7 games out.

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.