The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were a team in the short-lived

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team's name came from Tip Top Bread, a product of

Ward Baking Company The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder Bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became part of the former Hostess Brands company. Hist ...

, which was also owned by team owner Robert Ward. They were sometimes informally called the Brooklyn Feds or BrookFeds due to being the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

team of the Federal League. They played in Washington Park, which the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

had abandoned after the 1912 season to move to

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tea ...

History

The team finished a disappointing 4th in 1914. Federal League officials believed it was important to have a successful franchise in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

area and when the Indianapolis Hoosiers were transitioned to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, the "Federal League

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

", as 1914 FL batting champ

Benny Kauff Bennie Michael "Benny" Kauff (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1961)Benny Kauff Pla ...

was known, was placed on the Brooklyn roster. In 1915, Kauff led the league with a .342

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 55

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, but the Tip-Tops still finished in seventh place. The Newark and Brooklyn FL teams played three holiday doubleheaders during the 1915 season where one game was in Newark and the second was in Brooklyn. On September 19, 1914, Tip-Top

Ed Lafitte Edward Francis Lafitte (April 7, 1886 – April 12, 1971) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12), Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–15), and Buffalo Blues (1915). Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, ...

threw the only

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in Federal League history, beating the

Kansas City Packers The Kansas City Packers were a Federal League baseball club in Kansas City, Missouri from 1914 to 1915. They finished sixth in 1914 with a 67–84 record, and fourth in 1915 with an 81–72 record. The Packers moved to Kansas City in July 1913 ...

6–2. Had the Federal League (FL) lasted just one more season, night baseball might have been introduced two decades earlier. The Tip Tops had announced plans for the 1916 season to play some games at night.

References

*''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.

External links

Brooklyn Tip-Tops
Baseball teams established in 1914 Baseball teams disestablished in 1915 Defunct Major League Baseball teams Federal League teams 1914 establishments in New York City 1915 disestablishments in New York City Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Baseball in Brooklyn {{NYC-sport-stub

History

See also

References

External links