Brooklyn Tip-Tops

Win-Loss Record: 147-159-4 (.481)

Ballpark: Washington Park III (May 11, 1914-Sept. 30, 1915)

The Broklyn Tip Tops were a franchise that was added when the Federal League reorganized itself on August 2, 1913. The name comes from the Tip Top Bakery, a company that team owner Robert Ward co-owned with his brother, George. However, the team was often referred to as the Brooklyn Feds or Brook Feds due to their membership with the Federal League. In their first year with the league, in 1914, they finished in fourth place with a 77-77-3 record under the leadership of Bill Bradley despite picking up legendary hurler Mordecai Brown in mid-season. Pitcher Ed Lafitte threw the only no-hitter in the history of the Federal League in a 6-2 win over the Kansas City Packers on September 19th.

The following year, 1915, the team picked up second baseman Lee Magee from the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League and purchased the contract of Benny Kauff from the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Kauff had been the league's batting champ the previous year.

Despite the additions, the Tip-Tops finished in 7th place with a 70-82-1 record. They folded on December 22nd. It has been reported that had the Federal League lasted another year, night games might have been introduced a lot earlier than when they were as the Tip-Tops were planning on hosting such games during the 1916 season.

Sources

• Brooklyn Paper
• The Ward Baking Company
• Peter Filichia: Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebrations of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks Past and Present, Addison Wesley Publishing Company (March 1993)
• Robert Peyton Wiggins: The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs: The History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914-1915, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2009.

See also

• 1914 team summary
• 1915 team summary