In his story, McAuley reported that most Major League teams flouted the rules on a regular basis. However, this case received national attention due to Feller’s spectacular accomplishments while still only a schoolboy. How could he have gotten to the Majors so fast? According to McAuley, the Indians’ chief scout, Cyril “Cy” Slapnicka, had allegedly signed Feller, then behind closed doors had transferred him to the Class D Fargo-Moorhead club of the Northern League.
The two organizations had a working agreement that kept Feller safely away from the other Major League teams. However, after the pitcher signed his Cleveland contract, the Des Moines, Iowa, club attempted to acquire Feller. They were puzzled by the actions of both Bob and his father William, neither of whom showed any interest in a deal. The Des Moines rep had no inkling that the Fellers had already been spoken for. When Bob set his American League strikeout record at the tail end of the baseball season, the Des Moines people knew somebody, probably Cleveland, had pulled a fast one. Lee Keyser, the Des Moines owner, wasted no time in filing a grievance with the commissioner’s office. The chances of recovering Feller were nil, whereas the likelihood for a cash settlement was a good bet.
Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis had a complicated problem to deal with. This was not a matter of some obscure minor league player that few paid attention to. No matter how the Judge ruled, his decision would be front-page news all around the country.
Landis had a strong regard for minor league players. He despised the idea of the Major League clubs having a “chain store” system that impeded the progress of young men trying to advance to the big leagues. Most clubs, particularly the Yankees and Red Sox, had extensive interests in all levels of minor league organizations. They could manipulate a player’s destiny, moving him from club to club until they believed he was ready to compete at the highest level. This led to several procedures that Landis found despicable. “Covering up” meant shuttling a player back and forth to different minor league clubs to avoid scrutiny. This took place when a team in the Majors had no room for the player in question or believed he needed more time. The player wound up being “sold” to the minors, but only to a team that was part of the Major League team’s chain store. This procedure could go on indefinitely, denying the player a legitimate shot at the big time.
The procedure that applied to Feller was called “recommending.” A Major League team (Cleveland in this case) would sign a player (Feller), then nudge a friendly club (Fargo-Moorhead) to quietly ink him to a valid minor league contract. After a certain length of time the Major League team would advise their partner to sell the player to a higher level (the Class A New Orleans Pelicans, a long-time friend to Cleveland). From there, the Major League team would be informed what a great prospect they had, and would buy the player’s contract—which is just what the Indians, acting on manager Steve O’Neill’s recommendation, did. This appeared to be a legal move, with the paperwork to back it up. However, the Indians were quite careless in shifting Feller through their farm system before he had pitched a single inning for Fargo-Moorhead or New Orleans. He arrived in Cleveland during the springtime, doing some concession work at League Park and pitching sporadically for an amateur club. The Indians had beaten the system, yet Feller’s great pitching late in the year completely blew up the scam.
Judge Landis had little or no sympathy for William Feller and his young son, who had stayed in step with the Cleveland front office, seemingly unaware of any wrongdoing by the Indians. The Fellers notified Landis that they were happy with Cleveland and preferred to remain even if something illegal had occurred. The judge explained free agency to them and the possibility of Bob having the once-in-a-lifetime chance to collect a gigantic payday with another Major League club. Most players would have jumped at the chance to sell their services for as much dough as possible. Here was a tremendous opportunity to make an example of the Cleveland club and score one for the little guy. But William and son were adamant about staying put, forcing Landis to ponder this one for a long while.
Another issue Judge Landis had to consider seriously was that other Major League teams had violated the same rule. Ed McAuley asserted that a highly placed team official told him that if Feller became a free agent there were about ten players on each Major League roster who could become free agents as well. If these ballplayers filed any complaints, it would turn baseball upside down. Although the Judge had no deep feelings for most of the owners, he did not relish wrecking the status quo. Landis decided to take a long fishing trip, telling curious writers a verdict probably would not be given until the first week of December.
While Bob Feller returned to high school in Van Meter, anxiety spread throughout the Cleveland front office. Alva Bradley heard reports of the Yankees and Red Sox gearing up for a bidding war should the Judge rule against the Indians. Surely the possibility of losing the greatest pitching prospect since Walter Johnson or Lefty Grove had to cause some restless nights for the Indians owner. But Bradley remained confident, at least in public, that he had nothing to worry about.
Eventually the newspapers reported that a decision would be revealed at the December 1936 winter meetings. Sure enough, on the tenth the ruling came down. The Indians were found guilty but were allowed to keep Feller. Judge Landis fined Cleveland $7,500 for their actions, payable to the Des Moines club. The Judge released a 2,500-word statement blasting the conduct of the Indians and all of baseball in general. “It turns out that in reality Fargo-Moorhead had nothing whatsoever to do with signing Feller which was done by the Cleveland club, its agent Slapnicka using for that purpose a minor league contract because he could not sign him to a major league contract,” the Judge wrote. Landis then slammed the process of “recommending” and gave a step-by-step account of how the Indians had violated the baseball law. Fargo-Moorhead had received only $300 for selling Feller to New Orleans, and the Pelicans just $1,500 for moving Feller to Cleveland. The sales were noticeably below market value for a player of Feller’s perceived caliber. Though the Indians were the recipient of the Judge’s fury, it was Cy Slapnicka who was singled out. Going forward, the new Cleveland general manager would need to walk the line or face the consequences.
In analyzing the situation, Judge Landis did about all he could. Allowing Feller to become a free agent opened the door for any number of ballplayers to cry foul and demand their freedom. He did not have any inclination to rule on potentially hundreds of similar cases. Another factor was the Fellers’ steadfast desire to remain with the Indians. The papers would have a field day with the story and hound the Judge unmercifully. It was time to move on to other things, particularly the 1937 season.
Now that the crisis had passed, the Indians considered some moves to improve the ball club. On January 18, Cleveland and the St. Louis Browns agreed on a huge six-player trade. Outfielder Julius “Moose” Solters, shortstop Lyn Lary, and pitcher Ivy Paul Andrews would come to the Indians, while the Browns would receive shortstop Bill Knickerbocker, pitcher Oral Hildebrand, and star Cleveland outfielder Joe Vosmik. The two pitchers involved were throw-ins; neither one had lived up to his potential.
The Solters-for-Vosmik part of the trade drew plenty of criticism from the Cleveland fans and several of the sportswriters. Ed Bang of the Cleveland News believed trading Joe was a significant error on the part of Cy Slapnicka. Vosmik made the All-Star team in 1935, leading the American League in three different categories. His .348 batting average left him one point short of the title. But he had had a mediocre season in 1936, prompting Slapnicka to reckon his left fielder was on the down side. Many fans complained to the newspapers, believing Moose Solters, a middle-of-the-road player, could not replace the Cleveland-born Vosmik.
Lyn Lary had had some good seasons with Yankees, but the Indians were now his fifth team in the American League. He could steal some bases and cover a lot of ground defensively, but his batting average had declined on a yearly basis. Bill Knickerbocker had won the Cleveland shortstop job in 1933 and held it over four seasons. His play could be termed steady yet lacking in any superior skills. The Indians front office thought some new blood on the team might spur them along. The trade inspired headlines throughout the country, yet the probability of Solters and Lary leading the team to the pennant seemed remote.
Two months later, the Indians, new players and all, gathered in New Orleans