SEPTEMBER 7, 1942
DEUCE MAKING CA OPPONENTS SAY 'UNCLE'
It has been a season of disappointment in so many ways for the Cincinnati Cannons but one shining light has emerged and that has been the breakout campaign of 24 year old Rufus 'Deuce' Barrell. The 5th year Cannon has showed signs in the last couple of seasons of putting it all together on the mound but the 1942 season has been one in which Deuce has taken the next step and is now worthy of consideration for the moniker 'best pitcher in the game' right now. His numbers this season: 23-5, 1.89 with 152 strikeouts are drawing comparison to the 1934 season put up by his uncle when Tom Barrell went 29-3 with a 2.96 era.
Deuce will not duplicate his uncle's 29 win season. That is a number that perhaps will never be equaled as prior to Barrell no pitcher had won as many as 29 contests in a season since 1916. But Deuce may just claim something even more special, a mark that even Tom could not equal. The last time a Continental Association hurler led the league in wins, era and strikeouts in the same season was 1919 when Hall of Famer Charlie Sis turned the trick for the Toronto Wolves but there is Deuce, with 3 weeks remaining in the season, sitting atop the CA leaderboard in each of those pitching measures. Since Sis, only the great Rabbit Day, who just recently won his 295th career game, has won a pitching triple crown. That came in the Federal Association during the Chicago Chiefs championship season of 1936 when Day went 25-3 with a 2.41 era and 156 strikeouts. There will be no championship for Deuce this season, but he has firmly established himself as the pitcher everyone expected him to become when he put up his amazing numbers at Macon High School and followed in his Uncle Tom's footsteps by being selected first overall.
Below is a comparison of Tom's 1934 season to Deuce's numbers this year. 1934 was Tom's breakout year at the age of 26 and the first of three straight Allen Awards for former Brooklyn ace. Clearly Deuce still has a ways to go if he wants family bragging rights but he is certainly taking a big step in that direction this season.
RARE AIR FOR GOTHAMS
The New York Gothams are on top of the Federal Association. The last time that happened Amelia Earhart was flying solo from Hawaii to California, the west was dealing with it's great dust storm and Hitler was only beginning to announce plans for the re-armament of Germany. That was 1935 but now after 7 years as a sub .500 ballclub, the Gothams are in first place and armed with perhaps the best collection of young talent in either association.
Say what you will about Walt Messer, Mule Monier and Rusty Petrick but the Gothams success this season starts and ends with Ed Bowman, the 22 year old rookie sensation who is 19-8 with a 2.66 era and a lock to win rookie of the year as well as the favourite to claim the Federal Association Allen Award. The last time a Gothams pitcher claimed the Allen was in 1934 when Hardin Bates did it. That was when the Gothams practically owned the Allen as Jim Lonardo had won 3 in the previous 4 years. The Gotham faithful will remember Rabbit Day also won one but that was in 1936 - a season he started in the Big Apple but finished by hoisting a World Championship Series trophy with the rest of the Chicago Chiefs. New York's downward spiral began when Day was sent to the Windy City but finally the breeze is blowing New York's way and the Gothams are relevant once more.
Relevant? They may actually be the favourites to win the Fed Flag as the schedule-makers have done New York a huge favour with 16 of their final 18 games being contested at Gothams Stadium. The schedule-makers also threw everyone a curve, with help from wartime travel restrictions of course, as the Gothams and third place Philadelphia Keystones each have 18 games remaining while the second place Pittsburgh Miners only have 11 left to play, with 9 of those on the road including a pair that loom especially large next weekend in New York City.
*** SUBWAY SERIES ***
1926 was the first and only time the New York Gothams and New York Stars played against each other in a meaningful FABL game. The Stars won the bragging rights with a WCS win in 5 games - their third straight title- and would win two more since then to give them 8 FABL WCS wins. The 1926 Fed pennant ended a thirty year drought for the Gothams and set the stage for a run in the early thirties that saw the Gothams claim four Federal Association pennants but win only one WCS title, coming in '35 when they beat Cleveland in a rematch of the 1934 Fall Classic.
Now all of New York is buzzing about the chance to see a Subway Series again. The Stars are all but assured participation, and really have been since before the all-star break as they made a mockery of the Continental Association pennant chase. It is now up to the Gothams, with 3 weeks of solid baseball all that stands between them and a chance to equal the battle of New York at one series win apiece. At the moment the Stars are surely the last things on the minds of Ed Ziehl or his troops, who face a crucial week with two games each against Boston and Pittsburgh. There is a chance we could have a much better picture of how the Fed is going to wind down at this time next week, but the way the season has gone we will quite likely not know the outcome until the final weekend of September.
A subway series would be something to see and long suffering Gothams fans can almost breathe in the sweet scent of the crisp air that accompanies October baseball, and after seven years of awful play these three long weeks are going to feel like an eternity to Gothams fans, who surely will be clutching their subway tokens tightly while envisioning what just might become reality.
Let’s talk about the crazy FA race for a minute. As of today (9/7/1942) five teams have sat atop the standings in the FA for the 1942 season. Here is a quick breakdown of each.
Chicago Chiefs: 27 days. The Chiefs, who currently sit 11.5 games back, were 11-5 on the last day of April. For most of the month of May the Chiefs stayed at or tied for the division lead. May 23rd would be the last day the Chiefs would share a lead of first in the FA as other teams started to get hot.
Boston Minutemen: 41 days: Currently 3 games back. The Minutemen took over first place in the FA for the first time on May 29th. They would roll through June and stay ahead of the pack until July 5th. They would briefly be in first again on July 9th and 10th and once again on July 28th but then relinquish the top spot to never return.
Philadelphia Keystones: 49 Days: Currently 2 games back. The Keystones have been playing a yo-yo game with the top two or three spots all season long. They have yet to have a real dominant month but they have been consistent throughout the season. So far this season the Keystones have yet to post a losing record in any single month.
Pittsburgh Miners: 35 days: Currently ½ games back. Surprisingly, the Miners didn’t even sniff first place until they unseated Boston briefly on July 5th. It wasn’t until a month later though that the Miners really held the top spot for any length of time. On July 31st the Miners had been in the top spot for 7 days total. After they would log 35 days in first place. The Miners are getting hot at the right time.
New York Gothams: 12 days: Currently ½ game up. Before July 31st the Gothams had led or shared the top spot for 7 days. Those days were in early April when everyone was jockeying for position out of the gate. New York has been the team that will not go away. Much like Philadelphia they have been hanging around playing hard while waiting for the chips to fall their way. Since July 31st this is only the 5th day they have held the top spot in the FA. However, it doesn’t matter how many days you don’t spend in first place, it's about making sure you are there after the last day.
So there are your five clubs. With around 20 days left in the season four of these clubs have a shot. Should make for a crazy finish.
- Ed Bowman was named both the pitcher of the month and rookie of the month for August in the Fed. At 19-8, 2.66 he is now the favourite for the Allen Award, especially if he can lead the Gothams to their first pennant since 1935.
- Rabbit Day beat Washington 7-2 with a complete game last Thursday to improve to 15-10 on the year. It was his 295th career victory and 119th as a Chief, which ties him for 6th all-time with Johnny Cross for wins by a Chicago Chief. Day is also 5th all-time in wins by a Cannons pitcher with his first 129 coming for the then Baltimore based Cannons.
- I was going to say it will take some research to see if anyone ranks higher for pitching wins on two different teams, but my research started and ended with Double Al. Allan Allen won 251 for Toronto (second only to Charlie Sis' 321) and 206 for the Cougars, which places him third on that team's list, trailing just Jack Long (253) and Dick Lyons (216).
- Al Miller is now in 10th place on the all-time Chiefs leader boards in both wins (115) and games pitched (262). He has the best chance of catching Denny Wren, who is at the top of the pitching leader boards with 469 games pitched and 218 wins.
- The Chiefs are showcasing a bit of their future as 19 year old Joe Rutherford gets the call after starting the season in A ball and destroying AAA pitching the past three weeks. Rutherford, who was taken 7th overall in the 1940 draft, hit .371 in 19 games at Fort Wayne. He will take some playing time away from Alf Pestilli (.223,13,53) in right field and join fellow rookie Jim Mayfield (.297,0,11), who has been up since May, as starters next week in Chicago.
- How OSA can see Rutherford as only the 45th best prospect and 17th among outfielders is beyond me.
- Boston can't get a break this season. Art Spencer (.312,2,56) is healthy again after a month on the sidelines but now shortstop Lew McClendon (.267,4,36), who missed the first two weeks of August, is hurt again and likely done for the season. It is a huge week for Boston as the Minutemen have their final two games of the year against the first place Gothams this week. In a weird finish to the schedule Boston will play it's final 5 games of the season against Philadelphia, but they come on successive weekends with a 4-day break in between.
- The FA race is set-up for the Gothams, as the schedule-makers have determined that they'll spend the next 16 games at home before finishing with 2 in Detroit. The other contenders will all spend more time in hotel rooms. 2nd place Pittsburgh has only 11 games remaining (2H, 9A), Philadelphia is closer to even at 7H, 11A, while Boston will be mostly on the road, 2H, 14A.
- Chicago duo of Jim Watson--who is having the best season of his career-- and Bob Martin at the top of the Fed batting race at .328. Watson and Martin are currently 1 point (.001) ahead of George Cleaves. Not bad for a Rule 5 pickup.
- The Fed Whitney race is wide open with plenty of worthy candidates but Cleaves, Bobby Barrell and Walt Messer are the likely front-runners. Meanwhile, the CA Whitney race is about who will finish 2nd to Bill Barrett. Right now, I'm handicapping Al Wheeler, Chuck Adams, and Harry Mead as the front-runners.
- Rick York is getting the call up to Cincinnati. Dick's boy will spell Mullins a bit and get some starts behind the plate and while he is likely no where near ready for 3B in the big leagues, Cannons skipper Ad Doria says he will give York a couple there as well just to get his bat in the lineup. The 22 year old 1938 third rounder hit .301 with 11 homers at AAA Indianapolis this season. He needs to be added to the 40-man before the rule 5 so Cincinnati decided to call him up early, as much to get him FABL at bats as to get him out of the cancerous attitude that has for some reason engulfed the Indianapolis clubhouse. Veteran Lyman Weigel, a solid character guy, was signed a week ago ago to try and shore up the Hoosiers morale as well.
1943 DRAFT PREVIEW
A LOOK BACK AT THE 1932 DRAFT
Had the 1932 draft gone slightly different perhaps the New York Gothams might have become one the greatest dynasties in FABL history. Just think about it. If the Gothams selected a high school pitcher out of Hartford by the name of Lefty Allen first overall instead of Henry Hudson ace Curly Jones it is not a stretch to imagine the Gothams not doing their big sell-off in 1936 and tearing apart a championship team. Now we can't fault New York for taking the hometown college star- he was number one in nearly everyone's books at the time- but that allowed Allen to fall to Pittsburgh with the fourth selection. Allen would make his big league debut late in the 1935 campaign and post a 17-11 record in 1936. 1936 was the year the Gothams got off to a terrible start and parted ways with Rabbit Day, Mahlon Strong, Moxie Pidgeon and eventually Jim Lonardo as well. Each would go on to win a WCS elsewhere but it is not a stretch to think that if Allen did for New York in 1936 what he accomplished for Pittsburgh the Gothams might have been just good enough that their General Manager would have had the patience to keep the band together. Can you imagine what a rotation from 1937-40 that featured Day, Lonardo and Lefty Allen would have looked like? Instead the Gothams were saddled with Curly Jones and a complete tear down that made them one of the worst teams in baseball during that stretch.
Here is a look back at the first round picks of 1932. Before we get to the actual selections here is how Brooklyn Kings Scouting Director John Spears had his top ten:
1: CURLY JONES P- New York Gothams: Jones has been at the center of controversy since his surprise retirement two months after the draft only to be talked out of by fellow Georgia native Rufus Barrell. He was supposed to be the next great superstar pitcher when he was drafted but whether it was his attitude or an injury suffered early in his career that derailed him we will never know. He is still kicking around the league but with a 41-41 career mark never came close to living up to the vast promise that was seen in him. His 12-6 campaign as a rookie when he helped the Gothams to a pennant remains the high moment of an otherwise marginal career.
Here is OSA's scouting report on Jones from November of 1932 - a month prior to the draft.
2: PETE HUNT 1B- Toronto Wolves: While Jones turned out to be a bust, it was at the time considered the right choice. Toronto's decision to select Pete Hunt was a whole different matter. He was a second team All-American at Wisconsin State that season but if Toronto wanted a first baseman why would they not have taken Bill Moore- the first team selection and back to back Christian Trophy winner who would a year later be named the greatest college ballplayer of the first quarter century of the AIAA. Or maybe outfielder Pablo Reyes, who was also a first team All-American and had the scouts calling him a future FABL all-star. Hunt hit 14 homers that season for the AIAA Brewers- 8 less than Moore by the way. He would hit just 3 as a professional ballplayer and never advance past Class B before retiring in 1937 after the Wolves released him the previous year.
3: PABLO REYES CF- Montreal Saints: Reyes did not put up outstanding numbers at Bayou State in the closing days of the old feeder league era, but he was steady and entering the draft was a favourite of both the new mock draft system, the OSA and of scout John Spears, who we consulted with on this recap. Spears had Reyes number one on his board and it was clear Reyes was going to be a top center fielder. The Wolves passed on him so he fell right into the Saints lap and would go on to become a 6-time (and counting) all-star as well as a key piece of Pittsburgh's recent string of success.
4: LEFTY ALLEN P- Pittsburgh Miners: It is interesting that two very important pieces of the Miners powerhouse emerged from the '32 draft in Reyes, who they would trade for, and Allen, who they drafted 4th overall. Allen was a highly touted young arm but far from a clear cut choice as All-American Roy Price and a Curly Jones' teammate at Henry Hudson by the name of George Gillard were ranked higher than the high schooler Allen on many boards. The Miners obviously made the right call.
5: GEORGE GILLIARD P- Washington Eagles: Much has been said in recent draft recaps about the Washington Eagles failings on draft day and while at the time this pick seemed like a solid one, in the end Gilliard ended up being another one and joined a list of names that includes Grover Carson, Bill Kirby, Johnnie Sundberg, Tommy Trott, Leo Gorski and Bill Whiting as Washington first round picks that proved to be reaches, if not outright busts. Injuries are likely the biggest reason Gillard never panned out as he had more than his share of them and they ultimately led to his retirement in 1940. He was 3-1 with a 1.88 era in 10 career appearances with the Eagles so there is an indication that had he been healthy perhaps Gilliard could have lived up to his college billing.
As a side-note it is no wonder the Henry Hudson Explorers won back to back AIAA feeder league titles in 1931 & 32 with a pitching staff that features Gilliard, Jones and Joe Hancock.
6: WHIT WILLIAMS OF- Baltimore Cannons: Adding to the Explorers AIAA dominance was outfielder Williams, a second team All-American and #3 on Spears draft board in 1932. He is still around at age 31 and, like Allen and Reyes, now on the Pittsburgh Miners but is really just a spare part these days. It wasn't always the case as Williams had a great big league debut with Baltimore and his .324 his first full season. OSA loved him but not quite as much as Reyes, and that ranking of the two proved correct.
7: RAY MCCARTHY P- St Louis Pioneers: McCarthy took a roundabout route to the big leagues and while he once had very high promise, seems to have been robbed of much of his skills by injury. It was one of those crazy moves that the St Louis Pioneers seemed to do all to often in the late twenties and early thirties. They drafted McCarthy in the first round, signed him to a big bonus and then released him at the end of his first professional training camp. Before a FABL organization had time to react, independent Sacramento snatched him up but it was clear the then 19 year old was not ready for AAA so the Governors cut him and two more indy teams took a shot on him but it wasn't until his fourth indy stop -El Paso of the Lone Star Association- that McCarthy finally got a chance to pitch. He lasted one season in that loop before Detroit picked him up in the Indy League trading phase of January 1936. A week into his stint with the Dynamos organization McCarthy, now ranked #19 on the OSA prospect list- needed elbow surgery. He has been traded twice since then, both times in deals for solid veterans including once from Pittsburgh to the Sailors in the move that reunited Jack Cleaves with his brother George. (Another piece of the Miners championship contending club that arrived via moves made in this draft). McCarthy has seen some big league action but has spent at least as much time on the injured list, which is where he sits now at age 28 and recovering from his latest arm troubles, something that has cost him most of the current season.
You know how the FABL commissioner likes to continuously point out that GM's over-reach when drafting pitchers. Fritz Bach might well be the poster child for this although the OSA did feel at the time that Bach had a chance to be an impact starter. He had a great junior season at Cambridge HS in the feeder days, going 6-0 with a 0.93 era in 10 appearances that included a 16 strikeout game. But as a senior he was just ordinary (112 ERA+) but seeing Jones, Allen, Gilliard and McCarthy all come off the board the Philadelphia Sailors likely decided they better get in on the action and grabbed Bach. Now the Sailors have had great success over the years grooming pitchers and Bach has put up some very good numbers in the minors but he did not make his FABL debut until last year at the age of 27 and looks at best to be a mediocre piece to stick in as filler in an average bullpen. Fortunately the Sailors made up for this pick by landing infielders Bob Smith in round two and Rip Lee with their third pick. Later round picks landed Stubby Beamon, Don Homer, Gil London, Chick Wilhelm and Packy Peck so the Sailors made out pretty nicely from the 1932 draft despite their decision to take Bach.
Walls is the only 1932 first round pick to own two WCS rings at this point. His claim to fame is that 8-1 run he had in 1938 when he nearly singly handedly lifted the Wolves past Brooklyn and into the WCS. He would have a solid season two years later and get his second ring with Toronto, 4 years after making a small contribution to the Chiefs 1936 championship team. Perhaps a bit of a reach at the time but OSA had the former Chicago Poly righthander as a potential #2 starter (although John Spears felt he was on the bubble to make a rotation) and the fact he was a local product perhaps influenced the Chiefs slightly in their decision to select him. He is now 48-48 for his FABL career and well down the list of FABL wins by 1932 draftees but Walls certainly proved to be a better selection than the pitcher picked in directly in front of him or two spots after him.
Code:
FABL WINS BY PITCHERS DRAFTED IN 1932
RD/PK NAME W L
1-4 Lefty Allen 145 84
3-1 Art White 104 79
9-16 Billy Riley 83 49
7-2 Buddy Long 61 74
4-16 Vern Hubbard 61 45
3-6 Butch Smith 57 47
6-11 Karl Wallace 49 41
1-9 Bob Walls 48 48
7-8 Stumpy Beaman 42 53
1-1 Curly Jones 41 41
11-8 Red Ross 37 33
7-15 Herman Patterson 35 35
1-15 Gene White 33 34
9-13 Joe Brown 32 22
4-12 Cy Sullivan 29 25
10: LEVI REDDING OF- Cleveland Foresters: Redding was selected with the pick the Foresters received from Brooklyn in exchange for sending a still minor-league prospect named Harry Barrell in a move that allowed the Kings to claim 80% of the baseball playing Barrell clan at the time. The move would pay off in many respects as while still a minor leaguer himself Redding would be moved to Toronto in a deal that brought Eddie Quinn to the Foresters and helped Cleveland win the 1934 WCS and a pennant the following year. Redding was a Central Ohio outfielder at the draft and the third member of the trio of highly touted college centerfielders along with Bayou State's Reyes and Whit Williams of Henry Hudson. OSA actually liked him more than Williams so in hindsight taking Redding at #6 would have been the better move for the Cannons but the 31 year old did finally end up with the Cannons organization, although in their new home of Cincinnati. Redding was a 4-year starter in Toronto and played a role on the 1940 WCS winning team but his playing time diminished after that and he was recently waived which is how the Cannons finally landed him.
Price seemed like a great bargain at the time. He was coming off a breakout year at Bayou State, going 11-0 with a 1.58 era and beating a deep group of college pitchers that included Joe Hancock, Curly Jones and Bobo White to earn first team All-American status. It was, as it turned out, the highlight of Price's career. He started out fine in the Minutemen system, advancing to AA his first pro season and reching #26 on the OSA prospect list in April of 1935. However, a back injury cut short his '35 campaign and the Minutemen, perhaps sensing the injury would have lingering effects, dealt him to the Washington Eagles in a draft day deal in 1935 that allowed Boston to add Mack Sutton to their organization. Price did spend 1936 with the Eagles and went 3-8, 5.14 in 15 starts and would never see the big leagues again- at least so far. He is now 31 and having a pretty good season for the independent Syracuse Excelsiors (11-11, 2.01) and who knows, perhaps if enough players leave for the war he just might get another chance to prove he was not a 1 year wonder in college ball.
You have to give the Foresters a lot of credit for the 1932 draft haul. Redding was a solid choice at 10 and Art Spencer has proved to be a great pick at #12 even though he was traded to Boston in 1933 in the deal that brought Dan Fowler to the Foresters budding championship club. Also part of that deal was the Foresters second round pick Pete Day and fifth rounder John Wood. (The trade also included pitcher Ed Wood so the haul from Fowler went a long ways towards helping both teams win a WCS with Cleveland's coming in 1934 and Boston's in '41 with Ed Wood, Spencer and Day all playing key roles). As for Spencer, he was considered the top third baseman available but was not an All-American that year as John Langille of Commonwealth Catholic edged him out. Langille would be taken in the second round by Brooklyn and had a few solid years but has faded of late, unlike Spencer.
13: BILL MOORE 1B- Detroit Dynamos: It is perhaps a bit of a surprise that Moore, a two-time Christian Trophy winner and the player named the greatest college star of the feeder league era, lasted until pick 13 but that was likely just an example of pitcher-bias combined with the glut of corner outfield/first baseman in the league at the time. OSA did not feel his college dominance would transfer to the pro ranks, calling him a second division starter but did note Moore projected to be a .330 hitter. Moore, with a .299 career batting average at the moment, is on to his third team now (Boston after a stop in Cleveland) and has never matched his college performance but is a steady big league hitter and a budding singer. He nearly gave up baseball last year for a movie audition in Hollywood but decided against it and returned to the Boston Minutemen, a team he helped win the WCS last year.
14: BILLY HUNTER SS- Chicago Cougars: According to John Spears' notes Hunter was number six among draft eligible shortstops that year, training Rip Lee, Bill Michael, Clark Car, Les Tucker and Tony White but the Cougars certainly made a smart choice. OSA liked him a lot better than that and were it not for the injury bug which has bitten Hunter often and hard, he would likely have more than just the 1 all-star game selection on his resume. In hindsight, and only because of the injuries, Rip Lee might have been the better choice. Lee went in the third round to the Sailors. Clark Car was selected in round 2 by Baltimore and is now a teammate of Hunter's with the Cougars. Les Tucker was Pittsburgh's 6th round pick and is the Miners everyday third baseman while White, Montreal's third round selection, played a few seasons for the Saints and also saw some action with the Chiefs but is presently unemployed after being released by the Dynamos organization.
Despite the health issues Hunter has had to deal with, you can't question the Cougars in 1932 draft class. Of the 30 players they drafted that December day, 20 of them have played in the big leagues with 8 playing in parts of at least 5 seasons. Among the picks after Hunter we can count third round Rich Langton, catcher Harry Mead who was an absolute steal in the fourth round, sixth rounder Ducky Jordan and Reginald Westfall, a 7th round selection.
15: GENE WHITE P- Philadelphia Keystones: OSA just loved a bunch of pitchers this year. Jones, Price, Gillard, Art White, and Walls from the college ranks and then you had Lefty Allen, Ray McCarthy and Gene White from the high schools. OSA felt Gene was a front of the rotation pitcher and John Spears had him ranked 5th among arms behind Curly Jones, Roy Price, Gilliard and Lefty Allen. Gene White has not panned out quite as the Keystones hoped and one has to wonder how much the 1934 injury that cost him a full season impacted his development. He had a couple of years in the Keystones rotation but seems to have settled in as a sport starter/bullpen piece now.
16: JOHNNY HOPPER C- New York Stars: The pre-draft talk among catchers focused on a trio of high schoolers in Hopper, Heinie Zimmer and Harry Mead. There might have been some talk about Brooklyn State's All-American signal caller Buster Farrar but he lasted until the 7th round. The Stars selected Hooper (.333/.385/.436 his draft year) one spot ahead of Zimmer (.336/.492/.500) who was the opening pick of the second round by the Gothams. Memphis High's Harry Mead, who slashed .283/.335/.447 his draft year, was not selected until the 4th round 58th overall by the Chicago Cougars, and has certainly blossomed of late. In hindsight both Zimmer and Mead should have gone ahead of Hopper, although Hopper did have a big year in 1939 when the Stars won their WCS title with a surprise turnaround. Hopper is now in the Navy so his career is on pause but he had previously fallen out of favour in New York as he spent all of last season in AAA.
Below is the OSA report on those three highly touted catchers.
Beyond the first round we still had a lot of future FABL regulars selected. Other notable position players from this draft: 2-1 Heinie Zimmer Gothams, 2-12 Pete Day Cleveland, 5-4 Bert Lass Montreal, 5-7 Chink Stickels St Louis, 6-3 Les Tucker Pittsburgh, 7-14 Reginald Westfall Chicago Cougars, 14-9 Ray Ford Chicago Chiefs
Pitchers: 3-1 Art White Brooklyn, 3-6 Butch Smith Baltimore, 4-16 Vern Hubbard New York Stats, 6-11 Karl Wallace Boston, 7-8 Stumpy Beaman Philadelphia Sailors, 9-16 Billy Riley New York Stars
SUMMARY- The 1932 draft is, and always will be defined by the incredible hype and controversy that surrounded Curly Jones and his brief retirement. That is unfair to what really was a deep group of solid draft picks and one that, while it had a few busts besides Jones, had only one player that looks like just an awful pick right from day one. That was of course Pete Hunt, who turned out to be the only position player in the first 40 selections of the draft to never play an inning of big league baseball. In all 18 position players were taken in the first two rounds (32 picks). Every single one of them, except for Hunt, has played at least 250 FABL games and only 4 besides Hunt have not yet played 500 games. They are Billy Hunter (who will health permitting), Johnny Hopper, Washington second rounder Joe Ellicott and Cougars second rounder Marty Roberts.
A number of pitchers certainly flamed out although injury may have been a factor in many of them but Curly Jones, George Gilliard, Ray McCarthy, Fritz Bach and Roy Price all are a cautionary tale of why selecting a pitcher in the first round is such a risky proposition. Then we have Fred O'Dell, Mike Sanders, Charlie Barber and Sam Sullivan as second rounders who never made it to FABL as well as Walker Pearce who has pitched in just 10 big league games and now is in the Air Force.
RAYMOND LEADS ARMY WEST ALL-STARS PAST ST LOUIS
He wasn't expected to play because of a rib injury suffered in practice last week but second lieutenant Elton Raymond came up big for the Western Army All-Stars as they gained their first football victory - 16-10 over the St Louis Ramblers. Raymond, the former Darnell State All-American back, scored two touchdowns including one on a roaring run of 95 yards with a kickoff return.
The Western Army eleven will be back in action Thursday night when they face the Detroit Maroons in the third contest against an AFA side. Thompson Field is expected to be filled to capacity for the game. The soldiers lost 26-7 to Washington in a game played in Los Angeles last week.
Washington will open the American Football Association regular season next Sunday with a game in Cleveland against the Finches. The only other opening week contest takes place in St Louis where the Ramblers will host the Philadelphia Frigates.
PLENTY OF PRO TALENT ON EASTERN SOLDIER SQUAD
There will be plenty of familiar names on the soldier's side when the Eastern Army All-Stars open their slate of exhibition contests against AFA clubs on Saturday at the Bigsby Oval against the defending Eastern Division champion New York Football Stars. Coach Bill Ormond's Army side will be lead by former Washington Wasps back Harold Burch and ex-Detroit Maroons back Dan Larson. Both were teammates in college at Minnesota Tech. The deep backfield also incldues Leon Stone, the former Redwood University star who played for the AFA champion Chicago Wildcats last year, and Gus Knox, who played for the Football Kings in 1940 after a stellar college career at Cumberland.
AFA 1942 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
SUN SEPT 13
Washington at Cleveland
Philadelphia at St Louis
SUN SEPT 20
Pittsburgh at Cleveland
St Louis at Boston
Philadelphia at Washington
1942 AIAA FOOTBALL PREVIEW
The presence of all of the military service teams, coupled with the absence of so many players who left to join the war, promises to make this a very interesting, and unpredictable season of college football. As for teams to watch, well that really is a tough call because there was just so much turnover this off-season. That being said, the south appears loaded with talented teams as Deep South Conference power Noble Jones College is expected to battle with Cumberland and George Baptist for top spot in the loop and perhaps the nation. There will be also be plenty of competition from South Atlantic Conference power Carolina Poly. The top two Texas teams, Darnell State and Travis College, each absorbed a number of key losses due to graduation and enlistments but both usually find a way to be competitive. Minnesota Tech and Detroit City College, with a pair of big linemen in Cassius Howard and Justin Thomas, look like the class of the midwest but Central Ohio also looks strong. The Pacific teams often get overlooked but CC Los Angeles and Coastal California are both expected to be much stronger this year than they were last season.
The real question mark is just how good will the service teams be. Great Lakes Naval Academy is expected to be very strong as will Jacksonville Naval Air Station and you can't rule out Annapolis Maritime, despite it being hit by double graduation with the fast-tracking of it's students into Navy positions. The college action kicks off next Saturday with North Carolina Pre-Flight taking on Salisbury Christian with many of the big schools getting underway the following week including one that features Christian Trophy candidate Billy Bockhorst as his Noble Jones College Colonels kick-off their season against Deep South Conference rivals Central Kentucky.
- Deep South Conference officials seem to be about to flip their stance on freshman eligibility for football games. They did an informal vote this week and there were only two negative votes so expect them to follow the AIAA's lead and that of several other conferences by permitting freshman to play. They will meet in Atlanta on September 18th, the day before the Noble Jones/Central Kentucky conference play opener and make their final call.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 9/06/1942
- Another defeat dealt to the Japanese. This time in New Guinea where Allied forces have taken control of the Milne Bay area and might soon take the offensive against two big enemy bases on the island.
- American Army planes based in China have made heavy and successful attacks on two great Japanese bases in Northern Burma.
- German forces are attacking the British in Egypt, making a full-on push for Alexandria, the Nile and Suez. The Germans have superior numbers on the ground but the Allied Air Force was ruling the sky and forcing Nazi tanks to turn back.
- The battle for Stalingrad continues with the Nazis gaining ground and forcing Russian troops to pull back and establish new lines on multiple occasions.
- French resistance fighters are aiding desperate foreign Jews to resist Vichy police who are hunting them down at the demands of the Germans so they can be deported to eastern Europe for forced labor.
- Strikes in war industries caused a loss of over 1 million man-days work during the first seven months of this year. The report showed a total of 295,734 workers ignored the pledge of labor and industry not to strike. Non-defense strikes were not included in the study.