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Jiggs McGee · 08-12-2022, 12:12 PM

JULY 5, 1943

"NOT SO FAST" SAY MINUTEMEN

Boston Adds Harry Barrell in Major Trade

For anyone who said let's just give the Federal Association pennant to Chicago after the Chiefs acquired 5-time Whitney Award winning outfielder Al Wheeler and veteran pitcher Bob Cummings from the rebuilding Brooklyn Kings, the Boston Minutemen had a quick answer. The Minutemen have no plans to concede the crown to the Chiefs and bargained with Brooklyn to bolster their own pennant pursuit, adding one of the greatest defensive shortstops to ever play the game in Harry Barrell. Barrell, a 7-time all-star -and believed to be the youngest player ever to play in an all-star game- is the latest veteran moved out of Brooklyn, heading to the Minutemen in exchange for Boston's first round pick and highly touted shortstop prospect Billy Bryant, who was in the news a week ago when he was ordered to report to the Army for military duty.

Forget about the fact that Boston already has a likely all-star game participant at shortstop in Lew McClendon, who is a pretty good gloveman in his own right, but when you get a chance to add a player of Barrell's caliber - and still in his prime at age 29- you jump at it. McClendon will likely shift to second base and may give Boston a keystone duo to rival Cincinnati's Jim Hensley and Charlie Rivera or the Cougars Skipper Schneider and Clark Car as the best defensive middle infield pairing in FABL -and just imagine what Barrell and Buddy Schneider will do around second base after the war is over!

Barrell is also a very solid hitter, one who might slot in perfectly behind lead-off man Pete Day in the 2-hole in the Boston batting order. Is Barrell alone enough to overtake the Chiefs? It's hard to say but Boston fans sure feel a lot better about their title chances now than they did a couple of days ago when news broke of Wheeler and Cummings moving to the Windy City.

What of Brooklyn? Wheeler and Cummings to the Chiefs. Art White to the Cougars and now Harry to Boston. Only reliever Del Lyons remains as a link to their dominant teams of the mid-30s. It might be painful for Kings fans to watch for a while but it was something that had to be done as the Kings were clearly on the downturn. Unfortunately, the war is going to slow the recovery as many of the key young pieces the Kings acquired are serving and won't be available for the duration.

Ex-Boston farmhand Billy Bryant might be an exception as he may just spend a year in the service before being allowed to return to professional baseball. OSA has the 20 year old, taken by Boston in the first round of the 1941 draft, as the 28th ranked prospect and 4th among shortstops. His glove has been outstanding during his time in the low minors and it is easy for Kings long-time scouting director John Spears to envision Bryant as the eventual replacement for Harry Barrell.

The deal with the Chiefs brought top 100 prospects in pitchers Bob Crowley and Mel Haynes, along with outfielder Joe Rutherford while the trade with the Cougars netting 4 pitchers including OSA #53 Leo Hayden. The Kings also own two first round picks for January as well. Add in their own young talent like Rats McGonigle, Orie Martinez, Tiny Tim Hopkins and Jim Kenny and the future could be bright. The issue is making sure Brooklyn fans, and owner Daniel Prescott, have the patience to wait for the war to end and the young talent to develop.
*** FAST TRACK PROSPECTS ***

Jiggs McGee has this to say about the state of the Kings organization: First off let's give their management team credit for doing what had to be done and selling off the key pieces while they had value in order to replenish the farm system. The return looks pretty solid, but like any move to add prospects it comes with the risk that you need to 1) make sure those prospects are challenged, nurtured and developed and 2)don't mess up in the draft as you have an opportunity to draft very early the next couple of years.

The draft will be key especially with a pair of first rounders next year including a likely top six pick of their own. Mistakes in the draft can kill a franchise but the right picks (look at the Toronto Wolves turnaround to win in 1940 after some awful years earlier in the decade as an example) can rebuild a franchise into a winner but it takes a lot of patience and the awareness to look around the league and seize a trade opportunity for a young established star at a position of need if one presents itself in the next couple of seasons of your rebuild.

But all that is for the future. What the Kings need to do right now is get their top prospects that are not in the military playing at the highest level they are capable of. Wins and losses do not matter in Brooklyn any more this season so if I am running the Brooklyn Kings I am immediately taking a look at my system and starting to challenge my young talent.

Jim Kenny (7-2, 2.08) is just 22 years old and on the verge of being invited to the all-star game. Make sure he and 26 year old Ike O'Donnell (6-3, 2.82) are at the top of your rotation and pitching every fifth day. Mel Haynes was pitching very well at AAA for the Chiefs. Get him up to Brooklyn and put him in the rotation for the rest of the season. Oliver Allen was looking very strong in AA for the Cougars. I would get him to Brooklyn as well, but maybe with a quick 3-4 starts in AAA to make sure he looked solid. There will be some hiccups along the way but those four could form the basis of a pretty good starting rotation. Let them learn on the job.

Clarence Barton is 21 and looks like a rising talent. He has already moved from B to AA this season and proven he can handle it. If that continues get him to AAA by August 1 with a target of making him a September call-up for some valuable big league experience. If they all pan out that could be quite a staff in Brooklyn in a couple of years and we haven't even talked about Bob Crowley -who might be the best of the bunch- and what he could do when he returns from the Army, or 27 year old Jack Goff who is in the Navy.

I am equally excited about the Brooklyn outfield. Orie Martinez is 23 and hitting .319 in AA. Challenge him. Give him Al Wheeler's spot in right field right now and let him run with it. There is a waiting period before Rats McGonigle and newly acquired prospect Joe Rutherford return from military service but that trio could be a pretty solid outfield.

The infield has some potential as well. Tiny Tim Hopkins hopefully is close to putting it altogether at first base and perhaps the 25 year old just needs time and experience like his former teammate Chuck Adams has benefitted from in Cincinnati. At second and short you just need to plug a hole until Jim Lightbody returns from the military along along with Billy Bryant. Third base has been a black hole in Brooklyn for two decades so a top draft pick at the hot corner seems to be must although perhaps you decide to try and see if Jim Lightbody can handle the position as the Kings will want his bat in the lineup but his glove at second is clearly a liability. Either way both second base and third base should be identified as spots where you would love to find a top prospect.

Catcher is also a position of need but in the meantime I would suggest giving George Jones a chance in Brooklyn. Jones is 24, a former 4th round pick, and the New York City native has hit very well in the minors throughout his career. But he has never been given a test above his current stop in AA. OSA feels he has the potential to unleash his obvious talent so the time is now to promote him to the big leagues and let him see if he can hit big league pitching. It's clear that Bill Johnson and Freddy DuBois are not going to be impact players, or even average big leaguers.

There is some talent, raw in many cases but still visible, and if the Kings play their cards right they could be a first division club again immediately after the war ends. But there is work that needs to be done between now and then to ensure they get there.

FANS ON BEAM FOR DREAM-GAME SHOW

Parc Cartier: Where Stars Will Blaze : as Thousands Gaze

Baseball's mid-summer classic -- the All-Star Game, first played at Whitney Park, Chicago in 1933, will celebrate it's 10th anniversary when the eleventh game of the dramatic serial is played in Montreal's Parc Cartier on the night of July 13. Though the 1942 version of the classic at Fitzpatrick Park in Pittsburgh was a twilight affair, next week's showing of the thriller will be the first under the lights.

As was the case with the first and many of the succeeding games, when the proceeds went to support retired players in need, the receipts of this year's contest will also aid a worthy cause. The entire proceeds at the 1943 contest, played in the second year of out participation in World War II, and the fourth year for our Canadian neighbors, will go to the game's Ball and Bat Fund. A check for $25,000, the Gillette Safety Razor Company's payment for sponsorship of the radio account, already has been deposited in the fund, which will be used to purchase bats, balls, gloves and other playing equipment for men of the United States and Canadian armed forces at home and abroad.

Code:


				PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS
YEAR  LOCATION		 RESULT     			WINNING PITCHER   	  MVP
1933  Whitney Park       Federal 8 Continental 5	Ben Curtin STL         Pete Asher Pit
1934  Riverside Stadium  Federal 11 Continental 7	Chick Stout Pit	       Tom Taylor Cougars
1935  Broad Street Park  Federal 5  Continental 2	Art Myers Keystones    Freddie Jones StL
1936  Pioneer Field	 Continental 6 Federal 4	Tom Barrell BKN        Dick Walker Sailors
1937  Dominion Field     Federal 4 Continental 2 (19)	Don Attaway Keystones  Don Attaway Keystones
1938  Bigsby Oval	 Continental 5 Federal 4 (13)   Bob Cummings BKN       Fred McCormick TOR
1939  Forester Stadium   Continental 6 Federal 3        Art White BKN	       Fred McCormick TOR
1940  Thompson Field	 Federal 7 Continental 4  	Red Hampton Chiefs     Billy Woytek Keystones
1941  Kings County       Continental 8 Federal 4        Pete Papenfus Cougars  Fred Galloway Cincinnati
1942  Fitzpatrick Park   Federal 7 Continental 4        Ed Wood BOS            Hank Barnett Chiefs

This will mark the second time the mid-season classic will be contested north of the border with Toronto having played host to the 1937 game, one which certainly was a classic as it turned out to be a 19-inning marathon in which the Federal stars prevailed thanks to a 2-run homer by Ed Stewart, then of the Pittsburgh Miners.

So brush up on your French and get ready as a week from tomorrow all the big names will be in Montreal. Okay, not all the big names as many -such as Bill Barrett, Joe Angevine, George Garrison, Lew Seals, Pablo Reyes, Sal Pestilli, George Cleaves and Mule Monier- will be scattered across various Army or Navy bases rather than entertaining the cheering masses at Parc Cartier.

But let's cast our gaze forward instead, as TWIFB makes it's annual selections as to who we would place on our all-star starting lineup ballots. Let's start with the Federal Association:

JIGGS MCGEE'S ALL-STAR BALLOT: FEDERAL ASSOCIATION

CATCHER :George Cleaves has played in 7 of the previous ten games but King George will not make it eight, at least not this year as he is working for the Army Air Corps this days. It was always a debate as to whether Cleaves or Tom Bird of the Chicago Chiefs should get the nod as the starter. We have another debate this time but instead it is between Bird and one of the key reasons for the success in Washington this season, Paul Wilkerson (.323,1,30). Wilkerson deserves a spot in his first all-star game but Bird (.303,2,29) gets our nod as starter as he will make his 8th all-star appearance.

FIRST BASE: There are an awful lot of first baseman worthy of inclusion on the Fed team this year. Red Johnson (.266,6,36) of Detroit and Chicago's Ron Rattigan (.284,2,28) always deserve consideration and Bill Moore (.298,4,30) is having a fine season in Boston but our vote this time goes to the Boardwalk Bopper Sig Stofer (.285,9,35). The 26 year old Washington infielder deserves not only to make his first appearance in an all-star game, but also to be the Fed starter at first base.

SECOND BASE: An injury cost Sam Orr his chance to make his first all-star appearance at age 35 as he was off to a great start for the Chicago Chiefs after a decade in the Continental Association. Artie D'Alessandro (.269,2,28) is having a nice season in St Louis and to be honest does not have a lot of competition so he gets the call.

SHORTSTOP: Frank Davis (.295,1,40) is having a nice year in Chicago as is Les Tucker (.257,2,26) in Pittsburgh but our vote goes to Boston's Lew McClendon (.348,0,31) even though he is about to lose his starting shortstop job with the Minutemen to Harry Barrell.

THIRD BASE: We briefly considered Billy Dalton (.312,4,22) but he is now in the CA with Cincinnati and our sentimental choice is 41 year old Frank Vance (.333,3,33) of Detroit but while we sure hope Vance makes the team as a reserve the starting assignment has to go to Johnny McDowell (.366,1,26) of Pitsburgh. McDowell is enjoying a resurgence at 35 and has never made an all-star team despite some pretty good seasons with the Gothams early in his career.

LEFT FIELD: Quite a collection of choices here but we have to vote for 36 year old Jim Watson (.388,2,37) of the Chicago Chiefs, who surprisingly made just his first all-star team appearance last year. We hope that Washington rookie Jesse Alvardo (.291,9,38) makes the team as a 20-year old. Bobby Barrell (.271,12,36) of Philadelphia should also make the team for what would be his 9th all-star selection.

CENTER FIELD:The clear choice here is Gail Gifford (.320,4,40) of the St Louis Pioneers. Gifford's only previous all-star invite was also to a game in Canada, that 1937 marathon in which he started at centerfield, led-off for the Feds but was 0-for-2 before Bobby Barrell replaced him in the game.

RIGHT FIELD: A fairly easy call to go with Al Tucker (..359,3,30) of St Louis with Boston's Pete Day (.299,0,23) the runner-up. It will be Tucker's third all-star game if selected.

PITCHER: For most of the spring we had been marveling at the return to his Allen Award winning form by veteran St Louis hurler Sam Sheppard (10-3, 3.74). Sheppard has slumped the past three starts (as of press time) and his team has lost 3 of the last 4 after a stretch of St Louis wins in 11 straight Sheppard outings. Sheppard still gets the nod as one of the three pitchers that can go on our ballot along with Chicago's Al Miller (7-4, 2.98) but our choice is to give the ball to Ed Wood (10-3, 1.75) of Boston to start the game. We wish we could put 5 starting pitchers on our ballot and still refuse to cast votes for relievers.

JIGGS MCGEE'S ALL-STAR BALLOT: CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

CATCHER: Woody Stone (.304,1,26) is having a nice season for the Sailors but the clear choice behind the plate is Cincinnati great Adam Mullins (.356,2,27), who was leading the CA batting parade at press time and poised for his 7th trip to the all-star game.

FIRST BASE: Vic Crawford (.292,8,30) has not played in an all-star game since 1935 but the Montreal Saints veteran gets our vote much to the delight of the hometown fans. There are some other very good candidates all deserving of backup roles including Cincinnati's Chuck Adams (.279,9,39), Quebec native Marion Boismenu (.316,3,23) of the Sailors and Chicago's Dick Walker (.273,6,27)

SECOND BASE: There were a couple of strong choices here but in the end we went with Toronto's Mike Rollinson (.310,2,27) as our selection. It would be the 28 year old's all-star debut. It was a tough call as his glove pales in comparison to the work Clark Car (.261,6,23) in Chicago and Cincinnati's Charlie Rivera (.219,1,17) have been doing in the field. The debate between Rollinson and Car was likely the most difficult call we had in the CA.

SHORTSTOP: News of Harry Barrell's (.282,0,26) trade from Brooklyn to Boston made it easy to reaffirm our decision to pick Skipper Schneider (.290,2,33) of Chicago as our starter. The Barrell shift to the Fed likely opens a back-up spot and second straight appearance for the slick-fielding Jim Hensley (.247,3,33) of Cincinnati.

THIRD BASE: Former Montreal star Hank Barnett (.312,6,33) should draw quite a cheer from the masses at Parc Cartier even though he is now a Chicago Cougar and hasn't been with the Saints since 1937. Still Barnett made the first of his 5 previous all-star game appearances wearing the bleu fleur de lis on his jersey and is having another all-star worthy campaign this season. There might be just a little animosity of Barnett is starting over current Saints star Mack Burns (.314,0,10) but Burns likely deserves a spot on the team as well - which would be the first all-star berth of his career.

LEFT FIELD: A fairly easy choice as our vote goes to Chicago's Leo Mitchell (.350,5,41) with just limited consideration given to Joseph Mills (.326,2,24) of Philadelphia and Cleveland's Bob Mullins (.292,1,22).

CENTER FIELD: It feels like a down year for centerfielders in the CA with the exception of Cincinnati's Fred Galloway (.291,2,20). who we pick to make his fifth straight all-star game appearance.

RIGHT FIELD: Even if Al Wheeler (.224,10,33) had not been dealt to the Fed, we likely would have not taken him as our starter. Wheeler has to be a very unique player for this era with more Whitney Awards (5) than All-Star selections (4) to his name. Granted two of the Whitney's came (1930 & 1932) before the introduction of the mid-summer classic but it still does not sit right that the Wonder Wheel has only played in 4 all-star games and none since 1937. Instead of Wheeler we cast our ballot for Cal Howe (.335,1,19). Not a lot has gone right in Cleveland the past few years but the breakout year from the 27 year old in just his second full FABL season is one of the few things Foresters fans can take pride in. Philadelphia's Harvey Brown (.320,1,33) is another 27 year old who, just like Howe, is making the most of a opportunity to be a FABL regular in these times when the war has created openings in FABL.

PITCHER: No contest here as we simply hand the ball to Deuce Barrell (9-2, 1.41) of the Cannons to start his second straight All-Star game. Toronto's Joe Hancock (8-4, 2.69)is having another strong season and Barrell's Cincinnati teammate Butch Smith (8-4, 1.92) is rebounding nicely from a subpar 1942 campaign but neither should get the start ahead of Barrell. If you are looking for a sentimental choice how about Cougars 43 years young lefthander Dick Lyons (5-3, 2.00), who is 4th among active pitchers with 222 career wins - trailing just Rabbit Day (301), Cougars teammate Jim Lonardo (255) and Charlie Stedman (250) who is now a physical education instructor with the Marines and likely done with baseball.

The deal made by the Chicago Cougars to add veteran lefthander Art White from Brooklyn suddenly has become a lot more important as the Cougars learned they will be without starter Harry Parker (6-3, 2.89) for the rest of the season after Parker hurt his elbow trying to close out a complete game win over Cleveland. He felt something pop in the elbow when retiring Hank Stratton for the second out of the 9th inning and Angel Lopez had to come in and finish things off.
Speaking of Cleveland, OSA is very high on the Foresters top draft pick. Jim Adams Jr., the All-American shortstop from St Ignatius, was selected first overall by Cleveland and quickly signed with the club. He debuts at #3 on the OSA scouting list trailing only Cincinnati outfielder Dick Blaszak and St Louis pitcher Tom Buchanan - both of whom are now Marines. About half of the first rounders have already signed pro contracts.
Other 1943 draftees in the top 50 (well 51) include Sailors pitcher Hoppy Johnson (29th), Stars third base selection Jock Stone (48th) along with St Louis shortstop Mills (51st). However, there are a number of first rounders yet to sign, with Pat Petty (drafted 3rd), Jim Carter (7th), Joe Davis (8th), Luke Weaver (9th), Johnnie Porter (10th), Hal Friedlander (11th), Tommy Seymour (13th), Frankie Gonnella (14th), and Tommy Kelley (16th)
How bad has Cleveland pitching been this season? The Foresters have allowed 369 runs - by far most in the CA and the most overall. At the other end of things we have the Cannons, who have surrendered just have as many runs at 185 on the year.
From the desk of Percy Sutherland: "It's a shock that Chicago even had a winning record in June, when you consider some of these monthly performances:
Ron Rattigan: .211/.351/.237
Tom Bird: .237/.389/.303
Frank Davis: .277/.324/.327
George Wolff: .203/.368/.232
Al Wheeler was acquired because Wolff was the primary right fielder. But overall, you are not going to score many runs slugging below .300. Wheeler's 2nd game with Chicago--a walk-off homerun to beat the Eagles.
The Eagles have to dread seeing Chicago on the schedule. They dropped 2 of 3 to Chiefs last week and are now 1-9 vs Chicago but 40-24 (.625) against everyone else.
Looking at the rookie race this morning. Jesse Alvardo is having a great season for Washington. Among pitchers, Johnnie Jones and Jim Kenny are pretty much neck and neck. Though Kenny (8-3, 2.34, 151 ERA+) is doing this for a much worse team in Brooklyn. Kenny (202) and Jones (244) were the only two pitchers in the CA who had an ERA+ greater than 200 in June.
Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News had more on Johnnie Jones in a recent column: "Last year it was Donnie Jones, this year it's the older brother Johnnie who has his break out for the Cougars. "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" won both Pitcher and Rookie of the Month in June for the Continental Association. Jones threw five complete game victories including a pair of shutouts in Chicago against the Stars and Kings. Johnnie had an excellent 1.40 ERA and and 1.13 WHIP with 27 walks and 19 strikeouts. Jones hasn't allowed more then 3 runs since May 16th, as he's now won 8 consecutive starts with 7 of them complete games. He has yet to allow a home run in 94.1 innings pitched, working to a 2.58 ERA (132 ERA+) and 1.21 WHIP with 50 walks and 45 strikeouts. With the loss of Harry Parker, Johnnie Jones will be leaned on to provide quality outings in the Cougars pennant race."
Yeoman Morris Siegel, sports columnist of the Norfolk Naval Training Station Seabag, reports that Joe Angeivine has done more damage to the rival Naval Air Station team "than the Allied flyers did to Pantelleria." In a recent five-game series, in which every game was decided by a single fun, Joe either was directly or indirectly responsible for every winning tally.

The clocks struck V-12 o'clock earlier this week at a good many colleges and a lot of coaches who have been wondering whether they will have jobs next fall can start finding out for sure. In case you can't guess, V-12 o'clock stands for the hour when large batches of Navy trainees will report at the colleges. Ditto smaller batches of Marines. It may bring good news for some schools but there is still plenty of worry for others. For example Eastern Oklahoma's coach learned that 10 of his Pioneers were being called up by the marines, leaving him only one survivor of last's year's squad - a sophomore wingback. The coach moaned "Looks like we're coming in on a wingback and a prayer."
Maryland State says even though the Army has not given official sanction to varsity football competition by it's trainees, the Bengals plan a full-scale program of intercollegiate competition this fall, including a game against Rome State in Rome, Georgia, with the trainee units at the school to provide players. Maryland State, which expects to have from 1,500 to 1,800 Army men there by October, says it will play an 8 game schedule. Maryland State's president believes an agreement will be satisfactorily worked out to allow the Army training school student-soldiers to participate in sports. He notes "as long as football has been approved for cadets at Rome State they are not going to disapprove it elsewhere."
Interestingly a day later the head of Rome State says they military academy is not scheduled to play Maryland State. According to Col. Lawrence Jones of Rome State, a game was being considered with the Bengals when Patsy O'Callaghan was still the Maryland State coach before he moved to Pittsburgh State. "We never signed a contract with Maryland State," said Colonel Jones. "It was only in a tentative stage and we have since filled that date with another opponent."
Count Cumberland as the latest Deep South Conference school to drop football for the duration. Lack of players and coaches, transportation difficulties and the fact that four schools on the Explorers schedule already had cancelled were the reasons given.
Meanwhile Annapolis Maritime has announced two night games to be played in Baltimore at Banner Park, former home of the FABL Cannons including a season opening showdown October 2 against Brunswick.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/04/1943

British air raids turned their attention to Nazi targets in France as well as Cologne and Hamburg this week after pounding Germany's Ruhr Valley last week. American flyers in the Mediterranean targeted two key airdromes near Athens, Greece.
There are reports American battleships are taking positions to reinforce British sqaudrons preparing to escort Allied landing forces to the shores of southern Europe.
Prime Minister Churchill says the U-boat peril has been beaten after news allied forces sank 30 German U-boats in May. Churchill says the allies have a achieved a "total defeat" of the German sub fleet. In a speech covering a number of topics Churchill also stated:
Fierce jungle fighting in New Guinea and the central Solomons as Allied forces are facing battle-hardened Japanese troops estimated to number 60,000 to 70,000 men. A major sea battle in the central Solomons also appears imminent.
The draft director for New York City says that fathers can "count on" not being drafted before October 1 after getting revised Selective Service instructions.

08-12-2022, 12:12 PM	#493
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	July 5, 1943 JULY 5, 1943 "NOT SO FAST" SAY MINUTEMEN Boston Adds Harry Barrell in Major Trade For anyone who said let's just give the Federal Association pennant to Chicago after the Chiefs acquired 5-time Whitney Award winning outfielder Al Wheeler and veteran pitcher Bob Cummings from the rebuilding Brooklyn Kings, the Boston Minutemen had a quick answer. The Minutemen have no plans to concede the crown to the Chiefs and bargained with Brooklyn to bolster their own pennant pursuit, adding one of the greatest defensive shortstops to ever play the game in Harry Barrell. Barrell, a 7-time all-star -and believed to be the youngest player ever to play in an all-star game- is the latest veteran moved out of Brooklyn, heading to the Minutemen in exchange for Boston's first round pick and highly touted shortstop prospect Billy Bryant, who was in the news a week ago when he was ordered to report to the Army for military duty. Forget about the fact that Boston already has a likely all-star game participant at shortstop in Lew McClendon, who is a pretty good gloveman in his own right, but when you get a chance to add a player of Barrell's caliber - and still in his prime at age 29- you jump at it. McClendon will likely shift to second base and may give Boston a keystone duo to rival Cincinnati's Jim Hensley and Charlie Rivera or the Cougars Skipper Schneider and Clark Car as the best defensive middle infield pairing in FABL -and just imagine what Barrell and Buddy Schneider will do around second base after the war is over! Barrell is also a very solid hitter, one who might slot in perfectly behind lead-off man Pete Day in the 2-hole in the Boston batting order. Is Barrell alone enough to overtake the Chiefs? It's hard to say but Boston fans sure feel a lot better about their title chances now than they did a couple of days ago when news broke of Wheeler and Cummings moving to the Windy City. What of Brooklyn? Wheeler and Cummings to the Chiefs. Art White to the Cougars and now Harry to Boston. Only reliever Del Lyons remains as a link to their dominant teams of the mid-30s. It might be painful for Kings fans to watch for a while but it was something that had to be done as the Kings were clearly on the downturn. Unfortunately, the war is going to slow the recovery as many of the key young pieces the Kings acquired are serving and won't be available for the duration. Ex-Boston farmhand Billy Bryant might be an exception as he may just spend a year in the service before being allowed to return to professional baseball. OSA has the 20 year old, taken by Boston in the first round of the 1941 draft, as the 28th ranked prospect and 4th among shortstops. His glove has been outstanding during his time in the low minors and it is easy for Kings long-time scouting director John Spears to envision Bryant as the eventual replacement for Harry Barrell. The deal with the Chiefs brought top 100 prospects in pitchers Bob Crowley and Mel Haynes, along with outfielder Joe Rutherford while the trade with the Cougars netting 4 pitchers including OSA #53 Leo Hayden. The Kings also own two first round picks for January as well. Add in their own young talent like Rats McGonigle, Orie Martinez, Tiny Tim Hopkins and Jim Kenny and the future could be bright. The issue is making sure Brooklyn fans, and owner Daniel Prescott, have the patience to wait for the war to end and the young talent to develop. * FAST TRACK PROSPECTS * Jiggs McGee has this to say about the state of the Kings organization: First off let's give their management team credit for doing what had to be done and selling off the key pieces while they had value in order to replenish the farm system. The return looks pretty solid, but like any move to add prospects it comes with the risk that you need to 1) make sure those prospects are challenged, nurtured and developed and 2)don't mess up in the draft as you have an opportunity to draft very early the next couple of years. The draft will be key especially with a pair of first rounders next year including a likely top six pick of their own. Mistakes in the draft can kill a franchise but the right picks (look at the Toronto Wolves turnaround to win in 1940 after some awful years earlier in the decade as an example) can rebuild a franchise into a winner but it takes a lot of patience and the awareness to look around the league and seize a trade opportunity for a young established star at a position of need if one presents itself in the next couple of seasons of your rebuild. But all that is for the future. What the Kings need to do right now is get their top prospects that are not in the military playing at the highest level they are capable of. Wins and losses do not matter in Brooklyn any more this season so if I am running the Brooklyn Kings I am immediately taking a look at my system and starting to challenge my young talent. Jim Kenny (7-2, 2.08) is just 22 years old and on the verge of being invited to the all-star game. Make sure he and 26 year old Ike O'Donnell (6-3, 2.82) are at the top of your rotation and pitching every fifth day. Mel Haynes was pitching very well at AAA for the Chiefs. Get him up to Brooklyn and put him in the rotation for the rest of the season. Oliver Allen was looking very strong in AA for the Cougars. I would get him to Brooklyn as well, but maybe with a quick 3-4 starts in AAA to make sure he looked solid. There will be some hiccups along the way but those four could form the basis of a pretty good starting rotation. Let them learn on the job. Clarence Barton is 21 and looks like a rising talent. He has already moved from B to AA this season and proven he can handle it. If that continues get him to AAA by August 1 with a target of making him a September call-up for some valuable big league experience. If they all pan out that could be quite a staff in Brooklyn in a couple of years and we haven't even talked about Bob Crowley -who might be the best of the bunch- and what he could do when he returns from the Army, or 27 year old Jack Goff who is in the Navy. I am equally excited about the Brooklyn outfield. Orie Martinez is 23 and hitting .319 in AA. Challenge him. Give him Al Wheeler's spot in right field right now and let him run with it. There is a waiting period before Rats McGonigle and newly acquired prospect Joe Rutherford return from military service but that trio could be a pretty solid outfield. The infield has some potential as well. Tiny Tim Hopkins hopefully is close to putting it altogether at first base and perhaps the 25 year old just needs time and experience like his former teammate Chuck Adams has benefitted from in Cincinnati. At second and short you just need to plug a hole until Jim Lightbody returns from the military along along with Billy Bryant. Third base has been a black hole in Brooklyn for two decades so a top draft pick at the hot corner seems to be must although perhaps you decide to try and see if Jim Lightbody can handle the position as the Kings will want his bat in the lineup but his glove at second is clearly a liability. Either way both second base and third base should be identified as spots where you would love to find a top prospect. Catcher is also a position of need but in the meantime I would suggest giving George Jones a chance in Brooklyn. Jones is 24, a former 4th round pick, and the New York City native has hit very well in the minors throughout his career. But he has never been given a test above his current stop in AA. OSA feels he has the potential to unleash his obvious talent so the time is now to promote him to the big leagues and let him see if he can hit big league pitching. It's clear that Bill Johnson and Freddy DuBois are not going to be impact players, or even average big leaguers. There is some talent, raw in many cases but still visible, and if the Kings play their cards right they could be a first division club again immediately after the war ends. But there is work that needs to be done between now and then to ensure they get there. FANS ON BEAM FOR DREAM-GAME SHOW Parc Cartier: Where Stars Will Blaze : as Thousands Gaze Baseball's mid-summer classic -- the All-Star Game, first played at Whitney Park, Chicago in 1933, will celebrate it's 10th anniversary when the eleventh game of the dramatic serial is played in Montreal's Parc Cartier on the night of July 13. Though the 1942 version of the classic at Fitzpatrick Park in Pittsburgh was a twilight affair, next week's showing of the thriller will be the first under the lights. As was the case with the first and many of the succeeding games, when the proceeds went to support retired players in need, the receipts of this year's contest will also aid a worthy cause. The entire proceeds at the 1943 contest, played in the second year of out participation in World War II, and the fourth year for our Canadian neighbors, will go to the game's Ball and Bat Fund. A check for $25,000, the Gillette Safety Razor Company's payment for sponsorship of the radio account, already has been deposited in the fund, which will be used to purchase bats, balls, gloves and other playing equipment for men of the United States and Canadian armed forces at home and abroad. Code: PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS YEAR LOCATION RESULT WINNING PITCHER MVP 1933 Whitney Park Federal 8 Continental 5 Ben Curtin STL Pete Asher Pit 1934 Riverside Stadium Federal 11 Continental 7 Chick Stout Pit Tom Taylor Cougars 1935 Broad Street Park Federal 5 Continental 2 Art Myers Keystones Freddie Jones StL 1936 Pioneer Field Continental 6 Federal 4 Tom Barrell BKN Dick Walker Sailors 1937 Dominion Field Federal 4 Continental 2 (19) Don Attaway Keystones Don Attaway Keystones 1938 Bigsby Oval Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1939 Forester Stadium Continental 6 Federal 3 Art White BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1940 Thompson Field Federal 7 Continental 4 Red Hampton Chiefs Billy Woytek Keystones 1941 Kings County Continental 8 Federal 4 Pete Papenfus Cougars Fred Galloway Cincinnati 1942 Fitzpatrick Park Federal 7 Continental 4 Ed Wood BOS Hank Barnett Chiefs This will mark the second time the mid-season classic will be contested north of the border with Toronto having played host to the 1937 game, one which certainly was a classic as it turned out to be a 19-inning marathon in which the Federal stars prevailed thanks to a 2-run homer by Ed Stewart, then of the Pittsburgh Miners. So brush up on your French and get ready as a week from tomorrow all the big names will be in Montreal. Okay, not all the big names as many -such as Bill Barrett, Joe Angevine, George Garrison, Lew Seals, Pablo Reyes, Sal Pestilli, George Cleaves and Mule Monier- will be scattered across various Army or Navy bases rather than entertaining the cheering masses at Parc Cartier. But let's cast our gaze forward instead, as TWIFB makes it's annual selections as to who we would place on our all-star starting lineup ballots. Let's start with the Federal Association: JIGGS MCGEE'S ALL-STAR BALLOT: FEDERAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER :George Cleaves has played in 7 of the previous ten games but King George will not make it eight, at least not this year as he is working for the Army Air Corps this days. It was always a debate as to whether Cleaves or Tom Bird of the Chicago Chiefs should get the nod as the starter. We have another debate this time but instead it is between Bird and one of the key reasons for the success in Washington this season, Paul Wilkerson (.323,1,30). Wilkerson deserves a spot in his first all-star game but Bird (.303,2,29) gets our nod as starter as he will make his 8th all-star appearance. FIRST BASE: There are an awful lot of first baseman worthy of inclusion on the Fed team this year. Red Johnson (.266,6,36) of Detroit and Chicago's Ron Rattigan (.284,2,28) always deserve consideration and Bill Moore (.298,4,30) is having a fine season in Boston but our vote this time goes to the Boardwalk Bopper Sig Stofer (.285,9,35). The 26 year old Washington infielder deserves not only to make his first appearance in an all-star game, but also to be the Fed starter at first base. SECOND BASE: An injury cost Sam Orr his chance to make his first all-star appearance at age 35 as he was off to a great start for the Chicago Chiefs after a decade in the Continental Association. Artie D'Alessandro (.269,2,28) is having a nice season in St Louis and to be honest does not have a lot of competition so he gets the call. SHORTSTOP: Frank Davis (.295,1,40) is having a nice year in Chicago as is Les Tucker (.257,2,26) in Pittsburgh but our vote goes to Boston's Lew McClendon (.348,0,31) even though he is about to lose his starting shortstop job with the Minutemen to Harry Barrell. THIRD BASE: We briefly considered Billy Dalton (.312,4,22) but he is now in the CA with Cincinnati and our sentimental choice is 41 year old Frank Vance (.333,3,33) of Detroit but while we sure hope Vance makes the team as a reserve the starting assignment has to go to Johnny McDowell (.366,1,26) of Pitsburgh. McDowell is enjoying a resurgence at 35 and has never made an all-star team despite some pretty good seasons with the Gothams early in his career. LEFT FIELD: Quite a collection of choices here but we have to vote for 36 year old Jim Watson (.388,2,37) of the Chicago Chiefs, who surprisingly made just his first all-star team appearance last year. We hope that Washington rookie Jesse Alvardo (.291,9,38) makes the team as a 20-year old. Bobby Barrell (.271,12,36) of Philadelphia should also make the team for what would be his 9th all-star selection. CENTER FIELD:The clear choice here is Gail Gifford (.320,4,40) of the St Louis Pioneers. Gifford's only previous all-star invite was also to a game in Canada, that 1937 marathon in which he started at centerfield, led-off for the Feds but was 0-for-2 before Bobby Barrell replaced him in the game. RIGHT FIELD: A fairly easy call to go with Al Tucker (..359,3,30) of St Louis with Boston's Pete Day (.299,0,23) the runner-up. It will be Tucker's third all-star game if selected. PITCHER: For most of the spring we had been marveling at the return to his Allen Award winning form by veteran St Louis hurler Sam Sheppard (10-3, 3.74). Sheppard has slumped the past three starts (as of press time) and his team has lost 3 of the last 4 after a stretch of St Louis wins in 11 straight Sheppard outings. Sheppard still gets the nod as one of the three pitchers that can go on our ballot along with Chicago's Al Miller (7-4, 2.98) but our choice is to give the ball to Ed Wood (10-3, 1.75) of Boston to start the game. We wish we could put 5 starting pitchers on our ballot and still refuse to cast votes for relievers. JIGGS MCGEE'S ALL-STAR BALLOT: CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER: Woody Stone (.304,1,26) is having a nice season for the Sailors but the clear choice behind the plate is Cincinnati great Adam Mullins (.356,2,27), who was leading the CA batting parade at press time and poised for his 7th trip to the all-star game. FIRST BASE: Vic Crawford (.292,8,30) has not played in an all-star game since 1935 but the Montreal Saints veteran gets our vote much to the delight of the hometown fans. There are some other very good candidates all deserving of backup roles including Cincinnati's Chuck Adams (.279,9,39), Quebec native Marion Boismenu (.316,3,23) of the Sailors and Chicago's Dick Walker (.273,6,27) SECOND BASE: There were a couple of strong choices here but in the end we went with Toronto's Mike Rollinson (.310,2,27) as our selection. It would be the 28 year old's all-star debut. It was a tough call as his glove pales in comparison to the work Clark Car (.261,6,23) in Chicago and Cincinnati's Charlie Rivera (.219,1,17) have been doing in the field. The debate between Rollinson and Car was likely the most difficult call we had in the CA. SHORTSTOP: News of Harry Barrell's (.282,0,26) trade from Brooklyn to Boston made it easy to reaffirm our decision to pick Skipper Schneider (.290,2,33) of Chicago as our starter. The Barrell shift to the Fed likely opens a back-up spot and second straight appearance for the slick-fielding Jim Hensley (.247,3,33) of Cincinnati. THIRD BASE: Former Montreal star Hank Barnett (.312,6,33) should draw quite a cheer from the masses at Parc Cartier even though he is now a Chicago Cougar and hasn't been with the Saints since 1937. Still Barnett made the first of his 5 previous all-star game appearances wearing the bleu fleur de lis on his jersey and is having another all-star worthy campaign this season. There might be just a little animosity of Barnett is starting over current Saints star Mack Burns (.314,0,10) but Burns likely deserves a spot on the team as well - which would be the first all-star berth of his career. LEFT FIELD: A fairly easy choice as our vote goes to Chicago's Leo Mitchell (.350,5,41) with just limited consideration given to Joseph Mills (.326,2,24) of Philadelphia and Cleveland's Bob Mullins (.292,1,22). CENTER FIELD: It feels like a down year for centerfielders in the CA with the exception of Cincinnati's Fred Galloway (.291,2,20). who we pick to make his fifth straight all-star game appearance. RIGHT FIELD: Even if Al Wheeler (.224,10,33) had not been dealt to the Fed, we likely would have not taken him as our starter. Wheeler has to be a very unique player for this era with more Whitney Awards (5) than All-Star selections (4) to his name. Granted two of the Whitney's came (1930 & 1932) before the introduction of the mid-summer classic but it still does not sit right that the Wonder Wheel has only played in 4 all-star games and none since 1937. Instead of Wheeler we cast our ballot for Cal Howe (.335,1,19). Not a lot has gone right in Cleveland the past few years but the breakout year from the 27 year old in just his second full FABL season is one of the few things Foresters fans can take pride in. Philadelphia's Harvey Brown (.320,1,33) is another 27 year old who, just like Howe, is making the most of a opportunity to be a FABL regular in these times when the war has created openings in FABL. PITCHER: No contest here as we simply hand the ball to Deuce Barrell (9-2, 1.41) of the Cannons to start his second straight All-Star game. Toronto's Joe Hancock (8-4, 2.69)is having another strong season and Barrell's Cincinnati teammate Butch Smith (8-4, 1.92) is rebounding nicely from a subpar 1942 campaign but neither should get the start ahead of Barrell. If you are looking for a sentimental choice how about Cougars 43 years young lefthander Dick Lyons (5-3, 2.00), who is 4th among active pitchers with 222 career wins - trailing just Rabbit Day (301), Cougars teammate Jim Lonardo (255) and Charlie Stedman (250) who is now a physical education instructor with the Marines and likely done with baseball. The deal made by the Chicago Cougars to add veteran lefthander Art White from Brooklyn suddenly has become a lot more important as the Cougars learned they will be without starter Harry Parker (6-3, 2.89) for the rest of the season after Parker hurt his elbow trying to close out a complete game win over Cleveland. He felt something pop in the elbow when retiring Hank Stratton for the second out of the 9th inning and Angel Lopez had to come in and finish things off. Speaking of Cleveland, OSA is very high on the Foresters top draft pick. Jim Adams Jr., the All-American shortstop from St Ignatius, was selected first overall by Cleveland and quickly signed with the club. He debuts at #3 on the OSA scouting list trailing only Cincinnati outfielder Dick Blaszak and St Louis pitcher Tom Buchanan - both of whom are now Marines. About half of the first rounders have already signed pro contracts. Other 1943 draftees in the top 50 (well 51) include Sailors pitcher Hoppy Johnson (29th), Stars third base selection Jock Stone (48th) along with St Louis shortstop Mills (51st). However, there are a number of first rounders yet to sign, with Pat Petty (drafted 3rd), Jim Carter (7th), Joe Davis (8th), Luke Weaver (9th), Johnnie Porter (10th), Hal Friedlander (11th), Tommy Seymour (13th), Frankie Gonnella (14th), and Tommy Kelley (16th) How bad has Cleveland pitching been this season? The Foresters have allowed 369 runs - by far most in the CA and the most overall. At the other end of things we have the Cannons, who have surrendered just have as many runs at 185 on the year. From the desk of Percy Sutherland: "It's a shock that Chicago even had a winning record in June, when you consider some of these monthly performances: Ron Rattigan: .211/.351/.237 Tom Bird: .237/.389/.303 Frank Davis: .277/.324/.327 George Wolff: .203/.368/.232 Al Wheeler was acquired because Wolff was the primary right fielder. But overall, you are not going to score many runs slugging below .300. Wheeler's 2nd game with Chicago--a walk-off homerun to beat the Eagles. The Eagles have to dread seeing Chicago on the schedule. They dropped 2 of 3 to Chiefs last week and are now 1-9 vs Chicago but 40-24 (.625) against everyone else. Looking at the rookie race this morning. Jesse Alvardo is having a great season for Washington. Among pitchers, Johnnie Jones and Jim Kenny are pretty much neck and neck. Though Kenny (8-3, 2.34, 151 ERA+) is doing this for a much worse team in Brooklyn. Kenny (202) and Jones (244) were the only two pitchers in the CA who had an ERA+ greater than 200 in June. Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News had more on Johnnie Jones in a recent column: "Last year it was Donnie Jones, this year it's the older brother Johnnie who has his break out for the Cougars. "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" won both Pitcher and Rookie of the Month in June for the Continental Association. Jones threw five complete game victories including a pair of shutouts in Chicago against the Stars and Kings. Johnnie had an excellent 1.40 ERA and and 1.13 WHIP with 27 walks and 19 strikeouts. Jones hasn't allowed more then 3 runs since May 16th, as he's now won 8 consecutive starts with 7 of them complete games. He has yet to allow a home run in 94.1 innings pitched, working to a 2.58 ERA (132 ERA+) and 1.21 WHIP with 50 walks and 45 strikeouts. With the loss of Harry Parker, Johnnie Jones will be leaned on to provide quality outings in the Cougars pennant race." Yeoman Morris Siegel, sports columnist of the Norfolk Naval Training Station Seabag, reports that Joe Angeivine has done more damage to the rival Naval Air Station team "than the Allied flyers did to Pantelleria." In a recent five-game series, in which every game was decided by a single fun, Joe either was directly or indirectly responsible for every winning tally. The clocks struck V-12 o'clock earlier this week at a good many colleges and a lot of coaches who have been wondering whether they will have jobs next fall can start finding out for sure. In case you can't guess, V-12 o'clock stands for the hour when large batches of Navy trainees will report at the colleges. Ditto smaller batches of Marines. It may bring good news for some schools but there is still plenty of worry for others. For example Eastern Oklahoma's coach learned that 10 of his Pioneers were being called up by the marines, leaving him only one survivor of last's year's squad - a sophomore wingback. The coach moaned "Looks like we're coming in on a wingback and a prayer." Maryland State says even though the Army has not given official sanction to varsity football competition by it's trainees, the Bengals plan a full-scale program of intercollegiate competition this fall, including a game against Rome State in Rome, Georgia, with the trainee units at the school to provide players. Maryland State, which expects to have from 1,500 to 1,800 Army men there by October, says it will play an 8 game schedule. Maryland State's president believes an agreement will be satisfactorily worked out to allow the Army training school student-soldiers to participate in sports. He notes "as long as football has been approved for cadets at Rome State they are not going to disapprove it elsewhere." Interestingly a day later the head of Rome State says they military academy is not scheduled to play Maryland State. According to Col. Lawrence Jones of Rome State, a game was being considered with the Bengals when Patsy O'Callaghan was still the Maryland State coach before he moved to Pittsburgh State. "We never signed a contract with Maryland State," said Colonel Jones. "It was only in a tentative stage and we have since filled that date with another opponent." Count Cumberland as the latest Deep South Conference school to drop football for the duration. Lack of players and coaches, transportation difficulties and the fact that four schools on the Explorers schedule already had cancelled were the reasons given. Meanwhile Annapolis Maritime has announced two night games to be played in Baltimore at Banner Park, former home of the FABL Cannons including a season opening showdown October 2 against Brunswick. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/04/1943 British air raids turned their attention to Nazi targets in France as well as Cologne and Hamburg this week after pounding Germany's Ruhr Valley last week. American flyers in the Mediterranean targeted two key airdromes near Athens, Greece. There are reports American battleships are taking positions to reinforce British sqaudrons preparing to escort Allied landing forces to the shores of southern Europe. Prime Minister Churchill says the U-boat peril has been beaten after news allied forces sank 30 German U-boats in May. Churchill says the allies have a achieved a "total defeat" of the German sub fleet. In a speech covering a number of topics Churchill also stated: Fierce jungle fighting in New Guinea and the central Solomons as Allied forces are facing battle-hardened Japanese troops estimated to number 60,000 to 70,000 men. A major sea battle in the central Solomons also appears imminent. The draft director for New York City says that fathers can "count on" not being drafted before October 1 after getting revised Selective Service instructions. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports