AUGUST 2, 1943
RED LETTER DAY IN NEW YORK
GOTHAMS BRASS TURNS AROUND FAN SENTIMENT WITH DEAL FOR JOHNSON
What an emotional roller-coaster for New York fans as the Gothams brass took them on a wild ride at the trade deadline. From the dismay at news the Gothams seemingly threw in the towel on the next couple of seasons with the move to send Gus Goulding packing to Chicago --a move that sparked a near-riot outside Gothams Stadium in Queens --to the wave of elation that overtook Gothams supporters with the word that the club had landed possible future Hall of Famer Red Johnson from the Detroit Dynamos just hours later. It was clear that the Gothams, and their fans, went through more ups and downs this trade deadline than even Coney Island's famed Thunderbolt coaster could provide.
The trade was one of the biggest in recent memory and that is saying something considering the moves already made around the league in the past month, trades that included Al Wheeler and Harry Barrell. But Red Johnson is just 25 years old, already in his 7th big league season, owns 2 Whitney Awards and 3 All-Star selections and is just 1 shy of his 150th career homerun. There is no reason not to think Johnson will be a Hall of Famer someday and may just become only the second player to hit 500 career big league homeruns - although perhaps Al Wheeler or Bobby Barrell might get there ahead of Johnson.
The return on such a trade for Detroit was just what you would expect it to be. The Dynamos pick up New York's first and second round draft picks, plus the first rounder the Gothams just acquired from the Chiefs in the Gus Goulding deal, as well as prospects Win Hamby, Rick York, Don Hersey and Irv Harden in exchange for Red Johnson and minor league catcher Hal Christian.
The picks, in what is expected to be a deep draft, could give Detroit the first and third overall selections and likely two of the top seven at worst, along with a late first rounder and a pair of second round picks (there own and the Gothams). Not a bad way to restart a franchise that seemed to be on the right track until the bottom fell out- and the pitching fell apart- a little over a year ago.
The move also brings highly touted catching prospect Rick York to Detroit. He is the son of Dynamos manager Dick York and has long been coveted by the Detroit organization. York is the Navy right now but he, along with promising young shortstop Win Hamby, currently in the Army, are both top 100 prospects recently acquired by the Gothams from Cincinnati in the trade that sent Billy Dalton to the Cannons. Don Hersey, a 25 year old outfielder, is also a top 100 prospect and hitting .269 in AAA with 5 homers in limited action due to a hamstring issue that will keep him sidelined another couple of weeks. He was a 1938 fifth round pick out of the prestigious Bluegrass State program. Rounding out the youngsters going to Detroit is Harden, a 20 year old former 9th round pick currently playing in A ball that OSA says has a ceiling of a spot starter.
JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE : As the old adage goes the team that got the best player usually wins the trade and by that criteria the Gothams prevail hands down. However, I am not so quick to say Detroit did not make out nicely here. It was a hefty price paid by New York and I think both Hamby and Rick York will develop into better than average players as Detroit's starting shortstop and catcher of the future. If they can get a couple of solid players from their 5 draft picks (including the 3 new selections acquired) it might be hard to argue this deal wasn't an even exchange down the road. The key is drafting the right players. Detroit seems almost assured of finishing last now and picking first. Perhaps the Gothams improve with Johnson and get as high as fourth or fifth so the next pick might not be until 7 or 9 in round one but Detroit also has a late first rounder to perhaps package and trade up should they see a guy they love. It looks like a deep draft with some high end talent so if Detroit lands a couple more pieces and Hamby and York each live up to expectations perhaps this reboot at a Detroit comeback will stick.
That being said one has to love the addition of Johnson as a drawing card in New York and Fed pitchers will fear facing him and Walt Messer back to back in the middle of the Gothams lineup. The pitching, beyond Bowman, is still a worry and there are a lot of holes elsewhere in the lineup but when the war ends and Mule Monier, Rosey Brewer, Harry Carter and the rest return the Gothams might just make some noise.
No question where Percy Sutherland lands on this deal: "When Max Morris was 25-years-old, he was hurt and played in just 97 games (but a good 97 games, with a wRC+ of 216). And that was the cusp of his explosion. In 4 of the next 5 seasons, he had a wRC+ greater than 200. Now, I'm not saying that Red Johnson is Max Morris, but Red Johnson is one of the top 2 or 3 hitters in the game right now. And his best years are just in front of him. I like to deal as much as anyone, but this one I don't get."
DEADLINE DEALS APPROACH RECORD NUMBERS
While the trades that moved Gus Goulding to the Chiefs and brought Red Johnson to the Gothams were certainly the biggest of the day, they were by no means the only ones to be consummated. By the count of the Chicago Herald-Examiner's Percy Sutherland there were a total of 14 trades (skipping a pair of minor league deals) made since June and that was before the Cougars acquired injured pitcher Frank Crawford from Detroit late in the evening. So 15 deals total including some huge moves made this one of, if not the busiest trading period of all-time. One thing is for sure, the mood is quite different now than it was 12 months ago when basically nothing of consequence occurred.
Here is a break down of some of the other deadline beating deals:
COUGARS ADD VETERAN OUTFIELDER FOWLER
Overshadowed by the Red Johnson trade was news that the Chicago Cougars filled a hole in their outfield created by the injury to Cliff Moss. The Cougars sent a pair of mid-level prospects to Cleveland in exchange for the Foresters only real marketable trade piece in veteran outfielder Dan Fowler. The 34 year old Fowler (.239,7,31) is certainly not the player he once was but if he gets hot at the right time he could have an impact on the Continental Association playoff race.
The cost was not overly expensive either as the Cougars simply dipped into their deep collection of pitching prospects and offered up Joe Crosby, a 24 year old former fourth round pick who is presently in the Army but could be a back of the rotation arm according to OSA. Chicago also sent 23 year old first baseman Adolph Jacobson, a 1938 second rounder who seems to have stagnated in the minors and was hitting very well at Class A to start the season but has struggled so far after a promotion a month ago to AA Mobile. Crosby comes in at #342 on the OSA prospect list while Jacobson does not crack the top 500.
JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE :As mentioned above a very nice, inexpensive pick-up for the Cougars who fills an immediate need with Moss sidelined. There was likely little market for Fowler so the Foresters took what they could get for him, although I expect the Cougars would have paid a little more if pushed.
CANNONS ACQUIRE JACK CLEAVES FROM PITTSBURGH
As the Cougars and Cannons continue to try and one-up each other in what has the making of an outstanding stretch run in the Continental Association, Cincinnati made a move to strengthen it's offense with the addition of the 36 year old Cleaves from the Pittsburgh Miners in exchange for a pair of prospects in 19 year old pitcher Joe Beckstrom and 23 year old outfielder Vern Wilson. Cincinnati also receives a 7th round pick in the deal but the Cannons - with the recent additions of Billy Dalton, Sam Brown, Chris Clarke and now Cleaves- have decimated their farm system. Cincinnati still has the top position player according to OSA in 21 year old outfielder Dick Blaszak but little else remains from a system that was once among the league's best.
It is a family reunion for Cleaves, who's grandfather -legendary manager George Theobald- was the Cannons bench boss for it's inaugural season in the Queen City and remains a minority owner in the franchise. The hope is Cleaves can provide additional offense without being too much of a defensive liability as the Cannons plan to bench Charlie Rivera - arguably the best glovemen at second in the league this season but was slashing just .237/.291/.338.
JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: The Cannons have gutted their farm system in an effort to win now and Cleaves is an offensive upgrade at the one position where they could have really used one. The downside his the veteran's defense will not compare to what Charlie Rivera was doing in the field but Cincinnati hopes the offensive improvement more than balances things out. Pittsburgh, suddenly looking like a team that needs to retool, adds two nice prospects for a veteran who is approaching the tail end of his career.
BOSTON AND WASHINGTON EACH ADD PIECES
The race to keep up with the competition is not exclusive to the Continental as after the Chicago Chiefs made big news with the addition of Gus Goulding from New York, both Boston and Washington attempted to keep pace with their Federal Association rival.
The Minutemen, with veteran Dean Astle done for the year, went for pitching depth in the form of Paul Richardson, a 28 year old righthander who was 6-6, 2.81 for the Philadelphia Sailors this season. The cost to Boston was their recent first round draft pick, Canton State third baseman Frankie Gonnella who recently made his pro debut at Class C.
Washington needed pitching as well and while the Eagles struck out on that endeavor, they were successful in making a big upgrade at shortstop. Washington landed veteran George Dawson from Detroit in exchange for their first round draft pick and minor league second baseman Harry Perryman, a 1942 second round pick. The deal gives Detroit 4 first round picks to go with the two second round selections they own for the January portion of next year's draft.
[b]JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE:[b] A good move for each as they battle, along with Chicago, for the Fed title. Dawson is a big upgrade offensively on Jack Bush in Washington while Richardson has been surprisingly effective this season.
COUGARS ADD ARM DEPTH
One late deal that came in was the Chicago Cougars added some pitching depth with the acquisition of Frank Crawford from Detroit for minor leaguer Ira Hawker. Crawford might miss another week as he deals with a finger blister but the 35 year old will be given a chance to get back on track in Chicago. He was the Fed Allen Award winner in 1939 when he posted a 25-6 record but has not been the same since a serious elbow injury cost him most of the 1940 campaign. He is one of the pitchers who has taken a lot of heat in the Motor City for the Dynamos terrible collapse the past couple of seasons.
JIGGS MCGEE's TAKE: Strictly a depth move for the Cougars in case of a pitching shortage down the road. Crawford has never been the same since the injury, and is actually hurt right now but only a finger blister. If he gives the Cougars a couple of quality starts during a run of doubleheaders they will be very happy with the addition but I am sure there hope is they hardly need to use him, because if he pitches a lot down the stretch odds are a key rotation piece is injured.
REDEMPTION OF SORTS IN TWO KEY SHOWDOWNS
Believe it or not, all the news of the week did not consist only of trade talk. There was some baseball actually played including a pair of key showdowns among pennant contenders. In the Federal Association the Washington Eagles lost their brief hold on first place thanks to a a rough weekend in which they were swept by the Pioneers, allowing Boston to take a 1 and a half game lead on the D.C. nine. However, the week still has to be considered a success as prior to the stumble against St Louis, the Eagles took three of four from the Chicago Chiefs. Monumental because of the fact that Washington entered the series have lost 9 of 10 games against their foes from the Windy City.
It will be a big week ahead for Washington as the Eagles will welcome newly acquired shortstop George Dawson to the lineup today as the finish off the 5-game series at Columbia Stadium vs the Pioneers but then they start a long 19-game road swing that begins with a 4-game weekend against the front-running Minutemen in Boston. The Eagles and Minutemen have split their 14 meetings so far this season and this promises to be an important series. Each of the next three weeks have key showdowns atop the Fed with Chicago visiting Boston for four games the following week and then it will be an Eagles-Chiefs rematch taking place at Whitney Field.
*** EIGHT IS ENOUGH ***
Like Washington, the Cincinnati Cannons earned some redemption last week as well. Just prior to the All-Star break Cincinnati went into Chicago and was swept by the Cougars four straight -a series in which the Cannons managed just 3 runs total. Offense was not an issue for the Cannons in the rematch with Chicago at Tice Memorial Stadium last week. The Cincinnati nine plated 8 runs in each of the 3-games to sweep the series and pull back ahead of the Cougars and into top spot in the Continental Association. There is a lot of baseball to be played, including another big 4-game series between the two in the Windy City a little over two weeks from now but it bears mentioning that in 9 of the last 11 years whoever led the CA on August 1st went on to represent that Association in the World Championship Series. But then again this season is much, much different than any year prior with all of the absentees due to the war and an incredible amount of player movement-including many big name stars- at the deadline.
No, this isn't about that wooden behemoth out at Coney Island. It's not even about the long climbs to precipitous heights and the inevitable falls of the team in the annual standings. This is about getting from Friday to Monday and knowing where your emotions and team loyalty lie. One day as you've moved on, maybe, from dealing Billy Dalton, and are reading reports and convincing yourself that these new kids are going to be stars, you suddenly hear more shocking news. Last season's Series hero Gus Goulding is on the move. So you get out your pitchforks and march down to the stadium demanding your piece of someone's hide when what do your wondering ears hear?
Red Johnson, two time Whitney winner, and 25 year old star first basemen is coming to YOUR team? Can it be real? Surely there must be contenders who would cough up the fee for such a player. But no, no fear you die hard, baseball crazed Gothams fans, a new hero is on the way. Using draft picks and players acquired in the earlier trades the team has
managed to add Red, and how I do love his name, to the Gothams' roster. So sleep well and dream of Walt Messer and Red Johnson tucked together each day in your lineup.
Now if only some of the other boys could get home from spanking Hitler and Tojo, we'd have a real lineup and be back in contention. One thing is for sure, there's never a dull moment around the Gothams.
What seems like an eternity since I was last covering this team, your lucky people of Detroit get to have me, the best damn writer in the FABL back in the saddle once again. Oh, I know some of you might claim that guy Figg’s is da man, but we all know the truth here in Detroit!
What brings me back to the Detroit World. A World Series…hardly. A change in the GM, unfortunately not yet but that might be soon changing. Today the struggling Dynamo’s traded away a franchise cornerstone player. In his infinite wisdom (perhaps he should have stayed on his exile), GM DD Martin today announced that the Dynamo’s were sending 2-time Whitney Award Winning 1B Red Johnson (25) to the hated New York Gotham’s of all places. So don’t worry Dynamo fans, you’ll still get to see Red 11 times a year at Thompson Field and then on radio 11 more times when the Dyno’s go to New York. Twenty-two times a year, good ol Red will be making Detroit fans rue the day their GM sent the star packing. And to think if this war ever gets over, Red is going to be quite the stacked lineup in his home in New York.
So what did the Dynamo’s get for trading such a star player? Well more than a bag of balls, but a lot of maybe and hopes. The Dynamo’s grabbed the Gotham’s 1st and 2nd round picks, which if the season ended today would be the #1 and #17 overall selections in the 1944 draft. Right now the Dynamo’s are locked in at #3 and #19 with their own picks. But yes there is more, the Dynamo’s also picked up in the deal the Chicago Chiefs 1st round pick which will likely be in the 11-16 range. So hopefully the Dynamo’s scouting department is doing a better job than it has been the last few years with potentially 5 picks in the first 19 (to 21 or so). They did pick up a few players.
SS Win Hamby (20) is the Gotham’s top prospect remaining and checks in at #41. Unfortunately, he is in the US Army right now and not picking up a bat and glove for the Rock Island Steamboats. The Dynamo’s also picked up manager Dick York’s son, C Rick York who the Detroit brass have wanted to get their hands on as well. York (23) is currently serving in the US Navy, but if he remains healthy and is able to come back, he should solve the long-standing problem behind the plate for the Dynamo’s. York is also still the 71st ranked prospect in baseball.
Also coming over in the deal is actually a player who is playing baseball in the minor leagues right now. In fact, a couple of them. OF prospect Don Hersey (23) is the #89th prospect rated by the FABL and is playing AAA ball for Toledo. He currently is out for a few more weeks with a strained hamstring but had a very good season last year hitting 324/403/867 for Toledo but has been unhappy without getting a big league call up this year hitting 269. Look for him to be added as soon as his injury is healed to the big-league roster for the end of the season. The last player in the deal coming over is LHSP Irv Harden (20) who is struggling a bit at class B Fresno. On the season the pitcher is 9-10 with an ERA around 4.70. He is not a top 100 prospect so we will see if anything comes of him.
Also, in the deal coming from Detroit is C prospect Hal Christian. Nobody has ever heard of this guy but maybe he can carry Red’s luggage to New York or something.
While that wasn’t enough excitement, new has just come in that the Dynamo’s have made another move. The Dynamo’s just announced a deal that sends starting SS George Dawson (32) to the Washington Eagles (what another deal to an FA team) for the Eagles 1st round draft pick and minor league 2B prospect Harry Perryman who is the Eagles 8th rated prospect who checks in at #173 overall. Clearly the move for another 1st round pick was the play here as the Eagles are the surprise leaders in the FA. Right now, the top of the FA is between Washington, Boston and the Chicago Chiefs. So this pick looks to be either 11, 13 or 15 1944 draft. So as it stands right now Detroit would have 1st round picks #1, #3, #13 and #15 along with 2nd round picks #17 and #19. 6 picks in the top 20 will put a tremendous amount of pressure on GM Martin and scouting director Dutch Forrester who has had a rather non-descript career so far in Detroit. This trade is not a bad deal for Detroit as they picked up Dawson during the 41 season at the trade deadline for minor league 2B Jackie Potts and a 6th round pick. Dawson has had quite the revival in his bat since coming to Detroit and is still a very highly regarded defensive SS. So the Dynamo’s getting a 1st round pick is not a bad deal. Its also not a bad deal for a Washington team that has been pretty irrelevant over the last 15-20 years as they chase a pennant.
One final deal that has also just been announced. SP Frank Crawford whose career looked so bright before a serious injury during the 1941 season and is currently serving time on the DL for a nagging finger blister was dealt to the Chicago Cougars for a middling SP prospect Ira Hawker. Some will remember that Hawker is a failed OF prospect of the Cleveland Foresters. No though GM Martin didn’t pick him in the draft as Hawker was selected in the 16th round of the 1937 draft and Martin bailed Cleveland during the 35 season.
These deals were also done after the club traded away the team’s best SP this season in Joe Shaffner for a 4th round pick and a SP prospect (so called) Gene Madison from the St. Louis Pioneers. One thing is clear that the Dynamo’s who had gone 41-52 so far this season are likely in a for far bumpier ride the last 2 months of the season with all this talent going out the door.
We are currently in our 6th season since the blockbuster deal between the Toronto Wolves and the St. Louis Pioneers that sent Fred McCormick north to Canada. In the spirit of the Red Johnson deal between the Dynamos and New York, Ol' Doc thought it would be a great time to look back at that multi-franchise-altering deal. At the time here was the deal: 3/21/1938
Toronto Received: 1B Fred McCormick, C Clarence Howerton
St. Louis Received: SP Otis Cook, SP Jake Smith, SP Buddy Long #26 prospect, RP Russ Peeples #245 prospect, CF Les Hendrix #58 prospect
So just using the WAR metric here is how it worked out. ***The caveat here is I’m not sure that WAR is a great comparison stat to evaluate pitchers to hitters. However, just for the fun of it let's take a look anyway. As of today here is what we have:
Since 1938 Toronto has picked up 30.5 WAR shares. 23.3 from McCormick (currently serving) and 7.2 from Howerton (starting C in Toronto).
For St. Louis they have amassed a whopping 51.7 WAR shares from the following
Cook: .3 (Retired)
Smith 8.8, 39-32 96 ERA+ (Released in 1941 and claimed by Cincinnati)
Long 28.5, 69-91 103 ERA+ (In the St. Louis rotation)
Peeples 6.7, 25-57 43 saves 111 ERA+ (Stopper for the Pioneers)
Hendricks 7.4 (Currently serving)
So first and foremost the Pioneers look to have done a great job of actually assessing talent. Otis Cook is the only player in the deal that took an unexpected nosedive and found himself out of baseball by 1940. From a WAR shares standpoint an argument could be made that St. Louis received great value for McCormick. Here is something else to consider though. How did these teams finish in the standings after the deal? Now the caveat here is there were obviously a multitude of moves made by other clubs, there were injuries and of course the battle in Europe and the Pacific. Still for the fun of it.
St. Louis:
1938: 4th
1939: 4th
1940: 8th
1941: 7th
1942: 6th
1943: 5th (current)
Toronto:
1938: 2nd
1939: 6th
1940: Championship
1941: 5th
1942: 5th
1943: 3rd (currently)
To make a military metaphor here. Was trading the aircraft carrier for a bunch of fighter planes worth it in the end? Even when you nail the talent evaluation (which I believe St. Louis did) it is not a guarantee that the talent spread out over the whole team will result in greater success in the standings. Of course, this one instance is a small sample size as well. Early indications lean toward New York as the winner in the deal to obtain Red Johnson. However, DD Martin is no slouch as a GM and is also a great evaluator of talent. With as many picks as he has in a potentially deep draft, combined with the prospect hall, will this maybe become the example that there truly is a price for everybody? Hopefully, I will still be writing for the Globe and able to enjoy a whiskey at McGreevey’s when that discussion becomes relevant.
The idea was briefly floated last year but for some reason the plan expired before reaching a concrete stage. Now Arthur Patterson of the New York Herald Tribune has revived discussion of an idea whereby baseball would contribute more than mere equipment in an effort to boost the morale of our fighting men. The plan is to take baseball in the flesh to men in khaki, olive green and blue-- to transport an all-star team or teams, the two World Championship Series opponents or some array of players, perhaps even including form FABL greats, to Australia, China, Hawaii, England, Tunisia or anywhere that several thousand American boys are stationed.
Shortly after the WCS, for instance, two teams of big leaguers could swing through the Southern States and play exhibitions at camps and training bases. We've seen the lift given sailors at Norfolk Naval Training Base by such games, and, while morale is a touchy word, the moral of those boys in blue definitely was hiked. Playing conditions always might not be favourable, of course, but that would represent no barrier. The teams could play where possible, and where staging a game isn't feasible, the players could visit canteens, make speeches, answer questions, give autographs and, in general, make the servicemen's Hot Stove League a warming, friendly gathering.
*** CHEERFUL TALKERS WANTED ****
Better than taking the two World Championship Series opponents would be selecting a group of stars and surround them with such former greats as Powell Slocum, Pete Layton, Ed Ziehl and Ken Carpenter, because they are good mixers and some of them can make speeches. Include a player from every FABL club, ones that are stars and good fellows, not merely players can hit and field but with it as well. There are enough stars who can take a good-natured ribbing and toss back a wisecrack to eliminate the strong, but sad and silent type.
Ball players can't be blamed for wanting to spend winters with their families. Some of them are away from the wife and kiddies from April until October, but Mel Carrol and Lou Ellertson of the Eagles are enthusiastic about the idea. They'd like to contribute what they can to making life a little more pleasant for servicemen and so would a flock of other players, managers and former stars. Jack Cleaves of the Miners did a similar thing last winter with a trip to Hawaii organized by the Red Cross.
*** MAJORS MADE BAD MUFF ***
Baseball is doing a commendable job raising funds for equipment that's shipped all over the world. When the Chicago Chiefs and Washington collided last week, in fact, when all FABL clubs clashed last Wednesday, a third of the proceeds were poured into the baseball equipment fund, with the Red Cross also benefitting.
Probably more appreciated by soldiers and sailors, though, have been the visits of FABL teams to Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Norfolk Naval Training Base, Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir, etc. Thousands of soldiers stood in a steady rain at Fort Meade to vet the Eagles and the Keystones play a spring friendly a while back and they loved it.
By now many baseball officials are willing to admit that FABL President Sam Belton was too hasty in yanking big league clubs out of Florida for spring training. They feel baseball missed the boat by not training in the South last spring and staging exhibitions exclusively for the entertainment of servicemen. There has been a complete about-face in that department. Pressure is being applied to get FABL teams to do their training in the deep South next spring, not with the muscles of the athletes in mind, but with a view toward inserting a little fun into the lives of soldiers and sailors stationed there.
Baseball is doing a good job, but undone is a better job baseball could do. It could promote the idea of shipping its players to wherever fighting men would like to see them.
- A tough 3-11 stretch for the Chicago Chiefs sees them now 4.5 games off the pace in the Fed. The offense just has not been running on all cylinders since June. In July, Tom Bird hit .205, and Jim Watson hit .226. Numbers which are down from even the poor June showing.
- Looks like Boston caught New York and Detroit at the right time. The Minutemen missed Red Johnson in both of those series! Boston now owns a slim game and a half lead in the FA with reinforcements arriving today! The Chiefs, on the other hand, will visit New York just Red gets settled in with his new club.
- Maybe the Eagles didn't need a pitcher after all as instead of trading for one at the deadline the simply called down to Kansas City and promoted 24 year old righthander Mack Brubaker. Brubaker was 8-1, 2.84 in AAA this season and didn't miss a beat in his big league debut last week taking over for the injured Les Bradshaw in the Washington rotation. He allowed just 1 earned run in 6 2/3 to get the win in his debut by a 2-1 score over Chicago. He lost his second started thanks to a pair of unearned runs but looked very solid in that outing as well.
- Al Wheeler is tied for the Chiefs team lead in HR after hitting 5 in July, but his overall line for the month is pretty dismal: .200/.288/.339. Newly minted power hitter Wayne Newcomb had 4 HR in July.
- Once again good and bad news from St Louis. The good is the Pioneers are 2 games over .500 after a 6-2 week that included recently acquired pitcher Joe Shaffner earning his 200th career FABL victory. The bad news is centerfielder Gail Gifford (.314,4,61), who was selected to the all-star team for the first time since 1937, suffered a torn hamstring and will be out until mid-September.
- After a 5-2 week that including taking two of three from the Chicago Cougars, Toronto is now thinking they should have been more aggressive at the deadline but is happy with the recent change in fortunes. Now 4 more home games before heading on the road for 23 games in 21 days which will probably determine whether the Wolves are contenders or pretenders. They currently sit third in the CA, 5.5 games back.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on what each of the 16 clubs did over the past couple months trade-wise.
BOSTON- Boston made two moves at the deadline in adding outfield depth in Jay Buckingham and more importantly pitching depth in the form of 28 year old Paul Richardson from the Philadelphia Sailors. But they also added 29 year old shortstop Harry Barrell from Brooklyn a couple of weeks before the deadline as they prepare for what should be quite a fight with Chicago (and perhaps Washington) down the stretch for the Federal Association pennant. The hope is Richardson steps into the hole in the pitching rotation created by Dean Astle's injury. The only thing that would have made this a more successful trading session for the Minutemen was to land a bigger name arm, but Richardson has snuck up on people this year and may continue to surprise.
BROOKLYN- Early sellers the Kings were quiet on deadline day but made huge moves earlier in moving Al Wheeler, Harry Barrell, Art White and Bob Cummings. In their place Brooklyn added an additional first round pick and a lot of good young talent including top pitching prospects Bob Crowley, Leo Hayden and Mel Haynes.
CHIEFS- How does adding Al Wheeler and Gus Goulding grab you? The Chiefs also picked up Bob Cummings but Wheeler and Goulding were the two prizes. Now the Chiefs need them to play like they are capable of and if so, Chicago will be unstoppable in the Fed.
COUGARS- The Cougars grabbed Brooklyn's best pitcher in Art White and then, motivated primarily because of a rash of injuries, proceeded to add outfielder Dan Fowler and pitcher Frank Crawford in an effort to stay one step ahead of Cincinnati in the Continental Association. White was costly but both Fowler and Crawford were added with little to no hit on the deep Cougars farm system.
CINCINNATI- Perhaps only the Chicago Chiefs showed a deeper commitment to going all-in on the trade front. Cincinnati added Billy Dalton, Sam Brown, Chris Clarke and in a deadline day move picked up veteran second sacker Jack Cleaves. They did manage to hang on to number one prospect Dick Blaszak, but the rest of the farm system and their first and second round picks in January (plus their fourth) are all gone so Cannons brass better hope the aggressive moves pay off in a pennant this year or next.
CLEVELAND- The rebuilding Foresters did the only thing they could do - moved veteran outfielder Dan Fowler. I would have liked to see a slightly better return for the 34 year old but trade partners were likely very limited for Cleveland.
DETROIT- Wow, is all we can say. Yes, there had been talk prior to the deadline that Red Johnson might be moved and even some discussions as far back as early June that hinted what might be to come but it was still a shock when the deal happened. The Dynamos have fallen apart the past year and a half after what was looking like a textbook rebuild and now it is back to square one as they also moved veteran pitcher Frank Crawford and shortstop George Dawson. There are a lot of prospects and 6 of the first 25 or so players selected in January will be drafted by Detroit (barring another deal or two) but giving up on Red Johnson is a move that will be much debated for years.
MONTREAL- The Saints are pretty much in limbo. Some good young talent, but much of it off to the war, and not a lot of veterans they either wanted to part with or had teams show interest in. Either way it was a very quiet trade deadline in Quebec.
NY STARS- The Stars, having fallen apart after playing in the WCS just 10 months ago, made a couple of late June moves sending Chris Clarke to Cincinnati and Chink Stickels to Toronto for draft picks. However, try as they might to find a suitor for one or more of their veteran pitchers, the Stars came up empty at the deadline. Not to say that is a bad thing as, while this year is a write-off, perhaps those arms (Vern Hubbard and Billy Riley) are back on track next year.
NY GOTHAMS- Not much else to say that hasn't already been covered. Billy Dalton, Gus Goulding and a lot of picks and prospects are out but Red Johnson is on his way to the Big Apple. It was, to say the least, a very eventful day in New York at the deadline.
KEYSTONES- The Keystones traditionally don't make a lot of big trades, preferring to draft and develop their own players so to see them stand pat this deadline was not unexpected. There has developed a trend in Philadelphia over the past decade where the Keystones are solid, but not quite good enough to be taken seriously as a pennant contender. Yes, there have been some exceptions but this year you can't help but feel the Keystones hands are tied. At 8 and a half games out are they actually in the race? With Boston and Chicago loading up quicker than the Allies for their European invasion, it is hard to fault Keystones brass for thinking there is no sense trying to keep up this season.
SAILORS- Much like the Keystones, the Sailors find themselves stuck in the middle and not willing to pay the price for a pennant chase that would likely prove to be futile anyway. They actually ended up being sellers at the deadline add added a pretty nice third base prospect in Frankie Gonnella at the cost of a 28 year old pitcher they claimed on waivers less than two years ago.
PITTSBURGH- The loss of George Cleaves and Pablo Reyes to the war hastened the demise of the Miners this season. It has been quite some time since Pittsburgh was out of the race by the all-star break so being a seller is an unusual position for Miners management to find itself in. They made just the one move, parting with 36 year old first baseman Jack Cleaves at the deadline, in return for a pair of prospects ranked in the low 100s by OSA.
ST LOUIS- A lot has gone right for St Louis this season such as Al Tucker's dominance and the return to Allen Award contender form from Sam Sheppard. But there have been a bunch of injuries and some inconsistent play from others so the Pioneers continue to hover around .500. One gets the feeling they wanted to be buyers but just didn't have the confidence in their chances to contend (and rightly so) so they settled with a move to bring 39 year old Joe Shaffner back to the Gateway City, which is where his career started. Shaffner is having a solid year and the cost was certainly not too high, but it is not the move that will get St Louis into contention.
TORONTO- The poor Wolves. Or were they lucky? A slump just before the deadline combined with the stocking up being done in both Chicago and Cincinnati prompted the Wolves to back-out of a potential deal for Gus Goulding. As a result adding Chink Stickels to shore up a struggling outfielder in late June was the only move they made. Toronto has some talent and may still get back in the race but the more likely scenario is they are unable to catch both the Cannons and Cougars so holding on to their future might have been the best course of action in Toronto. Still, one can't help but think just how good a rotation headed by Joe Hancock, Bernie Johnston and Gus Goulding might have looked.
WASHINGTON- It is almost incomprehensible that the Eagles are in a fight for first place, especially when you consider their pitching - which was hardly a strong suit- lost it's number one start in May and then lost Les Bradshaw (7-5, 3.80) for the season two weeks ago. They also traded arguably their best hitter in 32 year old outfielder Sam Brown last month but nothing seems to slow them down. Pitching still seems like a major need as does an improvement at shortstop. Well, the Eagles addressed the second of those two needs at the deadline with a nice pickup in 30 year old George Dawson but they are going to hope that calling up Mack Brubaker, a 24 year old who was 8-1 at AAA Kansas City, will fill the hole in the rotation. Nothing I can think of gives me reason to pick the Eagles over Boston or Chicago but Washington has been a surprise all season so who knows.
[list][*]The door is open a crack for the Army to reverse it's stance on soldier-students playing intercollegiate football, but a decision will have to come soon for athletic directors at "army" colleges to be able to make a final decision on whether to have a team or not. Representatives Samuel Weiss and Max Morris are said to have made some headway in their efforts to obtain approval of intercollegiate athletics for the camps soldiers.[*]When Brunswick's grid coach says "we're going to have a green bunch," he's not referring to his victory garden but to the Knight's squad he is preparing for the 1943 football contests. Brunswick does have nearly 100 players, 80 of them Navy and Marine service men, trying out but only one has major college football experience. The coach says he will have an "interesting, but difficult" time posting a positive record with a tough schedule that includes Annapolis Maritime, St Patrick's, St Pancras, Pierpont and Grafton on it's slate of games. Brunswick was just 2-7 a year ago.[*]Grid success is secondary at St. Blane. That's what the Fighting Saints coaching staff is telling the 61 players who reported for their four-weeks of summer drills. It was explained to the players, nearly all V-12 trainees, that "the Government is spending a vast sum of money and lots of time on all V-12 trainees. We intend to co-operate with them 100 percent and we want to assure you at this time that we are more interested in helping you achieve that object for which you were sent here than we are in developing an outstanding football team." The Saints do expect, nonetheless, to be pretty strong this season. They were 7-3-1 a year ago.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/01/1943
- The week began with a new Premier of Italy and unconfirmed reports that ousted Premier Benito Mussolini has fled into exile. Prime Minister Churchill warned Italy that she would be invaded and "scared, scarred and blackened from one end to the other" unless she surrenders unconditionally immediately.
- The Germans have refused to withdraw their troops from Italy despite a request from the new Italian leadership.
- In a speech Wednesday, President Roosevelt calls for the unconditional surrender of Japan and Germany, as well as making a demand that the new Italian government hold Mussolini for trial.
- With Sicily nearly entirely under Allied control, increased attention is focused on the Italian mainland as the Allies still await Rome's reply to the peace bid.
- As the week draws to a close the Italians order home 26 divisions in the Balkans and France and have sent 75,000 troops to the Brenner Pass to stem the flow of Germans into northern Italy.
- While some products such as butter are seeing even tighter rationing, the United States has ended the rationing of some products, most notably coffee.