October 14, 1943 : SPECIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES EDITION
WOOD ONE-HITTER FORCES GAME SEVEN
Home field has certainly been an advantage through the first six games of the World Championship Series, which is knotted at 3 wins apiece in advance of today's seventh game at Boston's Minutemen Park against the visiting Cincinnati Cannons.
Boston took the first two games at home before the Cannons won three straight once the series shifted to Cincinnati including Monday's fifth game in which Butch Smith came up with a big effort on the mound to lead the Cannons to a 4-2 victory.
It was Smith's bat, not his arm, that got things started when he led off with a single off Boston starter Walt Wells in the third inning. He would score on a Fred Galloway triple two batters later and the Cannons finished the inning up 2-0 after Adam Mullins drove in Galloway. Mullins would deliver another key blow in the bottom fifth inning -this one a 2-out double to plate Bob Griffith, who had reached on a free pass. That extended the Cannons lead to 3-0 and made Boston's missed opportunity in the top of the fifth even more costly. The Minutemen had the bases loaded with no one out but Smith managed to retire the next 3 batters and pitch his way out of trouble.
The Minutemen would finally score in the 6th, plating a run on a Harry Barrell sac fly to make the score 3-1 and an inning later the deficit was cut to just a single run after a Lew McClendon rbi single. Boston had the opportunity for a big inning with runners on second and third and two out but Bill Moore flew out to end the threat.
Chuck Adams, who led the Cannons with 16 homers during the season, delivered his first of the Series to lead off the bottom of the 8th, giving Cincinnati some insurance in the form of a 4-2 lead. Larry Brown, who took over on the Cincinnati mound from Smith in the 8th inning, allowed a 1-out walk to pinch-hitter Len Jones in the 9th but promptly picked Jones off and then induced a weak grounder from Pete Day to end the game and send the Cannons to Boston with a 3 games to two series lead.
The sixth game was all Ed Wood as the 35 year old lefthander pitched complete game 1-hit gem to keep the Minutemen alive in the Series with a 4-0 victory which knotted the series at 3 and continued the series-long trend of the home team prevailing. It was Wood's second win of the Series and he did it without allowing an earned run, putting the cherry on top of his career best 23-win season and what should be his first Allan Award.
The Cannons had just the one hit - a 2-out single from Bob Griffith in the third inning- and 4 base runners reached by a Wood walks. Two of the those came in the top of the first inning in what would turn out to be Cincinnati's only real opportunity to get to Wood on this day. Griffith worked Wood for a lead-off walk and, after Fred Galloway popped out, Mullins also claimed a free ticket on base. However, Wood got out of the jam by getting Chuck Adams to ground into an inning-ending doubleplay. Griffith would walk again to lead off the 6th inning and move to second on a Fred Galloway ground out but a pair of fly balls left him stranded at second base. That would prove to be the final Cincinnati baserunner for the day as Wood sat the final 11 Cannons batters down in order.
Chris Clarke was keeping the Boston bats in check, at least for the most part, until the bottom of the fifth when the Minutemen snapped a scoreless tie with a 4-run outburst. Art Spencer hit an rbi single with 2-out and Bill Moore followed with a triple to make it 2-0. Up to the plate stepped Donoghue, the often injured but still dangerous slugger, and he walloped a 2-run homer that clearly put the game out of reach.
So for the third year in a row it all comes down to one game to decide the winner of the World Championship Series. Boston has been here before, beating the Chicago Cougars at home in the 7th game two years ago after trailing in the series 2-0. Deuce Barrell, the Cannons ace who is 1-1 with a decidedly un-ace-like 4.76 era in the Series, will undoubtedly get the ball for the Cannons. When Deuce is on he can be one of the best pitchers in the game, but he has looked merely ordinary and perhaps even so what less than so, against Boston so far. Boston is left with a choice of starting veteran Walt Wells, who won Game Two but absorbed a 4-2 loss in the fifth game, on short rest or giving the ball to Duke Hendricks, who was hit pretty hard in the Game Three loss. The Minutemen due have the advantage of home field in their brand new stadium....and so far that has made all the difference in this World Championship Series.
- This is the third straight season we have seen the WCS go the full 7 games. The Gothams won the battle of New York last year by winning games six and seven on the road after falling behind 3-2 while Boston did the same thing at home the previous season after dropping the fifth game to the Cougars in Chicago.
- The home team has won all 6 games this series and being on the road for Game Seven does not bode well for the Cannons as in only three of the previous 14 WCS Game Sevens has the visiting team won (although for two of them it is lost to history who was the host of the 7th game.)
- If there is anything working in the Cannons favour (besides possibly Deuce Barrell) it is the fact that the franchise is 2-0 all-time in 7th games. The Minutemen are 1-1.
WCS GAME SEVENS
1942 Gothams over Stars (road team won)
1941 Boston over Cougars
1938 Chiefs over Brooklyn (road team won)
1934 Cleveland over Gothams
1933 Keystones over Cougars
1930 Sailors over Gothams
1929 Detroit over Sailors
1921 Montreal over St Louis (unknown)
1918 Detroit over Cougars
1915 Montreal over Boston
1914 Baltimore over Washington (unknown)
1911 Toronto over Detroit
1908 Baltimore over Detroit (road team won)
1896 Gothams over Cougars
- Gothams sources say they have an offer for Rusty Petrick that they are close to accepting, but word is club is trying to get another team involved to try and drive the price up for the inconsistent 27 year old who sports a 70-102 career record.
- Speaking of shopping players the St Louis Pioneers have a lengthy list of primarily fringe big leaguers they are looking to move on from.
TOP COASTAL CALIFORNIA HARDWOOD RECRUIT ENLISTS
The Coastal California Dolphins learned this week that Kenny Sherman -the #4 ranked recruit in the nation- will not be playing for the team this season. The 19 year old Stockton, Ca., native has informed the school that he is enlisting in the Marines at the conclusion of this semester and as a result he will not play college basketball.
Sherman was considered to be the top high school senior on the west coast last year and he sparked a fierce recruiting battle between most of the top schools in the west. Despite his absence, the Dolphins remain a very deep team although Sherman was being counted on to step in and replace Richard McEachern, who was a third team All-American as a senior a year ago.
The Week That Was
Current events from the period of 10/11/1943 thru 10/13/1943
- Portugal has granted the British the use of it's naval base in the Azores, which should greatly aid in the war on German U-boats.
- Gains continue to be reported both in Italy and on the Eastern Front.
- Prime Minister Churchill rebuked American politicians for including in political rows in the midst of a war. He also warned the House of Commons that the bloodiest fighting of the war lies ahead for the British people.
- Italy is expected to declare war on Germany, her former Axis partner.