JANUARY 24, 1944
YOUTH IS SERVED
High School Players Dominate FABL Draft
Perhaps the war and the fact that there are just less college baseball players these days was the big factor but, whatever the case, the result was an unprecedented focus on youth as FABL conducted the January portion of it's annual rookie player draft. 14 of the first 16 draft picks and 26 of the first 30 names called were high school athletes with only 6 collegiate players in all being selected in the opening two rounds.
The focus on youth, along with the fact that it seemed every time you turned around the Detroit Dynamos were selecting again, was the overwhelming theme of the 34th annual draft. Detroit, after trading young superstar Red Johnson and veteran infielder George Dawson away over the summer, had four first round picks and six of the first 19 selections. If they all pan out -and that is a big 'if' especially when you are discussing high school prospects- the Dynamos landed two potential front of the rotation starters, an all-star centerfielder, an elite catcher, a third baseman who could hit over .300 and a very good shortstop.
The draft went very much according to script with few surprise selections. OSA head Dan Barrell noted that the 16 ballclubs drafted very well. "Usually on my personal scorecard I have a few head-scratchers and some I would question as being selected a little too early. Not this time. No head-scratchers and really just one or two I thought were picked a little high."
The first college player selected was Canadian pitcher Eli Panneton. The 22 year old is actually not a college pitcher yet. He recently enrolled at Aberdeen College in South Dakota but spent the past couple of years pitching in semi-pro leagues in the Canadian prairies and was selected 4th overall by the New York Stars. Some observers, Barrell included, feel the righthander might be able to make the jump straight to FABL when his college season ends, especially with the war-depleted rosters in the game today.
The next college player did not get selected until the Washington Eagles, in a pick they acquired from Cincinnati in the Sam Brown trade, tabbed Amarillo Methodist shortstop Jim Sibert with the final pick of the opening round. One of the biggest sliders in the draft was another college infielder as Eddie Logan of Gates University lasted until the middle of the second round when Montreal selected the 20 year old. Logan, who's father Sherry Logan played college ball at Brunswick University, was ranked #5 on the TWIFB August mock draft but ended up being selected 24th.
The third round, which restricts teams to selecting players from their home or a neighbouring stae, will be conducted next week with the remainder of the draft being held in June after the college and high school seasons have completed.
Code:
FABL 1944 ROUND ONE DRAFT PICKS
PK TEAM POS NAME AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN
1 DET RHP Roy Schaub 17 St Joseph's HS Philadelphia Camden, NJ
2 CLE C Joe Robinson 17 Warren (PA) HS Warren, PA
3 DET CF Edwin Hackberry 17 San Diego(CA) HS San Diego, CA
4 NYS RHP Eli Panneton 22 Aberdeen College Winnipeg, MB
5 PIT 1B Jim Flowers 17 New Eagle (PA) HS New Eagle, PA
6 BKN SS Nick Remillard 17 Hillsboro HS, Nashville Nashville, TN
7 DET SS Stan Kleminski 17 Mercer (PA) HS Mercer, PA
8 MON LHP Ted Coffin 17 Ahoskie (NC) HS Ahoskie, NC
9 DET LHP Carl Potter 17 Bettsville (OH) HS Philadelphia, PA
10 PHS CF George Rutter 17 Curtis HS, Staten Island New York, NY
11 PHK RF Ben Thompson 17 Yazoo City (MS) HS Yazoo City, MS
12 CHC LHP Bert Rogers 17 Wenoma (IL) HS Chicago, IL
13 STL SS Dave McCraw 17 Xavier HS, New York City New York, NY
14 TOR C Cal Yeager 17 Lodi (OH) HS Lodi, OH
15 BKN CF Ed Duncan 18 Troy (KS) HS Independence, MO
16 WSH SS Jim Sibert 20 Amarillo Methodist Snow Camp, NC
FABL 1944 ROUND TWO DRAFT PICKS
PK TEAM POS NAME AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN
17 DET C Red Rodgers 18 Lewiston (NY) HS Buffalo, NY
18 CLE SS Earle Haley 17 Hamburg (IA) HS Omaha, NE
19 DET 3B Lou McCright 17 Clark HS New Orleans Greenwell Springs, LA
20 NYS C Dan Atwood 17 Crown City (OH) HS Mansfield, OH
21 PIT CF Charlie J Williams 17 Cannonsburg (PA) HS Cannonsburg, PA
22 BKN LHP Jackson Scott 18 Susquehanna State Yonkers, NY
23 CHI RHP Willis Barth 17 Sidwell Friends, Wash. DC Lancaster, PA
24 MON 2B Eddie Logan 20 Gates University San Francisco, CA
25 WSH CF Jackie Garner 17 Water Valley (MS) HS Water Valley, MS
26 PHS RHP Lee Ahlstrom 17 Harmony (MN) HS Barnesville, MN
27 PHK RHP Rick Dixon 17 Honey Brook (PA) HS Philadelphia, PA
28 CHC RF Tom Jovin 17 Pocahontas (VA) HS Norfolk, VA
29 STL CF Al Monroe 21 College of Waco Crystal City, TX
30 TOR 2B King Allen 18 Marietta (GA) HS Marietta, GA
31 BOS CF Karl Berggren 22 Huntington State North Attleborough, MA
32 NYS P Dan Atwater 21 Wisconsin State St Joseph, MO
- The head of FABL umpires talked like a circus press agent today in predicting the majors would have a great season in 1944. "It will be a spectacular show," he declared. "A thrilling competition. Even if all the stars were missing, it still would be something to watch. The old players will be back and the young ones will move up and the fans will have plenty to shout about. Don't worry about baseball. It will be all right."
- The Washington Times reports Eagles hurlers Lou Ellertson and Del Burns are anxious to get to training camp. It will be a welcome break for each as both have been doing essential work since the close of the last baseball campaign. Burns in the mines near his Wyoming home while Ellertson in a Southern war products plant. "Anything John (Washington manager John Lawrence) throws at us in camp will be a breeze compared to what I have been doing," exclaimed Burns.
- So all of the pieces from the big Red Johnson deal are now known. The Dynamos received 4 young players in SS Win Hamby, C Rick York, OF Don Hersey and pitcher Irv Harden along with draft picks that turned out to be pitchers Roy Schaub and Carl Potter along with catcher Red Rodgers. It is going to be interesting to look back at this one. Dynamos Assistant General Manager Mike Walton was quoted in the Detroit World as saying "Right now I like the potential in the players we got, but all it is, is potential."
- It was a quiet day for the pennant winners. The WCS winning Cincinnati Cannons did not have a selection as they dealt each of their first two round picks away while Fed flag winner Boston was only left with it's second rounder -pick 35 overall. The Minutemen went with a local product in Massachusetts native Karl Berggren, a 22 year old centerfielder who is playing his college ball at Huntington State.
WASHINGTON BACK, CINCINNATI IN AS AFA FINALIZES FIELD
The American Football Association will return to it's 1942 size as the loop confirmed it will operate with 10 teams in 1944 -two more than took the field for the 1943 campaign. The Washington Wasps, after a year on the sidelines, will return to the Eastern Division while the leagues newest entry -the Cincinnati Monarchs- have been approved as an expansion club for the Western Division. The Philadelphia Frigates are also back, as the plan is to field a team after a year spent sharing a franchise with the St Louis Ramblers. The Ramblers do not feel confident about fielding a full team of their own so for 1944 they will partner on a combined outfit with the Cleveland Finches. The Divisions for 1944 will look as follows:
EASTERN DIVISION
Boston Americans
Brooklyn Kings
New York Stars
Philadelphia Frigates
Washington Wasps
WESTERN DIVISION
Chicago Wildcats
Cincinnati Monarchs
Cleveland-St Louis Finches/Ramblers
Detroit Dynamos
Pittsburgh Paladins
SECTION PLAY IN FULL SWING
Now is when the real AIAA basketball season gets underway as teams have become fully immersed in their conference schedules. This is the time when the top clubs in the power conferences like the Great Lakes Alliance and West Coast Athletic Association start to beat up on each other and no team felt more of that brunt this past week then City College of Los Angeles. The Coyotes opened the section slate with an easy tune-up game against Custer College a little over a week ago, and won by a 56-34 count but then things got serious for CCLA. Back to back games against the top two teams in the nation resulted in losses to Coastal California (45-40) at home and in Washington against Rainier College (50-42). That dropped the Coyotes from 5th in the poll down to #12.
In the Great Lakes Alliance, Minnesota Tech had a similar fall -sliding from 6th to 9th after losing 62-48 at Indiana A&M, as the Reapers rose from 11 to 8. Western Iowa, thanks to 39 points over two games from senior guard Gerald Carter, is now the top team in the GLA and #3 in the rankings behind the Majestics and Dolphins.
*** CARTER SETS AIAA RECORD ***
Gerald Carter has been on quite the run of late. Not only did he get 39 points in the Canaries first two conference games but he also scored 39 in their final non-conference contest. That was on January 13 in a 54-42 win over College of Cairo. Carter had 39 points including 16 field goals in the win, which is a new AIAA single game record in each of those categories. His 16 field goals made -which came on 27 shot attempts- broke by 1 the previous high-water mark set by Gabe Levan of Miami State in 1939 and equalled by Alabama Baptist's Lonnie Porter last year. The 39 points is 4 more than any college player has ever scored in a single game.
Code:
AIAA SINGLE GAME POINTS LEADERS
# Player Team Date Record
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Gerald Carter Western Iowa 01/13/1944 39
2 Charles Weiss California Catholic 03/18/1939 35
3 Gabriel Levan Miami State 12/16/1939 35
4 Jeffery McComas Smithfield College 01/22/1940 34
5 Roy Philips Eastern Kansas 12/09/1941 34
6 Andrew Tate Arkansas A&T 02/03/1941 32
7 Foster Mitchell Eastern Kansas 03/12/1938 31
8 Richard Gilley Eastern Oklahoma 01/07/1939 31
9 Chris Davis Central Ohio 01/19/1939 31
10 Roman Speight Eastern Virginia 02/06/1939 31
11 Jeffrey Biles Minnesota Tech 01/03/1940 31
12 Anderson Pond Chicago Poly 01/19/1940 31
13 Gordon Gebhart Hamman 01/08/1941 31
14 Lon Porter Alabama Baptist 02/06/1943 31
15 Morgan Melcher Coastal California 11/30/1943 31
Code:
AIAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Rainier College (72) 15-1 1800 1 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Coastal California 14-2 1717 2 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Western Iowa 14-2 1654 4 Great Lakes Alliance
4. North Carolina Tech 13-2 1591 3 South Atlantic Conference
5. Ohio Poly 18-3 1439 9 Independent
6. Chesapeake State 13-3 1405 7 South Atlantic Conference
7. Brooklyn State 13-2 1403 8 Northeast Conference
8. Indiana A&M 13-2 1277 11 Great Lakes Alliance
9. Minnesota Tech 14-2 1259 6 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Frankford State 13-2 1171 10 Northeast Conference
11. Perry State College 16-2 1028 13 Midwestern Association
12. CC Los Angeles 12-4 964 5 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Liberty College 12-4 962 15 Northeast Conference
14. Garden State 13-3 913 14 Northeast Conference
15. Annapolis Maritime 16-4 785 16 Independent
16. Detroit City College 11-4 783 12 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Brookland 18-4 597 17 Independent
18. Bronx Tech 15-4 556 18 Independent
19. Carolina Poly 11-5 497 24 South Atlantic Conference
20. Brooklyn Catholic 15-5 403 NR Independent
21. St. Ignatius 10-5 337 20 Great Lakes Alliance
22. Piedmont University 13-4 317 25 Independent
23. Lincoln 11-4 205 NR Great Lakes Alliance
24. Hamman 17-5 141 21 Independent
25. Troy State (NY) 15-5 79 NR Independent
Others Receiving Votes:
Whitney College 9-6 35 Great Lakes Alliance
Northern California 11-5 24 West Coast Athletic Association
St. Pancras 11-5 14 Northeast Conference
Central Ohio 9-6 12 Great Lakes Alliance
Alabama Baptist 11-5 9 Deep South Conference
Central Kentucky 10-6 7 Deep South Conference
Freemont State 11-4 7 Midwestern Association
Sadler 12-5 3 Academia Alliance
Texas Gulf Coast 11-5 3 Southwestern Alliance
Bayou State 12-6 2 Deep South Conference
Bigsby College 11-5 1 Eastern Eight
RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JAN 17
#5 Ohio Poly 51 Elyria 31
#7 Brooklyn State 60 St Martin's College 54
#10 Frankford State 39 St Matthew's College 21
#15 Annapolis Maritime 50 Western Montana 27
#22 Piedmont University 47 Three Rivers State 37
TUESDAY JAN 18
none played
WEDNESDAY JAN 19
#5 Ohio Poly 46 Penobscot State 36
#14 Garden State 56 Commonwealth Catholic 23
#18 Bronx Tech 57 Manhattan Tech 47
THURSDAY JAN 20
#6 Chesapeake State 49 Alexandria 41
#8 Indiana A&M 62 #9 Minnesota Tech 48
#11 Perry State College 42 Lambert College 39
#16 Detroit City College 63 #21 St Ignatius 48
#17 Brookland 56 Tinker 35
#19 Carolina Poly 50 Mobile Maritime 27
#20 Brooklyn Catholic 44 Three Rivers State 34
#23 Lincoln 54 St Magnus 43
Dakota College 45 #24 Hamman 38
FRIDAY JAN 21
#1 Rainier College 47 Idaho A&M 28
#2 Coastal California 45 #12 CC Los Angeles 40
#25 Troy State(NY) 48 Narragansett 38
SATURDAY JAN 22
#3 Western Iowa 62 Wisconsin State 33
#5 Ohio Poly 52 #18 Bronx Tech 42
#7 Brooklyn State 45 St Patrick's 35
#8 Indiana A&M 44 #16 Detroit City College 33
#9 Minnesota Tech 56 St Magnus 53
#19 Carolina Poly 61 Potomac College 40
#21 St Ignatius 43 Whitney College 30
#23 Lincoln 55 Central Ohio 52
SUNDAY JAN 23
#1 Rainier College 50 #12 CC Los Angeles 42
#2 Coastal California 48 Northern California 41
#11 Perry State College 47 Bluegrass State 44
Eastern State 37 #17 Brookland 35
#25 Troy State(NY) 47 Hampden 33
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/23/1944
- Gen. Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, Allied commander in chief in the Mediterranean, says the European war can be won in 1944 and hinted his armies may strike into southern France when General Eisenhower's British-based forces invade the continent.
- Prime Minister Churchill, back in London after remaining in Africa to recover from his battle with pneumonia, received a standing ovation upon returning to the House of Commons.
- An update on the situation in Italy and along the Eastern Front is pictured below
- As the week came to close the Allies were within 16 miles of Rome and threatened to trap 200,000 enemy soldiers.
- The air assault on Germany, and in particular Berlin, continues in full force with a raid mid-week lauching 100 tons of explosives a minute on the German capital.
- The death toll from the destroyer that exploded off the coast of New York City earlier this month is pegged at 60. Still no official cause for the explosion, but it is not believed to be the result of enemy fire.
- Russia is expected to politely but firmly reject the United States offer to mediate the Russian-Polish border dispute.
- Secretary of War Stimson warns that industrial unrest on the home front threatens to undermine the morale of fighting forces and he called for national service legislation to "equalize" the war obligation of all citizens.
