APRIL 30, 1945
EAGLES FLYING HIGH
Spring training results are meaningless. We all know that but the Washington Eagles are exhibit A in proving the point. The Eagles stumbled through a 7-17 spring showing, including losing their final six tune-up games but once the switch was flipped on for the 1945 season the Stockdales have been nearly unstoppable with 10 wins in their first 13 games. Two of Washington's three losses were by a single run and both came in extra innings.
Federal Association opponents knew that John Lawrence's club had plenty of pitching and the Washington starters -with the possible exception of front-man Del Burns (2-1, 5.30) have been outstanding- but most felt there would be a huge hole in the Eagles offense after Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo left to join the war effort. That has not been the case as the Eagles, led by Fed player of the week Sig Stofer (.388,2,14) top their loop in runs scored and made it look easy over the weekend with 23 runs in 3 games in Philadelphia.
Speaking of the Keystones, they are one of 3 Fed teams that are off to a much slower start than was expected. Bobby Barrell (.318,3,9) is still hitting -although not yet at his triple crown pace of a year ago- but the rest of the Keystones offense has struggled and their pitching is having its troubles as well. Pittsburgh is another team, like their Pennsylvania neighbors struggling to a 4-7 start, but in the Miners case it is clearly injuries that can shoulder a good share of the blame. Veteran outfielder Wally Flowers is the latest to go down, and his hamstring troubles will cause him to miss at least the next month. Flowers is the fourth Pittsburgh outfielder battling an injury, joining Mahlon Strong, Willie Vega and Whit Williams, with second baseman Les Tucker is also hurt.
There is no injury bug to blame for the Gothams early season funk. Picked by many as the team to beat in the Federal Association, New York has looked awful in the early going with Ed Bowman mercifully snapping a 7-game losing skid yesterday with his first win of the season. Pitching was supposed to be the Gothams strength this season and war-returnee Harry Carter (1-1, 3.24) along with ace Ed Bowman (1-3, 2.45) have done a decent job but there has to be some worry for new skipper Bud Jameson that age might be catching up with Jim Lonardo (0-1, 6.63) and reality with 33 year old Jim Baggett (0-1, 10.24) who is out to prove he is not just a one-year wonder. Four-time Allen Award winner Jim Lonardo's slow start is especially concerning when you consider that he is 40 years old and the fact that he struggled in the spring as well. His three starts in the regular season have been well below his standards and Jameson might just be rethinking his plan to go with just a 4-man rotation.
Gothams management summed it up this way: "The pitchers have not been spectacular, then hitting has been more miss than hit and the defense has been nothing special. That's how you got 4-8. I think some things will level out, but it looks like more of a placeholder year untill the big boys get back. Seems I've spent most of my FABL days waiting on Brewer, Monier and Messer."
*** Start Fit For a King ***
The Brooklyn Kings are the surprise team in the Continental Association, a loop in which the standings -at least aside from second place Cincinnati- look to be inverted after two weeks. The Kings pitching has been nothing to write home about in the early going, but there offense has been positively regal. Veterans Vernon Ruch (.302,3,14) and Jake Shadoan (.300,2,11) along with second year catcher George Jones (.353,0,4) are three big reasons the Kings lead the big leagues in runs scored.
Cincinnati is hot on their heels as the Cannons offense is blasting home runs at the rate of one a game thanks to a huge start from Denny Andrews (.453,5,12) and a return to his form of the mid-1930s from veteran outfielder Al Wheeler (.348,4,16) but age perhaps appears to be catching up with the Cincinnati arms. Jim Crawford is the latest Cannons hurler to go down, joining Deuce Barrell, Jake Smith and Sam Sheppard. None of the injuries appear to be especially troublesome although Cannons manager Ad Liska is holding his breath over Barrell's tender elbow, but all are the nagging type that could either be merely those little things that crop up as the club heads north after having the veteran arms take it easy in spring, or a more serious sign of age catching up with a staff dominated by veteran arms.
Frustration is growing in Chicago as the Cougars second half slump from a year ago seems to have shown little interest in leaving the Windy City. Aside from the New York Gothams, the Cougars 4-8 start has to be considered the most disappointing to start the season. One could simply chalk it up to just working the early season kinks out but losing six straight games to the Montreal Saints does little to restore confidence to a club that had little of it left by the end of last season.
BELTON WORRIED ARMY 'TARGETING' 4-F BALLPLAYERS
FABL President Sam Belton is ready to fight for the right of 4-Fs to play baseball. "Just because a man's able to play two hours of a certain sport is no indication that he is fit for military services," the long-time baseball boss said in an interview.
"I believe a 4-F is a 4-F regarless of what his profession might be. Merely because a man is a baseball player and a 4-F doesn't mean his draft board should reclassify him and put him into service."
Belton sais he had heard of cases where just such things had happened. "I have informed the President of the United States, my friend Harry Truman, that there have been these instances of discrimination against ball players by selective service officials and have asked that they should be investigated."
The FABL head declined to give any specific examples but noted that a number of players declared 4-F in recent years have informed club owners that they have subject to increased pressure from their local draft boards even after recent medical examinations had reaffirmed their 4-F status. FABL executives feel that ballplayers are being intentionally targeted strictly due to their occupation.
CLEAVES REACHES 2500 PLATEAU
The 2,500 hit club has just added it's 31st member as Jack Cleaves joined that illustrious group yesterday in the opener of a doubleheader. The 37 year old Cincinnati Cannons second baseman singled on the first pitch he saw from Philadelphia Sailors righthander John Thomas Johnson in the second inning of what would end up a 4-1 loss for Cleaves and his teammates. Cleaves would add 4 more hits in the nightcap as the Cannons evened the score with a 6-2 victory.
It was fitting that Philadelphia was the opponent for Cleaves milestone knock. The three-time all-star began his big league career in 1920 at the tender age of 20 and spent 11 seasons with the Sailors -helping them to 3 pennants and a pair of World Championship Series wins. A famous trade prior to the 1938 season paired Cleaves up with his brother George in Pittsburgh and together they helped the Miners win a pennant that year. He was moved to Cincinnati prior to the trade deadline in 1943 and added two more WCS rings in his season and a half with the Cannons. Within the next month Cleaves is expected to crack the top twenty all-time in career FABL games played.
CLEAVES JUST ONE OF MANY MILESTONES WITHIN REACH THIS SEASON
Jack Cleaves became the latest to join baseball's 2,500 hit club with a single off the Sailors John Thomas Johnson in the opener of yesterday's twin bill. The hit did help take the sting off the latest pitching injury suffered by the Cannons as Jim Crawford had to leave after tossing 4 and a third shutout innings. The injury, called by club trainer George Gorham just a mild abdominal strain, is expected to only cause Crawford to miss one start but that was what was thought of Sam Sheppard when he suffered a muscle strain in the opening week and now there is worry he might miss more time. And don't get me started on Deuce Barrell's elbow....
Anyway, this column was supposed to be about the coming milestones for the veteran Cannons. Cleaves is also just 10 games away from tying Charlie Nabb for 20th all-time in career FABL games and by the time the season ends he might well pass Bill Craigen and Dave Trowbridge, who are tied for 14th. Al Wheeler is right there as well as the Wonder Wheel's next game will be the 2,577th of his great career and tie him with Calvin Kidd for the fifth most ever played in FABL.
Wheeler is also just 83 hits shy of the 3,000 mark and within 29 of catching Rankin Kellogg for second all-time in rbi's behind only Hall of Famer Max Morris. The big one for Wheeler is the homerun total. He hit two more this week to give him 4 in 13 games. Now, odds are long that Wheeler will maintain a pace that has him on track for 47 longballs this season but at 465 for his career, perhaps 500 is within his grasp before the end of September. Wheeler needs 10 more to tie Kellogg with 475. Morris and his 711 career homeruns will be all that is ahead of him after he surpasses Kellogg.
Sam Brown is also closing in on his 2,000 career hit so there will be plenty of reasons to celebrate Cannons achievements in the coming months.
*** Sailors Youngster Part of History But a Name To Watch ***
John Thomas Johnson is a 24 year old pitcher with the Philadelphia Sailors that many fans of the sport had never really heard of until news that he was the victim of Jack Cleaves 2,500th hit at Tice Memorial Stadium yesterday. It was the first time Cleaves ever faced the youngster and like the rest of his teammates, the veteran came away very impressed.
"That kid has quite a future," exclaimed Cleaves while talking about his milestone single. "I got him the first time but he adjusted well and his sinker is something else."
Johnson did face the Cannons a couple of times last season when he made his big league debut after being selected in the second round, 27th overall out of a St Louis high school by the Sailors in 1937. The Sunday start against the Cannons was just the 4th of his big league career and one has to think he will get many more.
Cannons Scouting Director Bill Bordwell expects Johnson to get many more big league starts throughout his career. "He keeps the ball down, doesn't give up homeruns and I think he can easily be a #2 or 3 starter in this league, even after everyone gets back from the war."
*** Great Time For Fight Fans ***
After nearly 4 years with no title fights, boxing is picking up steam in a big way. We will likely get two title tilts to follow in the coming months. Middleweight champ Archie Rees is continuing his American tour with a battle in Philadelphia on June 9 against Frank Melanson and all signs are pointing to Hector Sawyer taking to the ring against Pete Sanderson sometime this summer. Sawyer was in the crowd last week in his hometown of New Orleans to watch Sanderson improve to 28-6-2 and the smart money is on Sawyer defending his crown next against the former Marine.
Talented young welterweight Danny Rutledge is 2-0 after a win at Reds Arena in Portland, Oregon last week. The 20 year old Louisville native might just be the next big thing in his division. Rutledge is best known for being on the undercard of the big Allied showcase last fall when Rees defended his title before soldiers and sailors in England. The Army private knocked out Seaman Mac Erickson in the 12th round of a wild bout that many feel is a preview of a future welterweight title clash. Rutledge was allowed to fight despite still being in the army and preparing to ship out to the Pacific. He did say he does not expect to be allowed to fight again by Uncle Sam until after the war is over.
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN -The Toronto Wolves, at 4-5, are having trouble in April. They are giving up far too many runs. The bullpen is struggling which is not ideal for Manager Bob Call's plan of conserving starting pitching arms early in year. Toronto could be in much worse shape considering than their 4 wins have all come in Sunday doubleheaders. Fans expected a much better start given that 7 of the first nine games were with the Cleveland Foresters who are not supposed to be much of a factor in the CA this year.
On the positive side of the ledger, Charlie Artuso is off to a red hot start with the rest of starters are at least holding their own through April. The Wolves problem, surprisingly, is not in the batter's box but on the mound, which was expected to carry the team in the early season. The faithful hope that the ship will right itself as the calendar turns to May.
Now that the season has begun in AAA, AA, A with B starting next week the clock is ticking for many minor league players. After the fall of Berlin a formal end to the fighting in Europe is only matter of days or hours away, the scout staff is evaluating all players in the system with anticipation of returnees from the war. Word around the offices is that evaluations are being done in a critical, some say ruthless manner.
*** New Grid Team On the Way? ***
Some in the know south of the border say the new Continental Football Conference has its sights set on Hogtown to make their loop truly a continental one. Nothing is official and both Wolves owner Bernie Millard and David Welcombe, ice magnate of the Dukes, say it is news to them but Chicago newsman Percy Sutherland -who is a key organizer of the new play-for-pay grid consortium was quoted recently saying the league wanted a true Continental feel to it.
"We have the east and west covered with New York and the two California clubs," Sutherland explained, "and we are still finalizing a location or two in the south." As he walked away from reporters Sutherland quickly added "guess that just leaves Canada."
*** No Competition Planned for NAHC ***
While new sporting endeavors are all the rage south of the border, do not expect another top flight professional shinny league to pop up anytime soon. The North American Hockey Confederation is expected to continue to hold its monopoly on the ice as there has been absolutely zero talk of a rival pro hockey league springing up. The same can't be said for the other major sports. Most concrete are the plans for football as the Continental loop is looking more and more like it will start operations this fall, instead of in the autumn of 1946 as originally planned. There is also the growing likelihood a pro basketball circuit will start -also perhaps as early as October and while talk has died down of late there are still some on the west coast that want to see the Great Western League break off from it's affiliation with FABL and declare itself a rival league.
It's no wonder too, with all of the young men hopefully returning home in the near future and eager to provide both the playing force and fans needed for more pro sports.
- Just barely but he did it. A day before his 19th birthday Carl Potter of Detroit became the first pitcher in the modern era to notch a big league victory as an 18 year old. Potter went the distance stopping St Louis 4-1 on Thursday.
- Boston took three out of four from Pittsburgh to put them closer to the .500 mark to begin the season. Alf Pestilli wrenched his back in a 11-6 loss to Washington on the 25th and now will be day to day for at least two weeks. The injury will send Alf to the IL as a precautionary measure and Joe Watson will see the majority of time in left in his absence. Billy Dalton and Art Spencer have been leading the charge offensively for the Minutemen while the pitching seems to be the victimized by sub-par defensive play early bloating ERA's. As April draws to a close Boston is already four games back from association leader Washington, who they will welcome into Boston for a two game series to start May.
- Montreal record showing at 7-6 is kind of a surprise, but when you look deeper you see that 6 of the 7 wins came against the struggling Chicago Cougars. Meaning when playing against other team the Saints record is pretty awful. Montreal claimed 2 pitchers on waivers to help replace Jake DeYoung, who is out for the year. Dick Tillman and Ben Watkins are the newcomers. Both will get a chance to show their pitching skills in the coming weeks. On the other side Jackie Norfolk was lost to Cleveland on waiver. Bill Greene has a great week with 4 HRs. Prospect SS Perkins still continue to shine in the roster.
- Andy Boyer has been having a rough go of it for the New York Stars. 3 blown saves in the past 2 weeks by the 30 year old righthander has cost his club 3 close games. The Stars rotation hasn't been horrible, but they haven't been great outside of a few good games here and there. Overall the pitching is mediocre at best. Which is terrible considering the AAAA talent pitchers are going against in most cases.
- Fred Hall is back in Cincinnati. Caught in a numbers game the 38 year old was waived prior to opening day but after going unclaimed the Cannons added him to their big league roster after a wave of nagging injuries overcame their staff. Jake Smith, Jim Crawford and Sam Sheppard are all day to day but none are serious enough to warrant a stint on the injured list. Fortunately the Cannons have 3 off-days this week but also a doubeheader Sunday so they will try and struggle through with just 7 healthy arms.
- The Chicago Chiefs made a couple of roster moves after the opening week, most noticably a decision to demote Dick Blaszak to AAA. The Polish Hammer, who may still be feeling the effects of the bullet he took in the shoulder six months ago in the Pacific, let his bat doing the talking to show why he feels he should still be in Chicago. The 22 year old went 5-for-13 with the Warriors and hit his first professional homerun in nearly 3 years. With Blazak and fellow 22 year old outfield prospect Billy Brown both in Fort Wayne, Century League fans are in for a real treat -at least until the duo move up to Whitney Park.
SANDERSON TAKES DECISION OVER ROWE
Heavyweight contender Pete Sanderson looked very impressive in winning his 12th straight bout and running his record to 28-6-2 with an unanimous decision over Ben Rowe in New Orleans on Wednesday. Sanderson is now 2-0 since being discharged from the marines and is rumoured to be the next opponent for World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer. Sawyer was in attendance at the fight, held in The Cajan Crusher's hometown and his handlers were seen confering with Sanderson's manager immediately after the bout.
Just over a month after seeing his perfect record come to an end with a tough loss to Steve Landry, 25 year old Ira Mitchell was back in the ring with a vengance. The Chicago-born welterweight improved to 11-1 with a 6th round knockout of Gary Chenault. When questioned about why he was back in the ring just 32 days after losing, Mitchell explained he would have fought the next day if he could have found an opponent "just to get the taste of defeat out of my mouth."
Another talented fighter to watch for in the welterweight division is Danny Rutledge as the 20 year old Louisville, Ky. fighter improved to 2-0 with a 5th round knock of Jerry Jacobs.
PRO CAGE LOOP GAINS TRACTION
The recent success of basketball's semi-professional championships has sparked renewed interest in a big time pro cage loop. The Chicago Panthers emerged as the champs of the semi-pro tournament, beating the St Louis Pilots in the championship game before a packed house at Thompson Arena in Detroit over the weekend. Those two were joined by the Providence Eastons, the New York Tigers, Akron Aces and Pittsburgh Pointers as the representatives from the six big semi-pro circuits that competed in the week-long championships.
With the game rising in popularity at the collegiate level as well as on the semi-pro circuit, combined with all of the interest in new play for pay sports when our men return from overseas, it seems to be just a matter of time before a big-time basketball circuit takes hold. There has not been a fully professional cage league in nearly two decades. The last attempt, pioneered by pro football bigwigs including Jack Kristich and Rollie Barrell, was the Federal Basketball League. It had 9 teams at it's peak stretching from Brooklyn to St Louis but seemed almost doomed from the beginning when the most famous barnstorming club of the time -the New York Luckies- bailed on the league just before it was set to tip-off and the famous Bigsby Garden refused to allow the loop to play there. The FBL lasted until 1930 before shutting down with the Great Crash of 1929 driving the final nail in the coffin. It was called at the time a 'suspension' of operations with an inclination to restart once the league restructured but that never occurred.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/29/1945
- A pair of wild rumours to finish the week. The first suggests that Heinrich Himmler has put Adolf Hitler to death in order to give cynical evidence to the Allies of his "good faith" in offering to surrender Germany unconditionally to the western Allies, leaving Russia out. The second is a report circulated by the Associated Press that Germany had surrendered. However, President Truman personally denied the report, confirming he had checked with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and learned the report was without foundation.
- A third rumour that also proved to be untrue was that Adolf Hitler and German Propaganda Minister Paul Joseph Goebbels were shot 3 days ago. The Saturday morning report was later changed to stating that Hitler will kill himself or be killed in Berlin within a few hours or days and the war will end.
- Russian forces have overrun Berlin's airport and captured most of the city, trapping as many as 500,000 German troops in the surrounded capital.
- A United Nations peace planning meeting began late last week in San Francisco with the goal of making the postwar world safe for peace-loving peoples being the same at which the world shot at in 1918 -but missed.
- Amidst a food shortage, the American government has tightened rationing of meat, with all meat except for mutton under strict rationing until at least the next ration period begins on June 2.