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Jiggs McGee · 01-19-2023, 01:27 PM

JULY 16, 1945

DONNELLY GRAND SLAM LIFTS FED TO ALL STAR WIN

Chick Donnelly became an All-Star Game hero with one swing of the bat. The 33 year old Boston Minutemen outfielder hit a grand slam with two-out and two-strikes on him in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Federal Association stars to an 8-4 win in the 13th annual all-star game, played before a sold out crowd of 44,450 at Chicago's Cougars Park. The victory gives the Federal Association an 8 games to 5 lead in the series.

It marked the third time the contest has needed extra innings with the Fed stars winning 4-2 in a 19 inning marathon in 1937 and the Continental side gaining revenge with a 5-4 13 inning victory the following season. It also marked the second time the game was played in Chicago, with the Federal Association winning the first one as well. That was in 1933 in the inaugural Mid-Summer Classic, played at Whitney Park and won 8-5 by the Federal stars.

With war vets George Garrison and Harry Carter taking the hill for their respective sides the game remained scoreless until the 5th inning. The visiting Feds got on the board first when, with Eli Panneton of the New York Stars pitching, Cal Page of St Louis hit a one-out single and then scored on a 2-run homer off the bat of Boston catcher Bill Van Ness. The Continental stars quickly countered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fith as Jimmy Long of Detroit, clearly flustered with some all-star game nerves, walked the bases loaded but the only run was scored on a ground out from Denny Andrews of the Cincinnati Cannons. Cannons slugger Al Wheeler, missed a glorious opportunity with 2 out and 2 on but his towering fly ball to centerfield was no where near deep enough and easily hauled in by Page to end the inning.

The score remained 2-1 until the top of the 8th inning when the Federal Association increased it's lead with two more runs. Bob Martin of the Chicago Chiefs started the inning with a single and Bobby Barrell -playing in his 10th All-Star Game- delivered a big 2-run single off Cougars releiver Ben Curtin to make it 4-1.

The Continental Association tied the game up with a rally in the bottom of the 8th. With George M Brooks on the mound for the Fed, Brooklyn's Vernon Ruch worked him for a lead-off walk and moved to second on a 1-out single from Walt Pack of the Toronto Wolves. With two-out Jake Hughes laced a single to plate Ruch and move Pack to third base and then Skipper Schneider of the Cougars, to the delight of his hometown crowd, tied the game up with a two out double.

Neither side threatened in the ninth but in the 10th with another war veteran in Dixie Lee on the hill, the Fed loaded the bases to set the stage for Donnelly's heroics. Tim Walters of the Keystones came on to close out the victory, and despite allowing a walk and hitting a batter, he did just that to preserve the 8-4 Federal Association win.

For that mighty swing of the bat Donnelly was named the game's most valuable player with Bill Anderson of the Pittsburgh Miners being credited with the victory while Dixie Lee was saddled with the loss.

3000 FOR WHEELER

Al Wheeler became the 12th player in FABL history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau with a pair of singles in the opening game of a doubleheader with Montreal yesterday. The 37 year old Cincinnati Cannons outfielder is enjoying a career resurgence this season and is also closing in on 500 career homeruns. Wheeler sits 22 shy of that mark and joining Max Morris as the only players to reach 500. He has 17 homeruns this season and is batting .318 - lofty numbers for the Wonder Wheel when you consider one year ago tomorrow the Chicago Chiefs thought his career was over and unloaded the then struggling outfielder for the price of a 7th round draft pick. In 151 games with the Cannons since the deal, Wheeler is batting .291 with 28 homers and 101 rbi's. Speaking of RBI's, Wheeler is fast closing in on another milestone. He recently passed Rankin Kellogg for number two on the rbi list and has 1,862 for his career. Only the legendary Hall of Famer Morris -with 2,324- has more but Wheeler has stated he would like to reach 2,000 before his career is done.

The first overall draft pick in the very first draft of the human GM era in 1925, Wheeler has accomplished nearly everything one can in his outstanding career. Five Whitney Awards, 5 all-star game appearances, 3 World Championship Series rings, 5 times he led his association homers, 6 times in rbis and once in batting average when he won the Continental Association triple crown in 1935 despite spending the first month of the season in the Federal Association.

Wheeler is clearly a Hall of Famer one day when he retires. But for now he says he has a lot more to accomplish before that day comes.

LATE-BREAKING NEWS: DYNAMOS ADD BIG GUNS

The Detroit Dynamos have clearly announced they expect to be in the pennant race for the duration after making two moves this morning to shore up their pop-gun offense. The big trade sees the Detroit club acquire 'The Arkansas Artilleryman' Mack Sutton from the Boston Minutemen to address their need for power at the hot corner. A second deal was made public a short time later that saw the Detroit club add a dependable outfield bat in 31 year old Howie Smith, who was hitting .316 on the season for the New York Stars.

Sutton has plenty of power but has spent the last 3 and a half seasons in the United States Army Air Corps, just getting his discharge late last week. He is not expected to join Detroit in time for their games this week -including a pair in Boston- as the 28 year old third baseman is presently in his hometown of Murfreesboro, AR., visiting family but will join the Dynamos likely the beginning of next week. His best season of four in Boston was the 1940 campaign in which Sutton hit .268 with 26 homeruns.

To acquire Sutton the Dynamos parted with their first round pick in January as well as minor leaguers Hal Renard and Alf Keeter. Renard is a 22 year old first round pick from the 1941 draft that is presently in the Army after being tabbed by Selective Service last November. He spent 1944 in AA, batting .291 with a homerun and 77 rbi's in 138 games with Akron. The 1B/OF is projected to be a second-division starter by OSA, which presently ranks him at #79 on it's prospect list. Keeter, a 20 year old 6'3" righthander who was selected 4th overall by Detroit in the 1943 draft is also in the Army presently. He had a solid 1944 season split between Class A and B and projects as a mid-rotation starter who is presently ranked at #61 on the OSA prospect list.

The deal with the Stars sees Detroit also net New York's fourth round pick along with Smith in exchange for minor league pitcher Paul Grell. Grell is 26 years old and has been in the Army Air Corps since 1941. He had a single appearance with the Dynamos as a 22 year old in '41 but spent most of the season pitching quite well at AAA Newark. It has obviously been a long layoff for him but OSA still sees Grell as a mid-rotation starter and presently ranks him 78th on the prospect list.

The timing of Smith's arrival is perfect, and the deal was made very much because the Dynamos just learned they will be without Sid Williams for at least a month and a half. Smith was a rule 5 pick of the Stars from Washington prior to the 1939 season and has developed into a starter as more and more players left for the war. He hit .305 a year ago and continued his fine play this season, batting .316 with 6 homers and 62 rbi's for the Stars. New York used him in the middle of it's batting order but don't be surprised if he becomes the lead-off man in Detroit.

JIGGS McGEE'S TAKE: A couple nice moves that help all involved. The Stars are likely not going to get back into contention this year and when Bill Barrett and the rest return from the war there will be little room for Smith in the outfield so they add a pitcher with the potential to contribute going forward. Same for Boston. With Billy Dalton in town and Bill Moore at first base there really isn't a position for Sutton to play so they add a first round draft pick - getting back the asset they surrendered last year to acquire Dalton as well as a pair of top 100 prospects to help them try and get things sorted out with a club that has struggled the past year and a half after winning two pennants in the previous three years.

These were moves Detroit had to make and perhaps they are not done dealing yet. The Dynamos were a very bad team a decade ago and then teased their fans with 4 straight pennant runs only to come up just short each time. They feel apart in 1942 and finished 7th in back to back seasons before showing some signs of life again last season. Now, they are in first place - by a narrow margin, but first nonetheless- and with the deepest collection of prospects in the league they needed to open the barn doors and dispatch a few in order to prove to their fan base they were serious about a pennant. In an article from last Monday (that is now dated in light of today's moves) Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World called upon the Dynamos to do something. The club has answered and made a move without sacrificing any of their premier prospects.

The question is will it be enough? Sutton has been very inconsistent in Boston but perhaps he is focused and motivated for a big debut in Detroit. Smith will be a serviceable replacement for the injured Williams. Will that be enough to win their first pennant since 1929? Of that I am not sure but I can tell you I would feel a whole lot more comfortable about it if the Dynamos added one more big piece. Perhaps a power hitting veteran bat like Lou Balk from Cleveland, Vic Crawford of Montreal or, if the Cougars decide to make a move, maybe all-star Cliff Moss. Another dependable veteran arm would not hurt either. Ed Baker of Montreal, the Chiefs Red Hampton or Doc Newell of the Philadelphia Sailors all might be available and at a reasonable cost. Whether they are done dealing or not, the Dynamos have shown their fanbase they are willing to take a shot at a pennant, as long as it doesn't impact their future to any great degrees, just as Freddie Farhat suggested in his column.

DYNAMOS INCREASE LEAD WITH SERIES WIN IN PHILLY

The Detroit Dynamos came out of the all-star break the way they went in...winning. Detroit, leaders in the Federal Association, had a big showdown in Philadelphia with the second place Keystones immediately after the all-star break and the Dynamos were up to the task by winning two games in the 3 game set. The opener was a rout with Detroit hitters spotting Jimmy Long a 6-run lead in the second inning and the Dynamos ace did the rest, pitching 6 strong innings just two-days after appearing in the all-star game, to win his 12th of the season by a 7-1 score. Philadelphia evened the series with a 2-1 win the next day thanks to a pinch-hit walkoff double in the 10th inning from Bobby McHenry after the Dynamos had tied the game in the top of the ninth but on Saturday the Dynamos plated 5-runs in the 8th inning to claim a 6-5 victory. Now parted, they each split their Sunday twin bill and the Detroit lead sits at a game and a half with every team in the Federal Association within 10 games of the lead.

The Continental Association lead flipped back to Cincinnati as the Cannons pulled a game ahead of the Toronto Wolves after they won 4 of 5 games from Brooklyn and Montreal to finish off the week. Toronto had the same two opponents but the Wolves had to settle for 3 victories in their 5 games. The Chicago Cougars also went 4-1 and are now within 4.5 games of the lead.

1946 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART 1: COLLEGE PLAYERS

FABL General Managers are probably still needing time to fully assess their crop of 1945 draftees that joined their organizations late last month but the 16 big league Scouting Directors and their staffs are already hard at work trying to find the gems of the 1946 crop of rookies. One change this year is we are told there will be no more late additions to the crop of draft eligible players so that means the 400 players that are presently registered for the draft will be the ones available come early January when the club with the first seed -which will be in the Federal Association this year- is on the clock.

To get started our annual five part draft special here is a look at the top collegiate players for January. A year ago when we did a mock draft of the top prospects for 1946 it was dominated by high school players. In fact only one college athlete - Piedmont University pitcher John Stallings- cracked our mock first round. Stallings had a huge year and was a finalist for the Christian Trophy when it was presented last month so he did nothing to hurt his stock entering his draft year. The only other college player we touched on in the mock was Coastal State outfielder Jim McCbride, who was an honourable mention.

So very few college players made an impression a year ago. Let's see how the top ten college prospects stack up now.

1- JOHN STALLINGS LHP - Piedmont University: If you want a college pitcher you better make sure you get Stallings because according to OSA no other collegiate hurler is even close to first round material. Stallings was a second team All-American as a freshman when he went 11-1 but he was even better as a sophomore, earning first team All-America status and being named a finalist for the Christian Trophy after a 9-1, 0.99 season that saw him post the lowest era in the college ranks since Stan Merendino in 1928. Stallings also fanned 154, just two shy of Bob Arman's post-feeder record. OSA loves his command and calls Stallings a pitcher with the potentail to be an impact starter.

2- JIM McBRIDE RF - Coastal State: There are 3 pretty solid outfield candidates and we will give McBride a slight age because he posted some pretty good numbers as a sophomore against top competition. OSA feels he can develop into an elite right fielder. He has some power as McBride hit 11 homers each of his two college seasons and raised each of his slash line numbers as a sophomore.

3- BOB SCHLEUSNER CF - Miami State: OSA believes the Dallas native has the potential to be a cornerstone player but we would like to see a big season from him as a junior. Schlesuner hit .274 each of his previous two seasons and is projected to be a defensive marvel.

4- ED WHITNEY LF - Brandywine(PA): A pair of impressive seasons has the Philadelphia native averaging .337/.430/.547 in his two years of college ball. OSA sees him as a potential .310 hitter and a sure-handed corner outfielder with all the tools to develop into an elite player. The only knock that keeps him below McBribe and Schleusner for us is he is playing against only fair competition.

5- CLIFF DILLEY 1B- Eastern State: Just 1 year of college ball for Dilley but he showed some power with 8 homers while batting .310. He won't set records, according to the scouting service, but will be a dependable .310 hitter with above average defensive value at first base

6- TOMMY GRIFFIN 3B- Mississippi A&M: A superior fielding third baseman, Griffin has average power and the tools to make an impact in the big leagues. Very consistent his two seasons so far as he has a .300/.363/.474 slash line with 20 homers in 105 career college games.

7- BILLY FORBES CF - Miami State: A Louisville, KY native with a high ceiling who projects well on the field and at the plate. Forbes is a natural center fielder but with fellow Miami State sophomore Bob Schleusner also in the mix, he spent most of his time on the corner. Shows some decent power with 20 homers in two seasons and a .563 slugging percentage to go with a .315 career college batting average.

8- JIM STONE 1B- Grange College: First team All-American and a nominee for the Christian Trophy, he helped the Mustangs win the AIAA title this year, his first in college ball. Led the AIAA with 19 homers while hitting a robust .342. OSA says he can be penciled in for a lion's share of starts. We are at TWIFB think he is an even better prospect than the scouting service gives him credit as being.

9- FRED CARTER 1B- Rainier College: It seems like a banner crop of first baseman and Carter is much like Stone, has some power and should make consistent contact to be a solid hitter. OSA sees the Portland, Oregon native as an above-average, everyday big leaguer. Idolizes fellow Portland native Red Johnson and has very much the same build but don't expect Red's immense power from Carter.

10- ERNIE ROCKEY CF- Texas Panhandle: slashed .307/.375/.490 in his first year of college ball against great competition. OSA feels he will be an excellent defender, has a good eye and is a hitter with a good combination of bat speed and barrel control so he should hit for average.

Code:


HONOURABLE MENTION
 NAME          POS  SCHOOL
Barton Ellis    RF Grange College
Ruppert Abbott	CF Opelika State
Reid McLaughlin SS Bluegrass State
Bernie Helm     3B College of Waco
Babe Brooks	2B St Ignatius
Joe Devaney	3B Central Illinois
Irv Cohen	C  Charleston Tech

Next edition we will look at the top high school position players eligible for the 1946 draft.

Detroit-July 10, 1945--The Detroit Dynamo's and their front office are in an interesting dilemma. How can a team that is in first by albeit by just ½ game at the All-Star Game break be in a dilemma you ask? Well let’s break it down a bit.

The Dynamo’s are 44-35 for a 557 winning % thanks to a 6 game win streak. Four of those wins are over the suddenly slumping Boston Minutemen who have lost 10 straight games. They are in 1st place, but the Federal Association is hotly contested between 4 teams all within 2 games of each other. The defending champion Philadelphia Keystones are just ½ game back in 2nd place, followed by the surprising St. Louis Pioneers just a game back in 3rd. The Washington Eagles are in 4th place just 2 games out of the lead. Looking at the Pioneers, just 1 month ago (June 9th) the Pioneers were 20-31 and firmly in the bottom two of the Federal Association. Since then they have gone on a tear winning 23 of 28 games. Are they for real? Who knows with this crazy season. All that is for sure is this race is likely going down to the wire and it could all depend on who comes back from the war now that victory over Germany has been achieved? And what about the war in the Pacific….

Instead of worrying about if the Pioneers or anyone else is for real, let’s take a look at the Dynamo’s. Again at 44-35 they look like a solid squad, but there are some definite holes on the team. Can the pitching which is 3rd in the FA in ERA (2nd in starters ERA) hold up with 2 rookies who’s combined ages total 41? 19-year-old Carl Potter had a rough June but after a week off looked much sharper in his last outing, a win over the suddenly impotent Boston squad. The Dynamo’s have been buoyed by the recent call up of SP Jim Bob Jones who is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his short time up. Can he keep it rolling or will the league catch up to him? And the bullpen has been a challenge most of the season to be kind. Getting rid of Hooks Camp was a solid step. The acquisition of Luis Eireos has been positive in the clubhouse and he’s looked solid in 15.2 IP very low profile innings (0.57 ERA).

While the Dynamo’s are 9 games above 500, they have been outscored by 3 runs so far this season scoring just 318 runs (last in the FA) and giving up 321 (3rd in the FA). They are 14-9 in 1-run games which has helped them significantly. They have a winning record in every month of the season so far except for an 11-15 June mark.

So if you are the Dynamo’s GM DD Martin what do you do? Do you go all in on this “hopefully” last war time season and try and win a pennant for the first time since 1929? Or do you just let it roll with the squad you have and hope it is enough while continuing to build for the future when everyone is back? There is no telling the impact of war and being away from big league baseball, and age will have on the returning players or the impact it might have had on the minor league prospects that have lost valuable playing time.

It’s a tough call to make and my opinion is that he should not trade a lot of prospect capital, especially those at the top of the list for what I consider to likely be ½ rental players. That said I do think the Dynamo’s should try and be aggressive to try and win this thing this season. Who knows when they will be in position to win it again. So DD Martin on behalf of the pennant starved baseball fans of Detroit, GET SOMETHING DONE! Just don’t trade Hackenberry, Kleminski, Del Johnson, Roy Schaub or Dick Estes in the process.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Toronto Begins Second Half -Wolves started the second half of the FABL schedule on the home stand that continues into August. Over 10,000 Dominion Stadium fans were treated to home win for the first time in 29 days when George Garrison notched his 10th win in a CG 7-4 win over the visitors from Montreal. Garrison's effort came on the heels of some controversy at the All-Star game. Local scribes reported an animated discussion in the dugout between Al Doria and Call when Garrison was sent out to pitch the 3rd inning in the summer classic. Call said he ask Doria why Garrison was going back out when Deuce Barrell was ready to go for the third. Call thought of delaying Garrison's start by a day then said "It just proves what a horse George is, tossing a complete game on 126 pitches after throwing 35 two days earlier in the All-Star Game." When ask expounded further on the dugout conversation with Doria the reply was a terse "No Comment."

The Thursday victory was only victory in the 3 game set with the Saints. Montreal won a extra inning, fitting as Toronto, Montreal lead the FABL with each having played 12 extended games thus far, 6-4 in 13. Bob Walls could not hold onto a 4-1 lead going into the 8th which is far from the first time Toronto has surrender a lead late in games. On Saturday the Wolves bats where silenced by 3-0 by Ben Watkins.

The Wolves then played, again swept, a Sunday doubleheader against the Kings. Toronto has played 3 twin bills in July, they have won all 6 games, 4 from Brooklyn, 2 from Chicago. Front office is trying to put together some sort of promotion for the next two Sunday doubleheaders against Chicago, Philadelphia centering around an enjoyable to spend an afternoon with the family. Wolves faithful were outraged when the Player of The Week in the CA was awarded to Cincinnati's Chuck Adams over Juan Pomales who put up a .632/.650/.789 week. Manager Call has told reporters that they may see starters rested more often as the dog days begin for the FABL. It has been not a too closely guarded secret that the Wolves skipper has not been resting his starters as often as he would like to in 1945.

Cincinnati manager Ad Doria, who was in charge of the Continental Association for the all-star game, had asked Toronto Wolves star first baseman Fred McCormick to remain in Chicago, where the Wolves completed a series just before the break, and act as honourary coach plus deliver the lineup card to home plate at the start of the game but McCormick declined, saying if he did not earn a spot he did not deserve to be part of the all-star game. McCormick, who has appeared in 7 all-star games, just recently rejoined the Wolves after 4 years in the Army.
Doria might have lost as All-Star manager for the second year in a row but he still had plenty to celebrate as over the break he agreed to a 2-year contract extension with the Cincinnati Cannons that will more than double his current salary of $8,900 per season. The 48 year old former big league catcher won his 400th game as a manager yesterday. He is 400-300 over his 5 years with the Cannons and guided them to back to back World Championship Series wins.
No way to explain it. It's just baseball but after winning just 6 games in June, the Chicago Chiefs have opened July with a 10-5 record.
Just a minor stumble or are the St Louis Pioneers crashing back to reality. Baseball's hottest team the past month lost 4 of 5 games after the break. This after they were 27-5 going into the All-Star game.
Nothing like turning up the pressure on the GM. The Dynamos win 2 out of 3 in Phily to push their lead to 1 1/2 games but lose RF Sid Williams for likely 7 weeks with a strained groin. With no real help in returning players from the war effort yet, the Dynamos will likely be forced to make some deals.
For the second week in a row we have a minor league no-hitter. This one was in the Eastern Association as Frank Singleton of the Dayton Dukes no-hit Erie in a 3-0 win Tuesday. Singleton, a 27 year old 6th round pick of the St Louis Pioneers back in 1936, is 4-8 with a 2.62 era this season. It was Dayton's first no-hitter since Pat Coon had one in 1918. Coon had spent 3 seasons with the Pioneers in the mid-teens

GRID KINGS SOLD TO CINCINNATI

The worst keep secret in the American Football Association was officially confirmed this week with news that the Brooklyn Kings grid team is no longer. The contracts of Kings players as well as much of the equipment owned by the franchise has been sold to Cincinnati allowing the AFA to relieve three potentially big headaches in one move.

The sale helps thaw out the frosty feelings between New York Football Stars owner Erasmus Scott and the league. Scott had finally consented and allowed the Kings to play out of New York's Dyckman Stadium despite his previous insistence that the Kings -homeless after being denied permission to play at Kings County Stadium- not play in New York. It also puts an end to worries that the second year Cincinnati Tigers team would have difficulty signing enough competent players to compete and finally it keeps the league at 10 teams, making creating a schedule a much less arduous task. The return of the St Louis Ramblers after two years of teaming up with other clubs due to a player shortage had, at least temporarily, bloated the loop to eleven teams.

TAYLOR POINTS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

Carl Taylor, a ring ruffian from Baltimore, used his sockology on clever Bobby Schultz in Detroit Friday evening to run his ring record to 18-2-2. It was a tight fracas, with Taylor pointing a majority decision to give him five straight wins and victories in 10 of his last eleven bouts dating back to 1942. The 27 year old Schultz, who is sometimes considered too smart for his own good -something very few ringsters are accused of- and this was one of those occasions. The 28 year old Pittsburgh native appeared to have a couple of opportunities when, had he acted quickly, he likely could have had Taylor out for the count. Instead, as he has often done, Schultz played it safe and once more got a little too punctilious for his own good -pausing to think things out instead of going in for the kill. It backfired as Taylor had time to regroup and ended up claiming a narrow victory in the 12 round bout after the fate of the two combatants went to the scorecards.

One other fight of note last week so veteran New York middleweight Jack Rainey improve to 22-3 with a split decision victory over Doug Smith in Baltimore. It was the second meeting between the two and Smith, and the 35 year old Smith has been around the block a few times. He is 22-7-3 but his losses are primarily to quality opponents including Brooks O'Connor in 1937 a new middleweight champ Frank Melanson two years ago.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/14/1945

Nearly 1,800 American Army and Navy planes, backed up by the greatest naval armada afloat, were smashing at Tokyo and a broad stretch of the Japanese coast early in the week. Attacks of varying levels continued on Japanese targets all week.
President Truman was greeted by the British in the English Channel as his ship continued towards Antwerp on his journey to Potsdam, Germany, where he and his staff will be part of a Big Three meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Russian Premier Josef Stalin. The conference will be held in the former palace of Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany's World War I leader.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard a succession of witnesses against approving the United Nations Charter as debate continues.
The new Italian Government of Premier Ferruccio Parri declared war on Japan effective at midnight Monday.

01-19-2023, 01:27 PM	#615
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	July 16, 1945: All Star Game JULY 16, 1945 DONNELLY GRAND SLAM LIFTS FED TO ALL STAR WIN Chick Donnelly became an All-Star Game hero with one swing of the bat. The 33 year old Boston Minutemen outfielder hit a grand slam with two-out and two-strikes on him in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Federal Association stars to an 8-4 win in the 13th annual all-star game, played before a sold out crowd of 44,450 at Chicago's Cougars Park. The victory gives the Federal Association an 8 games to 5 lead in the series. It marked the third time the contest has needed extra innings with the Fed stars winning 4-2 in a 19 inning marathon in 1937 and the Continental side gaining revenge with a 5-4 13 inning victory the following season. It also marked the second time the game was played in Chicago, with the Federal Association winning the first one as well. That was in 1933 in the inaugural Mid-Summer Classic, played at Whitney Park and won 8-5 by the Federal stars. With war vets George Garrison and Harry Carter taking the hill for their respective sides the game remained scoreless until the 5th inning. The visiting Feds got on the board first when, with Eli Panneton of the New York Stars pitching, Cal Page of St Louis hit a one-out single and then scored on a 2-run homer off the bat of Boston catcher Bill Van Ness. The Continental stars quickly countered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fith as Jimmy Long of Detroit, clearly flustered with some all-star game nerves, walked the bases loaded but the only run was scored on a ground out from Denny Andrews of the Cincinnati Cannons. Cannons slugger Al Wheeler, missed a glorious opportunity with 2 out and 2 on but his towering fly ball to centerfield was no where near deep enough and easily hauled in by Page to end the inning. The score remained 2-1 until the top of the 8th inning when the Federal Association increased it's lead with two more runs. Bob Martin of the Chicago Chiefs started the inning with a single and Bobby Barrell -playing in his 10th All-Star Game- delivered a big 2-run single off Cougars releiver Ben Curtin to make it 4-1. The Continental Association tied the game up with a rally in the bottom of the 8th. With George M Brooks on the mound for the Fed, Brooklyn's Vernon Ruch worked him for a lead-off walk and moved to second on a 1-out single from Walt Pack of the Toronto Wolves. With two-out Jake Hughes laced a single to plate Ruch and move Pack to third base and then Skipper Schneider of the Cougars, to the delight of his hometown crowd, tied the game up with a two out double. Neither side threatened in the ninth but in the 10th with another war veteran in Dixie Lee on the hill, the Fed loaded the bases to set the stage for Donnelly's heroics. Tim Walters of the Keystones came on to close out the victory, and despite allowing a walk and hitting a batter, he did just that to preserve the 8-4 Federal Association win. For that mighty swing of the bat Donnelly was named the game's most valuable player with Bill Anderson of the Pittsburgh Miners being credited with the victory while Dixie Lee was saddled with the loss. 3000 FOR WHEELER Al Wheeler became the 12th player in FABL history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau with a pair of singles in the opening game of a doubleheader with Montreal yesterday. The 37 year old Cincinnati Cannons outfielder is enjoying a career resurgence this season and is also closing in on 500 career homeruns. Wheeler sits 22 shy of that mark and joining Max Morris as the only players to reach 500. He has 17 homeruns this season and is batting .318 - lofty numbers for the Wonder Wheel when you consider one year ago tomorrow the Chicago Chiefs thought his career was over and unloaded the then struggling outfielder for the price of a 7th round draft pick. In 151 games with the Cannons since the deal, Wheeler is batting .291 with 28 homers and 101 rbi's. Speaking of RBI's, Wheeler is fast closing in on another milestone. He recently passed Rankin Kellogg for number two on the rbi list and has 1,862 for his career. Only the legendary Hall of Famer Morris -with 2,324- has more but Wheeler has stated he would like to reach 2,000 before his career is done. The first overall draft pick in the very first draft of the human GM era in 1925, Wheeler has accomplished nearly everything one can in his outstanding career. Five Whitney Awards, 5 all-star game appearances, 3 World Championship Series rings, 5 times he led his association homers, 6 times in rbis and once in batting average when he won the Continental Association triple crown in 1935 despite spending the first month of the season in the Federal Association. Wheeler is clearly a Hall of Famer one day when he retires. But for now he says he has a lot more to accomplish before that day comes. LATE-BREAKING NEWS: DYNAMOS ADD BIG GUNS The Detroit Dynamos have clearly announced they expect to be in the pennant race for the duration after making two moves this morning to shore up their pop-gun offense. The big trade sees the Detroit club acquire 'The Arkansas Artilleryman' Mack Sutton from the Boston Minutemen to address their need for power at the hot corner. A second deal was made public a short time later that saw the Detroit club add a dependable outfield bat in 31 year old Howie Smith, who was hitting .316 on the season for the New York Stars. Sutton has plenty of power but has spent the last 3 and a half seasons in the United States Army Air Corps, just getting his discharge late last week. He is not expected to join Detroit in time for their games this week -including a pair in Boston- as the 28 year old third baseman is presently in his hometown of Murfreesboro, AR., visiting family but will join the Dynamos likely the beginning of next week. His best season of four in Boston was the 1940 campaign in which Sutton hit .268 with 26 homeruns. To acquire Sutton the Dynamos parted with their first round pick in January as well as minor leaguers Hal Renard and Alf Keeter. Renard is a 22 year old first round pick from the 1941 draft that is presently in the Army after being tabbed by Selective Service last November. He spent 1944 in AA, batting .291 with a homerun and 77 rbi's in 138 games with Akron. The 1B/OF is projected to be a second-division starter by OSA, which presently ranks him at #79 on it's prospect list. Keeter, a 20 year old 6'3" righthander who was selected 4th overall by Detroit in the 1943 draft is also in the Army presently. He had a solid 1944 season split between Class A and B and projects as a mid-rotation starter who is presently ranked at #61 on the OSA prospect list. The deal with the Stars sees Detroit also net New York's fourth round pick along with Smith in exchange for minor league pitcher Paul Grell. Grell is 26 years old and has been in the Army Air Corps since 1941. He had a single appearance with the Dynamos as a 22 year old in '41 but spent most of the season pitching quite well at AAA Newark. It has obviously been a long layoff for him but OSA still sees Grell as a mid-rotation starter and presently ranks him 78th on the prospect list. The timing of Smith's arrival is perfect, and the deal was made very much because the Dynamos just learned they will be without Sid Williams for at least a month and a half. Smith was a rule 5 pick of the Stars from Washington prior to the 1939 season and has developed into a starter as more and more players left for the war. He hit .305 a year ago and continued his fine play this season, batting .316 with 6 homers and 62 rbi's for the Stars. New York used him in the middle of it's batting order but don't be surprised if he becomes the lead-off man in Detroit. JIGGS McGEE'S TAKE: A couple nice moves that help all involved. The Stars are likely not going to get back into contention this year and when Bill Barrett and the rest return from the war there will be little room for Smith in the outfield so they add a pitcher with the potential to contribute going forward. Same for Boston. With Billy Dalton in town and Bill Moore at first base there really isn't a position for Sutton to play so they add a first round draft pick - getting back the asset they surrendered last year to acquire Dalton as well as a pair of top 100 prospects to help them try and get things sorted out with a club that has struggled the past year and a half after winning two pennants in the previous three years. These were moves Detroit had to make and perhaps they are not done dealing yet. The Dynamos were a very bad team a decade ago and then teased their fans with 4 straight pennant runs only to come up just short each time. They feel apart in 1942 and finished 7th in back to back seasons before showing some signs of life again last season. Now, they are in first place - by a narrow margin, but first nonetheless- and with the deepest collection of prospects in the league they needed to open the barn doors and dispatch a few in order to prove to their fan base they were serious about a pennant. In an article from last Monday (that is now dated in light of today's moves) Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World called upon the Dynamos to do something. The club has answered and made a move without sacrificing any of their premier prospects. The question is will it be enough? Sutton has been very inconsistent in Boston but perhaps he is focused and motivated for a big debut in Detroit. Smith will be a serviceable replacement for the injured Williams. Will that be enough to win their first pennant since 1929? Of that I am not sure but I can tell you I would feel a whole lot more comfortable about it if the Dynamos added one more big piece. Perhaps a power hitting veteran bat like Lou Balk from Cleveland, Vic Crawford of Montreal or, if the Cougars decide to make a move, maybe all-star Cliff Moss. Another dependable veteran arm would not hurt either. Ed Baker of Montreal, the Chiefs Red Hampton or Doc Newell of the Philadelphia Sailors all might be available and at a reasonable cost. Whether they are done dealing or not, the Dynamos have shown their fanbase they are willing to take a shot at a pennant, as long as it doesn't impact their future to any great degrees, just as Freddie Farhat suggested in his column. DYNAMOS INCREASE LEAD WITH SERIES WIN IN PHILLY The Detroit Dynamos came out of the all-star break the way they went in...winning. Detroit, leaders in the Federal Association, had a big showdown in Philadelphia with the second place Keystones immediately after the all-star break and the Dynamos were up to the task by winning two games in the 3 game set. The opener was a rout with Detroit hitters spotting Jimmy Long a 6-run lead in the second inning and the Dynamos ace did the rest, pitching 6 strong innings just two-days after appearing in the all-star game, to win his 12th of the season by a 7-1 score. Philadelphia evened the series with a 2-1 win the next day thanks to a pinch-hit walkoff double in the 10th inning from Bobby McHenry after the Dynamos had tied the game in the top of the ninth but on Saturday the Dynamos plated 5-runs in the 8th inning to claim a 6-5 victory. Now parted, they each split their Sunday twin bill and the Detroit lead sits at a game and a half with every team in the Federal Association within 10 games of the lead. The Continental Association lead flipped back to Cincinnati as the Cannons pulled a game ahead of the Toronto Wolves after they won 4 of 5 games from Brooklyn and Montreal to finish off the week. Toronto had the same two opponents but the Wolves had to settle for 3 victories in their 5 games. The Chicago Cougars also went 4-1 and are now within 4.5 games of the lead. 1946 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART 1: COLLEGE PLAYERS FABL General Managers are probably still needing time to fully assess their crop of 1945 draftees that joined their organizations late last month but the 16 big league Scouting Directors and their staffs are already hard at work trying to find the gems of the 1946 crop of rookies. One change this year is we are told there will be no more late additions to the crop of draft eligible players so that means the 400 players that are presently registered for the draft will be the ones available come early January when the club with the first seed -which will be in the Federal Association this year- is on the clock. To get started our annual five part draft special here is a look at the top collegiate players for January. A year ago when we did a mock draft of the top prospects for 1946 it was dominated by high school players. In fact only one college athlete - Piedmont University pitcher John Stallings- cracked our mock first round. Stallings had a huge year and was a finalist for the Christian Trophy when it was presented last month so he did nothing to hurt his stock entering his draft year. The only other college player we touched on in the mock was Coastal State outfielder Jim McCbride, who was an honourable mention. So very few college players made an impression a year ago. Let's see how the top ten college prospects stack up now. 1- JOHN STALLINGS LHP - Piedmont University: If you want a college pitcher you better make sure you get Stallings because according to OSA no other collegiate hurler is even close to first round material. Stallings was a second team All-American as a freshman when he went 11-1 but he was even better as a sophomore, earning first team All-America status and being named a finalist for the Christian Trophy after a 9-1, 0.99 season that saw him post the lowest era in the college ranks since Stan Merendino in 1928. Stallings also fanned 154, just two shy of Bob Arman's post-feeder record. OSA loves his command and calls Stallings a pitcher with the potentail to be an impact starter. 2- JIM McBRIDE RF - Coastal State: There are 3 pretty solid outfield candidates and we will give McBride a slight age because he posted some pretty good numbers as a sophomore against top competition. OSA feels he can develop into an elite right fielder. He has some power as McBride hit 11 homers each of his two college seasons and raised each of his slash line numbers as a sophomore. 3- BOB SCHLEUSNER CF - Miami State: OSA believes the Dallas native has the potential to be a cornerstone player but we would like to see a big season from him as a junior. Schlesuner hit .274 each of his previous two seasons and is projected to be a defensive marvel. 4- ED WHITNEY LF - Brandywine(PA): A pair of impressive seasons has the Philadelphia native averaging .337/.430/.547 in his two years of college ball. OSA sees him as a potential .310 hitter and a sure-handed corner outfielder with all the tools to develop into an elite player. The only knock that keeps him below McBribe and Schleusner for us is he is playing against only fair competition. 5- CLIFF DILLEY 1B- Eastern State: Just 1 year of college ball for Dilley but he showed some power with 8 homers while batting .310. He won't set records, according to the scouting service, but will be a dependable .310 hitter with above average defensive value at first base 6- TOMMY GRIFFIN 3B- Mississippi A&M: A superior fielding third baseman, Griffin has average power and the tools to make an impact in the big leagues. Very consistent his two seasons so far as he has a .300/.363/.474 slash line with 20 homers in 105 career college games. 7- BILLY FORBES CF - Miami State: A Louisville, KY native with a high ceiling who projects well on the field and at the plate. Forbes is a natural center fielder but with fellow Miami State sophomore Bob Schleusner also in the mix, he spent most of his time on the corner. Shows some decent power with 20 homers in two seasons and a .563 slugging percentage to go with a .315 career college batting average. 8- JIM STONE 1B- Grange College: First team All-American and a nominee for the Christian Trophy, he helped the Mustangs win the AIAA title this year, his first in college ball. Led the AIAA with 19 homers while hitting a robust .342. OSA says he can be penciled in for a lion's share of starts. We are at TWIFB think he is an even better prospect than the scouting service gives him credit as being. 9- FRED CARTER 1B- Rainier College: It seems like a banner crop of first baseman and Carter is much like Stone, has some power and should make consistent contact to be a solid hitter. OSA sees the Portland, Oregon native as an above-average, everyday big leaguer. Idolizes fellow Portland native Red Johnson and has very much the same build but don't expect Red's immense power from Carter. 10- ERNIE ROCKEY CF- Texas Panhandle: slashed .307/.375/.490 in his first year of college ball against great competition. OSA feels he will be an excellent defender, has a good eye and is a hitter with a good combination of bat speed and barrel control so he should hit for average. Code: HONOURABLE MENTION NAME POS SCHOOL Barton Ellis RF Grange College Ruppert Abbott CF Opelika State Reid McLaughlin SS Bluegrass State Bernie Helm 3B College of Waco Babe Brooks 2B St Ignatius Joe Devaney 3B Central Illinois Irv Cohen C Charleston Tech Next edition we will look at the top high school position players eligible for the 1946 draft. Detroit-July 10, 1945--The Detroit Dynamo's and their front office are in an interesting dilemma. How can a team that is in first by albeit by just ½ game at the All-Star Game break be in a dilemma you ask? Well let’s break it down a bit. The Dynamo’s are 44-35 for a 557 winning % thanks to a 6 game win streak. Four of those wins are over the suddenly slumping Boston Minutemen who have lost 10 straight games. They are in 1st place, but the Federal Association is hotly contested between 4 teams all within 2 games of each other. The defending champion Philadelphia Keystones are just ½ game back in 2nd place, followed by the surprising St. Louis Pioneers just a game back in 3rd. The Washington Eagles are in 4th place just 2 games out of the lead. Looking at the Pioneers, just 1 month ago (June 9th) the Pioneers were 20-31 and firmly in the bottom two of the Federal Association. Since then they have gone on a tear winning 23 of 28 games. Are they for real? Who knows with this crazy season. All that is for sure is this race is likely going down to the wire and it could all depend on who comes back from the war now that victory over Germany has been achieved? And what about the war in the Pacific…. Instead of worrying about if the Pioneers or anyone else is for real, let’s take a look at the Dynamo’s. Again at 44-35 they look like a solid squad, but there are some definite holes on the team. Can the pitching which is 3rd in the FA in ERA (2nd in starters ERA) hold up with 2 rookies who’s combined ages total 41? 19-year-old Carl Potter had a rough June but after a week off looked much sharper in his last outing, a win over the suddenly impotent Boston squad. The Dynamo’s have been buoyed by the recent call up of SP Jim Bob Jones who is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his short time up. Can he keep it rolling or will the league catch up to him? And the bullpen has been a challenge most of the season to be kind. Getting rid of Hooks Camp was a solid step. The acquisition of Luis Eireos has been positive in the clubhouse and he’s looked solid in 15.2 IP very low profile innings (0.57 ERA). While the Dynamo’s are 9 games above 500, they have been outscored by 3 runs so far this season scoring just 318 runs (last in the FA) and giving up 321 (3rd in the FA). They are 14-9 in 1-run games which has helped them significantly. They have a winning record in every month of the season so far except for an 11-15 June mark. So if you are the Dynamo’s GM DD Martin what do you do? Do you go all in on this “hopefully” last war time season and try and win a pennant for the first time since 1929? Or do you just let it roll with the squad you have and hope it is enough while continuing to build for the future when everyone is back? There is no telling the impact of war and being away from big league baseball, and age will have on the returning players or the impact it might have had on the minor league prospects that have lost valuable playing time. It’s a tough call to make and my opinion is that he should not trade a lot of prospect capital, especially those at the top of the list for what I consider to likely be ½ rental players. That said I do think the Dynamo’s should try and be aggressive to try and win this thing this season. Who knows when they will be in position to win it again. So DD Martin on behalf of the pennant starved baseball fans of Detroit, GET SOMETHING DONE! Just don’t trade Hackenberry, Kleminski, Del Johnson, Roy Schaub or Dick Estes in the process. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Toronto Begins Second Half -Wolves started the second half of the FABL schedule on the home stand that continues into August. Over 10,000 Dominion Stadium fans were treated to home win for the first time in 29 days when George Garrison notched his 10th win in a CG 7-4 win over the visitors from Montreal. Garrison's effort came on the heels of some controversy at the All-Star game. Local scribes reported an animated discussion in the dugout between Al Doria and Call when Garrison was sent out to pitch the 3rd inning in the summer classic. Call said he ask Doria why Garrison was going back out when Deuce Barrell was ready to go for the third. Call thought of delaying Garrison's start by a day then said "It just proves what a horse George is, tossing a complete game on 126 pitches after throwing 35 two days earlier in the All-Star Game." When ask expounded further on the dugout conversation with Doria the reply was a terse "No Comment." The Thursday victory was only victory in the 3 game set with the Saints. Montreal won a extra inning, fitting as Toronto, Montreal lead the FABL with each having played 12 extended games thus far, 6-4 in 13. Bob Walls could not hold onto a 4-1 lead going into the 8th which is far from the first time Toronto has surrender a lead late in games. On Saturday the Wolves bats where silenced by 3-0 by Ben Watkins. The Wolves then played, again swept, a Sunday doubleheader against the Kings. Toronto has played 3 twin bills in July, they have won all 6 games, 4 from Brooklyn, 2 from Chicago. Front office is trying to put together some sort of promotion for the next two Sunday doubleheaders against Chicago, Philadelphia centering around an enjoyable to spend an afternoon with the family. Wolves faithful were outraged when the Player of The Week in the CA was awarded to Cincinnati's Chuck Adams over Juan Pomales who put up a .632/.650/.789 week. Manager Call has told reporters that they may see starters rested more often as the dog days begin for the FABL. It has been not a too closely guarded secret that the Wolves skipper has not been resting his starters as often as he would like to in 1945. Cincinnati manager Ad Doria, who was in charge of the Continental Association for the all-star game, had asked Toronto Wolves star first baseman Fred McCormick to remain in Chicago, where the Wolves completed a series just before the break, and act as honourary coach plus deliver the lineup card to home plate at the start of the game but McCormick declined, saying if he did not earn a spot he did not deserve to be part of the all-star game. McCormick, who has appeared in 7 all-star games, just recently rejoined the Wolves after 4 years in the Army. Doria might have lost as All-Star manager for the second year in a row but he still had plenty to celebrate as over the break he agreed to a 2-year contract extension with the Cincinnati Cannons that will more than double his current salary of $8,900 per season. The 48 year old former big league catcher won his 400th game as a manager yesterday. He is 400-300 over his 5 years with the Cannons and guided them to back to back World Championship Series wins. No way to explain it. It's just baseball but after winning just 6 games in June, the Chicago Chiefs have opened July with a 10-5 record. Just a minor stumble or are the St Louis Pioneers crashing back to reality. Baseball's hottest team the past month lost 4 of 5 games after the break. This after they were 27-5 going into the All-Star game. Nothing like turning up the pressure on the GM. The Dynamos win 2 out of 3 in Phily to push their lead to 1 1/2 games but lose RF Sid Williams for likely 7 weeks with a strained groin. With no real help in returning players from the war effort yet, the Dynamos will likely be forced to make some deals. For the second week in a row we have a minor league no-hitter. This one was in the Eastern Association as Frank Singleton of the Dayton Dukes no-hit Erie in a 3-0 win Tuesday. Singleton, a 27 year old 6th round pick of the St Louis Pioneers back in 1936, is 4-8 with a 2.62 era this season. It was Dayton's first no-hitter since Pat Coon had one in 1918. Coon had spent 3 seasons with the Pioneers in the mid-teens GRID KINGS SOLD TO CINCINNATI The worst keep secret in the American Football Association was officially confirmed this week with news that the Brooklyn Kings grid team is no longer. The contracts of Kings players as well as much of the equipment owned by the franchise has been sold to Cincinnati allowing the AFA to relieve three potentially big headaches in one move. The sale helps thaw out the frosty feelings between New York Football Stars owner Erasmus Scott and the league. Scott had finally consented and allowed the Kings to play out of New York's Dyckman Stadium despite his previous insistence that the Kings -homeless after being denied permission to play at Kings County Stadium- not play in New York. It also puts an end to worries that the second year Cincinnati Tigers team would have difficulty signing enough competent players to compete and finally it keeps the league at 10 teams, making creating a schedule a much less arduous task. The return of the St Louis Ramblers after two years of teaming up with other clubs due to a player shortage had, at least temporarily, bloated the loop to eleven teams. TAYLOR POINTS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN Carl Taylor, a ring ruffian from Baltimore, used his sockology on clever Bobby Schultz in Detroit Friday evening to run his ring record to 18-2-2. It was a tight fracas, with Taylor pointing a majority decision to give him five straight wins and victories in 10 of his last eleven bouts dating back to 1942. The 27 year old Schultz, who is sometimes considered too smart for his own good -something very few ringsters are accused of- and this was one of those occasions. The 28 year old Pittsburgh native appeared to have a couple of opportunities when, had he acted quickly, he likely could have had Taylor out for the count. Instead, as he has often done, Schultz played it safe and once more got a little too punctilious for his own good -pausing to think things out instead of going in for the kill. It backfired as Taylor had time to regroup and ended up claiming a narrow victory in the 12 round bout after the fate of the two combatants went to the scorecards. One other fight of note last week so veteran New York middleweight Jack Rainey improve to 22-3 with a split decision victory over Doug Smith in Baltimore. It was the second meeting between the two and Smith, and the 35 year old Smith has been around the block a few times. He is 22-7-3 but his losses are primarily to quality opponents including Brooks O'Connor in 1937 a new middleweight champ Frank Melanson two years ago. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/14/1945 Nearly 1,800 American Army and Navy planes, backed up by the greatest naval armada afloat, were smashing at Tokyo and a broad stretch of the Japanese coast early in the week. Attacks of varying levels continued on Japanese targets all week. President Truman was greeted by the British in the English Channel as his ship continued towards Antwerp on his journey to Potsdam, Germany, where he and his staff will be part of a Big Three meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Russian Premier Josef Stalin. The conference will be held in the former palace of Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany's World War I leader. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard a succession of witnesses against approving the United Nations Charter as debate continues. The new Italian Government of Premier Ferruccio Parri declared war on Japan effective at midnight Monday. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-19-2023 at 01:57 PM.