NOVEMBER 26, 1945
GOTHAMS ADD SHORTSTOP
The New York Gothams took a step towards shoring up their infield defense with the acquisition of shortstop Gil London from the Detroit Dynamos. The price was expensive, more than some observers felt the 31 year old was worth, with the Gothams parting with their third round draft selection in January to close the deal.
London, who spent seven seasons in Detroit before joining the Army last November, is a veteran of 770 big league games with a .258 career batting average. His minimal offensive production was not what drew the Gothams interest however, as London would rank among the better glovemen at shortstop in the Federal Association and will be a big upgrade on Mule Monier, who will shift to third base to make room for London.
JIGGS McGEE's TAKE: While I have no doubt that London will be a defensive upgrade on Monier as the Gothams shortstop, he still not much better than league average, although in the shortstop-deprived Federal Association being league average is pretty solid. The problem I have is I can't shake the feeling the Gothams terribly overpaid for London. It is no secret as one rival General Manager quipped upon hearing the news "Wow. The Gothams really don't like to draft," and even in normal times it seems a stretch for London to command a third rounder. But the timing on this move makes it even worse since there seemed bound to be comparable players available for far less as we get closer to the season. Another GM summed it up perfectly by noting he felt that "London would have been on waivers before opening day."
And that is the issue I have with this deal. Why in the world would the Gothams give away a third round draft for the type of player they could have acquired for no cost either thru the rule five draft, waivers or free agency? Maybe Detroit decides to hang on to London but there will be plenty of other options for New York.
In fact there is one that would not have cost a third round draft pick sitting as a free agent right now. I am referring to Jack Bush, who was recently given his walking papers by Washington. Bush may be an even weaker hitter than London but is a at least as good a defender, if not better than the newest Gotham addition.
Again, London will be a big upgrade with the glove on Monier. Of that there is no doubt. It is just that this feels like a deal the Gothams did not need to make right away and if they remained patient they would have found a solid defensive shortstop at far lower a price than what they paid for London.
- Hundreds of minor league ballplayers that were serving in Europe or the Pacific are slowly making their way home. Close to a 1,000 are expected to arrive home and be discharged over the next week alone. And it is not just minor leaguers as veteran stars like Pittsburgh's George Cleaves, Adam Mullins of Cincinnati and the Stars Bill Barrett are all expected to be discharged this week.
- That is create quite a logistics problem for the War Transportation Department as many may be delayed in their return home. Cotton Dillon of the Philadelphia Sailors is one. He was recently informed his transportation back to America has been delayed. Dillon has been in the Navy since 1941 so I guess what is another week or two.
- It is not just the transportation department with logistics issues. FABL General Managers are busy making the final preparations for the Rule Five draft, which is slated for December 17. With all the returnees from the war effort creating secondary roster challenges for ballclubs, it is hard to imagine a more highly anticipated rule 5 draft then the current one.
- This week's Trivia Question: Which two FABL teams have gone the longest without winning a pennant and which one the longest without a World Championship Series victory?
YANKS, WASPS BOTH WIN
Set Up Eastern Grid Showdown Sunday
The Boston Americans and Washington Wasps each won again yesterday making their meeting next Sunday at Minutemen Stadium likely the deciding factor in which of the two will represent the Eastern Division and host the American Football Association championship game. Boston is 7-1 on the year after the Americans escaped Philadelphia with a hard fought 28-21 victory while the 7-2 Wasps had a surprisingly easy time in Chicago, downing the Wildcats 28-3. Washington's final game will be next weekend's meeting in Boston while the Yanks, who won 24-21 at Columbia Stadium early in the season, have two games remaining with a home date with New York on December 9 to end their season.
The good news for Boston fans was Del Thomas, after not being able to throw due to an arm injury the past two weeks, was back under center for the Americans and it made all the difference in the world Sunday as Thomas threw for 196 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 28-21 win over Philadelphia. In Chicago, rookie Washington quarterback Bob Krohn had another big day, outdueling Gus Brown of the Wildcats by throwing for 182 yards and engineering a number of long drives the lead to a much easier than expected win for the visitors.
The Chicago loss to Washington stung, as the Wildcats missed an opportunity to pull even with Detroit for the Western Division lead. The Maroons sputtered against the New York Stars, throwing 6 interceptions in a 35-24 loss. The Wildcats own the tiebreaker with 1 game remaining for each club but Chicago will need to win in Cleveland and hope Detroit comes up short in Cincinnati next Sunday for the Wildcats to repeat as Western Division champs.
Last week's only other game took place on Thanksgiving Day when the Cincinnati Tigers beat St Louis 13-6 in a defensive struggle. The only touchdown on the day was scored when Ray Kurtzman broke free for a 73 yard scoring scamper for the Tigers with less than two minutes remaining in the contest.
RECORD WATCH
There are a couple of records that could fall next weekend
- Johnny Douglas of the Washington Wasps needs 30 receiving yards Sunday against Boston in order to surpass Stan Vaught's single season receiving yardage mark of 1,218 set in 1942.
- Vaught could also pass his old mark as the veteran Detroit receiver sits at 1,091 with the Maroons playing in Cincinnati to complete their season tomorrow.
- He won't break his own record but Vaught has 12 touchdown catches on the year so far, tying him with Bill Youngberg (1935 Chicago) for third most all-time. Vaught set the record of 17 scoring grabs in 1942 a year after he broke Youngberg's mark with 14 touchdown receptions in 1941. Johnny Douglas has 11 scoring catches entering his final game.
- Chicago quarterback Gus Brown needs 139 passing yards to break Del Thomas' 1943 record of 2,045 in a season. Brown's total if 1,907 is already the second highest single season mark ever recorded. Chicago finishes off with a game in Cleveland on Sunday.
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AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION W L T PCT
Boston 7 1 0 .875
Washington 7 2 0 .778
New York 5 3 0 .625
Philadelphia 3 5 0 .375
Pittsburgh 3 5 0 .375
WEST DIVISION W L T PCT
Detroit 6 3 0 .667
Chicago 5 4 0 .556
Cincinnati 4 5 0 .444
St Louis 2 7 0 .222
Cleveland 1 8 0 .111
WEEKEND RESULT
Cincinnati 13 St Louis 6
Boston 28 Philadelphia 21
Washington 28 Chicago 3
New York 35 Detroit 24
UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY DECEMBER 2
Philadelphia at New York
Pittsburgh at St Louis
Chicago at Cleveland
Detroit at Cincinnati
Washington at Boston
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AFA LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Vaught, Det 104
Douglas, Was 66
Lautzenheiser, Chi 48
Lennon, NYS 46
Reid, Was 42
LePage, Phi 42
Molloy, Bos 42
Littlejohn, Bos 42
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
Brown, Chi 137-253 1907 17 14
Krohn, Was 99-175 1586 10 12
Colvin, Cle 99-244 1233 8 19
D Thomas, Bos 107-171 1198 12 3
Anderson, Pit 73-169 965 8 14
RUSHING YDS TD
LePage, Phi 727 6
B.Young, Bos 721 2
Lautzenheiser, Chi 462 3
Rochman, Was 418 5
Reid, Was 405 7
RECEIVING CAT YDS TD
Vaught, Det 60 1091 12
Douglas, Was 54 1189 11
Nicholson, Cle 40 594 4
Lautzenheiser, Chi 38 639 5
Molloy, Bos 36 510 5
INERCEPTIONS #
Smith, Was 7
Lautzenheiser, Chi 7
Clark, Bos 6
CHARGERS USE REGULARS SPARINGLY TO LACE PENSACOLA 58-0
Likely Participants in East-West Classic After Rome State Declines
Alabama Baptist is likely Santa Ana bound after the Chargers overwhelmed Pensacola Naval Air station 58-0 to improve to 8-0 on the season. A Chargers victory next weekend over Northern Mississippi likely assures them a berth in the East-West Classic after word came from Rome State Friday that the Centurions will not participate in a Classic game.
On Saturday the Chargers regulars were allowed to roll up a 21-0 lead in the first period but were used sparingly thereafter, but the second and third teams continued to outclass the Goslings and scored two touchdowns in the second, one in the third and three more in the fourth period. Alabama Baptist's star quarterback Willie Hubbard handled the ball only five times, carrying it three times for 21 yards and passing successfully once, for 12 yards, in two attempts. The unsuccessful toss hit his receiver, who dropped the ball.
Detroit City College, it's goal on heading to California for New Year's Day now seemingly dependent on a Northern Mississippi upset, was in complete control before a sold out hometown crowd as they beat rival Central Ohio to secure the Great Lakes Alliance championship. The victory left the Knights a perfect 6-0 in section play and assured of a Classic bid. The question for Detroit City is will it be in Santa Ana, Dallas or New Orleans?
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TOP TEN RANKINGS
LW RESULT
1- Rome State (8-0) 1 idle
2- Alabama Baptist (8-0) 2 W 58-0 Pensacola NAS (0-2)
3- Detroit City College (9-1) 3 W 27-0 Central Ohio (7-1-1)
4- St Blane (8-1) 5 W 38-6 Baton Rogue State (1-7)
5- Travis College (9-0) 4 idle
6- Annapolis Maritime (6-2) 6 idle
7- Eastern Oklahoma (8-0) 9 W 28-7 Oklahoma City State (5-5)
8- Cumberland (7-1) 10 W 26-0 Central Kentucky (2-7-1)
9- Miami State (9-0) NR W 23-0 St Ignatius (6-2-1)
10-Indiana A&M (8-1-1) NR W 24-16 Whitney College (5-4-1)
DROPPED OUT LW RESULT
Central Ohio (7-1-1) 7 L 27-0 Detroit City College (9-1)
Maryland State (7-1) 8 L 34-10 Eastern State (7-1)
COLLEGE SCOREBOARD
RANKED SCHOOLS
Alabama Baptist 58 Pensacola NAS 0
Detroit City College 27 Central Ohio 0
St. Blane 38 Baton Rouge State 6
Eastern Oklahoma 28 Oklahoma City State 7
Cumberland 26 Central Kentucky 0
Miami State 23 St. Ignatius 0
Indiana A&M 24 Whitney College 16
Eastern State 34 Maryland State 10
MIDWEST
St. Magnus 17 Lincoln 6
Minnesota Tech 27 Wisconsin State 12
Daniel Boone College 17 Lawrence State 14
College of Omaha 24 Western Iowa 17
Wisconsin Catholic 20 Laclede 7
Northern Minnesota 43 Dearborn State 9
Topeka State 27 Lambert College 20
EAST
Henry Hudson 10 Grafton 9
Sadler 16 George Fox 10
St. Patrick's 20 Commonwealth Catholic 0
Pierpont 43 Brunswick 0
Pittsburgh State 28 Liberty College 0
Ellery 17 Empire State 16
Dickson 21 Boston State 0
Bethlehem College 30 Eastern Virginia 13
Merchant Marine 29 Manhattan Tech 7
SOUTH
Northern Mississippi 13 Mississippi A&M 6
Carolina Poly 20 North Carolina Tech 0
Coastal State 18 Georgia Baptist 7
Opelika State 48 Ruston Tech 0
Richmond State 31 Petersburg 0
Alexandria 24 Chesapeake State 21
U.S. Amphibians 20 Western Florida 17
Cowpens State 21 Columbia Military Academy 14
SOUTHWEST
Texas Gulf Coast 17 Lubbock State 13
Amarillo Methodist 14 Red River State 6
South Valley State 24 College of Waco 0
Payne State 40 Arkansas A&T 7
FAR WEST
Northern California 14 CC Los Angeles 0
Coastal California 23 Lane State 7
Spokane State 14 Rainier College 0
Boulder State 21 Mile High State 20
Provo Tech 17 Cache Valley 0
Mountainview State 41 Colorado Poly 14
COLLEGIATE CAGE HITS GROUND RUNNING
The 1945-46 AIAA basketball season is now fully underway as all 213 schools have played at least one game. Among the schools that got off to quick 4-0 starts are Rainier College, Coastal California and Cumberland. Cumberland, the Deep South school out of Tennessee, was especially impressive with it's strong start as the Explorers followed up a win in the preseason West Coast Classic tournament in Salt Lake City with a win over the American Atlantic Pelicans. Cumberland is coming off 3 straight losing seasons including a 12-18 showing a year ago. The Explorers have not been invited to the National Championship Tournament since 1927 and have never won the Deep South Conference crown.
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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Mobile Maritime (64) 1-0 1787 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. Rainier College (5) 4-0 1678 3 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Detroit City College (3) 2-0 1672 2 Great Lakes Alliance
4. Western Iowa 2-0 1577 5 Great Lakes Alliance
5. North Carolina Tech 2-0 1459 6 South Atlantic Conference
6. CC Los Angeles 3-0 1346 4 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Miami State 2-0 1323 7 Independent
8. Liberty College 4-1 1221 14 Independent
9. Garden State 1-0 1193 8 Liberty Conference
10. Coastal State 1-0 1182 9 South Atlantic Conference
11. Bayou State 1-0 1072 10 Deep South Conference
12. Maryland State 1-0 975 11 South Atlantic Conference
13. Chesapeake State 2-0 956 16 South Atlantic Conference
14. Rome State 1-0 793 15 Independent
15. Noble Jones College 1-0 765 13 Deep South Conference
16. Texas Gulf Coast 3-0 563 24 Southwestern Alliance
17. Carolina Poly 1-1 537 18 South Atlantic Conference
18. Coastal California 4-0 462 19 West Coast Athletic Association
19. Lincoln 2-0 402 25 Great Lakes Alliance
20. Brooklyn State 3-1 358 22 Liberty Conference
21. Lane State 1-1 291 21 West Coast Athletic Association
22. Cumberland 4-0 264 23 Deep South Conference
23. Provo Tech 3-0 141 NR Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
24. Indiana A&M 0-0 124 NR Great Lakes Alliance
25. Eastern State 2-0 102 NR Independent
Others Receiving Votes:
Granville 3-0 94 Independent
Whitney College 0-0 91 Great Lakes Alliance
Brooklyn Catholic 2-0 85 Liberty Conference
Alexandria 2-0 80 South Atlantic Conference
Redwood 1-0 72 West Coast Athletic Association
Chicago Poly 2-0 59 Independent
Payne State 2-0 53 Midwestern Association
Freemont State 2-0 51 Midwestern Association
Georgia Baptist 2-0 50 Deep South Conference
Spokane State 1-0 41 West Coast Athletic Association
Berwick 2-0 38 Keystone Alliance
Brookland 2-0 37 Independent
RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY NOVEMBER 19
#5 North Carolina Tech 46 Lubbock State 27
#9 Garden State 47 St Gordius 24
#10 Coastal State 45 Middlesex 35
#12 Maryland State 39 Cleveland 38
#16 Texas Gulf Coast 39 Lawrence State 31
#19 Lincoln 36 American Atlantic 34
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20
#14 Rome State 51 Michigan Lutheran 42
#24 Eastern State 40 Bardney 27
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21
#2 Rainier College 42 Canton State 19
#8 Liberty College 51 Ellery 26
#13 Chesapeake State 47 St Matthew's College 46
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22
#1 Mobile Maritime 53 Mississippi Tech 27
#3 Detroit City College 57 Central Kentucky 39
#4 Western Iowa 53 St Patrick's 34
#5 North Carolina Tech 51 Johnston Tech 36
#11 Bayou State 54 Wichita Baptist 42
#16 Texas Gulf Coast 51 College of Waco 43
#19 Lincoln 37 Kansas Agricultural 36
#23 Provo Tech 39 Commonwealth Catholic 37
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23
#2 Rainier College 47 Sadler 29
#13 Chesapeake State 42 Northern California 41
#20 Brooklyn State 52 Henry Hudson 43
#25 Eastern State 49 College of San Diego 40
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24
#3 Detroit City College 49 Queen City 28
#4 Western Iowa 53 Topeka State 31
#7 Miami State 37 Mississippi Tech 28
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25
#8 Liberty College 50 Sadler 35
#16 Texas Gulf Coast 56 Alabama Baptist 46
#18 Coastal California 48 North Shore 31
#22 Cumberland 54 American Atlantic 49
POPINSKI SUFFERS FIRST LOSS
Pietrek 'Soda' Popinski suffered his first career loss after the 26 year old Polish welterweight was steamrolled in Rome by Italian fight veteran Nico Randazzo. It was the second fight since before the war for each of the fighters and on this date the 37 year old Randazzo dominated, scoring a unanimous decision in the 10 rounder to run his record to 12-1. Popinski, who was born in Poland but now lives in England falls to 8-1. After the bout Popinski confirmed he was moving to the United States and would settle in Chicago, where he plans to continue his pro career.
NOTABLE RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
Louisville, KY: Boston Bob Cooley (5-0) scores a majority decision in 6 rounds over Joe Bauer (2-2). Heavyweights.
New Orleans: Dave Gwynne (16-12-3) won by unanimous decision in 10 round heavyweight bout with Richard Snyder (21-17-2)
Blackpool, Eng: Alex Fullard (12-5-2) scores majority decision in 10 round middleweight fight with Theo Pamer (23-11-2)
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
Dec 8 Archie Rees vs Jean Desmarais for the European Middleweight Title in London, Eng.
Feb 8 Hector Sawyer defends his World Heavyweight title against Leo Carmichael in Detroit
Mar 9 Dennis O'Keefe vs Carl Taylor for vacant World Welterweight Tite in New York at Bigsby Garden
TBA (in May) Frank Melanson defends his World Middleweight Title in a rematch wth Todd Gill at Sailors Memorial Philadelphia
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/25/1945
- The Congressional Pearl Harbor Investigation Committee learned that that Japanese would have called off the attack if the United States had made certain concessions. The document did not specify what concessions Japan had demanded.
- The fight for political mastery of France appears to have narrowed down to Charles de Gaulle and Communist Leader Maurice Thorez as the assembly met to elect a new President of the republic.
- Chinese communists are reported to now be in control of all of Manchuria as the undeclared civil war continues.
- Twenty falled leaders of the Nazi regime including Herman Goering went on trial this week before a United Nations tribunal.
- United Automobile Workers in 20 states, more than 350,000, went on strike after talks broke down with General Motors. Preparations are also underway for a nationwide phone strike if a deal is not reached with Long Lines Operators.
TRIVIA ANSWER- The two teams that have gone the longest without winning a pennant are the Montreal Saints and St Louis Pioneers. The duo actually met in the 1921 series in which Montreal beat Max Morris and the Pioneers in 7 games. It was back to back pennants for St Louis as the Pioneers had been Cleveland in that famous 1920 Series in which Morris had been dealt from the Foresters to the Pioneers the previous off-season. Since 1921 the Pioneers have finished second in the Federal Association 4 times but have not claimed the flag. Montreal has not won since the '21 Series victory and spent a lot of seasons well off the pace but the Saints came very close to winning in 1930 when they were tied with Baltimore for second place just 2 games back of the Philadelphia Sailors.
As for the second half of the question- Who has gone the longest without winning the WCS? That one has been well documented in recent years when the Pittsburgh Miners won 3 Federal Association pennants in a 4 year span but failed to win the WCS each time. The Miners have not won the Series since 1901, going 0-for-5 in WCS since that date.