DECEMBER 31, 1945
Here it is. Hot of the press. Your first look at how the next twelve months will play out in all corners of the Figment sporting world.
BOXING: Hector Sawyer, fresh off beating Brit Leo Carmichael in February will get back in the ring in the fall to take on rising Philadelphia second generation fighter Scott Baker. People still will have enough or War Bonds, or both, to create a record gate. It will be the biggest single event of the year although the Frank Melanson-Todd Gill rematch at Sailors Memorial in May will come close.
The fall heavyweight fight will go 7 rounds and Baker will surprise the champ with a knockout victory. Sawyer is slowing down and Baker is on the rise, looking to become the first father-son World Champs as his father briefly held the middleweight title in the early days of the ABF.
BASEBALL: The Chicago Cougars will get over the hump and win the Continental Association title, narrowly ending Cincinnati's 3 year hold on the flag. There is no stopping Bobby Barrell and the Philadelphia Keystones will claim a third consecutive Federal Association title. The Cougars take the Series in 7 games with Pete Papenfus being the hero of the finale.
The Bigsby name -always a thorn in the side of baseball- will cause trouble agin. It will start in '46 as Thomas X. Bigsby and his war buddies will make great inroads with big league ball on the coast but the real threat to FABL is still a year or two away when the rebel loop starts to think it just might be big enough to take Sam Benton and eastern magnates head on. Things ended badly very quickly with the 3 big league system in the early 1890s and it is easy to imagine a lot of ballclubs as casualties this time around as well.
PRO FOOTBALL: The Boston Americans will face some stiff competition in the East Division but will prevail, although, by the narrowest of margins, over a strong Washington Wasps team. The Chicago Wildcats do not like to finish second to Detroit and after two straight years of just that, Carl Boon will have had enough and lead his charges to an AFA title win over Boston. Percy Sutherland's Continental Football Conference will do very well, generally, for a baby industry. The conference will see great excitement from its fans on the west coast but the challenge will be in New York. Can they do enough to get some of the attention away from the Football Stars?
COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL: Rome State will once again be the pride and dreamteam of collegiate grid action with the backfield duo of Chet Donelson and Gus Thompson -seniors now- becoming All-Americans a third year in a row. They may not get to 27 straight victories as a lot of teams will be improved, notably St Blane and Alabama Baptist, but the Centurions will be in the running for a third straight national title.
BASKETBALL: Popularity continues to grow in the sport and the collegiate tournament becomes an even bigger event than it was during the war. The sport also finally gets itself a pro league as odds are likely 50/50 the first national big-time cage loop since 1930 takes flight. Expect Rollie Barrell and Daniel Prescott -two of the driving forces behind the last attempt at top-flight cage play- to be right in the middle of things.
HOCKEY: Like basketball, the other winter sport will start to get a larger following as fans have more free time and many of them more money to attend games. Unlike the other big sports the ice stars will strictly have a regional appeal but it will continue to grow. Detroit and Boston have had some strong teams of late and have the fan support to rival the two Canadian cities -where the game is practically a religion- but for hockey to truly prosper it needs to have a winner in New York. Preferably the Shamrocks but even the Brooklyn Eagles might wake up the Big Apple to the excitement of the sport if they can ice a winner.
Enjoy your last day of 1945 and have a fantastic sports-filled 1946.
Rumors are swirling about, players are being released, new leagues are threatening to open. While we predicted a most lively offseason after the war years this is well more than anyone could have predicted.
This new western league that Thomas X. Bigsby has been ruffling feathers with is a story that is gaining steam. One offshoot is that most of the FABL teams are trimming their excess players to ensure those they want to keep are sure of their spots and not enticed by the shiny news toys out west. The Gothams released a handful of players who may have spent some time in the major league camp competing for a spot. Notably, veteran relievers Tom Phelps and Jim Miller along with 1944 Gothams starters Cy Sullivan and Jim Baggett were given their walking papers. On the offensive side Nat Drake was told his services are no longer needed. Another player released raises an entirely different question.
The Gothams have released the recently return Eddie Ziehl. While this may not be a big splash on the player roster, it does raise the question, what of Hall of Famer and Gothams legend Ed Ziehl. The elder Ziehl famously gave up his manager's position with the team to join the war effort at home when his son was drafted. Now that the team seems committed to Bud Jameson as manager one has to wonder about Ziehl. While the Bigsby family may have many enemies amoung the FABL ownership group Ed Ziehl did have a long and positive relationship with the Bigsby clan. Might he be enticed by Thomas X Bigsby to pick up stakes and move west? Perhaps bringing his free agent son along? The Ziehls are quite obviously a tightknit family and the idea of starting something new in California might be too much of a new challenge for them to resist.
We will be closely watching these developments.
RIVAL BAPTIST AND GRIZZLIES COACHES BUSY TRADING FEAR OF RESULT
They look like a pair of successful businessmen -the short portly gentleman from the south and the taller brisk-talking Californian.
And in the football coaching business there are few more proficient practitioners than Hal Bates, the head man at Alabama Baptist along with Golden Gate University coach Charlie Doolan, whose teams meet in the East-West Classic January 1. To hear them talk, you'd think they were leading high school teams to the slaughter.
"We haven't stopped passes all season and they've got Wilie Hubbard, the best there is," laments Grizzlies coach Doolan. "I just hope the Chargers will let up when they get to 21 points. They put a few lickings on teams this season and we don't want to be another victim."
"Nonsense," retorts Baptist boss Bates with a smile. "These odds making us 13-point favourites are silly. Why, we haven't met a line as big as Golden Gate's all year and there is hardly a better back -at least not this side of Rome State- than their Hawaiian All-American (Ed) Lukela."
Behind the banter and pre-game pyschology lies a pair of pretty good coaches and outstanding teams. Alabama Baptist has yet to lose and, while they won't surpass Rome State for the number one ranking even if they won by 50 points, the Chargers would retain their status as the second best team in the nation this season with a win. The 6-1 Grizzlies beat both Coastal California and CCLA to earn the right to play in the East-West Classic for the first time. It is history making as the Grizzlies become the first team to represent the West in the big Santa Ana game that is not a member of the West Coast Athletic Association since the marines from Mare Island took on Great Lakes Navy in the 1919 classic.
TOMORROW'S CLASSIC GAME SCHEDULE
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CLASSIC LOCATION TEAMS
East-West Santa Ana,Ca Alabama Baptist 9-0 Golden Gate University 6-1
Lone Star Austin, Tx Detroit City Coll. 9-1 Travis College 10-0
Sunshine Miami, Fl Miami State 10-0 St Blane 8-2
Cajun New Orleans,La Eastern State 7-2 Eastern Oklahoma 8-0
Desert El Paso, Tx South Valley State 6-0-1 Central Ohio 7-1-1
Oilman Houston, Tx Payne State 7-2-1 Noble Jones College 8-2
Bayside Tampa, Fl Maryland State 7-2 St Patrick's 6-1-2
HUGE CROWD TAKES IN CHRISTMAS DOUBLEHEADER AT BIGSBY GARDEN
The biggest crowd of the season packed the Bigsby Garden in New York Christmas evening to witness a pair of outstanding holiday basketball games. The opener pitted west coast power City College of Los Angeles against the St Blane Fighting Saints. It was an enertaining battle but the 4th ranked Coyotes were far too much for St Blane despite a 17 point effort from Saints center Josh Samuels. The St Blane cagers are no where close to the powerhouse they are on the grid but they still put on a spirited display against the heavily favoured West Coast quintet.
The nightcap delighted the Garden crowd as local favourite Brooklyn State won its 8th game in a row, easily disposing of Carolina Poly 57-46. The Bears balanced attack so Chris Tillman, Willie Wright and Tom laurent each score 10 points in the win, which despite the fact that this appears to be a down year for the normally high-flying Cardinals, reaffirmed that Brooklyn State belongs among the names mentioned when talk turns towards national champion contenders.
The top team in the title talk has to be Liberty College after the Bells improved to 13-1 with easy wins over North Carolina Tech and Bronx Tech last week. The 54-40 victory over North Carolina Tech did more than enough to convince the pollsters to bump the Bells to number one in the weekly rankings.
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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Liberty College (69) 13-1 1797 2 Independent
2. Mobile Maritime 9-0 1719 1 South Atlantic Conference
3. Western Iowa (2) 9-0 1659 3 Great Lakes Alliance
4. CC Los Angeles (1) 9-0 1588 4 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Coastal State 8-0 1472 5 South Atlantic Conference
6. Miami State 12-1 1471 6 Independent
7. Rainier College 9-1 1337 8 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Brooklyn State 8-1 1336 7 Liberty Conference
9. Texas Gulf Coast 8-1 1171 12 Southwestern Alliance
10. Provo Tech 11-1 1122 16 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
11. Coastal California 8-1 1062 13 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Noble Jones College 8-2 1003 22 Deep South Conference
13. Elyria 9-1 946 14 Independent
14. Garden State 6-2 917 19 Liberty Conference
15. Central Ohio 6-2 789 10 Great Lakes Alliance
16. Rome State 7-2 719 11 Independent
17. Utah A&M 9-2 491 NR Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
18. Lincoln 6-2 439 25 Great Lakes Alliance
19. Lane State 5-3 404 NR West Coast Athletic Association
20. Detroit City College 6-3 340 15 Great Lakes Alliance
21. Redwood 7-2 303 17 West Coast Athletic Association
22. Darnell State 8-2 293 NR Southwestern Alliance
23. North Carolina Tech 5-3 229 9 South Atlantic Conference
24. Bluegrass State 7-2 183 18 Deep South Conference
25. University of New Jersey 7-2 138 NR Eastern Six
Others Receiving Votes:
Jersey City Tech 8-2 137 Liberty Conference
Berwick 7-2 76 Keystone Alliance
Whitney College 5-2 56 Great Lakes Alliance
Spokane State 6-2 49 West Coast Athletic Association
St. Magnus 6-2 48 Great Lakes Alliance
Iowa A&M 6-2 30 Plains Athletic Association
Constitution State 6-2 23 Eastern Six
Frankford State 11-3 19 Independent
Amarillo Methodist 5-2 15 Southwestern Alliance
Empire State 5-2 13 Liberty Conference
Annapolis Maritime 8-3 4 Independent
Mississippi A&M 6-3 2 Deep South Conference
RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 24
#1 Liberty College 54 #23 North Carolina Tech 40
#5 Coastal State 53 American Atlantic 36
#10 Provo Tech 41 Bardney 33
#17 Utah A&M 45 Golden Gate 40
TUESDAY DECEMBER 25
#2 Mobile Maritime 55 Capital (MS) University 53
#4 CCLA 47 St Blane 41
#7 Rainier College 45 Michigan Lutheran 42
#8 Brooklyn State 57 Carolina Poly 46
#12 Noble Jones College 68 Lambert College 38
#16 Rome State 49 Rose Point(PA) 41
#19 Lane State 58 Berwick 52
Boulder State 49 #21 Redwood 41
#22 Darnell State 44 Wisconsin Catholic 36
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 26
#3 Western Iowa 57 College of Omaha 33
#5 Coastal State 63 Eastern Virginia 31
#9 Texas Gulf Coast 52 East Missouri Seminary 37
#11 Coastal California 40 Georgia Baptist 35
#13 Elyria 39 NW New York State 37
#15 Central Ohio 59 Huntington State 48
Central Carolina 62 #24 Bluegrass State 49
THURSDAY DECEMBER 27
#2 Mobile Maritime 51 Western Florida 40
#6 Miami State 54 St Andrews College 45
#7 Rainier College 58 #23 North Carolina Tech 47
#14 Garden State 51 Conwell College 43
#16 Rome State 40 Petersburg 33
#22 Darnell state 39 Fond du Lac 24
FRIDAY DECEMBER 28
#4 CCLA 46 North Shore 37
#5 Coastal State 59 Alabama Gulf Coast 39
#17 Utah A&M 36 Pueblo State 28
#25 University of New Jersey 49 Harrisburg State 39
SATURDAY DECEMBER 29
#1 Liberty College 67 Bronx Tech 36
#3 Western Iowa 50 Payne State 42
#6 Miami State 60 Bayou State 47
#12 Noble Jones College 44 Cowpens State 35
Canton State 52 #15 Central Ohio 51
Bay State 50 #16 Rome State 45
#19 Lane State 48 St Martin's College 29
#20 Detroit City College 56 Chicago Poly 30
#24 Bluegrass State 56 Holland 47
SUNDAY DECEMBER 30
#2 Mobile Maritime 48 Cumberland 45
#10 Provo Tech 54 Custer College 44
#21 Redwood 40 Sunnyvale 28
GIBBS WINS AGAIN
But Wolf Goes Distance Against Fearsome Welterweight
For the first time in his career George Gibbs needed to go the distance to claim a victory. After winning by knockout against his first 14 opponents the former Marine who fought in the Phillipines needed to go to the scorecards for his win against Jeff Wolf Sunday night in the nation's capital. It was a clean decision as Gibbs took every round and sent his opponent from New York to the canvas twice in the bout, but give Wolf credit for being the first professional fighter to go the distance against Gibbs.
"I had a couple of guys in the marines hang in there with me," explained Gibbs afterwards, "but it was a surprise to still be fighting in those last couple rounds. I thought I had him in the 8th," after the second knockdown, "but give that guy full credit for getting back up."
For Wolf, a 28 year old New Yorker who spent 4 years in the Coast Guard, his record drops to 11-2 but going the distance against Gibbs certainly is no small accomplishment.
UPCOMING TITLE FIGHTS- Feb 8 Hector Sawyer (52-3-1) defends his World Heavyweight title against Leo Carmichael (30-4-1, #2 HW contender) in Detroit
- Mar 9 Dennis O'Keefe (19-1) vs Carl Taylor (19-2-2) for vacant World Welterweight Title in New York at Bigsby Garden
- TBA (in May) Frank Melanson (29-0-2) defends his World Middleweight Title in a rematch with Todd Gill (20-1-5, #2 contender) at Sailors Memorial Philadelphia
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/30/1945
- The Big Three have agreed to set up a commission on atomic energy. This coming from the powwow between the Foreign Ministers of the United States, Great Britain and Russia in Moscow over the past week.
- A cold and hungry Christmas hit Europe, still struggling to rebuild, but it still was a brighter yuletide than any since 1938.
- In his annual Christmas message to the world Pope Pius XII said "there is no true peace but only the 'post-war,' - a sorrowful and very meaningful expression...and therefore this Christmas is only one of expectation, hope and prayer."
- General Patton was buried on a bluff in Hamm, Luxembourg on Monday, surrounded by white crosses above the graves of soldiers who fell along his 3rd Army's road to victory.
- Chinese communist leaders submitted a formal proposal for the immediate end to the civil war as unity meetings were resumed in that country after a 40-day deadlock.