MARCH 18, 1946
BASEBALL IS BACK!
And With it Plenty of Questions
It should be a time of great celebration, but it is also one filled with trepidation as the first spring training in 5 years without a war overshadowing it is set to begin tomorrow. It also marks the first time since 1891 that 24 -and not 16- major league teams were preparing for the season to come. What it does have in common with the past five springs is that this one comes at a time of great uncertainty. While victory has been achieved in Europe and the Far East, and nearly all of the ballplayer-soldiers/sailors have returned to their full-time occupation, there is great concern that the sport is headed for a war of it's own. Fortunately this one will be fought in the boardroom and courts and not on the battlefield and seas but a storm is brewing as most feel it is only a matter of time before the 8-team Great Western League begins to go after the same players that FABL either presently has under contract or rookies it has it's eyes on. For the moment at least, the GWL looks to be content to exist with FABL cast-offs manning the Pacific diamonds, but that is bound to change if the western clubs start to enjoy some financial success.
Meanwhile, the Federal and Continental races have never been so difficult to forecast as hundreds of big leaguers return after absences ranging from one to four years and how the various players are each affected by that layoff is a topic of great uncertainty. It seems clear that for many there will be a period of adjustment. Billy Woytek of the Philadelphia Keystones struggled upon his return late last season but exploded in the World Championship Series and was a key factor in the Keystones victory over Cincinnati. Fred McCormick -who missed more time than any established big leaguer- was not up to his pre-war standard when he returned to the Toronto Wolves but still had a solid two-thirds of a season. When we last saw Pete Papenfus the Chicago Cougars star was enjoying an Allen Award winning 1941. He returned midway through last season but looked fairly ordinary. Will a winter back home with loved ones and free time to focus on regaining their skills bring these three -and many, many others- back to the elite skill level they displayed before giving everything up for their country?
As much as the uncertainty around how those that left for the war will perform and whether those that stayed behind and carried the torch for baseball in their absence will still be good enough to compete envelopes the game it is the threat from the west that really keeps FABL President Sam Belton and the 16 club magnates up at night.
Thomas X. Bigsby has disruption printed in his DNA and while he may not be cut of the same cloth as his infamous relatives Charles and Miles Bigsby, he clearly plans to be as big a thorn in the side of Belton as the brothers were for FABL founder William Whitney. The battle between east and west, between Belton and Bigsby, between the baseball establishment and the upstarts from the west will likely not come to a head this season, but if the so-called 'Rebels' can prosper this summer there is little doubt a fight is on the horizon.
PETE LAYTON TAKES OVER IN PORTLAND
Count Pete Layton as the latest former FABL star to hitch his wagon to a Great Western League club. The GWL's Portland Green Sox have announced that the 46 year old Layton, an Oregon native, has returned home and will take over the reigns of the Green Sox as their General Manager. Layton joins fellow legendary former FABL stars Tom Bird, in Oakland, and Joe Masters, with San Francisco, as recent front office signings by western teams. The trio follows the announcement from Thomas X. Bigsby's Los Angeles club that Hall of Famer Ed Ziehl will be their manager in the inaugural season of major league baseball in the west.
Layton is a 6-time World Champion and was named the Most Valuable Player of the WCS twice. A 4-time all-star, he spent most of his 16 year career with the New York Stars before finishing up with the Chicago Chiefs. He is one of a select few who have won a batting title in both the Continental Association and Federal Association.
Here is an updated list of Great Western League General Managers, one that has certainly borrowed liberally from FABL.
DALLAS CENTURIONS- Ox Munday - The 40-year old catcher is a Texas native who played his school ball at Travis College who then had a cup of coffee with the Baltimore Cannons before ending his career with half a dozen seasons with the Centurions when they were still a minor league club.
HOUSTON BULLS- The Bulls GM has previous FABL front-office experience as he spent several seasons at the helm of the Washington Eagles.
LOS ANGELES KNIGHTS- Hall of Famer Ed Ziehl is the bench boss in Los Angeles while Tom Pierce, a 49-year old California native who might just be the most educated man in baseball will handle the General Manager duties. Pierce spent a few years as a minor league pitcher but has degrees from a pair of Academia Alliance schools in Dickson and Ellery.
OAKLAND GRAYS- 10-time All-Star and 3-time World Champion catcher Tom Bird just retired after helping the Cincinnati Cannons win their third straight pennant last October. The 37-year old is a Chino native so he returns to his California roots to run the Grays, a team he briefly played for before making his big league debut with St Louis in 1934.
PORTLAND GREEN SOX - There had been rumours that long-time Detroit sports writer Freddie Farhat was in the running for the job but the Green Sox elected to sign 46-year old six-time World Championship Series winner Pete Layton instead.
SAN DIEGO CONQUISTADORS- San Diego was the first GWL team to raid FABL for it's top baseball executive as the Conquistadors lured a GM with plenty of FABL management experience with Brooklyn and Montreal.
SAN FRANCISCO HAWKS - The Hawks recently announced the signing of local boy made good Joe Masters. The 46-year old was a bat boy for the Hawks in his youth before going on to lead Liberty College to back to back College World Series titles and then enjoying a stellar big league career that included a Whitney Award in 1928, the same season he set the FABL single-season RBI record.
SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS - The Thunderbirds are the only team to sign a General Manager with no previous playing or managing experience in FABL. The new executive does have a FABL tie-in, as he comes highly recommended by DD Martin, who has won a World Championship Series while with Cleveland and recently took a job as the Brooklyn Kings General Manager after a decade at the head of the Detroit Dynamos.
ANOTHER BARRELL ROLLS INTO DETROIT
The Detroit Dynamos have found a new scouting director and he has a familiar last name. Fred Barrell, long-time big league catcher for the Brooklyn Kings and Chicago Cougars, has joined the Dynamos front-office despite having no previous scouting experience.
What Fred does have is plenty of playing experience in the big leagues, winning a pair of WCS titles and making 3 trips to the All-Star game before retiring following the 1942 season to take a job with the state department. He also has terrific scouting bloodlines as his father Rufus was co-founder of the league scouting service and his brother Dan presently heads up that service. Fred also has ties to Detroit with two brothers already holding key sports roles in the city. Rollie is the owner of the Detroit Maroons football club and Jack is the head coach of the Detroit Motors hockey squad.
Fred Barrell also has close ties to the new Dynamos GM, having played for him -along with 4 of his brothers- on 3 pennant winning Brooklyn Kings clubs. Since retiring as a player Fred has distanced himself from the game while spending the past three years aiding in the war effort by working an undisclosed job with the State Department. However, he says that position is no longer needed now that the war is over and Barrell is looking forward to returning to baseball, adding that "being (in Detroit) is a great opporunity to spend more time with the families of two of his brothers."
Fred also adds that he is looking forward to working with Dick York, the former star catcher and current manager of the Dynamos. "Dick was a player I always looked up to and patterned my game after as I was growing up. In fact, his sister Francine is married to my brother Rollie and it was Dick who taught me a lot of the finer points of catching when I was a kid. It will be quite an honour to get to work with him."
*** Knights Draw St Blane in AIAA Tourney Opener ***
The Detroit City College Knights are back in the AIAA tournament after a dismal season a year ago ended a 12 year run of tournament appearances in which they reached the finals ones, the semis on two other occasions and the quarter-finals three times. Of course, despite all of the that success the Knights continue to search for their first AIAA cage championship.
A fourth seed, they will open against St Blane, a school with a rich tradition of success on the grid but has accomplished very little on the court. The Fighting Saints have never won a tournament game and have not even been invited to the March event since 1928 but DCC should not take them lightly despite the fact the Saints are 0-5 against ranked opponents this season. Detroit City is in the East Region this time around and if they get past St Blane in the 4-vs-5 game they will likely meet Liberty College -the number one team in the nation- in the second round.
The Great Lakes Alliance, which has still won just one AIAA tournament -back in 1924-25 when Whitney College prevailed- likely pins its hopes this year on Western Iowa or St Magnus. The Canaries are the #2 seed out west while the Vikings, who won the GLA crown with a 13-3 section record, are the top seed in the Midwest and face College of Waco in their opener on the weekend. St Magnus has only qualified for the tournament once before in the past dozen years but they had a fantastic run in the spring of 1943, going all the way to the championship game before falling to Rainier College.
- OSA has released its first of two sets of predictions. The early spring call is seldom accurate but if it is we are in for a pair of wild pennant races with the scouting service calling on the Chicago Cougars to deny the Cincinnati Cannons a record 4th straight CA pennant while in the Fed it is calling for Boston to come out on top after another one of that loop's famous tight races.
- Percy Sutherland of the Chicago Herald-Examiner feels that "in broad outlines, the predictions make sense. I wouldn't be surprised with Boston and Cougars pennants. The Keystones and Wolves as 2nd division clubs? That I'm not so sure about."
- Sutherland also adds that he will go on record to say that the Chiefs will not have the worst pitching in the Fed and will not lose 90 games.
- Philadelphia Inquistor beat writer Joey Mahoney also took exception to OSA's call on the season, noting the defending champs will not hit .238 on the season and they will not lose 83 games.
- Brett Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire was pretty blunt with his comments, accusing whoever made the predictions for the OSA of only having done so after spending an afternoon drinking with Freddie Farhat.
- The financial crunch felt by some FABL clubs in recent years also extends to the new Great Western League. A few teams like the Portland Green Sox seem to have buckets of cash available in order to land FABL spring cuts but two teams - The San Diego Conquistadors and Dallas Centurions are said to have no money available to go shopping with this spring.
- The highest paid player in the Great Western loop is former Washington Eagles third baseman Larry Colaianni, who is slated to make $17,000 from the Oakland Oaks this season. Still it is a huge pay cut for the 37 year old who made nearly double that while hitting .325 for the Eagles last season.
- Rick York is ready for a breakout year in Detroit. At least that is the word from the Dynamos camp in Lakeland, where York reported over the weekend and is said to be in the best shape of his life. The 26 year old returns after 3 years in the Navy and is set to join the club managed by his father, famous former catcher Dick York.
- TRIVIA QUESTION: A softball question for today. Rick York is expected to make the Dynamos and if so will be managed by his father Dick York. Name the most recent FABL father-son FABL manager-player duo.
JACKHAMMER O’KEEFE WINS WELTERWEIGHT BELT IN 13th ROUND KO
In a free-for-all of a welterweight division, meritocracy rules. You win, you advance. You lose, you wait for another chance. In the ring tonight at Bigsby Garden were two winners to reach this winner-take-all match. To the winner, the World Welterweight Title. To the loser, the closest he may get to the title in his career. The title at stake has been vacant since before the war, which seems like a lifetime ago to the welterweight field, more than a lifetime in boxing years.
Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson was the last welterweight champ and he retired in 1940. The boxers qualifying in the welterweight class were sparse and largely unavailable with calls for active duty, so the American Boxing Federation left the weight class for dead until a groundswell of support came from many dedicated fistic fans across the country to reestablish the weight class. What followed was a creative yet obvious solution to an unprecedented problem: having the top challengers fight it out in a win-and-advance format until one remained. This is the end of that search.
In one corner, Dennis O'Keefe, stationed at the usual champion's "red" corner, but not a champion, at least not yet. O'Keefe has an impressive record of 19-1 with 12 knockouts and a more impressive nickname, the Jacksonville Jackhammer. O'Keefe defeated Rudy Perry by knockout in October. In the “blue” corner, Carl Taylor reached the final in this championship "playoff" by outlasting Mark Westlake in a 12-round unanimous decision. Taylor is 29 years old, just like O'Keefe, but the Baltimore native is a slightly less impressive 19-2-2 in his boxing career.
A hush came over the Bigsby Garden crowd in the moments before the fighters made their way from their respective dressing rooms to the ring. This was not a crowd wondering how the champion will emerge victorious. This was not a crowd guessing if the challenger can muster enough courage to surmount the insurmountable. This was a crowd truly looking for a rooting interest, trying to figure which challenger had what it took to raise his fists in victory.
O’Keefe landed the only big punch of Round One, a shot to Taylor’s ribs in what was clearly a strategy going into the fight to work the body. At the end of the second round, O’Keefe connected on a left just above Taylor’s waist that brought jeers from the crowd, especially the corner of the Baltimore basher. When the bell rang to end the round, both fighters continued to fire away, and referee Jerry Rowe had to jump in between the combatants.
Taylor gave way in the first, but he signaled his arrival in the bout with his weapon of choice, a cross that connected on O’Keefe midway through the second. Taylor executed his punches with precision early on, dominating the third round and working the body to get the better of O’Keefe in the fourth round.
The finest back-and-forth of the entire night was the 90-second sequence in the middle of the fifth stanza. Taylor unleashed a right to the head of O’Keefe, followed by his signature cross and a right that combined to daze, stun, and shake O’Keefe. Taylor, looking to keep the pressure on, missed badly with a right, providing an opening for O’Keefe, who threw a left-right combination to the jaw that dropped Taylor to the canvas. Taylor was wobbly but stood up after a six-count and the bout continued.
After some uninspiring seventh round, which drew boos from the New York crowd, the respite helped Taylor, who dominated early in the eighth before O’Keefe released a flurry of combinations. The punches stunned Taylor but O’Keefe was unable to do more damage after another post-round scuffle. O’Keefe carried the momentum into the ninth to take the round.
Taylor’s best showing in the entire fight was in the final stages of the 11th round, when he drilled O’Keefe with an uppercut that stunned O’Keefe. After O’Keefe composed himself, he threw a weak hook that Taylor brushed aside before landing a hard right to O’Keefe’s midsection, sending O’Keefe down for a quick one-count before rising to his feet as the bell rang to signal the end of the round.
O’Keefe came on in the final minute of the 12th, as had happened quite a bit during the fight of starting the round slow only to try to score points late. The flurry foreshadowed the end of the fight with a couple of shots that landed and nearly causing Taylor to fall, the second of which was right on Taylor’s chin, as O’Keefe employed his strategy of working the body to set up big hits up top and scored there leading into the 13th round.
O’Keefe continued the onslaught with a cross to the body early on, but Taylor was wise to the plan, refusing to let anything in the middle through. O’Keefe went for broke and fired a one-two punch to Taylor’s weakened chin, worthy of the Jacksonville Jackhammer. O’Keefe was kept away from Taylor as his was on his knees, struggling to square himself into a standing position. But it was not to be, as Taylor fell back down and the count reached ten.
Dennis O’Keefe earned the World Welterweight Title in a battle of knockdowns and opted for quantity of punches over quality of punches, only landing 11% of his attempts and outlanded two to one. But, the ones that landed did damage and O’Keefe managed to withstand whatever Taylor could muster and handled his best. O’Keefe’s 13th knockout moved his record to 20-1 and the welterweight division has its first champion in six years. Taylor’s loss lowered his mark to 19-3-2 and shuffles to the bottom of the deck of potential challengers. Taylor will have to wait a while for another shot, maybe a lifetime.
Code:
WELTERWEIGHT TITLE HISTORY
YEARS FIGHTER HOMETOWN Title Defenses
1916-1917 Larry Growney New Bedford, MA 2
1917-1919 'Little' Lenny Werner Cleveland, OH 3
1919-1927 George Grainger Peoria, IL 16
1927-1928 Tim McCord New York, NY 1
1928-1932 Andy Clavin Brooklyn, NY 4
1932-1933 Doug 'Tornado' Thomas Oklahoma City, OK 2
1933-1940 Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson England 14
1940-1945 vacant
1946-cur Dennis O'Keefe Jacksonville, FL -
CARMICHAEL CALLS IT QUITS
Veteran British heavyweight Leo Carmichael, who outdueled world champion Hector Sawyer for 8 rounds last month in Detroit before a broken rib derailed his fight and cost him any chance at the title, has announced his retirement from the ring. The 37-year old was 30-5-1 for his career and battled many of the top heavyweights over the years. His final fight was his first chance at the World Title and one can't help but think that had the second world war not intervened Carmichael might well have been the champ at some point. He had a six and a half year interruption to his pro career due to the war and fought just three times since 1939.
FIELD SET FOR COLLEGIATE TITLE TOURNEY
The 32-team field has been selected for AIAA championship tournament which gets underway across the country on Saturday and concludes the first weekend of April with the semi-finals and championship game. The top seeds in the four regions will be Liberty College, Mobile Maritime, St Magnus and City College of Los Angeles.
This tournament will also have one very notable absence. For the first time in the history of the 37 year old event the Coastal California Dolphins will not participate. The Dolphins fate was sealed with a 48-39 home loss to 12th ranked Lane State left them with an 18-12 record. It will mark the first season the Dolphins fail to win 20 games as well as their first tournament miss. Despite never missing a tournament, making the semi-finals 13 times and the championship game 3 times, Coastal California has never won the AIAA marquee event.
A LOOK AT EACH OF THE 32 TEAMS IN THE AIAA TOURNAMENT
Here is a quick primer on each of the schools in the running for the title of 1945-46 AIAA Basketball Champion
EAST REGION
#1 Liberty College Bells 28-1 Independent, ranked #1 nationally
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.
Best Tournament Finish: Champion (3 times 1941-42, 1936-37, 1935-36)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 26 3 time champion, 6 times in national semi-finals
All-Time Tournament Record: 44-22
Top Players: Sr F Win Dupre (10.6 ppg), Jr G Waylon Orlick (8.0 ppg), So C Ward Messer (6.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
#2 Garden State Redbirds 25-4 Liberty Conference champs, ranked #3 nationally
Location: Newark, NJ
Best Tournament Finish: Champion 1938-39
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 22 1 title, 3 time finalist and 4 times in the semi-finals
All-Time Tournament Record: 25-20
Top Players: Sr F Colby Niles (12.1 ppg) and Sr G David Bobo (11.7 ppg)
#3 Lane State Emeralds 20-9 West Coast Athletic Assn tied for second, ranked #14
Location: Eugene, Or.
Best Tournament Finish: Finalist (2 times: 1939-40 and 1928-29)
AIAA Touranment Appearance: 17 Reached the finals twice but lost both times including 1939-40 to WCAA rival Rainier College.
All-Time Tournament Record: 18-16
Top Players: Jr C Andrew Williams (9.9 ppg) and Sr G Scott Brown (9.1 ppg)
#4 Detroit City College Knights 19-10, second in Great Lakes Alliance, ranked #15
Location: Detroit, Mi.
Best Tournament Finish: Finalist 1932-33
AIAA Touranment Appearance: 31. Reached the semi-finals 3 times and quarters 10 times but have never won the tournament.
All-Time Tournament Record: 32-30
Top Players: Sr F Harland Pinkard (10.3 ppg) and St G Stephen Rubaclava (8.8 ppg, 4.5 apg)
#5 St Blane Fighting Saints 21-8, independent, ranked #21
Location: Tyrone, Pa.
Best Tournament Finish: opening round loss 1926-27 and 1927-28
AIAA Touranment Appearance: 3
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-2
Top Players: Fr F Cy Worley (9.2 ppg) injured, So C Josh Samuels (8.4 ppg)
#6 Utah A&M Aggies 24-6 Rocky Mountain Alliance champs, ranked #18
Location: Salt Lake City, Ut
Best Tournament Finish: lost in opening round 9 times most recently 1942-43
AIAA Touranment Appearance: 10
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-9
Top Players: Sr G Dan Dorsey (10.7 ppg) and So F John Suber (7.6 ppg)
#7 Bayou State Cougars 18-11 won Deep South Conference title, not ranked
Location: Baton Rogue, La.
Best Tournament Finish: Champion 1919-20
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 15 but this is their first since 1927-28. Only advanced as far as semi-finals once, in their championship season of 1919-20.
All-Time Tournament Record: 21-13
Top Players: Jr G William Smith (10.4 ppg), So C Cory Hunt (8.8 ppg) and So G Scott Winner (8.6 ppg)
#8 University of New Jersey Warriors 18-11, Eastern Six Conference Champions, not ranked
Location: Trenton, NJ
Best Tournament Finish: round of 16 twice including last season and 1926-27
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 10
All-Time Tournament Record: 2-9
Top Players: Sr F Pablo Brown (7.7 ppg) and So G Kirby Tucker (7.1 ppg)
SOUTH REGION
#1 Mobile Maritime Middies, 27-2 South Atlantic Conference champions, ranked #2 nationally
Location: Mobile, Al.
Best Tournament Finish: semi-finals 1933-34
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 7
All-Time Tournament Record: 4-6
Top Players: Sr C Richard Brawner (9.2 ppg), Sr G Mario Carl (8.8 ppg), Sr G Wilf Binns (8.7 ppg) and Jr F Dan Garcia (8.5 ppg)
#2 Brooklyn State Bears, 22-7, second in Liberty Conference, ranked #8
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Best Tournament Finish: AIAA Champion 3 times (1940-41, 1937-38, 1931-32
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 18
All-Time Tournament Record: 32-14, 5 times reached the semi-finals and 4 of those advanced to title game.
Top Players: Sr F Willie Wright (12.1 ppg), Sr F Ira Bomar (10.4 ppg) and Sr G Tom Laurent (10.2 ppg)
#3 Central Ohio Aviators, 20-9, tied for third in Great Lakes Alliance, ranked #20 nationally
Location: Columbus, Oh.
Best Tournament Finish: quarterfinals 1942-43
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 12
All-Time Tournament Record: 9-11
Top Players: So F Ziggy Rickard (11.8 ppg) and Sr G Burl Rone (11.8 ppg)
#4 Frankford State Owls 22-7, Independent, ranked #19 nationally
Location: Frankford, Pa.,
Best Tournament Finish: Finalist 1927-1928
AIAA Tournament Appearances: 15 but only once (2 years ago) since 1927-28
All-Time Tournament Record: 19-14 reached finals in 1927-28 and semi-finals in 1915-16
Top Players: Sr G Hunter Enright (9.5 ppg) and Sr F Aaron Walker (7.5 ppg)
#5 Whitney College Engineers, 19-10, tied for 3rd in Great Lakes Alliance, ranked #24 nationally
Location: Gary, In.
Best Tournament Finish: champion 1924-25
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 20. Only Great Lakes Alliance current member to win a national title. They have reached the semi-finals 3 times and the finals twice losing to Bayou State in 1919-20 and beating Coastal California in 1924-25.
All-Time Tournament Record: 23-18
Top Players: Sr F Dale Reynolds (8.0 ppg) and Jr F Ruben Gilbert (8.0 ppg)
#6 Noble Jones College Colonels, 20-9, second in Deep South Conference, unranked
Location: Augusta, Ga.
Best Tournament Finish: round of 16 three times (last year, 1941-42 and 1940-41)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 11
All-Time Tournament Record: 3-10
Top Players: Jr G Blondy Wilbourn (9.7 ppg) and Jr F Darrel Hanson (9.3 ppg)
#7 Centerville Indians, 19-10, Keystone Alliance champions, not ranked
Location: Centerville, Pa.
Best Tournament Finish: qualied (twice before 1923-24 and 1918-19)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 3 -this will be first appearance since 1923-24
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-2
Top Players: Sr F Elvin Toro (11.2 ppg) and Sr G Mike Campbell (9.0 ppg)
#8 Western State Bisons 15-13, Central Athletic Alliance champions, not ranked
Location: Buffalo, NY
Best Tournament Finish: first round loss 4 times including last year
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 4
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-4
Top Players: Fr F John Robinett (8.3 ppg) and Fr G Mark lee (7.2 ppg)
MIDWEST REGION
#1 St. Magnus Vikings, 23-6, Great Lakes Alliance Champions, ranked #11 nationally
Location: St. Paul, Mn.
Best Tournament Finish: finalist 1942-43
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 5 1942-43 was first appearance in a decade and only year they ever won a tournament game when they reached the finals only to fall to Rainier College.
All-Time Tournament Record: 4-4
Top Players: Sr G Matt Saez (11.5 ppg) and Sr F Kevin Kennard (11.2 ppg)
#2 Rainier College Majestics, 23-6, West Coast Athletic Association champions, ranked #7 nationally
Location: Puyallup, Wa.
Best Tournament Finish: Champion 3 times (1943-44, 1942-43, 1939-40)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 28 Reached finals 3 times, winning each of them. knocked out in semi-finals in 1934-35 which was a start of 12 straight tournament appearances with 10 of those resulting in at least one victory.
All-Time Tournament Record: 35-24
Top Players: Sr G Charlie Purkey (8.6 ppg), Jr F Chuck Reiners (8.3 ppg) and Jr F Burford Garrison (7.6 ppg)
#3 Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes, 27-2, Southwest Alliance champions, ranked #4 nationally
Location: Houston, Tx.
Best Tournament Finish: quarterfinals twice (1943-44 and 1934-35)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 12
All-Time Tournament Record: 7-11
Top Players: Sr G John Toombs (11.3 ppg), So F Darren Furman (8.9 ppg) and Sr H Arn Brewington (8.0 ppg)
#4 St. Martin's College Crusaders, 23-6, Independent, ranked #13 nationally
Location: Hartford, Ct.
Best Tournament Finish: qaurterfinals 1925-26.
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 5 -advanced to second round last season in first tournament appeance since 1931-32.
All-Time Tournament Record: 4-4
Top Players: Jr F Forrest Murphy (11.7 ppg), Sr C Connie Kinser (7.5 ppg) and Sr F Andy Long (7.4 ppg).
#5 Brunswick Knights, 23-9, Academia Alliance regular season and tournament champs, ranked 16th nationally
Location: South Brunswick, NJ
Best Tournament Finish: champion 3 times (1917-18, 1911-12, 1910-11)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 22 but this is first appearance in 5 years. Reached the championship game six times but none since 1917-18. Have not won a tournament game since 1938-39.
All-Time Tournament Record: 44-18
Top Players: Sr C Jim Shetler (9.8 ppg), So G Harland Lantz (7.3 ppg) and St F Rudy Stanford (6.4 ppg)
#6 Orrville Oaks, 22-7, independent, ranked 23rd nationally
Location: Orrville, Oh.
Best Tournament Finish: qualified 3 times but never won a game (1925-26, 1916-17 and 1915-16)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 4
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-3
Top Players: Jr F Max Morgan (8.3 ppg), Jr G Ed Headley (8.0 ppg) and Sr C Merritt Whitten (7.9 ppg)
#7 Payne State Mavericks, 22-8, Midwestern Association champions, not ranked
Location: Stillwater, Ok.
Best Tournament Finish: second round 1930-31
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 6
All-Time Tournament Record: 1-5
Top Players: Jr G Chris Scott (10.6 ppg), Sr G Marty Hayes (8.8 ppg), Jr F Tex Owen (8.1 ppg) and Sr F Riley Meyer (7.4 ppg)
#8 College of Waco Cowboys, 18-11, Southern Border Association champions, not ranked
Location: Waco, Tx.
Best Tournament Finish: second round 1925-26
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 2. Only previous tournament appearance was in 1925-26
All-Time Tournament Record: 1-1
Top Players: Sr G Todd Myrick (9.7 ppg) and So G Ned Letourneau (8.3 ppg but injured)
WEST REGION
#1 City College of Los Angeles (CCLA) Coyotes, 25-6, tied for second in West Coast Athletic Association, ranked 5th nationally.
Location: Los Angeles, Ca.
Best Tournament Finish: 3 time champion (1932-33, 1927-28 and 1915-16)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 34. Have not missed tournament since 1934-35. 4 times in the finals and 8 in which they reached Bigsby Garden to participate in the semi-inals.
All-Time Tournament Record: 51-30
Top Players: Jr F Jumbo Hinman (10.8 ppg), So G Gerry Cheek (8.1 ppg but injured) and Sr C Tim Kratzer (4.7 ppg)
#2 Western Iowa Canaries, 21-8, tied for third in Great Lakes Alliance, ranked 9th nationally
Location: Sioux City, Ia.
Best Tournament Finish: finalist 1938-39
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 17 including 1 trip to finals and another in which they reached the semis (1942-43)
All-Time Tournament Record: 15-16
Top Players: Sr F David Brown (9.1 ppg), Sr G Joe Hampton (8.5 ppg, 4.6 apg) and So G Toby Shively (8.3 ppg)
#3 Miami State Gulls, 24-5, independent, ranked 6th nationally
Location: Miami, Fl.
Best Tournament Finish: second round twice (last year and 1912-13)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 7
All-Time Tournament Record: 2-6
Top Players: Jr C Long Werth (12.6 ppg), Sr F Ward Claxton (8.8 ppg) and Sr G Eddie Capers (6.9 ppg)
#4 Coastal State Eagles, 24-5, tied for third in South Atlantic Conference, ranked 10th nationally
Location: Florence, SC
Best Tournament Finish: semi-finals 1932-33
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 6 including 1 semi-final apperances and 3 in the quarterfinals.
All-Time Tournament Record: 8-5
Top Players: Sr F Sal Gresham (11.0 ppg), Sr G Matt Peoples (8.0 ppg) and Sr G Norris Johnson (7.9 ppg)
#5 Annapolis Maritime Navigators, 22-7, independent, ranked 17th nationally
Location: Annapolis, Md. (Navy training school)
Best Tournament Finish: finalist 1943-44
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 20 including 15 of the last 16 years, reached semi-finals 3 times includign the finals two years ago.
All-Time Tournament Record: 21-19
Top Players: Sr F Tony Rodriguez (11.9 ppg) and Sr G Syd Napier (7.1 ppg)
#6 Redwood University Mammoths, 18-11, tied for 4th in West Coast Athletic Association, unranked
Location: Stanford, Ca.
Best Tournament Finish: qualified 3 times, never won a game. Most recently in 1940-41 ending a 22 year drought.
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 4
All-Time Tournament Record: 0-3
Top Players: Fr F Punch Perez (6.4 ppg), So G Levi Gibson (6.3 ppg), Sr F Rex Harris (6.0 ppg) and So G Loop Leon (5.7 ppg)
#7 Quaker College (CA) Bulldogs, 22-7, won California League championship, not ranked
Location:
Best Tournament Finish: second round twice (1940-41 and 1917-18)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 9
All-Time Tournament Record: 2-8
Top Players: Sr G Carl Arana (9.0 ppg) and Jr F Rubin Mills (8.7 ppg).
#8 Lawrence State Chippewa, 15-14, Plains Athletic Association champion, not ranked
Location: Lawrence, Ks.
Best Tournament Finish: second round twice (1920-21 and 1915-16)
AIAA Touranment Appearances: 8 but not since 1934-35.
All-Time Tournament Record: 2-7
Top Players: Sr G Paul DuBose (10.7 ppg) and Sr G Don Epps (8.9 ppg)
Code:
COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL FINAL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Liberty College (72) 28-1 1800 1 Independent
2. Mobile Maritime 27-2 1724 2 South Atlantic Conference
3. Garden State 25-4 1602 5 Liberty Conference
4. Texas Gulf Coast 27-2 1578 6 Southwestern Alliance
5. CC Los Angeles 25-5 1555 3 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Miami State 24-5 1441 7 Independent
7. Rainier College 23-6 1370 4 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Brooklyn State 22-7 1227 11 Liberty Conference
9. Western Iowa 21-8 1194 8 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Coastal State 24-5 1172 10 South Atlantic Conference
11. St. Magnus 23-6 1059 12 Great Lakes Alliance
12. Great Plains State 22-7 1041 9 Independent
13. St. Martin's College 23-6 924 14 Independent
14. Lane State 20-9 924 13 West Coast Athletic Association
15. Detroit City College 19-10 730 16 Great Lakes Alliance
16. Brunswick 23-9 659 21 Academia Alliance
17. Annapolis Maritime 22-7 659 17 Independent
18. Utah A&M 24-6 580 19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
19. Frankford State 22-7 536 18 Independent
20. Central Ohio 20-9 440 15 Great Lakes Alliance
21. St. Blane 21-8 329 20 Independent
22. St. Patrick's 19-11 264 22 Independent
23. Orrville 22-7 252 23 Independent
24. Whitney College 19-10 180 24 Great Lakes Alliance
25. Quaker College (CA) 22-7 65 NR California League
Others Receiving Votes:
Payne State 22-8 48 Midwestern Association
Noble Jones College 20-9 42 Deep South Conference
Hamman 22-8 4 Independent
Ohio Poly 21-9 1 Independent
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/17/1946
- The future of the United Nations organization may be at stake as US Secretary of State James Byrnes is ready to put Russia to a crucial test at the forthcoming Security Council meeting. The issue is over Russian disputes with Iran and the Soviets charge that an anti-Soviet blox is being created in the Near East.
- Canada and Russia are set to break diplomatic relations after Canada moved to disclose publicly confidential Russian Embassy dispatches -an unprecedented move between friendly governments.
- A Moscow news report accuses American newspapers of seeking to promote an American atomic dictatorship and charged that an Anglo-American axis was being advocated against Russia.
- British Prime Minister Attlee has offered India her full independence, either inside or outside the British Empire.
TRIVIA ANSWER: An easy one as the most recent father-son FABL manager/player duo is the Ziehl. Hall of Famer Ed managed the New York Gothams for a couple of decades including 1943 and 1944 when his son, third baseman Eddie, played a few games with the big club. The two are set to possibly become the first father-son manager-player duo in the major league version of the GWL as Ed is now the skipper of the Los Angeles Knights and Eddie is under contract and attempting to make the Knights opening day roster.