OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

Jiggs McGee · 03-16-2023, 12:39 PM

APRIL 29, 1946

COUGARS PITCHING LIVING UP TO BILLING

Going into the season the pitching staff of the Chicago Cougars looked like it could be one of the most imposing group of arms the loop has seen in quite some time. The opening two weeks of the season have done nothing to disprove that as the Cougars have allowed just 27 runs in 13 games while no other CA staff has surrendered less than 46. Pete Papenfus is 3-0 with a 1.38 era and looks to be back to the pitcher he was when he last pitched a full season- his Allan Award winning 1941 campaign. Veteran Billy Riley (2-0, 0..00) continues to prove he was a steal when he came over from the New York Stars two years ago and the remainder of the rotation has been nearly as good.

To make matters worse for their Continental Association foes, the Cougars offense is also firing on all cylinders led by another returnee from military service in veteran third sacker Hank Barnett, who is batting .333 with 4 homers and 11 rbi's. The three-time defending champion Cincinnati Cannons are doing their best to keep pace with the Chicago nine and face a big test this week when the Cougars visit Tice Memorial Stadium for a 3-game series starting tomorrow.

Speaking of Chicago, the city's Federal Association entry is also enjoying some terrific pitching to start the season. Gus Goulding (3-0, 0.68) is off to the best start of his career and the Chiefs are right in the middle of what promises to be a tight Federal Association race this season.

DALPMAN FASHIONS NO-HITER FOR MINUTEMEN

Boston Minutemen righthander Ray Dalpman seems to be showing no ill-effects at all from 37 months away from the game as a member of the United States Navy. The 29 year old Indiana native is 3-0 with a 0.35 era after tossing a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh on Friday. It is the first FABL no-hitter in nearly two years and the first for a Minutemen pitcher since Hall of Famer Big George Johnson threw one in 1914.

It is Dalpman's first no-hitter but he did toss a one-hitter early in his breakout season of 1941 when he won 19 games and helped Boston win it's first World Championship Series title since 1912. Dalpman did not allow a base runner until the 4th inning when he walked George Cleaves -one of three free passes he issued on the afternoon. The other two came to start the seventh inning just after the Minutemen had doubled their lead to 2-0, but he induced a double play ball from Luke Berry and then got Pinky Pierce to fly out to end the threat before retiring the side in order in the final two innings to claim his spot in FABL history. It was his second shutout in 3 starters, having beaten Washington 3-0 in the season opener. In between he went 8-innings in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh, with both that win and Friday's gem coming at the expense of Miners ace Lefty Allen.

Sounds like Montreal is unable to score against Chicago hurler Billy Riley. Since the beginning of season, in two starts against the Saints Riley threw 2 shutout games. Over 7 games played against the Cougars, Montreal has been shutout three times. The offense need to wake up soon in Montreal.

The pitching squad has been on the edge pretty much since opening day, but the offense need to find their groove back. The "Waco Kid" Doyle has been a great return from war with 0.86 ERA in 31IP and 18Ks. The pitching duo of Doyle and Pat Weakley is finally giving Montreal a 1-2 rotation punch that has not been seen here since the days of Charlie Stedman and Walker Moore. After a stretch of playing against Chicago and NY Stars multiple times, playing against other teams will give a better indication as to just how improved the Saints are this season.

On a side note, pitcher Wally Reif is going to injury list for three weeks so expect Bill Ross to take on Reif's duties in the starting rotation. There will traffiic jam in 3 weeks from now in the Montreal bullpen as three players are planned to be back from the injured list with Jake De Young and Danny Clark accompanying Reif as all should be coming back in the same week. That should be ringing some bells in Lee Richardson and Karl Weiss to wake up before this is too late.
*** Struggling Offense in Montreal? ***

What is happening with 1B Vic Crawford? After a very good 1945 season hitting for .317, 14 HR and 95 RBIs, he is posting a .077 avg and no RBIs yet after 13 games. Because of his lack of offense, Montreal skipper Homer Moore gave some starts to war veteran Red Bond, but he is not doing better either with .097avg and no RBIs. The combined stats of both first basemen (both batting 4th in lineup) is not acceptable with only 5 hits for 57 AB, no homers, no RBIs... expect a drop down in the batting order. Prospect Otis Parker is not having the expected debut as the starting rightfielder, hitting just .158. Parker will have to share playing time with outfielder Heinie Billings.

DYNAMOS YOUNGSTERS MAY NOT BE READY

The Detroit Dynamos took a bit of a gamble this season shedding some high-priced veteran contracts in a decision to charge full-steam ahead into their youth movement. There is a lot of talent in a farm system that OSA ranks the second best in the game and that is excluding Carl Potter, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday. The Dynamos brought much of that young talent north with them when they broke camp in Lakeland and while it is very early, the results are clearly mixed.

24 year old pitcher Wally Hunter looked very good in beating the New York Gothams 8-2 in his Detroit debut but he struggled in his second start against Chicago on Friday. There will be growing pains but Hunter certainly appears capable of contributing this season. The same cannot be said, at least not right now, for catcher Rick York. The manager's son is now off to Newark to try and regain his batting touch. York, who prior to spring camp had not played pro ball since 1942, was hitting just .105 after 10 games so with veteran catcher Bill Watson claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Sailors, the Detroit brass figured York could benefit from a week or two out of the big league spotlight.

Stan Kleminski has really looked great at the plate, leading the club with a .364 batting average but his glove has been the cause of plenty of nightmares for the pitching staff. The long-term hope is the 19 year old can play shortstop in the big leagues but with 12 errors in 10 games the club has decided to shift Kleminski to second base and let Del Johnson take a stab at shortstop. Johnson has been the reverse of Kleminski, with the 21 year old looking very strong in the field but hitting just .143.

There are also some mild concerns about 21 year old first baseman Dick Estes, who is hitting just .207 and 24 year old outfielder Dick Blaszak and his .182 batting average. Blaszak is a former first overall draft pick once called the top prospect in the game by OSA but he was wounded in the Pacific in the fall of 1944 and has just 1 big league homerun in 101 career games. The Dynamos are going to leave both in the lineup for the time being in hopes that each can work through their struggles at the plate.

At 4-7 the Dynamos are already 3.5 games back of front-running Boston as they head out on the road for 10 games including stops in Philadelphia and Boston this week.
*** VAUGHT STILL UNDECIDED ***

The Detroit Maroons are still waiting on Stan Vaught to make a decision on his future. The greatest pass catcher in American Football Association history says he does not want to rush into a retirement decision only to have second thoughts and change his mind, as Vaught did a year ago after retiring following the 1944 AFA championship game only to be talked out of the decision by club owner Rollie Barrell -with help from his daughter. Vaught was the AFA Most Valuable Player this season but his Maroons once again fell short in the title game, getting hammered by the Boston Americans.

Barrell, the brother of Dynamos new Scouting Director Fred Barrell, would only say he is willing to wait as long as Vaught needs to make his decision, noting "there will always be a place on the Maroons for Stan, should he decide to return."

Rollie Barrell also remains mum on increasingly active talk about a professional basketball league. If a new big-time cage league does get off the ground in the fall, it is widely expected that Barrell will be heavily involved in the ownership although the AFA's rule prohibiting its magnates to have controlling interest in a team in another sport may be a sticking point. Rollie, along with current Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott, were driving forces behind the last professional basketball league, before it became a casualty of the depression.

HAWKS CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH IN PACIFIC LOOP

Led by the hot bats of Bob Land (.431,0,10) and Cliff Ray (.324,2,11), the San Francisco Hawks continue to top the Great Western League standings but no one has been dominant as the new loop completes the second week of it's inaugural season. The second place Portland Green Sox might have had a tough spring but since the games started to count the defending champions have been receiving outstanding pitching with Tom Williams (2-0, 1.75) and Pete Archer (2-1, 2.19) leading the way.

Well, that didn't take long. Mahlon Strong is injured and will miss a couple of weeks with a foot injury -joining Mule Monier on the sideline for the New York Gothams. The latest issue for the all to often injured Stong prompted New York World-Telegram columnist Red Wedge to quip "This guy can get injured breathing."
On the positive side of the ledger, the Gothams are thrilled to see catcher Pete Casstevens get the nod as Fed player of the week for the first time in his career. Just two more to go for Pete to catch his dad Clint, who was player of the week three times while with Pittsburgh. Of course, dad also has a Whitney Award as well.
Toronto's Charlie Artuso claimed CA player of the week honours as the Wolves rebounded from an 0-6 start with six wins in their last 7 games.
Ray Dalpman and Gus Goulding both have sub-1.00 ERAs after 3 starts. In the CA: Wally Dolye and Johnnie Jones are both sub-1.00 after 3 starts. Of course, Billy Riley hasn't given up a run yet, but in just two starts
The Cougars are just flexing on everyone by running a 6-man rotation. Parker, Riley, and Johnnie Jones would be #1 starters on a number of other clubs.
After 13 games, the Cougars have a higher run differential (+44) then all of last season (+38)
Pitching, pitching and more pitching have been the story with Boston. Unfortunately, they lose Billy Dalton for up to three weeks. Thankfully Art Spencer is a more than capable bench guy that can slide right in for us. Nice to have depth again.
First casualty of Dynamos struggling youth movement is catcher Rick York. Hitting just .105, York will get some time in Newark to try and get untracked. Waiver pickup Bill Watson, claimed from the Sailors, will take his spot on the big league roster. While 19 year old Stan Kleminski is hitting .364 most of the other youngsters in the lineup have struggled so joining York in Newark is increasingly becoming a possibility for Del Johsnon, Dick Estes and Dick Blaszak. Detroit's pitching has been solid but the offense for the 4-7 Detroiters is in a funk at the moment.
Kleminski has been a hit with the bat but is just awful with the glove at shortstop right now. So, Detroit Manager Joe York says he will try and switch Kleminski and Del Johnson - putting Johnson at SS (but with a short leash) and seeing if Kleminski can handle himself in the field as a second baseman. If not, his glove skills or lack thereof will likely result in the need to send him to Newark despite a team best .364 batting average.
After dropping their first 8 games of the season, Brooklyn finally broke through in game 9 with a 3-1 win over the Saints. But the young pitchers continue to have a rough start to the season in some lopsided defeats.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

There are 72 rookies in FABL lineups to start the season including 9 on the Philadelphia Sailors and 8 each on Cleveland and Detroit. Only the Toronto Wolves did not employ a rookie on their big league roster to start the season. Here is a list of all of the rookies on Opening Day rosters across FABL.

BOSTON- 1- Catcher Jiggs Jackson
BROOKLYN- 7-Pitchers Jack Brown, Wally Graves, Leo Hayden, Harry Stewart, C Solly Skidmore, SS Phil Gratz and OF John Beaver.
CHIEFS- 2- Pitcher Ernie Espanoza and 3B Pat Reed.
COUGARS- 1- Catcher Homer Guthrie
CINCINNATI- 3- Pitchers Jesse Woods and Bill Tuttle along with 1B Nick Bennett
CLEVELAND- 8- Pitchers Davey Chamberlain, Augie Hayes Jr. and Jim Zimmerman, infielders Walt Knight, Earl Szwed and Glenn White and outfielders Paul Porter and Pete Sigmund.
DETROIT- 8- Pitchers Charlie Ashmore and Wally Hunter, infielders Steve Donovan, Dick Estes, Win Hamby, Del Johnson,Stan Kleminski and Joe York.
MONTREAL- 4- Pitcher Bert Cupid along with outfielders Gordon McCarley, Alex Morgan and Otis Parker.
NY STARS- 7- Pitchers Jim Baker, George Belcher, Paul Grell and George Scruggs along with infielder Bill Barnett and outfielders Newt Cooper and Jack Welch.
NY GOTHAMS- 6- Pitchers Lou Eaker, Steve Groves, Harl Haines, Tom Henderson and Tom Richarson along with infielder Ralph O'Neal.
KEYSTONES- 1- Pitcher Joe Lund.
SAILORS- 9- Pitchers Troy Crockett, Charlie Gordon, Howie Harris, Frank Sartori and Slick Wesolowski, along with catcher Mark Smtih, infieldr Wilson Perez and outfielders John Shaw and Elmer Wands.
PITTSBURGH- 3- Pitchers Adam Grayson and Whitey Reynolds along with shortstop Bob Lopez.
ST LOUIS- 4- Pitcher Tony Dixon, catchr Tucker Ness and outfielders Hack Mills and Dutch Peters.
TORONTO- -None
WASHINGTON- -5 pitchers Jim Jordan, Bruce Revis, Lyn Sullivan and George Tucker and outfielder John Dickerson.

LATEST RANKING UPDATES

Time for another look at the top fighters in each of the 3 boxing divisions.

HEAVYWEIGHTS

World Champion Hector Sawyer had another successful title defense -his 6th since winning the title in 1940- when he scored a 9th round technical knockout of Leo Carmichael. The veteran English fighter was considered the #2 contender in the division at the time but the loss prompted the the 37 year old to retire with a 30-5-1 career record. Mark Fountain remains the number one challenger in the division but is being pressed by Philadelphia native Scott Baker. The newcomer to replace the retired Carmichael on the top heavyweight list is 31 year old Glenn Benjamin, a 31 year old Long Islander with a 24-2 record.

MIDDLWEIGHTS

Fans of the middleweight division are anxiously awaiting the rematch between World Champion Frank Melanson and Todd Gill, which is slated for Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium on May 11. The duo met in August and battled to a majority draw. Melanson, who turns 29 years of age three days before the fight, has never lost and sports a 29-0-2 career record while the 34 year old Gill is 20-1-5. It is expected that the winner of the Melanson-Gill rematch may elect to give Frenchman Edouard Desmarais, who recently won the European Title over former World Champion Archie Rees, a title shot. Desmarais -who spent time in the French resistance during the war- is a perfect 36-0 and considered the top ranked contender in the division.

John Edmonds, who last fought in September and is 20-1, remains the third ranked contender behind Desmarais and Gill with Brooks O'Conner -who won a hard-fought split decision over Dan Stevens early this month- stays at #4. Archie Rees drops out of the rankings after successive losses to Melanson and Desmarais so rounding out the top contenders in the weight class is a newcomer to the list in Nick Harris. The 32 year old Rhode Island native is 17-2-1 with his most recent victory being a TKO win over Marshall McBride (16-4) in Boston two months ago.

WELTERWEIGHTS

After more than half a decade without a champion the welterweight division finally crowned Dennis O'Keefe after the 'Jacksonville Jackhammer' knocked out Carl Taylor in the 13th round of their bout in early March. With the win, the 29 year old Florida native improves to 20-1. George Gibbs is rising quickly and is likely due a tittle shot but O'Keefe is expected to face either Mark Westlake or Wayne Dunn in his first defense, likely in the late summer.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

May 11 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 duo fought to a draw in October.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/28/1946

The Big 4 have agreed to leave Italy just a basic fleet and to divide the remainder of her naval ships among the four major powers after satisfying claims of Yugoslavia and Greece for warships.
American plans for an elaborate system of offshore defenses met a sharp reverse when the Prime Minister of Iceland declared his government could not grant the United States air-base rights on that strategic island.
Bread rationing is back in an effort to help the starving of Europe. The US Government has begun allocating flour for shipment overseas.

03-16-2023, 12:39 PM	#660
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	April 29, 1946 APRIL 29, 1946 COUGARS PITCHING LIVING UP TO BILLING Going into the season the pitching staff of the Chicago Cougars looked like it could be one of the most imposing group of arms the loop has seen in quite some time. The opening two weeks of the season have done nothing to disprove that as the Cougars have allowed just 27 runs in 13 games while no other CA staff has surrendered less than 46. Pete Papenfus is 3-0 with a 1.38 era and looks to be back to the pitcher he was when he last pitched a full season- his Allan Award winning 1941 campaign. Veteran Billy Riley (2-0, 0..00) continues to prove he was a steal when he came over from the New York Stars two years ago and the remainder of the rotation has been nearly as good. To make matters worse for their Continental Association foes, the Cougars offense is also firing on all cylinders led by another returnee from military service in veteran third sacker Hank Barnett, who is batting .333 with 4 homers and 11 rbi's. The three-time defending champion Cincinnati Cannons are doing their best to keep pace with the Chicago nine and face a big test this week when the Cougars visit Tice Memorial Stadium for a 3-game series starting tomorrow. Speaking of Chicago, the city's Federal Association entry is also enjoying some terrific pitching to start the season. Gus Goulding (3-0, 0.68) is off to the best start of his career and the Chiefs are right in the middle of what promises to be a tight Federal Association race this season. DALPMAN FASHIONS NO-HITER FOR MINUTEMEN Boston Minutemen righthander Ray Dalpman seems to be showing no ill-effects at all from 37 months away from the game as a member of the United States Navy. The 29 year old Indiana native is 3-0 with a 0.35 era after tossing a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh on Friday. It is the first FABL no-hitter in nearly two years and the first for a Minutemen pitcher since Hall of Famer Big George Johnson threw one in 1914. It is Dalpman's first no-hitter but he did toss a one-hitter early in his breakout season of 1941 when he won 19 games and helped Boston win it's first World Championship Series title since 1912. Dalpman did not allow a base runner until the 4th inning when he walked George Cleaves -one of three free passes he issued on the afternoon. The other two came to start the seventh inning just after the Minutemen had doubled their lead to 2-0, but he induced a double play ball from Luke Berry and then got Pinky Pierce to fly out to end the threat before retiring the side in order in the final two innings to claim his spot in FABL history. It was his second shutout in 3 starters, having beaten Washington 3-0 in the season opener. In between he went 8-innings in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh, with both that win and Friday's gem coming at the expense of Miners ace Lefty Allen. Sounds like Montreal is unable to score against Chicago hurler Billy Riley. Since the beginning of season, in two starts against the Saints Riley threw 2 shutout games. Over 7 games played against the Cougars, Montreal has been shutout three times. The offense need to wake up soon in Montreal. The pitching squad has been on the edge pretty much since opening day, but the offense need to find their groove back. The "Waco Kid" Doyle has been a great return from war with 0.86 ERA in 31IP and 18Ks. The pitching duo of Doyle and Pat Weakley is finally giving Montreal a 1-2 rotation punch that has not been seen here since the days of Charlie Stedman and Walker Moore. After a stretch of playing against Chicago and NY Stars multiple times, playing against other teams will give a better indication as to just how improved the Saints are this season. On a side note, pitcher Wally Reif is going to injury list for three weeks so expect Bill Ross to take on Reif's duties in the starting rotation. There will traffiic jam in 3 weeks from now in the Montreal bullpen as three players are planned to be back from the injured list with Jake De Young and Danny Clark accompanying Reif as all should be coming back in the same week. That should be ringing some bells in Lee Richardson and Karl Weiss to wake up before this is too late. * Struggling Offense in Montreal? * What is happening with 1B Vic Crawford? After a very good 1945 season hitting for .317, 14 HR and 95 RBIs, he is posting a .077 avg and no RBIs yet after 13 games. Because of his lack of offense, Montreal skipper Homer Moore gave some starts to war veteran Red Bond, but he is not doing better either with .097avg and no RBIs. The combined stats of both first basemen (both batting 4th in lineup) is not acceptable with only 5 hits for 57 AB, no homers, no RBIs... expect a drop down in the batting order. Prospect Otis Parker is not having the expected debut as the starting rightfielder, hitting just .158. Parker will have to share playing time with outfielder Heinie Billings. DYNAMOS YOUNGSTERS MAY NOT BE READY The Detroit Dynamos took a bit of a gamble this season shedding some high-priced veteran contracts in a decision to charge full-steam ahead into their youth movement. There is a lot of talent in a farm system that OSA ranks the second best in the game and that is excluding Carl Potter, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday. The Dynamos brought much of that young talent north with them when they broke camp in Lakeland and while it is very early, the results are clearly mixed. 24 year old pitcher Wally Hunter looked very good in beating the New York Gothams 8-2 in his Detroit debut but he struggled in his second start against Chicago on Friday. There will be growing pains but Hunter certainly appears capable of contributing this season. The same cannot be said, at least not right now, for catcher Rick York. The manager's son is now off to Newark to try and regain his batting touch. York, who prior to spring camp had not played pro ball since 1942, was hitting just .105 after 10 games so with veteran catcher Bill Watson claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Sailors, the Detroit brass figured York could benefit from a week or two out of the big league spotlight. Stan Kleminski has really looked great at the plate, leading the club with a .364 batting average but his glove has been the cause of plenty of nightmares for the pitching staff. The long-term hope is the 19 year old can play shortstop in the big leagues but with 12 errors in 10 games the club has decided to shift Kleminski to second base and let Del Johnson take a stab at shortstop. Johnson has been the reverse of Kleminski, with the 21 year old looking very strong in the field but hitting just .143. There are also some mild concerns about 21 year old first baseman Dick Estes, who is hitting just .207 and 24 year old outfielder Dick Blaszak and his .182 batting average. Blaszak is a former first overall draft pick once called the top prospect in the game by OSA but he was wounded in the Pacific in the fall of 1944 and has just 1 big league homerun in 101 career games. The Dynamos are going to leave both in the lineup for the time being in hopes that each can work through their struggles at the plate. At 4-7 the Dynamos are already 3.5 games back of front-running Boston as they head out on the road for 10 games including stops in Philadelphia and Boston this week. * VAUGHT STILL UNDECIDED * The Detroit Maroons are still waiting on Stan Vaught to make a decision on his future. The greatest pass catcher in American Football Association history says he does not want to rush into a retirement decision only to have second thoughts and change his mind, as Vaught did a year ago after retiring following the 1944 AFA championship game only to be talked out of the decision by club owner Rollie Barrell -with help from his daughter. Vaught was the AFA Most Valuable Player this season but his Maroons once again fell short in the title game, getting hammered by the Boston Americans. Barrell, the brother of Dynamos new Scouting Director Fred Barrell, would only say he is willing to wait as long as Vaught needs to make his decision, noting "there will always be a place on the Maroons for Stan, should he decide to return." Rollie Barrell also remains mum on increasingly active talk about a professional basketball league. If a new big-time cage league does get off the ground in the fall, it is widely expected that Barrell will be heavily involved in the ownership although the AFA's rule prohibiting its magnates to have controlling interest in a team in another sport may be a sticking point. Rollie, along with current Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott, were driving forces behind the last professional basketball league, before it became a casualty of the depression. HAWKS CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH IN PACIFIC LOOP Led by the hot bats of Bob Land (.431,0,10) and Cliff Ray (.324,2,11), the San Francisco Hawks continue to top the Great Western League standings but no one has been dominant as the new loop completes the second week of it's inaugural season. The second place Portland Green Sox might have had a tough spring but since the games started to count the defending champions have been receiving outstanding pitching with Tom Williams (2-0, 1.75) and Pete Archer (2-1, 2.19) leading the way. Well, that didn't take long. Mahlon Strong is injured and will miss a couple of weeks with a foot injury -joining Mule Monier on the sideline for the New York Gothams. The latest issue for the all to often injured Stong prompted New York World-Telegram columnist Red Wedge to quip "This guy can get injured breathing." On the positive side of the ledger, the Gothams are thrilled to see catcher Pete Casstevens get the nod as Fed player of the week for the first time in his career. Just two more to go for Pete to catch his dad Clint, who was player of the week three times while with Pittsburgh. Of course, dad also has a Whitney Award as well. Toronto's Charlie Artuso claimed CA player of the week honours as the Wolves rebounded from an 0-6 start with six wins in their last 7 games. Ray Dalpman and Gus Goulding both have sub-1.00 ERAs after 3 starts. In the CA: Wally Dolye and Johnnie Jones are both sub-1.00 after 3 starts. Of course, Billy Riley hasn't given up a run yet, but in just two starts The Cougars are just flexing on everyone by running a 6-man rotation. Parker, Riley, and Johnnie Jones would be #1 starters on a number of other clubs. After 13 games, the Cougars have a higher run differential (+44) then all of last season (+38) Pitching, pitching and more pitching have been the story with Boston. Unfortunately, they lose Billy Dalton for up to three weeks. Thankfully Art Spencer is a more than capable bench guy that can slide right in for us. Nice to have depth again. First casualty of Dynamos struggling youth movement is catcher Rick York. Hitting just .105, York will get some time in Newark to try and get untracked. Waiver pickup Bill Watson, claimed from the Sailors, will take his spot on the big league roster. While 19 year old Stan Kleminski is hitting .364 most of the other youngsters in the lineup have struggled so joining York in Newark is increasingly becoming a possibility for Del Johsnon, Dick Estes and Dick Blaszak. Detroit's pitching has been solid but the offense for the 4-7 Detroiters is in a funk at the moment. Kleminski has been a hit with the bat but is just awful with the glove at shortstop right now. So, Detroit Manager Joe York says he will try and switch Kleminski and Del Johnson - putting Johnson at SS (but with a short leash) and seeing if Kleminski can handle himself in the field as a second baseman. If not, his glove skills or lack thereof will likely result in the need to send him to Newark despite a team best .364 batting average. After dropping their first 8 games of the season, Brooklyn finally broke through in game 9 with a 3-1 win over the Saints. But the young pitchers continue to have a rough start to the season in some lopsided defeats. AROUND THE LEAGUE There are 72 rookies in FABL lineups to start the season including 9 on the Philadelphia Sailors and 8 each on Cleveland and Detroit. Only the Toronto Wolves did not employ a rookie on their big league roster to start the season. Here is a list of all of the rookies on Opening Day rosters across FABL. BOSTON- 1- Catcher Jiggs Jackson BROOKLYN- 7-Pitchers Jack Brown, Wally Graves, Leo Hayden, Harry Stewart, C Solly Skidmore, SS Phil Gratz and OF John Beaver. CHIEFS- 2- Pitcher Ernie Espanoza and 3B Pat Reed. COUGARS- 1- Catcher Homer Guthrie CINCINNATI- 3- Pitchers Jesse Woods and Bill Tuttle along with 1B Nick Bennett CLEVELAND- 8- Pitchers Davey Chamberlain, Augie Hayes Jr. and Jim Zimmerman, infielders Walt Knight, Earl Szwed and Glenn White and outfielders Paul Porter and Pete Sigmund. DETROIT- 8- Pitchers Charlie Ashmore and Wally Hunter, infielders Steve Donovan, Dick Estes, Win Hamby, Del Johnson,Stan Kleminski and Joe York. MONTREAL- 4- Pitcher Bert Cupid along with outfielders Gordon McCarley, Alex Morgan and Otis Parker. NY STARS- 7- Pitchers Jim Baker, George Belcher, Paul Grell and George Scruggs along with infielder Bill Barnett and outfielders Newt Cooper and Jack Welch. NY GOTHAMS- 6- Pitchers Lou Eaker, Steve Groves, Harl Haines, Tom Henderson and Tom Richarson along with infielder Ralph O'Neal. KEYSTONES- 1- Pitcher Joe Lund. SAILORS- 9- Pitchers Troy Crockett, Charlie Gordon, Howie Harris, Frank Sartori and Slick Wesolowski, along with catcher Mark Smtih, infieldr Wilson Perez and outfielders John Shaw and Elmer Wands. PITTSBURGH- 3- Pitchers Adam Grayson and Whitey Reynolds along with shortstop Bob Lopez. ST LOUIS- 4- Pitcher Tony Dixon, catchr Tucker Ness and outfielders Hack Mills and Dutch Peters. TORONTO- -None WASHINGTON- -5 pitchers Jim Jordan, Bruce Revis, Lyn Sullivan and George Tucker and outfielder John Dickerson. LATEST RANKING UPDATES Time for another look at the top fighters in each of the 3 boxing divisions. HEAVYWEIGHTS World Champion Hector Sawyer had another successful title defense -his 6th since winning the title in 1940- when he scored a 9th round technical knockout of Leo Carmichael. The veteran English fighter was considered the #2 contender in the division at the time but the loss prompted the the 37 year old to retire with a 30-5-1 career record. Mark Fountain remains the number one challenger in the division but is being pressed by Philadelphia native Scott Baker. The newcomer to replace the retired Carmichael on the top heavyweight list is 31 year old Glenn Benjamin, a 31 year old Long Islander with a 24-2 record. MIDDLWEIGHTS Fans of the middleweight division are anxiously awaiting the rematch between World Champion Frank Melanson and Todd Gill, which is slated for Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium on May 11. The duo met in August and battled to a majority draw. Melanson, who turns 29 years of age three days before the fight, has never lost and sports a 29-0-2 career record while the 34 year old Gill is 20-1-5. It is expected that the winner of the Melanson-Gill rematch may elect to give Frenchman Edouard Desmarais, who recently won the European Title over former World Champion Archie Rees, a title shot. Desmarais -who spent time in the French resistance during the war- is a perfect 36-0 and considered the top ranked contender in the division. John Edmonds, who last fought in September and is 20-1, remains the third ranked contender behind Desmarais and Gill with Brooks O'Conner -who won a hard-fought split decision over Dan Stevens early this month- stays at #4. Archie Rees drops out of the rankings after successive losses to Melanson and Desmarais so rounding out the top contenders in the weight class is a newcomer to the list in Nick Harris. The 32 year old Rhode Island native is 17-2-1 with his most recent victory being a TKO win over Marshall McBride (16-4) in Boston two months ago. WELTERWEIGHTS After more than half a decade without a champion the welterweight division finally crowned Dennis O'Keefe after the 'Jacksonville Jackhammer' knocked out Carl Taylor in the 13th round of their bout in early March. With the win, the 29 year old Florida native improves to 20-1. George Gibbs is rising quickly and is likely due a tittle shot but O'Keefe is expected to face either Mark Westlake or Wayne Dunn in his first defense, likely in the late summer. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS May 11 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 duo fought to a draw in October. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/28/1946 The Big 4 have agreed to leave Italy just a basic fleet and to divide the remainder of her naval ships among the four major powers after satisfying claims of Yugoslavia and Greece for warships. American plans for an elaborate system of offshore defenses met a sharp reverse when the Prime Minister of Iceland declared his government could not grant the United States air-base rights on that strategic island. Bread rationing is back in an effort to help the starving of Europe. The US Government has begun allocating flour for shipment overseas. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 03-16-2023 at 01:19 PM.