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Jiggs McGee · 03-31-2023, 12:52 PM

JULY 15, 1946

CONTINENTAL STARS CLAIM 2-1 WIN IN ALL-STAR PITCHING DUEL

The stars of the Continental Association ended the Federal Association's two years of bragging rights of all-star game supremacy with a 2-1 victory in a tightly contested pitching duel Tuesday evening in Boston. The victory, cuts the Fed lead to 8 wins to 6 in the now 14 year old tradition of a mid-season baseball All-Star game.

Pitching was the story on both sides as the contest featured just 10 hits -five by each club -and was the second lowest scoring all-star game in the history of the series, surpassed only by the Fed 1-0 victory two years ago in Washington D.C.

The first hit of the game did not come until the bottom of the third inning when Hank Koblenz of the Philadelphia Keystones lined a lead-off double off of the Philadelphia Sailors David Molina, who had relieved Johnnie Jones after the Cougars hurler tossed two hitless innings. Molina quickly escaped any sort of trouble when Roosevelt Brewer lined the first pitch after the Koblenz double directly to his Sailors teammate Les Cunha, who easily beat Koblenz to the bag for the doubleplay.

It was beginning to look like the Continental side might never get a hit as Ed Wood and Ed Bowman combined for 5 innings of no-hit ball in what was still a scoreless tie. That changed when Pittsburgh's Adam Grayson took over on the mound in the top of the 6th inning and immediately ran into some rookie jitters. The 25 year old issued free passes to the first three Continental hitters he faced and then was quickly removed in favour of Gothams righthander Harry Carter. Carter got a groundball from Denny Andrews of Cincinnati but it did manage to score the game's first run and an infield hit from the New York Stars Bill Barrett loaded the bases once more. Another Cannon, catcher Adam Mullins, drove in what would prove to be the game winning run with a deep sacrifice fly to plate Rats McGonigle of Brooklyn and give the Continentals a 2-0 lead. Carter fanned Leo Mitchell to end the inning but the damage had already been done.

The Fed had a chance to respond in the bottom of the 6th when Red Johnson hit a 1-out double off Richie Hughes and moved to third on a ground out but Hughes -the impressive young Cleveland hurler- induced an inning-ending ground out from Washington's Jesse Alvardo to get out of the inning. Billy Riley of the Chicago Cougars had a rough go of things in the bottom of the seventh as the first batter he faced -Washington slugger Sig Stofer- greeted him with a 395 foot homerun to cut the Continental lead in half. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two out in the frame and sent Riley to the showers but George Hampton of the New York Stars managed to get Red Johnson to fly out and keep the score 2-1. Hampton, Cincinnati's Art Edwards and George Scruggs of Stars would combine to retire the final six Federal hitters and preserve the victory.

NOTES: A season high crowd at Minutemen Stadium in Boston of 47,500 witnessed the game....Richie Hughes was named the winning pitcher while Adam Grayson took the loss....Sig Stofer, who hit the solo homerun to account for the Federal Association's only run, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Code:

		PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS
YEAR  LOCATION		 RESULT     			WINNING PITCHER   	  MVP
1933  Whitney Park       Federal 8 Continental 5	Ben Curtin STL         Pete Asher Pit
1934  Riverside Stadium  Federal 11 Continental 7	Chick Stout Pit	     Tom Taylor Cougars
1935  Broad Street Park  Federal 5  Continental 2	Art Myers Keystones    Freddie Jones StL
1936  Pioneer Field	 Continental 6 Federal 4	Tom Barrell BKN        Dick Walker Sailors
1937  Dominion Field     Federal 4 Continental 2 (19)	Don Attaway Keystones  Don Attaway Keystones
1938  Bigsby Oval	       Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN       Fred McCormick TOR
1939  Forester Stadium   Continental 6 Federal 3      Art White BKN	     Fred McCormick TOR
1940  Thompson Field	 Federal 7 Continental 4  	Red Hampton Chiefs     Billy Woytek Keystones
1941  Kings County       Continental 8 Federal 4      Pete Papenfus Cougars  Fred Galloway Cincinnati
1942  Fitzpatrick Park   Federal 7 Continental 4      Ed Wood BOS            Hank Barnett Chiefs
1943  Parc Cartier	 Continetal 7 Federal 3       Dick Lyons, Cougars    Gail Gifford, StL
1944  Columbia Stadium   Federal 1 Continental 0      Ed Bowman, Gothams     Don Miller, Wash
1945  Cougars Park       Federal 8 Continental 4 (10) Bill Anderson, Pit     Chick Donnelly, Bos
1946  Minutemen Stadium  Continental 2 Federal 1      Richie Hughes, Cle     Sig Stofer, Wash

CHARGING COUGARS ON PENNANT PROWL

8 Game Winning Streak Has Chicago Closing in on Continental Lead

The Chicago Cougars have endured some bad luck and some bad collapses over the past few seasons but a hot run coming out of the all-star game has Cougars supporters thinking that may be a thing of the past. The Cougars took care of their biggest nemesis the past three seasons by sweeping a 3-game set in Cincinnati last week and stretched their winning streak to 8 with a dominant performance in a twin bill in Toronto yesterday, pounding the toothless Wolves by scores of 8-0 and 8-2 and dropping Toronto 11 games out of the lead. The Cougars, on the other hand are just 2 games back of the New York Stars and even though the Stars snapped a 4-game skid with 3 victories over the weekend, it is clear the New Yorkers are going to be in for a battle in trying to hold off a Cougars team that has the best run differential, and by a wide margin, in either association.

The New York Gothams continue to lead the Federal Association but they stumbled after the break in dropping 2 of 3 in Boston before splitting a Sunday twin bill in Philadelphia. The Gothams have lost 5 of their last 7 contests but still lead the Minutemen by 2.5 games and the Keystones by 5. It is the surging Washington Eagles -winners of 18 of their last 22 games- that now pose the biggest threat to the Gothams lead. The Eagles are just 2 games behind New York and will play the Gothams 6 times over the next two weeks.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Has the Window Closed on Toronto? -Wolves struggles continue, after showing signs of life against the Saints they run into a buzz saw in the form of the Chicago Cougars, getting swept again in a Sunday doubleheader. Fans continue to ask "Has the window closed in the CA for this group of Wolves?" "How could this group fall so far, so fast, or is it just a down season with a rebound coming in the second half or in 1947?" Toronto currently sits in 6th place still only 11 games out but fast losing touch with the top teams.

Staff meetings were held during the break led by the owner who is looking for answers and a plan going forward in '46. Manager Bob Call is reaching the point of exasperation, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be freight train coming at him, he has hinted that he will begin more experimentation with the lineup because in his words "What we have been doing obviously is not working."

Front office is said to be making it quietly known around the FABL that the Wolves may be willing to move almost any player by the end of July for the right offer. In a minor move the team parted ways with manager Steve Castellini in Vancouver. His replacement is a name well know to Wolves fans, Frank Kirby. Kirby was drafted in the 6th round 20 years ago spending his entire pro career with the Wolves organization including all or parts of 7 seasons in Toronto, 2 years as the starter behind the plate. Brett has learned that contract extension talks with Castellini had become bitter, in a statement owner Bernie Millard said " We wish Steve well in his future endeavors. Frank will bring a new life to the young Mounties with his superior teaching skills in all areas of the game. Frank will show people along the west coast what real baseball is like even at a B level rather than that brand being peddled by the outlaws as "big league'."

Another sign the Chicago Cougars should be running away with the Continental Association: The 4 lowest era's in the CA belong to 4 Cougars starting pitchers in Johnnie Jones (2.06), Donnie Jones (2.41), Pete Papenfus (2.44) and Billy Riley (2.47). Fifth is Richie Hughes (2.54) of Cleveland.
Al Wheeler of the Cincinnati Cannons has been known for his cold streaks. Wheeler finally ended a more than month-long homer drought with a pair last week, giving him 499 for his career including 10 this year. Maybe that will get the always streaky Wonder Wheel back on track for the Cannons. During his homerless stretch from June 5 until the all-star break Wheeler batted just .122 (10-for-82) with two doubles his only extra-base hits. Wheeler had 8 homers and was hitting .288 up until that slump began.
As we watch Bob Martin's pursuit of 3,000 hits (10 more to go), we should note that he is now the Chiefs career leader in doubles (437) having passed Jim Hampton earlier this season.
Sal Pestilli of the Gothams hit for the cycle as part of a 5-hit game in a 15-3 win over the Philadelphia Keystones yesterday. Sal also had two more hits in the second game of the twin bill raising his average on the season to .312. It was the second time this season a player hit for the cycle as the Sailors Addie Allman accomplished the feat in May, making it the first cycle since Pete Day did it in 1943. Pestilli also had a 6-hit game earlier this year.
At least he won't throw a no-hitter against them again. Doc 'No-hit' Newell -the only pitcher in FABL history to throw three no-hiters- was claimed on waivers by the Brooklyn Kings this week. Two of Newell's gems came at the expense of the Kings as Newell prepares to join a new team after 16 seasons and 194 victories for the Philadelphia Sailors.
John Stallings is now the top prospect according to OSA. The first overall draft pick -who celebrates his 21st birthday today- will go straight to the big leagues and join the Chicago Chiefs rotation.
OSA says the Chicago Cougars have the top minor league system after most of the top picks have signed. First rounder Bob Allen leads the way for the club as the former high school pitcher is ranked 5th overall by the scouting service. The New York Stars, Montreal, Brooklyn and Detroit round out the top five.
The next great catching Cleaves appears to be on his way. After 3 years in the Marines, Roger Cleaves is looking very impressive at Class B Bakersfield in the Philadelphia Keystones system. The younger brother of Pittsburgh's George Cleaves is hitting .313 with a COW League co-leading 7 homeruns in 63 games. The 22 year old was a 7th round pick in 1942 and is now ranked in the top 50 prospects according to OSA. Cleaves is the half brother of not only George and Jack Cleaves, but also Cincinnati Cannons ace Deuce Barrell.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Here is an updated on each of the first round picks, many of whom have taken the first small steps in their professional baseball careers:

BOSTON- The Minutemen had a pair of first round selections and struck gold with the Taylor brothers. Well, they are not really brothers but 18 year old Yank Taylor and Danny Taylor may spend a lot of time together going forward, along with second round selection Dick Helfand in what appears to be the Minutemen's outfield of the future. Danny was selected 7th and signed for a $26,000 bonus. He is ranked #14 on the OSA prospect ranking but struggled in his pro debut, going just 2-for-19 for Class C Hattiesburg last week. Yank Taylor, the son of 2-time Whitney Award winning outfielder Tom Taylor, had a better debut with the Class C Top Hats, hitting .250 with 3 extra base hits. Yank was selected 9th overall and is the #12 ranked prospect after inking a contract that called for a $21,000 bonus.

BROOKLYN- The Kings did not own a first round pick but did have a pair of second rounders in Otis Ballard and Sam Franklin, both of whom have signed with the organization.

CHIEFS- John Stallings, the 1st overall pick, turns 21 today. Stalling signed with Chicago over the all-star break and will become the first pitcher since Eli Panneton with the New York Stars to go directly from the college campus to a big league mound. He will likely get his first start on the weekend and is listed as #1 on the OSA prospect list. The Chiefs also owned the 14th pick and landed Dick Steel, an 18 year old outfielder from Massachusetts. Steel signed for a bonus of $8,620 and was an impressive 5-for-19 (.312) with a pair of doubles in 6 games at Class C Waterloo last week.

COUGARS- The Cougars look like they landed another pitching gem with the selection of Bob Allen 10th overall. The high schooler out of Sonora, Ca. is listed as #5 on the OSA prospect list and, after signing for a $27,000 bonus, had a short first outing for Class C La Crosse, leaving in the second inning with a minor back issue.

CINCINNATI- The Cannons selected All-American first baseman Jim Stone, a two-time AIAA champion at Grange College, with the final pick of the first round. Stone agreed to a contract with a $26,000 signing bonus and has not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate by the Cannons. OSA is very impressed with the former college slugger, slotting him in at #8 on their top prospect list.

CLEVELAND- Fourth overall selection Larry Beebe, an 18 year old pitcher out of New York, signed last week for a $17,000 bonus. He will make his pro debut this week somewhere in the Foresters system, likely in Class B or C. Beebe is ranked the 16th best prospect by OSA at the moment.

DETROIT- The Dynamos signed Tommy Allenby -the third overall pick -for a $16,400 bonus on July 3 and immediately assigned the 18 year old outfielder to Class C Biloxi, where Allenby hitting .385 (10-for-26) in his first week of pro ball. Allenby is ranked #22 on the current OSA prospect list.

MONTREAL- 18 year old second baseman Bert Mayes was selected 6th overall and debuts at #6 on the OSA list after signing for a $20,000 bonus last week. He has not yet been assigned to a minor league club.

NY STARS- The New York Stars selected third baseman Tommy Griffin out of Mississippi A&M with the 12th pick of the draft. The 21 year old made his debut at AAA Syracuse, drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter a few days ago. OSA puts him at #29 on its prospect list after Griffin signed for a $10,540 bonus.

NY GOTHAMS- As is there custom the Gothams dealt away their first round pick. In fact they traded all of their picks in the first 9 rounds landing Jock McCoy, a high school outfielder from Arkansas with their top pick, which came in round 10.

KEYSTONES- The Keystones did not own a first round pick, having dealt it to the cross-town Sailors at the deadline last season. In round two they selected Bob Gaines, a high school catcher out of Staten Island, NY, who signed for a $2,960 bonus last week. Gaines is #158 on the OSA top prospect list.

SAILORS- Second overall selection Geroge Reynolds signed for a $19,000 bonus a few days ago. The Sailors have not assigned the 18 year old pitcher yet but he will likely debut at Class C Miami. Reynolds slots in at #19 according to OSA. The Sailors also owned the 15th pick which they used on outfielder Billy Forbes. The 21 year old All-American from Miami State has yet to agree to a contract.

PITTSBURGH- Outfielder Bill Newhall, an 18 year old out of Hollis, OK., was selected 13th overall by the Miners and debuts at #9 on the OSA prospect list. The Hollis Hotshot signed for an $18,000 bonus and is expected to make his pro debut sometime this week.

ST LOUIS- The Pioneers selected outfielder Sherry Doyal out of a New Orleans High School with the 5th pick of the draft. The 18 year old signed for an $8,200 bonus yesterday and is ranked 109th on the OSA prospect list.

TORONTO- The Wolves have just signed 8th overall pick Cyrus Goodman. The 18 year old pitcher out of Arkansas was a bargain at a $7,500 bonus but shows up at 456th on the OSA prospect list.

WASHINGTON- The Eagles selected Bill Wise 11th overall but the 17 year old second baseman has yet to sign and says he is committed to going to Rolling Hills College, a second division school in South Dakota. So far at least, the Eagles have not been able to change his mind.

RING VET BAILEY PREVAILS IN CANADA

Allen Bailey conquered Canadian Armed Forces Champion Harry Sweetland much to the dismay of the crowd at a sold out Dominion Arena in Toronto Saturday evening. The 'Annapolis Assasin' as the Maryland native and former Navy boxing champ is known, had little trouble silencing the Sweetland supporters by being in complete control to score an unanimous decision over his talented, but still somewhat inexprienced opponent.

The victory improves the 33 year old Bailey's career record to 32-4-2 while Sweetland, a 25 year old native of St. Catharines, Ont., suffered his third straight loss and sees his record fall to 14-5-1. Sweetland missed four years of his career with serving in the war and was part of the Canadian invasion force that landed on Normandy on D-Day.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Aug 17 - Bigsby Oval, New York City: World Heavyweight title as Hector 'The Cajun Crusher' Sawyer (53-3-1) defends against former world champion Jochen Schrotter (48-4).
Oct 15- Denny Arena, Boston: World Middleweight champion Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (30-0-2) makes his third title defense against European champion Edouard Desmarais (36-0).
TBA (likely October: World Welterweight champion Dennis 'The Jacksonville Jackhammer' O'Keefe (20-1) vs either Mark Westlake (19-2-1) or Geroge 'Mr Sandman' Gibbs (16-0).
July 17 - Hartford, Ct: #2 WW contender George Gibbs (15-0) vs Jamie Rotz (21-6)
July 21 - Waterbury, Ct: MW top ten contender Joe Starr (15-2) vs Ronnie Norton (16-7-1)
July 25 - Cincinnati, Oh: #2 HW contender Scott Baker (14-0-2) vs Abel Kessler (15-10-2).
July 25 - Chicago, Il: highly touted veteran middleweights Nick Harris (17-2-1) and Nathan Sears (19-2) meet at Lake Side Arena.
July 26 - Brooklyn, NY: #3 WW contender Carl Taylor (19-3-2) vs Billy Boyd (19-7-2)
July 26- Brooklyn, NY Highly touted young WW Mac Erickson (7-0) vs Greg Coleman (1-2-1)

LIGHTBODY LIKELY TO STAY IN LOUISIANA

Reports indicate that Les Lightbody, who is pegged as one of the top high school senior basketball players in the nation for the upcoming season, is going to remain in his home state and attend college at Bayou State. The 6'10" 18 year old hails from Jena, La., and attends high school at nearby Alexandria. That is the same school that each of his famous baseball playing cousins starred for before going on to big league success. Brothers Doug and Frank Lightbody each went from Alexandria High to Mississippi A&M and both had been pushing their cousin to follow in their footsteps and go to Jackson, Ms., to play for the Generals. The other baseball playing cousin is Jim Lightbody, who went from high school right into pro ball and is presently with the Brooklyn Kings. Jim had weighed offers from both the Generals and the Bayou State Cougars but signed a pro contract instead. As for Les, he refuses to confirm his mind his made up either way but he has been seen recently at the Bayou State campus meeting with Cougars coach Chris Turner, who was reportedly all smiles after the conversation.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/14/1946

Chairman Andrew J. May of the House Military Affairs Committee, under fire for misuse of military funds and concerns of his relations with an illinois munitions company conceeded that he may "in my zeal to promote the war effort...gone beyond the rules of propriety by merely speaking to a general over the telephone and asking fair treatment for a business concern" but was adament that he had never used "one penny of anybody's money except his own."
A study of food prices in the nations capital suggest that the cost of preparing a family dinner shows jumps as high as 28% more than preparing the same meals under OPA a month ago. Democratic and Republican floor leaders joined today in an appeal to the Senate to pass the battered OPA bill to control prices before turning to any other legislation.
Big Four Foreign Ministers remain deadlocked on the quastion of invitations for a 21-nation peace conference July 29. Russia's Foregin Minister has demanded invitations could only be sent out if they were accompanied by a strict code of rules. The American and British secretaries say they were willing to discuss procedure rules as suggestions, but would not attempt to foist them on other nations.
The United States has assured Austria it would not recognize the Russian confiscation of German properties in the Soviet zone of Austria. The US also announced a willingness to turn over to Austrian trusteeships all German assets in the American zone.
Threats of a possible Arab civil disobedience program in protest against Jewish immigration to Palestine was coupled with an Arab slap at President Truman and a suggestion that he open America to Jewish immigrants "if he really is in sympathy" with them.
Howard Hughes is expected to live despite a skull fractured, collar bone and seven ribs broken after crashing an experimental plane into three houses and a garage in Beverly Hills.

03-31-2023, 12:52 PM	#671
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	July 15, 1946 - All-Star Game result JULY 15, 1946 CONTINENTAL STARS CLAIM 2-1 WIN IN ALL-STAR PITCHING DUEL The stars of the Continental Association ended the Federal Association's two years of bragging rights of all-star game supremacy with a 2-1 victory in a tightly contested pitching duel Tuesday evening in Boston. The victory, cuts the Fed lead to 8 wins to 6 in the now 14 year old tradition of a mid-season baseball All-Star game. Pitching was the story on both sides as the contest featured just 10 hits -five by each club -and was the second lowest scoring all-star game in the history of the series, surpassed only by the Fed 1-0 victory two years ago in Washington D.C. The first hit of the game did not come until the bottom of the third inning when Hank Koblenz of the Philadelphia Keystones lined a lead-off double off of the Philadelphia Sailors David Molina, who had relieved Johnnie Jones after the Cougars hurler tossed two hitless innings. Molina quickly escaped any sort of trouble when Roosevelt Brewer lined the first pitch after the Koblenz double directly to his Sailors teammate Les Cunha, who easily beat Koblenz to the bag for the doubleplay. It was beginning to look like the Continental side might never get a hit as Ed Wood and Ed Bowman combined for 5 innings of no-hit ball in what was still a scoreless tie. That changed when Pittsburgh's Adam Grayson took over on the mound in the top of the 6th inning and immediately ran into some rookie jitters. The 25 year old issued free passes to the first three Continental hitters he faced and then was quickly removed in favour of Gothams righthander Harry Carter. Carter got a groundball from Denny Andrews of Cincinnati but it did manage to score the game's first run and an infield hit from the New York Stars Bill Barrett loaded the bases once more. Another Cannon, catcher Adam Mullins, drove in what would prove to be the game winning run with a deep sacrifice fly to plate Rats McGonigle of Brooklyn and give the Continentals a 2-0 lead. Carter fanned Leo Mitchell to end the inning but the damage had already been done. The Fed had a chance to respond in the bottom of the 6th when Red Johnson hit a 1-out double off Richie Hughes and moved to third on a ground out but Hughes -the impressive young Cleveland hurler- induced an inning-ending ground out from Washington's Jesse Alvardo to get out of the inning. Billy Riley of the Chicago Cougars had a rough go of things in the bottom of the seventh as the first batter he faced -Washington slugger Sig Stofer- greeted him with a 395 foot homerun to cut the Continental lead in half. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two out in the frame and sent Riley to the showers but George Hampton of the New York Stars managed to get Red Johnson to fly out and keep the score 2-1. Hampton, Cincinnati's Art Edwards and George Scruggs of Stars would combine to retire the final six Federal hitters and preserve the victory. NOTES: A season high crowd at Minutemen Stadium in Boston of 47,500 witnessed the game....Richie Hughes was named the winning pitcher while Adam Grayson took the loss....Sig Stofer, who hit the solo homerun to account for the Federal Association's only run, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Code: PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS YEAR LOCATION RESULT WINNING PITCHER MVP 1933 Whitney Park Federal 8 Continental 5 Ben Curtin STL Pete Asher Pit 1934 Riverside Stadium Federal 11 Continental 7 Chick Stout Pit Tom Taylor Cougars 1935 Broad Street Park Federal 5 Continental 2 Art Myers Keystones Freddie Jones StL 1936 Pioneer Field Continental 6 Federal 4 Tom Barrell BKN Dick Walker Sailors 1937 Dominion Field Federal 4 Continental 2 (19) Don Attaway Keystones Don Attaway Keystones 1938 Bigsby Oval Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1939 Forester Stadium Continental 6 Federal 3 Art White BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1940 Thompson Field Federal 7 Continental 4 Red Hampton Chiefs Billy Woytek Keystones 1941 Kings County Continental 8 Federal 4 Pete Papenfus Cougars Fred Galloway Cincinnati 1942 Fitzpatrick Park Federal 7 Continental 4 Ed Wood BOS Hank Barnett Chiefs 1943 Parc Cartier Continetal 7 Federal 3 Dick Lyons, Cougars Gail Gifford, StL 1944 Columbia Stadium Federal 1 Continental 0 Ed Bowman, Gothams Don Miller, Wash 1945 Cougars Park Federal 8 Continental 4 (10) Bill Anderson, Pit Chick Donnelly, Bos 1946 Minutemen Stadium Continental 2 Federal 1 Richie Hughes, Cle Sig Stofer, Wash CHARGING COUGARS ON PENNANT PROWL 8 Game Winning Streak Has Chicago Closing in on Continental Lead The Chicago Cougars have endured some bad luck and some bad collapses over the past few seasons but a hot run coming out of the all-star game has Cougars supporters thinking that may be a thing of the past. The Cougars took care of their biggest nemesis the past three seasons by sweeping a 3-game set in Cincinnati last week and stretched their winning streak to 8 with a dominant performance in a twin bill in Toronto yesterday, pounding the toothless Wolves by scores of 8-0 and 8-2 and dropping Toronto 11 games out of the lead. The Cougars, on the other hand are just 2 games back of the New York Stars and even though the Stars snapped a 4-game skid with 3 victories over the weekend, it is clear the New Yorkers are going to be in for a battle in trying to hold off a Cougars team that has the best run differential, and by a wide margin, in either association. The New York Gothams continue to lead the Federal Association but they stumbled after the break in dropping 2 of 3 in Boston before splitting a Sunday twin bill in Philadelphia. The Gothams have lost 5 of their last 7 contests but still lead the Minutemen by 2.5 games and the Keystones by 5. It is the surging Washington Eagles -winners of 18 of their last 22 games- that now pose the biggest threat to the Gothams lead. The Eagles are just 2 games behind New York and will play the Gothams 6 times over the next two weeks. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Has the Window Closed on Toronto? -Wolves struggles continue, after showing signs of life against the Saints they run into a buzz saw in the form of the Chicago Cougars, getting swept again in a Sunday doubleheader. Fans continue to ask "Has the window closed in the CA for this group of Wolves?" "How could this group fall so far, so fast, or is it just a down season with a rebound coming in the second half or in 1947?" Toronto currently sits in 6th place still only 11 games out but fast losing touch with the top teams. Staff meetings were held during the break led by the owner who is looking for answers and a plan going forward in '46. Manager Bob Call is reaching the point of exasperation, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be freight train coming at him, he has hinted that he will begin more experimentation with the lineup because in his words "What we have been doing obviously is not working." Front office is said to be making it quietly known around the FABL that the Wolves may be willing to move almost any player by the end of July for the right offer. In a minor move the team parted ways with manager Steve Castellini in Vancouver. His replacement is a name well know to Wolves fans, Frank Kirby. Kirby was drafted in the 6th round 20 years ago spending his entire pro career with the Wolves organization including all or parts of 7 seasons in Toronto, 2 years as the starter behind the plate. Brett has learned that contract extension talks with Castellini had become bitter, in a statement owner Bernie Millard said " We wish Steve well in his future endeavors. Frank will bring a new life to the young Mounties with his superior teaching skills in all areas of the game. Frank will show people along the west coast what real baseball is like even at a B level rather than that brand being peddled by the outlaws as "big league'." Another sign the Chicago Cougars should be running away with the Continental Association: The 4 lowest era's in the CA belong to 4 Cougars starting pitchers in Johnnie Jones (2.06), Donnie Jones (2.41), Pete Papenfus (2.44) and Billy Riley (2.47). Fifth is Richie Hughes (2.54) of Cleveland. Al Wheeler of the Cincinnati Cannons has been known for his cold streaks. Wheeler finally ended a more than month-long homer drought with a pair last week, giving him 499 for his career including 10 this year. Maybe that will get the always streaky Wonder Wheel back on track for the Cannons. During his homerless stretch from June 5 until the all-star break Wheeler batted just .122 (10-for-82) with two doubles his only extra-base hits. Wheeler had 8 homers and was hitting .288 up until that slump began. As we watch Bob Martin's pursuit of 3,000 hits (10 more to go), we should note that he is now the Chiefs career leader in doubles (437) having passed Jim Hampton earlier this season. Sal Pestilli of the Gothams hit for the cycle as part of a 5-hit game in a 15-3 win over the Philadelphia Keystones yesterday. Sal also had two more hits in the second game of the twin bill raising his average on the season to .312. It was the second time this season a player hit for the cycle as the Sailors Addie Allman accomplished the feat in May, making it the first cycle since Pete Day did it in 1943. Pestilli also had a 6-hit game earlier this year. At least he won't throw a no-hitter against them again. Doc 'No-hit' Newell -the only pitcher in FABL history to throw three no-hiters- was claimed on waivers by the Brooklyn Kings this week. Two of Newell's gems came at the expense of the Kings as Newell prepares to join a new team after 16 seasons and 194 victories for the Philadelphia Sailors. John Stallings is now the top prospect according to OSA. The first overall draft pick -who celebrates his 21st birthday today- will go straight to the big leagues and join the Chicago Chiefs rotation. OSA says the Chicago Cougars have the top minor league system after most of the top picks have signed. First rounder Bob Allen leads the way for the club as the former high school pitcher is ranked 5th overall by the scouting service. The New York Stars, Montreal, Brooklyn and Detroit round out the top five. The next great catching Cleaves appears to be on his way. After 3 years in the Marines, Roger Cleaves is looking very impressive at Class B Bakersfield in the Philadelphia Keystones system. The younger brother of Pittsburgh's George Cleaves is hitting .313 with a COW League co-leading 7 homeruns in 63 games. The 22 year old was a 7th round pick in 1942 and is now ranked in the top 50 prospects according to OSA. Cleaves is the half brother of not only George and Jack Cleaves, but also Cincinnati Cannons ace Deuce Barrell. AROUND THE LEAGUE Here is an updated on each of the first round picks, many of whom have taken the first small steps in their professional baseball careers: BOSTON- The Minutemen had a pair of first round selections and struck gold with the Taylor brothers. Well, they are not really brothers but 18 year old Yank Taylor and Danny Taylor may spend a lot of time together going forward, along with second round selection Dick Helfand in what appears to be the Minutemen's outfield of the future. Danny was selected 7th and signed for a $26,000 bonus. He is ranked #14 on the OSA prospect ranking but struggled in his pro debut, going just 2-for-19 for Class C Hattiesburg last week. Yank Taylor, the son of 2-time Whitney Award winning outfielder Tom Taylor, had a better debut with the Class C Top Hats, hitting .250 with 3 extra base hits. Yank was selected 9th overall and is the #12 ranked prospect after inking a contract that called for a $21,000 bonus. BROOKLYN- The Kings did not own a first round pick but did have a pair of second rounders in Otis Ballard and Sam Franklin, both of whom have signed with the organization. CHIEFS- John Stallings, the 1st overall pick, turns 21 today. Stalling signed with Chicago over the all-star break and will become the first pitcher since Eli Panneton with the New York Stars to go directly from the college campus to a big league mound. He will likely get his first start on the weekend and is listed as #1 on the OSA prospect list. The Chiefs also owned the 14th pick and landed Dick Steel, an 18 year old outfielder from Massachusetts. Steel signed for a bonus of $8,620 and was an impressive 5-for-19 (.312) with a pair of doubles in 6 games at Class C Waterloo last week. COUGARS- The Cougars look like they landed another pitching gem with the selection of Bob Allen 10th overall. The high schooler out of Sonora, Ca. is listed as #5 on the OSA prospect list and, after signing for a $27,000 bonus, had a short first outing for Class C La Crosse, leaving in the second inning with a minor back issue. CINCINNATI- The Cannons selected All-American first baseman Jim Stone, a two-time AIAA champion at Grange College, with the final pick of the first round. Stone agreed to a contract with a $26,000 signing bonus and has not yet been assigned to a minor league affiliate by the Cannons. OSA is very impressed with the former college slugger, slotting him in at #8 on their top prospect list. CLEVELAND- Fourth overall selection Larry Beebe, an 18 year old pitcher out of New York, signed last week for a $17,000 bonus. He will make his pro debut this week somewhere in the Foresters system, likely in Class B or C. Beebe is ranked the 16th best prospect by OSA at the moment. DETROIT- The Dynamos signed Tommy Allenby -the third overall pick -for a $16,400 bonus on July 3 and immediately assigned the 18 year old outfielder to Class C Biloxi, where Allenby hitting .385 (10-for-26) in his first week of pro ball. Allenby is ranked #22 on the current OSA prospect list. MONTREAL- 18 year old second baseman Bert Mayes was selected 6th overall and debuts at #6 on the OSA list after signing for a $20,000 bonus last week. He has not yet been assigned to a minor league club. NY STARS- The New York Stars selected third baseman Tommy Griffin out of Mississippi A&M with the 12th pick of the draft. The 21 year old made his debut at AAA Syracuse, drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter a few days ago. OSA puts him at #29 on its prospect list after Griffin signed for a $10,540 bonus. NY GOTHAMS- As is there custom the Gothams dealt away their first round pick. In fact they traded all of their picks in the first 9 rounds landing Jock McCoy, a high school outfielder from Arkansas with their top pick, which came in round 10. KEYSTONES- The Keystones did not own a first round pick, having dealt it to the cross-town Sailors at the deadline last season. In round two they selected Bob Gaines, a high school catcher out of Staten Island, NY, who signed for a $2,960 bonus last week. Gaines is #158 on the OSA top prospect list. SAILORS- Second overall selection Geroge Reynolds signed for a $19,000 bonus a few days ago. The Sailors have not assigned the 18 year old pitcher yet but he will likely debut at Class C Miami. Reynolds slots in at #19 according to OSA. The Sailors also owned the 15th pick which they used on outfielder Billy Forbes. The 21 year old All-American from Miami State has yet to agree to a contract. PITTSBURGH- Outfielder Bill Newhall, an 18 year old out of Hollis, OK., was selected 13th overall by the Miners and debuts at #9 on the OSA prospect list. The Hollis Hotshot signed for an $18,000 bonus and is expected to make his pro debut sometime this week. ST LOUIS- The Pioneers selected outfielder Sherry Doyal out of a New Orleans High School with the 5th pick of the draft. The 18 year old signed for an $8,200 bonus yesterday and is ranked 109th on the OSA prospect list. TORONTO- The Wolves have just signed 8th overall pick Cyrus Goodman. The 18 year old pitcher out of Arkansas was a bargain at a $7,500 bonus but shows up at 456th on the OSA prospect list. WASHINGTON- The Eagles selected Bill Wise 11th overall but the 17 year old second baseman has yet to sign and says he is committed to going to Rolling Hills College, a second division school in South Dakota. So far at least, the Eagles have not been able to change his mind. RING VET BAILEY PREVAILS IN CANADA Allen Bailey conquered Canadian Armed Forces Champion Harry Sweetland much to the dismay of the crowd at a sold out Dominion Arena in Toronto Saturday evening. The 'Annapolis Assasin' as the Maryland native and former Navy boxing champ is known, had little trouble silencing the Sweetland supporters by being in complete control to score an unanimous decision over his talented, but still somewhat inexprienced opponent. The victory improves the 33 year old Bailey's career record to 32-4-2 while Sweetland, a 25 year old native of St. Catharines, Ont., suffered his third straight loss and sees his record fall to 14-5-1. Sweetland missed four years of his career with serving in the war and was part of the Canadian invasion force that landed on Normandy on D-Day. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Aug 17 - Bigsby Oval, New York City: World Heavyweight title as Hector 'The Cajun Crusher' Sawyer (53-3-1) defends against former world champion Jochen Schrotter (48-4). Oct 15- Denny Arena, Boston: World Middleweight champion Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (30-0-2) makes his third title defense against European champion Edouard Desmarais (36-0). TBA (likely October: World Welterweight champion Dennis 'The Jacksonville Jackhammer' O'Keefe (20-1) vs either Mark Westlake (19-2-1) or Geroge 'Mr Sandman' Gibbs (16-0). July 17 - Hartford, Ct: #2 WW contender George Gibbs (15-0) vs Jamie Rotz (21-6) July 21 - Waterbury, Ct: MW top ten contender Joe Starr (15-2) vs Ronnie Norton (16-7-1) July 25 - Cincinnati, Oh: #2 HW contender Scott Baker (14-0-2) vs Abel Kessler (15-10-2). July 25 - Chicago, Il: highly touted veteran middleweights Nick Harris (17-2-1) and Nathan Sears (19-2) meet at Lake Side Arena. July 26 - Brooklyn, NY: #3 WW contender Carl Taylor (19-3-2) vs Billy Boyd (19-7-2) July 26- Brooklyn, NY Highly touted young WW Mac Erickson (7-0) vs Greg Coleman (1-2-1) LIGHTBODY LIKELY TO STAY IN LOUISIANA Reports indicate that Les Lightbody, who is pegged as one of the top high school senior basketball players in the nation for the upcoming season, is going to remain in his home state and attend college at Bayou State. The 6'10" 18 year old hails from Jena, La., and attends high school at nearby Alexandria. That is the same school that each of his famous baseball playing cousins starred for before going on to big league success. Brothers Doug and Frank Lightbody each went from Alexandria High to Mississippi A&M and both had been pushing their cousin to follow in their footsteps and go to Jackson, Ms., to play for the Generals. The other baseball playing cousin is Jim Lightbody, who went from high school right into pro ball and is presently with the Brooklyn Kings. Jim had weighed offers from both the Generals and the Bayou State Cougars but signed a pro contract instead. As for Les, he refuses to confirm his mind his made up either way but he has been seen recently at the Bayou State campus meeting with Cougars coach Chris Turner, who was reportedly all smiles after the conversation. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/14/1946 Chairman Andrew J. May of the House Military Affairs Committee, under fire for misuse of military funds and concerns of his relations with an illinois munitions company conceeded that he may "in my zeal to promote the war effort...gone beyond the rules of propriety by merely speaking to a general over the telephone and asking fair treatment for a business concern" but was adament that he had never used "one penny of anybody's money except his own." A study of food prices in the nations capital suggest that the cost of preparing a family dinner shows jumps as high as 28% more than preparing the same meals under OPA a month ago. Democratic and Republican floor leaders joined today in an appeal to the Senate to pass the battered OPA bill to control prices before turning to any other legislation. Big Four Foreign Ministers remain deadlocked on the quastion of invitations for a 21-nation peace conference July 29. Russia's Foregin Minister has demanded invitations could only be sent out if they were accompanied by a strict code of rules. The American and British secretaries say they were willing to discuss procedure rules as suggestions, but would not attempt to foist them on other nations. The United States has assured Austria it would not recognize the Russian confiscation of German properties in the Soviet zone of Austria. The US also announced a willingness to turn over to Austrian trusteeships all German assets in the American zone. Threats of a possible Arab civil disobedience program in protest against Jewish immigration to Palestine was coupled with an Arab slap at President Truman and a suggestion that he open America to Jewish immigrants "if he really is in sympathy" with them. Howard Hughes is expected to live despite a skull fractured, collar bone and seven ribs broken after crashing an experimental plane into three houses and a garage in Beverly Hills. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 03-31-2023 at 01:13 PM.