NOVEMBER 11, 1946
CHIEFS ACQUIRE VETERAN SECOND SACKER D'ALESSANDRO
Baseball's winter meetings opened with a notable trade as the Chicago Chiefs filled a hole at second base with the addition of 30 year old Artie D'Alessandro from the St Louis Pioneers. It was the first move made by Tom Johnson, who took over at the helm in St Louis late last month. Johnson was clearly looking to the future with the Pioneers as he received a pair of young prospects in return including John Peprah, a first baseman ranked in the top 200 prospects by OSA.
D'Alessandro had been with the Pioneers since making his big league debut in 1939 at the age of 22. He led the Federal Association with 110 walks in 1943 but missed the following two seasons serving in the Army Air Corps. Last year he returned to the Pioneers but hit a career worst .227 with a .343 on base percentage. He will fill a hole at second base created when another former Pioneer in Freddie Jones was moved to the New York Stars at last season's trade deadline.
Peprah is an 18 year old first baseman the Chiefs had selected in the fourth round of the June draft. He struggled in his pro debut, batting just .172 at class C but OSA feels he has the potential to be an above average big league first baseman. He will be joined in the trip from the Chiefs to the Pioneers organization by 20 year old catcher Ted Marcom, who also spent last season at Class C. Marcom hit .215 in his return to the Waterloo Chiefs after missing a year due to the war. OSA, which ranks him 393rd on a recent prospect list, feels he is on the bubble to ever make the big leagues.
FABL UNVEILS PLAN TO STOCK CUBAN PROSPECT LEAGUE
Another off-season and another new baseball loop. This one, unlike the rebel Great Western League that dominated the news last winter, will be taking place with the blessing of FABL as the 16 big league eastern clubs will provide the player pool for the new development league. It will take place over the coming winter and be based in Cuba with plans announced for an eight-team league designed to showcase much of the top young talent in the game.
Plans are for the eight Cuban clubs to be sponsored by two FABL outfits -one from the Federal Association and one from the Continental Association- which will each provide 10-15 players to the Cuban clubs. Plans are for the league to play a 30 game season which will allow these prospects to fine tune their skills in hopes of making an impact on their FABL clubs in the very near future.
Here are the 8 Cuban League clubs and the FABL organizations that will partner with them this winter.
Code:
CUBAN LEAGUE CLUB FABL PARTNERS
Camaguey Coyotes Boston and Toronto
Cienfuegos Crocodiles Chiefs and Montreal
Havana Sharks Detroit and Cincinnati
Holguin Hawks Gothams and Sailors
Manzanillo Palms Keystones and Stars
Matanzas Buccaneers Pittsburgh and Brooklyn
Santa Clara Stallions St Louis and Cleveland
Santiago Scorpions Washington and Cougars
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
Cuban Winter League -A recent announcement for the FABL offices has been met with enthusiastic approval from the entire Wolves organization. The formation of a winter baseball league in Cuba is thought to be a final grooming point for near ready future FABL players most likely currently at AAA or, in some cases, AA. In a statement released from the Wolves offices said "This is a major step forward for the FABL, it gives young players a further opportunity to prove themselves at extremely high level in a very competitive environment. Nothing but good can come from this innovative addition to the FABL for both players and teams. Toronto looks forward to placing players in this league during this winter."
Details are still sketchy, being fleshed out at this moment, Brett understands that each of the sixteen teams will be sending between 10 and 15 players to this league. Final logistics such as roster size, schedule length, eligibility, how teams are going to formed, will a CA, FA team join to each supply 50% of a team's roster. Wolves owner, Bernie Millard, in a an interview with Brett said "This idea came forward in our subcommittee studying how to take the FABL to west coast to subdue the outlaw Bigsby gang. When first proposed I immediately saw the potential for high level young players then offered to fund a team in Cuba made up of all Wolves farmhands. Others on the committee thought this may be too heavy a burden for some FABL owners so sharing a team not only makes more sense financially, it also increases the level of competition. We want to give all young players a opportunity to take hone their baseball skills in a season that may extend to 7 or 8 months from the current 5 to 6 months. We have also heard rumours of the outlaws trying to entice some of the young players with a future in FABL to jump to their inferior, under funded league. We have other ideas that are being discussed that will prove that the FABL is only Major League in existence, the best, really only choice for a player."
Teams beginning to take shape in Cuba, thus far, are situated in Camaguey, Holguin, Santiago, Havana, Matanzas, Santa Clara with persistent talk that there are at least two other cities trying to put together teams for an eight team league. Brett will now speculate on the 10 to 15 the Wolves could send to Cuba this winter:
1-Jerry York- RHP- if eligible this would be an excellent final refining stage for York.
2-John Fast- INF- could further hone his skills at 2B after an injury riddled season at AAA.
3-Harry Phillips- RHP- showed improvement in '46 after missing 4 seasons overseas.
4-Harry Finney- INF- needs work defensively, his bat has proved itself at every level.
5-Sam Jordan- RHP- needs more work with stiffer competition.
6-Wally Boyer- OF- would be just another step in his progression.
7-John Marsh- LHP- struggled at AAA in a brief '46 stint time to take a step forward.
8-Pete Thompson- RHP- as with Marsh struggled at AAA in a short period.
9-Cal Yeager- C- Although only in A this former first round pick seems ready to make a big move.
10-Eddie Mansfield- OF- same trajectory as Yeager.
Next 5
11. Ray Hatch- RHP- may be too big a step in '46, 1947 might be a better time.
12. Tony Ballinger- 1B- highly touted 18 year old struggled early at C, will elevated competition help or hinder his progress?
13. Doc Kidney-LHP- is this asking too much of this 22 year old?
14. Nick Handel- UTIL- probably too young for this league.
15. Luke Oster- 1B- this could be the final chance to prove that he belongs in the discussion of the future residents of Toronto.
CUBAN LEAGUE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR KLEMINSKI
The Detroit Dynamos must be very excited to hear about FABL's plans to stock teams for a Cuban winter league beginning with this off-season. The timing could not be better to help the organization decide what to do with Stan Kleminksi. The young shortstop turned 20 just nine days ago but there are some worried that his career as a Dynamo is already over.
The 7th overall pick in the 1944 draft out of a Pennsylvania high school rocketed into the OSA top ten prospect list and was annointed as future all-star shortstop before he ever played a pro game. He would get 70 of those games in at Class A to close out the 1944 season and did nothing to disuade that opinion, hitting .364 and showing a little bit of power. Kleminski split his time between second base and shortstop and looked very strong at both.
The Navy came calling and Kleminski missed the 1945 season but was back last March and invited to main camp with a chance to claim a big league job. He had an outstanding spring, hitting .350 in 48 plate appearances and was rewarded with a spot in Dick York's opening day lineup. Kleminski had 2 hits in the opener, going straight from Class A to the big leagues. His bat was clearly major league ready but he also committed two errors. Over the next two weeks the hits would keep coming but so did the miscues. Kleminski hit .302 with 16 hits in 15 games in Detroit but he also made 13 errors in that span and was by far the worst defensive infielder in the Federal Association, prompting his demotion before the Dynamos pitching staff revolted.
Kleminski, still just 19, finished out the year in AAA Newark, hitting a respectable .273 but his defense was still a major concern. Many felt he would be much better off with a move to second base but the problem is the Dynamos already have a gifted young second baseman they love in 23 year Del Johnson. Third base is also not an option with Tommy Griffin, who was a first round pick of the New York Stars out of Mississippi A&M in June and acquired in the deal that sent Mack Sutton to the Big Apple, is just 21 and appears to be the Dynamos third baseman of the future -with that future quite possibly to begin next April. They have 22 year old Dick Estes as their first baseman and the three outfield positions may also be spoken for in 20 year old Edwin Hackberry, 19 year old Tommy Allenby plus 25 year old Dick Blaszak so there really is nowhere else Kleminski can land with the big club.
Kleminski is still highly thought of, both inside the organization and out where OSA's current list still has him as the second best shortstop prospect in the game behind only the Stars Ralph Hanson. The issue is some in the Dynamos group fear Kleminski will not be able to handle the rigors of the shortstop position, and there is simply nowhere else to play him.
That is why the Cuban League is a perfect opportunity for Kleminski to prove his worth. You can bet Detroit will want Kleminski playing as much as possible in Cuba and doing it as shortstop in hopes he can become at least acceptable at the position. His future as a Detroit Dynamo may depend on it.
- There is suddenly a surplus of high end center field prospects in FABL with 4 of the top six slots on the OSA prospect list reserved for that position. The two exceptions are #1 overall Ralph Hanson, a 19 year old shortstop in the Stars organization and 18 year old righthanded pitcher Bob Allen, a Cougars prospect who slots in at #4. The 4 centerfielders include three who made their FABL debut briefly last season in Brooklyn's 22 year old Ralph Johnson, 20 year old Edwin Hackberry of the Detroit Dynamos along with 21 year old Billy Forbes of the Sailors who rank 2nd,3rd and 6th on the prospect list. The fourth centerfielder on the list is Sherry Doyal, an 18 year old drafted 5th overall by the St Louis Pioneers in the 1946 draft. Doyal had a tremendous start to his pro career, batting .335 in 63 games at Class A.
- The World Champion New York Stars and Cleveland Foresters made a minor league deal. The Stars shipped 21 year old righthander Bob Haverill -a 1943 fifth round pick who was 8-9 at Class B this past season- along with a pair of late round draft picks to the Foresters in exchange for 20 year old shortstop Earle Haley. Haley was a second round pick of Cleveland's in 1944 and split this past season between Class B and A batting .312 while providing very strong defense.
ROME STATE AND ST BLANE SHARE HONOURS AFTER BATTLE OF CENTURY ENDS IN TIE
After nearly three years of uninterrupted success, Rome State's winning streak came to a dramatic end at 25 straight victories Saturday at Gothams Stadium when the Fighting Saints of St Blane battled the Centurions to a 20-20 stalemate before more than 50,000 fans. Billed as the football game of the century, it was an epic struggle, but it did little toward settling the mythical national championship except to possibly emphasize the fitness of both Rome State and St Blane to be co-holders of the title.
The Fighting Saints, rated deeper in manpower, rolled up 35 more yards than Rome State and had a 20-13 lead entering the final quarter. However, Rome State's Gus Thompson, who is certain to be named an All-American for the third year in a row, broke a 21 yard run to the outside for the tying score with just under 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
It was a showcase of stars on both sides with Thompson and his touchdown twin Chet Donelson enjoying outstanding games for the Centurions while junior quarterback Ricky McCallister was terrific for the Saints, as was their big tackle Jack O'Sullivan, who may just be the best at his position in the college ranks. Each of the four played the entire 60 minutes in what was quite simply an outstanding battle by two giants of the collegiate game.
GLA AUTOMATIC PARTICIPATION IN EAST-WEST CLASSIC LIKELY POSTPONED UNTIL 1948
The West Coast Athletic Association found itself in the middle of an East-West Classic muddle. The Great Lakes Alliance has announced formal approval of participating in the January 1st game each of the next five years. The challenge the WCAA has is that Rome State has said that it would give 'serious consideration' to competing in the January game at the conclusion of this season.
"Normally the military academy is solidly against any extension of the normal season, but this year there are plainly exceptional conditions which may warrant special consideration." Those were the words of the superintendent of Rome State just a day prior to official confirmation from the GLA that it would send its champion west each of the next five years beginning January 1.
Now the West Coast Athletic Association finds itself in a tough spot, sitting in the dual role of both the wooer and wooed. Trying to avert a shotgun wedding and perhaps arrange a truce, the president of the conference has called a special meeting for next week Los Angeles, to which a five-man committee from the Great Lakes Alliance will fly.
Code:
TWIFB AIAA FOOTBALL TOP TEN RANKINGS
# SCHOOL REC LW
1 Rome State 7-0-1 1
2 St Blane 5-0-1 2
3 Cumberland 6-0-1 3
4 Bayou State 6-0-1 5
5 Detroit City College 6-1 4
6 Travis College 7-1 6
7 Noble Jones College 6-1 7
8 CC Los Angeles 7-0 10
9 Commonwealth Catholic 6-0 9
10 Coastal California 6-0-1 nr
WEEKEND COLLEGIATE GRID RESULTS
EAST
Rome State 20 St. Blane 20
Commonwealth Catholic 24 St. Matthew's College 6
Henry Hudson 41 Pierpont 41
Dickson 27 Grafton 7
St. Patrick's 3 Empire State 0
Brunswick 17 St. Pancras 7
Sadler 24 Eastern State 16
Huntington State 14 Brooklyn State 0
George Fox 44 Ellery 0
Liberty College 10 Conwell College 0
Garden State 47 Eastern Virginia 0
Bethlehem College 31 Bigsby College 26
Frankford State 21 Caesar Rodney 7
SOUTH
Noble Jones College 48 Western Florida 10
Georgia Baptist 33 Annapolis Maritime 0
Bayou State 17 Alabama Baptist 7
Cumberland 14 Mississippi A&M 7
Opelika State 17 Northern Mississippi 17
Baton Rouge State 23 Coastal State 0
Richmond State 28 North Carolina Tech 27
Bluegrass State 7 Charleston Tech 7
Alexandria 20 Bulein 10
Chesapeake State 28 Lexington State 0
Maryland State 10 Columbia Military Academy 10
Carolina Poly 10 Cowpens State 0
Potomac College 17 Mobile Maritime 3
Miami State 27 Ohio Poly 3
Petersburg 21 Central Carolina 7
Western Tennessee 31 Cleveland 21
MIDWEST
Detroit City College 27 St. Ignatius 13
Minnesota Tech 38 Whitney College 16
Indiana A&M 21 St. Magnus 13
Western Iowa 17 Wisconsin State 7
Pittsburgh State 19 Central Ohio 0
Daniel Boone College 14 Boulder State 6
Oklahoma City State 21 Lawrence State 0
Central Kentucky 28 Wisconsin Catholic 17
Iowa A&M 23 Lambert College 14
Laclede 17 Topeka State 17
Northern Minnesota 24 Penn Catholic 24
SOUTHWEST
Darnell State 7 Texas Gulf Coast 6
Travis College 17 Lubbock State 3
College of Waco 21 South Valley State 13
Texas Panhandle 31 Tempe College 20
Payne State 51 Eastern Oklahoma 10
Red River State 16 Arkansas A&T 6
Cache Valley 16 Utah A&M 0
El Paso Methodist 30 Uvalde College 3
Abilene Baptist 27 Canyon A&M 12
WEST
CC Los Angeles 28 Portland Tech 3
Coastal California 48 Northern California 3
Lane State 44 Idaho A&M 3
Redwood 16 Rainier College 16
Mile High State 21 Wyoming A&I 9
Stratton 24 Western Montana 21
Kit Carson University 47 Santa Barbara State 6
Flagstaff State 33 Albuquerque State 3
San Francisco Tech 38 Eastern Kansas 6
Valley State 48 Sunnyvale 6
Provo Tech 13 Colorado Poly 0
FINCHES FLY PAST DETROIT
Phil Colvin threw for 163 yards and more importantly did not toss an interception in leading the Cleveland Finches to a relatively mistake free game, blasting the Detroit Maroons 34-7 to take over sole possession of top spot in the American Football Association West Division. The loss snaps Detroit's 4 game winning streak in a game in which the Maroons accomplished very little on offense.
The first half was all Cleveland, delighting the hometown crowd at Forester Stadium as the Finches built a 17-0 lead and held Detroit to just 40 yards of total offense before the break. The two clubs will stage a repeat performance in the Motor City in two weeks time.
The East Division co-leaders were both lost at home to western opponents yesterday. In Washington, Gus Brown threw for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns to pace Chicago to a 21-10 victory while Cincinnati beat Boston for the second time this season. The Tigers 28-14 victory was greatly enhanced by just an awful ballgame from Americans quarterback Del Thomas. Thomas threw 5 interceptions including two in the final two minutes of the game that were both returned for Cincinnati touchdowns and proved the margin of victory.
Elsewhere, Greg LePage returned after a two week absence for the Philadelphia Frigates and ran for 70 yards while the Frigates defense had 7 interceptions. All of that was still not enough as Philadelphia fell 21-14 to the New York Stars. Finally in Pittsburgh, Bob Holt ran for 103 yards including a 4-yard touchdown scamper and passed for 59 more and a score to pace the visiting St Louis Ramblers to a 26-14 victory over the winless Pittsburgh Paladins.
Code:
AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
East Division W L T PCT
Boston 5 2 0 .714
Washington 5 2 0 .714
NY Stars 4 3 0 .571
Philadelphia 2 5 0 .286
Pittsburgh 0 6 1 .000
West Division W L T PCT
Cleveland 5 2 1 .714
Detroit 4 3 0 .571
Cincinnati 4 3 0 .571
Chicago 3 4 0 .429
St Louis 3 5 0 .375
WEEKEND RESULTS
Chicago 21 Washington 10
Cincinnati 28 Boston 14
New York 21 Philadelphia 14
St Louis 26 Pittsburgh 14
Cleveland 34 Detroit 7
UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17
Detroit at Pittsburgh
Cincinnati at New York
Philadelphia at St Louis
Boston at Chicago
Cleveland at Washington
Code:
AFA LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Renton, Det 83
Holt, StL 54
Milatz, Cle 54
Krohn, Was 49
Douglas, Was 42
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
Colvin, Cle 90-208 1368 9 15
Krohn, Was 95-184 1214 12 5
Taylor, Phi 83-156 1153 3 18
Brown, Chi 65-182 1050 5 12
D Thomas, Bos 71-142 985 5 10
RUSHING YDS TD
Holt, StL 661 5
Watts, Cle 347 1
Belles, Det 343 3
LePage, Phi 338 3
Frum, Chi 324 2
Gunther, NY 314 3
RECEIVING CAT YDS TD
Douglas, Wash 55 764 7
Molloy, Bos 23 288 1
Nicholson, Cle 22 419 2
Akerly, NY 22 262 2
Hoffman, Chi 19 297 3
INERCEPTIONS #
Kelly, Bos 7
Holt, StL 5
Gill, NY 5
GOTHAMS SHOCK WINGS 14-7 IN NEW YORK
Dramatic Late Touchdown Proves Difference
The New York Gothams pulled off an upset win against the San Francisco Wings on Monday night, with a 14-7 victory at Gotham Stadium. The low scoring affair looked to be headed for draw until a late Gothams drive ended with a 5 yard touchdown run by Dean Kirkpatrick with just 10 seconds remaining in the contest.
The win improves the Gothams' record to 4-3-2 and keeps them in first place in the East Division. The Wings, who had previously beaten the Gothams 35-3 in San Francisco just four weeks ago, were unable to repeat their success on the road. The loss drops their record to 8-2 in the West Division, behind the 9-1 Kansas City Cowboys, who doubled Chicago 28-14 yesterday.
The game was a closely contested affair, with both teams struggling to get their offenses going early on. The first quarter ended scoreless, and it wasn't until midway through the second quarter that the Gothams struck first and once more it was Dean Kirkpatrick playing the hero. Kirkpatrick returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown, giving the Gothams a 7-0 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was another scoreless affair, with both teams' defenses holding strong. It wasn't until early in the fourth quarter that the Wings finally got on the board, with a 1-yard touchdown run by Sam Metcalf that was set up by a blocked punt deep in New York territory.tie the game at 7-7. It remained tied until with a minute and a half remaining Wings quarterback Sam Metcalf fumbled just short of midfield. Allan DeWitt of the Gothams emerged from the pile with the ball and then New York signal caller Hal Collett went to work.
Collett found Dave Bradley for 5 yards and ran three times himself for 19 more. A San Francisco encroachment penalty set up a first and goal on the Wings 5 yard line with 16 seconds left. The Gothams decided to run one more play before attempting a game winning field goal. The kick was not needed as Kirkpatrick reached the end zone giving the New Yorkers a thrilling 14-7 upset victory. Kirkpatrick was the star of the game, with 52 rushing yards and one touchdown, as well as the aforementioned punt return touchdown.
Kansas City is now alone in first in the West Division at 9-1 after the Cowboys, on the strength of a pair of Mason Matthews touchdown runs, doubled the Chicago Comets 28-14. The other two games were both shutouts with Los Angeles hammering Brooklyn at Kings County Stadium 35-0 while New Orleans dumped Buffalo 14-0.
Code:
CONTINTENTAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EAST W L T PCT[/b]
NY Gothams 4 3 2 .571
Brooklyn 4 6 0 .400
Buffalo 3 6 0 .333
New Orleans 3 7 1 .300
WEST W L T PCT
Kansas City 9 1 0 .900
San Francisco 8 2 0 .800
Los Angeles 5 3 1 .625
Chicago 1 9 0 .100
WEEKEND RESULTS
New Orleans 14 Buffalo 0
Los Angeles 35 Brooklyn 0
Kansas City 28 Chicago 14
New York 14 San Francisco 7
UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17
Los Angeles at Buffalo
San Francisco at Chicago
Kansas City at Brooklyn
New Orleans at New York
Code:
CFC LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Walston, KC 82
Gilliam, SF 64
Matthews, KC 54
Littlejohn, LA 50
J Wendt, BKN 48
Garner, SF 42
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
Chappell, KC 88-164 1535 16 7
J Wendt, BKN 109-238 1307 8 10
Metcalf, SF 75-155 1083 13 5
Fuchs, LA 85-140 1003 11 9
Mecham, CHC 64-168 868 5 14
RUSHING YDS TD
Matthews, KC 640 6
Stone, SF 549 2
Parameter, Buf 540 3
J Wendt, BKN 476 7
Cohan, KC 435 2
RECEIVING CAT YDS TD
D Smith, BKN 25 348 2
Mula, SF 22 298 5
Pruitt, NO 22 221 1
Loveless, NO 19 200 1
Robinson, NY 18 242 2
INERCEPTIONS #
Corbin, SF 6
Engle, KC 5
Backus, KC 4
Yardley, NO 4
NAHA PRESEASON UNDERWAY
The 1946-47 North American Hockey Confederation got underway with a number of preseason tilts and it comes as little surprise that the Toronto Dukes opened the exhibition slate with a pair of victories. The Dukes are clearly on a mission this season after being unceremoniously swept in 3 straight games in last year's semi-finals by a Montreal Valiants club that finished the regular season with 19 points less than the front-running Toronto squad. It also ended Toronto's two year run as Challenge Cup winners.
The Dukes took out their frustrations on Detroit and New York, beating each by identical 4-1 scores last week. Friday night in Toronto Laurel Albers had a goal and an assist while Gordie Broadway made 24 saves in the win over the Motors. Last night after the train ride Saturday to New York the Dukes proved bad luck for the Shamrocks in a 4-1 win led by a pair of Bobbie Sauer goals and three helpers from Syl Beam.
New York, Brooklyn, Chicago and Montreal each finished the opening weekend 1-1 with only the Detroit Motors dropping a pair of games. After falling to Toronto on Friday the Motors were upended by lowly Brooklyn at the Thompson Arena by a 3-1 count. Eagles rookie Val Mangione, who spent the past 7 seasons in the minor league Hockey Association of America, recently joined the Eagles on a tryout and had a goal and an assist in his NAHL preseason debut. The Eagles were woeful a year ago, winning just twice and tying 5 of their 48 games.
NAHC PRESEASON RESULTS
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8
Detroit 1 at Toronto 4
New York 1 at Brooklyn 0
Chicago 2 at Montreal 1
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10
Toronto 4 at New York 1
Montreal 2 at Chicago 1
Brooklyn 3 at Detroit 1
The only team not to see action yet is the defending champion Boston Bees who will play the first of their three preseason contests tonight at Denny Arena against the visiting Brooklyn Eagles. Boston ended the Toronto Dukes two-year hold on the Challenge Cup by claiming the chalice for the fourth time in the past six years. Last season ended in bitter disappointment for the Dukes after they finished with the league's best record only to be swept three-straight by the Montreal Valiants in the opening round of the playoffs. The Valiants would fall in the best-of-seven final 4 games to two to Boston after the Bees had little trouble disposing of the third place Chicago Packers in the other semi-final.
Here is a quick look back at the final standings from last season.
Code:
NORTH AMERICAN HOCKEY CONFEDERATION STANINGS
TEAM W L T PTS
Toronto Dukes 31 9 8 70
Boston Bees 29 15 4 62
Chicago Packers 24 20 4 52
Montreal Valiants 23 20 5 51
Detroit Motors 21 19 8 50
New York Shamrocks 16 22 10 42
Brooklyn Eagles 2 41 5 9
PLAYOFFS
Montreal over Toronto 3 games to 0
Boston over Chicago 3 games to 0
FINALS -Boston over Montreal 4 games to 2
1945-46 SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Joe Morey BOS 48 27 34 61
Tommy Burns CHI 48 28 29 57
Bobbie Sauer TOR 42 22 30 52
Clarence Skinner MON 43 23 27 50
Wes Burns CHI 43 18 32 50
Les Carlson TOR 48 17 30 47
Doug Lynch MON 48 16 24 40
Laurel Albers TOR 42 15 25 40
Tommy Hart BOS 45 10 30 40
Jacob Gron BOS 43 15 24 39
Marty Mahoney CHI 43 12 23 35
Orval Cabbell NY 47 10 25 35
Doug Yeadon DET 38 11 23 34
1945-46 TOP GOALTENDERS (min 24 games)
NAME TEAM GP W-L-T GAA
Gordie Broadway TOR 46 30-8-7 1.44
Pierre Melancon BOS 40 25-11-4 2.03
Henri Chasse DET 41 20-15-5 2.27
Millard Touhey MON 45 22-19-4 2.29
Etienne Tremblay NY 47 15-22-8 2.33
Tom Brockers BKN 43 2-33-4 3.60
MAJESTIC SHOWING IN NEW YORK
The Rainier College Majestics claimed the title in the Tournament of Champions preseason event held at Bigsby Garden last week. The powerhouse that won back to back AIAA titles in 1943 and 1944 claimed a preseason tournament crown for the second year in a row by beating Lambert College and Annapolis Maritime to claim the New York City event. The Majestics were led by 10 points each from senior forward Buford Garrison and junior guard Rollie Govan in a 35-31 victory over Lambert College in the opener. Annapolis Maritime, which topped Garden State 58-50 in the first round, was the Majestics opponent in the second game, which was a 51-44 decision for the Pacific Northwest power.
The other event on the weekend saw Texas Gulf Coast beat St Magnus 48-29 to win the Windy City Classic. The Hurricanes had topped Eastern Kansas 68-53 in the opening round of the 4-team event while the Vikings nipped Georgia Baptist 35-34.
WESTLAKE TO MAKE FIRST WELTER DEFENSE IN FEBRUARY
After spending nearly a year out of the ring prior to beating Dennis O'Keefe for the World Welterweight Championship, Mark Westlake is wasting little time scheduling his next bout. The 29 year old, who scored a unanimous decision over O'Keefe in late September says his first defense as ABF world champion will take place February 22 in St Louis.
Westlake's opponent will be Harold Stephens, a 28 year old Providence native who is considered the #3 contender in the division behind O'Keefe and Carl Taylor. Stephens is 18-3-2 with his most recent fight being a 10-round decision over another highly thought of welterweight in Rudy Perry.
Westlake beat O'Keefe for the belt, improving his record to 20-2-1, in what was his first fight since losing to Carl Taylor in Chicago last October in a bout to determine which of the two would face O'Keefe for the vacant ABF title.
*** Melanson Eyes March For Ring Return ***
World Middleweight Champ Frank Melanson has spent most of the past month celebrating his third round knockout of European champ Edouard Desmarais in Boston on October 15. The champ has already made three title defenses since beating another big time European in Archie Rees to win the belt 15 months ago but says he wants a little time off before stepping back in the ring. Melanson followed that October win over Rees up with a pair of fights against Todd Gill. The duo battled to a majority draw last October in New York before Melanson won by TKO in Philadelphia -the same site as his win over Rees- in May. That was followed by the surprisingly easy team he had with Desmarais in a battle of two undefeated fighters.
Melanson, 29, is now 31-0-2 and says he expects to next fight in March or April. The date and venue have not been finalized but the opponent has. Melanson says he will be facing Nick Harris, a 32-year old Cranston, RI native with a 19-2-1 record. Harris, who has not lost since 1939, most recently scored an 8th round knockout of Don Phillips in Philadelphia two weeks ago.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
- Nov 12- Oakland, Ca: Welterweight contender Carl Taylor (20-3-2) vs Ben 'Babyface" Bishop (23-3-1)
- Nov 18- New Orleans, La: rising welterweight Ira Mitchell (14-1) vs Phil Bradley (5-2)
- Nov 22- Milwaukee, Wi: Welterweight contender Rudy Perry (21-3-1) vs John Jackson (12-5)
- Nov 27- Minneapolis, Mn: Heavyweight contender Dan Miller (31-7-1) vs John Phillips (8-1)
- Dec 18- Waterbury, Ct: Heavyweight conteder Scott "The Chef" Baker (15-1-2) vs Chris May (24-5)
- Dec 26- Jacksonville, Fl: Heavweight contender Roy Crawford (22-2) vs Robby King (15-10)
- Dec 26- Brooklyn, NY: Welterweight Wayne Dunn (28-7) vs Pierek 'Soda' Popinski (8-6)
- Jan 18- Detroit, Mi: World Heavyweight Champ Hector Sawyer (54-3-1) faces top contender Mark Fountain (21-2-1)
- Feb 22- St Louis, Mo: World Welterweight Champ Mark Westlake (20-2-1) vs Harold Stephens (18-3-2)
- March TBA - Middlweight champion Frank Melanson (31-0-2) vs Nick Harris (19-2-1)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/10/1946
- The Republicans clinched control of the Senate after taking the House in a landslide. President Truman had nothing to say when asked by reporters for his thoughts on the election results.
- A Democratic Senator from Arkansas suggested Truman resign after his administration was rebuked at the polls, but Truman says he has no intention of doing so.
- An editorial in the London Star warned of the election's effect on World affairs. Its editorial page declared "we shall see American big business attempting to exploit the Republican victory and in every way thrwarting national and interenatioal efforts to get order into world affairs."
- As the week ended President Truman moved to wipe out wartime wage controls and all remaining price ceilings except those on rents, sugar and rice. He indicated, however, that rent ceilings might rise.
- The Foreign Ministers from the Big Four are meeting in New York City to tackle the last great issue blocking the peace of Eastern Europe - finalizing the details of peace treaties for Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria- before beginning to tackle the issue of what to do with Germany and Japan.
- An agreement has been reached thru mediation for a tentative agreement to end the 15-day old airline strike.