FEBRUARY 3, 1947
CUBAN DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE COMES TO CLOSE
Havana to Face Manzanillo in Today's Title Game
FABL's first venture to the Caribbean proved to be quite a success as the inaugural season of the Cuban Winter League comes to a close with the loop's championship game set for today. The league gave a number of top prospects from each organization the opportunity to test their skills against a little higher level of competition than they likely saw in the minors last year. The purpose was to allow some of the young talent an opportunity to get a head start in proving to their organization's that they deserve a good, long look in spring camp. In that regard, a number of players stepped up and others perhaps revealed that they are not quite as ready as had been hoped.
Among those who clearly stepped up is Chicago Cougars third base prospect Otto Christian. The 24-year old is a top 50 prospect and coming off a solid year in AA so he is certainly no secret, but the 'Walla Walla Walloper' manhandled Cuban loop pitching to the tune of 14 homers and a .554 slugging percentage. He led the CWL in long balls and rbi's with 39 -numbers that will make it tough for Cougars brass not to heavily consider having Christian replace Hank Barnett at the hot corner for the club this season.
The Cuban batting crown went to Billy Forbes of the Philadelphia Sailors. Forbes hit .362 in 42 games with Holguin, cementing his role in the Sailors outfield although he already has 51 games of big league ball under his belt from last season despite being just 21 years of age.
The champion of the Cuban League will be determined today as the Havana Sharks and Manzanillo Palms hook up in a winner-take-all one game title contest today in Manzanillo. The visiting Sharks are represented by players from the Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos while the Palms are comprised of New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones prospects
FABL DRAFT CONTINUES
Here are the 16 players selected in round two of the draft. Each of these players, just as the rest of the players in the 8 rounds decided upon in January, will remain in school for this season before negotiating deals with the team that drafted them at the conclusion of the college and high school ball seasons in June.
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ROUND 2 DRAFT SELECTIONS
PK TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN
17 CLE John Low SS 17 Leipsic (OH) HS Detroit, MI
18 DET William Benns LHP 18 West Valley(MS) HS West Valley, MS
19 PHS Billy Cady 2B 17 Wilmington (NC) HS Wilmington, NC
20 PIT Hank Aldrich LHP 18 Burlington(NJ) HS East Lansdowne, PA
21 CHC Garland Phelps C 17 Sheffield (PA) HS Ensworth, PA
22 NYG Ernie Campbell CF 21 Tallmadge State Rockford, IL
23 TOR Steve Talley LHP 18 Ellsworth (ME) HS Ellsworth, ME
24 STL George Atkins CF 17 New Brunswick(NJ)HS Middlesex, NJ
25 BKN Chick Trilman LHP 18 Berlin (WI) HS Berlin, WI
26 DET Jack Halbur RHP 17 Catasauqua(PA) HS Philadelphia, PA
27 MON Jess Garman C 20 Arkansas A&T New York, NY
28 CHI Chuck Lewis SS 21 Darnell State New Orleans, LA
29 CIN Donnie Aldrich RF 20 Opelika State Chattanooga, TN
30 PHK Bill Springer 2B 18 Collierville(TN)HS Collierville, TN
31 NYS Ed Holmes SS 21 Hempstead College Lakewood, OH
32 WAS Jim Heitzman RHP 17 Morgan City(LA) HS Franklin, LA
PACKERS TAKE OVER NAHC LEAD
A busy week which saw the Chicago Packers win 3 games and tie a fourth giving them a 9-1-1 record in their last 11 games has boosted the Packers to the top of the NAHC standings. The Packers have 42 points on the season, two more than Boston although the Bees do have a pair of games in hand. The Chicago franchise has been around since the start of the 1925-26 season but has never finished in first place, even during the days of the two division format. The are also the only active NAHC club to have never lifted the Challenge Cup.
Chicago star Tommy Burns is riding a 13 game point scoring streak and threatening to rewrite the league's record book. His 24 goals and 50 points -both league highs- put him on a pace to threaten the modern day single season records in each of those categories. Toronto's Gil Nagle is the loop's only 30 goal scorer since 1940 while Sam Koger's 66 points for Toronto in 1943-44 is considered the modern standard.
Tommy Burns has a 14 point lead on the next highest total, which happens to belong to his brother and left winger Wes Burns (19-17-36). The right winger on the most prolific line in the league is Marty Mahoney (8-25-33) and he presently sits in a tie for 6th place in the NAHC scoring parade.
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NAHC STANINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Chicago Packers 33 18 9 5 42
Boston Bees 31 18 9 4 40
Detroit Motors 32 15 12 5 35
New York Shamrocks 32 14 16 2 30
Montreal Valiants 31 12 16 3 27
Brooklyn Eagles 32 10 16 6 26
Toronto Dukes 33 10 19 4 24
SCORING LEADERS
NAME TEAM GP G A PTS
Tommy Burns CHI 33 24 26 50
Wes Burns CHI 33 19 17 36
Quiton Pollack BKN 32 23 12 35
Orval Cabbell NY 32 18 17 35
Bobbie Sauer TOR 33 16 19 35
Tommy Hart BOS 30 19 14 33
Marty Mahoney CHI 33 8 25 33
Ed Delarue CHI 30 14 17 31
Graham Comeau DET 32 12 19 31
Laurel Albers NY 33 7 24 31
Claude Skinner MON 30 16 13 29
Joe Morey BOS 29 14 14 28
Sam Coates BKN 32 9 19 28
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME TEAM W L T ShO GAA
Norm Hanson CHI 17-9-3 3 2.50
Henri Chasse DET 15-12-5 4 2.63
Pierre Melancon BOS 13-7-4 2 2.69
Tom Brockers BKN 10-14-6 1 2.71
Etienne Tremblay NY 12-14-2 2 3.01
Gordie Broadway TOR 8-17-2 0 3.59
Millard Touhey MON 8-13-3 0 3.59
LAST WEEK'S RECAPS
Tuesday January 28
The top two teams in the league met at Lakeside Auditorium and did not disappoint, as the Boston Bees and Chicago Packers skated to a hard fought 3-3 tie. The big guns for each team -Tommy Burns of the Packers and the Bees Tommy Hart- each had a goal and an assist in the game. Pierre Melancon made 31 saves in the Boston net while Norm Hanson turned aside 25 of the 28 shots he faced for Chicago.
Thursday January 30
The Packers were back at it as they continued a busy week that would see them play four times in a six day span. This one was also at Lakeside Auditorium and Tommy Burns was the hero, netting the game winner with less than 5 minutes remaining to lift Chicago past the Brooklyn Eagles 4-3. Ed Delarue scored twice for the winners while Eagles rookie sensation Quinton Pollack had 3 assists in a losing cause. In Detroit, the Motors concluded a terrible January with a strong 3-game winning streak that culminated in a 5-1 drubbing of Toronto just 5 days after the Motors scored 10 goals in game in Toronto. Dave Bradley scored twice and added an assist to pace the Motors.
Saturday February 1
A quiet Saturday evening with just one game as the Toronto Dukes, licking their wounds after leaving Detroit, headed to Chicago and were beaten for the fourth time in the last five games. falling 3-1 to the Packers thanks to third period goals from Chicago's Tommy Burns and Ian Groening. The Packers outshot the Dukes 50-21 and only an outstanding effort by Gordie Broadway in goal for the Dukes prevented a rout. The Chicago win lifted the Packers into sole possession of first place, two points up on idle Boston.
Sunday February 2
The Chicago Packers have gone 10-2-1 since New Years Eve with the latest victory being a 5-2 triumph over Toronto to complete the home-and-home sweep of the Dukes. Wes Burns had 2 goals and an assist to move into second in the league point race and his brother Tommy scored his NAHC leading 24th goal of the season moving the star center to within 4 goals of his career best mark established last season when he won the McDaniels Trophy as the league's top player. Tommy Burns is also within 8 of Gil Nagle's modern day record for goals in a season with 42 for Toronto in the 1941-42 campaign.
In other Sunday action the Boston Bees kept pace with the Packers by doubling the Brooklyn Eagles 4-2 at Prescott Arena. Benton Walston led the way for the Bees with 2 goals and an assist. Finally in Montreal, the Valiants and the visiting New York Shamrocks each played their only game of the week. The New Yorkers, led by assists on both goals from Tom Brescia, trimmed the Valiants 2-1 to move 3 points ahead of Montreal in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4
Boston at Montreal
Brooklyn at New York
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6
Montreal at Detroit
New York at Chicago
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8
Montreal at Brooklyn
Toronto at Boston
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9
Chicago at New York
Detroit at Boston
Brooklyn at Montreal
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- Burns 13-Game Point Streak Propels Packers to First - While part of the reason the Chicago Packers have overtaken the Boston Bees for first in the NAHC is because they've played two extra games, but a lot can be credited to Tommy Burns. The star center has recorded a point in 13 consecutive games, including a goal and an assist in a 4-3 Packers win over the Eagles on his 27th birthday. In that 13 game stretch, he's recorded 23 points and the Packers have gone 12-2-1 in that stretch. More recently, Wes Burns has been even hotter, with three goals and assists in his last three games. The brothers ranks #1 and #2 in points, with Tommy's 50 14 points higher then Wes'. The brother duo has been crucial for the Packers, leading them to a +42 goal differential, the only differential in the league above 15. - Archie Irwin/Chicago Daily News.
- Motors Garage is a Mess -Despite success on the ice, rumours out of Detroit are the dressing room is a mess with plenty of in-fighting. A number of different cliques have sprung up and the room is very fractured with talk that the biggest cause for concern is in what one source termed an "intense dislike" for each other between first line center Garrett Ferrar and brash rookie Bobo Davis. Davis -the club's first round selection in July- has loads of talent but seems determined to make sure everyone else knows just how good he is. So far the team has been winning -except for a terrible first half of January- so coach Mark Moore has not seemed overly concerned. However, a bad stretch to finish the season resulting in another narrow playoff miss may see some major off-season moves for the club. - Dan Urbanski/Detroit Times.
- Speaking of locker room harmony. The Toronto Dukes are now getting along just fine after the trade of Laurel Albers to the New York Shamrocks. Albers is not said to be overly popular in the New York room either but the Shamrocks are winning games and he is producing. Toronto had a lot of in-fighting but that cleared up as soon as Albers left for the Big Apple. The problem is the Dukes may be getting along with each other, but they are still awful this season and on a course to finish last after owning the league's best record a year ago.
- The Greenshirts are glad they have Albers offense, but the club is just hanging on now with number one center Orval Cabbell dealing with a series of nagging injuries. New York is trying to end a playoff drought that has reached 4 years and is 3 points up on Montreal for the final post-season berth but the health of the veteran Cabbell may be the difference whether the Shamrocks make the playoffs or not. The 29 year old leads the team with 35 points - a total that already matches his output from the entire season a year ago- but he has been hobbled by two different leg injuries over the past 10 days.
- The Montreal Star has been calling this a 'lost season' for the Valiants. They are close to where they finished last season when they ended up fourth by only a single point and then knocked off Toronto in the semi-finals before succumbing to Boston in six games for the Challenge Cup. With that post-season success came enhanced expectations for this year and in that regard the campaign has certainly been a disappointment.
- Rumours are coming out of Brooklyn that the Eagles may fold at the end of the season. The club has significantly improved its product on the ice and is only 4 points out of a playoff spot after winning just 2 games all of last season. However the club is averaging just 7,551 fans per game -far and away the lowest in the league- and owner Edward Faberge claims he is operating at a substantial loss again this year.
LIGHTBODY CHOOSES ALABAMA BAPTIST
Highly touted Louisiana high school basketball star Les Lightbody has committed to play for Alabama Baptist next season. The 18 year old center, who is a cousin of the famous baseball playing Lightbody's announced his decision last week after debating over a number of schools including Mississippi A&M where his cousin's Doug and Frank excelled on the diamond before going on to long FABL careers. A third cousin, Jim Lightbody, is still active with the Brooklyn Kings.
Les is ranked the 3rd best high school senior in the nation, trailing only New Yorker Mel Turcotte -who will attend Carolina Poly next year - and Darryl Baugher, a Chicago native committed to Western Iowa. That leaves just Ned Jeske, a guard from Philadelphia, yet to declare his college plans for next season among the top 30 collegiate cage prospects.
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[b] AIAA COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL TOP TWENTY-FIVE
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Liberty College (72) 22-3 1800 1 Indy
2. St. Blane 20-3 1718 3 Indy
3. CC Los Angeles 16-3 1662 5 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Rainier College 15-3 1566 2 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Carolina Poly 15-3 1496 4 South Atlantic Conference
6. Central Ohio 14-3 1423 6 Great Lakes Alliance
7. Noble Jones College 15-3 1375 7 Deep South Conference
8. Lane State 15-3 1291 8 West Coast Athletic Association
9. Coastal California 15-3 1168 11 West Coast Athletic Association
10. North Carolina Tech 15-4 1154 10 South Atlantic Conference
11. Miami State 18-4 1047 13 Indy
12. Detroit City College 13-5 1044 17 Great Lakes Alliance
13. Western Iowa 15-3 938 18 Great Lakes Alliance
14. Bayou State 13-4 882 12 Deep South Conference
15. Chesapeake State 14-4 750 9 South Atlantic Conference
16. Great Plains State 18-5 736 20 Indy
17. Indiana A&M 15-2 670 14 Great Lakes Alliance
18. Mobile Maritime 14-3 639 15 South Atlantic Conference
19. Lexington State 14-3 417 16 South Atlantic Conference
20. Northern California 14-4 390 23 West Coast Athletic Association
21. Lambert College 13-5 315 NR Midwestern Association
22. Whitney College 13-5 238 NR Great Lakes Alliance
23. Huntington State 17-4 164 NR Indy
24. Columbia Military Academy 12-5 161 24 South Atlantic Conference
25. Alabama Baptist 11-6 79 NR Deep South Conference
RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 SCHOOLS LAST WEEK
MONDAY JANUARY 27
#11 Miami State 56, at North Carolina Atlantic 33
#1 Liberty College 51, at Narragansett 37
TUESDAY JANUARY 28
at #2 St. Blane 63, Grant (IN) 38
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 29
at #16 Great Plains State 40, North Central (NE) 28
#1 Liberty College 51, at Meade 32
#25 Alabama Baptist 42, at Orrville 40
THURSDAY JANUARY 30
at #13 Western Iowa 41, St. Ignatius 35
#6 Central Ohio 42, at Wisconsin State 31
at #12 Detroit City College 52, Minnesota Tech 42
#17 Indiana A&M 49, at #22 Whitney College 44
#21 Lambert College 50, at Laclede 39
#10 North Carolina Tech 41, at Alexandria 26
#19 Lexington State 33, at #24 Columbia Military Academy 31
#15 Chesapeake State 40, at Central Carolina 37
Coastal State 48, at #5 Carolina Poly 35
#18 Mobile Maritime 38, at Charleston Tech 35
at #2 St. Blane 46, Brookland 30
at #11 Miami State 45, Commonwealth Catholic 34
FRIDAY JANUARY 31
at #9 Coastal California 30, #20 Northern California 28
at #8 Lane State 46, #4 Rainier College 36
at #3 CC Los Angeles 52, Spokane State 33
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1
#25 Alabama Baptist 46, at Mississippi A&M 39
at #7 Noble Jones College 64, #14 Bayou State 54
at #13 Western Iowa 40, Minnesota Tech 38
#17 Indiana A&M 35, at Wisconsin State 32
at #6 Central Ohio 57, St. Ignatius 34
at #12 Detroit City College 51, St. Magnus 24
#22 Whitney College 59, at Lincoln 45
#21 Lambert College 37, at Perry State College 36
#18 Mobile Maritime 37, at Coastal State 32
at #10 North Carolina Tech 44, Cowpens State 39
Central Carolina 51, at #19 Lexington State 41
at #5 Carolina Poly 44, #15 Chesapeake State 35
#24 Columbia Military Academy 35, at Richmond State 12
at #23 Huntington State 41, St. Pancras 35
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2
#9 Coastal California 41, at Idaho A&M 33
#20 Northern California 53, at #4 Rainier College 45
at #8 Lane State 47, Portland Tech 36
#3 CC Los Angeles 50, at Custer College 27
at #11 Miami State 44, Strub College 20
#16 Great Plains State 64, at Needham 47
RUTLEDGE WINS AGAIN
Louisville Lightning Danny Rutledge improved to 8-0 as a professional by notching the seventh knockout of his career. the 22 year old Kentucky native's latest victim was Memphis John Bolton, a noted amateur pugilist from the south who clearly bit off more than he could chew in his pro debut. The fight, slated for 6 rounds at the Union City Gardens ended in four with Bolton, like most of Rutledge's other opponents, flat on his back.
Rutledge has long been ticketed for greatness and billed by many to be one of a young duo threatening to make the welterweight division relevant. The often overlooked weight class received a jolt in September, 1944 when Rutledge and fellow promising youngster Mac Erickson staged a thrilling bout in England on a card that featured an exhibition from Hector Sawyer and a world middleweight title fight for Archie Rees. The young welters, with Pvt. Rutledge representing the Army and Seaman Erickson the Navy, stole the show with a bloody 12 round slugfest that ended when Rutledge knocked out Erickson in the 12th round.
Erickson recently improved to 12-0 as a professional and there is talk of a rematch of that 1944 bout but at this stage both have their eyes focused squarely on current ABF world welterweight champ Mark Westlake.
MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTENDER GILL BACK ON TRACK
Todd Gill was back in the ring last week and scored a majority decision over Nathan Sears in a battle of fighters who each had a chance at the middleweight title. Sears had his shot back in 1941 when he was knocked out by Archie Rees in a fight for the title that was vacant at the time. The 32 year old native of Gary, Ind., did not fight again until after the war and has not fared well -losing to Bob Hinkle and Nick Harris before battling Ron Norton to a majority draw in October. The hard-luck continued for Sears in losing a close decision to Gill, dropping his record to 19-5-1.
Todd Gill famously had two title fights with Frank Melanson in October 1945 and then last May. The first was declared a draw with Melanson retaining his title in the rematch with a 15th round TKO. Gill resurfaced in Hawaii in October but had another draw, this time with Junior Shaw, before getting back in the win column with the decision in Columbus, Oh. over Sears. Gill is now 21-2-6.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- Feb 13 - New York City: Middleweight contender John Edmonds (21-2) vs Jack Rainey (22-3)
- Feb 22- St Louis, Mo: World Welterweight Champ Mark Westlake (20-2-1) vs Harold Stephens (18-3-2)
- Feb 24- Waterbury, Ct: Rising welterweight Ira Mitchell (15-1) vs Mitchell McFadden (23-6)
- Feb 25- Lakeside Arena, Chicago: Welterweight Carl Taylor (21-3-2) vs George Gibbs (16-2)
- March 15- Bigsby Garden, New York City - Middleweight champion Frank Melanson (31-0-2) vs Nick Harris (19-2-1)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/02/1947
- The United States broke off efforts for establishing peace in China with the news that most of the American forces and Marines in that country will be withdrawn. They had been there to help enforce ceasefires between the Chinese government and rebel Communist forces.
- Connecticut Senator McMahon, says he suspects Russia is developing "an atomic fission plant" in the Ural Mountains as American and Soviet officials are debating plans for world-wide atomic control and disarmament.
- Meanwhile a New Hampshire Senator charges that Russia is attempting to turn Germany into a "satellite and ally" and urged new Secretary of State Marshall to stand firm at the forthcoming Foreign Ministers' Conference in Moscow.
- Republicans aim at a minimum 10 per cent slice in President Truman's $37,500,000,000 budget.
- Improved US relations with Argentina appear to be on the horizon after word that the Argentine government soon will 'clean up satisfactorily' the question of ridding the country of Axis agents.
- The United States has formally accused Poland of breaking its pledge of free elections.