[Tiger Fan]

MARCH 31, 1947

Predicting the order of finish in the Federal Association is really nothing more than a fool's game. The Fed has been so balanced over the past decade that it has seen 6 of its eight teams win at least one pennant over the past nine years. Only the St Louis Pioneers -pennantless since 1921- and the Detroit Dynamos, who have not hoisted the flag since 1929, failed in that regard. However, they have both come close, particularly Detroit with 4 second place finishes over that time frame while the Pioneers also were the bridesmaids just 4 years ago. Here is a best guess at how things will play out in the coming season.

1- NEW YORK GOTHAMS :With the collection of offensive talent the New York Gothams have, it is hard to imagine them not winning the pennant. Red Johnson, Walt Messer and Sal Pestilli with a supporting cast that includes Pete Casstevens, Rosie Brewer and an occasionally healthy Mahlon Strong should only require average pitching to challenge for the pennant. They probably should have won last year and have to be the favourites again this time around, but they need more than Ed Bowman on the mound. Perhaps Jim Lonardo has one more strong season in him or maybe Hal Friedlander is ready to contribute. The only bigger surprise than the fact the Gothams did not win the pennant last season may be the fact thar neither Red Johnson nor Sal Pestilli - with 4 Whitney Awards and 11 all-star game selections between them- have ever played in the WCS.

2- WASHINGTON EAGLES :The miracle Eagles were the feel-good story of the league last season but there is no hiding the fact that this is not just a Cinderella moment- Washington has a very good team. The addition of Rats McGonigle to a core group that includes Jesse Alvardo, Sig Stofer and Mel Carrol gives them an offense that, while certainly different in approach, compares favourably to that of the Gothams. If newcomer Billy Riley has another great season or two in him we might be looking at repeat date with October baseball for the Eagles.

3- PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES :A terrible stretch in July and August last year ended the Keystones two-year pennant run but they certainly have the talent to win it all this season. Bobby Barrell was merely great last season after two years dominating the sport. If he gets hot again and maybe a young arm like Sid Moulton or Joe Quade steps up to join the big guns Lloyd Stevens, George M Brooks and Pepper Tuttle in the rotation it is not hard to imagine the Keystones claiming a third pennant in a four yeat stretch.

4- BOSTON MINUTEMEN :Prior to the early spring injury that will sideline ace Dean Astle for the season the Minutemen would be right there with the Gothams, Eagles and Keystones as pennant contenders. Losing Astle might have dropped them down a rung and they may have trouble keeping up with the big three but still possess the makings of a first division ballclub.

5- CHICAGO CHIEFS :The Chiefs are not contenders yet but they are certainly moving back in that neighborhood. All eyes will be on John Stallings first full year on the mound and if he can be as good as everyone expects as soon as this year the Chiefs might stay in the race for a while. A full season of Tim Hopkins, acquired from Brooklyn at the deadline, will help the offense and Artie D'Alessandro looks like a nice acquisition from St Louis. There is some young talent on the rise as well, and the Chiefs look to be the best of the second division clubs in '47.

6- DETROIT DYNAMOS :The Dynamos are in the midst of what they hope is a quick rebuild and loaded with young talent but most of it is very raw. Edwin Hackberrry, Dick Estes, Stan Kleminski and Tommy Griffin have plenty of promise but just like last year there will probably be some real growing pains this season. The mound situation will be solid with youngsters Carl Potter and Wally Hunter and if 33-year-old Dixie Lee is fully recovered from his arm injury that cost him half of the 1946 campaign the club should compete with the Chiefs for fifth place.

7- PITTSBUGH MINERS :The Miners still have one of the best catchers in the game in 32-year-old George Cleaves along with veteran outfielder Joe Owens and pitcher Lefty Allen but it feels like age has caught up with the club and they don't seem to have the replacements quite ready yet. There is a lot to like about their farm system with 9 prospects ranked in the OSA top 100 but this might be a transition year in the Steel City.

8- ST LOUIS PIONEERS :Every so often the Pioneers surprise you with a decent season in which they make a pennant run but it always seems to fall short and then they follow that up by quickly fading back to the second division. Since 1924 the Pioneers have only finished third or better four times: 1926, 1934, 1935 and 1943. This year will not be the fifth time that happens as the Pioneers will likely be hard pressed to avoid a second straight last place finish. They have a dominant pitcher in Hal Hackney and -as usual- a great collection of catchers led by Heinie Zimmer but there is little else to be excited about. Perhaps 25-year-old shortstop Homer Mills is ready to break out and there always is the terrific defending of Tommy Wilson at the hot corner to get excited about. Beyond that, well at least St Louis fans can point to the Grid Ramblers and say "at least we are not the only last place team that plays out of Pioneer Field.

• Some notes from Gothams camp courtesy of the New York World Telegram's Red Wedge: "Harl Haines is looking strong on the mound and ready to follow up on a solid rookie season. Tom Jeffries showing the CWL stats mean nothing as he takes a stranglehold on the starting SS job. Gilbert Brennan pushing out Fred Pecora to win a share of the 3B duties with Mule Monier. And finally Flipper Robinson showing his 70 games in NY last season was no mirage. He'll be the main backup across the outfield.
• Detroit is 3 cuts away from finalizing its 24-man roster for the April 15 opener against the Chicago Chiefs. The final position player battle is between stuggling outfielder Dick Blaszak and rule five pickup Ernie Hanks while Frank Gordon, Jimmy Mayse and impressive youngster Al Ahearn are competing for one spot in the bullpen.
• Brett Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire checks in with an update from Wolves camp. "Toronto is down to 26 and in-camp competition will be fierce for the remaining two roster spots. Sam C Allen remains in camp still making making a strong effort for the fourth OF position. We are seeing more activity than normal with closed door meeting both in the manager's office along with the temporary front office space setup at the spring facility. This is usually signs a trade talks. Six players were optioned to AAA Buffalo: four pitchers Sam Jordan, Pete Thompson, Red More, Jim Carter along with catcher Randy Hendrix and infielder Mike Rollinson. Hendrix was knocking the cover of the ball this spring. It looks as though Howerton will move to a backup role at the start of the season with Walter Loera taking most the duty behind the plate so the move of Hendrix makes sense to give him regular starts.
• Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News points out it was a rough week for the Cougars, noting that four Cougars this week had "3" injuries: Duke Bybee - 3 days, Carlos Montes - 3 days, Clark Car - 3 weeks and Harry Parker - 3 months

PACKERS JOIN BEES IN CHALLENGE CUP SHOWDOWN

Moose Vezina scored twice and Tommy Burns added a pair of assists to lead the Chicago Packers to a 4-1 win over Detroit yesterday to win their semi-final series 3 games to one. The victory lifts the Packers to their first trip to the Challenge Cup finals since 1931 where they will take on the defending Cup champion Boston Bees, who swept the New York Shamrocks three straight in the other semi-final.

After winning games one and two in the Windy City by identical 3-0 scores it looked like the Packers were going to sweep the series with Detroit as Chicago built up a 3-0 lead on the Motors when Tommy Burns scored his second goal of the series just over 5 minutes into the third period. The spirited but short-staffed Motors then came to life before the home crowd at Thompson Palladium, ending a more than 168-minute scoring drought when rookie Bobo Davis finally beat Packers netminder Norm Hanson. Less than 4 minutes later goals from Mike Narand and Arnold Singleton had tied the contest and just over 2 minutes into overtime Morris Wright -who had been pressed into action because of multiple injuries on the Detroit defense- scored the overtime winner to equal his regular season output of 1 goal this season.

Any hopes Detroit had of a comeback ended two nights later when Vezina and Burns led the Packers to a series clinching 4-1 victory. David Rankin and Marsh Mansfield also scored for Chicago giving the Packers their first playoff series victory of the modern era.

The other semi-final had ended two nights early when Boston completed a 3-game sweep of the New York Shamrocks with a 2-0 victory at Bigsby Garden. The game was scoreless through two periods until Craig Simpson broke the gooese eggs with his second of the series from Harry Neighbor and Viv Napier just under 4 minutes into the third. Daniel Fortin would add an insurance marker with help from George Anderson 7 minutes later and Boston netminder Pierre Melancon took care of the rest, stopping all 27 shots the Shamrocks fired at him in the game.

The Bees are no stranger to Challenge Cup finals, having played in 8 of the last ten of them and were victorious in five. In all, the Boston squad has won the Challenge Cup a total of six times including last year's six game triumph over the Montreal Valiants. The Packers, on the other hand, have only played in the finals once befre and that was back in 1930-31 when they lost to the Shamrocks.

The regular season series between the Bees and Packers was dead even with each club winning 3 imes and the other two games ending in ties. Boston won three of the first four meetings between the pair while the Packers won three of the final four including back to back wins in early March.

BOSTON VS CHICAGO
1946-47 REGULAR SEASON
Nov 12 Boston 4 Chicago 2
Nov 21 Boston 4 Chicago 2
Dec 8 tied 3-3
Jan 5 Boston 5 Chicago 4
Jan 19 Chicago 3 Boston 2
Jan 28 tied 3-3
Mar 2 Chicago 4 Boston 3
Mar 4 Chicago 4 Boston 2

TOUGH TEST FOR SHORT-STAFFED PACKERS

Courtesy of the Chicago Daily News

A huge loss for the Packers as Marty Mahoney (15, 33) will miss the Challenge Cup against the Boston Bees. Mahoney finished the season 2nd in assists with 33 and recorded 48 points in 48 games as a member of the Packers star-studded first line. All-world center Tommy Burns (30, 37) is the only one that remains, as brother Wes (19, 19) is dealing with a fractured jaw, and has been moved down to the third line to limit his minutes. Tommy will now play between rookie Dave Rankin (11, 16) and veteran Bernie Ferrar (9, 20) as the Packers try to capture their first ever title.

RUTLEDGE STAYS PERFECT

Danny Rutledge, one of a large crop of young fighters growing strong in the welterweight division, improved to 9-0 with what will likely be the final six round bout of the 22-year-old's career. Seven of his first 8 wins as a pro were by knockout but give Mel Gardner credit as the the 23 year old managed to stick it out for the distance against Rutledge, despite the fact that he was completely outclassed in the bout.

Rutledge is no stranger to long bouts -he fought a 15-round slugfest with Mac Erickson while both were in the service during the war- but his handlers felt it made sense to ease the youngster in to the pro game, as most young fighters are handled. The stakes will get much higher for Rutledge going forward as he will look for some bouts with established professionals designed to further progress him to his goal of a title opportunity.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• April 12- Miami, Fl- Former welterweight champ Dennis O'Keefe (20-2) vs Willis May (15-2-2)
• April 12 - Bigsby Garden (small room)- Middlweight contender Joe Moore (15-3) vs Mike Ward (4-5-3)
• April 15- Philadelphia: Middlweight contender Brooks O'Connor (22-4-2) vs Greg Roy (5-8)
• April 19- Syracuse, NY: Former welterweight contender Ben Bishop (24-4-1) vs John Gregory (16-2-1)
• April 21- Atlantic City, NJ: rising welterweight Mac Erickson (12-0) vs Floyd Davis (6-6)
• April 26- Bigsby Garden: Rising heavyweight Tommy Cline (10-0) vs veteran contender Pete Sanderson (32-7-2)
• April 28 - London, Eng: Former world middleweight champ Jorge Cuellar (42-2-2) first fight in nearly 7 years against British middleweight Glen Root (13-16).
• April 29- Bigsby Garden: a month and a half after losing to Frank Melanson in the middleweight title fight, Nick Harris (19-3-1) returns to the ring in New York to face Steve Adams (5-6-1)
• April 29 - Paris France: Edouard Desmarais (36-1) vs Jean Raymond (11-8-1)

BIGSBY GARDEN FIELD SET AS CAGE TOURNEY REACHES SEMIS

The four semi-finalists are set to gather in New York City at the famed Bigsby Garden next weekend to declare for the 38th time the champion of AIAA collegiate basketball. Two of the four finalists have won the championship before, led by Liberty College, which claimed titles in the spring of 1936, 1937 and 1942. Whitney College won its lone AIAA cage crown in the 1924-25 season. Miami State and Central Ohio are each in the semi-finals for the first time in school history.

Liberty College -the Philadelphia school that reached the title game a year ago only to fall short against CC Los Angeles- has reached at least the quarterfinals each of the past 7 years and is making its 7th semi-final appearance since 1932. The Bells, just a 4 seed despite being number one in the national polls, reached the semis with wins over Redwood, Mobile Maritime and a 39-36 victory over Western Iowa yesterday. Ward Messer, younger brother of New York Gothams slugger Walt Messer, had a dominant performance against the Canaries, scoring 16 points and adding 9 rebounds.

Liberty College will face Miami State in a battle of two independent schools. The Gulls won the South region with victories over the University of New Jersey, Lane State and Detroit City College. Reigning national player of the year Long Werth is averaging 14.7 ppg in the tournament for the Gulls, who edged Detroit City College 50-47 yesterday to make the late March trek to New York for the first time in school history.

On Saturday, Central Ohio clinched it's first semi-final appearance with a thrilling 42-40 overtime victory over defending champion CCLA. The Aviators pulled out the win despite a 20-point showing from Coyotes junior guard Gerry Cheek in the game. Ziggy Rickard, who was a third team All-American a year ago, lead the way for the fliers with 12 points.

Next up for Central Ohio will be their Great Lakes Alliance rival Whitney College Engineers. Whitney College, winners of the 1921 title game, are the only GLA school ever time win the national tournament and it guarantees the GLA a representative in the title game for fourth time in the past 11 years. Whitney College advanced to New York this season with an overtime win over Northern California in the opening round, followed by a 9-point victory over St Blane -ending the Fighting Saints hopes for titles in both grid and cage play- before beating Noble Jones College 44-41 on Saturday.

Central Ohio is the only team of the four battling injuries and the Aviators will be without a pair of key starters in Art Pugh and Blaine Decastro. Pugh, who was second in scoring for Central Ohio, averaging 8.8 ppg, suffered a season ending knee injury in the second round win over Bayou State while Decastro -also with knee troubles- has been out of action since mid-March.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 03/30/1947

• US Secretary of State George Marshall has proposed to the big 4 Foreign Ministers in the Moscow conference that each should reduce its occupation forces in Germany to the minimum necessary to carry out Allied policies and protect security.
• At home Acting Secretary of State Acheson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the administration believes that the Greek and Turkey aid programs will have to be followed by some financial assistance to the American-occupied section of Korea.
• A German atom scientist, who said he recently escaped from a Russian government laboratory, asserts that the Soviet Union is "very near" to developing an atom bomb.
• The death toll is at 111 after an explosion at an Illinois mine. Labor boss John J. Lewis claimed the lost miners "have been murdered because of the criminal negligence of J.A. Krug," Secretary of the Interior. Lewis also had his 400,000 soft coal miners stop work for six days as a period of mourning and doubled down on blaming Krug, citing the failure to enforce the new Federal Mine Safety Code.