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Tiger Fan · 06-19-2023, 10:55 AM

JUNE 23, 1947

CA RACE TIGHTENS BUT PIONEERS SHOW NO SIGNS OF SLOWING IN FED

The race for top spot in the Continental Association could not be much more heated with 4 teams within two and a half games at the top of the standings. The Cincinnati Cannons have led much of the way but after starting the week by taking 3 of 4 games from the Chicago Cougars the Cannons were swept in a 3-game weekend series at Tice Memorial by the Brooklyn Kings. The New York Stars, who have been hot on the Cannons heels, failed to take advantage as they dropped 3 of 4 in Philadelphia over the weekend and presently sit a game back of Cincinnati. The Sailors, with 12 victories in their last 17 games and wins in 5 of their last six are just a half game back of the Stars and have a big week ahead with games against both the Cougars and Cannons. Chicago stumbled early in the week in Cincinnati but found northern Ohio much more hospitable over the weekend after the Cougars swept their three game set in Cleveland to move within 2.5 games of top spot.

The Cougars were expected by many to run away with the Continental race and it is the Federal Association that was supposed to be the dogfight but it appears there is no slowing the St. Louis Pioneers. Detroit with 12 wins in its last 14 and the Chicago Chiefs -with a very impressive 17-7 record this month- have been charging hard but the Pioneers continue to play solid, consistent baseball. St Louis went 11-5 in April, followed that up with a 16-11 May and are presently 14-7 for the month of June. They did stumble slightly last week, as the Pioneers dropped 3 in a row for the second time this season, but they reversed their course quickly with a doubleheader sweep of defending Fed champion Washington over the weekend.

The Eagles are 36-32, but still sit 7 games behind the surprising Pioneers. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Keystones and New York Gothams -the two clubs expected to battle with Washington for the Fed flag- both continue to languish in the second division and below the breakeven point. The Gothams have lost five of their last 8 while the Keystones have been in a funk most of the month with just 3 wins to show from their last 16 outings.

FABL TOP PERFORMERS THIS WEEK

GRANGE COLLEGE, CAROLINA POLY REACH CWCS FINALS

The Grange College Mustangs will be looking for their third AIAA collegiate baseball championship in the past four years after advancing to the finals to be held today and tomorrow at Dyckman Stadium in New York. The Mustangs opponent will be the upset minded Carolina Poly Cardinals, who have won two national titles in basketball but have never won a baseball crown.

Grange College was the number two seed in the tournament and opened with a 9-2 thumping of west coast outfit Redwood University behind a homerun and 3 rbi's from freshman All-American Don Berry. The Mustangs second game was also a laugher as they thumped underdog Yellowhammer State 8-1 before finally running into a challenge Saturday in the semi-finals against Maryland State. The Bengals, who won 3 baseball titles between 1939 and 1943, led 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning before Grange College took the lead with a 2-out, 2-run double off the bat of senior infielder Ted Carbone to pull out a 4-3 victory. Carbone and fellow seniors Ralphie Spires and John Fritz are bidding for the third AIAA title of their careers.

The other side of the bracket was taking place at Kings County Stadium, home of the Brooklyn Kings, and the big news was that for the second year in a row Georgia Baptist knocked out tournament top seed Bluegrass State in the opening round. The Gators doubled Bluegrass State 4-2 and nipped Coastal State 5-4 in 12 innings before their title dreams came to an end in the semi-finals with a 7-2 loss to the Cardinals. The Cunningham twins, Dick and Archie, each had 3 hits for Carolina Poly in the win over the Gators while All-American Johnny Young was solid on the mound. Young was the winning pitcher in the opening game as well, helping the Cardinals double CCLA 6-3. Their quarterfinal win was a slugfest, outscoring Mississippi A&M 11-6 with sophomore catcher Bob Anastas having a big day for the winners, lacing 4-hits and driving in 3 runs.

The opener of the best of three final will be played today with Hi Greenstein (7-6, 4.27) getting the start for Carolina Poly while Grange College will counter with it's ace Ralphie Spires (10-4, 3.12),who recently tied Tom Barrell for the AIAA career lead in regular season pitching victories. Tuesday will be a doubleheader with the second game only played if needed. Expect All-American Johnny Young (11-4, 2.45) to get one of the Tuesday starts for the Cardinals despite the fact he pitched on Wednesday and Saturday.

COLLEGIATE WORLD SERIES RESULTS
ROUND ONE
Georgia Baptist 4 Bluegrass State 2
Coastal State 7 Charleston Tech 2
Mississippi A&M 4 Opelika State 2
Carolina Poly 6 CCLA 3
Grange College 9 Redwood 2
Yellowhammer State 6 Red River State 5
Maryland State 7 Central Kentucky 6 (10 inn)
Eastern State 5 Lane State 3
QUARTERFINALS
Georgia Baptist 5 Coastal State 4 (12 inn)
Carolina Poly 11 Mississippi A&M 6
Grange College 8 Yellowhammer State 1
Maryland State 7 Eastern State 4
SEMIFINALS
Grange College 4 Maryland State 3
Carolina Poly 7 Georgia Baptist 2
FINALS (Best of 3
Grange College vs Carolina Poly

LEDBETTER THAN THE REST

Pitcher Smashes High School Strikeout Marks

The Toronto Wolves knew they were getting a pitcher with the potential to be one of the best arms in the league when they won the draft lottery and the opportunity to select first in January. Despite a number of very talented hitters in the draft the Wolves choice was obvious and they quickly selected Les Ledbetter, a lefthander out of Fowlerville, Michigan who had just won the Adwell Award as a high school junior after a record-setting season in which he fanned 245 hitters in just 113 innings. What would Ledbetter do as an encore for his senior season with the Fowlerville Gladiators? Simply set the career high school strikeout mark, surpassing 3-time Adwell Award winner Hiram Steinberg- now with the Cleveland Foresters- while posting a perfect 45-0 record as a high school pitcher. Ledbetter appears to be the clear choice to win his second consecutive Adwell Award -that announcement will come next week- and he finishes second behind only Steinberg in career high school wins by a pitcher and lowest career earned run average.

Here are the five finalists for the Adwell Award, presented annually to the top High School player in the nation.

RALPH CAPRIOTTI -OF Muncie(IN) HS: (.509/.591/1.073 14 HR, 44 RBI) Despite being a freshman and still just 14 years old, the outfielder led the nation with 14 homers and was second in rbi's with 44. He also hit .509 with 14 doubles giving him a slugging percentage of 1.073 -fifth best in the country. For fans of modern stats his 56 wRC was tops in the nation.

LES LEDBETTER - P Fowlerbille (MI) HS: (11-0, 0.40 232 K) The senior was drafted first overall by the Toronto Wolves in January. He completed a high school career that saw him named a first team All-American three times and won the Adwell Award last year as a junior. For his career, Ledbetter went 45-0, a high school win total only surpassed by Hiram Steinberg. Ledbetter is also second only behind Steinberg in career ERA but he did pass Steinberg to set the high school career strikeout mark with 875. As for this season Ledbetter was a perfect 11-0 and his 232 strikeouts were the second highest single season total ever recorded in high school ball. The highest mark? Well that is 245 and was set by Ledbetter last year. His 0.40 era this season with the fifth lowest single season mark ever record in high school ball.

FRED LEINHART - OF Pandora (OH) HS: (.593/.623/.864 1 HR, 40 RBI) Another talented freshman, Leinhart led the nation with a .593 batting average this season, which is the 6th highest single season mark ever recorded by a high school player. He was also third in on-base percentage this season.

RAY PATTERSON - P South Bend (IN) HS: (11-0, 0.53, 201 K) The sophomore was second behind only Ledbetter in ERA and was third in the nation in FIP and 4th in strikeouts.

JERRY SMITH - OF Jackson HS, Queens, NY: (.523/.589/1.205 12 HR, 35 RBI) The senior was selected 5th overall by the Chicago Cougars in January. He hit .523 with 12 homers and 35 rbi's this season to be named an All-American for the second time (he also made it as a sophomore). He led the nation with a 1.205 slugging percentage.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Wolves Update- As Brett looks at the Wolves in the middle of June at 29-32 and currently sitting in 5th place in the CA he cautions fans to not lose faith in the squad. The CA a very competitive league in 1947 with only 10 games separating first from worst after 60 games. Cincinnati is coming back to the pack while preseason favourites New York and Chicago have not run away and hid from the other six teams. The Wolves are one extended winning streak away from becoming a real factor in the CA. Manager Bob Call says he is beginning to see a team starting to turn the corner after almost two months. The team keeps getting to the .500 mark only then to go on a short losing streak to fall below the break even mark.

The Wolves were never forecast to be an offensive juggernaut in which they would win games by simply outscoring the opposition. Toronto ranks at or near the bottom of the CA in most offensive categories even with good seasons at the plate from Fred McCormick (.328/.420/.562 10 HR 34 RBI) and Hal Wood (.293/.332/.436 5 HR 40 RBI). The Wolves need a return to form from the likes of Charlie Artuso and Hank Giordano to go on the much needed extended winning streak. Insiders hope the recent callup of Sam C Allen from AAA to replace Tom Frederick, who has been put on the DL with a knee injury, will provide a spark to increase run scoring.

As readers have heard constantly, to the point of tiresome for many, the key to the Wolves was and remains pitching backed by solid defense. The starting rotation has held its own for the first two months but has to step up its performance to the next level. The mainstays George Garrison and Joe Hancock seem to trade places in the hot or cold department one gets hot while the other struggles in 1947. If both can pitch to their potential at the same time stringing together wins would become much easier for the team. Jerry York has shown he is ready to make the duo a trio, although he has been shaky in his latest outings. The much maligned relief corps has shown signs lately of being able to protect a lead with the promotion of George Waller to a critical role along with the demotion of Lou Jayson -who has looked lost on the mound all year.

In the field, as with the 'pen, there have been recent signs of improvement although there is still a long road ahead for the fielders. The number of errors, 58, is the most in the CA. For this team to be successful they have to at the top of the CA in defense -not in the middle or at the bottom. Pitching and defense go hand in hand, for the pitching to lead the way the pitchers need airtight defense behind them, not one that gives the opposition extra base runners or worse free runs.

Brett agrees with Call that the team is close, but the winning streak has to come soon to keep the time in touch with the CA leaders. If the reverse happens with the Wolves falling out of contention then it may be time to turn the page on this squad. The trading deadline at the end of July will be the team's signal to the fans as to what the front office plans for the future direction of the team.

6/20/1947 - Mahlon Strong collected hit number 2000 against the Philadelphia Keystones. At 38 Strong is putting together a solid season, hitting .324 with 10 homer and 35.

While Strong is temporarily pushing back against father time another Gothams legend is admitting that he has lost that race just as everyone must. Jim Lonardo, 43, and winner of 305 FABL games has announced that he will retire at the end of the '47 campaign. Lonardo, who hails from Washington, IA, will leave the big city behind and pick up rod and reel to relax after 20 big league seasons.

GREEN SOX CHALLENGE FOR GWL LEAD

11 wins in their last 14 games has the Portland Green Sox hot on the heels of the Dallas Centurions for top spot in the Great Western League with a big showdown between the two set for Texas over the weekend. The Green Sox and Centurions both finished well out of the race a year ago but each has been very good this season thanks to some additions from the eastern loop. Aart MacDonald is the most notable addition in the Pacific Northwest and while he is batting just .227 he has added some veteran leadership to a club that already had plenty of FABL experience from the likes of Johnny Guzzo and Johnnie Sundberg. Dallas made a lot of noise over the winter throwing some big contract dollars at several former FABL regulars but the big star in Texas in the early going might well be long-time Centurion George Hunter. The 31 year old pitcher has been with the Dallas club since 1937 and at age 31 is enjoying the best season of his career with a 7-2 record and a 2.47 era.

The Philadelphia Keystones are struggling but that has not slowed Bobby Barrell. Barrell has already hit 10 homers this month and leads FABL with 31, putting him on pace to hit 69 this season and smash Max Morris' record of 60. Barrell is also within 11 longballs of joining Morris and Al Wheeler as the only members of the 500 homerun club.
Gothams veteran hurler Jim Lonardo has confirmed this will be his final season. The 43-year-old is 4-6 so far this season and has 305 career wins.
Bad news for the Chicago Cougars from the trainer's office this week as the club was informed that centerfielder Carlos Montes will miss another 5 weeks due to an oblique strain initially suffered in late May. It has been a rough year for Montes, who has been limited to just 23 games this season due to a variety of ailments.
Red Ross had a strong debut as a Chicago Chief, getting revenge quickly on the team that let him go. The 35-year-old, claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Keystones, went 7 and a third innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in a 10-2 victory in Philadelphia over those same Keystones. Ross, who won the 1944 Allen Award, had been with the Keystones since 1940.
Brett Bing checks in from Toronto: "The Wolves continue towards .500 with a 4-2 week. Sam C Allen hit his first FABL HR off Chuck Cole in 4-0 victory over the Stars. Cookie Myers turned in another fine starting performance from a guy who is rumoured to be heading for the DFA list every spring. The minor league system, which is racking up an embarrassing number of losses, has a POTW in Luke Oster who immediately is promoted to Buffalo to see if can hit at AAA to help the Nickels."
Only 3 college players in the post-feeder era have posted a higher batting average than the .375 hit this season by Constitution State sophomore Happy Wright. Sal Pestilli did it twice including a post-feeder record .409 in 1934 while Mark Smith and Lou Millican were the other two.
West Goshen State junior outfielder Bill Mikelson set the post-feeder AIAA record for single season on-base percentage with a .469, narrowly edging out Bob Riggins' .468 at Grange College two years ago. Mikelson was a fourth round selection of the Cincinnati Cannons in January.
Freshman Johnny Young's 160 strikeouts for Carolina Poly is the second most ever recorded by an AIAA pitcher in the post-feeder era, topped only by the 164 John Stallings fanned a year ago.

ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY

The 15th annual All-Star Game is just over two weeks away. This year's contest will be held at Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia on July 7. It marks the second time the game will be contested in the City of Brotherly Love as the Keystones hosted the 1935 game at Broad Street Park. The Feds lead the series, with an 8-6 advantage but it was the Continental stars who prevailed by a 2-1 score a year ago in Boston. Here is a look at the year by year results with the winning pitchers and most valuable players of each contest.

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
1947  Sailors Memorial

Are the Eagles Crashing? -The hottest rumour around the NAHC is that the Brooklyn franchise is folding up operations before next season. While this a surprise to many insiders say that owner Edward Faberge gave GM DD Martin an ultimatum before the start of the season to make the playoffs or the team would fold. The team did improve to 15 wins, 38 points for 6th places which is almost as many wins, points as the past 4 combined but apparently that is not enough for the owner. The league has not issued any statement but the lack of a news release refuting the talk speaks volumes to the Mail & Empire.

Let's take a look at what the league would look like without the Eagles as 6 team loop, along with what the possible direct impact will be on the Dukes. The first question is how will the schedule be affected for the teams? The scheduling department's job just got easier, an even number of teams is much easier to deal with than odd for balancing off days, travel. The schedule will have to expand to at least 50 games, Brett cannot see the league cutting the schedule back to 40 games. Could the league expand the schedule to 60 games, starting in mid-October still beginning the playoffs in late March? Financially the total travel expenses for teams should remain about the same over the season.

The other big question is whether the Shamrocks will capture Eagle fans filling Bigsby Gardens with all of NYC hockey followers. Could be a big financial boost to the Shamrocks. The other big question is how will Eagle players be handled, all become free agents or some sort of draft? This will be the thorniest issue the league has to handle with the Eagles franchise.

How the Eagles players are dispersed could have quite an impact on the Dukes. This writer's opinion is that the player issue will be handled by a dispersal draft -which is probably the easiest way causing the least disruption to the salary structure. If the draft is handled in the reverse order of finish in 1946-47 the Dukes would own the first pick. Given the constant presence of new head coach Jack Barrell at the Dominion Gardens this month, I am led to believe Barrell and the GM are discussing options for a dispersal draft.

Obviously the two biggest names that would be available are veteran goaltender Tom Brockers along with young center Quinton Pollock. Brett would lean towards Pollock as it makes little sense to have Brockers and Gordie Broadway competing for the job between the pipes. Pollock, a 30 goal scorer, would immediately solves the Dukes lack of offense which Barrell mentioned, although he also mentioned the plan going forward was to build a strong defensive team. Word around the team is that many players will not have their contracts renewed by the Dukes including Rosie McInnis. The Dukes could also get creative by trading down in the dispersal draft in order to pick up a lower pick along with an already proven NAHC player. Does the Eagles demise change the plans for the Dukes future? Stay tuned for opinions on that topic if the Eagles do actually fold, an event that would certainly create an interesting summer for the NAHC.

NAHC MAY LOSE BROOKLYN FRANCHISE

Intense rumours coming out of the New York area have the NAHC's Brooklyn Eagles on the brink of folding. One source the Detroit Times spoke too has confirmed it is a done deal and Brooklyn owner Edward Faberge is pulling the plug, blaming the club's demise on years of losing money. The club averted extinction just 7 short years ago when Brooklyn Kings ballclub owner Daniel Prescott stepped up with a stadium deal to allow Faberge to avoid the extortion-like prices he was paying the New York Shamrocks to rent Bigsby Garden but years of awful hockey has doomed the Eagles, just when the franchise was starting to see the light.

The Brooklyn team suddenly has some very talented players and that spells good news for the Toronto Dukes who will likely have first pick at the corpse that is the Eagles should the league elect to go ahead with a dispersal draft. Toronto's defensive zone coverage was awful a year ago and goaltender Gordie Broadway had a subpar season but even with the great Tom Brockers expected to be available, it has hard to see the Dukes, or any other team for that matter, passing on the opportunity to select Quinton Pollack first in the dispersal draft. Pollack is a 24 year old the Eagles purchased from the coast league this past season and all he did as an NAHC rookie was tie for the league goal scroring lead by lighting the lamp 30 times.

With Pollack to Toronto a done deal if the dispersal draft happens and follows the reverse order of standings from a year ago, that means Montreal will likely grab the veteran netminder Brockers with the second pick. Brockers was outstanding with a subpar defense in Brooklyn behind him and might just be able to lift the Valiants into contention if 31-year-old continues at the top of his game. There is also a chance that the Valiants play the 'long game' and go with 20 year old defenseman Robert Sharpley who was the Eagles second round draft pick a year ago and tallied 12 points as a rookie this season.

The New York Shamrocks would pick third and if all goes according to plan they would likely end up with a choice between Sharpley or talented center Ian Doyle. The 23-year-old Doyle was signed by Brooklyn after three years with Syracuse of the HAA and was averaging nearly a point a game before an injury ended his season in early January.

That leaves the Motors with the fourth choice and they would likely be happy with whichever of the 4 players listed above fell to them although don't rule out left winger Steve Coates who, like Pollack, was brought in by the Eagles from the coast league. The 23-year-old had 32 points in 35 games this season but there is some question as to whether his point total was inflated because he played alongside Pollack. There is also a slight chance that if Sharpley is not available the Motors will look to 25-year-old rearguard Alex Viens, a solid two-way defenseman who actually started his career with the Motors and won the McLeod Trophy as the league's top rookie two years ago. That would leave the top two teams in Boston and Chicago to pick from who was left. The Eagles did not have a lot of depth but the Motors and the 3 teams selecting ahead of them would each likely also land a solid contributor with their second round selection.

SECONDARY BOXING EXTRAVAGANZA ADDED TO COUGARS PARK

Chicago fight fans are in for a treat as the anticipation for Hector Sawyer's highly awaited world title defense on August 2 reaches a fever pitch. To capitalize on the fervor surrounding the event, organizers have decided to stage a second major boxing spectacle at Cougars Park just two nights prior to Sawyer's clash with the formidable Irishman Pat Harber. This will mark Sawyer's seventh title defense since his ascension to the throne in 1940.

With an astounding 45,000 tickets already sold for the Sawyer fight, controversial fight promoter Chester Conley finds himself in a state of elation. Seizing the opportunity, Conley diligently campaigned to secure heavyweight contenders Cannon Cooper and Mark Fountain as the main event on a Thursday night card preceding the Saturday extravaganza. Alas, those negotiations fell through. Nonetheless, Conley's tenacity prevailed as he successfully enlisted the services of two prominent welterweights, Mark Westlake and Willis May, to engage in fistic combat at the resplendent ballpark just two days before the title bout.

Mark Westlake, a 29-year-old pugilist hailing from Biloxi, Mississippi, previously held the world welterweight championship before succumbing to the current titleholder, Harold Stephens, in a February clash. Westlake regained his stride last month with a decisive victory over Stuart White, and he aims to catapult himself back into the championship fray by triumphing over Willis May. A victory over May could potentially position Westlake for a rematch against either Stephens or Carl Taylor, who are scheduled to vie for the crown on August 16 in the boxing mecca of Boston. Armed with a commendable 21-3-1 record, Westlake enters the ring with hopes of reclaiming his place among the welterweight elite.

Standing opposite Westlake is the formidable 28-year-old Willis May, a pugilistic force hailing from Alabama, with aspirations of his own to capture welterweight glory. May boasts an impressive record of 17-2-2, and his recent unanimous decision victory over former world champion Dennis O'Keefe has instilled fear in the hearts of his opponents. Coincidentally, it was O'Keefe whom Westlake conquered to secure the coveted belt, adding an extra layer of intrigue to this encounter.

As the Chicago boxing scene brims with excitement, Cougars Park is set to witness a memorable night of pugilistic artistry. The clash between Westlake and May promises to captivate fight enthusiasts, who eagerly await the display of skill and valor from these two formidable contenders.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Jun 28 - Los Angeles: rising welterweight Mac Erickson (13-0) vs Nate MacGilvray (17-7-3)
Jun 29- Brooklyn, NY: rising middleweight Jim Ward (14-1) vs Marvin Harris (20-7-2)
Jun 30 - Baltimore, MD: middleweight contender Todd Gill (21-3-6) vs Owen Sheppard (14-4)
Jul 4 -Fitzpatrick Park, Pittsburgh: Frank Melanson (32-0-2) defends his world middleweight title against John Edmonds (22-2).
Jul 23- Cleveland: welterweight contender Ira Mtichell (17-1) vs Ronald Head (20-7-1)
Jul 26- Rome, Italy: European middleweight champ Edouard Desmarais (37-1) vs Angelo Penso (23-11).
Jul 31 - New York: heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (15-2-2) vs Dick Martin (14-5-1)
Jul 31- Cougars Park, Chicago: former welterweight champ Mark Westlake (21-3-1) vs Willis May (17-2-2)
Aug 2 - Cougars Park, Chicago: Hector Sawyer (55-3-1) defends his world heavyweight title against Irish Pat Harber (31-7-1)
Aug 16- Denny Arena, Boston: Harold Stephens (19-3-2) defends his world welterweight title against Carl Taylor (22-3-2)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/22/1947

President Truman vetoed the Republican-sponsored tax bill, declaring to the House that it "offers dubious, ill-apportioned and risky benefits at the expense of a sound tax policy and is, from the standpoint of Government finances, unsafe."
Republicans charge that Truman is "playing politics" in his decision to veto the tax cut bill. A vote to overrule the President's veto came up 2 votes short, killing the tax cut bill finally and completely.
Truman also elected to veto the Labor Bill but the House overwhelmingly voted to make it law over his veto. The Senate spent the weekend locked in old-time filibuster after more than 24 hours in continuous session
Later in the week Truman warned that universal training is a military necessity and at the same time served notice that the United States alone cannot carry the burden of restoring world order. Truman also warned a weaker US military would mean the rise of dictators around the world.
Democratic election prospects for 1948 were shadowed darly by Henry A. Wallace's call for a third party protest movement against President Truman's foreign policy. Wallace has demanded that Truman and Secretary of State Marshall "make a sincere effort to get a settlement with the Russians."
As the week came to a close the United States made an urgent plea for any country in the world with the resources -including the Soviet Union- to help this country put Europe back on its economic feet. The call also went out to Latin American countries and Canada to provide what they could in surplus supplies.
Austria, under pressure from Communists to revise her government along the lines of the Hungarian coup, was given an economic boost by the United States Army in a plan that in effect turns the American occupation troops into tourists. The program, which calls for the Army to purchase Austrian schillings from the Austrian government with dollars to cover occupation costs is expected to give Austria about $20 million a year in dollar currency for foreign exchange.

06-19-2023, 10:55 AM	#727
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,778	June 23, 1947 JUNE 23, 1947 CA RACE TIGHTENS BUT PIONEERS SHOW NO SIGNS OF SLOWING IN FED The race for top spot in the Continental Association could not be much more heated with 4 teams within two and a half games at the top of the standings. The Cincinnati Cannons have led much of the way but after starting the week by taking 3 of 4 games from the Chicago Cougars the Cannons were swept in a 3-game weekend series at Tice Memorial by the Brooklyn Kings. The New York Stars, who have been hot on the Cannons heels, failed to take advantage as they dropped 3 of 4 in Philadelphia over the weekend and presently sit a game back of Cincinnati. The Sailors, with 12 victories in their last 17 games and wins in 5 of their last six are just a half game back of the Stars and have a big week ahead with games against both the Cougars and Cannons. Chicago stumbled early in the week in Cincinnati but found northern Ohio much more hospitable over the weekend after the Cougars swept their three game set in Cleveland to move within 2.5 games of top spot. The Cougars were expected by many to run away with the Continental race and it is the Federal Association that was supposed to be the dogfight but it appears there is no slowing the St. Louis Pioneers. Detroit with 12 wins in its last 14 and the Chicago Chiefs -with a very impressive 17-7 record this month- have been charging hard but the Pioneers continue to play solid, consistent baseball. St Louis went 11-5 in April, followed that up with a 16-11 May and are presently 14-7 for the month of June. They did stumble slightly last week, as the Pioneers dropped 3 in a row for the second time this season, but they reversed their course quickly with a doubleheader sweep of defending Fed champion Washington over the weekend. The Eagles are 36-32, but still sit 7 games behind the surprising Pioneers. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Keystones and New York Gothams -the two clubs expected to battle with Washington for the Fed flag- both continue to languish in the second division and below the breakeven point. The Gothams have lost five of their last 8 while the Keystones have been in a funk most of the month with just 3 wins to show from their last 16 outings. FABL TOP PERFORMERS THIS WEEK GRANGE COLLEGE, CAROLINA POLY REACH CWCS FINALS The Grange College Mustangs will be looking for their third AIAA collegiate baseball championship in the past four years after advancing to the finals to be held today and tomorrow at Dyckman Stadium in New York. The Mustangs opponent will be the upset minded Carolina Poly Cardinals, who have won two national titles in basketball but have never won a baseball crown. Grange College was the number two seed in the tournament and opened with a 9-2 thumping of west coast outfit Redwood University behind a homerun and 3 rbi's from freshman All-American Don Berry. The Mustangs second game was also a laugher as they thumped underdog Yellowhammer State 8-1 before finally running into a challenge Saturday in the semi-finals against Maryland State. The Bengals, who won 3 baseball titles between 1939 and 1943, led 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning before Grange College took the lead with a 2-out, 2-run double off the bat of senior infielder Ted Carbone to pull out a 4-3 victory. Carbone and fellow seniors Ralphie Spires and John Fritz are bidding for the third AIAA title of their careers. The other side of the bracket was taking place at Kings County Stadium, home of the Brooklyn Kings, and the big news was that for the second year in a row Georgia Baptist knocked out tournament top seed Bluegrass State in the opening round. The Gators doubled Bluegrass State 4-2 and nipped Coastal State 5-4 in 12 innings before their title dreams came to an end in the semi-finals with a 7-2 loss to the Cardinals. The Cunningham twins, Dick and Archie, each had 3 hits for Carolina Poly in the win over the Gators while All-American Johnny Young was solid on the mound. Young was the winning pitcher in the opening game as well, helping the Cardinals double CCLA 6-3. Their quarterfinal win was a slugfest, outscoring Mississippi A&M 11-6 with sophomore catcher Bob Anastas having a big day for the winners, lacing 4-hits and driving in 3 runs. The opener of the best of three final will be played today with Hi Greenstein (7-6, 4.27) getting the start for Carolina Poly while Grange College will counter with it's ace Ralphie Spires (10-4, 3.12),who recently tied Tom Barrell for the AIAA career lead in regular season pitching victories. Tuesday will be a doubleheader with the second game only played if needed. Expect All-American Johnny Young (11-4, 2.45) to get one of the Tuesday starts for the Cardinals despite the fact he pitched on Wednesday and Saturday. COLLEGIATE WORLD SERIES RESULTS ROUND ONE Georgia Baptist 4 Bluegrass State 2 Coastal State 7 Charleston Tech 2 Mississippi A&M 4 Opelika State 2 Carolina Poly 6 CCLA 3 Grange College 9 Redwood 2 Yellowhammer State 6 Red River State 5 Maryland State 7 Central Kentucky 6 (10 inn) Eastern State 5 Lane State 3 QUARTERFINALS Georgia Baptist 5 Coastal State 4 (12 inn) Carolina Poly 11 Mississippi A&M 6 Grange College 8 Yellowhammer State 1 Maryland State 7 Eastern State 4 SEMIFINALS Grange College 4 Maryland State 3 Carolina Poly 7 Georgia Baptist 2 FINALS (Best of 3 Grange College vs Carolina Poly LEDBETTER THAN THE REST Pitcher Smashes High School Strikeout Marks The Toronto Wolves knew they were getting a pitcher with the potential to be one of the best arms in the league when they won the draft lottery and the opportunity to select first in January. Despite a number of very talented hitters in the draft the Wolves choice was obvious and they quickly selected Les Ledbetter, a lefthander out of Fowlerville, Michigan who had just won the Adwell Award as a high school junior after a record-setting season in which he fanned 245 hitters in just 113 innings. What would Ledbetter do as an encore for his senior season with the Fowlerville Gladiators? Simply set the career high school strikeout mark, surpassing 3-time Adwell Award winner Hiram Steinberg- now with the Cleveland Foresters- while posting a perfect 45-0 record as a high school pitcher. Ledbetter appears to be the clear choice to win his second consecutive Adwell Award -that announcement will come next week- and he finishes second behind only Steinberg in career high school wins by a pitcher and lowest career earned run average. Here are the five finalists for the Adwell Award, presented annually to the top High School player in the nation. RALPH CAPRIOTTI -OF Muncie(IN) HS: (.509/.591/1.073 14 HR, 44 RBI) Despite being a freshman and still just 14 years old, the outfielder led the nation with 14 homers and was second in rbi's with 44. He also hit .509 with 14 doubles giving him a slugging percentage of 1.073 -fifth best in the country. For fans of modern stats his 56 wRC was tops in the nation. LES LEDBETTER - P Fowlerbille (MI) HS: (11-0, 0.40 232 K) The senior was drafted first overall by the Toronto Wolves in January. He completed a high school career that saw him named a first team All-American three times and won the Adwell Award last year as a junior. For his career, Ledbetter went 45-0, a high school win total only surpassed by Hiram Steinberg. Ledbetter is also second only behind Steinberg in career ERA but he did pass Steinberg to set the high school career strikeout mark with 875. As for this season Ledbetter was a perfect 11-0 and his 232 strikeouts were the second highest single season total ever recorded in high school ball. The highest mark? Well that is 245 and was set by Ledbetter last year. His 0.40 era this season with the fifth lowest single season mark ever record in high school ball. FRED LEINHART - OF Pandora (OH) HS: (.593/.623/.864 1 HR, 40 RBI) Another talented freshman, Leinhart led the nation with a .593 batting average this season, which is the 6th highest single season mark ever recorded by a high school player. He was also third in on-base percentage this season. RAY PATTERSON - P South Bend (IN) HS: (11-0, 0.53, 201 K) The sophomore was second behind only Ledbetter in ERA and was third in the nation in FIP and 4th in strikeouts. JERRY SMITH - OF Jackson HS, Queens, NY: (.523/.589/1.205 12 HR, 35 RBI) The senior was selected 5th overall by the Chicago Cougars in January. He hit .523 with 12 homers and 35 rbi's this season to be named an All-American for the second time (he also made it as a sophomore). He led the nation with a 1.205 slugging percentage. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Update- As Brett looks at the Wolves in the middle of June at 29-32 and currently sitting in 5th place in the CA he cautions fans to not lose faith in the squad. The CA a very competitive league in 1947 with only 10 games separating first from worst after 60 games. Cincinnati is coming back to the pack while preseason favourites New York and Chicago have not run away and hid from the other six teams. The Wolves are one extended winning streak away from becoming a real factor in the CA. Manager Bob Call says he is beginning to see a team starting to turn the corner after almost two months. The team keeps getting to the .500 mark only then to go on a short losing streak to fall below the break even mark. The Wolves were never forecast to be an offensive juggernaut in which they would win games by simply outscoring the opposition. Toronto ranks at or near the bottom of the CA in most offensive categories even with good seasons at the plate from Fred McCormick (.328/.420/.562 10 HR 34 RBI) and Hal Wood (.293/.332/.436 5 HR 40 RBI). The Wolves need a return to form from the likes of Charlie Artuso and Hank Giordano to go on the much needed extended winning streak. Insiders hope the recent callup of Sam C Allen from AAA to replace Tom Frederick, who has been put on the DL with a knee injury, will provide a spark to increase run scoring. As readers have heard constantly, to the point of tiresome for many, the key to the Wolves was and remains pitching backed by solid defense. The starting rotation has held its own for the first two months but has to step up its performance to the next level. The mainstays George Garrison and Joe Hancock seem to trade places in the hot or cold department one gets hot while the other struggles in 1947. If both can pitch to their potential at the same time stringing together wins would become much easier for the team. Jerry York has shown he is ready to make the duo a trio, although he has been shaky in his latest outings. The much maligned relief corps has shown signs lately of being able to protect a lead with the promotion of George Waller to a critical role along with the demotion of Lou Jayson -who has looked lost on the mound all year. In the field, as with the 'pen, there have been recent signs of improvement although there is still a long road ahead for the fielders. The number of errors, 58, is the most in the CA. For this team to be successful they have to at the top of the CA in defense -not in the middle or at the bottom. Pitching and defense go hand in hand, for the pitching to lead the way the pitchers need airtight defense behind them, not one that gives the opposition extra base runners or worse free runs. Brett agrees with Call that the team is close, but the winning streak has to come soon to keep the time in touch with the CA leaders. If the reverse happens with the Wolves falling out of contention then it may be time to turn the page on this squad. The trading deadline at the end of July will be the team's signal to the fans as to what the front office plans for the future direction of the team. 6/20/1947 - Mahlon Strong collected hit number 2000 against the Philadelphia Keystones. At 38 Strong is putting together a solid season, hitting .324 with 10 homer and 35. While Strong is temporarily pushing back against father time another Gothams legend is admitting that he has lost that race just as everyone must. Jim Lonardo, 43, and winner of 305 FABL games has announced that he will retire at the end of the '47 campaign. Lonardo, who hails from Washington, IA, will leave the big city behind and pick up rod and reel to relax after 20 big league seasons. GREEN SOX CHALLENGE FOR GWL LEAD 11 wins in their last 14 games has the Portland Green Sox hot on the heels of the Dallas Centurions for top spot in the Great Western League with a big showdown between the two set for Texas over the weekend. The Green Sox and Centurions both finished well out of the race a year ago but each has been very good this season thanks to some additions from the eastern loop. Aart MacDonald is the most notable addition in the Pacific Northwest and while he is batting just .227 he has added some veteran leadership to a club that already had plenty of FABL experience from the likes of Johnny Guzzo and Johnnie Sundberg. Dallas made a lot of noise over the winter throwing some big contract dollars at several former FABL regulars but the big star in Texas in the early going might well be long-time Centurion George Hunter. The 31 year old pitcher has been with the Dallas club since 1937 and at age 31 is enjoying the best season of his career with a 7-2 record and a 2.47 era. The Philadelphia Keystones are struggling but that has not slowed Bobby Barrell. Barrell has already hit 10 homers this month and leads FABL with 31, putting him on pace to hit 69 this season and smash Max Morris' record of 60. Barrell is also within 11 longballs of joining Morris and Al Wheeler as the only members of the 500 homerun club. Gothams veteran hurler Jim Lonardo has confirmed this will be his final season. The 43-year-old is 4-6 so far this season and has 305 career wins. Bad news for the Chicago Cougars from the trainer's office this week as the club was informed that centerfielder Carlos Montes will miss another 5 weeks due to an oblique strain initially suffered in late May. It has been a rough year for Montes, who has been limited to just 23 games this season due to a variety of ailments. Red Ross had a strong debut as a Chicago Chief, getting revenge quickly on the team that let him go. The 35-year-old, claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Keystones, went 7 and a third innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits in a 10-2 victory in Philadelphia over those same Keystones. Ross, who won the 1944 Allen Award, had been with the Keystones since 1940. Brett Bing checks in from Toronto: "The Wolves continue towards .500 with a 4-2 week. Sam C Allen hit his first FABL HR off Chuck Cole in 4-0 victory over the Stars. Cookie Myers turned in another fine starting performance from a guy who is rumoured to be heading for the DFA list every spring. The minor league system, which is racking up an embarrassing number of losses, has a POTW in Luke Oster who immediately is promoted to Buffalo to see if can hit at AAA to help the Nickels." Only 3 college players in the post-feeder era have posted a higher batting average than the .375 hit this season by Constitution State sophomore Happy Wright. Sal Pestilli did it twice including a post-feeder record .409 in 1934 while Mark Smith and Lou Millican were the other two. West Goshen State junior outfielder Bill Mikelson set the post-feeder AIAA record for single season on-base percentage with a .469, narrowly edging out Bob Riggins' .468 at Grange College two years ago. Mikelson was a fourth round selection of the Cincinnati Cannons in January. Freshman Johnny Young's 160 strikeouts for Carolina Poly is the second most ever recorded by an AIAA pitcher in the post-feeder era, topped only by the 164 John Stallings fanned a year ago. ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY The 15th annual All-Star Game is just over two weeks away. This year's contest will be held at Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia on July 7. It marks the second time the game will be contested in the City of Brotherly Love as the Keystones hosted the 1935 game at Broad Street Park. The Feds lead the series, with an 8-6 advantage but it was the Continental stars who prevailed by a 2-1 score a year ago in Boston. Here is a look at the year by year results with the winning pitchers and most valuable players of each contest. 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 1947 Sailors Memorial Are the Eagles Crashing? -The hottest rumour around the NAHC is that the Brooklyn franchise is folding up operations before next season. While this a surprise to many insiders say that owner Edward Faberge gave GM DD Martin an ultimatum before the start of the season to make the playoffs or the team would fold. The team did improve to 15 wins, 38 points for 6th places which is almost as many wins, points as the past 4 combined but apparently that is not enough for the owner. The league has not issued any statement but the lack of a news release refuting the talk speaks volumes to the Mail & Empire. Let's take a look at what the league would look like without the Eagles as 6 team loop, along with what the possible direct impact will be on the Dukes. The first question is how will the schedule be affected for the teams? The scheduling department's job just got easier, an even number of teams is much easier to deal with than odd for balancing off days, travel. The schedule will have to expand to at least 50 games, Brett cannot see the league cutting the schedule back to 40 games. Could the league expand the schedule to 60 games, starting in mid-October still beginning the playoffs in late March? Financially the total travel expenses for teams should remain about the same over the season. The other big question is whether the Shamrocks will capture Eagle fans filling Bigsby Gardens with all of NYC hockey followers. Could be a big financial boost to the Shamrocks. The other big question is how will Eagle players be handled, all become free agents or some sort of draft? This will be the thorniest issue the league has to handle with the Eagles franchise. How the Eagles players are dispersed could have quite an impact on the Dukes. This writer's opinion is that the player issue will be handled by a dispersal draft -which is probably the easiest way causing the least disruption to the salary structure. If the draft is handled in the reverse order of finish in 1946-47 the Dukes would own the first pick. Given the constant presence of new head coach Jack Barrell at the Dominion Gardens this month, I am led to believe Barrell and the GM are discussing options for a dispersal draft. Obviously the two biggest names that would be available are veteran goaltender Tom Brockers along with young center Quinton Pollock. Brett would lean towards Pollock as it makes little sense to have Brockers and Gordie Broadway competing for the job between the pipes. Pollock, a 30 goal scorer, would immediately solves the Dukes lack of offense which Barrell mentioned, although he also mentioned the plan going forward was to build a strong defensive team. Word around the team is that many players will not have their contracts renewed by the Dukes including Rosie McInnis. The Dukes could also get creative by trading down in the dispersal draft in order to pick up a lower pick along with an already proven NAHC player. Does the Eagles demise change the plans for the Dukes future? Stay tuned for opinions on that topic if the Eagles do actually fold, an event that would certainly create an interesting summer for the NAHC. NAHC MAY LOSE BROOKLYN FRANCHISE Intense rumours coming out of the New York area have the NAHC's Brooklyn Eagles on the brink of folding. One source the Detroit Times spoke too has confirmed it is a done deal and Brooklyn owner Edward Faberge is pulling the plug, blaming the club's demise on years of losing money. The club averted extinction just 7 short years ago when Brooklyn Kings ballclub owner Daniel Prescott stepped up with a stadium deal to allow Faberge to avoid the extortion-like prices he was paying the New York Shamrocks to rent Bigsby Garden but years of awful hockey has doomed the Eagles, just when the franchise was starting to see the light. The Brooklyn team suddenly has some very talented players and that spells good news for the Toronto Dukes who will likely have first pick at the corpse that is the Eagles should the league elect to go ahead with a dispersal draft. Toronto's defensive zone coverage was awful a year ago and goaltender Gordie Broadway had a subpar season but even with the great Tom Brockers expected to be available, it has hard to see the Dukes, or any other team for that matter, passing on the opportunity to select Quinton Pollack first in the dispersal draft. Pollack is a 24 year old the Eagles purchased from the coast league this past season and all he did as an NAHC rookie was tie for the league goal scroring lead by lighting the lamp 30 times. With Pollack to Toronto a done deal if the dispersal draft happens and follows the reverse order of standings from a year ago, that means Montreal will likely grab the veteran netminder Brockers with the second pick. Brockers was outstanding with a subpar defense in Brooklyn behind him and might just be able to lift the Valiants into contention if 31-year-old continues at the top of his game. There is also a chance that the Valiants play the 'long game' and go with 20 year old defenseman Robert Sharpley who was the Eagles second round draft pick a year ago and tallied 12 points as a rookie this season. The New York Shamrocks would pick third and if all goes according to plan they would likely end up with a choice between Sharpley or talented center Ian Doyle. The 23-year-old Doyle was signed by Brooklyn after three years with Syracuse of the HAA and was averaging nearly a point a game before an injury ended his season in early January. That leaves the Motors with the fourth choice and they would likely be happy with whichever of the 4 players listed above fell to them although don't rule out left winger Steve Coates who, like Pollack, was brought in by the Eagles from the coast league. The 23-year-old had 32 points in 35 games this season but there is some question as to whether his point total was inflated because he played alongside Pollack. There is also a slight chance that if Sharpley is not available the Motors will look to 25-year-old rearguard Alex Viens, a solid two-way defenseman who actually started his career with the Motors and won the McLeod Trophy as the league's top rookie two years ago. That would leave the top two teams in Boston and Chicago to pick from who was left. The Eagles did not have a lot of depth but the Motors and the 3 teams selecting ahead of them would each likely also land a solid contributor with their second round selection. SECONDARY BOXING EXTRAVAGANZA ADDED TO COUGARS PARK Chicago fight fans are in for a treat as the anticipation for Hector Sawyer's highly awaited world title defense on August 2 reaches a fever pitch. To capitalize on the fervor surrounding the event, organizers have decided to stage a second major boxing spectacle at Cougars Park just two nights prior to Sawyer's clash with the formidable Irishman Pat Harber. This will mark Sawyer's seventh title defense since his ascension to the throne in 1940. With an astounding 45,000 tickets already sold for the Sawyer fight, controversial fight promoter Chester Conley finds himself in a state of elation. Seizing the opportunity, Conley diligently campaigned to secure heavyweight contenders Cannon Cooper and Mark Fountain as the main event on a Thursday night card preceding the Saturday extravaganza. Alas, those negotiations fell through. Nonetheless, Conley's tenacity prevailed as he successfully enlisted the services of two prominent welterweights, Mark Westlake and Willis May, to engage in fistic combat at the resplendent ballpark just two days before the title bout. Mark Westlake, a 29-year-old pugilist hailing from Biloxi, Mississippi, previously held the world welterweight championship before succumbing to the current titleholder, Harold Stephens, in a February clash. Westlake regained his stride last month with a decisive victory over Stuart White, and he aims to catapult himself back into the championship fray by triumphing over Willis May. A victory over May could potentially position Westlake for a rematch against either Stephens or Carl Taylor, who are scheduled to vie for the crown on August 16 in the boxing mecca of Boston. Armed with a commendable 21-3-1 record, Westlake enters the ring with hopes of reclaiming his place among the welterweight elite. Standing opposite Westlake is the formidable 28-year-old Willis May, a pugilistic force hailing from Alabama, with aspirations of his own to capture welterweight glory. May boasts an impressive record of 17-2-2, and his recent unanimous decision victory over former world champion Dennis O'Keefe has instilled fear in the hearts of his opponents. Coincidentally, it was O'Keefe whom Westlake conquered to secure the coveted belt, adding an extra layer of intrigue to this encounter. As the Chicago boxing scene brims with excitement, Cougars Park is set to witness a memorable night of pugilistic artistry. The clash between Westlake and May promises to captivate fight enthusiasts, who eagerly await the display of skill and valor from these two formidable contenders. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Jun 28 - Los Angeles: rising welterweight Mac Erickson (13-0) vs Nate MacGilvray (17-7-3) Jun 29- Brooklyn, NY: rising middleweight Jim Ward (14-1) vs Marvin Harris (20-7-2) Jun 30 - Baltimore, MD: middleweight contender Todd Gill (21-3-6) vs Owen Sheppard (14-4) Jul 4 -Fitzpatrick Park, Pittsburgh: Frank Melanson (32-0-2) defends his world middleweight title against John Edmonds (22-2). Jul 23- Cleveland: welterweight contender Ira Mtichell (17-1) vs Ronald Head (20-7-1) Jul 26- Rome, Italy: European middleweight champ Edouard Desmarais (37-1) vs Angelo Penso (23-11). Jul 31 - New York: heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (15-2-2) vs Dick Martin (14-5-1) Jul 31- Cougars Park, Chicago: former welterweight champ Mark Westlake (21-3-1) vs Willis May (17-2-2) Aug 2 - Cougars Park, Chicago: Hector Sawyer (55-3-1) defends his world heavyweight title against Irish Pat Harber (31-7-1) Aug 16- Denny Arena, Boston: Harold Stephens (19-3-2) defends his world welterweight title against Carl Taylor (22-3-2) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/22/1947 President Truman vetoed the Republican-sponsored tax bill, declaring to the House that it "offers dubious, ill-apportioned and risky benefits at the expense of a sound tax policy and is, from the standpoint of Government finances, unsafe." Republicans charge that Truman is "playing politics" in his decision to veto the tax cut bill. A vote to overrule the President's veto came up 2 votes short, killing the tax cut bill finally and completely. Truman also elected to veto the Labor Bill but the House overwhelmingly voted to make it law over his veto. The Senate spent the weekend locked in old-time filibuster after more than 24 hours in continuous session Later in the week Truman warned that universal training is a military necessity and at the same time served notice that the United States alone cannot carry the burden of restoring world order. Truman also warned a weaker US military would mean the rise of dictators around the world. Democratic election prospects for 1948 were shadowed darly by Henry A. Wallace's call for a third party protest movement against President Truman's foreign policy. Wallace has demanded that Truman and Secretary of State Marshall "make a sincere effort to get a settlement with the Russians." As the week came to a close the United States made an urgent plea for any country in the world with the resources -including the Soviet Union- to help this country put Europe back on its economic feet. The call also went out to Latin American countries and Canada to provide what they could in surplus supplies. Austria, under pressure from Communists to revise her government along the lines of the Hungarian coup, was given an economic boost by the United States Army in a plan that in effect turns the American occupation troops into tourists. The program, which calls for the Army to purchase Austrian schillings from the Austrian government with dollars to cover occupation costs is expected to give Austria about $20 million a year in dollar currency for foreign exchange. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 06-19-2023 at 11:46 AM.