NOVEMBER 3, 1947
QUEEN CITY REIGN OFFICIALLY OVER
Will Arman Acquisition Make Kings New CA Monarch?
The Brooklyn Kings strengthened their own pennant chances and dealt a knockout blow to one of their key rivals for the '48 flag with one swift action. While the rest of the league's General Managers were tripping over themselves to try to get to the front of the line for George Cleaves and Lefty Allen -both made available by the Pittsburgh Miners- the Brooklyn Kings quietly were on the phone with the Cincinnati and stole away any pennant hopes the Cannons might have.
Brooklyn strengthened their club to the point where perhaps at the moment they are the favourites for the Continental pennant with the addition of soon to be 27-year-old pitcher Bob Arman from the Cannons in exchange for four prospects and a third round draft pick. The long term haul of this deal -all prospects are ranked between #50 and #110 by OSA- may indeed favour the Cannons but in the short term it is about as one-sided a move as two pennant contenders could ever make.
Going to Cincinnati are four players with bright futures but none will have any bearing on the pennant races for at least a couple of years and quite possibly much longer. The prospects heading west are a trio of fresh faced 18-year-olds in lefthander Barny Robinson, second base-outfielder Ted Haggarty, second baseman Bill Cady along with 20-year-old second baseman Herb Keller.
Haggarty, a third round pick in the 1947 draft, is the highest ranked by OSA of the four prospects slotting in at #52 on the current OSA list. He is versatile and could be an above average everyday big leaguer according to OSA. A natural centerfielder he may not have the ability to play that position in the big leagues but might look at home as a corner outfielder or perhaps a second baseman.
Robinson was an 11th round pick just six months ago and made only 3 minor league starts before being shut down for the season with a rotator cuff strain. Cannons doctors were clearly not worried about that but OSA is not as high on the teen as their prospect piple ranking of #53 indicates. The scouting service feels that Robinson will need to iron out his control problems if he is ever going to be anything more than an emergency starter.
Cady is also a 1947 draft pick, selected in the second round 19th overall by the Philadelphia Sailors and has already been traded twice. The Kings had aquired him in July in the deal that sent Solly Skidmore to the pennant winners. OSA feels Cady, ranked #95 by the scouting service, projects to be an elite big league second baseman.
Keller, the veteran of the bunch at 20, was also traded for the second time as he was originally a Chiefs third rounder in the 1945 draft but went to Brooklyn at the 1946 trade deadline in the Tiny Hopkins deal. OSA slots him at 108 on its latest prospect rankings and says he has a promising future as a second baseman.
JIGGS McGEE's TAKE- On the surface the Cannons do add some nice prospects but this is a huge blow to their pennant chances in 1948 and clearly lifts the Kings very close to being the favourite. If I am a Brooklyn fan I absolutely love this move right now, but I am a little worried what the Chicago Cougars will do in response. Speaking of the Cougars, this feels exactly like a move they would make and why they have -with the exception of last year- consistently been a first division ballclub. By that I mean the Kings sent 4 very good prospects but avoided dealing 1 or 2 of their truly great prospects and weakened a direct rival in the short-term at the same time. Long term, if two or three of the prospects pan out perhaps we judge this deal quite differently, but at this point it seems in the short term a huge win for the Kings.
PITTSBURGH MINERS MAKE BOLD MOVE: CLEAVES AND ALLEN UP FOR GRABS
Seeing a return to challenging for the top of a very competitive Federal Association is now a few years off, the Pittsburgh Miners have announced that they will entertain offers on each of their two star players in George Cleaves and Lefty Allen. They won't stop there as the Miners, who finished dead last in Fed for the first time since 1926, are willing to listen to offers on any of their veterans although there is little that will command the value of the big two.
Cleaves clearly is the prize piece as despite being 34, he just led the Fed in on base percentage and his .313 batting average is only .004 below his career average. A 9-time All-Star and the 1939 Whitney Award winner, Cleaves has been a fixture behind the plate at Fitzpatrick Park since 1934, three years after the Miners made him the 4th overall selection in a deep 1931 draft that included Harry Barrell and Freddie Jones.
Miners Assistant General Manager Tom Beaver admits the team has considered hanging on to Cleaves, fully expecting him to still be a solid contributor when the club is back in contention but he realizes "the smart thing to do is to try to get some pieces for him." Beaver notes the Miners are very much looking for "quality over quantity. It would take a pretty high level prospect and some interesting additions to get it done."
Allen, who once seemed well on his way to becoming a 300-game winner before the war and some subpar Pittsburgh teams played a role in slowing that pace, is coming off a 12-13 season -his first losing campaign since a brief stint as a 21-year-old rookie in 1935. He sports a 195-127 career mark and at age 33 likely still has several decent years left. While Beaver admits Allen will likely draw less of a return than Cleaves but they are not willing to give him away.
"He throws strikes like it is nobody's business and if he gets on a competitive team again with a solid defense, he's going to win a lot of games for someone," explained Beaver.
Expect the New York Gothams and Chicago Cougars -two teams rumoured to be heavily pursuing free agent catcher Woody Stone- to be among the teams most interested Cleaves and the Gothams, with their gaggle of draft picks, may just be willing to part with a number of them in search of the missing pieces to get back to the top of the Federal Association. It is quite possible the Gothams may even consider throwing all three of their first round picks at the Miners in exchange for both Cleaves and Allen but the Chicago Cougars, desperate to finally get over the hump and win a Continental Association pennant will also likely be very interested in the catcher and perhaps they have high end young arms to be willing to part with a very good one or two for Cleaves. The New York Stars could also be a team that will look seriously at Cleaves while the Brooklyn Kings, always in search of more pitching, might see Lefty Allen as the piece that might get them over the top.
Among Federal Association clubs, nearly the entire loop may have interest in Allen. Boston certainly needs to replace the retired Dean Astle and Ed Wood but perhaps may not be willing to part with the prospects necessary. The Chicago Chiefs might see Allen as the type of acquisition they made a decade ago when they added Rabbit Day and won a pair of WCS as a result. The Philadelphia Keystones need to upgrade their pitching in order to fully take advantage of their powerful offense and they may decide Allen is worth the cost, as could Washington although the Eagles mound needs are not as dramatic as that of the Keystones.
These potential deals could ignite the hot stove season early, triggering a ripple effect among pennant contenders as they scramble to match any improvements made. Exciting times are ahead, as the Miners' decisions may reshape the landscape of the league and set the stage for intriguing trades and unexpected outcomes. Stay tuned for the unfolding drama in the baseball world.
So should the Kings make a splash and try to acquire either Cleaves or Allen. Some say adding Cleaves vaults the Kings to top of the CA consideration for the 1948 season. Cleaves is that type of difference maker but do the Kings abandon their patient plan and sacrifice draft picks and prospects to grab a player that has 3 years left and at the outside 5? The Kings have a solid young C in Reinhardt and the future is Dan Smith who could be up next year. Would you trade Smith in a package for Cleaves? While Smith will likely not approach Cleaves career numbers, he does look like a very good C who could be around for 15 years. The Kings could put a quality package on the table for Cleaves but obvious the Cougars and Gothems could go higher. My vote which doesn’t count is the Kings should not enter the Cleaves sweepstakes.
Now on the other hand Lefty Allen fits better into what the Kings need. A top of the rotation arm. I could see the Kings putting a package together for Allen as it likely won’t cost as much as Cleaves. But with the draft lottery several months away I don’t see GM Martin parting with that 1st round pick.
My guess is the Kings will look for a smaller deal and keep their picks and upper end prospects until they are closer with some of the future stars. But I do believe they have called the Miners and are talking.
DYNAMOS NEED TO STAY THE COURSE
News out of Pittsburgh that the Miners are shopping George Cleaves and Lefty Allen, a pair of 33-year-old's who look like potential Hall of Famers when their playing days are done, has certainly drawn the interest of many clubs around the league, including the Dynamos.
Cleaves is not so much the target for the Detroit nine, as they are happy with the work Rick York is doing behind the plate and know the price for Cleaves will be much higher than the Dynamos would be willing to spend. Allen, will also be expensive, but he is one the team is said to be looking at least somewhat seriously at. A bidding war could likely erupt but the Dynamos -having been burned before in targeting veteran arms before the young team surrounding them was truly ready to contend- likely should steer clear and not disrupt the development plan they have in place.
The Detroit ballclub is loaded with young talent and has even more of it on the way including three prize pitching prospects in 21-year-old Roy Schaub and teenagers Fred Washington and Jack Halbur. One of the three would almost certainly have to go should the Dynamos try and add Allen, and likely more pieces or draft picks would also be required. The team is well on course to contend, and stuck around in second place much of the past season, but they aren't quite there yet and the worry is Allen may end up sending the team backwards rather then propelling them to the next step.
The name Frank Crawford comes to mind as an example of why Detroit should stand pat this time around. Crawford had some great seasons in Detroit and nearly got the Dynamos to the top of the Federal Association, but the cost was a minor leaguer by the name of Hank Koblenz, who certainly would have looked very good as a veteran leader on the current Detroit club. Pete Casstevens was also dealt away around the same time for Charlie Wheeler. The time now is to stay patient and let this talented group develop, while continuing to add young pieces through the draft that could perhaps be trade chips a couple years from now when the Dynamos might well be in a position to finally win another pennant.
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR CANNONS
Saturday November 1, 1947
This will be the true test of the direction the current Cincinnati management has for the ballclub. With news that the Pittsburgh Miners are having a fire sale, the old Cannons regime would have been all in on Lefty Allen. George Cleaves, not so much because one of those old blockbusters landed Adam Mullins who is still a solid catcher, but Allen would look mighty good in the Cannons rotation alongside Deuce Barrell, Bob Arman, Charlie Griffith with rookie Tony Britten in the wings.
I would draw the line at moving Britten, who seems destined for big things at the new Tice Memorial Stadium but the Cannons have a number of other young pieces and for a change also own a full complement of draft picks they could dangle at the Miners. How about 20-year-old righthander Danny Cecil who was dominant in his first full season of Class C and perhaps one of Jim Stone or Bill Mikelson, a pair of highly touted prospects. Would it be enough to combine or two of those three OSA top 50 prospects with the Cannons first round pick to land Allen? That remains to be seen, as bidding may get crazy, but in the old days the Cannons seemed willing to go all in for a shot at another title.
The window for adding to those three Cannons pennants does not seem to have been nailed shut just yet and Lefty Allen might just be the final ingredient to help the club bust through it one more time. The question is, does the Cannons brass feel strongly enough about their veteran club to make a bold move to improve their chances at another pennant, or are they more focused on the long-term and continuing to ensure they remain in the first division?
CANNONS LOOK TO FUTURE: GIVE UP ON '48 FLAG
Monday November 3, 1947
Perhaps many Cannons fans feel betrayed by the move the ballclub made last night? Just 24 hours before the Cannons sent Bob Arman to Brooklyn it was speculated in this column that a strong push to add Lefty Allen might just be the missing piece the Cincinnati Cannons needed to win their fourth pennant in six years. Now, with Arman is Brooklyn bound, the Cannons seem unlikely to be able to mount a serious challenge in '48 as it appears the team has finally fully turned its gaze to the future.
But was that the right move? Could they have contended with Arman next summer? They did wave good-bye to Al Wheeler but it is not hard to absorb that one -the Gifford, Galloway, Brown trio is more than capable. They also lost Red Hampton, an innings eater who went 12-13 last year, due to retirement. While Lefty Allen, as speculated here yesterday, would have filled that vacancy in the rotation nicely the Cannons also had internal options such as Mickey Mills or highly touted 21-year-old Tony Britten. But now, suddenly, they have two holes in the rotation to fill.
I am not disparaging the quality of the prospects the Cannons received in return for the 26-year-old righthander who returned from the war to give the Cannons two terrific seasons. They may well turn out just fine. That we can not say one way or another at this point. What we can unequivocally state is the Cincinnati Cannons are a much worst ballclub for the 1948 season today than they were yesterday. In one move perhaps they strengthened their future but they have most certainly heavily damaged if not destroyed any pennant hopes for the upcoming season and have made one of their key rivals for the flag that much better.
COAST LEAGUE TRYING TO ROCK BASEBALL ESTAMLISHMENT WITH STONE
The Great Western League is making a huge push to sign it's first FABL all-star in his prime. That would be catcher Woody Stone, a 31-year-old five time all-star with the Philadelphia Sailors who was cut loose by the club after their pennant winning season. Stone wanted a reported $34,000 to resign with the Sailors and the cost conscious club -with Solly Skidmore also in the fold to handle the catching duties- let Stone walk.
That made him a very rare commodity in big league baseball. An established all-star player who was free to negotiate with any team he desired. The Chicago Cougars and New York Gothams -both feeling a high end catcher might be the piece to get them to the World Championship Series- each have reportedly made offers to Stone but so did the Dallas Centurions. The coast league runners-up apparently made a large offer that some sources indicate is in the range of Bobby Barrell money- perhaps as high as $70,000.
Landing Stone would be a huge coup for the Centurions and perhaps be the piece that lifts them past the Oakland Grays -who nosed out Dallas in a 7-game Bigsby Cup final last month- and the rest of the GWL. Even though it might lift the Centurions above their competition, one has to think that other GWL magnates, especilly Los Angeles owner and league boss Thomas Bigsby, have to be rooting for Dallas to be successful in its bid.
Stone joining the coast league would be another step towards the GWL being taken seriously by the eastern owners. It will be interesting to see just how deep the pockets of the Gothams or Cougars might be, and will the rest of the GWL perhaps even help cover the costs to bring Stone to the coast loop.
Boston and Montreal have jumped out to an early lead after two weeks of NAHC action. The Bees, owners of each of the last two Challenge Cups, are to be expected especially with the return of Juneau Award winning goaltender Tom Brockers to the Bees after spending the past three seasons in Brooklyn. Montreal, on the other hand, is a bit of a surprise but the Valiants are starting to hear the term "Flying Frenchman" bandied about in the Montreal Arena as their high scoring offense has new coach Norb Hickey looking like a genius to fans in the hockey hotbed.
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NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Boston 7 5 2 0 10 21 14
Montreal 7 5 2 0 10 25 21
New York 6 4 2 0 8 21 12
Toronto 7 3 4 0 6 16 19
Chicago 6 2 4 0 4 14 17
Detroit 7 1 6 0 2 11 25
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
Albers, NY 6 1 9 10
Lanceleve, Mon 7 6 3 9
Mahoney, Chi 6 2 6 8
Doyle, Mon 7 2 6 8
Cabbell, NY 6 6 1 7
Walker, Bos 7 5 2 7
Lynch, Mon 6 3 4 7
Chandler, Bos 7 1 6 7
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Brockers, Bos 7 5 2 0 0 2.00
Tremblay, NY 5 3 2 0 0 2.41
Hanson, Chi 6 2 4 0 0 2.51
Broadway, Tor 6 2 4 0 0 2.85
Touhey, Mon 7 5 2 0 0 3.01
Chasse, Det 5 1 4 0 0 3.63
NAHC RESULTS
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29
Detroit 1 at 3 Chicago : After a 1-3 start on the road the Packers arrive at Lakeside Auditorium for the first time this season and skate away with a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Motors. Tommy Burns, who has had a slow start, comes up big in this one with a goal and 2 assists while linemate Marty Mahoney picks up a pair of helpers. The Packers outshot slumping Detroit 38-32.
Boston 2 at 3 New York: Rookie Simon Savard's second goal of the season proved the difference as the Shamrocks nipped Boston 3-2 at Bigsby Garden. Orval Cabbell and Tommy Brescia also scored for the Greenshirts while Mickey Berard and Tommy Hart replied in a losing effort for Boston.
Montreal 3 at 5 Toronto: The two Canadian rivals meet for the first time this season with the Dukes coming out on top by a 5-3 score. It was just the second loss of the season thru 6 games for the Valiants, who fell despite outshooting Jack Barrell's club 34-33. Five different Dukes lit the lamp while Max Ducharme was a 2-goal scorer for the visitors.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1
Detroit 2 at 5 New York: Detroit's awful start continued as the Shamrocks outstot the Motors 44-16 and thoroughly dominated a 5-2 victory. Jocko Gregg and Gil Corbeil each scored twice for the winners with Laurel Albers chipping in 3 assists. Henri Chasse had a decent game in the Detroit net but the rest of the team took the night off.
Boston 2 at 1 Toronto: Tommy Hart's unassisted goal early in the third period proved the difference to lift the visitng Boston Bees to a 2-1 win over the Dukes. Garrett Kauffeldt of Boston and Herb Burdette traded goals in the opening stanza of a game in which Boston's 40 shots on Gordie Broadway nearly doubled Toronto's efforts.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2
Montreal 4 at 3 Chicago: The Packers early season struggles continue with a 4-3 loss at home to Montreal. The Valiants dominated the play and outshot the Packers 36-24 including 30-15 over the final two periods. Doug Lynch got the game winner -his third of the young season- 4 minutes into the third period.
Boston 3 at 1 Detroit: Another loss for the Motors, who fall to 1-6-0 on the season after Boston rode second period goals from Robert Walker, Waldemar Rupp and Tommy Hart to a 3-1 victory. Arnold Singleton scored late in the third period to ruin Tom Brockers shutout bid. Boston forward Jacob Gron was suspended for four games after a vicious boarding major in the first period.
Toronto 0 at 6 New York: The last of a busy night of Sunday hockey saw the New York Shamrocks continue their solid start to the season with a 6-0 drubbing of the Toronto Dukes. It was a special moment for 21 year old rookie goaltender Alex Sorrell as he stopped all 22 shots he faced for a shutout in his NAHC debut. Another Shamrocks rookie, 22-year-old winger Sam Furr paced the offense with 3 points including his first career NAHC goal.
UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 5
Boston at Chicago
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6
New York at Detroit
Toronto at Montrel
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8
Detroit at Montreal
New York at Toronto
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9
New York at Chicago
Toronto at Detroit
AROUND THE LEAGUE
From Sam Fincher, New York World Telegram --The Shamrocks are off to a solid 4-2 start. Laurie Albers is dishing out assists to everyone, Orval Cabbell is his usual scoring self and a few rookies are making their marks. Sam Furr and Simon Savard are doing it on the scoresheet while Jim Macek is literally leaving marks to the tune of 19 penalty minutes. Injuries have left the defensive core unsettled, but goalies Etienne Tremblay and Alex Sorrell have covered for any lapses.
From Marc T. McNeil, Montreal Star -- Montreal is keeping pace with Boston, but a big red flag is the number of goals given up. Offense has been clicking, but the defense is an afterthought. Unless the plan is simple: just outscore everyone.
The Toronto Dukes beat Montreal at home to finish October but November does not start out well on the ice. On Wednesday night the fans were treated to a relatively high scoring affair against the Valiants. Trevor Parker opened the scoring in the first on a pretty passing play from Walz, Zimmerman for his first of the season. The Dukes, as has been to common early this season, fell into a funk early in the second allowing the Flying Frenchmen to take a 2-1 lead before the period was 5 minutes old, which led to outburst on the bench by Jack Barrell. The coach was seen making hand gestures to many players in what was thought to be a description of their mistakes in coverage. What ever was said seemed to have produced the desired results as the team stormed back with 4 straight goals by Galbraith, Zimmerman, Burdette, Carson to secure a 5-3 victory. Post game Barrell said "We cannot paly a fire wagon brand of hockey especially against a team like Montreal, Broadway again came up big after we took a couple bad penalties allowing two power play goals."
Boston was in town Saturday night in front of a crowd of 13.361. Bees controlled the game from the opening puck drop winning 2-1. The final score was flattering to the Dukes as Broadway faced 40 shots from the opposition. He made numerous acrobatic saves to keep the score close. If the team though they were outplayed Saturday they were in for worse on Sunday at Bigsby Gardens. Toronto again subjected Broadway to a shooting gallery with the Shamrocks scoring two goals in each period for an easy 6-0 whitewashing, with Alex Sorrell making 22 saves to record the shutout. Barrell did not meet with the media post game but rumour is that the Dukes are in for a few tough practices before Thursday's game in Montreal.
WASPS STING WILDCATS
In the highest scoring outburst by one team since the 1934 Pittsburgh Paladins piled up 61 points on Brooklyn, the Washington Waps thumped the visiting Chicago Wildcats 59-7 in weekend American Football Association action. Washington scored in every quarter, including 21 points in the opening six minutes of the game with quarterback Bob Krohn -who has struggled at times this season- looking back in peak form with a 225-yard, 4 touchdown passing day. Gus Brown, the normally dependable Wildcats signal caller, actually threw for more yards than Krohn but was intercepted 6 times. Add in 7 Chicago lost fumbles and you have a recipe for disaster. The Wasps improve to 4-2 on the season and remain a game behind Philadelphia in the East while the Wildcats, also 4-2, drop a game back of front-runners Cleveland and Detroit in the West Division as the season hits the midway point.
Greg LePage ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns to pace Philadelphia past the Boston Americans 28-3. Cleveland scored 20 points in the opening quarter on its way to a 34-0 drubbing of visiting St Louis. Tom Bowens had his best game since joining the Detroit Maroons, catching 10 passes for 148 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead Detroit to a come from behind 28-21 win over Pittsburgh. Bowens final touchdown catch, a short 1-yarder from Mike Beard, came with just 51 seconds on the clock on a 4th and goal to secure the victory. The final game of the weekend saw Tony Greenwood catch a pair of touchdown passes while adding an interception to help the Cincinnati Tigers dump the struggling New York Stars 20-7.
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AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
East Division W L T PCT
Philadelphia 5 1 0 .833
Washington 4 2 0 .667
Pittsburgh 2 5 0 .286
Boston 1 5 0 .167
NY Stars 1 5 0 .167
West Division W L T PCT
Detroit 5 1 0 .833
Cleveland 5 1 0 .833
Chicago 4 2 0 .667
Cincinnati 3 4 0 .429
St Louis 1 5 0 .267
WEEKEND RESULTS
Cleveland 34 St Louis 0
Philadelphia 28 Boston 3
Detroit 28 Pittsburgh 21
Washington 59 Chicago 7
Cincinnati 20 New York 7
UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9
Cleveland at Cincinnati
Washington at St Louis
Detroit at Chicago
Philadelphia at New York
Boston at Pittsburgh
Code:
AFA LEADERS
SCORING PTS
LePage, Phi 48
Chick, Cin 41
Krohn, Was 36
Gipson, Chi 36
Watts, Cle 32
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
D Thomas, Bos 111-200 1655 14 6
Marston, Pit 114-207 1639 10 25
Brown, Chi 99-174 1313 12 19
Krohn, Was 66-147 875 9 13
Colvin, Cle 56-137 814 7 12
RUSHING YDS TD
LePage, Phi 686 8
Mellette, StL 366 2
Ponder, Was 320 2
Orlosky, Det 292 2
Belles, Det 275 0
RECEIVING CAT YDS TD
Gipson, Chi 29 371 6
Ericksen, Bos 28 396 5
Tisdale, Pit 26 465 3
Douglass, Was 22 324 3
Bowens, Det 22 326 5
INERCEPTIONS #
Neilsen, Cle 7
Chick, Cin 6
Coleman, Det 5
Thompson, Cin 5
Watson, Was 5
GRID GOTHAMS WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT
New York Thumps New Orleans 42-0
The New York Football Gothams are stating a fine case as to why they and not the defending champion Kansas City Cowboys should be considered the class of the Continental Football Conference. The Gothams ran their winning streak to 5 games -a stretch that included a win over the Cowboys in Kansas City- with a dominating 42-0 whitewashing of the New Orleans Crescents. Ken Hale, who is stating his case very nicely as to why he should be in the running for the league Most Valuable Player award this season, had another huge game and once more did just about everything.
Hale ran for 165 yards to crash through the 1,000 yard mark on the season and moved into the point scoring lead with three touchdowns while passing for a fourth. Hale had a 10 yard run in the second quarter and a 3 yard run in the fourth sandwiched around a 37 yard interception return for a score. Oh and he found time to complete 7 of 9 pass attempts for 103 yards including an 8-yard scoring toss to Jim Rose. Cowboys star Pat Chappell may still be the best passer in the league but the top player this season certainly appears to be Hale.
Chappell and the Cowboys also seem back on track after their 2-game losing streak as they won for the third straight week and now match the Gothams at 7-2 for the best record in the loop. It was simply another workmanlike game from Chappell as the Cowboys quarterback completed 9-of-17 passes for 120 yards as Kansas City blanked Buffalo 21-0. The former St. Magnus three-sport star figured in on all of the scoring with a pair of touchdown passes and he scored for the first time this season with a 1 yard run.
In Los Angeles it was a passing duel as Sam Metcalf of the visiting San Francisco Wings and John Fuchs of the host Lobos each threw for over 200 yards but the difference in a 28-21 Wings win was Fuchs throwing 6 interceptions as opposed to two for Metclaf. Each team returned an interception for a score with the game-winning touchdown set up by a 4th quarter turnover by the Lobos on their own 21 yard line. The Friday night game saw the Brooklyn Kings score a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to nip the Chicago Comets 20-14.
Code:
CONTINTENTAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EAST W L T PCT[/b]
NY Gothams 7 2 0 .778
Buffalo 5 5 0 .500
Brooklyn 3 6 0 .333
New Orleans 1 8 0 .111
WEST W L T PCT
Kansas City 7 2 0 .778
Los Angeles 5 4 0 .556
San Francisco 5 4 0 .556
Chicago 4 6 0 .400
WEEKEND RESULTS
Chicago at Brooklyn
New Orleans at New York
San Francisco at Los Angeles
Kansas City at Buffalo
UPCOMING GAMES
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7
New Orleans at Chicago
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9
Brooklyn at Kansas City
San Francisco at New York
Los Angeles at Buffalo
Code:
CFC LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Hale, NYG 78
Karaszewski, Buf 72
Penna, LA 72
Wade, NY 71
Watson, KC 56
Higman, Buf 56
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
Chappell, KC 110-212 1900 19 12
Fuchs, LA 105-208 1858 7 18
Monday, Buf 119-246 1631 15 16
Boettcher, NO 127-262 1518 7 18
Walker, Chi 95-186 1353 8 12
RUSHING YDS TD
Hale, NYG 1102 11
Garner, SF 667 3
Rose, NYG 648 6
Stone, SF 602 2
Matthews, KC 557 3
Karaszewski, Buf 549 10
RECEIVING CAT YDS TD
Pruitt, NO 44 503 3
Mula, SF 41 459 7
Breig,Chi 39 619 4
Orr, KC 36 678 8
Tammaro, KC 30 541 2
INERCEPTIONS #
Dutton, Chi 7
Yardley, Bkn 5
J Smith, Chi 5
Layton, Buf 4
Hale, NY 4
Carroll, SF 4
Backus, KC 4
MacRae, KC 4
ST BLANE EDGES DCC OUT FOR RANKINGS LEAD
There really is very little to separate St Blane and Detroit City College at the top of the AIAA collegiate football poll. A week after DCC nosed ahead of St. Blane, the Saints returned the favour narrowly outpointing the Knights for the number one spot in this week's very subjective collegiate grid chart. They will not play each other this season so we will likely never know which is the better of the two very talented teams, each of which kept their record perfect with victories on Saturday.
Playing on a neutral site at Cleveland's Foreseter Field, Annapolis Maritime's struggling eleven, already thrice-beaten by some of the better teams, met up with the powerhouse St. Blane Fighting Saints. The Saints used a murderous aerial attack and rolled to a 31-14 victory. The Navigators defensive line was its one bright spot, acting almost impenetrable, but when Saints quarterback Ricky McCallister cocked his passing arm pandemonium reigned among the blue and gold defenders as Saints receivers grabbed 18 of 27 passes thrown for a net gain on forwards of 263 yards. The Saints also capitalized on the Navigators faulty ball-handling, three times recovering fumbles and winding up the day by converting an intercepted pass into a score.
In Springfield, IL., Detroit City College moved ever so much closer to securing it's second straight trip to Santa Ana for the East-West Classic as the Knights held off a fiesty Lincoln College club by a 24-16 score. The Knights fiery blend of rushing and passing cut through the Presidents defense leaving DCC as the only Great Lakes Alliance team undefeated in section play. Paul Erdinger, from nearby Peoria, Il., who passed up the Lincoln campus to follow his brother to Detroit last season, was the driving force in the Knights two touchdowns in the first half while senior halfback Bill Howlin streaked for a 79 yard touchdown run in the third period, giving the Michiganders a 24-9 lead at the time. Lincoln made a spirited bid to get back in the game but a pair of late turnovers ended their hopes for an upset.
Rome State keeps on winning as the Centurions improved to 6-0 on the year and 32-1-1 since 1944 with a 27-0 victory over Lexington State in what was the final home game of the season on the Rome, Ga. campus. The score could have been much more of a rout, but Rome State emptied its bench in tossing a total of 48 players -more than four full teams- into a mission of mercy designed not to run up the score after the Centurions first stringers scored 4 touchdowns in 18 minutes.
43,000 fans in Philadelphia watched Liberty College continue its charge to the top as the Bells blanked Empire State 20-0 but certainly took their time in easing the tension. The score was just 6-0 until the Bells scored a pair of late majors to remove any doubt regarding the outcome.
The ballyhod pitching duel between Pierpont and Sadler for Academia Alliance supremacy proved a dud as the visiting Purple built a quick 17-0 lead and cruised along the ground to crush the Bluecoats 20-3, without paying too much attention to their air arm. In Athens, Ga., Georgia Baptist marched to a touchdown on the Gators first drive and then held Carolina Poly in check, preserving their undefeated record with a 14-3 victory over the Cardinals.
Heading west there are still two undefeated California teams but only one of them is in Los Angeles. That would be the CCLA Coyotes who ran their record to 6-0 with a 27-13 win at home over Northern Cal. Coastal Caifornia is no longer perfect after the Dolphins were surprised 18-7 by Rainier College in Washington. The other perfect California club is San Francisco Tech as coach Charlie Doolan's squad improved to 6-0 with a 34-13 victory over Sunnyvale.
Dusty Sinclair and the Travis College Bucks continue to roll in the southwest. Sinclair was a glittering standout on both sides of the ball to lead the Bucks to a 28-14 doubling of Texas Gulf Coast in San Antonio. It was a much-anticipated showdown between All-American candidates and the two best backs in the southwest in Sinclair and the Hurricanes sensational sophomore Wally Dotson.
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AIAA COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL TOP TEN
RK SCHOOL LW WEEKEND RESULT
1 St Blane (5-0) 2 W 31-14 over Annapolis Maritime (1-4-1)
2 Detroit City College (6-0) 1 W 26-16 over Lincoln (3-2-1)
3 Rome State (6-0) 4 W 27-0 over Lexington State (3-3-1)
4 CCLA (6-0) 5 W 27-13 over Northern Cal (5-2)
5 Travis College (7-0) 6 W 28-14 over Texas Gulf Coast (3-2-1)
6 Liberty College (6-0) 7 W 20-0 over Empire State (2-3)
7 Coastal California (5-1) 3 L 18-7 to Rainier College (4-2)
8 Pierpont (5-0) 9 W 20-3 over Sadler (4-1)
9 Georgia Baptist (5-0-1) 8 W 14-3 over Carolina Poly (2-2-1)
10 Lawrence State (6-0) 10 W 48-7 over Eastern Kansas (1-6)
WEEKEND SCOREBOARD
MAJOR GAMES
St. Blane 31 Annapolis Maritime 14
Detroit City College 24 Lincoln 16
Rome State 27 Lexington State 0
CC Los Angeles 27 Northern California 13
Rainier College 18 Coastal California 7
Liberty College 20 Empire State 0
Pierpont 24 Sadler 3
Whitney College 23 Western Iowa 14
Henry Hudson 35 Brunswick 14
Noble Jones College 30 Coastal State 17
Georgia Baptist 14 Carolina Poly 3
Alabama Baptist 20 Central Kentucky 13
Travis College 28 Texas Gulf Coast 14
Arkansas A&T 17 Darnell State 7
Amarillo Methodist 21 Lubbock State 7
Mississippi A&M 31 Bayou State 9
Baton Rouge State 20 Northern Mississippi 14
Bluegrass State 24 Opelika State 3
Commonwealth Catholic 34 St. Matthew's College 18
Ellery 17 St. Patrick's 14
Indiana A&M 16 Central Ohio 13
Minnesota Tech 30 Pittsburgh State 0
St. Magnus 34 Wisconsin State 20
Lawrence State 48 Eastern Kansas 7
Maryland State 24 Huntington State 21
North Carolina Tech 37 Cumberland 7
Portland Tech 41 Idaho A&M 0
Redwood 21 Lane State 17
George Fox 13 Grafton 13
OTHER RESULTS
Miami State 3 Columbia Military Academy 3
Chesapeake State 17 Potomac College 10
Spokane State 27 Stratton 0
Tempe College 12 El Paso Methodist 10
Mile High State 24 Utah A&M 10
Northern Minnesota 27 Golden Gate University 10
Western Florida 34 Bulein 3
Abilene Baptist 37 Ferguson 0
Eastern Virginia 7 St. Pancras 3
St. Ignatius 27 Wisconsin Catholic 20
Daniel Boone College 37 College of Omaha 0
Texas Panhandle 27 South Valley State 6
Charleston Tech 20 Western Tennessee 0
Iowa Northern 20 Lambert College 16
Oklahoma City State 34 Iowa A&M 6
Eastern Oklahoma 10 Conwell College 3
Red River State 45 College of Waco 0
Garden State 24 Dickson 10
San Francisco Tech 34 Sunnyvale 13
Payne State 18 Topeka State 3
Boulder State 24 Provo Tech 21
Western Montana 22 Cache Valley 7
Eastern State 6 Petersburg 0
Alexandria 20 Central Carolina 13
Canyon A&M 35 Flagstaff State 10
Richmond State 20 Cowpens State 6
Wyoming A&I 38 Pueblo State 7
Kit Carson University 29 Laclede 20
PRO CAGE CAMPAIGN SET TO BEGIN
The 11th season of the American Basketball Conference and the 2nd season of the Federal Basketball League are set to tip off tomorrow evening with action on six fronts. The Brooklyn Red Caps, who have dominated the ABC for most of existence, are coming off a perfect 6-0 preseason record that saw them completely dominate their easten loop opponents on most nights. In the Federal League defending champion Chicago Panthers led the way with a 5-1 mark in tune-up games with newcomer Joe Hampton leading the way.
The 24-year-old Hampton was rookie of the year in the ABC with Hartford last season but decided to bolt to the Federal League when an opportunity to play in his hometown arrived. Hampton was born in Chicago and starred in baseball and basketball in high school but decided to follow in his father's footsteps and try his hand at pro baseball after being selected in the fifth round of the 1941 draft by the St Louis Pioneers. His dad Jim was a two-time all-star outfielder with the Chicago Chiefs before retiring in the year Joe was drafted. Baseball turned out not to be Joe's calling and after two seasons in the Pioneers minor league system he quit the sport and enrolled at Western Iowa, which had heavily recruited him a couple of years earlier. Hampton was Great Lakes Alliance player of the year and a third team All-American in basketball as a senior after also being a high school All-American in baseball at St. Francis de Sales High in Chicago. Now he returns to his hometown with the goal of helping the Panthers win a second straight FBL title.
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FBL PRESEASON STANDINGS
EASTERN W L PCT
-----------------------------------
Baltimore 4 2 .500
Buffalo 3 3 .500
Philadelphia 3 3 .500
Toronto 2 4 .333
WESTERN W L PCT
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Chicago 5 1 .833
Cincinnati 3 3 .500
Cleveland 2 4 .333
Detroti 2 4 .333
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ABC PRESEASON STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT
------------------------------------
Brooklyn 6 0 1.000
New York 4 2 .667
Boston 1 5 .167
Hartford 1 5 .167
WEST W L PCT
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Pittsburgh 5 1 .833
Washington 4 2 .667
Rochester 2 4 .333
Richmond 1 5 .167
CAROLINA POLY WINS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Another collegiate cage season tipped off last week with a pair of preseason tournaments. Action got under way in New York and Chicago with Bigsby Garden playing host to its annual season opening even called The Tournament of Champions. Carolina Poly, one of the many contenders for a National Title this year, came out on top as the Cardinals had an easy time downing Sadler 55-43 in the opening game before nipping Texas Gulf Coast 34-31 in the title contest.
The other big event took place at Lakeside Auditorium in Chicago where Western Iowa thumped St Blane 55-35 in yesterday's finale of the Preseason AIAA showcase. It was a disappointing result for the Fighting Saints, who looked very good Saturday in a 47-38 win over North Carolina Tech, but could get nothing going against the Canaries. Western Iowa barely survived a Saturday encounter with Dickson College in their opener, needing a last second basket from Willy Ludwick to pull out a 46-45 win over the Maroons.
MITCHELL KOs JACKSON IN 4TH
Hard-hitting Ira Mitchell, perhaps the most powerful puncher in the welterweight division, claimed his latest victim Thursday evening when he sent Kevin Jackson to the canvas in the fourth round of their scheduled 10-round feature in New Britain, Ct. Mitchell, a 28-year-old former marine from Chicago, is now 19-1 with 17 of those victories failing to go the distance. The 29-year-old Jackson is no cupcake - the D.C. fighter owns a 20-9 record that included a 1942 win over Steve Landy -the only man to defeat Mitchell, but Jackson was no match for the title contender on this night.
Mitchell got after Jackson early and had him back-pedalling as if his life depended on it almost right from the opening bell. Jackson would take a lot of damage over the first three rounds but somehow managed to remain perpendicular although that changed quickly in the fourth. Sensing the Jackson was ready to be cut down, Mitchell abandoned any sort of defensive posture and charge forward with a barrage of left and rights to the jaw that floored Jackson. As referee Frank Blakeslee reached the halfway point of his count, Jackson tried to stand but his rubbery legs gave out with him still on one knee and he was down for the count.
With this victory there seems little doubt that Mitchell is ready for a title shot. The question now is will Harold Stephens, who last fought in August when he scored a TKO win over Carl Taylor, give it to him?
*** Rees Still In Fight Game ***
Former world middleweight champion Archie Rees, who famously was upset by Frank 'The Tank' Melanson in Philadelphia a little over two years ago, is still busy in his native England. The Tadcaster Thunderbolt, as Rees was once known, is just days away from his 35th birthday but he celebrated it early on Halloween with a second round TKO over fellow countryman Glen Root. That would be the 39th professional victory of Rees career, moving his record to 39-7-1, but Root -who is an unimpressive 13-20- was hardly a top notch opponent. Rees held the World title throughout the war years, knocking out Nathan Sears in Chicago in 1941 to win the belt and making two successful defenses including the famous resumption of big-time European boxing in the fall of 1944 when he beat former champ Jorge Cuellar before a packed stadium of Allied soldiers and sailors in Liverpool.
One other bout of note last week saw highly regarded 20-year-old heavyweight Joey Tierney improve to 9-0 with a unanimous decision over Larry Duncan at the New York Athletic Club. The Detroit-born youngster has been fighting primarily 6-rounders but plans to step up to longer fights against more experienced competition in the new year. He is managed by Chester Conley, best known for his work as world champion Hector Sawyer's money man.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- Nov 15: Paris, France: Edouard Desmarais (38-1) defends his European Middleweight Title against Yohan Revel (13-0)
- Dec 12 - Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago: World Middleweight Champ John Edmonds (23-2) rematch with Frank Melanson (32-1-2)
- Jan 10 - Santa Ana Stadium, Los Angeles: World Heavyweight Champ Hector Sawyer vs Dan Miller
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/02/1947
- As the House Committee on Un-American Activities continues to probe the motion picture industry, screenwriter John Howard Lawson faces a citation for contempt of Congress after refusing to say whether he was a member of the Communist Party. Over the next few days, six more screenwriters were also cited for contempt for refusing to answer questions.
- Russia and the United States, in a concilliatory move, joined in a 55-to-0 United Nations vote to codemn "all forms of propaganda which would be "likely to provoke or encourage any threat to the peace."
- Secretary of State Marshall is busy shaping final recommendations to Congress for a 4-year European receovery program that may cost up to $20,000,000,000.
- The President's Committee on Civil Rights recommended immediate, direct Federal action to correct "serious flaws" in the country-wide civil rights picture by outlawing racial discriminations and other threats to "human freedom and equality."