JANUARY 5, 1948
EAGLES ARE ON THE CLOCK
Draft Lottery Win Latest in Series of Successes for DC Franchise
The Washington Eagles are no longer bottom feeders who barely draw enough fans to remain in the nation's capital. That was the scene for well over a decade as between 1930 and 1942 the Eagles never escaped the second division of the Federal Association and consistently were at the bottom in attendance. A small glimmer of hope came with an 81 win season in 1943 and then, once new management took over the club the Eagles went 85-69 in 1945 and nearly won their first pennant since 1925. A year later the nearly was gone from the equation as the '46 Eagles claimed the Fed flag and topped 1 million in attendance for the first time in franchise history.
They failed to win a second straight pennant last year, but they did smash their previous high water mark for attendance with more than 1.6 million paying customers marching through the turnstiles at Columbia Stadium as the club finished second in the Fed for the second time in three years.
Just when you thought things could not get any better in D.C., the winning suddenly proved contagious and spread to the grid Wasps, who won their first American Football Association division title last month to reach the championship game for the first time in franchise history and also to the hardwood where the Statesmen proved to be the class of the American Basketball Conference last season and are challenging for top spot once again this campaign. Now there is even more to celebrate with news the Eagles had won the FABL draft lottery and would get first pick of the talented high school seniors and collegiate juniors in the pool. That luck even continued in the second round lottery with Washington landing the fifth spot. Not that this is deepest and most talented draft in recent years, but the Eagles will certainly have the opportunity to land another high end player or two - especially considering if the draft order was still entirely based on standing placement the Eagles would have been staring at the 13th pick in both the first and second rounds. Yes, things can simply not go much better for Washington sports fans than they are right now.
Here is the draft order for the 1948 FABL draft, which will see the first 8 rounds conducted over the next couple of weeks before being completed in June when the school year has concluded.
ORDER FOR ROUND ONE OF THE 1948 FABL DRAFT
1- Washington Eagles
2- Cleveland Foresters
3- Detroit Dynamos
4- Montreal Saints
5- Philadelphia Keystones
6- New York Stars
7- New York Gothams
8- Toronto Wolves
9- Pittsburgh Miners (originally belonged to Chicago Chiefs)
10- Cincinnati Cannons
11- Boston Minutemen
12- Brooklyn Kings
13- Pittsburgh Miners
14- Pittsburgh Miners (originally belonged to Chicago Cougars)
15- Cleveland Foresters (originally belonged to St Louis Pioneers)
16- Philadelphia Sailors
ORDER FOR ROUND TWO OF THE 1948 FABL DRAFT
1- Chicago Chiefs
2- Cincinnati Cannons
3- Philadelphia Keystones
4- Toronto Wolves
5- Washington Eagles
6- Brooklyn Kings
7- Detroit Dynamos
8- Cleveland Foresters
9- Pittsburgh Miners
10- Chicago Cougars
11- Brooklyn Kings (originally belonged to New York Gothams)
12- Montreal Saints
13- Boston Minutemen
14- New York Stars
15- St Louis Pioneers
16- Philadelphia Sailors
Rounds one and two draft order is determined by a lottery rewarding teams that showed the greatest improvement over the previous season with better odds of winning. The leagues alternate selections with the Federal Association getting odd picks (including #1 overall) in even years and the Continental Association in odd years. The two pennant winners are not eligible for the lottery and automatically select 15th and 16th in each of the first two rounds.
The addition of a new permanent General Manager in St Louis brings FABL back up to its full complement of 16 GMs. It will be big shoes to fill as the Pioneers, under interim GM Tom Johnson shocked the baseball establishment by ending a more than two decade long drought with first a Federal Association pennant and a week later just the second World Championship Series victory in franchise history. That makes the expectations and demands on the new boss much different than they were just 9 short months ago when the Pioneers were perhaps considered a candidate for relocation with a bad ballclub playing in a city that had lost interest due to poor finishes and a propensity for dealing star players away.
It is interesting to note that if not for an act of war, big league baseball would no longer exist on the banks of the Mississippi. The Pioneers have been a fixture in St Louis ever since they joined the old Border Association in 1882 but when current owner Dee Rose purchased the club at the start of this decade, he did so with secret plans to relocate to California. Rose, a Hollywood movie mogul, quietly had a deal all but finalized to shift the Pioneers to Los Angeles following the 1941 season but those plans quickly were scrubbed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor sent fears of invasion up and down the Pacific coast. World War II was what kept the Pioneers rooted on the banks of the Mississippi. The what-ifs of their potential relocation to the west coast raise intriguing questions about the shape of baseball today.
The journey of the St. Louis ballclub, initially known as the Brewers, began with early success in the Border Association, clinching pennants in the league's early years. As the league evolved into the Century League, the Brewers continued their winning ways, securing back-to-back flags in their first two seasons. However, the formation of the Federal Association in 1892 disrupted their fortunes. Decades of mediocrity followed, leaving fans indifferent to the struggling team. A turning point came in 1919 when Max Morris, a legend of the sport, joined the Pioneers, leading them to their first World Championship Series victory in 1920. Morris had already won 2 Whitney Awards with Cleveland by that point but the 25-year-old, who had been a pitcher and an outfielder most of his time with the Foresters, focused solely on hitting the ball in St Louis. And hit he did. Morris would slug a then-record 26 homers before leading the Pioneers -against Cleveland- to their first World Championship Series title.
More homeruns would follow from Morris, captivating the attention of the city. 53 in 1921, 59 in 1922 and finally a record 60 in 1923. The Pioneers would win the Federal Association pennant again in '21 but lose to Montreal in the Series. Few suspected it at the time but that would be the last taste of October baseball for the franchise until this past season. Morris would become the greatest slugger in the history of the sport but the club would be unable to surround him with the pieces necessary to win another pennant.
In 1930 the club made the mistake of thinking the 35 year old slugger was on the downside of his career. He was dealt to the New York Gothams and would go to play 7 more seasons, winning another Whitney Award -his record 8th- in 1933 and help both the Gothams and Cleveland to pennants before retiring. Morris briefly managed in Detroit after his playing days but now is a Congressman representing his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.
The Pioneers had a couple of close calls, finishing second to the Gothams in both 1934 and 1935 but decisions to deal away veteran stars Fred McCormick and Freddie Jones further alientated a disgruntled fan base and the team spent most of the 1930s trying to stay in the first division. Attendance began to suffer prompting the club to be sold to Rose and, while there was one surprising pennant run in 1943 when they finished 6 games out, for the most part the Pioneers were a second division ballclub that bottomed out with a 90 loss season and a last place finish in 1946. The miracle that was 1947, led by a group of young players, some cast-offs from other organizations and suddenly overwhelming pitching staff anchored by Danny Hern turned things around. Hern, who would not win a game in 1946 and spent much of the season banished to the minors, dominated this past summer in winning 25 games and claiming the Allen Award as the top hurler in the Federal Association.
*** Little Success in Other Sports Either ***
Long suffering St Louis sports fans hope this is the beginning of great things from the Pioneers, who share the pro spotlight with the grid Ramblers. The Ramblers have been a part of the American Football Association since 1933 but have had little success, posting a 43-102-2 record over that time and even were forced to shut down for two years during the war due to a lack of players.
There was some hope for brief periods of time with the Ramblers. In 1942 a rookie running back named Bob Holt, after being drafted first overall out of Eastern State, ran for 254 yards in his debut against the Philadelphia Frigates and would go on to post the first 1,000-yard rushing season in over a decade. However, he was off to join the war effort in '43 and Ramblers merged with Philadelphia to field a club out of the eastern city dubbed the Friglers. The Ramblers returned to St Louis two years ago and this past season saw the Ramblers drop five of their first six games to finish with a 5-7 record leaving the franchise still in search of its first-ever .500 season.
Sports in St Louis extends beyond the professional level but success has not come often at the collegiate level either. There are several college teams in state including Lambert College and Daniel Boone College, both situated in Columbia. The top city school would be Laclede University. Laclede has produced one FABL player in Johnny Decker, a catcher now with the Dallas Centurions of the Great Western League but previously spent parts of four seasons with the Detroit Dynamos.
Laclede competes in the Midwestern Association along with Lambert College in both football and basketball. The Trappers went 5-5 on the grid this past season including a 38-17 win over the Stags. Two years ago they did finish 7-2 punctuated by another win over Lambert College. They have not had much success on the court, last making the AIAA 32-team championship tournament in 1928-29 and are 0-5 all-time in tournament games. There is some hope for this season as the Trappers are off to an 8-2 start in cage action at press time led by St Louis born senior forward Tom Collins, who leads the team in scoring averaging nearly 13 points per game. There is some speculation the Collins may be good enough to turn pro and play in either Federal Basketball League or the American Basketball Conference next season.
St Louis also recently hosted a world championship title fight, a first for the city. That was last February at the St Louis Arena when Harold Stephens defeated Mark Westlake in a 15-round unanimous decision to claim the welterweight belt.
But it is baseball and the Pioneers that remain the primary focus of St Louis sports fans. A new man is in charge of the organization and local fans can only hope that their new General Manager can keep the momentum of a miracle 1947 run going, and the Pioneers can continue to follow along the path to success. Something that is desperately needed for the long-suffering sports fans of St Louis.
DETROIT CITY COLLEGE HOLDS OFF CCLA TO WIN EAST-WEST CLASSIC
Detroit City College's dazzling football machine capped an all-victorious season today by wearing down a game CC Los Angeles eleven 24-17 in the East-West Classic. It marked the second year in a row the Knights upended the Coyotes in Santa Ana and completed a perfect 10-0 campaign for the DCC squad.
Ninety-three thousand spectators witnessed Detroit City College's punishing ground game tear apart the Coyotes defenses, rushing for 272 yards while holding CCLA to just 42 yards on the ground. The victory had many Great Lakes Alliance supporters feeling DCC, and not 9-0 St Blane which passed on a Classic bid, should lay claim to mythical gridiron supremacy.
With its twin offensive and defensive machines working so much like well-oiled parts, DCC struck for a touchdown before the first period was ten minutes old and led 17-3 at the break thanks to scoring runs from All-American Bill Howlin and Johnny Matthews. CCLA would score twice in the closing minutes of the contest to make the score much closer than the game actually was.
BUCKS SCORE IN CAJUN CLASSIC, 30-3
An alert Travis College team, led by the versatile Dusty Sinclair, completely outclassed Alabama Baptist at the Cajun Classic to rack up a decisive 30-3 victory. Nearly 72,000 where on hand to witness what started as a close game before the Bucks broke it open in the second half.
The Bucks thwarted in a drive which reached the Alabama Baptist goal line just before the first half ended, scored the touchdown that broke a 3-3 tie in early in the next period by blocking a fourth-down punt. They would break the game open just a few minutes later on a 21-yard touchdown scamper by Sinclair. The Travis College defense would add to fourth quarter scores on an intercepted pass, again by Sinclair, and after recovering a Panthers fumble on the Alabama Baptist 5 yard line.
It was a measure of revenge for Travis College, which came up short in the Cajun Classic a year ago with a loss to Bayou State. This time around it was the culmination of a perfect 11-0 season for the powerhouse Bucks.
CLASSIC GAME RESULTS
EAST-WEST CLASSIC: Santa Ana, CA
Detroit City College 24 CC Los Angeles 17
CAJUN CLASSIC: New Orleans, La
Travis College 30 Alabama Baptist 3
LONE STAR CLASSIC: Austin, Tx
Noble Jones College 17 Maryland State 3
SUNSHINE CLASSIC: Miami, Fl
Georgia Baptist 28 Lawrence State 20
BAYSIDE CLASSIC: Tampa, Fl
Texas Gulf Coast 26 Liberty College 16
PACIFIC COAST CLASSIC: San Diego, Ca
Coastal California 38 Abilene Baptist 7
VOLUNTEER CLASSIC: Nashville, Tn.
Mississippi A&M 13 Amarillo Methodist 10
DESERT CLASSIC: El Paso, Tx
College of Waco 30 Ohio Poly 7
SAN JOCAQUIN CLASSIC: Fresno, Ca
Topeka State 20 College of San Diego 3
SAWYER SET FOR RECORD BREAKING CROWD
World Heavyweight Boxing champ Hector Sawyer puts his title on the line Saturday afternoon at the big football stadium in Santa Ana, Ca., in what will be the largest crowd ever to watch a boxing match. More than 90,000 -close to the number that packed the stadium just a few days ago to witness Detroit City College beat CC Los Angeles in the East-West Classic- are expected to be on hand to watch Sawyer look for his 57th victory as a professional.
The 33-year-old enters with an official mark of 56-3-1 but the champ has fought well over 100 bouts when you factor in the brawling he did in four years worth of military exhibitions while in the Army. Sawyer is also looking for his 9th successful title defense since knocking out Jochen Schrotter in 1940 to claim the heavyweight crown. Only the great Alvin Carbey -who held the crown from 1917 thru 1922 and made 11 title defenses- has fought more often with the world heavyweight title on the line.
There is a shortage of quality challengers for the New Orleans native known as 'The Cajun Crusher', but Oakland native Dan Miller is going to take his best shot at the champ. Miller is 36-8-1 and currently ranked as the top challenger in the division by the American Boxing Federation, but he seems like a real long-shot and most feel there is little doubt that Sawyer will add to his victory total.
Time for another look at the top boxers in each of the three weight classes sanctioned by the American Boxing Federation.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- Jan 10 - Santa Ana Stadium, Los Angeles: World Heavyweight Champ Hector Sawyer vs Dan Miller
- Jan 15- Philadelphia: HW Scott Baker (15-3-2) vs Chris Sullivan (19-4-4)
- Jan 19- Portland, Oregon: WW contenders Mark Westlake (22-2-1) vs Carl Taylor (22-4-2)
- Jan 24 - Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland, OH: World Welterweight champion Harold Stephens (20-3-2) defends his title against Ira Mitchell (19-1)
- Jan 29 - Bigsby Garden, New York: HW contender Mark Fountain (22-4-1) vs Dave Kennedy (28-11-4) and HW contender Roy Crawford (25-3) vs Glenn Hairston (25-8-2)
- Jan 31- Detroit: rising HW Lewis Jones (14-1) vs Marvin Martin (18-10-4)
INJURIES TAKING THEIR TOLL
Bees beat up, Packers short-staffed and Vals lose goalie
The new expanded NAHC schedule has just crossed its midway point and there are some concerns that the added games crammed into a 60-game slate may just be too much to handle. A number of clubs have been hit hard by injury and illness with the Chicago Packers being front and center among them. Despite losing McDaniels Trophy winning center Tommy Burns for the past two weeks and a pair of defensemen including Ted Stevens long-term the Packers keep on winning and enjoy a 5-point lead on the second place Montreal Valiants.
The Vals have some worries of there own suddenly as it was revealed that goaltender Millard Touhey, who leads all NAHC in games played this season, has contracted a virus of some sort and could miss up to two weeks. That will put some pressure on rookie Sam Desjardins, who has just 3 NAHC games under his belt and is the only other goaltender in the organization with big league experience. The Valiants do get a little break for the schedule-maker in that they face the league's bottom two clubs -Detroit and New York- on the weekend and are nearly two weeks away from a first place showdown with the Packers so there is hope Touhey will be healthy enough to return for that contest.
Meanwhile the third place Boston Bees continue to get bang up, particularly on the blue line. Frank Yeadon has been out most of the season with a wrist injury but there is hope the 32-year-old will be back in action before the end of the month. Harry Neighbor is also said to be close to returning from a hamstring issue that has sidelined him the past two weeks. Both are desperately needed on a blueline that is also dealing with nagging injuries to Willis Beane, Len Bentley and David Scarpone. Defense is usually the Bees strong suit and they have persevered through all of the injuries, but the two-time defending Challenge Cup champions find themselves in third place, 9 points back of the pace setting Packers.
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NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 31 19 10 2 40 113 74
Montreal 30 16 11 3 35 100 95
Boston 31 14 14 3 31 98 87
Toronto 31 13 15 3 29 87 105
New York 31 12 18 1 25 91 99
Detroit 30 11 17 2 24 75 104
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
Mahoney, Chi 30 14 25 39
T Burns, Chi 25 21 15 36
W Burns, Chi 29 10 26 36
Cabbell, NY 30 20 9 29
Chandler, Bos 28 13 15 28
Pollack, Tor 29 13 15 28
Skinner, Mon 30 11 17 28
Lanceleve, Mon 30 12 15 27
Albers, NY 31 8 19 27
Sauer, Tor 27 12 14 26
Gregg, NY 26 13 12 25
Hart, Bos 30 12 13 25
McGlynn, Chi 31 14 10 24
Lynch, Mon 25 9 15 24
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 25 13 10 2 2 2.49
James, Bos 11 5 5 1 1 2.55
Brockers, Bos 20 9 9 2 0 2.91
Tremblay, NY 20 9 10 0 1 2.92
Touhey, Mon 27 15 10 1 1 3.23
Broadway, Tor 25 10 12 2 1 3.25
Sorrell, NY 13 3 8 1 2 3.52
Chasse, Det 25 10 13 2 2 3.56
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31
Chicago 0 at 2 Detroit: It was a festive New Year's Eve at Thompson Palladium as the Detroit Motors upset the league leading Chicago Packers 2-0 behind a 34 save performance from Henri Chasse, who displayed the style of play he showed last season when he led the Motors to the playoffs. It has been a much less confident Chasse in the Detroit net this year but he was in rare form on this evening. Garrett Ferrar and Dave Bradley scored first period goals on Chicago's Norm Hanson, who faced 34 shots, while Spencer Larocque had two assists for the Motors.
Boston 5 at 6 New York: The Bees rough December finally came to an end but not before the club dropped a 6-5 decision in the Big Apple to finish the month with a 3-7-2 record. It was a wild night at Bigsby Garden with 5 goals scored in each of the first two periods before things settled down in the third with Jim Macek's 4th of the season the only marker. It came with less than 6 and a half minutes remaining in the game and proved the margin of victory for the Shamrocks, who were led by a 4 point night from Mark Laforme.
THURSDAY JANUARY 1
New York 3 at 6 Boston: The rematch at Denny Arena went much better for the Bees, who doubled New York 6-3 behind the strength of a pair of Wilbur Chandler goals and a 3-point night from Garrett Kauffeldt. Boston defenseman Willis Beane had a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight.
Detroit 3 at 4 Chicago: he Motors scored twice in the opening two minutes and it looked like a second straight upset was in the cards, but the Packers rallied for three of their own in the opening stanza -two from Marty Mahoney- and went on to edge the Detroit squad 4-3. Chicago continues to play without the injured Tommy Burns but Jarrett McGlynn filled in nicely on the top line with a goal and an assist.
Montreal 6 at 4 Toronto: Clarence Skinner had a goal and 3 assists to lead the Montreal Valiants to a 6-4 victory over the Dukes in Toronto. The victory extended the Vals unbeaten streak to 3 games.
SATURDAY JANUARY 3
Boston 4 at 2 Montreal: The Bees start the new year off with back-to-back victories as Tommy Hart and Jacob Gron each score once and add an assist in a 4-2 Boston triumph. Tom Brockers turns aside 29 of the 31 shots he faced in the Boston net with recently acquired defenseman Bryant Williams accounting for both Montreal markers.
New York 2 at 4 Toronto: The Shamrocks have dropped four of their last six games after falling 4-2 at the Dominion Gardens. Sam Furr score both New York goals to stake the Greenshirts to a 2-0 lead but Toronto roared back with 4 unanswered goals including a controversial one just as time expired in the second period. There was much debate and protest from the Shamrocks bench but Les Carlson's goal at 20:00 of the second period was judged by the officials to have crossed the goal line just before the horn sounded to signal the end of the period. That goal gave Toronto a 3-2 lead and would prove the difference in the game.
SUNDAY JANUARY 4
Montreal 2 at 3 Detroit: The Motors improve to 4-2-1 since their big trade with Montreal by trimming the Valiants 3-2 and leaving the Vals pointless from their two weekend contests. Dave Bradley, Graham Comeau and veteran Doug Yeadon scored for the Motors with Glen Whitely and Wayne Augustin responding for Montreal, which outshot the Motors 39-27.
Chicago 3 at 2 New York: Another tight game for Chicago, who's offensive remains without reigning scoring champ Tommy Burns. Jarrett McGlynn had two points while Norm Hanson made 36 saves to lead the Packers past the Shamrocks 3-2 despite a pair of goals from New York's Jocko Gregg. The Greenshirts have dropped 3 straight and five of their last seven.
UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7
New York at Detroit
THURSDAY JANUARY 8
Detroit at Montreal
SATURDAY JANUARY 10
Boston at Detroit
New York at Montreal
Chicago at Toronto
SUNDAY JANUARY 11
Boston at Chicago
Toronto at Detroit
Montreal at New York
NAHC PLAYER POLL RELEASED
The annual newspaper poll of NAHC players was published today. Players were asked to vote for who they felt was the best in a number of categories and here are the winners.
STATESMEN NEGOTIATE WAY TO TOP OF ABC WEST
The Washington Statesmen came up with two big victories over Richmond last week to pull ahead of the slumping Clippers and climb to the top of the American Basketball Conference's West Division. There was plenty to celebrate in the nation's capital on New Year's Eve as the Ivan Sicsco's 25 points helped the home side down the Clippers 107-83 despite a 30 point showing from Richmond guard Stewart Hulbert. Washington's National Auditorium was the venue again last night for the rematch and while the score was much closer the result was the same with the Statesmen hanging on for an 88-87 victory and had the Clippers their third consecutive defeat and fourth in the last 5 games.
Boston and Brooklyn are tied for top spot in the East Division as each spent the holidays feasting on the weak sisters of the division. Boston has won 4 straight over the struggling New York Knights, and 5 in a row overall, while Brooklyn faced Hartford four times in just over a week and won three of them.
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AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Brooklyn 13 8 .619 -
Boston 13 8 .619 -
Hartford 9 12 .429 4.0
New York 6 14 .263 7.0
WEST W L PCT GB
Washington 10 6 .625 -
Richmond 12 10 .545 1.0
Pittsburgh 10 11 .476 2.5
Rochester 8 11 .421 3.5
SCORING LEADERS PPG
James Phillips, HAR 20.2
Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.1
Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.0
John Rodrigez, HAR 18.6
Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.3
Gerald Carter, BOS 17.9
Norm Yates, RIC 17.3
Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0
Charles Hooper, WAS 16.9
Don Marlow, NY 16.8
PANTHERS EXTEND WEST LEAD IN FBL
There appears no slowing down the Chicago Panters as the defending Federal League champions pushed their winning streak to 7 games with an 87-75 victory in Toronto on Saturday. It was the only game on the docket in a light week the Chicago quintet, which has not lost in over a month. Richard Campbell, who led the league in both points and rebounds a year ago, took over the scoring average lead with a career high 36 points in the Toronto win, which snapped a 4-game run of victories for the Titans.
Toronto remains last in the East as Philadelphia and Baltimore now share the top spot with identical 11-6 records. The Phantoms split a home-and-home series with Buffalo last week, falling 94-84 on the road before claiming a 95-79 victory at home on Friday. The Barons, who lost to Toronto early in the week, finally snapped a 4-game skid with a convincing 108-87 victory in Detroit on Friday led by a 21 point, 19 rebound effort out of Jack Hirst.
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FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Philadelphia 11 6 .647 -
Baltimore 11 6 .647 -
Buffalo 7 11 .389 4.5
Toronto 6 12 .294 6.0
WEST W L PCT GB
Chicago 13 4 .765 -
Cleveland 8 9 .471 5.0
Detroit 8 10 .444 5.5
Cincinnati 7 12 .368 7.0
SCORING LEADERS PPG
Richard Campbell, CHI 20.7
Lary Yim, BUF 19.7
Danny Hendon, PHI 19.4
Jamel Porter, TOR 18.9
Jack Hirst, BAL 17.0
George Kelley, CLE 17.0
David Reed, DET 16.6
Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.2
Ryan Wilkes, CIN 14.5
Herb Hobbs, CLE 14.5
LIBERTY COLLEGE LEADS RECRUITING
The Liberty College Bells might be having a down season by their lofty standards with a 10-4 record, but the Bells may be back on top very quickly as two of the top four and four of the top fifty recruits in the nation have committed to the Philadelphia school for next season. The Bells, runners up each of the past two seasons in the AIAA championship tournament, have secured their replacement for graduating big man Ward Messer in the form of Luther Gordon, a towering center who hails from Brooklyn and spent the past two seasons at a junior college in New York. Gordon is considered the number one college recruit in the nation and will be joined by Georgia native Ole Avery, a forward that OSA ranks as the #4 recruit. Avery hails from Macon High School, famous for producing Cincinnati Cannons baseball star Deuce Barrell. Gordon and Avery will be joined by Brooklyn forward Billy Lesniak and Long Island native William Hook, also a forward. Lesniak is #24 on the OSA recruiting list while Hook slots in at #46.
Defending national champion Whitney College also boasts a strong recruiting class as does coast schools CC Los Angeles and Coastal California. The Engineers have landed 3 of the top thirty recruits including Solly Morris, a forward out of Chattanooga, Tn. ranked number two in the nation. The Coyotes landed a pair of top 15 newcomers including local boy Gus Barnett, considered the top forward on the west coast. The Dolphins also came up big, landing a pair of west coast high school seniors ranked in the top ten overall in Portland native Rowdy Becker and Rankin Egbert, who hails from Glendale, Ca.
Charlie Barrell, a 3-sport star at D.C.'s Capital Academy and considered an outstanding pro baseball and pro football prospect, has committed to Noble Jones College. Barrell recently informed FABL clubs to remove his name from their draft boards as he has no intention of starting a pro baseball career until his days at Noble Jones are done.
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AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Rainier College (55) 13-1 1780 1 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Whitney College (12) 10-0 1689 2 Great Lakes Alliance
3. Carolina Poly (4) 11-1 1686 3 South Atlantic Conference
4. Western Iowa (1) 7-1 1596 4 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Coastal California 10-1 1465 8 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Mississippi A&M 11-1 1440 6 Deep South Conference
7. Detroit City College 9-1 1388 7 Great Lakes Alliance
8. CC Los Angeles 11-1 1323 9 West Coast Athletic Association
9. Central Ohio 9-2 1241 11 Great Lakes Alliance
10. North Carolina Tech 9-2 1066 10 South Atlantic Conference
11. Redwood 7-2 1025 18 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Indiana A&M 8-2 994 12 Great Lakes Alliance
13. Great Plains State 12-2 938 5 Indy
14. Lambert College 11-2 765 15 Midwestern Association
15. Noble Jones College 11-3 661 NR Deep South Conference
16. Central Kentucky 10-2 656 22 Deep South Conference
17. Brunswick 8-3 502 25 Academia Alliance
18. Texas Gulf Coast 6-3 489 13 Southwestern Alliance
19. Travis College 10-2 480 NR Southwestern Alliance
20. Lexington State 7-2 424 14 South Atlantic Conference
21. Lubbock State 10-3 351 17 Southwestern Alliance
22. Bayou State 7-3 347 NR Deep South Conference
23. Lane State 8-3 278 NR West Coast Athletic Association
24. St. Ignatius 7-2 254 19 Great Lakes Alliance
25. Liberty College 10-4 177 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Needham 8-2 132 Indy
Alabama Baptist 7-2 125 Deep South Conference
Laclede 7-2 44 Midwestern Association
Pittsburgh State 11-3 30 Indy
Miami State 11-3 30 Indy
Grant (IN) 10-3 13 Indy
Maryland State 7-3 11 South Atlantic Conference
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 29
at #4 Western Iowa 51, Lawrence State 38
Ellery 67, at #10 North Carolina Tech 56
at #15 Noble Jones College 73, Michigan Lutheran 38
at #16 Central Kentucky 62, Harper College 53
at #24 St. Ignatius 38, Holland 37
#25 Liberty College 55, at Central Maryland 29
TUESDAY DECEMBER 30
at #1 Rainier College 56, St. Patrick's 40
at #6 Mississippi A&M 65, Oklahoma City State 64
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31
at #3 Carolina Poly 44, Piedmont University 39
at #5 Coastal California 61, Topeka State 43
at #10 North Carolina Tech 59, Western Florida 32
at #11 Redwood 46, Kit Carson University 36
at #12 Indiana A&M 53, Chicago Poly 46
#19 Travis College 53, at Flagstaff State 49
Opelika State 50, at #20 Lexington State 41
#25 Liberty College 53, at Bliss College 35
THURSDAY JANUARY 1
at #9 Central Ohio 48, Queen City 46
at #14 Lambert College 51, Springfield State 46
at #16 Central Kentucky 59, Daniel Boone College 46
at #23 Lane State 70, Campion 49
FRIDAY JANUARY 2
#2 Whitney College 73, at Grant (IN) 66
at #3 Carolina Poly 57, Michigan Lutheran 47
#5 Coastal California 63, at Valley State 44
at #6 Mississippi A&M 61, Mobile Maritime 45
at #7 Detroit City College 78, Harper College 66
at #8 CC Los Angeles 60, #21 Lubbock State 36
at #12 Indiana A&M 50, Cumberland 38
at South Valley State 54, #13 Great Plains State 50
#18 Texas Gulf Coast 67, at College of Waco 32
#19 Travis College 73, at Colorado Poly 53
at #22 Bayou State 67, Alabama Gulf Coast 62
at #25 Liberty College 67, Ellery 53
at Central Carolina 59, Grange College 37
SATURDAY JANUARY 3
at #4 Western Iowa 51, Custer College 31
#14 Lambert College 50, at American Atlantic 42
SUNDAY JANUARY 4
at #2 Whitney College 68, Bliss College 59
at #3 Carolina Poly 67, Eastern State 44
at #5 Coastal California 69, Kit Carson University 46
at #7 Detroit City College 57, Michigan Lutheran 46
Northern Mississippi 43, at #12 Indiana A&M 37
at #13 Great Plains State 64, Daniel Boone College 54
NW New York State 59, at #18 Texas Gulf Coast 57
at #19 Travis College 59, Oklahoma Bible College 50
at #20 Lexington State 56, Ferguson 51
at Perry State College 63, #24 St. Ignatius 47
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/04/1948
- Congress raises the curtain on a critical session tomorrow in which the top issues will be the Marshall plan for European recovery and how best to stabilize economic conditions at home.
- Former Vice President Henry A. Wallace has confirmed he intends to run as an independent for the so-called "peace party" in the 1948 Presidential election. In a Chicago speech Wallace denounced both the Democratic administration and the Republican Party as war parties.
- President Truman signed the Republican anti-inflation bill and the Secretary of Agriculture immediately made use of one of its provisions to put whiskey makers on grain rotation at least for the next month.
- King Mihai I of Romania abdicated and the Communist-dominated cabinet immediately declared Romania a "popular democratic republic."
- The head of the Chinese army charges that Russia is aiding China's communist movement in its effort to seize control of the country.