JANUARY 12, 1948
CHRISTIAN TROPHY WINNER MILLER GOES #1
The Washington Eagles started off the 1948 draft with the name most observers expected to be called first as the Eagles drafted Coastal State shortstop Tom Miller number one overall. OSA had Miller listed as the top candidate in its August mock draft. The All-American from Philadelphia was the winner of the Christian Trophy, presented to the top player in collegiate baseball, after Miller led the nation with 15 homers while slashing .339/.441/.638 and helped Coastal State to the quarter-finals of the AIAA baseball Championship Tournament each of the past two seasons. Miller became the first shortstop ever to win the Christian Trophy and his 15 round-trippers was the most ever hit by a post-feeder era collegiate middle infielder. OSA feels Miller, known as 'Tom Thumper" to his Coastal State teammates, has the potential to make multiple trips to the all-star game.
The Cleveland Foresters, with a new GM at the helm, opted to take New York City area high school third baseman Stump Patterson with the second choice in the draft. The 18-year old did not crack the TWIFB August mock draft but appears to be a late bloomer with scouts raving about his hitting skills, both for average and power. OSA believes he can make an impact in the big leagues.
With the third pick the Detroit Dynamos went with a local kid, tabbing Detroit-born first baseman Dino Sharp. The high school All-American grew up in the Motor City but recently moved to the Cleveland area where he played his high school ball and projects to have the potential to develop into one of the best power hitters in the game. Dan Barell of the OSA says Sharp will develop into an elite big league first baseman.
The youngster was all smiles when imformed that the Dynamos had selected him, at the urging of both owner Powell Thompson and Scouting Director Fred Barrell with the hope he would fill a void left since Red Johnson was dealt away. Sharp, who cites Johnson and Bobby Barrell his heroes and still calls the autographed bat he got from Max Morris as an 8-year-old in 1937 his most cherished possession, looks like he was born to play first base at Thompson Field.
There was said to much debate in the Dynamos draft room with a faction, that included General Manager Tiger Fan pushing to draft centerfielder Buddy Miller in part because the Dynamos already had a high ceiling young power-hitting first baseman in their system in the form of last year's 4th overall selection John Morrison, but Thompson held the deciding vote and wanted the local kid as a potential huge drawing card for attendance down the road.
The Montreal Saints went with second baseman Pete Ireton, a high schooler out of Munhall, Pa., with the 4th selection of the draft. The 18-year-old was number 5 on the August TWIFB mock draft and OSA feels he has the potential to be an impact big leaguer as a second baseman.
Pick 5 went to the Philadelphia Keystones and was highly touted Florida high school centerfielder Buddy Miller. Keystones brass was excited to see Miller, who is no relation to first overall selection Tom Miller, drop into their laps. OSA calls his swing a thing of beauty and sees Miller with the potential to be one of the best pure hitters of his generation. He has hit .577 in three years of high school ball, numbers that if they hold up for his senior season would make Miller number 3 all-time in high school career batting average behind only Walt Messer and Chuck Adams.
The first pitcher did not come off the board until the 6th selection when the New York Stars grabbed Philadelphia high schoolere Gene Curtis. The 17-year-old is a back-end rotation piece according to OSA but there is some speculation the Stars grabbed him because of his potential at the plate and as a middle infielder. Curtis only has 144 career high school plate appearances but boasts of an impressive slash-line of .543/.582/.847 and may have the tools to play second base if his pitching skills do not develop sufficiently.
Up 7th was the New York Gothams who opted for third baseman Hank Estill from college powerhouse Bluegrass State. A Kentucky native, he did not play as a freshman but hit .293 with 13 homers for the Mustangs last season. OSA profiles Estill as an above average player with power potentail that if realized should fit in quite nicely in the Gothams big bat lineup.
The Toronto Wolves went with California high school outfielder Bill Irvin with the 8th selection. The 18-year-old Los Angeles native is projected to be an elite big league outfielder who could hit over .300 with plus power potential.
Pittsburgh used the first of its three first rounders on Roy Snedden with the hopes that "he's the next Mel Carrol," according to Miners assistant General Manager Tom Beaver. Snedden, a 17-year-old West Virginia high schooler who hit .515 as a junior, was 16th on the August TWIFB first round mock. Pittsburgh's other two first rounders were both centerfielders in Ralph Hughes and Glen Holbrook and each was also out of the high school ranks.
The biggest surprise of the opening round may well have been the fact that Illinois high schooler Joe Kleman, tapped by many to be a top five selection, dropped all the way to Boston at 11th. "Yes, it was a bit surprising he dropped all the way to #11", concurred OSA boss Dan Barrell. "To me, he looks like a Harry Barrell-type shortstop: an excellent defender who can hit for average. The biggest difference I see is the baserunning where Harry is an excellent runner with good speed and instincts, Kleman will be more of a station-to-station guy but assuming he develops, he's going to field extremely well and get on base a lot. I really thought he'd go top 5. I suspect that two factors played into it: first, people were drafting based on position and maybe the teams ahead of Boston all felt pretty secure at SS; second, the scouts' assessment of players changed with us going to 24 (new scouting system) and maybe Kleman's stock fell on some scouts' lists. Bottom line is he's a great prospect and the Minutemen got themselves a good one here."
Code:
1948 FABL AMATEUR PLAYER DRAFT: ROUND 1
# TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN
1- WAS Tom Miller SS 21 Coastal State Philadelphia, PA
2- CLE Stump Patterson 3B 17 Pelham Manor(NY)HS Pelham Manor, NY
3- DET Dino Sharp 1B 18 Grafton(OH) HS Detroit, MI
4- MON Pete Ireton 2B 18 Munhall(PA) HS Munhall, PA
5- PHI Buddy Miller CF 18 Lakeland(FL) HS Lakeland, FL
6- NYS Gene Curtis P 17 Furness HS, Phily Steelton, PA
7- NYG Hank Estill 3B 21 Bluegrass State Paducah, KY
8- TOR Bill Irvin LF 18 Roosevelt HS Los Angeles, CA
9- PIT Roy Snedden 3B 17 Rowlesburg(WV) HS Rowlesburg, WV
10- CIN Dave Smith P 17 Bellmore HS, NYC Brooklyn, NY
11- BOS Joe Kleman SS 17 Princeton(IL) HS Princeton, IL
12- BKN Jimmy Isgro P 18 Austin (MN) HS Austin, MN
13- PIT Ralph Hughes CF 17 Tupelo (MS) HS Tupelo, MS
14- PIT Glen Holbrook CF 17 Cleveland(OK) HS Winfield, KS
15- CLE Jim Urquhart 2B 20 Bluegrass State Memphis, TN
16- PHS
OSA HEAD DAN BARRELL WEIGHS IN WITH THOUGHTS ON FIRST ELEVEN SELECTIONS
Dan Barrell, the head of the league scouting service says he has been pretty impressed with how the draft has progressed. The former Brooklyn King and Olympic decathlete made his comments after the Boston Minutemen were presently surprised to land Joe Kleman, a talented high school shortstop many expected would go in the top five, with the 11th selection.
"I haven't seen any picks I see as misses to be honest," explained Barrell. "This draft is like a puzzle where there are a lot of interchangeable pieces and not a "this guy is someone I clearly have to take" kind of thing. The only guy I might have put in that category was Tom Miller (I think he's a five tool guy who will play any position aside from catcher well), and yet I know some of the scouts had him down their lists. He went #1 overall regardless and Kleman was the second-best SS but if you don't need a SS, you don't need one. No one has whiffed, so far, but it is interesting to see the varying takes on the pool. I see this as a good thing."
FORMER FIRST ROUND TOILING AWAY IN CUBA
With all of the attention in the baseball world focused on the amateur player draft it is easy to forget that many future FABL players are currently honing their skills in the Caribbean, playing in the Cuban Winter League. Among the group of 200 or so minor league prospects there are 7 players who were once first round draft picks but are still working their way towards the big leagues.
Those seven include 3 pitchers in John Jackson, Howie Harris and Tommy Seymour. Jackson was Cleveland's selection, fourth overall in 1942, and is likely to make his big league debut this season. Now 23, the Baltimore native went 6-15 but posted a respectable 3.76 era in 33 starts at AAA Rochester last season. He is 3-1 with a 4.34 era in 6 Cuban starts.
Harris was selected 10th overall by Cincinnati in the same draft that Jackson was chosen, but he is now Philadelphia Sailors property after being a rule five selection two years ago. He spent the entire 1946 season with the Sailors but saw limited action with a 1-2 record in just 36 innings of work as they needed to keep him on their big league roster all year or return Harris to Cincinnati. He was an impressive 15-11 for Providence a year ago and despite struggling a little with Havana, looks like he should get a decent chance to crack the Sailors opening day roster.
Seymour has the misfortune of being stuck in the deep Chicago Cougars system after being selected 13th in the 1943 draft. He is 22-years-old and coming off an underwhelming 6-14, 5.63 season in Class A. He is working out of the pen in Cuba and is ranked 359th on a recent OSA prospect list.
The four position players who were first round selections and are now performing in Cuba are Montreal catcher Mel Franklin, Cougars second baseman Bob Schmelz and outfielders Clyde Fleenor of the Stars and Ernie Grout of the Sailors. Franklin is off to fine start in Cuba, batting .344 but the 11th overall selection of the 1941 amateur draft looks like he may end up being a career minor leaguer. The 25-year-old hit .249 last year in his first full season of AAA.
OSA feels that Schmelz, a 23-year-old drafted 11th overall in 1942 by Detroit byt dealt to the Cougars in the trade that sent Art White to the Motor City, may be ready for the big leagues in 1948 after getting a two game trial in Chicago in September. OSA likes his bat but worries that he will never be able to field at the big league level.
Cracking the New York Stars outfield is a big ask for anyone and Clyde Fleenor, a 23-year-old selected 14th by the Stars in 1942 will certainly have his work cut out for him. OSA is not high on Fleenor, ranking him 418th on its prospect pipeline but he had a solid season at AAA Syracuse a year ago, batting .304 with 10 homers. He has kept it up in Cuba, with a .343 batting average thru 31 games.
Grout does not crack the OSA top 500 after the 7th overall pick in 1941 spent last season in A ball, batting .270 but did sock 23 homeruns. The scouting service says he is on the bubble to hold down a full-time FABL job but he did get 1 big league at bat with the Sailors in 1946.
MOTORS TAB LOCAL SLUGGER WITH TOP PICK
To the extreme delight of mogul Powell Thompson, the Detroit Dynamos introduced as their first-round selection in the amateur draft a local product. There have been some great ones in recent years to come out of the area including the Schneider triplets and outfielder Bob Riggins, but the Motors were not in a position to select any of them. When the opportunity came to grab Dino Sharp, and Scouting Director Fred Barrell had him at the top of his draft board, the Dynamos quickly called the name of the 18-year-old who grew up rooting for the club as a youngster.
Sharp and his family relocated to the Cleveland area a couple of years ago but at a hastily arranged press conference to introduce the newest member of the organization, Sharp was quick to tell tales of times he spent in the Thompson Field bleachers cheering on the home side. It made everything seem like a perfect fit as Sharp and owner Powell Thompson beamed for the cameras before the teen was whisked off to the train station for the return trip to Grafton, Ohio and the little matter of completing his senior year of high school.
While the Dynamos bosses said all the right things about Sharp, there is a sense that perhaps the entire braintrust was not on the same page. The club had said to have been focusing primarily on the Miller boys -two unrelated players by the names of Tom Miller and Buddy Miller that ended up being selected first and fifth respectivly in the draft. There was talk of a trade offer with Washington in an effort to pry the number one selection away from the Eagles, but Washington owner Calvin Stockdale would have none of it and they grabbed shortstop Tom Miller -the Christian Trophy winner from Coastal State- with the first pick.
When Cleveland selected a third baseman with the second pick the path was clear from Detroit to get Buddy Miller, who OSA considers to have the potential to be a generational talent at the plate. However Sharp, who played just one season of high school ball really caught the attention of Dynamos scouting director Fred Barrell who took advantage of some decent weather a week ago to invite Sharp to Thompson Field for some batting practice and one last look. By all accounts the kid mashed the ball that day, prompting Powell Thompson to tell Sharp he reminded him of Red Johnson. When Tom Miller went off the board at number one the owner's mind was made up and no matter how good the scouting reports were on Buddy Miller, Powell Thompson was insistent the Dynamos select Sharp, even though they already had a high-power potential young first baseman in the system. That would be John Morrison, a top 50 OSA prospect who was selected as an 18-year-old 4th overall in last year's draft.
"You can never have too many sluggers," said Thompson, adding that Sharp is going to be a fan favourite when he gets to Detroit in a couple of years.
*** Long Winter At the Palladium ***
Any illusion the Detroit Mustangs cage team was going to mount a serious challenge to the Chicago Panthers has quickly disappeared as the Mustangs have dropped 8 of their 11 games and now face the unenviable task of playing each of their next four games and seven of their next nine against the mighty Windy City quintet. There are some bright spots in the lineup such as David Reed and former Detroit City College stars Jack Kurtz and Manny Nelson. The 38-year-old Nelson continues to defy the odds with some outstanding work on the boards but as team the club is just too soft on defense to mount any sort of challenge to what is a dominant Panthers club.
The news from the ice is no better as the Motors have stalled this season. There was hope that a solid third place showing a year ago might have boosted the club into becoming a serious cup contender but in hindsight finishing third a year ago might have been the worst thing that could happen. The decision of the Brooklyn Eagles to fold up shop meant that the Eagles players would be dispersed through the league in a contraction draft and because the Motors finished third they had no chance to select Quinton Pollack or Ian Doyle -two young offensive players that would have given the Motors sputtering offense a boost.
The club has scored the fewest goals in the league and since the trade of veteran defenders Shel Herron and Bryant Williams to Montreal, they have now allowed the most goals against. Not a good combination and the feeling is the club, while just 6 points back of fourth place Toronto, can already be counted out of the playoffs despite the fact they have 26 games remaining on the docket.
*** Knights Robbed of Title ***
To make things worse for area sports fans, many around these parts are no doubt fuming at the final collegiate grid poll after the Detroit City College Knights were denied a national title despite a perfect season that culminated in a second straight victory over CCLA in the East-West Classic. St Blane, despite not playing in a classic game, was voted the title by a slim margin over the Knights, who must settle for second place in what truly has been a first-class season for the local eleven.
Football is over, hockey and basketball do not look to bring us much joy this winter so it looks like all we can do now is look forward to the calendar turning to March and the return of the Dynamos.
SAWYER DOMINATES IN NINTH HEAVYWEIGHT DEFENSE IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD
When the Santa Ana winds blow, they blow hot and hard from the desert. Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer seemed to have generated that much impact and that much heat in his bout on Saturday night in Southern California, as The Cajun Crusher demolished challenger Dan Miller on his way to another title defense, winning by technical knockout in the eighth round.
Just a few days short of Sawyer’s eighth anniversary of hoisting the championship belt for the first time, Sawyer has now had nine successful defenses with challengers than ranged from formidable to pushovers. The 31-year-old Miller was firmly in the camp of the latter, as while the Oakland, California native was ranked as the number one heavyweight contender, his seven losses were the most of any ranked contender in any weight class.
Miller showed up to the ring seemingly a bit out of shape, but that could be because he was standing next to the Heavyweight Champion of the World, who is a comparative slab of granite. The crowd that assembled for this title fight was noted as the largest ever to witness a boxing match, though most likely felt it would not be as much of a true test for Sawyer than it would be a chance to see one of the best heavyweights in boxing history.
At the opening bell, Sawyer started on time, unleashing his first of 20 Big Boppers in the 24-minute fight with a sharp combination to the body about a minute into the first round. The second round opened with Miller’s luckiest moment. As Sawyer fired the opening salvo in the round with a jab, Miller – eyes closed – fired one of his own that pierced Sawyer and opened a cut over Sawyer’s right eyebrow. In the jousting, Miller accidentally head-butted Sawyer, which cut him again. Both cuts were relatively minor and did not affect Sawyer in the immediate aftermath.
The third round had the best legal and intended back-and-forth of the bout. No fewer than seven big punches were landed in the round, four by Sawyer and three by Miller. Sawyer opened with a hard combination that sent Miller reeling, but he quickly regained composure and fired a hook to Sawyer’s head to send him back on his heels. Sawyer steamed ahead shortly after with a series of punches to stagger Miller, advancing further with a cross and a jab. Miller’s knee was close to touching the canvas, but seconds later, he was back on the offensive, landing an uppercut and a cross to shake the champion. The crowd rose to their feet at the end of the round, unleashing a roar you could hear in Newport Beach.
In Sawyer’s corner between rounds, the champ had singular focus. He trained his eyes on Miller, never breaking his stare. The break allowed Sawyer to rest, and his trainer barked out a more defensive game plan to protect himself, but Sawyer used the time to plan how the rest of the fight was going to play out. From the start of the fourth round, Sawyer completely dominated.
A Sawyer uppercut less than a minute into the round that almost floored the challenger. Miller had some difficulty seeing through the blood and referee Dunk McGuire, in his first title fight, paused the fight to have the ring doctor take a closer look. While the fight quickly continued, Sawyer was punching at will, culminating in a beautifully executed uppercut to the chin that dropped Miller flat on his back. Miller was in trouble, staggering and desperate to get on his feet, but managed to convince referee McGuire to allow him to continue.
Late in the next round, Sawyer felled Miller with a combination that stunned Miller and seemingly took the air right out of him. Entering the seventh round, Sawyer was focusing on ending the fight, firing haymakers at Miller, who narrowly made it to the bell. In the eighth and final round, Miller barely answered the bell, unprepared for the final barrage Sawyer would impart upon him. After another accidental head butt re-opened Sawyer’s cut, his mood soured, putting even more menace in his shots. A precise hook dropped the challenger, who inexplicably beat the count, but the stay of execution was short, as Sawyer pumped right hands and hooks to the face of Miller, inevitably re-opening Miller’s gash.
Sawyer (57-3-1) was in control of this bout from start to finish. On two of the judges’ cards, Sawyer won all eight rounds, including a couple by a lopsided 10-8 margin. The third judge had a draw in one round and awarded one round to Miller (36-8-1), but you did not have to view the scores to see how this one turned out. Sawyer knocked Miller down three times, one of which required a standing-eight count.
However, instead of a knockdown, the fight was stopped due to the cut above Miller’s left eye, opened in the fourth round and reopened late in the eighth. With only six seconds left in the round, referee McGuire called an end to the festivities. I am sure the lack of resistance from Miller – he did not have a scoring punch in the last two rounds of the fight – and the trio of knockdowns had something to do with McGuire’s decision, but the time was right to put Miller out of his misery.
The Cajun Crusher continues to take on all comers and while there are young rising contenders to challenge him in the future, Hector Sawyer has been the king of the boxing world for the entire decade of the 1940s. He has ushered the sport into the modern age, through a World War, from the radio age into the visual medium of television. The year 1948 is off to a great start for Sawyer and as he looks to the horizon, he rules the heavyweight division as far as the eye can see.
BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Sawyer 2-0 (0:59 combo/body, 2:05 right)
Round 2: None
Round 3: Sawyer 4-3 (S: 0:11 combo, 0:39 combo, 0:55 combo, 1:28 jab; M: 0:26 hook/head, 1:45 uppercut, 2:30 cross)
Round 4: Sawyer 2-0 (0:49 uppercut/left eyebrow/cut, 2:35 uppercut/chin/knockdown)
Round 5: Sawyer 2-0 (1:08 right/body, 2:42 combo/knockdown)
Round 6: Tied 1-1 (S: 1:40 hook; M: 2:24 combo)
Round 7: Sawyer 5-0 (0:32 cross, 0:51 hook/midsection, 1:54 hook/midsection, 2:07 uppercut, 2:40 combo)
Round 8: Sawyer 4-0 (1:16 hook, 2:14 right/jaw, 2:37 hook/jaw, 2:50 combo)
TOTAL: Sawyer 20, Miller 4
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- 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)
- Feb 3- Philadelphia: former WW champ Dennis O'Keefe (20-3) vs John Gregory (18-2-1)
- Feb 3- Detroit: MW Adrian Petrie (14-1-1) vs P.J. Whitaker (19-15-1)
- Feb 17- Hartford, Ct: rising HW Tommy Cline (12-0) vs Mike McFarland (17-3-2)
- Feb 23- Bigsby Garden, New York: MW Jack Rainey (24-4) vs Frankie Townsley (20-7-1)
QUICK JANUARY START EXTENDS PACKERS LEAD
The Chicago packers have opened up a 6-point lead on the second place Montreal Valiants atop the North American Hockey Confederation standings. The Packers have not lost in 1948 after wins over Toronto and Boston on the weekend improved their record to 4-0 since the calendar flipped. News on the injury front was mixed for the Packers, who are eyeing a playoff bid for their first-ever Challenge Cup win. Tommy Burns, the McDaniels Trophy winner as league most valuable player each of the past two years, returned to the lineup after a 6-game absence and quickly regained the loop's goal scoring lead with a goal in a 3-2 win over Toronto Saturday and two more in last night's 4-1 victory over Boston. On the season Burns has 24 goals in 27 games -just 6 shy of the 30 he potted in 48 games a year ago.
The bad news is the big line of the Burns brothers along with Marty Mahoney managed to last less than a full game together but Mahoney was forced out of the Toronto game with a foot injury. The hope is Mahoney will be able to return to the lineup next weekend, perhaps in time for the showdown with the Valiants in Montreal Saturday night.
The New York Shamrocks are making a charge at fourth place after Etienne Tremblay had a pair of shutouts last week and the Shamrocks earned 5 of a possible six points. Just 2 points separate third place Boston from the fifth place Shamrocks with the Toronto Dukes wedged in between the two rivals.
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NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 33 21 10 2 44 120 77
Montreal 33 17 12 4 38 111 107
Boston 33 14 15 4 32 102 94
Toronto 33 14 16 3 31 96 111
New York 34 14 18 2 30 101 102
Detroit 34 11 20 3 25 85 124
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
Mahoney, Chi 31 14 26 40
T Burns, Chi 27 24 15 39
W Burns, Chi 31 10 26 36
Cabbell, NY 33 23 10 33
Albers, NY 34 10 21 31
Chandler, Bos 29 14 16 30
Pollack, Tor 31 13 16 29
Sauer, Tor 29 12 17 29
Lanceleve, Mon 33 12 17 29
Skinner, Mon 33 12 17 29
Haines, Mon 29 9 19 28
Gregg, NY 29 13 14 27
Galbraith, Tor 33 11 16 27
Lynch, Mon 28 9 18 27
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 27 15 10 2 2 2.42
Tremblay, NY 23 11 10 1 3 2.65
James, Bos 12 5 6 1 1 2.67
Brockers, Bos 21 9 9 3 0 2.91
Touhey, Mon 27 15 10 1 1 3.23
Broadway, Tor 26 10 13 2 1 3.24
Carter, Det 11 1 5 0 0 3.40
Sorrell, NY 13 3 8 1 2 3.52
Chasse, Det 29 10 15 3 2 3.66
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7
New York 2 at 0 Detroit: Etienne Tremblay stopped all 29 shots he faced to lead the New York Shamrocks to a 2-0 victory in Detroit, snapping the Greenshirts three game losing streak. Tommy Brescia opened the scoring in the second period and Sam Coates add an insurance marker early in the third for New York.
THURSDAY JANUARY 8
Detroit 4 at 8 Montreal: A busy week for the Motors continues to go badly with an 8-4 loss in Montreal that saw backup Detroit netminder Brad Carter have a rough night. The Valiants also were forced to use their backup with rookie Sam Desjardins filling in for Millard Touhey, who is sidelined with a viral infection. Ian Doyle and John McDonald each scored twice for the Vals with one of the few bright spots for Detroit was second overall draft pick Franics McKenzie scoring his first NAHC goal.
SATURDAY JANUARY 10
Boston 3 at 3 Detroit: Tommy Hart's 13th goal of the season, midway through the third period, allowed the Boston Bees to salvage a point in a 3-3 tie at Thompson Palladium despite being outshot 36-26. Adam Vanderbilt had two assists for the Motors while Wilbur Chandler had 2 points to pace the Boston offense.
New York 5 at 0 Montreal: A second straight shutout for Etienne Tremblay as the Shamrocks goaltender was only called on to make 16 saves in a lobsided win for the visitors. The Valiants, playing with backup Sam Desjardins in net, were outshot 35-16. Orval Cabbell led the New York offense with a hat trick,giving him 23 goals on the season -tops in the league.
Chicago 3 at 2 Toronto: Tommy Burns returned to the Packers lineup after missing two weeks with an injury and scored his 22nd goal of the year in helping the Packers win their third straight game. Goals by Les Carlson and Dick Zimmerman gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead but Burns got Chicago on the board midway through the second period and the Packers completed the comeback with third period markers from Jesse Santoro and Moose Vezina.
SUNDAY JANUARY 11
Boston 1 at 4 Chicago: A fourth straight win for the Packers following a 4-1 triumph over Boston. Tommy Burns scored two more goals to regain the NAHC lead in that department. David Scarpone broke Norm Hanson's shutout bid with less than 3 minutes remaining in the contest. The Packers played the game without leading scorer Marty Mahoney as the 26-year-old right winger suffered a foot injury against Toronto the night before.
Toronto 7 at 3 Detroit: The Dukes win a laugher in Detroit, as the struggling Motors have just 1 win in 6 January outings. The Motors seemed to be well on the way to a strong game when a pair of Doug Yeadon goals helped the Motors take a 3-1 lead early in the second period but the Dukes took over from there with 5 unanswered goals including two each off the sticks of Kurt Walz and Al Cote to rally for a 7-3 win. Detroit outshot Toronto 12-7 in the opening period but over the final two the Dukes dominated the possession and outshot the Motors 30-15 as perhaps the busy stretch of 4 games in 5 nights caught up to the Motors.
Montreal 3 at 3 New York: With Millard Touhey still sidelined the Valiants elected to give third string goaltender Pat Beliveau, recently promoted from Syracuse, his first NAHC start. The 23-year-old made 24 saves as Montreal ended the Shamrocks two-game winning streak with a 3-3 tie. Max Ducharme ended Shamrocks netmider Etienne Tremblay's bid for a third straight shutout early by notching his 10th of the season late in the first period. The game was knotted at 2 after 40 minutes and Jim Macek gave New York an early lead in the third period but Montreal defenseman Leo Bernard tied the game with less than 4 minutes remaining.
UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 14
Detroit at Boston
Chicago at New York
THURSDAY JANUARY 15
Toronto at Montreal
SATURDAY JANUARY 17
Chicago at Montreal
Boston at Toronto
SUNDAY JANUARY 18
Montreal at Boston
Chicago at Detroit
Toronto at New York
ST BLANE TOPS THE POLLS FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW
The St Blane Fighting Saints held on to their number one ranking in the final collegiate football poll of the season. There was some controversy in the voting with many giving the edge to Detroit City College but it was St Blane, which did not participate in a New Year's Classic Game, that held off the East-West Classic winning Knights(10-0) and fellow unbeaten Travis College (11-0), winners of the Cajun Classic, for the top spot.
Code:
FINAL AIAA COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL TOP TEN
RK SCHOOL
1 St Blane (9-0)
2 Detroit City College (10-0)
3 Travis College (11-0)
4 Pierpont (8-0)
5 CCLA (8-1-1)
6 Alabama Baptist (8-2-1)
7 Richmond State (10-1)
8 Mississippi A&M (9-1-1)
9 Texas Gulf Coast (8-2-1)
10 Huntington State (8-2)
PANTHERS CONTINUE TO FEAST ON WEST OPPONENTS
The Chicago Panthers extended their winning streak to eight games with a 102-73 thumping of the Cleveland Crushers in their lone outing last week. Chicago now leads all of professional basketball with a 14-4 record as 29-year-old center Richard Campbell (21.4 ppg, 16.4 rpg) continues to lead the way. While Chicago is threatening to wrap up the West Division title early, the East has a battle going on between Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Phantoms lead the way thanks to a 4 game winning streak that included back to back wins over Buffalo last week while second place Baltimore continues to struggle to find its way after a terrific start. The Barons began the season with 8 straight wins but since then have gone 4-7 including 3 consecutive losses to Philadelphia.
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FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Philadelphia 14 6 .700 -
Baltimore 12 7 .632 1.5
Buffalo 7 13 .350 7.0
Toronto 5 14 .263 8.5
WEST W L PCT GB
Chicago 14 4 .778 -
Detroit 9 11 .450 6.0
Cincinnati 9 12 .429 6.5
Cleveland 8 11 .421 6.5
SCORING LEADERS PPG
Richard Campbell, CHI 21.4
Lary Yim, BUF 19.5
Danny Hendon, PHI 19.5
Jamel Porter, TOR 18.9
David Reed, DET 18.3
Jack Hirst, BAL 18.1
Jack Kurtz, DET 16.9
George Kelley, CLE 16.3
Ryan Wilkes, CIN 14.7
Nestor Patterson, BAL 14.6
CENTURIONS SWEEP NEW YORK
Set For First Place Showdown With Red Caps
The Boston Centurions completed a string of 5 straight victories over the struggling New York Knights with a 101-77 victory at Denny Arena Thursday night. Riding a 6-game winning streak, the Centurions will host the Brooklyn Red Caps tonight with first place in the American Basketball Conference's East Division on the line. The Red Caps, long-time powers in the ABC, beat Hartford twice last week for the 5th time in 6 straight meetings between the two clubs. Brooklyn, which has represented the East in the ABC championship series each of the past 5 years, has a half-game lead on second place Boston.
In the West Division the defending league champion Washington Statesmen stretched their winning streak to 4 games with a 101-84 victory over Pittsburgh. The win came at a price as their top rebounder and second highest scorer, center Ivan Sisco, suffered a mild knee sprain and may miss a few games. The 27-year-old Sisco is in his 6th season with the Statesmen and averaging 17.8 points per game and 15.3 rebounds per game.
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AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Brooklyn 15 8 .652 -
Boston 14 8 .636 0.5
Hartford 9 14 .391 6.0
New York 5 15 .250 8.5
WEST W L PCT GB
Washington 12 6 .667 -
Richmond 14 10 .583 1.0
Pittsburgh 10 13 .435 4.5
Rochester 8 13 .381 5.5
SCORING LEADERS PPG
James Phillips, HAR 20.2
Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.2
John Rodrigez, HAR 18.7
Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.7
Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.2
Gerald Carter, BOS 18.0
Charles Hooper, WAS 17.9
Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.8
Norm Yates, RIC 17.5
Don Marlow, NY 16.8
ENGINEERS EACH SUFFER FIRST LOSS OF SESAON
The last of the unbeatens in collegiate basketball fell this week with news that Whitney College was upset by the Holland Dutchmen. The loss -the first in 11 games for the defending National Champions- came as a major upset defeat by a small school that rarely enjoys success against the powerhouses from the Great Lakes Alliance. The Dutchman won the game 49-47 on a last second bucket by sophomore Preston Agee, who was one of three Dutchman to reach double figures on the scoresheet. The loss drops the Engineers from second to 6th in the latest cage poll.
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AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (65) 13-1 1792 3 South Atlantic Conference
2. Western Iowa (6) 10-1 1730 4 Great Lakes Alliance
3. Rainier College (1) 13-1 1646 1 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Detroit City College 11-1 1578 7 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Mississippi A&M 12-1 1512 6 Deep South Conference
6. Whitney College 10-1 1431 2 Great Lakes Alliance
7. CC Los Angeles 12-1 1368 8 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Central Ohio 10-2 1297 9 Great Lakes Alliance
9. Coastal California 11-2 1236 5 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Redwood 10-2 1125 11 West Coast Athletic Association
11. Texas Gulf Coast 9-3 966 18 Southwestern Alliance
12. Noble Jones College 13-3 899 15 Deep South Conference
13. Lambert College 13-2 883 14 Midwestern Association
14. Central Kentucky 12-2 867 16 Deep South Conference
15. Liberty College 12-4 813 25 Indy
16. Bayou State 9-3 800 22 Deep South Conference
17. Lane State 9-3 629 23 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Indiana A&M 9-2 600 12 Great Lakes Alliance
19. Travis College 11-2 600 19 Southwestern Alliance
20. St. Ignatius 9-2 465 24 Great Lakes Alliance
21. Alabama Baptist 8-2 330 NR Deep South Conference
22. Great Plains State 13-3 265 13 Indy
23. Pittsburgh State 13-3 228 NR Indy
24. North Carolina Tech 9-3 190 10 South Atlantic Conference
25. Grant (IN) 11-3 64 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Frankford State 16-4 50 Indy
Brunswick 9-4 25 Academia Alliance
Needham 9-3 8 Indy
Wichita Baptist 9-3 2 Midwestern Association
Bluegrass State 8-3 1 Deep South Conference
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 5
at #2 Western Iowa 64, Lubbock State 49
#7 CC Los Angeles 47, at California Catholic 38
#10 Redwood 33, at Adirondack State 26
at #13 Lambert College 71, Eastern Kansas 50
at #16 Bayou State 46, Gates University 31
TUESDAY JANUARY 6
#11 Texas Gulf Coast 51, at Central Carolina 42
#14 Central Kentucky 48, at Annapolis Maritime 40
at #23 Pittsburgh State 51, Flint 40
at Dickson 55, #24 North Carolina Tech 54
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7
at #15 Liberty College 61, Pierpont 36
at #17 Lane State 66, Utah A&M 55
#18 Indiana A&M 48, at Tallmadge State 19
at #19 Travis College 42, Portland Tech 41
THURSDAY JANUARY 8
at #1 Carolina Poly 64, Topeka State 41
at #2 Western Iowa 52, Kansas Agricultural 50
at #4 Detroit City College 49, Elyria 46
Holland 49, at #6 Whitney College 47
at #9 Coastal California 56, NW New York State 48
at #12 Noble Jones College 58, Brunswick 39
#14 Central Kentucky 53, at Ohio Poly 41
at #20 St. Ignatius 61, Cuyahoga University 43
FRIDAY JANUARY 9
at #5 Mississippi A&M 68, Dudley 39
at #10 Redwood 60, College of San Diego 59
at #11 Texas Gulf Coast 59, Western Florida 47
at #13 Lambert College 60, Daniel Boone College 52
#16 Bayou State 74, at Canyon A&M 69
#23 Pittsburgh State 67, at Fond du Lac 47
SATURDAY JANUARY 10
at #1 Carolina Poly 56, St. Patrick's 52
at #2 Western Iowa 71, Pierpont 36
at #8 Central Ohio 61, Ohio Poly 32
Sunnyvale 63, at #9 Coastal California 55
#12 Noble Jones College 79, at Bulein 73
at #15 Liberty College 69, George Fox 38
at #20 St. Ignatius 54, Three Rivers State 47
at #21 Alabama Baptist 58, Rome State 44
at #25 Grant (IN) 66, Lincoln 58
SUNDAY JANUARY 11
at #4 Detroit City College 62, Miami State 42
at #10 Redwood 60, Maldin 39
at #11 Texas Gulf Coast 56, Kansas Agricultural 47
at #22 Great Plains State 56, Lubbock State 49
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/11/1948
- In his message to start the new session of Congress, President Truman called for an immediate $40 "cost-of-living" income tax cut for every taxpayer and dependent, and an offsetting levy of $3.2 billion on corporations to pay for it. Republican leaders say there is no change it would be passed.
- Talks of heavily reducing the amount of aid given to Europe prompted Secretary of State Marshall to warn that an inadequate program would only waste American resources. "Either undertake to meet the requirements of the problem or don't undertake it at all," Marshall told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- The US Ambassador to Great Britain warned Congress that the Marshall Plan must be approved or this country would have to live in "an armed camp" isolated and under controls to which its people are not accustomed if Western Europe collapses.
- The Jewish underground militia, Hagana, has claimed responsibility for a hotel bomb in Jerusalem that killed 20 people, 19 of the Arabs. A day later, two bombs tossed from cars resulted in 12 more deaths.
- four of the Navy's powerful fleet-type submarines are being supplied to Turkey as part of the United States' program to strengthen that key Middle Eastern country against Soviet Russia.