FEBRUARY 9, 1948
UPHILL BATTLE FOR MINUTEMEN?
Club Management Doesn't Think So
The Boston Minutemen won a pair of pennants and a World Championship Series title this decade and were a second place team in the Federal Association just two years ago but as we look ahead to spring training next month one can't help but feel the Minutemen are old, and like Ponce de Leon it seems that it will take nothing less than the discovery of a fountain of youth in Florida this spring to allow the Minutemen to avert another long season like the one they endured in 1947. Boston was 70-84 and 7th place in the Federal Association last season: their worst showing since a 94-loss campaign in 1933.
There are concerns things will only get worse this time around with most of the worries revolving around the mound. Pitchers Dean Astle and Ed Wood have both retired leaving only Ray Dalpman as a viable middle to top of the rotation arm. Walt Wells is 40 years old and perhaps should also have retired. Duke Hendricks and John Edwards are both 31 but neither has lived up to the promise each showed as first round draft picks. Beyond that pickings are very slim.
Age is also quickly becoming a factor in the everyday lineup as Joe Watson and Rip Curry are both 38 years old. Bill Moore, Chick Donnelly, Art Spencer and Pete Day are all 36. Even Harry Barrell is 34 and Billy Dalton 33. The good news is the situation is not quite as dire as on the mound because most of those listed above are expected to still be productive this year but there is doubt they can contribute enough to offset what looks like a pitching staff that will struggle. More positive news is the fact that there is a pretty solid crop of young talent on the way up with names like Yank Taylor, Marshall Thomas, Dick Helfand and Alf Keeter on the tips of the tongue for most scouts asked to discuss the Boston farm system. The issue is many of those are still a year, perhaps more away from being ready for Minutemen Stadium.
That could mean for some very lean times in '48 and maybe even 1949 and the high competition level in the Federal Association seems to significantly reduce the odds of the Boston nine competing for a flag in the near future. With that in mind perhaps now is the time to follow the Pittsburgh Miners lead and send Dalpman and Barrell elsewhere in hopes of jump starting their revival. That very question, and others. were posed recently to the Boston management team when TWIFB sat down with Boston Assistant General Manager/Scouting Director Johnny Robards.
TWIFB: Boston seems at a crossroads. Pittsburgh has gone full rebuild. The Minutemen have not been that drastic but it feels to an outsider that the club is in transition with Astle and Wood leaving. Pete Day, Bill Moore, Chick Donnelly, Ed Watson even Harry Barrell are getting older. Can Boston win with this group still or is it closing in on time to move a valuable piece like Harry or Dalpman to hasten the retool?
Johnny Robards: While we loved everything Dean and Ed brought to our organization we did the majority of our winning without those two pitchers last season. For Astle it was the second major injury in the matter of two seasons and we didn't have him for the entire campaign so we were not surprised when he hung it up. He was such a fierce competitor, so we understood how tough of a decision it must have been. With Ed it was another situation where he didn't want to continue if he couldn't be a top end hurler. We had discussions with Ed over the course of the season so we were not caught at all by surprise when he decided to hang them up.
You opened the question by using the word "crossroads", well that is certainly fair. We could have easily initiated deals to part ways with both Ray Dalpman and/or Harry Barrell. First, we really didn't get offers we considered were in the best interest of our organization and second is how good does a pitching staff have to be to win? We do not deny that New York and St. Louis look to have strong rotations but pitching can very fickle year to year. Our position is that there is a lot of uncertainty in the rotations in the FA. We feel offense backed by a solid fielding club defensively, is a viable strategy when organizations are simply unwilling to move top quality pitching.
TWIFB: Is it correct to assume from that you feel your offense is capable of carrying the club?
Johnny Robards: (nodding) It is our thought that we will be able to hit enough to compete or to overcome some of our pitching challenges. Offensively, we gave the respect that was due to some veteran players and made sure we had exhausted every option before we went into a more youthful direction. One of those players is Ben McCarty. The kid can play and he is going to get every opportunity next season. Billy Dalton and Harry Barrell are two of the best in the FABL. Buddy Schneider is a fantastic defender that we feel still has potential to break out with the bat. Pete Day is still a high end player. 24 year old Hal Renard is going to get more opportunities this season as well at 1B.
Once again crossroads is a good term because if it doesn't work we feel we will still be able to move players as teams get significantly more desperate at the deadline. As for our pitching we know Dalpman is the ace followed by Hendricks and Edwards then it will be a trial by fire for a few players. We made a couple Rule V moves to increase the competition for those bottom two spots.
TWIFB: Where do you see the Minutemen finishing in the Fed this season?
Johnny Robards: Your guess would be as good as anyone else's. Of course New York will get all the usual love while complaining that the league is conspiring against them. St. Louis is the defending champion. Barrell may hit 70 in Philly so watch them. Washington was the St. Louis of two years ago. Detroit is always in the mix and Chicago has made some savvy deals to get themselves there as well. We feel we can compete and land somewhere in the first division and with a few breaks you never know, crazier things have happened.
TWIFB: Your primary duty in Boston is to head the scouting staff. How do you think your daft went?
Johnny Robards: We were really excited to see what we think is a game changing shortstop fall to us at 11 in Joe Kleman. We had him as one of the top guys in this draft and maybe the break we needed since those lottery balls have not been kind to us in Boston. It was really nice to be able to fill what we think will be a passing of the torch situation when Harry is ready to retire. With the changing of the rules (eliminating the ability to trade draft picks) drafting and development is going to be even more of a focus than it has ever been in the FABL. Gone are the days when a team could mortgage their draft capital for instant talent. Boston, like many others had used that philosophy in the past but were quick enough to feel the winds of change on the horizon a few years back. We made an organizational decision to rebuild our farm system which ranked dead last for some time. We still have some way to go but are extremely excited about some of the young talent we have playing in our minor leagues.
TWIFB: Let's talk about your minor league system. Who should we be watching out for?
Johnny Robards : Yank Taylor is showing good pop and is our top prospect. Marshall Thomas is a 19 year old second baseman with loads of talent. Dick Helfand may even make this team out of spring training. Art Keeter will pitch at AA or AAA to start the season. Danny Taylor, Ernie Martin and Virgil Harris are also looking good. Then you add Kleman and a few others from the '48 class to the list we are moving in the right direction with our development plan.
This was the first in a series of previews looking at several FABL clubs as we approach the start of spring training March 1.
HAVANA SHARKS CLASS OF CUBAN LOOP ONCE MORE
For the second year in a row the Havana Sharks have been crowned champions of the Cuban Winter League. The loop, started in 1946 by FABL as a way to showcase elite talent on the verge of challenging for a big league job, completed its successful second season on Monday with a single elimination championship game. The result was the same as in the debut year with the East Division champion Havana Sharks beating the western winner Manzanillo Palms in the title game. The Sharks were comprised of players from the Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos while the Palms are supplied talent by the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones.
The championship game finished in a 8-5 victory for the visiting Sharks during a game which had plenty of drama despite threatening to be a blowout when the Sharks scored 5 times in the top of the first inning. Manzanillo clawed back and score 3 times in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks in no small part to a 2-run homer off the bat of Bob Blackwell before the Sharks put the game away in the top of the ninth when Cannons outfield prospect Gordie Stevens delivered a 2-run homer. Stevens, who went 3-for-4 in the game, was named the most valuable player. Biff Turner went 7 inning for Havana to claim the victory while Bill Chapman, who is expected to push for a spot on the Stars pitching staff this spring, had a rough outing in taking the loss while lasting just 2 innings and allowing 5 earned runs.
Another New York Stars pitching prospect, Foster Smith, was named the top player in the Cuban League. The 23-year-old went 6-2 with a 1.87 era over 9 starts for Manzanillo.
- The Oakland Grays of the Great Western League have signed former Brooklyn Kings and Montreal Saints third baseman Spud Bent to a contract worth an estimated $20,000. A 1937 All-American at Maryland State, Bent was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Miners but was quickly dealt to the Saints in a deal that brought Pablo Reyes to the Steel City. The grandson of famed manager Ossie Julious, the 31-year-old played 628 FABL games, primarily as a backup, and hit .271.
- The GWL Los Angeles Knights have waived Eddie Ziehl. The 30-year-old infielder hit just .161 in 35 games with the Knights in 1946 while spending all of last season in the minors. Ziehl is the son of Hall of Famer Ed Ziehl, who is the Knights manager.
- The Washington Eagles have signed former Brooklyn Kings catcher George Jones to a minor league contract. The 28-year-old was released by three organizations last season and last played in FABL in 1945, when he started 107 games behind the plate for the Kings. A 1947 fourth round draft pick out of a New York City area high school, Jones has 190 FABL games under his belt and owns a .276 career batting average.
ROUGH WEEK FOR VALIANTS
The Montreal Valiants were thumped 7-1 by Chicago on Thursday night before recovering to tie Detroit Saturday but the bigger loss for the Vals came on the injury front with two top-tier defensemen and a centerman all suffering injuries. The largest blow was the news that Shel Herron will miss at least a month with a shoulder injury while Bryant Williams, who came over from Detroit with Herron in a December trade, will also miss a few days with a shin injury. To make matters worse the short-staffed Valiants were forced to play without 31-point scorer Max Ducharme on Saturday against Detroit and winger Rey Sclisizzi will also miss a couple of weeks with an elbow issue. Then there is Bert Lanceleve, who has 37 points in 42 games but missed both of last week's outings due to a suspension from an incident in Boston last week and still has one more game to serve.
The week also saw Montreal drop to third, a point behind the Boston Bees, who also enjoy a game in hand on the Valiants. The Bees picked up 3 of a possible 4 points over the course of the week but are 14 points back of first place Chicago after the Packers won all three of their games last week and are 5-0-2 over their last seven contests.
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NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 45 27 13 5 59 170 112
Boston 43 19 17 7 45 135 119
Montreal 44 19 19 6 44 138 148
Toronto 44 19 21 4 42 126 142
Detroit 46 17 24 5 39 120 160
New York 44 17 24 3 37 137 145
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 39 34 20 54
Mahoney, Chi 37 16 34 50
W Burns, Chi 43 12 33 45
Cabbell, NY 43 30 14 44
Albers, NY 44 16 27 43
Chandler, Bos 38 19 21 40
Pollack, Tor 40 18 20 38
Skinner, Mon 44 17 21 38
McGlynn, Chi 45 20 17 37
Galbraith, Tor 44 16 21 37
Sauer, Tor 40 14 23 37
Lanceleve, Mon 42 13 24 37
Hart, Bos 42 18 18 36
Gregg, NY 39 16 19 35
MacLean, Chi 41 12 23 35
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 38 20 13 5 2 2.59
Brockers, Bos 27 12 10 5 1 2.71
James, Bos 16 7 7 2 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 33 14 15 2 3 3.02
Broadway, Tor 37 15 18 3 1 3.08
Touhey, Mon 35 17 15 2 1 3.39
Chasse, Det 38 15 18 4 2 3.44
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3
Detroit 1 at 4 Chicago : Chicago is unbeaten in five games after a 4-1 victory in a rare Tuesday NAHC contest. Tommy Burns scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to equal and surpass his league leading total of a year ago.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4
Toronto 1 at 4 Boston: The Dukes have just 1 win in their last five games after falling 4-1 in Boston. Tommy Hart had the hot hand for the winners as he was involved in all 4 Bees goals, scoring twice while assisting on markers from Wilbur Chandler and Craig Simpson.
New York 7 at 3 Detroit : Detroit lost for the second time in as many nights as the Motors, who had a late train ride in from Chicago overnight, led 2-0 after twenty minutes before running out of gas and falling 7-3. Orval Cabbell paced the Shamrocks attack with 3 goals and an assist while Jim Macek and Sam Coates each enjoyed 3 point evenings. The victory snaps a 6-game winless streak for New York.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5
Chicago 7 at 1 Montreal : A dominant victory on the road for the high flying Packers who were led once more by Tommy Burns with 2 goals. Jeremy MacLean also scored twice for the Packers, who are now unbeaten in their last six games, while Jarrett McGlynn had a goal and two helpers. Montreal netminder Mahlon Touhey did not survive the first period, being pulled after allowing 4 Chicago goals on just 12 shots.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7
Detroit 3 at 3 Montreal : Detroit ended a 3-game losing streak while Montreal rallied for a 3-3 tie two nights after being embarrassed on home ice by Chicago. The Vals needed two third period goals including Adam Sandford's 7th of the season with less than 5 minutes remaining to salvage a point out of the game.
New York 6 at 2 Toronto : The Shamrocks won for the second game in a row while the Dukes lost for the 5th time in their last six games. Six different Shamrocks found the back of the net including Orval Cabbell, who scored his 30th of the season.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8
New York 3 at 6 Chicago : The Packers improved to 4-0 in February by doubling the visiting New York Shamrocks 6-3. Tommy Burns and Marty Mahoney each had a goal and two assists as the home side exploded for four answered goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to pull out the victory.
Boston 2 at 2 Detroit : Spencer Larocque's fifth goal of the season early in the third period allowed to Detroit to claim a tie for the second night in a row. Adam Vanderbilt had given the Motors an early lead but Joe Morey scored twice for Boston in a game that the Motors outshot the Bees 31-14.
UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11
Chicago at Boston
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14
New York at Boston
Montreal at Toronto
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15
Detroit at Boston
Montreal at Chicago
Toronto at New York
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- Rumours are circulating that Detroit Motors coach Mark Moore is on thin ice with speculation rampant that the 53-year-old will be fired this week. The club denies the rumours but it was hardly a resounding vote of confidence as when asked about the status of his coach Motors owner Jack Connelly Jr. would only say that he does not "like firing coaches in mid-season." When pressed to confirm that meant Moore's job was safe Connelly's two word response was "for now." Moore, who led the Motors to a third place finish last season, is in his third year behind the bench in Detroit.
Toronto shows how fragile their system is giving up 10 goals in 2 games this week with 3 D-men out due to injury. Both games the Dukes got behind early, as Coach Jack Barrell has said over and over this season the team has to win with defense. They do not have the firepower to run and gun with other teams in NAHC. At Denny Arena mid-week the after a scoreless first frame, Tommy Hart put the Bees ahead at 6:52 into the second. The Dukes then created a major miscue giving up two goals in 8 seconds at the with less than two and half minutes left in the period. Barrell said "Our message is always to play really tight defense the first and last 5 minutes of each period so the opponent gets no momentum at the start of a period or going into the dressing room between periods. Quinton's goal late in the second gave us hope but those two quick ones really took the wind out our sails, cannot give teams a 3 goal lead." The Bees netted an empty netter to win 4-1.
More telling was the loss at home on Saturday night to the Shamrocks. Hoping to put further doubt in minds of the New York squad chasing a playoff berth, the Dukes instead were again victimized with 2 goals in last 5 minutes in both the first and second periods. An unflattering 6-2 loss had Barrell close the dressing room to reporters but the assembled scribes could hear, but not make out all the words, in the post game tirade by the staff.
Netminder Gordie Broadway had two substandard games allowing 10 goals on 53 shots. Going into 6 days off before hosting Montreal at home on Saturday the team will probably be put through their paces in tough daily practices in preparation for what seems to be a critical game. On the injury front it appears that Gunner will be back although Martel and Lumsen remain, at best, questionable. At the moment the Toronto Dukes continue to hang on to the last playoff spot but must shake themselves out of their February funk.
ALL-STAR GAMES SIGNAL MID-POINT OF PRO CAGE SEASON
Taking a page out of FABL, the two professional basketball leagues each contested their all-star games over the weekend, announcing the unofficial mid-point of their seasons. The Federal League all-star starters were primarily from the loop's two dominant teams with four Chicago Panthers and three Philadelphia Phantoms being selected to start the game. The Panthers split a pair of games early in the week, falling by 22 points in the Motor City on Wednesday before winning by 20 at Lakeside Arena the following evening. Like those results, there is little competition at the top of the West Division with the Panthers 21-6 record the class of the pro game and a full 9 games up on the 12-15 Detroit Mustangs, who hold down second place in the West. The race in the East is much closer one with the 19-8 Philadelphia Phantoms holing a 2.5 game lead on second place Baltimore.
In the American Basketball Conference it is the Washington Statesmen that continue to thrive. The defending loop champions played just once last week, downing Pittbsurgh 103-82 behind 23 points from league scoring leader Charles Hooper. That was the 12th victory in a row for the DC quintet, which has not lost since December 27. In the East the Brooklyn Red Caps continue to hold a slim lead on the second place Boston Centurions with both clubs falling short in their only game last week.
ALL-STAR GAME RESULTS
The Federal Basketball League all-star game was won 106-95 by the East Division stars as Philadelphia's Irvin Mudd came off the bench to score 24 points and be named the player of the game. The ABC game saw the West Division prevail 114-97 behind the scoring exploits of a pair of Washington Statesmen. Ivan Sisco led all players with 22 points while his Washington teammate and ABC scoring leader Charles Hooper added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
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FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Philadelphia 19 8 .704 -
Baltimore 16 10 .615 2.5
Buffalo 11 15 .423 7.5
Toronto 6 19 .240 12.0
WEST W L PCT GB
Chicago 21 6 .778 -
Detroit 12 15 .444 9.0
Cincinnati 10 16 .385 10.5
Cleveland 10 16 .385 10.5
SCORING LEADERS PPG
Richard Campbell, CHI 20.8
Larry Yim, BUF 20.5
David Reed, DET 19.1
Jamel Porter, TOR 18.5
Danny Hendon, PHI 17.9
Jack Hirst, BAL 16.9
Jack Kurtz, DET 16.9
George Kelley, CLE 16.3
Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.6
Herb Hobbs, CLE 14.3
Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Brooklyn 20 11 .645 -
Boston 18 12 .600 1.5
Hartford 13 19 .406 7.5
New York 10 19 .345 9.0
WEST W L PCT GB
Washington 20 6 .769 -
Richmond 17 16 .515 6.5
Rochester 12 18 .400 10.0
Pittsburgh 11 20 .355 11.5
SCORING LEADERS PPG
Charles Hooper, WAS 19.5
John Rodrigez, HAR 19.3
James Phillips, HAR 19.2
Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.1
Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.9
Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.1
Gerald Carter, BOS 18.0
Norm Yates, RIC 17.7
Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0
Terry Flowers, ROC 16.8
LIBERTY COLLEGE CONTINUES TO CLIMB IN RANKINGS
The Liberty College Bells had a rough start to the season with 4 losses in their first 11 games but since then they have been making a steady ascent up the college basketball rankings. Liberty College, which has three National Titles since 1936 and reached the championship game only to fall just short each of the past two seasons, had been counted out early with losses to lightly reagarded Huntington State, Troy State and Brooklyn Catholic but they turned the corner just after Christmas and have won 13 of their last 14 games including dominant victories over St. Martin's College and Cesar Rodney last week.
Senior Ward Messer, younger brother of the New York Gothams star outfielder, was a first-team All-American selection a year ago and is the odds on favourite for national player of the year as he challenges for the nation lead in points and rebounds. Messer, who is expected to be a high draft pick in either the ABC or FBL next season, is averaging 16.0 ppg, second in the nation behind only Central Kentucky senior guard Charles Cleary, who is looking to be the nation's top scorer for the second consecutive season. Messer is averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, trailing only Peter Collett (10.3) of Henry Hudson University and Northern California's Win Corrigan (9.8) in that category. Messer had 20 points and 15 boards in Friday's 63-33 win over Cesar Rodney.
Western Iowa, which currently shares the Great Lakes Alliance lead with Central Ohio and Whitney College at 5-1, continues to lead the national rankings. The 17-2 Canaries only loss in their last 14 games came to the Engineers a couple of weeks ago. They won both of their GLA section games over the weekend, topping Minnesota Tech 57-50 in Minneapolis on Thursday before smashing St. Magnus 74-41 Saturday behind a 15 point effort from Willy Ludwick. South Atlantic Conference power Carolina Poly and coast outfit Rainier College hold down the second and third rankings but they flipped spots this week after the Majestics were upended 46-33 in Los Angeles by Coastal California.
Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (68) 17-2 1795 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Carolina Poly (3) 18-2 1726 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. Rainier College (1) 18-2 1632 2 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Liberty College 20-5 1515 7 Indy
5. CC Los Angeles 18-2 1495 8 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Whitney College 16-3 1490 5 Great Lakes Alliance
7. Central Ohio 16-3 1406 4 Great Lakes Alliance
8. Noble Jones College 17-3 1252 9 Deep South Conference
9. Coastal California 16-4 1248 13 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Detroit City College 15-4 1144 12 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Mississippi A&M 17-3 1062 6 Deep South Conference
12. Redwood 17-3 1009 15 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Lambert College 18-3 903 16 Midwestern Association
14. Bayou State 15-4 871 14 Deep South Conference
15. Texas Gulf Coast 16-4 787 17 Southwestern Alliance
16. Brunswick 16-5 768 11 Academia Alliance
17. Lane State 17-6 625 10 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Great Plains State 18-4 581 19 Indy
19. Frankford State 21-5 535 18 Indy
20. St. Blane 17-8 432 NR Indy
21. Alabama Baptist 15-4 292 21 Deep South Conference
22. North Carolina Tech 14-6 257 NR South Atlantic Conference
23. Perry State College 19-6 197 22 Indy
24. Central Kentucky 15-4 140 23 Deep South Conference
25. Needham 17-4 83 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Travis College 16-5 60 Southwestern Alliance
Pittsburgh State 17-6 49 Indy
Indiana A&M 14-5 20 Great Lakes Alliance
University of New Jersey 14-5 11 Eastern Six
Columbia Military Academy 14-6 6 South Atlantic Conference
Holland 14-5 5 Central Athletic Alliance
Dickson 14-8 2 Academia Alliance
Johnston Tech 17-6 2 Indy
MONDAY FEBRUARY 2
at #18 Great Plains State 43, El Paso Methodist 26
#21 Alabama Baptist 58, at Adirondack State 48
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3
at #19 Frankford State 53, #24 Central Kentucky 52
#20 St. Blane 52, at Pittsburgh State 44
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4
at #4 Liberty College 71, St. Martin's College 35
#16 Brunswick 54, at Pierpont 45
Grange College 54, at #23 Perry State College 35
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5
#1 Western Iowa 57, at Minnesota Tech 50
at #2 Carolina Poly 51, Petersburg 37
St. Magnus 64, at #6 Whitney College 47
at #7 Central Ohio 49, St. Ignatius 41
at #10 Detroit City College 62, Lincoln 51
#22 North Carolina Tech 54, at Chesapeake State 46
#25 Needham 55, at Rome State 39
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6
at #4 Liberty College 63, Caesar Rodney 33
#5 CC Los Angeles 60, at Northern California 47
at #9 Coastal California 46, #3 Rainier College 34
at #12 Redwood 51, Spokane State 34
#15 Texas Gulf Coast 57, at Lubbock State 53
at Idaho A&M 45, #17 Lane State 37
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7
at #1 Western Iowa 74, St. Magnus 41
#2 Carolina Poly 73, at Columbia Military Academy 65
at #6 Whitney College 52, #7 Central Ohio 49
at #8 Noble Jones College 44, Opelika State 36
at #10 Detroit City College 35, Indiana A&M 33
at Baton Rouge State 44, #11 Mississippi A&M 39
#13 Lambert College 55, at Freemont State 52
#14 Bayou State 71, at Western Florida 57
#15 Texas Gulf Coast 54, at Travis College 44
at #20 St. Blane 59, Brooklyn State 48
Georgia Baptist 45, at #21 Alabama Baptist 39
at #22 North Carolina Tech 64, Cowpens State 40
at #24 Central Kentucky 49, Northern Mississippi 35
#25 Needham 54, at St. Pancras 44
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8
at #3 Rainier College 57, Custer College 30
#5 CC Los Angeles 39, at Portland Tech 28
at #9 Coastal California 59, Northern California 53
#12 Redwood 60, at #17 Lane State 47
at #23 Perry State College 62, Poweshiek 39
SAWYER EXPECTED TO FACE CASE IN JUNE
World heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer will make one more appearance on American soil before he embarks on a European tour. That is the word from Chester Conley, long-time manager of The Cajun Crusher, who says the fight will take place in New York City in June. No date has been finalized and the venue is not yet confirmed but expected to be Gothams Stadium. What Conley did confirm this week is the opponent for Sawyer will be Steve Case.
Case is a 27-year-old New York native with a 18-1-2 career record. Like most of the fighters around these days, his career had a 4-year interuption due to the war, but aside from a majority draw in 1945 with Doug Thomas, he has won all 13 fights since his return to the professional ring in February 1945.
Most of Case's opponents have been tomato cans, but he did game some noterioty with a unanimous decision in December over the previously unbeaten Harvey Winter. Case is slated to fight Ron Ramsey in Hartford next month and assuming he comes up with another victory he will face Sawyer in June.
Few, if any, give Case any hope of defeating the champ, who is 57-3-1 and will be making his 10th title defense since claiming the belt in a 1940 bout with German Jochen Schrotter.
FORMER WELTER CHAMP O'KEEFE CONTINUES TO CLAW BACK
Dennis O'Keefe, known to his fans as "The Jacksonville Jackhammer" was the first post-war welterweight champ but lost the title as quickly as he won it -by falling to Mark Westlake in his first title defense. He dropped his next fight as well, falling by decision to Willis May that sent him tumbling out of the contender list in the welter division. Now he is trying to rebound and did so very nicely in Philadelphia last week, dominating a pretty good fighter in John Gregory in claiming a 4th round knock out at Keystone Arena.
It was just the result O'Keefe needed and marked his second straight knock out win after the back to back losses and might just lead to a chance to fight current title holder Harold Stephens for the belt. O'Keefe improved to 21-3 with the victory, while Gregory drops to 18-3-1.
One other fight of note last week saw Canadian middleweght Adrian Petrie run his record to 15-1-1 when the Montreal native took a 10-round decision from P.J. Whitaker.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- 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)
- Mar 12- Hartford, Ct: rising HW Steve Case (18-1-2) vs Ron Ramsey (19-10-5)
- Mar 12- New York City: WW Ben Bishop (27-4-1) vs Martin Woodland (12-3-1)
- Mar 15- Philadelphia: HW Harvey Winter (16-1) vs Clifford Baker (29-11-3)
- Mar 19- Cincinnati: MW Nick Harris (22-3-1) vs Joe Moore (18-3)
- Mar 21- Bologna, Italy: Euro MW champ Edouard Desmarais (40-1) vs Poto Tauretto (14-8)
- Mar 30- San Francisco: HW Dan Miller (36-8-1) vs Candian HW Daniel Huot (13-1-2)
- Mar 31- San Diego, Ca: WW Willis May (18-3-2) vs Carl Taylor (22-5-2)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/08/1948
- The Senate put the Republican tax cutting bill on ice, and it may stay unresolved for two months or more.
- A Senate subcommittee voted against authorizing the Government to prepare for meat rationing.
- British Prime Minister Attlee has proposed voluntary freeze on pay, profits and items like rent for the sake of combating inflation and rebuilding the struggling British economy.
- As the week came to a close President Truman warned that prices in the US are rising so alarminly that a crash is inevitable unless the upward spiral is checked.
- After Russia protested American involvement in Iraq and US war planes flying over Russian ships off the coast of Japan, the US hit back by charging in the UN that Communist-dominated Romania violated its new peace treaty.
- Nazi General Johannes Blaskowitz leaped to his death shortly before he was to go on trial in Nuernberg with 14 other Germany military leaders for war crimes.