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Tiger Fan · 08-30-2023, 01:57 PM

MAY 24, 1948

GOTHAMS ON THE RISE

Who needs Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong? It certainly does not appear to be the New York Gothams who have won 15 of their last 17 games despite missing the two veteran sluggers the entire time. After struggling through a 4-11 start, things turned around for the Gothams on May 4 when Ed Bowman finally notched his first win of the season. Bowman has won each of his three starts since then and the Gothams big four of Bowman, Lefty Allen, Buddy Long and Joe Brown are a combined 12-2 since that date. The New York offense is clearly weakened without Johnson and Strong but newcomer George Cleaves (.352,4,18), who came over from Pittsburgh during the winter with Lefty Allen, and surprising youngster Cecil LaBonte (.355,1,17) have more than picked up the slack.

All that stands between the Gothams and first place in the Federal Association now is the Philadelphia Keystones - a club that has been just as hot as the New York nine over the past few weeks. The Keystones took five of seven last week on the road in St Louis, Chicago and Detroit and are on a 13-2 run. Bobby Barrell, who broke out of an early slump with 6 homers two weeks ago, smacked just one last week but batted .357. Those numbers paled in comparision to second year catcher Roger Cleaves, who hit .417 with 3 homers and 8 rbi's to lead the Keystones big week. Hank Koblenz also hit 3 homers in the past 7 days to increase his FABL leading total to 14 - a number that puts him on pace to sock 65 this year or one more than Barrell's record-setting result a year ago.

While the Keystones are 2.5 games up on the surging second place Gothams in the Fed, the Continental Association remains a free-for-all with 7 of the 8 teams within 2.5 games of the lead. Brooklyn holds down top spot this week but first place seems to change hands almost daily in the CA at the moment. The Chicago Cougars, picked once again by most as the most talented club in the Continental, did reel off three straight wins over the weekend including a pair of 1-run victories over the defending flag winners from Philadelphia. One-run games have rarely been the Cougars strong suit this decade and they simply balanced out those wins over Philadelphia by dropping three straight to Toronto -including a pair by a single run- to start the week.

We all knew it would be a tough year for the Pittsburgh Miners after the winter moves to ship George Cleaves and Lefty Allen off to the Big Apple as well as lesser moves to part ways with Pinky Pierce and Jim Beard but the reality of just how bad the situation might be is finally hitting home.

A little over a month into the season the Miners are 8-27 and have lost 12 in a row. Pittsburgh actually holds the record for most losses in a season with 112 which was set way back in 1890, or 2 years before the birth of FABL. The 1935 Detroit club lost 111 games, which is the most in a season after the creation of the Federal and Continental Associations. So how bad is the current version of the Miners. Well, at their current pace, the Pittsburgh ballclub would lose 119 ballgames.

Having said all of that, there is one team against which Pittsburgh has a winning record this season. The Miners are 3-2 in games played with the Boston Minutemen. Boston, like Pittsburgh was a pennant contender for a long stretch but have also fallen on hard times. Perhaps we can petition FABL President Sam Belton to alter the schedule a little and allow the Miners and Minutemen to face similar competition. The Pittsburgh nine have certainly seen enough of the likes of the Philadelphia Keystones, New York Gothams and Detroit Dynamos. The Miners are a combined 0-15 against those three clubs so far this season.

Through the tunnel of darkness, the Miners are trapped in there has been one shining lantern of hope. That would be the bat of Joe Owens who, despite participating in 12 straight losses, has a 20-game hitting streak on the go and a batting average of .333, ranking the 36-year-old among the league leaders in the Fed. Perhaps he is simply trying to impress opposing General Managers in a bid to be traded to a contender.

The one other thing for Miners fans to look forward to is a glimpse into the organization's future. It is expected the club will likely call-up top prospects Ernie Campbell, Irv Clifford and Paul Williams to the big league club by the end of June.
*** Cage Falcons Rumoured On the Move ***

Despite no statement from the organization it is no secret that Bernie Millard, the Pennsylvania-born coal magnate and owner of the Continental Association Toronto Wolves, has purchased the struggling Pittsburgh Falcons basketball club from Armand Allen. While initially that was welcomed as a move that might give the penny-pinching franchise a much needed cash infusion, it now appears almost a certainty that Millard plans to move the club to Toronto.

It is known that Millard has worked out a lease to use Toronto's Dominion Gardens ice rink for a basketball team and that seems to point to the Falcons flying north next winter. There is some hope that Toronto's current cage club, the equally struggling Toronto Titans, might in return relocate to the Steel City as they are obviously being forced out of Toronto but so far there has been no indication that will happen. The most likely scenario is the Titans, who were the worst team in the Federal Basketball League a year ago, will simply cease to exist and as a result the same demise is feared for the future of pro basketball in Pittsburgh.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Wolves Start Week On Fire but Finish Poorly --The Toronto Wolves began their lengthy road tour hot in the Windy City but finished the week with a crash in the Big Apple. The 17-game road swing began on a damp Tuesday afternoon in Cougars Park with George Garrison leading the team to 4-3 victory despite being outhit 13-6 by the Cougars. Garrison went 8 innings scattering 11 hits helped out by double plays, one being a 5-2-3 game ending with the bases juiced securing Lou Jayson's 5th save of the season. Manager Call noted "We were extremely lucky to pull that one out, at times Lady Luck is on your side."

Wednesday night's game was a wild affair in which the Wolves tried to blow an early 6-1 lead after the Cougars knotted the score at 6 in the 4th. Toronto rallied though by scoring 5 times in the 8th inning helped by homers by Charlie Artuso and Hank Giordano to win 11-6. Artuso more than doubled his RBI total with 5 in the game on the deep homer along with a base clearing triple in the second. Toronto completed the sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Peter "The Heater" Papenfus thanks to a pinch hit single from Wayne Henderson in 9 giving Jim Carter his third victory of the year. Wolves again are helped by infield defense turning 3 twin-killings.

After the euphoria of the wins in Chicago, the Wolves moved on to New York City but seemed to have forgotten their bats at Cougar Park. They were shutout 4-0, 3-0 at Kings County Park by Brooklyn managing only 5 hits over the two games. Across the city for two in Dyckman Stadium Sunday afternoon the bats woke up somewhat, but clearly not enough against the Stars as the Wolves were swept by 2-1, 7-4 scores. Garrison was tagged with the loss in the opener despite only giving up 2 runs. in the night cap the Wolves held a 3-2 lead in the 8th when they surrendered a big inning with Joe Hancock once more being the victim. Hancock get the first two then BB, Single, Single, Single, Single, Triple leads to 5 Stars runs before being sent to the showers. The result : 7-4 final for the Stars.

Toronto hopes to salvage one game in New York as the series concludes today before the Wolves head into Montreal then Philadelphia and Cleveland to finish the road swing. Call has announced that Jim Carter with start the second game in the back to back doubleheaders in Philadelphia, Cleveland next Sunday, Monday.

This reporter knows there was some discussion of bringing up Harry Phillips from Buffalo to pitch but those plans have been put on hold at the present time. The other big announcement is that Owner Bernie Millard has finalized the purchase of a DC3 airliner for the Wolves and their Pullman coach will become the Buffalo Nickels property. The Wolves will begin flying on road trips after the Stars game on Monday.

Millard's statement was "This is the way of the future, soon I believe all teams will own their own plane. The FABL will soon increase their geographic footprint in North America, I have it on good authority that the rebel league is in serious financial difficulty, may not survive until 1950. I want Toronto to be at the forefront of innovation, the players will be better rested that will lead to better brand of baseball for the fans."

Millard added that his club's players are very supportive of the new way to travel. "One player said 'A two hour flight it much preferable to a 4 or 5 hour train ride getting into a city in the wee hours of the morning then trying to be ready for an afternoon game.' I know the guys in Buffalo will like the Pullman, it will increase their desire to taste the first class travel of the big leagues."

Gail Gifford of the Cincinnati Cannons notched his 2,000th career hit last week. The 36-year-old, who spent 11 years with St Louis before joining the Cannons in 1945, becomes the 89th player in FABL history to reach that milestone.
Fred McCormick of the Toronto Wolves is just 3 hits shy of the 2,500 club. He may be one of 4 players to reach that mark this season as Washington Mel Carrol (2460), Pete Day of Boston (2443) and Cincinnati's Sam Brwon (2403) are all closing in.
34-year-old Lefty Allen has won all 3 of his starts in the past 11 days and now is just 2 away from the 200th victory of his career. Not all that long ago there was talk of Allen maybe reaching the 300-win plateau but he missed a season and a half due to the war and was on a weak Pittsburgh team the past couple of years, derailing his pace.
The Chicago Chiefs are counting the days until ace Al Miller returns from the back injury that has sidelined him since spring training. Training staff says Miller, who won 17 games a year ago, is about 2 weeks away from returning to the Whitney Park mound. It can't come soon enough for the Chiefs, who had a quick start but have lost 7 of their last 9 and dropped to 5th in the Fed.
Percy Pringle Sr. of The Brooklyn Eagle reports the Kings have an interesting problem brewing. Juan Pomales will be ready to come off the DL at the end of next week. Since he’s been out since last August, the club will likely give him 2 weeks in Jersey City to prepare for a return. The problem is rookie Pat Petty is hitting well so there is a logjam in the outfield. One alternative is to trade 1B Chuck Collins, which was considered during spring training. But to move him would require a quality pitcher or near ready pitching prospect in return. If the Kings did move Collins it would mean Petty would likely be called on to slide over to 1B. Collins is just 22 and Petty is 23 and both fit in well to the Kings bright future with their young core.
A minor league no-hitter last week as 31-year-old Tom Henderson turned the trick for the Toledo Tornados. The Gothams farmhand blanked Fort Wayne 2-0 while walking 3. Henderson is 4-1 with a 3.08 era on the season. He 16-18 all-time for the big league club and did win 13 games two years ago but the Gothams say they have no room for him on the New York staff at the moment. It was the second time Fort Wayne has been no-hit this season and Dutch Day did it for Columbus last month. Henderson's gem was the first no-hitter by a Toledo pitcher since Charlie Morrell threw one in 1931.
Another season of Japanese baseball got underway last week. It is the 11th year for the JBA and is comprised of 8 teams this season including the two-time defending champion Tokyo Rakisuta Rams.

DOUBLE-HEADER RECORDS

Percy Pringle Sr. of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has compiled the twin-bill records of each FABL club so far this season:
Notes Pringle "Poor Pittsburgh doesn't like double-headers but Washington would like to schedule more, especially against Pittsburgh"

Boston 3-5
Brooklyn 1-3
Chicago Chiefs 2-6
Chicago Cougars 2-2
Cincinnati 1-1
Cleveland 3-3
Detroit 5-1
Montreal 3-1
NY Stars 5-3
NY Gothams 2-0
Keystones 1-1
Sailors 3-3
Pittsburgh 0-8
St Louis 4-2
Toronto 0-2
Washington 6-0

BARONS WIN GAME SEVEN IN OVERTIME TO TAKE FBL CROWN

The final few minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime in game seven of the Federal Basketball League championship series may well be remembered as one of the greatest sporting collapses of all-time. It is probably unfair to classify it as such because the series between the Baltimore Barons and defending champion Chicago Panthers was so evenly matched during the first six games and 3 and a half quarters of game seven before the Baltimore Barons scored the final 19 points of the game to beat the Chicago Panthers 92-78 in overtime in the deciding seventh game.

The Barons, Baltimore's only pro sports team after the Cannons fled for Cincinnati 8 years ago, win the championship in just the second year of the FBL's existence despite finishing 6 games back of first place Philadelphia in the East Division. The Barons beat Buffalo 3 games to one in the best of five opening round before topping the division leading Phantoms in 6 games in the best-of-seven semi-final to set up the showdown with the Panthers.

For six games the Barons and Panthers alternated victories with Baltimore drawing first blood so it only made sense that the Barons, despite playing before a hostile crowd in the Windy City would prevail in the seventh game. It looked like Chicago would win another championship as the Panthers led by 9 points with a little over seven minutes remaining and by 5 as the game entered its final minute. However, the Panthers shooters went cold, not making a basket in the final seven minutes and going 0-for-13 from the field in the process as Baltimore rallied to tie the game and force overtime for the first time in the series.

The extra period was a nightmare for the Panthers, who's cold shooting continued. Chicago was routed in the overtime, going 0-for-9 from the field and outscored 14-0 to make the final result a lopsided 92-78 margin in favour of the visitors from Maryland.

The finish was perhaps more incredible than anyone could imagine and continued the recent heartache for Chicago sports fans after the Chicago Packers early exit from the NAHC playoffs, the Wildcats stuggles in recent seasons in the AFA and the much-talked about failures of the Chicago Cougars baseball club. At least they do have the Panthers title from a year ago to remember fondly but it is unlikely any cage fans in the Windy City will forget this game seven for an awful long time.
*** A Tight, Evenly Matched Series ***

It was a back and forth series full of twists and turns, although none anywhere near as dramatic as the amazing final minutes of the series. A little over a week ago the two clubs split the opening two games of the series in Chicago with the Barons taking the opener 85-75 before the Panthers rebounded the next night with an 88-84 win.

The series then shifted to Baltimore for the next three games and the Barons struck first with a hard-fought 90-89 victory in the third game. Jack Hirst, the 27-year-old Baltimore center, was the hero thanks to his game-high 30 points on the evening but also for the final two of those points which came with just 11 seconds remaining following a nice feed from Bobby Ray Cornett and proved the difference in the game. Chicago had a last second chance to pull out the victory but Larry Serrano's desperation heave from the left wing refused to drop giving the Baltimore quintet a two games to one series lead.

In contrast to game three when the Barons shot over 40 percent from the field the fourth game was a struggle for the Baltimore shooters and none more so than game three hero Hirst, who managed just 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting as the Panthers, led by 22 points from Richard Campbell, pulled away with a strong fourth quarter to even the series. The final score was 78-68 but the game was very close until the Panthers outscored their hosts by a 10-2 margin in the final 3 minutes, with five of those points coming from Joe Hampton. Hampton would have a triple double with 14 points, 12 boards and 11 helpers as all five Chicago starters reached double-figures in points with Cory Myers, who scored 14 and added 14 rebounds to go with 5 blocked shots, earning the nod as player of the game.

Now a best of three, the Baltimore Barons on Wednesday night welcomed 6,554 fans to the Chesapeake Arena to cheer on the club in its final home contest of the season. It was a celebratory mood all evening as the Barons scored six points in the final minute of the opening quarter to take the lead and never trailed the rest of the way: claiming a 78-69 victory and moving to within one victory of winning the league championship. It was hardly an impressive shooting display as both clubs hit on less than 30% of their field goal attempts and there were plenty of fouls in a game that saw both starting centers foul out but the Barons threw up 105 field goal attempts compared to just 81 shots by the Panthers. Nestor Patterson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Baltimore while guard Bobby Ray Cornett chipped with 18 points and 10 assists.

Facing a must-win game to prolong their season, the Chicago Panthers returned to Lakeside Auditorium for the sixth game of the Federal Basketball League championship series needing someone to step up. That would turn out to be Richard Campbell. The veteran forward had plenty of experience in high pressure situations, both as a bench-piece on 4 championship teams in Brooklyn and as the leader a year ago when the Panthers won the inaugural FBL crown. The 29-year-old from Western Florida University led his team to a 75-64 victory to even the series and force a 7th game. The Barons scored the first bucket of the contest in this one, but never led again as the Panthers opened a 19-6 first quarter lead and coasted to victory.

It is only the second season of the Federal Basketball League but the final minutes of game seven will likely be remembered as one of the greatest collapses the loop has ever seen for quite a long time. With 7:14 remaining in the fourth quarter Joe Hampton fed the ball to James Brown under the Baltimore basket for an easy two points that gave the Panthers a 9-point lead at 74-65. The rest of the way Chicago did not record a field goal and was outscored 27-4 as the Panthers and a crowd of 4,800 watched their title hopes fade away.

With exactly 3 minutes left Larry Serrano made two free-throws to extend the Panthers lead to 7 at 76-69 and even with just 1:11 remaining Hampton made one of two free throw attempts to put the Panthers up by 5 points. First it was Nestor Patterson with a put back on a third shot attempt after the Panthers failed to box out and the lead was down to 3 points as the game entered the final minute. Now ice-cold, the Panthers Larry Serrano had an open look from the left corner with 37 seconds left but he missed, although the possession remained with the Panthers after the ball was knocked out of bounds by a Baltimore player. Eliseo Werth likely could have wrapped up the title but he missed a layup with only 15 seconds remaining.

Running out of time Bobby Ray Cornett fed Jack Hirst for a quick basket to cut the Chicago lead to just 1 point with 6 seconds remaining in regulation. An immediate foul sent Serrano to the line for two shots but the Panthers guard missed them both. The Barons called a quick timeout to draw up a desperation plan with only 3 seconds left on the clock. The ball came to Jack Hirst and the Barons star was surrounded by Panthers and it appeared time would run out giving Chicago a second straight title. But no! The referee called a foul on Chicago center Cory Myers -his sixth of the game- and being in the penalty the Barons had a chance to win the series with 1 second left on the clock.

Hirst tied the game with his first free throw but missed the second, keeping the Panthers alive with the prospect of overtime. The extra frame would be a blur for Panthers players afterwards. Outscored 14-0 their title hopes vanished with every turnover, missed shot and poor decision. When the dust settled it was a 92-78 decision to give the Barons the league title. Bobby Ray Cornett, who had 10 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in the finale as well as a dominant series overall, was named the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs as the city of Baltimore celebrated its first professional sports championship since the old Baltimore Cannons won the 1914 World Championship Series in FABL. For Chicago sports fans it was yet another disappointment in what has become a very tough decade for the second city, earning it the moniker "Second Place City" in some circles.

MITCHELL NAMED ABC TOP PLAYER FOR 6TH TIME

After a one year absence Brooklyn Red Caps Ivory Mitchell is once again the Most Valuable Player in the American Basketball Conference. The 29-year-old guard was named the top player in the loop for five consecutive seasons before being replaced last year by Washington center Ivan Sisco. Mitchell, who was a first team All-American and won a National AIAA Championship while at Liberty College, has spent the past six years with the Red Caps after beginning his pro career with two seasons playing for the old Providence Pilgrims. Mitchell has been named to the ABC All-Pro team each of his 8 seasons in the league. This year the Cranford, NJ, native finished second to James Phillips of Hartford with 19.5 points per game while leading the ABC in assists, averaging 10.1.

Joining Mitchell on the All-Pro team are a pair of Washington Statesmen in center Ivan Sisco and forward Charles Hooper as well as Richmond forward Norm Yates and guard Morgan Melcher of the Boston Centurions. Sisco was named to the team for the fourth time in his six year ABC career which included the Most Valuable Player award win last season. The 27-year-old Connecticut native was a second team All-American during his college days at Carolina Poly and was named AIAA freshman of the year in 1938-39.

Hooper and Yates were college teammates for a couple of years at St Ignatuis before turning pro. Hooper, 28, has spent five seasons with Washington while the 26-year-old Yates is in his fourth year with the Richmond Clippers. Melcher is in his third year with Boston after the 26-year-old was drafted first overall by the Centurions out of Coastal California. He was a 4 year college starter for the Dolphins and the Los Angeles native's 1,945 career collegiate points is the second most all-time, trailing only his Boston teammate Valerio Cortes who played his college ball at Brooklyn State.

WINTER OUTPOINTS FOUNTAIN

Young Harvey Winter, the heavyweight terror from Trenton, NJ, continued his climb up the boxing ladder with a hard-fought 10-round decision over Mark Fountain in the nation's capital on Friday evening. The youngster, who does not turn 22 until June 5, has already won 18 bouts and lost just once since turning pro as an 18-year-old in 1945. His only blemish came last December when Steve Case -who will face Hector Sawyer for the world title next month- outpointed him in a bout at Bigsby Garden. Undeterred, Winter followed that up with an early March knockout of veteran Philadelphia fighter Clifford Baker before his impressive showing Friday evening at Washington's National Auditorium.

Despite Fountain's impressive pedigree that included time as the number one contender in the sport, Winter was unfazed by the 30-year-old New York native and took control of the bout early. Winter was a clear winner in each of the opening two rounds but his best flurry came in the third round when he sent Fountain to the canvas with big right hook. Fountain recovered from what proved to be the only knockdown of the fight and actually took the bout to Winter in the later rounds as the youngster, likely still getting accustomed to 10-round bouts, began to tire. However, Winter's strong showing early and his high activity rate -throwing more than twice as many blows as the methodical Fountain- impressed the judges and referee Mark Nelson to award the win to the youngster. Nelson scored it 97-93 while the two at ringside each gave Winter a 2-point victory.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

May 29 - Hartford, Ct: HW Roy Crawford (26-3) vs Tommy Cline (13-0)
Jun 4 - London, Eng: rising WW Danny Julian (19-0) vs Dennis Whitwell (5-8)
Jun 18- Los Angeles, CA: HW Dan Miller (36-9-1) vs Allen Bailey (36-6-2)
June 12 - Gothams Stadium: World HW champ Hector Sawyer (57-3-1) defends his title against Steve Case (19-1-2)
Jun 21- Detroit, MI: MW contender John Edmonds (24-3) vs Willie Binion (19-6-1)
Jun 24- Houston, TX: rising MW Tommy Campbell (20-0-1) vs Joe Moore (19-4)
Jun 27 -Atlanta, GA: WW Dale Roy (29-6) vs Harry Larkin (16-1)
Jun 28- Detroit, MI: WW Carl Taylor (22-6-2) vs Brian Pierce (9-0)
Jun 30- Baltimore, MD MW contenders Nick Harris (23-4-1) vs Brooks O'Connor (27-4-2)
Jul 10 - Sailors Memorial: World MW champ Frank Melanson (33-1-2) defends his title against Edouard Desmarais (40-1)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 5/23/1948

The White House reported that recent tests involving three atomic weapons in the Pacific proved successful in all respects.
The US Atomic Energy Commission has decided to end its two-year effort to agree on world atomic control. Russia and the Soviet Ukraine voted against the suspension, but western powers concluded it was useless to continue talks any longer in view of the deadlock between Russia and the commission majority.
The US is cautious but calls Prime Minister Stalin latest statement on peace "encouraging" after Stalin declared that Russia is willing, if the United States is, to accept an open letter penned by Henry Wallace as a foundation for peaceful settlement of the Soviet-American quarrels.
Both Jewish and Arab forces report a heavy battle raging for the old city of Jerusalem.
As the Auto Union threatens to call out 225,000 workers at GM, Michigan state police was rushed into a Detroit suburb to cope with an outbreak of picket line violence at Chrysler plants.
The National Guard was also called to action in Iowa following the death of a picket at a Waterloo packing house.
New York Governor Dewey has won the Oregon Republican presidential primary after former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen conceded, moving Dewey very close to securing the nomination.

08-30-2023, 01:57 PM	#779
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,815	May 24, 1948 MAY 24, 1948 GOTHAMS ON THE RISE Who needs Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong? It certainly does not appear to be the New York Gothams who have won 15 of their last 17 games despite missing the two veteran sluggers the entire time. After struggling through a 4-11 start, things turned around for the Gothams on May 4 when Ed Bowman finally notched his first win of the season. Bowman has won each of his three starts since then and the Gothams big four of Bowman, Lefty Allen, Buddy Long and Joe Brown are a combined 12-2 since that date. The New York offense is clearly weakened without Johnson and Strong but newcomer George Cleaves (.352,4,18), who came over from Pittsburgh during the winter with Lefty Allen, and surprising youngster Cecil LaBonte (.355,1,17) have more than picked up the slack. All that stands between the Gothams and first place in the Federal Association now is the Philadelphia Keystones - a club that has been just as hot as the New York nine over the past few weeks. The Keystones took five of seven last week on the road in St Louis, Chicago and Detroit and are on a 13-2 run. Bobby Barrell, who broke out of an early slump with 6 homers two weeks ago, smacked just one last week but batted .357. Those numbers paled in comparision to second year catcher Roger Cleaves, who hit .417 with 3 homers and 8 rbi's to lead the Keystones big week. Hank Koblenz also hit 3 homers in the past 7 days to increase his FABL leading total to 14 - a number that puts him on pace to sock 65 this year or one more than Barrell's record-setting result a year ago. While the Keystones are 2.5 games up on the surging second place Gothams in the Fed, the Continental Association remains a free-for-all with 7 of the 8 teams within 2.5 games of the lead. Brooklyn holds down top spot this week but first place seems to change hands almost daily in the CA at the moment. The Chicago Cougars, picked once again by most as the most talented club in the Continental, did reel off three straight wins over the weekend including a pair of 1-run victories over the defending flag winners from Philadelphia. One-run games have rarely been the Cougars strong suit this decade and they simply balanced out those wins over Philadelphia by dropping three straight to Toronto -including a pair by a single run- to start the week. We all knew it would be a tough year for the Pittsburgh Miners after the winter moves to ship George Cleaves and Lefty Allen off to the Big Apple as well as lesser moves to part ways with Pinky Pierce and Jim Beard but the reality of just how bad the situation might be is finally hitting home. A little over a month into the season the Miners are 8-27 and have lost 12 in a row. Pittsburgh actually holds the record for most losses in a season with 112 which was set way back in 1890, or 2 years before the birth of FABL. The 1935 Detroit club lost 111 games, which is the most in a season after the creation of the Federal and Continental Associations. So how bad is the current version of the Miners. Well, at their current pace, the Pittsburgh ballclub would lose 119 ballgames. Having said all of that, there is one team against which Pittsburgh has a winning record this season. The Miners are 3-2 in games played with the Boston Minutemen. Boston, like Pittsburgh was a pennant contender for a long stretch but have also fallen on hard times. Perhaps we can petition FABL President Sam Belton to alter the schedule a little and allow the Miners and Minutemen to face similar competition. The Pittsburgh nine have certainly seen enough of the likes of the Philadelphia Keystones, New York Gothams and Detroit Dynamos. The Miners are a combined 0-15 against those three clubs so far this season. Through the tunnel of darkness, the Miners are trapped in there has been one shining lantern of hope. That would be the bat of Joe Owens who, despite participating in 12 straight losses, has a 20-game hitting streak on the go and a batting average of .333, ranking the 36-year-old among the league leaders in the Fed. Perhaps he is simply trying to impress opposing General Managers in a bid to be traded to a contender. The one other thing for Miners fans to look forward to is a glimpse into the organization's future. It is expected the club will likely call-up top prospects Ernie Campbell, Irv Clifford and Paul Williams to the big league club by the end of June. * Cage Falcons Rumoured On the Move * Despite no statement from the organization it is no secret that Bernie Millard, the Pennsylvania-born coal magnate and owner of the Continental Association Toronto Wolves, has purchased the struggling Pittsburgh Falcons basketball club from Armand Allen. While initially that was welcomed as a move that might give the penny-pinching franchise a much needed cash infusion, it now appears almost a certainty that Millard plans to move the club to Toronto. It is known that Millard has worked out a lease to use Toronto's Dominion Gardens ice rink for a basketball team and that seems to point to the Falcons flying north next winter. There is some hope that Toronto's current cage club, the equally struggling Toronto Titans, might in return relocate to the Steel City as they are obviously being forced out of Toronto but so far there has been no indication that will happen. The most likely scenario is the Titans, who were the worst team in the Federal Basketball League a year ago, will simply cease to exist and as a result the same demise is feared for the future of pro basketball in Pittsburgh. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Start Week On Fire but Finish Poorly --The Toronto Wolves began their lengthy road tour hot in the Windy City but finished the week with a crash in the Big Apple. The 17-game road swing began on a damp Tuesday afternoon in Cougars Park with George Garrison leading the team to 4-3 victory despite being outhit 13-6 by the Cougars. Garrison went 8 innings scattering 11 hits helped out by double plays, one being a 5-2-3 game ending with the bases juiced securing Lou Jayson's 5th save of the season. Manager Call noted "We were extremely lucky to pull that one out, at times Lady Luck is on your side." Wednesday night's game was a wild affair in which the Wolves tried to blow an early 6-1 lead after the Cougars knotted the score at 6 in the 4th. Toronto rallied though by scoring 5 times in the 8th inning helped by homers by Charlie Artuso and Hank Giordano to win 11-6. Artuso more than doubled his RBI total with 5 in the game on the deep homer along with a base clearing triple in the second. Toronto completed the sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Peter "The Heater" Papenfus thanks to a pinch hit single from Wayne Henderson in 9 giving Jim Carter his third victory of the year. Wolves again are helped by infield defense turning 3 twin-killings. After the euphoria of the wins in Chicago, the Wolves moved on to New York City but seemed to have forgotten their bats at Cougar Park. They were shutout 4-0, 3-0 at Kings County Park by Brooklyn managing only 5 hits over the two games. Across the city for two in Dyckman Stadium Sunday afternoon the bats woke up somewhat, but clearly not enough against the Stars as the Wolves were swept by 2-1, 7-4 scores. Garrison was tagged with the loss in the opener despite only giving up 2 runs. in the night cap the Wolves held a 3-2 lead in the 8th when they surrendered a big inning with Joe Hancock once more being the victim. Hancock get the first two then BB, Single, Single, Single, Single, Triple leads to 5 Stars runs before being sent to the showers. The result : 7-4 final for the Stars. Toronto hopes to salvage one game in New York as the series concludes today before the Wolves head into Montreal then Philadelphia and Cleveland to finish the road swing. Call has announced that Jim Carter with start the second game in the back to back doubleheaders in Philadelphia, Cleveland next Sunday, Monday. This reporter knows there was some discussion of bringing up Harry Phillips from Buffalo to pitch but those plans have been put on hold at the present time. The other big announcement is that Owner Bernie Millard has finalized the purchase of a DC3 airliner for the Wolves and their Pullman coach will become the Buffalo Nickels property. The Wolves will begin flying on road trips after the Stars game on Monday. Millard's statement was "This is the way of the future, soon I believe all teams will own their own plane. The FABL will soon increase their geographic footprint in North America, I have it on good authority that the rebel league is in serious financial difficulty, may not survive until 1950. I want Toronto to be at the forefront of innovation, the players will be better rested that will lead to better brand of baseball for the fans." Millard added that his club's players are very supportive of the new way to travel. "One player said 'A two hour flight it much preferable to a 4 or 5 hour train ride getting into a city in the wee hours of the morning then trying to be ready for an afternoon game.' I know the guys in Buffalo will like the Pullman, it will increase their desire to taste the first class travel of the big leagues." Gail Gifford of the Cincinnati Cannons notched his 2,000th career hit last week. The 36-year-old, who spent 11 years with St Louis before joining the Cannons in 1945, becomes the 89th player in FABL history to reach that milestone. Fred McCormick of the Toronto Wolves is just 3 hits shy of the 2,500 club. He may be one of 4 players to reach that mark this season as Washington Mel Carrol (2460), Pete Day of Boston (2443) and Cincinnati's Sam Brwon (2403) are all closing in. 34-year-old Lefty Allen has won all 3 of his starts in the past 11 days and now is just 2 away from the 200th victory of his career. Not all that long ago there was talk of Allen maybe reaching the 300-win plateau but he missed a season and a half due to the war and was on a weak Pittsburgh team the past couple of years, derailing his pace. The Chicago Chiefs are counting the days until ace Al Miller returns from the back injury that has sidelined him since spring training. Training staff says Miller, who won 17 games a year ago, is about 2 weeks away from returning to the Whitney Park mound. It can't come soon enough for the Chiefs, who had a quick start but have lost 7 of their last 9 and dropped to 5th in the Fed. Percy Pringle Sr. of The Brooklyn Eagle reports the Kings have an interesting problem brewing. Juan Pomales will be ready to come off the DL at the end of next week. Since he’s been out since last August, the club will likely give him 2 weeks in Jersey City to prepare for a return. The problem is rookie Pat Petty is hitting well so there is a logjam in the outfield. One alternative is to trade 1B Chuck Collins, which was considered during spring training. But to move him would require a quality pitcher or near ready pitching prospect in return. If the Kings did move Collins it would mean Petty would likely be called on to slide over to 1B. Collins is just 22 and Petty is 23 and both fit in well to the Kings bright future with their young core. A minor league no-hitter last week as 31-year-old Tom Henderson turned the trick for the Toledo Tornados. The Gothams farmhand blanked Fort Wayne 2-0 while walking 3. Henderson is 4-1 with a 3.08 era on the season. He 16-18 all-time for the big league club and did win 13 games two years ago but the Gothams say they have no room for him on the New York staff at the moment. It was the second time Fort Wayne has been no-hit this season and Dutch Day did it for Columbus last month. Henderson's gem was the first no-hitter by a Toledo pitcher since Charlie Morrell threw one in 1931. Another season of Japanese baseball got underway last week. It is the 11th year for the JBA and is comprised of 8 teams this season including the two-time defending champion Tokyo Rakisuta Rams. DOUBLE-HEADER RECORDS Percy Pringle Sr. of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has compiled the twin-bill records of each FABL club so far this season: Notes Pringle "Poor Pittsburgh doesn't like double-headers but Washington would like to schedule more, especially against Pittsburgh" Boston 3-5 Brooklyn 1-3 Chicago Chiefs 2-6 Chicago Cougars 2-2 Cincinnati 1-1 Cleveland 3-3 Detroit 5-1 Montreal 3-1 NY Stars 5-3 NY Gothams 2-0 Keystones 1-1 Sailors 3-3 Pittsburgh 0-8 St Louis 4-2 Toronto 0-2 Washington 6-0 BARONS WIN GAME SEVEN IN OVERTIME TO TAKE FBL CROWN The final few minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime in game seven of the Federal Basketball League championship series may well be remembered as one of the greatest sporting collapses of all-time. It is probably unfair to classify it as such because the series between the Baltimore Barons and defending champion Chicago Panthers was so evenly matched during the first six games and 3 and a half quarters of game seven before the Baltimore Barons scored the final 19 points of the game to beat the Chicago Panthers 92-78 in overtime in the deciding seventh game. The Barons, Baltimore's only pro sports team after the Cannons fled for Cincinnati 8 years ago, win the championship in just the second year of the FBL's existence despite finishing 6 games back of first place Philadelphia in the East Division. The Barons beat Buffalo 3 games to one in the best of five opening round before topping the division leading Phantoms in 6 games in the best-of-seven semi-final to set up the showdown with the Panthers. For six games the Barons and Panthers alternated victories with Baltimore drawing first blood so it only made sense that the Barons, despite playing before a hostile crowd in the Windy City would prevail in the seventh game. It looked like Chicago would win another championship as the Panthers led by 9 points with a little over seven minutes remaining and by 5 as the game entered its final minute. However, the Panthers shooters went cold, not making a basket in the final seven minutes and going 0-for-13 from the field in the process as Baltimore rallied to tie the game and force overtime for the first time in the series. The extra period was a nightmare for the Panthers, who's cold shooting continued. Chicago was routed in the overtime, going 0-for-9 from the field and outscored 14-0 to make the final result a lopsided 92-78 margin in favour of the visitors from Maryland. The finish was perhaps more incredible than anyone could imagine and continued the recent heartache for Chicago sports fans after the Chicago Packers early exit from the NAHC playoffs, the Wildcats stuggles in recent seasons in the AFA and the much-talked about failures of the Chicago Cougars baseball club. At least they do have the Panthers title from a year ago to remember fondly but it is unlikely any cage fans in the Windy City will forget this game seven for an awful long time. * A Tight, Evenly Matched Series * It was a back and forth series full of twists and turns, although none anywhere near as dramatic as the amazing final minutes of the series. A little over a week ago the two clubs split the opening two games of the series in Chicago with the Barons taking the opener 85-75 before the Panthers rebounded the next night with an 88-84 win. The series then shifted to Baltimore for the next three games and the Barons struck first with a hard-fought 90-89 victory in the third game. Jack Hirst, the 27-year-old Baltimore center, was the hero thanks to his game-high 30 points on the evening but also for the final two of those points which came with just 11 seconds remaining following a nice feed from Bobby Ray Cornett and proved the difference in the game. Chicago had a last second chance to pull out the victory but Larry Serrano's desperation heave from the left wing refused to drop giving the Baltimore quintet a two games to one series lead. In contrast to game three when the Barons shot over 40 percent from the field the fourth game was a struggle for the Baltimore shooters and none more so than game three hero Hirst, who managed just 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting as the Panthers, led by 22 points from Richard Campbell, pulled away with a strong fourth quarter to even the series. The final score was 78-68 but the game was very close until the Panthers outscored their hosts by a 10-2 margin in the final 3 minutes, with five of those points coming from Joe Hampton. Hampton would have a triple double with 14 points, 12 boards and 11 helpers as all five Chicago starters reached double-figures in points with Cory Myers, who scored 14 and added 14 rebounds to go with 5 blocked shots, earning the nod as player of the game. Now a best of three, the Baltimore Barons on Wednesday night welcomed 6,554 fans to the Chesapeake Arena to cheer on the club in its final home contest of the season. It was a celebratory mood all evening as the Barons scored six points in the final minute of the opening quarter to take the lead and never trailed the rest of the way: claiming a 78-69 victory and moving to within one victory of winning the league championship. It was hardly an impressive shooting display as both clubs hit on less than 30% of their field goal attempts and there were plenty of fouls in a game that saw both starting centers foul out but the Barons threw up 105 field goal attempts compared to just 81 shots by the Panthers. Nestor Patterson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Baltimore while guard Bobby Ray Cornett chipped with 18 points and 10 assists. Facing a must-win game to prolong their season, the Chicago Panthers returned to Lakeside Auditorium for the sixth game of the Federal Basketball League championship series needing someone to step up. That would turn out to be Richard Campbell. The veteran forward had plenty of experience in high pressure situations, both as a bench-piece on 4 championship teams in Brooklyn and as the leader a year ago when the Panthers won the inaugural FBL crown. The 29-year-old from Western Florida University led his team to a 75-64 victory to even the series and force a 7th game. The Barons scored the first bucket of the contest in this one, but never led again as the Panthers opened a 19-6 first quarter lead and coasted to victory. It is only the second season of the Federal Basketball League but the final minutes of game seven will likely be remembered as one of the greatest collapses the loop has ever seen for quite a long time. With 7:14 remaining in the fourth quarter Joe Hampton fed the ball to James Brown under the Baltimore basket for an easy two points that gave the Panthers a 9-point lead at 74-65. The rest of the way Chicago did not record a field goal and was outscored 27-4 as the Panthers and a crowd of 4,800 watched their title hopes fade away. With exactly 3 minutes left Larry Serrano made two free-throws to extend the Panthers lead to 7 at 76-69 and even with just 1:11 remaining Hampton made one of two free throw attempts to put the Panthers up by 5 points. First it was Nestor Patterson with a put back on a third shot attempt after the Panthers failed to box out and the lead was down to 3 points as the game entered the final minute. Now ice-cold, the Panthers Larry Serrano had an open look from the left corner with 37 seconds left but he missed, although the possession remained with the Panthers after the ball was knocked out of bounds by a Baltimore player. Eliseo Werth likely could have wrapped up the title but he missed a layup with only 15 seconds remaining. Running out of time Bobby Ray Cornett fed Jack Hirst for a quick basket to cut the Chicago lead to just 1 point with 6 seconds remaining in regulation. An immediate foul sent Serrano to the line for two shots but the Panthers guard missed them both. The Barons called a quick timeout to draw up a desperation plan with only 3 seconds left on the clock. The ball came to Jack Hirst and the Barons star was surrounded by Panthers and it appeared time would run out giving Chicago a second straight title. But no! The referee called a foul on Chicago center Cory Myers -his sixth of the game- and being in the penalty the Barons had a chance to win the series with 1 second left on the clock. Hirst tied the game with his first free throw but missed the second, keeping the Panthers alive with the prospect of overtime. The extra frame would be a blur for Panthers players afterwards. Outscored 14-0 their title hopes vanished with every turnover, missed shot and poor decision. When the dust settled it was a 92-78 decision to give the Barons the league title. Bobby Ray Cornett, who had 10 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in the finale as well as a dominant series overall, was named the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs as the city of Baltimore celebrated its first professional sports championship since the old Baltimore Cannons won the 1914 World Championship Series in FABL. For Chicago sports fans it was yet another disappointment in what has become a very tough decade for the second city, earning it the moniker "Second Place City" in some circles. MITCHELL NAMED ABC TOP PLAYER FOR 6TH TIME After a one year absence Brooklyn Red Caps Ivory Mitchell is once again the Most Valuable Player in the American Basketball Conference. The 29-year-old guard was named the top player in the loop for five consecutive seasons before being replaced last year by Washington center Ivan Sisco. Mitchell, who was a first team All-American and won a National AIAA Championship while at Liberty College, has spent the past six years with the Red Caps after beginning his pro career with two seasons playing for the old Providence Pilgrims. Mitchell has been named to the ABC All-Pro team each of his 8 seasons in the league. This year the Cranford, NJ, native finished second to James Phillips of Hartford with 19.5 points per game while leading the ABC in assists, averaging 10.1. Joining Mitchell on the All-Pro team are a pair of Washington Statesmen in center Ivan Sisco and forward Charles Hooper as well as Richmond forward Norm Yates and guard Morgan Melcher of the Boston Centurions. Sisco was named to the team for the fourth time in his six year ABC career which included the Most Valuable Player award win last season. The 27-year-old Connecticut native was a second team All-American during his college days at Carolina Poly and was named AIAA freshman of the year in 1938-39. Hooper and Yates were college teammates for a couple of years at St Ignatuis before turning pro. Hooper, 28, has spent five seasons with Washington while the 26-year-old Yates is in his fourth year with the Richmond Clippers. Melcher is in his third year with Boston after the 26-year-old was drafted first overall by the Centurions out of Coastal California. He was a 4 year college starter for the Dolphins and the Los Angeles native's 1,945 career collegiate points is the second most all-time, trailing only his Boston teammate Valerio Cortes who played his college ball at Brooklyn State. WINTER OUTPOINTS FOUNTAIN Young Harvey Winter, the heavyweight terror from Trenton, NJ, continued his climb up the boxing ladder with a hard-fought 10-round decision over Mark Fountain in the nation's capital on Friday evening. The youngster, who does not turn 22 until June 5, has already won 18 bouts and lost just once since turning pro as an 18-year-old in 1945. His only blemish came last December when Steve Case -who will face Hector Sawyer for the world title next month- outpointed him in a bout at Bigsby Garden. Undeterred, Winter followed that up with an early March knockout of veteran Philadelphia fighter Clifford Baker before his impressive showing Friday evening at Washington's National Auditorium. Despite Fountain's impressive pedigree that included time as the number one contender in the sport, Winter was unfazed by the 30-year-old New York native and took control of the bout early. Winter was a clear winner in each of the opening two rounds but his best flurry came in the third round when he sent Fountain to the canvas with big right hook. Fountain recovered from what proved to be the only knockdown of the fight and actually took the bout to Winter in the later rounds as the youngster, likely still getting accustomed to 10-round bouts, began to tire. However, Winter's strong showing early and his high activity rate -throwing more than twice as many blows as the methodical Fountain- impressed the judges and referee Mark Nelson to award the win to the youngster. Nelson scored it 97-93 while the two at ringside each gave Winter a 2-point victory. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS May 29 - Hartford, Ct: HW Roy Crawford (26-3) vs Tommy Cline (13-0) Jun 4 - London, Eng: rising WW Danny Julian (19-0) vs Dennis Whitwell (5-8) Jun 18- Los Angeles, CA: HW Dan Miller (36-9-1) vs Allen Bailey (36-6-2) June 12 - Gothams Stadium: World HW champ Hector Sawyer (57-3-1) defends his title against Steve Case (19-1-2) Jun 21- Detroit, MI: MW contender John Edmonds (24-3) vs Willie Binion (19-6-1) Jun 24- Houston, TX: rising MW Tommy Campbell (20-0-1) vs Joe Moore (19-4) Jun 27 -Atlanta, GA: WW Dale Roy (29-6) vs Harry Larkin (16-1) Jun 28- Detroit, MI: WW Carl Taylor (22-6-2) vs Brian Pierce (9-0) Jun 30- Baltimore, MD MW contenders Nick Harris (23-4-1) vs Brooks O'Connor (27-4-2) Jul 10 - Sailors Memorial: World MW champ Frank Melanson (33-1-2) defends his title against Edouard Desmarais (40-1) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/23/1948 The White House reported that recent tests involving three atomic weapons in the Pacific proved successful in all respects. The US Atomic Energy Commission has decided to end its two-year effort to agree on world atomic control. Russia and the Soviet Ukraine voted against the suspension, but western powers concluded it was useless to continue talks any longer in view of the deadlock between Russia and the commission majority. The US is cautious but calls Prime Minister Stalin latest statement on peace "encouraging" after Stalin declared that Russia is willing, if the United States is, to accept an open letter penned by Henry Wallace as a foundation for peaceful settlement of the Soviet-American quarrels. Both Jewish and Arab forces report a heavy battle raging for the old city of Jerusalem. As the Auto Union threatens to call out 225,000 workers at GM, Michigan state police was rushed into a Detroit suburb to cope with an outbreak of picket line violence at Chrysler plants. The National Guard was also called to action in Iowa following the death of a picket at a Waterloo packing house. New York Governor Dewey has won the Oregon Republican presidential primary after former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen conceded, moving Dewey very close to securing the nomination. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-30-2023 at 02:22 PM.