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Tiger Fan · 10-23-2023, 02:08 PM

DECEMBER 6, 1948

FABL CLUBS SET FOR RULE FIVE DRAFT

FABL's annual rule five draft takes place today with the usual collection of career minor leaguers who likely will never make an impact at the big league level dominating the pool of potential selections. Sprinkled in the reams of names may well be a gem although very few have been unearthed from this draft over the years.

Last year six of the 11 players selected in the rule five did not last the season and we were returned to the organization's they were drafted from. The one had the biggest impact out of the 11 names called a year was not a young prospect waiting for his opportunity. Instead it was a player just a month shy of his 39th birthday in outfielder Al Horton, who the Detroit Dynamos selected from Cincinnati. Horton played 98 games for the Dynamos a year ago, second highest total he has ever participated in during a single FABL season, and hit a very impressive .353 as a fourth outfielder/pinch-hitter.

Will there be a Horton-type change sides this time around remains to be seen. One potential candidate is perhaps Bob Walls, likely to be left exposed by the Brooklyn Kings at age 36 and with a career FABL record of 116-101. Walls pitched in 40 games out of the pen for the Kings last season after being waived by Toronto and perhaps there is a team that might feel it's worth taking a chance on whether or not he still has the ability to pitch in the majors. Bill Ross is another one who's best days are likely behind him but the 36-year-old with career record of 97-120 is a hard-worker who leads by example and unlikely to be added to the Chicago Cougars secondary roster. Others with a fair bit of FABL pitching experience expected to be available include the Keystones 34-year-old southpaw Herman Patterson (42-40), fellow left Jimmy Mayse (26-19 for Detroit), who is 32 and Paul Richadson, (25-31) a 34-year-old in the Cougars system who has pitched for 5 different FABL clubs.

A trio of 32-year-old catchers that all saw a fair bit of big-league action last season will likely be left eligible. They are Paul Wilkerson, recently cut loose by Washington, Cleveland Forester Dixie Galloway and Charlie Gump, who was with the Continental Association champion Philadelphia Sailors a year ago.

Wilkerson is one of three players with over 1,000 FABL games under his belt expected to be available in the Rule Five draft. The others are third baseman Jim Beard, most recently with Detroit but best known for his days with the Sailors, and Doc Love, a 42-year-old outfielder who is back in the Cougars organization and just does not seem to want to retire.

A day before the final lists were due there were 28 former first round draft picks who could be eligible for selection. They include two selected second overall in Howard Rivers, a 1938 pick who was drafted with the first selection in the rule five a year ago by Montreal but returned to Brooklyn before the season started, and Joe Robinson, a first baseman selected second in the 1944 draft being picked just ahead of names like Edwin Hackberry, Eli Panneton, Stan Kleminski and Carl Potter. The 21-year-old Robinson was still toiling in Class B for the Foresters a year ago, but he did hit .332.

Other former first round picks selected in the past seven years include pitchers Otis Porter and Bert Rogers as well as infielders Joe Davis and Dave McCraw along with catcher Cal Yeager. None of those just mentioned have appeared in a FABL game before.

CABBELL CARRIES SHAMROCKS

Orval Cabbell of the New York Shamrocks may have seen his seven-game goal scoring streak snapped in Detroit last night but the veteran Greenshirt center had a big week with 5 goals and 8 points in the two games prior to the New Yorker's 4-game winning streak coming to an end with a 3-0 loss in the Motor City.

Entering the rare Tuesday night contest in Chicago, Cabbell had scored once in each of the previous 5 games and he would add 3 more, as well as a pair of assists in a 6-1 win over the Packers. The 30-year-old followed that up Saturday with 2 goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over Montreal on Saturday that lifted him into a tie with Chicago's Tommy Burns for second in the league scoring race with 24 points, trailing only Toronto's Quinton Pollack who has 29.

Speaking of Burns there was very bad news for the Chicago Packers as they learned the 3-time McDaniels Award winner will be sidelined at least until the New Year with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday in a win over Toronto. The news could not have been worse for the Packers, who should have been celebrating their first back-to-back wins this season, but instead were left to worry about where their offense will come from without Burns. The Packers have scored 56 goals this season, 17 of them by Tommy Burns.

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  NAHC STANDINGS
          GP  W  L  T  GF  GA  PTS
Toronto   20 12  7  1  77  58  25
Boston    18 11  7  0  60  52  22
New York  17  9  6  2  54  45  20
Detroit   19  9  9  1  69  62  19
Chicago   20  6 13  1  56  78  13
Montreal  18  5 10  3  47  68  13

SCORING LEADERS GP  G  A  PTS
Pollack, Tor    20 13 16  29
T Burns, Chi    19 17  7  24
Cabbell, NY     17 14 10  24
Galbraith, Tor  20 11 13  24
Sauer, Tor      20 11 12  23
Carlson, Tor    17  4 19  23
Witt, Det       19  7 12  19
Tardif, Det     19  6 13  19
Rocheleau, Det  19  5 14  19
Vanderbilt, Det 17 12  6  18
Parker, Tor     20  9  9  18
Sandford, Mon   18  8  9  17
Gagnon, Bos     17  6 10  16
Skinner, Mon    18  6 10  16
W Burns, Chi    20  2 14  16

GOALIE LEADERS   GP  W L T  ShO GAA
Tremblay, NY     16  8 6 2   2  2.50
Chasse, Det       7  4 2 0   0  2.75
James, Bos       16  9 7 0   3  2.91
Broadway, Tor    16  9 6 1   1  2.96
Beliveau, Mon     7  3 2 0   1  3.00
Hanson, Chi      13  3 9 1   1  3.48
Brockers, Mon     8  1 5 1   0  3.60
Touhey, Det      12  4 7 1   1  3.73
Carter, NYS       7  2 3 2   0  4.11

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30

New York 6 at 1 Chicago: Orval Cabbell scored three times and added a pair of assists to lead the Shamrocks to their third straight win. The Greenshirts scored three times in the opening stanza, including two from Cabbell and led 5-1 after 40 minutes as Cabbell completed the hat trick while Alfie Dennis scored twice. Paul Tetreault's third period goal, assisted by both Cabbell and Dennis, rounded out the scoring. As one might expect, the lone Chicago goal came off the stick of Tommy Burns. It was the Packers fourth loss in 5 games.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1

Boston 1 at 6 Chicago: A day after losing 6-1, the Packers rebounded and beat Boston by the same score in a game that saw Tommy Burns record just one point, an assist. Six different Chicago marksmen beat Oren James, who had a rough outing in allowing 6 goals on just 12 shots. Wes Burns led the Packers scoring parade with three points, all assists.

Detroit 6 at 2 Toronto: The Motors improved to 2-1 on the season against the defending Challenge Cup champions with a 6-2 victory to start the month of December. Rearguard Spencer Larocque had a goal and three assists while Ben Witt chipped in with three points for the winners. Quinton Pollack and Clyde Lumsen each had a goal and an assist for the Dukes, who have dropped three of their last four games.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 4

Boston 2 at 1 Detroit: Boston beat Detroit netminder Henri Chasse, filling in for the injured Millard Touhey, twice in the first nine minutes of the game and made it stand up for a 2-1 victory. Jacob Gron and Alex Gagnon had the Bees goals with Anthony Jacques third period tally being the only one of 29 Detroit shots to slip past Pierre Melancon, who had a rare start in the Boston cage.

Montreal 1 at 4 New York: Orval Cabbell continued to have the hot hand in leading the Shamrocks to their fourth straight victory, dropping Montreal 4-1 at the Bigsby Gardens. Cabbell, who had 5 points against Chicago on Tuesday, added three more including a pair of goals in this one.

Toronto 0 at 3 Chicago: Slumping Toronto has lost four of its last five after Norm Hanson stopped all 22 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. It is a streak for the Packers as the victory marked the first time this season Chicago had secured points in back-to-back games. Jarrett McGlynn, Jeremy MacLean and Mike Van Tol were the Chicago goal scorers as the Packers back-to-back wins came despite losing league's leading goal scorer Tommy Burns midway through the game with a shoulder injury.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 5

Boston 8 at 1 Montreal: The Montreal Arena crowd led the hometown Valiants have it after they were embarrassed 8-1 by the visiting Boston Bees. The Vals slide continues with a 1-6-1 record in their last 8 games and they are now tied with Chicago for last place in the NAHC. Second year forward Alex Gagnon enjoyed a 4-point night with Joe Morey and Craig Simpson each scoring twice for the Bees who scored 6 times in the second period and chased former teammate Tom Brockers from the Vals net.

Chicago 2 at 5 Toronto: A wild first period, after which Toronto led 3-2, propelled the host Dukes to a 5-2 victory in the back end of their home-and-home weekend series with the Chicago Packers. Quinton Pollack scored twice for the winners with Lou Galbraith and Les Carlson each earning 3 points.

New York 0 at 3 Detroit: The Motors ended New York's 4-game winning streak as backup Andy Backlund stopped all 24 Shamrocks shots in a 3-0 Detroit victory at the Thompson Palladium. Backlund and New York's Etienne Tremblay kept the game scoreless for 40 minutes before Alexis Leveille needed just 25 seconds of the third period to break the goose eggs with a power play goal. Francis McKenzie and Remy Emond would round out the scoring.

UPCOMING GAMES
TUESDAY DECEMBER 7
New York at Boston

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8
Chicago at Boston
Toronto at Detroit

SATURDAY DECEMBER 11
Detroit at New York
Montreal at Chicago
Toronto at Boston

SUNDAY DECEMBER 12
Boston at Toronto
Chicago at Montreal
New York at Detroit

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Orval Cabbell is November Player of the Month. Etienne Tremblay is November Goalie of the Month. Shamrocks continue to win their fair shar of games and are sitting in 3rd place with games in hand. Players have returned from the injured list, so the team will be operating at full strength for the first time in a while.
Chicago torched Boston to start the week, but the resilient Bees rebounded nicely against Detroit and Montreal. The Bees made it two-for-two in facing old friend Tom Brockers, as he was pulled after allowing five goals in the 8-1 Boston victory.
Tough break for the Packers. Finally string two wins together and in the second one lose Tommy Burns for at least a month. Orval Cabbell had a big week with 5 goals in two games, but his 7-game goal scoring streak came to an end Sunday.
Detroit goaltender Andy Backlund notched his first NAHC shutout yesterday in the 3-0 win over New York. Called up because Millard Touhey was injured, Backlund was making his Detroit debut. He did play 15 games over 3 seasons with Montreal prior to joining the Motors organization.
Looking at the minors Moe Treadwell of the Rochester Robins is off to a fast start. The 23-year-old, whose NAHC rights are held by Detroit, has 12 goals in 15 games, 5 more than any other player in the top minor league.

The Dukes struggle through a 1-2 week losing at home to the Motors 6-2, then being shutout 3-0 at Lakeside Auditorium by the Packers before taking down the Packers at home 5-2 Sunday night on the backend of a BTB.

Coach Barrell was particularly annoyed with Wednesday night home loss to Detroit. "Penalties killed us, 3 PP tallies in a four goal second is not winning hockey. Granted Broadway was not sharp although he was hung out to dry on many of 5 he allowed, I decide to pull him in an attempt to inject some life into the team, that did not work. Penalties usually are the result of laziness, getting caught out position, or trying to do something outside of our system. Some penalties you have to take, that was not the case against the Motors. After giving up two power play goals we decided that was not enough giving them another opportunity taking a stupid too many on the ice resulting in another goal, too many men is never a good penalty."

"In Chicago Saturday we were flatly outplayed, Packers were always a step quicker to the puck, we continue to have difficulty winning possession off the draw, by losing faceoffs we are digging ourselves into a hole. We also have to put an immediate halt to taking bench minors, that is flat out lack of attention to detail."

"Rebounding Sunday night at home was important to us, although giving up 21 shots in the first isn't my idea of a sound defensive game. Broadway kept the team in the game, still hard to believe the Dukes were ahead 3-2 after one. We tightened up defensively in the second and third to come away with the much-needed win. This week's practice will again work on our defensive system. We are going to change a few things because I think teams are throwing new wrinkles at us that we have to counter, coaches will also stress that we are not a freewheeling run and gun team, trying that will not yield winning results. Our offense has to come from being sound in our zone that will generate chances on the breakout. The Bs are back in the race thanks to our lapses."

THREE GAME WINLESS STREAK LEAVES COWBOYS DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Kansas City Loses West, But Still Chance At Title

The Kansas City Cowboys hopes of claiming a third straight Continental Football Conference Western Division title are gone, the crown ripped off their heads by a gutsy effort from the Brooklyn Kings yesterday, but despite having to settle for second place the Cowboys still have a chance to win their third straight CFC league championship. The new playoff format for the loop will see a semi-final round with the first-place team in each division hosting the second-place club from the other division. That means in two weeks' time the Packers will be off to New Orleans to play the Crescents while the Western champion San Francisco Wings will entertain the Buffalo Bulls. There is still the little matter of next weekend's final regular season game in Los Angeles which will see the Lobos host the Wings, but it will have no bearing on the final standings.

Kansas City will enter the playoffs in a slump that has never before been seen from the powerful Cowboys. They are winless in three games for the first time in franchise history after losses in Brooklyn and San Francisco preceded by tie in Los Angeles against the Lobos. The latest loss saw the Cowboys upset 21-17 in Brooklyn thanks to a game-winning Bill Howlin to Paul Widmer 24-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute remaining on the clock. Widmer catches accounted for all three of the Kings touchdowns on the day.

The winning score for the Grid Kings came just after the Cowboys thought they had sealed the victory in a hard-fought game when Pat Chappell scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak a play after he connected with Ernie Orr for a big 16-yard gain to set up a first and goal on the Kings one yard line with less than 3 minutes remaining. It was a tough day for the Cowboys quarterback as the usually accurate Chappell completed just 15 of 42 throws and was intercepted three times. The Cowboys had the better numbers in nearly all statistical categories except the one that mattered most.

Kansas City struck first when Mason Matthews, who had himself a whale of game, ran 63 yards for the game's first score 11 minutes into the second period. In all Matthews would run for 150 yards on the day, all but locking up the league rushing title with a season total of 1,217. Before the break the Kings tied the game when Chappell's pass intended for Bill Tammaro was intercepted by Brooklyn's Larry Breig with 50 seconds remaining in the half. Three plays later Dan Yardley found Paul Widmer for a 19 yard scoring strike and Bill Rice's extra point evened the game.

After the Cowboys took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a Reuben Walston 29-yard field goal another Chappell miscue gave the Kings favourable field position. It was Bill Rice who picked off Chappell's throw this time and a long 12-play drive that traversed only 38 yards culminated in Widmer's second touchdown grab of the game - this one a 4-yard throw from Bill Howlin.

That set up the dramatic final few minutes that finished with Widmer's third scoring catch to give the Kings just their 4th victory of the season. There was just 2:28 on the clock when Brooklyn quarterback Bill Howlin decided to engineer the club's longest drive of the game. It lasted just 1:21 and went 61 yards with 5 completions in 6 attempts for the rookie All-American from Detroit City College, ending in the 24-yarder to Widmer that ended any slim hopes the Cowboys might have had of finishing atop the Western Division.

Elsewhere, New Orleans beat Buffalo 28-26 thanks to a late scoring pass - one of 3 touchdown throws on the day from Vince Gallegos- with just over a minute remaining. The game had no bearing on the final standings as the Crescents had already clinched top spot and the Bulls knew they were also going to the playoffs with their second-place finish assured in the Eastern Division. In the final CFC game of the weekend the New York Gothams scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hammer the Chicago Comets 31-7.

WIDE OPEN. BOTH SPOTS IN AFA TITLE TILT UP FOR GRABS

Unlike the Continental Conference, the final weekend of the American Football Association will be a suspenseful one and the schedule-maker could not have done a better job adding to the uncertainty. Both divisions will see the top two teams square off in a winner take all game to determine who goes to the 16th annual AFA Championship game.

The Western Division has the defending league champion Cleveland Finches travel to Chicago to face the Wildcats. Each club is 10-1 with the Finches loss coming to Pittsburgh two weeks ago while the Wildcats only defeat was an early season 31-10 decision against the Finches on the shores of Lake Erie. In the East, the Boston Americans only need a tie in New York against the Football Stars but a loss will send the Stars to the championship game for the second time in three years. Boston enters the final regular season contest with a 7-3-1 record, a half game up on the 7-4 Stars.

Cleveland and Chicago each won easily to keep the Western Division knotted. The Finches scored a pair of late touchdowns to down Detroit 28-10 at home while Chicago went into Pittsburgh and blanked the upset-minded Paladins, who had handed Cleveland its first loss the previous week, 28-0. Boston did what it had to do to stay alive as Del Thomas threw for 173 yards in a 16-7 win over Washington at Minutemen Stadium. That victory actually improved Boston's chances at the title as the win, combined with the Stars stumble in St Louis, a 17-0 loss to the Ramblers, moved Boston a half game ahead of New York and meant a tie next week would give the Yanks the division title. The other game yesterday saw Greg LePage run for 110 yards to pace the Philadelphia Frigates to a 35-6 victory over the Cincinnati Tigers.

FIGHTING SAINTS SQUEEZE PAST COASTAL CALIFORNIA

Fulgham's Run Keys Dramatic Finish

It took everything they had but St Blane held off a determined Coastal California squad to claim a 27-21 victory before a crowd of 100,571 at Santa Ana Stadium in Saturday. The finish was perhaps the most dramatic of the season as it appeared the Fighting Saints would fall for the second time this season when the Dolphins took the lead 21-20 with just over a minute remaining in the game before Joe Fulgham's amazing 87 yard kick return salvage the western trip for St Blane.

Fulgham's wild run finally, started on his own goal line when he hauled in the kick, saw him weave and wind his way through Dolphins defenders desperately trying to get a hand on the elusive back. Fulgham nearly went all the way to win the game himself before he was finally corralled on the Coastal California 13-yard line. Quarterback Dane Sutherland then bulled forward for a five-yard run followed by another Fighting Saints carry that gained two yards. Faced with a third down on the 3 yard line and the clock winding out, nearly everyone in the stadium expected the ball to stay on the ground with either Sutherland or Fulgham trying to will it into the endzone, but the Saints crossed everyone up including a Dolphins defense that had crowded the line. Sutherland stepped back, rolled to his right and found an open Bobby Leonard alone in the corner of the endzone. The extra point was good, not that it mattered, as the Fighting Saints had rallied for a 27-21 victory over a surprisingly strong Coastal California eleven that had been beaten twice already this season. The 6-3 Dolphins were both grieved and joyful. They had been figured to lose by 20 points, perhaps more. However, the played inspired alert football all afternoon and deserved a much better fate than the cruel blow they were dealt in the closing seconds.

This is the fifth meeting since 1941 between the two schools and all the Dolphins have to show for it is a tie in the 1942 meeting. They did not play in 43-45 due to war travel restrictions.

It was not the Fighting Saints best effort, far from it, but the victory completed a 9-1 season that by any other standards would be a terrific showing, but this is St Blane, a school that was perfect each of the previous two years and ranked number one in the nation. That honour this time around whent to a 9-0 Detroit City College squad as the Fighting Saints, upset early in the year by St. Ignatius, had to settle for number two. Like DCC, St Blane will not participate in New Year's Classic game.

CLASSIC MATCHUPS FINALIZED

There will be no Detroit City College, no St Blane and no Rome State to cheer for on New Year's Day but despite missing the top two schools in the nation and three of the top six there will still be a pretty solid serving of college football on January 1. The most anticipated game may take place in Houston where Deep South co-champions Mississippi A&M put their perect 9-0 record on the line against an unbeaten Texas Panhandle eleven that was the class of the Southern Border Conference.

The slate now includes a full dozen games with one -Abilene Baptist vs Topeka State in the Desert Classic- to kickoff on December 30 as an appetizer for the January 1 main course.

WEEKEND RESULTS
St. Blane 27 Coastal California 21
Bluegrass State 51 Miami State 7
Alabama Baptist 27 Opelika State 5
Coastal State 10 Mobile Maritime 0
Cache Valley 21 California Missionary 13
Texas Panhandle 58 Kamehameha College 3
Canyon A&M 24 El Paso Methodist 3
Petersburg 17 Chase 0

MESSER IS DETROIT'S NEXT STAR

Scores Record 55 Points Against Pittsburgh

In what has to be the best kept secret in Detroit, although it is becoming increasingly well known in cage circles, the city has a new star athlete. That would be none other than Ward Messer, the rookie who has taken the Federal cage league by storm. His pro career is not quite yet a month old but Messer is aleady being annointed "the Messiah of the Motor City" after his incredible start.

Selected second overall in the summer FBL draft after being named Collegiate Basketball Player of Year at Liberty College last season, Messer looked right at home with the pros from the very first preseason game but he took it to a new level on the weekend against the Pittsburgh Pilots. The fresh-faced rookie, who also happens to be the younger brother of New York Gothams star Walt Messer -although it appears it won't be long before people start noting that Walt is the older brother of Ward- smashed a professional basketball record with 55 points in a single game. The previous high-water mark in the FBL was 48 accomplished by Richard Campbell of the Chicago Panthers two yeas ago and no one in the now-defunct American Conference ever scored more than 45 in a game.

Just for good measure, Messer also collected a game-high 17 rebounds in that contest which ended up a 114-72 rout of the visiting Pilots. Messer entered the game already leading the FBL in rebounds and when it was over he was also number one in scoring average, narrowly ahead of Toronto Falcons center Lon Porter.

It is rare for a rookie to enjoy success early in his pro career but what Messer is doing is truly next level. He is a big reason why the Mustangs are dreaming of finally reaching the FBL playoffs, a feat that has avoided them each of the past two years. The club is off to a 9-3 start, surpassed only by the 10-1 Chicago Wildcats in the West Division, and while it is early there is far more optimism than Detroit's cage club has ever seen.

Perhaps the excitement surrounding Messer will translate into box office success as well, something Rollie Barrell's ballclub has not seen as the Mustangs are averaging less than 3,000 fans a game.

The Chicago Panthers winning streak to start the season stopped at 10, losing by a single point to the Cincinnati Cyclones. Now 10-1, Chicago still has a 1.5 game lead in the division, as they have gotten huge production from all five starters, including Joe Hampton, who is averaging a triple double on the season. The 25-year-old is posting 12.7 points, 12.1 assists, and 10.6 rebounds per game, while both Richard Campbell (19.1, 13.8, 0.5) and Cory Myers (12.1, 16.5, 1.4) are both averaging double-doubles
It has been an impressive turnaround for the Rochester Rockets. After going 22-38 a year ago in the ABC West Division, the Rockets are off to a 9-4 start and making believers out of their East Division foes. It was a tough weekend with a pair of losses, falling to Baltimore at home and the Statesmen in Washington but the Rockets are still just a half game back in the East.
Itt is the Philadelphia Phantoms and Washington Statesmen that are now leading the way in the East with both sitting at 10-4 on the campaign. The Phantoms stumbled slightly with back to back road losses in Detroit and Hartford last week and things do not get any easier this week despite a return to the Keystone Arena. The Phantoms entertain defending ABC champion Brooklyn for a pair of games tonight and Friday before finishing off the week in the nation's capital against the Statesmen.
Philadelphia has been spreading the wealth around with 7 different Phantoms scoring in double figures led by Irvin Mudd's 18.6 ppg. Injuries have necessitated some roster shuffling but Phantoms coach Floyd Shuster has the club looking to build on last season when they led the Federal League in victories.
The Statesmen have long been a power in the old ABC and seem to be hitting their stride this season with 7 wins in their last 8 outings. The have would should be an easy victory against struggling Syrcause Thursday evening before welcoming the Phantoms to the National Auditorium for the first time this season. The two clubs opened the season at Keystone Arena with the Phantoms claiming the early bragging rights following an 86-76 victory despite a game-high 20 points from Ivan Sisco, who is Washington's top scorer this season.
Speaking of scoring, there is plenty of excitement in Detroit where rookie Ward Messer is leading the loop in both scoring and rebounds. A record-breaking 55 points in a win over struggling Pittsburgh will do wonders for a scoring average.
The Brooklyn Red Caps are not off to the start club magnate Daniel Prescott envisioned, but they did upend Washington last week and are now 8-5. Ivory Mitchell, the terrific guard out of Liberty College who was ABC MVP a record six times, is enjoying another fine season. The 30-year-old is among the league scoring leaders with his 20.0 ppg average and has added 10.3 rebounds per game while averaging just under 10 assists. That puts Mitchell just shy of joining Philadelphia's Jerry Hubbard (12.4 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 12.4 apg) and Joe Hampton of Chicago (12.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 12.1 apg) in averaging a triple double.

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FBL STANDINGS
EAST           W  L  PCT  
Philadelphia  10  4  .714
Washington    10  4  .714
Rochester      9  4  .692
Brooklyn       8  5  .615  
Hartford       7  5  .583 
Baltimore      5  7  .417 
New York       4  8  .333  
Boston         4 11  .267 
Syracuse       1 13  .071 

WEST         W  L   PCT  
Chicago     10  1  .909
Detroit      9  3  .750
Cincinnati   7  6  .538
Cleveland    6  6  .500
Buffalo      5  6  .455
Toronto      5  8  .385
Pittsburgh   2 11  .154

OWLS OFF TO 9-0 START

Frankford State has not enjoyed much success in recent years on the court, but the Owls are off to a 9-0 start and perhaps entertaining dreams of a long tournament run. The Pennsylvania school has made the AIAA tournament 16 teams including last year when they bowed out in the first round, but that was one of just three trips to the big tournament since their improbable run to the championship game in the spring of 1928. They fell to CC Los Angeles that night and have won just two tournament games in the past 20 years.

The quick start this season, which includes a season opening championship in the Bigsby Festival along with wins last week over 23rd ranked Brooklyn State and St. Matthew's College, leaves the Owls with a 9-0 record and at #4 in the latest collegiate cage rankings.

This year's edition of the Owls is led by center David Aponte, a four year starter out of Canarsie High School in Brooklyn where he followed current Washington Eagles all-star Jesse Alvardo as the big multi-sport star. Aponte is among the top scorers in the nation so far this season, averaging 18.7 ppg including 22 in the win over St. Matthew's College on Saturday. The other big-time performer for the Owls is guard Rod Bookman, who is just a sophomore but already drawing attention of pro cage scouts.

RESULTS INVOLVING TOP TEN SCHOOLS LAST WEEK
NOVEMBER 29
#4 Frankford State 55 (David Aponte 14 pts) over #23 Brooklyn State 44

NOVEMBER 30
#2 St Blane 64 (Samuels, Canaday 13 pts each) Penn Catholic 43
#3 Liberty College 56 (Luther Gordon 21pts) Sadler 43
#5 Mississippi A&M 42 (Greg Randle 18pts) Northern California 40
#8 Lane State 70 (Carl Casswell 23 pts) Lubbock State 59
#10 East Missouri Seminary 51 (Chris Pate 15 pts) #25 Dickson College 43

DECEMBER 2
#8 Lane State 72 (Clarence Tutt 21 pts) Campion 59

DECEMBER 3
#3 Liberty College 58 (Luther Gordon 18 pts) Grafton 51

DECEMBER 4
#2 St Blane 63 (Worley, Canaday 12 pts each) Maryland State 48
#4 Frankford State 58 (David Aponte 22 pts) St Matthew's College 37

TELEVISION TIEUP ZOOMS BIDS FOR BOXING TALENT

Bids for boxing talent are expected to hit a new high with television interests pumping fresh cash into the market. Columbia Broadcasting System became the first network to buy a piece of a fight club last week when it purchased a one-fourth interest in a new company that works with several large arenas, including Washington's National Auditorium and Lakeside Auditorium in Chicago.

According to the mimeographed blub distributed at a press conference and luncheon, the company expects to work with managers and boxers to tap new and greater revenue from television, which will make up for any loss of patronage at the gate. It figures to offer higher guarantees to fighters with the new cash.

Television money is expected to flow freely from two sources:
1- Sponsors who will pay more for TV rights when networks take the shows to added millions of watchers
2- Movie theatres who will pay on a per-seat basis as soon as a movie screen-size television is available in all major parts of the country.
*** Battle for Boxers ***
This network television idea, of course, will not be exclusive with CBS. All networks now are battling for rights to the single cable that will connect the Midwest with the East in January. They still are striving for a solution. Bigsby Garden bouts are televised on an Eastern NBC network every Friday. That will be stretched westward as soon as the cable is ready.

The first fight under the new CBS deal will be the middleweight clash between Millard Shelton and Brooks O'Connor in Washington DC on December 18. It will be television in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Boston.

FIGHTS OF NOTE LAST WEEK

Danny Rutledge returned to Portland, Oregon and won for the 15th time without a defeat, when he knocked out Scott Sorensen in the 5th round of their bout Saturday evening. The rising star in the welterweight division elected to make a journey out west to fight in the city where he had his second professional bout. That came without the Army's knowledge when while on a furlough in 1945 before being deployed to the Pacific he won with another knockout victory. Rutledge's biggest claim to fame, at least so far, came while he was stationed in the European theatre when -still an amateur- he knocked out current welterweight champion Mac Erickson, representing the Navy, in what was billed the Allied Welterweight Championship in England back in the fall of 1944.

Former welterweight champion Harold Stephens, who lost his title to Erickson last year, continues his freefall. Stephens, who held the title for just over a year, followed up the title loss to Erickson with another defeat in August when Ben 'Baby Face' Bishop beat him. Things did not go much better for the former champ Saturday evening in St Louis -which was the city he first claimed the welterweight title- when he fought Dale Roy to a majority draw. Stephens, now 30 years old and sporting a 21-5-3 record, looked nothing like the champion he was not so long ago and appears to be at the end of his rope as a top-level fighter.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Dec 10- Bigsby Garden: WW Dennis O'Keefe (22-4) vs Willis May (19-4-2)
Dec 17- Bigsby Garden: MW Tommy Campbell (20-1-1) vs Jack Rainey (25-5)
Dec 17- Pittsburgh: HW Scott Baker (18-3-2) vs David Kramer (23-8-3) and his brother HW Clifford Baker (30-13-4) vs Daron Ross (12-5-2)
Dec 18- WashingtonDC (CBS Television): MW Millard Shelton (23-4) vs Brooks O'Connor (29-4-2)
Dec 23 - Denny Arena, Boston: HW Cannon Cooper (24-4-1) vs Ron Wilson (22-11-5)
Jan 8 - Bigsby Garden: MW Frank Melanson (33-2-2) vs Edouard Desmarais (42-2)
Jan 28- Dominion Gardens, Toronto: World MW champ Adrian Petrie (18-1-1) vs Danny Morse (35-8-1)
Feb 19- Paris, France: World HW champ Hector Sawyer (59-3-1) vs Alain Noel (44-11-2)
Mar 18- Detroit: World WW champ Mac Erickson (18-0) vs Rudy Perry (27-4)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/05/1948

Senator Connally, destined to be the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, forecasts a settlement of the Berlin crisis in the near future on the basis of permitting use of Russian currency and a lifting of the blockade.
A day later the Communists set up a hand-picked puppet government for Berlin, completing the city's East-West division further clouding any possible solution to the blockade.
A military government economist says Western Germany has increased production to three-quarters of normal, and will be self-supporting by 1952, with the end of recovery plan assistance.
The critical battle for Central China is shifting from Suchow to the very approaches of the Chinese capital city of Nanking.
Israel has applied formally for membership in the United Nations. Britain, which had been lukewarm to the new state carved from Palestine, has announced it will not use its veto to bar the application.
The Army cut in half its proposed January draft call for 20,000 men. Lack of money was given as the reason. The Army also announced the February call would be for only 5,000 men.
The House Committe on Un-American Activities will reopen public hearings tomorrow and says it will bring out "conclusive proof" on the identity of the person or persons who reportedly fed secret State and Navy Dept. information to a Communist agent before the war. The Committee has also charged that Communists are conspiring to undermine the US school system by trying to recruit teachers.
In a commando-like raid, about 300 invaders broke into two strike bound auto plants in Kalamazoo, Mi., wrecked equipment and parked cars injured several non-striking workmen and fled.

10-23-2023, 02:08 PM	#810
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,814	December 6, 1948 DECEMBER 6, 1948 FABL CLUBS SET FOR RULE FIVE DRAFT FABL's annual rule five draft takes place today with the usual collection of career minor leaguers who likely will never make an impact at the big league level dominating the pool of potential selections. Sprinkled in the reams of names may well be a gem although very few have been unearthed from this draft over the years. Last year six of the 11 players selected in the rule five did not last the season and we were returned to the organization's they were drafted from. The one had the biggest impact out of the 11 names called a year was not a young prospect waiting for his opportunity. Instead it was a player just a month shy of his 39th birthday in outfielder Al Horton, who the Detroit Dynamos selected from Cincinnati. Horton played 98 games for the Dynamos a year ago, second highest total he has ever participated in during a single FABL season, and hit a very impressive .353 as a fourth outfielder/pinch-hitter. Will there be a Horton-type change sides this time around remains to be seen. One potential candidate is perhaps Bob Walls, likely to be left exposed by the Brooklyn Kings at age 36 and with a career FABL record of 116-101. Walls pitched in 40 games out of the pen for the Kings last season after being waived by Toronto and perhaps there is a team that might feel it's worth taking a chance on whether or not he still has the ability to pitch in the majors. Bill Ross is another one who's best days are likely behind him but the 36-year-old with career record of 97-120 is a hard-worker who leads by example and unlikely to be added to the Chicago Cougars secondary roster. Others with a fair bit of FABL pitching experience expected to be available include the Keystones 34-year-old southpaw Herman Patterson (42-40), fellow left Jimmy Mayse (26-19 for Detroit), who is 32 and Paul Richadson, (25-31) a 34-year-old in the Cougars system who has pitched for 5 different FABL clubs. A trio of 32-year-old catchers that all saw a fair bit of big-league action last season will likely be left eligible. They are Paul Wilkerson, recently cut loose by Washington, Cleveland Forester Dixie Galloway and Charlie Gump, who was with the Continental Association champion Philadelphia Sailors a year ago. Wilkerson is one of three players with over 1,000 FABL games under his belt expected to be available in the Rule Five draft. The others are third baseman Jim Beard, most recently with Detroit but best known for his days with the Sailors, and Doc Love, a 42-year-old outfielder who is back in the Cougars organization and just does not seem to want to retire. A day before the final lists were due there were 28 former first round draft picks who could be eligible for selection. They include two selected second overall in Howard Rivers, a 1938 pick who was drafted with the first selection in the rule five a year ago by Montreal but returned to Brooklyn before the season started, and Joe Robinson, a first baseman selected second in the 1944 draft being picked just ahead of names like Edwin Hackberry, Eli Panneton, Stan Kleminski and Carl Potter. The 21-year-old Robinson was still toiling in Class B for the Foresters a year ago, but he did hit .332. Other former first round picks selected in the past seven years include pitchers Otis Porter and Bert Rogers as well as infielders Joe Davis and Dave McCraw along with catcher Cal Yeager. None of those just mentioned have appeared in a FABL game before. CABBELL CARRIES SHAMROCKS Orval Cabbell of the New York Shamrocks may have seen his seven-game goal scoring streak snapped in Detroit last night but the veteran Greenshirt center had a big week with 5 goals and 8 points in the two games prior to the New Yorker's 4-game winning streak coming to an end with a 3-0 loss in the Motor City. Entering the rare Tuesday night contest in Chicago, Cabbell had scored once in each of the previous 5 games and he would add 3 more, as well as a pair of assists in a 6-1 win over the Packers. The 30-year-old followed that up Saturday with 2 goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over Montreal on Saturday that lifted him into a tie with Chicago's Tommy Burns for second in the league scoring race with 24 points, trailing only Toronto's Quinton Pollack who has 29. Speaking of Burns there was very bad news for the Chicago Packers as they learned the 3-time McDaniels Award winner will be sidelined at least until the New Year with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday in a win over Toronto. The news could not have been worse for the Packers, who should have been celebrating their first back-to-back wins this season, but instead were left to worry about where their offense will come from without Burns. The Packers have scored 56 goals this season, 17 of them by Tommy Burns. Code: NAHC STANDINGS GP W L T GF GA PTS Toronto 20 12 7 1 77 58 25 Boston 18 11 7 0 60 52 22 New York 17 9 6 2 54 45 20 Detroit 19 9 9 1 69 62 19 Chicago 20 6 13 1 56 78 13 Montreal 18 5 10 3 47 68 13 SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS Pollack, Tor 20 13 16 29 T Burns, Chi 19 17 7 24 Cabbell, NY 17 14 10 24 Galbraith, Tor 20 11 13 24 Sauer, Tor 20 11 12 23 Carlson, Tor 17 4 19 23 Witt, Det 19 7 12 19 Tardif, Det 19 6 13 19 Rocheleau, Det 19 5 14 19 Vanderbilt, Det 17 12 6 18 Parker, Tor 20 9 9 18 Sandford, Mon 18 8 9 17 Gagnon, Bos 17 6 10 16 Skinner, Mon 18 6 10 16 W Burns, Chi 20 2 14 16 GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA Tremblay, NY 16 8 6 2 2 2.50 Chasse, Det 7 4 2 0 0 2.75 James, Bos 16 9 7 0 3 2.91 Broadway, Tor 16 9 6 1 1 2.96 Beliveau, Mon 7 3 2 0 1 3.00 Hanson, Chi 13 3 9 1 1 3.48 Brockers, Mon 8 1 5 1 0 3.60 Touhey, Det 12 4 7 1 1 3.73 Carter, NYS 7 2 3 2 0 4.11 LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30 New York 6 at 1 Chicago: Orval Cabbell scored three times and added a pair of assists to lead the Shamrocks to their third straight win. The Greenshirts scored three times in the opening stanza, including two from Cabbell and led 5-1 after 40 minutes as Cabbell completed the hat trick while Alfie Dennis scored twice. Paul Tetreault's third period goal, assisted by both Cabbell and Dennis, rounded out the scoring. As one might expect, the lone Chicago goal came off the stick of Tommy Burns. It was the Packers fourth loss in 5 games. WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1 Boston 1 at 6 Chicago: A day after losing 6-1, the Packers rebounded and beat Boston by the same score in a game that saw Tommy Burns record just one point, an assist. Six different Chicago marksmen beat Oren James, who had a rough outing in allowing 6 goals on just 12 shots. Wes Burns led the Packers scoring parade with three points, all assists. Detroit 6 at 2 Toronto: The Motors improved to 2-1 on the season against the defending Challenge Cup champions with a 6-2 victory to start the month of December. Rearguard Spencer Larocque had a goal and three assists while Ben Witt chipped in with three points for the winners. Quinton Pollack and Clyde Lumsen each had a goal and an assist for the Dukes, who have dropped three of their last four games. SATURDAY DECEMBER 4 Boston 2 at 1 Detroit: Boston beat Detroit netminder Henri Chasse, filling in for the injured Millard Touhey, twice in the first nine minutes of the game and made it stand up for a 2-1 victory. Jacob Gron and Alex Gagnon had the Bees goals with Anthony Jacques third period tally being the only one of 29 Detroit shots to slip past Pierre Melancon, who had a rare start in the Boston cage. Montreal 1 at 4 New York: Orval Cabbell continued to have the hot hand in leading the Shamrocks to their fourth straight victory, dropping Montreal 4-1 at the Bigsby Gardens. Cabbell, who had 5 points against Chicago on Tuesday, added three more including a pair of goals in this one. Toronto 0 at 3 Chicago: Slumping Toronto has lost four of its last five after Norm Hanson stopped all 22 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. It is a streak for the Packers as the victory marked the first time this season Chicago had secured points in back-to-back games. Jarrett McGlynn, Jeremy MacLean and Mike Van Tol were the Chicago goal scorers as the Packers back-to-back wins came despite losing league's leading goal scorer Tommy Burns midway through the game with a shoulder injury. SUNDAY DECEMBER 5 Boston 8 at 1 Montreal: The Montreal Arena crowd led the hometown Valiants have it after they were embarrassed 8-1 by the visiting Boston Bees. The Vals slide continues with a 1-6-1 record in their last 8 games and they are now tied with Chicago for last place in the NAHC. Second year forward Alex Gagnon enjoyed a 4-point night with Joe Morey and Craig Simpson each scoring twice for the Bees who scored 6 times in the second period and chased former teammate Tom Brockers from the Vals net. Chicago 2 at 5 Toronto: A wild first period, after which Toronto led 3-2, propelled the host Dukes to a 5-2 victory in the back end of their home-and-home weekend series with the Chicago Packers. Quinton Pollack scored twice for the winners with Lou Galbraith and Les Carlson each earning 3 points. New York 0 at 3 Detroit: The Motors ended New York's 4-game winning streak as backup Andy Backlund stopped all 24 Shamrocks shots in a 3-0 Detroit victory at the Thompson Palladium. Backlund and New York's Etienne Tremblay kept the game scoreless for 40 minutes before Alexis Leveille needed just 25 seconds of the third period to break the goose eggs with a power play goal. Francis McKenzie and Remy Emond would round out the scoring. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 7 New York at Boston WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8 Chicago at Boston Toronto at Detroit SATURDAY DECEMBER 11 Detroit at New York Montreal at Chicago Toronto at Boston SUNDAY DECEMBER 12 Boston at Toronto Chicago at Montreal New York at Detroit AROUND THE LEAGUE Orval Cabbell is November Player of the Month. Etienne Tremblay is November Goalie of the Month. Shamrocks continue to win their fair shar of games and are sitting in 3rd place with games in hand. Players have returned from the injured list, so the team will be operating at full strength for the first time in a while. Chicago torched Boston to start the week, but the resilient Bees rebounded nicely against Detroit and Montreal. The Bees made it two-for-two in facing old friend Tom Brockers, as he was pulled after allowing five goals in the 8-1 Boston victory. Tough break for the Packers. Finally string two wins together and in the second one lose Tommy Burns for at least a month. Orval Cabbell had a big week with 5 goals in two games, but his 7-game goal scoring streak came to an end Sunday. Detroit goaltender Andy Backlund notched his first NAHC shutout yesterday in the 3-0 win over New York. Called up because Millard Touhey was injured, Backlund was making his Detroit debut. He did play 15 games over 3 seasons with Montreal prior to joining the Motors organization. Looking at the minors Moe Treadwell of the Rochester Robins is off to a fast start. The 23-year-old, whose NAHC rights are held by Detroit, has 12 goals in 15 games, 5 more than any other player in the top minor league. The Dukes struggle through a 1-2 week losing at home to the Motors 6-2, then being shutout 3-0 at Lakeside Auditorium by the Packers before taking down the Packers at home 5-2 Sunday night on the backend of a BTB. Coach Barrell was particularly annoyed with Wednesday night home loss to Detroit. "Penalties killed us, 3 PP tallies in a four goal second is not winning hockey. Granted Broadway was not sharp although he was hung out to dry on many of 5 he allowed, I decide to pull him in an attempt to inject some life into the team, that did not work. Penalties usually are the result of laziness, getting caught out position, or trying to do something outside of our system. Some penalties you have to take, that was not the case against the Motors. After giving up two power play goals we decided that was not enough giving them another opportunity taking a stupid too many on the ice resulting in another goal, too many men is never a good penalty." "In Chicago Saturday we were flatly outplayed, Packers were always a step quicker to the puck, we continue to have difficulty winning possession off the draw, by losing faceoffs we are digging ourselves into a hole. We also have to put an immediate halt to taking bench minors, that is flat out lack of attention to detail." "Rebounding Sunday night at home was important to us, although giving up 21 shots in the first isn't my idea of a sound defensive game. Broadway kept the team in the game, still hard to believe the Dukes were ahead 3-2 after one. We tightened up defensively in the second and third to come away with the much-needed win. This week's practice will again work on our defensive system. We are going to change a few things because I think teams are throwing new wrinkles at us that we have to counter, coaches will also stress that we are not a freewheeling run and gun team, trying that will not yield winning results. Our offense has to come from being sound in our zone that will generate chances on the breakout. The Bs are back in the race thanks to our lapses." THREE GAME WINLESS STREAK LEAVES COWBOYS DOWN BUT NOT OUT Kansas City Loses West, But Still Chance At Title The Kansas City Cowboys hopes of claiming a third straight Continental Football Conference Western Division title are gone, the crown ripped off their heads by a gutsy effort from the Brooklyn Kings yesterday, but despite having to settle for second place the Cowboys still have a chance to win their third straight CFC league championship. The new playoff format for the loop will see a semi-final round with the first-place team in each division hosting the second-place club from the other division. That means in two weeks' time the Packers will be off to New Orleans to play the Crescents while the Western champion San Francisco Wings will entertain the Buffalo Bulls. There is still the little matter of next weekend's final regular season game in Los Angeles which will see the Lobos host the Wings, but it will have no bearing on the final standings. Kansas City will enter the playoffs in a slump that has never before been seen from the powerful Cowboys. They are winless in three games for the first time in franchise history after losses in Brooklyn and San Francisco preceded by tie in Los Angeles against the Lobos. The latest loss saw the Cowboys upset 21-17 in Brooklyn thanks to a game-winning Bill Howlin to Paul Widmer 24-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute remaining on the clock. Widmer catches accounted for all three of the Kings touchdowns on the day. The winning score for the Grid Kings came just after the Cowboys thought they had sealed the victory in a hard-fought game when Pat Chappell scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak a play after he connected with Ernie Orr for a big 16-yard gain to set up a first and goal on the Kings one yard line with less than 3 minutes remaining. It was a tough day for the Cowboys quarterback as the usually accurate Chappell completed just 15 of 42 throws and was intercepted three times. The Cowboys had the better numbers in nearly all statistical categories except the one that mattered most. Kansas City struck first when Mason Matthews, who had himself a whale of game, ran 63 yards for the game's first score 11 minutes into the second period. In all Matthews would run for 150 yards on the day, all but locking up the league rushing title with a season total of 1,217. Before the break the Kings tied the game when Chappell's pass intended for Bill Tammaro was intercepted by Brooklyn's Larry Breig with 50 seconds remaining in the half. Three plays later Dan Yardley found Paul Widmer for a 19 yard scoring strike and Bill Rice's extra point evened the game. After the Cowboys took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a Reuben Walston 29-yard field goal another Chappell miscue gave the Kings favourable field position. It was Bill Rice who picked off Chappell's throw this time and a long 12-play drive that traversed only 38 yards culminated in Widmer's second touchdown grab of the game - this one a 4-yard throw from Bill Howlin. That set up the dramatic final few minutes that finished with Widmer's third scoring catch to give the Kings just their 4th victory of the season. There was just 2:28 on the clock when Brooklyn quarterback Bill Howlin decided to engineer the club's longest drive of the game. It lasted just 1:21 and went 61 yards with 5 completions in 6 attempts for the rookie All-American from Detroit City College, ending in the 24-yarder to Widmer that ended any slim hopes the Cowboys might have had of finishing atop the Western Division. Elsewhere, New Orleans beat Buffalo 28-26 thanks to a late scoring pass - one of 3 touchdown throws on the day from Vince Gallegos- with just over a minute remaining. The game had no bearing on the final standings as the Crescents had already clinched top spot and the Bulls knew they were also going to the playoffs with their second-place finish assured in the Eastern Division. In the final CFC game of the weekend the New York Gothams scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hammer the Chicago Comets 31-7. WIDE OPEN. BOTH SPOTS IN AFA TITLE TILT UP FOR GRABS Unlike the Continental Conference, the final weekend of the American Football Association will be a suspenseful one and the schedule-maker could not have done a better job adding to the uncertainty. Both divisions will see the top two teams square off in a winner take all game to determine who goes to the 16th annual AFA Championship game. The Western Division has the defending league champion Cleveland Finches travel to Chicago to face the Wildcats. Each club is 10-1 with the Finches loss coming to Pittsburgh two weeks ago while the Wildcats only defeat was an early season 31-10 decision against the Finches on the shores of Lake Erie. In the East, the Boston Americans only need a tie in New York against the Football Stars but a loss will send the Stars to the championship game for the second time in three years. Boston enters the final regular season contest with a 7-3-1 record, a half game up on the 7-4 Stars. Cleveland and Chicago each won easily to keep the Western Division knotted. The Finches scored a pair of late touchdowns to down Detroit 28-10 at home while Chicago went into Pittsburgh and blanked the upset-minded Paladins, who had handed Cleveland its first loss the previous week, 28-0. Boston did what it had to do to stay alive as Del Thomas threw for 173 yards in a 16-7 win over Washington at Minutemen Stadium. That victory actually improved Boston's chances at the title as the win, combined with the Stars stumble in St Louis, a 17-0 loss to the Ramblers, moved Boston a half game ahead of New York and meant a tie next week would give the Yanks the division title. The other game yesterday saw Greg LePage run for 110 yards to pace the Philadelphia Frigates to a 35-6 victory over the Cincinnati Tigers. FIGHTING SAINTS SQUEEZE PAST COASTAL CALIFORNIA Fulgham's Run Keys Dramatic Finish It took everything they had but St Blane held off a determined Coastal California squad to claim a 27-21 victory before a crowd of 100,571 at Santa Ana Stadium in Saturday. The finish was perhaps the most dramatic of the season as it appeared the Fighting Saints would fall for the second time this season when the Dolphins took the lead 21-20 with just over a minute remaining in the game before Joe Fulgham's amazing 87 yard kick return salvage the western trip for St Blane. Fulgham's wild run finally, started on his own goal line when he hauled in the kick, saw him weave and wind his way through Dolphins defenders desperately trying to get a hand on the elusive back. Fulgham nearly went all the way to win the game himself before he was finally corralled on the Coastal California 13-yard line. Quarterback Dane Sutherland then bulled forward for a five-yard run followed by another Fighting Saints carry that gained two yards. Faced with a third down on the 3 yard line and the clock winding out, nearly everyone in the stadium expected the ball to stay on the ground with either Sutherland or Fulgham trying to will it into the endzone, but the Saints crossed everyone up including a Dolphins defense that had crowded the line. Sutherland stepped back, rolled to his right and found an open Bobby Leonard alone in the corner of the endzone. The extra point was good, not that it mattered, as the Fighting Saints had rallied for a 27-21 victory over a surprisingly strong Coastal California eleven that had been beaten twice already this season. The 6-3 Dolphins were both grieved and joyful. They had been figured to lose by 20 points, perhaps more. However, the played inspired alert football all afternoon and deserved a much better fate than the cruel blow they were dealt in the closing seconds. This is the fifth meeting since 1941 between the two schools and all the Dolphins have to show for it is a tie in the 1942 meeting. They did not play in 43-45 due to war travel restrictions. It was not the Fighting Saints best effort, far from it, but the victory completed a 9-1 season that by any other standards would be a terrific showing, but this is St Blane, a school that was perfect each of the previous two years and ranked number one in the nation. That honour this time around whent to a 9-0 Detroit City College squad as the Fighting Saints, upset early in the year by St. Ignatius, had to settle for number two. Like DCC, St Blane will not participate in New Year's Classic game. CLASSIC MATCHUPS FINALIZED There will be no Detroit City College, no St Blane and no Rome State to cheer for on New Year's Day but despite missing the top two schools in the nation and three of the top six there will still be a pretty solid serving of college football on January 1. The most anticipated game may take place in Houston where Deep South co-champions Mississippi A&M put their perect 9-0 record on the line against an unbeaten Texas Panhandle eleven that was the class of the Southern Border Conference. The slate now includes a full dozen games with one -Abilene Baptist vs Topeka State in the Desert Classic- to kickoff on December 30 as an appetizer for the January 1 main course. WEEKEND RESULTS St. Blane 27 Coastal California 21 Bluegrass State 51 Miami State 7 Alabama Baptist 27 Opelika State 5 Coastal State 10 Mobile Maritime 0 Cache Valley 21 California Missionary 13 Texas Panhandle 58 Kamehameha College 3 Canyon A&M 24 El Paso Methodist 3 Petersburg 17 Chase 0 MESSER IS DETROIT'S NEXT STAR Scores Record 55 Points Against Pittsburgh In what has to be the best kept secret in Detroit, although it is becoming increasingly well known in cage circles, the city has a new star athlete. That would be none other than Ward Messer, the rookie who has taken the Federal cage league by storm. His pro career is not quite yet a month old but Messer is aleady being annointed "the Messiah of the Motor City" after his incredible start. Selected second overall in the summer FBL draft after being named Collegiate Basketball Player of Year at Liberty College last season, Messer looked right at home with the pros from the very first preseason game but he took it to a new level on the weekend against the Pittsburgh Pilots. The fresh-faced rookie, who also happens to be the younger brother of New York Gothams star Walt Messer -although it appears it won't be long before people start noting that Walt is the older brother of Ward- smashed a professional basketball record with 55 points in a single game. The previous high-water mark in the FBL was 48 accomplished by Richard Campbell of the Chicago Panthers two yeas ago and no one in the now-defunct American Conference ever scored more than 45 in a game. Just for good measure, Messer also collected a game-high 17 rebounds in that contest which ended up a 114-72 rout of the visiting Pilots. Messer entered the game already leading the FBL in rebounds and when it was over he was also number one in scoring average, narrowly ahead of Toronto Falcons center Lon Porter. It is rare for a rookie to enjoy success early in his pro career but what Messer is doing is truly next level. He is a big reason why the Mustangs are dreaming of finally reaching the FBL playoffs, a feat that has avoided them each of the past two years. The club is off to a 9-3 start, surpassed only by the 10-1 Chicago Wildcats in the West Division, and while it is early there is far more optimism than Detroit's cage club has ever seen. Perhaps the excitement surrounding Messer will translate into box office success as well, something Rollie Barrell's ballclub has not seen as the Mustangs are averaging less than 3,000 fans a game. The Chicago Panthers winning streak to start the season stopped at 10, losing by a single point to the Cincinnati Cyclones. Now 10-1, Chicago still has a 1.5 game lead in the division, as they have gotten huge production from all five starters, including Joe Hampton, who is averaging a triple double on the season. The 25-year-old is posting 12.7 points, 12.1 assists, and 10.6 rebounds per game, while both Richard Campbell (19.1, 13.8, 0.5) and Cory Myers (12.1, 16.5, 1.4) are both averaging double-doubles It has been an impressive turnaround for the Rochester Rockets. After going 22-38 a year ago in the ABC West Division, the Rockets are off to a 9-4 start and making believers out of their East Division foes. It was a tough weekend with a pair of losses, falling to Baltimore at home and the Statesmen in Washington but the Rockets are still just a half game back in the East. Itt is the Philadelphia Phantoms and Washington Statesmen that are now leading the way in the East with both sitting at 10-4 on the campaign. The Phantoms stumbled slightly with back to back road losses in Detroit and Hartford last week and things do not get any easier this week despite a return to the Keystone Arena. The Phantoms entertain defending ABC champion Brooklyn for a pair of games tonight and Friday before finishing off the week in the nation's capital against the Statesmen. Philadelphia has been spreading the wealth around with 7 different Phantoms scoring in double figures led by Irvin Mudd's 18.6 ppg. Injuries have necessitated some roster shuffling but Phantoms coach Floyd Shuster has the club looking to build on last season when they led the Federal League in victories. The Statesmen have long been a power in the old ABC and seem to be hitting their stride this season with 7 wins in their last 8 outings. The have would should be an easy victory against struggling Syrcause Thursday evening before welcoming the Phantoms to the National Auditorium for the first time this season. The two clubs opened the season at Keystone Arena with the Phantoms claiming the early bragging rights following an 86-76 victory despite a game-high 20 points from Ivan Sisco, who is Washington's top scorer this season. Speaking of scoring, there is plenty of excitement in Detroit where rookie Ward Messer is leading the loop in both scoring and rebounds. A record-breaking 55 points in a win over struggling Pittsburgh will do wonders for a scoring average. The Brooklyn Red Caps are not off to the start club magnate Daniel Prescott envisioned, but they did upend Washington last week and are now 8-5. Ivory Mitchell, the terrific guard out of Liberty College who was ABC MVP a record six times, is enjoying another fine season. The 30-year-old is among the league scoring leaders with his 20.0 ppg average and has added 10.3 rebounds per game while averaging just under 10 assists. That puts Mitchell just shy of joining Philadelphia's Jerry Hubbard (12.4 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 12.4 apg) and Joe Hampton of Chicago (12.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 12.1 apg) in averaging a triple double. Code: FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT Philadelphia 10 4 .714 Washington 10 4 .714 Rochester 9 4 .692 Brooklyn 8 5 .615 Hartford 7 5 .583 Baltimore 5 7 .417 New York 4 8 .333 Boston 4 11 .267 Syracuse 1 13 .071 WEST W L PCT Chicago 10 1 .909 Detroit 9 3 .750 Cincinnati 7 6 .538 Cleveland 6 6 .500 Buffalo 5 6 .455 Toronto 5 8 .385 Pittsburgh 2 11 .154 OWLS OFF TO 9-0 START Frankford State has not enjoyed much success in recent years on the court, but the Owls are off to a 9-0 start and perhaps entertaining dreams of a long tournament run. The Pennsylvania school has made the AIAA tournament 16 teams including last year when they bowed out in the first round, but that was one of just three trips to the big tournament since their improbable run to the championship game in the spring of 1928. They fell to CC Los Angeles that night and have won just two tournament games in the past 20 years. The quick start this season, which includes a season opening championship in the Bigsby Festival along with wins last week over 23rd ranked Brooklyn State and St. Matthew's College, leaves the Owls with a 9-0 record and at #4 in the latest collegiate cage rankings. This year's edition of the Owls is led by center David Aponte, a four year starter out of Canarsie High School in Brooklyn where he followed current Washington Eagles all-star Jesse Alvardo as the big multi-sport star. Aponte is among the top scorers in the nation so far this season, averaging 18.7 ppg including 22 in the win over St. Matthew's College on Saturday. The other big-time performer for the Owls is guard Rod Bookman, who is just a sophomore but already drawing attention of pro cage scouts. RESULTS INVOLVING TOP TEN SCHOOLS LAST WEEK NOVEMBER 29 #4 Frankford State 55 (David Aponte 14 pts) over #23 Brooklyn State 44 NOVEMBER 30 #2 St Blane 64 (Samuels, Canaday 13 pts each) Penn Catholic 43 #3 Liberty College 56 (Luther Gordon 21pts) Sadler 43 #5 Mississippi A&M 42 (Greg Randle 18pts) Northern California 40 #8 Lane State 70 (Carl Casswell 23 pts) Lubbock State 59 #10 East Missouri Seminary 51 (Chris Pate 15 pts) #25 Dickson College 43 DECEMBER 2 #8 Lane State 72 (Clarence Tutt 21 pts) Campion 59 DECEMBER 3 #3 Liberty College 58 (Luther Gordon 18 pts) Grafton 51 DECEMBER 4 #2 St Blane 63 (Worley, Canaday 12 pts each) Maryland State 48 #4 Frankford State 58 (David Aponte 22 pts) St Matthew's College 37 TELEVISION TIEUP ZOOMS BIDS FOR BOXING TALENT Bids for boxing talent are expected to hit a new high with television interests pumping fresh cash into the market. Columbia Broadcasting System became the first network to buy a piece of a fight club last week when it purchased a one-fourth interest in a new company that works with several large arenas, including Washington's National Auditorium and Lakeside Auditorium in Chicago. According to the mimeographed blub distributed at a press conference and luncheon, the company expects to work with managers and boxers to tap new and greater revenue from television, which will make up for any loss of patronage at the gate. It figures to offer higher guarantees to fighters with the new cash. Television money is expected to flow freely from two sources: 1- Sponsors who will pay more for TV rights when networks take the shows to added millions of watchers 2- Movie theatres who will pay on a per-seat basis as soon as a movie screen-size television is available in all major parts of the country. * Battle for Boxers * This network television idea, of course, will not be exclusive with CBS. All networks now are battling for rights to the single cable that will connect the Midwest with the East in January. They still are striving for a solution. Bigsby Garden bouts are televised on an Eastern NBC network every Friday. That will be stretched westward as soon as the cable is ready. The first fight under the new CBS deal will be the middleweight clash between Millard Shelton and Brooks O'Connor in Washington DC on December 18. It will be television in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Boston. FIGHTS OF NOTE LAST WEEK Danny Rutledge returned to Portland, Oregon and won for the 15th time without a defeat, when he knocked out Scott Sorensen in the 5th round of their bout Saturday evening. The rising star in the welterweight division elected to make a journey out west to fight in the city where he had his second professional bout. That came without the Army's knowledge when while on a furlough in 1945 before being deployed to the Pacific he won with another knockout victory. Rutledge's biggest claim to fame, at least so far, came while he was stationed in the European theatre when -still an amateur- he knocked out current welterweight champion Mac Erickson, representing the Navy, in what was billed the Allied Welterweight Championship in England back in the fall of 1944. Former welterweight champion Harold Stephens, who lost his title to Erickson last year, continues his freefall. Stephens, who held the title for just over a year, followed up the title loss to Erickson with another defeat in August when Ben 'Baby Face' Bishop beat him. Things did not go much better for the former champ Saturday evening in St Louis -which was the city he first claimed the welterweight title- when he fought Dale Roy to a majority draw. Stephens, now 30 years old and sporting a 21-5-3 record, looked nothing like the champion he was not so long ago and appears to be at the end of his rope as a top-level fighter. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Dec 10- Bigsby Garden: WW Dennis O'Keefe (22-4) vs Willis May (19-4-2) Dec 17- Bigsby Garden: MW Tommy Campbell (20-1-1) vs Jack Rainey (25-5) Dec 17- Pittsburgh: HW Scott Baker (18-3-2) vs David Kramer (23-8-3) and his brother HW Clifford Baker (30-13-4) vs Daron Ross (12-5-2) Dec 18- WashingtonDC (CBS Television): MW Millard Shelton (23-4) vs Brooks O'Connor (29-4-2) Dec 23 - Denny Arena, Boston: HW Cannon Cooper (24-4-1) vs Ron Wilson (22-11-5) Jan 8 - Bigsby Garden: MW Frank Melanson (33-2-2) vs Edouard Desmarais (42-2) Jan 28- Dominion Gardens, Toronto: World MW champ Adrian Petrie (18-1-1) vs Danny Morse (35-8-1) Feb 19- Paris, France: World HW champ Hector Sawyer (59-3-1) vs Alain Noel (44-11-2) Mar 18- Detroit: World WW champ Mac Erickson (18-0) vs Rudy Perry (27-4) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/05/1948 Senator Connally, destined to be the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, forecasts a settlement of the Berlin crisis in the near future on the basis of permitting use of Russian currency and a lifting of the blockade. A day later the Communists set up a hand-picked puppet government for Berlin, completing the city's East-West division further clouding any possible solution to the blockade. A military government economist says Western Germany has increased production to three-quarters of normal, and will be self-supporting by 1952, with the end of recovery plan assistance. The critical battle for Central China is shifting from Suchow to the very approaches of the Chinese capital city of Nanking. Israel has applied formally for membership in the United Nations. Britain, which had been lukewarm to the new state carved from Palestine, has announced it will not use its veto to bar the application. The Army cut in half its proposed January draft call for 20,000 men. Lack of money was given as the reason. The Army also announced the February call would be for only 5,000 men. The House Committe on Un-American Activities will reopen public hearings tomorrow and says it will bring out "conclusive proof" on the identity of the person or persons who reportedly fed secret State and Navy Dept. information to a Communist agent before the war. The Committee has also charged that Communists are conspiring to undermine the US school system by trying to recruit teachers. In a commando-like raid, about 300 invaders broke into two strike bound auto plants in Kalamazoo, Mi., wrecked equipment and parked cars injured several non-striking workmen and fled. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 10-23-2023 at 02:12 PM.