FEBRUARY 21, 1949
HALL OF FAME VOTERS COME UP EMPTY
None Receive Required 75% for Enshrinement
The 1949 class of inductees added to baseball's Hall of Fame in Boone County, Il., will not include any modern-day players as none of the 18 candidates on the ballot successfully garnered the 75% required for induction. The only newcomer to the ranks will be John 'Scoops' Cook, who was nominated by the veteran's committee and will hold the stage all on his own at this summer's induction ceremony.
Jack Cleaves, a middle infielder who spent the bulk of his career with the Philadelphia Sailors before stints with his brother George in Pittsburgh and finally with the Cincinnati Cannons came the closest, but the 4-time World Championship Series winner fell just short, with his name appearing on 62% of the ballots.
Tom Bird was next with 54% and plenty of controversy around the league as the merits of his candidacy were discussed at great lengths with writers firmly entrenched on opposite sides of the discussion. In the end Bird's name only appeared on just over half of the ballots. Bird was a very polarizing figure among the voters with proponents noting his 10 all-star game selections, his .416 career on base percentage and the fact that he still managed to hit .308 despite playing the most demanding position in the field. Only one other catcher, former Washington Eagles and Cleveland Foresters great T.R. Goins is presently counted among hall members. Detractors argued that the late start to his career kept his overall numbers well below Hall of Fame standard. Bird did not make his big league debut until he was 26 years old and did not becoming an everyday player until his age 28 season in 1936. As a result, his counting stats, such as only 1558 base hits, fall well short of his fellow nominees and those already in the Hall.
All of those who missed out this year will find it much tougher next year as Al Wheeler, who seems a lock for induction, and Jim Lonardo, who also is expected to have an excellent chance, will both debut on the ballot.
VETERANS CALL ON COOK TO JOIN HALL
Unlike the writers and radio men who vote on the standard Hall of Fame ballot, the veteran committee did find a candidate it could fully support. That would be John Cook. Cook was a second baseman who had 2,505 hits between 1902 and 1919 for Boston and Brooklyn while being what some considered to be the best defensive second baseman of his era. Nicknamed "Scoops" for his prowess with the glove, Cook was a key figure on the Boston Minutemen dynasty that won 5 straight pennants and 2 WCS from 1902-06. He would win a third WCS title in 1912 before leaving Boston to finish out his career in Brooklyn. Cook had 2,505 hits, 454 steals, 806 RBIs, 1,180 runs, and 421 extra base hits with a .953 fielding percentage.
SAWYER LIGHTS UP NOEL LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE IN PARIS
Paris, France -- Hector Sawyer landed in Europe with thoughts of conquest. It was not a hard mission: to seek out the best heavyweight contenders and pummel them into submission. The best Great Britain could offer was Grant Knowles and that fight was over in four rounds.
On this night, with a lovely backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, Sawyer met Alain Noel, which was the requisite French representative in the heavyweight division. France was represented in a lower weight class, as Edouard Desmarais was a middleweight champion for three months last year and will likely get a title shot again.
However, no one is mistaking Noel for Desmarais. Desmarais has lost two professional fights. Noel has dropped 11 of them. The biggest difference: there is no one in any weight class who measures up to the great champion, “The Cajun Crusher”, Hector Sawyer.
During the bout, it seemed like Sawyer was being paid by the minute. In the early rounds, Sawyer could have attacked several times but decided instead to clinch or resort to a more defensive posture. It was clear that he was trying to give the estimated 60,000 paying fight fans at Stade Yves-du-Manoir their money’s worth.
The fourth round was a telling harbinger for the rest of the bout. Almost as if a switch was flipped, Sawyer stormed towards Noel and landed a big hook and stayed on the attack until he let an uppercut loose that hit Noel squarely on Noel’s left jaw, sending him sprawling to the canvas. After a quick three-count, Noel was back on his feet, but Sawyer continued on the offense. Somehow, someway, Noel was able to stay on his feet to finish the round.
Sawyer started to inflict damage on Noel, as the challenger developed a puffy eye that was evident in the fifth round. Sawyer’s punches were connecting regularly and by the seventh round, even Noel’s corner men could not reduce the swelling. The swollen left eye was joined in the eighth round by a cut right eyelid after a sharp right hand from Sawyer caught Noel just above the eye, followed immediately in the same sequence by an accidental head butt.
Noel’s best round was that eighth round, a round where he saw the worse for wear with the cut to his eyelid and it was largely because of an uppercut that Noel landed with about 30 seconds left in that round. It was the only Big Bopper of the fight for Noel and it barely fazed the Cajun Crusher.
Once the ninth round came along, Sawyer resorted to some more defensive boxing, either to ensure Noel did not gain any momentum off his uppercut in the eighth or to prolong the agony for Noel. Either way, Sawyer was successfully pummeling his opponent into the later rounds, culminating in some late fireworks.
Late in the 14th round, Sawyer dropped Noel with a quick combination after Noel hit on a combination of his own. Noel, however, left himself wide open and Sawyer took advantage, earning a five-count before Noel was able to continue. Since it was his second knockdown, Referee Bill Clancy performed a quick inspection on Noel by holding his gloves together and looking into his eyes.
In the final round, the undisputed champion and best boxer of his generation, Hector Sawyer, let Noel bask in the cheers of his home crowd before the round began. Sawyer was running rings around Noel, as he had barely broken a sweat all night. As the round was coming close to the end, Sawyer went for a big uppercut that found a home under Noel’s chin, sending Noel down a third time. There were only 13 seconds left in the bout, but you have to hand it to Noel, he was able to scramble to his feet as the referee got to a six-count.
As much as this was expected to be a walkover for Sawyer, no one expected Noel (44-12-2) to be standing at the end of the 15th round. But there he was, standing before his countrymen a worthy adversary for the Heavyweight Champion of the World. It was a little beyond credulity to this reporter that Sawyer needed more than 15 rounds to dispose of Noel and had to resort to a unanimous decision. He could have ended it in the fourth round even earlier than that if he so chose.
Maybe it was the goodwill of his European trip. Maybe it was his respect for the sweet science. Whatever the reason, there were no blemishes to his record or his credibility on this night. Sawyer won his 60th professional fight and even with 64 professional bouts to his name, he is a champion who stands alone, looking far and wide for a challenger. He could not find his match in Europe. After Grant Knowles and Alain Noel, known as the best Europe had to offer to this point, will Sawyer (60-3-1) keep looking in Europe or will he return a conquering hero to America and wait like the ancient knights guarding the Holy Grail for a new hero to attempt to vanquish him?
BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:08 right/body)
Round 2: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:10 hook/jaw)
Round 3: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:45 cross)
Round 4: Sawyer, 4-0 (0:24 hook, 1:06 uppercut/jaw/knockdown, 1:43 combo/midsection, 2:14 combo)
Round 5: Sawyer, 3-0 (0:31 hook, 0:48 right, 1:35 hook/midsection)
Round 6: None
Round 7: None
Round 8: Noel, 2-0 (1:27 hook/head, 2:31 uppercut)
Round 9: Sawyer, 1-0 (1:16 right/head)
Round 10: None
Round 11: None
Round 12: Sawyer, 1-0 (0:19 combo)
Round 13: Sawyer, 2-0 (0:12 hook, 1:49 cross)
Round 14: Sawyer, 2-0 (2:26 combo/knockdown, 3:00 hook)
Round 15: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:49 uppercut/knockdown
TOTAL: Sawyer 17, Noel 2
- Feb 21- Bigsby Garden, New York: former WW champ Mark Westlake (25-3-1) vs Jack Watkins (24-10)
- Feb 26- Philadelphia: John Baker (21-5-1) vs Richard Pounds (15-4)
- Mar 12- Bigsby Garden: former WW champ Harold Stephens (21-5-3) vs River Thomas (18-8)
- Mar 18- Detroit: World WW champ Mac Erickson (18-0) vs Rudy Perry (27-4)
- Mar 26- St Louis: MW Joe Morre (20-4-1) vs Millard Shelton (24-4)
- Mar 26- Bigsby Garden, New York: HW Scott Baker (19-3-3) vs Lewis Jones (19-1)
- Jun 4- Broad Street Park, Philadelphia: World Middleweight Champ Adrian Petrie (19-1-1) vs Edouard Desmarais (43-2)
BATTLE FOR FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT A HEATED ONE
While the Boston Bees gathered some breathing room atop the NAHC standings and have moved 6 points ahead of the defending champion Toronto Dukes thanks to a 6-game winning streak that included a pair of victories over the Dukes, the other end of the playoff race has heated up.
With 11 games remaining for each, just 2 points separate the bottom three clubs who are fighting for their playoff lives as the season enters its final four weeks. Things can turn quickly in the battle as the Montreal Valiants, seemingly fading from the picture with just one victory in their last twelve games entering the week, exploded with three straight victories including back-to-back wins over the New York Shamrocks and if the season ended today the Vals would be in the playoffs with New York and Detroit watching from the sidelines.
Each of the three clubs has had prolonged slumps this season, as well as some winning streaks, so it will likely come down to which of the three teams gets hot at the right time. The Motors, with a much better goal differential than their two rivals, might feel they should be well ahead in the race but that is not the case despite the Detroit club being +2 on the season while New York has allowed 17 more goals than they have scored and Montreal is worst in the league at -30 but somehow still very much in the playoff picture.
Key games in the battle next week both take place in Detroit when Montreal invades the Thompson Palladium Saturday and the Shamrocks arrive in the Motor City the following day.
Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 48 29 15 4 155 123 62
Toronto 50 25 19 6 161 141 56
Chicago 49 22 23 4 151 158 48
Montreal 49 19 24 6 129 159 44
Detroit 49 18 25 6 154 152 42
New York 49 17 24 8 128 145 42
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 50 25 32 57
Galbraith, Tor 50 26 27 53
Hart, Bos 47 22 27 49
T Burns, Chi 38 30 18 48
Chandler, Bos 43 21 27 48
Sauer, Tor 50 21 24 45
Cabbell, NY 46 26 17 43
Carlson, Tor 47 12 30 42
Vanderbilt, Det 47 24 17 41
Skinner, Mon 49 19 21 40
Rocheleau, Det 44 6 33 39
Witt, Det 46 14 24 38
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 41 23 14 4 5 2.59
Broadway, Tor 45 21 18 6 3 2.72
Chasse, Det 19 8 9 0 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 45 14 22 8 2 2.86
Brockers, Mon 35 13 18 3 2 2.92
Hanson, Chi 34 14 18 2 2 3.11
Touhey, Det 30 9 16 4 3 3.30
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16
Chicago 2 at 6 Boston: Make it five wins in a row for surging Boston as the Bees kicked off a lengthy homestand with a 6-2 drubbing of Chicago. It was deadlocked at two after twenty minutes before Boston put four goals past Norm Hanson in the Chicago net over the final thirty minutes despite being outshot 32-19 by the visiting Packers. Craig Simpson and Nick Prentiss each scored twice for the winners.
New York 6 at 4 Detroit: Two of the three clubs in a battle for the final playoff spot met in the Motor City with the visitors from New York claiming a 6-4 victory. Three Shamrocks in Paul Tetreault, Gil Corbeil and Jocko Gregg each contributed 3 points on the evening to help the Greenshirts win for the first time this month and snap a 7-game winless streak.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17
Montreal 5 at 3 Toronto: Third period goals from Ian Doyle, John Cline and Adam Sandford lifted the Valiants to a 5-3 win over Toronto and drop the Dukes 4 points back of first place Boston.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19
Montreal 4 at 3 New York: Ian Doyle scored twice in the third period to help Montreal past the New York Shamrocks 4-3 in the opener of a home and home series between two clubs scratching to claim the final playoff spot. The teams traded goals in each of the first two periods but New York could manage just one marker in the third frame - Orval Cabbell's 25th of the season- and the Shamrocks came up just short.
Toronto 2 at 5 Boston: The Bees won for the sixth game in a row and opened a 6-point lead on Toronto in the race for top spot in the NAHC with a 5-2 victory on home ice. Wilbur Chandler led the way for the Bees with a goal and two helpers. Toronto has lost three of its last four outings.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20
Chicago 7 at 2 Toronto: Moose Vezina and Leon Seguin each had 4 assists while Max Ducharme added a goal and 2 helpers as the Packers routed Toronto 7-2. The victory allows third place Chicago to move within 6 points of the defending champs for second place.
New York 5 at 6 Montreal: Montreal moved 2 points ahead of the Shamrocks and idle Detroit and into sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot, at least for the moment, after a 6-5 win over New York. Clarence Skinner scored the only goal of the opening stanza for the Valiants before the two teams exploded for 7 goals in a wild second period that left the contest tied after 40 minutes. Paulie Mosca gave Montreal the lead just 25 seconds into the third frame and Clarence Skinner's second of the game less than 2 minutes later made it 6-4. Laurel Albers got one back just shy of the 13 minute mark but that was as close as the Greenshirts could come as the Vals swept the weekend home-and-home series between the two rivals.
UPCOMING GAMES
MONDAY FEBRUARY 21
Detroit at Boston
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23
New York at Boston
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24
Chicago at Montreal
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26
Montreal at Detroit
Toronto at Chicago
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27
Chicago at Boston
New York at Detroit
Dukes Drop Three Straight -- Toronto's icemen picked a bad time to slump, if there is ever a good time? Dukes drop games 5-3, 5-2, 7-2 to Montreal, Boston, Chicago with the first one and last one both being on home ice. That leaves the Dukes in second place, now 6 points behind Boston, and the Bees have the added luxury of two games in hand. What may also be worrying to Jack Barrell's club is coming fast in rear view mirror are the Chicago Packers, now only 8 points behind Toronto.
At home for a midweek date with the Montreal Valiants, the Dukes came out fast on the forecheck, hemming the Vals in their own zone, which is something they have been doing a fair bit of lately. The home side has 14 shots on goal as compared to 5 by Montreal in the first, but Toronto managed to notch just a single goal. It came courtesy of Quinton Pollack, who beat Tom Brockers from in tight just past the 12 minute mark. The rest of the period was a showcase of the veteran Montreal netminder, who repeatedly robbed Toronto shooters.
In the second the visitors came out with a little more life and they were rewarded when Glen Whitley beat Gordie Broadway from the slot just past the three minute mark, shortly after Al Cote and Montreal's Shel Herron livened things up with a scuffle.
Toronto found its stride a few minutes later when Pollack, with his second of the game, followed by a Bobbie Sauer goal to make it 3-1 just over two and a half minutes after the Dukes regained the lead. However, after that goal the Dukes seemed to be content to go through the motions without much intensity, content to just dump the puck in then change lines. Montreal took advantage of lack of a forecheck to pull within one with only 49 seconds left in the period. Behind the bench, Coach Jack Barrell was seen shaking his head in disgust after the team allowed another late goal.
When Toronto could not regain their tempo Montreal pounced scoring twice before the third was 5 minutes old. Ian Doyle, left alone in front on missed assignment, tied the score at 2:38 as Toronto defenders were running around in their own zone. The John Cline's floater from the point seemed to dip in front of Broadway and suddenly Montreal was in front 4-3. Try as they might Toronto could not mount any pressure to tie the score. Fans at Dominion Gardens began to boo the team for what seemed a lack of effort that became a crescendo when Brett Lanceleve put one in the empty net to seal the win for the Vals.
The Dukes dressing room was closed to reporters after the game. The Mail & Empire was told that Coach Barrell's post-game tirade was one for the ages, full of unprintable vocabulary centered on lack of effort.
After a full practice Friday morning the team boarded a train to Boston. The top two teams in the NAHC squared off at Denny Arena before almost 15,000. It was again a fast paced, up and down game, with bone jarring, clean hits handed out by both teams. Tommy Hart opened the scoring for the home side followed by Jacob Gron 5 minutes later in a game that seemed to getting away from the Dukes. Dick Zimmerman's marker during the last minute of play injected a spark of life into Toronto but it came on one of only 4 shots by the visitors compared to 14 from the Bees in the first.
Jim Morey scored 17 seconds into the second after Robert Walker won a draw cleanly in the Toronto end. Heading into the third down two quickly closed to within one when Les Carlson scored at 2:59 from Lou Galbraith and Charlie Brown but that would be the end of the Toronto push. The Dukes were stifled by the Boston checking for the balance of the game with the Bees adding a pair of empty netters to make the 5-2, a score not indicative of how close the game was on the ice.
Back in Toronto Sunday night to face the Packers, the Dukes got out to quick lead when Al Cote picked up his second of the year from Mike Navarro and Pollack less than 4 minutes into the game. Chicago scored two in 12 seconds just past the 14 minute marker of period to put the Packers into a lead that they would never surrender. Those two were part of seven in a row Chicago skaters would put past Broadway in a 7-2 laugher for the visitors. The 13,558 in attendance were not laughing, as once more catcalls reigned down on the ice throughout the third period in what many of the faithful described as worst two-game performance at home seen in years.
The dressing room was closed again to the press after the game. Coach Barrell met with the media later thus describing the woeful week: "I felt a change on the bench after Sauer's goal halfway through the Montreal game Wednesday, a "We've got this one on to Boston mentality." Once you start to cruise, it is tough to re-engage the engine. I've seen it happen before to teams I have been on. In this league anything less than 100% effort will comeback to haunt you - this league has the best hockey players in the world. Open the door for the opposition they will come through in a hurry.
Montreal got our number in the second half of the game. In Boston Broadway held us in until late but as for Chicago tonight.... well I don't want to discuss that. The fans said it all, correctly, if truth be told. No sense dwelling on the past, we have six days to straighten out our game and with only one game this week (in Chicago Saturday) my job is to have the team ready. See you all at practice Tuesday, it will be an interesting week of practice. I am pondering some rather substantial roster/line changes to shake things up on the team."
EASTERN STARS DOMIANT IN CAGE ALL-STAR GAME VICTORY
The Federal Basketball League all-star game quickly turned into a rout as the stars of the East Division built a 22-point lead at the half and rolled to a 122-80 victory over the Western squad. The hot hand belonged to Benton Legault, of the Brooklyn Red Caps as the 29-year-old 8-year veteran exploded for 27 points off the bench to lead his side to victory. Legault was named the game's Most Valuable Player in what was his fifth appearance in an all-star game. The previous four came while Legault and his Red Caps were members of the now defunct American Basketball Conference. Lon Porter and Max Lucia, teammates on West Division cellar-dwelling Toronto, topped the Western scoring parade with 18 points each. Brooklyn's Loren Kamp also had 18.
- The teams have changed substantially with the addition of the ABC clubs, but the East Division is 3-0 in Federal League all-star games.
- 3 more double-doubles for Chicago's Richard Campbell in the Panthers 3 wins last week. Campbell now has 114 double-doubles in his career, most all-time in the FBL, although the ABC record is 220 held by James Phillips of Hartford.
- The Chicago Panthers seemed to have adjusted to life without Joe Hampton. It was touch and go for a stretch as the Panthers dropped 6 of 8 games with their star guard nursing a dislocated shoulder but they did get back on track with 4 straight wins and just in time as Detroit, with 9 consecutive wins, continues to charge after the West Division leaders. The good news for the Chicago five is Hampton, who has not played since January 19, is close to returning and may even play in one or both of the Wildcats back to back games with Toronto tonight and tomorrow.
- Detroit is not the only team still on a hot streak as East Division leading Brooklyn has won 8 in a row and the hard-charging Boston Centurions have reeled off 9 straight victories and are suddenly just a half game out of a playoff spot. Going the other direction we have the Rochester Rockets, who have dropped 8 straight and 13 of their last 18. Not that long ago the Rockets were contending for top spot in the East and were off to a 15-8 start. Now it is looking like they may not even make the playoffs in the highly competitive East Division.
Code:
FBL STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Brooklyn 31 10 .756 -
Washington 30 10 .750 0.5
Philadelphia 24 16 .600 6.5
Rochester 20 21 .488 11.0
Baltimore 19 20 .487 11.0
Boston 20 22 .476 11.5
Hartford 18 21 .462 12.0
New York 13 28 .317 18.0
Syracuse 6 33 .154 24.0
WEST W L PCT GB
Chicago 28 14 .667 -
Detroit 26 14 .650 1.0
Cleveland 23 18 .561 4.5
Cincinnati 23 19 .548 5.0
Pittsburgh 17 23 .425 10.0
Buffalo 14 25 .359 12.5
Toronto 11 29 .275 16.0
CRUNCH TIME CLOSING IN
There are only three weeks remaining until March 13, which any college basketball coach will tell you is selection day for the 40th annual AIAA collegiate basketball tournament. There are 32 spots up for grabs with 15 of them allocated for the champions of each of the 15 conferences. Competition is expected to fierce down the stretch, not just for the section berths, but also among teams vying for one of the 17 open spots.
Three of the top five schools continue to be independents and each seems almost assured of a tournament berth with a strong chance that #1 ranked St Blane and #3 Liberty College will end up with two of the four number seeds in the event. Western Iowa, on the strength of wins over Central Ohio and St Ignatius over the weekend, improved to 9-1 in Great Lakes Alliance play and has a two-game lead on second place Indiana A&M. The Canaries are clearly in the tournament, but whether they go in as GLA champion or with an at-large bid remains to be seen.
Fourth ranked Carolina Poly is 8-0 in South Atlantic Conference play and are quite likely the favourite at this point for the top seed in the South Region, but the Cardinals have a big week ahead of them with road games at 10th ranked North Carolina Tech and in Greenville against a Bulein Hornets squad that beat the Techsters earlier this season and is 7-1 in section play, although the Hornets did lose on the road to Maryland State yesterday.
The most exciting section race is out west as only a half game separates the top three schools in the West Coast Athletic Association with each of them ranked in the top ten nationally.
Defending National Champion Redwood University is fighting just to reach the tournament this year. The Mammoths have five games remaining but three are on the road and three, including two road contests, are against teams ranked in the top ten with a March calander that begins with a home game against #8 Rainier College before heading to Los Angeles to play 7th ranked Coastal California before a final stop against the 6th ranked Lane State Emeralds. Those three games, along with next week's encounters with Spokane State and Portland Tech will decide if Redwood will even have an opportunity to defend its title. CCLA, which reached the title game last year and has four AIAA titles on its resume, has a finish nearly as tough with a trip to Lane State and their annual showdown with Coastal California still on the docket.
Here is a look at the teams (excluding conference champions) across the country in and on the bubble, at least at the moment, for the 32-team tournament field.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 10 TEAMS
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 15
#5 Frankford State 66 (David Aponte 20) Ogdensburg 39
WEDNESDY FEBRUARY 16
Central Kentucky 48 #9 Mississippi A&M 45 (Greg Randle 12)
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17
#2 Western Iowa 58 (Charlie Maynard 23) Central Ohio 51
#4 Carolina Poly 56 (James Halle 33) Mobile Maritime 46
#5 Frankford State 55 (David Aponte 17) Hampden 45
Charleston Tech 51 #10 North Carolina Tech 37 (Mike Carter 17)
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18
#1 St Blane 57 (Cy Worley 18) Ferguson 49
#3 Liberty College 82 (Luther Gordon 27) St Patrick's 50
#6 Lane State 52 (Clarence Tutt 15) #7 Coastal California 50 (Chris Martines 16)
#8 Rainier College 62 (Joe Simpson 20) Idaho A&M 39
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19
#2 Western Iowa 58 (Charlie Maynard 19) St Ignatius 48
#4 Carolina Poly 51 (Major Belk 10) Chesapeake State 40
Noble Jones College 57 #9 Mississippi A&M 56 (Micah Shuman 17)
#10 North Carolina Tech 52 (Mike Carter 20) Cowpens State 42
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20
#8 Rainier College 68 (Thomas Abbott 16) #6 Lane State 52 (Carl Casswell 19)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/20/1949
- Dr Chaim Weizmann, president of the provisional government of Israel, opened the state's first parliament with an address that referred to Jerusalem as "the capital."
- The diplomatic battle between Hungary and the United States escalated with the American Minister to Hungary being expelled from that country.
- Bulgarian Parliament received a bill which would require all foreign religious missions in Bulgaria to close within a month and their property will be confiscated.
- A 12-point plan aimed at a new National Health Plan created by the American Medical Association is being studied by members of Congress and the public.
- The chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors says inflationary movement will resume this spring and could lead to an "ultimate crash."
- Government scientists are working on a "space ship" which would flash through the stratosphere at nearly 10,000 miles an hour.