FEBRUARY 28, 1949
REQUIEM FOR A TANK
Frank “The Tank” Melanson announced his retirement after his most recent loss to fellow former champion middleweight Edouard Desmarais last month. As the new year of 1949 dawned, Melanson was still hoping to get back on top, but it was becoming less and less likely. Desmarais has another title shot in him. Melanson does not and for someone who never really hungered for the limelight, his release of any desire to hang on is understandable.
Melanson came out of nowhere. He fought during the War, but he went back to his job he loved before getting the opportunity to fight then-champion Archie Rees. Myself, a reporter working a beat that I loved before getting the opportunity to cover that same fight. And so, the doffing of my reporter’s fedora for Melanson began. I have tried to be even-handed in my coverage, but it is no secret I have rooted for him. I have rooted for him as a fighter. I have rooted for him as a person.
This is what makes his decision to retire a good one and one in keeping with his high character. They say it is better to retire one bout too early than one bout too late. He has his health, and he has made more money than 50 years of working in a factory. By life’s count, the 31-year-old Melanson is still a young man. But, in boxing years, he is at an advanced age. The boxing occupation is hard on a man; it deprives a man of his faculties, and the bumps and bruises linger longer.
Melanson’s professional career began when he was a spry and willing 18-year-old in 1936, handling himself well in six-round bouts with six wins and a one draw in 1936, moving up to 12-round matches in 1937. His winning ways continued, as he earned his first knockout in 1939 against Edward Owens. Melanson’s first consequential fight was in 1940 when the 17-0-1 Melanson defeated 11-2-2 Brooks O’Connor by majority decision in his hometown of Pittsburgh.
As the War started, the Jorge Cuellar was the Middleweight champion, but the Spaniard retired, and the title stood vacant for a year until Englishman Archie Rees became champion in 1941. Meanwhile, Melanson fought notably in 1943 against Doug Smith and Vic Woodley, two fighters with a combined 31 professional victories, people in the boxing world started to notice.
Melanson felt a call to duty on the homefront in the summer of 1943 and put his boxing career on hold as he put his muscle to work helping Uncle Sam provide parts for the machinery that protected the freedom of the Western World. Only a single fight in 1944 against a 1-18-1 Richard Crum caused those same boxing pundits to go back to ignoring him.
When the War was winding down in February 1945, Melanson put his boxing gloves back on, knocking out a young Andrew Hammon, who was 6-1 entering the fight. At this time, Archie Rees was looking for a payday on his American trip and his camp wanted to select a challenger Rees could beat, but they also wanted a draw that would fill the seats. In Melanson, he had a backstory that Rees’s representation could not resist with the end of the War fast approaching.
Melanson outlasted the Tadcaster Thunderbolt and became World Middleweight Champion in a unanimous decision and instantly, his life changed. The rags-to-riches story was apocryphal, as he was a working boxer until his focus became supporting the War effort, but America fell in love with him. Melanson became the “People’s Champion” because he earned an unlikely title shot and, like David and his slingshot, slayed his own Goliath to take the championship belt.
Melanson kept the belt through a tight draw against Todd Gill, avenged it with a win in the rematch, lost the belt and regained it against John Edmonds. All of this added to his story and the public adulation. Who among us hasn’t lost in life and what better feeling is it to win back what you have lost? He is Everyman. He is us.
While the loss to Edouard Desmarais – after successfully defending his title against the Frenchman in 1946 – was compounded with a lost rematch put an end to his fighting career, it is not the end of the story; it is merely the close of a very active chapter.
Where next for the Tank? Only he knows. He has the chiseled looks of a matinee idol and 31 is not too old to get into film. Back to the factories? Not a chance. One thing is for certain: Melanson will not chase fame, fortune, or anything like that. He will simply live his life and it will be left to the rest of us to sing his praises and remember his exploits as the People’s Champion.
KEY FIGHTS LAST WEEK
Mark Westlake, the battling Biloxi, Ms., welterweight who briefly held the world title two and a half years ago, made another case as to why he deserves another shot at the crown as the 31-year-old knocked out Jack Watkins for his sixth straight win since being outpointed by Harold Stephens for the crown. There are some big names in those recent wins for Westlake as well, including Ira Mitchell and Carl Taylor.
Mac Erickson is the current titleholder in the welter class, and will put his perfect 18-0 record on the line against Rudy Perry next month. Westlake may have to wait in line as there is a solid crop of contenders in the division with Danny Rutledge, also like Erickson yet to lose as a professional, expected to be next up for a title shot.
Middleweight John Baker, another member of the first family of Philadelphia boxing, won again in his hometown last week. The 30-year-old, one of three fighting sons of former World Middleweight Champ Battling Billy Baker, needed a late rally but scrated out a majority decision over Richard Pounds Saturday night.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- 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)
CITRUS DIAMOND YARDS OPEN NEXT WEEK
It is the lull before the Florida storm as the 16 FABL ball clubs are making final preparations in advance of spring training openers next week. Each of the 16 clubs has already begun transporting equipment and supplies to the sunny locales and players will begin trickling into camps this week.
Just as they were a year ago, the St Louis Pioneers prepare to begin Citrus loop play as the defending World Champions, having knocked off the Continental Association winning Philadelphia Sailors for the second year in a row. It marked the first time since 1905-06 when the New York Stars beat the Boston Minutemen in successive WCS, have the same two teams met with the same one emerging as champion. It has never happened three times in a row. In fact, the Federal Association has not seen a team win three consecutive league flags since the 1902-06 Boston Minutemen won 5 in a row. Three straight pennants has been much more common in the CA, with the Cincinnati Cannons (1943-45), Brooklyn Kings (1936-38), Philadelphia Sailors (1928-30) and New York Stars (1924-26) all accomplish a threepeat.
BEES CLOSING IN ON REGULAR SEASON TITLE
9 Points Up With 9 Games Remaining
The Boston Bees are looking to make it six first place finishes in the past nine years after a hot streak at the right time has left the Bees 9 points clear of the second place Toronto Dukes with 9 games remaining on the regular season Calander for each team. The Bees suffered a minor stumble this week with a loss to New York on Wednesday followed by a tie with Chicago last night but prior to those two recent outings the Boston club had won 7 straight and had gone 12-2-0 since losing to Chicago on January 16.
The news is not all good as the Bees are banged up right now with the biggest concern being that starting goaltender Oscar James and his back-up Pierre Melancon are both hurting. James has been dealing with an injury to his forearm suffered in a game against Chicago nearly two weeks ago but has continued to play through it in part because Melancon, who has appeared in 7 games this season, is battling a stomach virus.
Meanwhile in Toronto the news can not get much worse for the defending Challenge Cup champions who have lost 4 in a row -their longest skid of the season- and have turned thoughts away from catching Boston to needing to just focus on holding off Chicago for second place and home-ice advantage during the opening round of the playoffs. The Packers, once thought their season was completely lost after an awful 4-12-1 start that had them mirred in the NAHC cellar, have gone 17-6-4 since December 22 and are now just 3 points behind the Dukes. Chicago has 8 games remaining on its schedule, one less than Toronto but the two clubs do meet once - in Toronto two weeks from yesterday.
Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 51 30 16 5 163 131 65
Toronto 51 25 20 6 161 144 56
Chicago 52 24 23 5 159 161 53
Detroit 52 20 26 6 167 162 46
Montreal 51 19 26 6 133 166 44
New York 51 18 25 8 134 153 44
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 51 25 32 57
Galbraith, Tor 51 26 27 53
Hart, Bos 50 23 29 52
Chandler, Bos 46 21 30 51
T Burns, Chi 41 31 19 50
Cabbell, NY 48 26 20 46
Sauer, Tor 51 21 24 45
Witt, Det 49 17 28 45
Vanderbilt, Det 50 24 19 43
Skinner, Mon 51 20 22 42
Carlson, Tor 48 12 30 42
Rocheleau, Det 47 6 35 41
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 44 24 15 5 5 2.60
Broadway, Tor 46 21 19 6 3 2.72
Chasse, Det 20 9 9 0 1 2.83
Tremblay, NY 47 15 23 8 2 2.92
Hanson, Chi 37 16 18 3 3 2.94
Brockers, Mon 37 13 20 3 2 2.96
Touhey, Det 32 10 17 4 3 3.31
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 21
Detroit 4 at 5 Boston: Three third period goals lifted Boston to a comeback win over the Motors in a rare Monday tussle. After the visitors build a 4-2 lead with less than 18 minutes to play the Bees responded with goals from Jacob Gron, his second of the game, Mickey Bedard and David Scarpone to scratch out their seventh consecutive victory.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23
New York 3 at 2 Boston: Back at it two days later, Boston's winning streak came to an end as the Shamrocks built a 2-0 opening period lead and held on for a 3-2 victory.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24
Chicago 4 at 2 Montreal: Montreal's modest three game winning streak came to an end on home ice after the Valiants were doubled 4-2 by the Chicago Packers. Marty Mahoney scored twice to put Chicago up 2-0 but the Vals rallied with 2 goals of their own to tie the contest but then Jarrett McGlynn scored twice in a minute and a half span in the third period to give the Packers the victory. Mahoney, who assisted on the two McGlynn markers, hurt his back late in the game and is expected to be out of the lineup for the next week.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26
Montreal 2 at 3 Detroit: The Motors started a big weekend that features games against both of their rivals in the fight for the final playoff spot by hanging on to claim a 3-2 win over visiting Montreal. Everything started well for the Motors when Alexandre Viens and Ben Witt staked the Detroiters to a 2-0 lead when the game was barely two minutes old. Marsh Spencer increased the lead to three with the lone tally of the second frame before Montreal came to life in the third. Clarence Skinner, with his 20th of the season, and John Cline scored but the Vals failed to get the equalizer past former Montreal goaltender Millard Touhey in the Detroit net.
Toronto 0 at 3 Chicago: Things are getting tense in Toronto after the Packers closed to within 4 points of the Dukes for second place with a 3-0 victory. Chicago has won three straight while Toronto dropped its fourth in a row as Norm Hanson turned aside all 32 Dukes shots for his third shutout of the season. Chicago scored once in each stanza with Max Ducharme, Jesse Santuro and Jeremy MacLean doing the honours.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27
Chicago 1 at 1 Boston: A goaltender's duel at Denny Arena as Norm Hanson made 37 saves for Chicago while Oscar James stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in a 1-1 tie. The Packers Tommy Burns opened the scoring with his league-leading 31st goal midway through the first period but Joe Morey got the equalizer early in the third on the powerplay. Boston is now 9 points clear of Toronto for top spot while the Packers are just 3 behind the Dukes.
New York 3 at 6 Detroit: The Motors offense was revving as Detroit doubled New York 6-3 to move two points ahead of both the Shamrocks and idle Montreal in the fight for fourth place. Six different Detroit players handled the scoring for their club while Joe Martin had two in a losing cause for the Shamrocks.
UPCOMING GAMES
WEDNESDAY MARCH 2
Boston at Detroit
Chicago at New York
Toronto at Montreal
SATURDAY MARCH 5
Detroit at Chicago
Montreal at Boston
Toronto at New York
SUNDAY MARCH 6
Boston at Montreal
Chicago at Detroit
New York at Toronto
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- Tight battles for the final playoff spot are nothing new to the NAHC. A year ago the New York Shamrocks held off both Montreal and Detroit, finishing one point ahead of the pair before the Shamrocks shocked first place Chicago with a semi-final upset.
Two years ago in 1946-47 it was a rout in comparison to most recent results with the Shamrocks finishing 4 points ahead of Montreal for fourth place.
In 1945-46 the Montreal Valiants ended up with 51 points and edged Detroit out by a single point for fourth spot. The Vals then knocked off regular season champion Toronto in the semi-finals before taking Boston to 6 games in a failed bid to complete a dream season with a Cup.
1944-45 was even tighter. Montreal and Detroit tied for fourth with 51 points but the Vals advanced on a tie breaker and 1943-44 saw Detroit edged New York out by two points for the final playoff berth.
- The Chicago Packers are over .500 for the first time all season after a 3-0 shutout win over the Dukes. The Packers haven't lost in four straight, and have gone 4-1-2 in their last seven games. At 53 points, they are now just three points behind the Dukes, but will be again setback by injury with top two right wingers Marty Mahoney and Jeremy MacLean hitting the injured list.
- Fern LeBec reports for the Boston Globe" For the Bees, a split week (1-1-1) and minor ailments are everywhere. The Bees have clinched a spot and they are looking good for the top spot, which will mean nothing when the playoffs start. I think anyone can beat anyone in this league. It will be critical for the Bees to get healthy and stay healthy.
- There is some optimism in New York as the Shamrocks are slowly getting everyone healthy and ready to make a push for a third straight trip to the playoffs. Just getting in is all it takes, as the fourth place Shamrocks knocked off number Chicago a year ago and Montreal, after sneaking into fourth place three years ago, did the same to Toronto in the semi-finals that season.
Toronto's struggles continue and the loses continue to mount. Forget about the top spot as now even the team's hold on second place is being challenged by Chicago. Saturday night at Lakeside Aud before a huge crowd of over 17,000 the Packers shutdown the Dukes at every turn while notching a goal in every period to claim a 3-0 victory with Norm Hanson turning away 32 for his third whitewash of the season.
The Packers trapped the Dukes puck carriers at every turn throughout the game. Toronto would control the puck out of their own zone through center then run into a brick wall at the blue line with a either a body check or a stick check forcing them to cough up the puck. Max Ducharme lit the lamp behind Gordie Broadway late in the opening frame to provide the Packers with all the offense it turned out that they would need on this evening. Toronto had numerous opportunities in the middle frame to get the equalizer, including many right on Norm Hanson's door step but nothing found the back of the net . Jesse Santoro, who set up Ducharme's opener, doubled the lead from Wes Burns and Mark Brooks near the midway point of the second frame. It came ona screen shot that Broadway never had a chance to save. In the third period Jeremy MacLean made it 3-0 with his 11th with both Burns brothers getting the helpers on a shot from the left hand faceoff circle. The Packers continued to check the visitors into submission, sending the fans home with a 3-0 win. To make matters worse for the Dukes, the Chicago quintet tied Boston Sunday to close the gap within 3 points behind the Dukes. On small consolation is that Toronto does hold a game in hand.
Coach Barrell: "Give Chicago credit. They checked us into the ground. We were even in shots even if only a few were high quality chances. Those one Hanson handled. Overall, the effort was much better...this often happens when you start to lose. Good effort then you run into a goaltender you can't throw rice by. We will get out of this, hopefully soon.
Trevor Parker is now gone for at least another month and he is now drinking his meals with his jaw wired shut. But, I am sure no one is feeling sorry for us. New line combinations are getting accustomed to each other, hopefully by Wednesday they are clicking in Montreal before we go home and home with the Shamrocks on the weekend. We just have to keeping working, eventually the tide will turn, we are too good a team."
- Ward Messer might be getting most of the attention among newcomers for his tremendous start in Detroit. The second overall pick is leading the FBL in both scoring and rebounds but there have been some other rookies with very impressive showings as well. Ziggy Rickard, the former Central Ohio All-American forward is among the top scorers in the league averaging, more than 18 points per game for the Cleveland Crushers. Rickard was selected third overall. #4 overall pick Gerald Cleek is settling in with Buffalo, as the former CCLA forward is averaging double-figures in both points and boards and Kenny Roberts, taken 11th by Baltimore out of Mississippi A&M is performing nicely coming off the bench for the Barons. The biggest surprise might Scott Winner of the Cincinnati Cyclones. The second round pick from Bayou State has started all 44 games this season and is putting up some decent numbers as the only second round choice to start more than a handful of games.
- Detroit has surpassed Chicago in the West as the Panthers had some stumbles with first Richard Campbell and later Joe Hampton sidelined. Both are back now and the business of closing in on the Mustangs can begin. Detroit has won 13 straight to take a 1-game lead on Chicago but the Mustangs were just hit with an injury of their own. Starting forward David Reed, who is third on the team in scoring average with 14.8 ppg, will miss close to a month with a sprained ankle.
- The Cincinnati Cylones snapped a 4-game skid with three wins in their last four outings and have pulled ahead of Cleveland for third place in the West Division. The Crushers finally snapped a five-game skid with a 103-93 win over Toronto Saturday.
- In the East Division, there is still no one able to slow down the Brooklyn Red Caps. Daniel Prescott's club, which dominated the old American Basketball Conference, has reeled off 11 wins in a row but faces a big test in the coming days with a home and home series against the Washington Statesmen. Brooklyn's long-time rival in the ABC is just a game and a half back of the Red Caps despite falling 102-97 in Philadelphia Saturday evening.
- Things keep getting worse for Syracuse. The Titans have reached a 10-game losing streak for the second time this season and are just 6-37 overall including only 2 wins at the Syracuse Arena this season. There best player, center Jamel Porter broke a bone in his foot for the second time this season and has not played since January 24. Now first overall pick Darren Fuhrman, who has had his struggles this season but did score a career best 26 points against Brooklyn a week and a half ago, is hurt as well. Furhman dislocated his knee and will be sidelined until sometime in April.
Code:
FBL STANDINGS
EAST W L PCT GB
Brooklyn 34 10 .773 -
Washington 32 11 .744 1.5
Philadelphia 28 16 .636 6.0
Rochester 21 22 .488 12.5
Boston 21 24 .467 13.5
Baltimore 20 23 .465 13.5
Hartford 19 23 .452 14.0
New York 14 30 .318 20.0
Syracuse 6 37 .140 27.5
WEST W L PCT GB
Detroit 30 14 .682 -
Chicago 30 16 .652 1.0
Cincinnati 25 19 .568 5.0
Cleveland 24 19 .558 5.5
Pittsburgh 19 25 .432 11.0
Buffalo 14 28 .333 15.0
Toronto 12 32 .273 18.0
CANARIES FLY BACK TO TOP SPOT
The Western Iowa Canaries moved back into the number one spot in the weekly collegiate cage rankings after two more section wins this weekend improved their season mark to 24-1 and moved them close to clinching the Great Lakes Alliance section title. The Canaries beat Minnesota Tech 55-53 on the road before having a much easier time with Whitney College Saturday to improve their section mark to 11-1. There are four games remaining for each of the 10 schools on the GLA slate and the Canaries have a 3-game lead on second place Indiana A&M, which fell to 8-4 after falling to Detroit City College Thursday before rebounding in Columbus against Central Ohio Saturday.
The Canaries seem a lock for a top seed in the AIAA tournament, which will have its 32-team field unveiled on March 13. Western Iowa was ranked #1 earlier in the season but slid after losing its GLA opener to the Reapers in Terre Haute. With St Blane (27-1) idle last week the voters pushed the Canaries back in front of the Fighting Saints for the top spot in the national rankings. St Blane has just one game remaining on its schedule, a Tuesday meeting in Tyrone, Pa. against the 15th ranked Garden State Redbirds, who dipped to 19-6 after a surprising loss to Brooklyn State last week.
Liberty College held at #3 as the Bells have finished up their schedule and are waiting with their 26-3 record for the hopeful news of securing a number one seed in one of the tournament's four regions. If it holds, Luther Gordon's 18.7 points per game will top the nation. The junior college transfer is also among the AIAA leaders in rebounds and appears to be a favourite for the Barrette Award, presented to the top collegiate player in the nation. If so, it would be back-to-back Barrette's for the Bells as Ward Messer won last year before moving on to a pro career with the Detroit Mustangs.
Despite losing to North Carolina Tech 59-53 in the South Atlantic Conference showdown the Carolina Poly Cardinals retain the number four spot in the polls. The Cardinals are 9-1 in SAC play and lead the loop by a game over Central Carolina with the Techsters a game and a half back at 8-3 and ranked 8th in the latest poll.
Rainier College was the only school to drop out of the top ten as the Majestics slide from 8 to 11 after losing by 12 points in Los Angeles to 7th ranked Coastal California in their only outing last week. Stepping into the top ten for the first time this season will be the Annapolis Maritime Navigators, who finished off their season at 25-4 with a convincing 57-40 victory over 17th ranked Lexington State on Saturday. The naval academy should have done enough to return to the AIAA tournament after a two-year absence. The Navigators have enjoyed a few deep tournament runs over the years including the surprising push in the spring of 1944 in which they went all the way to the championship game before coming up just short against Rainier College.
RECENT RESULTS OF TOP TEN TEAMS
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23
CC Los Angeles 60 #6 Lane State 51 (Carl Casswell 16)
#7 Coastal California 57 (Chris Martines 24) Rainier College 45 (Joe Simpson 12)
#9 Mississippi A&M 58 (Greg Randle 13) Northern Mississippi 51
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24
#1 Western Iowa 55 (Willy Ludwick 11) Minnesota Tech 33
#8 North Carolina Tech 59 (Muzz Hodson 15) #4 Carolina Poly 53 (James Halle 16)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26
#1 Western Iowa 60 (Willy Ludwick 21) Whitney College 44
#4 Carolina Poly 46 (Bill Florence 16) Bulein 37
Georgia Baptist 48 #9 Mississippi A&M 40 (Billy Bob Leveau 13)
#8 North Carolina Tech 55 (Mike Carter 16) Chesapeake State 45
#10 Annapolis Maritime 57 (David Williams 14) Lexington State 40
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27
#6 Lane State 65 (Carl Casswell 14) Idaho A&M 53
#7 Coastal California 62 (Tony Lincoln 16) Spokane State 49
MUSTANG FEVER GRIPS CITY
Forget about the Motors, is Detroit suddenly a basketball town? The noise you hear from excited fans piling out of the Thompson Palladium these days is more often than not in celebration of yet another win by the cage Mustangs. Yes, the crowds are still small as the Mustangs are averaging less than 3,000 a contest, but they are vocal and on a high after Rollie Barrell's ponies extended their winning streak to 13 games and the club is actually ahead of the Chicago Panthers for top spot in the West Division.
We are not sure if it will last, but Ward Messer's incredible rookie season has made believers of many as the youngster is leading the entire FBL in both scoring and rebounds. There was a bit of a scare last Wednesday in Pittsburgh when David Reed turned his ankle and the starting forward who has averaged nearly 15 points a game will be sidelined for three weeks. Reed's absence was not missed over the weekend with an easy 96-67 win over Syracuse, but the struggling Titans are the worst team in the league.
***Motors Battling For Playoff Berth ***
The Palladium's primary tenant is back in a playoff spot, at least today. A big weekend on the ice as the Motors beat each of their two rivals for that fourth place slot and a berth in the semi-finals. Things got dicey Saturday when the Motors jumped out to a 3-0 lead but nearly allowed Montreal to mount a third period comeback before hanging on for a 3-2 victory. Ben Witt, taken fourth overall in the 1947 draft, has already surpassed his point total as a rookie by scoring once and adding two helpers in the win. Witt has 45 points on the season and has taken over the team lead from Adam Vanderbilt.
Things were far less tense last night when the Motors doubled New York 6-3. Detroit has 8 games remaining, one less than the Vals and Shamrocks, but leads each by two points as three clubs battle it out for one playoff berth. The Motors have one game remaining with each of their two rivals with both on the road during the final week of the season. The Motors missed the playoffs and finished dead last a year ago. Detroit has made the playoffs just once in the past four years but missed by just a single point both last year and three years ago.
*** Knights Need Big Finish ***
Detroit City College is in danger of missing the AIAA basketball tournament for just the second time since 1932. A loss in Lansing to St Ignatius Saturday left DCC with a 7-5 section record and 17-8 overall. At the moment it looks like the Knights have done enough to qualify for the 32-team championship field, but you have to think they need at least 3 wins in their final four games. Two are on the road with games against Lincoln and Wisconsin State, a pair of schools with 11-14 records on the year. One has to think both of those are winnable but then it is back home to face 15-10 St Magnus and then the Knights finish off with #1 ranked Western Iowa on March 12, the day before the tournament field is revealed. The Canaries beat DCC in Sioux City last month but only by two points.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/27/1949
- Speaking in Brussels, Winston Churchill said the United Nations is powerless to prevent a new war and called for a united Europe as a regional pillar of a truly effective world organization.
- Italy's Communist chief declared that the Italian people would have the "duty to aid in the most efficient way" any Russian army which might be required to pursue "an aggressor" in Italian soil.
- The trial in Bulgaria of 15 Protestant churchman opened with a plea of guilty by a Baptist minister to crimes against the Bulgarian state. They clergymen are accused of treason, espionage and black market money dealing.
- Three Pro-Communist newsmen and a defense plant draftsman were held by police in Paris in a drive to weed out persons spying into the defense secrets of France.
- General MacArthur's forces not only will remain in Japan but will also defend that country if it should be attacked by a foreign nation.
- Senate leaders abandoned plans to try and push the Truman labor bill through Congress by April 1, but Democrats say they still have no intention of taking the priority label off the labor measure. They will not name a new target date for the bill.