JUNE 6, 1949
DESMARAIS WINS BELT FOR SECOND TIME, AVENGES LOSS IN PETRIE REMATCH
Broad Street Park, Philadelphia, Pa. --The middleweight division has undergone some upheaval since Frank Melanson lost the title belt for the second time. Upheaval from the belt changing hands, but also upheaval from controversy over the last few months that has risen to an international incident.
On one side, you have the Canadian, Adrian Petrie, who is the current middleweight champion, won the title under a cloud of suspicion in October over then-champion Edouard Desmarais. Petrie won by a split decision, but the Canadian judges were seemingly in the bag for Petrie, which led to a post-bout commotion that rivaled any sporting event in recent memory.
On the other side, you have the Frenchman in Desmarais. After the official mandate to pave the way for an immediate rematch, Desmarais ignored the American Boxing Federation’s ruling and kept his date with the two-time People’s Champion, Frank Melanson. Meanwhile, Petrie bumped off an easy mark, journeyman Danny Morse, with Desmarais attending the bout and causing another altercation in the aftermath.
Is Petrie a faux champion or does he belong at the top of the middleweight ladder? Was Desmarais robbed and can he win the belt back to be the second two-time middleweight champion in recent history? Both fighters would settle their dispute in the ring in the City of Brotherly Love. The United States is playing the peacemaker between a Canadian and a Frenchman, two allies on the battlefield, but two enemies in the squared circle.
The referee officiating this rematch is Hubert Earle, who arbited the first encounter back in October in Montreal. Earle came out of that francophone fiasco as a responsible referee who played it by the book and valiantly tried to stop the post-match scrum from getting out of hand. Earle deserved a reprieve.
Petrie came out of his corner in the first round fast, as did Desmarais when they clashed at the center of the ring. Desmarais threw the first scoring jab, but Petrie followed with a hook that stunned Desmarais. While Petrie was trying for the big punch and seemingly fought out of anger, Desmarais was a more mature and polished boxer, showing his prowess as he stunted Petrie’s aggression. A couple of shots from Petrie did make it through, but all three judges saw fit to give the first two rounds to Desmarais, the veteran of 45 bouts.
The third round was a dominating display by Desmarais, mixing his shots effectively and scoring early and often. In this round, Petrie could not penetrate Desmarais’s defenses. The first act of this play was complete and Desmarais was building a lead. However, the second act would commence in the fourth round.
Petrie jumped off the stool in the champion’s corner like he was sitting on a spring. Desmarais, at this point, was settling in for what could be a long fight and Petrie likely took him a bit by surprise and connected with a right. Petrie lifted Desmarais with an uppercut that sent him back and the round did not end before Petrie added a sharp combination that caused the challenger to stumble. The fifth round was almost an exact reversal of the previous round with Desmarais as the aggressor and Petrie leaning back on his heels. Neither round provided a knockdown, but the back and forth made most in attendance think a full fifteen-rounder was in the offing.
A more pensive Petrie started the sixth round and this could show his immediate maturity in the ring before our eyes. Like a Hollywood movie, he started slow but he kept Desmarais at bay. About midway through the round, he started an offensive that lasted throughout the round, culminating in an uppercut in the final second that floored Desmarais. It was a quick recovery, as Desmarais stood up after only a one-count, but you could see the first real damage was levied by either fighter in this bout.
Maybe it was the knockdown that provided instant clarity to the French challenger. Maybe it was a feeling that the tide in the fight was clearing turning towards the Canadian champion, but Desmarais changed the fight quickly in the seventh round as the fight entered its final act. Desmarais went to the hook with good effect, landing one early on Petrie’s jaw which was followed by an excellent uppercut that caused Petrie to clinch on to Desmarais to slow his momentum. With a minute left in the round, Desmarais scored with another hook that eventually caused puffiness under Petrie’s left eye.
The momentum continued into the eighth, with an uppercut to start the round. Petrie walked into that punch, which showed the swelling around his left eye was quickly increasing. Petrie landed a hook before Desmarais started to work the body with a combination that took the wind and the will out of Petrie. He fell to the canvas and while trying to stand up, his jelly legs gave way and he fell again.
And, there it was. No controversy, no split decision. It was the 34th knockout by the boxer who was ahead on points on all three judges’ cards. In fact, all three judges scored each round the same, 10-9 for Desmarais in every round but the fourth and sixth, where it was 10-9 Petrie in the fourth and 10-8 for the former champion in the sixth. No one who witnessed this match first-hand would be surprised by the outcome.
Desmarais (44-2-0) was anxious to get back home to France, where he could showcase his title belt and recount his adventures across the Atlantic while he awaits his next challenge. Petrie (19-2-1) seethed as Desmarais was announced as the winner and the intensity of bout was written across the Montrealer’s face. Petrie will undoubtedly pursue a third fight between the once and future champions. Which of us wouldn’t chase another taste of glory? He may have to travel a long way to get one.
BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Petrie, 1-0 (0:30 hook)
Round 2: Petrie, 1-0 (2:05 hook/head)
Round 3: Desmarais, 3-0 (0:50 combo, 1:40 uppercut/head, 2:07 right)
Round 4: Petrie, 2-0 (0:52 uppercut, 2:33 combo)
Round 5: Desmarais, 4-1 (P: 0:14 combo; D: 1:33 hook, 1:47 cross/face, 2:08 hook/face, 2:40 combo)
Round 6: Petrie, 3-0 (1:08 combo, 1:32 hook/body, 3:00 uppercut/knockdown)
Round 7: Desmarais, 4-0 (0:22 hook/jaw, 0:36 uppercut, 0:49 hook, 2:00 hook)
Round 8: Desmarais, 3-1 (P: 1:03 hook; D: 0:22 uppercut, 0:39 uppercut, 1:31 combo/knockout)
TOTAL: Desmarais 14, Petrie 9
- Jun 13-Buffalo, NY" MW Bill Boggs (18-2) vs John Baker (22-5-1)
- Jun 25- Gothams Stadium, New York: World Heavyweight Champ Hector Sawyer (60-3-1) vs Roy Crawford (29-3)
- Jun 25- Boston Denny Arena: HW Cannon Cooper (26-4-1) vs Dan Miller (38-10)
- Jun 30- Thompson Arena Detroit: HW Scott Baker (19-3-3) vs Max Bradley (14-0)
- Jul 30- Chesapeake Arena, Baltimore: World Welterweight Champ Mac Erickson (19-0) vs Danny Rutledge (17-0)
SOARING EAGLES SECURE SECOND
Riding a six-game winning streak since the first of June, the Washington Eagles have improved to 29-20 and are now a game back of the association leading Gothams. The Eagles are adept at both scoring (2nd, 243) and preventing (2nd, 186) run, getting production up-and-down the roster. Despite being 37, Mel Carrol remains one of the best hitters in the game, slashing an outstanding .389/.481/.503 (162 OPS+) with 5 homers, 20 RBIs, and a superlative 28-to-10 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
Carrol has moved down to the seven spot in the lineup, ahead of last year's #1 pick Tom Miller (.264, 11), because they have an intimidating lineup ahead of him. Just 20, Bill Wise has already secured the everyday job at second, and he's responded with a veteran like .370/.436/.497 (147 OPS+) line, and like Carrol, he boasts a superb 21-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Wise has already tallied 16 doubles with 3 triples, scoring 29 runs and driving in 17 in 45 games. He's been driven in plenty by the trio of Rats McGonigle (.285, 12, 39, 4), Jesse Alvarado (.294, 8, 38, 9), and Sig Stofer (.235, 9, 32), which has combined for 29 homers and 109 RBIs.
The pitching can hold its own as well, and they're led by homegrown star Buckeye Smith (4-3, 3.29, 23) and a pair of pitchers acquired from the Windy City. It's expected that staff ace Billy Riley would excel, and he's 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts, but what has caught some off guard is the performance of 33-year-old Dan Everett. The former 5th Round selection of the Foresters is in his 11th season with the Eagles, and through 8 starts he's 3-2 with a miniscule 2.44 ERA (163 ERA+) and 1.14 WHIP. He has walked (25) more hitters than he's struck out (19), but Everett has yet to allow a homer in 51.2 innings, and his 3.22 FIP (80 FIP-) is still comfortably above average. They may not be able to rely on this level of performance all season, he is basically a league average (101 ERA, 100 FIP-) pitcher for his career, but this wouldn't be the first time Everett has put up a big year in the nation's capital.
The Eagles play just five games this week, with off days on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and after two with the Dynamos in Detroit, they'll have a huge series in New York with the Gothams. It's a three game set with a double header on the 12th, which could determine the order of the Federal Association standings for next week. The Chiefs (27-20, 2 GB) are still very much in the running, and with a good week they could finish in a tie or even above one of the Gothams and Eagles, as they look to continue to exceed expectations.
DETROIT HYSTERIA
Let’s start off in Detroit where 2 weeks ago rumblings were centered on Detroit favorite, Manager Dick York. Since those rumblings that York’s job is on the line, the Dynamos have gone 7-3 and are solidly in the thick of things in the FA at 23-21 and 4 1/2 games behind the Gothams. The offense has been the issue in Detroit and perhaps a finger should be pointed at hitting coach Jim Webb. The Dynamos went a youth building project after the war and fans knew it would take a long time. The organization has given the youngsters time to develop, right now the club does still need a few pieces. The questionable “cheap” acquisition of veteran OF Pinky Pierce appears to have not been the piece the club needed. Instead OF Bill Parker has emerged as a serviceable option, but the club is missing something. While they are 16-8 at Thompson Field, they are 7-13 away from home. Maybe a new voice at hitting coach will light a fire as Webb is a power type hitting coach and the club is sorely lacking in getting guys on base. Under any circumstance York might be guilty of overplaying his son who is struggling with the bat, but there are not a lot of options in house. My vote is Dick York deserves time to continue on.
*** Can the Foresters Really Reverse Over a Decade of Futility? ***
It was 1939 when the Foresters posted the last of their 8 straight winning seasons, since then it has been 10 years of long hardship for the fans off the Cuyahoga River. Since that time the club has finished 7th or 8th 9 times with the '47 season a big water mark of 6th. So it is understandable that as we approach the 1/3 pole in the season that optimism is running high in Foresters land. The Cleveland nine are currently and shockingly to just about everyone in first place. Yes at 28-19 and riding a wave of excellent overall play, the Foresters, yes those Foresters, are sitting on top of the CA by 2 1/2 games. But can it continue?
If it has any shot to continue the pitching is going to have to remain on the same torrid pace it’s been on. Most people have never heard of the Mad Professor Adrian Czerwinski, but all he has done is win this year. The Professor is just 24 and has been on the top 100 prospect list for several years, but nothing he has done as a pro gave an inkling of his breakout start this season (9-1 3.05 ERA). But if Cleveland is going to sustain this start and go from worst to first, the Mad Professor needs to stay up in the tip top of your CA Allen Award candidates. But it hasn’t just been Czerwinski, the Foresters are getting solid starting contributions from Ollie White, Ducky Davis and rookie John Jackson. The pitching staff is first in the CA in runs allowed.
The offense has also been solid in untypical Forester ways. The #2 offense currently in the CA resides in Cleveland and most can’t name any one of their starters. It’s been a fantasy season so far, but like most fairy tales they don’t even happily. My guess is the Foresters will hang around for another month or so, but then the dog days of August have a way of turning dreams into nightmares. I’m expecting the same thing here.
DARE WE SAY THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR COUGARS
The Cougars pitching staff has finally started to turn things around, as in seven of eight games this week the team's starter allowed three or fewer runs. There was an injury scare, as Duke Bybee suffered a mild abdominal strain against the Wolves, leaving with one out in the second. Lucky for the Cougs, Charlie Kelsey did admirably in relief, allowing just 2 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7.1 innings out of the pen. But the best pitching performance came from Donnie Jones, who followed up his 2-hit, 2-walk shutout with a 1-hit, 1-walk shutout. Donnie struck out the team that drafted him six times in the 5-0 win, improving his record to 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA (107 ERA+) in his 10 starts.
While the pitching has struggled, the Cougars have gotten tremendous offensive production from their 7-Time All-Stars, with both Sal Pestilli and Skipper Schneider making an impact at the plate and in the field. Both had big weeks at the plate, with Pestilli leading the charge with his 8th and 9th home runs. Pestilli appeared in all eight games, a strong 17-for-36 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 walks, 3 steals, 7 runs, and 9 RBIs. Pestilli is now hitting an impressive .366/.410/.588 (166 OPS+) on the season, with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 39 RBIs, and 9 steals. With excellent offense and above average defense, he's been worth three full runs above replacement, and is on pace to shatter his previous best of 8.5.
Skipper didn't match Sal's production for the week, but his 10-for-25 still equates to a .400 average, and he added 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 4 walks, and 2 steals. He's also in the midst of one of his best seasons, hitting what would be a career best .322/.405/.450 (130 OPS+) with an elevated 142 WRC+. Combined with his usually great defense (5.9, 1.084), 11 doubles, 3 homers, 3 steals, and 23 RBIs, he's been worth 2.7 WAR with 27 runs and an impressive 23-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. The only reason the Cougars are a game above .500 is the production of their two talented up-the-middle players, so it's now time for the rest of the team to step up to their level.
Down on the farm, 40th ranked prospect Dixie Gaines won his 8th consecutive start as the San Jose Cougars crushed the Vancouver Mounties 18-3. Gaines went 7, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 5 walks with 8 strikeouts. In his eight starts, Gaines has yet to allow more then two runs, and he's struck out at least five every time out. In 59.2 innings, he has a microscopic 1.21 ERA (362 ERA+) with 57 strikeouts, just 16 walks, and a 1.02 WHIP. The 21-year-old will now enter the Class A Legislators rotation in his first promotion since being selected in the 4th round last season.
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
Toronto Finishes May On a High Note Before Road Trip -The Wolves end the month of May with a double header sweep of CA leading Cleveland by scores of 3-2, 4-2 on Monday afternoon. The victories gave the team a 13-7 record for the month, along with bringing them temporarily to the .500 mark at 20-20. After an off day on Tuesday a 12 day 13 game trip began in Chicago. Cougars' starter Donnie Jones pitched a 1 hit, 1 walk masterpiece in a 102 pitch 5-0 whitewash before 21,578. The only hit for Toronto was a first pitch single by Curt Brooks in the second. On Thursday night the Wolves managed only one run on 5 hits dropping a 5-1 decision. The game was not without drama when in the second with one out Cougars star hurler Duke Bybee left the game with an injury. Fortunately for Chicago fans it was later determined to be of the minor variety and Bybee should make his next scheduled start. Charlie Kelsey came in to pitch into the 9th giving up only one run on 2 hits. George Garrison's 4-game winning streak was ended when he struggled all game with his control walking 5. The Wolves managed to salvage one game in the series with a 3-2 victory, despite being outhit 12-6, before almost 28,000 on Friday afternoon with two run 8th the winner crossing the plate on Charlie Artuso's sac fly. Joe Hancock had a bounce back start after several mediocre efforts in May.
The Barrell brothers continued their series in Kings County Park II with May's Continental Association Pitcher of the Month Jim Morrison facing Leo Hayden. Toronto, led by McCormick's 4-for-5 day and Hal Wood's 3 RBI game, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead then cruised home to a 7-4 victory. Morrison is now 6-0 even though he gave up 5 BB to the Kings. Brooklyn squared their season series when Ralph Johnson hit two into the seats including a grand slam in the 6th off Sam Jordan in a 9-3 win. One of the Barrell brothers will be leading the head to head when the Wolves and Kings finish the series Monday afternoon before the Toronto club heads first to Montreal and then back to New York to conclude the road trip.
Wolves shoddy defense continues with 8 errors in 7 games this week. Lloyd McGowan continues to bring the infielders to the park early to work on fielding drills hopefully to tighten up the leaky infield. On the farm Jerry York's control is improving he has struck out 14 while only walking 2 in two starts for Buffalo. In Davenport, Les Ledbetter finally brought his ERA into the single digits pitching into the 8th giving up no runs against Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. Bill Irvin continues to struggle in Vancouver. Pat Todd's .319/.383/.379 line at Chattanooga suggests he ready to go to Buffalo soon, could he come north of the border before season's end? Rookies should start reporting to their assignments at the end of next week.
The one real bright spot on the 23-23 Kings pitching staff has been the work of rookie Joe Potts. Potts went 4-1 in May with 1.87 ERA and is 6-2 2.62 on the season. At the start of the year Potts was either the number 4 or 5 starter on most lists but has moved up to a solid #2. Some argue he’s #1 right now as he has outperformed Bob Arman who is 3-5 with a 4.08 ERA. The rest of the pitching has been a roller coaster and mostly on the downside. There is talk that there could be a shakeup in the coaching staff soon. Most of manager Tom Barrell’s staff is on contracts that expire after the end of the season. While GM Martin has said he is talking with coaches on extensions, one has to wonder if the lack of success of the pitching staff might cost pitching coach Earl Scott his job. One source indicates that Barrell, bench coach Jim Dudkiewicz and hitting coach Milo Kimble have all verbally agreed to extensions, but none have been announced. Could the discussion on Scott’s future be the hold up?
RF Ralph Johnson capped off a fantastic month of May, by winning the CA hitter of the month award. “King” Ralph hit 381/484/1180 with 6 home runs, 27 RBI’s and 29 runs scored for the CA’s top offense. On the season King Ralph is hitting 365/478/1168 with 9 home runs, 35 RBI’s and an FABL leading 45 runs scored. Johnson has come to the plate 4 times in bases loaded situations going 3-3 with a double, 2 home runs and a walk. Scoring 3 times and driving in 12 RBI’s. If he can continue, he will be in serious contention for his 2nd Whitney Award.
The club is talking about what moves they might make prior to returning to play next week. Some speculate that veteran Rusty Petrick is done.
FIELD SET FOR COLLEGIATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The 16-team field has been announced for the fourth annual AIAA collegiate world championship tournament. This year's event will be held in New York for the second time with Gothams Stadium and Dyckman Stadium taking care of the hosting duties. Grange College, which won the 1947 tournament and claimed three other national baseball titles before the expanded tournament format was adopted for the 1946 season, is the top seed. The Mustangs are led by three All-Americans in outfielders Don Berry and Bill Morrison as well as catcher Cliff Seiler.
Grange College will play its opening game Monday at Gothams Stadium against a surprising George Fox University club. The Reds become the first Academia Alliance conference member to qualify for the event since the format change and are bidding to become the first school from the Academia section to win the CWCS since Henrry Hudson claimed back to back titles in 1931 and 1932, under the old feeder league system.
The event is a single elimination series before a best of three championship round. Here is the schedule and tournament bracket.
CHRISTIAN TROPHY NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
The end of the AIAA regular season brings about the annual list of the Collegiate Baseball All-American Team as well as the 5 finalists for the Christian Trophy. The award, named after the legendary baseball coach, is presented annually to the player judged to be the best in college baseball.
For the first time in recent memory the list of finalists will not include a pitcher. It will include a pair of repeat nominees as Lane State shortstop Tom Perkins and Grange College outfielder Bill Morrison are each nominated for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Coastal State shortstop Tom Perkins, who was selected first overall in the 1947 FABL draft by the Washington Eagles, won his second straight Christian Trophy. Morrison finished third in the voting behind Redwood University's Red Hinton while Perkins was fourth.
Here, listed in alphabetical order, are the five finalists for the 1949 Christian Trophy
CHARLIE BARRELL, 2B: Noble Jones College Colonels - A three sport star for his Washington DC high school, Barrell also played for the Colonels basketball team and will play collegiate football next September (freshman are ineligible for college gird). The college cage season ran long as the Colonels went all the way to the AIAA championship game so Barrell was limited to just 47 games on the diamond. He posted some impressive numbers as the second baseman slashed .316/.389/.593 with 12 homers. Barrell, who's uncle Tom Barrell was a two-time second team All-American with Georgia Baptist, would have been a high first round selection in the 1948 FABL draft had he not committed to Noble Jones College prior to the draft.
DON BERRY, OF: Grange College Mustangs - Berry led all major college players with a .341 batting average (.341/.497/.538) and earned All-American status for the third straight year. He was one of three Mustangs to belt 12 homers this season, a number matched by fellow nominees Charlie Barrell and Berry's Grange College teammate Bill Morrison. That homerun total is also the highest this season recorded by a player at a major school (defined as great competition). Berry completed the major college triple crown with 61 rbi's. He was selected fourth overall by the Philadelphia Keystones in January and his younger brother Dallas, also an outfielder, went three picks later to the Cincinnati Cannons. Berry was the MVP of the 1947 Collegiate World Championship Series as a freshman.
ED BLOOM, 3B: American Atlantic Pelicans - The 8th overall choice by the Chicago Chiefs in January, Bloom led the Pelicans to their first birth in the Collegiate World Championship Series. He slashed .332/.473/.553 with 6 homers in 49 games this season and his 2.7 WAR was the highest total among major college hitters.
BILL MORRISON, OF: Grange College Mustangs - A three-time All-American selection, Morrison and fellow nominee Don Berry are looking to win their second national title in three years with Grange College. Morrison slashed .309/.404/.555 and tied for the major college lead in homeruns with 12. The Detroit Dynamos drafted Morrison in the second round, 28th overall.
TOM PERKINS, SS: Lane State Emeralds - A second straight nomination for Perkins, who was a second team All-American selection a year ago. His .331 batting average was surpassed among major college hitters only by Don Berry and Ed Bloom. Perkins played 61 games for the Emeralds, with a slash line of .331/.399/.474. The Washington Eagles selected Perkins 10th overall in the draft.
Those five were all named first team All-Americans and for Berry and Morrison it marks the third straight year they made the top team. Grange College catcher Cliff Seiler, a sophomore, also was a repeat selection in earning his second straight appearance on the team while first baseman Andy Green is also a two-time first team choice as he was selected as a freshman but did not make the cut in his sophomore campaign a year ago. Green was one of six juniors selected. All six have already been drafted with the Green going in the third round to Montreal while Carolina Poly pitcher Johnny Young was a sixth round selection of the Detroit Dynamos.
- New York World Telegram and Gothams beat writer Red Wedge: "I guess the Federal Association had to pick someone else this week as both Red Johnson and Walt Messer put up player of the week worthy lines but did not get the nod. Still Red Johnson was selected FA BotM. In May Johnson hit .379 with 12 homers, 38 RBI and 29 scored. Johnson closed out the month in style going 5-5 with a walk and RBI in a 13-0 drubbing of the Chiefs in the second game of their Memorial Day doubleheader. The Chiefs had won the opener 14-8. Though splitting the DH the Gothams were 4-1 to start June and have regained first place, a game up on Washington. Johnson continues to lead the league in homers and RBI while sitting 3rd in batting.
- Another no-hitter. This one at Class C when Harvey Mitchell of Fort Wayne turned the trick, fanning 14 and walking 3 in a 5-0 win over the Columbus Titans. The 26-year-old Chicago Chiefs farmhand was a 9th round pick in the 1940 FABL draft and it was just the second no-hitter in team history, with the first coming way back in 1887. This comes two weeks after John Stallings broke a no-hitter drought for the parent Chiefs that also stretched back to the last century.
- Charlie Rogers of the AA Knoxville Knights had a 33-game hitting streak come to an end against Mobile on Saturday. The 1947 first round pick of the Brooklyn Kings in 1947 will celebrate his 20th birthday tomorrow. His 33 game streak was the longest the Dixie League has seen since 1939 when Ab Thomas, also playing for Knoxville at the team, established a new league record with a 52-game streak.
OSA RELEASES ITS MOCK DRAFT ORDER
The FABL scouting service has released its 5 round mock choices for the 1949 draft based on how the players finished up their amateur careers. For the vast majority, it will not change things as nearly all of the 80 players tabbed by the scouting service have already been selected including high school outfielder Rick Masters, who tops the OSA list and was selected second overall by the Boston Minutemen.
Below is a look at the first round choices made by the FABL squads in January and where OSA presently ranks them. There is also a second chart showing the remainder of the top 32 OSA ranked players and where they were drafted. One player, Brooklyn high school outfielder Wally Kirkpatrick, was not selected in January but seems assured to be a very early selection when the final 15 rounds of the 25-round draft are completed on June 20.
SPECULATION CONTINUES THAT PRESCOTT WILL FOLD RED CAPS
A rumour that just will not go away suggests that the most successful team in professional basketball history is on the verge of being shut down. The Brooklyn Red Caps, who last month won the Federal Basketball League title in their first season in the new loop, will cease to exist if the stories are true.
At first glance the notion that club owner and former American Basketball Conference head Daniel Prescott would fold a team that has won 6 championships in the last seven years seems preposterous. However, scratch beneath the surface and the notion does not seem so outlandish. Prescott has built a dominant team on the court, but acquiring great players comes at great cost and with less than half of the 12,000 seats in Flatbush Garden typically occupied on game nights, the Red Caps are barely turning a profit some years and actually losing money in others.
Prescott has confided in friends that he had no issue with battling to break even in the old American Basketball Conference, a league he founded in 1937, but the hostile takeover a year ago by the Federal League has zapped the bottling magnate of his love for the pro basketball. Prescott continues to hold a grudge, and probably with good reason, after what he perceives as being stabbed in the back not only from Bernie Millard, a fellow baseball and basketball owner, but also by Rollie Barrell - a man Prescott considered a friend and a business partner in the first pro cage league in the 1920.
Prescott celebrated loudly on the floor of the Thompson Palladium in front of the Detroit Mustangs and Barrell, who owns the Motor City club, after sweeping Barrell's team in the league finals a few weeks ago. Sources say beating Barrell was all that mattered and now that it has been accomplished, Prescott wants nothing to do with Barrell, Millard or anyone else in the Federal League.
Perhaps he will have a change of heart, or maybe he will find a buyer for the Red Caps, but as of now odds look very good that there will not be a professional basketball team playing out of Brooklyn next season. It will be a shame if that happens as the Red Caps are quite probably the greatest pro cage club ever assembled.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/05/1949
- Foreign Ministers are making little progress in talks aimed at uniting Berlin. Sources say there is some agreement between Russia and the Western leaders but not on any of the key points.
- Senate Republicans battling to keep a big part of the Taft-Hartley Labor bill are hopeful they may make some progress this week, but key Democrats have a different view, as they hope to see the revised Truman bill enacted.
- Two seasoned Chinese Communist armies of 600,000 men were reported marching south towards Canton, refugee Nationalist capital. That Nationalists are said to have possibly 300,000 men to face the twin drives.
- The highest-ranking Czech representative in Berlin quit his job and fled. Dr. Bedrich Bruegel, acting chief of the Czech military mission, followed his former superior into exile, declaring he could no longer stomach what he called "a corrupt police dictatorship."