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Tiger Fan · 01-09-2024, 03:25 PM

AUGUST 22, 1949

SAINTS MARCH INTO SECOND PLACE IN CA

The hottest team in baseball is suddenly the Montreal Saints. The Saints have won 12 of their last 14 games and, at 27-14, boast the best record in either league since the all-star break. A normally meandering club that has not finished above the breakeven mark since 1930 is suddenly on a red-hot pace that has propelled them ahead of both the Chicago Cougars and New York Stars and into second place in the Continental Association. Pennant fever is likely not a symptom in Montreal yet, and at 8.5 games behind the steady Cleveland Foresters, does not appear likely to strike although if the Saints continue to play as they have been maybe nothing is impossible. No Saints club has finished as high as second place since they won their most recent pennant 28 years ago.

Catching Cleveland is looking more and more difficult for anyone in the Continental loop. The Foresters are 75-46 on the season, and with well over a month remaining in the campaign, have already won more games than the franchise did in any season in the past decade. The club that went 60-94 a year ago is on pace to claim 95 victories this season.

The big story on the shores of Lake Erie continues to be the amazing pitching performance of 24-year-old Adrian Czerwinski (20-5, 2.73), a second year big leaguer who went just 4-11 with a 6.04 era as a rookie. The 1946 second round pick out of Whitney College appears to be a lock for the Continental Allen Award but he is far from the only Cleveland hurler posting career best numbers as John Jackson (14-5, 3.19), Ducky Davis (12-6, 3.25) and even late addition to the rotation Goldie Irwin (5-2, 3.91) have all been very good. Third baseman Jim Adams Jr. (.332,8,66) is finally starting to show at age 28 just what the Foresters saw in the former St. Ignatius star when they selected him first overall in the 1943 draft and local product Lorenzo Samuels (.328,23,79) - an acquisition in the old regional draft round- is having a breakthrough year at age 26. Czerwinski might be the face of the turnaround in Cleveland, but there are plenty of supporting charactors striving to make this a very special season for long suffering Foresters fans, who are one of 3 FABL clubs to win just a single World Championship Series in their history.

The big turnarounds are not restricted to the Continental loop as the Chicago Chiefs are closing in on their own run from worst to first in the Federal Association. Accomplished just two years ago by the St Louis Pioneers, going from the outhouse to the penthouse really feels look old hat with both the Foresters and Chiefs on the same trajectory this year.

The Chiefs stumbled slightly over the weekend in dropping 2 of three to the fourth place Detroit Dynamos but thanks to a 2-game sweep of New York for the second time in as many weeks, the Chicago nine have stretched their lead to 3 games over the second place Gothams with Washington and Detroit struggling to keep pace at 3.5 and 5.5 back respectively. In a season in which nearly everything has gone right for the Chiefs they did get a bit of bad news over the weekend with news that lead-off man Dave Krieger (.304,5,59) suffered a sprained elbow. The outfielder says he can continue playing through the injury, expected to take about 4 weeks to fully recover, but the Chiefs are expected to decide if they need to place him on the injured list sometime today.

MAD PROFESSOR HAS THE WINNING FORMULA IN CLEVELAND

After completing nine impressive innings and holding the Cincinnati Cannons to just 8 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks, young Chicagoan Adrian Czerwinski left the game in unfamiliar territory: his team was not winning the game. That's not something any Forester pitcher is used to this season, as they've comfortably held first place in the Continental Association this season, but for Czerwinski he was in line for potentially his first no decision of the year.

Of course, like all else for Cleveland this season, they got the break they needed, as team "veteran" Jim Admas Jr. snapped his o'fer with a walk-off single, securing the Foresters FABL high 73rd win of the season. Same goes for Czerwinski, who is now an impressive 20-5 in his 25 starts. Czerwinski has thrown four consecutive complete game victories, and the likely runaway Allen Winner has now won six more games then any other pitcher in his association. His 2.73 ERA (155 ERA+) trails only Cougar fireballer Pete Papenfus (11-9, 2.71, 113), and with how close they are there's plenty of time for the young Forester to claim the ERA crown for himself.

Known colloquially as "The Mad Professor", the first-time All-Star is becoming a household name, even if most in the household have no idea how to pronounce it. The 24-year-old has completely turned around his fortunes, as after an abysmal 19 start stint last season where he was 4-11 with a 6.04 ERA (65 ERA+) and 1.70 WHIP with far more walks (54) then strikeouts (32). Czerwinski is still walking a lot of guys, with three more walks (57) then strikeouts (54) this season, but he dropped his BB% from 8.8 to 6.4 while increasing his strikeout rate by a bit more then a percent (+1.1). The biggest improvement has been the sidearmer's ability to limit hard contact, dropping his HR/9 from 0.8 to 0.3 while his WHIP has plummeted from 1.70 to 1.22. Everything has gone right for Czerwinski this season, but to those in tune with the game's top prospects his emergence should be no surprise.

An impressive two year starter at the prestigious Whitney College, there were rumors on draft day that if the Chicago Cougars were able to snag current 8th ranked prospect Yank Taylor with their first round pick (they ended up with 7th ranked Bob Allen), the Windy City native would have been the 20th pick, but instead Chicago settled on high school outfielder Frank Reece. Czerwinski lasted six more picks, before the Foresters grabbed him in the back half of the second round. He didn't initially rank in the league's top 100 prospect list, but by 1948 he was up to 67th and he made his debut later that season. Part of this was due to his pitching profile, as there aren't many guys topping out at 86 that find success against the toughest competition. Especially when they throw three fastballs!

Without being able to dominate opposition hitters with the hard stuff, he instead uses his pinpoint command to locate his hard stuff on the corners, with his sinker getting work low, his cutter inside, and his fastball up and away. All three pitches come out looking the same, which makes it tough for hitters to guess which way his offering is going to break. Add in a really slow changeup with funky armside movement, and if you guess wrong, you'll swing out of your shoes. As you'd expect he's a smart kid, always working with coaches on ways to improve his mechanics, and studying gameplans to help beat tough lineups.

There's many reasons for the Foresters breakout season, but you can't look past their young ace. With over a month to go, he's already the first Forester 20-game winner since Sergio Gonzales (20-6) 1937, and he's gone out for each start with one thing in mind: winning the game. If Czerwinski can build off this breakout campaign, Cleveland may have found their new ace, but one thing is clear: this Foresters team is not what you got used to in the 40s. They're in position to capture their second FABL title, and with all the young talent on hand, they could become a real force in the Continental Association for the early 50s.

This looks to be a very thin draft crop of pitchers according to OSA, which does not see a top of the rotation starter out of anyone at either the high school or college level. At the collegiate level service sees Tom Drill as a middle of the rotation arm and at the high school level the only pitcher OSA feels confident may one day be a front half of the rotation pitcher is Ernie Webb.

Not only is there a lack of elite talent but this also looks like a very lean year for pitching depth. Drill was the only pitcher to crack our top ten collegiate draft eligible players while at the high school level we really struggled to fill our list of the top ten.

#1 EDDIE WEBB RHP, Reidsville(GA) HS (7-2, 1.34): A year ago, after his second straight 11-0 season at Reidsville High, OSA felt Eddie Webb could develop into a top of the rotation arm. He struggled a little with his control as a junior and while the scouting service still feels he is the best pitcher available in the draft, OSA has lowered Webb's ceiling to that of a "future number two starter." Webb was honourable mention as a freshman and an All-American his sophomore season but missed the list last year.

#2 OSCAR EDWARDS RHP, Crestview HS, Ashland, Ohio (10-1, 1.13): Born in Texas but he grew up in Ohio, Edwards did not make the scouting service list of top prospects a year ago but the groundball specialist is now considered a "fourth starter, and possibly more" by OSA. His fastball tops out at 92 mph, highest among all high school pitchers last year.

#3 BUGSY SPIEGEL RHP, Lowell (NC) HS (8-2, 1.15): A late bloomer, Spiegel -whose given name is Benny- did not make his high school debut until his junior season. It is a weak class of pitchers so he is ranked much higher than someone that OSA says "should deserve a spot in the rotation, but likely closer to the bottom than to the top" would normally appear. Despite playing high school ball in North Carolina, Spiegel was born in a small town just north of Chicago.

#4 BILL PARKHURST LHP, Morton (IL) HS (11-0, 0.99): Probably deserved consideration for High School All-American honours after a terrific third season of school ball, but Parkhurst was left off the list. One of the younger players in the draft as he won't turn 17 until late October, the Clinton, Iowa native is 32-2 with a 1.22 era and 472 strikeouts in 362 innings of high school ball. He has five pitches, and his stuff plays well above average according to the scouting service, but they peg Parkhurst with a ceiling of a 4th or 5th starter.

#5 HANK WALKER RHP, Victoria (TX) HS (7-2, 1.33): His best of 4 pitches right now is a legit fastball according to OSA, which feels Walker could develop into a back-end rotation option. The fastball peaks at 90 mph and his pitches have plenty of movement. Walker plays for the same school as current St Louis Pioneers infielder Ray Bates, who was a 5th round pick in 1946 before going on to win the WCS MVP award last October.

#6 DOC ROBERTSON LHP, Ellwood City (PA) HS (7-1, 1.54): Born in Chicago but plays his high school ball in Pennsylvania, the 16-year-old lefthander has gone 24-3 with a 1.54 era over 3 seasons for the Ellwood City high school team. OSA feels his hopes are for a spot at the back end of a big league rotation but does rave about his change-up and knuckle curve.

#7 ELMER SULLIVAN RHP, Perrysburg (OH) HS (11-0, 0.57): The Ohio born youngster was named a High School All-American each of his two seasons and is a perfect 23-0 with a 0.66 era and 404 strikeouts in 230 career high school innings. Despite those outstanding numbers, OSA does not see a great future for the righthander, suggesting he will be relatively ineffective should he reach the big leagues. He follows in the footsteps on Denny Cecil, a 1946 8th round selection of the Cincinnati Cannons, who also excelled a Perrysburgh High.

#8 JOHN SLEDGE RHP, Clinton (IL) HS (9-3, 1.59): Sledge is looking to become the second player born in Lincoln, IL to be drafted in to FABL following in the footsteps of a pitcher by the name of Rodger Smith, who was a 15th round selection of the New York Stars in 1937 but peaked at AA before retiring in 1946. As for Sledge, the scouting service worries about his inconsistent control but if he can harness it he projects as a back end rotation piece.

#9 ETHAN BARROWS RHP, Newport (KY) HS (8-1, 1.05): The 17-year-old is 26-3 with a 1.34 era over three seasons of high school ball. OSA worries control issues may hold him back, suggesting his ceiling may be that of a spot starter. Barrows was born in Covington, the same Kentucky city that produced 1947 second overall selection and current Pittsburgh Miners shortstop Irv Clifford. Covington also is home to a pair of former pitchers who had solid big league careers in Ike Campbell (193-217 from 1904-17 for 3 teams) and Will Brumfield (91-90 for 7 teams between 1890-1900).

#10 DICK CRECELIUS RHP, Newman (CA) HS (8-1, 1.05): Hailing from the same California high school that has recently produced three FABL draft picks in Leo Ross (1948 Brooklyn), Al Simpson (1948 Cleveland) and Hack Elliott (1944 Chiefs), Crecelius is looking to be the first selected in the January portion of the draft. The Oakland born youngster has a five pitch arsenal with plenty of movement on his throws. OSA sees his peak as that of someone earning only an "occasional start" at the top level.

Next week we will look at the top ten high school position players eligible for the 1950 draft.

Plenty to crow about in Montreal as Marc T. McNeil of the Montreal Star notes: "The Saints are marching in with a 7-1 week. Taking over second place, but still 8 games behind Cleveland with the Foresters holding the pace. Highlights of the past seven days include both Pat Weakley (9-7, 4.13) and Pete Ford (13-3, 3.09) each getting two wins during the week. Rookie OF Otis O'Keefe (.294,15,79) hit his 15th dinger of the season and the other newbie -hometown born Joe Austin (.304,4,46)- swiped a few more bases to keep the lead in CA with 37 heists.
The Saints are 8.5 back and if that holds it will be the first time Montreal finished only single-digits out of top spot in the Contiental Association in 19 years. They were 3rd place, but just 2 games back of the pennant winning Philadelphia Sailors in a wild 1930 CA flag chase.
Foresters ace Adrian Czerwinski has strung together four consecutive complete game victories, making him 20-5 on the season. No other Continental Association pitcher has reached even the 15 win mark.
If Cleveland and the Chicago Chiefs each win their respective pennants, will that be the first time two clubs have both gone from last place the previous season to meeting in the World Championship Series. Seems unlikely to have ever happened before.
Speaking of the Chiefs, their first round pick Ed Bloom went straight to Chicago after after signing his contract and then was optioned to Fort Wayne when Charlie Artuso was acquired. In just 5 games in Chicago, Bloom hit .200/.250/.267. In 33 games for the Warriors, Bloom is hitting .336/.430/.508. I fully expect him to challenge D'Alessandro for the 2B job next spring.
While things are going well for the Chiefs, across town the Cougars have been dealt a blow once again. Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News states that "going 1-5 agaisnt the Kings pretty much ends the Cougars season in August. 9.5 out after a pair of 3 win weeks seems to seal things."
While the Cougars season may be over, one bright spot is the revival of Leo Mitchell, who has hit .321/.401/.490 (136 OPS+) in 83 games with 11 homers and 45 RBIs. His 11.0 BB% would be a career best, while his 149 WRC+ trails only his league leading values in 1944 and 1946. Mitchell, who once had a nine year streak with a WRC+ above 130, was coming off a two-year stretch where he was merely average, but has found some signs of life at 36
Brent Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire notes that George Garrison leads the CA in FIP which says all that has to be said about the Wolves fielding, A Comedy of Errors. Just not very funny.
More bad news for Fred Galloway and the Cincinnati Cannons. Galloway just returned to action after 5 weeks on the injured list with an oblique strain and promptly hurts is elbow and is likely done for the season.
A pair of young Dynamos have fans feeling the future is very bright in Detroit. 22-year-old Edwin Hackberry is riding a 20-game hitting streak and having a huge year with a .330 batting average to go with 25 homers and 77 rbi's. Only Brooklyn's Ralph Johnson has a higher WAR than Hackberry's 6.9. On the mound 23-year-old Carl Potter (19-5, 2.14) looks to be the favourite to win his first Allan Award and has gone 8-0 since the all-star break.
The Washington Eagles have gone 11-7 this month and are hanging around in the Fed flag chase despite losing Billy Riley, Buckeye Smith and Juan Tostado to injuries. With the other two out, the 31-year-old Tostado has chipped in with the occasional start, including an impressive 6-3 doubleing of Boston on Saturday, despite coping with an abdominal strain. There is some releif coming as while Riley is likely done for the season, Smith is expected back next week. Until then the Eagles have to cobble together some sort of pitching rotation with a big week ahead of them that includes visits to Detroit and New York.

CONTINENTAL CONNFERENCE KICKS OFF THIS WEEK

The Continental Football Conference, despite much speculation over the winter to the otherwise, is alive and ready to kick-off its fourth professional season later this week. The loop did lose one of its ballclubs and is down to seven after the two New York area terms merged with the Brooklyn Kings roster being absorbed by the New York Gothams. The change means the end of the East and West Division as all teams will play in a single division and play each other twice. The top four clubs will qualify for the playoffs at the conclusion of the 12-game regular season.

The fact that the CFC is around at all is considered a surprise as the loop had appeared set to be absorbed by the American Football Association after meetings last winter in Philadelphia. The plan had the AFA likely set to add two Continental Association clubs and buy-out the remainder of the owners. All seemed in agreement except for William Beauregard, owner of the New Orleans Crescent, who demanded his team be included in the new look AFA or he would take legal action against both leagues. The result was talks stalled and the AFA elected to continue as a 10-team circuit leaving the Continental Conference to pick up the pieces and venture on its own for a fourth season.

The San Francisco Wings are the defending champions after they dumped Kansas City, winners of each of the first two CFC titles, 26-10 in last December's championship game. The Cowboys, with a star-studded offense led by quarterback Pat Chappell and powerful fullback Mason Matthews, remain the team to beat but there should be plenty of competition and not just from the Wings. The New Orleans Crescents were much improved last season with Vince Gallegos, the rookie from Bayou State, under center and the Gothams, with the addition to depth from the new defunct Brooklyn franchise may also be ready for a return to the championship game - an event they qualified for each of their first two seasons.

OPENING WEEK CFC GAMES
Buffalo at Chicago
New Orleans at San Francisco

RECENT KEY RESULTS

Tuesday in San Diego middleweight Joe Taylor (25-2) won by majority decision over J.C. Hendricks (18-8)
Friday in Atlantic City, NJ welterweight Willis May (22-5-2) won a split decision over former contender John Gregory (19-7-2)

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Aug 22- Portland, OR: HW contender Roy Crawford (29-4) vs Daniel Huot (16-3-3)
Aug 29- Houston, TX: HW Cannon Cooper (27-4-1) vs Mal Rollings (13-7-1)
Sep 4- Miami, FL: HW Scott Baker (20-3-3) vs Gil Hilliard (27-10-2)
Sep 12- Hartford, CT: HW Allen Bailey (38-7-2) vs Nick Brooks (17-7-2)
Sep 15- Bigsby Garden, New York City: former MW champ Adrian Petie (19-2-1) vs Bill Boggs (19-2)
Sep 21- Thompson Paladium, Detroit: HW Tommy Cline (14-2) vs Lloyd Grange (14-2-1)
Sep 23- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago: WW conteners Carl Taylor (27-6-2) vs Ira Mitchell (22-4)
Oct 8 - Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago - World HW champion Hector Sawyer (61-3-1) defends his title against Lewis Jones (20-1-1)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/21/1949

Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia has been given assurances by the United States that he can buy an American steel mill to aid in his country's efforts to carry on its fight against Moscow. It marks the first time since the war that the United States has deliberately sent "war potental" material to a Communist-run nation.
In response to Yugoslavia, Russia warned that she is prepared to take "effective measures" to protect the rights of Soviet citizens in that Balkan country. It did not specify what the measures might be.
Finland's Central Trade Union Federation has taken action against Communist-led unions' growing offensive, ordering them to cancel their strike call or face expulsion.
Syria has new leadership after coup led by the army overthrew the government and shot the country's President and Premier.
In Chile, emergency powers have been asked by the government to cope with bloody rioting that has gripped Santiago. The cause of the riots, which has cost seven lives: disagreement over a half-cent increase in bus fares.
President Truman says Congress is to blame for the predicted lifting of rent controls in more than a third of the areas of the country still having them. The President says Congress did not provide enough money to enforce the rent control measures.
49 of 58 occupants were saved in a dramatic sea-air rescue after an American four-engine airliner ran out of fuel and crashed into the Atlantic in darkness off western Ireland.

01-09-2024, 03:25 PM	#853
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,779	August 22, 1949 AUGUST 22, 1949 SAINTS MARCH INTO SECOND PLACE IN CA The hottest team in baseball is suddenly the Montreal Saints. The Saints have won 12 of their last 14 games and, at 27-14, boast the best record in either league since the all-star break. A normally meandering club that has not finished above the breakeven mark since 1930 is suddenly on a red-hot pace that has propelled them ahead of both the Chicago Cougars and New York Stars and into second place in the Continental Association. Pennant fever is likely not a symptom in Montreal yet, and at 8.5 games behind the steady Cleveland Foresters, does not appear likely to strike although if the Saints continue to play as they have been maybe nothing is impossible. No Saints club has finished as high as second place since they won their most recent pennant 28 years ago. Catching Cleveland is looking more and more difficult for anyone in the Continental loop. The Foresters are 75-46 on the season, and with well over a month remaining in the campaign, have already won more games than the franchise did in any season in the past decade. The club that went 60-94 a year ago is on pace to claim 95 victories this season. The big story on the shores of Lake Erie continues to be the amazing pitching performance of 24-year-old Adrian Czerwinski (20-5, 2.73), a second year big leaguer who went just 4-11 with a 6.04 era as a rookie. The 1946 second round pick out of Whitney College appears to be a lock for the Continental Allen Award but he is far from the only Cleveland hurler posting career best numbers as John Jackson (14-5, 3.19), Ducky Davis (12-6, 3.25) and even late addition to the rotation Goldie Irwin (5-2, 3.91) have all been very good. Third baseman Jim Adams Jr. (.332,8,66) is finally starting to show at age 28 just what the Foresters saw in the former St. Ignatius star when they selected him first overall in the 1943 draft and local product Lorenzo Samuels (.328,23,79) - an acquisition in the old regional draft round- is having a breakthrough year at age 26. Czerwinski might be the face of the turnaround in Cleveland, but there are plenty of supporting charactors striving to make this a very special season for long suffering Foresters fans, who are one of 3 FABL clubs to win just a single World Championship Series in their history. The big turnarounds are not restricted to the Continental loop as the Chicago Chiefs are closing in on their own run from worst to first in the Federal Association. Accomplished just two years ago by the St Louis Pioneers, going from the outhouse to the penthouse really feels look old hat with both the Foresters and Chiefs on the same trajectory this year. The Chiefs stumbled slightly over the weekend in dropping 2 of three to the fourth place Detroit Dynamos but thanks to a 2-game sweep of New York for the second time in as many weeks, the Chicago nine have stretched their lead to 3 games over the second place Gothams with Washington and Detroit struggling to keep pace at 3.5 and 5.5 back respectively. In a season in which nearly everything has gone right for the Chiefs they did get a bit of bad news over the weekend with news that lead-off man Dave Krieger (.304,5,59) suffered a sprained elbow. The outfielder says he can continue playing through the injury, expected to take about 4 weeks to fully recover, but the Chiefs are expected to decide if they need to place him on the injured list sometime today. MAD PROFESSOR HAS THE WINNING FORMULA IN CLEVELAND After completing nine impressive innings and holding the Cincinnati Cannons to just 8 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks, young Chicagoan Adrian Czerwinski left the game in unfamiliar territory: his team was not winning the game. That's not something any Forester pitcher is used to this season, as they've comfortably held first place in the Continental Association this season, but for Czerwinski he was in line for potentially his first no decision of the year. Of course, like all else for Cleveland this season, they got the break they needed, as team "veteran" Jim Admas Jr. snapped his o'fer with a walk-off single, securing the Foresters FABL high 73rd win of the season. Same goes for Czerwinski, who is now an impressive 20-5 in his 25 starts. Czerwinski has thrown four consecutive complete game victories, and the likely runaway Allen Winner has now won six more games then any other pitcher in his association. His 2.73 ERA (155 ERA+) trails only Cougar fireballer Pete Papenfus (11-9, 2.71, 113), and with how close they are there's plenty of time for the young Forester to claim the ERA crown for himself. Known colloquially as "The Mad Professor", the first-time All-Star is becoming a household name, even if most in the household have no idea how to pronounce it. The 24-year-old has completely turned around his fortunes, as after an abysmal 19 start stint last season where he was 4-11 with a 6.04 ERA (65 ERA+) and 1.70 WHIP with far more walks (54) then strikeouts (32). Czerwinski is still walking a lot of guys, with three more walks (57) then strikeouts (54) this season, but he dropped his BB% from 8.8 to 6.4 while increasing his strikeout rate by a bit more then a percent (+1.1). The biggest improvement has been the sidearmer's ability to limit hard contact, dropping his HR/9 from 0.8 to 0.3 while his WHIP has plummeted from 1.70 to 1.22. Everything has gone right for Czerwinski this season, but to those in tune with the game's top prospects his emergence should be no surprise. An impressive two year starter at the prestigious Whitney College, there were rumors on draft day that if the Chicago Cougars were able to snag current 8th ranked prospect Yank Taylor with their first round pick (they ended up with 7th ranked Bob Allen), the Windy City native would have been the 20th pick, but instead Chicago settled on high school outfielder Frank Reece. Czerwinski lasted six more picks, before the Foresters grabbed him in the back half of the second round. He didn't initially rank in the league's top 100 prospect list, but by 1948 he was up to 67th and he made his debut later that season. Part of this was due to his pitching profile, as there aren't many guys topping out at 86 that find success against the toughest competition. Especially when they throw three fastballs! Without being able to dominate opposition hitters with the hard stuff, he instead uses his pinpoint command to locate his hard stuff on the corners, with his sinker getting work low, his cutter inside, and his fastball up and away. All three pitches come out looking the same, which makes it tough for hitters to guess which way his offering is going to break. Add in a really slow changeup with funky armside movement, and if you guess wrong, you'll swing out of your shoes. As you'd expect he's a smart kid, always working with coaches on ways to improve his mechanics, and studying gameplans to help beat tough lineups. There's many reasons for the Foresters breakout season, but you can't look past their young ace. With over a month to go, he's already the first Forester 20-game winner since Sergio Gonzales (20-6) 1937, and he's gone out for each start with one thing in mind: winning the game. If Czerwinski can build off this breakout campaign, Cleveland may have found their new ace, but one thing is clear: this Foresters team is not what you got used to in the 40s. They're in position to capture their second FABL title, and with all the young talent on hand, they could become a real force in the Continental Association for the early 50s. This looks to be a very thin draft crop of pitchers according to OSA, which does not see a top of the rotation starter out of anyone at either the high school or college level. At the collegiate level service sees Tom Drill as a middle of the rotation arm and at the high school level the only pitcher OSA feels confident may one day be a front half of the rotation pitcher is Ernie Webb. Not only is there a lack of elite talent but this also looks like a very lean year for pitching depth. Drill was the only pitcher to crack our top ten collegiate draft eligible players while at the high school level we really struggled to fill our list of the top ten. #1 EDDIE WEBB RHP, Reidsville(GA) HS (7-2, 1.34): A year ago, after his second straight 11-0 season at Reidsville High, OSA felt Eddie Webb could develop into a top of the rotation arm. He struggled a little with his control as a junior and while the scouting service still feels he is the best pitcher available in the draft, OSA has lowered Webb's ceiling to that of a "future number two starter." Webb was honourable mention as a freshman and an All-American his sophomore season but missed the list last year. #2 OSCAR EDWARDS RHP, Crestview HS, Ashland, Ohio (10-1, 1.13): Born in Texas but he grew up in Ohio, Edwards did not make the scouting service list of top prospects a year ago but the groundball specialist is now considered a "fourth starter, and possibly more" by OSA. His fastball tops out at 92 mph, highest among all high school pitchers last year. #3 BUGSY SPIEGEL RHP, Lowell (NC) HS (8-2, 1.15): A late bloomer, Spiegel -whose given name is Benny- did not make his high school debut until his junior season. It is a weak class of pitchers so he is ranked much higher than someone that OSA says "should deserve a spot in the rotation, but likely closer to the bottom than to the top" would normally appear. Despite playing high school ball in North Carolina, Spiegel was born in a small town just north of Chicago. #4 BILL PARKHURST LHP, Morton (IL) HS (11-0, 0.99): Probably deserved consideration for High School All-American honours after a terrific third season of school ball, but Parkhurst was left off the list. One of the younger players in the draft as he won't turn 17 until late October, the Clinton, Iowa native is 32-2 with a 1.22 era and 472 strikeouts in 362 innings of high school ball. He has five pitches, and his stuff plays well above average according to the scouting service, but they peg Parkhurst with a ceiling of a 4th or 5th starter. #5 HANK WALKER RHP, Victoria (TX) HS (7-2, 1.33): His best of 4 pitches right now is a legit fastball according to OSA, which feels Walker could develop into a back-end rotation option. The fastball peaks at 90 mph and his pitches have plenty of movement. Walker plays for the same school as current St Louis Pioneers infielder Ray Bates, who was a 5th round pick in 1946 before going on to win the WCS MVP award last October. #6 DOC ROBERTSON LHP, Ellwood City (PA) HS (7-1, 1.54): Born in Chicago but plays his high school ball in Pennsylvania, the 16-year-old lefthander has gone 24-3 with a 1.54 era over 3 seasons for the Ellwood City high school team. OSA feels his hopes are for a spot at the back end of a big league rotation but does rave about his change-up and knuckle curve. #7 ELMER SULLIVAN RHP, Perrysburg (OH) HS (11-0, 0.57): The Ohio born youngster was named a High School All-American each of his two seasons and is a perfect 23-0 with a 0.66 era and 404 strikeouts in 230 career high school innings. Despite those outstanding numbers, OSA does not see a great future for the righthander, suggesting he will be relatively ineffective should he reach the big leagues. He follows in the footsteps on Denny Cecil, a 1946 8th round selection of the Cincinnati Cannons, who also excelled a Perrysburgh High. #8 JOHN SLEDGE RHP, Clinton (IL) HS (9-3, 1.59): Sledge is looking to become the second player born in Lincoln, IL to be drafted in to FABL following in the footsteps of a pitcher by the name of Rodger Smith, who was a 15th round selection of the New York Stars in 1937 but peaked at AA before retiring in 1946. As for Sledge, the scouting service worries about his inconsistent control but if he can harness it he projects as a back end rotation piece. #9 ETHAN BARROWS RHP, Newport (KY) HS (8-1, 1.05): The 17-year-old is 26-3 with a 1.34 era over three seasons of high school ball. OSA worries control issues may hold him back, suggesting his ceiling may be that of a spot starter. Barrows was born in Covington, the same Kentucky city that produced 1947 second overall selection and current Pittsburgh Miners shortstop Irv Clifford. Covington also is home to a pair of former pitchers who had solid big league careers in Ike Campbell (193-217 from 1904-17 for 3 teams) and Will Brumfield (91-90 for 7 teams between 1890-1900). #10 DICK CRECELIUS RHP, Newman (CA) HS (8-1, 1.05): Hailing from the same California high school that has recently produced three FABL draft picks in Leo Ross (1948 Brooklyn), Al Simpson (1948 Cleveland) and Hack Elliott (1944 Chiefs), Crecelius is looking to be the first selected in the January portion of the draft. The Oakland born youngster has a five pitch arsenal with plenty of movement on his throws. OSA sees his peak as that of someone earning only an "occasional start" at the top level. Next week we will look at the top ten high school position players eligible for the 1950 draft. Plenty to crow about in Montreal as Marc T. McNeil of the Montreal Star notes: "The Saints are marching in with a 7-1 week. Taking over second place, but still 8 games behind Cleveland with the Foresters holding the pace. Highlights of the past seven days include both Pat Weakley (9-7, 4.13) and Pete Ford (13-3, 3.09) each getting two wins during the week. Rookie OF Otis O'Keefe (.294,15,79) hit his 15th dinger of the season and the other newbie -hometown born Joe Austin (.304,4,46)- swiped a few more bases to keep the lead in CA with 37 heists. The Saints are 8.5 back and if that holds it will be the first time Montreal finished only single-digits out of top spot in the Contiental Association in 19 years. They were 3rd place, but just 2 games back of the pennant winning Philadelphia Sailors in a wild 1930 CA flag chase. Foresters ace Adrian Czerwinski has strung together four consecutive complete game victories, making him 20-5 on the season. No other Continental Association pitcher has reached even the 15 win mark. If Cleveland and the Chicago Chiefs each win their respective pennants, will that be the first time two clubs have both gone from last place the previous season to meeting in the World Championship Series. Seems unlikely to have ever happened before. Speaking of the Chiefs, their first round pick Ed Bloom went straight to Chicago after after signing his contract and then was optioned to Fort Wayne when Charlie Artuso was acquired. In just 5 games in Chicago, Bloom hit .200/.250/.267. In 33 games for the Warriors, Bloom is hitting .336/.430/.508. I fully expect him to challenge D'Alessandro for the 2B job next spring. While things are going well for the Chiefs, across town the Cougars have been dealt a blow once again. Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News states that "going 1-5 agaisnt the Kings pretty much ends the Cougars season in August. 9.5 out after a pair of 3 win weeks seems to seal things." While the Cougars season may be over, one bright spot is the revival of Leo Mitchell, who has hit .321/.401/.490 (136 OPS+) in 83 games with 11 homers and 45 RBIs. His 11.0 BB% would be a career best, while his 149 WRC+ trails only his league leading values in 1944 and 1946. Mitchell, who once had a nine year streak with a WRC+ above 130, was coming off a two-year stretch where he was merely average, but has found some signs of life at 36 Brent Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire notes that George Garrison leads the CA in FIP which says all that has to be said about the Wolves fielding, A Comedy of Errors. Just not very funny. More bad news for Fred Galloway and the Cincinnati Cannons. Galloway just returned to action after 5 weeks on the injured list with an oblique strain and promptly hurts is elbow and is likely done for the season. A pair of young Dynamos have fans feeling the future is very bright in Detroit. 22-year-old Edwin Hackberry is riding a 20-game hitting streak and having a huge year with a .330 batting average to go with 25 homers and 77 rbi's. Only Brooklyn's Ralph Johnson has a higher WAR than Hackberry's 6.9. On the mound 23-year-old Carl Potter (19-5, 2.14) looks to be the favourite to win his first Allan Award and has gone 8-0 since the all-star break. The Washington Eagles have gone 11-7 this month and are hanging around in the Fed flag chase despite losing Billy Riley, Buckeye Smith and Juan Tostado to injuries. With the other two out, the 31-year-old Tostado has chipped in with the occasional start, including an impressive 6-3 doubleing of Boston on Saturday, despite coping with an abdominal strain. There is some releif coming as while Riley is likely done for the season, Smith is expected back next week. Until then the Eagles have to cobble together some sort of pitching rotation with a big week ahead of them that includes visits to Detroit and New York. CONTINENTAL CONNFERENCE KICKS OFF THIS WEEK The Continental Football Conference, despite much speculation over the winter to the otherwise, is alive and ready to kick-off its fourth professional season later this week. The loop did lose one of its ballclubs and is down to seven after the two New York area terms merged with the Brooklyn Kings roster being absorbed by the New York Gothams. The change means the end of the East and West Division as all teams will play in a single division and play each other twice. The top four clubs will qualify for the playoffs at the conclusion of the 12-game regular season. The fact that the CFC is around at all is considered a surprise as the loop had appeared set to be absorbed by the American Football Association after meetings last winter in Philadelphia. The plan had the AFA likely set to add two Continental Association clubs and buy-out the remainder of the owners. All seemed in agreement except for William Beauregard, owner of the New Orleans Crescent, who demanded his team be included in the new look AFA or he would take legal action against both leagues. The result was talks stalled and the AFA elected to continue as a 10-team circuit leaving the Continental Conference to pick up the pieces and venture on its own for a fourth season. The San Francisco Wings are the defending champions after they dumped Kansas City, winners of each of the first two CFC titles, 26-10 in last December's championship game. The Cowboys, with a star-studded offense led by quarterback Pat Chappell and powerful fullback Mason Matthews, remain the team to beat but there should be plenty of competition and not just from the Wings. The New Orleans Crescents were much improved last season with Vince Gallegos, the rookie from Bayou State, under center and the Gothams, with the addition to depth from the new defunct Brooklyn franchise may also be ready for a return to the championship game - an event they qualified for each of their first two seasons. OPENING WEEK CFC GAMES Buffalo at Chicago New Orleans at San Francisco RECENT KEY RESULTS Tuesday in San Diego middleweight Joe Taylor (25-2) won by majority decision over J.C. Hendricks (18-8) Friday in Atlantic City, NJ welterweight Willis May (22-5-2) won a split decision over former contender John Gregory (19-7-2) UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Aug 22- Portland, OR: HW contender Roy Crawford (29-4) vs Daniel Huot (16-3-3) Aug 29- Houston, TX: HW Cannon Cooper (27-4-1) vs Mal Rollings (13-7-1) Sep 4- Miami, FL: HW Scott Baker (20-3-3) vs Gil Hilliard (27-10-2) Sep 12- Hartford, CT: HW Allen Bailey (38-7-2) vs Nick Brooks (17-7-2) Sep 15- Bigsby Garden, New York City: former MW champ Adrian Petie (19-2-1) vs Bill Boggs (19-2) Sep 21- Thompson Paladium, Detroit: HW Tommy Cline (14-2) vs Lloyd Grange (14-2-1) Sep 23- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago: WW conteners Carl Taylor (27-6-2) vs Ira Mitchell (22-4) Oct 8 - Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago - World HW champion Hector Sawyer (61-3-1) defends his title against Lewis Jones (20-1-1) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/21/1949 Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia has been given assurances by the United States that he can buy an American steel mill to aid in his country's efforts to carry on its fight against Moscow. It marks the first time since the war that the United States has deliberately sent "war potental" material to a Communist-run nation. In response to Yugoslavia, Russia warned that she is prepared to take "effective measures" to protect the rights of Soviet citizens in that Balkan country. It did not specify what the measures might be. Finland's Central Trade Union Federation has taken action against Communist-led unions' growing offensive, ordering them to cancel their strike call or face expulsion. Syria has new leadership after coup led by the army overthrew the government and shot the country's President and Premier. In Chile, emergency powers have been asked by the government to cope with bloody rioting that has gripped Santiago. The cause of the riots, which has cost seven lives: disagreement over a half-cent increase in bus fares. President Truman says Congress is to blame for the predicted lifting of rent controls in more than a third of the areas of the country still having them. The President says Congress did not provide enough money to enforce the rent control measures. 49 of 58 occupants were saved in a dramatic sea-air rescue after an American four-engine airliner ran out of fuel and crashed into the Atlantic in darkness off western Ireland. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles