OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

Tiger Fan · 02-29-2024, 03:03 PM

APRIL 10, 1950

NOBLE JONES COLLEGE WINS NATIONAL CAGE CROWN

Colonels Surprise Liberty College in Title Game to Complete Perfect Campaign

The Noble Jones College Colonels made history not only for winning the school's first ever national championship in basketball but also for becoming the first team in the 41 year history of the AIAA basketball tournament to finish with an unbeaten record after outscoring Liberty College 65-60 in Monday's championship game at Bigsby Garden. It was a historic night as both schools entered the game with perfect 33-0 records - an accomplishment that had never happened before with one team let alone two.

The game was also expected to be a final showcase of the legendary collegiate career of Bells center Luther Gordon. With Noble Jones College outstanding freshman pivot Mike Miller sidelined with a concussion many expected Gordon, who set an AIAA single season scoring record a year ago and then broke it this season, to dominate the game. Instead, Gordon was held to just 8 points, nearly 12 below his season average, as the swarming Colonels defense and solid outside shooting proved too much for Gordon and the Bells to overcome.

It was the summit for a Noble Jones College squad that wallowed in obscurity for most of three decades before rising to prominence over the past five seasons and reached the national championship game for the first time last year only to fall to Lexington State. Liberty College, long a darling of the college cage circuit, is now dealing with some Bigsby Garden demons of its own. The Bells last won the AIAA title in 1942 -their third National Crown- but since them have come up empty despite eight consecutive years of reaching at least the quarterfinals and three losses in the past five seasons, including Monday, in the national title game.

Early in the contest it looked like it might be a fourth title for Liberty College as the Bells got off to a quick start when Edgar Stillwell hit a couple of early baskets and Luther Gordon, attempting to set the tone, dunked the ball over inexperienced Noble Jones College center Tod Fee, who was starting in place of the injured Mike Miller. Colonels coach Al Bynum quickly called a timeout and whatever he said to his troops worked as the Colonels regrouped and by the middle of the first half had taken an 18-17 lead and never trailed again in the game. The score at the break was 38-32 and a hot start to the second half increased the lead quickly to 19 points.

Perhaps the defining moment of the victory came in the opening minute of the second half when Fee, who was expected to be the Colonels weak link, stole the ball from Luther Gordon and went in uncontested for a layup to put the Colonels up 42-32 at that point and a few second later blocked a Luther Gordon shot attempt sending the Colonels off for another bucket. Fee, the junior whose only two career AIAA starts came in the last three days, scored just 6 points on the evening but more importantly combined with Jim Graybeal to hold Gordon -the likely winner of his second straight Barette Trophy as AIAA MVP- to just 8 points.

A late charge by Liberty College allowed the Bells to close to within 5 points with a minute and a half remaining but that would be as close as they would get and for the third time in the last five seasons the Bells would fall in the AIAA championship game.

The Noble Jones College defense was among the best in the nation, and they rose to the occasion on this day, keeping the Bells offense which led the nation in points per game by a wide margin in check. The credit for the victory needs to also be shared with Colonels ability to hit shots away from the basket. With the towering Gordon and imposing forward Edgar Stillwell clogging up the middle, the Colonels relied on their guard for much of the offense. Charlie Barrell, a rising star on the diamond and gridiron as well as the court, made 6 of his 10 attempts from the field and scored a game high 15 points despite splitting time with senior Carroll Larkin, who added 14 and was named the player of the game.

Barrell, a sophomore with a famous name that draws attention everywhere he goes, had spent most of his freshman season sitting on the bench and was forced to be content with coming off the bench this year but that changed when Larkin was injured in January. Pressed into the starting lineup the quarterback of the Colonels football team and second baseman on their baseball club that qualified for the AIAA Collegiate World Championship Series, was suddenly a key focal point in the arena as well and responded with outstanding play that has perhaps made him a better pro prospect in basketball than either of the other two sports. Of course, he still has plenty of time to decide his future path, and perhaps time to make more trips to both the AIAA National Basketball Championship Game and the Collegiate World Championship Series. As a three-sport star his time to celebrate with his basketball teammates is short. The Colonels baseball team has already begun its season and will be expecting Barrell in their starting lineup this weekend.

BIG ROAD WIN IGNITES DUKES HOPES

The two-time defending champion Toronto Dukes climbed back up from the mat after being floored twice at home by the Montreal Valiants, as Toronto cut the Vals lead to two games to one with a dramatic comeback at the Montreal Arena Friday evening to pull out a 3-2 victory. Things looked bleak for Jack Barrell's club when Clarence Skinner set up third period goals from Cory Findlay and Isaac Finnson to put Montreal ahead 2-1 with just 10 minutes remaining in regulation time. Already trailing 2-0 in the series after falling twice at home, the Dukes could not afford to go down three games and the dug deep and pulled out the victory. Trevor Parker knotted the contest at 2-2 with a little over six minutes remaining when he redirected a J.C. Martel point shot past Montreal netminder Tom Brockers.

The mood soured quickly on the Toronto bench and coach Jack Barrell looked like he was going to blow a gasket when Mike Navarro took a hooking penalty with 3:55 left to play. Instead of the Vals capitalizing on the power play it was Toronto that came up with what would prove to be the game winning goal as Clyde Lumsen's shorthanded marker, assisted by Parker, gave the Dukes renewed hope in the series with a 3-2 victory. The Valiants still lead the series two games to one with game four set for tomorrow night at the Montreal Arena.

The big difference for Montreal in game three was the absence of winger Brett Lanceleve. The 26-year-old who tallied 18 goals and 43 points during the regular season played well in games one and two despite dealing with a broken bone in his foot. The foot swelled up on him before the third game to the point where he could not get his foot into his skate without extreme pain and Lanceleve was forced to sit out the contest after picking up a point in each of the first two games. With the talented winger on the shelf the Valiants lack of depth was exposed as that meant Paulie Mosca had to move up the first line alongside Clarence Skinner and Adam Sandford. The trio played well with Skinner drawing two assists and Sandford one but the trickledown effect severely weakened Montreal's other lines. The club is hopeful Lanceleve will be able to dress for game four.

Montreal had won the series opener 3-1 thanks to a big game from Vals rearguards Shel Herron and Isaac Finnson and Wednesday's game two was a wide-open back and forth affair that ended 5-4 in favour of the visitors from Montreal. The Vals outshot Toronto 45-27 on that evening and were led by two goals from Ian Doyle with Skinner and Pat Coulter each adding a goal and an assist. Game Four will be played tomorrow night in Montreal.

SHAMROCKS ON VERGE OF SWEEPING PACKERS

The New York Shamrocks can complete a sweep of the Chicago Packers with a victory at Lakeside Auditorium tonight. The Greenshirts took a commanding 3 games to none lead in the best-of-seven semi-final series by doubling up the Packers 6-3 Friday evening in Chicago. 30-year-old rookie Geoff Hartnell and Jim Macek each had a goal and two assists to pace the New York attack wile a stifling Shamrocks defense limited the Packers to just 19 shots on New York goaltender Etienne Tremblay. Tremblay was making his first start of the playoffs after Alex Sorrell covered the crease in both wins in the Big Apple.

The opener at Bigsby Garden was the tightest of the three games thus far with Samuel Coates scoring just 8 seconds into overtime to lift the Shamrocks to a 3-2 victory. Last Tuesday in New York, playing on sloppy ice that was still soft because of the court being laid over it for the college basketball title game the night before, Orval Cabbell scored once and added an assist as the Shamrocks spotted Chicago a 1-0 first period lead before battling back to win by a 3-1 score. Cabbell, who finished second in the league scoring race with 80 points during the regular season, leads all playoff performers with 5 points on 2 goals and 3 helpers.

SCORING CHAMP CARLSON IGNORED IN MCDANIELS NOMINEES

The NAHC announced the three finalists for each of its major awards and surprisingly league scoring champion Les Carlson was overlooked for the McDaniels Trophy. Carlson led the league in points with 81 and goals with 37 but was bypassed in favour of Tommy Burns, Orval Cabbell and Quinton Pollack.

Burns, who won 3 straight McDaniels Trophy's before losing out to Pollack last season, had a down year by his standards. The 30-year-old Chicago Packers center scored 26 goals and 38 assists for 64 points, good for 5th in the NAHC scoring parade. The 32-year-old Cabbell, who finished with one point less than Carlson on 27 goals and 53 helpers, led the New York Shamrocks to the best record in the league. The last time a New York Shamrocks players was named league MVP was way back in 1926 when Chris Schneider claimed the honours. The final nominee is Toronto center Quinton Pollack, who won his first McDaniels Trophy last season. The 27-year-old played on the Dukes top line with Carlson and Lou Galbraith, scoring just 17 goals but adding a league high 58 assists to give him 75 points on the season.

New York netminder Alex Sorrell is the likely favourite to be named the winner of the Juneau Trophy presented to the top goaltender. The award is presented in memory of early era Montreal Valiants goaltender Al Juneau, who tragically died in 1925 after suffering a fractured skull when his head hit the ice following a collision with a teammate. Sorrell is the only one of this year's nominees who has not won the award before, but the 24-year-old had a breakout campaign in his third season with the Shamrocks, leading the league in goals against average while posting a 20-11-14 record.

Sorrell will get competition from Oscar James of the Boston Bees, who won the Juneau last season and 1947-48 winner Norm Hanson of Chicago. James, 26, was 17-24-12 with a 2.40 goals against average while playing for the last place Boston Bees while leading the NAHC with 5 shutouts. The 29-year-old Hanson posted a 20-22-13 record with a 2.54 GAA for the Packers.

The final major individual award is the McLeod Trophy, presented annually to the top rookie in the NAHC. Detroit Motors forwards have won it each of the past two seasons and the Motors have a nominee again this year in 21-year-old winger Lou Barber. Selected first overall by the Motors in the 1948 NAHC amateur draft, Barber apprenticed for two seasons in Toledo before joining the Motors this year. In 58 games he had 11 goals and 26 points for 37 points. The other nominees are both New York Shamrocks in 22-year-old defenseman George Collingsworth and 25-year-old forward Rusty Mullins. Collingsworth, a 1947 4th round selection, did not make a huge offensive contribution with just 3 goals and 11 assists in 62 games but he helped solidify the best defensive club in the league. Mullins led all players eligible for the McLeod Trophy with 16 goals and 38 points. A 1944 second round draft pick of New York, Mullins spent six seasons with Springfield of the HAA before getting the call to the NAHC this year.

RECORD SETTING SEASON FOR DUKES DUO

With the expansion to a 70-game schedule this season it does not come as much of a surprise that some new records were set but that does not mean that Toronto Dukes teammates Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack are not worthy of recognition for putting up some big numbers. Carlson picked up 81 points this year, one more than New York's Orval Cabbell, to win the scoring title and he also smashed a two-decade old record in the process. Prior to Carlson's big showing, which came in a campaign in which he dressed for 69 games, the previous single season points record was 80 established by Bert Cordier of the Boston Bees in a year in which the second year forward also set the record for goals in a season with 47. Cordier's mark game in a 44-game season and his goal total was equaled two years ago by Chicago's Tommy Burns in a season that saw Burns appear in 54 games.

Toronto center Quinton Pollack shattered the NAHC single season assist mark with 58 helpers this season. Boston's Wilbur Chandler was the previous record holder, when he notched 45 assists in 45 games during the 1944-45 season. Pollack played in 67 games this year.

DUKES TRAIL MONTREAL IN SEMI-FINAL SERIES

After losing twice at home to start their semi-final series with Montreal, the Toronto Dukes were in deep trouble. It got even deeper when the Vals scored twice in the third period of game three to go up by a 2-1 score only to see the Dukes come alive and salvage their playoff lives with a late game comeback to narrow the Valiants lead in the best-of-seven series to two games to one.

On Wednesday night before another standing room only crowd the visitors came to the rink looking to follow up an upset victory over the Dukes with another win in game two. Montreal took the play to Toronto early in the first and were rewarded. It was Clarence Skinner who opened the scoring just before the period was half over when a centering pass deflected off a defenseman past Toronto netminder Gordie Broadway. Just over a minute later Ian Doyle made it 2-0 Montreal when he jumped in from the point to take a pass from Pat Coulter then snap a wrist shot into the top corner to quiet the crowd. Mike Navarro brought some life back to Dominion Gardens when he tapped home a rebound off a Bobby Sauer shot to make it 2-1 with the three goals coming in a span of less than four minutes.

The Dukes got a little overaggressive searching for the equalizer and while pressing to tie it up got caught on a counter attack ending with Brett Lanceleve beating Broadway from linemates Skinner and Adam Sanford at 17:25. Discussion in the stands between the periods was on how the Vals were checking, hitting the Dukes to a standstill with no room to move.

Before the middle period was 3 minutes old Philippe Dubois was found in the slot by Quinton Pollack and beat Tom Brockers cleanly cutting the Vals lead back to one goal at 3-2. Toronto again got hemmed in their own zone, and after several failed clearing attempts Doyle scored his second of the game on a rebound after Broadway had robbed Cory Findlay.

The third period began with Montreal up by two but Navarro's second of the night halved the margin at 10:33 only to have Coulter restore the two goal lead 62 seconds later. This one coming once again after the Dukes failed to get the puck out of their own end. Montreal continued to try to bottle up the Dukes by eliminating time and space for the home side's skaters. Les Carlson sent Pollack in alone when he chipped a pass off the boards. Pollack made no mistake deking Brockers before tucking the puck into the open net. Instead of going into a defensive shell to protect a one goal lead Montreal continued to forecheck Toronto into submission taking a 2-0 series lead back to Montreal with 5-4 victory in a game they outshot the Dukes 45-27.

The Vals tried to take a stranglehold on the series at home Saturday night before nearly 17,000 in a packed to the rafters Montreal Arena. Montreal stayed with what was working, taking the play to Toronto. Only some outstanding saves from Broadway kept the first period scoreless with Montreal controlling puck possession holding a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal. The second period was more even with Toronto starting to shake off some tight checking Vals. Dukes had some chances while Rey Sclisizzi was serving 2 minutes for boarding but failed to light the red lamp. A minute after the penalty was over the Dukes finally got some luck when Maurice Charette's centering pass hit Brockers' pad as he moving across the crease then went behind him.

That lone goal stood up as the only marker until just over two minutes into the third period. The Vals Cory Findlay notched the equalizer as the defenseman cruised in from the point after Sandford had intercepted a pass then moved the disc over to Skinner who found Findlay at the top of the circle. Findley scored just 4 goals during the regular season but made no mistake on this shot, cleanly beating Broadway and knotting the score at 1-1.

Both teams played with sense of cautious urgency until Isaac Finnson's shot almost took the roof off the building when his screen shot beat Broadway exactly halfway through the period. Toronto, sensing their season slipping away from them and being urged on by a very vocal head coach Jack Barrell, threw caution to the wind and opened up the attack. The Dukes were rewarded as Trevor Parker tied the game at 13:46 went he knocked in a rebound off a point shot from J.C. Martel. The Montreal Arena fans got to their feet when Navarro was sent off for hooking at 16:05, giving the home club a man advantage for two minutes or less. The Vals power play had chances but it was Toronto that scored the go-ahead goal when Dukes penalty killer Alex Cameron stole a pass then fed Parker who found defenseman Clyde Lumsen cruising down the middle of the ice. Lumsen faked a shot then snapped a shot over Brockers' shoulder to give the Dukes a lead 3-2 while shorthanded, silencing the crowd. Toronto hung on, not even allowing the Vals the pick possession to pull the goaltender, to earn their first victory and give themselves life in the series.

Coach Barrell: "We are extremely lucky to be in this series. Give Montreal full credit, they have bottled us up at every turn. At home on Wednesday, they took the entire game to us in their 5-4 win which was flattering to our team. Everyone knew we had to win Saturday. After Navarro got sent off, I was thinking "Just hold on for overtime." Then Cameron went deep on the kill stole the puck, when Lumsen decided to pinch I thought I was going to have a stroke. I don't know how Parker found him, then he had the presence of mind to fake Brockers down to open the top of the cage which he did not miss. That is when I started to breathe again behind the bench. Going forward we have to come up with a way to combat their forecheck before Tuesday, but I have some ideas."

WESTLAKE GETS HIS REVENGE IN REMATCH FOR WELTER BELT OVER ERICKSON

Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – Rage. Unresolved, seething rage. Mark Westlake has been a man consumed by this rage for these past five months ever since his loss to Mac Erickson in a welterweight title shot and a pushing for an attempt to regain the belt he once hoisted. Back in November, Erickson won with a technical knockout in the seventh round, but the overzealous referee in that bout, Ernest Byrd, called the fight too early. And so, Westlake, bloodied and angry from the bout, trained and set his sights on a possible rematch.

The rematch was swift in its scheduling and on this early Spring evening on the banks of Lake Erie, Westlake got his measure of revenge. Westlake was all business as he entered the ring. He knew what it took to be a champion, as he was the second welterweight title holder since World War II. He also knew what it was like to be denied at his first attempt, as the welterweight division “play-off” after the weight class was reset set up a meeting with Carl Taylor that he lost. Taylor lost to the eventual champion Jackhammer O’Keefe, but Westlake rose to be O’Keefe’s next opponent and Westlake did not miss that chance. Here was another chance for Westlake, a second chance to become World Welterweight Champion a second time.

The first round was all Westlake. He charged Erickson and quickly went on the offensive, pouring in a couple of uppercuts that immediately caused Erickson to change his tactic. In the first meeting between these two pugilists, a head-butt deemed accidental caused Westlake to leak, eventually leading to the fight being called in the seventh round. Just 39 seconds in, Erickson head-butted Westlake again. Accidental or not, it was too timely to be coincidental.

The referee was chosen carefully for this bout. Experienced ring man Jerry Rowe, who was very familiar with the welterweight division, officiating his third title fight, admonished the champion. It was one of three cautions Rowe issued to Erickson, as Erickson was looking to bend rules whenever possible. Erickson tried to get in an extra shot on Westlake while being separated by Rowe in the third round and he also used his shoulder illegally in Round 13. Meanwhile, after the head-butt, Westlake was not affected, and he continued to focus on his mission.

Westlake started strong in the second round with a big hook that seemed to shake the champion, but Erickson found his footing with a big jab that stopped Westlake in his tracks. Erickson offered another power punch, landing a cross that caused Westlake to stumble, but he managed to rebound with a scoring cross of his own before the close of the round.

Erickson was starting to miss with regularity in the third, which frustrated him and allowed Westlake to take advantage. An attempted hook by Erickson glanced off Westlake’s shoulder and the challenger worked inside with a right cross into Erickson’s breadbasket. A wild swing by Erickson missed everything and Westlake leaned into a hook on the side of Erickson’s head. Later in the round, an attempted combination from Erickson that was well-defended by a crouched Westlake led to an uppercut just before the closing bell. It was the failed attack by Erickson and the effective counterattack by Westlake that permitted the challenger to build a lead.

Sure, Erickson had his moments. Erickson showed up for the fourth round energized and Westlake could not capitalize on Erickson’s inaccuracy. Erickson missed with an uppercut, did not get a lunging right to hit its target and failed to land a jab. While Westlake was defending and retreating, Erickson caught up to him and executed a nice uppercut to send Westlake back against the ropes. Winded, Erickson could not take further advantage and Westlake was able to regain his footing, but the champion won his first round of the night.

The eighth round was Erickson’s best, as he went on the offensive. Both boxers landed haymakers, but Erickson has the advantage in a punch-up and Westlake learned his lesson that round. Erickson tried to turn the tide with a combination and a couple of hooks that nearly felled the challenger. Westlake was trying to regain his legs and he was starting to come unglued and started moving just in time to slip some hard shots and survive.

The eleventh round was starting the same way until Erickson missed one too many times and Westlake was finally able to right himself in the last half of the round with a combination, followed by a jab and a hard right to keep the champion honest.

By now, there was visible swelling on Erickson’s face after taking the ritual punishment from Westlake and though Erickson connected on some pivotal punches, Westlake did not look the worse for wear. Westlake cruised to the finish, as Erickson went for broke and came up empty.

Westlake knew he had the bout in the bag. There was no premature stoppage this time around. Despite Erickson’s first-round head-butt, over the length of the fight, it was the champion who looked battered. Westlake (28-5-1) persevered and channeled that rage to recapture of the welterweight title.

Mac Erickson (21-1-0), the man who just a short time ago was anointed the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, was reduced to a flailing mess at the hands of Mark Westlake in his first professional loss. The bout was marked by Erickson’s failed attempts at landing any crushing blows on Westlake. It is a wonder how Erickson was able to complete 15 rounds considering his missed an average of over 100 punches per round! With all of those misses, Westlake was able to pace himself, offering less than half of the punches Erickson did and landing almost twice as many.

Erickson’s camp will likely ask Westlake’s camp for the same courtesy he extended in scheduling a quick rematch. It will be up to Westlake and his management if he wants to grant Erickson a rubber match. In the meantime, it will be Erickson’s turn to lay in wait for his next chance.

BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Westlake, 2-0 (1:07 hook/ribs, 1:51 uppercut)
Round 2: Tied, 2-2 (E: 0:56 jab, 1:55 cross/face; W: 0:33 hook, 2:36 cross)
Round 3: Tied, 1-1 (E: 2:28 uppercut; W: 1:30 right)
Round 4: Tied, 1-1 (E: 2:07 uppercut; W: 0:54 combo)
Round 5: Westlake, 1-0 (1:27 right/body)
Round 6: Tied, 1-1 (E: 1:50 left hook/body; W: 0:42 cross)
Round 7: Westlake, 2-1 (E: 0:14 uppercut; W: 0:59 combo, 1:12 hook/head)
Round 8: Erickson, 3-2 (E: 0:43 combo, 1:10 hook/head, 1:52 hook/midsection; W: 0:20 right, 1:27 uppercut)
Round 9: Westlake, 4-2 (E: 1:51 right/head, 2:26 combo; W: 0:19 cross, 0:40 uppercut/head, 1:00 uppercut, 2:09 hook/head)
Round 10: Westlake, 1-0 (0:20 uppercut)
Round 11: Erickson, 3-1 (E: 0:24 combo, 0:44 uppercut, 2:39 hook/jaw; W: 1:39 combo)
Round 12: None
Round 13: Erickson, 1-0 (2:52 combo/midsection)
Round 14: Westlake, 2-0 (0:21 right/chin, 1:57 right/midsection)
Round 15: None
TOTAL: Westlake 20, Erickson 15

RECENT KEY RESULTS

Carl Taylor, who twice had shots at the world welterweight title but fell short both times, suffered a third round TKO loss to Frisco Bob Thomas in Buffalo on Thursday. Taylor, a 33-year-old Baltimore native whose 28-9-2 record includes title losses to Dennis O'Keefe in 1946 and Harold Stephens the following year, has lost three of his last four outings and hinted that retirement is likely not that far off. Thomas, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, has always been considered one of the top fighters on the west coast but has never been in serious consideration for a title shot. He improves to 23-8-1 with the victory which comes on the heels of a tight majority decision loss to George Gibbs in January.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Apr 14- Ottawa, ON - Canadian middleweight Kevin Rawlings (23-5) faces Willie Binion (19-11-1)
Apr 17 - Bigsby Garden, NY- welterweight Artie Neal (26-8-1) faces Harry Larkin (20-5)
Apr 20- Cincinnati, OH- George Gibbs (26-5), Colorado born welterweight, meets Scott Sorensen (27-12-3)
Apr 25 - Oakland, CA- welterweight Dale Roy (35-7-1) squares off with Arthur Shaw (21-11-2)
Apr 25- Washington DC- Veteran Philadelphia heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (22-4-2) vs Lyle Wilson (27-5)
Apr 26- Youngstown, OH- Middleweight Tommy Campbell (22-4-2) vs Andy Jackson (24-5-2)
Apr 27- Providence, RI- Heavyweight Roy Crawford, 'The Boston Bomber' (31-5) fights Allen Bailey (41-7-2)
Apr 30- Brooklyn, NY - Heavyweights Cannon Cooper (30-4-1) and Dan Miller (41-12-1) meet at Flatbush Gardens.

While much of the focus in the city is squarely on the Montreal Valiants first playoff appearance in three years, there is also plenty of excitement looking forward to the upcoming baseball season. The Montreal Saints, coming off an 82 win season -their highest total since 1930- and armed with plenty of young talent, are expecting big things in the coming months.

Manager Jim Cator is readying for his third full season in charge, and he has been trimming the roster over the past couple of weeks, approaching the final list of 24 players who will open the season at Parc Cartier against the Brooklyn Kings one week from tomorrow. That being said there still are a number of position battles that will need to be sorted out over the final five days in Florida before the club makes the long trek north.

One such duel is for the backup catcher job as Jess Garman and Jack Spahr are battling to see who the caddy for starter Homer Guthrie will be. In the infield, battles wage between Bob Jennings, Eddie Logan, Hank Smith, and Luke Weaver for the backup spots. Youngster Leo Vega, a 23-year-old third baseman with some promise, is still in camp to get few more at bats in the big leagues, but he is almost assuredly ticketed for AAA Syracuse in the coming days. The outfield also still has question marks for the backup positions between Sam Clay, Billy Mulligan and Zeke Johnsson.

Several players were informed last week that they have been given a train fare to Syracuse. All have options left so there is no danger of losing any of them on waivers. They include catcher Carroll Furnish, first baseman Ben Rogers along with outfielders Jerry Richardson and Paul Cantin. Having their AAA ball clubs in Syracuse next summer, it may ease the move of players which is a welcome change from the long-time affiliation with Minneapolis.

The pitching squad been reduced to 12 players for the conclusion of camp. The big question is Will Ted Coffin will be staying in the majors to start the season? Everybody feels the 24-year-old lefthander who was drafted in the first-round way back in 1944 is ready to make his big league debut, but the rotation is quite legit in for the Saints and there may not be any room for Coffin. If Wally Reif chased away the ghosts that haunted him last season, and he is getting good camp innings so far, the rotation may end up quite similar to last year with Bert Cupid, Pat Weakley, Wally Doyle, Wally Reif and Pete Ford continuing their claim on the five starting pitcher roles. If Coffin stay in Montreal, it will surely be in bullpen and as an emergency/doubleheader starter.

Fans are anxiously waiting for the season predictions with Montreal having its best spring camp in decades!

SPRING TRAINING NOTES

A pair of long-term injuries were suffered last Wednesday. Cleveland backup first baseman Charlie Ross, who hit .328 in limited duty last season for the Continental Association champs after being claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Sailors, is done for the year after breaking a bone in his elbow. Meanwhile the Detroit Dynamos will be without veteran lefthanded reliever Willie Montgomery for two months after the 37-year-old suffered a strained hamstring. Montgomery's injury assures that rule five pickup John Perkins, a southpaw selected after seven seasons with the New York Stars, will start the season with Detroit and not be returned to the Stars.
Lofty expectations for the Cougars, but that is usually the case. Judging by the spring pitching performances hopes have to be high the Cougars finally get that elusive Continental Association flag. Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News says "I don't think you can have a better spring then Donnie Jones: 27 IP, 17 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 32 K, 0.85 WHIP, 1.61 FIP (40 FIP-), 5.3 K/BB, 70 GB%. And Pete Papenfus has one start left, but he's came close: 23 IP, 12 H, ER, 5 BB, 25 K, 0.39 ERA (1012 ERA+), 0.74 WHIP, 1.68 FIP (42 FIP-), 5 K/BB, 60 GB%"
The Chiefs have announced plans to go with the veteran Walt Pack at third to start this season, with Ed Bloom ready and waiting at AAA to take over. That means 24-year-old Len Stewart doesn't really have a future in Chicago any longer. He had a cup of coffee last season and hit well (.345/.387/.517) and he is demonstrating this spring that he deserves a chance: .343/.452/.457.
It looks like this coulb be the end of the line for Freddie Jones as the 39-year-old was released by the New York Stars last week. Jones has won nearly everything a baseball player can with a Whitney Award, a WCS title and playoff MVP, 6 all-star game selections and two batting titles as well as a Christian Trophy and two first-team All-American selections from his college days at Central Ohio.
Charlie Barrell had a game high 15 points to help Noble Jones College complete a perfect basketball season with a 65-60 win over Liberty College in the AIAA title game. Charlie is now trading his basketball uniform for a ball glove and joining the Colonels baseball team, but the sophomore has been to the AIAA cage title game twice and may just now be a better pro prospect at basketball than baseball. It will be interesting to see if he declares himself eligible for the FABL draft next January as he will be a junior at that point or does he opt out again -just as he did in his high school draft eligible year in Washington DC- and stay for a senior year as a 3-sport star at Noble Jones.
While on the topic of Deep South basketball the conference player of the year has a FABL connection. Les Lightbody, a senior center out of Alabama Baptist, was named the section's top player. Lightbody is the cousin of former FABL brother act Doug and Frank Lightbody as well as Jim Lightbody, who was recently released by the Pittsburgh Miners and signed with San Diego. Another former FABL tie-in with Deep South basketball is Whitey Slocum of Baton Rogue State. Named to the Deep South all-star team with Lightbody, Slocum is related to the Hall of Famer Powell Slocum.

With just 10 days remaining in the regular season there is not a lot of suspense regarding who will claim the six playoff berths. The West appears set with the Detroit Mustangs finishing first for the second year in a row and collecting a first round bye. The Toronto Falcons have a 3.5 game lead on Cleveland for second place and will likely have homecourt advantage against the Crushers in the West semi-final. Both Toronto and Cleveland have clinched playoff berths and Detroit needs just 1 win or a single Toronto loss over the final six games to officially secure the West Division crown. It is the East Division where the questions remain. The Washington Statesmen, at 46-16, own the best record in the league and are a win away from clinching top spot. It will be a dogfight for the other two playoff berths as just a half game separates three teams in the Brooklyn Red Caps, Baltimore Barons and New York Knights. The Red Caps have five games remaining, one less than the other two clubs, with 3 of Brooklyn's final five contests against the Barons. The Barons also have two games remaining with New York so it should be a very interesting finish.
We are eagerly anticipating Washington's visit to Detroit on Friday evening in a matchup of the two best teams in the league. It may well decide homecourt advantage for the championship series should both advance that far. Washington dominated Detroit 99-76 at the National Auditorium when they met on February 6 - the only time they have played each other this season.
Unfortunate news out of Washington, as breakout starter SF Willie Wright has a torn ligament in his ankle and will miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Wright held down the starting spot all season, averaging 13.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game after playing a deep bench role over the previous three seasons in his apprenticeship. The 1946 first round pick out of Brooklyn State showed some of his collegiate scoring prowess. He averaged 12.3 points per game in his senior year. Wright's absence will mean an increased role for Tex Owen and Isiah Solis. Solis has received increased minutes in the Statesmen frontcourt this year after a solid playoff a year ago. Owen is in the same boat as Wright was last year, a former first-rounder who had not found his pro legs.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/09/1950

Owen Lattimore, American expert on the Far-East accused of being Russia's top spy in this country by Senator McCarthy, returned to New York from a United Nations trip and came out firing. Lattimore said bitterly that the Soviet Union should decorate McCarthy "for telling the kind of lies about the United States that Russian propagandist couldn't invent."
Senator Lodge, Republican, of Massachusetts, called for a new and confidential loyalty investigation of State Department personnel in place of the present Senate inquiry, which he said is causing "mounting damage" to the American position abroad.
Secretary of State Acheson says that the United States favors immediate steps to include Germany in welding a Western European organization.
President Truman and Defense Secretary Johnson both denied the United States armed forces is doing anything more than thinking about flying saucers. They were forced to respond to questions on the heels of a United States News and World Report magazine article saying not only were the saucers real but that it was a Navy project. The Navy quickly denied it.
The Federal Trade Commission ordered a crackdown on what it called "false and misleading advertising by some major cigarette makers."
Easter brings a message of hope to a world beset by anxiety as millions of Christians throughout the world commemerated the event.

02-29-2024, 03:03 PM	#893
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,857	April 10, 1950 APRIL 10, 1950 NOBLE JONES COLLEGE WINS NATIONAL CAGE CROWN Colonels Surprise Liberty College in Title Game to Complete Perfect Campaign The Noble Jones College Colonels made history not only for winning the school's first ever national championship in basketball but also for becoming the first team in the 41 year history of the AIAA basketball tournament to finish with an unbeaten record after outscoring Liberty College 65-60 in Monday's championship game at Bigsby Garden. It was a historic night as both schools entered the game with perfect 33-0 records - an accomplishment that had never happened before with one team let alone two. The game was also expected to be a final showcase of the legendary collegiate career of Bells center Luther Gordon. With Noble Jones College outstanding freshman pivot Mike Miller sidelined with a concussion many expected Gordon, who set an AIAA single season scoring record a year ago and then broke it this season, to dominate the game. Instead, Gordon was held to just 8 points, nearly 12 below his season average, as the swarming Colonels defense and solid outside shooting proved too much for Gordon and the Bells to overcome. It was the summit for a Noble Jones College squad that wallowed in obscurity for most of three decades before rising to prominence over the past five seasons and reached the national championship game for the first time last year only to fall to Lexington State. Liberty College, long a darling of the college cage circuit, is now dealing with some Bigsby Garden demons of its own. The Bells last won the AIAA title in 1942 -their third National Crown- but since them have come up empty despite eight consecutive years of reaching at least the quarterfinals and three losses in the past five seasons, including Monday, in the national title game. Early in the contest it looked like it might be a fourth title for Liberty College as the Bells got off to a quick start when Edgar Stillwell hit a couple of early baskets and Luther Gordon, attempting to set the tone, dunked the ball over inexperienced Noble Jones College center Tod Fee, who was starting in place of the injured Mike Miller. Colonels coach Al Bynum quickly called a timeout and whatever he said to his troops worked as the Colonels regrouped and by the middle of the first half had taken an 18-17 lead and never trailed again in the game. The score at the break was 38-32 and a hot start to the second half increased the lead quickly to 19 points. Perhaps the defining moment of the victory came in the opening minute of the second half when Fee, who was expected to be the Colonels weak link, stole the ball from Luther Gordon and went in uncontested for a layup to put the Colonels up 42-32 at that point and a few second later blocked a Luther Gordon shot attempt sending the Colonels off for another bucket. Fee, the junior whose only two career AIAA starts came in the last three days, scored just 6 points on the evening but more importantly combined with Jim Graybeal to hold Gordon -the likely winner of his second straight Barette Trophy as AIAA MVP- to just 8 points. A late charge by Liberty College allowed the Bells to close to within 5 points with a minute and a half remaining but that would be as close as they would get and for the third time in the last five seasons the Bells would fall in the AIAA championship game. The Noble Jones College defense was among the best in the nation, and they rose to the occasion on this day, keeping the Bells offense which led the nation in points per game by a wide margin in check. The credit for the victory needs to also be shared with Colonels ability to hit shots away from the basket. With the towering Gordon and imposing forward Edgar Stillwell clogging up the middle, the Colonels relied on their guard for much of the offense. Charlie Barrell, a rising star on the diamond and gridiron as well as the court, made 6 of his 10 attempts from the field and scored a game high 15 points despite splitting time with senior Carroll Larkin, who added 14 and was named the player of the game. Barrell, a sophomore with a famous name that draws attention everywhere he goes, had spent most of his freshman season sitting on the bench and was forced to be content with coming off the bench this year but that changed when Larkin was injured in January. Pressed into the starting lineup the quarterback of the Colonels football team and second baseman on their baseball club that qualified for the AIAA Collegiate World Championship Series, was suddenly a key focal point in the arena as well and responded with outstanding play that has perhaps made him a better pro prospect in basketball than either of the other two sports. Of course, he still has plenty of time to decide his future path, and perhaps time to make more trips to both the AIAA National Basketball Championship Game and the Collegiate World Championship Series. As a three-sport star his time to celebrate with his basketball teammates is short. The Colonels baseball team has already begun its season and will be expecting Barrell in their starting lineup this weekend. BIG ROAD WIN IGNITES DUKES HOPES The two-time defending champion Toronto Dukes climbed back up from the mat after being floored twice at home by the Montreal Valiants, as Toronto cut the Vals lead to two games to one with a dramatic comeback at the Montreal Arena Friday evening to pull out a 3-2 victory. Things looked bleak for Jack Barrell's club when Clarence Skinner set up third period goals from Cory Findlay and Isaac Finnson to put Montreal ahead 2-1 with just 10 minutes remaining in regulation time. Already trailing 2-0 in the series after falling twice at home, the Dukes could not afford to go down three games and the dug deep and pulled out the victory. Trevor Parker knotted the contest at 2-2 with a little over six minutes remaining when he redirected a J.C. Martel point shot past Montreal netminder Tom Brockers. The mood soured quickly on the Toronto bench and coach Jack Barrell looked like he was going to blow a gasket when Mike Navarro took a hooking penalty with 3:55 left to play. Instead of the Vals capitalizing on the power play it was Toronto that came up with what would prove to be the game winning goal as Clyde Lumsen's shorthanded marker, assisted by Parker, gave the Dukes renewed hope in the series with a 3-2 victory. The Valiants still lead the series two games to one with game four set for tomorrow night at the Montreal Arena. The big difference for Montreal in game three was the absence of winger Brett Lanceleve. The 26-year-old who tallied 18 goals and 43 points during the regular season played well in games one and two despite dealing with a broken bone in his foot. The foot swelled up on him before the third game to the point where he could not get his foot into his skate without extreme pain and Lanceleve was forced to sit out the contest after picking up a point in each of the first two games. With the talented winger on the shelf the Valiants lack of depth was exposed as that meant Paulie Mosca had to move up the first line alongside Clarence Skinner and Adam Sandford. The trio played well with Skinner drawing two assists and Sandford one but the trickledown effect severely weakened Montreal's other lines. The club is hopeful Lanceleve will be able to dress for game four. Montreal had won the series opener 3-1 thanks to a big game from Vals rearguards Shel Herron and Isaac Finnson and Wednesday's game two was a wide-open back and forth affair that ended 5-4 in favour of the visitors from Montreal. The Vals outshot Toronto 45-27 on that evening and were led by two goals from Ian Doyle with Skinner and Pat Coulter each adding a goal and an assist. Game Four will be played tomorrow night in Montreal. SHAMROCKS ON VERGE OF SWEEPING PACKERS The New York Shamrocks can complete a sweep of the Chicago Packers with a victory at Lakeside Auditorium tonight. The Greenshirts took a commanding 3 games to none lead in the best-of-seven semi-final series by doubling up the Packers 6-3 Friday evening in Chicago. 30-year-old rookie Geoff Hartnell and Jim Macek each had a goal and two assists to pace the New York attack wile a stifling Shamrocks defense limited the Packers to just 19 shots on New York goaltender Etienne Tremblay. Tremblay was making his first start of the playoffs after Alex Sorrell covered the crease in both wins in the Big Apple. The opener at Bigsby Garden was the tightest of the three games thus far with Samuel Coates scoring just 8 seconds into overtime to lift the Shamrocks to a 3-2 victory. Last Tuesday in New York, playing on sloppy ice that was still soft because of the court being laid over it for the college basketball title game the night before, Orval Cabbell scored once and added an assist as the Shamrocks spotted Chicago a 1-0 first period lead before battling back to win by a 3-1 score. Cabbell, who finished second in the league scoring race with 80 points during the regular season, leads all playoff performers with 5 points on 2 goals and 3 helpers. SCORING CHAMP CARLSON IGNORED IN MCDANIELS NOMINEES The NAHC announced the three finalists for each of its major awards and surprisingly league scoring champion Les Carlson was overlooked for the McDaniels Trophy. Carlson led the league in points with 81 and goals with 37 but was bypassed in favour of Tommy Burns, Orval Cabbell and Quinton Pollack. Burns, who won 3 straight McDaniels Trophy's before losing out to Pollack last season, had a down year by his standards. The 30-year-old Chicago Packers center scored 26 goals and 38 assists for 64 points, good for 5th in the NAHC scoring parade. The 32-year-old Cabbell, who finished with one point less than Carlson on 27 goals and 53 helpers, led the New York Shamrocks to the best record in the league. The last time a New York Shamrocks players was named league MVP was way back in 1926 when Chris Schneider claimed the honours. The final nominee is Toronto center Quinton Pollack, who won his first McDaniels Trophy last season. The 27-year-old played on the Dukes top line with Carlson and Lou Galbraith, scoring just 17 goals but adding a league high 58 assists to give him 75 points on the season. New York netminder Alex Sorrell is the likely favourite to be named the winner of the Juneau Trophy presented to the top goaltender. The award is presented in memory of early era Montreal Valiants goaltender Al Juneau, who tragically died in 1925 after suffering a fractured skull when his head hit the ice following a collision with a teammate. Sorrell is the only one of this year's nominees who has not won the award before, but the 24-year-old had a breakout campaign in his third season with the Shamrocks, leading the league in goals against average while posting a 20-11-14 record. Sorrell will get competition from Oscar James of the Boston Bees, who won the Juneau last season and 1947-48 winner Norm Hanson of Chicago. James, 26, was 17-24-12 with a 2.40 goals against average while playing for the last place Boston Bees while leading the NAHC with 5 shutouts. The 29-year-old Hanson posted a 20-22-13 record with a 2.54 GAA for the Packers. The final major individual award is the McLeod Trophy, presented annually to the top rookie in the NAHC. Detroit Motors forwards have won it each of the past two seasons and the Motors have a nominee again this year in 21-year-old winger Lou Barber. Selected first overall by the Motors in the 1948 NAHC amateur draft, Barber apprenticed for two seasons in Toledo before joining the Motors this year. In 58 games he had 11 goals and 26 points for 37 points. The other nominees are both New York Shamrocks in 22-year-old defenseman George Collingsworth and 25-year-old forward Rusty Mullins. Collingsworth, a 1947 4th round selection, did not make a huge offensive contribution with just 3 goals and 11 assists in 62 games but he helped solidify the best defensive club in the league. Mullins led all players eligible for the McLeod Trophy with 16 goals and 38 points. A 1944 second round draft pick of New York, Mullins spent six seasons with Springfield of the HAA before getting the call to the NAHC this year. RECORD SETTING SEASON FOR DUKES DUO With the expansion to a 70-game schedule this season it does not come as much of a surprise that some new records were set but that does not mean that Toronto Dukes teammates Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack are not worthy of recognition for putting up some big numbers. Carlson picked up 81 points this year, one more than New York's Orval Cabbell, to win the scoring title and he also smashed a two-decade old record in the process. Prior to Carlson's big showing, which came in a campaign in which he dressed for 69 games, the previous single season points record was 80 established by Bert Cordier of the Boston Bees in a year in which the second year forward also set the record for goals in a season with 47. Cordier's mark game in a 44-game season and his goal total was equaled two years ago by Chicago's Tommy Burns in a season that saw Burns appear in 54 games. Toronto center Quinton Pollack shattered the NAHC single season assist mark with 58 helpers this season. Boston's Wilbur Chandler was the previous record holder, when he notched 45 assists in 45 games during the 1944-45 season. Pollack played in 67 games this year. DUKES TRAIL MONTREAL IN SEMI-FINAL SERIES After losing twice at home to start their semi-final series with Montreal, the Toronto Dukes were in deep trouble. It got even deeper when the Vals scored twice in the third period of game three to go up by a 2-1 score only to see the Dukes come alive and salvage their playoff lives with a late game comeback to narrow the Valiants lead in the best-of-seven series to two games to one. On Wednesday night before another standing room only crowd the visitors came to the rink looking to follow up an upset victory over the Dukes with another win in game two. Montreal took the play to Toronto early in the first and were rewarded. It was Clarence Skinner who opened the scoring just before the period was half over when a centering pass deflected off a defenseman past Toronto netminder Gordie Broadway. Just over a minute later Ian Doyle made it 2-0 Montreal when he jumped in from the point to take a pass from Pat Coulter then snap a wrist shot into the top corner to quiet the crowd. Mike Navarro brought some life back to Dominion Gardens when he tapped home a rebound off a Bobby Sauer shot to make it 2-1 with the three goals coming in a span of less than four minutes. The Dukes got a little overaggressive searching for the equalizer and while pressing to tie it up got caught on a counter attack ending with Brett Lanceleve beating Broadway from linemates Skinner and Adam Sanford at 17:25. Discussion in the stands between the periods was on how the Vals were checking, hitting the Dukes to a standstill with no room to move. Before the middle period was 3 minutes old Philippe Dubois was found in the slot by Quinton Pollack and beat Tom Brockers cleanly cutting the Vals lead back to one goal at 3-2. Toronto again got hemmed in their own zone, and after several failed clearing attempts Doyle scored his second of the game on a rebound after Broadway had robbed Cory Findlay. The third period began with Montreal up by two but Navarro's second of the night halved the margin at 10:33 only to have Coulter restore the two goal lead 62 seconds later. This one coming once again after the Dukes failed to get the puck out of their own end. Montreal continued to try to bottle up the Dukes by eliminating time and space for the home side's skaters. Les Carlson sent Pollack in alone when he chipped a pass off the boards. Pollack made no mistake deking Brockers before tucking the puck into the open net. Instead of going into a defensive shell to protect a one goal lead Montreal continued to forecheck Toronto into submission taking a 2-0 series lead back to Montreal with 5-4 victory in a game they outshot the Dukes 45-27. The Vals tried to take a stranglehold on the series at home Saturday night before nearly 17,000 in a packed to the rafters Montreal Arena. Montreal stayed with what was working, taking the play to Toronto. Only some outstanding saves from Broadway kept the first period scoreless with Montreal controlling puck possession holding a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal. The second period was more even with Toronto starting to shake off some tight checking Vals. Dukes had some chances while Rey Sclisizzi was serving 2 minutes for boarding but failed to light the red lamp. A minute after the penalty was over the Dukes finally got some luck when Maurice Charette's centering pass hit Brockers' pad as he moving across the crease then went behind him. That lone goal stood up as the only marker until just over two minutes into the third period. The Vals Cory Findlay notched the equalizer as the defenseman cruised in from the point after Sandford had intercepted a pass then moved the disc over to Skinner who found Findlay at the top of the circle. Findley scored just 4 goals during the regular season but made no mistake on this shot, cleanly beating Broadway and knotting the score at 1-1. Both teams played with sense of cautious urgency until Isaac Finnson's shot almost took the roof off the building when his screen shot beat Broadway exactly halfway through the period. Toronto, sensing their season slipping away from them and being urged on by a very vocal head coach Jack Barrell, threw caution to the wind and opened up the attack. The Dukes were rewarded as Trevor Parker tied the game at 13:46 went he knocked in a rebound off a point shot from J.C. Martel. The Montreal Arena fans got to their feet when Navarro was sent off for hooking at 16:05, giving the home club a man advantage for two minutes or less. The Vals power play had chances but it was Toronto that scored the go-ahead goal when Dukes penalty killer Alex Cameron stole a pass then fed Parker who found defenseman Clyde Lumsen cruising down the middle of the ice. Lumsen faked a shot then snapped a shot over Brockers' shoulder to give the Dukes a lead 3-2 while shorthanded, silencing the crowd. Toronto hung on, not even allowing the Vals the pick possession to pull the goaltender, to earn their first victory and give themselves life in the series. Coach Barrell: "We are extremely lucky to be in this series. Give Montreal full credit, they have bottled us up at every turn. At home on Wednesday, they took the entire game to us in their 5-4 win which was flattering to our team. Everyone knew we had to win Saturday. After Navarro got sent off, I was thinking "Just hold on for overtime." Then Cameron went deep on the kill stole the puck, when Lumsen decided to pinch I thought I was going to have a stroke. I don't know how Parker found him, then he had the presence of mind to fake Brockers down to open the top of the cage which he did not miss. That is when I started to breathe again behind the bench. Going forward we have to come up with a way to combat their forecheck before Tuesday, but I have some ideas." WESTLAKE GETS HIS REVENGE IN REMATCH FOR WELTER BELT OVER ERICKSON Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – Rage. Unresolved, seething rage. Mark Westlake has been a man consumed by this rage for these past five months ever since his loss to Mac Erickson in a welterweight title shot and a pushing for an attempt to regain the belt he once hoisted. Back in November, Erickson won with a technical knockout in the seventh round, but the overzealous referee in that bout, Ernest Byrd, called the fight too early. And so, Westlake, bloodied and angry from the bout, trained and set his sights on a possible rematch. The rematch was swift in its scheduling and on this early Spring evening on the banks of Lake Erie, Westlake got his measure of revenge. Westlake was all business as he entered the ring. He knew what it took to be a champion, as he was the second welterweight title holder since World War II. He also knew what it was like to be denied at his first attempt, as the welterweight division “play-off” after the weight class was reset set up a meeting with Carl Taylor that he lost. Taylor lost to the eventual champion Jackhammer O’Keefe, but Westlake rose to be O’Keefe’s next opponent and Westlake did not miss that chance. Here was another chance for Westlake, a second chance to become World Welterweight Champion a second time. The first round was all Westlake. He charged Erickson and quickly went on the offensive, pouring in a couple of uppercuts that immediately caused Erickson to change his tactic. In the first meeting between these two pugilists, a head-butt deemed accidental caused Westlake to leak, eventually leading to the fight being called in the seventh round. Just 39 seconds in, Erickson head-butted Westlake again. Accidental or not, it was too timely to be coincidental. The referee was chosen carefully for this bout. Experienced ring man Jerry Rowe, who was very familiar with the welterweight division, officiating his third title fight, admonished the champion. It was one of three cautions Rowe issued to Erickson, as Erickson was looking to bend rules whenever possible. Erickson tried to get in an extra shot on Westlake while being separated by Rowe in the third round and he also used his shoulder illegally in Round 13. Meanwhile, after the head-butt, Westlake was not affected, and he continued to focus on his mission. Westlake started strong in the second round with a big hook that seemed to shake the champion, but Erickson found his footing with a big jab that stopped Westlake in his tracks. Erickson offered another power punch, landing a cross that caused Westlake to stumble, but he managed to rebound with a scoring cross of his own before the close of the round. Erickson was starting to miss with regularity in the third, which frustrated him and allowed Westlake to take advantage. An attempted hook by Erickson glanced off Westlake’s shoulder and the challenger worked inside with a right cross into Erickson’s breadbasket. A wild swing by Erickson missed everything and Westlake leaned into a hook on the side of Erickson’s head. Later in the round, an attempted combination from Erickson that was well-defended by a crouched Westlake led to an uppercut just before the closing bell. It was the failed attack by Erickson and the effective counterattack by Westlake that permitted the challenger to build a lead. Sure, Erickson had his moments. Erickson showed up for the fourth round energized and Westlake could not capitalize on Erickson’s inaccuracy. Erickson missed with an uppercut, did not get a lunging right to hit its target and failed to land a jab. While Westlake was defending and retreating, Erickson caught up to him and executed a nice uppercut to send Westlake back against the ropes. Winded, Erickson could not take further advantage and Westlake was able to regain his footing, but the champion won his first round of the night. The eighth round was Erickson’s best, as he went on the offensive. Both boxers landed haymakers, but Erickson has the advantage in a punch-up and Westlake learned his lesson that round. Erickson tried to turn the tide with a combination and a couple of hooks that nearly felled the challenger. Westlake was trying to regain his legs and he was starting to come unglued and started moving just in time to slip some hard shots and survive. The eleventh round was starting the same way until Erickson missed one too many times and Westlake was finally able to right himself in the last half of the round with a combination, followed by a jab and a hard right to keep the champion honest. By now, there was visible swelling on Erickson’s face after taking the ritual punishment from Westlake and though Erickson connected on some pivotal punches, Westlake did not look the worse for wear. Westlake cruised to the finish, as Erickson went for broke and came up empty. Westlake knew he had the bout in the bag. There was no premature stoppage this time around. Despite Erickson’s first-round head-butt, over the length of the fight, it was the champion who looked battered. Westlake (28-5-1) persevered and channeled that rage to recapture of the welterweight title. Mac Erickson (21-1-0), the man who just a short time ago was anointed the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, was reduced to a flailing mess at the hands of Mark Westlake in his first professional loss. The bout was marked by Erickson’s failed attempts at landing any crushing blows on Westlake. It is a wonder how Erickson was able to complete 15 rounds considering his missed an average of over 100 punches per round! With all of those misses, Westlake was able to pace himself, offering less than half of the punches Erickson did and landing almost twice as many. Erickson’s camp will likely ask Westlake’s camp for the same courtesy he extended in scheduling a quick rematch. It will be up to Westlake and his management if he wants to grant Erickson a rubber match. In the meantime, it will be Erickson’s turn to lay in wait for his next chance. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Westlake, 2-0 (1:07 hook/ribs, 1:51 uppercut) Round 2: Tied, 2-2 (E: 0:56 jab, 1:55 cross/face; W: 0:33 hook, 2:36 cross) Round 3: Tied, 1-1 (E: 2:28 uppercut; W: 1:30 right) Round 4: Tied, 1-1 (E: 2:07 uppercut; W: 0:54 combo) Round 5: Westlake, 1-0 (1:27 right/body) Round 6: Tied, 1-1 (E: 1:50 left hook/body; W: 0:42 cross) Round 7: Westlake, 2-1 (E: 0:14 uppercut; W: 0:59 combo, 1:12 hook/head) Round 8: Erickson, 3-2 (E: 0:43 combo, 1:10 hook/head, 1:52 hook/midsection; W: 0:20 right, 1:27 uppercut) Round 9: Westlake, 4-2 (E: 1:51 right/head, 2:26 combo; W: 0:19 cross, 0:40 uppercut/head, 1:00 uppercut, 2:09 hook/head) Round 10: Westlake, 1-0 (0:20 uppercut) Round 11: Erickson, 3-1 (E: 0:24 combo, 0:44 uppercut, 2:39 hook/jaw; W: 1:39 combo) Round 12: None Round 13: Erickson, 1-0 (2:52 combo/midsection) Round 14: Westlake, 2-0 (0:21 right/chin, 1:57 right/midsection) Round 15: None TOTAL: Westlake 20, Erickson 15 RECENT KEY RESULTS Carl Taylor, who twice had shots at the world welterweight title but fell short both times, suffered a third round TKO loss to Frisco Bob Thomas in Buffalo on Thursday. Taylor, a 33-year-old Baltimore native whose 28-9-2 record includes title losses to Dennis O'Keefe in 1946 and Harold Stephens the following year, has lost three of his last four outings and hinted that retirement is likely not that far off. Thomas, a 30-year-old San Francisco native, has always been considered one of the top fighters on the west coast but has never been in serious consideration for a title shot. He improves to 23-8-1 with the victory which comes on the heels of a tight majority decision loss to George Gibbs in January. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Apr 14- Ottawa, ON - Canadian middleweight Kevin Rawlings (23-5) faces Willie Binion (19-11-1) Apr 17 - Bigsby Garden, NY- welterweight Artie Neal (26-8-1) faces Harry Larkin (20-5) Apr 20- Cincinnati, OH- George Gibbs (26-5), Colorado born welterweight, meets Scott Sorensen (27-12-3) Apr 25 - Oakland, CA- welterweight Dale Roy (35-7-1) squares off with Arthur Shaw (21-11-2) Apr 25- Washington DC- Veteran Philadelphia heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (22-4-2) vs Lyle Wilson (27-5) Apr 26- Youngstown, OH- Middleweight Tommy Campbell (22-4-2) vs Andy Jackson (24-5-2) Apr 27- Providence, RI- Heavyweight Roy Crawford, 'The Boston Bomber' (31-5) fights Allen Bailey (41-7-2) Apr 30- Brooklyn, NY - Heavyweights Cannon Cooper (30-4-1) and Dan Miller (41-12-1) meet at Flatbush Gardens. While much of the focus in the city is squarely on the Montreal Valiants first playoff appearance in three years, there is also plenty of excitement looking forward to the upcoming baseball season. The Montreal Saints, coming off an 82 win season -their highest total since 1930- and armed with plenty of young talent, are expecting big things in the coming months. Manager Jim Cator is readying for his third full season in charge, and he has been trimming the roster over the past couple of weeks, approaching the final list of 24 players who will open the season at Parc Cartier against the Brooklyn Kings one week from tomorrow. That being said there still are a number of position battles that will need to be sorted out over the final five days in Florida before the club makes the long trek north. One such duel is for the backup catcher job as Jess Garman and Jack Spahr are battling to see who the caddy for starter Homer Guthrie will be. In the infield, battles wage between Bob Jennings, Eddie Logan, Hank Smith, and Luke Weaver for the backup spots. Youngster Leo Vega, a 23-year-old third baseman with some promise, is still in camp to get few more at bats in the big leagues, but he is almost assuredly ticketed for AAA Syracuse in the coming days. The outfield also still has question marks for the backup positions between Sam Clay, Billy Mulligan and Zeke Johnsson. Several players were informed last week that they have been given a train fare to Syracuse. All have options left so there is no danger of losing any of them on waivers. They include catcher Carroll Furnish, first baseman Ben Rogers along with outfielders Jerry Richardson and Paul Cantin. Having their AAA ball clubs in Syracuse next summer, it may ease the move of players which is a welcome change from the long-time affiliation with Minneapolis. The pitching squad been reduced to 12 players for the conclusion of camp. The big question is Will Ted Coffin will be staying in the majors to start the season? Everybody feels the 24-year-old lefthander who was drafted in the first-round way back in 1944 is ready to make his big league debut, but the rotation is quite legit in for the Saints and there may not be any room for Coffin. If Wally Reif chased away the ghosts that haunted him last season, and he is getting good camp innings so far, the rotation may end up quite similar to last year with Bert Cupid, Pat Weakley, Wally Doyle, Wally Reif and Pete Ford continuing their claim on the five starting pitcher roles. If Coffin stay in Montreal, it will surely be in bullpen and as an emergency/doubleheader starter. Fans are anxiously waiting for the season predictions with Montreal having its best spring camp in decades! SPRING TRAINING NOTES A pair of long-term injuries were suffered last Wednesday. Cleveland backup first baseman Charlie Ross, who hit .328 in limited duty last season for the Continental Association champs after being claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Sailors, is done for the year after breaking a bone in his elbow. Meanwhile the Detroit Dynamos will be without veteran lefthanded reliever Willie Montgomery for two months after the 37-year-old suffered a strained hamstring. Montgomery's injury assures that rule five pickup John Perkins, a southpaw selected after seven seasons with the New York Stars, will start the season with Detroit and not be returned to the Stars. Lofty expectations for the Cougars, but that is usually the case. Judging by the spring pitching performances hopes have to be high the Cougars finally get that elusive Continental Association flag. Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News says "I don't think you can have a better spring then Donnie Jones: 27 IP, 17 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 32 K, 0.85 WHIP, 1.61 FIP (40 FIP-), 5.3 K/BB, 70 GB%. And Pete Papenfus has one start left, but he's came close: 23 IP, 12 H, ER, 5 BB, 25 K, 0.39 ERA (1012 ERA+), 0.74 WHIP, 1.68 FIP (42 FIP-), 5 K/BB, 60 GB%" The Chiefs have announced plans to go with the veteran Walt Pack at third to start this season, with Ed Bloom ready and waiting at AAA to take over. That means 24-year-old Len Stewart doesn't really have a future in Chicago any longer. He had a cup of coffee last season and hit well (.345/.387/.517) and he is demonstrating this spring that he deserves a chance: .343/.452/.457. It looks like this coulb be the end of the line for Freddie Jones as the 39-year-old was released by the New York Stars last week. Jones has won nearly everything a baseball player can with a Whitney Award, a WCS title and playoff MVP, 6 all-star game selections and two batting titles as well as a Christian Trophy and two first-team All-American selections from his college days at Central Ohio. Charlie Barrell had a game high 15 points to help Noble Jones College complete a perfect basketball season with a 65-60 win over Liberty College in the AIAA title game. Charlie is now trading his basketball uniform for a ball glove and joining the Colonels baseball team, but the sophomore has been to the AIAA cage title game twice and may just now be a better pro prospect at basketball than baseball. It will be interesting to see if he declares himself eligible for the FABL draft next January as he will be a junior at that point or does he opt out again -just as he did in his high school draft eligible year in Washington DC- and stay for a senior year as a 3-sport star at Noble Jones. While on the topic of Deep South basketball the conference player of the year has a FABL connection. Les Lightbody, a senior center out of Alabama Baptist, was named the section's top player. Lightbody is the cousin of former FABL brother act Doug and Frank Lightbody as well as Jim Lightbody, who was recently released by the Pittsburgh Miners and signed with San Diego. Another former FABL tie-in with Deep South basketball is Whitey Slocum of Baton Rogue State. Named to the Deep South all-star team with Lightbody, Slocum is related to the Hall of Famer Powell Slocum. With just 10 days remaining in the regular season there is not a lot of suspense regarding who will claim the six playoff berths. The West appears set with the Detroit Mustangs finishing first for the second year in a row and collecting a first round bye. The Toronto Falcons have a 3.5 game lead on Cleveland for second place and will likely have homecourt advantage against the Crushers in the West semi-final. Both Toronto and Cleveland have clinched playoff berths and Detroit needs just 1 win or a single Toronto loss over the final six games to officially secure the West Division crown. It is the East Division where the questions remain. The Washington Statesmen, at 46-16, own the best record in the league and are a win away from clinching top spot. It will be a dogfight for the other two playoff berths as just a half game separates three teams in the Brooklyn Red Caps, Baltimore Barons and New York Knights. The Red Caps have five games remaining, one less than the other two clubs, with 3 of Brooklyn's final five contests against the Barons. The Barons also have two games remaining with New York so it should be a very interesting finish. We are eagerly anticipating Washington's visit to Detroit on Friday evening in a matchup of the two best teams in the league. It may well decide homecourt advantage for the championship series should both advance that far. Washington dominated Detroit 99-76 at the National Auditorium when they met on February 6 - the only time they have played each other this season. Unfortunate news out of Washington, as breakout starter SF Willie Wright has a torn ligament in his ankle and will miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Wright held down the starting spot all season, averaging 13.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game after playing a deep bench role over the previous three seasons in his apprenticeship. The 1946 first round pick out of Brooklyn State showed some of his collegiate scoring prowess. He averaged 12.3 points per game in his senior year. Wright's absence will mean an increased role for Tex Owen and Isiah Solis. Solis has received increased minutes in the Statesmen frontcourt this year after a solid playoff a year ago. Owen is in the same boat as Wright was last year, a former first-rounder who had not found his pro legs. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/09/1950 Owen Lattimore, American expert on the Far-East accused of being Russia's top spy in this country by Senator McCarthy, returned to New York from a United Nations trip and came out firing. Lattimore said bitterly that the Soviet Union should decorate McCarthy "for telling the kind of lies about the United States that Russian propagandist couldn't invent." Senator Lodge, Republican, of Massachusetts, called for a new and confidential loyalty investigation of State Department personnel in place of the present Senate inquiry, which he said is causing "mounting damage" to the American position abroad. Secretary of State Acheson says that the United States favors immediate steps to include Germany in welding a Western European organization. President Truman and Defense Secretary Johnson both denied the United States armed forces is doing anything more than thinking about flying saucers. They were forced to respond to questions on the heels of a United States News and World Report magazine article saying not only were the saucers real but that it was a Navy project. The Navy quickly denied it. The Federal Trade Commission ordered a crackdown on what it called "false and misleading advertising by some major cigarette makers." Easter brings a message of hope to a world beset by anxiety as millions of Christians throughout the world commemerated the event. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles