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Tiger Fan · 03-13-2024, 01:55 PM

MAY 29, 1950

THREE-KNOCKDOWN ROUND KEEPS MIDDLEWEIGHT BELT WITH EDMONDS

Bigsby Garden, New York, N.Y. – The rise, quick fall, and long way back to the middleweight title by John Edmonds has been overshadowed by a popular champion and by tragedy. Frank “Tank” Melanson lost to Edmonds, but won back the middleweight belt, claiming Edmonds as his victim. Edmonds regained the belt, but only after a hastily arranged fight against Bill Boggs following the tragic death of Edouard Desmarais.

Edmonds has rarely been newsworthy on his own. In other words, boxing fans have not seen him for the fighter he is and the main event rather than the secondary part of the story. This time, however, Edmonds was the headliner. He was a heavy favorite and looked to take control of the middleweight division.

Hugo Canio is an Italian by birth, but in a short time, he has become a New Yorker. This was essentially a home match for Canio, whose rooting section spanned from Canal Street to Canarsie.

Canio must have been feeling the crowd’s electricity pulse through his fists because at the opening bell, he charged like a bull towards Edmonds, looking to open strong. Edmonds was ready for him and tried a couple of jabs that missed before Canio’s cross landed with aplomb. The Italian challenger tried to stay on the offense for the rest of the round and his uppercuts were especially effective, but he was unable to find rhythm and land them in bunches as the opening stanza came to a close.

Canio took the fight to Edmonds again in the second round, but Edmonds matched him for the first half of the round. It was Canio’s unexpected left hand that caused Edmonds to protect his head, leaving himself wide open for a solid body shot. Canio buried a hard right hand into Edmonds’s ribs to leave the champion gasping for air.

It was not until about halfway through the third round when Edmonds announced his arrival to this bout. A straight right by Edmonds led to a few scoring punches and the rhythm that Canio could not find was in Edmonds’s corner. Edmonds worked the body on Canio, which seemed to take a lot of steam away from his responses. Edmonds used that to his benefit by continuing to flick punches and keep the punches from returning the other way.

The crowd was really getting into it, as the raucous atmosphere was likely due to the Italian challenger and his local New York following. It was a celebration of boxing in all of its glory and all of its gumption. With every hook, uppercut, and combination, there was a reaction. With every bell, a chance to cheer on both fighters.

In Round 4, both Edmonds and Canio settled in for a long night. They circled, they measured each other up, and Edmonds was the first to strike about 40 seconds in with a big hook. Canio rebounded with a hook of his own, as both boxers continued the give and take. Canio seemed to take the worst of it with some swelling starting to appear around his right eye. An effective cross from Edmonds in the closing seconds of the round likely swung the round in his favor.

Edmonds held Canio at bay in the fifth round and started to assert himself in the sixth round until about two minutes into the sixth when Canio drilled a combo to Edmonds’s head that caused the inside of the champion’s mouth to bleed. While not all that damaging, Canio fired away for the rest of the round, sensing a potential change in momentum.

The seventh round proved to be a breather for both boxers until the tail end of the frame when Edmonds landed a hook that Canio may or may not have seen coming with his right eye now puffy from the continued swelling. But Canio pushed back hard in the eighth round, culminating in a flurry of punches from Canio that continued to show that he was no tomato can.

With all the great boxing on this night, no one could foresee what happened in the ninth round. The fight had been even, with both men getting their punches in and each laying a claim to several rounds. Edmonds recovered after a slow start and Canio tried his best to keep the pressure on. However, in the ninth round, only one fighter essentially left his corner. In retrospect, Canio’s eye likely played a major role in the outcome of this round, but no one wanted to stop the fight early: not Canio’s corner, not referee John O’Brien, in his first title fight assignment, and certainly not the fans.

Edmonds proceeded to knock Canio down three times in the round. The first was a body shot after the champion cornered Canio and knocked him to his knees for a five-count. Edmonds buried a hard right to Canio’s midsection, doing damage and sending him crumpled to the canvas. Upon standing after the referee had counted to three, O’Brien asked Canio if he could continue. Canio was game, but it was written all over his face that he did not have much time left.

The champion moved in for the kill, capitalizing on the lack of a defense from the challenger. We have not seen this version of Edmonds since his first title shot in Pittsburgh against Melanson. Edmonds let a combination loose, followed by a cross that put his head on a platter for the final blow, a hook to Canio’s chin that turned out the lights. With only 12 seconds left in the round, it was over.

Edmonds (32-3-0) showed some of what made him a middleweight champion three years ago and at 31 years old, it was about time that he had recaptured that level of boxing. Canio (17-1-2) acquitted himself very well on the evening. Coming into the bout, most thought Canio was not going to give Edmonds much trouble, as he was only 23 and only fighting in his 20th bout. Canio gave Edmonds all he could handle for the first eight rounds, as it was dead even on two of the judges’ cards. Canio’s time for a second shot at the middleweight crown might yet come, just as Edmonds got his second chance after winning, then losing his title.

Finally, Edmonds grabbed the headlines on this night, his first successful title defense after first winning the belt in 1947. It took a loss and climbing the ladder to fight for it again, but Edmonds displayed the kind of redemption you can only get in this vicious, but breathtaking sport of boxing.

BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Canio, 1-0 (0:18 cross)
Round 2: Canio, 2-0 (1:43 left, 2:14 right/ribs)
Round 3: Edmonds, 1-0 (1:22 right)
Round 4: Edmonds, 2-1 (E: 0:44 hook/face, 2:43 cross; C: 1:30 right/head)
Round 5: None
Round 6: Tied, 2-2 (E: 0:18 hook/midsection, 0:54 hook; C: 1:17 uppercut, 2:40 hook/head)
Round 7: Tied, 1-1 (E: 3:00 hook; C: 0:31 hook/midsection)
Round 8: Edmonds, 1-0 (1:27 cross)
Round 9: Edmonds, 6-0 (0:52 right/ribs/knockdown #1, 1:11 right/head, 1:55 right/midsection/knockdown #2, 2:13 combo/midsection, 2:27 cross; 2:36 hook/chin/knockdown #3
TOTAL: Edmonds 13, Canio 7

RECENT KEY RESULTS

British welterweight Danny Julian had an impressive North American debut as the 30-year-old pugilist knocked out Mexican Alonso Salazar in the 6th round of their 10-rounder at Brooklyn's Flatbush Gardens last Wednesday. Julian was 27-1-1 in his European career, fought almost exclusively in England, before arriving in New York in April. He is said to be looking for an opportunity to fight for the world title, currently held by Mark Westlake.
Another welterweight contender was in action Wednesday evening in Boston but the result was not what he hoped for as Ira Mitchell stumbled, losing a majority decision to Robert Schultz at Denny Arena. Mitchell, who drops to 25-5, had a title shot in early 1948 but came up short in his decision loss to then-champion Harold Stephens.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

May 29- Newark, NJ: Heavyweight Ben Budgeford (21-2) vs Bill Sloan (18-1)
May 30- St Louis, MO: Middleweight Davis Owens (21-1) vs Jersey Joe Miller (18-11)
May 30- Dominion Stadium, Toronto: Canadian middleweight champ Kevin Rawlings (24-5) defends his national title against Frank Carlson (22-7-2)
Jun 8- Thompson Palladium, Detroit: veteran welterweight Danny Rutledge (19-1-1) meets former champ Dennis O'Keefe (24-9)
Jun 15- Fall River, MA. - rising young middleweight Mark McCoy (19-1) squares off with Robbie Charles (36-10-1)
Jun 29- Glasgow, Scotland: Veteran Irish heavyweight Pat Harber (42-8-3) faces James Woolescroft (26-9-2)
Jun 30- Flatbush Gardens, Brooklyn: young New Jersey heavyweight Max Bradley (17-1-1) faces Max Maxwell (16-6-4)
Jul 4- Gothams Stadium, New York: World heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer (63-3-1) defends his title against Cannon Cooper (30-5-1).

CANNONS FIRING TO TOP OF CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

The hottest team in baseball at the moment is the Cincinnati Cannons, who have reeled off five straight victories and won 14 of their last 18 games to move within a half game of first place Brooklyn atop the Continental Association. The Cannons started the season with a middling 9-10 record, due largely to their inability to score runs. The offense has picked up slightly over the past couple of weeks but Cincinnati is still dead last in FABL with only 136 runs scored this season.

The strength for the Cannons has been on the mound, where they have been nothing short of dominant. Cincinnati has surrendered just 104 runs in their 37 games this season. Number two on the list is the Kings, but they have allowed 49 more runs than the Cannons although Brooklyn has played 3 more games. There has been plenty of talk about the Chicago Cougars owning the best starting pitching in the Continental Association, but it pales this season in comparison to what the Queen City quintet has accomplished on the mound. The entire Cincinnati rotation's 2.38 combined earned run average would rank 8th among qualified FABL pitchers so far this season. Here is a look at which each of the Cannons starters have accomplished through the first six weeks of the campaign.

Ace Deuce Barrell had a couple of tough outings early in the season but since then the 3-time Allen Award winner, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday on Saturday, has been his usual outstanding self. Barrell has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last six starts and has reeled off four straight complete game victories while allowing just 4 runs total in that span. Barrell also recently claimed his 180th career victory.

The other four Cincinnati starters are all off to career best starts including a pair of veterans in Jim Anderson and Charlie Griffith. Anderson, 34, went 13-14 a year ago and entered the season with a 43-42 record and a 3.61 era for his career. He has shaved well over a run off that earned run average with his showing in the early going this year. Griffith, 31, has a similar story to tell although he did show signs of stardom with a terrific 18-8 season in 1947 -which was his first full season with the Cannons after 4 years in the Navy and a year in AAA. Presently, Griffith's sparkling 1.74 era is the best in the CA.

24-year-old Tony Britten is certainly a surprise after going 11-15 with a 4.33 era in his first full season in the big leagues a year ago. A 1947 first round pick, OSA still does not seem to be sold on Britten, but it is hard to dispute the early results. Finally we have 28-year-old Mickey Mills, who clearly has to be the biggest surprise on the staff. An afterthought as a 13th round pick out of high school way back in 1939, Mills spent a full decade in the minors without ever getting a sniff of the big leagues, even during the years when rosters were depleted by the war effort. A year ago the Cannons kept him on the roster with the primary reason likely being the fact the lefthander was out of options and would have to be exposed to the waiver wire had they attempted to send him back to Indianapolis. He pitched in just 13 games, throwing only 51 innings of acceptable, but not outstanding work. This year everything seems to have come together, with a 5-2 record and the cherry on top being yesterday's 4-0 complete game shutout -the first of his career- over the Philadelphia Sailors.

If the Cannons bats can get going, and there have been a few indications of that happening with Mike T. Taylor and Denny Andrews enjoying some recent success after ice cold starts to the campaign, Cincinnati may just surprise a few teams this year. It will be interesting to see what impact the hitting coach change has on the Cannons. Early in the streak, Cincinnati decided to part way with Roger Landry and replace the former St Louis Pioneers slugger with Bernie Gurrola. Landry really focused on power hitters and the Cannons brass felt a switch to someone with a more neutral approach was needed. Gurrola spent nearly a decade as Montreal's hitting coach before spending the past two seasons in the same role with the Great Western League's Dallas Centurions.

EAGLES CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH IN FED

After a strong weekend where they topped the struggling Boston Minutemen twice, the Washington Eagles continue to soar atop the Fed. Courtesy of their FABL best 25-14 record, the Eagles have excited the nation's capital, holding a 2.5 game lead over the Gothams, while their two victories against Boston pushing them down to 4.5.

The Eagles have done the opposite of the Continental leading Kings, as the Federal leader has relied on the association's best rotation. Despite the 5-3 record, Buckeye Smith's return to form has been a major part of the Eagles success, as their 27-year-old ace leads all FABL pitchers with a 1.70 ERA (234 ERA+). Buckeye has a 0.96 WHIP with 27 strikeouts and 12 walks in his 8 starts, with the two most recent outings losses where he was charged with just a single earned run. They have scored more for the rest of the rotation, as Billy Riley (7-1, 3.34, 19) is coming off a 5-hit shutout in Detroit. That makes it seven of eight starts with four or less runs allowed, which is generally enough to win you the game. Dan Everett (4-3, 3.88, 19) and Juan Tostado (5-2, 3.86, 11) have done a good job keeping them in games, and when your team is averaging five runs a game, four is all you need to stay on top. Pitch as deep as you can, but just know that Ike Keller can get you to the finish line if needed. The 6-Time All-Star has finished nine games, saving seven and recording a 1.47 ERA (271 ERA+) and 1.04 WHIP in 18.1 innings pitched.

Having someone like that to call on late in games is huge, as the Eagles boast serious power in the middle of their order. Sig Stofer (.160, 9, 25) may be hitting below his weight, but he's always a threat to clear the fences, on pace for what will be his tenth consecutive season with twenty or more home runs. With Rats McGonigle (.252, 6, 23, 3) and Jesse Alvarado (.303, 9, 31, 4) ahead of him, odds are someone is on base, so if you can't get a big lead on this team, the game can change in an instant. The lineup is so deep that former Whitney Winner Mel Carrol (.296, 1, 10) bats eighth, as they've gotten plenty of production from Tom Perkins (.310, 21, 3), Bill Wise (.325, 14, 2), Ike Perry (.296, 1, 7), and Bob Coon (.323, 2, 11). Washington seems to have the perfect formula of youth and depth, which could help sustain a long pennant run. As shocking as it would have sounded last decade, the Eagles have been a perennial contender, well on their way to a sixth consecutive season with 82 or more victories.

The coming week will be big for the 1946 Federal Association Champion, as the eighth of their eight games will be against the second place Gothams (22-16). Their five Jim Birdwell (2-4, 6.90, 20) is the projected starter to begin the week against second generation starter Alf Keeter (4-3, 3.83, 19), who's already an All-Star at 25. That's a tough match up on paper, and considering they'll have to travel to Pittsburgh for a double header with the Miners (17-24), they'll need Birdwell to right the ship. After the double header, they'll return to host the Pioneers (19-20) for three. There's no rest after the Gothams series either, as Washington is at the beginning of an arduous seventeen game stretch in just fifteen days. This is the type of run that can fuel a pennant run or allow the field to catch back up.

TALES FROM THE LAIR

Wolves Have Another 3-4 Week On The Road - Toronto has another 3 win, 4 loss week to bring their record to 6-8 with two games left on their two week road trip. This week got off to a promising start when Jerry York, who has been pitching well of late, had a complete game 7 hitter in a 3-1 win over the Montreal Saints in Parc Cartier Tuesday night. Offensively Hal Wood hit his first homer of the year and Joe DeMott had 2 doubles while reaching base in all four plate appearances with 2 walks. The next two days were not as kind to the Wolves as Montreal pitching only allowed 1 run in each of them, surrendering a total of 6 Toronto hits to win 3-0 and 7-1. The second game was Joe Hancock's(5-1, 1.94) first loss of the season.

On to Cleveland to face the Foresters 4 times in 3 days. In the first game on Thursday the Wolves bats awoke from their slumber in a 9-2 Jim Morrison victory. Harry Finney, 3 for 4 scoring 4 runs, and DeMott, who went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI led the 13 hit attack from the visitors. Jimmy Gibbs was lit up Saturday in front of 17,527 in attendance. Lasting only 4 innings, Gibbs surrendered 8 runs on 10 hits. Down 8-2 when Gibbs left the Wolves tried to mount a comeback, but the hill was too high to climb. Adam Czerwinski, in a bullpen saving move, pitched all 9 giving up 6 runs on 14 hits to bring his record to 4-5.

In the first game of the Sunday doubleheader York pitched his second complete game of the week again only giving up one run on 8 hits and 1 walk. The York effort gave the Wolves their 18th win of the year, taking it by a 6-1 count. Glory was short lived as George Garrison was hit hard early and often, leaving the game after 3 trailing 8-1. Trying to comeback Toronto scored 3 in the fourth to close the gap, again it was simply too big of a deficit to overcome as the nightcap ended 10-6 Cleveland. The Wolves come home on Thursday after finishing their trip with 2 in Philly on Tuesday.

Harry Finney's performance after returning from injury has been eye opening for the month of May putting up a line of .429/.510/.595 while providing adequate play in the field. This has cooled the talk of Wells promotion from Buffalo. Manager Fred Barrell has said at this time the youngster may be better served in AAA, while quickly reminding all that he is only 19. Joe DeMott's recent play may allow the platoon with John Fast to be a thing of the past. His bat seems to demand a spot in the daily lineup. Pitching remains an area of concern as the starters are get hit hard early far to often. There appears to be very little middle ground for the Wolves hurlers as it seems they either toss a complete game or head to showers very early in the contest. On the farm Tony Ballinger, Dee Choate and Tom B Davis are making enough noise with their bats that they may force some roster changes soon in Toronto.

With an 8-0 record that includes throwing a no-hitter earlier this month, Detroit's top pitching prospect Roy Schaub has been promoted. Schaub actually made his FABL debut late season, getting a September start, and had a good spring but was caught in the numbers game and optioned back to Newark. With last year's rookie of the year Jack Miller and Schaub shining, the Dynamos decided to swap the two for a week and see if a AAA start will get Miller back on track. If Miller performs as hoped he will be back in Detroit next week and that would likely spell the end of the line for either Stan Flanders or Harry Sharp in Detroit.
Chicago Chiefs 25-year-old rookie righthander Johnny Duncan followed up his debut 4-hitter with consecutive 3-hitters, one of which was a shutout. Not a bad 3-game start to a career (3-0, 1.00, 9).
GWL star Joe Loyd finally made his FABL debut with Pittsburgh at 30 years old after struggling with injuries at the end of spring camp and getting a few weeks at AAA where he performed poorly. But he got 3 starts behind the plate this week and slashed .545/.643/.636 with a homer.
Denton Fox of the Pittsburgh Press notes that Dave Low is actually giving the Miners a decent arm in their rotation, 5-2, 3.21 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 2.36 Bb/9. Refreshing to see some normal ish ERA’s in our starting rotation. Cougars import Harry Beardsley on the other hand has been torched to the tune of a 8.03 ERA in 7 FABL starts and he’s going to get some time in AAA St. Paul to iron out his 8 bb/9 habit.
Still focusing on Pittsburgh, Fox also informs us that youngster Jeep Erickson has been destroying the ball in a part-time role so far. It’s hard to figure out who to sit between Charlie Williams, Paul Williams and Joe Owens, but Erickson’s .409/.458/.712 in 66 at bats is forcing Miners 63-year-old first year skipper Jim Williams' hand.
Jersey Jack Welch continues his hot hitting since being blasted in the New York media. The Stars outfielder smacked 4 homers last week including the 100th of the 26-year-old's career. Welch hit just .192 in April but has slashed .325/.439/.727 with 9 homers and 22 rbi's so far in the month of May.
How long will it be before the Boston Minutemen are forced to make a move to call-up one or more of their terrific outfield prospects, who are all putting pressure on Boston brass to be promoted. OSA #1 overall Rick Masters is just 19 but hitting .338 in AA. Top ten prospect Yank Taylor, son of former Whitney Award winner Tom Taylor, is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA and Danny Taylor (no relation to Yank) is putting up big numbers along with Masters at AA Worcester. To ease the logjam in the outfield, Danny has been focusing on playing first base. Some bigtime prospects and we have not even touched on the doubleplay duo of Joe Kleman and Marshall Thomas, also very highly touted by OSA. The problem Boston's management has is Bill Burkett, Ben McCarty and Rip Curry are all performing very well in the outfield this season and as for the infield - well, it is tough to try and replace a pair like Buddy Schneider and Harry Barrell.
The Minutemen had a surprisingly strong start but have cooled off of late, dropping 5 straight and 12 of their last 17 ballgames.

MOTORS SIGN EX-SHAMROCK CORBEIL

The Detroit Motors made a move to add to their depth up front with the announcement that former New York Shamrocks winger Gil Corbeil has signed a 2-year deal with the club. Detroit was hit hard by injuries to forwards last season and are drawn to Corbeil's flexibility in that he can play any of the three forward positions.

A native of Brossard, Quebec, the 25-year-old Corbeil was a third round pick of the Shamrocks in 1944 and made his NAHC debut with the club two years later, tallying 7 goals and 28 points in 45 games. He dipped to 21 points his sophomore season but played in just 32 games because of a shoulder injury before splitting the 1948-49 season between New York and Philadelphia of the HAA. A late season ankle injury sidelined him most of the summer last year and he was cut by the Shamrocks in training camp despite scoring 2 goals in 5 preseason contests. Unable to catch on with another NAHC or minor league club, Corbeil spent last season playing in the Quebec Senior League.

The Shamrocks also announced a signing this week, inking 20-year-old defenseman Griffin Dufresne to a three-year deal that will pay the young defenseman $4,300 per season. Dufresne was the first overall pick of last year's amateur draft and was the only player from his draft class to play in the NAHC last season, suiting up for 22 regular season games and a pair of playoff contests. He scored just 1 goal and added 1 assist but played very sparingly even when he was in the lineup. NAHC rules require 19-year-old's, which Dufresne was last year, to spend the entire season on an NAHC roster if they are signed away from junior hockey. They are not allowed to play in the minor league Hockey Association of America until their age 20 season.

MAJOR COLLEGE CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT: THE DEEP SOUTH CONFERENCE

Our look at the major collegiate conferences continues with the Deep South Coference. It was born out of rebellion as an 18 team section, known as the Great South Conference at the time, splintered into two different conferences. North Carolina Tech, Maryland State and Carolina Poly led the group of defectors, along with Georgia Baptist which reluctantly went along despite it meaning the end of its rivalry with in-state foe Noble Jones College, who formed their own conference primarily out of concern their basketball loop was far too watered down with all the extra schools. Ironically, that conference- called the South Atlantic Conference after a spell under the name Great Atlantic Conference- has expanded through the years and now consists of 16 schools, making it the largest conference in the nation.

As for the schools left behind to form the Deep South Conference, they ended up faring quite well through the years and comprise of 12 schools of their own that have performed well in all sports but especially excelled in football. The conferenece membership has remained consistent since the fall of 1922 when Georgia Baptist, under pressure from fans in their home state to reignite its rivalry with Noble Jomes College, had a change of heart and left the South Atlantic Conference to join the Deep South. The only other change has been St. Andrew's College, which has dropped out of the conference entirely in 1947 after reducing itself to competing in just basketball in the late 1930s.

The Deep South has prospered over the years, winning 5 national titles in baseball, three in basketball including Noble Jones College victory in the recently completed 1949-50 season and nine in collegiate football. Despite not having a Deep South Conference school finish number one on the gridiron since 1942 there have been some very close calls. Two years ago Mississippi A&M completed an unbeaten season with a 34-3 thumping of Texas Panhandle in the Oilman Classic but the Generals finished just 4th in the final rankings. Cumberland and Bayou State both went 10-0-1 in 1946 but had to settle for finishing second and third behind St Blane, which also tied a game that season, and in 1945 Alabama Baptist won all 10 of its games but the Panthers were voted second in the final poll behind 9-0 Rome State.

The conference has had many legendary performers through the years such as football Christian Trophy winner Billy Bockhorst -the quarterback for the 1942 Noble Jones College title team- along with baseball stars like Frank Christian Award winner Bob Arman and the great Georgia Baptist duo of the late 1920s in Tom and Fred Barrell.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 5/28/1950

The Big Three have accused the Soviets of creating a 50,000-man German military force and have called on the Soviets to dismantle it with each of the three western powers sending separate protests to Moscow claiming Russia has broken its postwar pledges by establishing a police force in Eastern Germany with -as the American note phrased it- with the character of an army.
The United States, Britain and France have also announced a joint agreement to supply arms to the Middle East- for defense alone. President Truman hailed it as a move to stimulate "increased confidence in future security" in that area.
President Truman has called on the Senate to let the controversial legislation setting up a Fair Employment Practices Committee come to a vote. Opposition of Southern Democrats has been the principal stumbling block as debate has dragged on after a move to invoke closure on debate failed last week.
Teamsters leader Dan Tobin says it is his present opinion that Republican Senator Taft will be re-elected from Ohio. Tobin, a powerful figure in the Democratic Party for years, is one of those working to defeat Taft.
An American research chemist was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with transmitting atomic bomb secrets from British spy Klaus Fuchs to a Russian agent.

03-13-2024, 01:55 PM	#901
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,778	May 29, 1950 MAY 29, 1950 THREE-KNOCKDOWN ROUND KEEPS MIDDLEWEIGHT BELT WITH EDMONDS Bigsby Garden, New York, N.Y. – The rise, quick fall, and long way back to the middleweight title by John Edmonds has been overshadowed by a popular champion and by tragedy. Frank “Tank” Melanson lost to Edmonds, but won back the middleweight belt, claiming Edmonds as his victim. Edmonds regained the belt, but only after a hastily arranged fight against Bill Boggs following the tragic death of Edouard Desmarais. Edmonds has rarely been newsworthy on his own. In other words, boxing fans have not seen him for the fighter he is and the main event rather than the secondary part of the story. This time, however, Edmonds was the headliner. He was a heavy favorite and looked to take control of the middleweight division. Hugo Canio is an Italian by birth, but in a short time, he has become a New Yorker. This was essentially a home match for Canio, whose rooting section spanned from Canal Street to Canarsie. Canio must have been feeling the crowd’s electricity pulse through his fists because at the opening bell, he charged like a bull towards Edmonds, looking to open strong. Edmonds was ready for him and tried a couple of jabs that missed before Canio’s cross landed with aplomb. The Italian challenger tried to stay on the offense for the rest of the round and his uppercuts were especially effective, but he was unable to find rhythm and land them in bunches as the opening stanza came to a close. Canio took the fight to Edmonds again in the second round, but Edmonds matched him for the first half of the round. It was Canio’s unexpected left hand that caused Edmonds to protect his head, leaving himself wide open for a solid body shot. Canio buried a hard right hand into Edmonds’s ribs to leave the champion gasping for air. It was not until about halfway through the third round when Edmonds announced his arrival to this bout. A straight right by Edmonds led to a few scoring punches and the rhythm that Canio could not find was in Edmonds’s corner. Edmonds worked the body on Canio, which seemed to take a lot of steam away from his responses. Edmonds used that to his benefit by continuing to flick punches and keep the punches from returning the other way. The crowd was really getting into it, as the raucous atmosphere was likely due to the Italian challenger and his local New York following. It was a celebration of boxing in all of its glory and all of its gumption. With every hook, uppercut, and combination, there was a reaction. With every bell, a chance to cheer on both fighters. In Round 4, both Edmonds and Canio settled in for a long night. They circled, they measured each other up, and Edmonds was the first to strike about 40 seconds in with a big hook. Canio rebounded with a hook of his own, as both boxers continued the give and take. Canio seemed to take the worst of it with some swelling starting to appear around his right eye. An effective cross from Edmonds in the closing seconds of the round likely swung the round in his favor. Edmonds held Canio at bay in the fifth round and started to assert himself in the sixth round until about two minutes into the sixth when Canio drilled a combo to Edmonds’s head that caused the inside of the champion’s mouth to bleed. While not all that damaging, Canio fired away for the rest of the round, sensing a potential change in momentum. The seventh round proved to be a breather for both boxers until the tail end of the frame when Edmonds landed a hook that Canio may or may not have seen coming with his right eye now puffy from the continued swelling. But Canio pushed back hard in the eighth round, culminating in a flurry of punches from Canio that continued to show that he was no tomato can. With all the great boxing on this night, no one could foresee what happened in the ninth round. The fight had been even, with both men getting their punches in and each laying a claim to several rounds. Edmonds recovered after a slow start and Canio tried his best to keep the pressure on. However, in the ninth round, only one fighter essentially left his corner. In retrospect, Canio’s eye likely played a major role in the outcome of this round, but no one wanted to stop the fight early: not Canio’s corner, not referee John O’Brien, in his first title fight assignment, and certainly not the fans. Edmonds proceeded to knock Canio down three times in the round. The first was a body shot after the champion cornered Canio and knocked him to his knees for a five-count. Edmonds buried a hard right to Canio’s midsection, doing damage and sending him crumpled to the canvas. Upon standing after the referee had counted to three, O’Brien asked Canio if he could continue. Canio was game, but it was written all over his face that he did not have much time left. The champion moved in for the kill, capitalizing on the lack of a defense from the challenger. We have not seen this version of Edmonds since his first title shot in Pittsburgh against Melanson. Edmonds let a combination loose, followed by a cross that put his head on a platter for the final blow, a hook to Canio’s chin that turned out the lights. With only 12 seconds left in the round, it was over. Edmonds (32-3-0) showed some of what made him a middleweight champion three years ago and at 31 years old, it was about time that he had recaptured that level of boxing. Canio (17-1-2) acquitted himself very well on the evening. Coming into the bout, most thought Canio was not going to give Edmonds much trouble, as he was only 23 and only fighting in his 20th bout. Canio gave Edmonds all he could handle for the first eight rounds, as it was dead even on two of the judges’ cards. Canio’s time for a second shot at the middleweight crown might yet come, just as Edmonds got his second chance after winning, then losing his title. Finally, Edmonds grabbed the headlines on this night, his first successful title defense after first winning the belt in 1947. It took a loss and climbing the ladder to fight for it again, but Edmonds displayed the kind of redemption you can only get in this vicious, but breathtaking sport of boxing. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Canio, 1-0 (0:18 cross) Round 2: Canio, 2-0 (1:43 left, 2:14 right/ribs) Round 3: Edmonds, 1-0 (1:22 right) Round 4: Edmonds, 2-1 (E: 0:44 hook/face, 2:43 cross; C: 1:30 right/head) Round 5: None Round 6: Tied, 2-2 (E: 0:18 hook/midsection, 0:54 hook; C: 1:17 uppercut, 2:40 hook/head) Round 7: Tied, 1-1 (E: 3:00 hook; C: 0:31 hook/midsection) Round 8: Edmonds, 1-0 (1:27 cross) Round 9: Edmonds, 6-0 (0:52 right/ribs/knockdown #1, 1:11 right/head, 1:55 right/midsection/knockdown #2, 2:13 combo/midsection, 2:27 cross; 2:36 hook/chin/knockdown #3 TOTAL: Edmonds 13, Canio 7 RECENT KEY RESULTS British welterweight Danny Julian had an impressive North American debut as the 30-year-old pugilist knocked out Mexican Alonso Salazar in the 6th round of their 10-rounder at Brooklyn's Flatbush Gardens last Wednesday. Julian was 27-1-1 in his European career, fought almost exclusively in England, before arriving in New York in April. He is said to be looking for an opportunity to fight for the world title, currently held by Mark Westlake. Another welterweight contender was in action Wednesday evening in Boston but the result was not what he hoped for as Ira Mitchell stumbled, losing a majority decision to Robert Schultz at Denny Arena. Mitchell, who drops to 25-5, had a title shot in early 1948 but came up short in his decision loss to then-champion Harold Stephens. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS May 29- Newark, NJ: Heavyweight Ben Budgeford (21-2) vs Bill Sloan (18-1) May 30- St Louis, MO: Middleweight Davis Owens (21-1) vs Jersey Joe Miller (18-11) May 30- Dominion Stadium, Toronto: Canadian middleweight champ Kevin Rawlings (24-5) defends his national title against Frank Carlson (22-7-2) Jun 8- Thompson Palladium, Detroit: veteran welterweight Danny Rutledge (19-1-1) meets former champ Dennis O'Keefe (24-9) Jun 15- Fall River, MA. - rising young middleweight Mark McCoy (19-1) squares off with Robbie Charles (36-10-1) Jun 29- Glasgow, Scotland: Veteran Irish heavyweight Pat Harber (42-8-3) faces James Woolescroft (26-9-2) Jun 30- Flatbush Gardens, Brooklyn: young New Jersey heavyweight Max Bradley (17-1-1) faces Max Maxwell (16-6-4) Jul 4- Gothams Stadium, New York: World heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer (63-3-1) defends his title against Cannon Cooper (30-5-1). CANNONS FIRING TO TOP OF CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION The hottest team in baseball at the moment is the Cincinnati Cannons, who have reeled off five straight victories and won 14 of their last 18 games to move within a half game of first place Brooklyn atop the Continental Association. The Cannons started the season with a middling 9-10 record, due largely to their inability to score runs. The offense has picked up slightly over the past couple of weeks but Cincinnati is still dead last in FABL with only 136 runs scored this season. The strength for the Cannons has been on the mound, where they have been nothing short of dominant. Cincinnati has surrendered just 104 runs in their 37 games this season. Number two on the list is the Kings, but they have allowed 49 more runs than the Cannons although Brooklyn has played 3 more games. There has been plenty of talk about the Chicago Cougars owning the best starting pitching in the Continental Association, but it pales this season in comparison to what the Queen City quintet has accomplished on the mound. The entire Cincinnati rotation's 2.38 combined earned run average would rank 8th among qualified FABL pitchers so far this season. Here is a look at which each of the Cannons starters have accomplished through the first six weeks of the campaign. Ace Deuce Barrell had a couple of tough outings early in the season but since then the 3-time Allen Award winner, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday on Saturday, has been his usual outstanding self. Barrell has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last six starts and has reeled off four straight complete game victories while allowing just 4 runs total in that span. Barrell also recently claimed his 180th career victory. The other four Cincinnati starters are all off to career best starts including a pair of veterans in Jim Anderson and Charlie Griffith. Anderson, 34, went 13-14 a year ago and entered the season with a 43-42 record and a 3.61 era for his career. He has shaved well over a run off that earned run average with his showing in the early going this year. Griffith, 31, has a similar story to tell although he did show signs of stardom with a terrific 18-8 season in 1947 -which was his first full season with the Cannons after 4 years in the Navy and a year in AAA. Presently, Griffith's sparkling 1.74 era is the best in the CA. 24-year-old Tony Britten is certainly a surprise after going 11-15 with a 4.33 era in his first full season in the big leagues a year ago. A 1947 first round pick, OSA still does not seem to be sold on Britten, but it is hard to dispute the early results. Finally we have 28-year-old Mickey Mills, who clearly has to be the biggest surprise on the staff. An afterthought as a 13th round pick out of high school way back in 1939, Mills spent a full decade in the minors without ever getting a sniff of the big leagues, even during the years when rosters were depleted by the war effort. A year ago the Cannons kept him on the roster with the primary reason likely being the fact the lefthander was out of options and would have to be exposed to the waiver wire had they attempted to send him back to Indianapolis. He pitched in just 13 games, throwing only 51 innings of acceptable, but not outstanding work. This year everything seems to have come together, with a 5-2 record and the cherry on top being yesterday's 4-0 complete game shutout -the first of his career- over the Philadelphia Sailors. If the Cannons bats can get going, and there have been a few indications of that happening with Mike T. Taylor and Denny Andrews enjoying some recent success after ice cold starts to the campaign, Cincinnati may just surprise a few teams this year. It will be interesting to see what impact the hitting coach change has on the Cannons. Early in the streak, Cincinnati decided to part way with Roger Landry and replace the former St Louis Pioneers slugger with Bernie Gurrola. Landry really focused on power hitters and the Cannons brass felt a switch to someone with a more neutral approach was needed. Gurrola spent nearly a decade as Montreal's hitting coach before spending the past two seasons in the same role with the Great Western League's Dallas Centurions. EAGLES CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH IN FED After a strong weekend where they topped the struggling Boston Minutemen twice, the Washington Eagles continue to soar atop the Fed. Courtesy of their FABL best 25-14 record, the Eagles have excited the nation's capital, holding a 2.5 game lead over the Gothams, while their two victories against Boston pushing them down to 4.5. The Eagles have done the opposite of the Continental leading Kings, as the Federal leader has relied on the association's best rotation. Despite the 5-3 record, Buckeye Smith's return to form has been a major part of the Eagles success, as their 27-year-old ace leads all FABL pitchers with a 1.70 ERA (234 ERA+). Buckeye has a 0.96 WHIP with 27 strikeouts and 12 walks in his 8 starts, with the two most recent outings losses where he was charged with just a single earned run. They have scored more for the rest of the rotation, as Billy Riley (7-1, 3.34, 19) is coming off a 5-hit shutout in Detroit. That makes it seven of eight starts with four or less runs allowed, which is generally enough to win you the game. Dan Everett (4-3, 3.88, 19) and Juan Tostado (5-2, 3.86, 11) have done a good job keeping them in games, and when your team is averaging five runs a game, four is all you need to stay on top. Pitch as deep as you can, but just know that Ike Keller can get you to the finish line if needed. The 6-Time All-Star has finished nine games, saving seven and recording a 1.47 ERA (271 ERA+) and 1.04 WHIP in 18.1 innings pitched. Having someone like that to call on late in games is huge, as the Eagles boast serious power in the middle of their order. Sig Stofer (.160, 9, 25) may be hitting below his weight, but he's always a threat to clear the fences, on pace for what will be his tenth consecutive season with twenty or more home runs. With Rats McGonigle (.252, 6, 23, 3) and Jesse Alvarado (.303, 9, 31, 4) ahead of him, odds are someone is on base, so if you can't get a big lead on this team, the game can change in an instant. The lineup is so deep that former Whitney Winner Mel Carrol (.296, 1, 10) bats eighth, as they've gotten plenty of production from Tom Perkins (.310, 21, 3), Bill Wise (.325, 14, 2), Ike Perry (.296, 1, 7), and Bob Coon (.323, 2, 11). Washington seems to have the perfect formula of youth and depth, which could help sustain a long pennant run. As shocking as it would have sounded last decade, the Eagles have been a perennial contender, well on their way to a sixth consecutive season with 82 or more victories. The coming week will be big for the 1946 Federal Association Champion, as the eighth of their eight games will be against the second place Gothams (22-16). Their five Jim Birdwell (2-4, 6.90, 20) is the projected starter to begin the week against second generation starter Alf Keeter (4-3, 3.83, 19), who's already an All-Star at 25. That's a tough match up on paper, and considering they'll have to travel to Pittsburgh for a double header with the Miners (17-24), they'll need Birdwell to right the ship. After the double header, they'll return to host the Pioneers (19-20) for three. There's no rest after the Gothams series either, as Washington is at the beginning of an arduous seventeen game stretch in just fifteen days. This is the type of run that can fuel a pennant run or allow the field to catch back up. TALES FROM THE LAIR Wolves Have Another 3-4 Week On The Road - Toronto has another 3 win, 4 loss week to bring their record to 6-8 with two games left on their two week road trip. This week got off to a promising start when Jerry York, who has been pitching well of late, had a complete game 7 hitter in a 3-1 win over the Montreal Saints in Parc Cartier Tuesday night. Offensively Hal Wood hit his first homer of the year and Joe DeMott had 2 doubles while reaching base in all four plate appearances with 2 walks. The next two days were not as kind to the Wolves as Montreal pitching only allowed 1 run in each of them, surrendering a total of 6 Toronto hits to win 3-0 and 7-1. The second game was Joe Hancock's(5-1, 1.94) first loss of the season. On to Cleveland to face the Foresters 4 times in 3 days. In the first game on Thursday the Wolves bats awoke from their slumber in a 9-2 Jim Morrison victory. Harry Finney, 3 for 4 scoring 4 runs, and DeMott, who went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI led the 13 hit attack from the visitors. Jimmy Gibbs was lit up Saturday in front of 17,527 in attendance. Lasting only 4 innings, Gibbs surrendered 8 runs on 10 hits. Down 8-2 when Gibbs left the Wolves tried to mount a comeback, but the hill was too high to climb. Adam Czerwinski, in a bullpen saving move, pitched all 9 giving up 6 runs on 14 hits to bring his record to 4-5. In the first game of the Sunday doubleheader York pitched his second complete game of the week again only giving up one run on 8 hits and 1 walk. The York effort gave the Wolves their 18th win of the year, taking it by a 6-1 count. Glory was short lived as George Garrison was hit hard early and often, leaving the game after 3 trailing 8-1. Trying to comeback Toronto scored 3 in the fourth to close the gap, again it was simply too big of a deficit to overcome as the nightcap ended 10-6 Cleveland. The Wolves come home on Thursday after finishing their trip with 2 in Philly on Tuesday. Harry Finney's performance after returning from injury has been eye opening for the month of May putting up a line of .429/.510/.595 while providing adequate play in the field. This has cooled the talk of Wells promotion from Buffalo. Manager Fred Barrell has said at this time the youngster may be better served in AAA, while quickly reminding all that he is only 19. Joe DeMott's recent play may allow the platoon with John Fast to be a thing of the past. His bat seems to demand a spot in the daily lineup. Pitching remains an area of concern as the starters are get hit hard early far to often. There appears to be very little middle ground for the Wolves hurlers as it seems they either toss a complete game or head to showers very early in the contest. On the farm Tony Ballinger, Dee Choate and Tom B Davis are making enough noise with their bats that they may force some roster changes soon in Toronto. With an 8-0 record that includes throwing a no-hitter earlier this month, Detroit's top pitching prospect Roy Schaub has been promoted. Schaub actually made his FABL debut late season, getting a September start, and had a good spring but was caught in the numbers game and optioned back to Newark. With last year's rookie of the year Jack Miller and Schaub shining, the Dynamos decided to swap the two for a week and see if a AAA start will get Miller back on track. If Miller performs as hoped he will be back in Detroit next week and that would likely spell the end of the line for either Stan Flanders or Harry Sharp in Detroit. Chicago Chiefs 25-year-old rookie righthander Johnny Duncan followed up his debut 4-hitter with consecutive 3-hitters, one of which was a shutout. Not a bad 3-game start to a career (3-0, 1.00, 9). GWL star Joe Loyd finally made his FABL debut with Pittsburgh at 30 years old after struggling with injuries at the end of spring camp and getting a few weeks at AAA where he performed poorly. But he got 3 starts behind the plate this week and slashed .545/.643/.636 with a homer. Denton Fox of the Pittsburgh Press notes that Dave Low is actually giving the Miners a decent arm in their rotation, 5-2, 3.21 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 2.36 Bb/9. Refreshing to see some normal ish ERA’s in our starting rotation. Cougars import Harry Beardsley on the other hand has been torched to the tune of a 8.03 ERA in 7 FABL starts and he’s going to get some time in AAA St. Paul to iron out his 8 bb/9 habit. Still focusing on Pittsburgh, Fox also informs us that youngster Jeep Erickson has been destroying the ball in a part-time role so far. It’s hard to figure out who to sit between Charlie Williams, Paul Williams and Joe Owens, but Erickson’s .409/.458/.712 in 66 at bats is forcing Miners 63-year-old first year skipper Jim Williams' hand. Jersey Jack Welch continues his hot hitting since being blasted in the New York media. The Stars outfielder smacked 4 homers last week including the 100th of the 26-year-old's career. Welch hit just .192 in April but has slashed .325/.439/.727 with 9 homers and 22 rbi's so far in the month of May. How long will it be before the Boston Minutemen are forced to make a move to call-up one or more of their terrific outfield prospects, who are all putting pressure on Boston brass to be promoted. OSA #1 overall Rick Masters is just 19 but hitting .338 in AA. Top ten prospect Yank Taylor, son of former Whitney Award winner Tom Taylor, is tearing the cover off the ball in AAA and Danny Taylor (no relation to Yank) is putting up big numbers along with Masters at AA Worcester. To ease the logjam in the outfield, Danny has been focusing on playing first base. Some bigtime prospects and we have not even touched on the doubleplay duo of Joe Kleman and Marshall Thomas, also very highly touted by OSA. The problem Boston's management has is Bill Burkett, Ben McCarty and Rip Curry are all performing very well in the outfield this season and as for the infield - well, it is tough to try and replace a pair like Buddy Schneider and Harry Barrell. The Minutemen had a surprisingly strong start but have cooled off of late, dropping 5 straight and 12 of their last 17 ballgames. MOTORS SIGN EX-SHAMROCK CORBEIL The Detroit Motors made a move to add to their depth up front with the announcement that former New York Shamrocks winger Gil Corbeil has signed a 2-year deal with the club. Detroit was hit hard by injuries to forwards last season and are drawn to Corbeil's flexibility in that he can play any of the three forward positions. A native of Brossard, Quebec, the 25-year-old Corbeil was a third round pick of the Shamrocks in 1944 and made his NAHC debut with the club two years later, tallying 7 goals and 28 points in 45 games. He dipped to 21 points his sophomore season but played in just 32 games because of a shoulder injury before splitting the 1948-49 season between New York and Philadelphia of the HAA. A late season ankle injury sidelined him most of the summer last year and he was cut by the Shamrocks in training camp despite scoring 2 goals in 5 preseason contests. Unable to catch on with another NAHC or minor league club, Corbeil spent last season playing in the Quebec Senior League. The Shamrocks also announced a signing this week, inking 20-year-old defenseman Griffin Dufresne to a three-year deal that will pay the young defenseman $4,300 per season. Dufresne was the first overall pick of last year's amateur draft and was the only player from his draft class to play in the NAHC last season, suiting up for 22 regular season games and a pair of playoff contests. He scored just 1 goal and added 1 assist but played very sparingly even when he was in the lineup. NAHC rules require 19-year-old's, which Dufresne was last year, to spend the entire season on an NAHC roster if they are signed away from junior hockey. They are not allowed to play in the minor league Hockey Association of America until their age 20 season. MAJOR COLLEGE CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT: THE DEEP SOUTH CONFERENCE Our look at the major collegiate conferences continues with the Deep South Coference. It was born out of rebellion as an 18 team section, known as the Great South Conference at the time, splintered into two different conferences. North Carolina Tech, Maryland State and Carolina Poly led the group of defectors, along with Georgia Baptist which reluctantly went along despite it meaning the end of its rivalry with in-state foe Noble Jones College, who formed their own conference primarily out of concern their basketball loop was far too watered down with all the extra schools. Ironically, that conference- called the South Atlantic Conference after a spell under the name Great Atlantic Conference- has expanded through the years and now consists of 16 schools, making it the largest conference in the nation. As for the schools left behind to form the Deep South Conference, they ended up faring quite well through the years and comprise of 12 schools of their own that have performed well in all sports but especially excelled in football. The conferenece membership has remained consistent since the fall of 1922 when Georgia Baptist, under pressure from fans in their home state to reignite its rivalry with Noble Jomes College, had a change of heart and left the South Atlantic Conference to join the Deep South. The only other change has been St. Andrew's College, which has dropped out of the conference entirely in 1947 after reducing itself to competing in just basketball in the late 1930s. The Deep South has prospered over the years, winning 5 national titles in baseball, three in basketball including Noble Jones College victory in the recently completed 1949-50 season and nine in collegiate football. Despite not having a Deep South Conference school finish number one on the gridiron since 1942 there have been some very close calls. Two years ago Mississippi A&M completed an unbeaten season with a 34-3 thumping of Texas Panhandle in the Oilman Classic but the Generals finished just 4th in the final rankings. Cumberland and Bayou State both went 10-0-1 in 1946 but had to settle for finishing second and third behind St Blane, which also tied a game that season, and in 1945 Alabama Baptist won all 10 of its games but the Panthers were voted second in the final poll behind 9-0 Rome State. The conference has had many legendary performers through the years such as football Christian Trophy winner Billy Bockhorst -the quarterback for the 1942 Noble Jones College title team- along with baseball stars like Frank Christian Award winner Bob Arman and the great Georgia Baptist duo of the late 1920s in Tom and Fred Barrell. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/28/1950 The Big Three have accused the Soviets of creating a 50,000-man German military force and have called on the Soviets to dismantle it with each of the three western powers sending separate protests to Moscow claiming Russia has broken its postwar pledges by establishing a police force in Eastern Germany with -as the American note phrased it- with the character of an army. The United States, Britain and France have also announced a joint agreement to supply arms to the Middle East- for defense alone. President Truman hailed it as a move to stimulate "increased confidence in future security" in that area. President Truman has called on the Senate to let the controversial legislation setting up a Fair Employment Practices Committee come to a vote. Opposition of Southern Democrats has been the principal stumbling block as debate has dragged on after a move to invoke closure on debate failed last week. Teamsters leader Dan Tobin says it is his present opinion that Republican Senator Taft will be re-elected from Ohio. Tobin, a powerful figure in the Democratic Party for years, is one of those working to defeat Taft. An American research chemist was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with transmitting atomic bomb secrets from British spy Klaus Fuchs to a Russian agent. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles