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Old 03-14-2024, 12:31 PM   #902
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June 5, 1950

JUNE 5, 1950

OSA MOCK AGREES. HOWE CLASS OF DRAFT

With the conclusion of the collegiate and high school regular seasons nearly upon us, OSA has released its mock draft for the current crop of prospects and the scouting service is in complete agreement with the New York Gothams that Earl Howe is the class of the draft. The 18-year-old centerfielder from a high school in Bronx, NY, was selected first overall by the Gothams in January and after hitting .512 with a high school best 14 homeruns this season OSA has him at number one on its ranking of draft eligible players.

For the most part the mock draft mirrored closely the top selections with some notable exceptions - and not just pitchers who usually do not fare well on the scouting service lists. Skinny Bennett, a college catcher out of Eastern Oklahoma, was selected 14th overall by the Toronto Wolves but did not make the five round (60 player) list revealed by the OSA.

Here are the 16 players selected in round one with where they ranked on the mock list, as well as the six players listed in the first round of the mock who were overlooked by FABL clubs in the opening round.






THE DON BERRY ERA HAS ARRIVED AT BROAD STREET PARK

The Keystones had all of the FABL debuts this week, as a trio of recent call-ups earned their first major league action. SS Red Ellis, the potential shortstop of the future and the league's #94 prospect, had the strongest week of the three, going 5-for-17 with 3 RBI and two doubles. 1949 first-round pick and #26 prospect Don Berry (3-for-17, RBI, 6 BB, 2 K) rose quickly through the ranks and will try to stick with the big club in left field. Rudy Minton (#44 prospect) was 1-for-6 in his first week and should split time at the corner infield positions, though Minton's major league status might be the most brief out of the three.

As part of the roster makeover last week, CF Bill Heim and LHP Pat Williams were also promoted from AAA Louisville. Heim (7 HR, 28 RBI at AAA Louisville) will back up CF Charlie Enslow, who is off to a strong start this season of his own, while Williams will serve as the lone lefty in the rotation, temporarily replacing George Polk, who was sent down for additional seasoning. The results leading up to the five roster moves was a 16-23 start that left the Keystones tied for last, nine games out in the Federal Association. After the moves, Philadelphia was 4-2 this week and helped tighten up the standings, where first and last place are only separated by 7-1/2 games.

With all of the moves, the biggest news is the arrival of Berry. The 1949 first rounder (4th overall) was a much publicized selection when his name was called 18 months ago. A star at Grange College, Berry was MVP of the 1947 Collegiate World Championship Series to go along with 3 first-team All-American selections and capped off by the 1949 Christian Trophy as the top player in AIAA baseball. After turning pro last July, Berry tore up AA pitching at New Orleans and earned a late season promotion to AAA Louisville. He then helped the Manzanillo Palms win the Cuban Winter League title and followed that up by hitting .341 with 6 homers in 38 games at AAA Louisville this season before getting the call to the big club. Berry is a top 25 prospect in the eyes of the OSA, but he is not the top prospect in his own family. Don's younger brother Dallas was a two-time High School All-American and was selected in the same draft as Dallas, but four picks later by the Cincinnati Cannons making them the first brother duo since the Schneider triplets to be selected in the first round of the same FABL draft. Dallas is just 18 and playing Class B in the Cannons organization but has bragging rights on his big brother as OSA ranks Dallas in its top ten prospects.



TALES FROM THE LAIR

Wolves Return Home Go 3-3 For Week - Toronto returned home after finishing two weeks on the road by going .500 for the week. That keeps the Toronto ballclub 4 games under the breakeven point for season.

The trip away from home finished with a second straight doubleheader for the team, this time in the City of Brotherly Love taking on the Sailors. The first game was a wild, high scoring affair with the lead seesawing back and forth until Les Cunha walked it off with a 3-run shot off Harry Phillips in the ninth. Hal Wood drove in 3 for the Wolves in another game that must have left Toronto manager Fred Barrell pulling his hair out. Toronto came back avenging the walkoff loss by trouncing the Sailors 11-1 in the second game, led by Keith Copeland's 4 for 4 with 2 HR, 6 RBI. The talk that Copeland may need more seasoning in Buffalo has probably ended, for now.

Coming home Thursday to face the Cougars who had beat them in all 6 previous meeting this season. The first game had a result that is becoming all to familiar to home fans. Harry Phillips got knocked around in his first start of the season returning from a spring traaining injury, giving 6 runs in the second. Phillips left after 4 trailing 6-2 to eventually earn a no decision when the Wolves tied the game with 2 runs in their half of of the ninth only to fall short in extras when in the top of the tenth Chubby Hall put one the seats off Chick Wirtz while pinch hitting for David Molina.

George Garrison returned to form after his recent funk leading the team to a 7-2 victory on Friday when he outdueled Donnie Jones. Joe DeMott, who now has a 10 game hitting streak, had 2 hits while driving in 2 for the home side. The winning streak ended at one when Jerry York had a rough outing after a successful last half of May when Cougars won 5-2 in front of a crowd numbering 22,2257. Cougars are now 7-1 against the Wolves in 1950.

On a chilly Sunday afternoon a smallish crowd watched their team lay a licking on the Stars from New York. Scoring 6 in the second frame and 5 more in the fifth to send stars starter Vern Hubbard to the showers early. The game ended 12-4. Joe Hancock won his sixth game of the season but seemed to tire in the eighth giving up 3 runs. Joe DeMott again had a great day at the plate, 3 for 4 with 4 RBI bringing his line to .303/.398/.449 with 17 RBI seeming securing an everyday spot in the lineup at 2B or 3B to give Wood a day off.

Tony Ballinger is making noise in the Union League winning the Player of the Week for the AAA loop, bringing his season line to .362/.414/.613. If Ballinger is brought up it would probably meaning sending Frank Brunch out, Barrell may want to keep his LHB on the bench. Ballinger raises the same question as Wells, is he better off in Buffalo playing every day or playing once or twice a week in the FABL? What Toronto needs desperately is bullpen help although it appears that no one is ready in the system. Management is keeping an eye on the waiver wire in case a team tries to slide someone through that could help the Wolves.


  • Big weeks out of a pair of lefthanders earns each of them Pitcher of the Month honours. Carl Potter had a slow start in follow up to his Allen Award winning campaign last season but got on track quickly in May. Overall Potter is 5-6 on the year with a 3.18 era but he was won four of his last five starts. Deuce was dominating in Cincinnati, going 5-1 with a 1.40 era in 6 May starts. Jack Welch of the New York Stars and Detroit's Edwin Hackberry were named the Batter of the Month in their respective associations. Pitchers Johnny Duncan of the Chiefs and Brooklyn's Ron Berry garnered top rookie accolades for last month.
  • Marc T. McNeil of the Montreal Star reports the Saints are thrilled with the start to the season for Gordie Perkins. The 27-year-old shortstop is leading the CA in batting average, hitting at a .386 clip and should be a lock to make his fourth all-star team selection. McNeil also feels there should be no debate this season between Perkins and Skipper Schneider from Chicago on who should get the starting spot in ASG! Schneider's glove work is as good or better than ever, but the 29-year-old Cougars shortstop is batting just .241 on the season.
  • A pair of veterans reached milestones last week. Sal Pestilli of the Chicago Cougars became the 73rd player in FABL history to drive in at least 1,000 runs. The 34-year-old won a Whitney Award with Detroit in 1938 and also spent time with the New York Gothams before joining the Cougars in 1947. And Jim Whiteley, who has spent his entire career with the Keystones, picked up his 150th career victory. Whiteley is 6-2 this season and has won 5 straight decisions to level his lifetime mark at 150-150.
  • At the other end of the spectrum for the Keystones we have Don Berry as the 1949 first rounder made his FABL debut last week. Berry got the start last Monday against Boston and after flying out on his first three trips to the plate the 22-year-old outfielder delivered an rbi single in the 7th inning of the Keystones 10-5 win over the Minutemen for his first career big league hit. Berry and his younger brother Dallas were both first round picks in that '49 draft. Dallas, 18, is playing Class B in the Cannons organization presently.
  • Acquired from the Cougars over the winter, Walt Pack has been a major disappointment thus far (OPS+ of 66!) batting .206 with just 2 homers in 44 games for the Chicago Chiefs. The Chiefs have hit 40 home runs. Tim Hopkins and Pete Casstevens have 15 each.




CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT: SOUTHWESTERN ALLIANCE

The Southwestern Alliance debuted with 8 member schools in the fall of 1922 but a short time later Canyon A&M dropped out of football and by 1947, due to their inability to remain competitive in the conference, the Armadillos left the conference completely and shifted their basketball program to the Southern Border Association. The other 7 Southwestern Alliance schools have competed in the conference for the duration and it remains a seven school group.

Football has always been the priortiy of the SWA schools, even before the conference was formed. Travis College won two national titles and Lubbock State one in the early days of the sport and the pattern of success continued for the section with Texas Gulf Coast, Travis College and Darnell Sate all winning national titles on the grid after the founding of the Southwestern Alliance. The SWA regularly places teams in the top ten of the polls including Travis College, which went 9-1 last season and finished 5th in the final rankings before the Bucks beat Minnesota Tech in the Oilman Classic. Many will argue the Bucks should have been crowned National Champions in 1947 when they were a perfect 11-0 after blasting Alabama Baptist 30-3 in the Cajun Classic but they had to settle for third in the rankings behind two other teams that had perfect seasons as well in St. Blane and Detroit City College.

A year ago senior halfback Wally Dotson of Texas Gulf Coast was named an All-American for the third consecutive season. Dotson, who is eligible for the upcoming American Football Association draft, won the Christian Trophy as a junior and the Bryan Award as a sophomore. He is one of just 4 players to win both.

The SWA has yet to win a national title in basketball but have seen conference members reach the National semi-finals three times including in 1947-48 when Texas Gulf Coast advanced that far. Over the past decade the Hurricanes have become the powerhouse of SWA basketball, but their streak of 9 straight section titles came to an end this past year. Texas Gulf Coast also recently produced a first overall Federal League draft pick in forward Darren Fuhrman, who was selected with the top pick by Syracuse two years ago, and a first team All-American in Vincent Passingham in 1948-49 before Passingham was a first round FBL selection.

There has not been a lot of success on the diamond in recent years although Red River State did qualify for a pair of Collegiate World Championship Series in the past four years. Lubbock State won the conference's only national titles in baseball, prevailing in 1922 and again in 1928. The Hawks also have one of just 4 players to be named college baseball's best player two separate seasons in Bill Moore, who won back to back Frank Christian Awards in 1931 and 1932. The Christian Award, by the way, is named after Frank Christian who was the long-time manager of the Hawks baseball program. Christian's brother John is also a legendary coach with an award named after him, but his sport was football. The baseball Christian Award was also won in 1942 by Darnell Sate outfielder Nelson Flinn.




WESTLAKE WASTING NO TIME GETTING BACK INTO THE RING

New World Welterweight Champion Mark Westlake is getting right to business as less than three months after he defeated the previously unbeaten Mac Erickson to win the title he is planning to return to the ring. For Westlake, this marks his second stint as the king of the welterweight division. He won a unanimous decision over Jackhammer O'Keefe in the fall of 1946 only to lose the title in his first defense when Harold Stephens outpointed him. Westlake and his camp will hope for a better result this time around as the 32-year-old Mississippi native prepares to face Dale Roy at Detroit's Thompson Palladium on June 17.

Westlake owns a career mark of 28-5-1 and included in his victories is a split decision over Roy in a 12-round bout fought seven years ago.
Roy, also 32 and hailing from Binghamton, NY, is 36-7-1 and will be returning east for the fight after spending the past few months fighting on the west coast including an April unanimous decision over Arthur Shaw. It will be Roy's first title shot.

RECENT KEY RESULTS
  • Ben Budgeford, the British heavyweight who crossed the Atlantic in a futile attempt to dethrone Hector Sawyer in February, decided to remain in the United States and had a much better result last week in Newark, NJ. The young Englishman improved his career record to 22-2 with a TKO win over Detroit native Bill Sloan (18-2) in the tenth and final round of their bout last Monday.
  • Tuesday evening in St Louis middleweight Davis Owens ran his record to 22-1 with a 7th round knockout of Jersey Jerry Miller.
  • Also on Tuesday at Dominion Stadium in Toronto, home of the Wolves, Canadian middlweight champion Kevin Rawlings successfully defended his country's national title with a one-sided unanimous decision ove Frank Carlson. Rawlings, who turns 29 later this month, counts former world champion Adrian Petrie among his victims and owns a 25-5 career record.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
  • 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 17- Thompson Palladium, Detroit: World welterweight champion Mark Westlake (28-5-1) defends his title against Dale Roy (36-7-1).
  • 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).



The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/04/1950
  • In his Memorial Day address, President Truman paid tribute to fallen soldiers at Arlington Cemetary and made a plea for World peace.
  • Secretary of State Acheson says the United States will not use its veto to keep Communist China out of the United Nations.
  • Acheson has asked Congress to help forge a unified Western military machine to meet any threat Russia may pose, noting development of the West's military strength is the only way to assure success in "any war that is forced upon us."
  • Truman asked Congress for $1.2 billion for the second year of the foreign arms aid program.
  • There is some good news on the budget front as the Federal Government may wind up the 1950 fiscal year about $1.4 billion less in the red than the administration had forecast only six weeks ago. The budget deficit for the 12-month period ending June 30 appears likely now to stay well below $4 billion - a startling 26 percent improvement over a $5.4 billion deficit predicted by the Budget Bureau on April 20.
  • Despite scathing criticism from seven Republican colleagues, Senator McCarthy plans to launch a new attack in his charges of communism in the Government.
  • Officials of the International Refugee Organization estimate that some 10,000 persons have fled from Communist countries in Eastern Europe during the past seven months.
  • A discharged coal miner who lost his job because he tried to go back to work during the recent national coal strike has won his lawsuit against John L Lewis' United Mine Workers and been given his job back. The Mine union had removed him and imposed a $50,000 fine on the worker. The order rescinds the fine and allows the miner to return to work.
  • The Senate Banking Committee voted 8 to 5 for a six-month extension of rent control, with the option of asking in December for an additional six months. The plan faces a stiff fight on the floor of both houses before the present law expires June 30.
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles
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