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Tiger Fan · 03-29-2024, 10:35 AM

AUGUST 21, 1950

SAINTS PASS BIG TEST BUT LOSE AUSTIN

The Montreal Saints took another small step closer towards claiming their first Continental Association pennant in three decades, but they also suffered a blow with an injury to a key piece of their infield. The Saints, who last won a flag in 1921 -the longest active drought for any team in FABL- had a big test last week with back to back series against a pair of contenders and passed both by taking two out of three games in each of them.

The week, a key one for the Montreal squad which was reeling after three tough losses in New York last weekend, began with a series against the increasingly desperate Chicago Cougars. The Cougars, long-time favourites in the Continental Association whose struggles the past decade have been well documented, missed an opportunity to close the gap on first place by dropping the opening two games of the series to fall 7 games back of the front-running Saints.

Bert Cupid (10-10, 4.08) was at his best in Tuesday's series opener, spinning a 5-hitter while Luke Weaver drove in both runs in a 2-0 Montreal victory. The Saints suffered a pair of final at bat losses in New York just a few days earlier but managed a walk-off victory of their own on Wednesday as Maurice Carter delivered a 2-run single in the bottom of the ninth to push Montreal past the Cougars 6-5. Chicago had some late inning heroics of their own the next night, pulling out a 4-3 win to salvage a game from the set and, temporarily at least, claw to within 6 games of the leaders.

The Saints opened their weekend rematch against the Stars in the same fashion as they began the Chicago series, with a tremendous pitching effort. This time it was Wally Reif (13-9, 2.73) who went the distance on a 4-hit shutout to trim Eli Panneton and the Stars 1-0. New York evened the series Saturday afternoon, breaking open a tight game with 6 runs in the top of the 13th and eventually claiming a 7-2 victory to pull within a game and a half of the front-runners but that lead returned to 2.5 games thanks to another dramatic result yesterday. The Saints trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the eighth but scored once in each of the final two frames to claim a 4-3 victory.

The Stars, after dropping two of three in Montreal, are actually in third place as the Cincinnati Cannons, winners of 7 of their last 10 games, sit in second spot, 2 games back of the Saints and waiting patiently at Tice Memorial Stadium for the train from Montreal to arrive and commence a short two-game series between the two clubs beginning tomorrow afternoon.

The train ride will be missing a key piece of the Montreal infield as yesterday's win over New York came at a price. Joe Austin, the Saints speedy sophomore second sacker, suffered what has been diagnosed as a fractured thumb and there is speculation he may not return until the World Championship Series, assuming the Saints can get there.

The Continental flag field did get thinned out slightly last week as the Cougars, who followed up dropping two out of three in Montreal, continued their hard-luck story against the Brooklyn Kings by losing three-straight to Tom Barrell's boys on the weekend and now sit tied with the Kings, a full 8 games back of the lead. Brooklyn has gone 14-3 against the Cougars so far this season. The only series more one-sided this year in either association is the Cougars 16-2 mark against the last place Toronto Wolves.

The Federal Association race, long since decided, saw the first place New York Gothams win six in a row last week before finally being slowed with a 6-0 loss against St Louis yesterday. The strong week allowed the Gothams to add another game and a half to their lead, which now sits at 11 and a half games on the Philadelphia Keystones.

Marc T. McNeil of the Montreal Star checks in with thoughts as pennant fever grips the province of Quebec. "The Saints are still holding firm in the pennant race, extending their lead by one game after a big week. However, 2B Joe Austin, leader in stolen bases and top of the order hitter, is out of lineup for 4 weeks minimum with a fractured thumb. Management looking at the possibility to keep him as a pinch runner only if possible...2B Eddie Logan will have the chance to show what he can do on a regular basis, or swapping centerfielder Bill Elkins to the infield is still a possibility as the Saints have acquired Chink Stickels at trade deadline to patrol center if needed. Also, we are just over one week away from extended roster time which means maybe the solution to fill some gaps for special role in the Saints roster can come from AAA Syracuse.
McNeil added that the Saints starting rotation was very solid this week to get a 4-2 record against the Cougars and Stars. Bert Cupid tossed two complete games with wins in each with Wally Reif pulling another 1-0 shutout win.
Another milestone for future Hall of Famer Fred McCormick. The 40-year-old Toronto Wolves first baseman recorded his 1,000 career extra-base hit last week. He has not made an announcement either way, but it certainly feels like we are entering the final month of McCormick's illustrious career...one that includes 2,879 career hits and 253 homeruns despite missing nearly five full seasons from his prime due to the war.
McCormick had a strong week, boosted his seasona average to .267 and was named the CA Player of the Week, marking the 21st time in his career McCormick was named player of the week.
Walt Messer hit his 250th career homer last week, making the New York Gothams slugger just the 22nd player to reach that milestone in FABL history. Messer's teammate Red Johnson hit a pair of longballs last week and now sits just 3 shy of 400 homers for his career.
Detroit's Carl Potter, who won the Federal Association Allen Award last season, had a slow start to this season but he has tossed three shutouts in the past month and has a 5-2 record and a 1.27 era over that stretch. Potter's 152 strikeouts on the season are 33 more than any other hurler in either association.

OFF-SEASON SIGNING NEWS

There is no action on the ice but that does not stop NAHC clubs from taking care of business off of it with news of a number of contract signings. The biggest one, and only one involving an established NAHC player, was the Toronto Dukes coming to terms on a deal with veteran winger Alex Lavalliere. The 25-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Toronto and was a key playoff contributor to their back-to-back Challenge Cup wins beginning in 1948 when he scored two goals in each of the two playoff runs. Lavalliere suited up for 69 games for the Dukes this past season but earned just 9 points before being held pointless in a 5-game playoff loss to Montreal in the semi-finals.

The Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants signed former Vancouver Bears winger Gordie Campbell to a 3-year deal. The 22-year-old had a breakout season for the Great West Hockey League playoff finalists, notching a team best 60 points including 28 goals in 60 games last season after collecting just 15 points the previous year in his pro debut. Campbell was a 1949 third round selection by the Valiants out of London, ONT.

The Chicago Packers have signed winger Max Lamoureaux, a 23-year-old they originally drafted back in 1946 with their fourth round selection. The Toronto area native finished his junior career and then, after a year of senior hockey, signed with the Pittsburgh Rovers last season. He suited up for 51 games for the Hockey Association of America side, scoring 6 goals and adding 10 assists.

In Detroit, the Motors have agreed to a three year deal with top scorer in the CAHA last season. Bart Bradford, a 20-year-old center, who was named the top player in the junior loop after a 52 goal, 143 point campaign for the St. Thomas Pachyderms has decided to turn pro. The undrafted Fort William, ONT., native will likely spend the upcoming season with Detroit's HAA affiliate -the Buffalo Bears.

Finally, the New York Shamrocks have brought Mark Levesque back to their organization. The 25-year-old winger was a 1945 fifth round selection of the Greenshirts who played in Seattle last year after suiting up for the Philadelphia Rascals each of the two previous seasons. Levesque had 58 points in 56 games for the Emeralds last season -the same club he began his pro career with before moving to the Rascals. Now, inked by the Shamrocks, the Noranda, QC., native will be back in Philadelphia with the Shamrocks HAA affiliate for the coming season.

OPENING WEEKEND SCHEDULE
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15
Charleston (IL) at Bulein

SAUTRDAY SETPEMBER 16
Texas Panhandle at Queen City
Mile High State at Lambert College
Abilene Baptist at El Paso Methodist
Baldwin City College at Eastern Kansas
McKinney State at Central Kentucky
Everman State (TX) at Payne State
Kit Carson University at Cache Valley
Flagstaff State at Canyon A&M
Western Montana at Wyoming A&I

RECENT KEY RESULTS

The heavyweights had center stage last week with a pair of bouts of note. Friday evening in Chicago at the Lakeside Auditorium, local pugilist Corey Jones surprised Detroiter Chris May with a unanimous and decisive victory in their 10-rounder. The Windy City native is hardly a household name outside of Chicago and the win is a surprise with May falling to 38-10 with the loss.
Late Saturday night in Vancouver, bruising Canadian southpaw Harry Sweetland had an easy time moping the floors with Mark Moors. Sweetland, a St. Catharines, ON., native knocked Moors out with a vicious cross in the fourth round of their bout that was slated for 10. Sweetland's 29-8-1 record is betrayed by some early losses in his career, but the 29-year-old has won each of his last 14 bouts including solid wins over Tommy Cline and Harvey Winter and is said to be under consideration for a title shot against Hector Sawyer.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Aug 30 - San Francisco, CA: MW Davis Owens (22-1) vs Brooks O'Connor (31-10-2)
Aug 31- Bigsby Garden, New York: Former World Welterweight champ Mac Erickson (22-2) vs Alonso Salazar (13-8-3)
Aug 31- Galveston, TX: middleweight Nick Harris (29-7-1) vs Andrew Hammon (23-4-2)
Sep 1- Flatbush Garden, Brooklyn: Middleweight Bill Boggs (20-3-1) vs Mark McCoy (20-1)
Sep 2 - Bigsby Garden, New York: middleweight contenders Ira Mitchell (25-5) vs Danny Julian (29-1-1)
Sep 2 - Denny Arena, Boston: British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (22-2) vs Gil Hilliard (30-11-2)
Sep 5- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia: veteran welterweights Scott Sorensen (27-13-3) and Rudy Perry (28-6-1) meet.
Sep 8 - Thompson Palladium, Detroit: a pair of rising Motor City heavyweights clash with Joey Tierney (19-0) facing Bill Sloan (19-2)
Sep 12- Buffalo, NY: Canadian middleweight Kevin Rawlings (25-5) faces veteran Philadelphia fighter John Baker (26-7-1)
Sep 14- Bigsby Garden, New York: heavyweight Lewis Jones (22-3-1) vs Larry Higgins (27-8-4)
Sep 22 - Cincinnati, OH.: former welterweight champion Mark Westlake (28-6-1) faces contender Danny Rutledge (20-1-1)
Sep 22 - Pittsburgh, PA: Italian middleweight Hugo Canio (17-1-2) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-9)
Sep 29, 1950- Bigsby Garden, New York - World Middleweight title John Edmonds (32-3) faces formerly retired former champ Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (33-3-2)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/20/1950

The National Civil Defense Plan on how to protect Americans in the event of an A-Bomb attack, is expected to be released next month.
North Korean communist troops have been surprising American forces by using underwater bridges to cross the Naktong River, allowing the bridges to escape detection by American bombers. Midweek saw 98 American bombers take aim at breaking the back of a North Korean offensive 60,000-men strong built up along the river. The bomber smash was said to be just short of atomic explosive power.
Thailand's offer of 4,000 troops to aid the United States in Korea has been accepted.
Senator Byrd, Democrat of Virginia, says that if Russia declared war on the United States, our troops would pull out of Korea because it has no military value.
Western Military Experts doubt the chances of a Russian-inspired invasion of Yugoslavia this year, as their findings indicate there is little desire for war in the satellite nations bordering Yugoslavia and some signs that a Soviet order to fight might boomerang into widespread opposition and perhaps revolt.
An American electrical engineer who worked in the Navy Department was arrested at the Mexican border as a conspirator in the Soviet atom bomb spy ring.
Worries once more of a nationwide rail strike as trainmen and conductors are threatening to walk off the job. They are demanding a 40-hour work week with no reduction in pay now received for 48 hours.
Princess Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, the second child of the royal couple. She would be third in line to the crown, following her 21-month-old brother Prince Charles.

03-29-2024, 10:35 AM	#914
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,855	August 21, 1950 AUGUST 21, 1950 SAINTS PASS BIG TEST BUT LOSE AUSTIN The Montreal Saints took another small step closer towards claiming their first Continental Association pennant in three decades, but they also suffered a blow with an injury to a key piece of their infield. The Saints, who last won a flag in 1921 -the longest active drought for any team in FABL- had a big test last week with back to back series against a pair of contenders and passed both by taking two out of three games in each of them. The week, a key one for the Montreal squad which was reeling after three tough losses in New York last weekend, began with a series against the increasingly desperate Chicago Cougars. The Cougars, long-time favourites in the Continental Association whose struggles the past decade have been well documented, missed an opportunity to close the gap on first place by dropping the opening two games of the series to fall 7 games back of the front-running Saints. Bert Cupid (10-10, 4.08) was at his best in Tuesday's series opener, spinning a 5-hitter while Luke Weaver drove in both runs in a 2-0 Montreal victory. The Saints suffered a pair of final at bat losses in New York just a few days earlier but managed a walk-off victory of their own on Wednesday as Maurice Carter delivered a 2-run single in the bottom of the ninth to push Montreal past the Cougars 6-5. Chicago had some late inning heroics of their own the next night, pulling out a 4-3 win to salvage a game from the set and, temporarily at least, claw to within 6 games of the leaders. The Saints opened their weekend rematch against the Stars in the same fashion as they began the Chicago series, with a tremendous pitching effort. This time it was Wally Reif (13-9, 2.73) who went the distance on a 4-hit shutout to trim Eli Panneton and the Stars 1-0. New York evened the series Saturday afternoon, breaking open a tight game with 6 runs in the top of the 13th and eventually claiming a 7-2 victory to pull within a game and a half of the front-runners but that lead returned to 2.5 games thanks to another dramatic result yesterday. The Saints trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the eighth but scored once in each of the final two frames to claim a 4-3 victory. The Stars, after dropping two of three in Montreal, are actually in third place as the Cincinnati Cannons, winners of 7 of their last 10 games, sit in second spot, 2 games back of the Saints and waiting patiently at Tice Memorial Stadium for the train from Montreal to arrive and commence a short two-game series between the two clubs beginning tomorrow afternoon. The train ride will be missing a key piece of the Montreal infield as yesterday's win over New York came at a price. Joe Austin, the Saints speedy sophomore second sacker, suffered what has been diagnosed as a fractured thumb and there is speculation he may not return until the World Championship Series, assuming the Saints can get there. The Continental flag field did get thinned out slightly last week as the Cougars, who followed up dropping two out of three in Montreal, continued their hard-luck story against the Brooklyn Kings by losing three-straight to Tom Barrell's boys on the weekend and now sit tied with the Kings, a full 8 games back of the lead. Brooklyn has gone 14-3 against the Cougars so far this season. The only series more one-sided this year in either association is the Cougars 16-2 mark against the last place Toronto Wolves. The Federal Association race, long since decided, saw the first place New York Gothams win six in a row last week before finally being slowed with a 6-0 loss against St Louis yesterday. The strong week allowed the Gothams to add another game and a half to their lead, which now sits at 11 and a half games on the Philadelphia Keystones. Marc T. McNeil of the Montreal Star checks in with thoughts as pennant fever grips the province of Quebec. "The Saints are still holding firm in the pennant race, extending their lead by one game after a big week. However, 2B Joe Austin, leader in stolen bases and top of the order hitter, is out of lineup for 4 weeks minimum with a fractured thumb. Management looking at the possibility to keep him as a pinch runner only if possible...2B Eddie Logan will have the chance to show what he can do on a regular basis, or swapping centerfielder Bill Elkins to the infield is still a possibility as the Saints have acquired Chink Stickels at trade deadline to patrol center if needed. Also, we are just over one week away from extended roster time which means maybe the solution to fill some gaps for special role in the Saints roster can come from AAA Syracuse. McNeil added that the Saints starting rotation was very solid this week to get a 4-2 record against the Cougars and Stars. Bert Cupid tossed two complete games with wins in each with Wally Reif pulling another 1-0 shutout win. Another milestone for future Hall of Famer Fred McCormick. The 40-year-old Toronto Wolves first baseman recorded his 1,000 career extra-base hit last week. He has not made an announcement either way, but it certainly feels like we are entering the final month of McCormick's illustrious career...one that includes 2,879 career hits and 253 homeruns despite missing nearly five full seasons from his prime due to the war. McCormick had a strong week, boosted his seasona average to .267 and was named the CA Player of the Week, marking the 21st time in his career McCormick was named player of the week. Walt Messer hit his 250th career homer last week, making the New York Gothams slugger just the 22nd player to reach that milestone in FABL history. Messer's teammate Red Johnson hit a pair of longballs last week and now sits just 3 shy of 400 homers for his career. Detroit's Carl Potter, who won the Federal Association Allen Award last season, had a slow start to this season but he has tossed three shutouts in the past month and has a 5-2 record and a 1.27 era over that stretch. Potter's 152 strikeouts on the season are 33 more than any other hurler in either association. OFF-SEASON SIGNING NEWS There is no action on the ice but that does not stop NAHC clubs from taking care of business off of it with news of a number of contract signings. The biggest one, and only one involving an established NAHC player, was the Toronto Dukes coming to terms on a deal with veteran winger Alex Lavalliere. The 25-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Toronto and was a key playoff contributor to their back-to-back Challenge Cup wins beginning in 1948 when he scored two goals in each of the two playoff runs. Lavalliere suited up for 69 games for the Dukes this past season but earned just 9 points before being held pointless in a 5-game playoff loss to Montreal in the semi-finals. The Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants signed former Vancouver Bears winger Gordie Campbell to a 3-year deal. The 22-year-old had a breakout season for the Great West Hockey League playoff finalists, notching a team best 60 points including 28 goals in 60 games last season after collecting just 15 points the previous year in his pro debut. Campbell was a 1949 third round selection by the Valiants out of London, ONT. The Chicago Packers have signed winger Max Lamoureaux, a 23-year-old they originally drafted back in 1946 with their fourth round selection. The Toronto area native finished his junior career and then, after a year of senior hockey, signed with the Pittsburgh Rovers last season. He suited up for 51 games for the Hockey Association of America side, scoring 6 goals and adding 10 assists. In Detroit, the Motors have agreed to a three year deal with top scorer in the CAHA last season. Bart Bradford, a 20-year-old center, who was named the top player in the junior loop after a 52 goal, 143 point campaign for the St. Thomas Pachyderms has decided to turn pro. The undrafted Fort William, ONT., native will likely spend the upcoming season with Detroit's HAA affiliate -the Buffalo Bears. Finally, the New York Shamrocks have brought Mark Levesque back to their organization. The 25-year-old winger was a 1945 fifth round selection of the Greenshirts who played in Seattle last year after suiting up for the Philadelphia Rascals each of the two previous seasons. Levesque had 58 points in 56 games for the Emeralds last season -the same club he began his pro career with before moving to the Rascals. Now, inked by the Shamrocks, the Noranda, QC., native will be back in Philadelphia with the Shamrocks HAA affiliate for the coming season. OPENING WEEKEND SCHEDULE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15 Charleston (IL) at Bulein SAUTRDAY SETPEMBER 16 Texas Panhandle at Queen City Mile High State at Lambert College Abilene Baptist at El Paso Methodist Baldwin City College at Eastern Kansas McKinney State at Central Kentucky Everman State (TX) at Payne State Kit Carson University at Cache Valley Flagstaff State at Canyon A&M Western Montana at Wyoming A&I RECENT KEY RESULTS The heavyweights had center stage last week with a pair of bouts of note. Friday evening in Chicago at the Lakeside Auditorium, local pugilist Corey Jones surprised Detroiter Chris May with a unanimous and decisive victory in their 10-rounder. The Windy City native is hardly a household name outside of Chicago and the win is a surprise with May falling to 38-10 with the loss. Late Saturday night in Vancouver, bruising Canadian southpaw Harry Sweetland had an easy time moping the floors with Mark Moors. Sweetland, a St. Catharines, ON., native knocked Moors out with a vicious cross in the fourth round of their bout that was slated for 10. Sweetland's 29-8-1 record is betrayed by some early losses in his career, but the 29-year-old has won each of his last 14 bouts including solid wins over Tommy Cline and Harvey Winter and is said to be under consideration for a title shot against Hector Sawyer. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Aug 30 - San Francisco, CA: MW Davis Owens (22-1) vs Brooks O'Connor (31-10-2) Aug 31- Bigsby Garden, New York: Former World Welterweight champ Mac Erickson (22-2) vs Alonso Salazar (13-8-3) Aug 31- Galveston, TX: middleweight Nick Harris (29-7-1) vs Andrew Hammon (23-4-2) Sep 1- Flatbush Garden, Brooklyn: Middleweight Bill Boggs (20-3-1) vs Mark McCoy (20-1) Sep 2 - Bigsby Garden, New York: middleweight contenders Ira Mitchell (25-5) vs Danny Julian (29-1-1) Sep 2 - Denny Arena, Boston: British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (22-2) vs Gil Hilliard (30-11-2) Sep 5- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia: veteran welterweights Scott Sorensen (27-13-3) and Rudy Perry (28-6-1) meet. Sep 8 - Thompson Palladium, Detroit: a pair of rising Motor City heavyweights clash with Joey Tierney (19-0) facing Bill Sloan (19-2) Sep 12- Buffalo, NY: Canadian middleweight Kevin Rawlings (25-5) faces veteran Philadelphia fighter John Baker (26-7-1) Sep 14- Bigsby Garden, New York: heavyweight Lewis Jones (22-3-1) vs Larry Higgins (27-8-4) Sep 22 - Cincinnati, OH.: former welterweight champion Mark Westlake (28-6-1) faces contender Danny Rutledge (20-1-1) Sep 22 - Pittsburgh, PA: Italian middleweight Hugo Canio (17-1-2) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-9) Sep 29, 1950- Bigsby Garden, New York - World Middleweight title John Edmonds (32-3) faces formerly retired former champ Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (33-3-2) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/20/1950 The National Civil Defense Plan on how to protect Americans in the event of an A-Bomb attack, is expected to be released next month. North Korean communist troops have been surprising American forces by using underwater bridges to cross the Naktong River, allowing the bridges to escape detection by American bombers. Midweek saw 98 American bombers take aim at breaking the back of a North Korean offensive 60,000-men strong built up along the river. The bomber smash was said to be just short of atomic explosive power. Thailand's offer of 4,000 troops to aid the United States in Korea has been accepted. Senator Byrd, Democrat of Virginia, says that if Russia declared war on the United States, our troops would pull out of Korea because it has no military value. Western Military Experts doubt the chances of a Russian-inspired invasion of Yugoslavia this year, as their findings indicate there is little desire for war in the satellite nations bordering Yugoslavia and some signs that a Soviet order to fight might boomerang into widespread opposition and perhaps revolt. An American electrical engineer who worked in the Navy Department was arrested at the Mexican border as a conspirator in the Soviet atom bomb spy ring. Worries once more of a nationwide rail strike as trainmen and conductors are threatening to walk off the job. They are demanding a 40-hour work week with no reduction in pay now received for 48 hours. Princess Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter, the second child of the royal couple. She would be third in line to the crown, following her 21-month-old brother Prince Charles. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 03-29-2024 at 08:40 PM.