JULY 30, 1951
GOTHAMS CREEP CLOSER TO FA LEAD
An 11-2 run, including 5 victories in 7 outings last week, has allowed the New York Gothams to move another step closer to first place in the Federal Association. The defending champions, who added veteran pitcher Jim Morrison to their staff in their lone deadline trade move, are now just 4 games back of the front-running St Louis Pioneers.
Morrison has won all three of his Gothams starts since coming over from the Chicago Cougars on July 16 in exchange for all-star reliever Steve Groves and a minor leaguer. The 36-year-old looked very impressive stopping Pittsburgh 6-2 in his New York debut and followed that up with 8 and a third innings of shutout ball in a 4-0 blanking of Washington. His start yesterday against Pittsburgh was a rocky one with Morrison lasting just 5 innings and allowing 7 earned runs but he still was given credit for the victory as the Gothams offense bailed him out in a 10-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Miners.
The St Louis Pioneers, with prize rookie Rex Pilcher making his big league debut, went 3-2 last week on a road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington. Pilcher struggled at the plate, batting just .143 but did hit his first FABL homerun. The Pioneers long road trip continues with stops in Boston and Philadelphia this week before it concludes with a big six days beginning August 7 when the Pioneers play two in Detroit followed by four in New York.
The Detroit Dynamos went 3-3 last week and presently sit a half game back of St Louis in second place. The Dynamos mortgaged much of their future to bring three-time Whitney Award winner Ralph Johnson, along with catcher Dan Smith and pitcher Bob Arman from Brooklyn a week after they acquired slugging third baseman Mack Sutton from the New York Stars. Sutton (.330,6,26 in 26 games) has been everything hoped and has ignited the previously struggling Detroit offense but both Johnson (.255,3,6) and Smith (.200,0,1) have been slow to find their groove after two weeks with the Dynamos. Arman is 1-2 with a 3.79 era.
In the Continental Association a 4-2 week has the defending World Champion Cleveland Foresters sitting a game and a half ahead of the second place Philadelphia Sailors. The Sailors have run aground since the all-star break, going just 8-11 after owning the league's best first half record. Third place Montreal is 7 back after splitting a 4-game weekend series in Cleveland and still has hopes of joining the pennant chasing fray.
CATCHING UP WITH FIRST ROUNDERS
Here is a look at what each of the first round picks from June are up to after a month in the professional ranks.
BOSTON- 10th selection Mike Quigley, a high school righthander from Chicago, is pitching for Class C Hattiesburg where he is 2-1 with a 5.40 era in 4 starts for the Top Hats.
BROOKLYN- 5th overall selection Hank Williams, a high school outfielder from Kansas, is hitting .306 after 17 games for Class B Tampa.
CHIEFS- Texas born high school outfielder Hugh Ferebee was selected 12th by the Chicago Chiefs and assigned to Waterloo of the Class C Upper Mississippi Valley League. In 22 games he is hitting just .184 but does have 5 homeruns.
COUGARS- The Cougars selected high school third baseman Jack Craft with the 11th pick and assigned him to Class C. A later signing he has played just 14 games and his batting only .163 but has shown some power with 3 homers.
CINCINNATI- First overall draft pick Charlie Barrell may be bored being stranded in Class B when there was some speculation before the draft that he might to straight from the campus of Noble Jones College to Tice Memorial Stadium. In 23 games with Charleston of the Southeastern League he is batting just .235 but does have 6 homeruns.
CLEVELAND- 17-year-old second baseman Al Beck, selected with the 15th pick, is at Class B Savannah where he has had some early struggles at the plate, batting just .191
DETROIT- 18-year-old infielder Dick Tucker, drafted 4th overall, is struggling at the plate in Class B, batting just .111 after 18 games.
MONTREAL- Third overall selection Bob Porter is off to a strong start in Class A. The 17-year-old is hitting .338 through 17 games at Evansville.
NY STARS- Doc Clay, a high school pitcher from San Francisco, was the 7th overall selection and is 1-3 with a 5.74 era at Class C. Clay just picked up his first win last week in his best outing so far, allowing 2 runs on just 1 hit -he walked 8- while going 7 and 2/3.
NY GOTHAMS- 23-year-old outfielder Jim Allen, drafted with the 16th and final pick of the opening round, was fast tracked directly to AAA and seems to be handling it with relative ease, batting .306 in 22 games for Toledo.
KEYSTONES- The Keystones decided to challenge 18-year-old first baseman Dick Green, assigning the Tennessee native to Class A. He has struggled a little at the plate, batting just .233 and after 24 games is still looking for his first professional home run.
SAILORS- One of the oldest players in the draft, 23-year-old pitcher Don Hillshire began his pro career in AAA and is 3-2 with a 2.02 era. Hillshire looks like he stands a very good chance of being called up by the Sailors in September if not earlier.
PITTSBURGH- Sam Fitchett, the first pitcher selected at #6, is 0-2 with a 7.15 era through 3 starts at Class C Jackson.
ST LOUIS- #2 overall Rex Pilcher became the first from his draft class to make it to FABL and homered in his debut last week, but otherwise struggled at the plate going 2-for-14. He hit .300 with 2 homers in 13 games at AAA prior to his recent promotion.
TORONTO- Perhaps surprisingly the Wolves are using their number one pick (13th overall) Michigan high school righthander Jim Montgomery, almost exclusively in relief, giving the teen just one start. Montgomery is at Class C Tuscaloosa where he is 1-1 with 6 saves for the Tomcats and owns a 7.08 era after 13 appearances.
WASHINGTON-Buster Scott, a California-born 18-year-old, was selected 14th and the righthander is 2-0 with a 4.05 era after three starts for Pensacola of the Class C Gulf States League.
TALES FROM THE LAIR
Wolves Continue Listless Performance at Home -Toronto manages only two wins in six games before home crowds last week, taking just one from the New York Stars and Chicago Cougars in a 3-game series with each. Before George Garrison got his fourth win of the year against eleven losses on Wednesday by tossing a 4 hitter for a 3-1 win the Wolves had handed the Stars a victory on Tuesday. Toronto made 4 errors in that series opening game and even though Joe Hancock pitched well enough to win, the defense let him down in a 3-2 defeat dropping Hancock's mark for the season to 4-10.
The team continues to beat itself as it has countless times over this season. In the series finale with the Stars, rookie Les Ledbetter again gave up a big inning, surrendering 4 New York runs in the second inning of what proved to be a 7-5 loss.
After the Cougars won 6-2 on Friday night the Wolves did something that has rarely happened this season: they came from behind to win 6-5 in 11 on Saturday. Trailing 5-1 after 5 innings Toronto scored twice in the sixth and plated 2 more to tie in the 8th frame before scoring the winning run in the 11th on a throwing error by Cougars LF Leo Mitchell allowing Hank Giordano to score the winning run. In that game Kirby Copeland tied a team record for hits in a game going 5-for-5 with 4 singles and a double. Leaky defense cost Hancock again on Sunday when the team made 2 errors leading to unearned runs in a 6-3 loss. For the week the team has 12 errors in 6 games with only one errorless game.
As July is about to turn to August fans are beginning to stay away in droves with many saying it is time to trade any asset to tear the team down and start from scratch. It takes two teams to trade. Toronto has been quietly shopping players but has not found a trading partner willing to match the team demands. Fans may be watching the same players for August until the callups come in September. In the system there are a few bats coming, arms are lacking in the minors. Expect Manager Fred Barrell to keep putting out younger lineups and sit veterans in the hope of learning on the job for the balance of 1951.
One piece of good news from the farm as Buffalo Nickels RHP Lou Burrows no hit the Newark Aces Friday night. He is now 5-6, 3.62 for the season. At 24 he may be part of the future in Toronto.
The New York Gothams continue to grind away, lopping another game off their deficit and now trailing Federal Association leading St. Louis by four games. The team won 5 of 7 this past week and will have the final day of July off before playing every day of August.
Newcomer Jim Morrison is 3-0 now. Morrison learned what it's like to have the league leading offense behind you. The vet gave up 7 runs over 5 innings in yesterday's first game of a doubleheader and still registered the win in a 10-8 contest.
Walt Messer continued his hot hitting with a .364, 4 homer week. Rookie Hank Estill (.330, .944 OPS) is going to receive more starts subbing for slumping Roosevelt Brewer. Brewer has hit .228 for the month of July and with the Gothams finding no suitable deal for the infielder, he will now be sharing 3B with the 24-year-old Estill.
This year's first round pick Jim Allen is hitting .305 at AAA, his first stop in pro ball.
- Milestones last week included the New York Stats Bill Barrett becoming the 79th player to reach the 1,000 RBI plateau while Stars 38-year-old pitcher Jack Wood and Wally Doyle, 32, of Montreal each won their 100th career FABL game.
- Pioneers rookie Rex Pilcher, the Christian Trophy winner and second overall selection in the June draft, had some struggles his first week in the big leagues, batting just .143 but the man known as The Buckeye Bomber from his days at Ohio Poly did notch his first career FABL homerun. It was a 3-run shot in the 9th inning of his debut game, coming off Art Brandon but was not quite enough as his Pioneers fell 9-8 to Pittsburgh in that game Wednesday evening.
- The Chicago Cougars old nemesis -one run ballgames- is slapping the club hard again this season. Cougars Chicaly Daily News beat writer Tip Harrison pens "I'll never understand how year after year the Cougars can't win one-run games. Three more losses this week to make the club 12-23 (.342). The Cougars haven't been more then three games over .500 in one-run games since 1941, which is also the most recent season the club had a better winning percentage in one-run games then our overall record. Fitting it's also the last time the Cougars made it to the postseason.
- Harrison notes that "the Cougars have also allowed the fewest runs in the CA and have the lowest ERA in either association despite the worst bullpen ERA. All because David Molina has allowed 46 earned runs in 56 innings. He allowed 46 earned runs in 130 innings in 1948 and 117.1 innings in 1949 and is coming off just 19 in 66 innings last year (2.59 ERA). His decline should be studied."
DEFENSE DOMINATES NAHC DRAFT
The focus was clearly on the blueline as each of the first three selections and five of the first seven picks made in the 1951 NAHC amateur player draft were defenseman. A trio of captains from their respective junior teams highlighted the start of the draft with Guy Bernier, Bobby Fuhrman and Ben Voyecheck being the first three names called.
Bernier, an immensely talented Quebec native who served as captain for the Saint John Saints, was selected first overall by the Chicago Packers. He was enjoying a breakout season as an 18-year-old in his second season in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, scoring 28 points in his first 25 games before a concussion in November ended his season. He may not be cleared to return to the ice for the start of training camp so it seems likely the Packers will have the youngster spend another season with the Saints.
Selecting second the Toronto Dukes opted for Bobby Fuhrman, a 19-year-old Ottawa native who was the captain of the Trois-Rivieres Trappers and was named the most valuable player in the CAHA after picking up 101 points this season. A terrific playmaker and offensive quarterback from the point, Fuhrman's 145 assists over the past two seasons are the most in the CAHA during that span.
The third choice went to the Boston Bees and they opted for smooth-skating Ben Voyechek, a 19-year-old left shooting defenseman who captained the Brantford Blue Legs to the CAHA title this par season.
Detroit broke the trend of defenseman being selected by opting for Halifax Mariners winger Hubert Labbe, the player OSA had at the top of its mock draft. Like actual number one selection Bernier, there are medical questions surrounding the 19-year-old from Longueuil, QC as Labbe was limited to just 16 games last season. The Detroit Motors liked has 63 point rookie campaign two seasons ago and Motors scouts felt that, while his potential is highly volatile, if he lives up to out Labbe could become an outstanding player.
The two-time defending Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants went back to the blueline by selecting Gil Thibault, a teammate of Labbe's with the Halifax Mariners. The 19-year-old had 58 points in 62 games. Rounding out the opening round was the regular season champion New York Shamrocks, who opted for Sam Ritchie, a winger from the Kingston Cadets. Ritchie, whose best asset is his skating ability, tallied 58 points in 60 games last season.
Worth noting is the fact that in the second round the Chicago Packers drafted Marc Bernier from Verdun. Bernier is the older brother of the Packers first round selection Guy Bernier. Marc had 9 goals and 27 points last season while playing for the Argonauts.
Here are the complete results of the 1951 NAHC Draft.
CAROLINA POLY HAS TOP CAGE RECRUITING CLASS
Led by top twenty recruits Ron Davies and Merritt Norcross, the Carolina Poly Cardinals have landed the top collection of high school seniors according to the final class rankings released by scouting service OSA. The number one recruit in the nation, New Orleans born guard Doug Burford, headed west to Rainier College but his presence was not enough to help the Majestics crack the top five which sees the Cardinals leading the way, followed by Chesapeake State, Central Ohio, Detroit City College and shockingly Academia Alliance powerhouse Dickson College.
Carolina Poly stayed close to home for most of its newcomers with only Davies, a New York City born guard, from out of state. Davies is listed at #10 on the scouting service recruit rankings and will be joined in Durham this fall by Merritt Norcross, a forward from Charlotte who finished 19th on the OSA list. Center Hank Haines, from Asheville, NC, also cracked the top fifty list and guard Emerson Carter, another Charlotte native ranked #119th by the scouting service, rounds out their recruited freshman for the 1951-52 collegiate cage season.
RECENT KEY RESULTS- Mike Jennings scored a unanimous decision over former welterweight contender Ben 'Baby Face' Bishop in a bout in Memphis, TN. on Wednesday. Following the fight Bishop - an Atlanta native who was one of the top fighters in the welterweight division immediately after the war but never did get a title shot, announced his retirement at the age of 34. Bishop departs with a 36-11-1 career record and counts among his wins victories over John Edmonds and Harold Stephens -both former champs- as well as John Gregory and Rudy Perry.
- Friday night in Boston, Brooklyn middleweight Bill Boggs made short work of Rip Rogers, scoring a first round knockout victory to run his mark to 24-4-1. Boggs has been impressive in his recent outings and is hoping to get another title shot. His first came a year and a half ago but he lost by a decision to former champ John Edmonds.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- Aug 13- Baltimore, MD: longtime welterweight George "Mr Sandman" Gibbs (29-7) against Hubert Boyd (11-7)
- Aug 13- Miami, FL: veteran heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (25-7-3) faces Bob Cooley (21-9-1)
- Aug 14- Montreal Arena: Adrian Petrie (21-4-3) and Kevin Rawlings (19-6), Canadian middleweights meet for the third time. Each won once previously. Petrie briefly held the World Middleweight title in 1948-49.
- Aug 22- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago: Heavyweight contenders Lewis Jones (24-4-1) and Cannon Cooper (34-6-1) meet.
- Aug 22- Flatbush Gardens, Brooklyn: veteran Boston heavyweight Roy Crawford (34-8) takes on Irwin Hoffman (20-3-2)
- Aug 25- Atlanta, GA: Italian middleweight Hugo Canio (20-2-2) meets Junior Shaw (35-8-3)
- Aug 27- Philadelphia, PA: middleweight Bob Hinkle (30-10-1) squares off against Gil Bailey (8-4-3)
- Aug 28 - Pittsburgh, PA: middleweight contenders Dan Drewery (27-3-5) and Jim Ward (28-3) clash.
- Aug 31- Holyoke, MA: Heavyweight Harvey Winter (26-7-2) faces Malcolm Harrington (18-11-1)
- September 8- Gothams Stadium New York: World heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer (65-3-1) faces Max Bradley (22-1-1) in the final fight of his career.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/29/1951
- A five-point Korean truce agreement has been agree upon. It calls for the continuation of talks but UN officials caution that the two sides are far apart on several of the points, which may hinder a long term agreement being reached. In the meantime shooting will continue until an armistice is signed.
- A US Army spokesmen declared that the Reds are using the time since the peace proposal was made last June 23 "to build up strength and move supplies and weapons south."
- On Friday President Truman bitterly accused the Russians of warlike World-wide moves, and warned the American people not to drop their guard. He points to the Yugoslav border as one location the Soviets are building up for war.
- Earlier in the week Truman, in his mid-year economic report to Congress, lashed out at "extremists" who he said clamor for cuts in the defense program and want to shoot holes through inflation controls. At the same time the President warned that, regardless of the outcome in Korea peace talks, the armed forces may need to be increased beyond the present goal of 3.5 million men.
- Reports from Senators returning from Europe suggest that Gen. Eisenhower wants to form a non-national army under a single flag and command to defend Western Europe.
- Undersecretary for Air John McCone says the Russians have a bomber able to "carry the atomic bomb a long distance and to deliver it upon the United States in a surprise attack."
- FBI director J. Edgar Hoover says that the Justice Department has rounded out 11 secondary Communist Party leaders, making arrests in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.
- An Iranian cabinet member says a formula has been found for reopening negotiations with the British on the oil nationalization dispute.