DECEMBER 10, 1951
WILD BATTLE FOR FINAL AFA PLAYOFF BERTH
There is plenty at stake for three East Division teams as the American Football Association prepares for its final Sunday of the regular season. Three of the four playoff spots have been spoken for with Kansas City, Detroit and Pittsburgh all assured of playing in two weeks time as the AFA stages its first ever semi-final game but that fourth spot is still very much up for grabs after yesterday's action did nothing to provide a solution.
The Boston Americans, Washington Wasps and Cleveland Finches all have the opportunity to claim second place in the division and the right to visit Pittsburgh for a playoff contest. The Americans have the inside track, needing only to win in Pittsburgh next Sunday but if the Yanks stumble than a win by either the Finches of Wasps would send one them on to the postseason.
Cleveland kept its hopes alive, improving to 6-5 on the year, with a 20-10 victory at Forester Stadium over the visiting Americans. A Boston win would have sealed the playoff spot for the Yanks, but with quarterback Del Thomas injured and backup Willie Hubbard banged up part way through the game the Americans stumbled. Cleveland used its dual-threat backfield to perfection with Larry Breig running for 103 yards and Mark Ravellette gaining 72 on the ground with each finding the endzone once. The Finches will finish their season by hosting Detroit next Sunday while Boston is in Pittsburgh. Thomas, dealing with a broken finger on his throwing hand, is not expected to play next weekend so it will be up to Hubbard to do the job at quarterback for the Yanks.
Washington is also in the mix, tied with Cleveland at 6-6 and hoping the 6-5-1 Americans are tripped up by the Paladins next Sunday. The Wasps will finish their season at home against New York on Sunday, needing a win and a Boston loss. The Wasps were very impressive in a hard fought 20-6 victory on the road in Pittsburgh yesterday. Tommy Norwood threw for 122 yards and one touchdown before being knocked out of the game with an injury. Norwood is expected to be healthy enough to play in next weekend's season finale but he had to give way on this day to backup Bob Krohn and the veteran threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jim Lyster on his first snap after replacing Norwood to help secure the win for the Wasps. Pittsburgh also sustained a key injury in the game as Wally Dotson, who ran for a game high 128 yards, had his nose broken late in the contest but is expected to play against Boston next Sunday.
The West Division leading Kansas City Cowboys improved to 11-0 with their 15th consecutive victory going back to last season. The Cowboys built a 24-3 half time lead and coasted to a 27-12 victory over the New York Football Stars. It was not an overly inspired effort by Pete Walsh's crew as the Stars dominated much of the game, outgaining the Cowboys 348-193 in total yardage including a strong edge on the ground. The difference was the Stars turned the ball over three times and paid the price, including a 47-yard interception return for a score by Dick Sorenson late in the first half that really sealed the outcome.
Dan Andrews threw for 156 yards and Doug Stevens ran for 117 to lead the Detroit Maroons to a 20-14 victory over the Chicago Wildcats. The Maroons have clinched second place in the West Division and sit at 8-3 on the year. Nat Oldham rushed for 111 yards to lead St Louis past San Francisco 24-10 while the remaining game saw Ed Paulson pass for 274 yards and two touchdowns to pace Philadelphia past Los Angeles by a 28-13 score.
FIELD SET FOR NEW YEARS CLASSIC GAMES
The full slate of matchups for college football's New Years Day showcase has been unveiled. In all there will be eight games on the docket for January 1st with the highlight being the annual East-West Classic showdown in Santa Ana, California. The Lincoln College Presidents, Great Lakes Alliance champs at 9-0 and ranked third in the nation will play on New Years Day for the first time in school history as they travel west to face the Northern California Miners. The Miners are 9-1 on the season, ranked 9th in the final collegiate poll and claimed the West Coast Athletic Association title this year. Northern California will be playing in Santa Ana on January 1 for the third time in the past four years.
The other game sure to draw plenty of interest is the Cajun Classic, a matchup in New Orleans of not only two of the best teams in the South but also two of the top football teams in the country. Cumberland was crowned national champion after a perfect 10-0 season that included a share of the Deep South Conference championship. The Explorers, led by back Billy Kirkwood, a Baton Rogue native and likely All-American who will be looking to put on a show in his home state, are unbeaten in their last 25 games going back to midway through the 1949 season including a 27-27 tie with Darnell State in last year's Lone Star Classic. The Explorers opponent in New Orleans on January 1 will be the Maryland State Bengals, a team led by a powerful fullback by the name of Pat Wadsworth and they were also unbeaten at 9-0 this season. The Bengals, co-champions of the South Atlantic Conference with Alexandria, were ranked seventh in the final college football poll.
The Sunshine Classic also promises to be a dandy, with #2 Lubbock State squaring off with fifth ranked Georgia Baptist. The Hawks were a perfect 10-0 and claimed the Southwestern Alliance section title while the 10-1 Gators were co-champions of the Deep South with Cumberland. Georgia Baptist did not play the Explorers this season and each were unbeaten in section play with the Gators lone loss being an early season defeat at the hands of Carolina Poly.
It was a disappointing season for quarterback Pat Capizzi and the Central Kentucky Tigers as last season's national champions finished just 8-3 but that showing was good enough to earn the Tigers a trip to Austin for the Lone State Classic where they will meet Texas Gulf Coast. The 6-4 Hurricanes, with a quality passer of their own in Bill Higgins, had their struggles this season as well but they did finish 4-2 in section action, good enough for second place in the Southwestern Alliance.
Unbeaten independent St Ignatius felt they probably deserved to finish better than fourth in the rankings and the Lancers, led by two sport star end George Becker, who also plays for the Lancers cage team, and speedy back Jim Berger will have a chance to show their talents in Houston as they face South Atlantic Conference co-champion Alexandria in the Oilman Classic.
Here is the complete list of New Year's Day matchups.
WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS
Miami State 24 Pittsburgh State 23
Payne State 44 Abilene Baptist 20
KANSAS CITY KID NEVER CHALLENGED BY REVEL IN MIDDLEWEIGHT UNANIMOUS DECISION
Bigsby Garden, New York, N.Y. – Mark McCoy (25-2-0, 12 KO) vs. Yohan Revel (31-1-0, 15 KO) – Yohan Revel was just a kid when he first met fellow Parisian Edouard Desmarais, the former middleweight champion who perished in a plane crash over the Atlantic a little more than two years ago. As Revel entered his teens, Desmarais began his professional boxing career. Revel’s home was a shrine to Desmarais, documenting each of his early matches. Every press clipping, every photograph made its way into Revel’s scrapbook. When Revel was old enough to attend Desmarais’s bouts, he came to life. Revel was in awe of his fellow countryman, how he moved, what his punches seemed to do to his opponents.
Desmarais won 44 of his 46 professional fights and when Revel was 24 years old, a plane crash took his hero away. Revel grew to be big and strong, following in Desmarais’s footsteps and carrying a similar build, also was a middleweight. Now 26, Revel is trying to step into his hero’s shoes and win the middleweight championship belt.
When Mark McCoy won the title in his last bout against Millard Shelton, the concern before that fight was whether the lights would be too bright for the 22-year-old. McCoy composed himself and boxed beautifully on his way to a unanimous decision. McCoy is once again the younger fighter in this bout, but the Kansas City Kid is ready for the big time.
Those in attendance will remember this first round as the best round of the fight and the challenger’s finest moment. The opening stanza had action from pillar to post. The history books will remember the rest of the bout, which was fought at a slower pace and at a tempo that fit the champion’s character.
Revel sprinted to the center of the ring to find McCoy just after the opening bell, as if he was trying to make an impression for Desmarais, for France. Revel offered a crushing right that landed in the midsection of McCoy and feeding off the momentum, the challenger added a hook to the head to even out the first barrage of fisticuffs. After McCoy defended well on a combination, he composed himself to throw a cross Revel’s way that shook the Frenchman. Revel owned the first round in a toe-to-toe sequence and McCoy looked to grab on to Revel to slow the tempo.
McCoy made it out of the first round intact, but his corner offered a quick strategy session. The advice on how to handle Revel was readily accepted. His trainer implored him to fight defensively, block the onslaught, and counterpunch when he saw an opening. This will help tire and frustrate the challenger, as well as conserve McCoy’s energy. The only flaw in the plan is that Revel had a winning round and McCoy would have to make his statement. McCoy was playing the long game, as he had 14 rounds to change the judges’ minds.
The second round put McCoy on even footing with Revel, as he dominated the round. McCoy seemed to go against the plan, as he went on the offense to start and connected on an uppercut. Revel went to protect his head and McCoy saw an opportunity to exploit with body shots. Once McCoy felt he got even with his bad first round, he started to heed the instructions given from his corner between the first and second rounds.
In the third round, Revel tried to start fast, as the fighter who connected first won the round. Revel missed on his uppercut, which left him open for McCoy to land a hard right hand. McCoy was tactical in this round and provided evidence of how the defensive strategy would work. Revel was chasing McCoy, while McCoy danced around him and let Revel tire himself out.
Revel was able to catch McCoy a few times in Round Four and Round Six, but allowed McCoy to attack in the fifth round, culminating in a cross that caused Revel’s legs to wobble and a hook to Revel’s left side that left Revel gasping for air.
It was a fairly even bout until the eighth round when McCoy took control of the match. McCoy scored one of his three knockdowns on a three-punch combination to the jaw of the challenger. Revel was floored and almost did not make it back up before the rookie referee Randy Neumann reached the end of his count. Revel stood up and was ready to continue on the count of nine. As the punched mounted, Revel developed swelling under his left eye that persisted for the rest of the fight.
From there, McCoy had his way with Revel, as the swelling must have had a chilling effect on his willingness to lead with his chin, but his punches rarely found their target. On the night, Revel connected with only 16% of his offerings, while he averaged 100 punches a round, though calling some of Revel’s wild swings “punches” would be a stretch.
In the 12th round, McCoy executed a hook at the closing bell of the round that dropped Revel for a second time, but Revel was very quick to stand up, as Neumann barely started his count. A third knockdown was awarded to McCoy in the next round on another hook, just after another wild swing-and-miss by Revel. Revel stood on the count of eight and the fight was allowed to continue.
McCoy was content to run out the clock, sitting on a big lead and fighting a clearly exhausted Revel. The confidence and poise that McCoy (26-2-0) continues to exude shows he is wise beyond his years. He was able to adjust on the fly and execute on his trainer’s strategy, extremely coachable at the age of 22.
Revel (31-2-0) did not measure up on this night and he will return to France without a championship belt in tow. But he need not hang his head. He may not be in the class of the current champion, but Revel will always have that display in the first round to build from. As a 26-year-old, he can work on his weaknesses and come back to fight for the title again. Revel did his country proud and, just as important to him, honored the memory of his hero.
BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Revel, 4-2 (M: 0:55 cross, 2:37 hook; R: 0:12 right/midsection, 0:33 hook/head, 1:37 right/body, 1:54 uppercut)
Round 2: McCoy, 1-0 (0:12 uppercut)
Round 3: McCoy, 1-0 (0:32 right)
Round 4: None
Round 5: McCoy, 3-0 (0:31 left, 1:07 cross, 2:12 cross/midsection)
Round 6: Tied, 1-1 (M: 0:51 combo; R: 1:52 cross)
Round 7: None
Round 8: McCoy, 1-0 (1:11 combo/jaw/knockdown #1)
Round 9: McCoy, 1-0 (1:31 cross/face)
Round 10: None
Round 11: Revel, 1-0 (0:22 combo)
Round 12: McCoy, 2-0 (2:32 right, 3:00 hook/knockdown #2)
Round 13: Tied, 1-1 (M: 2:13 hook/knockdown #3; R: 1:13 cross)
Round 14: None
Round 15: None
TOTAL: McCoy 13, Revel 7
- In Boston last week highly rated middleweight contender Jim Ward ran his career record to 30-3 with a majority decision over Bobby Price (26-8). Ward, a New York City native who recently turned 30, is likely long overdue for a title shot.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- December 15- Hartford, CT: Middleweight contender Bill Boggs (24-4-1) meets Nick Greene (10-2)
- December 16- Washington DC: Italian Middleweight Hugo Canio (21-2-2) faces Joe Taylor (27-7)
- December 18- St Louis, MO: middleweight contender Dan Drewery (27-4-5) squares off with Adam Curtis (10-1-1)
- December 26-, London, ENG: top European heavyweight Joe Brinkworth (26-3) has a boxing day meeting with Nicolas Arnould (22-2-2) scheduled.
- December 31- Pittsburgh, PA: a pair of former middleweight champs in Millard Shelton (32-6) and Canadian Adrian Petrie (21-5-3) meet.
- December 31 - London, ENG: Heavyweight Ben Budgeford (24-5), who once fought Hector Sawyer for the world title, meets Scotland's Scott McKellar (21-5).
WHAT HAS HAPPENENED TO THE TORONTO DUKES?
A month ago, the Toronto Dukes were the class of the NAHC, building a quick eight-point lead that may have had more than a few observers speculating Toronto might clinch first place before February. The last month has been a nightmare as Jack Barrell's team looks like a completely different club from the one that started the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak and was 9-1-3 exactly one month ago. Since then, the Dukes have fallen off a cliff, posting a 1-9-3 record that included two different four game losing streaks.
The offense has vanished. Quinton Pollack, one of the best players in the league and clearly the Dukes leader, had 11 goals and 19 points after the first 14 games. In the 12 games since then Pollack has scored just once and added only 3 assists. Linemates Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith have had similar collapses as Toronto outscored opponents 38-27 in their first 13 games but have been outscored 48-27 in the last 13. The defense has also clearly struggled but goaltender Gordie Broadway, who must feel like he is a carnival shooting gallery target on some nights, has been one of the few bright spots.
Compounding the Dukes problems as their eight point lead has turned to a five point deficit are concerns about merely staying in the top four as both the New York Shamrocks and Chicago Packers have been on fire of late as each has overtaken the Dukes while fourth place Detroit is also closing fast.
The Packers turnaround has been a polar opposite of what is happening in Toronto. Chicago, which endured an awful season a year ago, started slow again this time around with just a 5-8-0 record that left the Packers in last place a month ago. Since then Chicago has gone 10-3-0 and is just a point behind the New York Shamrocks for first place. Tommy Burns has taken over the NAHC scoring lead and the goaltending duo of Michael Cleghorn and Norm Hanson has four shutouts in the past two weeks. Even Bert McColley, the rugged veteran defenseman, has found gold in the form of 4 goals in his last three games, a task he needed 67 games to accomplish last season.
It is a long season and full of ups and downs as both the Dukes and Packers are well aware of judging by how each of their opening two months have gone.
NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
TUESDAY DECEMBER 4 Last week it was Michael Cleghorn with a pair of shutouts, now it was Chicago's other goaltender -longtime number one Norm Hanson- who had the big performance in net. Hanson stopped all 22 Boston shots he faced while defenseman Bert McColley had a big game on offense with 2 goals and an assist to lead the Packers past the Bees 3-0. Chicago has won 8 of their last 10 games while Boston has dropped three straight.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5
Boston 0 at 2 New York : Just bad luck for the Bees who have back to back games against the two hottest clubs in the league and are shutout for the second straight night. This time it was New York's Alex Sorrell doing the job but the Bees made it easy on the New York goaltender, firing just 12 shots on goal including only 5 in the final forty minutes. New York won 2-0 on third period goals from Alexandre Lapalme and Geoff Hartnell.
Detroit 6 at 3 Toronto : Detroit is heating up as the Motors won their third consecutive game, doubling slumping Toronto 6-3. Derek Veysey scored twice - the first and second career goals for the 19-year-old rookie- to lead the Motors offense.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 8
Detroit 3 at 3 Montreal : The Valiants fell behind 3-0 early in the second period but rallied to tie Detroit thanks to goals from Adam Sandford, Clarence Skinner and Paulie Mosca. Lou Barber, Vincent Arsenault and Adam Fun had staked the Motors to an early lead.
Chicago 3 at 1 Toronto : Toronto falls to 0-4-2 in its last six games after the surging Packers claimed a 3-1 victory on the road at Dominion Gardens. Maurice Charette opened the score for Toronto but after that it was all Chicago as Bert McColley, with his third goal in the past two games, Max Ducharme and Tommy Burns replied for the Packers.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 9
Boston 0 at 1 Chicago : The Packers are 8-1 in their last nine with four of those victories being shutouts including a 1-0 win at home over Boston. Michael Cleghorn stopped 25 Bees shots for his third shutout in less than two weeks and Bert McColley scored again. The defenseman scored just 4 goals all of last season but has scored 4 in the past three games and has six on the year. Boston has lost each of its last five games.
Montreal 2 at 5 Detroit :Detroit is riding a five game unbeaten streak after dumping the Valiants 5-2 to take three of a possible four points from their weekend home and home series. Nick Tardif had 3 assists to pace the Motors with Harry Remington, Lou Barber and Francis McKenzie each chipping in with a goal and an assist.
Toronto 2 at 3 New York : Make it four straight losses for a Toronto club that is winless in its last eight games after falling 3-2 in New York to a Shamrocks team that has won three straight. Orval Cabbell, who led the NAHC in scoring last year, notched the game winner midway through the third period. The unassisted goal was Cabbell's 11th of the season. Tony Bell and John Beaudoin also scored for while Doug Zimmerman and Miles Norman replied for a Toronto team that was outshot 45-21. No points again for Toronto's Quinton Pollack who has lost the scoring lead to Chicago's Tommy Burns after registering just 1 point in his last seven games and was held off the scoresheet in 3 games this week.
UPCOMING GAMES
TUESDAY DECEMBER 11
New York at Boston
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 12
Boston at New York
THURSDAY DECEMBER 13
Montreal at Chicago
Toronto at Detroit
SATURDAY DECEMBER 15
Chicago at Detroit
Boston at Montreal
New York at Toronto
SUNDAY DECEMBER 16
Montreal at Boston
Toronto at Chicago
Detroit at New York
DUKES WINLESS WAYS CONTINUE, DROP TO THIRD
The Toronto Dukes, who have not won a game since November 21st, dropped all three this week including two at home in front of increasingly disgruntled fans at the Gardens. On Wednesday when the team should have been looking to atone for a poor third period in the Motor City they came out uninspired, and played flat. Detroit took full advantage putting the Dukes down 3-0 before the eight minute mark of the first. As the grumbling from the faithful increased in the stands the Dukes seemed to show a little life until the Motors put the game out reach with three more goals on Gordie Broadway in a span of 2:38 midway through the second period. Lou Galbraith spoiled Millard Touhey's shutout before the end of the second in front of a silent crowd. The third was two teams going through the motions as fans started departing the Gardens in droves before the game was over not staying to the bitter end in a 6-1 win for Detroit.
Most of the almost 13000 entering the Gardens on Saturday night expected to see a team playing with some sense of urgency. After a scoreless opening period in which Broadway played much better than against Detroit, the Dukes managed to break the deadlock at 4:23 when Maurice Charette took a power play feed from Ken Jamieson then deposited the disc behind Norm Hanson into the Packers net. With renewed hope in the crowd the Dukes faltered badly allowing 2 goals in 51 seconds of the sticks of Bert McColley and Max Ducharme, both on loose rebounds left in the crease. Brett could almost feel the air come out of both the crowd and the Dukes bench after the second goal. The deflated team really did not test Hanson with any consistent, sustained pressure in the last 30 minutes. Tommy Burns made then final 3-1 Chicago in the third before the Dukes left the ice to a crescendo of boos from the stands. The quick start to the season is far in the rearview mirror for the fans, they are not impressed with lack of urgency shown by their former darlings of the ice.
Things did not get any easier with a trip into Bigsby Sunday to face the high scoring, fast paced Shamrocks. Some listeners were surprised to hear that Barrell went to Broadway for the third straight game. New York came out flying, as usual, in the first testing the Toronto keeper 17 times. Only Tony Bell found the back of the net with a slot shot to give the home side a 1-0 lead at intermission. The second period was a little more even, it started out fast for the Dukes when Doug Zimmerman's high dump in bounced sideways to beat Alex Sorrell after only 3 seconds elapsed in the second. The tie was short-lived when John Beaudoin cruised in from the point to put one over Broadway's shoulder before the two minute mark. Miles Norman, with his first of the year, tied the score at 2 at 11:52 of the second. Shamrocks showed why they are atop the NAHC by totally dominating the last 20 minutes. The puck never seemed to leave Toronto's end, in a period in which New York held a 17-2 advantage in shots. Broadway stood tall against the barrage for the first fourteen minutes until Orval Cabbell finally beat him on screened shot from the slot that Broadway never saw for the winner in 3-2 Shamrocks result.
Coach Barrell- " The fans made their opinion known Saturday night booing the team off the ice in the loss to the Packers. Dukes fans are knowledgeable, I did not think that the serenade was called for early in December. Yes, we are struggling badly as of late, the pressure from the fans and media is not helping the players. Toronto is good place to play but the fans, press are quick to call anyone out when things are not going well. I want to remind the detractors that these are the same guys who got out of the gate fast. Lately we have not been playing a full 60, we have lapses either short or long in duration that haunt us. We have to play 60 not 50, 55, even 59. Some changes are coming to the team, what we are dong is not good enough."
- Streaks, both good and bad highlight today's look around the Federal Basketball League. The good one belongs to the Washington Statesmen, winners of four in a row and six of their last seven. Perhaps they have righted the ship and the two-time defending league champs have put an end to their very uncharacteristic middling performance of late when they dropped three of six including a rare loss on their home court. An 86-66 win over the New York Knights started the recent run which also included a pair of wins over basement dwelling Boston and a 20-point victory over Baltimore last night. The news is not all good in the nations capital as starting forward Ernie Fischer, who is averaging 12.5 points per game, broke his foot last week and will be out likely until February.
- Speaking of bad news that would be the awful streak that continued last week for the Toronto Falcons. The Falcons are in a free fall with 8 straight losses. There have been some purely awful efforts but also some heartbreaking losses for Toronto in that stretch with none hurting more than an 89-87 loss in Chicago earlier this week when Luther Gordon sank the game winner for the Panthers with just six second remaining after Toronto had led much of the fourth quarter. It has not been a good year for owner Bernie Millard, who also owns the Toronto Wolves of FABL and watched them suffer through two consecutive 100+ loss seasons - something that has never happened before. The Wolves fall has been coming for years but the Falcons is out of the blue as basically the same roster went to the league championship game each of the last two years.
- Rochester made a statement against Detroit last week. The Mustangs were pressing the first place Rockets for top spot in the West Division and were coming off a 79-71 win in Detroit last week. The rematch in Rochester on Thursday was a rout with five Rockets scoring in double figures as the Rockets blasted Detroit 83-58. A win the following night against Toronto extended Rochester's lead on Detroit back to 2.5 games.
- Three rookies, all in the top three selections made in the draft, have had strong starts to their pro careers. The biggest one belongs to Mel Turcotte who not only leads all rookies with 16.1 points per game but is also twelfth in the league in that category. Turcotte was selected second by the Philadelphia Phantoms. First overall pick Rod Bookman is doing just fine in Baltimore as well. The guard is among the league assist leaders averaging 7.0 helpers per game. Don Higgins, whose brother Dick was a former big league baseball pitcher, is averaging nearly 45 minutes a game for Cleveland, most playing time of anyone in the league and the guard is scoring at an 11.3 points per game clip.
NUMBER ONE FALLS AGAIN
Rainier College upset by St. Matthew's
For the second week in a row the top ranked team in collegiate basketball lost a game and fell from its perch. A week ago it was preseason number one Whitney College losing its second game of the season to Pittsburgh State. This time around it was a slightly bigger upset as St. Matthew's College knocked off previously unbeaten Rainier College to bump the Majestics down to fifth in the latest rankings.
St Matthew's had a dominant start, leading the Majestics who entered the game with a perfect 4-0 record, by nine points at the break and went on to win 66-56. It was the Senators backcourt that did the majority of the damage as guards Ron Sowder and John Kershner combined for 31 points. Senior forward Doc Daniels was the Majestics top scorer with 14 points. Rainier College was not the only top ten school to stumble as Indiana A&M slid two place and is now ranked 8th after falling 63-61 on the road against Oklahoma City State.
The new number one is Coastal California as the Dolphins are 5-0 after a pair of wins last week including a too close for comfort 50-49 victory over Central Illinois. Whitney College, which dropped out of the top spot after losing two weeks ago, is back up to second following a 42-31 victory over St. Martin's College in their lone game last week.
Guard Charlie Barrell had another solid game for Noble Jones College. Now that football is over and Barrell can concentrate solely on basketball, the Colonels may go on a tear. They routed Richmond State 73-58 behind Barrell's 14 points and 21 from center Jim Graybeal to improve to 3-1 and are rebounding nicely from their season opening loss to Indiana A&M.
One other team to keep an eye on is Liberty College. The Bells used to rely on dominant big men when they had Ward Messer and then Luther Gordon but now the focus is much more on outside shooting and the Bells have enjoyed some early success, posting 6-0 mark that included a narrow 61-60 win over a strong Chesapeake State team Friday evening. Joe Cesarini, the Bells All-American candidate at guard, had another big game with 18 points and 7 assists in the win over the Clippers, which helped Liberty College maintain its #4 ranking in the latest poll.
WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 3
#4 Liberty College 69, at Potomac College 46
St. Matthew's College 66, at #5 Rainier College 56
#8 Indiana A&M 67, at Bulein 61
at #9 Spokane State 47, Gates University 37
#11 Elyria 49, at Fond du Lac 48
#22 Great Plains State 48, at Northern Minnesota 45
at #24 Maldin 63, Holland 45
#25 Quaker College (CA) 53, at Tallmadge State 52
TUESDAY DECEMBER 4
#23 CC Los Angeles 49, at California Catholic 33
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5
#11 Elyria 61, at Grange College 47
#12 Brooklyn Catholic 71, at Central Maryland 47
#15 Eastern Oklahoma 53, at Boulder State 48
THURSDAY DECEMBER 6
at #17 Mobile Maritime 69, Chicago Poly 41
FRIDAY DECEMBER 7
#1 Coastal California 50, at Central Illinois 49
at #2 Whitney College 67, St. Patrick's 49
#4 Liberty College 61, at Chesapeake State 60
#6 Redwood 60, at Golden Gate 42
at Oklahoma City State 63, #8 Indiana A&M 61
at #9 Spokane State 54, Campion 41
at #12 Brooklyn Catholic 60, Hampden 51
at #13 Lane State 49, Wisconsin State 36
at #22 Great Plains State 60, Colorado Poly 52
SATURDAY DECEMBER 8
#3 Western Iowa 61, at Poweshiek 34
#20 Perry State College 52, at Capital (MS) University 49
#21 Pittsburgh State 67, at Sunnyvale 44
#24 Maldin 55, at Baton Rouge State 46
SUNDAY DECEMBER 9
#1 Coastal California 50, at Gates University 26
at #2 Whitney College 42, St. Martin's College 31
#14 Noble Jones College 73, at Richmond State 58
#12 Brooklyn Catholic 61, at NW Pennsylvania 49
at #15 Eastern Oklahoma 64, Cumberland 51
#22 Great Plains State 51, at Texas Panhandle 41
#25 Quaker College (CA) 66, at Harrisburg State 53
TRADE RUMOUR EDITION- While the winter meetings have come and gone, several teams are still looking to make some December deals. The Chicago Chiefs new General Manager has put catcher Pete Casstevens on the trade market. Timing may not be perfect to get fair value in return for the 32-year-old two-time All-Star. Casstevens struggled through the worst season offensively of his career, batting just .184 with 18 homers a year after his best season when he challenged for the single season catcher homerun record, smacking 38 round trippers while batting .284. High quality catchers are in short supply so if the Chiefs are serious, a prospective suitor may land a huge bargain if the veteran catcher is dealt and last year proves to just be an anomaly.
- Meanwhile both the New York Gothams and the Kansas City Kings continue to hope for a trade. The Kings addressed their two biggest needs in acquiring catcher Bob Burge and first baseman Bill Barnett in October so we are not sure just exactly what they are currently fishing for. The Gothams are now dangling outfielder Flipper Robinson, be he will not be enough to land the coveted high end veteran starting pitcher they desire.
- St Louis is shopping Danny Hern and were said at one point to be close to a deal with Cleveland for the 34-year-old southpaw who went 17-12 last season but those talks appear to have fizzled. Hern might be just what the Gothams are looking for but it seems unlikely the Pioneers will deal with their Federal Association pennant rivals unless it is an overwhelmingly attractive offer.
- A more likely target for the Gothams would be Toronto's George Garrison but there are questions as to whether New York is willing to part with the young pieces, likely including pitching prospect Jorge Arellano and at least one more piece, Toronto would demand in return.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/09/1951
- A disarmament meeting was held early in the week with the Big Four nations attending. No word came of any progress in the talks that lasted over several days.
- Hopes for a cease-fire in Korea continue to go nowhere after another unsuccessful effort by UN negotiators to break the long deadlock over terms of a truce agreement. Reds rebuffed all UN overtures during five hours of debate, which became heated at times.
- New fighting in the Suez Canal Zone with British troops clashing with Egyptian police and civilians. Unconfirmed reports say at least 20 Egyptians were killed. The British version is their troops were attacked by police and armed civilians near a filtration plant. One Cairo newspaper put the dead at 50, worst yet in the two-month old conflict.
- Riots also in Teheran, Iran with several dead and more than 200 injured in a five hour battle between 5,000 yelling Communists and 2,000 police and troops backed by angry mobs of Nationals.