[Tiger Fan]

1956 IN FIGMENT SPORTS

A year of change in pro sports as none of the teams in the big four sports managed to repeat and two on the verge of making history each fell short. The New York Gothams ended the Detroit Dynamos reign of four consecutive pennants in baseball's Federal Association and the Gothams would go on to beat the Cleveland Foresters in the World Championship Series. A terrible August cost the Dynamos the flag and may have contributed to the decision by long-time manager Dick York to retire at the end of the season. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Frigates were looking to become the first American Football Association club to win three straight titles. The Frigates finished first in the East Division but lost to the New York Stars in overtime in the eastern playoff game. On the ice, the Toronto Dukes came up short in their bid to win a record 11th Challenge Cup. The Dukes did make the finals for the fourth consecutive season but are 2-2 in that span as the Detroit Motors topped Toronto for the second time in four years. Turning to basketball the Rochester Rockets also failed to defend their Federal cage loop title, getting swept by the Washington Statesmen in the finals. The only repeat champion came from college basketball as the Carolina Poly Cardinals won their second straight AIAA tournament and pulled into a tie with Rainier College for the most basketball titles all time, with 5 each.

After such a boring 1955 season, pretty much everyone but Dynamo fans were hoping for a year filled with pennant races and acquisitions. The year got off to a slow start, but as Spring Training was approaching a few teams got their season started early. The St Louis Pioneers kicked things off by trading for All-Star catcher Dan Scurlock (.263,10,49), sending the Cannons a young righty in Gary Pike to provide some catching depth for an uncertain position. The other deal was far more impactful, as the Chicago Cougars traded from their outfield depth to acquire the once highly touted Danny Taylor (.289,13,54) from the Boston Minutemen. "Dynamite Dan" never really got a fair shake in the majors, as after a strong rookie season (.305,18,77) the former 7th Overall Pick spent most of the next three seasons in the minors. He finally got to play regularly in Boston last year, where he hit .289/.377/.453 (118 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 13 homers, and 54 RBIs. Chicago has an opening available at first base, and the 28-year-old has a chance to secure a job long-term.

Boston must have liked adding a trio of outfielders to their system, including former 1st Rounder Elmer Hoffman. A former top 100 prospect, Hoffman displayed serious power in high school, but his work ethic scared some teams off in the draft. The 21-year-old has since hit well in the minors, and has shown raw power potential that scouts drool over. The issue is the swing, there's a lot of big hacks that get nothing but air, and he still hasn't quite realized he's not the greatest hitter of all time. If he uses his smarts to improve his swing, this will be a clear win for the Minutemen, as the 6'5" slugger has power that makes up for his shortcomings elsewhere. He'll be joined by top 200 prospect William Roberts (194th), who Chicago took 10th in 1953, and Canadian outfielder Ike Soeur who once ranked as high as the 83rd best prospect. He's on the cusp of the big leagues, and could enter the picture for 1957, while Roberts is just 20 and has power that isn't too far from Hoffman. With October acquisition George Rutter (.302, 7, 32) in line for first base duties, Taylor was expendable, and if they have a hot start the influx of new prospects could allow them to comfortably make more midseason upgrades.

Betting money would be on the Detroit Dynamos winning again, that's how it's been lately, but Rick Masters (.345,33,114) could just as easily bash the Minutemen to a pennant or the star studded Gothams could make a big move in what could be Walt Messer's (.315,28,100) last professional season. The Conti seems much more open, as along with the defending pennant winning Kings, Cleveland, San Francisco, and maybe even Cincinnati could make a claim on the crown.

With that in mind, there were some acquisitions made on the eve of Opening Day, as teams decided to help each other make tough roster decisions. Pittsburgh made two moves, but the most interesting one was a first basemen swap, as they sent the lefty swinging Dick Steel (.258,17,64) to the Foresters for their lefty first basemen Lorenzo Samuels (.289,24,85). Steel is more valuable in terms of age, but "The Cuyahoga Crusher" is a two-time champ and WCS MVP, tallying 143 homers and 487 RBIs in 1,068 games in Cleveland. The former 3rd Rounder hit .266/.369/.453 (127 OPS+) with the only organization he ever knew, and will potentially prosper within the smaller parks that Fed teams call home.

Another Forester had to change his jersey last minute, as the Philadelphia Keystones made a huge acquisition in 3-Time All-Star Lloyd Coulter. 28 in two days, the former 2nd Rounder is coming off a season where he hit .279/.382/.508 (142 OPS+) with 34 homers, 110 RBIs, and one more walk (82) then strike out (81). It's an unexcepted acquisition, but one that gives the talented Buddy Miller (.326,31,104) a lot more protection in the lineup. Philly also received cash and a filler prospect, parting with 65th ranked prospect Parson Allen to acquire their new star at the hot corner. The former 9th Overall Pick has ranked as high as 27th, and is coming off a nice season in A ball where he hit .301/.413/.431 (127 OPS+) with 9 homers and 64 RBIs. With the trade of Samuels, the Foresters may now have their eye on Allen as the first basemen of the future. Cleveland is also willing to give 24-year-old Gus Melvin (.233, 18, 52) a chance at a full-time job, as the son of Hall-of-Famer George Melvin had a 121 WRC+ and 28 extra base hits in 346 PAs last year.

Once the games got going, there were no major trades, but about halfway through May both association leaders had someone within three games of them. As you'd expect, the Dynamos (17-8, 2 GA) led the Fed, but the New York Gothams (17-12, 2 GB) and WashingtonEagles (17-13, 2.5 GB) are right there while the Chicago Chiefs (15-13, 3.5 GB) and Boston Minutemen (16-16, 4.5 GB) were still within five games. The surprise came in the Conti, where the Kansas City Kings (16-10, 2.5 GB) and San Francisco Sailors (16-12, 3.5) were looking up on the surprising Montreal Saints (18-7, 2.5 GA) who got off to an 11-1 and saw massive April's from Otis O'Keefe (.273,3,12), George Scott (.244,3,8), and the front four of Skinny Green (3-0, 1.42, 13), Tom Fisher (3-0, 1.67, 9), Max Edwards (1-0, 1.23, 7), and Phil Murry (2-0, 1.00, 4). Whether they can keep up this start or not is yet to be decided, but it's a long season ahead of them.

When May ended, the Saints stayed on top (26-14, 2 GA), as did Detroit (28-12), who was five up on the second place Eagles (25-19). Most surprising was the fall of the Pittsburgh Miners, who were only 18-27 (12.5 GB) and just a game out of the cellar. Big acquisition Bill Wise followed up a dreadful April (.227, 4) with a more middling May (.265, 8, 1), but the talented second basemen could never quite get it going. Even Paul Williams (.267,2,14) wasn't getting things done in May, with one of the few bright spots his improvement from his first (.277, 5) to second (.260, 3, 13) month, with the most impressive part his improvement in walk-to-strikeout ratio from 3-to-7 to 18-to-5. They weren't getting enough runs for their staff, as the season seemed to be quickly slipping away from them.

The 1956 Draft was one of the strangest ones yet, as not only were just two pitchers taken in the first round, but the first three selections were first basemen. Joe Holland kicked things off, finishing his high school career with 31 homers, 75 steals, and 157 RBIs, and the Eagles new top talent was quickly ranked 5th on the league's prospect list. Right below him is #2 pick Harry Dellinger, who the Keystones have been working out in center field instead. Holland is the better hitter, with monster power and an already plus-plus eye that should lead to some association leads in walk, but the athleticism of Dellinger and his ability to play the outfield (even if not great yet) may give him the longer leash. The power is there in both of them, but as high schoolers there's a lot of risk. Same goes for the one that will head to the Continental, as the Los Angeles Stars saw Frank Kirouac check in at 10th and make a more seamless transition to the outfield. He doesn't quite have the power as his counterparts, but he's got the best hit tool of the trio, giving this class three #1 overall quality picks atop the class.

14 of the 16 first rounders ranked in the top 100, with the early steal looking like 15th Pick Pat Davis. The new Kings outfielder of the future, Davis may not knock Charlie Rogers out of center anytime soon, but his hit tool is already starting to draw comparisons to the 1955 co-MVP. He could be an extraordinary contact hitter, and he stole 125 bases in 115 games in high school. He may be better suited for a corner, and he has the bat to make it worth it. Unlike Rogers, he projects to hit a lot of home runs, giving him an extra dimension to his game.

Many may have expected the Dynamos to then run away with it, but just when they started to distance themselves, they would lose a few series to keep their hungry Fed counterparts in it. On June 17th, the Gothams got back to within three games, and after matching results with the Dynamos for a few days they decided to throw their first chip in the center. Looking to upgrade a weakness at second base, the Gothams went to Toronto to acquire their longtime middle infielder Joe DeMott (.249, 12, 3), who's 98 WRC+ was just slightly below average. While not a star, incumbent Harry Murray was hitting just .173/.320/.319 as the every day second basemen, and DeMott was a strong hitter in 1953 (407 PA, 129 WRC+) and 1954 (539, 121) and hit .281/.367/.385 (108 OPS+) in 764 games with Toronto. He doesn't have much power, just 20 home runs, but DeMott walks (354) a lot more then he strikes out (197) and before the trade gathered 127 doubles, 39 triples, 43 steals, 376 runs, and 354 RBIs.
In exchange for DeMott, many were surprised that the Wolves were able to acquire 13th ranked prospect Earl Goodman, who has ascended from 10th Round Pick to top-15 prospect since his selection in 1953. The Class C season was getting ready to start, so Goodman had yet to make an appearance, but the then 19-year-old hit .213/.296/.449 (96 OPS+) with 9 homers and 25 RBIs in 40 games with Rock Island of the UMVA last year. One of the stronger guys in the minors, Goodman has an enticing power ceiling and an approach to make the most of it, as he works the counts and draws walks when pitchers pitch around him. With such raw tools and not much defensive ability at second, he's a somewhat controversial prospect, with one of the largest gaps between ceiling and floor.

No one made an immediate answer, but you could tell that league was sort of on edge as the All-Star break approached. New teams led the associations, with both the Gothams (47-32) and Kings (46-32) up by two and a half games. Only five teams were within first of their respective associations, but with how streaky teams have been early on, everything seemed wide open.

As the July 31 trade deadline approached, teams started to get busy, with the first salvo coming from the Pittsburgh Miners. After three consecutive 80-win seasons, everything went wrong in 1956, and they decided they were open for business. I'm sure plenty of teams inquired on Paul Williams, who was surprisingly pushed into a more limited role, but they decided to consider offers on supplemental pieces in an effort to return to contention in 1957. The Sailors, in need of a new rutter, picked up the unrelated Roy Rutter (both are 30), who was a regular in 1954 and started 52 of his 54 appearances with the Miners this year. Unfortunately for him, he was hitting just .177/.307/.257 (52 OPS+), on track for a career worst 15.1 K%. He was still drawing walks at a healthy clip (29, 13.7%), and gives the Sailors some depth at their weakest position. The price they paid was minimal, an unheralded 19-year-old and 24-year-old with a combined 12 at bats, though the 19-year-old is second basemen Walter Schmeltzer, a former 2nd Round pick who is expected to get a longer look in a weaker Pittsburgh system.

Pittsburgh's other move was sending veteran swingman Jim Kenny (5-10, 2, 4.63, 31) to the Eagles, picking up a pair of 23-year-old position player prospects. The 35-year-old Kenny started 8 of his 30 appearances, working to an elevated 4.63 ERA (86 ERA+) and 1.54 WHIP. Those numbers are somewhat deceptive, as in 54.2 innings as a starter, he was 0-7 with a 5.76 ERA (69 ERA+) and 1.63 WHIP. Expected to pitch out of the Eagles pen, they are expecting his success their to continue, as Washington is surprisingly just three games out of first and looking for their first season above .500 since 1950. Neither prospect they had to part with ranked near the top 250, but Weaver is a fringe top 500 prospect with a nice eye and solid swing and could be a decent pinch hitter.

The next move the Eagles made was much bigger, as they are betting on veteran Eli Panneton regaining his pre-injury preform. With a near spotless injury record before he tore his elbow ligament last September, LA has kept Panneton in a reliever role once he returned, pitching 20 innings with 23 hits, 11 runs, 6 walks, and 12 strikeouts. The hope here is he can solidify their 5th spot, while LA gets to pick up an interesting young outfielder in Russ May. A 3rd Rounder back in 1951, he was hitting an impressive .308/.355/.487 (121 OPS+) with 8 homers and 27 RBIs in AA, and he'd have to be added to the 40-man roster in the offseason to avoid a potential selection in the Rule-5 Draft. 24 in September, he's still yet to put it all together, but the Stars are in the midst of a rebuild, and just saw current right fielder Don Berry (.268, 11, 37) tore his labrum. This is a major loss in outfield depth, and his status for 1957 Opening Day is in question, and May can join the competition to replace him.

There were plenty of other trades, but none were more impactful then the two the Gothams made. Already upgrading second earlier in the season, Joe DeMott wasn't doing much better, so they enticed the Keystones to move away from offseason pickup Ed Holmes (.272, 5, 29, 3) after just 60 games. He hit about as he did with the Stars, slashing .272/.342/.397 (103 OPS+) with a 112 WRC+ and passable defense at second (-1.5 ZR, 1.003 EFF). He interestingly tallied five doubles, triples, and homers, scoring 37 times and drawing 21 walks with 29 RBIs in his 266 plate appearances. The two prospects they gave up weren't too painful, though the 21-year-old switch hitter Walt Denny is at least a bench quality prospect, and he was hitting a productive .287/.348/.475 (115 OPS+) for the Gothams Class C team. But the big move they made came a few hours before the deadline, acquiring 4-Time Whitney Winner Bill Barrett from the Cannons for 31st ranked prospect Art McKinney and 100th ranked prospect Sam Sheppard (no relation to the longtime Pioneer and former Allen Winner).

It may be a surprise to see a team just two games under .500 to give up on their most productive player, but Barrett was in his aged 36 season and his value may never be higher then it is now, as the Gothams were desperate to dethrone the Dynamos. Through exactly 400 trips to the plate, Barrett was on pace for his 5th Whitney, slashing an elite .350/.455/.593 (178 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 19 homers, and 75 RBIs. He walked (65) just barely more then twice as much as he struck out (32), and was showing that his .324/.468/.640 (201 OPS+) line in 138 games last season was no mirage. Joining a lineup with Walt Messer, Earl Howe, and Hank Estill and the top pitching staff in the association should allow the future Hall-of-Famer to keep up his torrid pace, and with the timing of the trade, the Dynamos had no chance to answer.

It was a quiet deadline for the team looking to win their fifth consecutive pennant, with the big acquisition taking a chance on former top pitching prospect Bob Allen, but that could be expected as they were 7 up on the second place Eagles and seemed poised to win it all again. Now 28, he was starting to show the promise he did as a youngster, excelling in 116 innings with the Cougars. Allen appeared in 24 games, going a near-perfect 9-1 with a save, a 2.02 ERA (191 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, and 69 strikeouts. Never given a chance to just start games, Allen's 13 starts were two off his career high from 1954 (10-7, 4.17, 62), and seems unlikely to surpass any of Jim Norris, Jack Miller, Paul Anderson, Jack Halbur, or Joe Hancock in the Dynamos rotation. Instead, he's expected to take over as the stopper role and offer depth if one of their front five gets hurt. The price was minimal too, parting with the 155th ranked prospect Monty Brown, who at 21 was hitting just .313/.355/.391 (92 OPS+) on the Dynamos' AA team. He's got a nice eye and bat, but he's years away from contributing to the big league club and Detroit has no shortage of talent.

The deals came before the Gothams started doing business, but it initially looked like the Minutemen were going to be the team to win the deadline. No, it wasn't for picking up the struggling former Allen Winner Carl Potter (3-11, 6.64, 33) from the Cougars, but because they picked up 31-year-old outfielder Billy Forbes from the Sailors. Last year's CA steal leader with 23, he was on track for yet another impressive season, batting .268/.333/.455 (112 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 8 triples, 9 homers, 40 runs, 62 RBIs, 37 walks, and 6 steals with an outstanding 10.7 zone rating and 1.056 efficiency in center. Still among one of the top center fielders in the league, he was named to his third All-Star game this season, and will leave his first organization with a .280/.346/.431 (116 OPS+) triple slash. Forbes accumulated 42.9 WAR in 1,277 games, adding 299 doubles, 84 triples, 95 homers, 626 RBIs, 744 runs, 516 walks, and 155 steals. The former 15th Overall Pick was a big part of the 1951 champion team, and he'll exit top-10 in team history in WAR (7th), games (10th, 1,277), at-bats (9th, 4,967), runs (7th), hits (10th, 1,391), doubles (7th), triples (6th), runs (6th), RBIs (9th), and walks (7th). In return, the Sailors asked for former 10th Overall Pick Mike Quigley, who they think they can fixed. Ranked as the 143rd prospect in FABL, "Q" was a consistent top-50 prospect who threw a minor league no-hitter, but spent the past year and a half pitching for Boston's AA team. A pitcher with a deep five pitch arsenal and solid control, there's a lot to like about the young righty, but he's never been able to dominate minor league pitchers like many may have thought.

Just before trading the long-time stalwart Forbes, they sent his counterpart Al Farmer to Cincinnati, picking up the 171st ranked prospect Tom Wood. Wood split time between A and AA, hitting a more productive .319/.477/.437 (140 OPS+) at the higher level, producing a 160 WRC+ fueled by an elite 40-to-18 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Wood is a disciplined player, but his value is limited as a first basemen only, and he doesn't have much power. Farmer, on the other hand, was hitting a productive .263/.351/.432 (112 OPS+) and was the World Championship MVP back in 1951. The former 9th Overall Pick hit .278/.361/.435 (121 OPS+) in 1,106 FABL games, and like his former teammate spent his entire career in the Sailors organization. Farmer was worth a bit lower 30.3 WAR, providing the Sailors with 213 doubles, 77 triples, 90 homers, 480 RBIs, 514 walks, and 642 runs scored. Both will be missed enormously, but this is an organization that does an excellent job identifying talent, and they're not afraid to move away from their quality players when they have an internal replacement ready.

There were two more deals of note in July, starting with the third deadline deal (Barrett and Allen) that saw longtime Saint Otis O'Keefe (.297, 16, 66) head to Cleveland for 160th ranked prospect Ed Holt. Holt, a 20-year-old catcher, was Cleveland's 3rd Round Pick in 1953, and while talented may not be a fair return for a talented hitter like O'Keefe. A 3rd Rounder himself, "Double Aught" hit was off to a .297/.363/.481 (129 OPS+) start to the season, and owns a .276/.356/.414 (114 OPS+) triple slash in 1,137 games with Montreal. His 109 homers are good for 6th in team history, and he'll form a potent outfield with Tom Carr and Sherry Doyal while 1952 Whitney Winner Frenchy Sonntag is beginning to get ready for a rehab assignment following a ruptured Achilles tendon. 9.5 games behind the Kings, they have plenty of work to do, but their is talent on the mound and in the lineup, and adding O'Keefe could give them the spark they need.

Rounding things out was the Minutemen acquisition of Tom Buchannan (10-5, 4.74, 45), hoping to see him regain the form he had as recently as 1954 when he was 8-4 with a 2.72 ERA (151 ERA+) and 1.40 WHIP in 112.1 innings pitched. Despite the 10-wins, Buchanan's 4.74 ERA (82 ERA+) is his highest since the Cougars acquired him in 1953, where he held a 5.53 (76 ERA+) mark between St. Louis and Chicago. If it stands, 4.74 would be the second worst in his 11-year career, but for the small price of a 19-year-old in Class C who ranks just inside the top 250, it could be a very useful deal. Just 33, the former 2nd Pick has matching 101 ERA+ with both the Pioneers and Cougars, and his durability means he's always available and could eat plenty of innings for a staff that ranks towards the bottom in most categories.

*** Stretch Run in the Federal Association ***

After the dust settled at the deadline, the Gothams got out to a great start in August, as after dropping the first game of the month 8-6 to the Pioneers, they rolled off wins in 13 of their next 14 games, the only loss a 3-2 defeat to the Chiefs in the first game of the double header. Their hot stretch included a two-game sweep in Detroit, winning a pair of one-run games to halve the seven game lead the Dynamos held at the deadline. By the 12th that lead was cut to just half a game, and after matching games for awhile the Dynamos managed to add an extra game to their lead.

The Federal pennant race seemed to change on the 19th of August, as both New York and Detroit had double headers. The Dynamos (68-48) were hosting the Keystones (56-59), who they already beat in the previous two games, while the Gothams were doing the same thing to the Miners (51-66). Pittsburgh cooperated, going down 9-1 and 6-4, but Philly snuck out a 3-2 and 6-4 win as the Dynamos continued to struggle in low scoring games. This dropped them out of first for the first time since mid-July.

Both teams were given days off to recover, and then proceeded to lose each of their next four games. This allowed the Washington Eagles (67-55) to make it a three-team race, and four of their last five August games were to against the two teams above them. They split with both, walking off the Gothams in 10 on the 27th and shutting out the Dynamos (3-0) two days later. After winning the first of three against St. Louis, the Eagles finished 16-10 for August, and entered the final month of the season in second place (71-57, 1.5 GB).

That's because the Dynamos were so bad in August that they reversed (9-21) their dominant 21-9 August. Now 69-59 and 3.5 behind the upgraded Gothams, Detroit was in a real predicament as their rotation just could not get outs. Despite all five of their starting entering the month with above average numbers, they all produced subpar numbers on the month. Paul Anderson was the only one to win more the one of his starts, going 2-3 with a respectable 3.99 ERA (98 ERA+) in his 5 starts. The only problem was more walks (29) than strikeouts (25) and an inflated 1.70 WHIP. Two time Allen winner Jim Norris looked mortal, dropping four of his six starts (one win, one no decision) while also walking (24) more guys then he struck out (18). For Anderson, that's not too uncommon, he tends to hold extreme walk rates, but Norris hasn't walked more guys then he struck out since his rookie season (70, 61), and his 11.8 BB% that year has been his only above 8.5. In August it was an even 11, and it was an even higher 11.2 in a July, where he went 2-3 with a 5.36 ERA, 20 walks, and 22 strikeouts. It's hard to win when your ace isn't performing to his standards, and with everyone else choosing to slump they labored through a month they'd like to forget.

First year Gothams GM Tom Beaver must have been proud of how his first deadline went, as both Bill Barrett and Ed Holmes were critical to the 21-9 month that revived the team's season. Barrett didn't match his .350/.455/.593 (178 OPS+) line in month one, but the slugger hit 6 homers and drove in 18 runs with a .250/.406/.470 (136 OPS+) triple slash. The most impressive part was his discipline, as he struck out just 8 times in 128 plate appearances to an impressive 27 walks. That 21.1 BB% is almost a replica of his 1955 mark (21.2) and reminiscent of his Whitney winning years on what was at the time the other New York team. Another former Star, Holmes hit .282/.371/.447 (120 OPS+), contributing 3 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 10 walks, 17 runs, and 21 RBIs. As good as Barrett is, the offensive upgrade Holmes gave the Gothams at second cannot be understated, and he's done a good job setting up the big 3-for-5 of Barrett, Earl Howe (.234, 8, 15), and Hank Estill (.204, 9, 22). The acquisitions also helped lessen the blow of Walt Messer's (.250, 2, 17) struggles, as his 81 WRC+ was his first below 100 in a month this season. They were able to score plenty of runs without him, and unlike the struggling Dynamos, all five of their starters had ERA+ above 100.

New York and Detroit opened the final month in the Motor City, and the two contenders split their second to last series of the season. The last one was a critical four game series in New York, capped off with a Sunday double header. Before the series started, New York (75-59) held a half game lead over the Eagles (75-60), while Detroit (72-61) was now in a tie for third with the Minutemen. Boston got back over .500 with an excellent 18-9 August, as the clear cut Kellogg Winner Jack Denis somehow surpassed Rick Masters as the best hitter in the lineup. 25 in August, he had monthly WRC+ of 234, 224, and 204 in June, July, and August (it was even 274 in 14 April games), winning Rookie of the Month in all three. Star level production was expected from Denis, and with Billy Forbes now leading an extra deep lineup that boasts Marshall Thomas and George Rutter as well.

In what would prove to be the series that decided the season, the Gothams showed their dominance, metaphorically assassinating the king by winning all four games of a series with Detroit where New York was in control for maybe all but four innings. They did not trail for a single inning, winning by scores of 6-1, 13-8, 6-3, and 2-0 to banish the Dynamos 6.5 games back. The four clutch wins also allowed New York to separate from the other late entrants, with just Washington (77-61) less then five games out of first. They took two of three from the Pioneers, but did their pennant hopes in by losing eight straight, including a double header sweep in Detroit and a one-gamer out in New York.

You do have to give the Dynamos some credit, as most teams would have folded after getting embarrassed by a first place team like they did. They regrouped on an off day, and after a tough 6-1 loss against the Chiefs in Detroit, they won 9 of their next 10 and finished September with a strong 15-11 record. They got back to second, finishing just four games behind the pennant winning Gothams (88-66), but following up 101 wins with an 84-70 record is a major letdown, even before considering the attempt to three-peat as WCS champs and win five straight pennants.

You could place blame on the Dynamos getting complacent, but at the same time this Gothams team was truly talented. You can't win it every season, and a second place finish after four pennant's is about as minor of a setback as it is. There's still plenty of talent on Detroit's roster, and most importantly, Jim Norris got his mediocre year out of the way. Unable to win a third consecutive Allen, which would have likely cemented him as a Hall-of-Famer, "No-No" Norris was just 14-14 with a 3.81 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 100 walks, and 134 strikeouts. For some, say teammate Bill Gifford (4-4, 8, 4.46, 46), that's a career year, and aside from 43-year-old Joe Hancock (12-12, 4.97, 55), who by the way, should hang up the cleats and not play at 44, this rotation will likely improve just because the four guys in it are so talented. Jack Miller (17-12, 2.92, 196) and Paul Anderson (18-10, 3.08, 171) had typically impressive seasons, and even a regressed version of Jack Halbur (9-13, 6, 3.94, 91) was useful both as a starter and stopper. The lineup even outscored New York 769 to 735 (Boston was 2nd with 764), as Bill Morrison (.290, 22, 117), Edwin Hackberry (.253, 23, 96, 19), Stan Kleminski (.284, 5, 49, 6), Pat Petty (.270, 8, 43), Dick Estes (.263, 17, 75), and even Tommy Griffin (.287, 10, 75) were all productive regulars. Don't think this window is even the least bit closed, as regardless of how the WCS goes I'd put Detroit on a shortlist for top contenders of 1956.

What absolutely needs to be discussed before getting to the Fed pennant and who they'd end up facing, one must be informed on former 5th ranked prospect Jack Denis, who not only won a unanimous Kellogg Award, but also the Whitney, in a rookie season that rivals what Tom Taylor (.342, 44, 126, 26) did in 1928. The 24-year-old Denis hit an absurd .371/.464/.645 (197 OPS+) with 45 home runs, 127 RBIs, and a whopping 10.8 wins above replacement despite playing almost all of his 152 games as a left fielder. As you might expect, Denis led the Fed in nearly every category, as along with his entire batting line, his home runs, RBIs, and WAR, he led in runs (126), wOBA (.487), WRC+ (211), and so much more.

Currently considered the best player in baseball by OSA, his .464 OBP this year was his highest since 1942, and his .371 average is second to just Buddy Miller's .397 (1953) since 1940. The Minutemen lineup was already lethal when it just had Marshall Thomas (.320, 25, 81) and Rick Masters (.288, 43, 117), and they managed to win 82 games despite star shortstop Joe Kleman (.271, 1, 6) playing just 14 games. The addition of George Rutter proved wise, as the former Sailor hit an impressive .326/.364/.518 (136 OPS+) with 24 doubles, 10 triples, 17 homers, and 109 RBIs. Backstop Sam Walker (.274, 17, 59) had another productive season at the plate, former Saint 2nd Rounder Leon Wallace (.301, 10, 40) impressed in his first FABL season with more then 400 PAs, and third basemen Hilly Westbrook (.246, 12, 60) proved to be a shrewd selection in the Rule-5 draft. Even better, they'll get a full season of Billy Forbes in center, who despite continued excellent defense in center (4.9, 1.048) he saw his batting line slip from .268/.333/.455 (112 OPS+) to an uncharacteristic .215/.257/.368 (67 OPS+), which would easily be the worst of his career had it come in a full season.

Denis, Masters, and Thomas deserve to be built around, and an active offseason could be of benefit. The pitching could use some help, I don't trust waiver claim extraordinaire Foster Sherman's (12-5, 2.69, 100) breakout, and no one was anywhere near as effective as him. Among pitchers with double digit starts, John Grimes (11-13, 4.28, 94) was the only guy even close to average, and he had a 91 ERA+ and 120 FIP- and turned 34 in July. One wild card to the staff is former top-50 prospect Don Griffin, who at 19 led the Fed with 69 games and a fitting 19 saves. The former 7th Pick started all 55 of his high school appearances, but was fast-tracked to the majors in his draft year. After just 16.2 minor league innings, all but two in AAA, the then 18-year-old threw 32 innings, allowing 39 hits, 18 runs, and 8 walks with 17 strikeouts. This equated to a 5.06 ERA (90 ERA+), 3.80 FIP (83 FIP-), and 1.47 WHIP, as the 6'4'' teen went 4-2 with 7 saves as a rookie. This season was a massive step forward, as in 98.2 innings he had a pristine 2.74 ERA (143 ERA+) to go with 36 walks, 54 strikeouts, a 1.31 WHIP, and 3.17 FIP (81 FIP-). With a deep five pitch mix and plenty of stamina, he's got the tools to start, and it's not like they have a shortage of talented young stoppers. In fact, just six months older is Dick Wilson, who in year two was 9-6 with 7 saves, a 2.37 ERA (165 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts. And unlike Griffin, Wilson is a converted first basemen who just started pitching as a 17-year-old in A ball. I'd love to see "Doc" Griffin deployed in the rotation on Opening Day, but with his age and inexperience I can understand Boston leaving him in the pen until he corrects his simple mental mistakes.

Another player that deserves a shoutout is the recently turned 41-year-old Al Miller, who finally won a second well deserved Allen Award. Ironically, he was better in his two previous seasons, but even with the grey hairs coming in "The California Kid" continues to best the top hitters on the planet. Finishing 19-10 with a 2.83 ERA (138 ERA+) and 3.07 FIP (78 FIP-) in 277 stellar innings, Miller led the Fed in WHIP for the third consecutive season, though the 1.10 this season was the highest of them. The ERA crown was taken from him by his teammate Vern Osborne, as the Chiefs are starting to reap some of the benefits of the John Stallings trade. The former 6th Overall Pick got a cup of coffee in 1954 and a stint as a reliever last season, but broke out in a starting role this season. Osborne was an unlucky 11-10, as his 2.65 ERA (147 ERA+) was best in the association. Projected to be a dependable #2, Osborne seems to be the heir-apparent ace, though the now 35-year-old Mel Haynes (14-14, 3.62, 119) may get the secret stuff that Charlie Bingham passed down to Miller. Aside from the previously mentioned Stallings, the Chiefs haven't had many young pitchers come out of their rotation, and Osborne was a big reason the team finished 2nd in runs against. In a down year from Rod Shearer (.266, 39, 126), down being used loosely of course, the lineup slumped to second worst, but him and Ed Bloom (.292, 10, 49, 15) can't be blamed. The lineup could use a big addition, and a few acquisitions could allow the Chiefs to make a legitimate run at the crown in 1957.

Washington tried to do one of those, but a 10-16 September that was sunk by a nice game losing streak knocked them to fourth. They still finished with 81 wins, their most since they were 83-71 in 1950, as they seemed to rehabilitate Eli Panneton (5-3, 3.34, 30) and get good, dependable innings from what on the surface is an uninspiring rotation. While none of the guys are great, there's no weakness, and they got good consistency from Jim Heitzman (13-12, 3.47, 144), Jose Waggoner (14-9, 3.81, 118), Jackson Scott (15-9, 3.56, 110), and John Herron (14-9, 3.95, 94). The lineup saw some restructuring, with Jesse Alvarado (.247, 15, 48, 5) transitioning to a part-time role and Rats McGonigle (.249, 16, 58) moving down in the lineup, allowing guys like Rule-5 Pick Pat Todd (.276, 7, 50), 1954 2nd Overall Pick Jack Thompson (.335, 10, 72), and switch hitting outfielder Pete Sipe (.287, 13, 61) to take larger roles. They're also expecting former 4th Overall Pick and 17th ranked prospect Brad Keylon take over the catching position next season, and they might want to support the young centerpiece with more protection. The on field result was a little on schedule, and it will be interesting to see what direction the Eagles front office decides to go.

Among the teams that never really go into it, the Keystones had some standout performances and it wasn't just Buddy Miller, Sure, Miller hit .349/.381/.581 (161 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 36 homers, and 113 RBIs, but production like that is expected. I'm sure the Keystones were much happier with ace Sam Ivey's 20-win season, as he broke his three year stretch of subpar performance. The 28-year-old went 20-10 with a 3.41 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, and 135 strikeouts, and was the only Keystone with more then 100 innings pitched that produced an ERA below 4.75. In smaller samples, Jimmy Maness (4-5, 3.57, 49) and deadline pickup Tom Buchanan (6-5, 3.64, 25) looked good, but both have their concerns. Philly was also pleased with April pickup Lloyd Coulter (.270, 39, 96), who set a new career high for homers and WAR (6.4), while his corner infield counterpart Sal Nigro (.307, 19, 75) produced his second consecutive season with a WRC+ (156) above 135. It's a shame Buddy doesn't have more talent on his team, but if the Coulter and Buchanan trades are any indication, they'll look to acquire more pieces to please their new face.

A lot of Pittsburgh's struggles can be blamed on Paul Williams, who they held to just 395 plate appearances despite a .280/.408/.441 (126 OPS+) batting line. Sure, 2nd ranked prospect Bill Tutwiler (.324, 8, 53) drew 105 walks in 116 games and showed everyone why he's called "Amazing." And sure, Lorenzo Samuels (.289, 24, 85) had a ton of fun in the smaller Fed parks. But there had to have been a way to work their still productive star into the lineup more. If not, they should move Williams for pitching, as Ted Coffin (9-13, 4.87, 118) had a brutal second half (he even had a 3.74 ERA on August 7th) and Les Bradshaw (7-14, 5.00, 84) is starting to struggle to disguise himself as a major league pitcher. 25-year-old Dick Champ (12-12, 9, 3.77, 67) did well in the pen, and even made a few starts, so they could have some internal help for next season. But beyond that, the current group is thin, and if the Miners want to return to the team that was consistently winning 80 some games, they'll need to add some better pitchers to the staff.

The only team worse off was the Pioneers, who for the third time in four seasons finished last in the Fed. They couldn't score any runs, as aside from Rex Pilcher (.252, 29, 103) and Sam Ruggles (.283, 18, 79), they didn't offer much resistance at the plate. The pitching wasn't much better either, as Hiram Steinberg completely imploded. The 33-year-old was a pitiful 4-16 with a 6.35 ERA (63 ERA+) and 1.69 WHIP, striking out 75 and walking 56 in just 136 innings pitched. Prior to this season, he failed to reach 200 innings just twice, his debut season in 1945 (59.1) and when he threw "only" 196.2 innings in 1930. While not as poor, 32-year-old Joe Potts (9-16, 4.60, 104) wasn't any good either, leaving just back-to-back loss leader Bill Kline (17-7, 3.82, 117) as the most effective pitcher. John Thomas Johnson (15-17, 4.10, 119) wasn't too bad either, as the 35-year-old led the Fed in losses despite a respectable 4.10 ERA (97 ERA+) and 3.92 FIP (98 FIP-), but he'll be 36 next year isn't really the pitcher you want as your ace. Still, he rebounded well from a poor start to the season, and could help stabilize the team next year when they try to avoid another finish at the bottom.

Representing this association is the New York Gothams, who 88-66 are looking to capture their first title since 1942. You can pretty much thank Bill Barrett, as the superstar took over in September, shining brightest when the lights were on him. "William the Conqueror" hit an elite .349/.518/.602, hitting 6 more homers with 15 runs, 3 doubles, and 22 walks. He matched his 29 hits with 29 walks, and struck out just 6 times in 112 trips to the plate. Between Cincy and New York, he hit an astronomical .327/.453/.565 (171 OPS+) in 152 games, but couldn't win a Whitney (would have been deserved in the Conti) since he switched associations. Barrett's 121 walks were his most since he led the CA with 130 en route to his 4th Whitney in 1948, and he recorded over 100 RBIs (115) for the first time since 1949. Without Barrett, they may not give the Dynamos the beatdown that knocked them out of it, and proved to be the difference in an association won by eight games.

Even without Barrett, the Gothams are an excellent team, as they brought back last year's Whitney Winner Earl Howe, who followed up a 55 homer campaign with 42 more. He scored 110 runs and drove in 101, hitting .272/.366/.531 (139 OPS+) with 20 doubles and 86 walks. Walt Messer (.290, 22, 79) could still swing it at 37, and New York supplemented the top pitching staff in the Fed with these two, Hank Estill (.262, 29, 88), Lew Mercer (.261, 7, 69), Chief Lewis (.294, 9, 67, 25), and deadline pickup Ed Holmes (.293, 5, 31). In the rotation, only George Garrison (8-14, 1, 4.29, 86) really had any issues, as John Stallings (12-11, 3.47, 140) came back out of nowhere to be a useful FABL starter, Jorge Arellano (15-7, 3.17, 171) hit his stride in year three, and even at 36 Ed Bowman (16-14, 3.28, 172) shook off his "down" 1955 with a vintage campaign that saw him finish second in the Allen running to Al Miller. Though the most critical piece might have been Eddie Martin (14-10, 3.20, 99), who worked around baserunners all season to put together a strong 30-start campaign as a 29-year-old. Top to bottom, it's hard to find a weakness, and their Continental counterpart will definitely have their hands full.

*** Continental Stretch Run ***

So who then is that counterpart you might ask?

Well just like in the Fed, a large lead was blown, as the Kansas City Kings did not follow up their 24-7 July with an above .500 August. Sure, they didn't lose single digit games, but 13-18 isn't much better, and with just a few days left in the month they too gave up their hold on first place. The only team within eight of them was Cleveland, who followed their 20-10 July up with an even better 23-7 August. The Continental's top lineup entered September a game above the Kings, 76-54 to their 75-56. It wasn't because of Otis O'Keefe, he hit just .274/.373/.358 (95 OPS+), but it was the veterans of the staff Rufus Barrell (4-1, 3.04, 16) and Adrian Czerwinski (4-3, 3.08, 41) with help from outfield stars Sherry Doyal and Tom Carr. The duo did what they did best, as Doyal hit .346/.448/.606 (177 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 19 walks, and 25 RBIs while Carr hit a similar .378/.457/.595 (177 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homers, 24 RBIs, 13 walks, and 3 steals. Larry McClure (.389, 1, 25) and Gus Melvin (.275, 6, 15) were great too, as Cleveland looked set to add their third pennant of the 1950s.

Of course, with a full month left and a loaded Kings squad to compete with, things wouldn't be easy, and the two head honchos met five more times before the season's end. The first four came early, as like the Dynamos and Gothams the teams had a four game set in three days. Thier's was a little earlier, the 3rd to the 5th, and Cleveland entered 77-55 with a one game lead. With the games played in Kansas City, you'd think the Kings would have the advantage, but Cleveland swept the double header and won three of four, leaving KC three back with 18 to play.

Even with two days to recover, the Kings could not right the ship, as after reigning Allen Award winner Tony Britten (9 IP, 3 H, 3 K) bailed out the offense with a commanding 1-0 against his former team, they dropped each of their next six games. This dropped them to 5.5 games out, almost completely eliminating them from contention. After blowing a 3-0 lead, and seeing the game go to extras, things were looking dire. Thankfully, some of the supporting cast decided to do the heavy lifting, with Bob Burge and Bryan Jeffries going back-to-back, putting the Kings in front 5-3 in the 11th. Walt Staton then came on to deliver a third shutout inning, snapping the losing streak and giving the Kings their 79th win of the season.

KC stayed hot, winning games against the Stars (2), Sailors (1), and Cannons (3) before the critical final game with Cleveland. At 85-65, they were a full three and a half games behind, meaning they had to win out and the Foresters lose out, just for a game 155. With the odds completely against them, they refused to give up. Down 2-1 in the 5th, the Kings got to rallying, as Elmer Grace, George Harnett, and Charlie Rogers pieced together singles to quickly load the bases on Hugh Blumenthal. Clearly rattled, Blumenthal walked Ken Newman to tie it and Dutch Miller to give the Kings the lead, all on consecutive balls. He then walked Chuck Lewis, again on four pitches, before a first pitch ball to Fred McHenry. Unlike the three guys before him, the former 20th Round pick pounced on a pitch, scoring another with a single. Two more scored on a Jeffries single, making it 8-2, and Blumenthal finally got an out by striking out opposing starter Beau McClellan. One more run scored on Elmer Grace's second single of the inning, and while reliever Mort Martin was able to bounce back and get the next two guys, the damage was done. McClellan (9 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) took things to the finish, even if it wasn't always solid, and the sliver of hope remained.

Granted, it was stomped out quickly, as eventual Allen winner Tony Britten couldn't handle the Wolves (7 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). In the end, it didn't matter, the Foresters beat the Cannons twice in Cincinnati, and it would be absolutely foolish to blame Britten for any of this. His second consecutive Allen Award, Britten was an impressive 21-10, capturing the ERA crown with a 2.09 (187 ERA+) mark in 288.2 innings. His 2.66 FIP (67 FIP-) supported the dominance, and his 1.01 WHIP was best in the association. Britten added 175 strikeouts to just 78 walks, continuing to be exactly the type of pitcher they wanted in what has proved to be a major steal for the Continental runner ups. Besides, it was the pitching that kept the Kings in it, as the CA's top staff scored just the 5th most runs. Britten wasn't even the only 20-game winner, Beau McClellan (20-10, 3.23, 163) reached the mark in his breakout year, and trade mate Fred Washington (18-12, 3.34, 178) was right back to being the pitcher that won consecutive Allen Awards before Britten got his go. That front three is as good as any, but Charlie Rogers (.284, 10, 69, 17) and Ken Newman (.280, 14, 74) took huge step backs. While still above average, neither surpassed a 130 WRC+, something Newman hasn't done since he was 21 in 1950. The lineup was more average then good, but guys like Elmer Grace (.288, 9, 50) and Dutch Miller (.267, 8, 62) continued to be effective role players. The one bright spot was the emergence of Bryan Jeffries, who followed up a poor first season in KC with a ton of pop. In just 372 trips to the plate, the then 27-year-old hit 21 homers and drove in 59 RBIs with a .290/.349/.540 (137 OPS+) line. His 147 WRC+ was best among Kings with 200 PAs, and he managed to lead the team in home runs. With most of their core still under 30, KC should be right back in it this year, but just like the Dynamos, it was brutal seeing them blow such a large lead. And teams know all too well that you can't let opportunities like that slip.

Windows have a funny way of closing on teams...

Representing the CA will be the Foresters (91-63), who finally reclaimed the spot as best of the association. Led by the talented duo of Tom Carr and Sherry Doyal, two completely different outfielders, Cleveland scored the most runs (735) in the Continental and led plenty of categories such as average (.262), OPS (.739), and WAR (26). Carr, who calls center home, is a contact-oriented lefty who hit .341/.430/.559 (161 OPS+) with 49 doubles, 22 triples, 9 homers, 88 RBIs, 101 runs, 12 steals, and an elite 77-to-27 walk-to-strikeout ratio. His 4.2 K% was second to only Gene Curtis (.296, 2, 44) of the Stars, and he provided the Foresters with solid center field play (7.8 ZR, 1.016) in his breakout campaign. His 8.9 wins above replacement was the most in the CA, and he led in triples, on-base, slugging, OPS (.990), WRC+ (174), and wOBA (.435). With how different he is from Doyal, the classic righty slugger with a good eye but some swing and miss, it's so hard to compare the Foresters star outfielders. Doyal hit an also impressive .308/.393/.546 (147 OPS+), thwacking 33 homers with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 113 RBIs, 82 walks, and a 155 WRC+.

As you might expect, these two were the top candidates for the Whitney, but the voters clearly favored the player who hadn't already won a Whitney. That of course, is the center fielder Carr, who nabbed 13 of the 16 first place votes. From the outside, his breakout season would have been a surprise, but he was steadily solid in a part time role. In three seasons with 400+ plate appearances he produced WRC+ of 124, 131, and 132, and when Frenchy Sonntag (.192, 5, 14) got hurt early he took full advantage of the new starting spot. Sonntag is healthy and available off the bench, with deadline pickup Otis O'Keefe (.290, 19, 87, 9) taking the third outfield spot. Cleveland is without their normal shortstop, as John Low (.329, 6, 49) ruptured his MCL in July, and the lineup looks a lot thinner without him. The top five is still solid, with Jim Urquhart (.277, 5, 48, 14) and Larry McClure (.284, 8, 76) sandwiching the All-Star outfield. Having Low in the mix would make it even tougher to get through. His glove also benefits the pitching, as while Tom Jeffries (.287, 5, 52) can hit he's not much of a defender at short. With a healthy Low, Jeffries could replace the struggling Gus Melvin (.217, 15, 64), who never really got going.

There's always stability atop Cleveland's rotation, has longstanding Continental WAR-Lord Adrian Czerwinski was worth a career high 10.3 WAR in his sixth 20-win campaign. 22-13 in his 36 starts, "The Mad Professor" recorded a 2.73 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in a career high 310 innings pitched. Czerwinski also did something he never did before, lead the association in strikeouts, as the 31-year-old set down 189 batters. The eight year run he's on has cemented his name along the All-Time greats, and he's already won 175 games in his first nine seasons. He has a chance to become part of a third championship team, and each of Cleveland's last four pennants can be in some ways attributed to him. He doesn't always have support in the staff, but his friendship with teammate Rufus Barrell may be contributing to the vets resurgence in 1956. A fellow 4-Time Allen Winner, Barrell turned 39 in June, and from July on saw his ERA drop in each month. The big lefty finished 16-13 with a 3.50 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, and 129 strikeouts, producing his clear best season in Cleveland. He sits behind Czerwinski and Hugh Blumenthal (9-11, 3.48, 169), forming a solid front three that was ready for the Gothams.

Aside from the Kings, no one else was within ten games of first, meaning all six teams have a lot of work to do if they want to be competitive. Each team had something encouraging go on, but the team to keep an eye on is the Cincinnati Cannons. They may have fallen back to the bottom three (7th, 68-86) after finishing two games above .500 last season, but they have a top five farm system and two top ten prospects. Both outfielders, one of Martin Perry (C, .289, 13, 48, 12) and Bonnie Chapin (B, .252, 5. 41, 4) could be a major trade piece. Despite finishing last in runs scored, the outfield is a strength, as former 7th Overall Pick Dallas Berry (.246, 26, 82, 13) drew 100 walks and slugged a team high 26 homers, making him the only Cannon with double digit home runs. The guy that came closest is the real reason to be excited, as Fred Lainhart was named co-Kellogg Winner after leading the Conti in hits (214) and doubles (52). 24 in August, the young outfielder hit an impressive .355/.365/.490 (127 OPS+) with 10 triples, 9 homers, 21 steals, 71 RBIs, and 88 runs scored. Lainhart started all 149 of his appearances in right, where he posted an impressive 12.0 zone rating and 1.026 efficiency. You could even say their third best hitter is an outfielder too, as that's where Ralph Hanson (.296, 3, 58, 14) has been playing, but the versatile righty has plenty of experience in the infield.

The advantage Cincinnati has over some of the other pretenders is that they have the pitching figured out, finishing 2nd in runs against (583) as their defense did a great job preventing runs. Having a legitimate ace helps too, as 25-year-old Jake Pearson had his best season in year four. The southpaw finished 17-14 with a 2.74 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, and 137 strikeouts in 296 innings. He started 35 games for the second straight season, and now owns a career 3.36 ERA (123 ERA+) and 3.31 FIP (80 FIP-) in 873.1 FABL innings. As a former 4th Overall selection, production like this was expected, and he's already shown he belongs next to some of the top pitchers in the game. This year he got a co-ace too, as fellow fourth year pitcher Paul Williams posted his best season since he was an All-Star in his rookie season. His 12-12 record made it impossible to get elected this year, but he recorded a career low 2.82 ERA (140 ERA+) in 245.1 innings spread across 35 starts. That was the first time he surpassed the 200 inning total, and it came with a career low 6.5 BB%. With a solid infield defense behind him, Williams can provide more then middle-of-rotation production, if he can replicate this next season all Cincy might need is to bulk of the lineup.

Montreal was the best of the worst, recording 80 wins for the first time since 1951. The Saints have a solid foundation in place, and they were comfortable trading Otis O'Keefe to the eventual pennant winners because they had former Dynamo 3rd Rounder Harry Swain hanging out on the bench. Graduated as the 30th prospect, he spent all season on the active roster, but most of his starts came after their July trade. Making 338 trips to the plate, Swain hit an impressive .301/.423/.470 (143 OPS+), actually outperforming O'Keefe on the aggregate. Swain hit 14 homers and drove in 48 runs, drawing more walks (57) then strikeouts (43). He shows impressive command of the strike zone and makes plenty of contact, fitting right in to a lineup that saw solid years form Bill Elkins (.288, 4, 55, 3), Maurice Carter (.240, 21, 74), and George Scott (.250, 17, 67).

But the real kicker for Montreal was what proved to be a cunning offseason pickup, as 26-year-old Phil Murry was this year's Skinny Green (13-12, 3.89, 176). Never considered much of a prospect, Murry did have a solid 1955, as in his first season in the Minutemen's rotation he went 18-10 with a 4.65 ERA (98 ERA+) and 1.44 WHIP. He did walk 104 to just 78 strikeouts, so what really made him serviceable was the 230.1 decent innings. One of the rare knuckleballers, it was finally wielded well, as Murry twirled 23 quality starts and 21 complete games for his new team. A team best 17-9, his 2.51 ERA (155 ERA+) was second only to the Allen winner Tony Britten, and he posted a strong 3.40 FIP (87 FIP-) and 1.19 WHIP with 80 walks and 103 strikeouts. With a volatile pitch like the knuckleball, Murry may be a one-year wonder, but the Saints have plenty of solid pitchers to make up for a return to form. Max Edwards (14-14, 3.65, 133) was dependable once again, and Tom Fisher (17-12, 3.04, 155) posted a career best 7.4 BB% and shook off a middling 1955 with an excellent year that matched his '64 season. The fifth spot saw some movement, but veteran Jackie James (7-5, 4, 3.07, 55) looked alright, and while it's an area to upgrade, that could instead come from Skinny Green pitching like he did last season (18-9, 3.13, 207).

Bill Guthrie only made 403 trips to the plate, but the Sailors 25th Rounder hit more then the 12 home runs needed to game more career FABL home runs then all other 25th Round picks combined. The 27-year-old first basemen led San Francisco with 29 home runs, slashing .309/.390/.615 (169 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 73 runs, and 78 RBIs. He was the best hitter, even if he didn't start nearly enough games, but the new face of the Sailors with Forbes and Farmer gone may be Ray Rogan. Acquired in the trade that sent George Rutter to Boston, Rogan hit an impressive .312/.396/.465 (133 OPS+) with a 146 WRC+ in his first season out west. The talented 26-year-old played in 151 of the team's 154 games, accumulating 34 doubles, 12 triples, 10 homers, 68 RBIs, 86 runs, and 80 walks. Aside from Guthrie, he doesn't have much production, but San Fran finished 79-75 and had who probably should have been Kellogg Winner. 22 until the 26th of September, Bud Henderson produced a dominant 9 WAR season, going 17-12 with a 2.79 ERA (140 ERA) and 1.27 WHIP. The former 3rd Rounder struck out an association high 189 batters in 290.2 innings pitched, finishing third in both the Kellogg and Allen despite putting together one of the best pitching seasons for the team. Most impressive may be his 2.68 FIP (68 FIP-), which in most years would be the best. Bud had the poor luck of being stuck in a deep class of pitchers, though if this writer had a choice he would have gotten the Kellogg over Lainhart. This kid is legit, and could be the next great Sailors pitcher behind names like Doc Newell, Win Lewis, and William Jones.

The Wolves came close to .500 again, but can be encouraged by 20 home run seasons from John Wells (.247, 20, 68, 6) and Larry Curtis (.261, 25, 77), while Tom Read finished 2nd in the CA with 31. Along with his 93 RBIs, it was an improvement on his Kellogg winning season last year, but the 25-year-old outfielder saw his overall batting line drop from .324/.383/.564 (156 OPS+) to .267/.324/.483 (112 OPS+). Unfortunately for the Wolves, he was still their most productive hitter, as the offense still has plenty of weak spots that quality pitchers can exploit. On the mound, they got a breakout year from sophomore Whitey Stewart, who went 12-10 with a 3.44 ERA (115 ERA+), 3.26 FIP (82 FIP-), and 141 strikeouts. An extreme groundballer, his 0.3 HR/9 was the lowest rate in the CA, allowing just 9 balls to leave the yard in 243 innings pitched. The now 25-year-old doesn't have the best command, walking 122 hitters this year and 129 last, but hit stuff is good enough that it's almost an advantage. His change is almost impossible to make solid contact with, and if you hit his sinker you're going to roll it to one of their defenders. He's got the stuff to front a rotation, and Toronto may have a Hancock to his Garrison in Jim Montgomery. The 1956 All-Star worked his way from the pen to the rotation, throwing 210.2 innings across 49 appearances (19 starts) in his second FABL season. Montgomery led the association in K/BB (2.8) and FIP- (63 FIP-) as he worked to a 14-8 record with 11 saves. Montgomery's 2.65 ERA (150 ERA+) was third in the CA, his 1.10 WHIP second, and he walked just 52 hitters with 148 strikeouts. He was a bit better out of the pen then the rotation, so as a full-time starter the numbers may dip a bit, but he appears to be a legitimate building block for a team in need of a pennant run.

A team without much direction, the Chicago Cougars floundered to their fourth consecutive losing season, with the 72-82 record their worst since 1947. Team legend Skipper Schneider ended up calling it quits right after his 36th birthday, as the once elite shortstop lost a step last season. The 10-Time All-Star finished his career with 88.4 WAR in 2,386 games, helped along by his otherworldly 407.5 zone rating and 1.100 efficiency in 2,363 games at shortstop. Exactly twice as good as the average defensive shortstop, there was a period of time where he ranked either 1st or 2nd in zone rating, as the former 7th Overall Pick and baseball triplet was the gold standard for defense at short. A decent hitter too, he finished his career with a just below average .277/.330/.367 (98 OPS+) batting line. The defense alone makes it worth it, but Skipper struck out in just 4.6% of his FABL plate appearances, and gathered 989 runs, 2,325 hits, 390 doubles, 81 triples, 69 homers, 955 RBIs, 685 walks, and 149 steals in an outstanding 17 season career.

His customary short was filled by George Sutterfield (.263, 6, 43, 27), who would have been a long time shortstop for a team that didn't have a Skipper Schneider, who even at 34 continued to be a reliable regular in the Windy City. He was a useful mentor for the young team that was led by the now 28-year-old Jerry Smith (.280, 26, 105, 16). He only had a share for the team lead in homers this year, as rookie outfielder Doc Zimmerman (.277, 26, 82) matched his 26 in eight fewer at bats. Chicago's third outfielder Frank Reece (.266, 11, 54) settled into the center field job, and Buddy Byrd (.325, 7, 78, 30) once again led the association in steals. The 25-year-old was worth an impressive 5.4 WAR in 149 games, recording 33 doubles, 17 triples, and 88 runs. His 127 WRC+ was impressive despite his 2.8 BB%, and the first-time All-Star could be a fixture in the lineup for years to come. It's now the pitching that needs work, as new ace Pug White (10-18, 3.90, 157) led the CA in losses and third year righty Ollie Norris (7-12, 3.88, 116) surrendered the most home runs. Those were the only two guys that gave the Cougars reliable starts, as they struggled to find pitchers who could win games. The deadline sell-off thinned the depth a bit, but they got an early look at what 1950 2nd Rounder Ernie Tisdale (2-3, 5.94) and former 16th ranked prospect Harry Rollins (3-4, 4.50, 22) can do in the rotation. There are plenty of spots up for grabs, and without major improvement they're going to continue to finish near the bottom of the standings.

For now, that's what LA comes home, as the recently relocated Stars have finished 8th for the third time in three seasons. They only got 100 games from Charlie Barrell, who hit .333/.376/.535 (144 OPS+), knocking in 60 runs with 25 doubles, 5 triples, and 16 home runs. He's not likely to get full seasons, and with no support in the lineup it's going to be tough for Hollywood's team to put up Oscar winning performances. On the bright side, 25-year-old rookie Johnny Elliot was Fred Lainhart's co-Kellogg Winner, as the Stars first basemen hit a robust .356/.418/.528 (155 OPS+) in 493 trips to the plate. The former 2nd Rounder hit 15 doubles and 19 homers with 71 runs, 66 RBIs, and 47 walks. This comes on the heels of a major breakout in AAA last year, when Elliot hit an astronomical .381/.431/.665 (189 OPS+) with 46 homers and 135 RBIs. This suggests the potential for 30+ home run seasons, as a full 154 games of Elliot could remind some of former first basemen Bill Barnett. They may be destined for second division finishes in the near future, but scouts are very high on their recent 1st Rounders, ranking their last two in the top 10. Another former 1st Rounder, Eddie Webb (0-1, 1, 5.19, 10) struck out 10 and walked just 1 in a 17.1 inning cup of coffee, but on multiple occasions was let down by his defense. Currently ranked as the 18th best prospect, his three pitch mix excites, and he'll be given every opportunity to join fellow 1st Rounder Doc Clay (6-8, 1, 2.92, 60) in the patched together rotation. If these highly touted first rounders can hit, the Stars may have a new golden generation, making up for the early missteps on the west coast.

[size="6"1956 World Championship Series[/size]

The Detroit Dynamos and Kansas City Kings did not get a chance to meet for the third consecutive season in the World Championship Series as each had to settle for second place this time around. In their place were a couple of organizations in the New York Gothams and Cleveland Foresters that had some history together as well. The Gothams and Foresters would be hooking up for the fourth time in WCS play. They met in back to back years in 1934 and 1935 with each coming out on top once and followed that up with a showdown in 1950 that the Foresters won in seven games. The 1934 and 1950 meetings, both won by Cleveland, eah went the full seven games with the '34 fall classic being famous not only for it being the Foresters first ever WCS win but also for how they won as Cleveland overcame a three games to one deficit with three straight victories including an 18-3 thumping of New York in the finale.

GAME ONE: NEW YORK 4 CLEVELAND 3 (13 innings)

The Series opened in Cleveland and if game one was any indication it was going to be a dramatic one. The Foresters, with Hugh Blumenthal on the mound against Gothams legend Ed Bowman, jumped out to a 3-0 lead after six innings. Larry McClure followed up a lead-off single by Tom Carr in the second with an rbi double off Bowman to account for the opening run and a pair of extra base hits in the form of a Carr triple and a Tom Jeffries double drove in two more in the bottom of the sixth.

New York got one of those runs back with a solo homer off the bat of Hank Estill in the seventh and it stayed 3-1 entering the top of the ninth inning. The Gothams put the first two runners on base but a double-play groundout by Tom Jovin put a damper on the rally. Estill worked a tiring Blumenthal for a free pass to put runners on the corners and Ed Holmes delivered an rbi single to cut the lead to 3-2. Larry Beebe came on to relieve Blumethal but was promptly greeted by a Joe DeMott single to score Estill with the tying run. Bowman set down the Foresters in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

George Garrison took over for Bowman in the bottom of the 10th and was in immediate trouble after Sherry Doyal led off with a double and Tom Carr was given an intentional walk. A sac fly put Doyal just 90 feet away from ending the game but Garrison fanned both Frenchy Sontag and Gus Melvin to prolong the game.

The next scoring opportunity came in the top of the 13th when Chief Lewis drew a one-out walk from the latest Cleveland hurler John Jackson. Billy Woytek followed with a single that was mishandled by Cleveland centerfielder Tom Carr and allowed Lewis to race home with what would prove to be the winning run and the Gothams 4-3 victory gave them the early series lead.

GAME TWO: NEW YORK 5 CLEVELAND 1

The Foresters again scored first with Sherry Doyal hitting a solo homerun off of New York starter John Stallings in the bottom of the first but from there on it was all New York as Stallings went the distance, allowing just 5 hits and the Gothams won 5-1. Chief Lewis had 3 hits and score a pair of runs while Hank Estill and Bill Barrett each had two hits, including a double for each of them, and a pair of rbi's.

GAME THREE: NEW YORK 5 CLEVELAND 3

The Gothams returned home with a commanding 2 games to none lead in the series and added to it with a 5-3 win in game three. A pair of lefthanders were on the mound in 25-year-old Jorge Arellano, who was making his WCS debut for New York, and veteran Deuce Barrell who was playing in his fourth WCS.

Singles by Harry Murray and Bill Barrett followed by a 2-run double off the bat of Earl Howe staked the hosts to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but after a 1-2-3 opening inning, Arellano found himself in trouble in the second frame when Tom Carr doubled and scored on a Larry McClure base hit. Gus Melvin would drive in Carr to knot the game at 2 before Arellano struck out opposing pitcher Barrell to get out of the inning.

Chief Lewis singled in Cecil LaBonte in the bottom of the second to put New York up 3-2 but again the Foresters responded immediately, tying the game on sacrifice fly off the bat of Carr in the third inning. It would stay 3-3 until the fifth inning when once more an error would hurt the Foresters. With two out and a runner on first, Bill Barrett grounded into what should have been an inning ending play for shortstop Tom Jeffries, but the former Gothams infielder was wild with his peg to first base allowing runners to advance to second and third. Earl Howe made the Foresters pay with a double to score both runners and the Gothams led once more, this time by a 5-3 margin. The Foresters managed just two harmless singles the rest of the way as Arellano went the distance for his first career WCS victory.

GAME FOUR: CLEVELAND 9 NEW YORK 5

Hugh Blumenthal did not survive the first inning as New York scored four times in the opening frame thanks to an Earl Howe grand slam and appeared well on their way to a series sweep with Ed Bowman on the mound. It was 5-2 for the Gothams after two innings but the Foresters fought back, scoring a run in the fourth and another in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-4.

Jim Urquhart was one of three Foresters to have 4 hits in the game, joining Otis O'Keefe and Gus Melvin, and his eighth inning single gave the visitors the lead after Frenchy Sontag had driven in Parson Allen with the tying run. Cleveland would score three more times in the top of the ninth to put the game away, claiming their first win of the series by a 9-5 score.

GAME FIVE: CLEVELAND 3 NEW YORK 2

Two of the best college pitchers of all-time hooked up in game six with former Whitney College star Adrian Czerwinski facing Piedmont University alum John Stallings. The game was scoreless for three innings before the Foresters plated a pair of runs in the top of the fourth thanks to a Tom Carr double and a Larry McClure single. Sherry Doyal would double in Jim Urquhart in the top of the 8th to make the score 3-0. Meanwhile through 8 innings Czerwinski had kept the Gothams off the scoresheet while allowing just four New York hits, all singles.

That changed in the bottom of the ninth as Bill Barrett worked the Mad Professor for a leadoff walk and advanced to second on an Earl Howe single. A fielders choice put runners on the corners and then once more an error cost the Foresters. This time it was by third baseman Gus Melvin that allowed Barrett to score and left runners on first and second. Cecil LaBonte singled to load the bases and Walt Messer delivered a sacrifice fly to score the second New York run and put the tying run on third base. The Foresters would live to fight another day after Czerwinski got Gothams pinch-hitter Tom Jovin to fly out and end the game.

GAME SIX: NEW YORK 3 CLEVELAND 0

Despite the Foresters losing both of their games at home to start the series, back to back wins in New York to cut the Gothams lead to 3-2 led to an air of excitement at Forester Stadium for the sixth game. It would be a rematch of game three with Deuce Barrell going for Cleveland against Jorge Arellano.

The game would be a terrific pitching duel and stayed scoreless through seven innings. New York's best chance to score came in the third inning when yet another Cleveland error left Gothams hurler Arellano perched on second base with two out. Chief Lewis delivered a single and Arellano was waived home only to be thrown out at the plate on a perfect strike from Tom Carr. Meanwhile the Foresters managed just three hits, all singles, of Arellano.

The goose eggs persisted until the top of the 8th and when Arellano slapped a lead-off single off Barrell. With one out Harry Murray, a reserve infielder with New York who was called on by veteran manager Ad Doria to play first base and had just 14 homers in 275 big league games, delivered the biggest hit of his a career, a two-run blast that barely cleared the leftfield wall and gave New York the lead. The Gothams added another run before the inning was over to make the score 3-0 and Arellano finished the complete game shutout off without allowing another hit, giving the Gothams a 3-0 victory and their first World Championship Series victory since 1942 and sixth overall.

New York lead-off man Chief Lewis, who hit .370 (10-for-27) in the series, was named the Most Valuable Player. The win marked the end of the line for long-time Gothams great Walt Messer, who announced his retirement after the series, as did fellow veteran big leaguers George Garrison and Billy Woytek. Ad Doria, the 60-year-old who won his third WCS as a manager, also left the club and was undecided about his future.

BASEBALL OFF-SEASON

After a fresh WCS matchup and a brand new champion, the FABL have-nots likely came in with more confidence this year then last, as the both the Detroit Dynamos and Kansas City Kings showed signs of weakness. Those juggernauts likely think they'll have no issues making up for their poor collapses this season, and should open 1957 as a common pick for first, but the door is open for someone else in the league to push their chips to the center.

The end of the 1956 season had one main seller, as after being stuck in mediocrity, the Chicago Cougars embarked on their first fire sale since the 1930s. No player was safe, and the first guy to go was breakout rookie Doc Zimmerman, who appeared in 142 games as a 25-year-old rookie. The former 5th Rounder hit an impressive .277/.350/.468 (122 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 26 homers, 82 RBIs, 91 runs, and 60 walks in 632 trips to the plate. The regular left fielder was in line for a larger role next season, but instead, he'll switch uniforms and keep his address as Doc moved from the Cougars to the Chiefs for a five piece quantity-over-quality package that involved a former #1 pick.

In 1954, when he opened the season as the 2nd ranked prospect, it would have been absurd to see Stan Czerwinski on the move, but the former #1 pick had absolutely no luck hitting low minors pitching before this season. Splitting time between Class A, B, and C this year, he finally had his first 50 PA sample with a WRC+ above 75 (138), hitting .287/.306/.500 (123 OPS+) with 18 homers and 45 RBIs in 294 PAs with the Chief's Class B affiliate. As good as it looks, it came with just 5 walks, and "Stosh" struck out 41 times with just 3 doubles and 2 triples. In small samples in Class C (46 PA, 162 WRC+) and Class A (48 PA, 77 WRC+) he had mixed results, but the once top prospect ranks as just the 126th best prospect in FABL, and checks in at 13th to open 1957. Scouts still love his defense, and think he can become one of the best receivers behind the plate, but they've cooled on his offensive game. Never a top contact hitter, he was at least projected to be above average, but now a healthy dose of whiffs is expected. Potentially so healthy it will completely overpower his above average pop, making it tough for teams to designate a lineup spot to him. 23 in March, he's still expected to crack a big league roster, and was forced on the 40 to avoid Rule-5 selection. With just 19 career games in A ball, don't expect him in Chicago Cougar gear any time soon, but his new organization may be counting on him to finish the back end of the 50s as the everyday catcher.

Czerwinski was one of five players received for Zimmerman, and the clear headliner from the large return. Among the other four, only Norm McBride has any FABL experience, as the now 25-year-old made 25 appearances (8 starts) for the Chiefs in 1956. The young lefty was just 3-7 with a 4.46 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, 46 walks, and 31 strikeouts, but he'll now join a staff in need of a makeover. With plenty of spots available, McBride gives them a decent upside lefty who can help now, though his flyball tendencies may limit his effectiveness at Cougars Park. He allowed 10 homers in 84.2 innings as a rookie, and when paired with poor command (12.3 BB%), he's got a few things to work on before becoming a reliable FABL hurler. Fellow pitcher Hank Walker could impact the Cougars this season as well, as the 24-year-old righty was also added to the 40, and ranks 180th in the league. Taken 15th in 1950, Walker got to an excellent start in 1956, pitching 12 starts in AA before a much deserved promotion. An unlucky 3-3, Walker held an excellent 2.77 ERA (167 ERA+) and 1.37 WHIP, though he did walk (40) three more guys then he struck out (37). AAA batters hit him harder, raising his ERA to 4.00 (101 ERA+), but his 3.62 FIP (90 FIP-) was dependable and he managed to strike out (49) one more guy then he walked (48). Unlike McBride, his groundball tendencies will play well at Cougars Park, and like McBride he'll be in camp this spring with an opportunity to earn a spot on the staff.

Rounding out the package is a pair of middling position prospects in Virgil McLaughlin and Hank Williams. The 24-year-old McLaughlin has some prospect pedigree, as the towering 6'4'' slugger once ranked as the #33 prospect, but like Czerwinski, he struggled at solving minor league pitchers. This year the slugger had some success, putting up impressive numbers in AA before a late season cameo in the Century League. In 123 games with the Oklahoma City Chiefs, McLaughlin hit 19 doubles, 15 homers, and 62 RBIs with a .321/.419/.474 (124 OPS+) batting line. He'll strike out some and take his walks, but the .321 average is the biggest surprise. Not expected to be anything more then average as a contact hitter, he's the classic bat first corner prospect, and if you hadn't noticed the theme already, he's a new add to the 40 who could factor into the Cougars plans next season. That's not the case for Williams, however, who turned 22 in August and has yet to pass C ball. A former 14th Round selection of Cleveland, he came to the Chiefs organization in the offseason following his draft year, and made a career high 135 PAs in 1956. It didn't go well, hitting just .280/.333/.352 (77 OPS+) at the lowest level, and in a trade full of lottery tickets, he's the one who has the least chance of hitting.

In total, the Cougars sent out eight major leaguers in eight days, though none got as much buzz as a deal that the one that saw star center fielder Jerry Smith go from the Windy City to the last place Pioneers. An anchor of the Cougars lineup for the past five seasons, the now 28-year-old Smith hit an arguably career worst .280/.360/.476 (127 OPS+) in 1956 with a career low 26 homers in his fifth consecutive season with 150 or more games played. The 5-Time All-Star and 1952 Kellogg Winner added 95 runs, 24 doubles, 5 triples, 106 RBIs, 73 walks, and 16 steals while playing excellent defense out in right (7.6, 1.033). Thought to be untouchable, Smith led the CA with 47 homers in 1953, which set the single season record for a Chicago Cougar. Despite just five seasons with the club, his 168 homers were second in team history, and he was easily on pace to surpass the 205 hit by Hall-of-Fame hopeful Leo Mitchell, who has almost tripled Smith in plate appearances per date. In 780 career games, Smith owns an outstanding .278/.373/.476 (147 OPS+) batting line, and was the brightest star developed by what use to be a talent factory in the Windy City. His addition to the Pioneers gives the consistent last place team major credibility, and he'll form an enviable duo with former 2nd Pick Rex Pilcher (.252, 29, 103) at Pioneer Field.

Trading Smith was already bad enough, but when you look at the return, you really wonder what former Cannon outfielder and Dynamo scout Al Horton was thinking. Generally, when you trade elite talent, you want something elite coming back, but instead he took the quantity over quality approach again. Horton received five prospects, four of which rank inside the league's top 250, but none that rank inside the top 100. And it's not like St. Louis didn't have anything to offer, the Pioneers boasted five top 50 prospects led by 20-year-old potential ace Carl Bristol (16th), and to make matters worse the top guy they acquired plays the same position as the recently acquired Czerwinski. That would be then 20-year-old catcher Milt Payne, who ranks two spots ahead of Czerwinski on the Cougars prospect list, and 112th in FABL. Taken in the 8th Round in 1953, Payne has a keen eye and outstanding power, but he looked overmatched in Class C (212 PA, 88 WRC+) and completely unprepared in Class B (135, 25 WRC+). A project pick with talent like this is okay as a supplemental piece, but when it's the headliner for your most talented player since a Hall-of-Famer like John Dibble or John Lawson, it's a real head scratcher.

At least with the quantity approach, they could get multiple future big leaguers, and that's how you could describe both George Chism and Joe Barwick. Even Luke Bush if you squint enough. Chism was the lone pitcher, and the now 20-year-old was a 4th Rounder selection of St. Louis in 1954. A ruptured tendon in his finger cost him four months this season, but the 19-year-old made 3 starts in A ball and 6 in AA. They weren't great, he was 2-5 with ERA+ of 79 and 73, but that's to be expected from someone as young as he his. The Cougars are expected to take his development slower, starting him back in the low minors, as the organization known for developing solid pitching prospects will look to maximize his repertoire. Leaning heavily on a quality sinker that hovers in the 92-94 range, he has great stuff and solid command, but troubles with the longball saw him give up 7 homers in just 34 AA innings. Despite that, he's an effective pitcher and battle tested competitor, who was outstanding in a more age-appropriate Class B league last year. Despite being 9-12, he had an excellent 3.59 ERA (115 ERA+) and FIP (86 FIP-) in 173 innings, striking out 152 with 90 walks. While a raw prospect, he's got legitimate rotation potential, and could fill the back of one quite well.

Barwick, who turned 21 in September, was relegated to a bench role in Class C, so despite his decent prospect ranking (152nd) his inclusion was a surprise. The former 6th Rounder started just 5 of his 15 appearances in Class C, hitting just .312/.389/.312 (80 OPS+) in a tiny 18 PA sample. He had WRC+ of 80 and 78 in 200+ PA samples the two previous years, so more playing time might not have helped, but scouts do expect him to hit for a decent average while drawing walks. There isn't much power and the glove isn't anything to write home about, but he hit 14 homers in 120 games across the past two years, so perhaps his new organization sees something in him. 21-year-old first basemen Luke Bush also spent too much time on the bench, starting just 6 of his 20 games this year, and his .304/.360/.348 (81 OPS+) line isn't much better. He's got good speed and can play left and second too, but the former 18th Rounder doesn't really have too much going for him. Lastly, Chicago added unranked first basemen Chief Brady, who turned 23 in November and hit .260/.311/.380 (74 OPS+) in A ball, where 100 of his 136 appearances came this year. With such an underwhelming package, it's tough to understand why the Cougars parted with Smith, but perhaps once their GM got trading, he just couldn't stop.

Between the Zimmerman and Smith trades, he sent Gordon McDonald (5-5, 3.32, 71) to the Kings and Charlie Enslow (.107, 1, 5) to the Eagles, picking up a pair of prospects to refill the system. The McDonald trade brought home a legit piece, as 20-year-old Byron Bennett checks in at 121st on the prospect list and was KC's 3rd Rounder in 1954. Spending most of the season as a 19-year-old, he hit an elite .348/.434/.542 (155 OPS+) early on in Class B Tampa, before a callup to Class A Springfield. There Bennett appeared in 95 games, hitting .242/.353/.337 (82 OPS+). Between the stops he totaled 28 doubles, 6 triples, 8 homers, 64 RBIs, 78 runs, and 81 walks. Bennett showcased an excellent eye and quick bat, but he's still a work in progress defensively. Whether he sticks in center is yet to be decided, but his athleticism should allow him to transition seamlessly to a corner. For Enslow, they brought back familiar face Mike Peter, who was a former 11th Round pick of the organization in 1951. Sent to the Stars in the deal that brought Moe Holt (.247, 14, 58) to Chicago last winter, Peter was later released by LA and signed a minor league deal with Washington. The now 24-year-old spent most of his time with the Eagles' Class A affiliate, going 8-14 with a 4.17 ERA (100 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, and 115 strikeouts.

The trade that brought back the best prospect was one that saw the Cougars move a bench bat, as 28-year-old outfielder Harley Dollar (.337, 4, 18) was sent to the Kings for a pair of young prospects. In just 105 PAs he had a healthy 169 WRC+, as Dollar walked in 9.5% of his PAs and cracked 11 extra base hits. The former 9th Rounder may not even start for the Kings, which makes it surprising they were willing to part with young second basemen Dave Rathbone. Stuck behind former Cougar draftee Elmer Grace (.288, 9, 50), the organization may have found the 55th ranked prospect expendable, as he was already 24 and would need to be protected from the Rule-5 draft. Potentially ready for big league pitching, the switch hitter excelled in AA Knoxville, hitting a robust .365/.410/.627 (142 OPS+) with 27 doubles, 33 homers, 100 runs, and 113 RBIs. If the Cougars are confident in his abilities now, they could shift current second basemen Buddy Byrd (.325, 7, 78, 30) over to third, adding some excitement to what may now be baseball's worst lineup. Rathbone should hit for a high average while knocking plenty of home runs, and he's exactly the type of prospect you'd expect in a deal for Jerry Smith or Doc Zimmerman. Getting now 20-year-old righty Jud Hess too is just icing on the cake, as the 1954 2nd Rounder is a solid three pitch pitcher who ranks 31st in the Cougars system and 261st overall. The soft tosser projects as a spot starter, but has drawn comparisons to former King draftee turned Cougar Zane Kelley, and has the foundation of a big league starter in place.

Another high octane prospect was added in a second inter-city trade, as the Cougars sent longtime infielder George Sutterfield and cash to the Chiefs for 104th ranked prospect Paul Bailey. Sutterfield, who turns 35 in March, debuted for the Cougars in 1945, and has hit .261/.327/.369 (94 OPS+) in 1,270 FABL games. An excellent defender at second, third, and short, the 1953 All-Star hit .263/.326/.358 (87 OPS+) and was worth a career high 3.2 WAR in 150 games. A solid all-around contributor, he stole a career high 27 bases, supplying the Cougars with 15 doubles, 9 triples, 6 homers, 43 RBIs, 51 walks, and 74 runs atop the order. The price for the Chiefs to add a new middle infielder (he may end up at second or short) was a big league ready outfielder, as they're now set with former Cougars Doc Zimmerman (.277, 26, 82) and John Moss (.263, 10, 69) supplementing young star Rod Shearer (.266, 39, 126). Bailey, who will be 25 in May, didn't have a spot this season, as despite hitting .311/.401/.628 (175 OPS+) in AAA, he made just one appearance in Chicago as a defensive replacement in an extra innings game. The slugging outfielder hit 24 doubles and 36 homers in just 114 games, adding 7 triples, 91 runs, 97 RBIs, and 69 walks. Like Rathbone, he's a legit slugger who could spice up a weak FABL lineup, and I'd be surprised if he didn't get at least a few weeks as an everyday outfielder at Cougars Park next year.

Chicago's last major trade of note involved catcher Garland Phelps, who after seeing his organization add two top catching prospects, probably realized his time was done. Never really given a fair shake, "Einstein" made a career high 286 PAs this season, hitting an impressive .269/.374/.446 (124 OPS+) behind longtime starter Eddie Howard (.200, 27), who couldn't provide the offense or defense Phelps can. Now joining the Saints, where he may be stuck behind Jess Garman (.225, 14, 48), Phelps brought the Cougs four prospects, headlined by their new #3 prospect Henry Watson, who was just taken 5th overall in the most recent draft. A versatile 18-year-old, he's a natural center fielder, but has played games at catcher, first, third, left, and right as well, fitting the mold of player the old regime loved targeting. An overall team player and quick riser, Watson finished his year in Class A, and some in the organization think he should begin the 1957 season in AA or even AAA. 19 in May, Watson hit an impressive .306/.431/.406 (120 OPS+), producing a 137 WRC+ with 10 doubles, 2 homers, 19 RBIs, and 33 walks in 197 PAs. With the potential to display plus-plus power to all fields and the eye to keep him from chasing, he's got the tools to be an elite hitter. Add in speed and versatility you get a potential star, and again it's shocking that Chicago got a prospect like this for a lesser piece like Phelps when they got so little for Smith.

Montreal's price was even larger then just Watson, who they may really miss, as they parted with young righty Sammy Whipps, catcher Ed Blevins, and outfielder Jack Miller as well. All middle of the road prospects, Whipps is the one they miss most, as you can never have too much pitching. The 21-year-old groundballer has a somewhat plain profile, but he's the type of pitcher who does everything fine and nothing poor, even if he lacks a standout skill. He's your typical give me innings type guy who comes at you from a 3/4s angle, but considering they added the former 9th Rounder as a minor league free agent, their investment in him has already paid off. Montreal is on the cusp of contention, also adding outfielders Jim Johnston (.262, 6, 28) and Bill Heim (.243, 5, 17, 13), but I think they would have been better off using their collection of eight assets on legit starters instead of depth to a team that's missing a true star.

Of course, the Cougars aren't the only team in FABL, and while they did dominate the trade market, they were far from the only active team. The last place Stars had a sell-off of their own, starting with shipping extreme ball-in-play hitter Gene Curtis to the Foresters for a pair of 24-year-olds. Curtis, just 26 at the time of trade himself, was a consistent top 20-prospect since being selected 6th in 1948, debuting in the '51 season as a 21-year-old. Since his debut, he's made 2,825 plate appearances -- all but 257 of which ended with a ball in play. He has just 17 homers, 96 walks, and 144 strikeouts in parts of six FABL seasons, and he took the extreme contact approach to the next level in 1956. Curtis walked in just 1.3 BB% of his PAs, struck out in just 2.6% (both FABL lows), and homered in just 2 of his 612 trips to the plate. This led to almost 96% of his PAs ending with a ball in play, and since he'll now join the Conti's top lineup, that approach could work wonders for the team's in-game success. Curtis' acquisition allows young slugger Gus Melvin (.217, 15, 64) to take a step back, as they're hoping he can match his 1955 production (346 PAs, 121 WRC+) by spelling him, Jim Urquhart (.277, 5 48), and John Low (.329, 6, 49), who should be healthy by Opening Day.

The cost was a little high, headlined by former 52nd ranked prospect Parson Allen, who made his debut for Cleveland as a semi-regular first basemen. A natural second basemen, Allen also has experience at third, left, and right, and hit .280/.348/.362 (89 OPS+) with a 102 WRC+ in 270 trips to the plate. The former 9th Pick of the 1950 draft, Allen ranked as high as 27th on the prospect list, though it came with his original organization, the Philadelphia Keystones. The highly touted righty was the headliner of the deal that sent Lloyd Coulter (.270, 39, 96) to the city of brotherly love, and he'll join his third organization in just over a year. He'll be joined by former 5th Rounder Hooks Bloomquist, who's now with his fourth organization. 24 this October, 20 of his 25 starts came in A ball, where he was 9-8 with a 3.44 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 72 walks, and 79 strikeouts. A solid depth arm, Bloomquist is a well respected pitcher who's great for organizational depth, but his future does not appear to be in a big league rotation.

A week later the Stars finally moved on from former #1 pick Bob Riggins, who's been with the organization since they selected him and Ralph Hanson in 1945. Traded shortly before his 33rd birthday, the oft-injured Riggins will make his way to the nation's capital, carrying with him a career .237/.351/.333 (93 OPS+) batting line and an exactly league average 100 WRC+. Still capable in center, he spent a fair amount of time in leftfield for LA, hitting a middling .213/.348/.338 (87 OPS+) with 12 homers, 29 RBIs, and 64 walks. Known for his elite eye, he's walked 741 times and struck out 469 times in nearly 5,000 FABL plate appearances, and will get his first taste of Federal pitching since his Stars came up short in the 1952 World Championship Series. Washington parted with a pair of AA outfielders, neither of which enter their top 30 prospect list. Bud Conover comes close, 33rd in the system and 322nd overall, a spot ahead Hooks in the team rank and two in the league rank. He struggled in A and AA this season, but is known for a strong baseball IQ and he was recently a 2nd Round pick after a Christian Trophy winning season in college. The other new addition, Bucky Moore, was added to Washington's 40 last offseason, but has yet to debut. The former 4th Rounder spent most of his year in A ball, but his .273/.354/.414 (102 OPS+) line in AA was much better. More of a bench bat, he could get some time in LA next season, but he's likely destined for a career in the minors.

Finishing things off, the Stars once again parted with Bill Gifford (4-4, 8, 4.46, 46), who way back in 1943 was their 4th Round Pick. Gifford returned to the organization a few times since, most recently after being selected by Boston in the Rule-5 draft and returned with two months left this year. A 31-year-old reliever with 84.2 FABL innings under his belt, he was the "major" addition for the Dynamos, who stayed pretty quiet despite blowing what should have been a fifth consecutive pennant. They gave up a decent prospect too, sending young catcher Javier Delgado as the headliner of a two piece package. Detroit took the Cuban backstop 16th overall this year, but will part with the 173rd ranked prospect before he spent a full season with the organization. A very raw prospect, he's got a great stroke and could hit for a high average, and his patience should work in his favor. His swing still needs plenty of work, but he walked in 20.1% of his 244 PAs after the draft, slashing a productive .299/.443/.397 (128 OPS+) with a 142 WRC+, 3 homers, and 21 RBIs in C ball. Detroit also parted with fringe pitching prospect Jim Sherwood, who made just one minor league start this season and spent a lot of his year auditioning for independent and FABL organizations.

The final major seller was the San Francisco Sailors, who kicked off their offseason by trading rotation stalwart Win Lewis to the Pioneers, which kickstarted their efforts to return to contention. Since debuting in 1944, Lewis made 360 appearances, all starts, recording a 128-123 record with a 3.36 ERA (117 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 622 walks, and 1,060 strikeouts. Consistently among the league's top pitchers, it's a surprise he's only been to two All-Star games, as he's had an ERA+ above 100 in all but one of his 13 seasons. Coming off a productive season where he was 9-10 with a 3.45 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, and 86 strikeouts, Lewis will leave the only organization he knew as their 6th most winningest pitcher. Lewis also ranks top-10 in WAR (4th, 43.8), starts (3rd), innings (6th, 2,326.1), strikeouts (4th), and WHIP (9th), and aside from his two seasons that were effected by elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, he's made 29 or more starts in ten consecutive seasons. A reliable arm like this is huge for St. Louis, who saw Hiram Steinberg's (4-16, 6.35, 75) production fall off a cliff and Joe Potts (9-16, 4.60, 104) endure his first season with a sub-100 ERA+ (86). With Lewis and Smith, the Pioneers seem poised to advance from the cellar, and could be a piece or big breakout away from becoming a legitimate contender.

San Francisco was able to add a new second basemen in the deal too, grabbing 30-year-old Chet Harris from the Pioneers. Used in a reserve role, he hit .234/.322/.360 (81 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, and 30 RBIs in what was his first taste of big league action since he spent parts of 1951-1953 with the Kings. A former 6th Rounder of the Dynamos, he's penciled in as the starting second basemen, and owns an exactly league average 100 WRC+ in 502 FABL PAs. While far from a star, he's a decent enough stopgap, and they were also able to upgrade their pitching depth with 24-year-old Oscar Edwards. A torn back muscle held him to 11 starts with AAA Oakland, but he was an effective 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts. An option for the rotation or pen this year, he projects as a useful back-end starter, featuring good stuff and average command.

A day later, 1954 run leader Jim Johnson (.262, 6, 28) went to Montreal for a trio of prospects, most notably righty Jim Dunlap and third basemen William Merriman. Both ranked inside the top 150, Dunlap has the higher upside but Merriman could head right to San Francisco. Third base is wide open, as Luke Weaver (.215, 11, 48) will be 35 on Opening Day and didn't do much hitting this season, and the now 24-year-old Merriman was protected from the Rule-5 draft with his addition to the 40 post-trade. The former 4th Rounder struggled in AA, hitting just .294/.335/.378 (72 OPS+), but he's the high walk bat the Sailors like to target, and he's got legitimate big league power. Right now it's overshadowed by above average contact, but he's at most a season away from deserving a callup, and he could provide the Sailors with another big bopper to pair with Bill Guthrie (.309, 29, 87). Dunlap, on the other hand, will be lucky to reach Class B this season, but the 20-year-old has really exciting stuff. The former 2nd Rounder features a knee-buckling curve, and despite some early walk issues, projects to have solid command. Plenty of polish is needed, and he may need to work on his listening strategies, but he's got the tools to be a useful FABL starter, and their are few organizations better then this one if you want to get the most out of a non-top pitcher.

Their last move saw them clear some first base depth, sending 25-year-old Bob Dean and 24-year-old Ace Miller to the Cannons for 21-year-old Ed Neal. An interesting trade of only prospects, Dean did debut for the Sailors in '56, 1-for-3 in three pinch hit opportunities. Stuck behind Guthrie at first, the top-150 prospect is a similar slugger with a good eye, but relatively redundant given his age and ability. Still a useful option for big league at bats, he was key in allowing the Sailors to upgrade their system, as the second basemen Neal ranks 67th in the league and could later fill their weak second base hold. It's likely at least three seasons away, he made just 9 at bats (0-for-9) in Class B this year, and his .229/.316/.325 (66 OPS+) line in C ball was not impressive. What is, however, is his offensive potential, as he makes hard contact and draws a lot of walks. The power isn't there yet, and may never be, but he's looked good at second, third, and right, and has the tools to force his way into a lineup.

There were plenty of other minor moves, but the last two notable ones involved the Philadelphia Keystones. With Sal Nigro (.307, 19, 75) entrenched at first and the outfield wide open aside from All-World star Buddy Miller (.349, 36, 113), the Keystones made a clever acquisition, sending slugger Rudy Minton (.273, 4, 20) to the Foresters for a prospect and 1952 Whitney Winner Frenchy Sonntag (.192, 5, 14). Passed up by this year's Whitney Winner Tom Carr (.341, 9, 88, 12) and deadline acquisition Otis O'Keefe (.290, 19, 87), Sonntag endured an awful and injury-plagued 1956 season that saw him hit just .192/.230/.313 (43 OPS+) with 5 homers and 14 RBIs. A far-cry from the .287/.355/.527 (145 OPS+) hitter Forester fans got used to, the now 28-year-old is just a season removed from hitting .299/.368/.524 (141 OPS+), and he's led the CA in homers three times since his debut in 1950. In total, he has 168 through 758 big league games, and the move to the Broad Street Grounds could resurrect his career. Now getting to bat behind former teammate Lloyd Coulter and the two-time Whitney Winner Miller, Sonntag could give the Keystones a third 30+ home run hitter, all for a relatively cheap cost. Sure, the Sonntag we once knew may be a hitter of the past, but even something like his "worst" previous year in 1953 (.268, 29, 89) would represent a major upgrade to the Keystone lineup. A lot of their '57 success is dependent on Sonntag's production, but I'd bet on the New Jersey native returning to a top slugger if he stays healthy.

Their other move likely didn't go over as well with fans as the Keystones they shipped away breakout starter Jimmy Maness for 23-year-old first basemen Buck True. Perhaps Philly sees smoke and mirrors in the 32-year-old's season, as the journeyman impressed in 17 starts with a 3.47 ERA (108 ERA+). His 4.42 FIP (114 FIP-) was over a point higher, expecting regression to hit, as Maness had a high 1.54 WHIP with 51 walks and 49 strikeouts. Still, it's a surprise to see a team with a deep lineup part with one of their top pitchers, as behind Sam Ivey (20-10, 3.14, 135) and deadline pickup Tom Buchanan (16-10, 4.28, 70), there's a complete lack of certainty. The staff finished last in runs allowed, and aside from 80th ranked prospect Jim Cooper they don't have many internal options. Like the rest of the league, they still have four months to get their rotation in better shape, but the general thought around the league is that most of the major shopping has already finished.

• After two years with no new additions, the baseball Hall of Fame in Boone County added a newcomer to its ranks as Mel Carrol was inducted, receiving 87.4% of the votes in his first season of eligibility. An eight time all-star who started and finished his career in Washington with a three year detour to Cleveland, Carrol is best remembered for his 1937 season when he hit .409 for the Eagles. No one has hit .400 in a season since although Fred McCormick and Buddy Miller each came very close. In 2,229 career games, Carrol had 2,915 hits and won a pair of Federal Association batting titles to go with the Whitney Award for his amazing 1937 season. McCormick and Bobby Barrell headline the 1957 Hall of Fame crop and each should be a lock for induction.
  
  
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• A future Hall of Famer will be Ed Bowman and the 37-year-old New York Gothams ace picked up his 250th career win early in the season. Bowman finished the season with a 16-14 record to boost his career mark to 265-176. The two-time Allen Award winner was also named to the All-Star Game for the 12th time in his career, most among active players.
• Other milestones reached in 1956 include both Bowman, the Chiefs Al Miller and Cleveland's Deuce Barrell throwing their 2,000th career strikeout while Walt Messer of the Gothams reached the 2,500 hit mark and the 1,500 rbi plateau. Messer would retire at the end of the season.
• The first departure from the Dynamos dynasty. Dick York will not claim any more Theobald Awards. The 60-year-old, who had been the Dynamos pilot since 1942, has retired with 3 WCS wins, 4 pennants and 5 Theobald Awards and a lifetime record of 1194-1003 in 15 years with Detroit.
• On June 15, Detroit's Stan Kleminski became the first player to hit for the cycle in two years. 10 days later Bill Tutwiler of Pittsburgh also turned the trick.
• Continental Association Allen Award winner Tony Britten threw the only no-hitter of the season, turning the trick for Kansas City against the Chicago Cougars on July 31. It is the first Kings no-hitter since Topsy Moran threw one when they were based in Brooklyn in 1926 and just the third ever tossed by a Kings pitcher.
• Tough break for the Stars Charlie Barrell. The multi-sport star left basketball's Chicago Wildcats early with plans of playing a full season of baseball, only to be injured in July and miss nearly two months. The 1955 Continental Association batting champ was limited to 100 games but still hit a respectable .333.

WINGS FLY TO TOP OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Like baseball's Detroit Dynamos, the Philadelphia Frigates of the American Football Association had an opportunity to accomplish something truly historic on the gridiron in 1956. The Frigates, winners of each of the past two AFA championships, were looking to become the first team in the 37 year history of the league to win three consecutive league crowns. The Frigates did make the playoffs for the fourth year in a row but, like FABL's Dynamos, they fell short of their title goals.

It was the San Francisco Wings, survivors along with the Kansas City Cowboys of the old Continental Football Conference, that rose to the top and emerged with their first title since joining the AFA in 1950. The Wings had one of the finest collections off offensive talent seen since the days of the powerhouse Cowboys, with nine members of the San Francisco offense selected to play in the post-season All-Pro Classic game including quarterback Vince Gallegos, halfback Scott Belt and ends Herk Loveall and Will Mains. Their offensive line, anchored by tackle Al Hamilton, was the key to their success as Belt, who would be named the league's Most Valuable Player, rushed for a league best 1,282 yards while Gallegos threw for 1,998.

The Wings jumped out to a quick 4-0 start to the season and looked like they might run away with the West Division, but a stumble in October when they lost three straight, opened the door for Chicago and St Louis to make it a three team race. San Francisco got back on track with four victories in its final five games but a collapse in week eleven at home to Chicago, when the Wildcats scored 17 unanswered points in the final eleven minutes of the game to clip the Wings 24-17, doomed the San Francisco eleven to second place.

The Wildcats made the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons, finishing in a three-way tie for top spot in the West at 8-4 along with San Francisco and St Louis, but Chicago earned the division crown and homefield for the West Division playoff game thanks to that late comeback win at Golden Gate Stadium in week eleven. Like the Wings, the Wildcats endured a 3-game losing streak but rallied to win their final three games, all on the road, to make the playoffs. Chicago led the West in total offense with dependable veteran quarterback once more leading the way.

The St Louis Ramblers have been around since 1945 but have only made the playoffs once in their history. It really should have been a second time but the Ramblers, despite scoring more points and surrendering fewer than any West Division opponent, were the odd team out when the music ended as their two divisional losses to Detroit cost them a playoff berth based on having a poorer section record than both San Francisco and Chicago. The strength of the Ramblers was their defense which included All-Pro lineman Herm Bauer, linebacker Galen Cossey and defensive backs Tom McMaster and Bill Boyd. For much of the season the St Louis offense was forced to contend without rushing star Jim Kellogg, who still gained 871 yards despite missing five games with an injury thanks to the unheralded work of veteran linemen Jim Foaker and Lee Sennett. The duo each made the all-star game after clearing holes for backup Tom Nicoletti to gain 920 yards as a fill-in for Kellogg.

The Detroit Maroons finished fourth at 6-6 as once more the pieces would not fit together for a team that has some talent but has not seen a winning season since 1951. By all accounts Sam Burson is as talented as any quarterback in the game but the Maroons are 22-26 since drafting him second overall from Georgia Baptist in 1953. This time around the Maroons season really felt over before September came to a close as the Maroons dropped each of their first three games, two in heartbreaking fashion. The opener was a 15-9 overtime loss to a Kansas City team that would win only once more all year and it was followed up by a demoralizing 14-9 defeat at Thompson Stadium to New York in a game the Stars would drive 54 yards in the final two minutes for the game winning touchdown after the Detroit defense had held New York in check all afternoon up to that point. With Burson, and talented halfback Art Heal, who has rushed for at least 1,100 yards each of his four seasons including 1,162 this year, the feeling is Detroit should be much better than their results have shown.

The Los Angeles Tigers made the playoffs for the first time in 1955 but collapsed this year with four game losing streaks to both start and finish the season. Their offense was the least productive in the league and the defense was not much better. The only good news out of Los Angeles is the fact that they did manage to beat Kansas City twice and avoided finishing last with a 3-9 record.

The Cowboys have crashed hard, following up appearances in the AFA title game each of their first four seasons in the league with now three consecutive 2-10 campaigns. Former Christian Trophy winning halfback Mike Peel may be one of the best players in the sport but his talents are being wasted in Kansas City. Peel has rushed for over 1,000 yards each of his four seasons and one has to wonder what he could accomplish behind a talented line such as the one in San Francisco. The Cowboys do have what looks like a solid successor to the great Pat Chappell at quarterback in second year pro Scott Greenwell who led the AFA in passing yardage each of his two seasons. That only makes the Cowboys decision to draft Noble Jones College passing star Bruce Meeks second overall in the most recent AFA draft all the more perplexing. There is no doubting Meeks' talent but the Cowboys had plenty of other holes that needed addressing and with Greenwell under center, Meeks did not play a down of football in 1956.

*** TWO TEAM RACE IN EAST ***

Unlike a year ago when four teams in the East Division finished the regular season with 8-4 records, this year quickly became a two-team race between the Philadelphia Frigates and New York Stars. The Frigates, looking for their third straight title, started slow with just four wins in their first seven games while they watched a red-hot New York team began the season with seven straight victories including a dominating 44-14 win at Gothams Stadium that left New York three games ahead of Philadelphia.

That week seven loss served as a wake-up call for the Frigates, who would hammer lowly Pittsburgh 52-10 the next week as the start of a five game winning streak to close out the year. Pete Capizzi threw a league best 23 touchdown passes and halfback Doug Lucy had his second straight 1,000 yard rushing season to lead the highest scoring offense in the league as Philadelphia's 9-3 record tied the Stars for top spot and a 42-7 Frigates win over New York in their rematch helped secure homefield advantage for the East playoff game.

The Stars started 7-0 but won just two of their final five games including a season ending 22-21 loss on the road in Cleveland that doomed New York to second place. The Stars were built around their defense and led the AFA with 13 interceptions. That is not to say the New York offense was not good, as quarterback Steve Cottrill, halfback Bryan Mire and end Mike Eickhoff all made the season ending All-Pro Classic.

Boston, which finished first a year ago on a tiebreaker despite having a negative point differential, struggled out of the game this time around with four losses in their first six games and could never catch up, settling for third place at 7-5. Washington had a strong start, winning five of its first seven games, but the Wasps dropped four of their last five and had to settle for a .500 season and fourth place. The Wasps offense was still strong with veteran Tommy Norwood, who threw for 1,799 yards and 16 touchdowns leading the way but Washington surrendered too many points, including a combined 82 to Boston and Philadelphia in the final two games of the season.

Obviously an 8-4 season a year ago was a mirage for the woeful Cleveland Finches who had won just 4 games in the previous two seasons combined. The Finches won four this time around and finished in fifth place in the East with a 4-8 mark. The Cleveland offense averaged just 14.9 points per game, better than only Los Angeles, but the Finches can point to a season ending 22-21 victory over New York a week after being narrowly edged 19-17 by Philadelphia as building blocks for the future.

That leaves the Pittsburgh Paladins and the only positive one can say about them is they did not go 0-12 for the second straight season. Pittsburgh actually started the season with consecutive victories over Cleveland and Kansas City before losing their final ten contests. To make matters worse the Paladins may have whiffed badly on the first overall pick in the 1956 draft, choosing tight end Tim Thomsen out of Redwood when it was clear that there were several better options, most notably quarterback Bruce Meeks who went second to Kansas City. The Paladins cut ties with long-time signal caller Dusty Sinclair over the summer and Meeks would have been an ideal replacement. Pittsburgh is hoping their second round pick, Bob Braunstein out of Tempe College, can enjoy some of the success Sinclair had in his prime. Braunstein started all 12 games for the Paladins as a rookie, passing for over 1,700 yards and throwing 11 touchdown passes.

AFA PLAYOFF RECAP

After the AFA went its first twenty seasons without a playoff game needing overtime the East Division playoff has required an extra period each of the past three years including this season. The Philadelphia Frigates have been involved in all three of the overtime contests, beating New York in 1954 and Boston last year but this time it was the New York Stars who prevailed.

A defensive struggle, New York led 13-3 entering the third quarter but the Frigates, with hopes of becoming the first AFA squad to win three consecutive championships, battled back with 10 points in the final seven minutes to force overtime. The Frigates won the toss and started with the ball but on the first play from scrimmage, Frigates back Sam Reiter fumbled and ex-Frigate George Klavich pounced on the ball giving New York a first down on the Philadelphia twenty yard line. Four plays later New York kicker Benny Molitor, who had made two of three field goal attempts in regulation, split the uprights from 25 yards out and the Stars were off to their third title game appearance in the last five years.

San Francisco had not played in a postseason contest since the final year of the Continental Football Conference in 1949, but the Wings made the most of their first AFA playoff game, outscoring the Chicago Wildcats 30-24 in the West playoff. Halfback Scott Belt ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns to pilot the Wings flight to the finals.

The championship game went back and forth for three quarters and was tied at 16 after forty-five minutes. The Wings pulled out the 22-16 victory with a pair of fourth period field goals in a game that the San Francisco offense never did make it to the endzone. Five Earl Neese field goals along with a 53-yard second quarter interception return for a touchdown by Wings defensive back Wayne Nicolai accounted for all of the San Francisco scoring. The Stars defense held San Francisco back Scott Belt, the league's top rusher to just 47 yards but quarterback Vince Gallegos -who threw for 170- played mistake free football and that was enough to give the Wings their first ever AFA title.

The San Francisco trio of Vince Gallegos, Scott Belt and Will Mains stole the show in the annual American Football Association All-Pro Classic featuring the top players from each division. The West won in a rout by a 41-17 margin with the three Wings playing major roles. Gallegos threw for 50 yards in the first half but they included a pair of first quarter touchdown passes to Mains to stake the West to an early 14-0 lead. Belt carried the ball 15 times, gaining just 43 yards but two of his carries were for touchdowns. Pete Capizzi of the Philadelphia Frigates was the star of the second half for the East, throwing for 145 yards and a touchdown but the veteran was also intercepted by Tom McMaster in the fourth quarter and the St Louis defender returned the ball 28 yards for the final West Division touchdown.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PERFECT SEASON GIVES BAYOU STATE NATIONAL GRID CROWN

It was a 23 year wait but the Bayou State Cougars finally have their second AIAA college football title. The Cougars, who ran the table with a perfect 11-0 season including a New Years Day 28-13 win over Texas Gulf Coast in the Oilman Classic, won their second Deep South Conference title in four years and were crowned the best in college football for the first time since the 1933 squad won their only previous national title.

Led by the formidable passing duo of sophomore quarterback George Girard, who led the nation with 1,885 yards through the air and senior All-American end Mark Swafford, who caught 12 touchdown passes and led the nation with 812 receiving yards, the Cougars got off to a quick start and never slowed. Girard and Swafford combined on three touchdown passes in the first quarter of the opening game as Bayou State hammered Oklahoma City State 37-7 on the road and followed that up with a 35-0 win over Lambert College. Wins over Alabama Baptist and Cumberland, by a 14-11 score thanks to a late interception return for a touchdown, started the section slate and the Cougars outscored their final five conference opponents- Central Kentucky, Bluegrass State, Northern Mississippi, Mississippi A&M and rival Baton Rouge State- by a margin of 177-16 leaving little doubt that Bayou State was the class of the south.

The Cougars finished off by having little difficulty with Southwest Alliance co-champion Texas Gulf Coast, taking a 21-3 lead in the first 12 and a half minutes of the Oilman Classic and coasting to a 28-13 victory securing the perfect season.

Deep South schools finished one-two in the final rankings as Alabama Baptist, which endured a pair of 6-4 seasons the past two years, claimed the second spot in the polls after their 10-1 season with the only blemish being the early season loss to the Cougars. The Panthers capped their season with a 24-13 victory over Plains Athletic Association champ College of Omaha in the Sunshine Classic, marking the first New Years win for Alabama Baptist since 1950. Junior halfback Lew Headley led the way in the holiday win, scoring a pair of touchdowns and rushing for 109 yards.

Payne State was in contention for its first-ever national title in any sport after the Mavericks entered New Years Day with a 9-1 mark and the Midwestern Association champs provided the most drama on January 1 in rallying for 23 fourth quarter points to nip Cumberland 30-29 in the Cajun Classic. With both Bayou State and Alabama Baptist also winning classic games, the Mavericks were forced to settle for third, but that is the school's first top ten finish in football since 1944.

Rome State has had some up and down seasons of late and the Centurions are a far cry from the dominant team they were in the mid-1940s when they won back to back titles but they did go 10-1, losing only to St. Blane, and finished fourth in the final polls following a win over Valley State in the Desert Classic. The Fighting Saints, who finished 9-2 with losses to Detroit City College and Miami State, finished fifth in the polls.

GLA CONTINUES EAST-WEST CLASSIC DOMINANCE WITH WIN

The Great Lakes Alliance continued its superiority over the West Coast Athletic Association as the Lincoln Presidents trimmed the CC Los Angeles Coyotes 23-20 to make it six straight New Years wins for the GLA representative. Lincoln is responsible for three of those victories with wins over Northern Cal to snap a three year WCAA win streak in 1951 and three years later in a 37-16 drubbing of the same Coyotes team they beat this time around.

The Presidents finished just 7-4 overall and 19th in the final rankings but they won six of their seven section games to claim the GLA title for the third time in six years. The lone conference loss was the St. Ignatius, but the Lancers stumbled twice, falling to both Whitney College and Central Ohio, and had to settle for a three way tie for second in the conference at 5-2 with the Engineers and Detroit City College. The Knights, who were unbeaten a year ago and won the National title, finished 9-2 but both losses were in conference play with St. Ignatius and Minnesota Tech each claiming superiority over DCC.

The Coyotes had some lean years in the 1940s but CC Los Angeles has won at least seven games each of the past four seasons including a 9-2 finish this time around that was good enough for the Coyotes to crack the top ten for the first time in well over a decade. Only a conference loss in early November to Northern California prevented CCLA from being in the national title conversation entering the classic week and they wrapped up their regular season with a convincing 35-17 win over rival Coastal California with a trip to Santa Ana on the line.

CCLA, which relied on a strong running game keyed by junior back Bert Kaelin (1213 yards) and senior Steve Hickson (992 yards) nearly pulled off the win over Lincoln even with Hickson sidelined due to a late season injury. The Coyotes led 20-16 in the closing minutes until the Presidents marched 69 yards for the game winning score on a 1-yard Gilly Llewellyn run with just over a minute to play.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
CAROLINA POLY REPEATS AS NATIONAL CHAMPION

The Carolina Poly Cardinals became the second team in the past four years to win back to back National Collegiate Basketball Tournament titles. The Cardinals followed in the footsteps of 1953 and 1954 winner Rainier College by successfully defending their national crown. It marked a second straight 33-1 season for the South Atlantic Conference champions who flew past Cinderella Travis College, a 7th seed, with a 40-32 victory in the title game.

The Cardinals, led by three returning starters from last years title team in guards Don Farrar and George Maness along with center George Stevens, received a big boost thanks to an outstanding season from freshman forward Calvin Brown. The Richmond, Va. native was considered the fourth best player in his recruiting class and would go on to earn Freshman All-American status after starting all 34 games and averaging 8.4 points per game. Carolina Poly coach Andrew Conley was named Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons.

The Cardinals won their first 16 games and were ranked number one in the nation all season with their lone loss coming to rival North Carolina Tech by a 67-65 score in January. The Cardinals, who won their 16th South Atlantic Conference title, got their revenge on the Techsters with a 67-55 road win in late February.

The top seed in the South Region, Carolina Poly opened the tournament with a 49-42 win over Brooklyn State and then went on to beat Noble Jones College 60-50 behind 21 points from Farrar in the second round. Next up was a 66-47 win over Redwood with Farrar once again scoring 21. In the national semi-finals they hammered Coastal California 58-29 as Farrar, who is a junior and has one more year of eligibility remaining, led the way with 20 points. That set up a defensive struggle with Southwestern Alliance champion Travis College in the title game and the Cardinals prevailed by a 40-32 margin.

The title game loss put a damper on what was a Cinderella tournament run for the Bucks, who ended up being one of two seventh seeds in the 32 team field to reach the semi-finals in New York. The Bucks came out of the Midwest Region after beating second seed Indiana A&M, third seed Bluegrass State and top seed Lane State. They faced Boulder State in the semi-final as the Grizzlies, champions of the Plains Athletic Association, also pulled off some upsets along the way, defeating second seed Whitney College, #6 Ellery and finally 4th seeded Chesapeake State after the Clippers had knocked off top seed Central Ohio in the second round of the East Region.

COLLEGE BASEBALL
DOLPHINS WIN FIRST NATIONAL BASEBALL TITLE

Coastal California is one of the original schools in collegiate baseball, tracing their beginnings all the way back to 1910 and the dawn of the feeder league era. Despite that rich history the Dolphins had never won a national collegiate baseball title but that changed with the 1956 season as the West Coast Athletic Association runners-up earned a wildcard entry to the 16 team championship tournament and got hot at just the right time.

The Dolphins lack a true star and this year's edition of the team is unlikely to see anyone turn pro but a balanced attack and some pretty strong pitching allowed the Dolphins to win five consecutive games at the tournament being held in Dallas, Tx. including a sweep of the Carolina Poly Cardinals in the finals.

Carolina Poly sophomore pitcher Joe Driscoll will be a FABL draft pick and pitched a great game in a 2-1 win over Western Florida in the semi-finals but it was a little known Los Angeles native by the name of Logan Flint that stole the show. The Coastal California senior tossed a 2-0 shutout over North Carolina Tech to open the tournament and the blanked the Cardinals over 7 innings in a 5-0 victory to open the final series. That performance earned the senior the nod as Most Valuable Player in the tournament. After Flint's efforts in the first game of the finals the Dolphins scored in the top of the ninth inning to tie game two at 3 and then won it in the 10th when junior infielder Dusty Wallace smacked a 3-run homer to help clinch the series with a 6-3 victory in the second game.

RECORD BREAKING REGULAR SEASON FOR DUKES, BUT STUMBLE IN CUP FINALS

The Toronto Dukes put together what has to be considered the best season in modern NAHC history after establishing a new single season points record with 92 following a 39-17-14 season. The previous high water mark for points had been the 88 accumulated by the 1952-53 Chicago Packers.

Everywhere you turned it seemed there were all-stars on the Toronto lineup. A total of 7 of the twelve slots on the NAHC post-season all-star teams were occupied by Dukes including, for the first time in NAHC history, all four defense spots. Charlie Brown (9-25-34) was named to the first team for the second consecutive year and was joined by Rob Painchaud (16-30-46). The second team blueline pairing was Tim Brooks (6-16-22), making his third straight appearance, along with Bobby Fuhrman (10-32-42). The Dukes also had goaltender Scott Renes (28-11-11, 2.32), a first team selection a year ago, named to the second team.

As dominant as the Toronto defense was, it was the Dukes offense that really led the way. Toronto scored an NAHC best 233 goals, with none of the other clubs even reaching the 200 mark. As usual it was the duo of Quinton Pollack (35-60-95) and Lou Galbraith (20-52-72) leading the way. Pollack finished 4 points shy of his single season scoring record of 99 established three years ago but did set a new high-water mark for assists with a record 60 helpers. Pollack led the league in goals with 35 and won his fourth consecutive McDaniels Trophy as NAHC Most Valuable Player and fifth McDaniels overall. This was the fourth time the 33-year-old center had led the league in scoring and he surpassed the 300 career goal and 700 career points marks this season.

While Les Carlson (10-15-25) had a down year at the age of 33, others quickly stepped up including career best years from 26-year-old Ken Jamieson (27-25-52) and 31-year-old Pat Coulter (25-19-44). Veterans Trevor Parker (15-33-48) and Doug Zimmerman (18-18-36) added to the scoring depth.

Toronto finished 13 points ahead of the second place Boston Bees, who allowed just 159 goals against -five less than Toronto conceded. Pierre Melancon (18-8-7, 1.94) had a terrific season in net for the Bees, recording 7 shutouts despite playing in less than half the games as Oscar James (15-16-6, 2.50) was used more often by the Bees despite Melancon's spectacular .934 save percentage. Mike Brunell (27-24-41) led the Bees in scoring with help from veteran Garrett Kauffeldt (16-31-47) and rising star Jimmy Rucks (10-37-47) as Wilbur Chandler (18-18-36) looks to be slowing down at the age of 38.

Just as the did a year ago the Bees and Detroit Motors battled it out for second place and home ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. A year ago the Motors finished on top by a single point while this time the roles were reversed as the Bees claimed the spot by the same one point margin after Boston blanked Chicago on the final day of the regular season while the Motors came up short against Toronto. The Motors were led by 23-year-old Alex Monette (31-28-59) along with vets Lou Barber (20-32-52) and Nick Tardif (13-39-52) while Henri Chasse (30-23-10, 2.29) had an outstanding season between the pipes.

The Chicago Packers finished fourth, barely edging out Montreal for the final playoff berth by a single point. There was a scary start to the Packers season when superstar center Tommy Burns was cut in the neck in a preseason game. The cut was deep enough that the 36-year-old was forced to miss nearly two months of the campaign and the Packers won just 3 of the 21 games without Burns to start the season. He did make up for lost time scoring 32 goals and 61 points in the 49 games he suited up for. Michael Cleghorn (23-28-9, 2.74) had the net to himself with the retirement of Norm Hanson but it is clear the Packers will need an upgrade in goal.

It is hard to call fifth place a good season for any NAHC team but the Montreal Valiants, who missed out on the playoffs by just one point, have to be at least somewhat satisfied their four year stay in the league cellar came to an end. The Valiants and sixth place New York Shamrocks, who missed the playoffs for the third time in four years, tried to change their fortunes with a summer trade that saw 24-year-old defenseman Mike Driscoll (3-15-18) dealt to the Big Apple in exchange for 29-year-old winger Jocko Gregg (18-21-39). Both players saw a drop off in production from the previous season. No team surrendered more than the 215 goals conceded by the Valiants as 26-year-old Montreal goaltender Nathan Bannister (14-24-9, 3.41) appeared to take a step back in his fourth NAHC season. Goaltending was less of a concern in New York but Alex Sorrell (18-32-12, 2.81) did not exhibit the form he had displayed in his prime.

The semi-final playoff matchups were a repeat of the previous season with Toronto meeting Chicago while Boston faced Detroit. The only change was it would be the Bees, and not the Motors, who enjoyed home ice advantage in their series after Boston finished a point ahead of Detroit in the battle for second place.

On paper fourth place Chicago looked to be no match for the first place Toronto Dukes, who finished 33 points ahead of the Packers, scored 67 more goals and allowed 39 fewer. In addition Toronto thumped the Packers 8-1 on the second last day of the regular season. So it came as a huge surprise when Chicago, using rookie goaltender Allen Hocking in net, upset Toronto 5-3 in the series opener despite the fact that Quinton Pollack had 3 points for the Dukes.

All the Chicago win did was wake up the Dukes as Trevor Parker scored twice in a 3-1 Dukes win in game two and Scott Renes made 35 saves for a 2-0 victory in the third game. Game three was much closer than anticipated as Hocking kept the Dukes off the scoresheet until midway through the third period when Trevor Parker finally solved the young Chicago netminder. Pollack assisted on both Parker's goal and the empty net marker in the closing seconds from Charlie Brown. Pollack had a 3-point night as the Dukes claimed the fourth game by a 4-2 score and then took game five when -who else- Quinton Pollack scored for the fifth time in the series, notching the game winner with 1:27 left in regulation to give the Dukes a 2-1 victory and their fourth straight trip to the Challenge Cup finals.

Detroit and Boston played a tough six game series a year ago with the Bees coming out on top. This time Boston had home ice advantage but that disappeared quickly as the Motors won a tight-checking series opener by a 2-0 score. Nick Tardif scored in the second period for the winners while Francis McKenzie added an empty-netter in a game that featured a combined total of just 36 shots and Motors goaltender Henri Chasse was called on top make only 14 saves for his shutout. Game two featured more shots but only three goals as the Bees evened the series with a 2-1 victory. Vincent Arsenault got Detroit on the board first with a second period marker but late in the middle frame Jacob Goden tied the contest and Gabriel Vignault, a 21-year-old rookie who scored just three times in the regular season, notched the game winner midway through the third period.

Henri Chasse made 23 saves for his second shutout of the series as the Motors took game three by a 3-0 score but Boston evened the series with a 3-2 victory in the fourth game. Boston defenseman Mickey Bedard was the hero in game five as he scored the winner in overtime to give Boston a 3-2 victory and a three games to two lead in the series but Detroit staved off elimination with a 3-2 win of their own on home ice in the sixth game. Game Seven was one the Bees would like to forget as Detroit beat Oscar James six times to take the series with a 6-2 win in the deciding game despite the fact the Bees outshot the Motors 40-30. Henri Chasse had another fine game in the Detroit net while Motors defenseman Tyson Beddoes scored twice and added an assist in the win.

That set up a rematch of the finals from two years ago when Detroit beat Toronto to win just its second Challenge Cup. The Motors have played in the Cup finals four times prior to this season, winning twice with both series victories coming against Toronto while also losing twice with both defeats at the hands of the Boston Bees.

The Motors, riding on emotion after a game seven win Boston, drew first blood in the finals with a 4-3 victory thanks to Francis McKenzie scoring the only goal of the third period. Toronto outshot the Motors 45-30 but Henri Chasse continued to shine in the Detroit net. Game Two also went Detroit's way as the Motors stole both games at the Dominion Gardens including a double-overtime 3-2 win in game two. After a scoreless first period Toronto took a 2-0 lead early in the second on goals by Bobby Fuhrman and Alex Lavalliere but before the frame came to an end Lou Barber and Nick Tardif tied things up for the Motors. Toronto outshot Detroit 12-5 in a scoreless third period and Chasse, along with Toronto's Scott Renes, kept the game knotted at two until Lou Barber scored his second of the game after 39:34 of overtime to put Detroit up 2-0 in the series.

The series shifted to Detroit and the Motors went up three games to none with another 3-2 victory, but this one was in regulation time as Detroit led 2-0 after twenty minutes but the Dukes tied it with two of their own in the second stanza. Nick Tardif's second of the game and fifth of the playoffs was the game winner, coming off a Jimmy Pappin set up early in the third period.

Game Four was a disaster for the Motors as Toronto thumped Detroit 7-1 behind a Charlie Brown hat trick. Toronto cut the Motors lead to three games to two with an overtime 3-2 victory in game six at Dominion Gardens. Quinton Pollack had a goal and an assist for the second straight game including the overtime winner.

The series would come to an end in Detroit as the Motors would win game six by a 2-1 score and hoist the Challenge Cup for the second time in three years. Louis Rocheleau opened the scoring with a goal late in the second period but Toronto evened things in the opening minute of the third thanks to Lou Galbraith's power play tally. Nick Tardif tied Toronto's Quinton Pollack for the playoff goal scoring lead with his seventh of the post-season just past the ten minute mark of the third period putting the Motors up 2-1. Toronto outshot Detroit 37-16 on the evening but could not get a second puck past Detroit goalie Henri Chasse and the Motors hung on for the 2-1 win.

HOCKEY NOTES

• Quinton Pollack won his fourth straight McDaniels Trophy as the NAHC's most valuable player. Pollack also led the league in points with 95. Detroit goaltender Henri Chasse won his second career Juneau Trophy as top netminder - 11 years after his first win. Marc Nicol of New York was rookie of the year giving the Shamrocks back to back McLeod Trophy winners after John Meger won last season. The Yeadon Trophy for Most Gentlemanly Player went to veteran Chicago winger Derek Gubb.
• Toronto doubled the NAHC stars by a 4-2 score in the 6th annual meeting of the defending Challenge Cup champions and a team of all-stars. The Cup winner has won just two of the six meetings with both being accomplished by Toronto. Clyde Lumsen scored twice to pace the Dukes in this years contest.
• Montreal prospect Charlie Oliphant Jr., son of the former NAHC great by the same name, is ranked the top prospect in the sport. The 20-year-old, selected 2nd overall by the Valiants in the 1954 draft, had 11 points in 44 games for Syracuse of the HAA last season.
• While on the topic of players with family connections to NAHC royalty, Benny Barrell -the nephew of Toronto coach Jack Barrell and son of former FABL star Fred Barrell- had 83 points in 64 games for the Hull Hawks of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He is eligible for the 1956 NAHC draft.
• The Saint Johns Saints won the CAHA title this year, beating Windsor 4 games to one in the best-of-seven CAHA final. Tom McTavish, a 19-year-old winger for the Saints, won the CAHA scoring title with 126 points, a total only surpassed by Bart Bradford of St. Thomas in 1949-50.
• The Philadelphia Rascals won their second HAA title in four years with a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh in game seven of the finals. Geoff Hartnell, long-time New York Shamrocks forward, scored twice and added an assist for the Rascals in the deciding game victory. The San Francisco Wings beat the Hollywood Stars four games to one to win the Great West Hockey League championship. It was the Wings first-ever GWHL crown.

Full Court Press: 1955-56 Season in Review -It seemed like a long time since the Washington Statesmen were relevant, but in reality, the Statesmen have continued to qualify for the postseason every year since their inaugural 1937-38 season. The relative “dark ages” for Washington was a two-year span where the Statesmen did not win the division, ceding to Philadelphia and New York. Both the Phantoms and Knights went on to win the FBL Finals.

Washington qualified for the playoffs, sneaking in as third place in 1952-53, losing in the first round for the first time since 1944-45. The Statesmen finished in second and won a series before losing to New York in 1953-54. Last season, Washington won the division for the 11th time but fell in the Divisional Finals for the third time after winning the regular season division title.

Gone are the heroes of seasons past, Ivan Sisco, Blake Brooks, and Charles Hooper. The stars in Our Nation’s Capital are Ernie Fischer, Barry McCall, and Hank Adkins and they combined to lead the FBL in scoring with the Statesmen averaging over 78 points per game. Adkins, a 25-year-old guard drafted out of Redwood University three years ago, led the way, starting all 72 games and averaging a career best 16.7 ppg. Fischer, in his sixth year with the club scored at a 15.9 ppg clip and McCall, a second year pro, contributed 10.9 ppg and was second in the FBL in helpers with 8.4 assists per game. His efforts earned the 24-year-old McCall a berth on the All League First team while both Fischer and Adkins claimed second team honours.

The Statesmen finished with a 45-27 record, good enough for an 8 game lead on the second place Philadelphia Phantoms, who were led by Mel Turcotte (20.1 ppg), Darren Fuhrman (17.1) and T.J. Grimm (15.1 ppg, 6.9 apg) but lacked the depth of the division leaders.

New York missed the playoffs a year ago but the Knights rebounded to edge out Boston for third place this time around with a 31-41 record. Veteran center Larry Yim (15.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) was again the leader in New York while the Centurions were doomed by the least productive offense in the eight team loop, caused in no small part by an FBL worst .358 shooting percentage.

Defending league champion Rochester followed up its first FBL title a year ago by finishing with the best record in the West Division for the third year in a row. The Rockets 48-24 record was best in the league and left them a full 7 games ahead of second place Chicago. Center Marlin Patterson (17.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg) and guard Verle Schoonmaker (7.9 ppg, 7.8 apg) each were named to the All-League second team and both took on a much more important role for the Rockets after star center Billy Bob McCright was limited to just 18 regular season games due to injury.

The Chicago Panthers have Luther Gordon (22.5 ppg, 14.0 rpg) who topped the loop in scoring average and boards while winning his third MVP award but even he and veteran guard Joe Hampton (9.0 apg), who led the loop in assists were not enough to help the Panthers catch Rochester. There is supplemental scoring as well in the forms of the "Charlies", Orlando and Barrell, each of who average 14.7 points per game. Charlie Barrell's decision to leave the team in February to report to spring training with baseball's Los Angeles Stars certainly slowed the Panthers, who played just .500 ball after Barrell's departure and was a big reason why the club would fall to Detroit in the opening round of the playoffs.

The third place Mustangs returned to the playoffs after three consecutive last place finishes. Ward Messer was relegated to the bench as Ziggy Rickard (21.9 ppg), who came over in the dispersal draft after Cleveland folded, took over as the offensive leader and was named to the All-League First Team for the fifth time in his career. A maturing Slim Barner (13.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg) took over at center and recent first overall draft picks Erv Corwin (13.4 ppg) and Ed Kosanovich (9.5. ppg, 10.0 rpg) are maturing. The Mustangs defense needs work as only West Division cellar dweller Toronto surrendered more points. The Falcons won a league low 20 games and finished with the worst record the franchise has seen since 1948-49.

The opening round of the playoffs saw Ziggy Rickard take control for Detroit, averaging more than 29 points a game as the Mustangs won the best of five series with the second place Panthers 3 games to one. Rickard slowed down only slightly in the second round but the defending champion Rochester Rockets were simply far too much for the Mustangs, sweeping the series in four games.

Philadelphia and New York needed the full five games in the opening round on the East playoff bracket. The Phantoms prevailed with an 87-80 victory in the deciding game as Darren Fuhrman scored 26 while Mel Turcotte added 23 points. The East final went the distance as well with the two clubs alternating victories. The first place Washington Statesmen took the deciding game by an 86-79 margin with 26 successful free throws, compared to just 11 for the visiting Phantoms, making all the difference in the world.

The finals would then be a meeting between the two best teams in the regular season as the Rochester Rockets looked for the second straight title while the Washington Statesmen -already the only team in the decade old Federal League with more than one championship, looked to add a third title.

None of the games were blowouts but the Statesmen, who had never played the Rockets in the FBL playoffs but defeated them twice in the old American Basketball Conference, swept the series in four games. The series opener saw the visitors from the Nations capital score a 78-69 victory despite 10 points from Billy Bob McCright, who had rejoined the Rockets earlier in the playoffs after missing most of the regular season with an injury. Washington's underrated center Joey Rose led the Statesmen with 19 points while Ernie Fischer contributed 18.

Game Two saw some dreadful shooting by both clubs with Washington going just .309 from the field while Rochester was even worse, converting barely 28% of their 85 shot attempts. Rose again outplayed Rockets center Marlin Patterson, scoring 19 points to Patterson's 16 and collecting 16 boards while the Rockets star was held to 11 in a 64-61 Statesmen victory.

Returning home with a 2-0 series lead the Statesman rallied from a 10 point deficit at the half to claim a 78-71 victory in the third game setting up an 85-82 win the following night to complete the sweep. Rose had a game high 27 points and likely should have been named the playoff MVP but instead it went to his teammate Barry McCall, who had 15 assists in the final game and averaged double digits in helpers during the post-season.

1956 saw each of the three American Boxing Federation titles change hands but the heavyweight division continued to be ruled by an Englishman. When the year began Joe Brinkworth was the king of the most prestigious division in boxing but after thirty vicious rounds his British rival Steve Leivers had become the new ruler. Brinkworth, who won the title by knocking out Joey Tierney in Tierney's hometown of Detroit in September 1955, brought the belt home to face Leivers in London in January. The two fought to a spirited draw on that night and staged a rematch in Liverpool three months later.

It was another close fight, with little to separate the pair but on this night, it was the Leivers who prevailed with a narrow but unanimous decision. Joey Tierney arrived in England in May with the goal of bringing the title back to the United States. Leivers had other plans and boosted by a capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium in London, the British champion dominated Tierney and ended the fight quickly, needing just three rounds before it was called as a technical knockout.

A large wad of cash convinced Leivers to bring the belt back the New World and he faced rising young contender John Colbert at New York's Bigsby Gardens in November. Leivers looked even better than he did in the summer and demolished Colbert with a second round TKO. As of this writing the champ remains in New York and appears to be finalizing plans for another title defense in the coming months.

Mark McCoy is once more the middleweight champ as he ended George Hatchell's run in what was the Washington state fighter's sixth attempt at a successful title defense. It was more a case of a loss on Hatchell's part than anything McCoy did to win as Hatchell was ahead on the scorecards when he was disqualified in the 7th round for repeated low blows. McCoy, the 27-year-old from Kansas City who held the title previously from 1951 until late 1954, has said he is willing to grant Hatchell a rematch.

Lonnie Griffin has been welterweight champion on two different occasions and may bid for a third after he was defeated by Eugene Ellis in Cleveland in October. Griffin had a strong start to that fight, but Ellis took over in the fifth round, flooring Griffin with a strong hook and was all over the champ in round six until referee Barry Yeats put a stop to things before Griffin was seriously injured. Ellis is a 27-year-old from Seattle with a solid 30-3-1 record but Griffin was the first real quality fighter he had ever defeated.

1956 BOLOGNA ON BOXING - There was a time when the boxing champions resided in Britain. In the time before American dominance, both on the world stage and in the sport of boxing, the Tadcaster Thunderbolt was the biggest name in boxing. Archie Rees was the Middleweight Champion, unseated in 1945 by Frank “The Tank” Melanson. In recent history, Ben Shotton was impressive in his heavyweight title shot against Joey Tierney. Fellow Brit Joe Brinkworth defeated Tierney and became the class of the division. Last year’s Welterweight Champion Lewis Kernuish won the belt in August but lost the rematch to give up the title.

The European interest in the sweet science has taken on a new passion, especially in the United Kingdom. The epicenter of the heavyweight division shifted 3,500 miles to the east across the Atlantic. In January, Brinkworth looked to defend his title against Steve Leivers, a fellow countryman at the London Arena. In fifteen bruising rounds, Brinkworth scored best with crosses, while Leivers was keen on uppercuts. There were swollen eyes on both sides, puffiness that showed the effects of so many hard punches during the full length of the heavyweight bout. Neither fighter was knocked to the ground and the judges saw the fight as evenly as everyone else did, with two of the three judges scoring it a draw. The flow of the fight was also similarly witnessed. Leivers got off to the better start and Brinkworth got even in the middle rounds with the final rounds just a fight for survival.

Three months later in Liverpool, both combatants tried once again at Anfield to find a victor. Another fifteen rounds were fought and while Brinkworth executed more effectively early in the match, though Leivers had a dominant Round 3 that saw the challenger rain blows upon Brinkworth in the last half of the round that almost caused the belt to change hands. Brinkworth was able to own Round 4 and put a few rounds together to stake him to a lead. But Leivers started to take control in the eighth round and did not let go. Leivers was dominant in a role reversal in Round 9, almost as dominant in Round 10, and outside of Brinkworth’s last gasp Round 12, Leivers owned the last half of the fight. The margins were thin, but the judges each called the bout for Leivers and he stayed undefeated at 30-0-1. Both fights were instant classics, but Leivers was off and running.

Former champion Joey Tierney came calling and Leivers welcomed him at London’s Wembley Stadium in early July, billed as a peace offering 180 years removed from the United States’s Declaration of Independence. If this was a peace offering, Britain may have regretted not upping the stakes. Leivers won the first round convincingly and Tierney fought back very well in Round 2. However, Leivers connected on a vicious uppercut about 40 seconds into the third round that signaled a short evening. Tierney was knocked to the canvas and though he returned to his feet after a four-count, his eyes were glazed over, and the end was near. Leivers capitalized on a stunned Tierney by going to work with his weapon of choice: the uppercut. Just before the bell rung to end the round, referee John Coyle waved his arms vehemently and stopped the fight. Tierney’s corner protested with the end of the round only three seconds away, but Coyle did not entertain any discussion.

Leivers plied his trade stateside in November, going up against John Colbert at Bigsby Garden in New York. It was another title defense that did not last long for Leivers, as the champion opened a gash on the eyelid of Colbert and the bout was called for Leivers in the second round on a TKO. After the rabid fight fans finally got a chance to witness a heavyweight title fight in 1956, it ended far too quickly for some, who pelted the referee and combatants with garbage when the decision was made, only four minutes and 41 seconds into the fight.

Bigsby Garden, the well-respected mecca of boxing, was disrespected by the quantity and quality of fights during the year, as this was only the second title fight in any weight class with the first ending even sooner. Lonnie Griffin, the local champ and head of the welterweight division, dispatched journeyman Al Sullivan in only 100 seconds in March. In that fight, few fans were able to make it to the Garden, as it was the start of the great Nor’Easter of 1956 which dumped over a foot of snow in New York City and even more in the surrounding areas.

Speaking of the welterweight division, Griffin was the champion heading into the year and with his dominant March performance under his belt, there was another date with Danny Rutledge, completing the trilogy in July. There was no love lost between the two. While Rutledge was unhinged in the first fight and composed in the second fight, a weathered Rutledge was clearly past his prime as Griffin pummeled him and showed him the canvas repeatedly, knocking his nemesis down an astounding seven times. Griffin waited until the final round to declare victory and Rutledge could not take the hint. After two knockdowns earlier in the 15th round, a powerful cross with 27 seconds left caused Rutledge to rock, list, and finally pitch forward. It was a knockout, but the referee could have stopped the fight any number of times at earlier junctures in the bout. Griffin did not so much as wait around for Rutledge to regain his faculties to offer a post-match handshake.

Controversy seems to follow Griffin. Maybe it is because of his big mouth. Griffin protested wildly after his final fight of the year, one in which he lost his belt. At Lake Erie Arena in Cleveland, Eugene Ellis put a hurting on Griffin in the fifth round that was consequential. All three judges scored the fifth round a dominating 10-8 in favor of the challenger, who scored the only knockdown of the fight. After a respite in his corner, Griffin’s situation did not improve. The onslaught continued and there was a serious concern for Griffin’s health. Griffin was still in the fight, which was dead even through five rounds on all three cards, as we later found out, but referee Barry Yeats saw something ominous in how open Griffin left himself to power punches on a regular basis. Yeats called the fight late in the sixth round and while 1957 might bring a rematch, Griffin openly wondered to the press if Yates was in the bag for Ellis (30-3-1) and the two were in cahoots to rob him of his title.

In the middleweight division, George Hatchell was among the hardest working athletes of the year, setting off for four fights during the year in varied locals: Vancouver, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Hatchell is from Washington State, as is current Welterweight Champion Eugene Ellis, who hails from Seattle. Both men held their respective belts at the same time for almost three months, but Hatchell lost his belt in his final fight of the year to Mark McCoy the week before Christmas.

Hatchell lost his cool during the December fight against McCoy. McCoy is a talented fighter, winning the title at the young age of 22, and with 45 fights under his belt, he has won every kind of fight: the tactical, the defensive, the clean and the dirty. Hatchell was hit with an accidental head butt in the third round. Was it accidental? Veteran referee Zeb Barley deemed it to be accidental, but Hatchell and his trainer were up in arms and steaming mad. The head butt almost immediately caused swelling under Hatchell’s left eye. The fourth round began and Hatchell came out like a shot. With his eyesight suffering, Hatchell tried to connect on anything and everything that moved. The problem was that he walked right into a good gut punch from McCoy. Whether it was the effects of the head butt or the intention of the head butt, Hatchell repeated began punching low. Hatchell would say later it was the swollen eye that threw off his targets, but Barley deducted a point because of the fouls and kept close watch the rest of the night.

McCoy’s fleet footwork was too quick for a laboring Hatchell, who fought a combined 36 rounds in 1956. As the seventh round started, Hatchell started punching McCoy down low in a dangerous area and, already being warned, Barley called the fight for McCoy. The 1953 Bologna Boxer of the Year won the middleweight belt back to end 1956. McCoy (39-6-1) is only 27 and he is still in his prime, ready for second reign as Middleweight Champion.

The Boxer of the Year is Steve Leivers (32-0-1) in a landslide. He was 3-0-1, fought two entertaining matches against Joe Brinkworth resulting in a draw and a win to capture the heavyweight title, and in the second half of the year, won convincingly to keep the title.

FROM THE LOCAL PAPERS

Tales From The Den- Wolves Recovery Stalls in '56 -Fan hopes that 1956 would be the year that their Wolves again became a factor in the CA were quickly quashed in the early season. After a mediocre start, 7-5, in April the team fell into their all too common tailspin earlier than normal. During the Fifties the team has generally crashed in the summer with terrible records in July, August. This year the Wolves fell out of the race earlier with a combined record of 25-34 (.424) in May, June so the fans thoughts of "wait 'till next year" began in the late spring rather than summer. The team showed some fight during the dog days going 35-23 (.603) to enter September with a record of 67-62 giving the faithful some hope of a first division finish in the a CA that was again dominated by Cleveland and Kansas City. The Wolves collapsed as the leaves began to change, going 9-16 in September including 3-7 in their last ten to finish with the same record as 1955, 76-78 good enough for 5th in the league 15 games behind the Foresters.

The problem were the same ones that have haunted the team for the past number of years: pitching and defense. Last year's leader, Lynn Horn, struggled early in the year eventually being sent down to Buffalo in July where he seemed to regain his form before being recalled in August. Jim Montgomery, 24, began the year in the 'pen before moving to the rotation in June. He finished the year at 14-8, 2.65 in 19 starts along with 11 saves early in the season. Whitey Stewart, 25, the first overall pick in 1953 led the team is starts with 34 posting a 12-10, 3.44 record. The rest of the staff was the all too common to Wolves supporters cast of misfits where if the starter did not get shelled early the bullpen could not close out the game with 16 leads surrendered after the bullpen was called into the game.

Not every lead surrendered was entirely the fault of the bullpen. The defensive woes continued in Toronto. Porous, shoddy defense cost the Wolves many wins with by far the worst fielding in the FABL. Any ball put into play was almost even money as to whether or not it could be turned into an out. Flyballs to the outfield were a constant adventure with more often than not the ball hitting the grass sometimes after being misplayed, misjudged by the fielder. The Wolves will go nowhere fast if they do not improve in the field.

At the dish the team was improved, leading the CA in homeruns for the first time in many seasons. The team was led by Tom Reed's .267/.324/.483 31 HR 93 RBI who was the only outfielder who fielded his position in left with something close to big league standards. Larry Curtis contributed 25 HR 77 RBI, Jim Allen's .282/.340/.426 was helpful although their defense was almost non-existent. John Wells has become an average FABL player. He had a line of .247/308/.406 20 HR 68 RBI with acceptable defense at second. Gordie Perkins, 34, has been hampered by injuries the last two seasons appearing in only 105 games this year. The five time All-Star may be heading to the twilight of his career.

At end of the World Championship Series in which the New York Gothams, who dethroned Detroit in FA, took out Cleveland in 6 games Wolves owner Bernie Millard, 73, cleaned house. None of Scouting Director Art Willis, Manager Jim Whitehead, Hitting Coach Verlin Alexander, 1B Coach Eddie Mosqueda and Pitching Coach Joe Short had their contracts renewed so are no longer members of the Wolves organization. Millard did not stop in Toronto. Wolves go into 1957 with 11 staff roles to fill in the entire organization.

The Wolves will be different in '57. The system improved to 6th in FABL with 4 prospects in the top 26. P Hank Lacey, 24, is 14th, CF Sid Cullen, 20, is 21st, 2B Eddie Goodman, 21, ranks 23rd, with P George Hoxworth, 18, coming in at 26th. With all but Lacey probably needing more seasoning there is hope on the horizon for the long suffering fans. It will be interesting to see who fills the five open jobs in Toronto.

Tales From The Manor: Duke Dominant But Fail to Close the Deal -The Toronto Dukes were definitely a force in the NAHC from October to mid-April. The team ran away from the other five teams in the regular season with a record of 39-17-14 good for 92 points to finish 13 points ahead of the second Boston Bees who edged out Detroit by one point in a battle for home ice advantage in the playoffs.

Toronto led the NAHC in goals with 233 no other team scored 200 times. Only Detroit allowed less goals, 159, than the Dukes tandem of Scott Renes and Charlie Dell who were beaten 164 times. Quinton Pollack again led the NAHC in scoring with league leading totals in goals, 35, and assists, 60, for 95 points which left Pollack 23 points ahead of linemate Lou Galbraith who returned to have an impressive season after an injury riddled 1954-55. Tommy Burns has another high scoring season for Chicago at age 36 with 32 goals 29 helpers despite being limited to only 49 games due to injury.

Between the pipes Scott Renes was not quite the force of last season, 28-11-11 2.32 with a save percentage of .919 was good enough for second most wins behind the Motors Henri Chasse. Renes finished third in GAA and 4th in save percentage. He again was able backed up by Charlie Dell's 11-6-0 2.30, stopping 91.8% of shots on goal. The team only lost 3 in a row once all season and with just two other two game losing streaks during the 70 game schedule the Dukes were not really challenged being in first place basically the entire season.

In the playoffs for the Challenge Cup Toronto's first opponent was the 4th place finishers the Chicago Packers, 25-36-9 good for 59 points. The semi-final began in the Gardens on Thursday March 24th in what the 14,235 on hand would be the start of mere formality on the Dukes road to retaining the Cup. Chicago had other plans when Jeremy MacLean opened the scoring at 25 seconds before everyone had found their seats. Pollack evened the scoring 36 seconds later then put the Dukes ahead before the period was seven minutes old. Chicago was not done, Tommy Burns led the charge with the visitors scoring twice in both the second and third to take the series lead before a shocked crowd with a 5-3 win. That proved to a wake up call for Toronto who would take the next 4 games, albeit close games, 3-1, 2-0, 4-2, 2-1 to advance to the final. In the other series Detroit, Boston went the distance with the Motors advancing in seven after winning the sixth game 3-2 at home before dismantling Boston in Denny Arena 6-2 in the deciding game.

The Dukes had been off for 8 days when Detroit invaded the Gardens on April 12th to skate away with a 4-3 win thanks to Henri Chasse's 42 save performance. Fans' concern turned to outright panic when three nights later the Motors went up in the series 2-0 when Lou Barber found the twine behind Renes with 26 seconds left in first overtime period.

Detroit continued to roll at the Thompson Palladium taking a 2-0 lead in the first period of Game Three. The Dukes rallied back to tie the game at 2 before Nick Tardif's goal in the third was the eventual winner, leaving the Dukes one loss away from an end to the season. In this game Toronto went 1 for 7 on the man advantage.

With their backs against the wall Dukes came out guns a blazing, after falling behind 1-0 the Dukes put 7 in a row behind Chasse to extend the series. Back home for Game 5 the teams played a surprisingly wide open game testing both Chasse, Renes close to 40 times. The teams entered the third period tied at 1 and Galbraith sent the crowd into a frenzy when he gave the home a 2-1 lead at 6:22. Nick Tardif sent the game to overtime by scoring on an end to end rush with 5:11 left on the clock. Pollack sent the fans home happy when he scored 8:02 into overtime sending the series back the Motor City.

In Game 6 with Toronto hoping to continue their comeback after dropping the first three games of the season, Detroit's Henri Chasse showed why he is one of, if not the, best netminder in the NAHC. After a scoreless first Louis Rocheleau gave the Motors the lead with less than 4 minutes left in the second period. Chasse blanked the Dukes despite facing 28 shot in the first 40 minutes. Galbraith brought both team's fans to edge of their seat whether in the Palladium or listening on the radio in Toronto when he tied the game 14 second into the third with Walsh off for hooking. Try as they might this was the only puck that would elude Chasse on this night. Nick Tardif's 7th of the playoffs put an end to the Dukes storied season just past the halfway point of the third allowing the Motors to reclaim the Challenge Cup.

Coach Barrell- "The loss to Detroit in final will haunt me to the grave. This team had a chance to go down as the best team ever but will not because Detroit won the Cup - close is not good enough in pro sports. This may sound stupid but I think the Dukes can be better next season. As the line of Carlson, who was hampered by nagging injuries all year, Pollack, Galbraith begin to age we have some guys improving by leaps and bounds. Ken Jamieson, 27-25-52, was given a more prominent role this season. He responded to the challenge along with Pat Coulter who stepped up at age 31. We have to find a little more young talent in the draft so I can start the slow process of turning this lineup over to the next generation. Expected to see Wooley, Quinn, Fuhrman, Morrison to given more ice time next season as we try to return the Cup to its proper home in Toronto."

The Year That Was
Current events from 1956

• Feb 14- President Eisenhower's doctors say he is healthy enough to seek another term.
• Feb 23- Norma Jean Mortenson legally changes her name to Marilyn Monroe.
• Feb 29- Eisenhower announces he will seek reelection.
• Mar 12- The Dow Jones Average tops 500 for the first time.
• Apr 19- Grace Kelly marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
• May 22- NBC first introduces its Peacock logo on television.
• June 8- General Electric begins to sell the first snooze alarm clock.
• June 21- Playwright Arthur Miller appears before the House Un-American Activities Committee
• Jun 30- The deadliest civil air disaster to date as two plains collide in mid-air over the Grand Canyon, killing 128 in an accident that leads to sweeping changes in the regulation of cross-country flights.
• Jul 13- The first coordinated research meeting on the topic of artificial intelligence is held at Grafton College in New Hampshire.
• Sep 13- The hard disk drive is invented by an IBM team.
• Oct 31- A US Navy team becomes the third group to reach the South Pole and commences construction of the first permanent station there.
• Nov 6- President Eisenhower again defeats Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson in a rematch of their contest four years earlier.
• Nov 13- The United States Supreme Court declares Alabama law requiring segregated buses illegal.