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ayaghmour2 · 02-26-2025, 04:48 PM

APRIL 22, 1963

Undefeated No More! 5-0 Teams Flounder as Pioneers Capture First

After one week of play, the Eagles, Dynamos, and Suns all led the Fed with a perfect 5-0 record, but it didn't take long for their early high to fall back down. Detroit did the best, splitting with the Gotham and the Miners, but after the Suns and Eagles split their two game set, LA dropped three of four in Boston, and Washington got swept by the new first place Pioneers.

The question remains: Will they keep it?

It's really no surprise they've gotten off to a hot start, as after losing their third game of the season, they've won each of the last seven. The sweep in Washington was huge, starting with dominant complete game wins from Billy Hasson (7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Danny Daniels (6 H, ER, BB, 6 K). Daniels in particular has impressed, as the 24-year-old is an out away from two complete game wins, allowing just 13 hits, 2 runs, and 4 walks with 14 strikeouts. Dominance is expected from the top of the rotation, but the early returns on his sophomore year have gone quite well.

St. Louis showed real grit in the finale, as even after blowing a big lead, they fought to capture the win. After going down 3-0, the Pioneers rallied for 4 in the 6th and 6 in the 7th, fueled by homers from Bob Bell (.415, 4, 8, 1), Steve Schultz (.368, 4, 13), and Sam Ruggles (.242, 2, 5). Up 10-3 heading into the bottom half of the 7th, that's when things started to fall apart. Charlie Blake (1-0, 3.68, 13) was pushed out in the 7th, leaving with 7 hits and 6 runs, though 7 strikeouts to 2 walks was nice. What wasn't was Al Grabner, as while he finished off the 7th, he got just one out in the 8th, with all four runners he put on scoring.

Neither team scored in the 9th, but Bell got things going in extras, with his second homer of the game giving St. Louis the lead back. Up 11-10, John Gibson (2-1, 3, 0.93, 4) returned for the 11th, already providing the Pioneers 1.2 shutout innings. Perfect again, he set the Eagles down without a whimper, as the defending champs dispatched one of their top contenders for the season.

It's been the pitching getting the job done, as while the Pioneers can score, a lot of it is because of Bell, Schultz, and Danny Davis (.333, 1, 5, 1). Frenchy Mack (1-0, 1.20, 8) has been great, but it's Steve Madden who's really shown through. The talented righty has won both his starts, picking up an 8-hit shutout of the Millers in a game where he needed to be at his best. With just one run of support, a Schultz RBI single sending Danny Davis home, the only way to win was a shutout, and having arms like Madden are critical.

*** 2,500th FABL Hit for Stan Kleminski ***

Accomplishing something only 48 people ever have, Foresters leadoff man Stan Kleminski (.333, 3) recorded his 2,500th career FABL hit, the second of three in a 3-2 loss to the Wranglers. Finishing 3-for-5 with a double and run scored, the milestone hit came in the 7th, where he singled off Butch Abrams (1-2, 5.30, 9). The celebration was short-lived, he was quickly erased on an inning ending double play, but the moment before will be cherished for a long time.

Still a top second basemen at 36, the talented lead-off hitter is off to a 15-for-45 start, drawing 10 walks to 5 strikeouts in a quick start to the season. He's coming off 5 seasons in 6 years with a WAR above 4, and he's had an above average WRC+ in nine consecutive seasons. A career .284/.374/.369 (103 OPS+) hitter, he's set to cross the 60 WAR, as he's been one of the most consistent players of his time. With a career dating back to 1946, he won four Championships with the Dynamos, and it's really a surprise he's only been to two All-Star games. Pretty much since his 21st birthday, he's been one of the better starting second basemen, and now he has a chance to really climb the All-Time hit ledger. He's less then 100 hits away from 38th, and as a guy who's hit almost exactly 151 base hits in each of the last three seasons, he could be four seasons away from 3,000. That's when you start to get to the truly elite level, as so far every FABL athlete with 3,000 or more base hits currently resides in the Hall of Fame.

Tales From The Den
Wolves Finish Second Week at .500

Toronto completed its first short homestand with three hosting the Imperials winning two. All three games were one-run affairs with a 3-2 win in the first game then a 2-1 loss in a game that 3 errors, all by infielders, proved to be costly giving NY the game. In the series rubber match Toronto surrendered a 4-0 lead then walked it off 5-4 on a pinch hit HR in the bottom of the ninth by Charlie Harvey who is vying for more playing time. Into Montreal begin a 11 game 10-day road trip.

Over the weekend in Quebec the team was buried 9-2 Friday on Hoxworth's second poor start in his first three. Wolves won on Saturday 2-1 despite only managing three base hits, one of them being a HR by Dixie Williams. Colantuono was the difference in the game striking out 4, walking none in 8 IP before handing the ball to Blake who saved his first game of the year. The teams split a Sunday twinbill with a Montreal win the opener 4-1 when the 'pen could not protect a 1-0 lead. Pepper got Bob Vernon to ground out before Hohlt went to Blake who gave up singles to Gilman, Jim Johnston. Hohlt then called in Loeffler who promptly walked Ham Flanders on 4 pitches then grooved a fastball to Harry Swain who deposited in the CF seats 420 ft from home plate. Wolves bats woke up in the nightcap, they had 15 hits including Savage's second HR , in a 5-1 win to even their record at 6-6.

In the way too early analysis of the team the Wolves are dead last in the CA hitting with a team slash line of .228/.283/.371 striking out better than once in five times to the plate. The pitching has been solid even while giving up 11 balls that ended up in the seats. Fielding has been iffy with 7 errors in 12 games, given three were one game, a signs of concern are only 4 double plays in 12 games with base stealers converting at 70% rate on Toronto catchers. Tom Reed is very slow to start the season going 3 for 43 with 12 Ks, Hohlt expects the line of .086/.256/.171 to soon be a thing of the past. Now that the schedule is evening out Hohlt hopes the bullpen performance evens out.

John Kingsbury (.422, 1, 9, 2) took home Player of the Week in the Continental, going 13-for-28 with 2 triples, a homer, 2 steals, 6 walks, 9 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. His counterpart in the Fed was 1960 Whitney Winner Harry Dellinger (.446, 5, 8, 5), who was 14-for-33 with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 4 runs, 5 RBIs, and 2 steals. Two of the top young outfielders in the game, weeks like this may be commonplace for both.
Plenty of pitchers threw shutouts this week, starting with the Miners' 21-year-old righty Hank Griswold (2-1, 1.99, 13). "Rhode Island Red" befuddled the Keystones, twirling a 4-hit shutout with a walk and 5 strikeouts. His shutout came the same day as Steve Madden and Bob Ball (2-0, 0.00, 11), while two days later, dominant vet Adrian Czerwinski (3-0, 1.05, 13) held Dallas to 6 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts.
The final shutout of the week was a big surprise, as 38-year-old Joe Potts picked one in a 1-0 win over the Gothams. Not a member of the rotation, he had a spot-start after the Keystones swept a double header in New York, and he held the worn out Gothams to 2 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. A 3-Time All-Star, Potts is in the twilight of his career, which will likely end with 16 shutouts. He didn't start any games last year and has just 11 now in the 60s.
Pitching caught most of the headlines this week, but the Sailors Heinie Spitler (.311, 2, 6, 1) treated the home fans to a 5-hit explosion in an 11-5 win over the Foresters. All five of the speedy middle infielders hits were singles, but he picked up an RBI and two runs scored.
Three more homers from Jack Gibson, who after missing over 20 months with injury, is the first FABL player to reach the 6 home run mark. A former 2nd Round pick, Gibson is homering on average every other game, and he has an outside chance for a rare 10-homer April.
Five of the seemingly hundreds of players on waivers were claimed, with the Kings and Imperials making two each. Kansas City picked up infielders William Buttry and Andres Pagan, from the Cougars and Miners respectively. New York added two corner bats, picking up Emil Grenier from the Gothams and Parson Allen from the Stars. This group isn't expected to make much impact, but Allen is a career .302/.372/.433 (124 OPS+) hitter, but his playing time has decreased substantially in recent years. Greneir might be the most impactful, as like new teammates Turk Ramsey (.222, 2, 6) and Jack Woods (.278, 1, 4), he has massive power, and could add a spark to a thin lineup.
Though the most notable claim was from the Chicago Cougars, who added former 2nd Overall Pick Rex Pilcher from the Gothams. "The Buckeye Bomber" was outstanding when he first came up, putting together five consecutive seasons with a WRC+ above 140. All were with the Pioneers, who later traded him to the Gothams in a huge 1957 deadline move. It didn't quite work out for Pilcher, his line dropped from an elite .287/.402/.509 (150 OPS+) in St. Louis to .259/.367/.442 (117 OPS+) as a Gotham. Last year was his first below average offensive season, and it was a brutal one, but this is a disciplined hitter with a cannon in right. Add in 282 doubles, 286 homers, 955 RBIs, 979 runs, and 1,029 RBIs, and you've got yourself a pretty solid career. Just 33, he may not be done yet, but it was a surprise that all the Fed teams passed on him.
On the injury front, Cleveland will be without Sherry Doyal (.462, 1, 6, 1) for the next five weeks with a fractured thumb. A third notable player on the IL, Doyal was off to a blistering start, but will now hit the recovery room. This makes the offseason acquisition of Chief Lewis that much bigger, as the recently turned 37-year-old can fill in while Doyal is out. He's off to a slow start, just 2-for-11, but Lewis is a career .268/.358/.398 (106 OPS+) hitter with 377 doubles, 115 triples, and 216 steals since his debut.
Saints rookie Juan Quintana is having a great debut in the FABL, winning his first two outings for the Saints. In those two starts, he threw 16.1 innings with 2 walks and 18 strikes, as well as a 2.76 ERA. In his second start against Toronto, he proved he could hit, getting a double and two home runs, driving in 5. As you'd expect, he was named player of the game.
Ranked as the 37th prospect in FABL, he's one of 16 top-500 prospects currently on a FABL roster, and one of the one's making a legit difference. Another is 3rd ranked Dode Caudill, who continues is early career power surge. With two more homers, his 4th are now tied for 3rd in the CA. 2nd ranked Mark Boyd had a power surge this week too, 8-for-20 with 3 homers, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs.

DUKES ESCAPE MOTOR CITY WITH SPLIT

Claude Brochu and Nick Poulin each had a goal and an assist Saturday evening to lead the visiting Toronto Dukes to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Motors in game two of the Challenge Cup Finals. The win evened the series heading to Toronto for games three and four after the Motors had claimed a 1-0 victory in the series opener.

Detroit played both games without its top player as NAHC scoring champ Hobie Barrell was sidelined with a leg injury but Barrell is expected to suit up for Tuesday third game. While the Motors will get their scoring star back, the will be without their top defenseman as Anthony Beauchemin suffered a rib injury in game two and his status for the remainder of the series is uncertain.

The series opener was a tight-checking affair in which Motors goaltender Charlie Dell faced just 17 shots from his former team. Dell stopped all 17 for his first career playoff shutout. Mike Connelly was nearly as effective in the Toronto net but one of the 29 shots he faced eluded him. That would be Nick Tardif's second period marker that would prove to account for all of the scoring on this night as the Motors held on for a 1-0 victory.

Conversely, the second game had a wide open start as the two clubs combined for 28 shots in the first period alone. Only one of those shots found the back of the net and it would come from Nick Poulin of the Dukes a little over five minutes into the game.

The play settled down in the middle frame but the two clubs exchanged goals with Charles Bozek, who had been inserted in the lineup after Hobie Barrell's injury, scored his first career playoff goal to tie the game at the four minute mark. Toronto regained the lead with a minute to play in the second period when Tim Brooks' point shot eluded Dell. Toronto rookie Hank Knackstedt, who leads all playoff point producers with 11, drew an assist on what would prove to be the game winning goal. Charles Brochu added an insurance marker for Toronto with a little over seven minutes remaining in the third period to complete the scoring in a 3-1 Dukes victory.

The series not shifts to Dominion Gardens for games three and four on Tuesday and Friday before returning to Thompson Palladium for the fifth game.

Toronto Comes Home From Detroit With A Split

Dukes start their quest for a Challenge Cup, first since 1959, with a loss then a win at the Palladium. This is coming off the first season that the team lost more games than they won in over a decade. The first two games were low scoring, tight checking affairs. Starting Wednesday night with the Motors playing for the first time in 8 days both teams were stressing defense over goal scoring. The first period was a dump and chase twenty minutes with no scoring along with neither Connelly nor Dell forced to make any overly difficult saves. Both goaltenders controlled any rebounds well not giving opposing forwards any high quality second chances. Detroit started to carry the play during the second getting better chances around the Dukes' net. Nick Tardif's goal at 5:55 came one of the only shots that Connelly did not steer to a corner or a defenceman clear after the save. This was to be the only marker of the game. Detroit then ground out the game giving Toronto no time or space to move the puck. Charlie Dell, whom the Dukes sent to Detroit in an off-season trade, was equal to every one of the 17 shots on net managed by Toronto. Tardif's goal was the only one of 29 shots to elude Connelly in 1-0 game.

After two days off the final resumed on a warm Saturday evening on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor. Bear's practices on the off days concentrated on quick puck movement to overcome the Motors' stifling checking game. The quick movement of the puck was rewarded when Brochu found Poulin with a cross ice feed in the slot who deposited the puck into the net over Dell's shoulder with quick one-timer at 5:37. Toronto killed off two Motors' power plays in the period to keep the score 1-0 after twenty minutes. Like the first game Detroit started the second with more tempo. Charles Bozek knotted the score on a goalmouth scramble with his first of playoffs at 4:05 much to the delight of the 13794 in the crowd. Detroit again frustrated any Duke that had the puck limiting Toronto to only 4 shots on Dell in the second. One of those four was at the 19:00 mark when for one of the very few times in the first two games a defensemen decided jump into the play. The Dukes had possession when Knackstedt took a Roeszler pass then fed Tim Brooks who was coming in from his point position to snap one into the open side with Dell just a little late coming across the net. Toronto returned to the quick puck movement in the third along with an aggressive forecheck in the third which seemed to surprise Detroit. Brochu's goal at 12:35 made the final 3-1.

Coach Bear- "Two exciting games in Detroit. Low scoring as is to be expected when playing the Motors. We came away with a split which gives us home ice advantage starting Tuesday in the Gardens. We seemed to surprise them with the change in the forecheck on Saturday. They will be ready next game, I have a few other subtle changes we may try in future games."

RECENT KEY RESULTS

Davis Owens, who had a couple shots at the world middleweight title but came up short on both occasions, is still fighting at the of 39. Or at least he was. The Cleveland native scored a unanimous decision over Jim Turnbull in Chicago last week and declared afterwards it is likely the last time he will step in the ring. Owens finishes with a 55-10-3 career mark with his most notable bouts being title losses to Mark McCoy in 1953 and George Hatchell six years later. Both were by decision.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

May 3- Welterweight champion Matt Leach will face former champion Eugene Ellis in Houston. Leach, a 29-year-old New York City native, is 33-6-2 and will making his second defense since winning the title from Lenny Shafto last September. The 32-year-old Ellis, 46-6-1 alternated with Lonnie Griffin as welterweight champ for much of the last half of the 1950s. The two staged many thrilling battles for the crown but Ellis has not had a title shot since losing for the last time to Griffin two years ago. It will be the first time the Seattle native faces Leach.
June 20- Heavyweight Champion George Galleshaw will put his title on the line against former champion Steve Leivers at Bigsby Garden in New York City. Galleshaw held the title for 18 months beginning in 1960 before losing it in a shocking upset to Bert Parks but he regained the crown last November and successfully defended his title in February against Will Flowers. Galleshaw enters the fight with a 36-2-1 record. Leivers, 34, held the title for a spell in the mid-1950s, taking it from another Englishman Joe Brinkworth and making two successful defenses before losing to Brad Harris in 1957. He is 43-2-1 and will be facing Galleshaw for the first time.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 04/21/1963

The United States calls it purely precautionary movement but much of the 7th fleet has been sent to the Gulf of Siam in response to crisis-threatened Southeast Asia. This after Pro-Communist forces launched a large attack aimed at solidifying their control of Northern Laos.
21 Americans, most of them sentenced to Cuban prisons on counter-revolutionary charges, arrived in Miami after being freed by Fidel Castro.
Secretary of Defense McNamara told newspaper editors that the number of US nuclear warheads on alert for all-out war has doubled and the smaller nuclear weapons in Europe increased by 60 percent in the last two years.
The Navy believes it may have located the submarine Thresher, which sank to the bottom of the sea about 220 miles off Cape Cod where it went down April 10 with 129 men. Debris that has been recovered hints at a fire on the lost ship.
Steel companies are walking back announced price increases last week, citing that not all of the steel manufacturers were on the same page.

02-26-2025, 04:48 PM	#1087
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,028	April 22nd, 1963 APRIL 22, 1963 Undefeated No More! 5-0 Teams Flounder as Pioneers Capture First After one week of play, the Eagles, Dynamos, and Suns all led the Fed with a perfect 5-0 record, but it didn't take long for their early high to fall back down. Detroit did the best, splitting with the Gotham and the Miners, but after the Suns and Eagles split their two game set, LA dropped three of four in Boston, and Washington got swept by the new first place Pioneers. The question remains: Will they keep it? It's really no surprise they've gotten off to a hot start, as after losing their third game of the season, they've won each of the last seven. The sweep in Washington was huge, starting with dominant complete game wins from Billy Hasson (7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Danny Daniels (6 H, ER, BB, 6 K). Daniels in particular has impressed, as the 24-year-old is an out away from two complete game wins, allowing just 13 hits, 2 runs, and 4 walks with 14 strikeouts. Dominance is expected from the top of the rotation, but the early returns on his sophomore year have gone quite well. St. Louis showed real grit in the finale, as even after blowing a big lead, they fought to capture the win. After going down 3-0, the Pioneers rallied for 4 in the 6th and 6 in the 7th, fueled by homers from Bob Bell (.415, 4, 8, 1), Steve Schultz (.368, 4, 13), and Sam Ruggles (.242, 2, 5). Up 10-3 heading into the bottom half of the 7th, that's when things started to fall apart. Charlie Blake (1-0, 3.68, 13) was pushed out in the 7th, leaving with 7 hits and 6 runs, though 7 strikeouts to 2 walks was nice. What wasn't was Al Grabner, as while he finished off the 7th, he got just one out in the 8th, with all four runners he put on scoring. Neither team scored in the 9th, but Bell got things going in extras, with his second homer of the game giving St. Louis the lead back. Up 11-10, John Gibson (2-1, 3, 0.93, 4) returned for the 11th, already providing the Pioneers 1.2 shutout innings. Perfect again, he set the Eagles down without a whimper, as the defending champs dispatched one of their top contenders for the season. It's been the pitching getting the job done, as while the Pioneers can score, a lot of it is because of Bell, Schultz, and Danny Davis (.333, 1, 5, 1). Frenchy Mack (1-0, 1.20, 8) has been great, but it's Steve Madden who's really shown through. The talented righty has won both his starts, picking up an 8-hit shutout of the Millers in a game where he needed to be at his best. With just one run of support, a Schultz RBI single sending Danny Davis home, the only way to win was a shutout, and having arms like Madden are critical. * 2,500th FABL Hit for Stan Kleminski * Accomplishing something only 48 people ever have, Foresters leadoff man Stan Kleminski (.333, 3) recorded his 2,500th career FABL hit, the second of three in a 3-2 loss to the Wranglers. Finishing 3-for-5 with a double and run scored, the milestone hit came in the 7th, where he singled off Butch Abrams (1-2, 5.30, 9). The celebration was short-lived, he was quickly erased on an inning ending double play, but the moment before will be cherished for a long time. Still a top second basemen at 36, the talented lead-off hitter is off to a 15-for-45 start, drawing 10 walks to 5 strikeouts in a quick start to the season. He's coming off 5 seasons in 6 years with a WAR above 4, and he's had an above average WRC+ in nine consecutive seasons. A career .284/.374/.369 (103 OPS+) hitter, he's set to cross the 60 WAR, as he's been one of the most consistent players of his time. With a career dating back to 1946, he won four Championships with the Dynamos, and it's really a surprise he's only been to two All-Star games. Pretty much since his 21st birthday, he's been one of the better starting second basemen, and now he has a chance to really climb the All-Time hit ledger. He's less then 100 hits away from 38th, and as a guy who's hit almost exactly 151 base hits in each of the last three seasons, he could be four seasons away from 3,000. That's when you start to get to the truly elite level, as so far every FABL athlete with 3,000 or more base hits currently resides in the Hall of Fame. Tales From The Den Wolves Finish Second Week at .500 Toronto completed its first short homestand with three hosting the Imperials winning two. All three games were one-run affairs with a 3-2 win in the first game then a 2-1 loss in a game that 3 errors, all by infielders, proved to be costly giving NY the game. In the series rubber match Toronto surrendered a 4-0 lead then walked it off 5-4 on a pinch hit HR in the bottom of the ninth by Charlie Harvey who is vying for more playing time. Into Montreal begin a 11 game 10-day road trip. Over the weekend in Quebec the team was buried 9-2 Friday on Hoxworth's second poor start in his first three. Wolves won on Saturday 2-1 despite only managing three base hits, one of them being a HR by Dixie Williams. Colantuono was the difference in the game striking out 4, walking none in 8 IP before handing the ball to Blake who saved his first game of the year. The teams split a Sunday twinbill with a Montreal win the opener 4-1 when the 'pen could not protect a 1-0 lead. Pepper got Bob Vernon to ground out before Hohlt went to Blake who gave up singles to Gilman, Jim Johnston. Hohlt then called in Loeffler who promptly walked Ham Flanders on 4 pitches then grooved a fastball to Harry Swain who deposited in the CF seats 420 ft from home plate. Wolves bats woke up in the nightcap, they had 15 hits including Savage's second HR , in a 5-1 win to even their record at 6-6. In the way too early analysis of the team the Wolves are dead last in the CA hitting with a team slash line of .228/.283/.371 striking out better than once in five times to the plate. The pitching has been solid even while giving up 11 balls that ended up in the seats. Fielding has been iffy with 7 errors in 12 games, given three were one game, a signs of concern are only 4 double plays in 12 games with base stealers converting at 70% rate on Toronto catchers. Tom Reed is very slow to start the season going 3 for 43 with 12 Ks, Hohlt expects the line of .086/.256/.171 to soon be a thing of the past. Now that the schedule is evening out Hohlt hopes the bullpen performance evens out. John Kingsbury (.422, 1, 9, 2) took home Player of the Week in the Continental, going 13-for-28 with 2 triples, a homer, 2 steals, 6 walks, 9 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. His counterpart in the Fed was 1960 Whitney Winner Harry Dellinger (.446, 5, 8, 5), who was 14-for-33 with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 4 runs, 5 RBIs, and 2 steals. Two of the top young outfielders in the game, weeks like this may be commonplace for both. Plenty of pitchers threw shutouts this week, starting with the Miners' 21-year-old righty Hank Griswold (2-1, 1.99, 13). "Rhode Island Red" befuddled the Keystones, twirling a 4-hit shutout with a walk and 5 strikeouts. His shutout came the same day as Steve Madden and Bob Ball (2-0, 0.00, 11), while two days later, dominant vet Adrian Czerwinski (3-0, 1.05, 13) held Dallas to 6 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts. The final shutout of the week was a big surprise, as 38-year-old Joe Potts picked one in a 1-0 win over the Gothams. Not a member of the rotation, he had a spot-start after the Keystones swept a double header in New York, and he held the worn out Gothams to 2 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. A 3-Time All-Star, Potts is in the twilight of his career, which will likely end with 16 shutouts. He didn't start any games last year and has just 11 now in the 60s. Pitching caught most of the headlines this week, but the Sailors Heinie Spitler (.311, 2, 6, 1) treated the home fans to a 5-hit explosion in an 11-5 win over the Foresters. All five of the speedy middle infielders hits were singles, but he picked up an RBI and two runs scored. Three more homers from Jack Gibson, who after missing over 20 months with injury, is the first FABL player to reach the 6 home run mark. A former 2nd Round pick, Gibson is homering on average every other game, and he has an outside chance for a rare 10-homer April. Five of the seemingly hundreds of players on waivers were claimed, with the Kings and Imperials making two each. Kansas City picked up infielders William Buttry and Andres Pagan, from the Cougars and Miners respectively. New York added two corner bats, picking up Emil Grenier from the Gothams and Parson Allen from the Stars. This group isn't expected to make much impact, but Allen is a career .302/.372/.433 (124 OPS+) hitter, but his playing time has decreased substantially in recent years. Greneir might be the most impactful, as like new teammates Turk Ramsey (.222, 2, 6) and Jack Woods (.278, 1, 4), he has massive power, and could add a spark to a thin lineup. Though the most notable claim was from the Chicago Cougars, who added former 2nd Overall Pick Rex Pilcher from the Gothams. "The Buckeye Bomber" was outstanding when he first came up, putting together five consecutive seasons with a WRC+ above 140. All were with the Pioneers, who later traded him to the Gothams in a huge 1957 deadline move. It didn't quite work out for Pilcher, his line dropped from an elite .287/.402/.509 (150 OPS+) in St. Louis to .259/.367/.442 (117 OPS+) as a Gotham. Last year was his first below average offensive season, and it was a brutal one, but this is a disciplined hitter with a cannon in right. Add in 282 doubles, 286 homers, 955 RBIs, 979 runs, and 1,029 RBIs, and you've got yourself a pretty solid career. Just 33, he may not be done yet, but it was a surprise that all the Fed teams passed on him. On the injury front, Cleveland will be without Sherry Doyal (.462, 1, 6, 1) for the next five weeks with a fractured thumb. A third notable player on the IL, Doyal was off to a blistering start, but will now hit the recovery room. This makes the offseason acquisition of Chief Lewis that much bigger, as the recently turned 37-year-old can fill in while Doyal is out. He's off to a slow start, just 2-for-11, but Lewis is a career .268/.358/.398 (106 OPS+) hitter with 377 doubles, 115 triples, and 216 steals since his debut. Saints rookie Juan Quintana is having a great debut in the FABL, winning his first two outings for the Saints. In those two starts, he threw 16.1 innings with 2 walks and 18 strikes, as well as a 2.76 ERA. In his second start against Toronto, he proved he could hit, getting a double and two home runs, driving in 5. As you'd expect, he was named player of the game. Ranked as the 37th prospect in FABL, he's one of 16 top-500 prospects currently on a FABL roster, and one of the one's making a legit difference. Another is 3rd ranked Dode Caudill, who continues is early career power surge. With two more homers, his 4th are now tied for 3rd in the CA. 2nd ranked Mark Boyd had a power surge this week too, 8-for-20 with 3 homers, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. DUKES ESCAPE MOTOR CITY WITH SPLIT Claude Brochu and Nick Poulin each had a goal and an assist Saturday evening to lead the visiting Toronto Dukes to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Motors in game two of the Challenge Cup Finals. The win evened the series heading to Toronto for games three and four after the Motors had claimed a 1-0 victory in the series opener. Detroit played both games without its top player as NAHC scoring champ Hobie Barrell was sidelined with a leg injury but Barrell is expected to suit up for Tuesday third game. While the Motors will get their scoring star back, the will be without their top defenseman as Anthony Beauchemin suffered a rib injury in game two and his status for the remainder of the series is uncertain. The series opener was a tight-checking affair in which Motors goaltender Charlie Dell faced just 17 shots from his former team. Dell stopped all 17 for his first career playoff shutout. Mike Connelly was nearly as effective in the Toronto net but one of the 29 shots he faced eluded him. That would be Nick Tardif's second period marker that would prove to account for all of the scoring on this night as the Motors held on for a 1-0 victory. Conversely, the second game had a wide open start as the two clubs combined for 28 shots in the first period alone. Only one of those shots found the back of the net and it would come from Nick Poulin of the Dukes a little over five minutes into the game. The play settled down in the middle frame but the two clubs exchanged goals with Charles Bozek, who had been inserted in the lineup after Hobie Barrell's injury, scored his first career playoff goal to tie the game at the four minute mark. Toronto regained the lead with a minute to play in the second period when Tim Brooks' point shot eluded Dell. Toronto rookie Hank Knackstedt, who leads all playoff point producers with 11, drew an assist on what would prove to be the game winning goal. Charles Brochu added an insurance marker for Toronto with a little over seven minutes remaining in the third period to complete the scoring in a 3-1 Dukes victory. The series not shifts to Dominion Gardens for games three and four on Tuesday and Friday before returning to Thompson Palladium for the fifth game. Toronto Comes Home From Detroit With A Split Dukes start their quest for a Challenge Cup, first since 1959, with a loss then a win at the Palladium. This is coming off the first season that the team lost more games than they won in over a decade. The first two games were low scoring, tight checking affairs. Starting Wednesday night with the Motors playing for the first time in 8 days both teams were stressing defense over goal scoring. The first period was a dump and chase twenty minutes with no scoring along with neither Connelly nor Dell forced to make any overly difficult saves. Both goaltenders controlled any rebounds well not giving opposing forwards any high quality second chances. Detroit started to carry the play during the second getting better chances around the Dukes' net. Nick Tardif's goal at 5:55 came one of the only shots that Connelly did not steer to a corner or a defenceman clear after the save. This was to be the only marker of the game. Detroit then ground out the game giving Toronto no time or space to move the puck. Charlie Dell, whom the Dukes sent to Detroit in an off-season trade, was equal to every one of the 17 shots on net managed by Toronto. Tardif's goal was the only one of 29 shots to elude Connelly in 1-0 game. After two days off the final resumed on a warm Saturday evening on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor. Bear's practices on the off days concentrated on quick puck movement to overcome the Motors' stifling checking game. The quick movement of the puck was rewarded when Brochu found Poulin with a cross ice feed in the slot who deposited the puck into the net over Dell's shoulder with quick one-timer at 5:37. Toronto killed off two Motors' power plays in the period to keep the score 1-0 after twenty minutes. Like the first game Detroit started the second with more tempo. Charles Bozek knotted the score on a goalmouth scramble with his first of playoffs at 4:05 much to the delight of the 13794 in the crowd. Detroit again frustrated any Duke that had the puck limiting Toronto to only 4 shots on Dell in the second. One of those four was at the 19:00 mark when for one of the very few times in the first two games a defensemen decided jump into the play. The Dukes had possession when Knackstedt took a Roeszler pass then fed Tim Brooks who was coming in from his point position to snap one into the open side with Dell just a little late coming across the net. Toronto returned to the quick puck movement in the third along with an aggressive forecheck in the third which seemed to surprise Detroit. Brochu's goal at 12:35 made the final 3-1. Coach Bear- "Two exciting games in Detroit. Low scoring as is to be expected when playing the Motors. We came away with a split which gives us home ice advantage starting Tuesday in the Gardens. We seemed to surprise them with the change in the forecheck on Saturday. They will be ready next game, I have a few other subtle changes we may try in future games." RECENT KEY RESULTS Davis Owens, who had a couple shots at the world middleweight title but came up short on both occasions, is still fighting at the of 39. Or at least he was. The Cleveland native scored a unanimous decision over Jim Turnbull in Chicago last week and declared afterwards it is likely the last time he will step in the ring. Owens finishes with a 55-10-3 career mark with his most notable bouts being title losses to Mark McCoy in 1953 and George Hatchell six years later. Both were by decision. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS May 3- Welterweight champion Matt Leach will face former champion Eugene Ellis in Houston. Leach, a 29-year-old New York City native, is 33-6-2 and will making his second defense since winning the title from Lenny Shafto last September. The 32-year-old Ellis, 46-6-1 alternated with Lonnie Griffin as welterweight champ for much of the last half of the 1950s. The two staged many thrilling battles for the crown but Ellis has not had a title shot since losing for the last time to Griffin two years ago. It will be the first time the Seattle native faces Leach. June 20- Heavyweight Champion George Galleshaw will put his title on the line against former champion Steve Leivers at Bigsby Garden in New York City. Galleshaw held the title for 18 months beginning in 1960 before losing it in a shocking upset to Bert Parks but he regained the crown last November and successfully defended his title in February against Will Flowers. Galleshaw enters the fight with a 36-2-1 record. Leivers, 34, held the title for a spell in the mid-1950s, taking it from another Englishman Joe Brinkworth and making two successful defenses before losing to Brad Harris in 1957. He is 43-2-1 and will be facing Galleshaw for the first time. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 04/21/1963 The United States calls it purely precautionary movement but much of the 7th fleet has been sent to the Gulf of Siam in response to crisis-threatened Southeast Asia. This after Pro-Communist forces launched a large attack aimed at solidifying their control of Northern Laos. 21 Americans, most of them sentenced to Cuban prisons on counter-revolutionary charges, arrived in Miami after being freed by Fidel Castro. Secretary of Defense McNamara told newspaper editors that the number of US nuclear warheads on alert for all-out war has doubled and the smaller nuclear weapons in Europe increased by 60 percent in the last two years. The Navy believes it may have located the submarine Thresher, which sank to the bottom of the sea about 220 miles off Cape Cod where it went down April 10 with 129 men. Debris that has been recovered hints at a fire on the lost ship. Steel companies are walking back announced price increases last week, citing that not all of the steel manufacturers were on the same page.