TIGERFAN'S SPORTING NEWS : February 26, 1947
IKE WILLIAMS RETAINS LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE
CHAMP STOPS JOE BROWN WITH THIRD ROUND KNOCK OUT
World Lightweight Boxing Champ Ike Williams had a relatively easy time defending his title against an up-and-coming pugilist from New Orleans named Joe Brown. Williams improved his record to a perfect 19-0 with a third round knock out of the challenger Friday night at Madison Square Garden. 17 of Williams' wins have come via knockout including all 3 of his title defenses.
Brown tasted the canvas early in the first round as the champ surprised him with a wicked hook. He managed to recover enough to finish the round and then spent a dull second round wrestling with the champ. In the third round Williams stunned Brown with a combination midway through and then finished him off in the closing seconds. The 21 year old Brown sees his record fall to 12-3 but suffers in his first loss in 9 bouts. Brown has outstanding potential and could be factor in the division down the road but at this stage of his career he simply bit off more than he could chew in challenging Williams.
Williams, a 24 year old from Trenton, New Jersey will likely face Philadelphia native Bob Montgomery in his next title defense. Montgomery is 10-0 but aside from Vic Patrick has not faced any difficult competition. Prior to meeting Williams, Montgomery will have to get by 6th ranked contender Maxie Docusen. The two are scheduled to fight in the spring.
Here are the top 10 LIGHTWEIGHTS
Code:
CHAMP IKE WILLIAMS 19-0 Trenton, New Jersey
2 Bob Montgomery 10-0 Philadelphia
3 Enrique Bolanos 14-1 Mexico
4 Rudy Cruz 13-1 Los Angeles
5 Jimmy Carter 14-4 New York City
6 Maxie Docusen 7-1 New Orleans
7 Vic Patrick 11-3 Sydney, Australia
8 Mario Trigo 13-4 Torreon, Mexico
9 Joe Brown 12-3 New Orleans
10 Art Aragon 13-4-1 Los Angles
On the undercard Luis Galvani of Cuba improved his record to 30-4-1 with a split decision victory over Manny Ortiz. Galvani is now considered the number 1 ranked challenger in the Bantamweight division and it is just a matter of time before he gets a shot at champion Fernando Gagnon. As for Ortiz, it is the second straight loss after he went 37-0-2 in the post war tournament. Ortiz lost on points to Gagnon in the final of the post war tournament.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
OHIO STATE FALTERS, ILLINOIS AND PURDUE SHARE BIG 10 TITLE
Purdue and Illinois each came up with a pair of victories in the final week to earn a share of the Big Ten regular season title. The Fighting Illini thumped Ohio State 102-55 in the season finale for both clubs. That loss, coupled with a 3-point defeat at the hands of Northwestern earlier in the week, not only cost the Buckeyes a shot at the conference title but it also dropped them out of the top 25 for the first time this season.
The SEC season also came to an end this week as Kentucky topped Vanderbilt and Tennessee to complete a 17-1 march through the conference. The Wildcats, at 29-2 overall, continue to be the number 1 ranked team in the nation and assured of a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament.
Speaking of tournaments the excitement begins next week as all 31 conferences in Division 1 hold their respective tournaments. At stake for the conference tournament winners is an automatic berth in the National Tournament. The 64 team field will then be filled with 33 at-large teams.
Code:
TSN TOP 25
Rank School Record Points Previous
1. Kentucky 29-2 1,918 1
2. Holy Cross 26-5 1,749 2
3. Oregon 25-5 1,639 3
4. USC 24-5 1,489 6
5. Boston College 24-7 1,376 7
6. New York Univ 23-5 1,308 5
7. San Francisco 23-7 1,240 8
8. UTEP 25-4 1,144 4
9. New Orleans 26-3 1,100 9
10. CCNY 23-6 1,023 11
11. Iowa State 22-5 946 12
12. Notre Dame 22-6 897 10
13. Illinois 21-8 850 13
14. Florida 20-7 783 14
15. Richmond 25-7 712 15
16. Georgetown 25-7 663 17
17. N.C. State 21-8 619 23
18. Stanford 21-8 515 22
19. Western Kentucky 21-9 453 24
20. Washington St. 19-11 368 19
21. Miami 23-7 305 16
22. Indiana State 23-8 243 28
23. UCLA 18-11 202 32
24. Auburn 21-8 182 20
25. Baylor 19-8 161 25
Others Receiving Votes: Drake 151, Texas Christian 140, Alabama 120, Middle Tenn St. 100, Harvard 80, Purdue 60, Ohio State 40, Washington 20, Fordham 10, Fresno State 6, South Carolina 2, Seton Hall 2, Delaware St. 1, Princeton 1, Wyoming 1, California 1, Oklahoma A&M 1, Maryland 1, Syracuse 1, Wake Forest 1, Providence 1.
Dropped out of Top 25: No. 21 Drake, No. 18 Ohio State
GARDNER AND COUSY HIGHLIGHT ALL-FROSH TEAM
Notre Dame center Ryan Gardner and Holy Cross guard Bob *Cousy head the National All-Frosh team which was announced yesterday. Gardner, who averaged 14.3 ppg and 8.9, played over 30 minutes a game for the Fighting Irish. The 6'8" native of Warrenton, Georgia was also named the college freshman of the year by the NCAA. (TSN will announce it's allstar teams and MVP's following the National Tournament)
Holy Cross guard Bob *Cousy made the Eastern Independant all-conference team as a freshman and led the conference with 8.0 assists per game. Cousy started every game in the Crusaders backcourt and averaged 10.4 ppg.
Other members of the all-frosh team are Oklahoma A&M forward Jack *Shelton who averaged more than 10 points and 10 rebounds per game while starting every game as a freshman. Small forward Michael Quary of Syracuse. The Fredrick, Maryland native scored 11.4 ppg. Rounding out the team is Harvard guard Valmy Payne who scored 13.4 ppg and added 4.9 assists per contest. The native of Daphne, Alabama is also a candidate for the All-Academic team.
Here is the 1947 National All-Frosh Team
Ryan Gardner C Notre Dame
Jack Shelton F Oklahoma A&M
Michael Quary F Syacuse
Bob Cousy G Holy Cross
Valmy Payne G Harvard
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
VETERAN QB'S ON FREE AGENT MARKET
(EDITOR'S NOTE - I know free agency was not a part of the NFL at this stage but it is a part of TPF, the engine I use to sim the football and it also adds more content for my articles so I will document it as if free agency was a part of the era.)
Vaughn Diedrick, who led Houston deep in to the playoffs, highlights the list of available free agents that NFL clubs will begin bidding on this week. The veteran signal caller is one of three relatively big name quarterbacks who will test free agency. The others include Cecil *Isbell, who packs his bags and leaves Green Bay, and Keith Reeves who was let go by the Jets.
Diedrick, who graduated from Western Kentucky 15 years ago, has started every game in Texans history. He suffered through the worst regular season of his career before an outstanding playoff performance that helped the Texans to within one game of the League Championship.
Not resigning Diedrick means the Texans will definately be in the market for veteran QB or will use their number one pick on one. None of the three quarterbacks on the Houston roster at the present time have ever taken a snap in a regular season game.
Isbell has spent 6 seasons with the Packers but injuries or inconsistant play always seemed to prevent him from breaking out. The 10th year pro from North Carolina will likely catch on as a backup somewhere. Green Bay will likely turn the reigns over full-time to Jordan Montana. The third round pick out of Stanford started 8 games for the Packers last season.
Many were surprised the Jets did not resign Keith Reeves but the former Tulane star has looked progressively worse in each of his 3 NFL seasons. He threw a career high 24 interceptions a year ago. Reeves is a restricted free agent so there is a chance he may remain with the Jets.
Justin Jackson is a name to keep an eye on. There seems to be plenty of interest in the former Jacksonville starter, particularily from San Diego and Miami. The Jags have decided to give the starting job to Tommy Bledsoe and felt they could not afford to keep Jackson as well.
Other players who will get plenty of attention include former Detroit defensive lineman Frank Sharpe who had 8 sacks last season and ex-Houston DE Reggie Benson who had 7 sacks.
TOP PROSPECT GRAHAM TOO BUSY TO FOCUS ON DRAFT
Most college football stars with their eye on an NFL career are spending all of their free time focusing on improving their draft status. However, Northwestern quarterback Otto Graham, a likely first round pick, says football is the furthest thing from his mind right now.
You see Graham is much more than just the star quarterback at Northwestern. He also has lettered in baseball and is a key component of a Wildcats basketball team that is hoping to make it's second ever postseason appearance. Graham, a guard, has appeared in 28 games and is averaging 13.4 ppg and 5.0 rebounds.
"I am hopeful that I can make football my career," explained Graham, "but it can wait until basketball season is over. I want to focus entirely on helping this school get into a tournament, and hopefully it's the NCAA's."
When Graham was a little used freshman in 1944 the Wildcats made it all the way to the Sweet 16 in the one and only postseason tournament invitation in school history. It will likely take a conference tournament title to get the 16-12 Wildcats in to the NCAA tournament but the NIT seems like a realistic possibility and for a school that has just 1 tournament appearance in 15 years it will be more than enough.
It is on the gridiron where Graham really shines. Despite playing for a terrible 3-5-1 Northwestern team this season, Graham threw 26 touchdown passes and passed for over 3000 yards. His performance in workouts for scouts only served to enhance his status and it is a near certainty that he will be picked in the top 10.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
SPRING IS IN THE AIR. CAMPS TO OPEN THIS WEEK
Hard to believe but baseball season is just around the corner. Twelve of the 16 clubs will open spring training at the end of the week with the remaining four getting into action Monday.
While spring training games will begin in the next couple of weeks we still have a lot of time until the real thing. The regular season opens Sunday April 16th with the defending National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates entertaining the St Louis Cardinals while the New York Yankees will be home to the visiting St Louis Browns.
You can bet their will be plenty of attention focused on Ebbetts Field the following day as Jackie Robinson is expected to make his major league debut in the Dodgers lineup against the Boston Braves and become the first player to break the color barrier.
STATS AND STANDINGS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
FINAL STANDINGS
Code:
BIG TEN CONFERENCE OVERALL
W L PCT W L PCT
Illinois 12 6 .667 21 8 .724
Purdue 12 6 .667 19 9 .679
Ohio State 10 8 .556 20 10 .667
Iowa 10 8 .556 18 11 .621
Indiana 10 8 .556 14 12 .538
Northwestern 9 9 .500 16 12 .571
Minnesota 9 9 .500 13 15 .464
Michigan 7 11 .389 8 18 .308
Wisconsin 6 12 .333 11 16 .407
Michigan State 5 13 .278 9 17 .346
SEC CONFERENCE OVERALL
W L PCT W L PCT
Kentucky 17 1 .944 29 2 .935
Florida 14 4 .778 20 7 .741
Auburn 11 7 .611 21 8 .724
Alabama 10 8 .556 18 10 .643
Georgia 9 9 .500 17 11 .607
Louisiana St. 8 10 .444 15 12 .556
Tennessee 8 10 .444 13 15 .464
Vanderbilt 7 11 .389 13 15 .464
Mississippi St 3 15 .167 6 23 .207
Mississippi 3 15 .167 6 22 .214
COLLEGE LEADERS
SCORING PPG
Jeremiah Brooks F Harvard 19.5
Isaias Adams F Pepperdine 19.2
Tim Groat F Southern Ill. 19.2
Tyson Henkel F Baylor 19.0
Graham Kimpton F Fordham 18.7
Talon Blankinship G Pennsylvania 18.6
Jes DiGregorio F UNC-Ashville 18.6
Chris Gurule G Delaware 18.5
Hersch Caldwell F Tennessee St. 18.5
Jack *Nichols C California 18.1
Kenny Stancliff G Charlston Sout.18.1
REBOUNDS RPG
Kumbuka Patin C Western Mich. 16.2
Ray *Ellefson C Iowa 15.9
Robert Lewis C Houston 15.7
Chet *McNabb F UCLA 15.5
Ben *Schadler F Providence 15.3
Garrett Johnson C N.Carolina St. 15.1
ASSISTS APG
Rhema Hill G Montana 9.9
Sal Bell G Oral Roberts 9.4
Steven LaCroix G Arkansas 9.3
Brad Pade G LMU 8.8
Joe Fullwood G Arizona St. 8.8
Sebastien Vorbe G George Mason 8.5
STEALS StPG
Pete Shover G CCNY 3.7
Ben Miller G Washington St 3.2
Paul *Hoffman G Baylor 2.9
Chevy Snyder G San Diego 2.9
BLOCKED SHOTS BSPG
Garrett Johnson C N Carolina St 5.9
Ray *Kuka F Illinois 5.1
Jack Rivera F Georgia 5.1
Jay Hartman F Buffalo 5.0
FREE THROWS (min 100 att) FTM FTA FT%
Fred *Nagy G Colgate 157 177 88.7
Don *Stroot C New Mexico 109 126 86.5
Julian Morse F Xavier 91 106 85.8
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Code:
Standings GP W L T PTS GF GA
Detroit 49 30 12 7 67 154 127
New York 49 24 18 7 55 128 122
Montreal 50 20 23 7 47 135 123
Boston 50 20 23 7 47 128 129
Toronto 49 21 24 4 46 142 129
Chicago 47 13 28 6 32 109 164
NHL LEADERS TEAM GP G A PTS
Max Bentley CHI 47 33 44 77
Maurice Richard MON 50 48 13 61
Ted Kennedy TOR 49 26 35 61
Billy Taylor DET 49 14 32 46
Bill Cowley BOS 50 20 24 44
Toe Blake MON 50 15 27 42
Doug Bentley CHI 47 14 26 40
Joe Carveth BOS 50 22 17 39
Milt Schmidt BOS 50 11 28 39
Ted Lindsay DET 49 27 11 38
Elmer Lach MON 50 6 32 38
Bill Ezinicki TOR 49 21 16 37
Bobby Bauer BOS 50 20 15 35
Woody Dumart BOS 50 19 16 35
Sid Abel DET 49 22 12 34
George Gee CHI 47 20 14 34
Roy Conacher DET 49 25 8 33
Howie Meeker TOR 49 21 12 33
Grant Warwick NY 49 18 15 33
Tony Leswick NY 49 20 11 31
Penalty Leaders TEAM GP PIM
Gus Mortson TOR 49 100
Pat Egan BOS 50 84
M. Chamberlain MON 50 83
Kenny Reardon MON 50 80
Pete Horeck DET 49 78
Fern Flaman BOS 50 74
Garth Boesch TOR 49 72
Butch Bouchard MON 50 72
GOALIES TEAM GP W-L-T ShO GAA
Bill Durnan MON 50 20-23-7 6 2.33
Chuck Rayner NY 48 24-17-7 6 2.42
Frank Brimsek BOS 50 20-23-7 2 2.55
Harry Lumley DET 45 28-12-5 0 2.56
Turk Broda TOR 49 21-24-4 1 2.70
Paul Bibeault CHI 42 11-19-6 1 3.15
RESULTS
Wednesday February 21, 1947
Toronto 3 at 1 Chicago
Boston 5 at 3 New York
Thursday February 22, 1947
Boston 2 at 3 Detroit
Saturday February 24, 1947
Montreal 2 at 3 Detroit
New York 4 at 3 Toronto
Sunday February 25, 1947
Boston 3 at 1 Chicago
Toronto 2 at 2 Montreal
Detroit 2 at 1 New York
UPCOMING GAMES
Wednesday February 28, 1947
Chicago at New York
Montreal at Toronto
Thursday March 1, 1947
Chicago at Montreal
Toronto at Detroit
Saturday March 3, 1947
Boston at Montreal
Detroit at Toronto
Sunday March 4, 1947
Boston at New York
Detroit at Chicago
BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Code:
STANDINGS
EAST GP W L PCT GB
WSH 47 36 11 .766 x
PHI 46 28 18 .609 7.5
NY 45 22 23 .489 13.0
PROV 46 18 28 .391 17.5
BOS 46 17 29 .370 18.5
Tor 45 12 33 .267 23.0
WEST GP W L PCT GB
CHI 45 31 14 .689 x
STL 46 30 16 .652 1.5
CLE 44 25 19 .568 5.5
DET 47 18 29 .383 14.0
PIT 49 16 33 .327 17.0
SCORING TEAM GP PPG
Joe Fulks PHI 44 23.9
Ed*Sadowski CLE 41 18.5
Bob Feerick WSH 44 17.1
Ernie*Calverley PRO 40 14.0
Stan*Miasek DET 41 14.0
Chuck*Halbert CHI 41 13.7
Freddie Scolari WSH 42 13.7
Frank*Baumholtz CLE 43 13.7
Johnny*Logan STL 39 13.3
Max*Zaslofsky CHI 44 13.3
Coulby*Gunther PIT 49 13.1
Belus*Smawley STL 44 12.5
Horace McKinney WSH 40 12.0
Leo Mogus TOR 44 12.0
Hank*Beenders PRO 42 12.0
John*Janisch DET 42 12.0
Don*Carlson CHI 38 11.7
Donald*Martin PRO 39 11.7
Mel*Riebe CLE 36 11.2
RESULTS
Monday February 19, 1947
Detroit 55 at 59 Pittsburgh
Tuesday February 20, 1947
St Louis 64 at 37 Toronto
Boston 48 at 61 Cleveland
Wednesday February 21, 1947
Providence 57 at 70 New York
Boston 66 at 56 Detroit
Toronto 41 at 75 Washington
Thursday February 22, 1947
Pittsburgh 64 at 74 Philadelphia
Washington 72 at 61 Providence
Detroit 54 at 46 Chicago
Friday February 23, 1947
Chicago 74 at 80 St Louis (OT)
Pittsburgh 54 at 69 New York
Boston 58 at 42 Toronto
Saturday February 24, 1947
Pittsburgh 62 at 69 Washington
Cleveland 74 at 69 Providence
Sunday February 25, 1947
Toronto 64 at 42 Detroit
New York 64 at 67 Chicago
Philadelphia 49 at 56 St Louis
Providence 57 at 71 Boston
Washington 84 at 77 Cleveland
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday February 26, 1947
Boston at Washington
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Tuesday February 27, 1947
Providence at Toronto
St Louis at Cleveland
Wednesday February 28, 1947
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
St Louis at Philadelphia
Chicago at Detroit
Washington at New York
Thursday March 1, 1947
New York at Providence
Friday March 2, 1947
Philadelphia at Toronto
Cleveland at Boston
Saturday March 3, 1947
Detroit at Providence
Toronto at New York
Boston at Washington
Sunday March 4, 1947
St Louis at Chicago
Philadelphia at Cleveland