EC's Southern Association

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE MOBILE PRESS-REGISTER
Tuesday, September 14, 1948

TRAVELERS TRIP BEARS IN SEASON FINALE
In the final game of the Southern Association regular season at Hartwell Field in Mobile, the fifth place Little Rock Travelers tripped the second place Bears 7-4, lashing out 18 hits... 3B Wayne Blackburn (.328/40 RBI) collected four of them with 1B Bobby Moyer (.291/77 RBI) and 2B Bob Mavis (.328/97 RBI) pitching in with three apiece... the Travs trailed 4-2 at the end of five, but came back to win in the late innings... the Pebbles' bullpen blanked Mobile after the 5th frame... Little Rock (75-79) wrapped up the season with a win, but still came in fifth, one game behind the fourth place Nashville Vols (76-78), who got the last playoff spot.

The top four clubs in the Southern Association will battle for the overall league title in the Shaughnessy playoffs... Memphis (108-46) won the regular-season pennant... Mobile (88-66) was the runner-up... Birmingham (86-68) came in third and Nashville (76-78) finished fourth... the Chickasaws will host the Vols for the first two games beginning Thursday afternoon at Russwood Park in Memphis, while the Bears will entertain the Barons at Hartwell Field... each series is best-of-seven.

Click to Enlarge Line Score

[Eugene Church]

FINAL 1948 SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION BATTING AND PITCHING LEADERS
Tuesday, September 14, 1948

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[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Thursday, September 16, 1948

SA SHAUGHNESSY PLAYOFFS BEGIN FRIDAY
The regular season is over in the Southern Association... it's now time to get down to brass tacks... whatever that means... or it's time to get down to where the pedal hits the metal... it's time to determine the overall champion of the Southern Association... the top four clubs will go at it over the next two weeks in an elimination tournament when finally only one team will be left -- the 1948 Southern Association champion... all series will be best-of-seven affairs.

The first place Memphis Chicks (108-46) will be challenged by three other clubs to prove they are the best team in the league... second place Mobile (88-66), third place Birmingham (86-68) and fourth place Nashville (76-78) will get another chance to dethrone the Chickasaws from their lofty perch at the top of the standings... Memphis ran away with the regular season, but the postseason playoffs could render a different story... in head-to-head play against one another during the season, the Chicks had the best record, but not by much... Memphis was 40-26, Birmingham 38-28, Mobile 32-34 and Nashville was only 28-38... the Barons also played the Chicks tougher than the other two clubs... Memphis won the season series with Birmingam 12-10... then you have to factor in which team was playing well in the last weeks of the season... that would be Memphis and Birmingham again... Nashville started showing some signs of life late in the year, too... but Mobile ended the season on a spiral downturn.

Taking all of this into consideration, Memphis might have a tougher time with Nashville in the first round... they were 13-9 over the Vols in the season series, so they didn't totally dominate them like they did to most SA clubs... during the year the Chicks batted .297 (1st), hit 48 HR (8th), scored 799 runs (5th) and posted a 3.03 ERA (1st)... the Vols' offensive numbers were better overall with a .294 BA (2nd), 186 HR (1st) and 893 runs (1st), but only a 4.19 ERA (6th), which can be a little misleading... Sulphur Dell is a home-run heaven, while Russwood Park in Memphis favors the pitchers... lately the Chicks' pitching has slightly declined... John Perkovich (24-4/2.72), Hugh Mulcahy (14-6/3.07) and Chuck Eisenmann (17-6/3.30) have slipped a little of late... the long season may be getting to them... and they might just have trouble with the heavy-hitting Vols, featuring longballers Chuck Workman (.370 BA/58 HR), Charlie Gilbert (.350 BA/43 HR) and Smoky Burgess (.365 BA/21 HR)... by contrast Memphis only hit 48 as a team... still we'll take Memphis in a tough seven-game series... after all is said and done the Chickasaws did win 108 games in the regular season... that's say something... on the other hand, Nashville has lackluster pitching with Pete Mallory (13-9/3.41), Dick Conger (11-8/3.81), Leo Twardy (11-11/3.83) and Cookie Cuccurullo (10-12/4.65)... luckily Memphis will get the homefield advantage and play a majority of the games at Russwood Park, rather than Sulphur Dell in Nashville... Memphis also has the best overall lineup in the SA... from top to bottom they are all capable hitters... Joe Astroth (.354 BA/3 HR), Paul Armstrong (.342 BA/2 HR), Jerry Scala (.335 BA/1 HR), John Antonelli (.325 BA/3 HR), Billy Bowers (.319 BA/7 HR) and Gordon Goldsberry (.309 BA/10 HR)... as a team they hit .297 during the regular season and led the league, but they don't go deep much... the Chicks also play the best defense in the league by far... putting up a .969 FA... Mobile and Birmingham were second at just .961... Nashville was even further behind with a dismal .956 FA.

Birmingham should be able to easily handle the Mobile Bears... the Barons were red-hot in September with a 10-3 record, while Mobile slumped badly to 5-11... over the last six weeks of the season the Bears were only 17-26... Birmingham was 25-17 during the same period... everything points to Birmingham winning in 5 or 6 games... the Barons are better at everything... .275 BA (4th), 107 HR (2nd), 3.70 ERA (2nd)... the Bears hit .262 (8th), 72 HR (5th) with a 3.84 ERA (3rd)... though it might not be important, Mobile will have the homefield advantage... George Wilson (.329 BA/32 HR), Tommy O'Brien (.326 BA/21 HR), Ben Cantrell (.302 BA/5 HR) and Mickey Rutner (.287 BA/52 doubles) lead a talented lineup... Mobile will counter with a much lesser lineup with Preston Ward (.296 BA/9 HR), Cal Abrams (.295 BA/5 HR), Walt Sessi (.274 BA/11 HR) and Bill Hart (.245 BA/14 HR)... the Bears have two solid starters in Pete Wojey (18-11/2.69) and Ken Olson (16-9/3.88), but that won't be enough to beat the Barons.

Memphis and Birmingham should reach the SA Finals... it should be a crackerjack of a series... go to seven games... with the Barons winning because of home-run power... 107 HR to 48 for the Chicks... and also because of Mike Palm (14-6/2.05) and Harry Dorish (5-3/2.94)... they are both very good starters... Frankie Quinn (8-4/3.23) is also a solid starter... the Chicks may not be able to match them... down the stretch Birmingham was the best team in the Southern Association... they just might make it fact in the 1948 Shaughnessy playoffs.

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE NASHVILLE BANNER
Saturday, September 18, 1948

VOLS MOP UP IN PLAYOFF OPENER
The fourth place Nashville Vols started the Southern Association Shaughnessy playoffs in style, winning on the road against pennant-winning Memphis, ripping them 9-2... shut out for the first six frames by Chuck Eisenmann (0-1), the Vols went to town in the last three innings to win going away... a seven-run 8th finished off the Chicks... Nashville mauled the Memphis mound corps for 12 hits, sparked by LF Carmen Mauro with two homers, one of them an inside-the-park clout... Pete Mallory (1-0) logged the victory with seven solid innings... Mallory held the Chicks to two runs on six hits before he was taken out for a pinchhitter in the big 8th frame... Ben Wade worked the last two innings and held Memphis without a run... game two of the best-of-seven series will also be at Russwood Park in Memphis.

WILSON WALLOP WINS IT IN 12TH
In the first game of the Shaughnessy series at Hartwell Field in Mobile, the visiting Birmingham Barons powered by the hometown Bears 9-6 in 12 innings on a three-run wallop by RF George Wilson... the Barons overcame six errors to defeat the Bears... Birmingham used five pitchers in the extra-inning thriller, while Mobile got by with three... Don Carter (1-0) logged the win with a scoreless 11th, but Frankie Quinn finished the Bears off with a perfect frame in the bottom of the 12th... John Hall (0-1) was tagged with the loss... he held the Barons runless in his first three innings, but Wilson's blow sent him down for the count... Birmingham outhit Mobile 15 to 13.

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[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Sunday, September 19, 1948

BARONS BURY BEARS, GO UP 2-0 IN SERIES
The Birmingham Barons copped their second game in a row on the road at Hartwell Field in Mobile... young Mike Palm (1-0) did double duty on the mound and at the plate... he breezed to a 10-3 victory, holding the Bears to six hits, while fanning seven and walking three... Palm (.250) also doubled in three runs in the top of the third... the Barons battered five Mobile pitchers for 13 hits with SS Mel Hoderlein driving in three runs with a double and a triple... RF George Wilson (.455) had three hits and scored a pair of runs... the series now head to Rickwood Field in Birmingham for games three and four.

PERKOVICH, CHICKS EVEN SERIES WITH VOLS
24-game winner John Perkovich came through for Memphis in the second game of the playoff series with Nashville, taming the Vols 6-1 to even it up at one game each... Perkovich (1-0) permitted nine hits, but allowed just one run, while whiffing six batters with no walks... the Chickasaws slammed four Nashville pitchers for 12 hits with SS Freddie Hancock (.222/2 RBI) leading the way with two hits and two RBIs... Hancock homered in the 5th inning... RF Billy Bowers (.333) cracked a pair of hits and doubled in two runs... Memphis got rid of Nashville starter Cookie Cuccurullo in the sixth frame... Cuccurullo (0-1) was socked for three runs and six hits... he went to the showers losing 3-0 and was pinned with the defeat... Nashville's only score came on 1B George Byam's (.250/2 RBI) inside-the-park homer.

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[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE MOBILE PRESS-REGISTER
Monday, September 20, 1948

BEARS AND BOLES BEST BARONS IN GAME 3
The Mobile Bears finally go into the win column in the Southern Association playoffs with a 7-3 drubbing of the Birmingham Barons... the Bears captured game three on the road at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, but still trail two games to one... they took the lead with two runs in the 6th on a bases-loaded walk to C Ken Staples (.222/2 RBI) and a base hit by CF Cal Abrams (.294/3 RBI)... then they poured it on for three more in the 9th on 3B Stubby Greer's (.333/4 RBI) two-run two-bagger and a sacrifice fly by pitcher Roy Boles (.000/1 RBI)... Boles (1-0/1.00) hurled a complete game, giving up only one earned run on seven hits with two bases on balls and five Ks... Baron starter Pete Modica (0-1/7.36) was the losing pitcher, pelted for four runs and six hits in five frames.

VOLS CLIP CHICKS IN 9TH, UP 2-1 IN SERIES
Game three of the Shaughnessy playoffs at Sulphul Dell in Nashville went to the homestanding Vols 7-6... they fought back from a 6-3 deficit to beat the Memphis Chicks... in the 8th Carmen Mauro doubled in a run and Hal Quick got an RBI single to shave the Memphis lead to one run... in the bottom of the 9th Chuck Workman singled in the tying run, then with two away Mauro delivered the game-winning single to put Nashville up 2-to-1 in the best-of-seven series... the Vols collected 14 hits to Memphis' nine... CF Chuck Gilbert (.462/2 RBI) got four of them... and 2B Buster Boguskie (.357/2 RBI) and Workman (.429) each had three... Memphis was led by SS Freddie Hancock (.231/4 RBI) and 1B Gordon Goldsberry (.214/2 RBI) with two RBIs apiece... Nashville got good work from its pen with three scoreless innings by Bob Spicer, Dick Conger and Bobo Holloman with the win going to Holloman (1-0/9.00 ERA/2 G).

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[Eugene Church]

The 1948 replay didn't come out like the real 1948 standings, but at least the first-division teams matched... just not in the same order.

Sorry about the newspaper print... it's not very clear, but I think you can figure the team records out.

I was pretty pleased with the statistics overall... but wish that my replay pennant race had been closer to the real race.

My 1947 dynasty replay was closer to real life.

Nashville just didn't score in my 1948 dynasty like they did in the real league... probably my fault... didn't do a good job on rating the players... or perhaps, setting the league modifiers... or both reasons combined.

[Eugene Church]

Real 1948 Team Batting and Team Fielding Statistics (Copied from the New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Please note the typo switching the Triple Play and Double Play stats... also Chattanooga only had 1343 hits, not 1943.

I think "PT" is passed balls.

[Eugene Church]

Real 1948 Southern Association Team Batting and Fielding Statistics

Team Batting - .283 BA
Team Fielding - .962 FA

[Eugene Church]

1948 Final Batting Individual Statistics (Taken from the New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Sorry about the poor printing quality and poor spelling of names.

The newspaper did not always print all of the averages... they would only print what they had room for on the page.

These finals stats stopped at .283 BA.

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

Real 1948 Individual Pitching Statistics

Sorry, they didn't list the ERAs... or show how many ER allowed... they also didn't list some pitchers.

This looks like the pitchers are listed according to their ERAs... lowest first.

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

Final 1948 Southern Association Replay Batting Statistics