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08-05-2023, 10:14 AM
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#761 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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January 26, 1948
 JANUARY 26, 1948 FABL DRAFT CONTINUES The 16 FABL clubs continue to plan for their future as the amateur draft approaches the conclusion of the January phase. Ten rounds will be completed before the remaining 15 rounds are conducted in June after the college and high school seasons have been completed. Here are the full results from Rounds 2 and 3. Round 1 selections were published in the previous edition. Code:
1948 FABL AMATEUR PLAYER DRAFT: ROUND 2 # TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN 17 CHI Walt Cooper P 17 Grand Rapids(MI)HS Flint, MI 18 CIN Happy Wright 1B 20 Constitution State Malden, MA 19 PHK Red Ellis SS 20 Miami State New York, NY 20 TOR Frankie Raymond P 17 Toledo Waite HS Toledo, OH 21 WAS Dutch Reeves CF 20 Gates University Syracuse, NY 22 BKN Enos Bell CF 16 Maplewood(NJ) HS New York, NY 23 DET Jack Miller P 21 Red River State Valdosta, GA 24 CLE Ted Dukes P 20 Brooklyn Catholic Pottstown, PA 25 PIT Bob Burge C 20 Macon State Ft Lauderdale, FL 26 CHC Amos Peterson 3B 17 Union City(TN) HS Union City, TN 27 BKN Roland Hawe RF 17 Normandy HS StL St Louis, MO 28 MON Al Craig RF 18 East Providence HS Providence, RI 29 BOS Aaron Jones 3B 21 Gates University Inglewood, CA 30 NYS Jimmy Morris P 17 Monroeville(OH) HS Monroeville, OH 31 STL Red Hinton CF 21 Redwood University Evanston, IL 32 PHS Red Crawford RF 18 La Porte(IN) HS La Porte, IN Code:
1948 FABL AMATEUR PLAYER DRAFT: ROUND 3 # TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN 33 PIT Don Goldman CF 17 Malden (MA) HS Malden, MA 34 MON Charlie Zimmerman P 21 Poweshiek College Olathe, KS 35 CHI Roy Nickerson 1B 18 Quinlan (TX) HS Quinlan, TX 36 CHC Bob Allie CF 18 Canarsie HS, BKN Brooklyn, NY 37 CLE Jimmy Paul RF 17 Grants Pass(OR)HS Calgary, AB 38 TOR Al Bennett RF 17 Oak Hill (OH) HS Cleveland, OH 39 PHI Ken Crossley P 18 Gainesville(GA)HS Gainesville, GA 30 CHC Jeff King CF 17 Millville (MA) HS Millville, MA 41 CHI Chubby Gooch P 17 Red Wing(MN) HS Jenkintown, PA 42 DET Andy Bonner RF 17 Benton (KY) HS Benton, KY 43 MON Fred Kelley CF 17 Roanoke (IL) HS Roanoke, IL 44 CIN John Wolfenden P 18 Dandridge(TN) HS Knoxville, TN 45 WAS Frankie Williams 3B 20 Lane State Richmond, IN 46 CIN Simon Terry P 17 Chester (SC) HS Chester, SC 47 PHS Joe Jones 3B 17 Hoboken (NJ) HS Hoboken, NJ 48 STL Jerry Hutchinson P 17 Red Bluff (CA) HS Yreka, CA KEYSTONES CLAIM McCARLEY ON WAIVERS The Philadelphia Keystones have claimed 28-year-old outfielder Gordon McCarley after he was waived by the Philadelphia Sailors last week. McCarley never spent any real time as a Sailor, they had grabbed him off waivers from Monttreal shortly after McCarley had helped the Saints AAA farm club in Minneapolis win the Century League championship. A third round pick out of a Texas high school in 1938, McCarley had spent his entire career in the Saints organization but missed nearly 3 full seasons due to the war. He made his Montreal debut late in the 1945 campaign and spent all of '46 with the Saints, batting .255 in 119 career FABL games. He spent all of last season in Minneapolis, batting .295 with 11 homers in 336 at bats for the Lumberjacks. CUBAN WINTER LEAGUE WRAPS UP THIS WEEK The second season of FABL's winter development league in Cuba wraps up play this week and the championship final looks like it will be a repeat of last year. The Manzanillo Palms, supplied with players by the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones, have long since clinched the Eastern Division title as the 30-9 Palms have a 9 game lead on second place Santiago. The Palms reached the championship series a year ago but lost the 1 game final to the West Division champion Havana Sharks. The Sharks, fed by the Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos, are in control of their own destiny heading into the final 3 games of the regular season. Havana is 2 games ahead of slumping Matanzas, which has lost 9 of its last eleven games to allow Havana to overtake the Buccaneers. Boston Minutemen prospect Mel Campbell, a 23-year-old catcher who hit .345 in A ball last season, leads the Cuban loop in hitting with a .375 average while playing for Camaguey. The homerun leader is a 23-year-old first baseman for Matanzas named Ben Downing. He is a Pittsburgh Miners prospect who hit 10 homers splitting the season between A and B last season but has 12 longballs in 39 winter league games.   DYNAMOS DRAFT A FAMALIAR NAME The Detroit Dynamos called a name very familiar to baseball fans in the Motor City when they announced their fourth-round pick. Steve Wheeler, son of future Hall of Famer Al Wheeler was announced as the Dynamos selection with the 59th pick of the draft. The 18-year-old was born in Detroit in 1930 while his dad was starring for the Dynamos but played his high school ball in Cincinnati while Al was finishing out his career with the Cannons. Al Wheeler is a certain Hall of Famer, the very first player ever drafted in the modern era of FABL, and one of just three men to top the 500 homerun plateau. First thing Dynamos fans need to realize is they will not be getting anything of the sort from Steve. The younger Wheeler hit just 3 homers in two seasons of high school ball but his strengths are his speed -which OSA says will make him one of the fastest players in the league- and his outstanding work on defense as a centerfielder. The younger Wheeler was the first of three sons of prominent players eligible for this draft to be selected. John Dibblee's boy Gene is a college outfielder playing at Canton State while Sam Bird, son of current Oakland Grays general manager and former FABL all-star Tom Bird, is a junior at a Cincinnati high school, but not the same one Steve Wheeler plays for. Both were selected in later rounds by the Chicago Cougars. Wheeler is the second Dynamos selection with local ties to the city as the club tabbed Dino Sharp, a slugging high school first baseman with a huge ceiling who grew up in Detroit before moving to the Cleveland area as a teen. College pitcher Jack Miller, a Georgia native who went 9-6 for Red River State as a sophomore, was their second round selection. Scouting Director Fred Barrell feels Miller could potentially develop into a middle of the rotation starter. In the third round Detroit grabbed a high school outfielder from Benton, Kentucy by the name of Andy Bonner. OSA calls him a defensive asset who could hit .3330 with above average power. Following the selection of Wheeler in round four the Dynamos went back to the mound to take 17 year old Ansel Rohling out of Creston High School in Iowa. He is a project but has a six-pitch repertoire including an above average sinker. Rohling posted great numbers in high school ball with a 17-0 record and a 1.01 era while fanning 272 and walking just 29 over two seasons.  
   STEPHENS OUTLASTS INACCURATE MITCHELL TO HOLD ONTO WELTER CROWN Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland, Ohio – Harold Stephens has held his Welterweight Championship belt for longer than anyone since the division was restarted two years ago, which is to say Stephens has held the belt for one title defense entering tonight. Stephens bucked the trend of challengers defeating champions with his win over Carl Taylor last August. The man trying to capture the welterweight crown is Ira Mitchell, who has compiled an impressive 19-1 record in his young career. Some handicappers, including this one, were skeptical that Mitchell was going to be able to measure up in this title fight. In the first round, Mitchell announced his arrival with authority, going right after Stephens with a solid hook in the first half-minute that unmoored the champion. After Stephens countered with an uppercut, he left himself wide open for another Mitchell hook up top that stunned Stephens and dropped him to the canvas. The crowd at Cleveland’s Lake Erie Arena, hardly in their seats, jumped to their feet as referee Ernest Byrd counted. Stephens reached his feet as the referee counted to five, but there was a sense in the building that Stephens was in trouble. After Stephens regained his composure and took the second round, his frustration grew in the third round as Mitchell gained the upper hand again. Mitchell worked the body with an effective shot to the ribs followed by a hook to the midsection. Stephens went in close and bumped heads with Mitchell, grinding an uppercut to his chin. Not satisfied, Stephens pulled Mitchell’s head down into his chest, which forced referee Byrd to separate them. A late uppercut with seconds left in the round seemed to turn the tide and bolster the Stephens’s confidence, which extended to the next round where Stephens worked upstairs on Mitchell with a right to the chin and a hook to the jaw. In the middle rounds, Stephens was effectively using his jab to set up big crosses and combinations that stunned Mitchell. All night, Stephens connected on an average of over nine jabs per round compared to a total of 12 punches per round for Mitchell. Stephens outlanded the challenger by more than a two-to-one margin, though Mitchell offered nearly two shots for every one of the champion. The two rounds with the most action tonight were the sixth and the fourteenth rounds. Each round had a good back-and-forth between the fighters and neither man backed down. Mitchell took both rounds, which showed that when he was in his rhythm and engaged the champion, he fared well. However, as seen in most of the other rounds, when Mitchell was defensive and backed away, Stephens took control and carried the round. The bout went the full fifteen rounds, and it was left up to the judges, but the story of the fight was wild inaccuracy of the 28-year-old Mitchell, missing an astounding 88% of his punches. Stephens had a much more reasonable hit rate of 45%. Stephens was also the fresher fighter at the final bell, seemingly in control in the final round. All three judges called the fight for Stephens (21-3-2), who retained the Welterweight Championship. There have been doubts on whether Stephens had staying power atop the weight class, but Stephens has used his boxing smarts to get this far. Against Mark Westlake, he connected on 49.9% of his punches, but Westlake scored more Big Boppers, or big hits that scored major points. Against Carl Taylor, Stephens was just as precise (50.2%). In this fight, Stephens missed more, but he was still – by far – the more accurate puncher. Stephens’s combatants have seemed to miss more, but you can attribute that to his athleticism to dodge his opponent’s offerings. Mitchell fell to 19-2-0 with the loss, but this will likely not be the last time we hear his name. His future might have dimmed with the outcome, but the journey to the title is long and has many twists and turns. The 28-year-old still has some fighting ahead of him. Meanwhile, Stephens is at the top of his game, excelling at what lighter fighters do best, avoiding trouble with his feet, bobbing to keep his balance, and hitting with precision. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Mitchell 2-0 (0:33 hook/midsection, 1:26 hook/head/knockdown) Round 2: Tied 1-1 (S: 0:41 cross/face; M: 2:49 hook/head) Round 3: Mitchell 3-0 (0:39 right/ribs, 1:00 hook/body, 1:32 hook) Round 4: Stephens 2-0 (0:49 right/chin, 2:49 hook/jaw) Round 5: Mitchell 2-0 (1:18 uppercut, 2:06 uppercut/midsection) Round 6: Tied 2-2 (S: 1:05 uppercut, 1:21 cross; M: 2:03 left; 2:17 hook/side) Round 7: Tied 1-1 (S: 0:43 cross; M: 1:18 left/body) Round 8: Stephens 1-0 (2:51 combo) Round 9: Mitchell 2-1 (S: 0:35 cross; M: 0:55 hook, 1:37 left/midsection) Round 10: Stephens 1-0 (0:45 combo) Round 11: Tied 1-1 (S: 1:34 uppercut; M: 0:13 uppercut) Round 12: None Round 13: Stephens 2-1 (S: 0:12 right/head, 2:36 right; M: 0:56 uppercut/head) Round 14: Mitchell 3-0 (1:12 hook, 1:58 right, 2:38 combo) Round 15: Mitchell 1-0 (1:58 hook/head) TOTAL: Mitchell 19, Stephens 12  CONLEY CONFIRMS EURO TOUR FOR SAWYER Will Fight in New York in June Prior to Trip Fight boss Chester Conley has confirmed that World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer will spend at least a year in Europe and make multiple title defenses while overseas. Sawyer, who has found no peer on American soil over the past 8 years, will make one more title defense in June, likely at Gothams Stadium, before embarking on a European adventure that according to Conley "will pit the champ against the best the world has to offer." Conley would not give any indication on who Sawyer will face in New York before his trip, "only saying negotiations where still progressing in that regard." As for his overseas opponents it is expected Sawyer will begin his tour with a fight in London, England in the fall and probably will also fight at least once in Paris. There is no dominant fighter in Europe-in fact there has not been a European Heavyweight tile holder since well before the war and it is highly unlikely that anyone Conley may find overseas will mount any sort of a challenge for the champ.  BOXING NOTES Former World Welterweight champion Mark Westlake outpointed Carl Taylor in a 10-rounder in Portland, Oregon last week. Westlake, who briefly held the title before losing in his first title defense to Harold Stephens, controlled the fight throughout and runs his record to 23-3-1. Taylor, who twice had a shot at the title but came up short against both Stephens and Dennis O'Keefe, is now 22-5-2. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 MOTORS WIN FOUR STRAIGHT, ESCAPE CELLAR This has not been a season the Detroit Motors want to remember as a club with high hopes entering the campaign after a third place finish a year ago, quickly sank to the depths of the NAHC standings. Detroit has spent nearly the entire season -which crosses the two-thirds complete mark this week- in last place prompting the club to deal its two veteran defensemen in Shel Herron and Bryant Williams to Montreal last month. Since then the club has gone 8-6-2 after beginning the season with just 7 wins in their first 23 games and is currently riding a 4-game winning streak. The team is clearly not more talented without Herron and Williams but the addition of 21-year-old Spencer Larocque, who came over from the Valiants in the deal, and the decision to move veteran forward Garrett Ferrar back to the blueline, seems to have energized the Motors. A playoff spot is still quite a reach with the Motors trailing both Boston and Montreal by six points, but suddenly there is some hope in the Motor City. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 39 23 13 3 49 139 98
Toronto 39 18 17 4 40 114 123
Boston 38 17 16 5 39 118 105
Montreal 39 17 17 5 39 123 129
Detroit 39 15 21 3 33 100 133
New York 38 15 21 2 32 112 118
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 33 27 17 44
Mahoney, Chi 31 14 26 40
W Burns, Chi 37 11 27 38
Albers, NY 38 12 24 36
Pollack, Tor 36 15 20 35
Skinner, Mon 39 15 20 35
Cabbell, NY 37 24 10 34
Chandler, Bos 33 15 18 33
Galbraith, Tor 39 13 20 33
Lanceleve, Mon 39 13 20 33
Sauer, Tor 35 12 20 32
Hart, Bos 37 15 15 30
Gregg, NY 33 14 16 30
McGlynn, Chi 39 15 14 29
Lynch, Mon 34 11 18 29
MacLean, Chi 35 10 19 29
Haines, Mon 35 9 20 29
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 14 6 6 2 1 2.57
Hanson, Chi 33 17 13 3 2 2.59
Tremblay, NY 27 12 13 1 3 2.83
Brockers, Bos 24 11 10 3 1 2.84
Broadway, Tor 32 14 14 3 1 3.00
Carter, Det 12 2 5 0 0 3.12
Touhey, Mon 30 15 13 1 1 3.34
Chasse, Det 33 13 16 3 2 3.44
Sorrell, NY 13 3 8 1 2 3.52
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21 Toronto 2 at 2 Boston: The Dukes 4-game winning streak came to an end but they remained unbeaten thanks to a pair of second period goals from Trevor Parker and Quinton Pollack enabling Toronto to earn a 2-2 tie at Denny Arena with the Boston Bees. Tommy Hart had both of the Bees markers. Montreal 3 at 4 Chicago: A first place showdown saw the return of Millard Touhey to the Valiants net after missing nearly two weeks with a virus. Touhey was a bit rusty in taking a 4-2 loss with Ed Delarue leading the Packers offense with a pair of goals. It ended the Packers 3-game winless skid. Detroit 4 at 1 New York: Detroit won this battle between the bottom two clubs in the league as Henri Chasse made 28 saves in the Motors net while 3 first period goals by his club made his evening much easier. SATURDAY JANUARY 24 Detroit 5 at 1 Montreal: The Motors won for the third straight game, leaving the slumping Valiants winless in their last 7 outings. Rookie Nick Tardif led the way for the visitiors with a goal and 3 assists while Henri Chasse had another strong night in the Detroit cage. The same could not be said for Montreal's Millard Touhey, who may still be feeling the effects of the virus that sidelined him for nearly two weeks. Touhey allowed 5 goals on just 24 Detroit shots. Chicago 2 at 5 Toronto : The Dukes entered the game just 1-5 this season against the front-running Packers but a pair of third period goals, and 2 assists, from Dick Zimmerman lifted Toronto to victory and extended their unbeaten streak to 6 games. Chicago is just 1-3-1 in its last five games, all played without first line winger Marty Mahoney. The win, coupled with Montreal's loss to Detroit, moved the Dukes ahead of the Valiants and into second place, 7 points back of the Packers. SUNDAY JANUARY 25 New York 4 at 5 Boston: Joe Morey scored twice, and Jacob Gron had a goal and two helpers as the Bees held off a late charge by New York to trim the Shamrocks 5-4. It was the third straight loss for the streaky Greenshirts after a stretch in which they went 3-0-1. Toronto 2 at 5 Chicago: Back to back 5-2 results between the two clubs with Chicago prevailing on home ice on this night. Marsh Mansfield scored his first two goals of the season while Tommy Burns also had a pair to raise his league-leading total to 27 in the win which extended the Packers lead on second place Toronto to 9 points. Toronto's leading scorer Quinton Pollack did not make the trip to the Windy City after tweaking his back in Saturday's contest. He is expected to be sidelined for about a week. Montreal 1 at 4 Detroit: The Valiants troubles continue as they lost their fourth in a row and are winless in 8. Detroit, on the other hand, is suddenly hot with a 4-game winning streak lifting the club out of last place. Dave Bradley scored twice for the winners with Garrett Ferrar adding two assists and adjusting nicely to his shift to defense after the Motors big trade with Montreal. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28 Detroit at Boston New York at Chicago Montreal at Toronto SATURDAY JANUARY 31 Chicago at Boston New York at Montreal Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1 Montreal at Boston Toronto at Detroit Chicago at New York  AROUND THE LEAGUE
  PANTHERS EXTEND FBL WEST LEAD The Chicago Panthers played just once in a quiet week but added to their Federal Basketball Association best record with a 106-95 win on the road over the Detroit Mustangs Thursday evening. David Reed put on a show for the hometown club with 34 points but despite his efforts the sparse crowd at Thompson Palladium went home disappointed as seven Panthers hit double figures including 3 with 18 poins each in the Chicago win. The West Division leading Philadelphia Phantoms split a home and home series with second place Baltimore in their only action last week. Nestor Patterson led the way with 22 points as the Barons took the opener at home by a 95-85 margin before the Phantoms responded with a resounding 91-55 win three days later at Keystone Arena. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 16 7 .696 - Baltimore 14 8 .636 1.5 Buffalo 9 13 .409 6.5 Toronto 5 17 .227 10.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 17 5 .773 - Detroit 10 13 .435 7.5 Cincinnati 10 13 .435 7.5 Cleveland 9 14 .391 8.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Richard Campbell, CHI 21.5 Irvin Mudd, PHI 20.3 Lary Yim, BUF 19.7 David Reed, DET 19.1 Jamel Porter, TOR 18.6 Danny Hendon, PHI 18.6 Jack Hirst, BAL 17.2 Jack Kurtz, DET 16.5 George Kelley, CLE 16.3 Nestor Patterson, BAL 14.9 CENTURIONS WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END The Boston Centurions stretch of 9-straight victories, which coincided the with insertion of two-time national collegiate player of the year Long Werth into the starting lineup, has come to an end after the Cents fell in back to back games last week. On Monday Boston was upended 93-86 by Hartford as ABC scoring leader James Phillips exploded for 31 points to pace the Patriots. On Saturday night in New York the Centurions last again as Roman Sollars scored 24 points and Tom Dwuyer added 22 to lift the suddenly hot Knights to a 95-83 win. New York still owns the worst winning percentage in the ABC but the Knights halted a 10-game losing streak by winning all three of their games last week including an 89-77 triumph over first place Brooklyn on Monday. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 18 10 .643 - Boston 17 10 .630 0.5 Hartford 11 17 .393 7.0 New York 8 18 .308 9.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 16 6 .727 - Richmond 17 13 .567 3.0 Pittsburgh 11 16 .407 7.5 Rochester 9 17 .346 9.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.4 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.4 John Rodrigez, HAR 19.4 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.1 Charles Hooper, WAS 19.1 Augie Schleicher, PIT 18.9 Gerald Carter, BOS 18.3 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 17.8 Norm Yates, RIC 17.3 Ivan Sisco, WAS 16.9  The West Coast Athletic Association got its section slate underway yesterday and #2 seed Rainier College was among the winners, although Northern Cal did not make it easy for the Majestics who had to rally for a 49-46 road win. There was no such suspense in Los Angeles where CCLA, behind a 19-point outing for senior guard Gerald Cheek blasted Lane State 80-37. There was also a meeting between top twenty ranked foes Redwood and Coastal California with the Mammoths winning in a waltz 67-36 behind 14 points from guard Loop Leon. #17th ranked Brunswick is the only 4-0 team in Academia Alliance play after the Knights beat Henry Hudson by 20 points and Ellery by 10 this week.  Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (47) 13-2 1765 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Rainier College (24) 15-1 1742 3 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Carolina Poly (1) 14-2 1628 2 South Atlantic Conference
4. CC Los Angeles 15-1 1544 6 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Central Ohio 13-2 1531 7 Great Lakes Alliance
6. Detroit City College 13-2 1365 5 Great Lakes Alliance
7. Mississippi A&M 15-2 1347 4 Deep South Conference
8. Liberty College 16-4 1334 9 Indy
9. Whitney College 13-2 1310 10 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Noble Jones College 15-3 1140 11 Deep South Conference
11. Lambert College 17-2 997 13 Midwestern Association
12. Bayou State 12-3 985 14 Deep South Conference
13. Lane State 15-4 924 12 West Coast Athletic Association
14. Redwood 13-3 884 17 West Coast Athletic Association
15. Coastal California 13-3 797 8 West Coast Athletic Association
16. Travis College 15-2 771 16 Southwestern Alliance
17. Brunswick 13-4 714 21 Academia Alliance
18. Frankford State 19-4 558 20 Indy
19. Central Kentucky 14-3 470 22 Deep South Conference
20. Indiana A&M 12-3 402 18 Great Lakes Alliance
21. Texas Gulf Coast 12-4 321 19 Southwestern Alliance
22. Great Plains State 15-4 274 23 Indy
23. Alabama Baptist 12-3 272 NR Deep South Conference
24. University of New Jersey 12-3 164 25 Eastern Six
25. Western State 12-3 93 NR Central Athletic Alliance
Others Receiving Votes:
Pittsburgh State 15-5 31 Indy
Perry State College 15-5 15 Indy
Brooklyn Catholic 12-4 15 Liberty Conference
Needham 13-4 7 Indy
MONDAY JANUARY 19 at Perry State College 44, #7 Mississippi A&M 43 at #8 Liberty College 64, St. Blane 46 at #11 Lambert College 33, East Missouri Seminary 31 at #13 Lane State 55, Michigan Lutheran 45 #14 Redwood 68, at Charleston Tech 37 at #15 Coastal California 57, College of Cairo 44 at #23 Alabama Baptist 58, Hamman 46 TUESDAY JANUARY 20 at #12 Bayou State 70, Bethlehem College 37 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21 at #4 CC Los Angeles 63, St. Blane 52 at #13 Lane State 64, College of Cairo 41 at #17 Brunswick 55, Henry Hudson 35 at #19 Central Kentucky 39, Orrville 36 at #24 University of New Jersey 65, Penn Catholic 62 THURSDAY JANUARY 22 #1 Western Iowa 57, at St. Ignatius 49 at #5 Central Ohio 61, Wisconsin State 48 #6 Detroit City College 52, at Minnesota Tech 40 at #9 Whitney College 52, Lincoln 42 at #12 Bayou State 72, Allentown State 42 at #18 Frankford State 52, Armstrong 41 #20 Indiana A&M 45, at St. Magnus 38 at #23 Alabama Baptist 54, Alabama Gulf Coast 44 at #25 Western State 60, Fond du Lac 47 FRIDAY JANUARY 23 at #13 Lane State 60, St. Patrick's 54 at #16 Travis College 47, Arkansas A&T 33 #21 Texas Gulf Coast 53, at Darnell State 36 SATURDAY JANUARY 24 at #5 Central Ohio 53, #20 Indiana A&M 49 #6 Detroit City College 64, at St. Ignatius 48 at #7 Mississippi A&M 47, Rome State 35 at #8 Liberty College 58, Kansas Agricultural 49 #9 Whitney College 69, at #1 Western Iowa 66 at #16 Travis College 48, Amarillo Methodist 45 at #17 Brunswick 55, Ellery 45 #21 Texas Gulf Coast 43, at Red River State 37 at #23 Alabama Baptist 67, East Missouri Seminary 42 #24 University of New Jersey 58, at St. Martin's College 55 #25 Western State 72, at Central Illinois 57 SUNDAY JANUARY 25 #2 Rainier College 49, at Northern California 45 at #4 CC Los Angeles 80, #13 Lane State 37 at #11 Lambert College 49, Capital (MS) University 45 at #14 Redwood 67, #15 Coastal California 36 at #19 Central Kentucky 41, Glover (GA) 36 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 1/25/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-07-2023, 01:54 PM
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#762 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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February 2, 1948
FEBRUARY 2, 1948  COAST LEAGUE PLAYING WAITING GAME? Most of the baseball talk over the tail end of 1947 was focused squarely on the Great Western League as coast clubs were tripping all over each other to hand out a record-breaking contract to former Philadelphia Sailors catcher Woody Stone. Stone eventually settled on San Francisco for a 2-year deal that will pay the 31-year-old FABL cast-off $96,000 per season, or $21,000 more than the great Bobby Barrell is making to set homerun records and post triple crown numbers for the Philadelphia Keystones. Stone was the final, and by far the biggest, shoe to drop on a winter that saw another GWL club shell out $43,200 to sign another Sailors cast-off in 33-year-old infielder Ed B. White. The deal pays White nearly double what he made last season to hit just .256 for the Sailors. Oakland also got into the act as the defending coast champion Grays signed 36-year-old Pittsburgh Miners castoff Whit Williams to a $25,200 deal. Each of those signings, as ridiculous as the dollar figures might be in the minds of FABL owners, were with players that a FABL club had released and as such no FABL team had any exclusive claim on. The feeling is that the next target the coast loop might set its sights on could be a player still under the control of a FABL team. So far at least, that has not happened as it appears the coast magnates are not yet ready to wage an all-out war with their eastern rivals. Should any player who's rights are held by a FABL organization, sign with a GWL ballclub, a legal battleground will almost surely await. The key issue revolves around baseball's anti-trust exemptions, which have long shielded the sport from legal challenges in the courts. However, a bold move by the coast loop could potentially pierce this protective shield and open the floodgates for further litigation. FABL has staunchly defended its anti-trust exemptions for decades, citing the unique nature of baseball as an exhibition rather than an interstate commerce. Yet, the GWL's self-declaration as a major league two years ago and more recently its willingness to challenge established norms with huge contract dollars could spark a legal showdown that baseball has never faced before. The potential court challenges could take multiple forms. On one hand, FABL could argue that the GWL's declaration is merely a hollow gesture and not grounded in substance. They may contend that the GWL's facilities, resources, and fan base do not meet the criteria to be considered a legitimate major league. On the other hand, the coast league could assert that the anti-trust exemptions granted to FABL are a restraint of trade, preventing players from seeking employment opportunities with other leagues. They may argue that talented players should be allowed to pursue opportunities elsewhere, thus promoting healthy competition and fairness in the marketplace and squarely point at what they are willing to pay Woody Stone as proof that FABL magnates are conspiring to keep player salaries low. At this juncture, it remains pure speculation as the GWL has not, as far as we are aware, made any overtures towards any player under contract to a FABL ballclub. Will that change? Thomas Bigsby, owner of the Los Angeles club and head of the Great Western League, has refused to make any comment either way on the matter but perhaps his silence is far more indicitive of future plans than an outright denial would be. The Woody Stone signing may be only the first domino to fall. The baseball world could be bracing for a battle that might reshape the very foundations of America's pastime. The GWL's bold moves have placed them on a collision course with FABL, and only time will reveal just how high the stakes might become. ROBET MURPHY BILL DRAWS PLAYERS' FIRE Boston, MA -- A hearing was held recently in the State House here, before the Commission of Labor and Industry, on a bill which would eliminate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts any and all reserve clauses from the contracts of professional athletes. The bill was authoered by Robert Murphy, labor relations counsel and the same individual who attempted to unionize FABL players a couple of years back. When the hearing had been completed so far as the bill was concerned, Murphy was not "too optimisit of its chances of surviving in this state." FABL was well represented with Hank Barnett of the Brooklyn Kings and Ed Bowman of the New York Gothams, the players representatives from the Continental and Federal Associaitons respectively, coming here to oppose the bill. Barnett is a Massachusetts native while Bowman made the long trek from his winter home in Wharton, Tx. Another big leaguer who showed up and testified was Chick Donnelly, the veteran Boston Minutemen outfielder. There were other bills in which labor was interested, but which had to mark time until the baseball party was over. "We've had a lot of laughs and enjoyed ourselves, now can't we get down to business on other bills?" asked an attorney representing labor as the last of the baseball contigent were heard. Barnett and Bowman did a fine job in presenting the case of players, and it was Hank who brough out the first smiles. When he finished explaining that the elimination of the reserve clause would wreck baseball, as the top money teams would be able to acquire all the best players, thus eliminating competition, one of the legislators asked : "Do you think the Minutemen will win the pennant this year?" "No doubt about it," Barnett shot back setting off a wave of laughs among the attendees. An attempt had been made to say that baseball did not take care of its players when they were injured, which gave Bowman a chance to start talking. "Look at a guy like Mahlon Strong, who is wired from his head to his toes, and all at the expense of ball clubs." *** Better Pay With Each Team *** "I started out in life making $3.10 a day in Mississippi in the minors," Donnelly said, "and I've done quite all right since in baseball. Sure there were some small paydays just starting out but I did better each season and now that I am on my way out I'm getting the best salary I ever received. According to what I read in the papers, I'm supposed to get well over $10,00 this year and from what I hear I won't even play much. I can live well enough on what I've saved from the game...I know that players I've talked to are against this bill. Bob Murphy said after the meeting that the subject had been sidetracked and the conversation wasn't pertinent. "Players did not jump to the Great Western League because they liked it." he declared. "It gave ordinary ballplayers and rookies a chance to make some money. Look at what the coast league can pay Woody Stone and tell me that owners here in the east, with bigger stadiums and more fans, are not paying the players far less than they should be earning." "Only three or four players have spoken to me recently on this reserve clause bill, but we talked about it two years ago before I went on with my union movement. Naturally, I couldn't have any of them here today as they would have been put on baseball's blacklist." "There are players who were shunted to the minors who could play in the big leagues if they were allowed to sell their services. But under existing contracts, they are sent wherever the owners want them to go." Murphy's bill is still under advisement, but it is believed the chance of being accepted is slim. CAN THE PIONEERS REPEAT? As several reporters gathered in Cuba for the tail end of the development league season much of the talk was centered around the St Louis Pioneers amazing rise from last in the Federal Association in 1946 to World Champions last season. "Did anyone see them coming?" and "Can't they repeat?" were the dominant questions and a few reporters weighed in with opinions. Here are some of their thoughts: JIGGS McGEE: This Week in Figment Baseball - I would say the Pioneers rise a year ago was completely unexpected. A number of papers do preseason predictions and while Dan Barrell's OSA forecasts had the Pioneers second and John Brinker must have some gypsy in his blood as only he picked them first. Meanwhile 4 others -myself included- had them last, another called for them to finish fourth and the final prediction tabbed the Pioneers for sixth in the Fed. The biggest surprise clearly was Danny Hern's Allen Award winning season. No way I see him winning 25 games again in '48 but the pitching staff should still be pretty good with Hackney and Hiram Steinberg. I have not done my '48 predictions yet but my early thinking is the St Louis ballclub had a one of those years when everything clicked - and probably long overdue because there were some hard luck years for the Pioneers before that- and I expect them to have a drop off. I think the Gothams have to be the team to beat, Washington will be there. Detroit and Philadelphia as well so I am leaning towards picking the Pioneers for 3rd, maybe fourth this season. However, I clearly underestimated them last year and may end up doing so again. PERCRY PRINGLE SR: Brooklyn Daily Eagle - The Rise of the Pioneers was shocking to me. I’d had them in the upper division some years but they always seemed to find a way to stumble. Hern’s season is a total shock. He isn’t the bum of '46 but likely not the shining star of '47. They have a very solid first 3 in the rotation but you can’t bank on Hern coming close again to his '47 season. They haven’t added anything and Gothams have gotten stronger. Detroit is young but a credible threat. So I’d say they are anywhere in that top division of teams. If I was picking right now I’d go Gothams, then really the next 4 in just about any order but I’d say Washington, St Louis, Chicago and then Detroit. Philly, Boston and Pittsburgh round out the FA JOHN BRINKER: New York Daily Mirror -Both the Federal and Continental Associations have a decent amount of parity. Looking at things right now, I'd agree with what Jiggs said: the Gothams (on paper) should win but I could see four, maybe five others who could win if the pieces fall into place as they did for St. Louis last season. The CA side, the Cougars would be my pick, but they've struggled to close the deal more often than not and anyone from the group of the Stars, Kings, Sailors and Cannons are certainly capable as well. And history has shown that surprising rises can and do occur. It's probably easier to say who won't win, and even then we get the occasional surprise. CUBAN LOOP TITLE CONTEST A REMATCH For the second year in a row the Cuban Winter League championship game will see the Havana Sharks face the Manzanillo Palms. A year ago the Sharks, who are supplied players by FABL's Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos, prevailed but the Palms, with a winter loop best 32-10 record, have to be the favourite this time around. The Palms, fed by the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones, went 3-3 head to head against Havana this season but overall the Sharks were just 23-19 although that was good enough for a 2-game bulge on Matanzas atop the West Division. It is expected the Sharks will send Stan Flanders (3-4, 4.48) to the mound in the title contest. The 25-year-old spent most of last season in the bullpen in Detroit's organization, posting 18 saves for AAA Newark. Foster Smith (6-2, 1.66) has been dominant for the Palms and will likely get the call from Manzanillo manager Bill Ramsey. The 23-year-old North Carolina native was originally a 6th round pick of the Chicago Cougars in 1942 but was sent to the New York Stars in '44 as part of the deal that brought veteran Billy Riley to the Windy City. Smith split last season between AA and AAA, posting a 15-6 record and is presently #52 on the OSA prospect list. Based on his season a year ago and a terrific showing in Cuba you have to think Smith stands a very good chance of cracking the Stars roster this spring.  ROLLIE BARRELL'S BOLD TALK SPARKS SPORTS SPAT In a recent Life magazine feature, the indomitable Rollie Barrell, the mastermind behind Detroit's esteemed Maroons football team and the Federal Basketball League's rising stars, stirred up a hornet's nest in the world of two sports. While the article lauded his remarkable contributions to the Motor City's sporting scene, Rollie's candid words and unwavering confidence managed to ruffle feathers in not one, but two major leagues. When queried about the challenges that pro football faces with two rival leagues vying for players and fans in some cities, Rollie, never one to mince words, made a suggestion that caught many off guard. He mused, "I can perhaps see a path to reconciliation between the AFA and CFC, whereby some of their clubs become AFA clubs." This remark struck a nerve with many Continental Football Conference owners, who wasted no time voicing their opposition in the local press. One of the loudest voices of dissent came from Ben Montgomery, the head of the Continental Conference, who rejected any idea of absorption into the AFA. He defiantly declared, "We are here to stay, and we dare any AFA club to face our best team. Our league's strength speaks for itself." Pete Walsh, the revered coach of the Kansas City Cowboys in the CFC, took a more measured stance, understanding Barrell's perspective. Walsh suggested that Rollie might be looking ahead to a future where the two leagues collaborate for their mutual survival. While no official response came from the American Football Association office, it was whispered that loop boss Jack Kristich and influential AFA owners privately expressed their displeasure at Rollie's remarks, feeling that it portrayed the CFC as comparable to their esteemed league. But Rollie didn't stop at football; he went on to stoke the embers in basketball as well. He particularly irked his former business partner in the old Federal Basketball League, Daniel Prescott, owner of the Brooklyn Red Caps, a formidable squad in the American Basketball Circuit. Barrell's words left Prescott miffed, as Rollie confidently proclaimed, "Our league will conquer in this war for the hearts of basketball fans, mark my words. We're here to make history and create the kind of organization that North American fans deserve!" Despite the backlash, Rollie stood his ground when approached by the Detroit Times, affirming his unwavering belief in both the American Football Association and the Federal Basketball Leagues. He boldly stated that both leagues will shine brightly in the future, rivaling the prominence of FABL in the current sports landscape. PACKERS START TO RUN AWAY FROM PACK The Chicago Packers extended their unbeaten streak to 4-games with a 2-0-1 week and have increased their lead on second place Montreal atop the North American Hockey Confederation standings to a full 10 points. The Packers are simply dominant in all facets of the game. Their 153 goals scored are 19 more than any other NAHC club and their big line of the Burns brothers, Tommy and Wes, along with Marty Mahoney is 1-2-3 in the league scoring parade. The Packers have allowed just 107 goals against this season -fewest in the NAHC and their goal differential of +46 is 33 better than any other club in the league. There are still 18 games remaining in the season but it certainly appears like the Packers will have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs and seem well positioned to claim the first Challenge Cup in franchise history. Toronto finally slowed down the Detroit Motors, snapping the Motors winning streak at 6 games with a lobsided 7-2 victory at Thompson Palladium yesterday. That slows the Motos momentum as they were desperately trying to claw into the playoff picture, which is very crowded with just 1 point separating 2nd place Montreal from both Toronto and Boston. The Motors are 5 points behind the Dukes and Bees. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 42 24 13 5 53 153 107
Montreal 42 19 18 5 43 134 138
Toronto 42 19 19 4 42 123 132
Boston 41 18 17 6 42 129 116
Detroit 42 17 22 5 37 111 144
New York 41 15 23 3 33 121 134
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 36 29 18 47
Mahoney, Chi 34 14 31 45
W Burns, Chi 40 12 30 42
Albers, NY 41 15 25 40
Cabbell, NY 40 26 12 38
Chandler, Bos 36 18 20 38
Skinner, Mon 42 17 21 38
Pollack, Tor 38 17 20 37
Lanceleve, Mon 42 13 24 37
Galbraith, Tor 42 16 20 36
Sauer, Tor 38 14 22 36
McGlynn, Chi 42 19 15 34
MacLean, Chi 38 10 23 33
Hart, Bos 40 16 16 32
Gregg, NY 36 15 17 32
Lynch, Mon 36 12 19 31
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 36 18 13 5 2 2.62
Brockers, Bos 25 11 10 4 1 2.80
James, Bos 16 7 7 2 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 30 12 14 2 3 2.95
Broadway, Tor 35 15 16 3 1 3.00
Touhey, Mon 33 17 14 1 1 3.31
Chasse, Det 36 15 17 3 2 3.46
Sorrell, NY 14 3 9 1 2 3.83
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28 Detroit 5 at 3 Boston: The suddenly red-hot Detroit Motors won their fifth straight game, topping Boston 5-3 thanks to a two goal, one assist effort from Dave Bradley while defenseman Alex Leveille chipped in with three assists. New York 3 at 3 Chicago: The visiting New York Shamrocks snapped a 3-game losing skid by earning a point from their visit to Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium. Chris Broeke and Laurel Albers gave the visitors a 2-0 first period lead but Jarrett McGlynn replied with two for the Packers in the second period to tie the game. Albers, with his second of the game, and Packers defenseman Jesse Santoro traded third period tallies. Montreal 3 at 1 Toronto: The visiting Valiants snapped an 8-game winless streak as Claude LeClerc's goal and assist helped Montreal to a 3-1 win over the Dukes. Clarence Skinner and Glen Whitley also scored for Montreal while Bobbie Sauer's third period marker accounted for all of the Toronto offense. SATURDAY JANUARY 31 Chicago 2 at 2 Boston: Another tight game between the two Challenge Cup finalists from last year. Boston is 3-2-3 in meetings between the two as this one ended in a draw after the hosts rallied for two goals in the final six minutes of the contest. Mo Masters and Moose Vezina had staked the Packers to a 2-0 first period lead but Wilbur Chandler cut the deficit in half with a goal at 14:35 of the third period and just under two minutes late Aelx Gagnon netted the equalizer for the Bees, who were outshot 32-24 in the game. New York 2 at 4 Montreal: The Valiants win their second in a row, doubling the Shamrocks 4-2 thanks to a pair of first period goals from Glen Whitley. Doug Lynch and Max Ducharme also scored for the Vals, with Jocke Gregg and Chris Broeke replying for the Shamrocks, who are winless in 5. Detroit 4 at 1 Toronto: The Motors continue to roll with their 6th straight victory while Toronto falls for the third consecutive game. Joe Todd and Miles Barfield gave the visitors a 2-0 first period lead with Dave Bradley and Adam Vanderbilt rounding out the scoring for the visitors. One of the few bright spots for the Dukes was Quinton Pollack scored the Toronto goal in his return to the line-up after a week's absence. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1 Montreal 4 at 6 Boston: Wilbur Chandler had 2 goals and 2 assists to pace Boston to a 6-4 victory at Denny Arena, ending Montreal's modest two game winning streak. The victory moves the Bees back to within a point of the second place Vals. Montreal will be without forward Brett Lanceleve for 3 games after he was suspended following a second period incident. Toronto 7 at 2 Detroit: The clock struck midnight on the Motors as their six-game winning streak came crashing down as Toronto clubbed the Detroiters 7-2 behind a hat trick from rookie Lou Galbraith. Les Carlson had 3 assists for the winners who are tied with Boston for third place, just 1 point back of second place Montreal. Chicago 9 at 4 New York: The league's best team faced the league's worst club and the result was to be expected, a 9-4 win for the visiting Packers. The big line had been quiet the past couple of days but exploded for 10 points in this one including 4 assists for Marty Mahoney. Tommy Burns scored twice and added a helper to retain his lead over Mahoney in the scoring race while Wes Burns had a goal and 2 assists. Chicago made it a rout early with a 5-goal outburst in the opening period to chase Alex Sorrell from the Greenshirts cage. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3 Detroit at Chicago WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4 Toronto at Boston New York at Detroit THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5 Chicago at Montreal SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7 Detroit at Montreal New York at Toronto SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8 New York at Chicago Boston at Detroit AROUND THE LEAGUE
 The week ahead sees the team heading to Boston for a Wednesday encounter with the Bees before hosting the Shamrocks on Saturday night. Bees are currently tied in the standings with Toronto while New York is beginning to feel a sense of desperation currently 9 points out of the a playoff spot with 19 to play. After the Saturday contest the Dukes have a week to prepare for Montreal in what is becoming a Saturday night tradition matching up the two Canadian teams. Injuries are become an issue in Toronto as it appears that 3 guys on the back end Martel, Gunner, Lumsen will miss the 2 games this week due to minor, nagging, injuries. Second round pick from this past summer's draft, Tom Atchinson, has been summoned from Cleveland to shore up the blue line. *** A TALK WITH JACK BARRELL *** Brett arranged a sit-down interview with Dukes headman Jack Barrell after his trip to Cuba to take in games with Wolves prospects in the Cuban Winter League. It was a long, wide ranging interview with the coach some of which is now ready for the Dukes faithful. Mail & Empire: With the NAHC season almost 2/3 complete the Dukes are in a playoff position. What are your initial impressions of the your return to Toronto after a few years away? Barrell: My return to the Dukes organization has been everything I thought it would be and more, Toronto is a hockey hotbed, the fans are extremely passionate, knowledgeable. They deserve a team in the thick of the NAHC race every year. I cannot begin to count the times I have been stopped on the street with questions, comments, suggestions about the Dukes. I listen intently to the comments because of the depth of the knowledge in the fan base. After these chance meetings I often find myself thinking "Should I try that...?" In Toronto you know every game, every in-game move will be endlessly debated with both positive, negative comments. There is no hiding in this market, the winter is dominated by the Dukes fortunes although I constantly hear talk about the Wolves, Titans. Fans live and die with their team in Toronto. Mail & Empire: After a 1946-47 season of disappointment at Dominion Gardens you seem to quickly turned the fortunes of the Dukes. At the end of January you have already amassed 5 more points in 39 games than the team tallied last season. Barrell: The credit for the turnaround all goes to the players. The staff has given the players a system, it is the player's job to follow the system that the staff believes will lead to wins. From the day I took over the position of head coach I saw that for the Dukes to be successful we would have be sound in our own zone. From Day One in our Northern Ontario training camp the stress has been on keeping the puck out of our net. We have the perfect man between the pipes in Broadway to make that a winning strategy. The players are probably sick of our stressing defense, tight checking first but there will be no change in the message in the near future. Mail & Empire: The system seems to be working. Barrell: Yes and No, I still believe we are giving far too many goals. At 123 the Dukes have given up the third most goals in the league. Granted some of those goals were given up early in the season when there were breakdowns, if we get caught looking down at the puck, running around in our zone the result is generally the red light going on behind our net. We constantly stress to the players to just do their own job in coverage no more, no less, defensive play is hard work with very little glory, everyone has to buy into the system. Fans generally do not notice a stellar defensive play, it is usually very subtle but it gives the Dukes puck possession. Be assured the coaches notice the play then give the player or unit kudos for the effort. The first thing discussed after a shift or between periods is the play in our end. We have been getting better but there is still a long way to go, if we make the playoffs the team will have to be better in preventing goals to advance, checking is much tighter in the post season. Mail & Empire: Any other comments? Barrell: Yes, I would like to tell the fans that this just the first step in a multi season progression. It will continue to be built around defensive soundness. I do not see the Dukes becoming an offensive juggernaut in the short term. We cannot match the Packers at their game. One mistake against them the faceoff is at center after the ref pulls the puck out of the net. I ask the fans to recognize our team for what it is, pay attention to work the players are putting in to keep the puck out of our net along with celebrating the goals. With 21 games left we can improve in all areas of the game then enter the playoffs on a hot streak. The Dukes will continue to celebrate team victories not individual accomplishments. The longer season has led to more injuries, there are two guys who have been out all season, Roy, Beam, hopefully we will healthy when the 60-game concludes towards the end of March.  DIVISION LEADERS EXTEND LEADS The two Federal Association leaders are threatening to run away with things after both Philadelphia and Chicago went 3-0 last week to extend their leads in each of the Federal Basketball League divisions. The Phantoms moved three and a half games ahead of second place Baltimore atop the East Division after winning 4 in a row, including a pair over the Barons. In the West, the defending league champion Chicago Wildcats are now 9 games up on second place Detroit after a stretch that has seen the Windy City quintet win 6 in a row and 14 of its last 15 games. That lead seems sure to hit double-digits this week as the Wildcats play a home and home series with Detroit, a team they have beaten 5 times in 6 games over their long streak. The Chicago Daily News reports another Player of the Month for Richard Campbell and Rookie of the Month for Joe Hampton of the Wildcats. This time, Hampton was the one to take home Player of the Week as Campbell is dealing with a nagging knee injury. Campbell (21.1, 15.3, 1.0), Hampton (12.3, 9.2, 9.6), and Cory Myers (9.6, 13.5, 1.2) have been an unstoppable top three for the Panthers, who are 20-5 and hold what feels like an insurmountable 9 game lead over the 2nd place Detroit Mustangs. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 19 7 .731 - Baltimore 15 10 .600 3.5 Buffalo 10 15 .400 8.5 Toronto 6 18 .250 12.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 20 5 .800 - Detroit 11 14 .440 9.0 Cincinnati 10 15 .400 10.0 Cleveland 9 16 .360 11.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Richard Campbell, CHI 21.1 Larry Yim, BUF 20.1 David Reed, DET 19.0 Jamel Porter, TOR 18.8 Danny Hendon, PHI 18.2 Jack Hirst, BAL 17.0 George Kelley, CLE 16.4 Jack Kurtz, DET 16.2 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.4 Herb Hobbs, CLE 14.3 STATESMEN EXTEND STREAK TO ELEVEN The Washington Statesmen winning streak reached 11 games as the defending American Basketball Conference champions won three more times last week. The run of victories continued Tuesday at the National Auditorium when Charles Hooper scored 22 points to key a 95-87 victory over the visiting Richmond Clippers, who are second in the West Division but now 5.5 games behind the front-running Statesmen. Washington followed that up with an 89-76 win over Pittsburgh at the Aud as 3 Statesmen -Hooper, Ivan Sisco and Michael Leftwich- each had at least 20 points. Last night in Pittsburgh, the Statesmen rode a 30 point effort from Leftwich to a 102-88 victory. The East has the tightest race in professional basketball with the Brooklyn Red Caps, long dominant in the division, holding a 1.5 game lead on the Boston Centurions. The Red Caps were home for 3 games last week and won each of them while Boston had to settle for a split of its two games in New York. The Knights, who recently suffered through a 10-game losing skid, seemed to have turned the corner with 4 wins in their last five outings but still own the worst record in the ABC. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 20 10 .667 - Boston 18 11 .621 1.5 Hartford 12 19 .387 8.5 New York 9 19 .321 10.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 19 6 .760 - Richmond 17 15 .531 5.5 Rochester 11 18 .379 10.0 Pittsburgh 11 19 .367 10.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Charles Hooper, WAS 19.4 James Phillips, HAR 19.3 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.1 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.0 John Rodrigez, HAR 19.0 Gerald Carter, BOS 18.4 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.0 Norm Yates, RIC 17.4 Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.0  Messer, the star big man for the two-time AIAA tournament finalist Bells, remains among the nation's leaders in both points and rebounds and seems to be a lock to be a first-team All-American selection for the second straight year and perhaps will also lay claim to the Barrette Trophy, which is presented to the top collegiate player in the nation. Long Werth, now with the Boston Centurions, won the award each of the past two years. There are three outstanding guards availble in Ziggy Rickard, a solid two-way player out of Central Ohio, leading the way. CCLA's Gerald Cheek is averaging over 13 points a game but the best pure scorer might be Charles Cleary of Central Kentucky. The Alabama native led the nation in points a year ago and is battling Messer for top spot this season. Cleary is on a pace where he might crack the top 5 all-time in career collegiate scoring. Messer has company among big men as Billy Bob McCright of Bayou State and powerful Lon Nissen of defending National Champion Whitney College will each attract a lot of attention come draft time. POINT BATTLE PERKS UP INTEREST ON CAGE FRONT The two-way scrap between Charles Cleary of Central Kentucky and All-American Ward Messer of Liberty College for the individual scoring championship commanded attention in college basketball as the section slate is now in full swing. Pouring in 286 points in 17 games, Cleary is averaging 16.8 per contest, while Messer -an All-American as a junior a year ago at Liberty College, is hot on his heels, scoring at a 16.0 clip with 351 points in 22 games. Making things more interesting is Messer, the big senior forward/center who is a candidate for National Player of the Year, is also among the leaders in rebounds with an average of 9.6 boards per game. Only Peter Collett of Henry Hudson University and Northern California's Winford Corrigan have averaged more. Messer seems a lock to be a high pro pick next season while Cleary, who has helped lead the Tigers to a 14-3 record, has seen his stock rise in the eyes of pro scouts as well.   Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (59) 15-2 1785 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Rainier College (11) 17-1 1707 2 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Carolina Poly (2) 16-2 1671 3 South Atlantic Conference
4. Central Ohio 15-2 1536 5 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Whitney College 15-2 1524 9 Great Lakes Alliance
6. Mississippi A&M 17-2 1400 7 Deep South Conference
7. Liberty College 17-5 1347 8 Indy
8. CC Los Angeles 16-2 1338 4 West Coast Athletic Association
9. Noble Jones College 16-3 1253 10 Deep South Conference
10. Lane State 17-4 1134 13 West Coast Athletic Association
11. Brunswick 15-4 1039 17 Academia Alliance
12. Detroit City College 13-4 992 6 Great Lakes Alliance
13. Coastal California 14-4 889 15 West Coast Athletic Association
14. Bayou State 14-4 851 12 Deep South Conference
15. Redwood 15-3 808 14 West Coast Athletic Association
16. Lambert College 17-3 803 11 Midwestern Association
17. Texas Gulf Coast 14-4 607 21 Southwestern Alliance
18. Frankford State 20-5 545 18 Indy
19. Great Plains State 17-4 483 22 Indy
20. Travis College 16-3 476 16 Southwestern Alliance
21. Alabama Baptist 14-3 362 23 Deep South Conference
22. Perry State College 18-5 280 NR Indy
23. Central Kentucky 14-3 216 19 Deep South Conference
24. Pittsburgh State 17-5 180 NR Indy
25. Indiana A&M 13-4 88 20 Great Lakes Alliance
Others Receiving Votes:
St. Blane 15-8 63 Indy
North Carolina Tech 12-6 10 South Atlantic Conference
Needham 14-4 8 Indy
Columbia Military Academy 13-5 3 South Atlantic Conference
Lubbock State 14-7 1 Southwestern Alliance
University of New Jersey 12-4 1 Eastern Six
MONDAY JANUARY 26 #11 Brunswick 62, at #18 Frankford State 53 at #14 Bayou State 70, Abilene Baptist 44 TUESDAY JANUARY 27 at #7 Liberty College 67, University of New Jersey 66 Canyon A&M 69, at #20 Travis College 58 at #21 Alabama Baptist 47, St Andrews College 39 #22 Perry State College 63, at Western Montana 60 at #24 Pittsburgh State 55, Strub College 42 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28 #6 Mississippi A&M 61, at Darnell State 36 College of Cairo 59, at #14 Bayou State 51 at #19 Great Plains State 56, Dudley 36 THURSDAY JANUARY 29 #1 Western Iowa 50, at Wisconsin State 45 #3 Carolina Poly 59, at Cowpens State 49 #4 Central Ohio 66, at St. Magnus 42 #5 Whitney College 64, at #12 Detroit City College 54 College of Omaha 55, at #7 Liberty College 50 at #25 Indiana A&M 39, Minnesota Tech 28 FRIDAY JANUARY 30 at #2 Rainier College 56, Idaho A&M 41 #8 CC Los Angeles 62, at Spokane State 47 at #10 Lane State 44, Northern California 42 Portland Tech 44, at #13 Coastal California 36 #15 Redwood 53, at Custer College 50 #22 Perry State College 72, at #16 Lambert College 41 #17 Texas Gulf Coast 42, at Arkansas A&T 30 #19 Great Plains State 59, at Payne State 48 at #21 Alabama Baptist 47, Glover (GA) 29 SATURDAY JANUARY 31 at #1 Western Iowa 54, #12 Detroit City College 37 #3 Carolina Poly 54, at Coastal State 39 #4 Central Ohio 44, at Minnesota Tech 41 #5 Whitney College 58, at #25 Indiana A&M 49 at #6 Mississippi A&M 53, Wichita Baptist 47 #11 Brunswick 55, at George Fox 48 at #14 Bayou State 55, Ferguson 47 at #17 Texas Gulf Coast 53, Red River State 35 #18 Frankford State 52, at Adirondack State 47 #20 Travis College 52, at Miners College 30 SUNDAY FERUARY 1 #2 Rainier College 32, at Portland Tech 28 #13 Coastal California 45, at #8 CC Los Angeles 43 at #10 Lane State 63, Spokane State 51 at #15 Redwood 57, Northern California 39 #22 Perry State College 46, at Rock Island 35 #24 Pittsburgh State 45, at Harper College 36 BIG CROWD WITNESSES GARDENS HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWCASE Bigsby Garden was filled to the rafters Thursday evening for one of the best heavyweight cards the famous New York arena has seen in recent years. The co-headliners were a pair of the best fighters around, outside of Hector Sawyer of course. Mark Fountain, who lasted 12 rounds against Sawyer a little over a year ago made short work of Dave Kennedy in claiming a second round TKO victory. The win runs Fountain's record to 23-4-1 and looks to have the 29-year-old New York pugilist back on track after successive losses to Sawyer and Syl Vaughn last year. The other big fight on the night saw veteran Boston battler Roy Crawford score a clear and unanimous decision over Glenn Hairston (25-10-2). The Boston Bomber is 26-3 and certainly seems deserving of a title shot, something he has yet to receive in a fight career that dates back to 1939. One other fight of note last week was also a heavyweight match. Detroit's Thompson Palladium was the venue as rising young Kentucky native Lewis Jones improved to 15-1 after the 22-year-old claimed a unanimous decision in a 10-rounder with veteran Motor City fighter Marvin Martin (18-11-4). UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/01/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-07-2023 at 02:40 PM. |
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08-08-2023, 10:56 AM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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February 9, 1948
FEBRUARY 9, 1948 UPHILL BATTLE FOR MINUTEMEN? Club Management Doesn't Think So The Boston Minutemen won a pair of pennants and a World Championship Series title this decade and were a second place team in the Federal Association just two years ago but as we look ahead to spring training next month one can't help but feel the Minutemen are old, and like Ponce de Leon it seems that it will take nothing less than the discovery of a fountain of youth in Florida this spring to allow the Minutemen to avert another long season like the one they endured in 1947. Boston was 70-84 and 7th place in the Federal Association last season: their worst showing since a 94-loss campaign in 1933. There are concerns things will only get worse this time around with most of the worries revolving around the mound. Pitchers Dean Astle and Ed Wood have both retired leaving only Ray Dalpman as a viable middle to top of the rotation arm. Walt Wells is 40 years old and perhaps should also have retired. Duke Hendricks and John Edwards are both 31 but neither has lived up to the promise each showed as first round draft picks. Beyond that pickings are very slim. Age is also quickly becoming a factor in the everyday lineup as Joe Watson and Rip Curry are both 38 years old. Bill Moore, Chick Donnelly, Art Spencer and Pete Day are all 36. Even Harry Barrell is 34 and Billy Dalton 33. The good news is the situation is not quite as dire as on the mound because most of those listed above are expected to still be productive this year but there is doubt they can contribute enough to offset what looks like a pitching staff that will struggle. More positive news is the fact that there is a pretty solid crop of young talent on the way up with names like Yank Taylor, Marshall Thomas, Dick Helfand and Alf Keeter on the tips of the tongue for most scouts asked to discuss the Boston farm system. The issue is many of those are still a year, perhaps more away from being ready for Minutemen Stadium. That could mean for some very lean times in '48 and maybe even 1949 and the high competition level in the Federal Association seems to significantly reduce the odds of the Boston nine competing for a flag in the near future. With that in mind perhaps now is the time to follow the Pittsburgh Miners lead and send Dalpman and Barrell elsewhere in hopes of jump starting their revival. That very question, and others. were posed recently to the Boston management team when TWIFB sat down with Boston Assistant General Manager/Scouting Director Johnny Robards. TWIFB: Boston seems at a crossroads. Pittsburgh has gone full rebuild. The Minutemen have not been that drastic but it feels to an outsider that the club is in transition with Astle and Wood leaving. Pete Day, Bill Moore, Chick Donnelly, Ed Watson even Harry Barrell are getting older. Can Boston win with this group still or is it closing in on time to move a valuable piece like Harry or Dalpman to hasten the retool? Johnny Robards: While we loved everything Dean and Ed brought to our organization we did the majority of our winning without those two pitchers last season. For Astle it was the second major injury in the matter of two seasons and we didn't have him for the entire campaign so we were not surprised when he hung it up. He was such a fierce competitor, so we understood how tough of a decision it must have been. With Ed it was another situation where he didn't want to continue if he couldn't be a top end hurler. We had discussions with Ed over the course of the season so we were not caught at all by surprise when he decided to hang them up. You opened the question by using the word "crossroads", well that is certainly fair. We could have easily initiated deals to part ways with both Ray Dalpman and/or Harry Barrell. First, we really didn't get offers we considered were in the best interest of our organization and second is how good does a pitching staff have to be to win? We do not deny that New York and St. Louis look to have strong rotations but pitching can very fickle year to year. Our position is that there is a lot of uncertainty in the rotations in the FA. We feel offense backed by a solid fielding club defensively, is a viable strategy when organizations are simply unwilling to move top quality pitching. TWIFB: Is it correct to assume from that you feel your offense is capable of carrying the club? Johnny Robards: (nodding) It is our thought that we will be able to hit enough to compete or to overcome some of our pitching challenges. Offensively, we gave the respect that was due to some veteran players and made sure we had exhausted every option before we went into a more youthful direction. One of those players is Ben McCarty. The kid can play and he is going to get every opportunity next season. Billy Dalton and Harry Barrell are two of the best in the FABL. Buddy Schneider is a fantastic defender that we feel still has potential to break out with the bat. Pete Day is still a high end player. 24 year old Hal Renard is going to get more opportunities this season as well at 1B. Once again crossroads is a good term because if it doesn't work we feel we will still be able to move players as teams get significantly more desperate at the deadline. As for our pitching we know Dalpman is the ace followed by Hendricks and Edwards then it will be a trial by fire for a few players. We made a couple Rule V moves to increase the competition for those bottom two spots. TWIFB: Where do you see the Minutemen finishing in the Fed this season? Johnny Robards: Your guess would be as good as anyone else's. Of course New York will get all the usual love while complaining that the league is conspiring against them. St. Louis is the defending champion. Barrell may hit 70 in Philly so watch them. Washington was the St. Louis of two years ago. Detroit is always in the mix and Chicago has made some savvy deals to get themselves there as well. We feel we can compete and land somewhere in the first division and with a few breaks you never know, crazier things have happened. TWIFB: Your primary duty in Boston is to head the scouting staff. How do you think your daft went? Johnny Robards: We were really excited to see what we think is a game changing shortstop fall to us at 11 in Joe Kleman. We had him as one of the top guys in this draft and maybe the break we needed since those lottery balls have not been kind to us in Boston. It was really nice to be able to fill what we think will be a passing of the torch situation when Harry is ready to retire. With the changing of the rules (eliminating the ability to trade draft picks) drafting and development is going to be even more of a focus than it has ever been in the FABL. Gone are the days when a team could mortgage their draft capital for instant talent. Boston, like many others had used that philosophy in the past but were quick enough to feel the winds of change on the horizon a few years back. We made an organizational decision to rebuild our farm system which ranked dead last for some time. We still have some way to go but are extremely excited about some of the young talent we have playing in our minor leagues. TWIFB: Let's talk about your minor league system. Who should we be watching out for? Johnny Robards : Yank Taylor is showing good pop and is our top prospect. Marshall Thomas is a 19 year old second baseman with loads of talent. Dick Helfand may even make this team out of spring training. Art Keeter will pitch at AA or AAA to start the season. Danny Taylor, Ernie Martin and Virgil Harris are also looking good. Then you add Kleman and a few others from the '48 class to the list we are moving in the right direction with our development plan. This was the first in a series of previews looking at several FABL clubs as we approach the start of spring training March 1. HAVANA SHARKS CLASS OF CUBAN LOOP ONCE MORE For the second year in a row the Havana Sharks have been crowned champions of the Cuban Winter League. The loop, started in 1946 by FABL as a way to showcase elite talent on the verge of challenging for a big league job, completed its successful second season on Monday with a single elimination championship game. The result was the same as in the debut year with the East Division champion Havana Sharks beating the western winner Manzanillo Palms in the title game. The Sharks were comprised of players from the Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos while the Palms are supplied talent by the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones. The championship game finished in a 8-5 victory for the visiting Sharks during a game which had plenty of drama despite threatening to be a blowout when the Sharks scored 5 times in the top of the first inning. Manzanillo clawed back and score 3 times in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks in no small part to a 2-run homer off the bat of Bob Blackwell before the Sharks put the game away in the top of the ninth when Cannons outfield prospect Gordie Stevens delivered a 2-run homer. Stevens, who went 3-for-4 in the game, was named the most valuable player. Biff Turner went 7 inning for Havana to claim the victory while Bill Chapman, who is expected to push for a spot on the Stars pitching staff this spring, had a rough outing in taking the loss while lasting just 2 innings and allowing 5 earned runs. Another New York Stars pitching prospect, Foster Smith, was named the top player in the Cuban League. The 23-year-old went 6-2 with a 1.87 era over 9 starts for Manzanillo.
ROUGH WEEK FOR VALIANTS The Montreal Valiants were thumped 7-1 by Chicago on Thursday night before recovering to tie Detroit Saturday but the bigger loss for the Vals came on the injury front with two top-tier defensemen and a centerman all suffering injuries. The largest blow was the news that Shel Herron will miss at least a month with a shoulder injury while Bryant Williams, who came over from Detroit with Herron in a December trade, will also miss a few days with a shin injury. To make matters worse the short-staffed Valiants were forced to play without 31-point scorer Max Ducharme on Saturday against Detroit and winger Rey Sclisizzi will also miss a couple of weeks with an elbow issue. Then there is Bert Lanceleve, who has 37 points in 42 games but missed both of last week's outings due to a suspension from an incident in Boston last week and still has one more game to serve. The week also saw Montreal drop to third, a point behind the Boston Bees, who also enjoy a game in hand on the Valiants. The Bees picked up 3 of a possible 4 points over the course of the week but are 14 points back of first place Chicago after the Packers won all three of their games last week and are 5-0-2 over their last seven contests. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 45 27 13 5 59 170 112
Boston 43 19 17 7 45 135 119
Montreal 44 19 19 6 44 138 148
Toronto 44 19 21 4 42 126 142
Detroit 46 17 24 5 39 120 160
New York 44 17 24 3 37 137 145
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 39 34 20 54
Mahoney, Chi 37 16 34 50
W Burns, Chi 43 12 33 45
Cabbell, NY 43 30 14 44
Albers, NY 44 16 27 43
Chandler, Bos 38 19 21 40
Pollack, Tor 40 18 20 38
Skinner, Mon 44 17 21 38
McGlynn, Chi 45 20 17 37
Galbraith, Tor 44 16 21 37
Sauer, Tor 40 14 23 37
Lanceleve, Mon 42 13 24 37
Hart, Bos 42 18 18 36
Gregg, NY 39 16 19 35
MacLean, Chi 41 12 23 35
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 38 20 13 5 2 2.59
Brockers, Bos 27 12 10 5 1 2.71
James, Bos 16 7 7 2 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 33 14 15 2 3 3.02
Broadway, Tor 37 15 18 3 1 3.08
Touhey, Mon 35 17 15 2 1 3.39
Chasse, Det 38 15 18 4 2 3.44
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3 Detroit 1 at 4 Chicago : Chicago is unbeaten in five games after a 4-1 victory in a rare Tuesday NAHC contest. Tommy Burns scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season to equal and surpass his league leading total of a year ago. WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4 Toronto 1 at 4 Boston: The Dukes have just 1 win in their last five games after falling 4-1 in Boston. Tommy Hart had the hot hand for the winners as he was involved in all 4 Bees goals, scoring twice while assisting on markers from Wilbur Chandler and Craig Simpson. New York 7 at 3 Detroit : Detroit lost for the second time in as many nights as the Motors, who had a late train ride in from Chicago overnight, led 2-0 after twenty minutes before running out of gas and falling 7-3. Orval Cabbell paced the Shamrocks attack with 3 goals and an assist while Jim Macek and Sam Coates each enjoyed 3 point evenings. The victory snaps a 6-game winless streak for New York. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5 Chicago 7 at 1 Montreal : A dominant victory on the road for the high flying Packers who were led once more by Tommy Burns with 2 goals. Jeremy MacLean also scored twice for the Packers, who are now unbeaten in their last six games, while Jarrett McGlynn had a goal and two helpers. Montreal netminder Mahlon Touhey did not survive the first period, being pulled after allowing 4 Chicago goals on just 12 shots. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7 Detroit 3 at 3 Montreal : Detroit ended a 3-game losing streak while Montreal rallied for a 3-3 tie two nights after being embarrassed on home ice by Chicago. The Vals needed two third period goals including Adam Sandford's 7th of the season with less than 5 minutes remaining to salvage a point out of the game. New York 6 at 2 Toronto : The Shamrocks won for the second game in a row while the Dukes lost for the 5th time in their last six games. Six different Shamrocks found the back of the net including Orval Cabbell, who scored his 30th of the season. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8 New York 3 at 6 Chicago : The Packers improved to 4-0 in February by doubling the visiting New York Shamrocks 6-3. Tommy Burns and Marty Mahoney each had a goal and two assists as the home side exploded for four answered goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to pull out the victory. Boston 2 at 2 Detroit : Spencer Larocque's fifth goal of the season early in the third period allowed to Detroit to claim a tie for the second night in a row. Adam Vanderbilt had given the Motors an early lead but Joe Morey scored twice for Boston in a game that the Motors outshot the Bees 31-14. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11 Chicago at Boston SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 New York at Boston Montreal at Toronto SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15 Detroit at Boston Montreal at Chicago Toronto at New York AROUND THE LEAGUE
More telling was the loss at home on Saturday night to the Shamrocks. Hoping to put further doubt in minds of the New York squad chasing a playoff berth, the Dukes instead were again victimized with 2 goals in last 5 minutes in both the first and second periods. An unflattering 6-2 loss had Barrell close the dressing room to reporters but the assembled scribes could hear, but not make out all the words, in the post game tirade by the staff. Netminder Gordie Broadway had two substandard games allowing 10 goals on 53 shots. Going into 6 days off before hosting Montreal at home on Saturday the team will probably be put through their paces in tough daily practices in preparation for what seems to be a critical game. On the injury front it appears that Gunner will be back although Martel and Lumsen remain, at best, questionable. At the moment the Toronto Dukes continue to hang on to the last playoff spot but must shake themselves out of their February funk. ALL-STAR GAMES SIGNAL MID-POINT OF PRO CAGE SEASON Taking a page out of FABL, the two professional basketball leagues each contested their all-star games over the weekend, announcing the unofficial mid-point of their seasons. The Federal League all-star starters were primarily from the loop's two dominant teams with four Chicago Panthers and three Philadelphia Phantoms being selected to start the game. The Panthers split a pair of games early in the week, falling by 22 points in the Motor City on Wednesday before winning by 20 at Lakeside Arena the following evening. Like those results, there is little competition at the top of the West Division with the Panthers 21-6 record the class of the pro game and a full 9 games up on the 12-15 Detroit Mustangs, who hold down second place in the West. The race in the East is much closer one with the 19-8 Philadelphia Phantoms holing a 2.5 game lead on second place Baltimore. In the American Basketball Conference it is the Washington Statesmen that continue to thrive. The defending loop champions played just once last week, downing Pittbsurgh 103-82 behind 23 points from league scoring leader Charles Hooper. That was the 12th victory in a row for the DC quintet, which has not lost since December 27. In the East the Brooklyn Red Caps continue to hold a slim lead on the second place Boston Centurions with both clubs falling short in their only game last week. ALL-STAR GAME RESULTS The Federal Basketball League all-star game was won 106-95 by the East Division stars as Philadelphia's Irvin Mudd came off the bench to score 24 points and be named the player of the game. The ABC game saw the West Division prevail 114-97 behind the scoring exploits of a pair of Washington Statesmen. Ivan Sisco led all players with 22 points while his Washington teammate and ABC scoring leader Charles Hooper added 16 points and 10 rebounds.  Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 19 8 .704 - Baltimore 16 10 .615 2.5 Buffalo 11 15 .423 7.5 Toronto 6 19 .240 12.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 21 6 .778 - Detroit 12 15 .444 9.0 Cincinnati 10 16 .385 10.5 Cleveland 10 16 .385 10.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Richard Campbell, CHI 20.8 Larry Yim, BUF 20.5 David Reed, DET 19.1 Jamel Porter, TOR 18.5 Danny Hendon, PHI 17.9 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.9 Jack Kurtz, DET 16.9 George Kelley, CLE 16.3 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.6 Herb Hobbs, CLE 14.3  Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 20 11 .645 - Boston 18 12 .600 1.5 Hartford 13 19 .406 7.5 New York 10 19 .345 9.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 20 6 .769 - Richmond 17 16 .515 6.5 Rochester 12 18 .400 10.0 Pittsburgh 11 20 .355 11.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Charles Hooper, WAS 19.5 John Rodrigez, HAR 19.3 James Phillips, HAR 19.2 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.1 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.9 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.1 Gerald Carter, BOS 18.0 Norm Yates, RIC 17.7 Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0 Terry Flowers, ROC 16.8 LIBERTY COLLEGE CONTINUES TO CLIMB IN RANKINGS The Liberty College Bells had a rough start to the season with 4 losses in their first 11 games but since then they have been making a steady ascent up the college basketball rankings. Liberty College, which has three National Titles since 1936 and reached the championship game only to fall just short each of the past two seasons, had been counted out early with losses to lightly reagarded Huntington State, Troy State and Brooklyn Catholic but they turned the corner just after Christmas and have won 13 of their last 14 games including dominant victories over St. Martin's College and Cesar Rodney last week. Senior Ward Messer, younger brother of the New York Gothams star outfielder, was a first-team All-American selection a year ago and is the odds on favourite for national player of the year as he challenges for the nation lead in points and rebounds. Messer, who is expected to be a high draft pick in either the ABC or FBL next season, is averaging 16.0 ppg, second in the nation behind only Central Kentucky senior guard Charles Cleary, who is looking to be the nation's top scorer for the second consecutive season. Messer is averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, trailing only Peter Collett (10.3) of Henry Hudson University and Northern California's Win Corrigan (9.8) in that category. Messer had 20 points and 15 boards in Friday's 63-33 win over Cesar Rodney. Western Iowa, which currently shares the Great Lakes Alliance lead with Central Ohio and Whitney College at 5-1, continues to lead the national rankings. The 17-2 Canaries only loss in their last 14 games came to the Engineers a couple of weeks ago. They won both of their GLA section games over the weekend, topping Minnesota Tech 57-50 in Minneapolis on Thursday before smashing St. Magnus 74-41 Saturday behind a 15 point effort from Willy Ludwick. South Atlantic Conference power Carolina Poly and coast outfit Rainier College hold down the second and third rankings but they flipped spots this week after the Majestics were upended 46-33 in Los Angeles by Coastal California. Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (68) 17-2 1795 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Carolina Poly (3) 18-2 1726 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. Rainier College (1) 18-2 1632 2 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Liberty College 20-5 1515 7 Indy
5. CC Los Angeles 18-2 1495 8 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Whitney College 16-3 1490 5 Great Lakes Alliance
7. Central Ohio 16-3 1406 4 Great Lakes Alliance
8. Noble Jones College 17-3 1252 9 Deep South Conference
9. Coastal California 16-4 1248 13 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Detroit City College 15-4 1144 12 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Mississippi A&M 17-3 1062 6 Deep South Conference
12. Redwood 17-3 1009 15 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Lambert College 18-3 903 16 Midwestern Association
14. Bayou State 15-4 871 14 Deep South Conference
15. Texas Gulf Coast 16-4 787 17 Southwestern Alliance
16. Brunswick 16-5 768 11 Academia Alliance
17. Lane State 17-6 625 10 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Great Plains State 18-4 581 19 Indy
19. Frankford State 21-5 535 18 Indy
20. St. Blane 17-8 432 NR Indy
21. Alabama Baptist 15-4 292 21 Deep South Conference
22. North Carolina Tech 14-6 257 NR South Atlantic Conference
23. Perry State College 19-6 197 22 Indy
24. Central Kentucky 15-4 140 23 Deep South Conference
25. Needham 17-4 83 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Travis College 16-5 60 Southwestern Alliance
Pittsburgh State 17-6 49 Indy
Indiana A&M 14-5 20 Great Lakes Alliance
University of New Jersey 14-5 11 Eastern Six
Columbia Military Academy 14-6 6 South Atlantic Conference
Holland 14-5 5 Central Athletic Alliance
Dickson 14-8 2 Academia Alliance
Johnston Tech 17-6 2 Indy
 LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 TEAMS MONDAY FEBRUARY 2 at #18 Great Plains State 43, El Paso Methodist 26 #21 Alabama Baptist 58, at Adirondack State 48 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3 at #19 Frankford State 53, #24 Central Kentucky 52 #20 St. Blane 52, at Pittsburgh State 44 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4 at #4 Liberty College 71, St. Martin's College 35 #16 Brunswick 54, at Pierpont 45 Grange College 54, at #23 Perry State College 35 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5 #1 Western Iowa 57, at Minnesota Tech 50 at #2 Carolina Poly 51, Petersburg 37 St. Magnus 64, at #6 Whitney College 47 at #7 Central Ohio 49, St. Ignatius 41 at #10 Detroit City College 62, Lincoln 51 #22 North Carolina Tech 54, at Chesapeake State 46 #25 Needham 55, at Rome State 39 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 at #4 Liberty College 63, Caesar Rodney 33 #5 CC Los Angeles 60, at Northern California 47 at #9 Coastal California 46, #3 Rainier College 34 at #12 Redwood 51, Spokane State 34 #15 Texas Gulf Coast 57, at Lubbock State 53 at Idaho A&M 45, #17 Lane State 37 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7 at #1 Western Iowa 74, St. Magnus 41 #2 Carolina Poly 73, at Columbia Military Academy 65 at #6 Whitney College 52, #7 Central Ohio 49 at #8 Noble Jones College 44, Opelika State 36 at #10 Detroit City College 35, Indiana A&M 33 at Baton Rouge State 44, #11 Mississippi A&M 39 #13 Lambert College 55, at Freemont State 52 #14 Bayou State 71, at Western Florida 57 #15 Texas Gulf Coast 54, at Travis College 44 at #20 St. Blane 59, Brooklyn State 48 Georgia Baptist 45, at #21 Alabama Baptist 39 at #22 North Carolina Tech 64, Cowpens State 40 at #24 Central Kentucky 49, Northern Mississippi 35 #25 Needham 54, at St. Pancras 44 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8 at #3 Rainier College 57, Custer College 30 #5 CC Los Angeles 39, at Portland Tech 28 at #9 Coastal California 59, Northern California 53 #12 Redwood 60, at #17 Lane State 47 at #23 Perry State College 62, Poweshiek 39 SAWYER EXPECTED TO FACE CASE IN JUNE World heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer will make one more appearance on American soil before he embarks on a European tour. That is the word from Chester Conley, long-time manager of The Cajun Crusher, who says the fight will take place in New York City in June. No date has been finalized and the venue is not yet confirmed but expected to be Gothams Stadium. What Conley did confirm this week is the opponent for Sawyer will be Steve Case. Case is a 27-year-old New York native with a 18-1-2 career record. Like most of the fighters around these days, his career had a 4-year interuption due to the war, but aside from a majority draw in 1945 with Doug Thomas, he has won all 13 fights since his return to the professional ring in February 1945. Most of Case's opponents have been tomato cans, but he did game some noterioty with a unanimous decision in December over the previously unbeaten Harvey Winter. Case is slated to fight Ron Ramsey in Hartford next month and assuming he comes up with another victory he will face Sawyer in June. Few, if any, give Case any hope of defeating the champ, who is 57-3-1 and will be making his 10th title defense since claiming the belt in a 1940 bout with German Jochen Schrotter.  FORMER WELTER CHAMP O'KEEFE CONTINUES TO CLAW BACK Dennis O'Keefe, known to his fans as "The Jacksonville Jackhammer" was the first post-war welterweight champ but lost the title as quickly as he won it -by falling to Mark Westlake in his first title defense. He dropped his next fight as well, falling by decision to Willis May that sent him tumbling out of the contender list in the welter division. Now he is trying to rebound and did so very nicely in Philadelphia last week, dominating a pretty good fighter in John Gregory in claiming a 4th round knock out at Keystone Arena. It was just the result O'Keefe needed and marked his second straight knock out win after the back to back losses and might just lead to a chance to fight current title holder Harold Stephens for the belt. O'Keefe improved to 21-3 with the victory, while Gregory drops to 18-3-1. One other fight of note last week saw Canadian middleweght Adrian Petrie run his record to 15-1-1 when the Montreal native took a 10-round decision from P.J. Whitaker. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/08/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-09-2023, 09:45 AM
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#764 |
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Hall Of Famer
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February 16, 1948
FEBRUARY 16, 1948 LOCAL SPORTS CLUB'S RELEVANT AGAIN IN NATION'S CAPITAL Eagles Enjoying Life in First Division More than two decades have passed since Washington DC was the capital of baseball as well as the nation. That was in the early 1920s when the Eagles were winning 3 pennants and a World Championship in a 4 year span and baseball was discussed nearly as often as politics in DC back in those days. Then came a twenty year slumber when not just baseball, but all of sport seemed like an afterthought in Washington. Sure you had the local pro cage club -dubbed the Statesmen- winning an American Basketball Association championship in 1939 and regularly being the top club in its division. But pro basketball barely registered on the sporting radar back then, and to be honest little has changed in that regard today. The college cage game, on the other hand, did draw some interest and of course collegiate football was hugely popular but in DC it was not as big due to the fact that local outfits St Matthew's College and Potomac College drew little attention as neither had much success in the grid or in the gym. There was a pro grid club as well -the Washington Wasps- who entered the American Football Association in 1937 thanks to high-powered DC attorney Homer Bentley but they struggled for much of their existence. Then you had the Eagles, who spent most of the past two decades in the second division and even a fancy new ballpark dubbed Columbia Stadium did little to reverse the declining attendance. It got so bad that there were rumours the club might just move out of the area, following in the footsteps of the Baltimore Cannons who found great success in the midwest. The Eagles were simply a bad ballclub that churned through players and management with seemingly no sense of direction. That changed when the current management team took over in 1942. It took a few years to right the ship but the Eagles finished second in 1945 and then topped the 1 million mark in attendance for just the second time in franchise history in 1946 when they won their first pennant in 21 years. Another attendance record and a strong second place finish in 1947 seems to have reaffirmed the notion that exciting baseball is back in Washington DC. And not just baseball. The area has for the first-time ever three successful pro sports teams. Three months after the Eagles hoisted the Fed flag the Wasps came within a whisker of reaching the AFA title game in 1946 and followed up that up with their first trip to the grid championship contest just a few months ago. They came up on the short end of a 24-17 score against the Cleveland Finches but one has the feeling the Wasps will continue to challenge for an AFA title. The cage Statesmen, after years of falling just short in the ABC playoffs, usually to a dominant Brooklyn Red Caps team, also were winners a year ago and claimed the second league title in franchise history last April. Fast forward to today and the Statesmen presently own the best record in the ABC as the loop pauses for its all-star break. But it is baseball that has Washington abuzz. The Eagles are flying high with a pennant and 3 straight seasons of at least 84 victories. There is plenty of excitement as the club prepares for the 1948 campaign as everything seems to be going right. The Eagles even won the draft lottery and landed what they feel is a future all-star in Tom Miller, the Christian Trophy winning shortstop from Coastal State. TWIFB recently caught up with Eagles Assistant General Manager Bill Hare to talk about the upcoming season and what the Eagles hope to see in 1948. Here are some exerpts from that interview. TWIFB Who do you see as the team to beat in the Federal Association and where do you think the Eagles fit in? BILL HARE I think St. Louis really made a big turnaround going from the bottom of the league to the top in one season. I think they are poised to remain the team to beat for now. Philadelphia has shown themselves to be tough competitors and I believe they are still a definite threat. Detroit showed some promise last season so they may prove a tough competitor as well. We think we can still be contenders as well. Bill Wise has shown himself ready to take over at Second Base thus far, but we think Henry Bush will still vie for the position. Our biggest question will be the Shortstop position. With Dawson out until June the question in whether Jim Sibert is ready to play there. Sibert is much better on defense at this stage in Dawson's career but his bat has not been where we want. TWIFB What do you see as strengths or weaknesses for the Eagles organization this year? BILL HARE We had somewhat of a down year in pitching last season, which was a strength the prior season when we won the pennant. We are looking for our pitching to improve. We have good veterans on the team with experience at the highest level. We think the offense will be there and hoping with better defense at Shortstop in Sibert it will help elevate our pitchers in the long season. Henry Bush had a down year at the plate last season, while Bill Wise excelled, so Second Base will be up for some healthy competition. TWIFB The Eagles look to have a lot of offense with McGonigle, Alvardo, Stofer and Carrol. You mention pitching as a concern. If you are unable to upgrade it can the pitching keep up? BILL HARE We believe we have the capability to keep up. Once again our pitching was a strength when we won the pennant. We will be looking to get better defense behind our pitcher to help in that regard, but we won't shy away from the fact that pitching will be a question. We will look to see what we need to improve as the season get rolling and may be looking early on the trade market if need be. TWIFB What new player or players should be look at to make a contribution to the team this year? BILL HARE Jim Sibert is our biggest player to watch in the early going. He is an elite defender at Shortstop but we are going to need for him to step it up at the plate. We also need our veteran pitchers to be strong this season. Jack Elder had a down year on the mound last season. We are hoping he has enough left in the tank and maybe gets back into his prior form once more. TWIFB Who is a player that maybe hasn't got a lot of publicity league-wide (allstar selections etc) that you think is poised for a big year in Washington? BILL HARE Outfielders Dilly Ward and Bob Coon have been steady hands for us both in the field and at the plate. Both have very solid players for our organization for the past 6 or 7 seasons. TWIFB Finally, lets look to the future. Winning the lottery was a huge bonus for the organization. How do you feel about your draft as a whole? BILL HARE The Eagles organization were more than pleased to have the first overall pick and were happy to select Shortstop Tom Miller. We believe he will be a difference maker in the future and will be watching him closely as we get under way. We were also happy to select OF Dutch Reeves in the second round. Both Miller and Reeves are college age players and we hope can make a difference for us sooner rather than later. As an organization we were hoping for better pitching in the draft. All of the pitchers we drafted were very young but we hope perhaps they can grow into useful arms some day. FABL training camps get underway the beginning of March. MAJOR CHANGES FOR MINERS Full Scale Rebuild Underway in Pittsburgh Outside of the thousands of dollars being thrown around by Great Western League clubs for Woody Stone there was no bigger story this off-season than the news the Pittsburgh Miners had dealt all-stars George Cleaves and Lefty Allen to the New York Gothams for a large collection of draft picks and prospects. The Miners had been on the downslope the past three or four seasons as age began to catch up with the club. They bottomed out last year with a 58-96 season -the worst in all of FABL in 1947 and lowest winning percentage the club has ever amassed since the birth of the Federal Association in 1892. Little is expected of the Miners this year as the club begins its transition to what long suffering Miners fans hope can finally be the start of a team that can end a 47 year World Championship drought. The club did win 3 pennants in a 4 year span during its glory days of the late 1930s but the Miners have not won a World Championship Series since 1901. We sat down recently with Pittsburgh Assistant General Manager Tom Beaver to talk about the trade and what the future might hold for the Miners ballclub. TWIB :Big changes obviously in Pittsburgh with the deal sending George Cleaves and Lefty Allen as well as to a lesser extent the departures of Pablo Reyes, Pinky Pierce and Whit Williams over the past half season. Specifically on the deal with Gothams, can you explain the Miners mindset behind moving the two fan favourites? TOM BEAVER :The mindset was to take advantage of what value was left on the table. We had enough talent already to have a chance at contending in a handful of seasons, but as nice as it would be to have Lefty and George to bridge two eras together, the possibility of another boat load of prospects after trading those two was too hard to pass up. TWIB :You are new to Pittsburgh but your General Manager has been here for two decades. The Miners have had some success with 3 pennants in the 1930s but how much does the fact no team has gone longer than the Miners (1901) without winning a WCS weigh on decisions you make? TOM BEAVER :Zero, the goal is to win the FABL, no matter if it’s been 50 years since the last one or you’re trying to repeat. I want to put together a competitive ballclub just like every other GM. TWIB :You have some very good talent already in the system and the deal with the Gothams only enhances that. Who are some of the players we should watch for this year? TOM BEAVER :Ernie Rockey is going to get a chance to be the full time CF this year and I think he could be a very good player. Irv Clifford struggled quite a bit in his first taste of pro ball, but he will probably be the SS by the all star break. There’s a huge logjam of very talented outfielders in our system and it will be very interesting to see who emerges this year. TWIB :What type of results do you hope to see from your club in 1948? Can they challenge for a .500 record or is there some other target in mind? TOM BEAVER :We are going to be pretty liberal with playing the young guys, and we have a lot of confidence that in a few years we have a chance to have an all star level player at most positions. My forecast is in the mid 60’s for wins, I think the offense has the potential to be pretty punchy, but the pitching staff is pretty bad, with the best case scenario being them resembling average. TWIB :The draft was just completed and thanks to the big trade the Miners had 3 first round selections. The lottery was not overly kind to the organization but that being said how do you feel about the draft? Who should we be watching for and were there any surprise picks -players you could not believe were still available when the Miners turn came up? TOM BEAVER :(first round pick) Roy Snedden has had some questions about his character, but the kid can hit, and he was a no brainer when he fell to us. TOUGH CHOICES FOR HALL OF FAME ADDITIONS It is expected that the Baseball Hall of Fame will release a list of nominees to be considered for enshrinement as part of the 1948 class in the coming weeks. The criteria outlined by the Boone County, Il. museum is that a player must be retired for a full-year so anyone who stopped playing at the conclusion of the 1946 season or earlier is eligible. After sporadic additions during the war the Hall added 5 members a year ago including two selected by the veteran's committee of early era ballplayers. Assuming a similar class size this time around there will be an awful lot of competition for the 3-4 non-veterans committee spots this time around. To begin with you have holdovers Charlie Barry, Doug Lightbody, Charlie Stedman and Dave Trowbridge who all fell short of the necessary votes needed for election last year. With the new crop expected to be available it might be difficult for any of those four to gain enough support this time around. The newcomers include two who appear to be locks for election in their first year of eligibility. That would be 300-game winner Rabbit Day and outstanding second baseman Jack Cleaves. There are plenty of others worthy of consideration too. Names like Tom Barrell, Jim Hampton, Bud Jameson, Dick Lyons, Mike Murphy, Moxie Pidgeon, Joe Shaffner, Sam Sheppard and Frank Vance. How does one possibly narrow a list like that down to just 3 or 4 candidates? HALL OF FAME CLASSES BY YEAR 1937: Allan Allen, Max Morris, Charlie Sis, Powell Slocum, John Waggoner 1938: John Dibblee, Mike Marner, Woody Trease, Ed Ziehl, George Theobald (as a manager) and William Whitney (executive) 1939: Zebulon Banks, Rankin Kellogg, Calvin Kidd, Joe Ward and Ossie Julious (as a manager) 1940: George Johnson and Edward Wakeham 1941: Jack Arabian and Charlie Wilson 1942: Thomas Watkins and Jefferson Edgerton (executive) 1944: Bill Craigen, Jim Golden, Jim Jones, Jimmy Massey, Fred Roby and Bill Temple. 1947: Charlie Firestone, T.R. Goins, John Lawson, Pete Layton, George Melvin PLAYOFF RACE SUDDENLY HEATS UP Motors, Shamrocks Closing In The Detroit Motors and New York Shamrocks are both climbing back into the playoff race as each has taken advantage of slumps by the NAHC's two Canadian clubs. The Motors, who started the season with 8 losses in their first 10 games, have moved to within 3 points of both Montreal and Toronto in a fight for third and fourth in the standings. Detroit has had a huge turnaround since seemingly throwing in the towel on the season by dealing veteran defenseman Shel Herron and Bryant Williams to Montreal in late December and over the last dozen games the Motors have posted a 7-3-2 record. At the same time both Toronto and Montreal have fallen on hard times with the Valiants especially hard hit. The Vals are just 3-12-3 since January 3rd including a 0-4-1 mark in February. When Montreal made the big deadline trade they were just 3 points back of the front-running Chicago Packers. Now the Vals are 19 points off the pace and fearing for their playoff lives. Toronto has also struggled as Jack Barrell's crew has dropped 6 of its last 8 games. It is not just Detroit which is threatening to crash the playoff party after a dreadful start. The New York Shamrocks have 3 wins and a tie in their last 5 games and are just 4 points back of the Dukes and Vals. With 14 games remaining in the season (13 for Detroit) time is becoming a factor but both the Motors and Shamrocks are suddenly very much in the playoff mix. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 47 29 13 5 63 182 117
Boston 46 19 19 8 46 146 133
Toronto 46 20 22 4 44 132 147
Montreal 46 19 21 6 44 139 158
Detroit 47 18 24 5 41 124 162
New York 46 18 24 4 40 145 151
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 41 39 21 60
Mahoney, Chi 38 16 34 50
W Burns, Chi 45 12 37 49
Cabbell, NY 45 34 14 48
Chandler, Bos 41 21 23 44
Albers, NY 46 16 27 43
Hart, Bos 45 21 19 40
Galbraith, Tor 46 16 24 40
Pollack, Tor 42 19 20 39
Skinner, Mon 46 18 21 39
Sauer, Tor 42 15 24 39
McGlynn, Chi 47 20 18 38
MacLean, Chi 43 12 26 38
Gregg, NY 42 16 21 37
Lanceleve, Mon 43 13 24 37
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 40 22 13 5 3 2.58
Brockers, Bos 29 12 11 6 1 2.87
James, Bos 17 7 8 2 1 2.89
Tremblay, NY 35 15 15 3 3 3.02
Broadway, Tor 38 16 18 3 1 3.03
Chasse, Det 39 16 18 4 2 3.40
Touhey, Mon 37 17 17 2 1 3.47
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11 Chicago 6 at 5 Boston :The visiting Packers improved to 5-0-0 in February and extended their unbeaten streak to 8 games by coming back from a 5-2 deficit to nip Boston 6-5. Tommy Burns had 2 goals and an assist with Mark Brooks scoring twice to lead Chicago to victory. Garrett Kauffeldt's 9th goal of the season put the Bees up 5-2 just before the midway mark of the game but the Packers closed the gap on second period goals from Brooks and Ed Delarue and then added two more in the third to complete the comeback. Chicago outshot Boston 52-37 in the game. There was bad news for the Packers as Marty Mahoney left with a back injury and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Mahoney, with 50 points in 38 games, sits second behind Tommy Burns in the league scoring race. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 New York 4 at 4 Boston :Following a 5 day break the Shamrocks were back in action and skated to a 4-4 draw with the Bees at Denny Arena. Orval Cabbell's second of the game -with 1:25 remaining in the third period- allowed the Greenshirts to leave Boston with a point. Tommy Hart had 2 goals and an assist to pace the Bees. Montreal 1 at 4 Toronto :A week off to work on Coach Jack Barrell's gameplan paid off for the Dukes, who skated to a 4-1 victory at the Dominion Gardens. After a scoreless 20 minutes, Bobbie Sauer scored the only goal of the second period before the teams combined for 4 goals in the final 13 minutes of the game. The slumping Vals are 3-11-3 since January 3. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15 Detroit 4 at 2 Boston :Boston is winless in 4 games after falling 4-2 on home ice to Detroit while the Motors have a win and two ties in their last three outings and are now just 3 points back of both Montreal and Toronto in the battle for third place. Vince Arsenault had a goal and an assist to lead the Motors while Hank Walsh added two helpers. Montreal 0 at 6 Chicago :Montreal's woes continued as the Packers Norm Hanson made 22 saves in a 6-0 shutout victory keyed by a Tommy Burns hat trick. Burns now has 39 goals on the season and moved past Harvey McLeod into sole possession third place for the highest single season goal total. The record is 47 set by Boston's Bert Gordier in 1929-30. Burns, with 60 points and 13 games remaining on the Packers schedule, may also have a chance of catching Gordier's points mark of 80 set in the same season as his goal total. Toronto 2 at 4 New York :The Shamrocks doubled the Dukes 4-2 and with 7 points in their last 5 games are suddenly very much alive in the playoff race as New York's 40 points is just 4 back of both Montreal and Toronto and 6 behind second place Boston. New York netminder Etienne Tremblay had a big game, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced with Orval Cabbell scored his 33rd and 34th goals of the season to lead the Shamrocks. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18 Boston at Chicago Detroit at New York THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19 Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 Boston at Montreal Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22 Toronto at Chicago Montreal at Detroit Boston at New York PHANTOMS DROP TWO OF THREE The Philadelphia Phantoms ran into a rare rough stretch after the Federal Basketball League's East Division leaders were beaten twice in their last three games. The Phantoms fell 87-74 in Buffalo on February 5 but came out of the all-star break with an 87-79 win at home over Detroit keyed by a 26-point effort from all-star game MVP Irvin Mudd. Things did not go quite so well Friday evening in Toronto when the last place Titans rallied behind Jamel Porter's 28 points to nip the Phantoms 78-75. With a midweek game in Chicago next on the Phantoms agenda the Philadelphia quintet is in danger of dropping back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Panthers, who's 22-7 record is the high water mark in the FBL, split their two games last week. Detroit between Chicago for the second time in 3 games with an 84-80 win at Thompson Palladium on Wednesday. Jack Kurtz led the way for the Mustangs with 26 points. Chicago rebounded on Valentine's Day with a 94-85 win over Cincinnati in which second year guard Joe Hampton had the best day of his pro career. The Chicago native and son of former FABL star Jim Hampton, scored a career best 31 points while adding 16 rebounds and 13 assists -all game highs. Chicago did suffer a big loss with star forward Richard Campbell set to miss the next month with a scratched cornea. Campbell was averaging 20.4 points with 14.6 rebounds in just shy of 30 minutes per game. He ranks 2nd in the FBL with points and rebounds per game among qualified hoopers. Chicago does have plenty of depth as replacing him in the lineup will be Richard McEachern, who averaged 11.1 points and 18.9 rebounds in 40 minutes per game last year. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 20 9 .690 - Baltimore 17 11 .607 2.5 Buffalo 12 16 .429 7.5 Toronto 7 19 .269 11.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 22 7 .759 - Detroit 13 16 .448 9.0 Cleveland 11 17 .393 10.5 Cincinnati 11 18 .379 11.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.0 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 Larry Yim, BUF 20.4 David Reed, DET 19.3 Jamel Porter, TOR 18.9 Danny Hendon, PHI 17.5 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.5 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.8 George Kelley, CLE 16.5 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.5 HARD TIMES FOR CENTURIONS The Boston Centurions losing streak reached 4 games and they have dropped 6 of their last 7 since a 9-game winning streak was halted January 17. The Hartford Patriots, who ended the Cents winning streak, prolonged the losing skid with a pair of wins over the struggling Boston club last week. East leader Brooklyn also fell to the Patriots last week but the Red Caps -with six wins in their last 8 games- have stretched their lead on Boston to 3 games. There is no slowing the Washington Statesmen down as the West Division leaders have now won 14 consecutive games and own the best record in either league. Last week it was a 101-80 road win over Richmond followed by a 90-81 victory over Rochester at the National Auditorium that kept the streak going. The Statesmen last loss was on December 27, over a month and a half ago. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 22 12 .647 - Boston 18 14 .563 3.0 Hartford 16 19 .457 6.5 New York 11 20 .355 9.5 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 22 6 .786 - Richmond 17 18 .486 8.5 Rochester 12 20 .375 12.0 Pittsburgh 12 21 .364 12.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.2 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.3 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.1 Charles Hooper, WAS 19.0 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.8 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.3 Norm Yates, RIC 17.8 Gerald Carter, BOS 17.6 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0 LANCERS SPEAR CANARIES Through the years Great Lakes Alliance clubs have taken turns knocking each other down a peg whenever one of them climbed to the pinnacle of collegiate basketball. That is one of the key reasons why the conference has only seen one of its members win the National Title -that would be Whitney College twice including last year- as the schools simply beat each other up during the section slate. On Saturday it was St Ignatius, a school that was a powerhouse while still playing as an independent in the 1930s but has missed the tournament each of the past three seasons and at 11-10 so far, will not qualify once again this year. That did not stop the Lancers from playing the spoiler role as they upset Western Iowa 60-55 Saturday afternoon, handing the Canaries just their third loss of the season. The defeat was not enough to bump Western Iowa from its roosting place atop the AIAA rankings but 20-2 Rainier College is closing in after the Majestics escaped Spokane State's gym with a win Friday and then downed #6 CC Los Angeles yesterday. Another school that slipped this week was Liberty College, tumbling all the way from #4 to 13th and almost assuredly ending any hopes the Bells might have had of collecting a top seed in one of the four regions for the AIAA tournament. Liberty College lost twice this week, both at home, with St Patrick's winning 57-55 Tuesday after Chris Avelar sank two free throws with just 3 seconds remaining in the game. On Friday night it was Frankford State that spoiled Valentine's Day for the Bells with a 56-48 victory that may have gone a long ways towards earning the 23-5 Owls a tournament invite.  AIAA TOURNAMENT WATCH Here is a look at the teams that appear to be a lock for a berth in the AIAA Tournament LOCK Academia Alliance (1) -Brunswick 18-5 Deep South (2) -Central Kentucky 17-4, Mississippi A&M 18-4 Great Lakes Alliance (4)- Whitney Colllege (18-3), Central Ohio (18-3), Western Iowa (18-3), Detroit City College (16-5) Midwestern Association (1)- Lambert College (20-3) South Atlantic Conference (1)- Carolina Poly (19-3) Southwester Alliance (1)- Texas Gulf Coast (17-5) West Coast Athletic Association (3)- Rainier College (20-2), CC Los Angeles (19-3), Coastal California (18-4) Independents (3)- Liberty College (20-7), Great Plains State (20-4), Perry State College (20-6)  Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (39) 18-3 1762 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Rainier College (30) 20-2 1735 3 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Carolina Poly (3) 19-3 1661 2 South Atlantic Conference
4. Central Ohio 18-3 1569 7 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Whitney College 18-3 1541 6 Great Lakes Alliance
6. CC Los Angeles 19-3 1421 5 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Coastal California 18-4 1383 9 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Bayou State 17-4 1189 14 Deep South Conference
9. Lambert College 20-3 1113 13 Midwestern Association
10. Redwood 18-4 1104 12 West Coast Athletic Association
11. Detroit City College 16-5 1083 10 Great Lakes Alliance
12. Brunswick 18-5 1019 16 Academia Alliance
13. Liberty College 20-7 973 4 Indy
14. Mississippi A&M 18-4 940 11 Deep South Conference
15. Frankford State 23-5 857 19 Indy
16. Noble Jones College 17-5 698 8 Deep South Conference
17. Great Plains State 20-4 685 18 Indy
18. Texas Gulf Coast 17-5 619 15 Southwestern Alliance
19. Lane State 18-7 449 17 West Coast Athletic Association
20. Central Kentucky 17-4 412 24 Deep South Conference
21. Needham 20-4 395 25 Indy
22. Perry State College 20-6 285 23 Indy
23. Alabama Baptist 16-5 170 21 Deep South Conference
24. Indiana A&M 15-6 135 NR Great Lakes Alliance
25. Pittsburgh State 20-7 73 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Lexington State 15-6 43 South Atlantic Conference
University of New Jersey 16-5 25 Eastern Six
Holland 16-5 24 Central Athletic Alliance
Baton Rouge State 15-6 18 Deep South Conference
Travis College 17-6 13 Southwestern Alliance
Western State 16-5 3 Central Athletic Alliance
St. Blane 17-10 2 Indy
Utah A&M 17-6 1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
MONDAY FEBRUARY 9 at #18 Texas Gulf Coast 59, Springfield State 47 at #25 Pittsburgh State 53, Tallmadge State 41 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10 at #15 Frankford State 69, Caesar Rodney 36 #21 Needham 59, at Grange College 37 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11 #8 Bayou State 58, at #23 Alabama Baptist 47 at #12 Brunswick 47, Dickson 38 St. Patrick's 57, at #13 Liberty College 55 at #14 Mississippi A&M 59, Opelika State 48 at Northern Mississippi 49, #16 Noble Jones College 42 at #17 Great Plains State 72, North Central (NE) 48 at #20 Central Kentucky 59, Cumberland 44 at #22 Perry State College 51, Dakota College 32 at #25 Pittsburgh State 69, Bliss College 36 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12 #1 Western Iowa 63, at Lincoln 47 at #3 Carolina Poly 70, Bulein 56 #4 Central Ohio 61, at #11 Detroit City College 53 at #5 Whitney College 59, Wisconsin State 55 #9 Lambert College 70, at Laclede 54 #21 Needham 50, at Grant (IN) 47 at #24 Indiana A&M 38, St. Ignatius 27 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13 #2 Rainier College 53, at Spokane State 50 at #6 CC Los Angeles 58, #10 Redwood 50 at #7 Coastal California 63, Idaho A&M 42 #19 Lane State 66, at Northern California 58 at #25 Pittsburgh State 47, Elyria 44 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 St. Ignatius 60, at #1 Western Iowa 55 #4 Central Ohio 46, at #24 Indiana A&M 45 #5 Whitney College 57, at Minnesota Tech 44 at #8 Bayou State 66, Georgia Baptist 58 at #9 Lambert College 58, Freemont State 36 #11 Detroit City College 68, at Lincoln 53 at #12 Brunswick 64, Sadler 46 #15 Frankford State 56, at #13 Liberty College 48 at Northern Mississippi 43, #14 Mississippi A&M 35 at Bluegrass State 65, #16 Noble Jones College 58 College of Cairo 57, at #18 Texas Gulf Coast 52 at #20 Central Kentucky 50, Western Florida 48 at #21 Needham 61, Chicago Poly 52 #23 Alabama Baptist 68, at Cumberland 46 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15 at #2 Rainier College 49, #6 CC Los Angeles 40 #7 Coastal California 55, at Northern California 40 at #10 Redwood 58, Custer College 33 at #17 Great Plains State 58, Poweshiek 41 Portland Tech 55, at #19 Lane State 42 at Queen City 55, #25 Pittsburgh State 43
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/15/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-09-2023 at 12:22 PM. |
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08-10-2023, 11:48 AM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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February 23, 1948
FEBRUARY 23, 1948 GOULDING DEFYS CONVENTION, EVEN IN RETIREMENT In an off-season filled with eye-popping news, word that Gus Goulding has decided to walk away from the Chicago Chiefs and the sport of baseball at the age of 34 hit like a ton of bricks in the city of Chicago and might just count as the most surprising event of the winter. The record setting contract that Woody Stone received from San Francisco played out before us for over a month. The huge deal between Pittsburgh and the Gothams that sent George Cleaves and Lefty Allen to the Big Apple also had warning as the Miners let everyone know that the two all-stars were on the block. Goulding will never be mistaken for Lefty Allen but nearly everyone involved in baseball was floored upon hearing the news that the former 2nd overall draft pick out of St Blane is hanging up his cleats to do missionary work. The timing only adds to the shock factor, coming just over a week before clubs report for spring training, and sends the Chiefs organization reeling. It may well play a big role in the Federal Association pennant race as the Chiefs had been considered contenders, and may well still be although their flag waiving odds are certainly longer today then they were a day ago. Goulding says he is walking away from the game to fulfill another of his lifelong dreams. "After an anguishing few months and a lot of sleepless nights, I've come to realize my heart just isn't in the game anymore," explained the 34-year-old righthander. "It's been a good run and I couldn't be more thankful to my teammates and my coaches, who have supported me every step of the way." Goulding said he has always wanted to be more involved in his church, and is intending on becoming a missionary and travelling the world to help others. It was quite a career for 10-year FABL veteran who entered the league to great fanfare with a dominant 8-0 start for a terrible 1936 Baltimore Cannons team. He would never recapture that early success with the Cannons, leading the Continental Association in losses each of the next three seasons before being moved to the New York Gothams in a blockbuster deal in December of 1939, just after the Cannons announced a move to Cincinnati and what would be the start of a renaissance for the franchise. The ups and downs for Goulding would continue in New York where he struggled to a 51-58 record over three and a half seasons. The biggest moment of his career came in Game Seven of the 1942 World Championship Series when, in what is clearly the most important game Goulding ever pitched, he threw a complete game 7-hitter to beat the New York 3-1 and win the WCS for the Gothams. Less than a year later, Goulding was gone. Dealt to Chicago in July of 1943 and then off to the navy in November of that year. Amazingly that two year stint during the war would be the only time in his career to durable Goulding would ever miss a game. He struggled through a 12-16 1946 season with a Chiefs club that had its own struggles that year but in '47 he posted just the third winning season of his career and there were great expectations for both Goulding and the Chiefs in the year ahead. Perhaps it is fitting that Goulding defied expectations in retirement and walked away while seemingly at his peak. After all he never became the top of the rotation pitcher everyone felt he would become despite showing just enough flashes of brilliance to keep FABL General Manager's hoping he would eventually find himself. It turns out he did. It just wasn't with baseball.  VOTERS FACE TOUGH CHOICES IN HALL CALL There are really no wrong answers but members of FABL's Writers' Association face a very difficult task this week as they are being called on to select 5 candidates from a list of 17 that they deem most worthy of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A separate committee will also deliberate the merits of 14 early days (pre-1925) players and may elect to add one or more of them to the 1948 class. There was much debate with writer's making a case for their particular favourites and several scribes have released their ballots publically. The consensus is there are three sure-bets for induction in 300-game winner Rabbit Day, along with infielders Dave Trowbridge and Frank Vance -each of whom finished just shy of 3,000 career hits. Here is a list with career numbers for each of the 17 candidates eligible.  While no one would argue the inclusion of Rabbit Day, there was plenty of debate over what other pitcher(s), if any, deserved to be selected for induction in the Boone County Museum. Some writers, most notably Leland Kuenster of the Chicago Herald-Examiner, made a case for Charlie Stedman as the second best pitcher in the group. Kuenster heralded the fact that Stedman had such a steady career while acknowleding that his peak wasn't that high, but he never had a valley either. He was just Steady Charlie for a couple of decades. Ernie Herr of the Cincinnati Post preferred Tom Barrell, noting Barrell had a career similar to Hall of Famer Jim Golden, who was out of baseball by age 31 but completely dominated the game before his exit. "Day is the only clear lock in my mind (among pitchers) and should be unanimous. But for those who bashed Aaron Wright and Jack Long as old-timers not deserving as they simply amassed wins due to longevity, I have to point to Charlie Stedman. He was a good pitcher but really never would be considered as the best pitcher any year even his 1 Allen Award winning season you could have made a case for Ken Carpenter, Russ Reel or perhaps even Rabbit Day that season." "Stedman deserves to be in the Hall someday," continued Herr, "just as I believe Wright and Long due. But Barrell dominated the game for 3 years in much the same fashion Jim Golden did. You could easily make a case that Barrell was the best pitcher in the Continental Association for that time and possibly better than Day for some of it. I can't see anyone successfully arguing Stedman was ever the best pitcher in baseball. He was very good for a long time and very durable. But Barrell, until the injuries hit, was great and who else has won 3 straight Allen Awards?" Doc Shaw of the Boston Globe noted that late in his career there was a debate about Stedman's potential Hall of Fame candidacy and reminded his fellow voters "that we had solid debates about being a compiler and how some would never vote him in?" In the end Shaw says he did not vote for Stedman, but also did not case a ballot for Barrell either. Shaw, who released his ballot, went with just 1 pitcher -Rabbit Day- as well as Frank Vance, Dave Trowbridge, Jack Cleaves and "the guy that I feel is seriously getting overlooked...Joe Masters." Both Brett Bing of the Toronto Mail & Empire and Percy Pringle Sr. of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle threw their support behind Stedman but Chicago Daily News writer Archie Irwin threw a wrench into the discussions by not only naming Stedman on his ballot but also long-timer Cougars star Dick Lyons, making him the only voter to make public a decision to place three hurlers on his ballot. It is expected final results from the Boone County selection committee will be made public next week. KEYSTONES THRIVE ON STABILITY It might be hard to find a team that takes a more level-headed conservative approach to running its organization that the job the Philadelphia Keystones do on a year-to-year basis. Like all teams the Keystones have had some down seasons, but they have not finished last in the Federal Association since 1924. Rarely do the Keystones make big trades, as they prefer to draft and develop talent from within their system and that approach has paid off with the Keystones claiming five pennants and three World Championship Series wins in the modern era. At 1758-1631 over that span the club has been for the most part the model of consistency and that stability stretches throughout the organization. They have had some changes in the manager's seat, but the GM has been in place since 1925, assistant GM George Mitchell has held his role since 1937 and Harry Dunn has been in charge of the Keystones scouting department since 1932. TWIFB had the opportunity to sit done with Dunn recently and learn a little about the Keystones upcoming season as well as how Dunn and the management team have had a plan and stuck with it through thick and thin. TWIFB Congratulations on an outstanding offensive season from the Keystones- record breaking numbers from Bobby Barrell, both on his own and in combination with Hank Koblenz and newcomer Roger Cleaves. Broad Street Park is very friendly to power bats, and this is not to say those 3 would not belt homers anywhere they played, but as a head scout in Philadelphia do you pay more attention to power potential when assessing talent because of the ballpark? HARRY DUNN All the credit goes to the players and their hard work. I certainly cannot take any credit for Barrell as he was drafted before I joined the organization, but we work hard to scout and find talent anywhere we can. Koblenz was a trade where we gave up a solid starting pitcher (Frank Crawford) and a young player we had hopes for (Frank LeMieux). Cleaves was a diamond in the rough. We do not explicitly look for players to fit our ballpark and we try to have a balance of speed and power in our organization so we are not reliant on the home run. TWIFB You have been with the Keystones for more than a decade and a half. The franchise has built a reputation as one that develops from within. In fact it seems both Philadelphia ballclubs are the polar opposite of what we see say in New York, where the Gothams and to a lesser extent the Stars are constantly making big moves. There has been some success with your approach -5 pennants and 3 WCS- but is there not some temptation to try and 'go all in' especially now that Barrell is getting older? HARRY DUNN I joined the Keystones in 1932 and we had already had a good farm system, but I have tried to implement a consistent philosophy up and down the ladder. I appreciate the faith the front office has put in us to develop our youngsters and their reluctance to rush players to the majors. I take my cues from the General Manager and if he wants to go for it in the twilight of Bobby's career, I will give my best guidance on players around the league who can help get us there and which players we could give up without compromising our ability to win from within. TWIFB Looking to this season where do you see the Keystones ending up in the Fed race? The Fed looks competitive as always and no one outside of New York can match the Keystones firepower but will your pitching be up to the task? HARRY DUNN Where we end up is not for me to say. That's what they pay you reporters for, right? [Chuckles] I will say I feel good about this Keystones team. Speaking on the young players, I think the fact we had Nate Power spend most of the year in Philadelphia will pay dividends down the road. On the pitching side, I feel the same way about Charlie Waddell, Joe Quade, and Sid Moulton. They are our next generation of arms to help us in the 1950s. George Polk is the next pitching prospect we hope can help us at the major league level this year or next year. We have ability, pedigree, and growing experience. I know our pitching will be better. TWIFB Who do you see as the team to beat in the Fed? HARRY DUNN The Fed is so tight and it really could be anyone stepping to the fore. As you said, the Gothams are going for it. The Pioneers are set up to win for a while. Don't forget the Eagles, which are a year removed from a pennant. I have a lot of respect for how the Dynamos and the Chiefs run their clubs. Boston and Pittsburgh are taking a longer-term view, but anything can happen. Why not us? I like our hitting, our pitching might surprise some people, we can catch the ball. We have leadership coming out of our pores, so if we start well, I believe we could sustain it. I wouldn't pick us because I don't want to take up space on seven other teams' bulletin boards, but I believe in the Keystones. TWIFB Perhaps the Keystones knew it was coming but I think few outside the organization anticipated just how good Roger Cleaves would be as a 23-year-old. Especially as a 7th round pick. Looking at your organization who do you think might step up and surprise some people this year? Is there another Roger Cleaves type impact player on the way? HARRY DUNN I have a couple of guys in mind who might just help the Keystones at the major league level this year. I've already mentioned [George] Polk, who would give us a lefthander in our rotation, something we have not had in a few years. But, Johnnie Porter is on his way and could make his debut this year. He was our first pick in '43 and had a rough go of it to say the least (7-for-102 in B/C in his draft year). He missed two years for the War and found his hitting shoes in '46. Last year, he developed some power in A-ball and played a great centerfield (13 assists). I am looking forward to see him take the next step this year. TWIFB You are approaching two decades in your role with the Keystones. You got your start in the feeder league era, have been through the various changes the draft has undergone over the years including the lottery and now the ban on trading draft picks. How has the Keystones approach to drafting changed over the years, or has it? HARRY DUNN At the end of the day, I look for tools. I scout with my eyes and I've seen enough games over, jeez, the last 40+ years that I can project talent into future success. I see it as a winning formula, so why change it? We have a good team and great support to believe in my recommendations to go for the best available player without as much regard to position and to tilt towards athletes. I am glad to see the trading of draft picks abolished because I value those picks and our best chances to improve our organizational depth and talent through the draft system. TWIFB You have had a few weeks to reflect on the '48 draft, which you have completed the first 10 rounds of. How do you feel about how it went for the Keystones and any surprises you did not expect to be available that you landed? HARRY DUNN I went into the draft with a plan and we executed on that plan. We were very high on Buddy Miller and he will give us flexibility in the outfield, as he can play any of the three outfield positions. As a hitter, he is one of the best pure hitters I have scouted, so I was very happy he fell to us at number five. We targeted a collegiate shortstop early because we have a lot of talent at the very low minors with Andres Pagan, who we drafted last year. Red Ellis played at Miami State, so he plays against future pros and held his own at bat while showing me a lot in the field. Bill Del Vecchio, our fourth rounder, was an easy decision and someone I expected to be scooped up in the third round. Same with Gord Russell, who has some pop in hit bat. I think we helped ourselves at several positions around the diamond. TWIFB Finally anything else we should know about the Keystones as they prepare for the '48 season? HARRY DUNN Yes, our manager [Carl Ames] is going to be a good one. I have known him for a long time and he bleeds Keystones red. He knows this team. He has their respect. I know Carl will be successful, I just know it. CHIEFS CONFIDENT ABOUT '48 CAMPAIGN (Editors note: This interview was conducted prior to news that Gus Goulding announced his retirement) The Chicago Chiefs gave the St Louis Pioneers a run for their money last season and club officials are quietly confident that they can contend for a pennant in the upcoming season. Like every team in the Federal Association it seems, there may be some questions about pitching depth, but the addition of Pete Casstevens and Tim Hopkins at the last two trade deadlines is cause for plenty of optimism at Whitney Park.TWIFB recently caught up with Jim Golden, the Hall of Fame pitcher, who returned to the sport after an 8-year absence to assume the assistant General Manager job with the Chiefs last season. Golden, who held a similar role for a decade with the Brooklyn Kings during their dominant run, feels the Chiefs have as good a shot as anyone of raising the Fed flag in '48. Here are some excerpts from out conversation: TWIFB: The Chiefs improved by 12 games last year over their 1946 finish and were still without shouting distance of the Pioneers for much of the season before settling in to fourth. Obviously every team's goal is to win the pennant but if that doesn't happen what would it take from the '48 Chiefs for you to consider it a successful season? JIM GOLDEN: To win a pennant, there is so much that needs to happen that is really out of your control. My job is to put the best roster of players together that I can. The organization's goal each season is to finish in the first division. If you are in the first division--"hanging around", as you called it--then you are a hot streak or two away from a pennant race. TWIFB: Who is the team you fear most right now in the Fed? JIM GOLDEN: On paper--The Gothams. Although the Pioneers and Sailors winning their pennants last season means you can throw the paper in the trash. TWIFB: There was a lot of turnover a year ago with four new regulars in the batting order (Casstevens, D'alessandro and Wilson plus Hopkins who came midway through the previous season). I assume Jim Rutherford will play every day somewhere. What other changes might we expect for '48? JIM GOLDEN: We have a number of good outfielders. Dave Kreiger is a young player who is just about to get himself noticed nationally. Bill Brown came up and hit 20 home runs in just part of a season. WIth Casstevens, D'Alessandro, and Wilson now fully settled into their roles, I see our offense as being even better this season. TWIFB: Al Miller and Pete Casstevens are the only Chiefs listed in either the top twenty pitchers or top twenty hitters by OSA. Is there anyone you feel the league scouting service overlooked on your club? JIM GOLDEN: Tim Hopkins. I would say that Red Johnson is the only better first baseman than Hopkins in the Fed at the moment. But I don't pay too much attention to rankings anyway. TWIFB: Any concerns about John Stallings? He led the Fed in walks last year but still had a decent first full season even though he did not have anywhere near the impact Al Miller did at the same stage of his career. OSA seems to have really tempered its opinion on the 22-year-old lefthander, calling him a spot starter who needs a little more experience to even become a "back of the rotation piece." When he was drafted Dan Barrell was comparing him to Rabbit Day? Do you think those comparison put too much pressure on Stallings and are there any concerns the revised scouting service assessment might be much closer to what Stalling becomes than the original calls for a future Hall of Fame type career? JIM GOLDEN: There are no concerns with Stallings. Everyone is always quick to anoint a young player as the next "whomever." We thought enough about Stallings that we brought him to Chicago right away. So he's learning how to pitch while facing FABL hitters. A kid with that much talent can dominate at the high school level by just throwing the ball up there. Now he's learning how to pitch. TWIFB: The Chiefs have moved a lot of prospects over recent seasons and the minor league system is a little light compared to many organizations. Is that a worry or do you feel the organization is well positioned for the future? JIM GOLDEN: I like prospects as much as we all do--they represent the future. But you will always find me willing to trade the "potential" of prospects for an established player. There is every indication that Dick Steel will be an all-star someday. Pete Casstevens is a top catcher today. TWIFB: You did not have a first round pick because of the Pete Casstevens trade but how would you assess your recent draft haul? Anyone you were surprised was still available when your turn came up? JIM GOLDEN: I think our draft went well. The two pitchers selected--Walt Cooper and Chubby Gooch--were both highly rated by the scouting department. And when you watch first baseman Ray Nickerson hit, you are reminded of Ron Rattigan. TWIFB: Finally, who wins the Fed this season and where do you see the Chiefs finishing? JIM GOLDEN: (laughs) I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't say the Chiefs.
BURNS ON RECRD PACE FOR PACKERS Tommy Burns continues to race towards the NAHC single season goal scoring record. The Chicago Packers 28-year-old center has 42 goals in 43 games this season and is now within 5 goals of tying Bert Gordier's 1929-30 record of 47. Only Gordier and his Boston teammate that season George Tremaine had ever reached the 40-goal mark until Burns raced by the milestone last Wednesday with his 40th against Boston. Sure purists will point to the fact teams only played 44 games that season, compared to the 60 the Packers will eventually compete in this year, but Gordier and Tremaine also were the beneficiaries of an offensive explosion as teams scrambled to adjust to a rule change that opened up game and resulted in a record setting number of goals. Things quickly adjust the following year and no one had scored more than 34 goals in a season since. Until this year when Burns, following up on a league leading 30 goal season (tied with Boston's Tommy Hart and Quinton Pollack, then of Brooklyn), has exploded. Despite missing his long-time winger Marty Mahoney for the past 3 games, Burns has scored 6 goals in that span and has an 8-game goal scoring streak on the go, during which time he amassed 15 goals and 19 points. As a whole the Packers offense has been dominant and averaged 3.8 goals per game. Chicago has 186 goals in 49 games with the last place Shamrocks second in that category but with 33 less than the Packers. There are 11 games remaining in the season and the Packers, 15 points up on second place Boston, seem a lock to finish in first place for the first time in franchise history. Tommy Burns also seems to be a lock to win his third straight McDaniels Trophy as the NAHC's most valuable player and may just have a record-setting season.  Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 49 29 14 6 64 186 122
Boston 49 20 20 9 49 149 137
Toronto 49 22 23 4 48 141 154
Montreal 49 20 23 6 46 141 162
Detroit 50 19 25 6 44 132 170
New York 48 19 24 5 43 153 157
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 43 42 21 63
W Burns, Chi 47 12 39 51
Cabbell, NY 47 35 15 50
Mahoney, Chi 38 16 34 50
Albers, NY 48 16 31 47
Chandler, Bos 44 21 23 44
Pollack, Tor 42 19 20 39
Galbraith, Tor 49 17 25 42
Hart, Bos 48 22 19 41
Sauer, Tor 45 16 25 41
Skinner, Mon 49 18 21 39
Gregg, NY 42 17 22 39
McGlynn, Chi 49 20 18 38
Lanceleve, Mon 46 13 25 38
MacLean, Chi 45 12 26 38
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 42 22 14 6 3 2.58
Brockers, Bos 32 13 12 7 2 2.72
James, Bos 17 7 8 2 1 2.89
Broadway, Tor 41 18 19 3 1 2.98
Tremblay, NY 37 16 15 4 3 3.02
Cartr, Det 15 2 7 1 0 3.18
Touhey, Mon 40 18 19 2 2 3.28
Chasse, Det 41 17 18 5 2 3.40
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18 Boston 1 at 1 Chicago : The Packers extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games but fail to win for the first time this month after skating to a 1-1 draw against Boston. Tommy Burns, with his league leading 40th, and Tommy Hart traded second period goals in a game that saw the host Packers outshoot the visitors 33-21. Detroit 5 at 5 New York : The two clubs trying desperately to get into playoff position had to settle for a 5-5 tie at Bigsby Garden. The visiting Motors scored three times in the third period, including a pair from Nick Tardif, to erase a 4-2 deficit byt a late goal from Paul Tetreault salvaged the tie for the Shamrocks. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19 Toronto 3 at 1 Montreal : Montreal's struggles continue after the Valiants fell 3-1 on home ice to the Toronto Dukes. Bobbie Sauer, Herb Burdette and rookie Lou Galbraith with a late empty-netter provided the Toronto score while Leo Bernard was the lone Montrel marksmaen. The Vals are winless in their last 6 games. To make matters worse, Bernard left the game with a shoulder injury and will be sidelined at least a month. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 Boston 1 at 0 Montreal: Tom Brockers turned aside 22 Montreal shots for his second shutout of the season, making Craig Simpson's first period goal stand up in a 1-0 road win for the Bees at the Montreal Arena. The Vals are 0-6-1 in February and just 2-12-3 since the second week of January. Detroit 3 at 2 Toronto : Dave Bradley's powerplay goal with 2:03 remaining in the game lifted the Motors to a 3-2 victory and pulled Detroit even with Montreal for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NAHC. The Motors are 2-0-3 in their last five games. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22 Toronto 4 at 3 Chicago :The Packers 10-game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 4-3 loss to Toronto. It was the first loss for the Packers since January 24 when they also were beaten by the Dukes. Quinton Pollack had 2 goals and an assist to pace the Toronto attack. Tommy Burns scored twice for the Packers and now has scored at least one goal in 8 consecutive games. It was Chicago's 3rd straight game without Marty Mahoney as the winger continues to recover from a back injury. Montreal 1 at 0 Detroit : The Valiants regained sole possession of the final playoff spot and halted a 7-game winless streak with a 1-0 vicotry at Thompson Palladium. Adam Sandford scored the game's only goal, shorthanded, midway through the opening period despite the fact the Valiants, clearly an inspired bunch, fired 50 shots on Detroit goaltender Brad Carter. Millard Touhey only had to contend with 26 shots in the Montreal net, and he stopped them all for his second shutout of the season and 7th of his career. Boston 1 at 3 New York : The Shamrocks remain within 3 points of fourth place with a 3-1 win at home over Boston to extend their unbeaten streak to 4 games. Laurel Albers had 2 assists while Orval Cabbell scored his 35th goal of the season to pace the Shamrocks. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 Chicago at New York Boston at Toronto SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 Detroit at Montreal Chicago at Toronto SUNDAY FEBRUARY 29 Boston at Chicago Montreal at New York AROUND THE LEAGUE
Finally the Dukes were the predators not the prey early in a period when Bobbie Sauer potted his 16th before the game was 5 minutes old from Herb Burdette and Philippe Dubois. Burdette also scored on the power play in the last 5 minutes of the period putting Toronto up two at intermission. Despite being outshot 16-7 in the second Leo Bernard put the Vals back in the game with his 5th tally of the season. The third again had the home team badly outshot, but Montreal netminder Millard Touhey held the fort. Rookie Lou Galbraith's 17th into an empty cage with 2 seconds remaining secured a 3-1 win. A huge crowd, 15,688, packed Dominion Gardens for a Saturday night encounter with the Motors who of late are making a determined playoff push. J.C. Martel put the home side up notching his 5th before Ben Witt tied the score before the end of the first period. With Arnold Singleton for the Motors and the Dukes Quinton Pollock, with his 20th, exchanging goals the second period ended knotted at 2 despite the Dukes holding a 25-18 advantage in shots on goal. The home squad continued to press for the winner in the third but Motors netminder Henri Chasse continued to shut the door. The game remained deadlocked until Dick Zimmerman took a questionable slashing call in the last 3 minutes. After a relatively lengthy delay to clean the ice debris rained down from the stands after the penalty call the Motors setup their powerplay that allowed Dave Bradley to convert on a tic-tack-toe passing play from Doug Yeadon and Witt at 17:57 causing the another delay to clear the ice of refuse. The 3-2 win by Detroit had many fans irate with the referee with the common refrain being "He called that slash late after letting it go all game? Stupid!" After that heart breaking loss the team was faced with the daunting task of facing the league leading Packers in Chicago on a quick turnaround. The Dukes came out flying with Leo Carlson opening the scoring just 24 seconds into the game when his shot eluded Norm Hanson in the Chicago cage. The fast start had the visitors leading 3-0 at the end of one thanks to goals by Pollock and Alex Lavalliere before the game was 15 minutes old. Toronto laid siege to the Packers net firing 26 shot at Hanson. The Packers score twice in the second on markers by Tommy Burns and David Rankin but Pollock's second of the game allowed the Dukes to maintain a 2 goal lead. Burns, his 42nd, at 11:13 of the third setup for a wild finish in which the Dukes hung on for the 4-3 victory. Coach Barrell: "We will take that victory any day, the first period was exceptional, as we caught the Packers flat footed. We cannot get into a shootout with teams like that, we tightened up enough in the third period to hang on when the players went back to our defensive system. The third was winning playoff type hockey, we have to make that style a habit as the season winds down." Toronto has a tough upcoming week with two home dates, Bees on Wednesday, Packers Saturday, the two teams ahead of them in the standings. The Dukes are in third only 2 points ahead of the Vals, 4 up on the Motors, 5 ahead of the Shamrocks. It will be a wild finish to the season. STATESMEN FINALLY LOSE The Statesmen's winning streak is finally snapped at 15, a streak that started New Year's Eve 1947 and lasted through Valentine's Day. The loss finally came on Saturday in Richmond when the second place Clippers pulled out a 93-90 victory. The game prior to that - the Statesmen's 15th consecutive win- came with baseball royalty in the house as FABL homerun king Bobby Barrell and his Philadelphia Keystones teammate Roger Cleaves were in attendance to witness a game between the two highest scoring teams in professional basketball. The Statesmen and the visiting Boston Centurions did not disappoint as the high-scoring contest needed overtime for the host Washington quintet to prevail by a 130-122 count. Washingtong point guard Blake Brooks set career-highs with 35 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 22 14 .611 - Boston 20 15 .571 1.5 Hartford 17 20 .459 5.5 New York 13 21 .382 8.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 23 7 .767 - Richmond 20 19 .513 7.5 Pittsburgh 13 22 .371 12.5 Rochester 12 22 .353 13.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.8 James Phillips, HAR 19.8 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.7 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.7 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.5 Norm Yates, RIC 17.9 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 17.9 Gerald Carter, BOS 17.5 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 Ivan Sisco, WAS 17.0 PANTHERS MISS CAMPBELL For the first time this season the Federal Basketball Association leading Chicago Panthers have lost back-to-back games. The Panthers, who lead the loop with a 22-9 record, were forced to play without their leading scorer as forward Richard Campbell is expected to miss another three weeks with an eye injury. On Wednesday night the East Division leading Philadelphia Phantoms shut down the Panthers in a 79-63 game and it became a losing streak last night in Cincinnati when James Lerma scored 23 points and added 25 rebounds to lead the Cyclones to an 85-79 victory. It was the first back to back losses suffered by the defending league champions all season, even counting pre-season, but the club is clearly in a slump with just 2 wins in their last 6 games. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 21 9 .700 - Baltimore 18 11 .621 2.5 Buffalo 14 16 .467 7.0 Toronto 7 22 .241 13.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 22 9 .710 - Detroit 14 17 .452 8.0 Cleveland 12 18 .400 9.5 Cincinnati 12 18 .400 9.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Larry Yim, BUF 21.0 Irvin Mudd, PHI 20.7 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 David Reed, DET 19.5 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.4 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.9 Jack Hirst, BAL 17.3 Danny Hendon, PHI 17.2 George Kelley, CLE 16.6 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.8 SHAKE-UP AT TOP OF POLLS Central Ohio Is New Number One There was a shake-up at the top of the collegiate cage rankings this week as both number one Western Iowa and number two Rainier College slid after section losses on the weekend. The biggest news was Western Iowa is no longer number one, a spot the Canaries had held for nearly the entire season. It was a rough 8-day stretch for the Great Lakes Alliance power as the Canaries fell to St Ignatius last Sunday and followed that up with a 64-52 loss in Columbus to Central Ohio. The victory lifts the Aviators to the number one spot and also puts them in first place in the GLA, with a 9-1 section record to go with their 20-3 overall mark. Ziggy Rickard, who was a first team All-American as a junior last season and is expected to be a top prospect for one of the pro leagues in the fall, led the way in the win over the Canaries, scoring 17 points and bumping his season average above the 11 points-per-game mark. The Aviators, who reached the national semi-finals last year for the first time in school history, still have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to land the top seed in the Midwest Region for the year end tournament. Fifth ranked and defending national champion Whitney College and #18 Detroit City College remain on the Aviators section slate before the season concludes March 13. In the coast conference Rainier College was shockingly upset on the road by Idaho A&M 44-40 Friday evening, dropping the Majestics behind Carolina Poly in third in the polls and opening the door for Redwood to claim the WCAA crown, something the Mammoths have never accomplished before. Redwood does have 5 section games remaining including home contests against Lane State and Rainier College as well as a trip to Los Angeles to face Coastal California. Independent Liberty College finished out its regular season slate in fine fashion with wins over Commonwealth Catholic and Michigan Lutheran to finish with a 23-7 record. Ward Messer scored 21 points in the win over the Knights but was limited to just nine in the finale against Michigan Lutheran. That gives the senior a scoring average of 16.1 points per game but he will almost assuredly not lead the nation as Central Kentucky's Charles Cleary is averaging 18.5 ppg and is likely to win his second straight national scoring crown.   Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Central Ohio (64) 20-3 1792 4 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Carolina Poly (4) 21-3 1688 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. Rainier College (4) 21-3 1677 2 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Western Iowa 19-4 1606 1 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Whitney College 19-4 1481 5 Great Lakes Alliance
6. CC Los Angeles 20-4 1403 6 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Coastal California 19-5 1344 7 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Liberty College 23-7 1296 13 Indy
9. Redwood 20-4 1221 10 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Brunswick 20-5 1162 12 Academia Alliance
11. Lambert College 21-3 1100 9 Midwestern Association
12. Noble Jones College 19-5 964 16 Deep South Conference
13. Bayou State 18-5 913 8 Deep South Conference
14. Mississippi A&M 19-5 820 14 Deep South Conference
15. Lane State 20-7 753 19 West Coast Athletic Association
16. Frankford State 24-6 746 15 Indy
17. Great Plains State 21-4 705 17 Indy
18. Detroit City College 16-7 567 11 Great Lakes Alliance
19. Central Kentucky 19-4 561 20 Deep South Conference
20. Texas Gulf Coast 17-7 489 18 Southwestern Alliance
21. Alabama Baptist 18-5 334 23 Deep South Conference
22. Indiana A&M 16-7 280 24 Great Lakes Alliance
23. Needham 20-5 164 21 Indy
24. University of New Jersey 18-5 161 NR Eastern Six
25. Perry State College 21-7 106 22 Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Western State 18-5 25 Central Athletic Alliance
Pittsburgh State 21-8 18 Indy
Travis College 18-6 13 Southwestern Alliance
North Carolina Tech 16-8 5 South Atlantic Conference
Elyria 21-8 4 Indy
Dickson 17-9 2 Academia Alliance
MONDAY FEBRUARY 16 no games involving ranked schools TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17 at #8 Liberty College 58, Conwell College 48 at St. Martin's College 52, #16 Frankford State 45 at #17 Great Plains State 65, Springfield State 55 at Queen City 58, #23 Needham 40 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18 #10 Brunswick 52, at Henry Hudson 40 at #12 Noble Jones College 66, Western Florida 57 at #13 Bayou State 72, Cumberland 38 at #14 Mississippi A&M 60, Georgia Baptist 44 #19 Central Kentucky 51, at Baton Rouge State 42 at #21 Alabama Baptist 43, Northern Mississippi 34 Chicago Poly 69, at #25 Perry State College 63 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 19 at #1 Central Ohio 56, Minnesota Tech 41 #2 Carolina Poly 60, at Mobile Maritime 38 at #4 Western Iowa 67, Wisconsin State 50 at St. Magnus 48, #5 Whitney College 39 #11 Lambert College 61, at Payne State 52 at #22 Indiana A&M 56, #18 Detroit City College 50 at #24 University of New Jersey 56, Adirondack State 32 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20 at Idaho A&M 44, #3 Rainier College 40 at #15 Lane State 55, #6 CC Los Angeles 51 #7 Coastal California 50, at Portland Tech 37 #9 Redwood 59, at Spokane State 48 Amarillo Methodist 56, at #20 Texas Gulf Coast 52 #25 Perry State College 51, at St Andrews College 38 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 at #1 Central Ohio 64, #4 Western Iowa 52 at #2 Carolina Poly 54, Central Carolina 42 at #5 Whitney College 66, #22 Indiana A&M 47 at #8 Liberty College 71, Michigan Lutheran 49 #10 Brunswick 59, at Ellery 45 at #12 Noble Jones College 53, Baton Rouge State 48 at Northern Mississippi 51, #13 Bayou State 49 #19 Central Kentucky 57, at #14 Mississippi A&M 40 at #16 Frankford State 58, St. Matthew's College 37 St. Ignatius 48, at #18 Detroit City College 40 Arkansas A&T 56, at #20 Texas Gulf Coast 44 at #21 Alabama Baptist 68, Bluegrass State 63 at #24 University of New Jersey 47, Boston State 31 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22 at #3 Rainier College 51, #7 Coastal California 42 at #6 CC Los Angeles 45, Custer College 36 at #9 Redwood 56, Portland Tech 34 #15 Lane State 62, at Spokane State 51 WELTER CHAMP STEPHENS TO FACE MAC ERICKSON Harold Stephens, the World Welterweight champ will be back in the ring in April as his camp has confirmed the champ will take on undefeated Mac Erickson in Boston on April 24. The bout, which will be Stephens third title defense since winning the title just over one year ago, will take place at Denny Arena and feel like a "home game" for the 29-year-old Providence, R.I., native. Stephens, 21-3-2, won the title last February 22 with a unanimous decision over Mark Westlake in what was Westlake's first attempt at a title defense. Stephens fought in Boston in August, scoring 6th round TKO win over Carl Taylor and then last month in Cleveland outpointed Ira Mitchell in his second defense. Erickson,27, is a perfect 16-0 as a pro with 11 victories coming by knock out. A native of St. Paul, Mn., he first rose to prominence in 1944 when, while still in Navy he fought a spirited battle with Danny Rutledge before thousands of Allied soldiers and sailors in England on a star-studded card that also included Hector Sawyer and then middleweight champ Archie Rees. Erickson lost that fight to Rutledge but has not be defeated since turning pro in January 1945. CLINE MAKES QUICK WORK OF McFARLAND 23-year-old heavyweight Tommy Cline improved to 13-0 with a 1st round knockout of Mike McFaland in Hartford on Tuesday evening. The victory is 10th by knockout for the Tennessean, who by all accounts seems to be on his way to a title shot. McFarland falls to 17-5-2 with the loss. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/22/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-11-2023, 01:00 PM
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#766 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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March 1, 1948
MARCH 1, 1948 HALL OF FAME EXPANDS BY SEVEN Day, Vance & Trowbridge Elected The ranks of baseball's Hall of Fame have swelled by seven names including recent stars Rabbit Day, Frank Vance and Dave Trowbridge the Boone County museum announced today. Joining those three stars, who each surpassed the minimum 75% required in balloting of baseball writers, were veteran player inductions Bill West and Freeman Rogers along with builders Rufus Barrell and Jacques Cartier. Rabbit Day, who won 321 games and 3 Allen Awards, was an unanimous selection while Vance appeared on 92% of the ballots and Trowbridge, who narrowly missed induction a year ago, was named on 85%. Here are the complete voting results: Code:
HALL OF FAME VOTING Rabbit Day 100% Frank Vance 92% Dave Trowbridge 85% not elected Jack Cleaves 46% Charlie Stedman 46% Tom Barrell 23% Bud Jameson 23% Moxie Pidgeon 23% Dick Lyons 15% Joe Masters 15% Charlie Barry 8% Doug Lightbody 8% Jim Hampton 0% Del Lyons 0% Mike Murphy 0% Joe Shaffner 0% Sam Sheppard 0% Vance is 15th all-time in hits after delivering 2,970 of them during an 18 year career with Detroit and Brooklyn. He was a 9-time all-star and the Federal Association Whitney Award winner in 1929 when he helped lead the Dynamos to what remains their most recent Federal Association pennant. He hit .344 with 3 homers in the '29 WCS and was named its Most Valuable Player. Traded with Al Wheeler to the Brooklyn Kings in 1935, Vance would be a member of 3 more pennant-winning clubs before returning to Detroit in 1939 where he finished out his career. Just imagine what numbers 'Father Time' could have put up in his career had he been a regular in his twenties. Dave Trowbridge did not play more than 68 games in a year until his age 29 season when the Pittsburgh Miners dealt him to the New York Stars. Once he got in the starting line-up, Trowbridge rarely left, playing an amazing 151 games as a 44 year old in 1943 and finishing with 2,923 career hits in 2,405 games. A four-time all-star who won a pair of WCS titles with the Stars, Trowbridge won a batting title in 1940 at the age of 41. He is also the career FABL leader in doubles with 601. The two veterans committee additions each made their mark with the Washington Eagles. Freeman Rogers was one of the early stars of the game, a doubles machine who had 2,293 hits in just 1,679 gams in the 1880s 90s. Even at the age of 46, when he made a brief comeback with Detroit after 6 years away from the big leagues, Rogers could still hit -posting a .517 batting average by going 15 for 29 primarily in a pinch-hitting role. West spent his entire career, 17 years spanning from 1904-17, with the Eagles and posted a 291-215 career mark. Four times in his career he won 30 games in a season and he led the Eagles to 3 pennants and a win in the 1913 World Championship Series. Builders Rufus Barrell and Jacques Cartier each have a long history in the game. Barrell is of course the patriarch of the most famous family in sports as well as a long-time scout and co-founder of OSA, the league scouting agency. Cartier, one of the foremost owners in the Continental Association, has owned the Montreal Saints since 1905. He was part of the commissions on baseball's role during both the First and Second World Wars and most famously known as the creator of the FABL Draft system.  WIN OR LOSE, NEVER A DULL MOMENT WITH GOTHAMS The New York Gothams are clearly the most polarizing team in baseball. Like the Big Apple itself, it always feels like the Gothams are bigger than the rest of FABL and never do anything half way. That all or nothing approach has at times endeared them to local ballfans, while at other times frustrated not only their fanbase, but also quite often drawn the ire of FABL President Sam Belton. But whatever your opinion of the Gothams, everyone agrees they are not dull. The Gothams always are in the news, usually for blockbuster deals that just in the past nine months have seen George Cleaves, Lefty Allen, Sal Pestilli and Pete Casstevens either coming or going from Gothams Stadium. Their management team is impatient and demanding. And alternates times of incredible success with periods of extended futility. The Gothams "all or nothing" approach that has seen them finish first in the Federal Association 6 times in the 22 years that comprise the modern era of the sport. They have also finished dead last in the loop 6 times. They have never finished second and finished 3rd just twice so if the Gothams are good odds are they are going to win the pennant. If they are not good, expect management to make moves without hesitation. Some might charactorize their approach as rash and short-sighted but it has generated results as no Fed team has won more penannts since the dawn of the modern era. PENNANTS BY FED TEAMS (1926-47) NY Gothams 6 Keystones 5 Chi Chiefs 3 Pittsburgh 3 Boston 2 Detroit 1 St Louis 1 Washington 1 The Gothams once again appear to be the team to beat this season in the Federal Association after they added all-star catcher Goeroge Cleaves and pitchers Lefty Allen and Buddy Long to an already very strong club over the winter. TWIFB sat down with Gothams Assistant General Manager Frank Escoe recently to talk about the big moves and the club's unique approach to building a winning team. TWIFB : Quite an off-season for the organization. The Gothams are never afraid to make a big trade but the deal with Pittsburgh was a huge one. Do you see the Gothams as a clear favourite to win the Fed flag this season? FRANK ESCOE : We'd have to be disappointed if we weren't considered one of the favorites. We felt we needed some big moves to put ourselves in strong contention. TWIFB : Your GM has often been quoted as saying the season is a large disappointment if you don't win the pennant and finishing second is no better than finishing 8th. It's all about the titles. Will this season be considered a failure if the Gothams do not win the pennant or can there be varying levels of what is considered a successful season? FRANK ESCOE : It makes for a good poster and theme, but while there's some truth to it, I think the key thing is that we're always hunting pennants, even if it means backing up and retooling. Sure, it would be disappointing not to win this year after the work we've done, but there are 154 games to be played and the other guys are trying too. The important thing is that we're in the hunt until the end. TWIFB : The addition of Cleaves, Allen and Buddy Long is a bit of a change in philosophy for the Gothams, who seem to have avoided acquiring players over 30 and at times were quick to move them? Is this the signal of a new approach that leaves the organization more open to having players over 30 or more just a case of taking what was available at this time? FRANK ESCOE : I don't know that it's a change in policy so much as being flexible to the realities of the time. Rules are changing, acquiring seasoned, high level vets may become difficult. We saw the opportunity to greatly enhance our core group and go for it. TWIFB : Some have knocked the organization for being too quick to tear down a team? While there be that temptation if the club gets off to a slow start? FRANK ESCOE : A slow start is tolerable if the team stays within reach. Falling ten back behind several teams is a different story. TWIFB : Are you happy with your pitching staff? Do you feel it is deep enough to win or will another move or two be likely? FRANK ESCOE : We're very happy with the rotation. There will be competition in camp for the 5th spot. We're excited. TWIFB : Cleaves obviously shores up what was a hole behind the plate with the trading of Casstevens. Is centerfield a concern or do you feel the replacement for Sal Pestilli is someone already in the organization? FRANK ESCOE : I think we have a few guys who will combine to give us solid production in CF. Flipper Robinson, Bunny Hufford and young Billy Moody will all see time. TWIFB : Cleaves, Red Johnson, Messer, Bowman, Lefty Allen and Buddy Long are all among the top twenty pitchers and position players according to OSA. Entering the season how do you feel this Gothams team compares with your pennant winning clubs of the past? FRANK ESCOE : I'll answer this one in October. Before games are played, sure, they look as good as any group we've had. Can they bring home the pennant? We'll see. TWIFB : I assume if asked who the favourite for the Fed flag is you will answer the Gothams. So instead let me ask you which team you feel poses the biggest challenge to New York winning the pennant? FRANK ESCOE : St. Louis wears the crown so they have to be up there. The big news about Goulding sure changes things. Maybe Washington? As for the 1948 Gothams, it should be an entertaining season. SAILORS QUIETLY GET JOB DONE IN CA It is an interesting contrast in that we follow up a look at the New York Gothams with the Philadelphia Sailors. Like the city they hail from the Gothams are loud and brash. The rest of the league always knows what is going on in Gothams-land. The Sailors have taken a much different approach through the years, one that can in many ways be considered very similar to the Federal Association club they share a city with. The Sailors brass has taken a quiet methodical approach to running a franchise and been competitive year in and year out for over two decades. Rarely will you see a splashy trade made by the team but they always seem to be in the first division, both at the major league level and through a wildly successful system of minor league teams. The brash Gothams have 6 pennants. While the Sailors calm seas approach has yielded four including one last season in which the club did what it always seems to do - just sneak up on teams. Unlike the Gothams, the Sailors have never finished lower than 6th in the modern era, opting for long-term stability over headline making trades for high profile talent. Is one approach better than the other? Well, both have worked so it is hard to dispute what either organization has accomplished. As for the Sailors, we sat down with Assistant General Managaer Steve Basile to get some insight on the organization's success. TWIFB : I think the biggest question is where do you go from here? I expect most will once again favour the Chicago Cougars to win the Continental flag but what do you see out of your club this season? STEVE BASILE :This Sailors team were definitely overachievers last season in our eyes. I don’t think anyone predicted us to win the flag in the Continental, unlike the vaunted Cougar squad. They’re a really solid team and we DO predict them to win this year. That said, our franchise has a history of overachieving and being a scrappy team, without a lot of fanfare or “superstars” on the team. We always like to put out a contending team for our fanbase, and sometimes the team really gels together along with our coaching staff and the W’s start coming. We see this year as a transition year, with a lot of the “old guard” – Boismenu, Lee, Ross, Brown, etc. most likely not being here a year from now. We have some talented guys that are maturing and will soon be ready to take over. Who knows though, maybe lightning strikes twice? TWIFB : Much was said about the contract Woody Stone and to a lesser degree Ed B White signed in the GWL but it seems clear the Sailors have zero regrets in letting them go. Is the plan for Skidmore and Boismenu to be the full-time replacements and if not who should we see in the Sailors lineup in their places? STEVE BASILE : Woody Stone was an interesting problem for us to have. Our owner, Matilda Johnson, is a real penny-pincher and we do try to be fiscally responsible with her money. The production that Stone was providing offensively (a .250 hitter) vs. the contract he wanted just didn’t make sense for us, even though he’s good defensively and a great guy to have on the team. He would have accepted a AAA job at Richmond to stay with us. We definitely underestimated the interest for his services though, and just let him walk without attempting to trade him, which was a big mistake on our part. We wish Woody the best back in his old AAA stomping grounds of San Francisco, and hope that he does well. His contract should set him, his wife and kids up nicely for the future. From a fiscal standpoint though, we think the Hawks definitely overpaid for what they’ll get. Prove us wrong though Woody! As for the future, we have a good offensive player in Solly Skidmore that we traded for in the stretch run last year. We’ve been disappointed in our previous 1st round draft pick Mark Smith, who just hasn’t matured like we thought he would. We picked up a really nice looking veteran defensive catcher named Charlie Gump this offseason, and we’re going to give him some playing time in the preseason to see what he can do. It will most likely be Skidmore and either Gump or Smith starting the season out in Philly. Ed White was similar – another great guy and leader whose production just didn’t make sense for us vs. the contract demand. Ed has landed in Portland with a large $43K contract. Similar to Woody, we don’t think the ROI will be there for them, but wish Ed the best in the upcoming year. We have our favorite Canadian, Marion Boismenu, who will probably be the starter at 3B this year. We also have a young kid – “Frankie G” (Frankie Gonnella) who we also like, and will get some playing time. TWIFB : You mention a transition year of sorts coming up. Who else might be newcomers to watch for with the Sailors this season? STEVE BASILE : At some point, but definitely by roster expansion, we will bring up 2B Al Farmer. We anticipate moving Les Cunha back to his native SS position longer term, and having Farmer at 2B, which should give us a nice duo up the middle for quite a long time. AAA Farmhands RF Joe Scott and 1B Cliff Dilley may also make debuts this year, as well as SP Herb Bell. Another guy, although not exactly a newcomer, that we’re excited about is “RF” Eddie Heaton. We use the term “RF” loosely, as Eddie is not the greatest fielder in the world. Eddie is a bit of a freak with exceptional vision, who has a great ability to draw walks. We plan to get him in the mix as well to help get on base and to provide an offensive spark. We picked up a few Rule 5 guys to work out like we always do, but are most excited about a young RF Mike Scott, that we obtained from the Stars. We think he may be able to stick around with us for the whole year. TWIFB : Your pitching staffs often lack big names but somehow always seems to get strong seasons out of different players. At quick glance the rotation looks thin beyond Lewis, Wesolowski and Duster. Is Herb Bell ready to join them or do you see others contributing? And do you think your staff is deep enough to defend the title or will some moves on the mound likely be needed? STEVE BASILE : Pitching and defense have always been a focus of building the Sailors team, with our cavernous stadium. Charlie Gordon has been overlooked due to injury history, but we think he can be our #1 if he stays healthy. The usual suspects of Lewis, Weslowski and Duster will be in the mix – and we’ve got our late inning specialist David Molina with his spot locked down. We’re going to take a look at veteran Bill Martino starting some games for us – we think he may have some untapped potential. We’re also going to bring up another former #1 pick Hoppy Johnson to see what he can do. Like catcher Mark Smith, we’ve been unhappy with his growth over the past few years. If we’re in contention, we may make some moves down the stretch to bolster the arms. TWIFB : How do you feel about your draft that was just completed? Did you feel it went better or worse than expected? Who is a player you were surprised was still available at the spot you selected them? STEVE BASILE : Drafting last, we weren’t terribly excited about the opportunities we would have in this draft. We thought the pitching talent was thin, and drafted only one pitcher who we thought was a good value pick down in Round 7, Ed Pardue. Other than that, we tried to really just get good role players at different positions and do some shoring up at thin spots in the pipeline, like the middle infield. We think we may get some good role players out of It going forward, but no readily apparent juggernauts. Out of the draft, we think we got the most value in the 3rd round at pick 47, 3B Joe Jones. Looking forward to see what he can do in his senior year of high school. TWIFB : Finally, anything else you feel deserves mentioning in a preview of the Sailors? STEVE BASILE : The Sailors are proud to be representing and hoisting the Continental flag as champions. Although not big traders in the past, our telephone is always open for business and will always listen to potential trade offers – the focus being OBP, pitching and defense. Good luck to all of the other teams in the upcoming season! VANCE WELL DESERVING OF PLACE IN BOONE COUNTY Word came this week that former Dynamos legend Frank Vance has been granted membership in the exclusive club that is baseball's Hall of Fame. The third baseman becomes the fourth player who will have his likeness displayed in the Boone County baseball museum donning a Dynamos cap, following in the footsteps of Jim Golden, Jim Jones and Bill Temple. A well deserved honour for Vance, who is the franchise leader in games played, hits and homeruns despite spending 4 years of his prime in Brooklyn. The Minnesota native made his Detroit debut in 1927 at the age of 25 and would enjoy one of the greatest seasons in Dynamos history two years later when he won both the Whitney Award and the World Championship Series MVP. He led the Fed in batting that year -the only time it happened in his career- but Vance was always a talented hitter. He finished just 30 hits shy of the magical 3,000 mark with a career .317 batting average and was selected to baseball's all-star game 9 times. The only number the franchise has ever retired is Roy Calfee's #1 but I expect there will be a push to add Vance's #8 to the outfield wall at Thompson Field. It will be a well-deserved and long overdue recognition for the Detroit sporting legend who we can now officially call a "Hall of Famer." *** Knights With Big Cage Win To Stop Slide *** The Detroit City College cage squad has struggled in section play, going just 6-6 vs Great Lakes Alliance opponents including mix results last week. The losing streak reached 3 games on Thursday with a disappointing loss on campus at Knights area to Minnesota Tech. The 9-17 Lakers played persistant defense and shut down any sort of secondary scoring for the Knights in a 42-33 loss. Charlie Orland had 16 points but could not do it all himself as none of his teammates scored more than 4. It was a different story in Gary, In. Saturday afternoon as the Knights played possibly their best game of the season, dumping the 10th ranked Whitney College Engineers 66-63. That victory allowed the Knights to retain their spot in the top 20, slotting in at 18th for the second week in a row with a 17-8 mark on the season. *** Moore Ignores Critics *** To everyone who has been calling for Mark Moore's head, myself included for a brief spell early in the season, you also have to give the Motors coach credit for a job well done. He has turned around his club and it will be an incredible achievement if he can somehow guide to Motors to the playoffs for the second year in a row despite having his two best defenseman dealt away shortly before Christmas. The Motors banded together after that deal and are now just a point out of the final playoff spot with 9 games remaining. They have a lot of company as just 1 point separates three teams trying to grab that final spot and the New York Shamrocks, who are in fourth at the moment, look just as determined as the Motors do. Not sure there will be a bigger week this season than the one coming up which sees Detroit play twice against the Shamrocks with a Saturday home date with Montreal sandwiched in between. A nice three-game winning streak would go a long ways towards securing a playoff spot. BATTLE HEATING UP FOR FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT The New York Shamrocks are suddenly the hottest team in the NAHC and have worked their way into a playoff position with 10 games remaining in their season. The Shamrocks struggled most of the year but since February 3 have gone 6-1-2 and overtaken both Detroit and Montreal for the final playoff spot. New York also has a game in hand on their two challengers and is just 3 points back of the Toronto Dukes for third place. The news is not all good for the Shamrocks, who will be without their captain and top defenseman Bert McCalley for the next week to ten days after McCalley was injured in a 4-2 win over the first place Chicago Packers on Wednesday. The Packers are suddenly in a slump with 4 straight losses but they should have no trouble hanging on to top spot as their lead on second place Boston is still 11 points even after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Bees last night. The big battle with three weeks remaining in the season is for the final playoff spot, or perhaps two of them. Toronto is presently in third place, but the Dukes are just 3 points up on the surging Shamrocks with a pair of games on the docket between the two next week. Detroit, which has lost just once in its last 7 games, also has a pair against the Shamrocks next week with the Motors just a point behind the Greenshirts in the standings. Montreal is also one point back as the second half of the season continues to be dreadful for a Valiants club that at Christmas still had hopes of catching the Packers for first place. The Valiants must be relieved to be done with February, after going 1-8-1 during the month. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 52 29 17 6 64 193 134
Boston 51 22 20 9 53 160 143
Toronto 51 23 24 4 50 147 162
New York 50 21 24 5 47 163 160
Montreal 51 20 25 6 46 145 172
Detroit 51 20 25 6 46 136 173
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 46 44 23 67
Cabbell, NY 49 37 18 55
W Burns, Chi 50 12 40 52
Mahoney, Chi 38 16 34 50
Chandler, Bos 46 25 24 49
Albers, NY 50 16 33 49
Hart, Bos 50 24 22 46
Pollack, Tor 47 23 21 44
Sauer, Tor 47 18 25 43
Galbraith, Tor 50 17 25 42
Skinner, Mon 51 20 21 41
McGlynn, Chi 52 21 19 40
Gregg, NY 44 18 22 40
Lanceleve, Mon 48 13 27 40
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 45 22 17 6 3 2.63
Brockers, Bos 33 14 12 7 2 2.73
James, Bos 18 8 8 2 1 2.89
Tremblay, NY 39 18 15 4 3 2.93
Broadway, Tor 43 19 20 3 1 3.02
Touhey, Mon 42 18 21 2 2 3.37
Chasse, Det 42 18 18 5 2 3.39
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 Chicago 2 at 4 New York : The Shamrocks moved past Detroit into fifth place, just a point back of Montreal for the final playoff spot after extending their unbeaten streak to 5 games with a 4-2 win at Bigsby Garden over Chicago. It was the second straight loss for the Packers but Tommy Burns kept his goal scoring streak alive with a first period shorthanded goal. Burns has scored in each of the last 9 games. Chicago led 2-0 after 40 minutes before the Greenshirts exploded for four in the third period including a pair from Orval Cabbell. Boston 6 at 3 Toronto : Wilbur Chandler had a hat trick as second place Boston increased its lead on third place Toronto to three points. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 Detroit 4 at 3 Montreal: The Motors moved into a 4th place tie with slumping Montreal after a 4-3 road win. Detroit, which has gone 3-3-1 in its last seven games, was led by defenseman Joe Todd with a goal and two assists. The Valiants are 3-13-3 since the second week of January. Chicago 2 at 3 Toronto : Second period goals from Herb Burdette, Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack held up as the Dukes handed the Chicago Packers their third straight loss. Toronto is back to within a point of second place Boston in the battle for home ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. Tommy Burns did pick up an assist but his streak of scoring in 9 consecutive games came to an end. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 29 Boston 5 at 3 Chicago : Should they be worried in Chicago after the Packers lost their fourth in a row? Tommy Burns opened the scoring with his league leading 44th goal of the season but it was not enough as Tommy Hart scored twice and added an assist while Mickey Bedard had 3 assists to power the Bees to a 5-3 victory. First place is still likely out of the question for the Bees, who still trail the Packers by 11 points but this is the first time all season the Packers have dropped more than 2 in a row. The good news for Chicago is Marty Mahoney looks ready to return after being sidelined since February 11. Montreal 1 at 6 New York : The Shamrocks moved into the final playoff spot with a dominant 6-1 victory over the sinking Montreal Valiants. New York is on a tear with 6 wins and 2 ties in their last 9 games. They broke this one open with 4 goals in just over a 7 minute span late in the second period. Paul Tetreault and Chris Broeke led the way for the Shamrocks with a goal and two helpers each while Etienne Tremblay turned aside 29 of the 30 Montreal shots he faced. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES TUESDAY MARCH 2 Toronto at New York WEDNESDAY MARCH 3 Chicago at Boston New York at Detroit Montreal at Toronto THURSDAY MARCH 4 Boston at Montreal SATURDAY MARCH 6 Montreal at Detroit New York at Toronto SUNDAY MARCH 7 Toronto at Boston Montreal at Chicago Detroit at New York AROUND THE LEAGUE
 As the training staff helped Galbraith to the dressing room a hushed silence fell over the crowd. Concerns about their injured teammate may have had something to do with the Dukes trailing 2-1 after the first while allowing only 2 shots. The Dukes seemed to rally early in the second on goals by Dick Zimmerman and Bobbie Sauer, his second of the game, to take a 3-2 before the game had reached the halfway mark. As has become far too common lately the walls collapsed around the Dukes when the Bees stormed back with 3 goals in the last 7 minutes of the second to take a 5-3 lead. Alex Lavalliere tried to inject a little life back into the team by dropping the mitts at center ice to square off with Jacob Gron while the game was still tied at 3. It had the opposite effect as it was the Bees who got a jolt from the battle and cruised to an relatively easy 6-3 victory. Coach Barrell's post game remarks were "Everyone knew immediately that Lou's injury was serious, most players could not seem to get their heads back in the game after Boston tied it up in the second. Gordie (goltender Broadway) seemed to be most effected, allowing 6 on only 23 shots. I considered pulling him after the first, in hindsight I probably should have as I knew his mind wasn't in the game. We now know Lou is gone for the season, he is going to have surgery to repair his knee tomorrow at Toronto General, time to move on." Move on is exactly what the team did on Saturday night with Chicago in town looking for revenge after the Dukes halted their winning streak the past Sunday. The Packers poured everything at the Dukes in the first trying to replicate the fast start Toronto got off to in Chicago. Broadway stood his ground making 10 saves in the first, many of the difficult variety. The Dukes withstood the Packers onslaught to put 3 by Chicago keeper Norm Hanson in the second with Herb Burdette figuring in on all three goals. The up tempo continued for the high scoring Packers in the third, after Ed Delarue broke up the shutout with the 11 minutes gone in the third the Chicago team continued to come in waves and their persistance was rewarded with a second goal by Moose Vezina with just over a minute remaining in the game. With the Packers cage vacated the Dukes managed to hang on to a 3-2 win. Barrell : "That win was important especially to Gordie after Wednesday night. Still lots of work to do before 3 games this week in NY then home to the Valiants, Shamrocks." Galbraith was the worst but not he only injury news in Toronto. It appears that both J.C. Martel and Frank Featherstone will miss all 3 games this week with arm and back injuries leaving the D Corps scrambling yet again this season. A positive is that Chad Roy has been back on the ice for the first time time since his back injury in the preseason. STRONG FINISH TO BEES ROAD TREK by Finn LeBec, Boston Globe The Boston Bees had a very 3-1-1 successful road trip, recovering from a 3-1 loss to the Shamrocks last Sunday with wins in Toronto (6-3) and Chicago (5-3). The Toronto win saw five multi-point performances by the Bees, headlined by Wilbur Chandler's hat trick. Chandler offensively took control of the game, scoring twice in a three-minute span to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead, sandwiching the Lavalliere-Gron tête-à-tête. Chandler added his hat trick goal - his 24th of the season - as the only goal in a third period where the Bees clamped down and led on the shot clock, 14-6. The Chicago win even more impressive, handing the Packers only their fifth loss at Lakeside Auditorium. The top line accounted for another three goals, but it was Tommy Hart who was the star of this one, scoring an early goal and adding an empty-netter in the final seconds. Oscar James drew the somewhat surprising assignment, considering it was his third start in February and first in two weeks. But, James stood strong, turning away 27 of 30 Packer shots. Rookie Mickey Bedard was firing away at the net (13 shots attempted, 6 shots on goal), but earned first star honors because of his three helpers, two of them primary assists. PATRIOTS MAKING CHARGE IN ABC The hottest team in the ABC East Division is the Hartford Patriots as the club beat Boston twice last week to extend its winning streak to 4 games and victories in 8 of their last 9 contests. The Patriots strong stretch in February has allowed the club to close to within 3 games of first place Brooklyn and two of the Centurions in the East Division. James Phillips led the way for the Patriots last week, just as he has all season. The ABC scoring leader had 22 points in the 116-100 win over Boston on Monday and 25 in Saturday's 89-81 triumph over the Centurions. But he saved his best game of the week for the bright lights of Bigsby Garden, where Phillips poured in 33 points and added 21 boards in Thursday's 112-87 victory over the New York Knights. A 31-year-old California native who is in his 9th season in the league and fourth with the Patriots, Phillips was the West Coast Athletic Association player of the year in his senior season at CC Los Angeles and twice selected as an All-American.  Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 22 16 .579 - Boston 21 17 .571 1.0 Hartford 20 20 .500 3.0 New York 14 22 .389 7.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 26 8 .765 - Richmond 21 21 .500 9.0 Pittsburgh 14 23 .378 13.5 Rochester 13 24 .351 14.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.3 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.9 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.0 Augie Schleicher, PIT 18.9 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.8 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.8 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 17.9 Norm Yates, RIC 17.7 Gerald Carter, BOS 17.5 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.5 PANTHERS BACK TO WINNING WAYS Nothing like a game against Toronto to put an end to a losing streak as the top team in the Federal Basketball League -the Chicago Panthers- snapped their only 2-game skid of the season with an 85-74 win over Toronto Friday night at the Lakeside Auditorium. The Panthers will still missing injured star Richard Campbell, but had plenty of scoring with Ed Barahona leading the way with 23 points while center Cory Myers had 15 points and 25 rebounds. The win was the 23rd of the season against just 9 losses for the Chicago quintet, while the Titans lost for the 24th time. Both clubs would add to those totals the next night as the Titans feel to East Division leading Philadelphia 81-63 with the Panthers, led by Joe Hampton's 21 points, dropped Cleveland 79-67 to keep their lead on second place Detroit in the West Division at 9 games. The Philadelphia Phantoms are feeling pressure from Baltimore in the East, as the Barons had won 4 in a row before falling to Buffalo last night by a 71-66 score. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 22 10 .688 - Baltimore 20 12 .625 2.0 Buffalo 15 17 .469 7.0 Toronto 7 25 .219 15.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 24 9 .727 - Detroit 15 18 .455 9.0 Cincinnati 14 19 .424 10.0 Cleveland 13 20 .394 11.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Larry Yim, BUF 20.5 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 Irvin Mudd, PHI 20.3 David Reed, DET 19.1 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.0 Jack Kurtz, DET 18.2 Danny Hendon, PHI 17.1 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.4 Nestor Patterson, BAL 16.3 George Kelley, CLE 16.1 REDWOOD CLOSING IN ON FIRST EVER COAST CROWN Redwood University to a big step towards securing the schools first-ever West Coast Athletic Association championship with a 63-46 victory over Lane State yesterday. The Mammoths, led by 14 points from Punch Perez and a dozen from Timmy Adams, moved up to 6th in the polls and the school that has never won a tournament game in its history might just claim the top seed in the Western Region. Standing in the Mammoths way will be a pair of tough games next weekend when they face 5th ranked Coastal California on Friday and 2nd ranked Rainier College on Sunday before finishing things off next Saturday against long-time rival Northern California. Central Ohio moved a step closer to clinching the Great Lakes Alliance title and what seems certain to be a number one seed. The number one ranked Aviators are 11-1 in section play and 3 games up on Whitney College, Western Iowa and Lincoln with four games remaining on the slate. The battle for the South Atlantic section crown became very interesting on Saturday when North Carolina Tech nipped Carolina Poly 58-57 in overtime behind a 20-point showing from sophomore guard Mike Carter. The win leaves the bitter rivals knotted at 8-3 in section play, with Alexandria and Lexington State just a half game back. The Techsters, a long-time power in the south with 3 appearances in the national semi-finals this decade, have missed the tournament each of the past two years and may just need the section title automatic berth to snap that trend this time around. North Carolina Tech is 18-8 on the year and projected to be in the field of 32, at least at the moment.  Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Central Ohio (47) 22-3 1775 1 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Rainier College (25) 23-3 1750 3 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Western Iowa 20-5 1632 4 Great Lakes Alliance
4. Carolina Poly 22-4 1576 2 South Atlantic Conference
5. Coastal California 21-5 1535 7 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Redwood 22-4 1391 9 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Brunswick 22-5 1334 10 Academia Alliance
8. Lambert College 23-3 1276 11 Midwestern Association
9. Liberty College 23-7 1248 8 Indy
10. Whitney College 19-6 1178 5 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Mississippi A&M 21-5 1056 14 Deep South Conference
12. CC Los Angeles 20-6 1053 6 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Noble Jones College 20-6 914 12 Deep South Conference
14. Central Kentucky 20-5 763 19 Deep South Conference
15. Bayou State 19-6 737 13 Deep South Conference
16. Great Plains State 23-5 729 17 Indy
17. Frankford State 24-6 723 16 Indy
18. Detroit City College 17-8 699 18 Great Lakes Alliance
19. North Carolina Tech 18-8 436 NR South Atlantic Conference
20. University of New Jersey 20-5 368 24 Eastern Six
21. Lane State 20-9 365 15 West Coast Athletic Association
22. Perry State College 21-7 286 25 Indy
23. Travis College 19-6 184 NR Southwestern Alliance
24. Texas Gulf Coast 17-9 136 20 Southwestern Alliance
25. Needham 21-6 76 23 Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Elyria 22-8 64 Indy
Alabama Baptist 18-7 45 Deep South Conference
Pittsburgh State 21-8 29 Indy
Holland 19-6 15 Central Athletic Alliance
Bluegrass State 18-7 14 Deep South Conference
Western State 19-6 11 Central Athletic Alliance
Oklahoma Bible College 20-7 2 Indy
MONDAY FEBRUARY 23 at #16 Great Plains State 64, Flagstaff State 47 at College of Omaha 62, #25 Needham 57 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 24 no games involving ranked schools WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 at #11 Mississippi A&M 66, Cumberland 41 at #13 Noble Jones College 44, Alabama Baptist 36 at Bluegrass State 47, #14 Central Kentucky 39 #15 Bayou State 61, at Opelika State 36 #25 Needham 59, at Harper College 44 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 #1 Central Ohio 66, at Wisconsin State 51 #3 Western Iowa 63, at #10 Whitney College 48 at #4 Carolina Poly 55, Charleston Tech 49 at #7 Brunswick 65, #24 Texas Gulf Coast 36 at #8 Lambert College 67, Laclede 61 Minnesota Tech 42, at #18 Detroit City College 33 at #19 North Carolina Tech 58, Central Carolina 36 at #20 University of New Jersey 49, Constitution State 41 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 at #2 Rainier College 51, Portland Tech 33 #5 Coastal California 49, at #21 Lane State 47 #6 Redwood 47, at Idaho A&M 27 Northern California 45, at #12 CC Los Angeles 43 #23 Travis College 50, at Amarillo Methodist 31 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 at #1 Central Ohio 58, St. Magnus 50 Lincoln 58, at #3 Western Iowa 48 #19 North Carolina Tech 58, at #4 Carolina Poly 57 at #7 Brunswick 52, George Fox 44 #18 Detroit City College 66, at #10 Whitney College 63 #11 Mississippi A&M 50, at Alabama Baptist 49 #14 Central Kentucky 57, at #13 Noble Jones College 50 Baton Rouge State 48, at #15 Bayou State 41 at #20 University of New Jersey 57, Tinker 49 Darnell State 64, at #24 Texas Gulf Coast 56 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 29 #2 Rainier College 53, at Custer College 43 at #5 Coastal California 55, #12 CC Los Angeles 46 at #6 Redwood 63, #21 Lane State 46 at #16 Great Plains State 56, Arkansas A&T 40 MELANSON AND DESMARAIS: A REMATCH ON INDEPENDENCE DAY In a twist of fate that caught many in the boxing world off guard, World Middleweight Champion Frank Melanson has set his sights on a rematch with the formidable European champ, Edouard Desmarais. Come this July 4th, the electrifying showdown will unfold at the revered Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia, where fireworks of both pugilistic prowess and national celebration will light up the night sky. The choice of this significant date might raise some eyebrows, as it was on the very same day last year that Melanson met his first career defeat at the hands of John Edmonds. But for the gritty factory worker turned champion, superstition holds no sway. Unfazed by the memory of that loss, Melanson confidently declared, "It seems as good a day as any, and I am confident we will have a packed house to witness our epic clash. I plan on setting off some fireworks of my own in the ring." As for the selection of Desmarais as his next challenger, it was a decision that also raised eyebrows for its unpredictability. Many anticipated a third epic showdown with Edmonds, but Melanson surprised everyone by opting for a rematch with the skilled Frenchman. The champion revealed that facing Desmarais again was "something I have been looking forward to for some time." Melanson's rise from the factory floor to the championship podium is the stuff of legends. His meteoric ascent reached its zenith when he defied all odds to dethrone the British middleweight legend, Archie Rees, and claim the world title back in 1946. The fans were instantly captivated by his tenacity, both inside and outside the ropes, and he endeared himself to them further with back-to-back thrillers against Todd Gill, resulting in a draw and then in a triumphant TKO win. Desmarais, too, has a tale of courage and resilience, overcoming adversity during the war and rising to European glory after conquering Rees. Despite the setback against Melanson, Desmarais remains a force to be reckoned with, boasting an impressive record of 40 wins and a solitary loss. With Desmarais still slated to face Italian Poto Tauretto in two weeks before venturing across the Atlantic, the anticipation for their rematch is reaching fever pitch. Come July 4th, the stage will be set for a display of fistic fireworks, and the world will bear witness to the clash of two middleweight titans with the world title at stake *** Townsley KO's Rainey *** Frankie Townsley knocked out Jack Rainey in the 8th round of their middleweight tussle slated for 10-rounds at Bigsby Garden last week. The Baltimore battler improve to 22-7-1 with the victory, his fourth straight by knockout. Rainey, who was one of over a thousand draft dodgers recently pardoned by President Truman -although the pardon came after he spent a year in jail- sees his mark as a professional dip to 24-5. He has lost two of his four bouts since being released by prison but they were to top flight opponents in Townsley and John Edmonds, who briefly held the world title. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/29/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-14-2023, 12:22 PM
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#767 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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March 8, 1948
MARCH 8, 1948 A GLIMMER OF HOPE: SPRING TRAINING UNVEILS FABL'S PROMISE In the hallowed world of baseball, the dawn of spring training brings with it an unparalleled aura of anticipation. As the sun-soaked fields of Florida are ready to host the diamond warriors once again, the air is thick with dreams and aspirations. Every team stands at the precipice of a new season, unburdened by losses or injuries, their records unmarred by defeat. The scoreboard may show zeroes, but within the hearts of players and fans alike, a score of infinite possibilities is written. Today, dear readers, marks the commencement of spring training games, the birthplace of hope, the arena where champions are forged. It is a moment when even the most beleaguered franchises dare to believe that this could be their year, that their stars align, and the tides of destiny will finally turn in their favor. Regardless of the varying shades of hope each team clings to, the common thread binding all 16 squads together is the fervent belief that, for now, their dreams are untarnished. But as the games unfurl, so do the questions that have lingered since the last out of the previous season. Are the St. Louis Pioneers, riding the wave of last year's triumph, for real? Will the trio of H's – Hern, Hackney, and Hiram – continue to orchestrate wins, or will the limelight prove fleeting? Is Danny Hern more than a one act play? And can their offense shield their lead, or will rivals dash their hopes? In Gotham City, grand deals have been made, but will the big names ignite a glorious ascent, or implode, yielding chaos? The Washington Eagles' arms were their weapon in a pennant winning season two years ago – but are they sharp enough for contention this time around? Can Detroit Dynamos' youth thrive, or is their season's promise yet a season or two away? The Chiefs' mantle of success is burdened with the question: Can Mel Haynes fill the boots of the retired Gus Goulding? What say you of the Keystones? Can lightning strike twice for Bobby Barrell, and can they unearth some pitching beyond Lloyd Stevens to match their potent offense? The veteran Boston Minutemen, can they rally for another pennant run, or is their star fading? And the Miners of Pittsburgh, post-Cleaves and Allen, shall they stumble or surge at Fitzpatrick Park? Amidst the Continental Association, the Chicago Cougars, perennial on-paper champions, sit again at a crossroads: will they finally rise to the challenge they set for themselves? Can the Philadelphia Sailors replicate their triumph, no longer hidden in the shadows? Over in Brooklyn, the Kings, despite Buddy Long's departure, aspire to greatness with Bob Arman at the helm. And the Cannons? Can they sustain their valiant efforts, despite Arman's absence and Red Hampton's retirement? Quiet echoes from the New York Stars stir curiosity: does silence belie a contender lurking? Toronto's Wolves, after two seasons adrift, yearn for relevance anew. Montreal and Cleveland face years of struggle – with the Saints not reaching .500 since 1930 and the Foresters stuck in the second division for this entire decade- will their fortunes turn? Dear readers, as this season's curtain rises, myriad questions await answers. The dreams of all 16 fanbases, no matter how diverse, converge on this sacred ground, woven together by hope's intangible thread. Spring training, like a master artist's brushstroke, paints a portrait of promise. While the games will unveil realities, for now, all 16 clubs can bask in the glow of optimism – until the bitter taste of reality dampens some of these fervent hopes. CHIEFS HOPE THEY HAVE REPLACEMENT FOR GOULDING The Chicago Chiefs made a move shortly before teams reported to spring training this week. The deal saw them reacquire 26-year-old righthander Mel Haynes from the Chicago Cougars with the hopes that Haynes can fill the void left after Gus Goulding surprised the organization by announcing his retirement two weeks agao. It will be Haynes second stint in the Chiefs organization as he was acquired from the Cougars in 1942 when, as a minor league pitcher he was included in the deal that sent Hank Barnett from the Chiefs to the Cougars. He never made it to Whitney Field as Haynes was dealt a year later to Brooklyn as part of a package for Al Wheeler and Bob Cummings. He went 3-6 with a 4.62 era over parts of two season with the Kings but was suprisingly placed on waivers last spring. The Cougars claimed him and he spent the entire season with the big club but saw very little action. It is expected that Haynes will be given every opportunity to earn a slot in the Chiefs rotation. Going the other way is Henry Norman, a 19-year-old outfielder that OSA ranked as the top prospect in the Chiefs system prior to the deal. A 1947 third round pick out a New York City high school, Norman split last season between Class B and A. OSA EARLY PREDICTIONS CALL FOR COUGARS-DYNAMOS WCS Few put much stock in the OSA's traditional forecast released on the opening of spring training each season but if the scouting service is to be believed the Chicago Cougars will finally return to the World Championship Series. The Cougars been predicted to finish first is nothing new - they are regularly the media darlings- but they have not won the Continental Association pennant since 1941. OSA forecasts a typically tight battle for Federal Association supremacy, and it comes as no surprise that the defending champion St Louis Pioneers and loaded-up New York Gothams are very much in the mix, but the scouting service feels the Detroit Dynamos youthful club is ready to take the next step and win its first pennant since 1929.  SAINTS LOOK TO END 26 YEAR PENNANT DROUGHT Seeing the St Louis Pioneers win the World Championship Series last October perhaps gave the Montreal Saints hope that they too could make a rise from the basement to the top of baseball. Prior to October the last time the Pioneers played in the WCS was 1921 -the same year the Saints last were the class of the Continental Association. There have been a number of management changes and a number of lean years over that stretch but TWIFB : Who do you see as the team to beat in the Continental Association this season and where do you think the Saints fit in? HOMER MOORE : The top 2 teams that should battle to the end is Chicago and Philadelphia. Both teams have a good starting 8 positions players, but Chicago have a little edge on the pitching rotation. Then come the second group of Cincinnati and New York Stars. Both have good pitching, but have holes to fill at few positions. Then come the third group with Toronto, Montreal and Brooklyn. Hard to tell what would be the position between those three teams, injury could play a big factor here at the depth is not as good as the top 4 teams. Then comes Cleveland but they were better than us last season. Montreal was underachieving last season and the owner made clear that need to change in a near future. TWIFB : What do you see as strengths or weaknesses for the Saints organization this year? HOMER MOORE : Our new pitching coach is working double shift to solve the “Wally Doyle Mystery” performance from last season. With that in mind, we felt our starting rotation will be better than average. The bullpen is probably average when you compare to the rest of the league, the bullpen key guy is Bud Robbins ranked 2nd among reliever. We need to get better on offense, our batting average is good, but we need to put more runs on the board. The acquisition of Pinky Pierce (from Pittsburgh) was a move in that direction. We have never been great with Red Bond, Vic Crawford, Bert Lass or Charlie Woodbury, so why not try something else different this coming season. The coaching staff have been working very hard to improve defense which have incurred a couple of additional losses in the last few years. TWIFB : Parc Cartier has unique dimensions and ballpark factors that makes it really unlike any other stadium in the league. It is well set up for gap hitters and requires outfielders who can cover a lot of ground, but makes life very difficult for powerhitters. How do you factor that into your strategy when building a team as it appears to create some unique challenges? HOMER MOORE : Baseball wise, I always liked more gap and line drive hitters with speed than the power hitter with a bad strikeout rate. But what makes a team win is the good mix between both types. With that in mind, because of Parc Cartier we need a bit more players of the first type with elite defense skills. Power hitters is always defined how you measure it, playing in Parc Cartier half of your games during the season, I don’t think you will ever see an player form Montreal challenging the homerun title of the league. However, there is no reason to look for the batting average champion as there is plenty of space for a ball to land of a hitter use the full field to place the ball. As you asked the question, maybe this is the time to start the discussion about a potential new ballpark in Montreal? Maybe this is the time for the Saints to play on a more modern ballpark, don’t you think? TWIFB : What new player or players should we be watching, guys you think might be ready to make a big contribution to the team this year? HOMER MOORE : 1B Hank Smith is probably the most ready among prospect. He is ranked OSA #39 at the moment, and maintained .347 batting average with 13 HRs and 79 RBI in 110 games in Minneapolis last season. It will be up to him to show us if he stays in Montreal or not during spring training. 2B Eddie Loganis also a young player who can make an impact this coming season. Last year, Logan had a .356 10 HR 87 RBI with 140 OPS+ in 136 games in AAA. In the trio of outfielders between Bill Elkins, Gig Taylor and Otis Parker, one of them needs to start making noise soon wearing the Montreal Saints jersey. TWIFB : The Saints have had some highly ranked minor league systems the past few years but so far it has not translated to success in the standings. Do you feel the club is on the verge of a .500 season? That is something which has not happened in Montreal since well before you took over as the last one was 1930. HOMER MOORE : On the first few years after my move to Montreal, we had really good pitchers drafted and part of the team squad already (Cupid, Reif, Irwin) to combine with Weakley and Doyle, this is giving Montreal a very decent pitching squad. This being said, I do not think the pitching rotation is the problem for the Saints, the surprise last season was “Wally Doyle mystery”throwing way below the expectations. Our bullpen is a mix of solid veterans who can fill in at anytime: Robbins, DeYoung, Ross, Finch. The catcher position is under control with 2nd year Spahr and veteran Henry. Spahr had a good rookie season and was selected for the All-star game in 1947. The Right side of the infield is where the fans will see new faces this season. Long time veteran 1B Crawford retires after 17 season wearing Montreal jersey and 2B Woodbury been traded. One of the spring battle will be for the 1B position between Luke Weaver, Maurice Carter and prospect Hank Smith. Maurice Carter who was brought in a trade at deadline last season surprised many people with 6 HRs in 39 games. The lefty power batter may have found a niche in strange Parc Cartier shape. Luke Weaver is not producing as expected when ho got drafted in 1943, could also play 3B but this position is already locked down by Hughes, maybe this is the time to shine for Weaver, but he surely need to improve his batting average to stay in the lineup. Then come Hank Smith, 1st round draft in 1945, he is ready to jump at the major level. Second base is also an unknown before spring training start. Battling for the position will be prospect Eddie Logan, Rule 5 draft pick Howard Rivers and elite defense player Bob Jennings. Jennings should be in as backup as he can play great defense at any other positions in the infield, but can he find a bit of batting strength to be an everyday player? Other surprise could come from AAA Ed Fiore who will have a chance at 2B or 1B or Rule 5 pick Howard Rivers who may finally get a chance to play. The left side of the infield is set withSS Gordie Perkins and 3B Jake Hughes. The outfield positions are where high draft picks or trade prospects did not fill the expectations in the last few years. Talking of deception in prospects: 2nd overall in 1942 Ernie McCoy and Otis Parker (key player in the Mullins trade) have both played below expectations since they join the Saints team. McCoy was hit by multiple injuries last season and got the sophomore virus last season. Bill Green has been a good player since he joined the Saints after being a first round pick in 1939, he can patrol RF or CF everyday, good bat and stole bases. Bert Lass been patrolling LF for few seasons now, but maybe this is time for swapping and this is why we trade with Pittsburgh for OF Pinky Pierce. Pierce has a more powerful bat than Lass for similar defensive skills,limiting them to play the smaller left side of the filed at Parc Cartier. CF/RFwill have to be decided between Elkins, Clay, McCoy, Taylor or Parker.Even Weaver can also be the one patrolling RF to get more playtime if he find batting skills. From that list, Elkins and Parker are having the leading edge for now. After all this long answer, why we did not play over .500 in the last decade, even with all those highly ranked draft picks and prospects? My personal excuse is none of them been able to shine at the same time. We are probably closer then where the team was few years ago, leadership has joined the club this coming season, and we are just hoping the throwing arms can keep the pace and bats find their groove. We also made a manager and pitching coach changes late last season hoping for a better atmosphere in the locker room. TWIFB : And there is some pretty sold talent in the minors right now HOMER MOORE : Absolutely. Here are a few we will be following their progress in the minors very closely this year: SP Ted Coffin (OSA #22) should be playing in A or AA, Watch this kid next season. 2B/OF Bert Mayes (OSA #46) will be playing A this coming season, interesting fact about Mayes is even if he been drafted as a second baseman, he could also play in the outfield. C Jesse Garman(OSA #68) made a lot of progress last season finishing the last in AA. He will probably started at this level the season again but may be promoted. He already got the invite for the major level camp for tryout with the guys in few weeks. 1B Bill Duckworth(OSA #35), our first round draft pick in 1947, is another one to watch closely. We were expeting more power from him, but maybe this is adapting to pro baseball. He is still just 19 year old, next season will be important in his development OF Otis O’keefe(OSA#25) was the best surprise from last year draft. He finished strong the season in AA last year. Don’ t be surprised to see him as a September call up if his progression continues. He got the invite also for spring ball. COUGARS LOOK FOR LUCK TO CHANGE No club enters the 1948 season with more pressure on it than the Chicago Cougars. It has beome a yearly tradition it seems where every April the class of the Continental Association -on paper at least- is the Chicago Cougars who are routinely picked by most forecasters as the likely flag winner in the CA. But time and again something goes wrong as the dominant Cougars club comes up short. There have been near misses like the tie-breaker loss to the New York Stars in 1946, awful late season collapses like in 1944 when they squandered a record-setting 50-13 start and finished 5 games back as well as seasons like last year when they finished a dismal 7th -their worst finish since 1929. Through it all they have added talent and continued to be among the favourites every April and this year is no different. A dominant pitching staff anchored by 3 pitchers in the OSA list of the top twenty in baseball plus a lineup full of high end offensive talent. Can they finally put it all together and win their first pennant since 1941? That is the first question we posed to Bill Bordwell, the new Assistant General Manager of the Chicago Cougars, who we caught up with recently. TWIFB : You are new to your role with the Cougars and there was some controversy over the winter when you left Cincinnati for a key rival. You must feel pretty good having that deep Chicago pitching staff working for you and not against you. And the organization must be thrilled to see Pete Papenfus ranked among the top pitchers in baseball according to OSA. Not just Papenfus but also Donnie Jones and Duke Bybee all cracking the top twenty. It was a tough year for Papenfus? What do you see out of him and the rest of the staff in '48? BILL BORDWELL : Yes, many were surprised with the move, but I'm not getting any younger. Traversing the nation year in and year out was getting tired. Having a comfy office in beautiful Chicago beats living out of crappy motel rooms from Cheviot to Wharton. And many might not know this, but the Cougars for the first FABL team to give me a shot when I was catching. It felt right to finish my career out with them as I get closer to retirement. And as a former catcher, the pitching staff is definitely a huge appeal. It's hard to say there's a team with as quality of a staff as the one pitching at Cougars Park. We feature the past two Allen Winners in Pap and Donnie, while Johnnie Jones is a two-time All-Star. And if that's not enough, rookie sensation Duke Bybee already looks like one of the best pitchers in terms of command. There's a few teams where any of these four would lead the staff, and I don't see anywhere they wouldn't be at least #3. I expect big things from this group, especially from Pap. The league knows this year was a fluke. His K% dropped 4.2% from last year's dominance, the same as his increase in BB%, and that was already a career low. Pap gives us innings, keeps us in each game, and you have to imagine his luck will change. He'll be out for revenge, and I fully anticipate a sizzling start to his spring TWIFB :On paper the Cougars just look so dominant, but call it bad luck, things just have not worked out as expected for a number of years now? What has gone wrong in the past and is there anything the organization can do differently this year to ensure a positive outcome? BILL BORDWELL : It was sort of a running joke back in Cincinnati where all the guys would laugh at the experts for their backhanded compliments. It's like, "oh sure, the Cannons are good... But on paper?" -- and that's where it would always get the laughs. It was always expected that Chicago would run away with the association, but we just kept winning and proving them wrong. Even this year, same story. "Those Cougars are unstoppable, the regular season is just a formality for the best team on paper," but sure enough we finished just a game out and they were closer to last then first. I'm hoping this season we end that mentality. Burn that paper. Throw all that fluff out the window and just focus on winning baseball games. The guys need to do a better job of tuning out the noise. I talked to a few of our players this winter and tried to reiterate that point. It's hard, but you can't let that stuff get to you. TWIFB : Would one of those happen to be Sal Pestilli? BILL BORDWELL : [Chuckles] Yes, Sal would be one of them. As an outside observer, the only thing more surprising then the Pioneers title run was the brutal season from the former Whitney Winner. He was angry most of the year, and he really let it effect his play. The media in New York is tough -- not much easier in Chicago -- and when you find success at such a young age the pundits expect it year in and year out. Players are allowed a bad season, even those as talented as Pestilli, and the front office expects a return to form from the superstar. We just have to get him out of his own head. TWIFB : Has the organization's approach changed in response to all of the near misses and does Cougars management feel added pressure because of all of them? BILL BORDWELL : I'm still getting used to how things are run around here, but I think the overall goal is clear: build a roster that can sustain long-term success. And it may not be apparent from the of flags in the rafters, but that's one thing the organization does well. They tend to finish top five in terms of both record and farm system ranking. Winning aside, the organization is the envy of the league due to all the talent they seem to churn out. Not only do you have a superstar center fielder and superstar ace in Pestilli and Papenfus, but budding superstar prospects at the same positions in Jerry Smith and Bob Allen. And it's not just top heavy, with nearly 50 of the top 500 ranked prospects by OSA. What will be interesting is how the banning of draft pick trading will hinder their asset accumulation strategy. Us in the front office may have to get a little more creative. TWIFB : Near misses aside it feels like a really good time to be a Chicago sports fan, even with the heartache in the Continental Association. The Cougars have been one of the best teams in baseball the past decade. The Federal Association Chiefs look strong. The grid Wildcats are always competitive and now the two winter sports teams -hockey's Packers and the Federal Basketball League's Panthers- are winning. Does all of that add to the pressure on the Cougars to win a pennant? BILL BORDWELL : While I agree it's a great time to be a Chicago sports fan, I don't think there's any added pressure on the ballclub. Plain and simple, the only thing considered a success for the Cougars is a title. That hasn't changed recently and won't change. This is a team with a rich history of championships in their longest ever title drought. No organization has a higher win percentage and only the Stars have been to the postseason more frequently. I don't think it's possible to raise the pressure level any higher then it already is. TWIFB : The Cougars have consistently had great teams while also having one of the top farm systems year in and year out. What is the secret to balancing both big league success and keeping the farm stocked with high end talent? BILL BORDWELL : I touched a bit on this earlier, but I think what really helped the Cougars sustain a strong farm was their ability to recycle talent. They were able to sell accumulate extra draft picks by dealing from a surplus to help address future needs. There are plenty of instances back in Cincinnati when we saw them trade quality players for mid-to-late round picks, just to use those picks to nab the next. Clyde Parker was acquired with a 7th Round Pick of the Stars we picked up for Bill Graham. He appeared in 81 games before retirement, Parker is a top 100 prospect. Same for Ron Berry, a 7th Rounder acquired the year before with a pick they got from my Cannons for Dan Rogers, who can't even crack the GWL Grays roster. Last year they picked up a 9th Rounder and cash for Mike Thorpe, with that 5th becoming top 200 prospect Harley Dollar. The list goes on and on, although 10th Rounder Johnnie Cloud will forever be known as the last Cougar draftee selected with an acquired pick It's going to be a challenge for us to continue to maintain deep farm systems without the use of draft pick trading, but one thing that won't go away is the organizations emphasis on scouting. Just like we did in Cincinnati, the Cougars invest heavily in scouting, with some of the most active area scouts I've ever seen. Even head scout Dixie Marsh is always out and about. In the four months I've worked here, I don't think I've ever seen him sit down. He was going town to town making final preparations for the Winter draft when I started, and not even a week after it ended he was already looking at future year's players. Heck, he was watching a high school freshman in New York take BP over the winter! Hard work is instilled at all levels of the organization, both for players and the staff, and it really shows with the amount of talent they have acquired over the years. The organization is littered with quality coaches that is able to get the most out of their players, and they front office is excellent at identifying hidden gems. I've learned quickly how dedicated the club is to making the most of what they have, and I think my experience in the game should help keep the pipeline ripe with talent. TWIFB : Chicago has also gained a reputation of not being afraid to make a big trade? But looking at the talent all over the diamond it is hard to see a hole in the roster anywhere right now. Does that mean we are less likely to see a big deal -barring a major injury creating a need- out of the Cougars this summer? BILL BORDWELL : If there was going to be a big deal, it would have happened already. As many expected, we were in heavily on George Cleaves, but the allure of draft picks ended up being too enticing. Considering the Miner's lottery luck, perhaps they should have stuck with the handshake agreement they worked out with the Cougars, but our GM decided it was best for the league if Cleaves was officially on the block instead of moved. Although the agreement was in place, there was plenty of hesitation on our end to part with the highly touted Jerry Smith. As good as Cleaves is, internally we are extremely fond of Smith. If the Miners would have been willing to replace him with Johnny Peters and a few additional prospects, I think Fed teams would be very happy to never see King George again Touching on your second point, I don't even think a major injury would trigger a trade. We would need a lot of guys to go down. The feel is that we are more then comfortable with our depth to absorb nearly any injury. Sure, the 5th spot in the rotation is influx, but we're confident in any one of Mel Haynes, Ken Matson, George Oddo, and Harry Parker to pick up starts. Even waiver claim Frank Sartori could be counted on to spot start a few times in a dire situation. To add an arm, we'd need to see Pap and the Jones Brothers all go down, but at that point, would we even have a chance? The lineup is very deep too, with more starting caliber players then available spots. In the outfield, we're comfortable starting any of Pestilli, Mitchell, Sharp, Montes, or Don Lee, and the previously mentioned Peters is ready to go in AAA. The infield has Clark Car ready for an inevitable Billy Hunter injury, as well as George Sutterfield, who can man short if Skipper misses time. Add in the platoon at first of Red Bond and Ray Ford, the one at third with Walt Pack and Otto Christian, and the timeshare behind the plate with Harry Mead and Eddie Howard, there is a legit second option at all roster spots. I don't want to jinx it, but add in the Cougars propensity to stay healthy, and I think it's safe to count us out of any blockbusters until next offseason TWIFB : In the minds of most, if not all observers, the Cougars have the deepest roster probably in either association. Is this the year the Cougars finally get the monkey off their back and win a pennant? I am sure the answer you will give has to be yes so let me follow up that question with one asking which team do you feel will be your biggest obstacle to overcome this season? BILL BORDWELL : I like to think I'm a bit of a lucky charm. My first year scouting with the Cannons was the first of three consecutive pennants. I'm hoping to bring my new team similar success. We have the talent to run the association, it's just all about the desire. It's almost a cop out to say the team that poses the biggest obstacle is ourselves, but that's how it feels. The only team to stop the Cougars is, well, the Cougars. Year after year they underperform their expected record, as the team almost refuses to win close games. Looking at the rest of the league though, I'm worried most about the Stars. The Cannons and Kings could have been very tough to handle, but with Al Wheeler retiring and the Cannons open to moving big league talent, my former club may have their eyes set on the future. A team known for their veteran talent, it feels like a transition period is going underway. They have a lot of really good prospects that could help the big league club soon, but the 1948 roster has holes that need to be filled. The Kings are further along, with a lot of young talent in the majors, but they also feel their window is not this year. I expect them to give us a lot of trouble in the 50s, but barring a big move, I think they're a step below. That leaves the Stars, who tend to be a thorn in the Cougars side. Bill Barrett helped edge them two seasons ago and John Lawson willed the Stars to a 1932 pennant, both times putting up insane win totals to top an equally insane Chicago team. That offense is scary with Barrett, Mack Sutton, Jack Welch, and Bill Barnett all providing plenty of power. The pitching is improved and I think the addition of Richie Hughes was an excellent one for a team that needed more arms behind Eli Panneton. But don't count out the Sailors. They're always competitive and took advantage of the Cougars down year. No real star in the lineup, but they are deep with Ed Reyes, Les Cunha, Rip Lee, Billy Forbes, Harvey Brown, and Cotton Dillon. Add in two really good young pitchers in Win Lewis and Charlie Gordon and you have a really good club. It won't be easy for us to get through the season TWIFB : Anything to add that readers should know about the organization. BILL BORDWELL : The team is really ready to compete. There has been so much disappointment and even as a newcomer, its easy to see how this ways on the players, staff, and the fans. But that hasn't stopped them from working. There are plenty of guys with a lot to prove, and it should fuel them to start, continue, and finish strong. Expect big bounce backs from the starts: Leo Mitchell, Sal Pestilli, and Pete Papenfus are far too gifted to continue to be below average. If everything clicks, and some of the luck goes our way, this '48 squad could be the first Cougar team to win 100 games OSA LIKES DYNAMOS TO WIN FLAG As it does every spring, the league scouting service makes a very early prediction on the pennant races for the upcoming campaign. It is really just an early guess and often quite different from what the OSA releases in its official opening day predictions next month, but Dynamos fans have to be thrilled to see the local nine is labeled as the team to beat. It is far from a resounding endorsement as the scouting service sees the Dynamos as the team to beat but just barely. OSA forecasts an 85-69 record for Dick York's club, which would be a 6-game improvement on their 1947 showing. However, the service figures the Dynamos to finish just a game up on the New York Gothams and 2 ahead of the defending champion St Louis Pioneers. Detroit spent much of the second half a year ago in second place before a dismal season-ending 11 game losing streak dropped the Thompsons into a third place tie with the Chicago Chiefs. *** Motors Need To Step on the Gas *** The Detroit Motors have been an impressive club of late, sporting a 10-6-3 record in their last 19 games after a dreadful start. However, a pair of weekend losses to Montreal and New York severely hampered the Motors drive for a second straight playoff appearance. Those two losses leave the Motors 3 games back of the Shamrocks for the 4th and final playoff berth with Montreal sandwiched in between. The schedule makers did the Motors no favours with four of their final six games against Chicago and Boston -the top two teams in the league. The final two games will be a home and home series against Toronto and that might prove crucial if the Motors can enjoy some success against the Packers and Bees. Toronto is in third place but only 4 points ahead of Detroit. *** Cage Results Mixed *** The basketball situation is both good and bad. Rollie Barrell's pro outfit has struggled to string wins together and now at 15-19 is tied with Cincinnati for second place in the Federal loop's West Division. The Cleveland Crushers are not far behind either and if the Mustangs want to reach the playoffs after missing out a year ago they will need to hold at least one of the Ohio entris off. Four of the Mustangs next 5 games are with Cincinnati including tonight and tomorrow with both contests at the Palladium. There are still 14 games remaining in the season so it is hard to call them crucial but a sweep at home with two to come next week in the Queen City feels like a pretty important task to accomplish. The Detroit City College Knights split their two Great Lakes Alliance games this week with a 50-25 drubbing of Wisconsin State at DCC Arena on Thuyrsday followed by a heart-breaking 56-53 loss to Western Iowa Saturday afternoon. The Knights are 7-7 in secton play and 18-9 overall with 2 games remaining before the tournament field is announced. Odds look very good on the 16th ranked Knights qualifying for the field. If successful it will be DCC's third appearance in a row and 15th in the last 16 years. The Knights have never won the AIAA tournament but they did play in the title game in 1932-33 and have reached the National Semi-Finals twice since then -most recently the 41-42 season when they were ranked #4.  STONE OPENS WITH A THUD IN COAST LOOP The Great Western League began its third preseason as a "Major" league last week and all eyes were focused squarely on Woody Stone of the San Francisco Hawks. Signed to a record-breaking contract that will pay him $96,000 this season, Stone clearly felt the pressure in his opening week in the GWL as the catcher went 0-for-9 in spring play. Spring games really mean nothing but you can get that more than one FABL magnate was rubbing his hands with glee to see Stone's lackluster debut and the Hawks 1-4 start. The coast league regular season gets underway April 14. 
TWO PLAYOFF BERTHS VERY MUCH UP FOR GRABS WITH TWO WEEKS REMAINING The final two weeks of the season should provide plenty of playoff excitement as there are four teams separated by just 4 points in the race for the final two playoff berths. If the season was to end today the Toronto Dukes would claim third place and face the Boston Bees in the opening round of the playoffs. The Dukes are a single point ahead of the New York Shamrocks, who would meet first place Chicago. However there are two weeks remaining in the season and the Montreal Valiants are just a point back of New York while the Detroit Motors are not out of the race either with the Motors 3 behind the fourth place Shamrocks. Detroit and New York each have six games remaining while the two Canadian entries have 5 games apiece. Among the key upcoming contests are two between Montreal and New York next weekend while Toronto visits Montreal this week and finishes off the season with a home and home series against the Motors. The Shamrocks might have the toughest road to travel as four of their final six games are with either Boston or Chicago. Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 54 30 18 6 66 198 141
Boston 54 25 20 9 59 172 149
Toronto 55 24 27 4 52 155 177
New York 54 23 26 5 51 175 171
Montreal 55 22 27 6 50 160 181
Detroit 54 21 27 6 48 146 187
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 48 45 24 69
Cabbell, NY 53 40 19 59
Albers, NY 54 20 35 55
W Burns, Chi 52 12 41 53
Chandler, Bos 49 25 25 50
Mahoney, Chi 40 16 34 50
Hart, Bos 53 24 24 48
Pollack, Tor 51 25 22 47
Skinner, Mon 55 24 22 46
Sauer, Tor 49 18 26 44
Gregg, NY 48 19 24 43
Lanceleve, Mon 52 13 30 43
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 47 23 18 6 3 2.65
Brockers, Bos 34 15 12 7 2 2.71
James, Bos 20 10 8 2 1 2.80
Tremblay, NY 42 19 17 4 4 2.87
Broadway, Tor 47 20 22 3 1 3.04
Touhey, Mon 46 20 23 2 2 3.27
Chasse, Det 44 19 19 5 2 3.46
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY MARCH 2 Toronto 0 at 3 New York : The surging Shamrocks stretch their unbeaten streak to 7 games as Etienne Tremblay notches his league leading 4th shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over Toronto. Laurel Albers scored twice while Tommy Brescia had a pair of assists as New York moved to within a point of the Dukes for third place. WEDNESDAY MARCH 3 Chicago 2 at 5 Boston : The Bees moved to within 9 points of the first place Packers with a 5-2 victory. It was Boston's third straight victory, including back to back wins over the slumping Packers who have lost 5 in a row. Joe Morey scored twice to lead the Boston attack while Tommy Burns had his league leading 45th goal for the Packers. New York 3 at 5 Detroit : The Motors slowed down the Shamrocks, handing New York's its first loss in 8 games while Detroit has lost just once in its last eight outings. The victory moves the Motors back to within 1 point of New York for the final playoff spot. Rookie Ben Witt had a goal and two assists while Arnold Singleton scored twice to lead the Motors attack in a game Detroit won despite being outshot 53-34. Montreal 6 at 2 Toronto : A big win for the Valiants as it keeps them tied with Detroit and more importantly just one poing behind New York for the fourth and final playoff spot. Adam Sandford had 3 assists to lead the Montreal offense while Clarence Skinner scored a pair of goals. THURSDAY MARCH 4 Boston 2 at 1 Montreal : All the scoring came in the opening twenty minutes as goals by Garrett Kuaffeldt and Waldemar Rupp lifted Boston to victory. Glen Whitley had the long Montreal marker. SATURDAY MARCH 6 Montreal 6 at 2 Detroit : The Motors have only lost twice in their last 9 games, but both were to Montreal after absorbing a 6-2 defeat at the Thompson Palladium. The win allows the Valiants to move a point ahead of the New York Shamrocks for fourth place. Clarence Skinner paced the Montreal attack with 2 goals and an assist in a game that the Valiants outshot Detroit 45-23. New York 1 at 3 Toronto : A big win for Toronto to keep the Dukes in third place while the Shamrocks loss drops them behind Montreal in the battle for fourth. A pair of third period goals by Herb Burdette -the second one into an empty net- proved the difference in the contest. SUNDAY MARCH 7 Toronto 3 at 5 Boston : The Bees stretched their winning streak to 5 games and seem to be peaking at the right time with the playoffs fast approaching. The game was tied at 1 after two periods but the teams combined for 6 goals in the final 14 minutes of a wild third period. Montreal 2 at 3 Chicago : The Packers snapped a 6-game losing streak by beating Montreal 3-2 and knocking the Valiants out of the final playoff spot. Ed Delarue's unassisted third period goal proved the difference in a game in which the Packers big line of the Burns brothers and Marty Mahoney was held off the scoresheet. Detroit 3 at 5 New York : The Shamrocks ended their two game losing skid with a 5-3 win on home ice over Detroit. The win, coupled with Montreal's loss in Chicago, moves New York back into fourth place a point ahead of the Valiants and 3 up on the Motors in the battle for the final playoff spot. Laurel Albers led the way for the Shamrocks with a goal and two assists while Joe Martin chipped in with 3 helpers. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES TUESDAY MARCH 9 Detroit at Chicago WEDNESDAY MARCH 10 New York at Boston Chicago at Detroit THURSDAY MARCH 11 Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY MARCH 13 New York at Montreal Boston at Toronto SUNDAY MARCH 14 Toronto at Chicago Boston at Detroit Montreal at New York AROUND THE LEAGUE
Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 24 16 .600 - Boston 21 19 .525 3.0 Hartford 20 22 .476 5.0 New York 17 22 .436 6.5 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 28 9 .757 - Richmond 22 21 .512 9.0 Pittsburgh 14 24 .368 14.5 Rochester 13 26 .333 16.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.1 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.5 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.0 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.6 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.5 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.2 Norm Yates, RIC 18.0 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.3 Gerald Carter, BOS 17.1 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 17.0 Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 24 10 .706 - Baltimore 21 13 .618 3.0 Buffalo 16 18 .471 8.0 Toronto 7 27 .206 17.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 25 10 .714 - Detroit 15 19 .441 9.5 Cincinnati 15 19 .441 9.5 Cleveland 14 21 .400 11.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Larry Yim, BUF 20.8 Irvin Mudd, PHI 20.6 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.1 David Reed, DET 18.7 Jack Kurtz, DET 18.0 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.9 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.8 George Kelley, CLE 16.1 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.9 AVAITORS CRASH IN KEY GLA CONTESTS The Great Lakes Alliance conference is well known for destroying many powerful collegiate cage teams just before tournament time and the Central Ohio Aviators were the victim this time around. The Aviators, riding a 7-game section winning streak entering Thursday's action lost both the number one ranking and their stranglehold on the section lead with a dismal road trip that included loses in Lansing, Mi. and Springfield, Il. The troubles began Thursday evening when the St. Ignatius Lancers suffocating defense held Ziggy Rickard to 8 points in a 45-36 Lancer victory over Central Ohio. Saturday afternoon was even worse when the Linclon Presidents downed the Aviators 61-44. Those two losses dropped Central Ohio from 1st to fifth in the rankings and may well have cost the Aviators a number one seed in the tournament, which gets underway 12 days from now. It also allowed Western Iowa, with weekend wins over Minnesota Tech and Detroit City College, to move within a game of Central Ohio for the conference title. It will be an interesting final day Friday when the West Coast Athletic Association wraps up its section slate. Redwood only needs a win on the road over Northern California to claim their first ever section title. The Mammoths are a game up on both Coastal California and Rainier College, who each sit at 10-3 after the Dolphins beat the Mammoths last Friday while the Majestics fell 46-38 in Stanford yesterday.  Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Rainier College (57) 24-4 1781 2 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Western Iowa (15) 22-5 1734 3 Great Lakes Alliance
3. Coastal California 23-5 1633 5 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Central Ohio 22-5 1614 1 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Redwood 23-5 1482 6 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Carolina Poly 22-5 1427 4 South Atlantic Conference
7. Brunswick 24-5 1362 7 Academia Alliance
8. Liberty College 23-7 1251 9 Indy
9. Lambert College 24-4 1247 8 Midwestern Association
10. Whitney College 20-7 1130 10 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Mississippi A&M 23-5 1111 11 Deep South Conference
12. CC Los Angeles 21-7 1010 12 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Central Kentucky 22-5 951 14 Deep South Conference
14. Noble Jones College 21-7 836 13 Deep South Conference
15. Frankford State 24-6 784 17 Indy
16. Detroit City College 18-9 686 18 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Lane State 22-9 652 21 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Great Plains State 23-6 621 16 Indy
19. University of New Jersey 22-5 489 20 Eastern Six
20. Bayou State 19-8 414 15 Deep South Conference
21. Needham 23-6 281 25 Indy
22. Alabama Baptist 20-7 271 NR Deep South Conference
23. North Carolina Tech 19-9 255 19 South Atlantic Conference
24. Holland 21-6 171 NR Central Athletic Alliance
25. St. Blane 18-11 83 NR Indy
Others Receiving Votes:
Elyria 22-8 69 Indy
Pittsburgh State 21-8 24 Indy
Perry State College 21-8 20 Indy
Dickson 19-10 5 Academia Alliance
Utah A&M 20-7 3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
Oklahoma Bible College 21-8 2 Indy
Brooklyn Catholic 20-8 1 Liberty Conference
TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN With the AIAA tournament field announcement just a week away here is the latest look at where teams fit. Fourteen of the 32 berths will go to the regular season champion in 14 of the 15 sections. The 15th, the Academia Allaince, is the only conference that runs a postseason tournament and will send it's tournament winner, rather than season champ to the tournament. The remaining 17 berths are handed out to schools that do now win a section title but are deserving of inclusion. At this point the following schools appear a lock to qualify: Academia Alliance : Brunswick Knights Deep South: Mississippi A&M Generals, Noble Jones College Colonels and Central Kentucky Tigers Great Lakes Alliance: Western Iowa Canaries, Whitney College Engineers, Central Ohio Aviators, Detroit City College Knights Midwester Association: Lambert College Stags South Atlantic Conference: Carolina Poly Cardinals West Coast Athletic Association: Rainier College Majestics, Coastal California Dolphins, Redwood Mammoths and CC Los Angeles Coyotes. Independents: Liberty College Bells and Elyria Pioneers  LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 TEAMS MONDAY MARCH 1 no games with ranked teams TUESDAY MARCH 2 no games with ranked teams WEDNESDAY MARCH 3 at #7 Brunswick 60, Pierpont 47 #11 Mississippi A&M 52, at Western Florida 43 at #13 Central Kentucky 52, Opelika State 37 #14 Noble Jones College 62, at #20 Bayou State 58 #22 Alabama Baptist 64, at Baton Rouge State 48 THURSDAY MARCH 4 at #2 Western Iowa 51, Minnesota Tech 38 at St. Ignatius 45, #4 Central Ohio 36 at Maryland State 54, #6 Carolina Poly 47 #9 Lambert College 59, at Eastern Oklahoma 34 #10 Whitney College 50, at Lincoln 42 at #16 Detroit City College 50, Wisconsin State 25 #19 University of New Jersey 57, at St. Gordius 45 #21 Needham 60, at Iowa A&M 44 Alexandria 48, at #23 North Carolina Tech 39 #24 Holland 55, at Flint 38 FRIDAY MARCH 5 at #1 Rainier College 54, Northern California 40 at #3 Coastal California 65, #5 Redwood 56 at Idaho A&M 33, #12 CC Los Angeles 30 #17 Lane State 65, at Custer College 61 SATURDAY MARCH 6 #2 Western Iowa 56, at #16 Detroit City College 53 at Lincoln 61, #4 Central Ohio 44 at #7 Brunswick 53, Grafton 45 Payne State 66, at #9 Lambert College 64 St. Ignatius 55, at #10 Whitney College 40 at #11 Mississippi A&M 44, #20 Bayou State 42 #13 Central Kentucky 48, at Georgia Baptist 36 at Cumberland 61, #14 Noble Jones College 53 #19 University of New Jersey 48, at Tinker 40 at #21 Needham 50, Glover (GA) 41 at #22 Alabama Baptist 45, Opelika State 32 at #23 North Carolina Tech 63, Coastal State 48 #24 Holland 61, at Cleveland 44 SUNDAY MARCH 7 at #5 Redwood 46, #1 Rainier College 38 at #3 Coastal California 72, Custer College 48 at #12 CC Los Angeles 52, Spokane State 39 at #17 Lane State 53, Idaho A&M 48 DATE SET FOR SAWYER TITLE DEFENSE Hector Sawyer will face State Case on June 12 at Gothams Stadium in New York City in what will likely be his final fight on North American soil for quite some time. Sawyer has plans to head to Europe later in the summer and may spent up to a year overseas fighting several exhibitions and likely make two, perhaps three defenses of his World Heavyweight Title. The champ, who has been the dominant force in the heavyweight division for 8 years and owns a 57-3-1 career record, will have his American send-off against Steve Case, a New York native with an 18-1-2 record, in what is expected to be simply an easy tune-up match for the champ. Case is set to fight this Friday in Hartford where he will face journeyman Ron Ramsey (19-10-5) in what will be his final tune-up before the biggest fight of his career. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/07/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-15-2023, 01:31 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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March 15, 1948
MARCH 15, 1948 COUGARS ON THE PROWL Off to Quick 7-0 Spring Start From top to bottom the Chicago Cougars organization has to be sick of hearing every year about how they were the best team in the Continental Association but for each of the past half dozen seasons came up short. The club bottomed out last year with a humbling 7th place finish - the Cougars 71 victories a low water mark not seen since 1929. That performance cost manager Clyde Meyer his job and Assistant General Manager Bill Homer also left the organization. Max Wilder, who had been the pitching coach for the cross-town Chicago Chiefs since 1943, is the Cougars new manager while Bill Bordwell -the former scouting director who played a big role in three Cincinnati Cannons pennants- is now the Cougars assistant GM. The Cougars made a quick and very positive impression for Wilder this week with a dominant performance that saw the Cougars begin the Citrus campaign off with 7 straight victories including four in which they shutout their opponents. Games in March mean absolutely nothing in the big picture, but it has to be a good confidence booster for a Cougars club that has taken a beating in that department over the past few seasons.  MILLARD: WOLVES CAN MAKE PENNANT RUN! As TWIFB continues its tour of the 16 FABL clubs we had the opportunity to talk with Bernie Millard, owner of the Toronto Wolves. Millard has long been one of the most vocal critics of the Great Western League - and he continues to express strong feelings about a league he only refers to as an "outlaw" or "rebel" league. We touch on the big contract the San Francisco Hawks signed to make Woody Stone the highest paid player in baseball but the main focus was on where Millard sees his squad going in the upcoming season. TWIFB : It has been a couple of tougher years for the Wolves after some very strong pennant runs. Do you see the team challenging for the flag this season and if not what would the Wolves need to accomplish for you to consider it a successful season? BERNIE MILLARD : The Wolves feel they can make a run at the pennant with an aging lineup. It will come down to what Manager Call always stresses, Pitching and Defense. We need Garrison, Hancock to return to form after a couple of down seasons with strong support from whomever rounds out the rotation. More importantly the bullpen has to be much, much better in putting away victories not turning wins into losses. Second Base needs to find an everyday starter who provides above average defense along with giving at least a little help at the plate. The pieces in the outfield are present -it is a question of performance. During the spring younger players will be under a microscope, there is no question the Wolves are beginning to age, the next generation has to step forward for a smooth transition. TWIFB : Any temptation either from you or your management team to consider moving some veteran pieces if the club struggles in the early going this season? Fred McCormick is 38. Chink Stickels and Joe Hancock are also getting up there in age. Is it possibly time if things don't get off to a strong start to try and get some pieces for the future like the Miners did with Lefty Allen and George Cleaves. BERNIE MILLARD : Toronto's philosophy on older players in upper echelons is they can remain with the Wolves as long they desire to play. Their mere presence has a positive influence on the younger players. They have given their best days of the careers to Toronto they have earned the right to leave the game on their own terms, McCormick at 38 had an exceptional year last season we expect more of the same in 1948, leading the Wolves offense along with showing everyone the proper way to play the game. Hancock, Stickels, Howerton are still seen as key pieces in the team's success although in Howerton's case he will never start 100+ games behind the plate again given the nature of the position. The Wolves have made it known to these 3, along with others, that there will places in the organization for them if they to continue in baseball after their playing days are over in the FABL. Toronto wants to show that they are loyal to the players' that have provided the fans and franchise many highlight moments. TWIFB : Bob Call has been your manager for the past four seasons. He had a couple of second place finishes to start his tenure but the last two years Toronto has really not been in the race. How is your confidence level in the skipper? BERNIE MILLARD : Bob Call is the manager at present, I think that he received only a one-year extension says enough about his job security for the immediate future. TWIFB : You have been very vocal, perhaps more so than any other FABL owner, about your disdain for the Great Western League. Your thoughts on the decision by San Francisco to sign Woody Stone for nearly $100,000 a year? BERNIE MILLARD : I have never changed my opinion of the outlaw league, it was a misguided, not well intentioned enterprise from its founding. The West Coast deserves major league baseball. There were FABL plans in progress before Pearl Harbour to make it a reality over time once the many logistically issues could be solved; many of those issues are now behind us thanks in part to developments made possible by the needs of the fighting forces in WWII. Now that the rebels have established themselves in prime markets the FABL will now wait until the rebel league, as it inevitably will, folds. The FABL will then pick up the pieces to bring baseball at the highest level coast to coast. Woody Stone is another example of the misguided ways of the rebels, throw out good money to chase poorly spent dollars. How can Stone be worth more the Bobby Barrell, or for that fact any of the top 50 or 100 players in the FABL? TWIFB : Are there worries this is just the beginning for the GWL? Any fears they try to go after players with expired contracts in FABL or ones sent to the minor leagues? BERNIE MILLARD : The rebel league is already awash in a sea of red ink, only accounting sorcery hides the true nature of the depths of team's losses, it is not sustainable for the owners, My advice to any player thinking of jumping to the rebels is "Be careful not be fooled by empty promises of riches." Toronto as an organization will never have anything to do with any player who jumps to the outlaw league. TWIFB : Finally, who do you see as the team to beat in the CA this year? BERNIE MILLARD : I think the teams the Wolves have to be most concerned with are the Cougars, Sailors and Stars. That said Brooklyn is showing signs of life. The Saints, like the Cougars, fail to perform to expectations. Cincinnati continues to play , in my opinion, above their heads. Cleveland with new management could surprise a lot of teams. The Wolves will be a dark horse but I expect, at a minimum, a competitive, pennant challenging team. CANNONS FEEL PITCHING STAFF IS SOUND HEADING INTO SEASON The Cincinnati Cannons took some heat in the pages of TWIFB over the decision to trade 17-game winner Bob Arman to Brooklyn just months after the club came within a game of winning the Continental Association pennant. TWIFB felt sending Arman to the Kings, a potential pennant rival, combined with the loss to retirement of veteran starter Red Hampton left the Cannons too thin on the mound and would derail any pennant hopes for 1948. We sat down with Cannons Assistant General Manager Red Franklin recently to talk about the fallout of that trade and what 1948 might look like for the long-time Queen City powerhouse. TWIFB : Biggest question is where do you go from here? I expect most will once again favour the Cougars to win the Continental flag but what do you see out of your club this season? The Cannons missed forcing a playoff for the pennant by just 1 game. TWIFB did not like the trade that sent Bob Arman to Brooklyn because we felt it took the Cannons further away from contention while enhancing a competitor. Now that you have had some time to reflect on it how do you feel about the deal and where the Cannons will replace Arman's 17 wins from last season. RED FRANKLIN : We feel the pitching will be just fine. We have plenty of depth. First two guys ready to step in are former starters at the major league level with Cincy in Jim Anderson and Chris Clarke, both proven commodities. TWIFB : In addition to Arman, Red Hampton also retired leaving you down two starting pitchers. Do you still feel you have enough depth in the event of an injury or two? RED FRANKLIN : Tony Britten and Johnny Whitter, the former #7 prospect in all of baseball and the latter top 10 prospect in the organization are waiting for a chance in AAA TWIFB : Your infield is drawing plenty of love from OSA as a recent player ranking had Hensley, Rivera and Andrews all in the top 20 position players (along with CF Galloway). Chuck Adams is not a bad first baseman either. The remainder of the starting lineup is starting to get old with Mullins now 35 and outfielders Gifford and Brown older. Many called the Cannons too old before you took over the team. How do you feel about your lineup now and what are the plans for the near future as some of those guys age? RED FRANKLIN : The lineup is still good but we need Chuck Adams to bounce back from a very poor season last year. With a better bat at first in 1947 we probably win the pennant. TWIFB : Last question - 1 word answer- Who wins the CA pennant this year? RED FRANKLIN : Cougars win the pennant. FEW OPENINGS FOR DYNAMOS 24-MAN ROSTER After a strong third place finish a year ago the Detroit Dynamos are optimistic their young roster will continue to make progress this season. The focus on spring training is really just getting everyone though it healthy as the club's core is set with very few openings available. The Dynamos have 40 players in their main camp in Lakeland including one non-secondary roster invite. That would be catcher Jackie Harper who earned the invitation to main camp after a strong showing in Cuba. Harper will likely end up in AAA Newark along with Crab Crowley unless one of them shows enough in camp to replace veteran Clyde Farr as the understudy to Rick York. The outfield is also set with only 6 outfielders invited to main camp and all are expected to head north with the club. The starters will likely once more be all-star Edwin Hackberrry at centerfield, flanked by veteran Sid Williams and The Polish Hammer Dick Blaszak. Al Horton, a 39-year-old claimed from Cincinnati in the rule 5 draft, will be restricted to primarily pinch-hitting duties and relied on heavily for his leadership. He will be joined by backup centerfielder Steve Dunagan and returnee Tony Mullis. There is a slight chance Mullis might lose his job either to a pitcher or potentially to a waiver pickup before opening day. The infield starters are the same as last season with Dick Estes, Del Johnson, Stan Kleminski and Tommy Griffin handling the duties while Bob Montgomery will see plenty of action as a defensive substitute for Kleminski at shortstop. The two remaining spots are up for grabs with Win Hamby and Joe York likely having the inside track but Steve Donovan, Joe Herman and Harry Perryman will be given an opportunity to change manager Dick York's mind. *** Pitching is the Big Unknown *** The biggest competition will be on the mound with six hurlers in the running for 4, possibly 5 spots. To complicate matters each of the six is out of minor league options and the group includes Jesse Bowen, Pete Brown, Jim Bob Jones, Jimmy Long, Jimmy Mayse and Harry Sharp. Carl Potter has already been told he will be the Opening Day starter April 20 against St Louis. Veteran Dixie Lee, 1946 rookie of the year Wally Hunter, Bill Sohl and Frank Gordon are the other four pitchers seemingly assured of a spot on the 24-man roster. *** Motors Need Big Finish *** The Detroit Motors stayed alive in the NAHC playoff race thanks to a pair of wins in three outings last week. The icemen have their work cut out for them as they are still a point back of the New York Shamrocks. Each has 3 games remaining with the Motors in Boston Wednesday, Toronto Saturday and home to face Jack Barrell and the Dukes on Sunday. The good news is if the clubs finish in a two-way tie the Motors should advance because they went 6-5-1 head to head with the Shamrocks this season. Montreal is also in the mix, tied with Detroit a point back but the Valiants only have 2 games remaining. *** DCC Claims 3 Seed in Tourney *** The Detroit City College Knights cage team is heading south for the opening round of the AIAA tournament. The Knights, who finished 8-8 in section play after trimming St Magnus 51-50 on Thursday before falling in Columbus to #1 ranked Central Ohio Saturday, will meet Lexington State in the opening round of the tournament. Lexington State was 20-11 this season and won the South Atlantic Conference title. The Colonials did not play anyone from the Great Lakes Alliance this season. The Knights are one of five teams from the Great Lakes Alliance to qualify for the 32-team tournament and are joined by Central Ohio, Western Iowa, Indiana A&M and Whitney College.  Neither position is considered a strength for the Pioneers and there is not much in terms of short term help in the farm system either so looking outside of the organization is certainly an option worth exploring. There may not be a lot available at this time, but first base could perhaps be solved by one of the Pioneers corner outfielders. Al Tucker is 35 years old and perhaps a shift to first makes sense in the near future for the 5-time all-star and the Pioneers do have Larry Gregory, Buck Pusey, Cal Page and Ray Bates. *** St Louis to Host AIAA Tournament *** Laclede University, our local punching bag of a team that suffered through a 2-8 showing in Midwestern Association action, failed to qualify for the AIAA collegiate basketball tournament but the St. Louis Pavillion will host opening round tournament games in the Midwest Region this Saturday. West coast power Coastal California (24-5), ranked #3 in the nation and the second seed in the region, will face independent Great Plains State (23-6) in the opening game while Lambert College (25-5), which won the Midwestern Association title, will have plenty of hometown support as the Stags, from Columbia, Mo., are a 3 seed and will face Indiana A&M, which plays out of the Great Lakes Alliance and went 19-10. The top seed in the Midwest Region is Central Ohio and the Aviators will be in Chicago along with Eastern Kansas, Texas Gulf Coast and St Blane to comprise the other half of the region bracket. ANOTHER TOUGH WEEK FOR STONE Woody Stone certainly should have realized that when he signed that $96,000 contract to play in San Francisco there would be plenty of media focus to deal with. It is only spring training and just two weeks in but Stone is already hearing it from opposing fans in Desert Circuit action for his Hawks as the 31-year-old and now most expensive player in baseball is batting just .120 through 25 spring at bats. The Hawks were the Bigsby Cup winners in 1946, the debut season as a major league for the GWL, but sank to the bottom of the coast loop a year ago in stumbling through a 66-88 campaign. They are 3-9 in spring play, tied with Seattle for last and the only two teams below .500 after two-weeks of tune-up games so there is pressure not just on Stone, but the entire organization including General Manager Joe Masters -the former Chicago Chiefs star who won a Whitney Award as a player. Masters is certainly not panicking yet, but his Hawks could certainly benefit from a winning week or two. 
DOWN TO THE WIRE! Shamrocks Hold Inside Track on Final Playoff Berth There will be plenty of excitement as the longest NAHC season ever contested will need to go right down to the wire before its four playoff participants can be determined. First and second place are long since spoken for with the Chicago Packer and Boston Bees holding down the top two spots and home ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. The Toronto Dukes are not completely safe yet but they have a 3-point cushion on New York and are four up on both Montreal and Toronto so should feel pretty comfortable of booking a trip to Boston to open the post-season. It is fourth place that is very much the focus with the New York Shamrocks holding a slim 1 point lead on both the Montreal Valiants and Detroit Motors. New York and Detroit each have 3 games remaining while the Vals have just two left. It won't be an easy road for the Greenshirts, who host Boston Tuesday before finishing with a home and home against the league-leading Packers. Detroit is in Boston Wednesday before a season-ending weekend home-and-home with the Toronto Dukes. Montreal is off until Saturday when they host the Packers Saturday before finishing in Boston on Sunday. BIG BLOW FOR BEES CUP HOPES The Boston Bees road to a third straight Challenge Cup title just became a little more difficult with word that veteran winger Tommy Hart will miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs after suffering a groin injury over the weekend. The 30-year-old, who has scored more goals and more points in the modern era (1940 to present) than any other player, including Chicago's Tommy Burns, was 7th in league scoring with 49 points this season at the time of his injury. Hart is also the all-time leader in modern-era playoff points with 59. Hart is not the only recent casualty who will miss some playoff action. 29-year-old defenseman Willis Beane is expected to miss most, if not all of the opening round. Leading scorer Wilbur Chandler has also been hurt but he is expected to be back in the lineup on the weekend as the regular season comes to an end. The Bees are already playing without young center Robert Walker, who saw his season come to an end a week ago when he suffered a hip injury. Walker had 29 points in 47 games but it is Hart's absence that will be most greatly felt and is such a rare occurrence for the veteran who has missed only 3 games in the last seven seasons.  Code:
NAHC Standings
TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA
Chicago 57 32 19 6 70 208 149
Boston 57 26 22 9 61 184 161
Toronto 58 26 28 4 56 164 182
New York 57 24 28 5 53 182 182
Montreal 58 23 29 6 52 165 189
Detroit 57 23 28 6 52 158 198
SCORING LEADERS
NAME GP G A PTS
T Burns, Chi 51 46 26 72
Cabbell, NY 56 40 20 60
Albers, NY 57 20 38 58
W Burns, Chi 55 12 42 54
Chandler, Bos 52 26 26 52
Mahoney, Chi 43 17 35 52
Hart, Bos 55 24 25 49
Sauer, Tor 52 20 29 49
Morey, Bos 50 21 27 48
Pollack, Tor 52 25 22 47
Skinner, Mon 55 24 22 46
Gregg, NY 51 21 25 46
Simpson, Bos 56 19 27 46
Carlson, Tor 55 17 27 44
Gron, Bos 49 13 31 44
GOALIE LEADERS
NAME GP W L T ShO GAA
Hanson, Chi 50 25 19 6 3 2.63
Brockers, Bos 35 15 13 7 2 2.75
James, Bos 22 11 9 2 1 2.87
Broadway, Tor 50 22 23 3 2 2.95
Tremblay, NY 44 19 19 4 4 2.98
Touhey, Mon 49 21 25 2 2 3.19
Carter, Det 18 2 9 1 0 3.33
Chasse, Det 46 21 19 5 2 3.44
Sorrell, NY 17 5 9 1 3 3.45
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY MARCH 9 Detroit 4 at 2 Chicago : A huge road win for the Motors moves them to within a point of fourth place New York. Henri Chasse made 42 saves while rookie Adam Vanderbilt scored twice to lead the Detroit attack. WEDNESDAY MARCH 10 New York 2 at 6 Boston : Joe Morey had a goal and 3 assists while rookie goaltender Oscar James made 36 saves as Boston won for the sixth straight game. Chicago 5 at 2 Detroit : After winning on the road in Chicago the Motors miss a chance to move into fourth place with a 5-2 loss to the Packers in the rematch at the Thompson Palladium. Ed Delarue led the visitors with 3 assists while Tommy Burns scored his league leading 46th goal of the season. THURSDAY MARCH 11 Toronto 3 at 0 Montreal : The visiting Dukes blank the Valiants 3-0 with Gordie Broadway turning aside all 18 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. It could not have come at a worse time for the Valiants as they remain tied with Detroit, one point back of the New York Shamrocks for the fourth and final playoff berth. Bobbie Sauer and Dick Zimmerman paced the Toronto offense with a goal and an assist each. SATURDAY MARCH 13 New York 2 at 5 Montreal : The Valiants leap New York and move up to fourth place with a 5-2 win at the Montreal Arena. Glen Whitley scored twice for the winners while Max Ducharme had 3 assists. After Alex MacDonald gave the Vals a 1-0 lead with the only goal of the first period, Montreal blew the game open with 3 goals in a 9 minute span in the second stanza. The Shamrocks, who were red-hot in February, have lost four of their last five games. Boston 2 at 4 Toronto : The Dukes move a long ways towards securing third place with a 4-2 win at the Dominion Gardens over Boston. The loss was very costly for the Bees as their second leading scoreer Tommy Hart (24-25-49) saw his season come to an end when he left with what was later diagnosed as a torn groin. The Dukes also lost a player for the playoffs as defenseman Frank Featherstone left with an injury that will sideline him for a couple of months. SUNDAY MARCH 14 Toronto 2 at 3 Chicago : Toronto's modest two-game winning streak came to an end as Ed Delarue's third period goal lifted the Packers to a 3-2 victory. Marty Mahoney and Jarrett McGlynn also scored for the Packers, who outshot Toronto 40-36, while Bobbie Sauer, with his 20th, and Alex Lavalliere were the Dukes marksmen. Boston 4 at 6 Detroit: A crucial win for the Motors, keeping them within a point of the fourth and final playoff sport. Detroit rallied with the final four goals of the game including 3 in the third period to pull out the victory. Mike Narand had just one goal on the season entering the game but scored twice to lead the Motors attack. Montreal 0 at 3 New York : Winner takes over fourth place and thanks to Etienne Tremblay stopping all 25 Montreal shots he faced that team is the New York Shamrocks, who have a 1 point lead on both Detroit and Montreal for the final playoff spot entering the final week of the season. Sam Furr scored twice while Ryan Kennedy also bulged the twine for the Shamrocks who, like Detroit, have 3 games remaining while the Valiants have just two on their docket. UPCOMING REGULAR SEASON GAMES TUESDAY MARCH 16 Boston at New York WEDNESDAY MARCH 17 Detroit at Boston New York at Chicago SATURDAY MARCH 20 Chicago at Montreal Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY MARCH 21 Montreal at Boston Toronto at Detroit Chicago at New York end of regular season AROUND THE LEAGUE
 FIELD SET FOR COLLEGIATE CAGE TOURNEY The field of 32 teams has been announced as the AIAA prepares to tip-off it's 39th annual championship tournament. The top seeds in each of the four regions include defending champion Whitney College, which well head the group of 8 teams in the East Region. Mississippi A&M, which finished with 25-5 record overall but was second to Central Kentucky in Deep South Conference section play, will be the top seed in the South Region with Great Lakes Alliance champion and number one overall Central Ohio heading the Midwest and #2 ranked Rainier College claiming to the top seed on the coast region.  AVAITORS FLY TO GLA CAGE CROWN Central Ohio claimed its second straight Great Lakes Alliance section title and the number one overall ranking heading into tournament play following a pair of big victories over the weekend. The Aviators stumbled a week ago with a pair of loses to St. Ignatius and Lincoln, opening the door for a couple of teams but they firmly slammed it shut with a pair of wins over ranked rivals on the weekend. Thursday night the Aviators, led by a career high 18 points from senior guard Mark Brown topped Whitney College 70-61 despite 18 points from Engineers All-American candidate Lou Nissen. Saturday afternoon the Aviators All-American candidate Ziggy Rickard scored 16 points in a 67-45 thumping of Detroit City College. Other section champs in the major conferences included Redwood in the West Coast Athletic Association and Lexington State in the South Atlantic Conference. For each of those schools it was the first ever conference title in basketball. Central Kentucky prevailed in the Deep South for the first time since 1930-31. *** Knights Rule Academia Alliance *** For the third time in four years the Brunswick Knights will represent the Academia Alliance in the AIAA tournament. It was a dominant season for the Knights who finished 5th in the polls, making it the highest finish for an Academia Alliance school since the Knights finished second in 1921-22. A balanced offense led by senior forward Harland Lance and sophomore center Blair McMillin led Brunswick to a 13-1 section record followed by 3 straight wins in the section tournament -an event unique to the Academia League- sent the Knights to the national championship tournament for the third time in 4 years.  Code:
AIAA COLLEGIATE CAGE RANKINS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Central Ohio (46) 24-5 1771 4 Great Lakes Alliance
2. Rainier College (25) 25-4 1748 1 West Coast Athletic Association
3. Coastal California (1) 24-5 1622 3 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Western Iowa 23-6 1613 2 Great Lakes Alliance
5. Brunswick 27-5 1491 7 Academia Alliance
6. Redwood 24-5 1458 5 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Carolina Poly 23-6 1333 6 South Atlantic Conference
8. Mississippi A&M 25-5 1291 11 Deep South Conference
9. Liberty College 23-7 1189 8 Indy
10. Whitney College 21-8 1143 10 Great Lakes Alliance
11. CC Los Angeles 22-7 1083 12 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Lambert College 25-5 1070 9 Midwestern Association
13. Central Kentucky 23-6 942 13 Deep South Conference
14. Frankford State 24-6 841 15 Indy
15. University of New Jersey 24-5 706 19 Eastern Six
16. Detroit City College 19-10 694 16 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Great Plains State 23-6 593 18 Indy
18. Noble Jones College 22-8 553 14 Deep South Conference
19. Alabama Baptist 22-7 541 22 Deep South Conference
20. Lane State 22-10 514 17 West Coast Athletic Association
21. Bayou State 20-9 348 20 Deep South Conference
22. Needham 23-6 267 21 Indy
23. Indiana A&M 19-10 263 NR Great Lakes Alliance
24. Elyria 22-8 120 NR Indy
25. Texas Gulf Coast 19-10 57 NR Southwestern Alliance
Others Receiving Votes:
St. Blane 18-11 42 Indy
Holland 22-7 40 Central Athletic Alliance
Pittsburgh State 21-8 25 Indy
Perry State College 21-8 18 Indy
Utah A&M 22-7 15 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
North Carolina Tech 19-10 5 South Atlantic Conference
Dickson 21-11 4 Academia Alliance
CLEARY WINS SECOND STRAIGHT SCORING CROWN For the second year in a row Central Kentucky guard Charles Cleary is the top scorer in the nation. Cleary averaged 18.4 ppg to hold off Liberty College big man Ward Messer for the scoring title. Messer, who averaged 16.1 ppg, also finished second in the nation in rebounds with his 10.1 per game trailing only Henry Hudson's Peter Collett. Cleary, a Huntsville, Al., native has been a four year start for the Tigers and with 1,703 points in his collegiate career presently sits 6th all-time. He and his Central Kentucky teammates won the Deep South Conference title and will square off with Liberty College, featuring Messer, in the opening round of the AIAA tournament. It is a big game for both beyond the obvious fact that the winner moves on in the tournament. Cleary is 44 points shy of breaking into the top five all-time in points while Messer needs 24 more rebounds before he graduates to tie former Manhattan Tech star Wade Bennett for the most career rebounds by a collegiate player. Messer presently is second with 944. Each are within shouting distance of single season marks too as Cleary has scored 534 points this season and is 52 shy of Morgan Melcher's 1942-43 record 586 for Coastal California. Messer's 303 rebounds this season are the second highest total ever recorded in a campaign, trailing only Jacob Blank's 320 with the 1939-40 Lane State Emeralds.  LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 25 TEAMS MONDAY MARCH 8 no games involving ranked schools TUESDAY MARCH 9 no games involving ranked schools WEDNESDAY MARCH 10 #8 Mississippi A&M 66, at Bluegrass State 55 at #13 Central Kentucky 41, #21 Bayou State 40 at #18 Noble Jones College 48, Georgia Baptist 34 #19 Alabama Baptist 55, at Western Florida 46 THURSDAY MARCH 11 at #1 Central Ohio 70, #10 Whitney College 61 #23 Indiana A&M 44, at #4 Western Iowa 40 Wichita Baptist 55, at #12 Lambert College 51 #15 University of New Jersey 49, at Adirondack State 48 #16 Detroit City College 51, at St. Magnus 50 ACADEMIA ALLIANCE TOURNAMENT (1) #5 Brunswick 50, (8) Pierpont 40 (2) Dickson 49, (7) Sadler 48 (6) George Fox 62, (3) Grafton 55 (4) Henry Hudson 58, (5) Ellery 47 FRIDAY MARCH 12 at #2 Rainier College 64, #20 Lane State 44 #3 Coastal California 59, at Spokane State 55 #6 Redwood 52, at Northern California 42 at #11 CC Los Angeles 54, Portland Tech 43 at #25 Texas Gulf Coast 46, Travis College 44 ACADEMIA ALLIANCE TOURNAMENT (1) #5 Brunswick 59, (4) Henry Hudson 50 (2) Dickson 39, (6) George Fox 37 SATURDAY MARCH 13 at #1 Central Ohio 67, #16 Detroit City College 45 #4 Western Iowa 56, at St. Magnus 45 Richmond State 62, at #7 Carolina Poly 56 at #8 Mississippi A&M 42, #18 Noble Jones College 40 #10 Whitney College 55, at Wisconsin State 51 at #12 Lambert College 49, Eastern Oklahoma 35 #15 University of New Jersey 59, at Constitution State 33 #19 Alabama Baptist 57, at #13 Central Kentucky 46 at #21 Bayou State 73, Bluegrass State 66 #23 Indiana A&M 45, at St. Ignatius 38 at #25 Texas Gulf Coast 65, Lubbock State 59 ACADEMIA ALLIANCE TITLE GAME (1) #5 Brunswick 55, (2) Dickson 45 SUNDAY MARCH 14 No games: End of season STATESMEN REMAIN CLASS OF ABC The Washington Statesmen continue to be the dominant team in pro basketball as they became the first club in either the American Basketball Conference or Federal Basketball League to reach the 30-victory plateau this season. The Statesmen are riding a 4-game winning streak and since New Year's Eve have reeled off 23 victories in 26 games including a stretch where they won 15 consecutive ballgames. Big men Charles Hooper (18.6 ppg, 12.6 rpg) and Ivan Sisco (17.3 ppg, 15.2 rpg) continue to carry the mail for the Washington quintet but reserve forward Raymond Emerson is also playing a big role. The 31-year-old former Naval officer is averaging 13.1 points per games, despite spending the entire season coming off the bench. Games like last Tuesday when Emerson led the team with 22 points in a 110-86 win over Richmond demonstrate just how big a role the 31-year-old from Annapolis Maritime plays for the Statesmen. In addition to the win over the Clippers, the Statesmen won back to back games with Rochester to complete a perfect 3-0 week. Ivan Sisco had 28 points and 22 boards in a 107-87 victory over the Rockets Wednesday at the National Auditorium and Charlies Hooper led the way with 22 points in Saturday's 77-73 win in Rochester, marking the 5th straight loss and 10th in their last 11 games for the Rockets. The New York Knights finally lost as Brooklyn downed the Knights 102-93 for New York's first loss in 7 games but that only happened after the New Yorkers pulled ahead of Hartford and into third place in the East Division. Second place may soon be on the Knights radar as the Boston Centurions continue to struggle. Boston has lost five of its last 7 and and 10 of its last 14 games. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 26 17 .605 - Boston 22 21 .512 4.0 New York 19 23 .452 6.5 Hartford 20 25 .444 7.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 31 9 .775 - Richmond 24 23 .511 10.5 Pittsburgh 16 24 .400 15.0 Rochester 13 29 .310 19.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.1 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.0 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.9 Norm Yates, RIC 18.6 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.6 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.6 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.5 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.5 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 17.3 Gerald Carter, BOS 16.9 PANTHERS WIN AWAY FROM CLINCHING WEST TITLE The Chicago Panthers moved to within one win of clinching at least a tie for the Federal League's West Division. With wins over Detroit and Cleveland at home last week the defending FBL champs ran their record on the season to 27-12 and their lead on the second place Detroit Mustangs to 9.5 games. More good news for the Panthers as it was revealed that Richard Campbell has been cleared to return to action after missing a month with a scratched cornea. The 29-year-old forward led the FBL in points a year ago in the loop's inaugural season and is among the leaders again this year. The Baltimore Barons are back to within 2.5 games of front-running Philadelphia in the East Division after the Barons snapped the Phantoms 5 game winning streak with a 91-86 win at Chesapeake Arena Saturday. The Barons are riding a three-game winning streak that including a win over the West Division leading Chicago Panthers in the Windy City last week. TITANS FUTURE VERY CLOUDY As the losses continue to mount there are growing concerns that the Toronto Titans basketball club will not return to the Federal Basketball League next season. The Titans are still said to be turning a profit, averaging more than 3,200 fans per game which places them squarely in the middle of the Federal Basketball League, but owner Charles Mitchell is said to be growing increasingly frustrated with the team's on the court performance. The Titans have lost 11 straight games and while Mitchell is still in the green, the revenue may not be enough for the owner to see the value in continuing to operate a club that is quickly becoming the laughing stock of professional basketball. Toronto was not a bad team a year ago, finishing with a 28-32 record before bowing out in the opening round of the playoffs. This year, despite returning nearly the exact same cast they had a year ago, has been a disaster. The club began its season with 10 straight losses and aside from a brief stretch in December when they won 5 of 6 games, the Titans have been awful. Toronto is dead last in most major statistical categories including points, rebounds and shooting percentage. The club has several holes with possibly the biggest being the lack of a second high level center or forward to take some of the pressure off of Jamel Porter, who most nights must feel like he is all alone out there. The 27-year-old Porter was a 4-year starter at Coastal California and helped the Dolphins reach the National Title game as a sophomore. He spent two years with Hartford of the American Basketball Conference before joining the Titans for their inaugural season a year ago, averaging more than 22 points and 21 rebounds a game. Those numbers are down slightly this season but he is still among the league leaders in both of those categories. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 26 11 .703 - Baltimore 23 13 .639 2.5 Buffalo 16 20 .444 9.5 Toronto 7 30 .189 19.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 27 12 .712 - Detroit 17 20 .459 9.5 Cincinnati 17 21 .447 10.0 Cleveland 15 22 .405 11.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.2 Larry Yim, BUF 20.5 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.1 David Reed, DET 18.3 Jack Kurtz, DET 18.2 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.8 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.6 George Kelley, CLE 16.1 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.9 CASE HAS LITTLE TROUBLE IN TITLE TUNE-UP Steve Case looks as ready as he will ever be to face World Champion Hector Sawyer after the 27-year-old New York pugilist dominated a 10-round dance with Cowboy Ron Ramsey in Hartford Thursday evening. The fight went to the scorecards as Ramsey managed to go the distance but none of the three judges gave the veteran Texan more than two of the 10 rounds while Case was a solid and clear cut winner on 7 of the ten. The victory runs Case's career mark to 19-1-2 and puts him squarely in the spotlight as his next bout will be for the ABF World Heavyweight title. Few give him any chance against the mighty Sawyer, who has held the belt since 1940 and is said to be just looking for an easy payday before he and his entourage, including infamous promoter/manager Chester Conley, head to Europe to pad their coffers. The Sawyer-Case fight will take place at Gothams Stadium on June 12 and word is there is already a huge demand for tickets, which will go sale next week. In other fight action last week, Ben "Baby Face" Biship improved to 28-4-1 with his 5th straight victory. This one was an unanimous decision over Martin Woodland (12-4-1) in New York City. Th 30-year-old Atlanta native was once considered one of the best young welterweights but losses to Harold Stephens (before he was crowned champion) and Carl Taylor knocked him off his path. Bishop may be getting back on track as while Woodland is not considered a top level opponent, Baby Face does have wins over John Gregory and Rudy Perry in the last year. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/14/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-15-2023 at 07:12 PM. |
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08-16-2023, 01:13 PM
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#769 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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March 22, 1948
MARCH 22, 1948 NEW PIONEERS LEADER DOES NOT LACK CONFIDENCE The St Louis Pioneers, after winning the organization's first World Championship Series since 1921 under interim management, have a new General Manager. That man is Dermot O'Connell, who says his friends call him DOC but judging by his answers when he sat down with TWIFB last week it is expected he does not hear that shortform very often. O'Connell is, well to phrase it delicately, "outspoken" and seemed to be intent to spend more time antagonizing fan bases in the other 7 Federal Association cities' than discussing the upcoming season for his new team. In spending some time with O'Connell this week, it is easy to see how St Louis owner Dee Rose made his decision on who to hire. They are two peas in a pod. For anyone who thought Rose pushed boundaries and spoke his mind, he seems as buttoned-up as they come when you put the owner next to his new General Manager. Here is what O'Connell had to say when we caught up with him last week. TWIFB : I know you have only had a short time to familiarize yourself with the organization but what do you anticipate from the '48 season? Can the Pioneers repeat? DERMOT O'CONNELL : Sir, you introduce yourself to me with a joke. Can the Pioneers repeat? What a gas! The real question is, by how many games do we win the league? And will we beat those bushers in the juvenile circuit in four games, or will the thrashing be so profound, the league will call it after three? That would be a swell T-K-O. That, there, is a boxing pun. Thought it should be pointed out for your readers in Chicago and Detroit, so they can follow along. TWIFB : Are you worried about the big upgrades the Gothams made in bringing in 3 all-stars in George Cleaves, Lefty Allen and Buddy Young? In your mind are they the team to beat in the Fed or is it still the Pioneers? DERMOT O'CONNELL :Whose brainchild of a question is this? The who? Gothams? Are you from The Atlantic? Did you just get back from the Battle of the Bilge? That’s another pun, for those in Pittsburgh. I know the hipspeak doesn’t arrive on time there, so much as it wafts in from Cincinnati. I will deign to answer your cock-eyed inquiry, though; George Cleaves is 34-years-old in the same way that FDR is 34 years old. For those in Cleveland, he’s passed on. I offer my condolences in giving you that news. Missouri’s own Mr. Harry Truman is the head man now. Now, if you’ll notice Mr. Cleaves batting line: he walked 107 times last year. That’s because his bat is no longer an educated fox. He can’t pass muster at the plate, so he doesn’t offer himself up for conviction. My father told me it is easier to stay silent and let people think you are a fool, than to speak up and let it be confirmed. Once league hurlers realize that, his value will tank. Mr. Long has pitched well, sure…in a league that, while offensive to the senses, was not offensive at the plate last year. When he was here, he had one flash-in-the-pan year, and was a guaranteed loser virtually every other season. He lost 19 games during a season where most of the boys were fighting in the war. He lost 16 the year after that, when even more of the boys were fighting in the war. What does that tell you? As far as Mr. Allen goes, well…it is curious that the Gothams’ argument for relevancy in the Federal conversation this season is three players ready to be put out to pasture. At least with Mr. Cleaves and Mr. Long, one can cut a little more meat off that bone. Mr. Allen’s biggest claim is being the biggest winner on the biggest loser last season. You have to feel for him, though, having to toil for PIttsburgh. I would have what was left of ability in Paris, too. TWIFB : Pitching is obviously a huge strength with the Three H club of Hern, Hackney and Hiram (Steinberg). What do you see as areas that might be a concern this year? DERMOT O'CONNELL :Hey, there it is! I was wondering when you would have a question about the defending champions! It just so happens to be after a question about also-rans on an also-ran. Of course, the 3-H Club is crackerjack. And unlike the mausoleum they built in New York, our ballclub is vibrant. Mr. (Hal) Hackney is just 26. Mr. (Hiram) Steinberg is 25. Mr. (Danny) Hern is the youngest 31 you have ever seen. He led the league in innings last year, you know. Had over 300. Mr. Allen in New York has tossed just 238 and 237 in his last two seasons. But Mr. Hern is a man cast from iron. He embodies the Pioneer Way. What do I see as areas of concern? Do you mean outside of your line of questioning? What should I be concerned with, exactly? Having the best catcher in baseball in Mr. (Heinie) Zimmer? Having the next big star of the Figment in Mr. (Larry) Gregory? Should I be concerned about having the team with the best batting average in baseball last year (.287)? It was fourteen points higher than the next-best team, after all. It was eighteen points higher than the league average. Eighteen! Why, if our offense was a car, we wouldn’t be one of those Stylemasters by Chevrolet. Fine automobile, but we’re a cut above. We’re more a Ferrari 125 Spot. Or perhaps you want me to be concerned with a stable of mound horses that cultivated the league’s finest earned run average (3.55) last year? I’m beginning to think those second-placers out in Washington sent you out here to spook us. But I’m no yuck. You’ll have to do better than that. TWIFB : In the brief time you have had to look at your system do you see any young players that might potentially have an impact in St Louis this year? DERMOT O'CONNELL :What’s your game here? Are you trying to rock our boat? The championship moves west of the Atlantic Coast, and the sky falls? And yes, before you interrupt, I know Cincinnati won two championships. But those were wartime titles, so, you know…those come at a factual discount. And yes, Pittsburgh had the opportunity back before the war, in a time when the aforementioned Mr. Allen, now of New York, was relevant to this sport. The Miners did as they do, though. They failed. My grandpa told me a bedtime story about the mythical championship they did manage to win, in 1901. They won a league so bad that only three teams had winning records, and faced a team in the other league that was so bad that its champion, Cleveland, only won 85 games. It’s interesting, the kind of fairy tales people come up with. My grandpa could spin quite the yarn. As far as your crackpot questioning goes, we do have a youngster down in Charleston, our top club on the farm chain, Mr. Jim McBride. He is acclimating himself up the chain, and acquitting himself quite well. He had his ups and downs there, but he did so as a very young 22. And he did so one year out of being drafted out of Coastal State. Kids who move up that fast, and don’t fall off the cliff, are ones to keep an eye on. TWIFB : How do you describe your philosophy as GM? One to make a lot of moves or more content to draft and develop? DERMOT O'CONNELL :My old man had a saying: You can either glide with the breeze, or twist in the wind. The Pioneer Way is built on that principle. We won’t be pigeonholed or put into a corner as to how we put more championship flags up in center field. We simply will. TWIFB : Speaking of draft, what is your assessment of the Pioneers '48 draft? Anyone you were surprised was still available when you made one of your selections and which pick are you most excited about? DERMOT O'CONNELL :Why, you have presented another reasonable question. You know, you remind me of the clock in my study. I need to get it fixed. We did not select until the second round, which makes it all the more amusing that we landed a top-three selection with Red Hinton, the outfielder from Redwood University. The southpaw youngster does everything and does it better than most players in the league already. How he fell in our laps…well, it doesn’t surprise me, when you glance around at the brain trusts employed by the people who have too much money to realize how they are wasting it by employing these very same people. But, I guess any dog will chase its own tail, regardless of where it got its degree. TWIFB : Last two questions. In one word who wins the Fed flag this year and finally, anything else you want to add that should be included in a preview of the Pioneers? DERMOT O'CONNELL :Let us come to an understanding here, so we are on the same page. You come into my office, at the home of the defending FABL champion, and believe asking me who will win the championship is a good question? And you think so highly of this inquiry that you decide to make it your final question? If this were a hundred years ago, I would have demanded satisfaction. But since we are in more civilized times, I will acquiesce to your absurdity with a question that brings attention to that aforementioned absurdity. Who else wins the flag but the Pioneers? Just like our expanse to the frontier of this fine country…all roads lead through St. Louis. FORESTERS NEW BOSS FEELS FUTURE IS BRIGHT The Cleveland Foresters have had some tough times but are coming off a 74-80 season, which is their best showing this decade. The Foresters have a new management team and plenty of young talent. TWIFB sat down with Foresters Assistant General Manager Buzz Burton to talk about the upcoming season, and beyond for the Cleveland franchise. TWIFB : Who do you see as the team to beat in the Continental Association this season and where do you think the Foresters fit in? BUZZ BURTON : At this stage I do not want to make any forecasts on our performance this season. I’m hoping that monitoring the team through spring training and the beginning of the season will help our management team have a better idea of what to expect from the club this season. TWIFB : I know you have only had a short time to get used to the team but what do you see as strengths or weaknesses for the Cleveland organization this year? BUZZ BURTON :Brights spots for Cleveland. To start with I love the starting pitching duo of Ollie White and Davey Morris. Young and promising. Particularly intrigued how White emerged out of A ball and made the leap to the Bigs while posting 11-7 record and blazing 2.40 ERA. Trouble is walks. 6.2/9 IP - OUCH! Big question among the coaches is whether he can find some control or will it hamper him throughout his career. I know Pinky (manager Pinky Howard) is glad to have 2B Jim Adams, Jr. back off the DL. Man can swing a bat and has a nice glove to boot. 1B Lorenzo Samuels posted a .285 BA last season which would be high for the starters if it were not for an outlier .324 season out of C Ken Vance. Can Vance repeat? Samuels has a track record of solid hitting in the minors so it’s quite possible he can make that .285 stick. We’ll see. TWIFB : The Foresters have been a bad team for close to a decade. The upside is there are some talented youngsters from the draft but how long do you think it will take before you can have them being at least a .500 ballclub? And does the St Louis turnaround from dead last to the WCS give you hope of escalating the recovery time timetable. BUZZ BURTON :I am looking at St. Louis as an outlier in the worst to first performance. Sports are great because you can always catch lightning in a bottle, but can that be maintained in St. Louis? Again, we’ll see. For Cleveland, a .500 season is possible this season if all the stars align, but we’re more confident when we look 3-4 years down the line to getting our prospects on board. We have a lot of faith in our farm system to help these guys develop their natural talent. TWIFB : Cleveland has 6 prospects in the top 30 of the prospect pipeline right now. Pitchers John Jackson and Larry Beebe, catcher Jimmy Hawkins and outfielders Sherry Doyal, Joe Wood and Frenchy Sontag. Who do you expect to see in Cleveland this year and which of them are you most excited about? BUZZ BURTON : There are a lot. Young pitcher Larry Beebe shows promise in practice and from his days in amateur ball, but hasn’t shown it in the pros and will take some time to develop. John Jackson on the other hand had a strong year in AAA last season and is getting a look in Spring Training. Hopes are high. Jimmy Hawkins - we love this kid’s attitude and hope he’ll go far, but he’s a long way from Cleveland even though he played last year just over in Ottumwa. He’s really struggling finding his stroke, but hey, he’s a catcher. There’s a lot to learn behind the plate when you move up from high school ball and we’re going to give him a long leash to do so. Joe Wood may be listed in the scouting reports as an outfielder, but we see him as a hurler as did the Stars from whom we acquired him. He’s also way down in Ottumwa and though he’ll be moving up this season, it won’t be to Cleveland. Still, he’s showing promise on the mound and seems to be making progress on his control from his Stars’ days. If he can keep that rolling, he’ll be moving through the system nicely, we think. At only 20, Doyal is handling AAA pitching ok. Not good enough for the jump to the big club, just yet. Just had 79 ABs in Rochester last season, but we’ll be keeping an eye on him. But we don’t like to rush players past what’s best for them. We’re not likely to be winning the pennant this season so let’s give him some time in Rochester. Maybe this season? Maybe next? Maybe one more season. It’s up to him. Sonntag. Ah, Frenchy. Very excited about this kid. Very hyped at draft time, of course, but what great player slugging it out in the corn fields of Iowa isn’t? But this kid has shown the hype is real. Great play in Ottumwa his first season and he moved up to Savannah, our B affiliate. Played fantastic ball there last season and will definitely move up to Wilmington this season, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish the season at AA ball in Youngstown. We’re going to see this kid in Cleveland the season after or in 1950 at the latest. That’s my prediction, but as I always say, “we’ll see”. TWIFB : How do you feel about your draft that was just completed? Did you feel it went better or worse than expected? Who is a player you were surprised was still available at the spot you selected them? [I]BUZZ BURTON : We loved our draft. Especially excited about snagging Stump Patterson with our first pick. Third base is a challenge spot for us and this kid has all-star written all over him. When will he play in that showcase? Again, it’s up to him, but I wouldn’t bet on too many seasons from now. TWIFB : Final question. You and your General Manager have bounced around big league baseball quite a bit, haven't you? [I]BUZZ BURTON : (laughs) I’ve a checkered history. Started in the league with Washington. Moved to Montréal when it came open loving the combo of French culture and “Saints”. Then a hiatus and then came the Kings, which I really bungled. We all get busy sometimes, but I should have communicated much, much better. Then it was off to San Diego in the Great Western League for a spell and now the opportunity with Cleveland has come up. Like players, sometimes a front office staff just needs to find the right fit and hopefully we can do that and get the Foresters back to as competitive as they were in the mid-30s.  MINUTEMEN SPRING TRAINING UPDATE Ol’ Doc reporting from sunny spring training as the Minutemen have just completed their second week of action. This is an important spring for more than a few players that are trying to earn a spot on the active roster and travel north with the team in a few short weeks. With the sacking of Billy Boshart at the end of last season this has been Tom Steffen’s first spring with the club and he is going to have some tough decisions to make in a few key areas. The Minutemen invited 52 players to camp this season and that depth may be a good thing as star SS has already been placed on the IL for precautionary reasons due to a sore elbow. Let us further examine our position groups. Pitching: It is no secret that the Minutemen will have trouble filling the spots of Astle and Wood who retired at the end of last season. The organization has decided to utilize the Rule V draft and give opportunities to some of their home grown minor league talent before making the drastic decision to trade away the hitting core of the club.Locks: Ray Dalpman Duke Hendricks John Edwards All three arms are having a fine spring thus far. Edwards is getting his innings in the stopper role but he will be in the rotation when the season starts. Dalpman and Hendricks have yet to walk a hitter this spring combining for 14 strikeouts in 15 innings of work. Letdowns: Bob Wolf Paul Bunning Dutch Day Tom Martin In the first two weeks of spring Wolf, Day and Martin held spots in the six man rotation. All three have around seven innings of work and all have too many walks, too few strikeouts and too many hits allowed. While the sample size is limited, it is a bad combination. Leaping: Alf Keeter Andy Howell Merton Myers Alf Keeter has opened up some eyes in camp this spring. He has worked ten innings and with 14 k’s to 3 walks and an opponent's average of .094. Keeter was acquired in the Mack Sutton deal and looks poised to land one of the two rotation spots. Former 11th overall pick (1940) Andy Howell has had a rough go in the organization due to the high number of walks he has given up. This spring at 26 years of age he may have ironed out some of those control issues. Batters are batting .219 against Howell this spring in 9.1 innings of work. Howell has also struck out 9 and walked 5. Finally, there is Merton Myers who was drafted in the 8th round of the 1942 draft and pitched at AAA Columbus last season. In 10.1 innings of work Myers has struck out 10, walked 5 and hitters are batting .222 against him. Look for all three players to get a start this week in camp. Catchers Not much to report here. Van Ness is off to a slow start but will be the first string catcher once the season starts. The question will be if Mel Campbell or Jimmy Wolf will be able to unseat Jiggs Jackson as the backup. So far the answer has been a resounding no.First Base: The Minutemen have five players to camp that primarily play first base, they are:Bill Moore Hal Renard Bob Donoghue Dick Gill Joe Davis So far in two weeks the five have accounted for 66 plate appearances and have produced six hits and one RBI. The position has been a black hole this spring. Moore looks old and Renard and the rest have been ice cold. Anyone that steps up here could feasibly earn a roster spot. Second, Third and Shortstop: Harry Barrell is the lock at short, Buddy Schnieder will play second and Billy Dalton will be the third baseman. The club is looking for role players here. Art Spencer at 36 has had a fantastic spring hitting .364 in 13 games. After Spencer it really is a toss up. Nobody has really stood out so far in camp. One feel good note is 19 year old Marshall Thomas, the clubs second rated prospect who has 5 hits in 9 plate appearances. Thomas is probably in need of a bit more seasoning but he has been fun to watch so far this spring.Outfielders: This has been fun to watch. The standouts have been Ben McCarty who is batting .381 with two homers, Joe Watson at .353 and two homers and everyday Pete Day hitting .304. The issue will be if McCarty can play center field. The club really needs McCarty’s bat in the lineup but there are better defensive players on this team that can play center. Wally Dorsey has hit .333 in half the at-bats of the other players mentioned so look to see him get more opportunities as well.Conclusion: This has been a fun spring to cover so far as the club is 9-4 with a full slate of games this week without an off-day. Each week the picture will get a bit more clearer. Ol’ Doc will be looking to provide another report in the near future for your reading pleasure. The Cougars decided that in the 13th inning they had played long enough. 36 year old 2B Bob Smith had plans later that day so he ended the game with a grand slam homer to end it. Tom Barrell has decided that week 3 in Florida is “kids week”. What that means is that you will be seeing a lot of the King’s youngsters playing every day trying to impress the coaches, manager Tom Barrell and GM Martin. Expected to see daily playing time are the following players. 3B Ken Newman SS/2B Billy Bryant 2B/SS Chuck Lewis OF Pat Petty C. Dan Smith 1B Chuck Collins OF Bob Schleusner OF John Beaver P Joe Potts P Hal Friedlander P Jake Roberts P Paul Byler P Jackson Scott It’s make or break week for some of the youngsters.  The local nine is off to a respectable 7-6 start in Citrus play but it has been a strange first two weeks at Saints camp. How so? Well let's start behind the plate where 21-year-old prospect Jess Garman is having a hell of spring training but Joe Henry, the 32-year-old veteran backup looks very bad with just 2 hits in his first 22 plate appearances. Then there is first base where highly touted prospect Hank Smith, who hit .357 with 13 homers in half a season of AAA and seemed like the most obvious choice to win the starting job at Parc Cartier, is 1-for-12 in the early going and opening the door for Maurice Carter to perhaps wrestle the starting job away. Second base remains a big question mark as prospect Eddie Logan will need to find his batting skill, while the previously lightly regarded Bobo Falvey is batting .409 despite never playing above AA. There are some positives of course. Luke Weaver is finding himself among the leading group alternating between 1B and 3B. Third baseman Jake Hughes, SS Gordie Perkins and outfielder Bill Greene are all playing like Saints manager Jim Cator had hoped they would. If the planned left field platoon of Bert Lass and ex-Pittsburgh Miner Pinky Pierce does not work as planned, it looks like Cator may just have another option in Sam Clay. The 25-year-old, who spent last season with the Saints as a backup, has had just 9 spring plate appearances but reached base in 8 of them and is batting .857. Yes, that is not a typo. Clay is hitting .857. Surprising 21-year-old prospect Otis O'Keefe is still at camp when it was supposed to be just a showcase for him before he was sent to the minor league facility. But he has earned some extra time with the big boys after hitting .308 with a homerun. With four weeks of spring games remaining there is plenty of time but the club will start to ease the top pitchers in to the rotation this week. So far only Wally Reif had a start in the opening two weeks. We will see, but Montreal still playing over .500 ball after 2 sims... maybe something is growing! And after all, the Valiants are on the golf course now so Montreal sports fans can turn their full focus to the Saints.  It is worth noting that the right-fielder did this while learning to play first base, a new position to the teenager. Bates has taken on a new role in the spring: Leadoff hitter. The early returns are encouraging: Bates went 6-for-12, with five runs batted in. For the spring season, Bates is hitting .381, with three doubles, and four runs scored. Those around Pioneers camp are also speaking about Bates’ leadership abilities with reverence, and that the youngest kid in camp is fast becoming the oldest soul in the clubhouse. That the club went 5-1 last week as Bates lead off may be nothing more than pure coincidence. But one observer may have hit the nail on the end in saying, “This is an old team. They won their title. They could rest of that. But this kid, he plays like a ball of fire. That energy latches on to the old heads. He may be the best thing for this club this season.” *** Hot Corner a Hot Topic *** If the Pioneers have an area that needs addressing, it may be at third base. Despite Gary Carmichael’s stout start to the spring--the 33-year-old is hitting .350, with three homers and seven RBI--the team is looking for a long-term fix to form with the current club. While there are reports that the team has sent birddogs around the FABL in quest of that fix, the organization is taking a look at Dan Finch, the club’s first-round pick in the 1945 draft. The 20-year-old out of Darlington, South Carolina, hit .339 at Hartford, its A-level farm club. Team officials are mum on their expectations for Finch, though it is expected that this is more of a chance for Finch to gain experience and learn from big leaguers. Finch went 2-for-8 in his first week of action, along with a double and a RBI.  
PLAYOFF MATCHUPS SET Chicago vs New York While Boston Plays Toronto It went down to the final day of the regular season to determine the final playoff participant, but the matchups are set for the Challenge Cup semi-finals. It has long been known that the Chicago Packers and Boston Bees would finish first and second with the Packers ending up with an 11-point cushion on second place Boston. The Bees, riddled by injury of late, were only 4 points ahead of third place Toronto but the margin was 8 points entering the final weekend when the Dukes dashed Detroit's playoff hopes with a sweep in a weekend home-and-home series with the Motors. Detroit was in the running until the final day when the Motors could have claimed fourth place with a Sunday victory at home over Toronto after the Shamrocks were beaten by Chicago but the Motors lost and ended up 1 point back of the Shamrocks for the final playoff berth. Montreal was also a point back and officially 5th as they won the season series with the Motors, who finish last for the first time since 1936-37. For the Valiants it marks the second straight season when a terrible second half cost the club a playoff spot. The Packers have never won a Challenge Cup but have to be the favourites even with defensemen Ian Groening and Ted Stevens as well as depth winger Derek Gubb all likely to miss at least the first round. Assuming the Boston Bees can get past Toronto, they will have their work cut out for them in the finals. The Bees will be without front-line winger Tommy Hart and solid centerman Robert Walker for the entire playoff. Veteran defenseman Willis Beane will likely miss the entire semi-final series. The Dukes have some injuries of their own to contend with.   TWIFB PREDICTIONS Chicago Packers over New York Shamrocks in 5 games Boston Bees over Toronto Dukes in 6 games Challenge Cup final will be a reverse of last season with Chicago prevailing over Boston in 6 games. Code:
FINAL NAHC Standings TEAM GP W L T PTS GF GA Chicago 60 34 20 6 74 216 156 Boston 60 27 24 9 63 194 173 Toronto 60 28 28 4 60 173 184 New York 60 25 30 5 55 189 191 Montreal 60 24 30 6 54 171 195 Detroit 60 24 30 6 54 166 210 FINAL SCORING LEADERS NAME GP G A PTS T Burns, Chi 56 47 28 75 Cabbell, NY 59 40 21 61 Albers, NY 60 20 39 59 W Burns, Chi 58 14 43 57 Mahoney, Chi 46 18 35 53 Chandler, Bos 52 26 26 52 Morey, Bos 53 22 28 50 Hart, Bos 55 24 25 49 Gregg, NY 54 23 26 49 Sauer, Tor 52 20 29 49 Pollack, Tor 54 26 22 48 Simpson, Bos 59 19 29 48 Gron, Bos 52 14 33 47 Skinner, Mon 55 24 22 46 Carlson, Tor 57 17 28 47 FINAL GOALIE LEADERS NAME GP W L T ShO GAA Hanson, Chi 53 27 20 6 3 2.61 Brockers, Bos 37 16 14 7 2 2.76 Broadway, Tor 51 22 23 3 2 2.94 Tremblay, NY 46 20 20 4 4 2.94 James, Bos 23 11 10 2 1 2.96 Touhey, Mon 51 22 26 2 2 3.18 Carter, Det 19 2 10 1 0 3.37 Chasse, Det 48 22 20 5 2 3.47 Sorrell, NY 18 5 10 1 3 3.55 LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY MARCH 16 Boston 5 at 2 New York : The New York Shamrocks missed an opportunity to put some ground between themselves and Montreal and Detroit. The 5-2 loss to Boston means the Valiants and Motors remain just 1 point back of the Shamrocks for fourth place. With a number of key Boston players out with injury rookie Nick Prentiss scored his first two NAHC goals while George Anderson had a goal and 2 assists to pace the Boston attack. WEDNESDAY MARCH 17 Detroit 6 at 3 Boston : The Motors kept their playoff hopes alive with an inspired 6-3 doubling of the short-staffed Bees. Nick Tardif scored twice for the winners, who outshot the Bees 43-24. It was Detroit's third win in its last four games and keeps them within a point of the New York Shamrocks for fourth place. New York 4 at 1 Chicago :New York rebounded from yesterday's loss to beat Chicago 4-1 and hang on to fourth place, by a single point over the Detroit Motors. Gil Corbeil scored twice to led the New York attack. Chicago's lone goal came off the stick of Tommy Burns. It was his 47th goal of the season, allowing him to tie Bert Cordier's 1929-30 record for goals in a season. SATURDAY MARCH 20 Chicago 4 at 2 Montreal : A must-win game for the Valiants ended in disappointment with a 4-2 loss on home ice ending their playoff hopes and being the final crushing blow in a terrible collapse after the Vals were in sight of first place at Christmas. Wes Burns had 2 goals and an assist while Tommy Burns added two helpers for the first place Packers. Detroit 2 at 5 Toronto : Detroit missed an opportunity to move into fourth place as former Motors coach Jack Barrell got revenge on his own team while clinching third place for the Dukes at the same time. Gordie Broadway had an outstanding game in the Toronto net while Quinton Pollack scored his 26th goal of the season to lead Toronto. The Motors must win tomorrow at home against Detroit and have the Shamrocks tie or lose in their finale against Chicago for Detroit to claim fourth place. SUNDAY MARCH 21 Montreal 4 at 2 Boston : Montreal finished the season on a positive with a 4-2 win in Boston, ending a stretch of 4 losses in 5 games that cost the Valiants a playoff berth. Rey Sclisizzi and Doug Lynch each had 3 point nights for the Vals. Wilbur Chandler returned to the Boston lineup after missing more than a week with an injury. Toronto 4 at 0 Detroit : Detroit came up flat in a must-win game, seeing their playoff hopes snuffed out with a 4-0 loss on home ice to the Toronto Dukes. Alex Cameron, Kurt Walz and Dick Zimmerman blew out a scoreless game with 3 second period goals and Trevor Parker added one in the third while Dukes backup goaltender Terry Russell made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season. Chicago 3 at 1 New York : The Shamrocks fell 3-1 on home ice but still clinched a playoff spot because the Motors lost to Toronto. The New York club will face the Packers in the semi-finals. Marty Mahoney, Mike Van Tol and Jarrett McGlynn scored for Chicago while Adam Greenham, with his first of the season after missing most of the campaign with a fractured hip, scored the lone Shamrock goal.  Burns and the Packers will be facing Cabbell and the Shamrocks, who were the team that Burns got the historic goal against. It was the only Packer goal in a 4-1 loss, and a relatively healthy Packers squad will now look for some revenge in the opening round of the playoffs. The series seems to favor the Packers, who finished 34-20-6 with 74 points -- nearly 20 more then the fourth place Shamrocks. They will be without winger Jeremey MacLean (13, 26, 29), who had an excellent rookie season in Chicago while he deals with a bruised hand. There is optimism he could return if the Packers advance, but there is plenty of offense even with his absence. Wes Burns (14, 43, 57) assisted on a league high 43 goals while Marty Mahoney (18, 35, 53), Leon Seguin (7, 28, 35), Jarrett McGlynn (23, 21, 44), Ed Delarue (15, 16, 31), and Moose Vezina (11, 31, 42) frequently find themselves on the scoresheet with Tommy (47, 28, 75). Dave Rankin (6, 16, 22) is back from injury, giving the Packers another offensive threat, but you can't discount the defense. Norm Hanson (27-20-3, .911) faced the most shots (1,560) of any goalie this season, and came home with the best GAA (2.61) and save percentage (.911), as the additions of 1st Rounders Jesse Santoro (6, 17, 23) and Mike Van Tol (7, 7, 14) have really strengthened the blue line, supplement incumbents Jerry Finch (6, 16, 22), Pete Moreau (4, 24, 39), and Mo Masters (7, 9, 13). The Packers don't want to take anything for granted, but they seem to be the clear favorite both in the round and for the championship. It would be the first championship for the Packers, who are looking to snap a run of disappointment from Chicago sports teams BARRELL BOUNCE BACK LEADS DUKES TO PLAYOFFS Toronto Dukes make it back into the NAHC tournament for the championship by winning their final two games of the season, 5-2 then 4-0 against Detroit. Jack Barrell, in his first season back in Toronto, led the team to a .500 record after the disastrous 1946-47 season when the team finished 13 games under an even record. The team will now face Boston in the semi-final with NY taking on Chicago in the other semi-final matchup. Dukes had a 4-7-1 record against the Bs this season. Brett had a short talk with Barrell as the team prepares for their post season. Barrell said "The coaching staff is proud of the way the team performed this season but now that is all in the past. Our focus is on the upcoming Boston series, we have to up our game. When you play a team 12 times in the regular season there should be no surprises, shutting down Chandler, Morey has to be top the list. We go into the series probably in the best health, overall, the team has been all season, Boston losing Tommy Hart last week takes 24 goals out of their lineup, but Kauffeldt is good second option on their top line. I believe the series will come down to battle between Gordie Broadway, Tom Brockers. The team that gets the key saves will probably emerge victorious. I gave the team Monday off to recover, we will begin implementing our plan for the Bs on Tuesday stressing defensive play, we need to control the puck. If we have the biscuit, they cannot score I expect to see many 2-1 or 3-2 games." When pressed for details Barrell would not expand saying "Fans should listen to the games in Boston then come to the rink, I am sure they will be entertained, time to go to put the finishing details on the plan." AROUND THE LEAGUE
KNIGHTS CONTINUE PUSH FORWARD The New York Knights moved closer to second place in the American Basketball Conference's East Division after two more wins this week. The Knights, despite enduring a terrible 10 game losing streak that began in late December, are now just two games under the break even point thanks to 8 victories in their last 9 outings. The Brooklyn Red Caps - the longtime dominant team in the division- continue to hold down top spot after splitting a pair of games with second place Boston but it is the Knights, along with the West Division power Washington Statesmen that are the most successful teams in the loop as of late. Meanwhile there are rumours that the Pittsburgh Falcons club may be up for sale. Owner Armand Allen is 71 years old and some say his health is starting to decline leading to talk that he is going to sell the third year club. One source is saying that Bernie Millard, owner of baseball's Toronto Wolves, has eyes for a basketball team and may be one of the leading candidates to purchase the club. If successful in buying the team it appears unlikely Millard will be looking to relocate it to Toronto as the Federal Basketball League - the rival to the ABC that began play last year- has a Toronto entry and a lease with the Dominion Gardens, home to hockey's Toronto Dukes. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 27 18 .600 - Boston 23 22 .511 4.0 New York 21 23 .477 5.5 Hartford 20 27 .426 8.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 34 10 .773 - Richmond 25 24 .510 11.5 Pittsburgh 18 26 .409 16.0 Rochester 14 32 .304 21.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.0 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.3 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.2 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 18.8 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.6 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.5 Norm Yates, RIC 18.4 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 17.5 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 Gerald Carter, BOS 16.7 BATTLE BREWING FOR FINAL WEST PLAYOFF BERTH The top three teams in each division make the playoffs and there is little doubt who will be on the outside in the East Division, with the lowly Toronto Titans owning a dismal 7-31 record and a full 11 games back of third place Buffalo. The West Division is a different story. The Chicago are fully healthy once more, although even some key injuries did little too slow the club down, and are riding a 3-game winning streak. The battle will be for second and third place where Cincinnati, Detroit and Cleveland are tightly bunched. The Mustangs had held second for most of the season but were passed by Cincinnati after the Cyclones dumped the Detroiters 99-84 Friday night to leap past the Mustangs with 9 games remaining on their schedule. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 27 11 .711 - Baltimore 23 15 .605 4.0 Buffalo 18 20 .474 9.0 Toronto 7 31 .184 20.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 28 11 .718 - Cincinnati 18 21 .462 10.0 Detroit 17 21 .447 10.5 Cleveland 15 23 .395 12.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.2 Larry Yim, BUF 20.5 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.3 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.0 David Reed, DET 18.4 Jack Kurtz, DET 18.0 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.9 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.3 George Kelley, CLE 16.1 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.9 WILD WEST REGION IN OPENING ROUND OF AIAA CAGE TOURNAMENT The opening round of the AIAA collegiate basketball tournament went pretty much according to script with no major upsets, until you turned your attention to the West Region. It was a wild weekend on the coast as three of the top four seeds in the West Region failed to advance to the second round of the tournament. The biggest surprise was #8 Tempe College, a school that has only ever won 2 tournament games in it's entire history, shocked 3-time National Champion and top seed Rainier College 52-47 in the opening round. The Titans, who went 19-10 during the regular season and did not beat a single ranked opponent, shocked the Majestics with the biggest upset of the opening round. Tempe College will face the 5th seed Alabama Baptist in the second round after senior guard Robert Witherspoon scored 18 points to pace the Panthers to a 68-63 victory over Elyria. Noble Jones College, the number 3 seed, was also upset as the Colonels fell 45-32 to Perry State College leaving #2 Western Iowa as the only higher seed in the West Region to advance. The Canaries, behind 17 points from Charlie Maynard, had little trouble dumping Holland University 54-40. The Midwest Region saw no upsets at all as Central Ohio, Coastal California, Lambert College and Texas Gulf Coast all advanced with only the Dolphins, who need overtime and 21 points from freshman Chris Martines to nip Great Plains State 63-61, having a tough time. It was much the same story in the South Region although #3 seed Detroit City College did fall, dropping a 55-48 decision to Lexington State and in the East where the only lower seed to win was Liberty College as the #5 downing #4 Central Kentucky 65-54. That game was the highly anticipated dual between the top two scorers in the nation. Neither disappointed as Ward Messer scored 30 points to lead Liberty while Charles Cleary had 28 in a losing effort for the Tigers.   MELANSON TITLE FIGHT BUMPED A WEEK Frank Melanson will not defend his World Middleweight Title on July 4 after Philadelphia Sailors owner Matilda Johnson exercised an out clause because of a late change to the Sailors 1948 schedule. The Sailors were originally supposed to be on the road that week but swapped dates with the Cincinnati Cannons so there will be a baseball doubleheader July 4 at Sailors Memorial Stadium. Melanson's fight will still take place at the Philadelphia ballpark but will be rescheduled for the following Saturday - July 10 as the Sailors will now be in Cincinnati that weekend. Melanson, who fought and lost his title on July 4 in his hometown of Pittsburgh, had wanted an Independence Day date for his first defense after regaining the title from John Edmonds in December, but will now have to settle for the following week instead. There had been some talk of moving the bout to Washington's Columbia Stadium, which is available on the 4th of July with the Eagles in Philadelphia to face the Keystones at Broad Street Park, but the decision was made to change the date instead of the location. Melanson, who is 33-1-2, will face European champion Edouard Desmarais, who's only career loss came against Melanson in a 1946 title fight in Boston. There was a fight of note in Philadelphia last week as 21-year-old heavyweight Harvey Winter rebounded from his first career loss by knocking out Philadelphia native Cliff Baker in the 4th round of their scheduled 10-rounder at Keystone Arena. Baker, who is the brother of former title contender Scott Baker and the son of Battling Billy Baker, who briefly held the world middleweight title, was no match for Winter, a fast, hard-hitting Trenton, NJ native who is making a quick rise to contender status. Winter is 17-1 with most of those fights short 6-rounders as he was breaking in. His lone loss came to Steve Case, who is set to face Hector Sawyer for the world title in June, but Winter did not look out of place in going the full ten rounds with Case. In Cincinnati on Friday former middleweight contender Nick Harris came out on the short end of a split decision against Jim Ward in what was considered a mild upset. Harris had faced Frank Melanson for the title last March but fell by decision and this loss to Ward (17-3) was unexpected. Moore sees his record dip to 23-4-1 with the defeat. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/21/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-17-2023, 12:50 PM
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#770 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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March 29, 1948
MARCH 29, 1948 CHIEFS PENNANT HOPES DEALT BLOW WITH MILLER INJURY Stars Also Lose Barrett for Season Start The biggest spring fear for any general manager is the worry that their team may suffer the loss of a key player during the Citrus loop slate of tune-up games. That fear became reality for both the Chicago Chiefs and New York Stars this week as each lost a key contributor for an extended period of time. The Chiefs were the hardest hit as they will be forced to go until at least the beginning of June, and perhaps even longer, without ace pitcher Al Miller. It is perhaps only slightly less devastating in that the injury, which will take an estimated two to three months to heal, did not occur to his golden right arm but instead it was a disc issue in his back. Miller will be entering his 12th season with the Chiefs and owns a 163-119 record including 17-14 a year ago. He won an Allen Award in 1941 and is a 6-time all-star game participant. It is the second major pitching loss suffered in a month for the Chiefs who were blindsided in late February when Gus Goulding informed the team he was retiring from the sport. Goulding, 34, was 15-11 last season for Chicago and was invited to the all-star game for the second time in his career. The Chiefs did add Mel Haynes in a hastily arranged trade with the cross-town Chicago Cougars in an effort to fill the void created by Goulding's departure but Haynes has struggled in the spring posting an 0-2 record and a 7.71 era in 3 spring starts. Over the winter many had felt the Chiefs were serious pennant contenders after they spent much of last season in second place but the pitching losses will certainly make a pennant push a little more daunting of a task. ***Barrett Will Miss Opening Week *** The New York Stars will start the season without 3-time Whitney Award winning outfielder Bill Barrett after the 28-year-old suffered a muscle strain in a game last week. Barrett, known as "William the Conqueror", hit .297 with 21 homers and 93 rbi's last season. They are solid numbers by most standards but down slightly from his prewar numbers when he twice led the Continental Association in batting average and 3 times topped the loop in homeruns. The hope is he will only miss a week or two of the regular season, which has a late start this year and does not get underway for the Stars until April 20.  STARS HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR '48 Our tour of FABL organizations brings us to a visit with Al Swain, the Scouting Director of the New York Stars. The Stars won the Continental Association pennant two years ago and then went on to defeat Washington in a World Championship Series that went the full seven games. Last year the Stars were very much in contention to repeat until the wheels fell off with a 7-16 finish to the season that left New York in 4th place, 7 games back of the champion Philadelphia Sailors. TWIFB : The Stars had a fair drop off from what was a terrific 1946 season? Was it case of overachieving in '46 or underachieving in '47 and why do you feel that way? Al SWAIN : I think '46 was the norm for the ball club. We had an excellent staff capped off by the acquisition of Freddy Jones who pushed us over the top and gave us an edge. Last season we played well right up until August when we cooled off and just couldn't make it happen. Pitching was mostly to blame giving up too many runs the offense just couldn't overcome. TWIFB : What needs to happen this season for the club to finish on the top of the heap in the Continental Association? Al SWAIN : Pitching needs to be solid. But these guys aren't exactly spring chickens any more. (Chuck) Cole is 38 and Hubbard looks to be having control issues. These two were part of the core. (Eli) Panneton is still looking sharp. (Richie) Hughes, while decent, doesn't appear to be the ace we thought he was going to be. We picked him up while he was on a hot streak. Hopefully I'm wrong, but simply above average isn't what we we're shopping for. Our other hole seems to be 2B... again. Coach Tannen wants to move Freddy to 1B and his defensive numbers support this move. But this creates a new problem displacing Barnett there. So we have some tough decisions to make. Fortunately we did make a couple good moves in the draft and it looks like our '47 2nd round pick, Ed Holmes, may be ready according to AAA staff. I'm not completely convinced, but he'll get some reps in this spring to see where he's at. TWIFB : It was a quiet off-season for the Stars. Was that by design or were there attempts to make moves but nothing materialized? Al SWAIN : We didn't have much to offer this off season. Those left in our farm all have key roles coming up in future years, so moving them wasn't an option. So the front office decided to leave well enough alone and see where these new young guys take us. TWIFB : I know you mentioned the arms let the club down a bit in the stretch run a year ago but assuming Chuck Cole can hold up at age 38, the Stars have to be pretty happy with a rotation headed by Eli Panneton, Vern Hubbard, Cole and Richie Hughes? This group seems to be one of the better ones the Stars have had, perhaps even better than the '42 group of Cole, Hubbard, Billy Riley and Lou Robertson? [I]Al SWAIN : Cautious optimism. I don't think the rotation is quite as good as years past, but should be serviceable enough. 1942 seems like it was a long time ago and arms have aged on a couple of these guys. TWIFB : What player should we keep an eye on in spring camp and during the season? Who is poised to have a big season for the Stars. Al SWAIN : Keep an eye on Ed Holmes, Henry Brown, Dan Atwood and Tommy Bloom. Ol' Joe Rainbow isn't what he used to be and we're eyeballing new catching talent. 2B is always a week spot and Tommy and Ed will be fighting for that spot as well. Barrett is an obvious lock for a big season, he's just too good. But I think Welch, Sutton and Riggins will all pull through for us this season and be well above average. TWIFB : As scouting director I have to ask you about Ralph Hanson. Where do you see the number one prospect in baseball playing this season and when will he make a serious charge at a big league call-up? Al SWAIN : Its been a real slow burn in C ball. He looks like he has it, then a sudden drop off in production keeps holding him back. Hopefully this is the year he can put all the pieces together and move up the system. TWIFB : Staying with the scouting aspect of your job, how do you feel about your 1948 draft? Who is the player you were surprised was still available when you made one of your picks? Al SWAIN : The draft went about as you would expect. No surprises really. We got who we wanted for the most part. TWIFB : Finally, on paper the Cougars are likely the team to beat in the CA. Do you see them as the favorites and if not which team do you feel is the Stars biggest obstacle to winning the pennant? Al SWAIN : Ahhh the Cougars. They are a great team and the sportsman in me would love to see them finally pull it off. But I'm a Star through and through and try and help put together the best team we can field. That being said, its going to be a fight this season to try and stay on top. We're going to be our own obstacle this year, since we're not as young and spritely overall as we have been in the past.  The record is not something you'll want to see when the games matter. 9-11 would certainly create concern in the early going. Also the statistics of their three new starters - Buddy Long, 0-2 5.68, Lefty Allen, 0-2 7.30, and Joe Brown, 1-0 5.79 are just plain ugly. But they are veterans. They know what the training part of spring training means. No one around the team is concerned. On the other side the returning starters, ace Ed Bowman, 1-1 1.80, and the main competitors for the 5th spot, Lou Eaker, 3-0 1.38, and Tom Henderson, 1-1 3.21 have looked good. Also, most of the pen work, from the remaining pitchers in camp, has been solid. On the hitting side, again, the vets are a mixed bag statistically. George Cleaves is spending more time learning a new staff, his .222 of little concern. Red Johnson, .216, and Walt Messer, .226, seem to be enjoying the sun. In the middle infield, vet Roosevelt Brewer, .364 and youngster Cecil LaBonte, .312, are hitting while also working on turning the double play. In the still crowded outfield where CF is still open as well as the backup spot to oft injured Mahlon Strong, .545, most of the competition, young and old, are working hard to impress. Frontrunner Bunny Hufford, .366, leads the pack, while other favorites to make the cut, Flipper Robinson, .241 while nursing a sore wrist, and Johnny Guthrie, .290, are also performing well. Rookies Billy Moody, .257 and Noah Anderson, .257 will have to show more the final weeks to earn a trip north. So the results have been more win some, lose some, which may not excite the fans, but Manager Bud Jameson has been around long enough to know that as long as the work is being done, when the bell rings, his guys will be ready. MINUTEMEN SPRING TRAING UPDATE Just a quick update from Ol’ Doc about some of the position battles mentioned in last week’s update. If you remember, Alf Keeter, Andy Howell and Merton Myers were going to get starts in the rotation this week. Here is how that turned out: Alf Keeter- Four scoreless innings with three strikeouts against St. Louis. Andy Howell- Five scoreless innings with four strikeouts against Pittsburgh. Merton Myers- seven hits and three earned with two strikeouts against Philadelphia. Two out of three had impressive outings and it will be interesting to see if the club gives Myers another start or if they opt to let someone like Al Love, who pitched in AA last season an opportunity. In 11 innings this spring Love has struck out 12, walked three and has batters hitting .234 against him. This could be a scenario where Myers gets one more start to simply get a clearer picture of what the club has with him. Look for the Minutemen to start slimming the pitching staff down to get more opportunities for guys in the last two weeks. Offensively a number of Minutemen had nice weeks in what looks like a case of some veterans ridding themselves of the rust accumulated from a long offseason that had the club watching the playoffs from home yet again. Bill Van Ness hit three home runs this week which puts him at a tie for the team lead with Joe Watson. Lew McClendon showed great plate discipline and a quick bat to solidify his place behind Barrell who will return to action this week. Both Jimmy Wolf and Jiggs Jackson had solid weeks to put a little fire into the backup catcher battle. Finally, the club is still looking for a first baseman to step up as that position group did not have a good week yet again. With half the spring training tilt in the books the club has decided to bid adieu to a few of their non-roster players to get a clearer picture of what the club will look like going forward. Here is a list of said players that will drop the spring roster to 42 players: SS Lynn Davis sent to AAA Columbus 1B Joe Davis sent to AAA Columbus OF Yank Taylor sent to B Arlington OF Danny Taylor sent to B Arlington OF Eddie Hayley sent to AAA Columbus OF Les Rich sent to AAA Columbus OF John Titus sent to AA Worcester OF Hal Pratt optioned to AAA Columbus 2B Al Wright sent to AAA Columbus DYNAMOS TRIM SPRING ROSTER Veteran Joe Herman is making Dynamos manager Dick York rethink his plans. It seemed likely that the 32-year-old first baseman/outfielder was going to be released after he struggled through a .238 season a year ago with the Dynamos. The Dynamos, some say, only invited Herman to camp instead of cutting him loose over the winter because he is a Detroit native but three weeks into camp Herman is batting .371 and making a case to claim a bench role with the club. The battle likely comes down to being between Herman, Steve Donovan and Tony Mullis for the final roster spot. At this point it seems clear that Herman would be the winner. Detroit trimmed its fight for the backup catcher job behind starter Rick York down to two players after 23-year-old Crab Crowley was dispatched to AAA Newark. Jackie Harper, the 25-year-old who was so impressive in Havana during winter league action, appears to have the inside track over veteran Clyde Farr. The big battle is on the mound where the Dynamos trimmed down to 13 pitchers over the weekend. Carl Potter, Wally Hunter, Dixie Lee, Bill Sohl and Frank Gordon are locks for the first five spots. The other 4 to five are a battle with a number of the candidates out of minor league options, which further complicates matters. Dynamos scouting director Fred Barrell says the management team has been very impressed with Jimmy Long and Willie Montgomery so far but adds there is still a lot of spring baseball to play. One pitcher that has stuck around despite the plan originally being to send him down is 24-year-old lefthander Irv Harden. Harden still has options left which might make his task of cracking the 24-man roster a little tougher, but he was impressive in a short stint in Detroit a year ago and has been good enough in spring action to stick around. Like the catcher Harper, Harden seems to have benefitted from a winter trip to Cuba. *** How Long Will Two Basketball Leagues Survive? *** The Great Western League, despite the objections from many FABL magnates, seems to be holding its own as a big league baseball loop. Likewise, both the Continental Conference and American Association look to be prospering despite rising player costs and head to head competition for fan dollars in some cities. But those two sports are well established and were wildly successful before the post-war boom of rebel leagues entered the scene. Basketball might just be a different story. The American Conference has been around for over a decade, although it really is just a regional loop based primarily along the east coast. None of its magnates were ever raking in money, but the loop seemed to prosper. Then Rollie Barrell, the boss of the Maroons football club, decided to revive the old Federal Basketball loop - one that enjoyed a few seasons of moderate success before it crumbled during the great depression. The Federal League, with Barrell's local quintet dubbed the Mustangs as part of the 8-team loop, is nearing the end of its second season. The league is a modest success but clearly a giant step below baseball, football and even hockey despite the latter's clearly regional appeal. Many, including Barrell's old pal from the first run through for a pro league Daniel Prescott, are claiming Barrell's bunch is killing the sport. Clearly Prescott, who owns one of the dominant teams in the ABC in the Brooklyn Red Caps, is worried and rumblings we are hearing suggest it is with good reason. Few details are coming to light at the moment, and Barrell himself is mum on the subject, but the feeling is that a move is afoot by the Federal League to try and lure some of the ABC teams to jump ship and join the upstarts. Nothing would occur during the season of course, which still has a few weeks remaining, but there may be a lot happening over the summer on the pro cage circuit. *** JACK BARRELL MAKES THE RIGHT MOVES *** Sticking with a Barrell theme to today's column, you have to wonder just how much more Detroit Motors boss Jack Connelly Jr. regrets his decision to fire Jack Barrell as his coach two years ago. Barrell, who spent a decade as Detroit's bench boss and led the club to its only Challenge Cup win in 1939, resurfaced in Toronto this season after spending some time in the western league. Barrell not only guided the Dukes back to the playoffs after a year's absence, but he also eliminated the Motors when his Toronto club swept Detroit in a home and home series on the final weekend. Now Jack is working his magic again with the surprise decision to start backup goaltender Terry Russell in net in the semi-final opener against the favoured Boston Bees. Russell was terrific and the Dukes did everything right in scratching out a 2-1 win on the road to open the best-of-five series.  
PACKERS HAVE LITTLE TROUBLE IN SERIES OPENER Dukes Upset Bees on Road The NAHC Challenge Cup playoffs got underway with the two series opening games on Friday evening. There was little surprise with the result in Chicago as the Packers, armed with the best regular season record in the loop, blanked the fourth place New York Shamrocks 4-0 in game one of their semi-final series. Second place Boston on the other hand, immediately surrendered its home ice advantage over Toronto in the other series as the Dukes pulled out a 2-1 victory in front of a hostile crowd over more than 16,000 at Denny Arena. Both of the best-of-five semi-final series will continue tonight. Norm Hanson, who led the NAHC in wins by a goaltender and lowest goals against average, turned aside all 23 shots he faced to lead the Packers past the visiting New York Shamrocks. Wes Burns had 2 goals and an assist while his brother Tommy, who led the NAHC in both goals and points during ther regular season, also scored for Chicago. It took less than 6 minutes for the Packers to open the scoring when Norm Fraser, who scored just once in 7 regular season games with the big club, beat Shamrocks goaltender Etienne Tremblay with David Ranking and Jerry Finch drawing the assists. It would stay 1-0 until Wes Burns and Ed Delarue combined to set up Tommy Burns with 4 minutes remaining in the second period. Wes would get his first of the game two and a half minutes later, assisted by Marty Mahoney and Pete Moreau, to make the score 3-0 after 40 minutes. Three minutes into the third Wes Burns would score again, from Mo Masters and Mike Van Tol, ending any hopes the Shamrocks might have of mounting a comeback. The Packers outshot the visitors 31-23 in a clean, fast-paced game that saw just one penalty called all evening. In Boston it came as quite a suprise when Toronto coach Jack Barrell elected to start Terry Russell in net over veteran Gordie Broadway. The 31-year-old Russell played in just 12 regular season games for the Dukes this season and had only 4 career playoff games under his belt -all with Chicago in 1944-45. Some might have been questioning Barrell's decision when it took just over 4 minutes for the Bees to opening the scoring. Veteran center Wilbur Chandler, who scored 8 playoff goals in the Bees successful Cup run a year ago, was perched on the edge of the crease and jammed a rebound past Russell to open the scoring. Garrett Kauffledt and Joe Morey drew the assists. Toronto tied it up just under six minutes later when rookie Alex Cameron, who had spent most of the season in Cleveland and owns just 1 NAHC career goal, added his first playoff goal on a nifty solo effort. The game would be remained knotted at one through the second period as both Russell and veteran Boston netminder Tom Brockers stood tall. That would change just shy of the midway mark of the third period when Dukes captain Bobbie Sauer would be the hero, snapping the tie with goal from the slot, setup by Maurice Charette and Dick Zimmerman. Russell and his Toronto teammates made it stand up, hanging on for the 2-1 victory in the series opener. NOMINEES FOR NAHC TROPHIES REVEALED Tommy Burns of the Chicago Packers looks like he is on his way to his third consecutive McDaniels Trophy as the most valuable player in the NAHC. The star center, who led the NAHC in points and tied an 18-year-old record for goals in a season with 47, heads the list of three nominees for the trophy. Burns is joined by Orval Cabbell of the New York Shamrocks and Wilbur Chandler of the Boston Bees. Cabbell finished second to Burns in both goals and points with a 40-21-61 campaign while Chandler, who missed 8 games due to injury, averaged a point a game (26-26-52) to lead Boston in scoring. The nominees for the Juneau Memorial Trophy, presented to the top goaltender, are Gordie Broadway of Toronto, Boston's Tom Brockers and Norm Hanson of the Chicago Packers. Broadway won the award two seasons ago while Brockers won the Juneau 5 times during his first stint with the Bees. Finally the nominees for the Harvey McLeod Trophy, presented to the top rookie are Mickey Bedard of the Boston Bees and a pair of Detroit Motors in Adam Vanderbilt and Nick Tardif. The 22-year-old Tardif led all rookies with 19 goals and 43 assists while appearing in all 60 games for the Motors. Vanderbilt had 16 goals and 41 points and together with Tardif were one-two in scoring for the Detroit club. Bedard, a 23-year-old native of Thetford Mines, Quebec finished second in the NAHC in scoring by a defenseman with 38 points including 12 goals. Surprisingly Toronto's Lou Galbraith -the 20-year-old first overall pick who's seeason came to an end in February with an injury- was not among the nominees. Galbraith was among the league scoring leaders at the time of his injury, finishing with 17 goals and 42 points in 50 games.  DUKES STRIKE FIRST AGAINST BEES In a surprising game, in more ways than one, the Dukes opening up their playoff series with a 2-1 victory before a packed house of over 16000 at Denny Arena. The game was opposite of what Jack Barrell was preparing for, instead of tight checking the game was fast paced, up and down the ice with a combined total of 64 shots on goal. Boston opened the scoring less than 5 minutes in with Chandler converting a nice three-way passing play from Kauffeldt, Morey. This probably sent chills down Barrell's spine as the key for the Dukes was to limit the Bs top line. The Dukes tied the game 6 minutes later when Cameron scored after stealing the puck on a sloppy turnover by the Boston D. The teams remained deadlocked at 1 after a frantic second stanza which saw numerous high caliber chances for both teams. Tom Brockers, Terry Russell, who was the surprise starting goaltender for the Dukes, were both equal to the task shutting the door before a fever pitched crowd. The game settled in, somewhat, in the third, it was almost like the players on were both teams afraid to make to the critical mistake. The Dukes finally dented the twine just past the halfway point when Captain Bobby Sauer tipped one past Brockers on passes from Charette, Zimmerman. Terry Russell then kept the home team off the score sheet for the 2-1 victory. Brockers made 34 saves while Russell turned away 27 pucks. When ask about why Russell was between the pipes rather than Broadway Coach Barrell offered a terse "No Comment!" leaving fans wondering Broadway is nursing an undisclosed injury or the coaching staff was playing hunch. The big question in Toronto is "Who will be between the pipes on Monday night for Game Two in Boston?" DOUBT CASTS SHADOWS: UNCERTAIN FATE LOOMS FOR TWIN PRO CAGE LEAGUES 16 Teams Perhaps Too Many for Fledgling Sport In this final stretch of the ongoing professional basketball campaigns, there's nary a scuffle for first-place honors to be found in the four divisions that collectively shape the narrative of the twin leagues. Regrettably, attendance figures still struggle to mirror the fervor that surrounds the ice arenas, a phenomenon that may find its logic in the fledgling state of the sophomore Federal Basketball League, diligently striving to stake its claim primarily within the Midwest. Yet, this explanation doesn't extend its mantle to envelop the American Basketball Conference. The ABC, now embarking on its eleventh season, finds itself ensnared in a distinct quandary. Most of its squads grapple to lure even a modest assembly of 3,000 enthusiasts into the grand edifices, which, in numerous instances, boast capacities triple the actual turnout. Leading their respective divisions, Washington and Brooklyn are the sole envoys from either league to attract more than 5,000 patrons on an average basis. The mighty Chicago Panthers, despite their prowess in the Federal loop, muster a mere fraction of Lakeside Arena's capacity, with an average attendance of 3,560. This number barely crosses the threshold of one-quarter when juxtaposed with the throng converging for the Packers' hockey battles – an analogous saga of dominance within its league this season. A salient divergence is found in the realm of hockey, a league housing just six teams after expelling the feeble Brooklyn faction last summer. The fruits of this reduction have manifestly ripened across the board, as each hockey ensemble has flourished and elevated the overall quality of the competition. This metamorphosis is in stark contrast to the current state of professional basketball, which seemingly groans under its own weight since Rollie Barrell's Federal League entered the arena last year, doubling the quantity of competing teams. A glance across the hardwood unveils a picture of certain clubs grappling to cobble together a sufficient cadre of proficient basketball players. Coupled with the glaring presence of dominant teams in each league, the suspense inherent in the sport withers like an autumn leaf. The Washington Statesmen, with a baker's dozen games left in their campaign, hold a formidable 12.5-game margin over second-seated Richmond, essentially guaranteeing them a divisional title in short order. In the realm of the Federal loop, the Chicago Panthers have already embraced the laurels of the West Division, while Philadelphia looms large in their pursuit of the Eastern mantle. Few dare to anticipate a tumble from the Statesmen or Panthers come playoff time. Although perhaps a smidgen of potential unrest pulses within the Eastern divisions – a spark that might ignite Baltimore or New York, propelling them to an unforeseen upset against Philadelphia or Brooklyn – beyond these flickers, the realm of the sport languishes under the yoke of a deficiency in genuine competition. It's conspicuously clear that Barrell's advent onto the court has turned the tables in professional basketball, compounding the precarious landscape of a domain already teetering on unstable foundations. Even though the college game commands its fair share of attention, the realm of professional basketball remains ensconced within the shadows cast by hockey, football, and the incipient whispers of winter's stove talk in baseball. The contest waged between these rival leagues might indeed find triumphs in the realm of football, or perhaps even in the expanse of baseball, wherein the Great Western League might flourish. Nonetheless, professional basketball, with its distinct niche identity, appears to have ventured too far afield. It's the belief of many that these twin leagues, in their eagerness to extend their reach, might stumble upon the limits of their sustainability. In the grand sweep of time, only a modicum of surprise is anticipated if both these leagues manage to navigate a secure passage into the distant future. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 29 19 .604 - Boston 24 24 .500 5.0 New York 24 24 .500 5.0 Hartford 21 30 .412 9.5 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 36 11 .766 - Richmond 25 25 .500 12.5 Pittsburgh 18 28 .391 17.5 Rochester 16 32 .333 20.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.4 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 19.3 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.1 Morgan Melcher, BOS 18.9 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.7 Norm Yates, RIC 18.3 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.2 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 17.4 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 Gerald Carter, BOS 16.8 Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 29 11 .725 - Baltimore 23 16 .590 5.5 Buffalo 18 22 .450 11.0 Toronto 9 31 .225 20.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 30 11 .732 - Cincinnati 20 21 .488 10.0 Detroit 17 23 .425 12.5 Cleveland 15 26 .366 15.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.8 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.4 Larry Yim, BUF 20.1 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.1 David Reed, DET 18.2 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.4 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.8 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.3 George Kelley, CLE 15.9 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.8 NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS SET IN CAGE TOURNEY Upsets Story in Second Weekend None of the four top seeded schools made it through to the final weekend of the collegiate cage tournament, set for Saturday and next Monday at New York's Bigsby Garden. It was a weekend of upsets as the final four will include a two-seed, a three, a four and a five seed among its representatives. Those four schools : CC Los Angeles, Alabama Baptist, Redwood University and Texas Gulf Coast have combined for 4 previous National Championships and 9 appearances in the AIAA tournament. However, all four of those previous titles and all 9 April trips to the semi-finals belong to the CCLA Coyotes as the other three schools entered this season with a combined tournament record of 8-27. The Coyotes, who won their record-tying 4th national title just two years ago, are the lone two seed to survive as they came out of the South Region following wins over Utah A&M, Lexington State and Carolina Poly. Led by senior guard Gerald Cheek, who averaged 14.4 ppg this season, CCLA is heavily favoured over Alabama Baptist, who they will face in the opening semi-final Saturday afternoon. The Panthers have a pair of double-digit scorers in junior forward Joseph Lecompte and senior guard Robert Witherspoon. The 5th seed in a West Region full of upsets they downed Elyria 68-63 in the opening round before beating 8th seed Tempe College by 18 points and 6th seeded Perry State College 49-44 to qualify for New York. The other semi-final will feature West Coast Athletic Association regular season champion Redwood against Southwestern Alliance kingpin Texas Gulf Coast. The Mammoths entered the season having never won a tournament game but now find themselves just a victory away from an appearance in the National Title game. They lack a dominant leader but have a deep balanced attack with a rotation that features 8 different players seeing extensive time. The third seed in the East, they opened with a 55-47 win over the University of New Jersey and followed that up with weekend wins over Academia Alliance champ Brunswick (56-50) and Liberty College by a 56-54 score, preventing the Bells from a 3rd straight appearance in the title game. The loss brought Ward Messer's collegiate career to an end and left the Bells star with 964 rebounds in his 4 seasons at Liberty College, just 4 shy of Wade Bennett's AIAA career record. Texas Gulf Coast was the 4th seed in the Midwest and after beating $5 St Blane 56-37 in the opening round the Hurricanes knocked off top ranked Central Ohio 64-53 on Thursday. Senior guard Dusty Cardin led the way with 19 points in the win over the Aviators and held the hot hand again on Saturday when they trimmed Coastal California 52-50 in the regional final. Cardin had a 15 point effort in that victory.  EUROPEAN CHAMP WINS IN ITALY Sets Sail For America to Face Melanson Edouard Desmarais improved his record to 41-1 with a successful defense of his European Middleweight title over Poto Tauretto in Italy over the weekend and now turns his focus on the only many who has ever defeated him. Desmarais will depart from his native Paris by ship to New York next week and will will train in Brooklyn to prepare for a July 10th rematch with Frank Melanson. Melanson, the world champion, handed Desmarais his only loss in a title fight in Boston in October of 1946. The bout had been originally set for Independence Day but the rescheduling of a baseball game forced the bout to be bumped to the following Saturday at Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium. Melanson has also lost just once in his career and sports a 33-1-2 career record. This will be Melanson's first defense since reclaiming the belt he lost last July 4 to John Edmonds by winning the rematch with Edmonds in December. Code:
HISTORY OF THE MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE YEARS FIGHTER HOMETOWN Title Defenses 1909-1910 Abe Campbell Detroit, MI 1 1910-1911 Battling Billy Baker Philadelphia, PA 2 1911-1912 Ken Brekke Duluth, MN 3 1912-1913 Abe Campbell Detroit, MI 2 1913 Ken Brekee Duluth, MN 1 1913-1914 Bob Brinkman London, England 2 1914 Abe Campbell Detroit, MI 1 1914-1916 Mike Burtenshaw Jeresey City, NJ 4 1916-1918 Dave Byler San Francisco, Ca 3 1918 Bob Brinkman London, England 1 1919-1920 Tony Rump Toledo, OH 2 1920-1929 Ray Pizzuto New York, NY 15 1929-1933 Elden Breeden Wichita, KA 7 1933-1940 Jorge Cuellar Spain 8 1940 vacant 1941-1945 Archie Rees Tadcaster, England 3 1945-1947 Frank Melanson Pittsburgh, PA 5 1947 John Edmonds Muncie, IN 1 1947-pres Frank Melanson Pittsburgh, PA -
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/28/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-17-2023 at 01:33 PM. |
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08-18-2023, 11:55 AM
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#771 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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April 5, 1948
APRIL 5, 1948 KEYSTONES LOSE BROOKS FOR START OF SEASON A week ago, it was the Chicago Chiefs losing a topflight pitcher when Al Miller went down with a bad back. Now the Philadelphia Keystones, a team that cannot afford to lose any pitching talent, learned that George M. Brooks will likely be out until mid-May with a sprained ankle. Brooks, the Keystones number two starter behind Lloyd Stevens, went 13-11 with a 3.68 era last season and the 35-year-old is 128-118 over his dozen years of big league ball, all with the Keystones. Pitching was very thin for the Keystones a year ago as the club slumped to 6th place -its worst showing since 1939- and lacked any sort of consistency from its mound staff beyond Stevens and to a lesser degree Brooks. The good news is Brooks will likely just miss 3, maybe 4 starts but it will mean there will be added pressure on Charlie Waddell and Joe Quade to continue the solid pitching display each has showcased in spring action.   MINUTEMEN SPRING TRAINING UPDATE Things are heating up in spring training as the Minutemen just finished a 5-1 week to put their spring record at 17-9. Manager Tom Steffen says he has been pleased with the work ethic of the club and acknowledges that he has some tough decisions to make in the next few weeks. That picture is getting a bit clearer as it looks as if Alf Keeter is going to secure one of the last two rotation spots as he keeps impressing Boston brass with every opportunity he has had this spring. That would mean the last spot in the rotation could come down to Andy Howell, Merton Myers or Al Love. It has been reported that Al Love will get a start in the rotation this week. As a group the pitching has been one of the strong points this spring. It will be interesting to see if this will carry over into the regular campaign. Offensively the club is still looking for a backup catcher as both Jiggs Jackson and Jimmy Wolf continue to stay hot. First base on the other hand is still a black hole which may actually force Steffens hand and start the season with Art Spencer playing first which would open up another utility spot in the lineup and assuredly Hal Renard back to AAA and Dick Gill back to Philadelphia as he was a Rule V selection. Bob Donoghue’s future with the club is certainly on shaky ground, especially if he refuses a demotion. The Minutemen have a few weeks to figure it out and all of this is just speculation on Ol’ Doc’s part anyway. The picture did get a bit clearer though as Boston trimmed the roster down by nine more players leaving 33 left in camp. Here is a list of transactions: Optioned Players: C Mel Campbell AA, 2B Frenchy Garceau AAA, 2B Henry Warren AAA Non-Roster Assignments: CF Dick Helfand AA, CF Wally Dorsey AA, SP Bob Wolf AAA, SP Dutch Day AAA Rule V Releases: SP Paul Bunning Pittsburgh, SP Carl Fritz New York Stars A few notes on the above. There was hope that Dick Helfand would make the club and he had plenty of chances this spring but just couldn’t find the barrel enough to stick. Wally Dorsey impressed earlier in camp but has since fallen off pace. As non-roster players it was easy enough to get both players down to a level that will give them a chance to play everyday. Frenchy Garceau had a great year in winter ball and was holding his own this spring. His future may be bright but right now there just isn’t a spot for him on the club. He had to be optioned to Columbus. Dutch Day was the organizational feel good story as he has been a loyal member of the organization for years. With two open rotation spots the hope of many was that Dutch could earn one of those spots. Unfortunately, Day’s spring has been especially brutal and it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen for him. He was sent down to Columbus and will hopefully provide some guidance and leadership to the young guys on that club. This leaves big time prospect Marshall Thomas as the only non-roster player left in camp.  The Kings are wondering if the pitcher Vic Carroll they are seeing this spring is real with his 11.7 K/9. Still walking a lot but the stopper role if he can maintain some of those K's is inviting. Carroll has a 0.90 ERA in 10 IP. Expect a lot of moves out of the Kings today as they trim down their spring camp roster. But they also grabbed 2 arms off of waivers that will likely get a quick look this week although with the 40-man roster bloated with pitchers expect some of those arms will be getting set adrift soon. Also it looks like GM DD Martin has won this battle on the immediate future of C Dan Smith. He is being optioned to AAA to start the season, but may remain in camp another week. Joining C Dan Smith heading down to the minors is 19 year old 3B Ken Newman. Newman hit 250 this spring and has a bright future, its just not quite right now. In a late decision today the Kings elected to say goodbye to veteran pitcher Karl Weiss, who has been told he will not make the club. Weiss came over from Montreal in a trade last year and produced mixed results. The 33 year old hurler was was poor in his 10 starts overall last season but pitched well out of the bullpen. He was hoping to make a case for a bullpen arm this spring but the Kings are choosing to go in another direction. Weiss has a lifetime record of 67-66 with his 1 career save coming last year. His career ERA is 3.98. Speculation is he may land with a club in the Great Western League. "Peanuts" Louden is in a battle for the last OF spot with John Beaver. Both have very good walk rates but Louden is the more versatile.  Slugginh prospect Hank Smith has been sent down making the battle for the first base job a two-horse race between Muarice Carter and Luke Weaver. Smith simply needs more time in AAA in the eyes of Saints brass. Minor league veteran Eric Fiore has also been sent down to AAA. The battle for 2B still wide open. Bob Jennings had a what is hoped to only be a minor injury setback, while nobody between Eddie Logan, Bobo Falvey and Howard Rivers wants to take the lead in the battle for the starting job. It is a similar story in the outfield, where Bill Greene, Lass and Pierce are showing they can play. Sam Clay, second is clearly in the lead as backup/defense 4th player. Then come the rest of the group for another spot between Bill Elkins, Otis Parker, Ernie McCoy and Gig Taylor... one more week befor the big decision happens. That decision might just involve a trade as the Saints, with a surplus of outfield depth are hoping to move someone -perhaps Otis Parker, Milt Bennett or Ernie McCoy in an effort to solve what appears to be a growing concern at second base.  KEYSTONES CAMP UPDATE 35-year-old RHP George Brooks sprained his ankle and will miss the first 2-3 weeks of the regular season. He is out until early May. But, the rest of the staff is pitching well and Sid Moulton (4.96 ERA, 3.20 FIP) will get another chance to make the rotation. One of the big surprises in camp, Joe Quade, continues to pitch well (1.50 ERA in 24 IP), so Moulton's path to a starting rotation spot will likely go through Pepper Tuttle (3.78 ERA in 16.2 IP) or Jim Whiteley (1.02 ERA in 17.2 IP). Other surprises in Keystones camp are C Lou Bayer (13-for-38, 3 HR, 10 RBI), who is battling with Chet McCormick to back up Roger Cleaves. 1B Hans Wright (.296-2-5, .949 OPS) has pushed fellow first-sacker Nate Power, who is finally coming around with a 6-for-10 week to move his Spring average to .314. Veteran outfielder Chuck Hood (.326 AVG, .431 OBP) and waiver pick-up Gordon McCarley (1.077 OPS, 7 RBI, 10 BB, 2 SB) are making their case to make the 24-man roster. The two outfielders who have the most to lose here are Wilbur Zimmerman (6-for-42) and Joe Burns (.222/.271/.267 in 45 AB). Now the Gothams have made a series of bold moves and are favorites to take the FA title in the upcoming 1948 season. Sure there are nagging concerns about the veteran pitchers this spring, but I'm here to tell you that's nothing to worry about. Vets know their routines and are only concerned with getting their arms ready for the games that count. On the hardcourt the Knights have been on fire since their long drought and have moved into a tie for second, four back from the leaders with 9 games to play. Quite a turnaround. Speaking of which, those last place Shamrocks eventually edge their way into a playoff spot and now find themselves in a best of 7 series with Toronto for the league championship. Ice hockey fans are besides themselves as the recently lowly Shamrocks may have found a four leaf clover at just the right time. And suddenly the New York sports world is a much brighter place for their fans. 
SHAMROCKS WIN GAME FIVE, DUKES SWEEP IN SHOCKING SEMIS The Challenge Cup playoffs were thrown for a bit of a loop when the third place Toronto Dukes swept the second place Boston Bees in their semi-final series, but it came as a complete shock that the Dukes will face the New York Shamrocks in the finals after the Shamrocks rallied to knock off the mighty Chicago Packers in five games. This final will mark the first time that the Dukes and Shamrocks have ever met with the Challenge Cup on the line. Toronto has won 6 Cups and been to the finals three times in the previous 5 years, while the Shamrocks had not reached the finals since 1935-36 and have not won a Cup since 1932. The Dukes had little trouble in their series with a short-staffed Boston Bees squad. Toronto took the series opener 2-1 a little over a week ago and followed that up with a second straight road win in doubling Boston 4-2 last Monday. The Dukes broke the game open with three third period goals to make a winner for the second straight game out of backup goaltender Terry Russell. Russell, filling in for Gordie Broadway who it was later revealed is battling a flu virus, completed the sweep with a 4-1 win on Dominion Gardens ice Wednesday. Bobbie Sauer continued his hot play with a goal and an assist as the Toronto captain scored in each game and had 4 goals in the series. The Toronto win was a mild upset, perhaps even less so when you consider one of Boston's best players in first line winger Tommy Hart missed the series, as did center Robert Walker and defenseman Willis Beane although the Dukes were missing players as well including goaltender Broadway and rookie scoring sensation Lou Galbraith. The big upset was New York's surprising victory over the Chicago Packers - a team that finished the regular season with 19 more points than the Shamrocks and was led by the most dangerous first line in the league. The series opener was a 4-0 Packers victory and it looked like they would have an easy time of things but New York shocked a Lakeside Auditorium crowd of 17,329 with a 4-3 victory in game two to even the series. Orval Cabbell scored twice to pace the New York attack as the Shamrocks put 4 goals past Packer goaltender Norm Hanson despite doubled in shots by a 32-16 margin. The series shifted to New York for the third game and the Packers regained control with a convincing 5-2 victory behind a solid performance from their big line. Marty Mahoney and Tommy Burns each had a goal and an assist while Wes Burns earned a pair of helpers. Despite being on the brink of elimination the Shamrocks did not fold as Etienne Tremblay and Norm Hanson hooked up in a goaltender's duel. Scoreless at the end of regulation with Chicago outshooting New York 28-24, it took just 2:08 of overtime for the Shamrocks to prolong their season and force a decisive 5th game. Laurel Albers was the hero, scoring the game's only goal with assists to Orval Cabbell and Jocko Gregg to send the series back to the Windy City. The visting Shamrocks, clearly on a high to have pushed Chicago to the brink, came out blazing in the opening period of game five. The visitors outshot Chicago 15-8 in the opening stanza but neither side could score. Midway through the second period Orval Cabbell staked the Shamrocks to the lead and 8 minutes into the third Jocko Gregg made it 2-0. Chicago, showing no quit, finally beat Tremblay when Moose Vezina lit the lamp just over two minutes later but late goals from Cabbell and Tommy Brescia completed the shocking series upset with a 4-1 New York win. A capacity crowd of 17,329 filed quietly out of Lakeside Auditorium in complete shock, as their Packers took a page out of the Chicago Cougars playbook and fell short despite lofty expectations of the city claiming its first-ever Challenge Cup victory. That will have to wait at least another year as the surprising final will pit the 4th place Shamrocks against the third place Toronto Dukes.  DUKES ADVANCE TO NAHC FINAL The Toronto Dukes advanced to league final in a surprising sweep of the Boston Bees. After taking the Saturday night 2-1 the Dukes took the second game at Denny Arena 4-2 on Monday night. The game entered the third period with the visitors down 2-1 thanks to 2 goals by Waldemar Rupp in another fast paced game. Captain Bobby Sauer's second goal of the game, third of the series knotted the score less than a half minute into the period. To that point the Bs had outshot the Dukes 30-18 but again Russell was outstanding in the Dukes crease. After Sauer's marker the Dukes seemed to find another gear both offensively along with in their own zone. Kurt Walz gave Toronto the lead at the 6:04 mark of the third followed by Alex Lavalliere at 10:06. Then it was "Kitty bar the door" as the Dukes checked the Bs into submission to take the game 4-2. Terry Russell turned away 34 in the Dukes net. Two nights later at Dominion Gardens the Dukes completed the improbable sweep of Boston in front of 14972 onlookers. After a scoreless first the home squad erupted for 3 in the second by Lumsen, Pollack, Sauer with only one reply from Boston's Simpson. Sauer's 4th of the series seem to deflate the Bs as it was scored with just 3 seconds remaining in the stanza. Boston tried to mount a comeback in the third but again Terry Russell stood tall in the Toronto cage for the third straight game. Russell made 28 saves in the game for a total of 89 in the series. Les Carlson scored an empty netter to salt away the series with a 4-1 score. Toronto fans are in a state of semi-shock at the upset over Boston. Jack Barrell is already devising a plan to shut down the Shamrocks 3-head monster Cabell, Albers, Gregg. after going 5-6-1 against NY in the regular season. Sid Beam is ready to return after missing the season due an eye injury but will not dress in the final. Lou Galbraith is recovery amazing quickly from knee surgery, there is a chance he could be back late in the series. AIAA CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE A WEST COAST AFFAIR The West Coast Athletic Association will be assured of winning the AIAA tournament championship after section members CC Los Angeles and Redwood University each won on Saturday to advance to tonight's title game. It marks the second time in the 39 year history of the tournament that a pair of WCAA clubs reached the finals, following up on the 1939-40 title game when Rainier College beat Lane State. CC Los Angeles will be looking to become the first school to win 5 AIAA basketball tournaments after the Dolphins, led by 23 points from senior guard Gerald Cheek, beat Alabama Baptist 58-50 in Saturday's opening semi-final at Bigsby Garden. The Panthers dominated the opening 20-minutes and led 35-25 with 16 minutes left in the second half before the Dolphins took over and outscored the Panthers 33-15 down the stretch. Redwood University, which won its very first WCAA conference title this year after going 12-2 in section play and 28-5 overall, was in a back and forth battle with Southwest Alliance champion Texas Gulf Coast all game before finally pulling out a 58-56 victory. A pair of juniors paced the Mammoths with Punch Perez scoring 15 points while Timmy Adams added 14. Senior Dusty Cardin led the way for the Hurricanes with a 14 point effort. It will be the second meeting of the season between the Coyotes and the Mammoths. CC Los Angeles won the first meeting in early February by a 58-50 score, snapping a 7-game winning streak for Redwood, which lost just twice in conference play. Both losses came in Los Angeles as they fell 65-56 to Coastal California on March 5 but have won 6 in a row since then including tournament wins over University of New Jersey, Brunswick, Liberty College and most recently the Hurricanes.    BARONS CLOSE GAP ON PHANTOMS The Baltimore Barons remained alive in their quest for first place in the Federal Basketball League's East Division but have little margin for error. The Barons beat Toronto twice last week while the first place Philadelphia Phantoms dropped a pair of games to the Buffalo Brawlers allowing Baltimore to close to within 3.5 games of first place. The Barons have seven games remaining in their season including 3 against the Phantoms, who have six left on their docket. At stake is home court advantage in the early playoff rounds as both are assured of post-season play since the Federal loop admits the top three clubs in each division. The Chicago Panthers have long since clinched top spot in the west but there is going to be an interesting stretch battle between Cincinnati, Detroit and Cleveland for the other two western post-season berths. The Cyclones and Crushers each have 5 games remaining to play while the Detroit Mustangs, who missed the playoffs last year, have 7 games left but all 7 are on the road including trips to both Cincinnati and Cleveland. The Mustangs will have to try to make the playoffs without their point guard Israel Slusher, who will miss at least six of the final seven with a sprained knee. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 29 13 .690 - Baltimore 25 16 .610 3.5 Buffalo 20 23 .465 9.5 Toronto 9 33 .214 20.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 31 12 .721 - Cincinnati 20 23 .465 11.0 Detroit 18 23 .439 12.0 Cleveland 17 26 .395 14.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.5 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.0 Larry Yim, BUF 20.0 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.2 David Reed, DET 18.0 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.7 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.7 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.4 George Kelley, CLE 16.0 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.7 RED CAPS GAIN SOME BREATHING ROOM The Brooklyn Red Caps beat the New York Knights in convincing fashion last night, claiming a 92-57 victory and at least temporarily slowing the Knights charge up the American Basketball Conference East Division standings. The win snaps a 3-game winning streak that saw the New Yorkers beat Brooklyn once and Boston twice and now leaves the Centurions and Knights each 4.5 games back of the front-running Red Caps. There are still three weeks to play in the ABC schedule and all four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs but finishing first ensures a team of home court advantage through to the finals. The West Division has turned into a route as the Washington Statesmen continue their quest for a second straight league title. The Statesemen have clinched the West Division title after beating Pittsburgh twice last week. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 31 21 .596 - Boston 26 25 .510 4.5 New York 26 25 .510 4.5 Hartford 22 33 .407 10.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 40 11 .784 - Richmond 26 27 .491 15.0 Pittsburgh 18 32 .360 21.5 Rochester 17 33 .340 22.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 20.0 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 19.2 Morgan Melcher, BOS 19.1 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 19.0 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.7 Norm Yates, RIC 18.4 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.0 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 17.8 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 Gerald Carter, BOS 16.8 CALIFORNIA CHAMP DQ'D AGAINST TOP CANADIAN Dan Miller, who fought and lost to Hector Sawyer for the World Heavyweight Championship at Santa Ana Stadium in January before the largest crowd ever to witness a professional fight, has lost for the second time in less than two months, falling to Canadian champ Daniel Huot. The Oakland fighter was disqualified for repeated flagrant violations and handed the loss by referee James Duncan -who really had no choice in the matter- despite the fact Huot spent nearly as much time on the ground as he did on his feet. Miller knocked down the Montreal fighter 6 times before the bout was stopped in the 9th round when Miller, who had already been docked points twice and cautioned 3 times, before Duncan disqualified him for holding and hitting one last time. Miller had no comments after the bout but it was clear he could have won easily had he not resorted to multiple violations. Despite the outcome, Miller does remain in the latest rankings of the top fighters in each weight category. One fighter who fell out of the list is Carl Taylor, after the welterweight who twice had title shots but lost each time, was defeated in a split decision last week by Willis May. It is Taylor's third straight loss beginning with the title defeat at the hands of Harold Stephens last August and continuing with a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of former champ Mark Westlake in January. Here are the latest TWIFB boxing rankings:    UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/04/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-21-2023, 01:18 PM
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#772 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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April 12, 1948
APRIL 12, 1948 TWIFB CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION PREVIEW COUGARS LONG OVERDUE TO WIN CONTINENTAL CROWN Amidst the crackling anticipation of spring, baseball fans find their gaze firmly fixed on the horizon, where dreams, prophecies, and forecasts collide. Today, as we delve into the world of the Continental Association, This Week in Figment Baseball once again dares to peek into the crystal ball, projecting the ebbs and flows of a new season. Beware, for such predictions have often sparked debates, debates that rage on well into the fall evenings when champions are crowned. Let's rewind the tape. Seven times in eight years, we've stamped the Chicago Cougars with the label of favorites. Such praise was validated only once in 1941, while the rest became a tapestry of near-misses. Yet, this year, we roll the dice once more. The Cougars boast a cavalcade of talents: the Jones brothers, Duke Bybee, and Pete Papenfus, united under a potent pitching banner. Add in shortstop Skipper Schneider who combines with Walt Pack, Red Bond, Leo Mitchell and Sal Pestilli and a formidable offense emerges. Such strength must surely conquer any jinx, any unseen force that has defied the Windy City's ambitions. Could it be this is the year when fortune finally tilts their way? TWIFB CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION PREDICTIONS 1- CHICAGO COUGARS: The Cougars' luck has to change. We may just keep picking them until it finally does as they are simply that good. Judging by their spring showing they may run away with things. A red-hot Sal Pestilli (6-13, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB) and Leo Mitchell (8-16, 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB) powered a 7-0 week and a 26-7 spring record overall with three games to play. The strength of the squad has been the pitching, as as the six starters have combined to go 18-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 148.2 innings pitched. The only member of that group with an ERA above 2.50 is Harry Parker (3.15), who is expected to start the season in the bullpen. There really seems to be no way the Cougars should not claim the Continental flag, but we have certainly said that before. 2- NEW YORK STARS:Judging by talent alone the Cougars should walk away with the pennant but predicting second through seventh looks like it could be a major challenge and one might have just as much success in pulling team names randomly out of a hat. Bill Barrett will miss the first week or two but as long as he is healthy the Stars are our pick for second place. The pitching staff showed some cracks last season but outside of Chicago we are not sure there is a better top four than Eli Panneton, Chuck Cole, Vern Hubbard and Richie Hughes. Mack Sutton and Freddie Jones provide veteran offense to supplement Barrett and we think this might be the year Bob Riggins breaks out. 3- PHILADELPHIA SAILORS: The Philadelphia Sailors are the defending champs and TWIFB always seems to underestimate them. They certainly have some talent but we worry about their pitching staff, although that is an area they always seem to find a surprise gem or two. 4- BROOKLYN KINGS: We love the addition of Bob Arman from Cincinnati to a young Brooklyn team that has some up and coming talent. We likely would have pegged the Kings for second place had they not dealt Buddy Long to the Gothams over the winter. Harry Carter is having a decent spring and so is Rusty Petrick but add Long to a group that includes Leo Hayden and the Kings pitching might have carried them a long ways. Arman is a huge addition so the Kings should stay in the first division and the future looks bright. 5- CINCINNATI CANNONS: Much has already been said about the decision to deal Bob Arman to a rival for young prospects a season after the Cannons came within a game of their fourth pennant in five years. There is some other mound talent, like Charlie Griffith and Les Bradshaw but a 1-2 of Deuce Barrell and Arman was hard to top. The Cannons need a bounce back year from Chuck Adams but it says here that for the first time since the move to the Queen City the Cannons fall out of the first division. 6- MONTREAL SAINTS: Is this finally year the Saints pitching staff -one that always seemed to have such promise and be on the verge of breaking through- does so? Pat Weakley and Bert Cupid both cracked the top twenty pitcher list from OSA and if they, along with the Wallys (Reif and Doyle) come through Montreal might finally have its first winning season since 1930. Gordie Irwin is another good young arm to watch and we really look forward to seeing what shortstop Gordie Perkins can do as he approaches what should be his prime years. Maurice Carter is having a strong spring and might solve the Saints hole at first base. 7- TORONTO WOLVES: We did say at the outset that you could put 2nd thru 7th in a hat so while we do not see the Wolves challenging for the pennant, they could end a two-year run of sub-.500 finishes. It just feels like the Wolves are right about where the Pittsburgh Miners were a couple of years ago and things could get worse before they get better in Toronto. 8- CLEVELAND FORESTERS: The decision to deal Hiram Steinberg and Richie Hughes made sense as the Foresters have a lot of young arms and prior to the deals had very little in the way of position player prospects. They have some good young talent in the system, but it feels like this year will be a bit of a step back as they follow up a 6th place finish in '47 with a return to the CA basement. Foresters fans have been patient, spending the entire decade deep in the second division but it is going to take a few more years before things might start to improve on the shores of Lake Erie. This paper may render our predictions, yet remember, the diamond's truth remains. With each crack of the bat and every hurl from the mound, a narrative unfolds, and fate takes its course. Fans, buckle up, for the baseball ride of 1948 is upon us. Hope, dream, and may the season surprise us all. Next week we will look at our forecast for the Federal Association.  GRAYS LEAD WAY AS GWL SEASON SET TO START The third major league season of the Great Western League gets underway Wednesday with all 8 clubs in action including the defending Bigsby Cup champion Oakland Grays who will visit Seattle. The Grays, who nosed out Dallas in the title series a year ago, finished with the best spring record at 22-14, two games up on both the Centurions and the Portland Green Sox. 
SHAMROCKS LEAD CUP FINAL 2 GAMES TO ONE New York Closes in on First Cup Since 1932 The Toronto Dukes drew first blood with a 2-1 victory over New York in the opening game of their best-of-seven Challenge Cup Final series, but the Shamrocks followed up with a pair of wins to take a two games to one series lead in advance of tomorrow's game four at Bigsby Garden. The Shamrocks are closing in on what they hope will be their first Challenge Cup win in 16 years as they won the last of their three titles in 1931-32. The Dukes have hoisted the Cup six times -only Boston has won more- with the most recent being three years ago. The two clubs, both surprise winners after knocking off first place Chicago and second place Boston in the semi-finals, continued their Cup chase last Wednesday evening in Toronto. It took just 15 seconds for Lee Carlson to open the scoring when he beat Shamrocks netminder Etienne Tremblay before many of the 15,483 in attendance at Dominion Gardens had even settled into their seats. Late in the first period Adam Greenham, who missed most of the regular season with an injury, evened the score for the New Yorkers. The only other goal would come early in the second period when Phillipe Dubois point shot found its way past Tremblay. New York would outshoot the Dukes 14-3 in the final twenty minutes and 40-26 overall but Terry Russell, who continues to guard the Toronto cage in the absence of Gordie Broadway, was outstanding and helped the Dukes hang on for the 2-1 victory. Russell did not enjoy the same success two nights later as the Shamrocks scored three times in the first period and won by a 6-3 score to even the series. Six different New York players, including former Duke Laurel Albers accounted for the scoring with rookie Jim Macek contributing 3 assists. The series shifted to New York for game three last night and it was all Shamrocks. Orval Cabbell and Adam Greenham -with his third of the series- scored in the first period to stake the Shamrocks to an early 2-0 lead. Joe Martin and Laurel Albers notched second period markers to double that lead and Jocko Gregg and Jim Macek completed the 6-0 rout with third period tallys. Etienee Tremblay stopped all 26 shots he faced in the New York net for his second shutout of the playoffs while Terry Russell was beaten six times for the second game in a row. The series continues tomorrow with game four in New York and the big question in Toronto is will Gordie Broadway be significantly recovered from the virus he is battling to get his first playoff start? Jim Macek, a 20-year-old selected third overall by the Shamrocks last July is the surprise scoring leader this playoff. The Toronto-born youngster has points in each of the last 4 games including 6 points in the 3 games against Toronto. He had 8 goals and 29 points in 45 regular season games and has added 10 points in 8 playoff contests.  AROUND THE LEAGUE ROCHESTER WINS HAA TITLE The Rochester Robins won a hard-fought series with the Pittsburgh Rovers to claim the Hockey Association of America playoff title 3 games to one. Each of the final three games of the series were decided by a single goal with the Robins clinching the Cup with a 5-4 victory on home ice in game four. Rochester, which is not affiliated with an NAHC club, finished with the top record in the East Division at 63 points while the Rovers, who are the farm team of the Chicago Packers, led the West and the entire HAA with 70 points in 48 games. 28-year-old Tom Mansfield, a career minor league who has had stops in Syracuse, Buffalo and Cleveland before joining the Robins in 1946, led all playoff scorers with 6 points in the four games. In the Great Western Hockey League the Seattle Emeralds upset first place Tacoma in the finals to end the Lions three-year hold on the Yeadon Cup.  DUKES TRAIL 2-1 IN LEAGUE FINAL Toronto has dug themselves a hole in the series with the NY Shamrocks by dropping 2 of the first 3 games. Things started well for the team at Dominion Gardens on Wednesday night before a crowd of 15,483. The crowd has barely settled into their seats when Les Carlson lit the lamp 15 seconds into the game from Quinton Pollock and Hubert Burdette. New York rallied to tie the game with less than 3 minutes remaining the first on a marker by Adam Greenham assisted by Jim Macek and Ryan Kennedy. The second period was a wide open affair with a total of 31 shots on goal, 18 by the Shamrocks, but even with that amount of offense the score remained knotted at 1 going into the third. Netminders Etienee Tremblay and Terry Russell made a number of acrobatic saves during the period. Early in the third Philippe Dubois put the Dukes up on passes from Bobbie Sauer with Alex Lavalliere also drawing an assist. It was one of only three times Tremblay was tested in the period. The last 18 and a half minutes the Dukes withstood a furious onslaught from the Shamrocks. The puck seemed to never leave the Dukes end but Terry Russell again shut the door securing the 2-1 win. The Friday night game in Toronto had the Dukes chasing from the start, before the game was 12 minutes old New York had put 3 behind Russell. Toronto rallied in the second with Zimmerman and Hofford beating Tremblay to narrow the margin to 3-2 at the end of two. Bert McCalley put the Shamrocks up 4-2 8 minutes into the third then Pollack scored a shorthanded marker to again pull the home side within one with 11 minutes remaining in regulation but Orval Cabell put the game away at 16:25 from Laforme and Macek. Greenham's empty netter made the final 6-3 New York and evened the series. Having lost home ice advantage the Dukes travelled into NYC for a Sunday afternoon encounter in front of 12,950 hostile fans in Bigsby Gardens. Orval Cabbell, who has been a thorn in the Dukes side all season, opened the scoring from Sam Coates and Ryan Kennedy just past the 7 minute mark. Things went from bad to worse less than 2 minutes later when Greenham converted from Macek and Laforme. Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Joe Martin tallied just past the 2 minute mark of the second from ex-Duke Laurel Albers and Sharpley. The Dukes mounted sporadic periods of offense throughout the game but were never able to solve Tremblay. The Shamrocks were finishing every check, shrinking the ice on the Dukes at every opportunity. Every broken up rush or turnover by Toronto seemed to yield a good scoring chance for New York as the Shamrocks put 3 more past Russell who is starting to show signs of fatigue for a 6-0 victory. Coach Barrell's comments after the game were "We have dug ourselves a deep hole, now it is time to dig ourselves out of it. I told the players after the first game, which we were fortunate to win, that we cannot play a run and gun game. It did not seem to sink in, maybe now the guys will realize we have to get back to what got us here." Toronto fan's spirits were boosted somewhat when news was released that Gordie Broadway has finally recovered from his extended bout of influenza after missing all 6 post season games. The question is, will Barrell go to him in Game 4 after not having played for 2 weeks? Russell has been the major reason the Dukes are in the final, is it time for a change? REDWOOD WINS NATIONAL CAGE CROWN The Redwood Mammoths are collegiate basketball national champions for the first time in school history after being their West Coast Athletic Association rivals CC Los Angeles 62-47 in the title game Monday evening at New York's Bigsby Garden. Junior forward Punch Perez led the way for the Mammoths balanced attack with 12 points while fellow junior Timmy Adams and senior Michael Beckley each added 10. The Mammoths took control of the game early, building a quick 9-2 lead and never let up, leading by 7 points at the half before going on to dominate the second half and secure the first national title in any major sport for the Stanford, Ca., school. To say it was surprise result would be an understatement for a school that had made the AIAA tournament field of 32 teams just 5 times in 34 years and entering this season had never won a tournament game. The Mammoths were a top ten team during the regular season for the first time in school history after posting a 29-5 record overall including a 12-2 finish in WCAA play, leading them to their first conference title. Forced to travel east for the regional round as a third seed the Mammoths opened the tournament with a 55-47 victory over the University of New Jersey before downing Academia Alliance champ Brunswick 56-50 in the second round with backup center Stephen Woodard, a sophomore who has never started a game, scoring a career high 16 points. Next up was the regional final and they held likely national player of the year Ward Messer to 11 points in his final collegiate game after the Mammoths edged Liberty College 56-54 to earn a trip to New York for the semi-finals. The semi-final was another thrilling contest with the game going down to the wire before Redwood, led by 15 points from Punch Perez and 14 from Timmy Adams, pulled out a 58-56 win to advance to the championship game against a CC Los Angeles squad that was looking for its record 5th National Title.  AIAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HISTORY  BARONS STAY ALIVE IN HUNT FOR TOP SPOT IN EAST David Hawley's basket with 6 seconds remaining in regulation time lifted the Baltimore Barons to a 79-78 victory at home over Philadelphia Thursday evening and kept the Barons slim hopes of catching the Phantoms for first place in the Federal Basketball League's East Division alive. Baltimore has five games remaining on its schedule including another meeting with the Phantoms at the Chesapeake Arena tonight and trails the Phantoms, who have four games remaining, by 3.5 games. It is quite a turnaround for a Philadelphia squad that finished last in the East a year ago and missed the playoffs. Both Baltimore and Philadelphia have clinched post-season berths in this the second year of the FBL's existence, with the third place Buffalo Brawlers also assured of playoff action. In the West the defending league champion Chicago Panthers are the only team assured a playoff berth. Cincinnati, Detroit and Cleveland are separated by just 2 games as the three squads battle it out for the final two playoff positions. Cleveland is on the outside looking in at the moment but the Crushers have won 4 straight including wins over both Cincinnati and Detroit last week. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 30 14 .682 - Baltimore 26 17 .605 3.5 Buffalo 20 24 .455 10.0 Toronto 10 33 .233 19.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 31 14 .689 - Cincinnati 21 24 .467 10.0 Detroit 19 24 .442 11.0 Cleveland 19 26 .422 12.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.5 Larry Yim, BUF 20.3 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.0 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.4 David Reed, DET 18.3 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.8 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.7 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.2 George Kelley, CLE 15.9 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.7 STATESMEN SET PRO BASKETBALL WINS RECORD Three more victories last week extended Washington's winning streak to 9 straight games and improved the Statesmen record to 43-11, setting a new single-season record for wins and smashing the mark they set a year ago with 41 wins. The Statesmen won't match their winning percentage of a year ago as the schedule has been extended and the club was an amazing 41-3 before going on to win its seocnd American Basketball Conference title last season. All four teams in each of the ABC's two division's qualify for the playoffs so there is not as much ugency as teams in the FBL face but the Boston Centurions are a team that appears to be fading fast. The Cents have lost 4 straight -including 3 to the New York Knights who have overtaken them for second place in the East Division- and are 5-11 since the beginning of March. Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 34 21 .618 - New York 29 26 .527 5.0 Boston 26 28 .481 7.5 Hartford 22 34 .393 12.5 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 43 11 .796 - Richmond 26 29 .473 17.5 Rochester 20 34 .370 23.0 Pittsburgh 18 35 .340 24.5 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 19.6 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 19.2 Morgan Melcher, BOS 18.9 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.9 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.6 Norm Yates, RIC 18.5 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 18.2 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.1 Augie Schleicher, PIT 17.4 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.2 EDMONDS HAS SHORT NIGHT IN RING RETURN Former World Middleweight champion John Edmonds, who handed Frank Melanson his first professional loss last July before losing the rematch to the Pittsburgh born champion in December, returned to the ring for what turned out to be merely the briefest of appearances. The 29-year-old needed just 2 and a half minutes to knock out John Moore last Monday evening in Waterbury, Ct. Edmonds dominated right from the opening bell of the bout that was slated for 10 rounds. He caught Moore with a vicious cross just 14 seconds in to the bout and just continued to pound away at the 28-year-old New York born fighter. With Moore seemingly out on his feet in the closing seconds of the round, referee Vic Green stepped in and called a halt to the proceedings. Edmonds, who hopes to get another shot at Frank Melanson after the champ aces European title holder Edouard Desmarais in July, improves to 24-3 with the victory while Moore, a relative unknown on the national scene, dips to 13-14-1. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/11/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-22-2023, 12:29 PM
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#773 |
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Hall Of Famer
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April 19, 1948
APRIL 19, 1948 SAILORS LOSE WESOLOWSKI FOR YEAR The Philadelphia Sailors road to repeating as Continental Association flag winners just became an awful lot bumpier with news that pitcher Slick Wesolowski will need elbow surgery and will miss the entire season. The 28-year-old lefthander, who went 15-11 a year ago was injured in the club's final spring training game on Thursday. Diagnosed over the weekend as bone chips that will require removal, surgery was deemed the only option. Losing the 28-year-old Wesolowski, who was second on the club in victories last season and made 30 starts, will leave a huge hole in the Sailors rotation although finding quality starting pitchers has always been a strength of the organizations. Win Lewis, who led the club in wins with a 17-12 record is back as is Al Duster, who went 11-12. That likely leaves John Thomas Johnson, Charlie Gordon, Art Hull and Bill Martino to try and fill out the remaining starts although there is a chance 26-year-old rookie Hoppy Johnson, who went 7-10 at AAA Richmond a year ago and was a 1943 first round pick, may step up to fill the void. Wesolowski was a fifth round pick in 1938 who might have made his Sailors debut in 1943 had he not joined the Navy during the war, costing him 3 years of baseball. He returned prior to the 1946 season and, ranked as a top 20 prospect by OSA, went 11-3 with a 3.06 era in 15 starts as a rookie although he was limited to 15 starts that season due to a sprained ankle that sidelined him 3 months. He made 30 starts last season and went 15-11 with a 3.80 era. TWIFB FEDERAL ASSOCIATION PRVIEW The Federal Association flag race is always one full of suspense and usually includes several twists and turns. The St Louis Pioneers emerged out of nowhere in a rags to riches story that saw them climb from the cellar to the penthouse of the loop, unfurling their first flag since 1921. Can the Pioneers repeat like they did in 1920 & 1921, or will another team rise to the top? In our minds anyone of six teams could represent the Federal loop in the World Championship Series so as is often the case we expect a wild ride in the Fed this summer. TWIFB FEDERAL ASSOCIATION PREDICTIONS 1- NEW YORK GOTHAMS: There is a lot that worries us about the Gothams, in particular how management might react if they happen to get off to a slow start. The three new pitchers they added over the winter should make New York the clear favourite but Lefty Allen, Buddy Adams and Joe Brown have all looked very rusty this spring. If they can perform up to expectations there is more than enough pitching, with Ed Bowman remaining the ace, and the offense can be overwhelming with newcomer George Cleaves joining Red Johnson and Walt Messer. There may be concerns about the outfield, especially center and perhaps a corner slot if Mahlon Strong spends significant time on the disabled list. 2- WASHINGTON EAGLES: The Eagles were the surprise winner a couple of years ago and rallied to finish second last year despite their pitching experiencing a real drop-off from the pennant winning season. Like New York they have plenty of offense with Rats McGonigle, Jesse Alvardo, Sig Stofer and vet Mel Carrol leading the way and if the Gothams stumble the Eagles may be back in the WCS. 3- PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES: After back to back pennants in '44 and '45 the Keystones have seen their record dip each of the past two seasons. There is no question they have the bats to keep up with the Fed leaders but beyond Lloyd Stevens the pitching is just not quite good enough. 4- DETROIT DYNAMOS: The Dynamos core is very young with a trio of 21-year-old in Edwin Hackberry, Carl Potter and Stan Kleminski joined by 25-year-old Del Johnson as the leaders. Detroit spent much of last season in second place before a late slump dropped them behind Washington. The Dynamos have a very bright future but will need a lot of breaks this year to contend. A more likely scenario is a struggle just to stay in the first division of a very deep Federal Association. 5- ST LOUIS PIONEERS: Perhaps we are not giving Danny Hern enough credit, but we just can't see the 31-year-old lefthander duplicating his Allen Award winning season from '47. Hal Hackney and Hiram Steinberg join Hern to give the Pioneers three great starters with youngsters Ralphie Spires and Dick Long - who won 14 games as a rookie last year- give the St Louis club a very bright future on the mound. The Fed will be a battle and with some breaks the Pioneers could easily repeat but we have to put the teams in some sort of an order, so the St Louis club falls to fifth. 6- CHICAGO CHIEFS: The retirement of Gus Goulding and the injury that will keep Al Miller out of the first month of the season was a factor in the decision to drop the Chiefs to 6th. Like we said about St Louis, if John Stallings can take the next step and young outfielders Billy Brown and Joe Rutherford have big years it would not be a huge surprise to see the Chiefs in the race when September hits. 7- BOSTON MINUTEMEN: Boston is an aging club that has some pieces set for the future but contending this season does not seem to be in the cards. In fact, we would place Harry Barrell, the 34-year-old future Hall of Fame shortstop- right at the top of the list of players most likely to be moved to a contender at the deadline. 8- PITTSBURGH MINERS: The Miners are in a full-scale rebuild after dealing George Cleaves and Lefty Allen to the Gothams over the winter. It might be a quick turnaround as the Miners do have some very good prospects in their farm system with 22-year-old middle infielder Irv Clifford leading the way. The worry for this season is the pitching staff looks like it might have trouble with some good AAA outfits, so it may be a long year in the Steel City.  1- New York Gothams: Big things are expected in the Big Apple, as the New York Gothams made huge offseason acquisitions, adding walk machine George Cleaves (.313, 9, 63) and ace Lefty Allen (12-13, 3.71, 89) from the Pittsburgh Miners in a huge offseason blockbuster. They then went to add veteran hurlers Joe Brown (13-13, 3.87, 86) and Buddy Long (16-16, 2.89, 95), completely rehauling a rotation that didn't have much behind ace Ed Bowman (18-10, 3.29, 129). Add in incumbents Red Johnson (.319, 43, 116), Walt Messer (.307, 23, 104), Mahlon Strong (.315, 15, 62), and Roosevelt Brewer (.287, 1, 58, 22) and you have a star-studded roster that seems set to secure their first pennant since the 1942 Gothams won it all. Someone to watch for the Gothams is Cecil LaBonte (.271, 2, 16, 8), the talented shortstop who they took 8th overall last summer. Top to bottom, this Gothams team looks like the best in the Fed, but the season is long and they'll need their veterans to stay sharp and healthy. For someone like Mahlon Strong, that's not even possible, but if he can play more then 85 games this season, I think the Gothams will be popping champaign come September. 2-Washington Eagles: Last year looked to be the Eagles year, but the defending Fed champs finished second to the worst-to-first Pioneers. I do think if the Eagles added one of the hurlers the Gothams picked up, they'd be the favorites, but the rotation has plenty of holes. Buckeye Smith (19-9, 2, 3.25, 107) just turned 25 and he's already one of the top young pitchers, but after him and Billy Riley (12-10, 3.69, 86) there are a lot of question marks. They have a somewhat interesting group of veterans who could be average, but the overall upside is limited. Luckily, the offense is as potent as any, from the "Harborcreek Hustler" (.355, 22, 113) and the "Ringer from Stringer" (.258, 25, 109, 18) to the "Hidalgo Kid" (.323, 32, 89, 30) and the "Boardwalk Bopper" (.255, 35, 110), there is no shortage of offensive excitement. Bob Coon (.293, 6, 43) and Paul Wilkerson (.293, 3, 48) have emerged as legit contributors and despite no bat, Jim Sibert (.187, 2, 26) is one of the slickest fielding shortstops. Whether they win the pennant or not, the Eagles will be in it all the way through, and while the window may be closing with a lack of top tier young talent, they are not a team to underestimate. This could lead to some urgency for 1948, and potentially a big blockbuster, but it's nice that the nation's capital can enjoy a quality baseball team again. 3- St. Louis Pioneers: I didn't buy the Pioneers last year, and I still don't buy them this year. Sure, pennants fly forever, but it's really hard to believe they were the most talented team last year. No one is going to make the mistake of looking over them this year, and while I don't have them atop the association, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they finish the season in first. Initially I expected them to be one of four title contenders, but I think they round out the top of the Fed. The 3-H's may be the best trio in the association (I'm biased, sue me! Can't say the league!), as reigning Allen winner Danny Hern (25-5, 2.78, 127), Hal Hackney (16-11, 3.95, 199), and Hiram Steinberg (19-9, 3.11, 82) could conceivably all win 20 games this year. But as good as they are, if any of them get hurt or regress, they could be in big trouble. Dick Long (14-8, 4.01, 104) was solid last season and should be the distant #4, but the rest of the bunch doesn't excite. And like the staff, the lineup is top heavy, as they'll have to lean heavily on Heinie Zimmer (.265, 8, 61), Larry Gregory (.295, 17, 101), and Al Tucker (.328, 13, 96). Don't expect much from Bill Freeman (.327, 4, 69), Ray Bates (.320, 3, 50), Zip Sullivan (.296, 3, 23), and Gary Carmichael (.250, 2, 27, 6), who all had well timed breakouts at second, first (Ray and Zip), and third. The depth may come back to bite them, but that's okay! They just won it all and have a legit superstar prospect, George Atkins (#5 prospect), who may quickly fill their largest hole in center. Luck was on their side last season, but sometimes lightning strikes twice, and St. Louis is a legit contender. 4-Philadelphia Keystones: A lot went wrong for the Keystones last season, as they spoiled a 221 WRC+, 12.1 WAR season from All-Universe outfielder Bobby Barrell (.356, 64, 143), and while I don't consider the Keystones legit contenders, any team with a player of Barrell's caliber can make plenty of noise. But like the Pioneers, the Keystones are very top heavy. Lloyd Stevens (22-7, 2.91, 97) is one of the game's best pitchers, but he's the only reliable arm in the rotation. Sure, Charlie Waddell (10-14, 4.43, 118) was a top 10 prospect and looks like he could be good, but it hasn't clicked yet. And yes, at one point Pepper Tuttle (6-12, 1, 5.17, 64) and Jim Whiteley (6-7, 4.06, 57) looked like reliable starters, but both ended last season in the pen. .Barrell has protection in the lineup with Hank Koblenz (.282, 50, 125), Roger Cleaves (.286, 29, 91), Billy Woytek (.272, 13, 61), and Davey Robicheaux (.282, 14, 42), but Cleaves is the only one who provides much on defense. That hurt the staff last season, and could continue in 1948. Even the normally steady Frank Davis (.229, 6, 47) struggled at short, and they didn't have much in center. You can never count out Bobby Barrell, and as he gets up there in years, the Keystones may move mortgage some of the future if they're still in it at the deadline. I think the top three are a bit too good at the moment, but there's plenty of reason to believe Bobby has another pennant run in him. 5-Detroit Dynamos: Very few teams boast both the quantity and quality on the big league roster that the Dynamos have, but they may be a season away from being a legit title contender. That's not to say they can't surprise, as reigning Kellogg winner Edwin Hackberry (.298, 20, 94, 11) burst onto the scene last year with a monster season and ace Carl Potter (14-13, 2, 3.06, 174) is already one of the league's premier strikeout pitchers at 21. Add in quality youngsters Del Johnson (.293, 5, 38, 10), Stan Kleminski (.268, 1, 41), Dick Estes (.272, 20, 82), Tommy Griffin (.273, 33), and Wally Hunter (6-5, 4.29, 47), and there are plenty of breakout eligible players. The Dynamos will be an interesting team to watch in the summer, as if they start strong they could look to add around veterans Dixie Lee (12-10, 3.44, 50), Bill Sohl (6-13, 1, 4.12, 80), and Sid Williams (.313, 13, 56, 13). Reversely, if they get off to a tough start that trio may find themselves on the block. to make room for some of their younger guys. 1949 may be the start of the Dynamos new core, which should keep them competitive in the 1950s. 6-Chicago Chiefs: At one point I thought the Chiefs would be one of the legit contenders to the pennant. But then Gus Goulding (15-11, 3.77, 88) decided missionary work was more important than baseball. And while that wasn't quite the nail in the coffin, losing ace Al Miller (17-14, 3.10, 120) for the first two months of the season might be. This puts a lot of pressure on veteran Charlie Bingham (14-15, 2, 4.11, 67), former #1 pick John Stallings (10-10, 3.45, 94), and offseason acquisition Mel Haynes (1-2, 2.62, 22). Haynes was one of many recent acquisitions as the Chiefs look to be competitive, adding Joe Rutherford (.211, 6, 29), Pete Casstevens (.253, 26, 76), Tim Hopkins (.255, 37, 127), Artie d'Alessandro (.278, 7 ,70), and Tommy Wilson (.251, 3, 52) to the lineup. There is plenty of talent on this team, and with a really bad team likely losing 100+ games, they could still finish above .500 even if they finish in 6th. I wouldn't write the Chiefs off, as their GM has done a good job with low cost acquisitions. One thing that will be different in the Windy City is no Ron Rattigan (.266, 12), who was moved to the Kings after being used only in a part-time roll last season. He spent 13 seasons with the Chiefs and hit an impressive .296/.378/.449 (131 OPS+) with 167 homers and 915 RBIs. 7-Boston Minutemen: Yes, the Chiefs were hit hard by pitching losses. But nothing compares to the Minutemen. Rotation stalwarts Ed Wood (8-15, 4.97, 41) and Dean Astle (11-6, 1.57, 41) both hung up the cleats after a disappointing 7th place finish -- the lowest they have finished since 1933. To avoid that this year, they'll need big seasons from Ray Dalpman (15-7, 3.37, 80), John Edwards (10-16, 4.02, 104) and Duke Hendricks (8-16, 1, 4.32, 90), although there is room for a young hurler to seize a rotation spot and blossom. Will that be top 30 prospect Alf Keeter? Or former 1st Rounder Andy Howell? Or someone completely off our radar or one with veteran experience? Johnny Harry (7-4, 11, 2.38, 34) did an excellent job stopping last season, and he could move to a full-time starting role despite being 33. Pitching is what will hold them back, as the lineup is very good. Billy Dalton (.297, 19, 79) and Harry Barrell (.307, 6, 57, 6) may both finish the season at 34, but they're still top players. Buddy Schneider (.276, 3, 59) has all the talent of his brother, but still hasn't quite put everything together. And corner outfielders Joe Watson (.293, 7, 69) and Pete Day (.285, 8, 58, 15) are still excellent towards the end of their careers. Even if this is a lost year for Boston, the future is very bright, as Yank Taylor (#6 prospect), Dick Helfand (#51 prospect), and Danny Taylor (#90 prospect) will form a deadly outfield and 19-year-old second basemen Marshall Thomas (#18 prospect) has star written all over him. It may be a long season in Beantown, but the Minutemen pride themselves on being part of pennant races, and they won't be sitting at the bottom for very long. 8-Pittsburgh Miners: The FABL pundits almost never agree on anything. But one thing we all believe is that the Pittsburgh Miners are going to finish in last. They lost 96 games with George Cleaves and Lefty Allen. Can you imagine how many they'd lose without them? That's what we get to find out this year, as Pittsburgh is rebuilding for the first time since the early 30s. The future is bright, as they rank 2nd in the farm rankings and have 10 of the top 100 prospects, but the big league roster won't be doing much. This opens up playing time for some journeymen vets and young guys, and they'll be allowed to fail on their feet. With little nailed down expect plenty of roster movement. The youth movement started last year, as highly touted youngsters Reid McLaughlin (.242, 4, 40, 7) and Ernie Rockey (.250, 1, 10) debuted last season. They seem to be the only "safe" guys, but I expect Dino Robinson (.280, 4, 36), who was part of the Cleaves/Allen blockbuster, will be playing regularly. I'm hoping at some point we also see Irv Clifford (#2 prospect) and Jim Flowers (#32 prospect), with a slight chance of seeing another piece of the blockbuster, Ernie Campbell (#23 prospect), patrolling the outfield. The staff is pieced together with uninspiring arms, but they may have something in Adam Grayson (0-12, 1, 6.68, 31), who was an All-Star in 1946. Billy Ligons (11-15, 4.12, 94) could be appealing to a contender in need of a durable innings eater and they have a trio of 25-year-olds (Dave Low, Charley Pierce, and Gene Madison) in the middle part of the top 500 prospect list who could get an extended look in the rotation. It's a new era of Miners baseball, and while the fans may not enjoy it now, the lean years may be what's needed to finally break their 47 year title drought.  MOTOR CITY HOPES PINNED ON DYNAMOS It has not been a winter to remember for Detroit sports fans. Nothing seems to have gone right for the city's heroes. The grid Maroons got things started off with a terrible collapse down the stretch costing the club a shot at the American Football Association West Division crown. At the same time the ice Motors were sliding to the bottom of the NAHC standings and although they made a late charge Jack Connelly's boys failed to make the playoffs for the third time in the past four years and finished dead last in the six team loop for the first time in over a decade. The Federal Basketball League entry -the Mustangs- were riding high early in the cage season but a late collapse has Rollie Barrell's team looking like it will miss the playoffs for a second straight year. Even the college ranks were affected by the general malaise that has overtaken the Detroit sports scene. True, the Detroit City College Knights did cap a perfect season with their second straight win in the East-West Classic but the excitement was quickly tempered with the disappointing news that St Blane, and not DCC, was crowned National Champions. The cage Knights suffered another early exit in the AIAA tournament after a disappointing 8-8 run in section play. So all of that leads us to the Dynamos being our last hope for great success from a local outfit. There is much to be excited about as the Dynamos are a talented young ballclub with lots of upside potential. Edwin Hackberry and Wally Hunter are back to back Kellogg Award winners as the league's top rookie. Carl Potter and Stan Kleminski both display poise and talent far beyond their 21 years of age and there is more talent on the way. A title this year is likely far too much to ask, even as a reward for a city that has suffered the past years like Detroit has. The last time the city of Detroit celebrated a pro sports title was in the spring of 1939 when the Motors won their first and only Challenge Cup title. The Maroons have been to title games since then but always seem to come up short and have not won an AFA crown since 1936 while the Dynamos frustrations stretch back even further...1929 was the last time Detroit was the best in FABL. There is plenty of optimism for the Dynamos but few are willing to even suggest a pennant is in the club's future this season. But it can't be any worse than what we have witnessed on the court, grid and ice over the past few months, can it? GWL COMMENCES THIRD CAMPAIGN The Great Western League threw out the opening pitching on its highly anticipated third season as a major league last week. There was plenty of controversy and much complaining from the magnates that own the 16 FABL ballclubs after the coast loop's San Francisco Hawks paid veteran catcher Woody Stone a record contract just shy of $100,000 for the upcoming season. As a result its comes as little surprise that all eyes were glued on the Bay Area when the Hawks opened their season with a 2-1 victory over Houston in their season opener. There was plenty of attention focused on Stone, who has been through a whirlwind of a year: one that saw him lose his starting job as the Philadelphia Sailors in the second half of last season despite making his 5th all-star appearance earlier that summer. He then celebrated a World Championship Series victory with his teammates but spent most of the series glued to the dugout bench. Shortly after the Series the Sailors released him, feeling the money he demanded for 1948 was better spent in other ways. That set off a bidding war that included a few FABL ballclubs but quickly narrowed to three GWL teams with the Hawks winning out over Portland and Dallas but at a cost of $96,000 a year -more than any other player in the game has ever received for a season of baseball. FABL magnates felt such lavish sums would surely be the end of the sport as we know it but both FABL and the GWL were still standing as Stone took the field on Wednesday in the GWL opener. He did not disappoint with an afternoon that included the game-winning home run - a 7th inning solo shot that proved the difference in a 2-1 San Francisco win over the Houston Bulls. Stone would finish the opening series batting just 2-for-10 but his Hawks took two of three from Houston and are nested nicely in second place trailing only Bay-Area rival and defending Bigsby Cup winning Oakland after the Grays started the season with 3 wins in 4 outings. 
DUKES WIN THREE STRAIGHT TO CLAIM CUP The Toronto Dukes capped a Cinderella season going from the worst record in the league a year ago to Challenge Cup champions after they rallied with 3 straight victories to top the New York Shamrocks 4 games to two in the Cup final. The Cup win ends a two-year Boston hold on the chalice and is the third title in 5 years for the Dukes, who now have won the Cup 7 times -tied with Boston for the most all-time. It was a most improbable Cup final as few, if any, expected Toronto and New York to be dueling after they duo upset the Boston Bees and Chicago Packers in the semi-finals. The Packers, who led pretty much wire to wire during the regular season, somehow were knocked off in 5 games by a Shamrocks team that finished fourth. The Dukes upset was only slightly less surprising as despite the Bees being without one of their top players in Tommy Hart, Toronto swept them with veteran backup goaltender Terry Russell filling in for Gordie Broadway who missed the entire playoffs with a viral infection. Things looked bleak for new coach Jack Barrell and his charges after the Dukes fell behind the Shamrocks 2 games to one with a 6-0 shellacking in game three but Toronto quickly regrouped and evened the series with a 5-2 victory on Bigsby Garden ice in game four. Russell, who had surrendered 6 goals in each of the two previous losses and had many thinking he might not win another game, was outstanding and made 40 saves in a key bounce-back game. 32-year-old veteran Herb Burdette, who missed most of last season with an injury, continued to prove his worth to the Dukes with a goal and two assists to lead the offense. Back in Toronto for game five it was Burdette who once more led the way, scoring twice and adding two helpers to key a 7-2 Toronto rout. Quinton Pollack, the top rookie a year ago in Brooklyn, also played a key role with a goal and 3 assists while Les Carlson scored twice in the Toronto victory. With New York on the ropes the Dukes pulled out all the stops in game six and it took just 22 seconds for Alex Lavalliere to open the scoring with goal after a nifty three way passing play involving Pollack and Phillippe Dubois. Tommy Brescia evened the score for the Shamrocks early in the second period but Burdette was once more up to the challenge and restored the Dukes lead only 3 minutes later. Trevor Paker's shorthanded goal 6 minutes into the third period delivered a dagger to the hearts of Shamrock fans and made the score 3-1. Joe Martin got one back for the Greenshirts but Toronto dominated play in the final stanza and held on for a 3-2 victory before parading around the Bigsby Garden ice with the Challenge Cup.    WINNING STREAK HAS CRUSHERS ON CUSP OF PLAYOFF The hottest team in the Federal Basketball League is the Cleveland Crushers and with a 6-game winning streak they may just sneak past the Detroit Mustangs and into the final playoff spot in the FBL's West Division. The Crushers picked up a crucial 83-75 victory over the Mustangs early in the week and followed that up with a surprising 90-73 road win at Lakeside Auditorium over the first place Chicago Panters. That win moves the Crushers a half game ahead of Detroit in the fight for the third and final playoff berth. The Crusher play in Cincinnati on Wednesday, but the playoff berth will quite likely come down to the result of the season ending game between Cleveland and the Mustangs in Detroit on Thursday. The East Division is set with Philadelphia claiming top spot and a bye in the opening round as Baltimore will face Buffalo. The Chicago panthers get the bye in the West while Cincinnati will take on either Cleveland or Detroit. The American Basketball League admits all 8 of its teams to the playoffs and the East Division matchups are set with first place Brooklyn set to face fourth place Hartford while New York will meet Boston. The slumping Boston Centurions finally snapped their 6-game losing streak with a win over Brooklyn last week. Washington and Richmond are assured first and second in the West and home court advantage for the opening round but Pittsburgh and Rochester are still battling it out for third and fourth place. The Falcons have a busy week with 3 games remaining including two against Richmond while the Rochester Rockets have their work cut out for them as they close out the season with a pair of games at home to Washington. The Statesmen, who won the league title last season, are riding a 13-game winning streak. Code:
FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 32 15 .681 - Baltimore 26 20 .565 5.5 Buffalo 22 25 .468 10.0 Toronto 12 34 .261 19.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 32 15 .681 - Cincinnati 22 24 .478 9.5 Cleveland 20 26 .435 11.5 Detroit 20 27 .426 12.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.7 Larry Yim, BUF 20.4 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.0 Jamel Porter, TOR 19.1 David Reed, DET 18.2 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.9 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.6 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.2 George Kelley, CLE 15.8 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.3 Code:
AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 36 22 .621 - New York 30 27 .526 5.5 Boston 27 30 .474 8.5 Hartford 22 35 .386 13.5 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 47 11 .810 - Richmond 26 32 .448 21.0 Pittsburgh 21 36 .368 25.5 Rochester 21 37 .362 26.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 19.6 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 19.4 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.9 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.7 Morgan Melcher, BOS 18.7 Norm Yates, RIC 18.5 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 18.3 Charles Hooper, WAS 18.0 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.4 Augie Schleicher, PIT 17.4 MESSER WINS BARRETTE AWARD College basketball handed out its awards last week and it comes as little surprise that Liberty College forward/center Ward Messer was named winner of the Barrette Award. The trophy, named after longtime Coastal California coach Art Barrette, is presented annually to the player judged to be the best in the AIAA. Messer, who's older brother Walt is an all-star outfielder for the New York Gothams, finished second in the nation in both points per game with an average of 16.2 and was third in rebounds per game with an average of 9.8. The former Washington DC high school star at McKinley Tech, led the Bells to a 25-8 season and to the East Regional Finals of the AIAA tournament where they fell 56-50 to eventual national champion Redwood. Messer, who helped Liberty reach the national title game as both a sophomore and a junior, was named a first team All-American selection for the second straight year. Joining Messer as first team All-Americans were seniors Lon Nissen of Whitney College, Charles Gunter of Lincoln and Kevin Francis of Brunswick as well as Carolina Poly junior Major Belk. 
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/18/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-22-2023 at 01:18 PM. |
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08-23-2023, 02:55 PM
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Hall Of Famer
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April 19, 1948: Season Preview
APRIL 19, 1948 A NEW SEASON DAWNS: BASEBALL FEVER GRIPS THE NATION Ah, the enchanting aroma of fresh-cut grass, the crack of the bat echoing like a promise, and the spirit of competition dancing in the air—it's Opening Day, dear readers! As the sun peeks through the clouds and the echoes of "Play Ball!" reverberate across stadiums, hearts from coast to coast swell with the collective anticipation of a new major league baseball season. In the Continental Association, where legends are born and pennants are pursued, hope springs eternal. From Chicago's powerhouse Cougars to the cunning Sailors of Philadelphia, each team enters the fray, carrying dreams of victory and redemption. The Stars of New York, the Kings of Brooklyn, and even the Saints of Montreal—they've toiled, trained, and forged bonds through the offseason to stake their claim on the coveted pennant. Of course, our very own Windy City can't help but be swept up in the fervor. The Chicago Cougars, long the darlings of prediction and disappointment alike, have once again been anointed the ones to watch. With pitching that boasts the strength of the wind and a lineup that promises a symphony of hits, this may finally be the year when fortune smiles upon the long suffering Cougars. Or so they hope. But let's not forget the Federal Association, where dynasties rise and fall and the roar of the crowd carries the hopes of the heartland. With icons like the Gothams Red Johnson and the prowess of the Philadelphia Keystones' Bobby Barrell, the diamond is set for a season of brilliance and unexpected triumphs. Yes, dear readers, the tapestry of the baseball landscape is ready to weave anew. Will the Gothams rise from its slumber? Will the Cannons fire again? Can the Wolves of Toronto make their mark despite many calling for a major drop off from the club? As the players step onto the field, they leave behind the shadows of yesteryears and embrace the boundless canvas of today. So let's ready our scorecards and clear our throats, for the crackling voice of the radio will soon fill our homes with the melodious cadence of play-by-play commentary. And as we settle into our seats or perch upon barstools, we become part of a shared experience that transcends time—where generations converge to revel in the glorious uncertainty that is baseball. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the stage is set, the lineup cards inked. As the umpire raises his hand and barks "Play Ball!" let's immerse ourselves in the journey of another season—a season where heroes will emerge, champions will be crowned, and the very fabric of America's pastime will forever be woven. Enjoy the games, everyone, for they are the heartbeat of a nation. 1948 PREDICTIONS If the pundits are to be believed it will be the Chicago Cougars and the New York Gothams competing in the 1948 World Championship Series. As the almost always are the past decade at this time of year it is the Chicago Cougars that draw the most praise as the team to beat in the Continental Association. In this case 8 of the 10 so-called experts including OSA feel the Cougars will win the Conti crown -something that has not happened since 1941 despite the club being considered one of, if not the team to beat every year since them. The two that did not pick the Cougars first include Red Wedge of the New York World Telegram, who sees an all-New York WCS for the second time this decade with the Stars nipping the Chougars for top spot and the right to face the Gothams. The second one is Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News, who in what he admits is an attempt to reverse the Cougars run of bad luck has put the local entry last on his predicted order of finish for the Continental Association. Opinions are much more varied in the Fed as five different teams show up in the top of the 11 predictions we received for the Fed. (Clarence Keenan of the St Louis Star-Times elected to only provide a prediction for the Federal Association). Of the eleven, four put the New York Gothams in the top slot, two each went with Detroit, defending champion St Louis and the Philadelphia Keystones with one scribe feeling the 1946 pennant winning Washington Eagles would win it all again in '48.  SCOUTING SERVICE SEES COUGARS DOMINATING CA RACE Tabs Detroit to Win a Tight Fed Fight OSA, the FABL scouting service, is firmly behind the Chicago Cougars, calling on the hard-luck Windy City club to lead the CA in runs scored while surrendering the fewest in the loop and roll to a 93-win season that would give the Cougars a 10-game margin over the second place New York Stars. It is hard to argue with that assessment when you look at just how deep the Cougars pitching staff is and combine it with a talented group of veteran hitters. Dan Barrell's scouting department is calling on the a return to form from two-time Allen Award winner Pete Papenfus, who like many of his teammates struggled through a rough 1947 seasoon. OSA calls for both Peter the Heater and Donnie Jones to win 20-games this season while expecting Walt Pack, Leo Mitchell and Red Bond to lead the Chicago offense. The Cougars have often been the preseson favourite in recent years but have not won a pennant since 1941. The Fed race is expected to be very tight with OSA giving the nod to the young Detroit Dynamos winning that franchise's first flag since 1929. The Dynamos are hardly a resounding favourite as Dan Barrell's team sees the Philadelphia Keystones and Washington Eagles both finishing within 3 games of the lead. One big surprise is last year's championship winning St Louis Pioneers are expected by OSA to have a huge drop-off, falling to 7th place in the Federal Association. There will also be no record-breaking homerun chase this season as OSA feels Bobby Barrell -who set a new FABL record with 64 round trippers a year ago, will sock just 39 this time around and finish second in the homerun race behind teammate Hank Koblenz, who will belt 41 longballs according to OSA.   1948 FABL Predictions Fed: 1- Gothams - This is the circuit's most talented group. There are some significant new faces to integrate and assuming that happens, this is the pennant winner. 2- Pioneers - 1947 wasn't a fluke. There are some questions in the lineup (3B for example) but the starting pitching is potentially Cougar-esque. 3- Eagles - The pitching is a big question mark, but the offense is lights out. 4- Dynamos - The key phrase here is: soon. This is a team that is going to be a powerhouse by 1950. 5- Keystones - Philly is in the same situation as Washington. The offense is going to score - a lot - but can they find pitching to complement the superb Lloyd Stevens? 6- Chiefs - This team would be higher if Goulding hadn't found religion and Miller not gotten hurt. But those things happened and it's going to have a big impact on a fine team. 7- Minutemen - Rebuild is underway and there are still some really good players here. But this is a crowded field and Boston doesn't - quite - measure up (yet). 8-Miners - Yes, everyone has them here. Shipping out Lefty & Cleaves was a billboard proclaiming that the teardown is complete and a rebuild is beginning in earnest. Conti: 1- Cougars - This is the pick pretty much every year and for good reason: this is the FABL's most complete roster. They are also the one with the longest track record of underperforming that talent. This is the year it all gels. 2- Stars - Well, if the Cougars do manage to do a fade again, the NY nine is more than good enough to step in and claim the crown. A loaded team that'd be the favorite in any league that didn't have the Cougars in it. 3- Sailors - They'll be in the hunt. They always are. 4- Kings - Don't buy this "we're not ready to compete" stuff: the Kings are legit and given some breaks (and bad lucks for the teams above them), they could win the pennant. 5- Saints - The Continental's longest-running enigma. They have some pitching (Reif, Cupid & Weakley could be a good 1-2-3) but there are always a lot of questions, and that's the case this season too. 6- Cannons - Rufus Barrell II alone should be enough to lift this club out of the second division. But my gut feeling is this is the year that Cincinnati finally drops out of contention. Nuts? Maybe, but losing Al Wheeler was significant and everyone's a year older. 7- Wolves - What? The Wolves below the Saints? Unfortunately for Toronto, until Les Ledbetter arrives (and arrives having developed into his immense talents), it's going to be lean times for the Wolves. 8- Foresters - The perennially picked-for-last Clevelanders get the basement treatment again. Honestly, the CA is really two groups: the contenders (Chicago, NY, Philly & Brooklyn) and the others - and how the two groups finish within their groups is really anyone's guess. Last thoughts - it's becoming increasingly difficult to make these predictions. For one thing, despite the Gothams and Cougars being clearly more talented than the others, the fact remains that both circuits have four, maybe five, clubs who can realistically win this thing. That's great for FABL but boy, does it make doing this prediction thing difficult.  1- New York Stars: Superstar Bill Barrett (.297, 21, 93) may be missing the first week of the season, but don't think that's going to hurt the Stars! He may not be Bobby Barrell, but Barrett is one of the game's best hitters, posting a WRC+ above 140 in each season since becoming a full time player in 1940. He's walked 100 or more times in each of the past four seasons and last year broke a stretch of three seasons with 25+ homers. Add in a superb supporting cast of Joe Angevine (.284, 45, 30), Bob Riggins (.244, 5, 45, 12), Mack Sutton (.240, 43, 123), Jack Welch (.262, 20, 79), Freddie Jones (.276, 5, 46), and Bill Barnett (.234, 22, 77), and you've got the most dangerous lineup in the game. In the past, pitching has been a struggle for the Stars, but the deadline acquisition of 25-year-old Richie Hughes (12-14, 4.03, 110) has really lengthened the rotation. He'll be their #4, behind a strong front three of Eli Panneton (19-11, 3.11, 117), Vern Hubbard (12-16, 4.63, 93), and Chuck Cole (14-15, 3.23, 91), but don't be surprised if Hughes ends the season as the #2. The Stars money problems could get in their way, but they have a trio of top 50 prospects they can dangle, including the #1 spec Ralph Hanson. A slump in September cost the Stars a pennant last season, but if they get off to a quick start, they can look to capture their second title in three seasons. 2- Philadelphia Sailors: The Sailors quest for a repeat pennant took a huge step back when it was announced that southpaw Slick Wesolowski (15-11, 3.80, 92) will miss the rest of the season after undergoing elbow surgery. But if there's one thing the Sailors do best, it's finding the next man up. Since Tom Taylor was traded to the Cougars way back in 1930, the Sailors have never really had a star player, and instead rely more on their wealth of respectable big leaguers. The rotation is very good, even without Slick, featuring young co-aces Charlie Gordon (2-8, 4.14, 33) and Win Lewis (17-12, 2.88, 87). Al Duster (11-12, 3.43, 122) seems penciled in for the three spot, but there's uncertainty behind them. They can survive without a dominant complete game machine, as they have one of the only stoppers worth an All-Star selection, David Molina (10-3, 26, 3.06, 102), who may be the most unique pitcher in the game. At the plate they don't have much power, instead featuring high contact guys with a great eye. Late blooming first basemen Ed Reyes (.338, 5, 66) is on a quest for his fourth consecutive batting title, and he has plenty of protection with Harvey Brown (.311, 5, 66, 28), Cotton Dillon (.267, 7, 69), Marion Boismenu (.305, 2, 23, 5), Rip Lee (.282, 3, 62, 5), and Les Cunha (.268, 8, 85). Always competitive, you can never keep the Sailors down, and they should be in the hunt all season long. 3- Brooklyn Kings: While some may not have liked the trade of Buddy Long (20-11, 3.41, 82), I don't think that's going to have much of an impact on the Kings. They added Bob Arman (17-11, 3.49, 102) from the Cannons and got Jake Roberts (3-5, 5.10, 26) back in the Long trade, which, no pun intended, really lengthens their rotation. Expect a better season from Leo Hayden (12-13, 4.47, 125) in year three, and with reliable veterans Johnny Slaney (16-12, 3.13, 82) and Harry Carter (14-13, 3.98, 70), they should do enough to allow their offense win them games. They have a ton of young talent, from 23-year-old superstar Ralph Johnson (.318, 25, 108) to the elite glove of John Moss (.270, 8, 79). Chuck Collins (.283, 12, 50) looks to be a really good power hitter and they have a few exciting young shortstops in Billy Bryant (.267, 5, 62) and former Chief Chuck Lewis (.244, 2). Add in solid veterans like Charlie Woodbury (.281, 10 , 86), Hank Barnett (.246, 11, 58), and the injured Juan Pomales (.286, 3, 47, 23), and you have a really strong team. I do think the Kings are still a year away, but it would be foolish to count them out this year. They have the best system in the league with 7 top 40 prospects, and with a GM who's not afraid to make a splash, they could land a star to supplement their title hopes. 4- Cincinnati Cannons: Despite coming up a game short of a pennant, the veteran Cannons roster gave sell signals, shopping their entire team. Whether Rufus Barrell (14-13, 3.48, 135) was actually available or not is something only their GM knows, but the only move they ended up making was shipping off Bob Arman (17-11, 3.49, 102) to the Kings for a very nice prospect package. The roster looks much different, as veterans Al Wheeler (.229, 12, 59) and Red Hampton (12-13, 3.67, 36) both called it a career. Replacing Wheeler may not be too hard, as they have Gail Gifford (.289, 7, 45, 6) available to fill an outfield spot, Hampton's loss will be tougher. The Cannons have shown faith in Les Bradshaw (12-12, 3.85, 92) and Charlie Griffith (18-8, 3.66, 97), but there are plenty of question marks behind them. Does one of Butch Smith (7-6, 18, 2.10, 36) or Jim Anderson (1-2, 4.66, 14) return to the rotation? Or do they go with one of their five 25 and under starters on the 40? But while the pitching has question marks, the lineup seems pretty set. They have plenty of talented veterans with Charlie Rivera (.260, 9, 56, 9), Fred Galloway (.271, 6, 47), Sam Brown (.333, 9, 84), Adam Mullins (.304, 6, 63), Denny Andrews (.288, 16, 76), and Jim Hensley (.263, 4, 49). Plus it's hard to believe Chuck Adams (.264, 17, 77) doesn't return to posting 20+ homer, 110+ WRC+ seasons. The Cannons are good enough to finish in the first division, but without a big pitching breakout or some bad luck dealt to the teams above them, we may be approaching the end of this Cannons' core window. 5- Toronto Wolves: After the Cannons there appears to be a big drop off in the CA. That's not to say the Wolves can't compete, but the aging squad may not be ready to return to the first division. Fred McCormick (.321, 27, 102) is still one of the best hitters in the league, but does he have enough support in the lineup? Chink Stickels (.263, 4, 51, 16) is getting up their in age, and Hal Wood (.281, 8, 94), Hank Giordano (.268, 7, 77, 10), and Charlie Artuso (.247, 5, 64, 9) are all coming off down seasons. The bottom of the lineup needs work, as they don't really have a catcher now that Clarence Howerton's (.225, 11) best days are behind him, and there are question marks at second and in left. The rotation is solid, but George Garrison (9-14, 3.64, 107) had a rough season (by his standards, of course), and Joe Hancock (12-10, 3.55, 55) is getting up there. To succeed they'll need them both to put up ace-like numbers, with good results coming from veteran Jimmy Gibbs (12-8, 3.23, 63) and sophomore Jerry York (11-12, 4.46, 84). With the system on the thin side, there isn't an easy path to big league upgrades, and if the Wolves aren't in the hunt come July, they could have their first major selloff since their title in 1940. 6- Montreal Saints: Is this the year the Saints finally figure out the pitching staff? Management is confident new pitching coach John Booker can unlock Wally Doyle (7-17, 5.00, 127) or Wally Reif (13-10, 4.85, 107), and there's likely more to come from Pat Weakly (14-14, 3.47, 123), Bert Cupid (10-18, 3.73, 112), Gordie Irwin (5-1, 4.43, 19), and Andy Lyon (5-9, 4.30, 76). On paper, that's six solid starters, but for some reason there are always pitching issues in Montreal. The lineup hasn't been much better, but they have a top shortstop in Gordie Perkins (.273, 3, 29), a talented veteran in Bill Greene (.274, 8, 63, 19), and a powerful offseason acquisition in Pinky Pierce (.249, 21, 89). They have a decent foundation, and if youngsters Eddie Logan, Bill Elkins (.200, 20), Jack Spahr (.290, 4, 45), and Maurice Carter (.268, 6, 27) time their breakouts, the Saints could score a ton of runs. It feels like each season the Saints are a piece away from contention, but something (or multiple things) seem to go wrong. With a deep farm, they could package some of their young talent to upgrade the big league roster, but I think the Saints are constructed to be competitive in the 50s. 7- Cleveland Foresters:The Foresters have a new veteran GM at the helm, and he's got an interesting roster to work with. The Foresters shipped away Richie Hughes (12-14, 4.03, 110) and Hiram Steinberg (19-9, 3.11, 82) last summer, but young pitching is still the strength of the team. Ollie White (11-7, 6, 2.40, 131) won an ERA title and is a huge strikeout arm, and if he gets his command under control he's going to be a true ace. Davey Morris (8-11, 3, 3.56, 99) had a strong rookie season and #14 prospect John Jackson could join those two in the rotation at some point this year. Unfortunately, the lineup isn't very great, as Jim Adams Jr. (.295, 1, 10, 2) is the only bat most pitchers would be scared of. Sure, Lorenzo Samuels (.285, 13, 47) is a solid first basemen and Paul Porter (.266, 1, 49, 7) isn't the worst outfielder out there, but both are worth upgrading over. Luckily, the farm is deep, and they have a ton of top prospects OSA thinks will be ready for 1951. It was nice for Foresters fans to see a team that didn't finish 7th or 8th for the first time since 1939, but if I was a betting man, I'd say they'll return to one of the bottom two spots again this year. 8- Chicago Cougars: Every year (except 1945!) I say the Cougars are going to win the CA and then the WCS. And guess what? I'm wrong every year! I can't get that Cougar bias out of my head! But let's be honest. Let's take away all that "fluff" about the "on paper talent" and how "great and unlucky" this team should be. Let's look at what they really are. This is a team that finished with 71 wins and in 7th place. Many would expect a big move from the team that loves making a big trade, but guess what? Nothing! At all! They watch George Cleaves (.313, 9, 63) go to the Gothams despite having a glaring hole behind the plate, and then they go on and trade their #3 pitcher Joe Brown (13-13, 3.87, 86) and their most productive reliever Mel Haynes (1-2, 2.62, 22). I mean the least they could do is add a decent supplemental piece, but no! Nothing! Let's take a look at that roster: Sal Pestilli (.232, 8, 46, 5)? Washed an overrated! Leo Mitchell (.270, 14, 73)? Old, out of shape, and a guaranteed strikeout! Peter the Heater (9-18, 3.95, 146)? More like Peter four balls no strikes! Billy Hunter (.282, 8, 32) can't stay healthy enough to play even 120 games, Walt Pack (.273, 24, 82) is sure to regress to the guy who only takes advantage of war players, and does Hal Sharp (.329, 16, 65) even care about winning? And how many acrobatic plays by Skipper Schneider (.289, 3, 49, 7) plays are going to be ruined by Red Bond's (.287, 23, 96) total lack of defensive acumen? A sophomore slump is coming for Duke Bybee (14-11, 2.91, 104), Johnnie Jones (12-11, 3.96, 91) doesn't know how to find the zone, and can you really trust that George Oddo (0-1, 5.06, 8) can handle real FABL players and not these scrubs he saw in spring training? Yeah, good luck with that... Simply put, this team is not as good as they look, they're relying too much on guys on the wrong side of 30. Don't let the stellar spring fool you. This is a 7th place team that downgraded instead of upgrading who can't win close or important games. That doesn't sound like a legit contender now, does it?  FARHAT'S FABL PREDICTIONS The obvious pick in the Federal Association is the New York Gothams but concerns about the older pitchers and what happens if the club gets off to a 500 or slightly less start by the end of June. The Keystones have the offense but just don't have the pitching. Detroit has the youth, but youth sometimes makes mistakes....Can St. Louis pull another rabbit out of the hat? The Chiefs are the mystery team to me, they could be really good but that injury to Miller is huge. Washington...maybe....Farhat takes out his crystal ball and says it will be a very tight race. No team wins 90 games in the FA and the top 6 will be bunched within 10 games. Federal Association Predictions 1.) St. Louis Pioneers 2.) New York Gothams 3.) Washington Eagles 4.) Philadelphia Keystones 5.) Detroit Dynamos 6.) Chicago Chiefs 7.) Boston Minutemen 8.) Pittsburgh Miners The CA race appears to be easy to pick the Cougars. Only problem is the club somehow doesn't quite live up to its expectations. But that pitching staff is deep and talented and barring injury and Peter the Heater losing the zone again, its the Cougars year, in a landslide. The rest of the CA has some talent, but all the teams have some holes and no one has the pitching that the top rank Cougs do. Continental Association Predictions 1.) Chicago Cougars win 100 games 2.) New York Stars 3.) Philadelphia Sailors 4.) Brooklyn Kings 5.) Cincinnati Cannons 6.) Toronto Wolves 7.) Montreal Saints 8.) Cleveland Foresters World Series - Cougars against whoever wins the FA in 5 games! IS AN ALL-NYC WCS IN THE CARDS? Gothams Should Prevail in Competitive Fed A season preview is fairly easy when all the players are well known, and their level of performance can be expected based on a long history. You know four of the Gothams starting pitchers, even if three of them pitcher for other teams last season. They've been around that long. We can expect a certain level of excellence from Lefty Allen, Buddy Long and Joe Brown, even if their spring results were less than stellar. We know what to expect from Ed Bowman, one of the more consistent pitchers in the game. Where there is any uncertainty is with the number 5 starter Lou Eaker. Eaker is 21-18 with a 3.91 ERA in his short career. Also likely to get starts this season is Jerry Decker who had a strong spring after struggling in his major league debut in 1947. There's nothing unknown about the catcher position, with on base machine George Cleaves taking the majority of starts with hold over Josh Porter providing support. The infield will feature veterans Red Johnson,, Roosevelt Brewer and Mule Monier at 1st, 2nd and 3rd, joined by second year SS Cecil LaBonte. LaBonte was drafted 8th overall last season and almost immediately jumped into the Gothams lineup. The outfield will feature longtime Gothams Walt Messer in LF and the oft injured Mahlon Strong in RF. Center will be shared by Bunny Hufford and Flipper Robinson, with Robinson the likely choice in right when Strong inevitably needs time off. So, much is the same in 1948 and even what is new, is well known. What does this all mean for 1948? I see the Gothams as the favorites in a competitive FA. Washington and St. Louis should be close behind with everyone but Pittsburgh likely to be within shouting distance. Here's how the ol' red head sees the 1948 races: Federal Association Gothams Eagles Pioneers Dynamos Keystones Minutemen Chiefs Miners Continental Association Stars Cougars Saints Cannons Sailors Wolves Kings Foresters  Luckey was very matter of fact and lacked much emotion as he methodically laid out his thoughts on the Pioneers batting order for the upcoming season. Those comments included:
The talk then shifted to the recently revealed OSA -FABL's scouting service- prediction that the Pioneers would finish 12 games under .500 and drop to 7th in the 8 team Federal Association this season. On that subject, Luckey became much more animated, telling reporters " “Of course that’s possible. Everyone talks about repeat, repeat…but after that parade down Market Street, Hop (bench coach Jason Hopkins) turned to me and said, ‘How do you top this, Luck?’ Before you even look at the other teams in the league, you look in the mirror. That’s what we’re fighting." "This is a very good team," the manager continued, "clearly a championship-caliber team…but it’s an aged team. Tuck is 35. He talked about going out on top last year…but he’s back. Zim is 33. Freeman is 31. I wouldn’t trade any of them for anyone in the league…but it’s a long season. The older you get, the longer it feels." "On the other side, you have a kid like Ray Bates. Played great last year. Now there are expectations. He’s leading off for the defending champs as a 20-year-old. He is as tough in the mental game as anyone I’ve ever seen…maybe even more so. He’s become a leader of this squad. But he has to go and back that up now. And even someone like him feels that long season. He hasn’t faced the kind of pressure he’s about to…and that includes what he faced in October." "Yeah, it’s a game…but the physical and mental fitness these fellas have to maintain with the pressure they have just as a regular Fed player, that’s difficult. To have the other seven teams in the league put a bullseye on your chest? That’s entirely different, and something we have not been through. Even the teams far down in the second division will throw their absolute best at you, just so they can hang that on you. This is a prideful league." "These men are ready for what’s coming, I think. They talk the talk. Time to see if they can walk the walk." "And Doc (GM Dermot O’Connell) will call me upstairs for what I’m saying, but it’s reality. Only one team gets up top. It took us 27 years. We have all the pieces to do it again, but we’re like every other team in this league at the beginning of the season. We have questions without answers. We’ll find out what those answers are soon enough.” TIME FOR KIDS TO TAKE SEAT AT HEAD OF GROWN UPS TABLE OSA Tabs Dynamos as Team to Beat in Fed Maybe Dan Barrell is just trying to pump up the tires of his brother Fred and add to the reputation of the Detroit Dynamos scouting director - a man who has made no secret of his desire to be a big league manager someday. That won't happen here in Detroit as Dick York seems secure in the corner office of the clubhouse for years to come meaning at some point Fred Barrell will need to look elsewhere for the skipper job he so covets. When that happens, the Dynamos will not stand in his way, and they gave Fred their blessing to interview for the vacant Cougars job last fall. That did not work out for Barrell but you have to think he will leave the Motor City for his dream job sometime soon. In the meantime Fred can pad his resume very slightly with the note that the league scouting service -headed by his brother Dan Barrell- lists the Dynamos as a slight favourite to fly the Fed flag this year. If so that would be the first title for the ballclub since 1929. In the opinion of this writer that assessment by the OSA might be just a little optimistic. I doubt want to douse the faint flicker of the flame of hope - everyone knows this city could use it in the wake of the Maroons, Motors and Mustangs meanderings this winter- but in my opinion the Dynamos are still a year or two away from making a serious pennant push. The club is young, possibly will be the youngest in baseball again this season, but full of promise and Dan Barrell believes the Dynamos can move to the head of the table this year despite counting on a trio of 21-year-olds in Carl Potter, Stan Kleminski and Edwin Hackberry in their opening day roster and adding to the youth with a pair of 23-year-olds in corner infielders Dick Estes and Tommy Griffin. That makes 25-year-old second baseman Del Johnson positively ancient by comparison. They made a nice run with that core last year but stumbled down the stretch and finished third. I see the club being competitive again this year and who knows: with a few breaks maybe they actually claim the crown. A more likely scenario is the Dynamos challenge but come up just short this time around, gaining valuable experience in the process and allow a trio of talented mound prospects in Fred Washington, Jack Halbur and Roy Schaub along with first baseman John Morrison and outfielder Tommy Allenby to move a little closer to being big league ready. It says here that the Gothams have too much veteran talent to stumble. If they stay healthy New York seems the best bet to win the pennant but it will be a dogfight all the way with no less than 6 clubs very much in the mix. We only feel the rebuilding Pittsburgh Miners and aging Boston Minutemen are assured of being out of the race come August. It should be a fun season at Thompson Field and a very entertaining group of hungry young players to cheer on. They get a stern test tomorrow when Potter takes the hill in the opener against the defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers. PROBABLE OPENING DAY STARTERS  GRAYS OUTLAST KNIGHTS IN MARATHON The Oakland Grays improved to 4-1 on the young season with a 6-5 victory in 14 innings over the Los Angeles Knights. Oakland catcher Joe Lloyd was the hero on the day with 4 hits including a walk-off rbi single to plate Les Bennett with the game-winning run. There were last second heroics in Dallas as well with the Centurions getting a walk-off rbi base hit from veteran catcher Johnny Decker to nip San Diego 3-2. Elsewhere Rube Field and Harry Castillo combined on a 6-hit shutout to lead Houston to a 7-0 win over the Portland Green Sox while in Seattle Howard Brown Jr.'s 2-run homer in the fifth inning helped the Thunderbirds dump San Francisco 4-1. 
CRUSHERS RALLY TO CLAIM FINAL FBL PLAYOFF SLOT A dramatic finish to the Federal Basketball League season saw the Cleveland Crushers claim the final playoff berth on the last day of the campaign. The Crushers finished one game ahead of the Detroit Mustangs for third place in the East Division after George Kelly scored 25 points last night to lead the Crushers to a 100-93 victory over Detroit at Thompson Palladium. The victory was the 6th in their final 7 games for the Crushers, who rallied to eliminate the Mustangs from the playoff picture for the second year in a row. Detroit stumbled down the stretch losing five of its final six games and each of its last three to come up just short. The Crushers, who finished the year with a 21-27 record will meet the 24-24 Cincinnati Cyclones in the opening round of the playoffs with the winner meeting the defending league champion Chicago Panthers (32-16) in the semi-final. A little less drama in the East Division as it has long been known that 2nd place Baltimore (27-21) will face third place Buffalo (22-26) with the series winner meeting Philadelphia for the right to advance to the league final. At 33-15 the Phantoms finished with the league's best record. Code:
FINAL FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Philadelphia 33 15 .688 - Baltimore 27 21 .563 6.0 Buffalo 22 26 .458 11.0 Toronto 13 35 .261 20.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 32 16 .667 - Cincinnati 24 24 .500 8.0 Cleveland 21 27 .438 11.0 Detroit 20 28 .417 12.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG Irvin Mudd, PHI 21.6 Larry Yim, BUF 20.5 Richard Campbell, CHI 20.1 Jamel Porter, TOR 18.8 David Reed, DET 18.4 Jack Kurtz, DET 17.9 Danny Hendon, PHI 16.5 Jack Hirst, BAL 16.3 George Kelley, CLE 15.7 Nestor Patterson, BAL 15.1 REBOUND LEADERS RPG Larry Yim, BUF 19.6 James Lerma, CIN 14.7 Cory Myers, CHI 14.6 Jamal Porter, TOR 14.6 ASSIST LEADERS APG Jerry Hubbard, PHI 11.0 Joe Hampton, CHI 9.4 Israel Slusher, DET 8.8 STATESMEN CONFIDENT DESPITE END OF WIN STREAK The Washington Statesmen are overwhelming favourites to win their second consecutive American Basketball Conference title despite seeing their winning streak come to an end against Rochester in the season finale. The Rockets surprised the Washington quintet with a 73-66 victory in the season finale, snapping a run of 14 straight victories for the Statesmen. That victory was enough to spare the Rockets from having to face the Statesmen in the opening round of the ABC playoffs as the Rochester club was credited with third place ahead of the Pittsburgh Falcons by virtue of a better head-to-head record after both the Rockets and Falcons finished with 22-38 records. All 8 ABC clubs qualify for the playoffs so Washington will face the Falcons in the opening round while the second place Richmond Clippers draw Rochester. In the East, historical powerhouse Brooklyn finishes in first place for the fifth straight season and the Red Caps will open the playoffs against the fourth place Hartford Patriots. The New York Knights, who were the league's hottest team in the second half of the season in winning 28 of their last 38 games, finished second and will face a struggling Boston Centurions club that dropped 9 of its last 10 contests. Code:
FINAL AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 38 22 .633 - New York 32 28 .533 6.0 Boston 27 33 .450 11.0 Hartford 24 36 .400 14.0 WEST W L PCT GB Washington 48 12 .800 - Richmond 27 33 .450 21.0 Rochester 22 38 .367 26.0 Pittsburgh 22 38 .367 26.0 SCORING LEADERS PPG James Phillips, HAR 19.9 Ivory Mitchell, BKN 19.5 John Rodrigez, HAR 18.9 Norm Yates, RIC 18.8 Morgan Melcher, BOS 18.7 Stewart Hurlburt, RIC 18.5 Ivan Sicsco, WAS 18.2 Charles Hooper, WAS 17.8 Terry Flowers, ROC 17.4 Gerald Carter, BOS 16.8 REBOUND LEADERS RPG Monte Burton, RIC 16.0 Demetrius Albers, BOS 15.8 Ivan Isco, WAS 15.0 ASSIST LEADERS APG Ivory Mitchell, BKN 10.1 Blake Brooks, WAS 7.9 Roman Sellers, NYK 6.6 STEPHENS SET TO DEFEND WELTER CROWN AGAINST UNBEATEN ERICKSON World Welterweight champion Harold Stephens may face the toughest opponent of his career Saturday evening in Boston when he defends his title against undefeated Mac Erickson. The Providence born champ has squared off against many of the best in his weight class lately including his most recent title defense against Ira Mitchell in January. Stephens, who is 21-3-2, has not lost in the ring since 1938, back when the 29-year-old was a teen just starting out in the fight game. He put his boxing career on hold for four years to serve in the Army during the war and has won all seven of his fights since returning to the ring in 1945. Included in those victories are title defenses over Mitchell and Carl Taylor, which followed his win in St Louis in February of last year over Mark Westlake to claim the title. Erickson, who fought a famous battle with Danny Rutledge in England in 1944 with Danny Rutledge that nearly stole the show on a huge card which included Hector Sawyer fighting an exhibition and a world middleweight title fight, has not lost since that evening against Rutledge. Erickson turned pro upon his discharge from the Navy in in 1945 and has been exceptionally busy since, winning all 16 of his bouts including 11 by knockout. Many felt in 1944 that either Erickson or Rutledge would someday be a World Champion. Supporters of the St. Paul born 27-year-old Erickson feel that time has come. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
NEWS HEADLINES TODAY Current events from 4/19/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-23-2023 at 03:22 PM. |
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08-24-2023, 12:27 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
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April 26, 1948 First sim of baseball season
APRIL 26, 1948 SAILING ALONG Defending CA champs open season with 7-1 week The Philadelphia Sailors are out to prove their Continental Association pennant win last season was no fluke and they certainly found some believers in Ohio after the Cannons took 7 of 8 games from Cincinnati and Cleveland in a very busy opening week for the defending champs. The absence of starting pitcher Slick Wesolowski, who was lost for the season with a spring elbow injury, had little negative impact as Win Lewis won both of his starts while Art Hull, Al Duster, Charlie Gordon and Bill Martino also claimed victories as Sailors starters this week. The only Philadelphia loss came Wednesday against Cincinnati when the Cannons exploded for 5 runs off of the Sailors bullpen in the 11th inning of a 10-5 game keyed by a Chuck Adams grandslam. The Toronto Wolves, tabbed by many as a team on rapid decline, also benefitted from the generousity of their Ohio opponents in winning their first four gamees before suffering back to back weekend 1-0 losses in the Queen City. The Wolves are 4-2 and also in second place after the opening week. The toughest start went to the Cleveland Foresters as the club -hoping to make some more strides forward after a 74-win season a year ago led them to 6th place and their highest finish since 1939- dropped all 8 of its games last week. The Chicago Chiefs are off to a quick 5-1 start to lead the Federal Association as the club proves it can still contend even with the sudden retirement of Gus Goulding and the injury that will sideline Al Miller until June. The Chiefs had a tough start with the Gothams and the defending champion St Louis Pioneers on their opening week docket but passed the test with flying colours. The Chiefs opened with a 3-game sweep of the New Yorkers at Whitney Park before spoiling St Louis' flag raising ceremony with a 7-3 victory over the Pioneers Saturday before splitting a twin-bill yesterday. Long-time Chiefs skipper Joe Ward has been saying all along that his team can compete for the Fed flag, even without Miller. Ward noted that "The first turn through the rotation was very solid, and it would appear that Pablo Reyes has a bit of juice left in his bat." Reyes went 4-for-9 with a pair of exta base hits last week while the pitching was very good for the Chiefs, who face Detroit and the Gothams this week. Speaking of New York, one has to wonder if panic is setting in after the three new pitchers acquired over the winter followed up rough springs with disappointing outings in their Gotham debuts. The Gothams went just 1-5 after Buddy Long and Lefty Allen were both roughed up in Chicago while Joe Brown did manage the team's only victory it was hardly reassuring for Gothams fans to see the 34-year-old allow 7 runs (5 earned) and 10 hits in just 6 and a third innings of work. The good news in the Big Apple is the Gothams bats were working just fine, led by two homers each from Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong while new catcher George Cleaves hit .318 with his first homerun as a Gotham. It is a small sample but pitching has been the Gothams problems in past years and this is hardly a reassuring start for the club that loaded up on veteran arms over the winter.   The Sailors are out to prove that last year CA pennant was not a fluke. The Sailors are off to a fast start with a 7-1 record and an early 2 game lead in the CA. One has to wonder though if the Sailors can continue to defy the odds. Losing SP Slick Wesolowski for the season and having to rely on unproven SP Art Hull and Bill Martino to carry a heavy load is asking a lot. The other curious look at the Sailors is their catching position. They had C Woody Stone last season, but then brought in Solly Skidmore in a trade at the deadline last year. In the off-season they release Stone who thanked them to the tune of around $200,000 and now they have Charlie Gump as their starting C???? What is going on in Phily with the catchers? While some scouts rave that Gump is above average, the 31 year old is making his first appearance in the big leagues since 1941. Is Solly Skidmore the next headed out of town? The Sailors are a good overall ballclub, but will they be able to hang at the top all year long? And when will 2B prospect Al Farmer make his way into the club? Will that force the Sailors to move veteran SS Rip Lee? If so, will they ship Lee out while he still has any trade value? *** Milestone for Tucker *** 35 year old 5-time All Star RF Al Tucker collected his career hit 2000 going 3-5 in St. Louis' 7-3 loss to the Chiefs. The next player likely to reach 2000 hits should be Cincinnati outfielder Gail Gifford who needs just 6 hits to reach it. Gifford was a long-time teammate of Tucker's before joining the Cannons in 1945.  It was the start of a successful week for the Saints, one in which the club took two out of three from a Chicago team favoured by many to finally shake the monkey off its back and win the Continental Association pennant for the first time since 1941. Not all was perfect for the Saints mind you but even though there are some tweaks coming second year manager Jim Cator has to be pretty pleased with how the week went. Maurice Carter was really showing up at first base and making a bid to take the job permanently after going 8-for-20 with a pair of homers in the opening week. Cator will find more playing time for Carter and also needs to do the same for Pinky Pierce also as the former Pittsburgh Miners outfielder had a big week. Young centerfielder Bill Elkins had a nice week and is finally batting like a lead-off hitter, but the Saints would like to see some thefts on the base paths as well. On the mound Pat Weakley won both of his starts. Looking to the farm AAA first base prospect Hank Smith has found his hitting skills in first week of season after some struggles in spring camp. If Luke Weaver and Carter start slowing down Smith is not that far away. On the flip side it was a bad start for prospect 2B Eddie Logan with no hits in his first week in majors.   Reigning Allen Winner Donnie Jones did not find the same success, dropping both of his starts. He threw 7.2 innings in both, allowing a total of 21 hits, 13 runs, and 7 walks with 8 strikeouts. The surprising part was the three home runs allowed, as Donnie allowed just 17 in nearly 250 innings last season. Sal Pestilli is off to a slow start as well, just 5-for-28 with zero walks to start his season. On the bright side, three of his five hits are for extra bases, as he homered and tripled twice. Pestilli scored 5 runs, drove in 6, and did not strike out in the Cougars 3-3 week.  New 2B Charlie Woodbury hit 370 in his first week with the Kings, but boy did he have difficultly in the field as he committed 5 errors. He has been fairly steady in his career as a 2B so maybe it was just a case of the first week jitters with a new club. Hopefully this is not the start of a new trend. SP Leo Hayden looked like his rookie of the year form in his first outing against the Stars going 9IP just giving up 4 hits and 1 run. Then he came home to face the Saints and just struggled mightily going just 4.1 and allowing 10 hits and 9 runs. Seems more like last seasons Jeckyl and Hyde than the rookie of the year Hayden. Veteran Ron Rattigan has recovered from his end of spring injury. He got 1 at-bat and in it made the most of it hitting a solo home run.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Out of The Gate --The Toronto Wolves opened their 1948 season by sweeping the Foresters in their first series of the year. A huge crowd of 36406, which some believe many be an attendance record for Dominion Stadium, welcomed back the Boys of Summer on clear but cool Tuesday afternoon. Fresh off the Dukes championship parade the crowd was treated to an entertaining game which ended in a 4-2 victory for the Wolves. Ageless Fred McCormick homered in 7th, his 220th in the FABL, to add an insurance run. George Garrison pitched into the 8th, showing promising signs early to pick up the victory. The next day the fans were treated to a 5:17 marathon with the Wolves emerging on top 9-8 in 16 when John Fast walked with the bases packed at almost 8:30 in the evening. With no rest for the wicked the teams were back on the field Thursday afternoon on another cloudy, cool day. The Wolves came out of the gate fast scoring 2 in each of their first two innings then finishing off Cleveland 6-3 with McCormick driving in 4, 2 on his second HR of the year. The team then boarded their coach for a trip into Cincinnati where they continued their winning ways taking down the Cannons7-0 with the big blow being a 3-run big fly by Wood, his first of the year, in the fifth. Cannons home opener packed 34563 into Tice Memorial. The run Toronto put up in the 8th of that game would prove to be their last in Cincinnati as the Cannons shutout the Wolves 1-0 in both weekend games on two complete game pitching gems by Jim Anderson on Saturday followed up by Deuce Barrell on Sunday. Manager Call likes what he sees thus far, the move of Tom Frederick to the second sack seems to have solidified the infield defense but as Call says "It is still very early to be drawing any conclusions. Wins in April count the same as wins in any other month, we are optimistic." SUCCESSFUL OPENING WEEK FOR DYNAMOS It is great to have baseball back and Thompson Field was near capacity on a great day for baseball last Tuesday as the Dynamos, led by a complete game from Carl Potter, dumped Hal Hackney and the defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers by a 4-1 score. There were plenty of positives for manager Dick York to crow about after the contest with two-hit games from each of the three young stars being counted on to lead the club this season. That trio would be Del Johnson, Stan Kleminski and Edwin Hackberry-each of whom would figure prominently as the Dynamos, after being shutout through 6 innings, scored 4 times late in the game. It was an unusual opening series with just the one game before both the Pioneers and Dynamos left town. St Louis headed home to await Chicago while the Dynamos went to the Big Apple to play a 3-game weekend series with the Gothams. The opener was a shaky outing to say the least for Wally Hunter, who was torched for 8-runs in just 3 innings of work as Detroit fell by a 12-8 score. The Detroit pitching was much better the next two days as Bill Sohl went the distance Saturday in a 6-2 win for the good guys while yesterday Dixie Lee outduelled Gothams ace Ed Bowman 2-1 with a little help from veteran Harry Sharp to close out the victory. The Dynamos hope the long train ride from New York to Chicago does not slow their bats as the continue the trip with stops in the Windy City and St Louis before returning home Saturday for a pair against the Gothams. MAHONEY'S PREDICTIONS FOR THE 1948 CAMPAIGN It just missed press time last edition but here is Philadelphia Keystones beat writer Joey Mahoney's call as to how he sees the 1948 FABL standings shaping up. Federal Association: 1- NY Gothams 2- Detroit 3- Phila Keystones 4- Washington 5- St. Louis 6- Chi Chiefs 7- Boston 8- Pittsburgh Continental Association: 1- Chi Cougars 2- NY Stars 3- Cincinnati 4- Toronto 5- Phila Sailors 6- Brooklyn 7- Montreal 8- Cleveland 
ERICKSON WINS WELTERWEIGHT TITLE In a tense and exhilarating showdown at Boston's Denny Arena Saturday evening, Mac Erickson's sheer determination and superior technique prevailed, earning him the highly coveted title of champion of the welterweight division. The clash between Erickson and former champ Harold Stephens kept fans on the edge of their seats as they engaged in a back-and-front that ultimately concluded with Erickson's victory. Erickson, the 27-year-old challenger from St. Paul, Minnesota, entered the ring against the reigning champion, 29-year-old Harold Stephens of Providence, Rhode Island with an unblemished record as a professional. The arena was electric with excitement, packed to the rafters with fervent fans ready to witness the pugilistic prowess on display. From the moment the bell sounded for Round 1, it was evident that the crowd was in for a treat. The fighters wasted no time in engaging, and the opening exchanges were marked by the palpable tension between them. Stephens, the defending champion with a record of 21-3-5 entering the evening, was aiming to retain his title for the fourth time since claiming it in February of 1947. Round 1 kicked off with Erickson looking to establish his dominance, but Stephens quickly demonstrated his defensive prowess by ducking under Erickson's right hand. The first round saw a back-and-forth exchange of jabs and hooks, with both fighters attempting to seize the upper hand. Stephens's jab to the body marked the first points of the match, but Erickson's right hand flush on Stephens's chin sent shockwaves through the arena as the champ was sent to the canvas. Stephens regained his feet quickly but found himself reeling into the ropes for the remainder of the round, his championship mettle tested from the very outset. The subsequent rounds saw a symphony of tactical maneuvering and power punches. Erickson's uppercuts and combinations kept Stephens on the defensive, while Stephens's jabs and hooks aimed to keep Erickson at bay. Round 2 saw a resurgence from Stephens, as he connected with an uppercut that briefly shook Erickson, but the latter's resilience kept him upright. As the rounds progressed, the physical toll of the match became evident, with both fighters showing signs of wear and tear. Round 3 was marked by Erickson's aggressive approach, as he trapped Stephens in the corner and delivered a series of punishing blows to the body. Stephens tried to counter with hooks and uppercuts, but Erickson's calculated aggression had him cornered. Erickson's body shots took a toll on Stephens, leaving him visibly shaken as the round ended. In Round 4, Erickson's dominance continued as he unleashed a barrage of hooks and crosses, targeting Stephens's head and body. Stephens weathered the storm and managed to connect with a few jabs and hooks of his own. By Round 5, both fighters were battling fatigue as well as each other, but the crowd's cheers fueled their determination. Stephens tried to establish his jab and keep Erickson at bay, while Erickson's power punches tested Stephens's endurance. As the fight progressed into the later rounds, Erickson's relentless pressure and superior conditioning began to take a toll on Stephens. Rounds 6 and 7 showcased Erickson's ability to land devastating combinations, leaving Stephens dazed and struggling to regain control. Stephens attempted to fight back with his own jabs and hooks, but Erickson's power punches and clinch control kept him in the driver's seat. The championship rounds provided no respite, as Erickson continued to dictate the pace and rhythm of the match. Stephens, showing incredible heart and determination, mounted counterattacks and attempted to rally. However, Erickson's calculated aggression and precision punches ensured that he maintained a significant lead on the scorecards. The final rounds of the bout were a testament to both fighters' resilience and determination. Stephens, with his championship reign on the line, refused to back down, engaging Erickson in toe-to-toe exchanges. Despite Stephens's efforts, the night ultimately belonged to Mac Erickson. With a unanimous victory, Erickson improved his undefeated professional record to 17-0, etching his name into boxing history as the new World Welterweight Champion. The crowd erupted in applause and admiration for both fighters' incredible display of skill and determination. The referee, veteran official Mike Ornest, raised Erickson's hand in victory as he became the new reigning champion. As the fighters returned to their corners and the arena's cheers reverberated, it was clear that this bout would be remembered as one of the best tussles the division has seen in quite some time. BOLOGNA'S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Erickson, 2-1 (S: 2:48 right/head; E: 0:44 right/chin, 1:41 combo) Round 2: Erickson, 2-0 (1:05 uppercut; 2:44 right cross/face) Round 3: Erickson, 4-1 (S: 2:28 hook; E: 0:56 uppercut; 1:13 right/midsection; 1:32 right/body, 2:07 hook) Round 4: Erickson, 4-0 (1:04 left hook/body; 1:29 hook/midsection; 1:59 uppercut; 2:55 right/jaw) Round 5: Erickson, 3-0 (1:46 combo, 2:37 right; 2:52 combo) Round 6: Tied, 1-1 (S: 0:22 cross; E: 1:47 uppercut) Round 7: Erickson, 3-1 (S: 1:35 combo; E: 0:19 cross; 2:14 combo/midsection, 2:48 combo) Round 8: Erickson, 5-0 (0:23 right/head, 1:06 uppercut, 1:21 hook, 1:38 cross; 2:30 right/ribs) Round 9: Stephens, 5-0 (0:23 hook, 1:08 cross, 1:22 hook/head, 1:46 cross/side; 2:15 uppercut/head) Round 10: Erickson, 3-0 (0:42 combo, 0:58 combo, 2:10 hook) Round 11: Erickson, 4-0 (0:44 right/ribs, 1:39 hook/jaw, 2:18 uppercut, 2:55 combo) Round 12: None Round 13: Erickson, 3-0 (0:44 uppercut/head, 1:18 right, 2:17 jab) Round 14: Tied, 1-1 (S: 2:28 hook/midsection; E: 1:48 right) Round 15: Erickson, 2-0 (1:18 combo/knockdown (5-count), 2:55 combo/jaw/knockdown (3-count)) TOTAL :Erickson 37, Stephens 10  COOPER CONTINUES TO FADE Not all that long ago Cannon Cooper was considered the next big thing in the heavyweight division and perhaps a fighter due a title shot against Hector Sawyer. But times have changed for the 27-year-old Rockford, Il., born fighter. He won his first two bouts in 1945 after a 3 year break to serve in the Coast Guard during the war to improve to 16-0 at the time. He then overreached as some young fighters are prone to do and lost successive bouts to more experienced fighters in Clancy Little and Glen Hairston -derailing a path that seemed to have him on a collision course with Sawyer. Cooper rebounded somewhat with six straight victories but none were against top quality opponents although it did set up a December battle in the nation's capital with veteran southpaw Allen Bailey. Bailey won a tight split-decision and Cooper's hopes of a title shot were long gone. Now, there is question if he will even be able to land a decent opponent going forward after he was beaten in a 10-rounder by lightly regarded Roy Madison on the undercard of the Stephens-Erickson title bout. The loss drops Cooper to 23-4-1. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
STATESMEN, RED CAPS OFF TO QUICK PLAYOFF START The Washington Statesmen and Brooklyn Red Caps appear well on their way to a sixth straight meeting in the American Basketball Conference championship series. The Statesmen, after coming up short 7 straight seasons in the ABC finals including 4 consecutive title series losses to the Red Caps, finally won it all last year with a 3 game sweep of Brooklyn. After each finished in first place in their respective divisions again this season both opened the playoffs over the weekend with 2 quick wins and can close out their best-of-five opening round series this week. Washington, which had a dominant regular season in which the Statesmen set a professional basketball record for wins in a season with a 48-12 record, had little trouble with 4th place Pittsburgh in the opening two games of their best-of-five. The Statesmen won 109-67 and 110-99 on their homecourt and look to close out the series with a win at the Pittsburgh Arena. The other series in the West Division is 2-0 in favour of Richmond over the Rochester Rockets but it was much closer with the Clippers needing overtime to take the opener 89-88 before winning game two 79-76. The Rockets lost despite a tremendous pair of games from forward Terry Flowers, who leads all playoff scorers with 47 points combined from the two games. In the East the Red Caps used a dominant fourth quarter to take the opener of their series with the Hartford Patriots by an 83-65 count before following that up with a 79-69 victory last night. The other series, between the second place New York Knights and third place Boston Centurions is the only one in the ABC that is knotted. Thomas Dwyer had 21 points to lead the Knights to a 90-66 win Saturday evening at Bigsby Garden but the New Yorkers gave up their homecourt advantage in the series by falling 78-76 to Boston yesterday. Jed Clyde was the hero for Boston as the seldom used forward played just 1 minute in the game but he was open under the basket with 13 seconds left and his only points of the contest came on the game winning layup. BOTH FEDERAL SERIES KNOTTED AT 1 WIN The Federal Basketball League only invites 6 of its 8 teams to the post-season so the two first place clubs in the Chicago Panthers and Philadelphia Phantoms draw an opening round bye while the second and third place teams in each division engage in a best-of-five opening round series. Each is tied at one win apiece after the opening weekend. The Cincinnati Cyclones drew first blood in the battle of Ohio with a 68-66 win over the third place Cleveland Crushers Saturday but the Crushers evened the score with a 71-61 road victory yesterday. It is shaping up to be a great series in the East Division with each game decided by just a single basket. The second place Baltimore Barons took the opener 76-74 from Buffalo but the Brawlers prevailed by the same score last night.   PHILADELPHIA AND ROCHESTER MAKE HAA DEAL The Philadelphia Rascals of the minor league Hockey Association of America have added some veteran leadership with NAHC experience in a three player deal with the Toledo Tigers. Winger Dick Klein and defenseman Elmer Jernigan both join the Rascals, who finished third in the HAA's West Division this past season. Klein is a 34-year-old who had spent a number of years with the Toronto Dukes and played a big role in their 1944 Challenge Cup win before being let go by the club prior to last season. He had 7 goals and 23 points for the Tigers this year. Jernigan is a former captain of the Chicago Packers who also won a pair of Challenge Cups during a 3-year stint with Boston. The Bees elected not to resign the 35-year-old last year and he took his talents to Toledo, notching 7 goals and 15 points in 32 games although he was far better known during his time in the NAHC for his crease clearing work as a strong defensive defenseman. The cost for Philadelphia was heavy in that the Rascals had to part with 24-year-old puck moving defenseman Pete Garneau. The Quebec City native was a third round pick of the Detroit Motors in 1943 and his NAHC rights are still held by the Motors although Garneau, who had spent the past four years on the Rascals blueline, is under contract for three more years. He had 3 goals and 16 points in 38 games last season and joins a Toledo club that finished second in the West Division of the HAA, two points ahead of the third place Rascals. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/25/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-24-2023 at 01:45 PM. |
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08-25-2023, 12:52 PM
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#776 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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May 3, 1948
MAY 3, 1948 NIGHTMARE START IN NEW YORK Slow Start, Injuries Derail Fed Favourites With most teams a 4-9 start in a year in which many considered the club a potential pennant winner would be just a slight concern. Add a couple of injuries to a pair of key players and the level of worry might inch up a notch but the realization that it is just 2 weeks into the season would scream small sample size and cause no major concerns, at least not yet. But the New York Gothams are not most teams and Gothams management in the past has been very quick to pull the plug when it perceived things were not going exactly as planned. We are likely a long ways away from another gigantic Gothams sell-off but one can't help but feel such a notion has at least crossed the minds of the Gothams braintrust after the club is 4-9 and last in the Federal Association. Mahlon Strong was hurt last week -for the second time already since the start of camp- so it comes as little surprise the veteran outfielder will miss the next month and a half. More shocking is that first baseman Red Johnson, who sat out only 9 games the past three years combined, will also be on the shelf for over a month after the 6-time all-star suffered an ankle sprain last week. Add in the fact that the Gothams have surrendered the most runs in the Fed, newcomer Lefty Allen is 0-3 with an awful 6.87 era and ace Ed Bowman can't buy a victory and you can just feel the tensions rising in the Big Apple. The Gothams began a 12-game road swing with a positive sign as Buddy Long shutout Detroit 5-0 on a five-hitter Saturday in what was by far his best outing as a Gotham but whatever positivity might have entered the Gothams clubhouse exited just as quickly yesterday when the Gothams fell 6-1 to the Dynamos in a game in which they resembled the Keystone Kops as they bobbled and botched their way through an error filled contest that resulted in Lefty Allen, who they paid a hefty price for over the winter, with an 0-3 record after the veteran struggled through a rough spring performance in Florida. Two weeks into the season and the Gothams are already 5.5 games back of the first place Chicago Chiefs -who just so happened to build their lead primarily on the backs of the Gothams with a 5-0 record in head to head games with the New Yorkers. The Chiefs, without the services of ace hurler Al Miller for at least another month, are a mild surprise to be leading the way in the Fed at the moment but far less of a surprise than in the Continental Association where the Montreal Saints swept both Brooklyn and the New York Stars this week and share top spot with the reigning pennant winning Philadelphia Sailors.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Continue Along the Right Path --The Toronto Wolves maintained their winning ways as April turned to May in the FABL. After an off-day the team took on, in a strange scheduling quirk, traveled to Philly to take on the Sailors in a single game. Toronto took down the defending CA pennant winners 3-0 on an interesting start from Joe Hancock. Hancock worked into the 9th constantly extricating himself from jams. He scattered 9 hits, walked 2, did not retire any Sailor on strikes, was greatly helped by a double play along with Stickels gunning down a runner at third. Wolves managed to make the most of their 8 hits off three Philly hurlers. Lou Jayson came in with one out in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run at the plate to lock down the victory on 5 pitches thanks to a 4-6-3 twin killing. After another off-day the team went into Forester Stadium for a 2-game series. The Thursday encounter finished 4-3 form the Wolves again assisted by three double plays snuffing out Cleveland attempted rallies, Gibbs had control issues but was backed up by Carter who was credited with the W in a less than stellar relief effort hurt by a game tying 2 run double by Ivey Henley in the 7th. A solo homer by Chink Stickels in the 8th then a clean inning by Carter set the stage for Jayson to secure his 3rd save of '48 again thanks to a double play after the first two Cleveland hitters singled in the ninth. The Friday contest that resulted in a 5-1 win was led by Stickels again going 3-4 with 2 RBI including his third round tripper. Jerry York went to 2-0 again assisted by infield defense as York surrendered 7 hits, 2 BB in 6 1/3 innings of work. Chick Wirtz came in to finish up the contest. Toronto returned home to Dominion Stadium for a Saturday night encounter with the Cannons. The Wolves were leading Deuce Barrell led Cannons 3-2 heading into the ninth when George Waller, in relief of of Carter who took over from Morrison, got blown up. Walk, single, single, walk, walk, sac fly, single + error, led to 4 Cannons runs snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Sunday afternoon contest was another pitching duel between Garrison, Charlie Griffith in which Garrison again came up on the short end of the stick in a 2-1 loss. Wolves have scored one run in support of George in last two starts with a total of 5 runs in his 3 starts, talk about hard luck. Garrison's numbers 1-2, 1.74 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 219 ERA+, he certainly deserves a better fate early this season. Manager Call has no explanation for the fact all 4 of their losses have come at the hands of the Cannons. " Overall we have had plenty of the off-days early, I wish they were later in the season but we don't make the schedule. One thing is certain we cannot throw away leads in the ninth against a pitcher like Barrell. If we win 7 of every 11 games going forward the fans are in for a treat." 
BURNS WINS THIRD STRAIGHT MCDANIELS TROPHY For the third year in a row Tommy Burns of the Chicago Packers was named the most valuable player in the NAHC. The 28-year-old center tied a long-standing NAHC record with 47 goals this season while leading the league in scoring for the second consecutive season and was rewarded with his third McDaniels Trophy. He joins Wilbur Chandler of the Boston Bees as the only three-time winners of the McDaniels Trophy, which has been presented annually since the 1924-25 campaign. Chandler and New York Shamrocks center Orval Cabbell were the other nominees for the award. Burns' Chicago teammate Norm Hanson was named the winner of the Al Juneau Trophy, awarded annually to the top goaltender, after beating out fellow finalists Gordie Broadway of Toronto and Boston's Tom Brockers. Hanson's 2.61 goals against average was lowest in the league this season and his 27-20-6 record helped the Packers to a first place finish in the regular season. He had 2 shutouts in the playoffs but his Packers were uspet in 5 games by the New York Shamrocks in the semi-finals. The rookie of the year award, the Harvey McLeod Trophy, went to Nick Tardif of the Detroit Motors, who outpointed teammate Adam Vanderbilt and Boston's Mickey Bedard for the honour. The 22-year-old had 19 goals and 43 points while suiting up for all 60 of Detroit's games this season. Tardif becomes the third Motors player to win the award in its 12 year history, following Alexander Viens four years ago and Edgar Mount in 1939-40.  SEMI-FINALS UNDERWAY IN BOTH CAGE LOOPS The second round of the playoffs is underway in both the Federal Basketball League and the American Basketball Conference, and it comes as little surprise that the four division winners each lead their respective series. The opening round saw just one mild upset as the Cleveland Crushers, who finished in third place in the FBL West Division, nipped the second place Cincinnati Cyclones 3 games to two. The Crushers next task is the Chicago Panthers, defending FBL champs and the top team in the West Division. The Cylcones kept it close but fell at Lakeside Palladium by an 83-80 count in yesterday's opening game of the best-of-five series. Cory Myers had 21 points and 18 boards to lead the defending champs nulifying an outstanding 25 point effort by Crushers star George Kelley. The other semi-final series in the FBL has the top team in the East in the Philadelphia Phantoms squaring off with second place Baltimore. The Barons eliminated the Buffalo Brawlers 3 games to one in the opening round. The Barons started the series against the Phantoms with a road win, outscoring Philadelphia 30-15 in the opening quarter on their way to a 99-86 victory in a game dominated by Jack Hirst and Irvin Mudd. Hirst, the Barons star center, had a huge night scoring 38 points and adding 16 rebounds for the winners, overshadowing a 34 point outing from the Phantoms Mudd. Game two in both series goes this evening. *** Drama in ABC Opening Round *** The Washington Statesmen dominated the ABC this season but had a bit of a scare from the Pittsburgh Falcons in the opening round. After a pair of relatively easy wins on home court, the Statesmen stumbled in game three at Pittsburgh, falling 96-92. Game four went right down to the wire and the Falcons nearly pulled off the upset, but Reid Wilkinson stole the ball for Washington in the final seconds and the Statesmen played key away long enough to run out the clock and claim a 96-95 victory to win the series 3 games to one. The other series in the ABC West was just as dramatic with the Rochester Rockets overcoming a 2-games-to-none deficit by rallying with 3 straight wins over the Richmond Clippers to take their opening round series with a 79-77 victory in game five. The round two opener between the Statesmen and Rockets was far less dramatic as the hosts from Washington built a 13 point first quarter lead and went on to win game one 96-88 behind 23 points from Blake Brooks. The Brooklyn Red Caps beat the Boston Centurions 105-98 in the opening game of the other semi-final series. Ron Berner had 23 points to lead the winners with Loren Kamp adding 21 and Ivory Mitchell chipping in with 20. That pushes the Red Caps playoff record to 4-0 after they swept Hartford in the opening round. Boston dropped game one of its opening round series to the New York Knights but roared back with three straight wins to book their semi-final appearance against Brooklyn.   UNDEFEATED ERICKSON POWERS HIS WAY TO WELTER TITLE OVER STEPHENS April 24, 1948: Denny Arena, Boston, Mass. In a division that has seen its share of challengers, no one has quite cut the same jib as Mac Erickson. Erickson was undefeated and untied in his 16 bouts entering his Welterweight Division title fight against champion Harold Stephens. Stamina is more useful than power to a welterweight than, say, the heavyweight boxer. But Erickson has 11 knockouts in his 16 victories. There is power with Erickson, great power. Erickson displayed that puglistic power In a display worth of the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport today. He bruised and battered Stephens for 15 rounds, knocking him down twice in the final round, and cruising to an easy victory on Saturday night in Boston. Erickson dominated the bout from pillar to post with a tactic of waiting for Stephens to initiate and counterattacking with crushing blows before Stephens can switch from offense back to defense. Stephens also had trouble shaking off these counterattacks, which allowed Erickson to go to work, connecting with Big Boppers in rapid succession. In the sixth round, Stephens landed a punishing cross, but could not generate any momentum. Stephens tried to turn the tide in the ninth round, heading straight for the challenger with a hook that jarred Erickson and as Stephens continued with a cross that stunned Erickson and a hook that caused Erickson to stumble against the ropes. In this round, Erickson simply could not punch back, and it was Stephens’s finest hour. However, those sequences were few and far between on this night for Stephens. In frustration, early in the 10th round, things turned ugly. Erickson came in close and appeared to intentionally butt heads with Stephens, which caused referee Mike Ornest, who was arbiting his first Welterweight title fight, to step in between the fighters and admonish Erickson. While Ornest had his back to Stephens, the champion lunged at Erickson and tried to retaliate, but he missed. Both corners were barking at the referee. Ornest has his detractors, but he deserved some credit for not allowing the scene to descend into total chaos as well as hold Stephens to account two rounds later when he dipped his shoulder and charged towards another attempted head-butt. Ornest demonstrably yelled at Stephens and deducted a point for the foul. Ornest has now refereed a title fight in all three weight classes, the only active referee to do so. Erickson knew he was playing with a lead and seemed content to let the clock run down, but did try to add to his knockout totals in the final round. After testing the waters early in the round with a couple of neat jabs, the lack of a response from Stephens gave Erickson a window of opportunity to go in for the kill. Erickson leaned in and fired off a wicked combination that finally dropped the champion to the canvas. In retrospect, Ornest should have stopped the fight because the defense Stephens offered up after the knockdown was non-existent. A second knockdown with five seconds left made the final bell academic. Stephens got up, but he would have been saved by the bell anyway. Mac Erickson was quickly crowned the new champion, responding to the cheers from the Denny Arena crowd before the referee took the microphone read the judges’ scorecards to make it official. Erickson (17-0-0) landed more punches (22.7/round vs. 17.9/round) but threw more than twice the amount of shots per round (107 vs 49). The accuracy did not matter because when he did connect, it landed with authority and stunned the former champion. Of the roughly 340 punches from Erickson that connected, 37 of them (about 11%) were Big Boppers. Stephens was a good champion, as he was able to stabilize the division with a couple of title defenses in wins over Carl Taylor and Ira Mitchell. But Erickson is something different. He is a boxer we have not seen in this division in many years, if ever. In this reporter’s view, Erickson might be at the top of the class for a while. BAKER BEATS SULLIVAN IN BUSY FIGHT WEEK The pride of Philadelphia, Scott 'The Chef' Baker has had some struggles of late but the 28-year-old may just be back on track after knocking out Chris Sullivan at the Keystone Arena last week. It was Baker's second straight victory over Sullivan as he scored a close but unanimous decision in a tightly contested 10-rounder at the same building back in January. The knockout win was very convincing as Baker controlled the fight and had a solid lead on the scorecards before rendering them meaningless with a dominant 8th round that saw Baker floor his opponent with a sizzling combination that included a shot flush to the chin of Sullivan. It is Baker's second straight win after he suffered three straight losses -the only defeats of his pro career - including one when he had to surrender in the opening round after suffering a broken hand against Chris May. "I feel I was just victimized by some bad luck," explained Baker afterwards "and in hindsight I returned too early from the broken hand and that cost me the loss to (Dick) Martin." The victory improves Baker's career mark to 17-3-2 while Sullivan, who had a title fight against Hector Sawyer less than two years ago, drops to 19-7-4. Two other fights of note last week both involved welterweights. Ira Mitchell, in his ring return after losing his title shot against Harold Stephens, scored an unanimous decision over Joe Simpson in a 10-rounder in San Francisco while fight veteran Rudy Perry improved to 26-4-1 with a unanimous decision in Atlantic City over Greg Wall.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/02/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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08-28-2023, 01:27 PM
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#777 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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May 10, 1948
MAY 10, 1948 CANNONS BLAST TO TOP OF CONTINENTAL A three-game sweep of the Chicago Cougars has moved the Cincinnati Cannons to the top of the Continental Association although even the Cougars -tied for 6th- are still just two games back as no one has been able to establish dominance in the CA as the season completes its third week. Only the Cleveland Foresters, marooned in last place with a 7-15 mark, are showing signs of falling off the pace quickly. The Cannons have been the beneficiary of some very good pitching with Deuce Barrell (2-1, 1.60) his usual strong self while Charlie Griffith (3-1, 3.21) has also pitched well. The big surprise is 32-year-old Jim Anderson, who has thrown 2 shutouts and sports an impressive 0.65 era in his three starts. Anderson has been a very pleasant surprise in the early going but Cannons fans have to be wondering just how much better things could have been with Bob Arman still in the fold. The 27-year-old won 17 games for the Cannons last season before being shipped to Brooklyn over the winter for several young prospects. Arman is just 2-3 for the Kings this season but has been the victim of bad luck as the Kings scored just 2 runs total in his 3 losses. There is a little more division in the Federal Association with the Chicago Chiefs still leading the way but by a slim 1-game margin on both Washington and Detroit. There is some positive news out of New York where the Gothams, after a shaky 4-11 start have won 5 consecutive games despite the fact that both Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong are on the injured list. Gothams manager Bud Jameson has to be breathing a sigh of relief after Lefty Allen beat Philadelphia 6-3 Saturday for his first victory as a Gotham after losing his first 3 decisions and going 0-3 in spring action.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Stumble in a Tight CA -- The Toronto Wolves are in the middle of a 16-day 16-game homestand at Dominion Stadium that has so far not lived up to expectations with a record of 3-6. The week began with three straight losses starting with their 5th loss in succession to the Cannons 6-3. The Wolves got out of gate quickly scoring 3 during their first time at the plate. Unfortunately those were all the runs that would come for the home side, Joe Hancock shutout Cincy through 5 then ran into trouble in the 6th when after retiring the first two hitters the roof caved in on him. Single, WP, BB, BB, Single, Single led to 3 runs. Hancock made it through the 7th before giving way to Cookie Meyers in 8. Meyers handled the Cannons in 8 before the script from the 'pen began to look like a replay of 1947. After retiring Denny Andrews he hit Chuck Adams who was doubled in by Mullins then Galloway scored Mullins on a single. After another single Giordano's miscue in right leads to a 3-run inning. Cookie Myers led of the 9th with a single but was quickly erased on a 5-4-3, leaving many fans wondering why Myers was hitting with Frank Brunch on the bench. Wolves then dropped two straight to the Cougars 4-3 in 10 then 8-4 in a game they were never in from the start. As fan concern was rising the team responded by sweeping the Stars by scores of 7-1, 5-3, 6-4. Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 25614 the Wolves hosted the Kings, a team along with the Cannons Toronto has a tough time within the CA. The game was entertaining until the 8th when Brooklyn scored five enroute to a 7-3 victory. The home stretch will end this week with two against the Kings, 2 midweek games against the Saints before hosting defending CA pennant winners Philadelphia for a three game weekend series. The Wolves are 10-8 in a very tight early CA. Manager Call seems to have changed his thoughts on both pitching, lineups for this year's Wolves. Early lineups have seen a steady diet of McCormick, Stickels, Howerton who in pat seasons were getting every third or fourth day off. Call also seems to be pushing starters deeper into games. Whether this is a strategy change, fear of the bullpen or a byproduct of the days off the team has had early is unknown at this time. Owner Bernie Millard was away for a spell this week after taking a quick trip to Detroit. Even while working out of the Wolves offices this week he seemed to spend much of his time on the phone privately- not involving his baseball staff in any of the calls. This has lead to rumours that he is negotiating a deal to purchase one of Toronto's other two pro teams the Dukes or the Titans. It has long be an objective, publicly stated, that Millard would like to control all pro teams in Toronto. With the Dukes recent championship it does not seem David Welcombe would be interested in selling so that leaves the fledging Titans in the FBL. Or was he engaged in his far flung coal interests after the recent strife in the coal industry? Time will provide the answer, although insiders tell Brett that Millard had no meetings at all this week about the Wolves which is unheard of when he is in Toronto. Usually their are daily meetings, even if only by telephone, with Millard getting updates on the Wolves and their system.  The Pioneers are 2-7 in one-run games, including four in the last week (five if you include their 6-5 setback in the second game of a doubleheader in Chicago). In three of those losses, the Pioneers gave up late leads: 4-1 in the 8th in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and 5-3 to the Keystones on Thursday, and 3-1 in Boston on Saturday. “Look,” said manager Hugh Luckey, “we’re second in the league in ERA with the starting crew. “The bullpen is still figuring it out. They will. They’re smart fellas.” The fella wearing the bullseye on his back is Russ Peeples. The 31-year-old lefty had a fantastic year in 1947, going 3-5 with four saves, along with a 2.33 ERA. The longtime fireman--he is second in club history with 92 saves--has been battered to a tune of 22 hits in 12.1 IP. That leads to a 2.27 WHIP, which measures how many walks and hits a pitcher allows in an average inning. Luckey flipped last year’s top fireman, Tony Dixon, to put Peeples into the closing role. Dixon (8-5, 2.83, 21 saves, 1.30 WHIP in ’47) may be sent back to the closer’s spot if Peeples can’t start getting outs without a bunch of hits attached. *** Scouting The Pioneers System *** Down on the farm, 22-year-old outfielder Jim McBride is making a very loud case to make his FA debut. The lefty left-fielder, a 2nd-round selection out of Coastal State in 1946, is hitting .409/.480/.667 in 75 plate appearances so far this year. That comes with five home runs and fourteen runs knocked in. He’s doing so with solid defense in both left and center field. With Cal Page off to a rather pedestrian start (.250/.311/.309), and Buck Pusey performing even worse (.176/.300/.294), the Pioneers could be pressed to give McBride a look. WHAT IS ROLLIE UP TO? The basketball season is long over for the local quintet, having failed to make the Federal League playoffs for the second consecutive season but there was an awful lot of activity at the Thompson Field headquarters of Rollie Barrell. Rollie is the owner of the cage Mustangs as well as the local football club but he wears two hats in the basketball loop - acting as President of the league he started up just two years ago. The interest comes from that fact that Bernie Millard, owner of baseball's Toronto Wolves, was in Detroit and met with Barrell at the stadium last week. The Dynamos were on the road so Millard was clearly not in town to see them play, or to meet with Dynamos magnate Powell Thompson who was out of town on other business all week. So just what was Millard doing in the Motor City? There had been earlier speculation that he is looking to purchase the struggling Toronto Titans basketball club from Charles Mitchell- who is said to be losing a fair bit of money with his cage endeavor. On the surface that is quite possibly the sole topic of the pow-wow, but Millard has also been spot in Pittsburgh recently having dinner with Armand Allen, owner of the American Basketball Conference's Pittsburgh Falcons. Many had surmised that Millard, who hails from Pennsylvania, was weighing a decision whether to attempt to purchase the Titans or the Falcons and his meetings with owners of the Washington Statesmen and Boston Centurions franchises may have just been fact-finding sessions for Millard to determine which league to hitch his wagon too. However, sources close to the situation suggest there is much more a play and perhaps an earth-shattering announcement that would change the future of professional basketball drastically. Little else has been confirmed but Millard apparently left his meeting with Barrell convinced that the Federal Basketball League will be the winner of its battle for pro cage supremacy with the ABC and Millard will be involved in Rollie's league in the very near future. *** Dynamos Enjoy Big Week *** The Detroit Dynamos seem to be enjoying life on the road as they have won 7 of their last 8 games including six of seven in stops at Pittsburgh, Washington and Boston last week. The road trip continues in Beantown today before the move on to Philadelphia for 3 with the Bobby Barrell and the Keystones. Then it will be back home to Thompson Field for a showdown with the Chicago Chiefs, who are a mild surprise as the top team in the league despite the sudden retirement of Gus Goulding and the spring injury to Al Miller. The Detroit offense has not been as productive as hoped but the pitching, well aside from Wally Hunter, has been terrific. Hunter, the 1946 rookie of the year, missed much of his sophomore campaign with a wonky hamstring and had an awful start to his season in allowing 8 runs in back to back blowout losses in New York and St Louis. There is some hope as he had a strong outing last week in Pittsburgh, holding the Miners to just 2 runs in 8 and two-thirds innings of work in a 9-2 victory. Manager Dick York says he has full confidence that Hunter will have a strong season for the club. 
RUPP LEAVING BOSTON? One of a Number of NAHC Vets With Expiring Contracts Veteran winger Waldemar Rupp and the Boston Bees may soon part company as the club has yet to sign the 33-year-old to a contract extension. Rupp is one of several veterans around the league who have contracts expiring on June 30. The long-time Bees star has seen his role diminished the past couple of years and he scored a career low 5 goals and 22 points while playing in 46 games this past season but Rupp was a key contributor to 5 Boston Challenge Cup victories and his 60 playoff points since 1940 are the most in the modern era of the sport. The Chicago Packers have three players in a similar situation in winger Marsh Mansfield along with defensemen Ian Groening and Ted Stevens. The 33-year-old Mansfield had 34 points two years ago but accumulated just 9 last season while playing in only 27 games for the Packers. Groening and Stevens are each just 25-years-old but both were hampered by injuries last season. Stevens had 7 points in 21 games before a December leg injury ended his season while Groening suffered a similar fate due to a December shoulder injury but played sparingly before that, appearing in just 8 games. 27-year-old Detroit Motors winger Dave Bradley had a career high 16 goals while notching 31 points in 44 games this past season but has not yet been resigned by the club as it continues to focus on developing its young talent in a rebuilding mode. Bradley has 49 goals and 101 points in 185 career NAHC games, all with the Motors, but was a frequent healthy scratch by Detroit coach Mark Moore down the stretch. The Toronto Dukes look like they may part ways with winger Syl Beam after the 32-year-old missed the entire season with an eye injury. Beam also missed much of the previous season with a broken wrist, scoring just 5 goals and 17 points in 26 games in the 46-47 campaign. He helped Toronto to a pair of Challenge Cup wins including the 1944 title in which he amassed 10 points in 10 playoff games. Toronto also has yet to extend the contract of 21 year old defenseman Rob Painchaud. The youngster was a 5th round draft choice in 1945 and made his NAHC debut in 46-47 by appearing in 25 games for the Dukes. Last year he had a number of minor injuries and bounced back and forth between Toronto and minor league Cleveland but did play in 33 games for the Cup winners although he was not on their playoff roster. The New York Shamrocks do not have any NAHC players with expiring contacts as all have been renewed while the Montreal Valiants presently have seven including goaltender Mahlon Touhey, captain Doug Lynch, winger Max Ducharme and talented young defenseman John McDonald although the club, despite missing the playoffs for the second straight season, is likely to sign a number of them before the end of June deadline. CHAMPION DUKES LOOK TO THE FUTURE Brett Bing secured time to sit down with Dukes Head Coach Jack Barrell to talk about the Challenge Cup victory along with the future of the icemen. Brett got this interview before he became to involved with the fortunes of the Wolves over the summer. Mail & Empire: First things first, congratulations on bringing back the NAHC title to Toronto. Barrell: Thank you, to be perfectly honest the championship was a bonus. I thought this season would be one of transition, building towards to future with our system. I told the owner. Mr. Welcombe, that my goal was to reach the playoffs while installing a new system, starting to reestablish a winning culture throughout the Dukes system. Coming in I knew there pieces in place of good team led by Bobby Sauer, Gordie Broadway then the acquisition of Quinton Pollack in the Brooklyn dispersal draft meant we were strong down the middle of the ice. Taking Lou Galbraith first overall in the draft gave us added scoring punch although as a group we debated the wisdom of taking a defenseman with the first pick. Lou proved himself, before his late injury from which he is fully recovered, as the proper selection with 17-25-42 in 50 games along with a +6 which is very important to me. The Dukes have some offensive talent but it would not match at least three other teams in the league so the route I choose to follow was a tight checking, goal prevention system. From Day One in our Northern Ontario camp in Timmins the entire coaching staff stressed a sound defensive game. While there were times during the season the players seemed to abandon the system it was drilled endlessly in practice, we got ourselves into trouble in the final against the Shamrocks when for some reason we started to open up offensively, reining that in is a difficult task. I thought that the team saw the system as working when they got by the Bs in three straight, a surprise, only allowing 4 goals in 3 games. Terry Russell was a big factor in that, his goaltending in the playoffs, after being pressed into service with Broadway's illness, was exemplary, the major reason the team captured the Cup. Mail & Empire: This past season will be tough to top, what are the plans going forward for the Dukes? Barrell: At present we are holding meetings for the upcoming draft along with preparing for camp which again will start up north at the McIntyre Arena in the Porcupine area. That arena is a scale model of Dominion Gardens with boards that react in a similar fashion to our home rink. That seemed to work well last season, the fans in the north are very hockey savvy, they know the game. The exhibition games against the Sr A teams in that loop are competitive, there is not a very noticeable difference with the pace of the game with those teams and the NAHC. There are a couple of players I noticed last fall who I had friends in the north watching, providing updates on last winter. The office staff is trying to determine whether or not their rights are available or owned by a another team. A few of those guys could definitely play in the HAA if can get their playing rights. We again we be refining the system which will be based on defense, my goal is reduce our goals against from 184 to under 160. The Dukes may have surprised some teams last season, that will not be the case going forward, this summer we are stressing conditioning with our players. There were too many injuries to our roster last season, we are not sure how many were due to the 25 % increase in schedule, we want all the players to be prepared for a 60 game schedule. I do not know how my brothers Bobby, Harry go through a 154 game schedule in baseball, granted they are not playing at game pace of hockey where guys are running you into a wall at high speed, but playing almost every day has to be tough on the body. Mail & Empire: Thank you, maybe we can get together over the summer. Will you be attending Wolves games? Barrell: I, with my heredity, obviously enjoy baseball, attend when I can, I wish the Wolves were in the FA so I could see Bobby and Harry in action more often. They both come to Dukes games over the winter we they have a chance, Harry is a big Bs fan.  BROOKLYN, WASHINGTON CLASH AGAIN IN ABC FINAL In what has become an annual tradition in the American Basketball Conference the league final will see the Brooklyn Red Caps and Washington Statesmen meet with the title at stake. This will mark the sixth consecutive season those two clubs have squared off in the championship series. Brooklyn won three of the previous five titles but the Statesmen prevailed last year with a 3 game sweep of the Red Caps. In an ABC schedule that is heavily focused on matchups with division rivals the Statesmen and Red Caps only met twice during the regular season, both in November. Brooklyn won 102-85 on its home court while Washington claimed an 86-75 win in the rematch at the National Auditorium. The Statesmen set a professional basketball record with 48 wins while losing just 12 times during the regular season while the East Division leading Red Caps went 38-22. Brooklyn is a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs having swept Hartford in the opening round and recently completing a 3-game sweep of Boston in the semi-finals. Washington needed 4 games to down Pittsburgh in the first round before sweeping Rochester 3-games to none in the West semi-final series. CHICAGO, BALTIMORE ON VERGE OF FBL TITLE CLASH Each of the semi-finals in the Federal Basketball League will go at least six games with both the Chicago Panthers and Baltimore Barons having an opportunity to punch their tickets to the finals tonight. The Panthers and surprising Cleveland Crushers have alternated victories in their best of seven series. First place Chicago took the opener at home by an 83-80 score but Cleveland rallied in game two, also at the Lakeside Auditorium, as the Crushers outscored the hosts 23-9 in the fourth quarter to scratch out a 78-77 victory despite a 31-point showing from Panters forward Richard Campbell. The series shifted to Cleveland for games three and four with Chicago prevailing 87-75 in the opener with Campbell again leading the way by scoring 20 points and adding 20 rebounds but the Crushers evened the series at 2 with a 94-90 overtime victory in game four. Saturday night in the Windy City the Panthers routed the Crushers 95-66 behind Campbell's 35 points and the defending champions can clinch a return trip to the finals with a win in Cleveland tonight. A Crushers victory would force a seventh game in Chicago. The Philadelphia Phantoms finished with the best regular season record in the FBL but find themselves one game away from elimination after the Baltimore Barons claimed an 89-74 victory on the road at Keystone Arena Saturday. The Barons stole game one on the road with a 99-86 win thanks in no small part to an amazing 38 point night from Barons center Jack Hirst. Irvin Mudd scored 28 points in game two to allow the Phantoms to even the series with a 104-85 victory before they split the next two games in Baltimore as the Barons scratched out a 90-88 victory on Wednesday before Philadelphia pulled knotted the series at two with an 86-75 victory Thursday with Mudd once more leading the way for the Phantoms with 24 points. Saturday in Philadelphia the Barons took the lead midway through the first quarter and never surrendered it, easily outdistancing the Phantoms who find their season now on the line as they head into enemy territory in a must-win situation tonight.  PRESCOTT, WILLIAMS IN HEATED DISCUSSION Prior to the final game of the Brooklyn Red Caps and Boston Centurions semi-final series there was a heated difference of opinions between Brooklyn owner Daniel Prescott and Boston magnate Myles Williams. Neither owner would comment and no one else was present in the room but according to reports the voices of both men echoed throughout the offices of Denny Arena and Prescott stormed out of the building, not even remaining to watch his club clinch the series with a thrilling 95-94 victory. There was no indication as to what the fight was regarding but word is it had nothing to do with what any events that transpired on the court. There is some wild speculation that the Williams is considering pulling the plug on the Centurions but that seems very unlikely since the club, which missed the playoffs each of its first nine years in the league, advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in fracnhise history this season and appears to be on the upswing. 
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/09/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-28-2023 at 01:31 PM. |
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08-29-2023, 01:19 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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May 17, 1948
MAY 17, 1948 BOBBY BARRELL'S BAT IS BACK 6 Homers Propels Keystones to First A week ago these pages mentioned the fact that Bobby Barrell appeared to be in a real slump. It is clear that the Philadelphia Keystones reads TWIFB and decided quickly to prove us wrong with a dominant week that saw the single season homerun king smack 6 round-trippers and drive in 14 runs to help lead his club to an 8-game winning streak and the top of the Federal Association. The 37-year old Barrell, who hit a record 64 homeruns last season, now has 9 in 26 games this season along with 21 rbi's and a .295 batting average. He trails teammate Hank Koblenz (.347,11,28) in all three of those categories as the duo, along with second year catcher Roger Cleaves (.300,7,21), have the Keystones once more leading FABL in homeruns. The Keystones are now 2 games up on the Washington Eagles for top spot in the Federal Association with both Detroit and Chicago 2.5 games off the pace. Philadelphia is not the only red-hot team in the Fed as the New York Gothams, after a very slow start, have started to heat up with 9 wins in 10 games since losing Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong with injuries. Lefty Allen is beginning to settle in and show why the Gothams paid such a high price to acquire him and catcher George Cleaves from Pittsburgh over the weekend. Allen had a rough spring and a slow start but followed up his first victory as a Gotham with 7 shutout innings in a 6-3 win over Washington on Thursday. Cleaves had no trouble at all adjusting to life in the Big Apple as the veteran catcher is hitting .330 with 4 homers in 24 games with his new club. The Continental Association has a hot team from the New York area as well with the Brooklyn Kings reeling off 10 victories in their last 13 outings but still trail the front-running Cincinnati Cannons by a half game in a very tight loop that features 6 clubs within a game and a half of top spot.   GOOD AND BAD NEWS IN PIONEERS OPENING MONTH What happens when you combine the best pitching staff in baseball with the worst? A 10-14 record, which nets the defending champion St. Louis Pioneers a seventh-place standing in the FA. Let’s start with the positives: The pitching staff leads the FA in Runs Against (99), Starters’ ERA (3.44), Fielding Independent Pitching (3.26), Pitching WAR (4.6) and strikeouts (106). The Pioneers are second-best in walks issued (92) and home runs (10). In terms of individual play, Hal Hackney has a third of those punchouts (35), which leads the entire FABL. There are no particular standouts in the rotation; however, the first four men up (the 3-H club and Dick Long, at 3-1, 3.18) have been crackerjack. Danny Hern, in particular, has rebounded from a slow start, and sits at a 3.14 ERA. On offense, Larry Gregory has been fantastic since stepping into the storied three-hole in the lineup, long occupied by Al Tucker. Gregory is hitting .299/.371/.494, with four homers and 19 RBI. He also has ten walks, compared to just one strikeout. Ray Bates has been an admirable leadoff man, hitting .324/.370/.405. Jackie Washington, the new regular man at 3B, is also hitting quite well for someone known more for his glovework (.287/.406/.350). Okay, so those are the positives. Here come the negatives:
So what do you get when you take the best starting rotation, add in an offense that is rationing power like it’s 1943, and a defense that serves more as a guide to one’s journey around the basepaths than a deterrent from them, and sprinkle in a 2-9 record in one-run games (two more losses this past week)? You get the St. Louis Pioneers, they of a +2 run differential, but a seventh-place standing in the Federal Association. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Finish Homestand Head Out on The Road --The Toronto Wolves wrapped up 16 games in Dominion Stadium at a disappointing 7-9, now face a real test on the road with 17 games in 14 days beginning Tuesday in Chicago ending on the last day of May in Cleveland. To say the homestand was disappointing may be overstated as the Wolves leave only 1/2 game out of first in what is at least at this early stage an ultra-competitive CA. Less than 3 games separate first from seventh in the CA. Toronto has played the least road dates, 6, in the entire FABL. Manager Call hopes this trip will bring an increase in team unity, noting that "for the next two weeks the team will be together around the clock without any home or family distractions. Hopefully this is start a fine run with the guys backing up each other on and off the field. Lineups, along with managing the load on the pitchers is going to be a challenge with 17 games in 14 days. It will be a stern test in all areas." Toronto began the week with another loss to the Kings 5-2 in which runs late innings proved the team's undoing, Brooklyn scored 1 in 8, 2 in 9 to break open a 2-2 game. Toronto salvaged one of the three game set with a 8-7 victory when it was the Wolves turn to score late with 3 in the 7th, 3 more in the 8th after the Kings had taken a 7-5 lead. Stickels hit his 5th big fly of the season in the 7th. Garrison led the Wolves over Montreal 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon with with a 3 hitter for his and the team's first CG on the year. A come from behind 6-5 victory completed a 2 game sweep over the Saints on Thursday, Curt Brooks drove in the winning run in the tenth after Wood singled then was sacrificed to second by Giordano's bunt. Philadelphia came into town for a weekend series, on Friday with Jimmy Gibbs cruising along with a 2-0 lead into the seventh then disaster struck when the Sailors tallied 5, 3 in7, 2 in 8 to win 5-4 before a crowd of 25636. Saturday's crowd of just under 25000 was treated to a pitching duel between Win Lewis, Jerry York with Lewis prevailing 2-1 holding Toronto to only 4 hits. Like the Brooklyn series the Wolves salvaged one game of the series with a 5-4 Sunday afternoon victory. Tom Frederick's first homer of the year with one on in the bottom of 8 proved to be the winning blow allowing Cookie Myers to pick up his third win of the week, all in relief. Offensively, through 25 games, the Wolves as team, led by seemingly ageless Fred McCormick, have a slash line of .265/.395/.728 with a league leading 18 three baggers. This is without much production from Artuso or Howerton. The platoon of Tripp, Brooks in left is working out better than be expected over the first month of '48. Pitching staff has a 2.99 ERA trailing only the Cannons in the FABL. The road trip will test all the skills of Call, Johnny Franklin with three doubleheader including BTB on the last two days of May. Front office is currently talking about adding a pitcher to the roster after the swing through NY next week. Defensively the Wolves, though improved with the Frederick move to second, are at best adequate so far in 1948. John Kopas' first season working with the infielders has brought improvements, there is still a long way to go if the team wants to remain a CA contender. Lack of the long ball in the lineup puts the onus on pitching, defense, which has been Call's way during his tenure. AROUND THE LEAGUE Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. BOSTON- Billy Dalton (.305,6,12) and veteran Bill Moore (.330,1,170) are off to strong starts but catcher Bill Van Ness (.174,0,5) and the Boston pitching staff - in particular Duke Hendricks (1-4, 5.00)- is not. Going in to the season it was expected the moundsmen would struggle for Boston this year. BROOKLYN- Pitcher Bob Walls is emerging as a very capable relief hurler. In 15.1 IP he has a 1.76 ERA. In the 16-inning marathon game with Cincinnat, the Cannons jumped all over the Kings for a 6-0 lead through 6 innings. The Kings came roaring back with a 6 spot in the top of the 7th to tie it up only to give it right back to the Cannons with 3 of their own in the bottom of the 7th. Kings tied it up in the 9th at 9-9. Then turn the came over to RP Walls in the 11th. Walls goes 6 strong innings giving up just 4 hits and no runs. The Kings win it on SS Billy Bryant's 2 run triple in the top of the 16th. Walls retires the side and the Kings win a game they should have lost. Surviving 5 errors and 12 walks and coming back from a 6-0 hole. CHIEFS- The Chiefs fell out of first place in the Federal Association after losing 4 in a row, including being swept in a 3-game series in Detroit over the weekend. Veterans Artie D'Alessandro (.383,1,17) and Pablo Reyes (.385,2,10) remain hot. COUGARS- A 4-1, 19-inning marathon win in the second game of a twinbill with the Sailors last Sunday propelled the Cougars to 5 wins in their last seven games to climb over the .500 mark. Donnie Jones did not factor in the decision but he had his best outing of the season in that extra inning win. However, Jones next start dropped him to 1-4 on the season after Brooklyn torched him for 6 runs in 7 inninngs during a 6-5 Cougars loss Friday. Red Bond (.326,8,18) cooled slightly last week but Walt Pack (.315,6,20) remained hot. CINCINNATI- Jim Anderson (4-1, 0.59) continued his amazing start to the season with a 4-0 shutout of Montreal Monday followed by a complete game 2-1 win over Cleveland on the weekend. The 32-year-old is one of the biggest surprises this year and along with ace Deuce Barrell (3-1, 1.63) is a big reason why the Cannons are enjoying a slim lead in the CA. First baseman Chuck Adams (.271,6,22) is also off to a good start but 3-time all-star Denny Andrews, who led the CA in doubles and walks a year ago, is having his issues with a .177 batting average and a slugging percentage of just .209. CLEVELAND- Pitching is a major sore spot for the Foresters, who have lost their last 5 in a row, but 24-year-old outfielder Ivey Henley is off to a great start in what should be his first full season of big league play. The 1945 fifth rounder is batting .374 with 3 homers and 15 rbi's in 28 games. Henley saw a little action with the big club late in 1946 and hit .287 in 275 at bats with the Foresters last year. DETROIT- Veteran Harry Sharp already has 6 saves this season and starters Carl Potter (4-1, 3.23) and Dixie Lee (3-1, 3.00) are off to great starts but the big story in Detroit is the heart of the order where the 3-4-5 hitters in Edwin Hackberry (.333,5,17), Dick Estes (.326,4,18) and veteran Sid Williams (.333,1,11) are carrying the offense. MONTREAL- Wally Reif (3-1, 1.03) finnally surrendered a run. After going four starts without getting scored on the Toronto Wolves worked Reif for a run in each of the first 4 innings of a 5-1 Saints loss on Wednesday, ending a streak of 35 2/3 scoreless innings for the 28-year-old righthander. NY STARS- There is a lot of good and a lot of bad early in the campaign for the Stars who sit a game under the breakeven mark. Eli Panneton (4-1, 2.70) has been outstanding. Chuck Cole (0-4, 7.53) not so much. Bill Barrett (.287,9,23) broke out with 5 homers last week but Joe Angevine (.170,0,4) and Bob Riggins (.134,1,8) both continue to struggle. NY GOTHAMS- OSA currently has veteran catcher George Cleaves (.330,4,14), who joined the Gothams in the big winter deal that also brought Lefty Allen to the Big Apple from Pittsburgh, number one in its player rankings. No surprise Red Johnson, despite being injured at the moment, also cracks the top ten. What may be a surprise is that 22-year-old shortstop Cecil LaBonte also cracks the top twenty in the league. The Gothams have 3 pitchers in the top twenty hurlers as Ed Bowman (2nd) along with Lefty Allen and Buddy Long (19th and 20th) make the OSA top twenty. That trio join St Louis' 3-H club and Montreal hurlers Bert Cupid, Wally Reif and Pat Weakley as the only clubs to place 3 pitchers in the OSA top twenty. KEYSTONES- Not only are the Keystones in first but the city of Philadelphia has established a radio first. Veteran boxing and baseball writer Johnny Bologna and Philadelphia Inquisitor Keystones reporter Joey Mahoney's radio hour, "Talkin' Sports" made its debut recently. The history books will show that in 1948, this was the first-ever sports talk show, which is broadcasted weekly on WFIL-AM 560. SAILORS- It certainly appears giving Woody Stone his walking papers was the right move for the Sailors. Stone inked a record-setting contract with San Francisco of the GWL but is hardly missed behind the plate as Solly Skidmore (.373,1,6) has more than picked up the slack. Skidmore, along with Ed Reyes (.380,1,18) and Marion Boismenu (.374,0,7) are a big reason why the Sailors have the highest team batting average in the Continental Association. PITTSBURGH- The Miners continue to struggle with five straight losses and just two wins in their last 16 games but that is not unexpected as the club is undergoing a complete rebuild. Veteran outfielder Joe Owens (.330,5,9) may draw some interest at the trade deadline if the 36-year-old's bat stays hot. Same for 36-year-old righthander George Phillips (3-1, 2.41) who is off to a strong start on the mound. ST LOUIS- The Three-H club is just 5-7 so far this season with Hal Hackney (2-2, 3.55), Danny Hern (2-3, 3.14) and Hiram Steinberg (1-2, 2.65) off the pace that saw the trio go 51-21 for the World Champs a year ago. TORONTO- George Garrison (3-2, 1.67) finally got some run support recently with a 5-3 win over New York followed by a 5-1 victory against Montreal. This after Garrison's previous two starts saw him surrender just 1 earned run in each but end up on the losing score of 2-1 and 1-0 decisions to Cincinnati. WASHINGTON- The Eagles, at +19, have the best run differential in the Federal Association and their 158 runs scored are 20 more than the next highest team -Brooklyn- in all of FABL. A big reason is 31-year-old Sig Stofer who is off to the best start of his strong career, hitting .302 with a FABL best 10 homers and 31 rbi's through 29 games. 
MITCHEL LEADS RED CAPS TO ANOTHER ABC CROWN If there was any doubt that Ivory Mitchell is the best player in professional basketball the 29-year-old guard removed it last week with back-to-back triple doubles to lead the Brooklyn Red Caps to their fifth American Basketball Conference championship in the past six years. Mitchell, who was named the playoff's Most Valuable Player for the 6th time in his 8-year pro career, averaged a triple double for the entire post season with 19.6 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game and a playoff-high 11.5 assists per game. In Brooklyn's three victories in the championship series Mitchell, who was an All-American and won a national title at Liberty College, averaged 25.7 points. The Red Caps, who lost in the finals to Washington a year ago, were underdogs against a Statesmen team that, at 48-12, owned the league's best record by a wide margin. Washington simply had no answer for Mitchell who seems to play his best when it matters most. In addition to the AIAA title he won as a freshman at Liberty, Mitchell led the old Providence Pilgrims to back to back ABC championships in his first two years in the pro loop and followed that up with 5 titles in his six seasons in Brooklyn. In addition to the six playoff MVP's he has claimed, Mitchell has also been named the Most Valuable Player of the regular season five times and seems assured of a sixth award when this season's winner is announced next week. GAME BY GAME RECAP OF THE ABC FINALS GAME 1: The championship series tipped off Monday in Washington with the host Statesmen getting off to a strong start by building a 13 point lead at the break and extending it to 14 points entering the final 12 minutes. That last quarter was all Brooklyn as the Red Caps rallied by outscoring the Statesmen 31-8 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 95-86 victory in the series opener. Ivory Mitchell, the regular season MVP who has been named the top playoff performer 5 times previously in his career, led the Red Caps with 25 points.    PANTHERS EVEN FBL FINAL SERIES WITH GAME TWO WIN The Chicago Panthers salvaged a split of the opening two games of the best-of-seven Federal Basketball League championship series with the Baltimore Barons thanks to a fourth quarter rally that allowed the Panthers to claim an 88-84 victory. The outcome was very much in doubt as the Panthers, who won the title last season in the league's debut year, trailed 76-69 with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game but went on an 11-2 run to take the lead in the final three minutes and earn the win before 5,469 screaming fans at Lakeside Auditorium. The victory is the latest in what has been a dramatic week for the Panthers, who were extended the full seven games by the Cleveland Crushers in the semi-finals before wrapping up that series with an 83-72 victory on Wednesday. The Barons had a couple of extra days rest after the second place Baltimore entry upset East Division champion Philadelphia 4 games to two in the other semi-final. With just one day off before moving on to the finals the Panthers showed signs of wear and tear as the opening game of the championship series dragged on. Chicago jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the second quarter of the lid-lifter but a strong finish including a fourth quarter in which the visiting Barons outscored the Panthers by 14 lifted the Baltimore quintet to an 85-75 victory. Richard Campbell had a big game for the hosts with 28 points but the Baltimore quartet of Nestor Patterson, Antoine Hoelscher (20 points each), Jack Hirst (19 points) and Bobby Ray Cornett (17 points) proved too much.  Faced with the prospects of dropping each of the first two games at home the Chicago Panthers had what surely felt like a must-win situation Saturday evening as they prepared for their 3rd game in four nights. Unlike the opener when Chicago took an early lead this one was close until the visitors started to pull away late in the second quarter, building up a 10 point lead before the Panthers cut the deficit to 8 shortly before the break. Chicago, which had not led since early in the second period, clawed back to even late in the third but as the fourth quarter dragged on the Barons refused to surrender the lead and with just over 6 minutes remaining in regulation time the Barons pushed ahead 76-69. The game turned in less than 2 minutes as backup center James Brown had two big baskets and some key plays on defense allowing the Panthers to take the lead. Finding that extra gear, the weary Panthers held strong down the stretch to claim the 88-84 victory allowing them to head to Baltimore on even footing in the series. Richard Campbell was once again the top scorer with 25 points while sophomore guard Joe Hampton added 11 points and a team high 15 rebounds. Games three and four will be played Monday and Tuesday at the Chesapeake Arena before the best-of-seven series returns to the Windy City for the fifth game.  PRO BASKETBALL REALM BRACES FOR SUMMER OF UPHEAVAL As the dust settles on the championship clash of the American Basketball Conference, the hardwood echoes with a chorus of speculation that has the pro caging world buzzing. Whispers, carried by the wind of uncertainty, hint that up to six of the eight squads within the hallowed halls of the ABC might be on the verge of defecting to the audacious upstart, the Federal Basketball League. While official confirmations remain elusive, a sizzling fire of change is certainly blazing across the landscape. The first ember in this fiery tale is the sale of the ailing Pittsburgh Falcons, an ABC troupe that's seen its fortunes tumble like a loose ball on the court. The new custodian of the Falcons, a certain Bernie Millard, a magnate known for his sway in the coal business and owner of the baseball's Toronto Wolves, is crafting plans that stretch beyond merely acquiring the faltering franchise. Whispers in the sports alleys insinuate that Millard is set to spirit the team away to a fresh home and, more notably, a different league altogether. Reportedly, Millard has inked a deal to acquire the Falcons and, in a daring twist, secure rights to the Dominion Arena in Toronto. The common conjecture dances on the premise that this venue will soon resonate with the thudding of basketball boots. This clandestine chess move, coupled with a discreet encounter between Millard and the FBL's helmsman Rollie Barrell in Detroit, sets a scene of suspense. It's the buzz around town that Millard's intentions of transferring the Falcons' allegiance from the ABC to the FBL are locked and loaded. Whispers, those unruly couriers of change, also reveal Millard's sway over owners of other ABC squads. While veiled in secrecy, these corridors murmur that a consortium of owners may be enticed to join Millard's adventurous leap into the FBL's fold. Though shrouded in obscurity, these mutterings amplify a murmur that includes the Boston Centurions and the New York Knights among the probable defectors. Sparks flew in the aftermath of an impassioned tiff between seasoned ABC vanguard Daniel Prescott of the Brooklyn Red Caps and Boston's Myles Williams, less than a fortnight ago. The FBL, now in its infancy at the tender age of two, might morph into a formidable force if these conjectures transform into fact. The acquisition of both Boston and New York would undoubtedly paint the Eastern landscape of the league in bold new hues, with urban luminaries such as Philadelphia and Baltimore as fellow constituents. This conjectured coup, if consummated, would deal a resounding blow to the established dominion of the American Conference, which has weathered a substantial eleven seasons. At this juncture, all stands in the realm of rumor and uncertainty, casting shadows of perplexity across the pro basketball realm. An impending migration of the Pittsburgh franchise begs the question – what fate befalls the current FBL team in Toronto? As day breaks on this conjecture, one cannot help but wonder: Will the American Conference dissolve entirely, or might the steadfast Prescott cobble together a scaled-down league of four to six teams, incorporating steadfast ABC remnants and potentially sprinkling in a new expansion or two? Yet the queries don't end there. If these speculations are grounded in truth, then curiosity spirals towards the outlook of the Federal League's existing magnates. With a nine-year advantage under their belts, the American Conference boasts a deep reservoir of talent. No doubt, concern would loom among the FBL chieftains that a potential influx of powerhouse teams like Boston, New York, and potentially others could, for the foreseeable future, shift the scales of dominance to tilt decisively towards the newcomers. Even as the playoff battles ebb and flow on the pro basketball stage, it's patently evident that the forthcoming months will harbor a myriad of plot twists and turns. MOTORS' VETERAN DUO AT THE CROSSROADS: BARFIELD AND YEADON FACING RETIREMENT? In the wake of the Detroit Motors' frustrating omission from the playoff picture for the third instance in the last quartet of seasons, the clarion call for a complete overhaul reverberates through the Thompson Palladium halls. Amidst the fervor to usher in the dawn of a new era, the spotlight hovers over the fate of two steadfast sentinels who have long graced the frozen North American Hockey Confederation battlefield. Whispers carried by the wind are murmuring of the imminent departure of the 34-year-old helm-bearer, Captain Miles Barfield, and the 35-year-old tireless deputy, Doug Yeadon. Both these names have etched their legacy in Detroit's icy annals, a legacy that might soon experience its twilight moments. Head coach Mark Moore's relegation of these seasoned veterans to the bench in the dying embers of the season fuels the conjecture, a stark indication that the sands of time may have finally caught up with the duo. Our memories take us back to the fateful summer of '37, when Doug's sire, Bill Yeadon, then the owner of the Eagles but now the astute Head Scout of the Motors, orchestrated a momentous player exchange to save his franchise from bankruptcy by dealing his entire roster to Detroit for players and cash. This marked the initiation of the affiliation between the Yeadon lineage and the Motors, although they were still known as the Olympics back then. Barfield and the younger Yeadon joined forces, becoming pivotal in etching the franchises' name in Challenge Cup folklore with their resplendent victory in '38-'39. Their hockey acumen propelled the franchise to two other Cup final showdowns. As this season's curtains descend, signs of the toll a decade-long ice odyssey extracts from a player's physique come to the fore. Both Barfield and Yeadon struggled to replicate their former point-scoring glories, wrestling with their most barren seasons in over ten years. While Yeadon inked a one-year extension last November at a significantly reduced remuneration, his intentions for the forthcoming season remain shrouded in secrecy. John Connolly Jr., the steward of Motors, extends a hearty welcome to their return, yet the true measure of their welcome lies in the hands of Coach Moore. It's palpable that the coach's prime directive in the waning battles was to harness the exuberant vigor of the fledgling forwards, rendering the seasoned duo spectators from the press box. Should the fates of these veterans pivot towards retirement, Detroit will be mourning the end of an epoch. Their connection with this city predates even the Motors' nomenclature. They were the backbone of the Detroit Olympians in the heady days of '37-'38. Their popularity has endured through the vicissitudes of time. Barfield's 187 NAHC goals, all etched while clad in a Detroit jersey, make him the chief goal-smith in Detroit's annals. The zenith of his career was in '41-'42, where he spearheaded the NAHC in point production and notched a stellar 7 goals in 10 playoff clashes, nearly wresting the Cup from Boston's grasp. His captaincy since '40 has been the bedrock of Motors' leadership. Yeadon's lineage drips with hockey aristocracy. His sire, Bill, a progenitor of the Transcontinental Hockey Association, orchestrated the New York Eagles before joining the Motors as a scout, yielding rich dividends. Doug's own journey in the NAHC commenced with the Eagles in '34-'35, amassing a staggering 583 games, 490 of them donning the Motors' colors including 31 last season. The winter just past saw his point tally slump to 19, a figure reminiscent of his New York swan song. The tapestry of time has somewhat dimmed his agility, inviting whispers of retirement. As the wheels of change set Detroit's hockey horizon ablaze, the sun may also set on the illustrious careers of Barfield and Yeadon. An era winds down, and Detroit braces itself for the poignant adieu to these hockey icons. 
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/16/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-29-2023 at 06:22 PM. |
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08-30-2023, 12:57 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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May 24, 1948
MAY 24, 1948 GOTHAMS ON THE RISE Who needs Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong? It certainly does not appear to be the New York Gothams who have won 15 of their last 17 games despite missing the two veteran sluggers the entire time. After struggling through a 4-11 start, things turned around for the Gothams on May 4 when Ed Bowman finally notched his first win of the season. Bowman has won each of his three starts since then and the Gothams big four of Bowman, Lefty Allen, Buddy Long and Joe Brown are a combined 12-2 since that date. The New York offense is clearly weakened without Johnson and Strong but newcomer George Cleaves (.352,4,18), who came over from Pittsburgh during the winter with Lefty Allen, and surprising youngster Cecil LaBonte (.355,1,17) have more than picked up the slack. All that stands between the Gothams and first place in the Federal Association now is the Philadelphia Keystones - a club that has been just as hot as the New York nine over the past few weeks. The Keystones took five of seven last week on the road in St Louis, Chicago and Detroit and are on a 13-2 run. Bobby Barrell, who broke out of an early slump with 6 homers two weeks ago, smacked just one last week but batted .357. Those numbers paled in comparision to second year catcher Roger Cleaves, who hit .417 with 3 homers and 8 rbi's to lead the Keystones big week. Hank Koblenz also hit 3 homers in the past 7 days to increase his FABL leading total to 14 - a number that puts him on pace to sock 65 this year or one more than Barrell's record-setting result a year ago. While the Keystones are 2.5 games up on the surging second place Gothams in the Fed, the Continental Association remains a free-for-all with 7 of the 8 teams within 2.5 games of the lead. Brooklyn holds down top spot this week but first place seems to change hands almost daily in the CA at the moment. The Chicago Cougars, picked once again by most as the most talented club in the Continental, did reel off three straight wins over the weekend including a pair of 1-run victories over the defending flag winners from Philadelphia. One-run games have rarely been the Cougars strong suit this decade and they simply balanced out those wins over Philadelphia by dropping three straight to Toronto -including a pair by a single run- to start the week.   A little over a month into the season the Miners are 8-27 and have lost 12 in a row. Pittsburgh actually holds the record for most losses in a season with 112 which was set way back in 1890, or 2 years before the birth of FABL. The 1935 Detroit club lost 111 games, which is the most in a season after the creation of the Federal and Continental Associations. So how bad is the current version of the Miners. Well, at their current pace, the Pittsburgh ballclub would lose 119 ballgames. Having said all of that, there is one team against which Pittsburgh has a winning record this season. The Miners are 3-2 in games played with the Boston Minutemen. Boston, like Pittsburgh was a pennant contender for a long stretch but have also fallen on hard times. Perhaps we can petition FABL President Sam Belton to alter the schedule a little and allow the Miners and Minutemen to face similar competition. The Pittsburgh nine have certainly seen enough of the likes of the Philadelphia Keystones, New York Gothams and Detroit Dynamos. The Miners are a combined 0-15 against those three clubs so far this season. Through the tunnel of darkness, the Miners are trapped in there has been one shining lantern of hope. That would be the bat of Joe Owens who, despite participating in 12 straight losses, has a 20-game hitting streak on the go and a batting average of .333, ranking the 36-year-old among the league leaders in the Fed. Perhaps he is simply trying to impress opposing General Managers in a bid to be traded to a contender. The one other thing for Miners fans to look forward to is a glimpse into the organization's future. It is expected the club will likely call-up top prospects Ernie Campbell, Irv Clifford and Paul Williams to the big league club by the end of June. *** Cage Falcons Rumoured On the Move *** Despite no statement from the organization it is no secret that Bernie Millard, the Pennsylvania-born coal magnate and owner of the Continental Association Toronto Wolves, has purchased the struggling Pittsburgh Falcons basketball club from Armand Allen. While initially that was welcomed as a move that might give the penny-pinching franchise a much needed cash infusion, it now appears almost a certainty that Millard plans to move the club to Toronto. It is known that Millard has worked out a lease to use Toronto's Dominion Gardens ice rink for a basketball team and that seems to point to the Falcons flying north next winter. There is some hope that Toronto's current cage club, the equally struggling Toronto Titans, might in return relocate to the Steel City as they are obviously being forced out of Toronto but so far there has been no indication that will happen. The most likely scenario is the Titans, who were the worst team in the Federal Basketball League a year ago, will simply cease to exist and as a result the same demise is feared for the future of pro basketball in Pittsburgh. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Start Week On Fire but Finish Poorly --The Toronto Wolves began their lengthy road tour hot in the Windy City but finished the week with a crash in the Big Apple. The 17-game road swing began on a damp Tuesday afternoon in Cougars Park with George Garrison leading the team to 4-3 victory despite being outhit 13-6 by the Cougars. Garrison went 8 innings scattering 11 hits helped out by double plays, one being a 5-2-3 game ending with the bases juiced securing Lou Jayson's 5th save of the season. Manager Call noted "We were extremely lucky to pull that one out, at times Lady Luck is on your side." Wednesday night's game was a wild affair in which the Wolves tried to blow an early 6-1 lead after the Cougars knotted the score at 6 in the 4th. Toronto rallied though by scoring 5 times in the 8th inning helped by homers by Charlie Artuso and Hank Giordano to win 11-6. Artuso more than doubled his RBI total with 5 in the game on the deep homer along with a base clearing triple in the second. Toronto completed the sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Peter "The Heater" Papenfus thanks to a pinch hit single from Wayne Henderson in 9 giving Jim Carter his third victory of the year. Wolves again are helped by infield defense turning 3 twin-killings. After the euphoria of the wins in Chicago, the Wolves moved on to New York City but seemed to have forgotten their bats at Cougar Park. They were shutout 4-0, 3-0 at Kings County Park by Brooklyn managing only 5 hits over the two games. Across the city for two in Dyckman Stadium Sunday afternoon the bats woke up somewhat, but clearly not enough against the Stars as the Wolves were swept by 2-1, 7-4 scores. Garrison was tagged with the loss in the opener despite only giving up 2 runs. in the night cap the Wolves held a 3-2 lead in the 8th when they surrendered a big inning with Joe Hancock once more being the victim. Hancock get the first two then BB, Single, Single, Single, Single, Triple leads to 5 Stars runs before being sent to the showers. The result : 7-4 final for the Stars. Toronto hopes to salvage one game in New York as the series concludes today before the Wolves head into Montreal then Philadelphia and Cleveland to finish the road swing. Call has announced that Jim Carter with start the second game in the back to back doubleheaders in Philadelphia, Cleveland next Sunday, Monday. This reporter knows there was some discussion of bringing up Harry Phillips from Buffalo to pitch but those plans have been put on hold at the present time. The other big announcement is that Owner Bernie Millard has finalized the purchase of a DC3 airliner for the Wolves and their Pullman coach will become the Buffalo Nickels property. The Wolves will begin flying on road trips after the Stars game on Monday. Millard's statement was "This is the way of the future, soon I believe all teams will own their own plane. The FABL will soon increase their geographic footprint in North America, I have it on good authority that the rebel league is in serious financial difficulty, may not survive until 1950. I want Toronto to be at the forefront of innovation, the players will be better rested that will lead to better brand of baseball for the fans." Millard added that his club's players are very supportive of the new way to travel. "One player said 'A two hour flight it much preferable to a 4 or 5 hour train ride getting into a city in the wee hours of the morning then trying to be ready for an afternoon game.' I know the guys in Buffalo will like the Pullman, it will increase their desire to taste the first class travel of the big leagues." 
DOUBLE-HEADER RECORDS Percy Pringle Sr. of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has compiled the twin-bill records of each FABL club so far this season: Notes Pringle "Poor Pittsburgh doesn't like double-headers but Washington would like to schedule more, especially against Pittsburgh" Boston 3-5 Brooklyn 1-3 Chicago Chiefs 2-6 Chicago Cougars 2-2 Cincinnati 1-1 Cleveland 3-3 Detroit 5-1 Montreal 3-1 NY Stars 5-3 NY Gothams 2-0 Keystones 1-1 Sailors 3-3 Pittsburgh 0-8 St Louis 4-2 Toronto 0-2 Washington 6-0 BARONS WIN GAME SEVEN IN OVERTIME TO TAKE FBL CROWN The final few minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime in game seven of the Federal Basketball League championship series may well be remembered as one of the greatest sporting collapses of all-time. It is probably unfair to classify it as such because the series between the Baltimore Barons and defending champion Chicago Panthers was so evenly matched during the first six games and 3 and a half quarters of game seven before the Baltimore Barons scored the final 19 points of the game to beat the Chicago Panthers 92-78 in overtime in the deciding seventh game. The Barons, Baltimore's only pro sports team after the Cannons fled for Cincinnati 8 years ago, win the championship in just the second year of the FBL's existence despite finishing 6 games back of first place Philadelphia in the East Division. The Barons beat Buffalo 3 games to one in the best of five opening round before topping the division leading Phantoms in 6 games in the best-of-seven semi-final to set up the showdown with the Panthers. For six games the Barons and Panthers alternated victories with Baltimore drawing first blood so it only made sense that the Barons, despite playing before a hostile crowd in the Windy City would prevail in the seventh game. It looked like Chicago would win another championship as the Panthers led by 9 points with a little over seven minutes remaining and by 5 as the game entered its final minute. However, the Panthers shooters went cold, not making a basket in the final seven minutes and going 0-for-13 from the field in the process as Baltimore rallied to tie the game and force overtime for the first time in the series. The extra period was a nightmare for the Panthers, who's cold shooting continued. Chicago was routed in the overtime, going 0-for-9 from the field and outscored 14-0 to make the final result a lopsided 92-78 margin in favour of the visitors from Maryland. The finish was perhaps more incredible than anyone could imagine and continued the recent heartache for Chicago sports fans after the Chicago Packers early exit from the NAHC playoffs, the Wildcats stuggles in recent seasons in the AFA and the much-talked about failures of the Chicago Cougars baseball club. At least they do have the Panthers title from a year ago to remember fondly but it is unlikely any cage fans in the Windy City will forget this game seven for an awful long time. *** A Tight, Evenly Matched Series *** It was a back and forth series full of twists and turns, although none anywhere near as dramatic as the amazing final minutes of the series. A little over a week ago the two clubs split the opening two games of the series in Chicago with the Barons taking the opener 85-75 before the Panthers rebounded the next night with an 88-84 win. The series then shifted to Baltimore for the next three games and the Barons struck first with a hard-fought 90-89 victory in the third game. Jack Hirst, the 27-year-old Baltimore center, was the hero thanks to his game-high 30 points on the evening but also for the final two of those points which came with just 11 seconds remaining following a nice feed from Bobby Ray Cornett and proved the difference in the game. Chicago had a last second chance to pull out the victory but Larry Serrano's desperation heave from the left wing refused to drop giving the Baltimore quintet a two games to one series lead.  In contrast to game three when the Barons shot over 40 percent from the field the fourth game was a struggle for the Baltimore shooters and none more so than game three hero Hirst, who managed just 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting as the Panthers, led by 22 points from Richard Campbell, pulled away with a strong fourth quarter to even the series. The final score was 78-68 but the game was very close until the Panthers outscored their hosts by a 10-2 margin in the final 3 minutes, with five of those points coming from Joe Hampton. Hampton would have a triple double with 14 points, 12 boards and 11 helpers as all five Chicago starters reached double-figures in points with Cory Myers, who scored 14 and added 14 rebounds to go with 5 blocked shots, earning the nod as player of the game.  Now a best of three, the Baltimore Barons on Wednesday night welcomed 6,554 fans to the Chesapeake Arena to cheer on the club in its final home contest of the season. It was a celebratory mood all evening as the Barons scored six points in the final minute of the opening quarter to take the lead and never trailed the rest of the way: claiming a 78-69 victory and moving to within one victory of winning the league championship. It was hardly an impressive shooting display as both clubs hit on less than 30% of their field goal attempts and there were plenty of fouls in a game that saw both starting centers foul out but the Barons threw up 105 field goal attempts compared to just 81 shots by the Panthers. Nestor Patterson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Baltimore while guard Bobby Ray Cornett chipped with 18 points and 10 assists.  Facing a must-win game to prolong their season, the Chicago Panthers returned to Lakeside Auditorium for the sixth game of the Federal Basketball League championship series needing someone to step up. That would turn out to be Richard Campbell. The veteran forward had plenty of experience in high pressure situations, both as a bench-piece on 4 championship teams in Brooklyn and as the leader a year ago when the Panthers won the inaugural FBL crown. The 29-year-old from Western Florida University led his team to a 75-64 victory to even the series and force a 7th game. The Barons scored the first bucket of the contest in this one, but never led again as the Panthers opened a 19-6 first quarter lead and coasted to victory.  It is only the second season of the Federal Basketball League but the final minutes of game seven will likely be remembered as one of the greatest collapses the loop has ever seen for quite a long time. With 7:14 remaining in the fourth quarter Joe Hampton fed the ball to James Brown under the Baltimore basket for an easy two points that gave the Panthers a 9-point lead at 74-65. The rest of the way Chicago did not record a field goal and was outscored 27-4 as the Panthers and a crowd of 4,800 watched their title hopes fade away. With exactly 3 minutes left Larry Serrano made two free-throws to extend the Panthers lead to 7 at 76-69 and even with just 1:11 remaining Hampton made one of two free throw attempts to put the Panthers up by 5 points. First it was Nestor Patterson with a put back on a third shot attempt after the Panthers failed to box out and the lead was down to 3 points as the game entered the final minute. Now ice-cold, the Panthers Larry Serrano had an open look from the left corner with 37 seconds left but he missed, although the possession remained with the Panthers after the ball was knocked out of bounds by a Baltimore player. Eliseo Werth likely could have wrapped up the title but he missed a layup with only 15 seconds remaining. Running out of time Bobby Ray Cornett fed Jack Hirst for a quick basket to cut the Chicago lead to just 1 point with 6 seconds remaining in regulation. An immediate foul sent Serrano to the line for two shots but the Panthers guard missed them both. The Barons called a quick timeout to draw up a desperation plan with only 3 seconds left on the clock. The ball came to Jack Hirst and the Barons star was surrounded by Panthers and it appeared time would run out giving Chicago a second straight title. But no! The referee called a foul on Chicago center Cory Myers -his sixth of the game- and being in the penalty the Barons had a chance to win the series with 1 second left on the clock. Hirst tied the game with his first free throw but missed the second, keeping the Panthers alive with the prospect of overtime. The extra frame would be a blur for Panthers players afterwards. Outscored 14-0 their title hopes vanished with every turnover, missed shot and poor decision. When the dust settled it was a 92-78 decision to give the Barons the league title. Bobby Ray Cornett, who had 10 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in the finale as well as a dominant series overall, was named the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs as the city of Baltimore celebrated its first professional sports championship since the old Baltimore Cannons won the 1914 World Championship Series in FABL. For Chicago sports fans it was yet another disappointment in what has become a very tough decade for the second city, earning it the moniker "Second Place City" in some circles.  MITCHELL NAMED ABC TOP PLAYER FOR 6TH TIME After a one year absence Brooklyn Red Caps Ivory Mitchell is once again the Most Valuable Player in the American Basketball Conference. The 29-year-old guard was named the top player in the loop for five consecutive seasons before being replaced last year by Washington center Ivan Sisco. Mitchell, who was a first team All-American and won a National AIAA Championship while at Liberty College, has spent the past six years with the Red Caps after beginning his pro career with two seasons playing for the old Providence Pilgrims. Mitchell has been named to the ABC All-Pro team each of his 8 seasons in the league. This year the Cranford, NJ, native finished second to James Phillips of Hartford with 19.5 points per game while leading the ABC in assists, averaging 10.1. Joining Mitchell on the All-Pro team are a pair of Washington Statesmen in center Ivan Sisco and forward Charles Hooper as well as Richmond forward Norm Yates and guard Morgan Melcher of the Boston Centurions. Sisco was named to the team for the fourth time in his six year ABC career which included the Most Valuable Player award win last season. The 27-year-old Connecticut native was a second team All-American during his college days at Carolina Poly and was named AIAA freshman of the year in 1938-39. Hooper and Yates were college teammates for a couple of years at St Ignatuis before turning pro. Hooper, 28, has spent five seasons with Washington while the 26-year-old Yates is in his fourth year with the Richmond Clippers. Melcher is in his third year with Boston after the 26-year-old was drafted first overall by the Centurions out of Coastal California. He was a 4 year college starter for the Dolphins and the Los Angeles native's 1,945 career collegiate points is the second most all-time, trailing only his Boston teammate Valerio Cortes who played his college ball at Brooklyn State.   WINTER OUTPOINTS FOUNTAIN Young Harvey Winter, the heavyweight terror from Trenton, NJ, continued his climb up the boxing ladder with a hard-fought 10-round decision over Mark Fountain in the nation's capital on Friday evening. The youngster, who does not turn 22 until June 5, has already won 18 bouts and lost just once since turning pro as an 18-year-old in 1945. His only blemish came last December when Steve Case -who will face Hector Sawyer for the world title next month- outpointed him in a bout at Bigsby Garden. Undeterred, Winter followed that up with an early March knockout of veteran Philadelphia fighter Clifford Baker before his impressive showing Friday evening at Washington's National Auditorium. Despite Fountain's impressive pedigree that included time as the number one contender in the sport, Winter was unfazed by the 30-year-old New York native and took control of the bout early. Winter was a clear winner in each of the opening two rounds but his best flurry came in the third round when he sent Fountain to the canvas with big right hook. Fountain recovered from what proved to be the only knockdown of the fight and actually took the bout to Winter in the later rounds as the youngster, likely still getting accustomed to 10-round bouts, began to tire. However, Winter's strong showing early and his high activity rate -throwing more than twice as many blows as the methodical Fountain- impressed the judges and referee Mark Nelson to award the win to the youngster. Nelson scored it 97-93 while the two at ringside each gave Winter a 2-point victory.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/23/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-30-2023 at 01:22 PM. |
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08-31-2023, 01:11 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,735
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May 31, 1948
MAY 31, 1948 HOW SOON IS TOO SOON TO PROMOTE TOP PROSPECTS? In this early stage of the season most FABL clubs are focused on what are very tight pennant races but the Pittsburgh Miners and Cleveland Foresters have already surmised this is not their year to contend. The Foresters are 15-26 and already 7.5 games back in a Continental Association that you can throw a net over the other 7 clubs -all within 2 games of each other- while the Miners are even worse than predicted after dealing stars Lefty Allen and George Cleaves to the Gothams in order to focus on a complete rebuild. The Pittsburgh nine is just 11-30 and already 14 games out of first place. With the focus squarely on the future the big question for each of those two clubs is how soon do they start to give some of that future a shot at the big leagues? How soon is too soon to start promoting potential future stars to let them learn on the job while patroling major league diamonds? Will it help or hinder that development if perhaps they come up too soon? That was the question a number of General Manager's and newspaper types weighed in with thoughts on over the past week after the Miners announced the promotion of top prospect Irv Clifford and the Foresters pondered some promotions of their own. Boston Scouting Director Johnny Robards and Detroit Assistant General Manager Harris Dixon both felt it made sense to challenge players, particularly those who are showing they can handle the level they are presently at. "We fast-tracked a lot of 19-year-olds over the last couple of years," explained Dixon. "Stan Kleminski, Edwin Hackberry and Carl Potter are three who were in Detroit as teenagers. When the club is not quite a contender I see no downside to challenging the kids." Robards adds that the Minutemen put a big emphasis on how a player handles the level he is at. "I'm really trying to let the stats tell the story for me. Scouting reports get you drafted but stats are going to take precedence after that." Robards points out that the Boston organization is in the process right now of moving players either up or out to make room for the next crop of draftees which will join in late June and early July. Chicago Chiefs Hall of Famer and AGM Jim Golden notes that "with no free agency, there is no incentive to leave younger players in the minors (no arbitration clock). Particularly with a last place club. Let the kids play!" John Brinker, reknowned scribe for the New York Daily Mirror makes another big point in the value of getting highly talented youngsters to the big leagues as quickly as possible. "Something to factor in - the draft lottery is based on improvement. The most improved teams (in terms of wins, and excepting the pennant winners) get extra "balls" in the lottery. This was done so that there is always an incentive to try to win, even if that means improving from 60 wins to 65 wins. So it's always to your benefit to look for victories." As for Clifford and his first week as a big league ballplayer, well the results were mixed. He excelled at the plate, batting .300 (6-for-20) with his first major league extra base hit but the normally sure-handed shortstop committed more errors in 6 big league games (6) than the five he had in 31 games this season at AAA St. Paul. That does seem to be a common theme with young shortstops as a couple of years back Detroit was forced to demote Kleminski because of his glove despite a solid showing at the plate and the Gothams are having to accept miscues from young Cecil LaBonte, but that is easy to do when you are leading the Fed in batting as the 23-year-old is presently. Tom Barrell, the former star pitcher and current Brooklyn Kings manager probably summed it up best. "Playing shortstop in this league as a young player "is a big jump. Patience is the key word as there will be growing pains." And right now is time that a club like Pittsburgh or Cleveland can afford to accept those growing pains with the eye towards it paying off in the future.  COUGARS TAKE TURN AT TOP OF CONTINENTAL It's not late September and it is hardly a comfortable lead but the Chicago Cougars will take any time they can get at the top of the Continental Association standings after last season's dreadful 7th place finish. The Cougars story is well know - so often favoured and considered the deepest roster in the CA but always falling just short- but an 8-2 run that included taking two of three from both Brooklyn and Cincinnati- is a positive sign for a club that needs all the confidence it can get. There is only 2 games separating first place from seventh in the CA and the Cougars are actually sharing top spot with the Montreal Saints so a runaway pennant, so parity is the key word for the Continental clash this season it appears. The Federal Association has a little separation with the Philadelphia Keystones holding off the hard-charging New York Gothams by a game and a half at the moment. The Keystones were on a 14-2 run until they hit a speedbump last week and dropped 4 in a row before ending the slide with a 7-0 shutout of Pittsburgh in the back end of yesterday's twin bill. The skid started with a loss to the Gothams but the Keystones still salvaged a split of the short two-game set by taking the opener. New York dropped two of three over the weekend in St Louis to slow their push slightly and there is more injury concern in Queens after it was learned that George Cleaves will join Red Johnson and Mahlon Strong on the sidelines. Cleaves, who was hitting .353, will miss a month and be sorely missed but the Gothams fortunes turned with a winning run after Johnson and Strong went down so perhaps they can also withstand the loss of the future Hall of Fame catcher.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN McCormick Reaches Milestone, Wolves Struggle to Score --The Toronto Wolves continue their long road trip with 8 games in 7 days this week. The trend of the bats going cold for extended periods continues as May gets ready to turn to June. On Monday the team did salvage one win in the Big Apple against four losses by prevailing 6-4 over the Stars in 10 innings led by veteran catcher Clarence Howerton. Remarkably Howerton, not known for his foot speed, legged out his 5th triple of the season. The Wolves made the most of their hits cashing in 6 times on only 9 hits. After the maiden voyage on their new DC3 into Montreal the bats go arctic cold, Saints Wally Doyle and Pat Weakley shutout the Wolves in back to back games. Doyle wins 6-0 tossing a 4 hitter, Weakley follows up with 3 hitter in a 2-0 victory. Again Toronto manages to win just a single game in a series when the bats finally respond to their wakeup call rapping out 10 hits in a 3-1 win Thursday afternoon on another solid outing by George Garrison. A milestone was reached in that game which will be chronicled later in this article. A short flight into Philly Thursday night where again the hitting goes into the doldrums at Sailors Memorial. On Friday the Sailors have 15 hits to the Wolves 4 in a 7-1 victory. More concerning in this game was Joe Hancock's line. Hancock only went 3 2/3 giving up 6 runs on 6 hits including 3 doubles along with a number of other hard hit balls that found Toronto gloves. Saturday the Wolves waste a fine effort by Jimmy Gibbs who works into 8 giving only a solitary run before handing the ball over to the recently hot Cookie Myers. Myers gives up a long ball to Les Cunha, his first of '48, as the Sailors walk it off 3-1. Toronto has 12 hits but is unable to push runs across stranding 12 on the base paths prompting Call to mutter "Hits do not mean a damn without runs." Another double bill on Sunday, meaning the Wolves will play 11 games in 8 days, with another 2 on Monday in Cleveland making 13 games in 9 starts well with 3-1 win. Jerry York, 3-5, turns in a good performance before turning it over to Jayson to get final out racking up his 7th save of the year. In the night cap Al Duster evens his record at 3-3 scattering 4 hits in the third whitewashing of the Wolves this week in 6-0 complete game victory. After scoring 6 Monday in NY the Wolves only tally 8 runs in the other 7 games of the week. The record on the trip is now 6-9 with two left, in what feel like are "must win" games against the Foresters on Monday. Amazingly the Wolves are still only 2 games out in the CA as teams seemed to taking turns beating each other up. After relaying all the bad news of the prior week for the Wolves it is time to recognize a player who passed a major milestone in Montreal on Thursday, Fred McCormick. His double in the top of the first off Bert Cupid was hit number 2500 for his career joining only 35 others in FABL's 72 year history. McCormick, who began his career with in the Gothams system as an 11th round pick in 1927 before being traded to St. Louis, along with 4 others for the legend Max Morris, in 1930. In 7 years with the Pioneers. starting all but 46 games, missing 40 in 1933 with a sprained ankle, over that span, McCormick's line was .352/.432/.548 106 HR 751 RBI in 1036 games. During the spring of 1938 Wolves engineered a deal for McCormick and Howerton by sending four pitchers in Otis Cook, Jake Smith, Buddy Long and Russ Peeples along with outfielder Les Hendrix to the Gateway City. Many fans say this was the deal that allowed the Wolves to capture the 1940 championship. With the Wolves McCormick's stats are .326/.428/.535 117 HR 539 RBI in 908 games including the .399 227 hit season of 1939. It must be remembered that Fred was one of the first into the service for WWII missing for all intents and purposes 4 seasons from 1941-44. Most insiders believe that that Fred would have easily passed into the 3000 hit club without the loss of those 4 seasons. With 4 months left in the season Brett thinks that he should more past such iconic names as Layton, Cook, Hampton, Barnett, McMurtrie, Pidgeon, Cleaves, Brady, possibly Goins before then end of 1948 into the top 30 all-time in hit. 
YIM NAMED TOP PLAYER IN FED CAGE LOOP The Federal Basketball League completed its sophomore season last week with the Baltimore Barons winning the league playoff title. The loop has announced it's most valuable player for the 1947-48 campaign as Larry Yim of the Buffalo Brawlers. The 25-year-old center led the league with an average of 19.6 rebounds per game while his 20.5 points per game were second in the loop behind only Irvin Mudd of the Philadelphia Phantoms. Yim jumped to the Brawlers this season after spending the previous two years with the Rochester Rockets of the American Basketball Conference. Prior to that the Texas born 6'10" Yim starred for the CC Los Angeles Coyotes and was a second team All-American selection his junior year. Joining Yim on the FBL All-Pro team this year are a pair of Philadelphia Phantoms in forward Danny Hendon and guard Jerry Hubbard as well as Detroit forward Jack Kurtz and guard Joe Hampton of the Chicago Wildcats. The 26-year-old Hendon, a former college star at Coastal California, is in his first year in the FBL after spending the previous three seasons with the Richmond Clippers of the ABC. Hubbard, a 27 year old who was a former teammate of Hendon's at Coastal California, spent the previous three seasons with the Washington Statesmen and was the MVP of their playoff winning run last spring before jumping to the Phantoms. Hampton, son of former pro baseball player Jim Hampton and a former All-American at Western Iowa, made his pro debut a year ago with the Hartford Patriots of the ABC and was named the top newcomer in the established loop last season before deciding to return to his hometown of Chicago and pay for the Panthers. Hampton averaged nearly 13 points per game and was second behind only fellow All-Pro Hubbard with 9.4 assists per game. Kurtz is the only one from the group of All-Pro's who has played in the FBL in both of its seasons, joining the Detroit Mustangs a year ago after playing just 3 games for the Washington Statesmen in 1945-46. A native of Louisiana, the 26-year-old is a local hero in Detroit, having starred at Detroit City College during his college days.  CUNNING CRAWFORD PUTS BRAKES ON CLINE'S ASCENT HARTFORD - A fistic lesson was dealt under the bright lights of the ring as veteran pugilist Roy Crawford, 29, taught the ambitious young Tommy Cline, 23, a thing or two about the sweet science. Crawford, the wily Bostonian, displayed his ring wisdom, leaving the unbeaten Tennessean with his first professional loss. The raucous crowd witnessed a display of grit and experience prevailing over youthful exuberance in this heavyweight clash. Cline, the rising star with an unblemished record, stormed into the squared circle, his eyes firmly set on the ultimate prize – a shot at Hector "The Cajun Crusher" Sawyer's coveted crown. Little did he know that his path to glory would be delayed, as Crawford meticulously demonstrated the art of boxing mastery, making every punch count and rendering Cline's wild swings a futile effort. In this pugilistic showdown, Crawford's seasoned fists, forged by 30 battles in the ring, danced to a calculated rhythm. He achieved his 27th victory by adhering to the virtues of patience, precision, and power. Cline's youthful aggression quickly transformed into fatigue as he found more air than flesh with his swings. Crawford's own long wait for a title shot resonated with the crowd, knowing that the elusive opportunity had persistently evaded the gritty contender under the guidance of promoter Chester Conley. Murmurs from the boxing circles reminisce on Crawford's missed chances, particularly after his victorious bout against Scott "The Chef" Baker, another young prodigy. Fate seemed to favor other contenders like Mark Fountain, leaving Crawford in the shadows. A stumble against Lewis Jones temporarily dimmed his prospects, yet Crawford managed an impressive rebound, tallying four consecutive triumphs. The names of experienced foes like Glenn Hairston and Nick Brooks now decorate his résumé. Alas, boxing fortunes are as fickle as Lady Luck herself. Just as Crawford's star resurged, the current heavyweight kingpin, Hector Sawyer, devised a transatlantic campaign, rendering the Boston brawler's dream of facing him a distant hope. Sawyer's impending bout with Steve Case marks the prologue to his European venture, a move that will keep him away from American soil for an extensive period, as confirmed by Conley. For Crawford, standing tall with a 27-3 record, the satisfaction of obstructing Tommy Cline's ascension must suffice. The young gun from Clarksville, Tennessee, had previously bulldozed through 13 challengers, including veterans Glenn Hairston and Pete Sanderson. The boxing fraternity had earmarked Cline as a star in the making, his ticket to a bout with the Cajun Crusher nearly punched. Yet, Crawford's ring clinic has altered this course, unveiling the significance of patience and tactical acumen, virtues that can only forge a better fighter out of Cline in the years to come. While the future shines uncertainly for Roy Crawford, the triumph at Hartford's Constitution Hall Saturday stands as a testament to his enduring skill. As the pugilistic world speculates on Crawford's next move, one fact remains - on this night, the veteran fighter taught the young and undefeated Tommy Cline that the path to glory is often paved with sweat, strategy, and the taste of defeat.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/30/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-31-2023 at 01:12 PM. |
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