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09-01-2023, 04:29 PM
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#781 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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June 7, 1948
 JUNE 7, 1948 PIONEERS MAKING A CHARGE AT FED LEAD The defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers got off to a slow start but with 13 wins in their last 16 outings they are closing in on top spot in the Federal Association. The starting pitching, a strength of the organization a year ago, is once more key to the Pioneers rise with Hal Hackney (7-2, 3.11) leading the way while 25-year-old Dick Long is off to a surprising 5-1 start. Danny Hern, who seemingly came out of nowhere to win the Allen Award a year ago, had a slow start but has won 3 of his last 4 starts to help offset the continued struggles for the third member of the 3-H club, Hiram Steinberg (2-5, 3.73). The Pioneers are not the only hot team in the Fed as the New York Gothams and Detroit Dynamos are also on a roll. The Gothams, despite injuries to key players Red Johnson, Mahlon Strong and George Cleaves, have taken over top spot in the Fed after sweeping a 3-game series in Philadelphia last week. The Gothams are 23-8 since early May and are expecting Johnson back this week and Strong in the very near future. Detroit has won five in a row and is just a half game back of the Gothams thanks to a dominant pitching staff led by young Carl Potter (6-3, 2.87) and veteran Dixie Lee (6-1, 3.31) along with a terrific start to the season for centerfielder Edwin Hackberry (.349,9,35). The Continental Association, which has seen seven teams bunched together all season, is starting to show some signs of separation. The Montreal Saints are the surprise leaders, heading the New York Stars by half a game after the Chicago Cougars and Cincinnati Cannons each had a rough week. The Cougars opened and closed the week with doubleheader splits but in between lost three of four in Toronto while the Cannons are on a 7-14 skid including losing 3 of 4 at home to the Stars last week.  MILLER HEADS AIAA ALL-AMERICAN TEAM Coastal State junior shortstop Tom Miller heads the list of collegiate baseball All-Americans which was revealed last week. The 22-year-old, who won the Christian Trophy a year ago as a sophomore, joins the select group of college players named first team All-Americans for three consecutive seasons. He was selected first overall in January by the Washington Eagles in the FABL draft and is expected to sign a pro contract immediately after the completion of the Collegiate World Championship Series, in which his school is the 8th seed and will face Opelika State in the opening round. Three other players were named to the first team for the second consecutive season. They are a pair of Grange College outfielders in Bill Morrison and Don Berry as well as the third outfielder on the first time: Redwood University's Red Hinton. Hinton, who was a second round selection of the St Louis Pioneers, is one of five juniors named to the first squad. The others are Miller, St Blane first baseman Joe Bednar and a pair of Bluegrass State infielders in Jim Urquhart and Hank Estill. Estill was selected 7th overall by the New York Gothams while Urquhart was also a first round pick, going 15th to the Cleveland Foresters. Bednar was not selected in the opening ten rounds but is expected to chosen in the second phase of the draft on June 21. Four drafted players were named to the Second team including third baseman Frankie Williams from Lane State. A first team All-American selection each of his first two seasons of college ball, he was nosed out this year and had to settle for the second team but was drafted by the Washington Eagles in the 4th round. The other drafted players from the second team are Constitution State first baseman Happy Wright (round 2: Cincinnati), Macon State catcher Bob Burge (round 2: Pittsburgh) and Eastern State second baseman Andy Kylo (round 5: Cleveland) and  GRANGE COLLEGE SET TO DEFEND AIAA BALL CROWN The elite of collegiate baseball will gather in Boston next week for the annual AIAA World Championship Series tournament. This is the 3rd year of the expanded 16 team tournament field and for the third consecutive season Bluegrass State will be the number one seed in the field. The Mustangs, who will be led by All-American infielders Jim Urquhart and Hank Estill, were eliminated in the first round by Georgia Baptist each of the two previous seasons. The Gators failed to qualify for the tournament this time around so perhaps that bodes well for Bluegrass State, who will face Eastern Oklahoma in the opening round next Monday. The defending champions are another Kentucky school as Grange College beat Carolina Poly 2 games to one in the best of three final last year. Both schools are back this time around and could meet each other in the second round of the event next Tuesday. The opening two rounds will be split between the campus stadiums of St. Patrick's University and Commonwealth Catholic before the semi-finals and finals take place at Minutemen Stadium, home of the Boston Federal Association ballclub.   PIONEERS LOOKING TO SETTLE AT TOP OF FED AGAIN The surging St. Louis Pioneers, they of a 13-3 record since May 22, are getting some youthful reinforcements. Jim McBride, the club’s second-round selection in the 1946 draft out of Coastal State, has been brought up to the team from AAA Charleston. He will be in the lineup, batting eighth, and playing center field, Monday against Philadelphia. McBride tore out of the gate, hitting an astounding .432/.488/703 in April. He did cool off in May, hitting just .314/.411/.552. And yes, his June has been dismal (he was just 3-17 so far), but according to Manager Hugh Luckey, the time was now. “The time was really last week,” said Luckey about McBride. “Sure, one can say, ‘Luck, your boys are flying high. Why would you go and mess with that success?’ And I can understand that line of thinking. But the way we see it…we’ve played well, but we had to climb out of a hole. We did that, and now we’re right in the mix with any of those clubs back east. “Now is the time to adjust for the next two months. Let the kid get some time. He’s been hitting lightning all year, and our lineup needs more of that. If we had just a bit more offense, with our pitching staff, we’d get right back to the top. “I’m not sure anyone would be able to push us off,” he concluded. That means a lot is riding on the 22-year-old out of Burlington, North Carolina. But “Bump”, as he was known around the bush leagues, says he’s ready. “I’ve been chomping at the bit to get here,” said McBride upon his arrival at the Gibson Hotel, where he will stay temporarily, while the team helps him find more suitable accommodations. “I’ve been waiting for this my whole life. I know that doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you’re so close to it, and can’t touch it…it feels like forever.” McBride will be taking over in center for Cal Page, whose season-long slump at the plate can no longer be overcome by his glove or throwing arm. For his part, Page seems to be taking it in stride. “Come on now…only sixteen starting center fielders in this league,” said Page. “You have to play well. I have tried, but it hasn’t come so far. If the kid can bring some good wood, we’re all better for it.” After that, Page showed perhaps some wisdom beyond his nearly 28 years in this realm. “Everyone wants to be a star,” he commented. “Very few get to be one. I know I can play at this level, but I also know it’s unlikely I’ll be on the cover of a magazine. “That check in October,” he continued, referring to his winner’s share of the FABL Championship, “that made it clear what the priorities of every player who isn’t going to be on a magazine should be. I’ll take that check over any potential hurt feelings any day.” McBride isn’t the only player arriving from Charleston. Tucker Ness, a 29-year-old catcher who Pioneer fans last saw in 1946, has been recalled to the parent club. Ness, hitting .320/.340/.530 in part-time action for the Blue Legs, replaces Artie Smith, who was hitting .241/.290/.276 in 31 plate appearances. Luckey said that Smith’s demotion is not all about performance, though. “He’s a kid,” said Luckey about the 23-year-old, who was the team’s first-round selection in 1945. “He’s played in 71 games since he got here. I looked it up. He came up in ’46. Only played 98 games down in AAA before he did it, too, which is quite an accomplishment. “Look, he needs to play. Sure, he’s learning from Zim (starting catcher Heinie Zimmer), but the best teacher is doing. You can’t fail unless you do. And you can’t grow unless you fail…at least some of the time. You don’t learn how to grow, right?” Smith will immediately become the everyday catcher in Blue Leg Land. Meanwhile, Ness will continue his role as the backup.  I FEEL A DRAFT - IMPORTANT DAYS AHEAD FOR CAGE AND ICE CREWS The only good thing about missing the playoffs is you are rewarded with a high draft pick. That is the one consolation both the Detroit Motors and Detroit Mustangs can look forward to as each of the local outfits prepare for the upcoming drafts in their respective sports. The ice Motors, after a last-place finish in the North American Hockey Confederation, will own the first overall selection while the cage Mustangs, who missed the playoffs both years of their existence, will select second in the Federal Basketball League after the Toronto Titans make their choice known. The Motors could really use help everywhere on the ice, but the biggest need is likely an elite forward who can help the club improve on its league low 2.76 goals per game from last season. While there may not be a dominant can't miss scorer in the current draft class there are some interesting players for Motors Scouting Director Frank Yeadon to look at. It is expected one of three wingers in Pat Benning, Carl Loon or Lou Barber will be Detroit's choice. Benning is a right winger from Yeadon's old stomping grounds of British Columbia and the scouting department feels he has the potential to match Nick Tardif -the Motors young star who was named the league's top rookie this season. Loon hails from Edmonton and is much the same type of player as Benning only playing left wing while Barber, a Tillsonburg, Ont., native may be the closest to being NAHC ready of the three. Barber suited up for 33 games with the HAA Toledo Tigers as a 19-year-old and had 4 goals and 15 points. Rollie Barrell's Detroit Mustangs feel they are in a very good spot. The Toronto Titans have the first selection in the draft due to their 13-35 season, but Barrell is happy choosing second. The owner would not comment on any specific potential draftee, but it is clear the Mustangs will select either Walt Messer or Darren Fuhrman. Messer might be a slightly better fit as the Mustangs do have a need for a big body with Manuel Nelson turning 39 years of age recently, but it is expected the Titans will select him simply on name recognition in a bid to help attendance. Messer is the reigning AIAA player of the year and younger brother of New York Gothams outfielder Walt Messer. Fuhrman, a Texas native who starred at Texas Gulf Coast, might end up having the higher ceiling but with him the Detroit lineup might be a little undersized if the plan is to use the 6'6" youngster along with Jack Kurtz and David Reed in the front court, assuming Nelson elects to retire as he has hinted. The draft is also important in the coming weeks in FABL. The first 10 rounds have been completed but the Detroit Dynamos are highly anticipating the arrival of local youngster Dino Sharp. The 18-year-old Detroit native was the Dynamos first round pick and was among the nation's leaders with 12 homers for his Cleveland-area high school this season. Most mock drafts conducted by OSA list the power-hitting first baseman as the number one draft eligible prospect. Detroit, and the rest of FABL, are free to sign draftees to pro contracts after the final 15 rounds of the draft are conducted June 21.    
  HECTOR SAWYER: A FINAL BOW BEFORE CROSSING THE POND New York --Brace yourselves, fight aficionados, for the World Heavyweight Champion Hector "The Cajun Crusher" Sawyer is poised to deliver his swan song on American soil, at least for the foreseeable future. In what's being billed as a tune-up tango before he sets his sights on the Old World, Sawyer is primed to take on the scrappy Steve Case this Saturday night, right here in the heart of New York. The buzz surrounding this bout suggests a lopsided affair. Notwithstanding the bravado of Case's backers, it's a consensus that the odds stack heavily against the New Yorker. After all, Sawyer has held the heavyweight crown since the bygone days of 1940. His illustrious reign, marked by conquests of the crème de la crème of American pugilism, is now about to make an indelible mark on the European boxing scene. Behind the scenes, the enigmatic Chester Conley, Sawyer's long-serving manager and architect of his ascent, is orchestrating this grand transition. Whispers of potential encounters in London, Paris, and even Berlin echo throughout boxing circles, even though Conley shrouds them in secrecy. With a wry grin and a dose of innuendo, Conley speaks of contributing "to aid in European recovery," hinting at the forthcoming fistic fireworks that will grace international arenas. As the pugilistic spotlight dims on American shores, Sawyer must first square off against the upstart Case. While the forecast appears bleak for the underdog, the 27-year-old Case is no patsy. His ledger boasts a 19-1-2 record, punctuated by an intriguing takedown of the rising star Harvey Winter, the sole blemish on Winter's heretofore unmarred career. Case's credibility hinges upon this triumph, a victory that belies his perceived role as a sacrificial lamb, handpicked for a final payday before Sawyer's European escapades. The champ himself is riding high, fresh off an electric performance against Dan Miller, witnessed by a staggering 90,000-strong crowd at Santa Ana Stadium in California. As he readies for his historic tenth title defense, one can practically sense the aura of invincibility that envelopes Sawyer. Earning his stripes as the ultimate heavyweight, he's traversed the ropes ten times as the crowned kingpin, and with unwavering conviction, seems destined to exit the ring as he prepares to set sail across the Atlantic for an 11th title showdown. While this journal is hardly in the business of wagering, it's a safe bet that placing one's chips on Sawyer in this match is as close to a certain investment as pugilism permits. As the curtain prepares to descend on this chapter of American boxing history, let's take a moment to witness the passing of the torch, as Hector Sawyer's journey sets sail towards European glory.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 MESSER, FUHRMAN OPT FOR FBL DRAFT National Collegiate Player of the Year Ward Messer, a first-team All-American selection each of the past two years, has decided to enter the Federal Basketball League draft. College seniors were required to notify either the Federal League or the American Basketball Conference of their intentions and Messer made FBL clubs aware of his decision late last week. The younger brother of New York Gothams outfielder Walt Messer set a single season AIAA record for rebounds as a senior at Liberty College while also recording the 7th highest single season points total ever accumulated. Messer may have competition in his desire to be drafted first as Texas Gulf Coast forward Darren Fuhrman, who was a second team All-American as a junior but missed much of his senior year with an injury, has also declared for the FBL. Fuhrman was limited to 22 games this season but did return for the AIAA tournament and led the Hurricanes to the National semi-finals before falling to eventual champion Redwood. The Toronto Titans will own the first selection in the FBL draft with the Detroit Mustangs choosing second. RICKARD, CHEEK, NISSEN DECIDE ON ABC The Federal League may be making some inroads and did draw arguably the best college player in the nation in Messer, but it looks like the more established American Basketball Conference is still the prime destination for top college players. Among the big names who have decided to enter the ABC draft are CC Los Angeles star Gerald Cheek and first team All-American Lon Nissen from Whitney College. The Pittsburgh Falcons, who's future remains up in the air after the reported purchase by Toronto Wolves owner Bernie Millard, own the first pick and they likely will be leaning towards Central Ohio Aviator Ziggy Rickard. Rickard's choice, along with Nissen who many felt would stay closer to his Chicago home and the FBL, comes as a surprise. Rickard is a Milwaukee native and a legend in Columbus, Oh., after being named to one of the 3 All-American teams each of his final three seasons with the Aviators. Some are speculating that the 6'6" forward did not wish to be drafted by the Titans but he may well end up playing in Toronto next season anyway if Millard is successful in his plans to relocate the Falcons.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/06/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-04-2023, 12:29 PM
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#782 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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June 14, 1948
JUNE 14, 1948 MINUTEMEN PUSHING FORWARD IN FED An 8-2 run at home that included series wins over New York, Detroit and Chicago has the Boston Minutemen closing in on top spot in the Federal Association. It makes for a nice turnaround as the club had struggled at Minutemen Stadium in the early going and even with the fine showing the past 10 days, Boston is still below .500 at home, sporting a 16-18 record. Where the Minutemen have had success in the opening two months of the season is on the road and their 13-8 away from home mark is the best in the loop. The Boston road record will face a stiff test this week as, with the AIAA College World Championship Series taking over the city, the Minutemen are off to Detroit and New York for the start of a 16-game trip that will not see them return to Boston until July 2. The Gothams, who cooled off a little with a 3-3 week, still hold down top spot in the Federal Association, a game up on the Philadelphia Keystones and two and a half ahead of the Minutemen. All but Pittsburgh are within 4.5 games of first place. New York also leads the way in the Continental Association as the Stars are a game and a half ahead of Montreal after a stretch in which the Big Apple ballclub won 8 of 9 games before a rough weekend in Philadelphia that saw them drop two of three to the Sailors.  HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN TEAM UNVEILED Just seven seniors comprise the 18 slots on the annual High School All-American team, but they include a member of baseball's first family. That would be Charlie Barrell, son of the late actor and former football star Joe Barrell whose half-brothers are Cincinnati Cannons ace Deuce Barrell and rising young catcher Roger Cleaves of the Philadelphia Keystones. Charlie, who was a 3-sport star at Capital Academy in Washington DC, has already committed to playing baseball -as well as football and basketball for Noble Jones College next season. Barrell is one of three players who were named to the All-American team for the third time. The others are Buddy Miller and Roy Snedden. Miller, a centerfielder from Lakeland, Fl., was selected fifth overall by the Keystones in January and will have to decide between turning pro and accepting a scholarship to Miami State. Snedden has an offer from Charleston Tech but the third baseman was drafted 9th overall by the Pittsburgh Miners. The other drafted All-Americans include infielders Curt Brooks, taken with the final pick of the first round by the Philadelphia Sailors, and Stump Patterson who was chosen second overall by the Cleveland Foresters. The other two are both pitchers in Jimmy Isgro, chosen 12th overall by Brooklyn, and Pug White, who was a fifth round selection of the Montreal Saints. Here are the 1948 High School All-Americans:  ADWELL AWARD NOMINEES The Red Adwell Award has been presented annually since 1934 to the number high school baseball player in the nation. Pitcher Les Ledbetter, now in the Toronto Wolves system, won the award each of the past two years. This year's nominees include second baseman Charlie Barrell and fellow three-time high school All-American selection Buddy Miller as well as Monterey (CA) High School pitcher Pug White and a pair of juniors in Brooklyn high school outfielder Rick Masters and infielder John Wells, who plays his high school ball in Philadelphia. Previous winners of the Adwell Award include many current FABL stars such as Walt Messer, Deuce Barrell, Pete Casstevens, Bill Barrett and Hiram Steinberg. COLLEGE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SET TO BEGIN Christian Trophy Finalists Announced The annual collegiate World Championship Series, which traces its roots back to 1910 when Maryland State became the inaugural champion in the old feeder league era, begins its 39th edition in Boston today. At the pre-tournament banquet yesterday the five finalists for the Frank Christian Trophy, presented annually to the top collegiate baseball player, were announced. They include Coastal State shortstop Tom Miller, who not only won the award last season as a sophomore but was also the first overall selection in the January phase of the FABL draft. Taken by the Washington Eagles, Miller is expected to sign shortly after the college playoff is completed. His Coastal State Eagles are in the field of 16 as are the school's of each of the other four nominees. They include Bluegrass State junior third baseman Hank Estill, Redwood University junior outfielder Red Hinton, Grange College sophomore outfielder Bill Morrison and Lane State sophomore shortstop Tom Perkins.  
 SAWYER WALKS OVER CASE IN TRANSATLANTIC TUNE-UP Gothams Stadium, New York, N.Y. – Hector Sawyer, a veteran of over 60 bouts, has had an easy time of it before. But the ease Sawyer dispatched with a victory on this night in a sold-out Gothams Stadium is probably on the short list of Sawyer’s most lopsided fights in his storied career. If you sold tickets to a Sawyer sparring session, the fans would be about as entertained. Sawyer took on Steve Case, who had a single impressive victory on his resume entering the fight. Case defeated upstart Harvey Winter, who was on his way to title dreams of his own. Winter might have overlooked Case and the only hope of this being much of a match was the possibility that Sawyer might do the same. From the opening bell, The Cajun Crusher took no prisoners and gave no quarter. Sawyer went on the offensive, taking away space and cornering the challenger, content to work inside. Case could not offer much offense of his own and he was back on his heels time and time again. Early in the second round, Sawyer landed what seemed to be a harmless jab, but it was well-placed. The right hand opened a cut above Case’s left eyebrow. The gash hampered Case’s ability to see some of Sawyer’s shots coming, giving Sawyer a decided advantage that he did not even seem to need. Sawyer clearly took the third round off, which allowed Case to recover enough to last into the middle rounds of this fight. The cut reopened in the fourth round after Sawyer targeted Case’s left side of his face. Early in the round, Sawyer connected on a straight right that sent Case reeling. With about a minute left in the fourth, a right to the head by Sawyer and a quick jab, following by a cross in the waning seconds of the round, caused referee Dick Rasmussen to bring in the ringside physician to take a look at Case’s left eye. The fight continued, but it was semantic at that point. Anything Case landed did not seem to do anything to deter Sawyer. In the seventh round, Sawyer’s corner was urging for the champion to get in his final blows. The swelling around Case’s eye was getting worse and just 16 seconds into the round, Sawyer unleashed an uppercut that caught Case on his chin and down he went. Rasmussen almost counted Case out, getting to an eight-count before Case convinced the referee to continue. Sawyer, as all champions do, sensed blood in the water. Up until that point, he was content to fire his jab at will and leave the real haymakers in reserve. Once Case rose back to his feet, Sawyer went to the hook with big results and topped it off with a pair of uppercuts. The first uppercut snapped Case’s head back. The second uppercut landed on Case’s jaw and caused Case’s knees to wobble. Sawyer was not letting up and Rasmussen stepped in between the fighters, calling a stop to the bout. The only surprise of the night is that two of the three judges gave rounds to Case. My card gave Sawyer an advantage in each stanza. Case connected in over half of his punches, but he spent a lot more time with his gloves protecting himself and flashing them offensively at the champion. Case offered about 28 punches a round on average, while Sawyer connected on over 31 punches, which was only about a third of the punches he threw. Case took a lot of punishment in what amounted to 20 minutes of fight time. Sawyer boards his voyage across the Atlantic on a European tour with 10 successful title defenses and nothing more to prove stateside. His record advanced to a gaudy 58-3-1 with 52 of his wins coming by knockout. Case may have been mistaken for a tomato can on this night, but he still has a respectable 19-2-2 record coming out of this bout and this was not just another opponent. He lost to the greatest fighter alive today. BOLOGNA'S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Sawyer 1-0 (1:05 hook/ribs) Round 2: Sawyer 4-0 (0:45 jab/left eyebrow/cut, 1:22 combo, 2:27 cross, 2:41 right) Round 3: None Round 4: Sawyer 3-0 (0:23 right, 1:38 combo, 2:05 right/head) Round 5: Sawyer 3-0 (0:11 cross, 1:36 left, 2:35 left hook/body) Round 6: None Round 7: Sawyer 4-0 (0:16 uppercut/chin/knockdown (8-count), 0:49 hook, 1:03 hook, 1:25 right/body) TOTAL: Sawyer 15, Case 0 SCORECARD FROM SAWYER-CASE BOUT  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 CUSTER COLLEGE LEAVES WEST COAST LOOP Citing an inability to compete with the top schools in the section, Custer College has decided to drop out of the West Coast Athletic Association for basketball and is considering doing the same for football. The South Dakota school shocked collegiate basketball by winning the AIAA tournament in the spring of 1934 but has not qualified for the tournament since and finished with a school worst 8-21 record last season including just 4-10 in section play. The Calvary played a limited conference football season a year ago, going 1-2 against WCAA opponents and was 6-4 overall. They have just 3 section games on their fall grid slate this year as well. For the time being at least, Custer College will compete as an independent in basketball. The school also has a new head basketball coach with Delmar Babb, who spent the previous 13 seasons as the head man at Narragansett, replacing Herb Binder. Recruiting has traditionally been a struggle for the school but they did a land a top 100 recruit for the upcoming basketball seasons in Tom Freeman, a 6'4" power forward from Denver, Co. The West Coast Athletic Association, home to college cage powers Coastal California, CC Los Angeles, Redwood University, Rainier College and Lane State as well as Northern California, Spokane State, Portland Tech and Idaho A&M will continue on with 9 member teams. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/13/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-05-2023, 10:31 AM
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#783 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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June 21, 1948
JUNE 21, 1948 COASTAL STATE WINS AIAA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Bruce Walker hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning to lift Coastal State to a 2-1 victory and a sweep of Carolina Poly in the best-of-three finals of the annual Collegiate World Championship Series tournament. It is the first national title in any sport for the South Carolina school, with Walker and two-time Christian Trophy winning shortstop Tom Miller leading the Eagles to the victory. Coastal State opened the tournament with a hard fought 7-5 victory over Opelika State in the opening game Monday at the campus stadium of Boston's Commonwealth Catholic University. Miller and Walker had two hits in the game with both of Walker's being doubles to drive in 4 of the Eagles runs. A day later they held off Eastern Oklahoma, which had beaten top ranked Bluegrass State in Monday's opening round, by a 6-4 score with sophomore outfielder Neal Dawson doing most of the damage with a 3-run homer in the 6th inning. For Bluegrass State it marked a third straight early exit from the tournament as the highly touted Mustangs, who won two National Titles early in the decade, were eliminated in the opening game despite being the top seed each time for three consecutive seasons. The Eagles nipped Huntington State 3-2 in the semi-finals to set up the final series with their rivals from North Carolina. The Cardinals, who were making their first appearance since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 1946, reached the finals with wins over Redwood, defending champion Grange College and finally Lane State in the semi's. Coastal State's bats proved too much for the Cardinals in Friday's first game of the finals. Miller had a 3-hit game and scored twice but was overshadowed by Walker, who had a huge game with 4 hits including a homerun and a double while driving in 4 of the Eagles runs. Saturday afternoon the two clubs were back at Minutemen Stadium for the finals and it was a terrific pitching duel between Eagles freshman Herb Bloom and junior Joe Gallo of the Cardinals. Bob Anastas doubled in Dick Cunningham in the fourth inning to plate the opening run and stake the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead as they tried to force a third game. They would fall just short because of Walker's 8th inning heroics. Walker was an easy choice as most valuable player with 12 rbi's and 2 homers to go with a .545 batting average in the tournament. The senior, who hit .292 with 11 homers and 58 rbi's during the season, was trying to make one final impression on Cleveland Foresters management. He was drafted by the Foresters in the 15th round following his junior season but could not agree on a contract so returned to Coastal State for one more year. Cleveland drafted him again -this time in the 10th round in January- and the 22-year-old is hoping to turn pro with the organization in the next couple of weeks.  AIAA GAME RESULTS MONDAY JUNE 21: ROUND OF 16 Eastern Oklahoma 4 Bluegrass State 3 Player of the Game Johnnie Cloud, Eastern Oklahoma Coastal State 7 Opelika State 5 PoG Bruce Walker Coastal State Huntington State 4 Bayou State 2 PoG Frankie Ward, Huntington State Maryland State 5 Central Kentucky 2 PoG Andy Green, Maryland State Eastern State 7 Miami State 6 (10 inn) Sam Mazzotta, Eastern State Lane State 7 Noble Jones College 4 PoG Frankie Williams, Lane State Grange College 14 Cowpens State 5 PoG Don Berry, Grange College Carolina Poly 6 Redwood 3 PoG Dick Cunningham, Carolina Poly TUESDAY JUNE 22: QUARTERFINALS Coastal State 6 Eastern Oklahoma 4 PoG Neal Dawson, Coastal State Huntington State 7 Maryland State 2 PoG Danny Noonan, Huntington State Lane State 5 Eastern State 2 PoG Frankie Williams, Lane State Carolina Poly 10 Grange College 3 PoG Archie Cunningham, Carolina Poly WEDNESDAY JUNE 23: SEMIFINALS Carolina Poly 7 Lane State 2 PoG Mills Watson, Carolina Poly Coastal State 3 Huntington State 2 PoG Tom Miller, Coastal State FINALS GAME 1, Friday June 24: Coastal State 7 Carolina Poly 4 PoG Bruce Walker, Coastal State GAME 2, Saturday June 25: Coastal State 2 Carolina Poly 1 PoG Bruce Walker Coastal State MILLER WINS SECOND STRAIGHT CHRISTIAN TROPHY Not only did Coastal State celebrate an AIAA World Championship Series title last week but the school also learned that junior shortstop Tom Miller was awarded the Frank Christian Trophy for the second consecutive season. Miller, who was selected first overall by the Washington Eagles in this year's FABL draft and is expected to turn pro in the next couple of weeks, led all major school AIAA players in batting average and slugging percentage this past season. He joins Bill Moore (currently with Boston), Sal Pestilli (Chicago Cougars) and Bob Riggins (New York Stars) as the only two-time winners of the trophy, which was first awarded in 1927. Miller claimed 6 of the 8 first place votes with Redwood University outfielder Red Hinton, who finished second in the balloting, earning the other two.   Miller was named first on 5 of the 8 ballots cast while Rick Masters, a junior outfielder from Brooklyn, NY, finishing tied for second with two first place votes. Pug White, a senior pitcher out of Monterey, CA., who was tied with Masters for second place after a perfect 8-0 season with a 0.33 era, garnered the final first place vote. White was a fifth round selection of the Montreal Saints.   COAST HEAVY MILLER ENDS SLIDE WITH DECISION OVER BAILEY Dan Miller got back on the winning track with a unanimous decision over Allen Bailey in Los Angeles on Friday night. The win -the 37th of his career- was much needed after Miller had absorbed a disqualification loss in his last outing against Canadian Daniel Hout. It marked the second defeat in a row for the 31-year-old San Francisco native who on January 10 fell to world champion Hector Sawyer before a record-setting fight crowd at Santa Ana Stadium. Bailey (36-7-2), a 29-year-old Maryland native known as the Annapolis Assassin, gave as good as he got in the ten-rounder that went back and forth and its outcome was very much in doubt until the judges' cards were revealed. All three scored it 96-94 in favour of Miller, who sees his record rise to 37-9-1. The post-fight stats were nearly identical for the two veteran pugilists with Bailey being slightly more active and connecting on 25% of his blows while Miller landed 24% of his punches. The difference was Miller strung together three very strong rounds late in the fight, certainly making a positive impression on the adjudicators.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/20/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-06-2023, 12:28 PM
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#784 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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June 28, 1948
JUNE 28, 1948 CHIEFS PICK COOPER GOING TO CENTRAL KENTUCKY Chicago Chiefs second round selection Walt Cooper highlights the list of drafted high school seniors that have told FABL clubs they will go the college route instead of signing a pro contract. The Chiefs are still expected to try and convince the Flint, Mi., native who was selected with the first pick of the second round at 17th overall, to reconsider his decision but Cooper says he is 100% committed to continuing his education and playing college ball at Central Kentucky. Without a first rounder last season, Cooper was the Chiefs top selection in the draft. OSA feels the 17-year-old righthander has the potential to end up near the top of any big league rotation once he matures and he is coming off a 10-0 season with a 0.98 era for Grand Rapids (MI) High School. In three seasons of school ball, Cooper was a perfect 32-0 with a 0.93 era. The most famous name to turn down FABL would be All-American second baseman Charlie Barrell, who is off to Noble Jones College in Georgia to play baseball along with collegiate football and basketball. Barrell was a 3-time All-American selection at Capital Academy in Washington DC and was a finalist for the Adwell Award but was also a highly recruited athlete in each of the other two sports. He had informed FABL teams in advance of the January portion of the draft not to select him as he was fully committed to the Colonels.  300 FOR RED JOHNSON New York Gothams first baseman Red Johnson became just the sixth player to reach the 300-homerun plateau. The 30-year-old slugger accomplished the feat as part of a 3-homer game in an 11-10 win over the Philadelphia Keystones on Saturday. The milestone shot was the second of the three Johnson hit that day, a 5th inning solo blast off Keystones starter Charlie Wardell. Johnson's first of the day was also a solo shot off Wardell. That one, #299 of his career came in the fourth inning and he finished his longball exploits with a 2-run shot of Abe Abingdon in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. Johnson had a chance to become the first player in FABL history to smack 4 homers in the game but he had to settle for a single in the 11th inning as the Gothams rallied with 4 runs to pull out the victory. For Johnson it was the third 3-homer game of his career, one shy of Bobby Barrell who has done it four times. Barrell was on the field for the Keystones in Johnson's milestone game and hit two homers of his own, giving him 543 for his career, second only behind Max Morris. Johnson will likely soon be followed into the 300 homer club by a 7th member as Brooklyn third baseman Hank Barnett has been perched at 299 since hitting one against Cleveland 9 days ago. As for Johnson, with over half a season left he might hit another 20 homers -perhaps more if he gets hot- and that would put him on a pretty solid pace among the best in the game. Al Wheeler, the recently retired outfielder, hit 335 homers before the end of his age 30 season. That is the highest of all-time, even more than the legendary Max Morris had at the end of his age 30 campaign. It also would put Johnson, who turns 31 on October 1, well ahead of Bobby Barrell's pace at the same age although it is important to remember that Barrell had a couple of poor years in his late twenties while regaining his power stroke following a gunshot wound.  MINUTEMEN ROLL TO FED LEAD The hottest team in baseball of late is the Boston Minutemen. It is a surprise to most observers to find the Minutemen at the top of the Federal Association standings, but the Minutemen are a half game up on the New York Gothams after sweeping a doubleheader in St Louis yesterday. Boston has been road warriors all season with a 23-11 mark away from New England - the best road record in either loop. The Minutemen wrap up a very successful road trip that has seen them go 10-3 with 3 games in Philadelphia beginning tomorrow before returning home to face the last place Pittsburgh Miners over the weekend. Since June 5 the Minutemen have gone 18-5 to take over top spot in the Fed as the club aims for its third pennant win this decade. Aside from on-base-percentage, the Minutemen do not lead the Federal Association in any key category and are middle of the pack in both runs scored and runs allowed. They have no dominant player this season although a case could perhaps be made for ace Ray Dalpman (7-3, 3.57) and to be honest there pitching might even be shade below average. The offense lacks a dominant superstar like you might see with some of their pennant rivals, but Boston has been getting consistent production throughout the lineup. They have plenty of competition with both the Keystones and Gothams right on their heels and the Gothams will see George Cleaves return to the linuep after missing a month with a hip strain. In the Continental Association the New York Stars were just 20-21 on the morning of May 30th but since then have gone 21-8 to take over top spot in the loop. The Chicago Cougars are trying to keep pace and their pitching has been more than up to the task. The Cougars have allowed just 234 runs so far this season -by a wide margin the fewest in either association- but the offense has struggled and while they are hitting homeruns, the Cougars have the worst on-base-percentage in all of FABL. Their achillies heel the past few seasons, a poor record in one-run games, seems to be flaring up once more as the Cougars are once more under .500, at 10-12 in contests decided by a single run. The Stars, on the other hand, are 15-5 and Fed leader Boston is an amazing 17-4.  PIONEERS LEFT TO PICK UP PIECES AFTER LOSS OF HERN The story of 1947, St. Louis’ Danny Hern, may be the Pioneers’ story of 1948. Unfortunately for Hern and the Pioneers, it may be for the wrong reason. The Pioneers have placed Hern on the 60-day injured list, due to issues with his throwing shoulder. Hern was in the middle of a masterpiece against Washington, having thrown 6 2/3 innings of four-hit ball when the injury occurred. “I was feeling good…not great, but good,” said Hern on Monday. “Then I threw a slider to Sig (Stofer), and my arm got heavy. Luck (Pioneer manager Hugh Luckey) came out, and after some consultation with the doctor, he decided that was it.” Hern is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA so far this year, a far cry from his 25-5, 2.78 figure a year ago. However, he has a 1.29 WHIP, which is right around his 1.25 number in ’47. The key change is his BABIP, which has risen to .305 from .285. It is a major setback for the defending champs, who have battled early-season difficulties to find themselves at 31-28, just 3 1/2 games behind the front-running New York Gothams. “I’m not going to sit here and give you some coaching seminar on what losing Danny means,” said Luckey. “Everyone knows that’s a big loss. He won the Allen Award last year. Most teams don’t have Allen Award guys down in AAA to replace the one who got hurt. “That said…those guys in Charleston, they’re there because our rotation is top shelf. With Danny, we have the best rotation in the league. That cannot be questioned, because the answer lies in the statistics. So the guys down there, it’s not like they can’t come up here and do the job. And whoever it is will be expected to perform.” The team would not disclose who would make the trek from Charleston, though it is expected that Lazaro DeLeon will be the selection. He is 5-4 with a 3.46 ERA, along with a 1.25 WHIP. There is some speculation that Ralphie Spires, the team’s top pitching prospect, could make his arrival. However, the club has maintained that they want the 22-year-old to get a full year of pitching in Charleston before they assess the next step with him. YOUNG DYNAMOS NEED TO LEARN CONSISTENCY Young players are often more prone to the highs and lows of the game and with it comes inconsistency. That seems to be an affliction that has infiltrated the Dynamos clubhouse this season and was very much the case a year ago as well. Only St Louis and Cleveland are younger as a team than the Dynamos and there have been some speed bumps along the road this year. Currently the local nine is reeling after dropping 5 straight to Washington and Philadelphia including all 4 games of a weekend series at Thompson Field with the Eagles. There were a pair of heartbreakers yesterday when the Dynamos came up just short in the opener of a twin bill, falling 5-4 to the Eagles. The nightcap was even tougher to stomach as the Eagles rallied with a 2-run homer from Jesse Alvardo off Harry Sharp in the ninth inning to tie the game and then won 5-3 with a pair in the 11th frame. So the losing streak is five. But a week ago the clubhouse was positively giddy after a 5-game winning streak had the Dynamos within a game and a half of the lead. The week before it was a somber mood with 6 losses in 7 games coming on the heels of yet another 5-game winning streak. May gave us two five-game winning streaks but also a 4-game losing streak and a stretch where they dropped 5 of 6 games. April ended with a 4 game losing skid and we can all remember how last season ended with an 11 game losing streak, costing the club a second place finish. While there are clearly growing pains, one has to remember there is plenty to like about this Detroit club. Edwin Hackberry has slowed a little lately after a dominant May but seems a likely candidate to start the all-star game and is still just 21 years old. Stan Kleminski is also just 21 and growing into a very good big league shortstop with his bat and approaching average with his glove, but scouting director Fred Barrell feels he has a much higher defensive ceiling as he matures. Carl Potter is barely 22 years old and his next big league victory will be the 50th of his career. Those are three very good youngsters to build a team around. Add in 25-year-old second baseman Del Johnson (.302,3,24) and 24-year-old first baseman Dick Estes (.323,10,42) and the future looks bright. *** System Losing Some of its Shine *** Not all the news is good as there are a number of concerns about players tabbed as "can't-miss" prospects perhaps not being as good as advertised. Tommy Allenby, who came over in a trade Dynamos management will likely forever regret as it allowed the Chicago Chiefs to land John Stallings, has taken a free-fall after a dismal 1947 campaign and the 20-year-old is no longer considered a top 100 prospect. OSA is still very high on the young trio of pitchers in Fred Washington, Jack Halbur and Roy Schaub but all three are putting up very disappointing numbers in the low minors although Halbur's may be attributed to an offensive outburst in Class B. There are some positives with the biggest being 19-year-old third baseman Jim Gaiter's terrific start at Class B that has earned him a promotion this week to A ball. The hope is Gaiter continues his rapid progression as there is growing concern around the performance of 23-year-old Tommy Griffin in Detroit -so much so that manager Dick York has elected to give Win Hamby some starts this week over Griffin, who is hitting just .231, at the hot corner. *** Resist Urge to Deal *** While the plan to build a dynasty may not be going exactly as hoped the Dynamos still have a lot of the key pieces needed to build a team capable of winning the Fed pennant. Fans may call for a quick fix since the club is certainly within shouting distance, but long-time observers of this franchise know just how wrong that approach can go if things do not work out perfectly. The Dynamos had a similar quality core a decade ago with youngsters like Red Johnson, Hank Koblenz, Sal Pestilli and Pete Casstevens but in a rush to compete for the pennant they dealt all of those players away over the years and it set the franchise back. The urge is there at times with this management group to make a deal, of that I am certain, but so far at least Dynamos brass has resisted the temptation to try and get that "quick fix", instead electing to stay on the course they charted. It clearly means there will be some ups and downs -as we are witnessing now- but the hope is this patience will be rewarded in the next few years with not only the organization's first pennant since 1929, but also a sustained stretch that will give the club an opportunity to win a several titles. *** MUSTANGS REVEAL CHOICE, MOTORS UNDECIDED *** The draft is fast approaching in both pro basketball and hockey and the local entries will each have the opportunity to land a very good player. The ice Motors pick first in the NAHC draft but owner Jack Connelly Jr and his charges remain mum on the club's decision. Connelly would only say the Motors will not trade the pick but refused to identify who the selection might be. "Frank (Head Scout Frank Yeadon) and the rest of us have been very busy," Connelly stated recently. "And I can tell you we will be selecting a forward, but beyond that you will just have to wait and see like everyone else." The favourite is said to be Patrick Banning, a winger from British Columbia that Yeadon suggests has the "potential to become an outstanding player in the league," although there is talk of a late push from Roger Roll, the Motors Alberta scout, to take Carl Loon, a left winger from Edmonton despite some worries that Loon might be injury prone. Rollie Barrell's cage Mustangs are far more forthcoming with their pick. Detroit selects second after the Toronto Titans make the first overall choice and Barrell says it will be either national collegiate player of the year Ward Messer or forward Darren Fuhrman, who starred at Texas Gulf Coast. "We like 'em both," says Barrell, "and will be thrilled to get whichever one Toronto does not select." Sources indicate the Titans will take Messer, the younger brother of New York Gothams slugger Walt Messer. That is assuming the Titans don't fold before the draft as rumours persist that Wolves owner Bernie Millard will move his newly purchased Pittsburgh Falcons to Toronto for next season and some even suggest the Falcons will jump from the American Basketball Conference to Rollie's Federal league for next season. Either way, it might spell the end of the Titans. 
BOXING ROUND-UP A busy week of high-end boxing action was highlighted by former middleweight champion John Edmonds scoring a dominating decision in a 10-rounder with Willie Binion. The 28-year-old from Muncie, In., briefly held the belt after upsetting Frank Melanson on July 4 last year but fell in a rematch with the Pittsburgh pugilist. Edmonds now sports a career mark of 25-3 and is expected to remain the top contender in the middleweight division when TWIFB's latest rankings are released next week. A fighter who is in danger of dropping out of the top middleweight list is Tommy Campbell after the 25-year-old Atlanta native was knocked out by Joe Moore in a bout last Thursday. It was the first loss for Campbell, who entered the fight with a 20-0-1 record but lost a brawl to Moore, who is now 20-4. Both fighters came out swinging and Moore was close to being knocked out in the second round when he barely beat the count to regain his feet. Moore recovered nicely and floored Campbell once in the 7th round and twice in the 8th with the final knockdown being one that Campbell could not recover from. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/27/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-07-2023, 01:12 PM
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#785 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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July 5, 1948
JULY 5, 1948 TWIFB ANNUAL ALL-STAR VOTING EDITION The 16th annual FABL All-Star game will be played at Whitney Park in Chicago next Tuesday, making the Windy City stadium the first ever to host to all-star games after the inaugural event was held in 1933. An annual fixture since then, the Federal Association leads the series 8 wins to seven but the Continental Association is riding a two-game winning streak and looking to pull even in the series for the first time. Another fixture tied into the mid-season classic has been the release of Jiggs McGee annual All-Star ballot in which the editor of This Week in Figment Baseball reveals his choice as to who he feels should be in the starting lineup for each loop. Here are Jiggs McGee's choices for the 1948 game. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER: An interesting situation here as half-brothers George and Roger Cleaves are clearly the top two but each has ran into injury troubles. George, a veteran who has played in 9 all-star games, was moved from the Pittsburgh Miners to the New York Gothams over the winter and was off to a dominant start to the season (.338,6,27) before a hip injury sidelined him for a month in late May. He is back now but because of the lost time our vote will go to his brother Roger Cleaves (.333,16,48) of the Philadelphia Keystones. Roger has also missed a bit of time with an injury but the finalist for the Kellogg Award as top rookie a year ago is deserving of an appearance in the all-star game for the second year in a row. FIRST BASE: This is an incredibly tough choice to make and that is even with Red Johnson omitted from the ballot because of the time the Gothams slugger missed with an injury. Walt Messer replaces Johnson as the Gothams candidate and is coming off an outstanding week, but he is an primarily an outfielder and the competition at first is very deep so we will exclude him from our ballot. As good as each of them have been this season we are also forced to overlook young Dick Estes in Detroit, Tim Hopkins of the host Chiefs, Washington's Sig Stofer and young Keystone Nate Power. For us it comes down to Boston's Bill Moore (.332,3,43) and Joe Owens (.355,5,29), who has been one of the very few bright spots for Pittsburgh this season. It is really a coin flip but we will take Joe Owens of the Miners. SECOND BASE: Just like at first base, there are a lot of second basemen enjoy solid seasons in the Fed. Roosevelt Brewer of the Gothams, Detroit's Del Johnson, Bill Wise in Washington and Billy Woytek of the Keystones but we will take Artie D'Alessandro (.319,3,36) of the host Chicago Chiefs as our pick. SHORTSTOP: We love what youngster Reid McLaughlin is doing in Pittsburgh but he has spent nearly as much time at second base as he has at shortstop and is likely going to stay on the right side of the keystone bag for the rest of the year. He belongs on the team as does second year Gothams shortstop Cecil LaBonte but our starter is a clear choice: Harry Barrell (.311,0,34) is one of the biggest reasons the Boston Minutemen are in contention this season and we would love to see Harry, who along with his brother Bobby played in the first all-star game, back at Whitney Park a week from tomorrow. THIRD BASE: With apologies to Washington's Mel Carrol and Billy Dalton of Boston, it is getting to be almost as automatic to pencil in Hank Koblenz (.264,21,61) at third base for the Fed team as it is his Keystones teammate Bobby Barrell in the outfield. LEFT FIELD: We have long been fans of Jesse Alvardo (.291,15,56) of the Washington Eagles and he is our choice to start in leftfield and make his third straight all-star appearance. Larry Gregory of St Louis deserves a spot on the team for what would be his third trip to the all-star game. CENTER FIELD: A pair of youngsters in Boston Ben McCarty and Edwin Hackberrry (.308,13,52) are the two to debate over. Although he has slowed the past couple of weeks as he club struggles, we will still give then nod to the 21-year-old Detroit sophomore and reigning Kellogg Award winner. RIGHT FIELD: Perhaps it is not quite as clear cut as previous years but we see no reason to dethrone Bobby Barrell (.290,23,61) as our choice for what would be his 13th all-star game selection. Rats McGonigle of the Washington Eagles and young Flipper Robinson from the Gothams at least make the choice interesting this year. PITCHER: Lloyd Stevens (10-5, 2.39) is a clear choice as our starter on the mound for the Fed. We will add Hal Hackney of St Louis and young Carl Potter of Detroit as our second and third choices but they both came after plenty of debate over the likes of Chicago's John Stallings, Ray Dalpman from Boston and Ray Dalpman of the Boston Minutemen. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER: Young Jack Spahr has been impressive for Montreal and while he is getting on in years, 35-year-old Adam Mullins of Cincinnati, with 9 all-star selections on resume, always warrants consideration. Our choice however will be the much travelled Solly Skidmore (.298,1,22), who looks like he has found a home with the Philadelphia Sailors after making the all-star team a year ago while still a Brooklyn King. FIRST BASE: The Continental Association has some solid candidates among its crop of first baseman but two stand out. They are Red Bond (.282,18,43) of the Chicago Cougars and Philadelphia's Ed Reyes (.365,5,39). They are a contrast in styles as Bond is the prototypical power hitter who finally, freed from the cavernous Parc Cartier in Montreal, is strutting his stuff with the Cougars while Reyes has won 3 straight Continental Association batting crowns and appears well on his way to a 4th. A tough decision our vote goes to Ed Reyes. SECOND BASE:Like Red Bond in Chicago, another Montreal cast-off is performing very well in Brooklyn. That would be Charlie Woodbury (.329,6,38), who may not be the most dependable glove man but is certainly getting the job done at the plate this season. Honourable mention to Toronto's Tom Frederick. SHORTSTOP: The Continental has traditionally be loaded with high end shortstops. The numbers may have tailed off a little of late but a pair are really standing out this season in 25-year-old Gordie Perkins (.283,5,28) of Montreal and veteran Chicago Cougars star Skipper Schneider (.288,4,21). We give the nod to Schneider in what would be his 7th all-star game appearance. THIRD BASE: Toronto's Hal Wood (.350,2,32) is enjoying the best season of his career and the 34-year-old is our choice at the hot corner but there was serios consideration given to Marion Boismenu of the Philadelphia Sailors and the Cougars Walt Pack. LEFT FIELD: Jack Welch of the New York Stars is having a very good season and deserves a spot on the all-star team but our vote for the starter goes to Ivey Henley (.339,8,39), who is one of the big reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Cleveland Foresters. Ex-Pittsburgh Miners outfielder Pinky Pierce has had a nice season as has Brooklyn's 23-year-old rookie Pat Petty. CENTER FIELD: It hasn't been a great year for Sal Pestilli (.259,12,41) but in our minds the Chicago Cougars veteran is the best of a somewhat weaker crop at centerfield in the CA this year. Bill Elkins of Montreal also earned some consideration. RIGHT FIELD: Unlike in center, there is plenty to choose from for the Continental Association starting right fielder. Despite a number of solid candidates like veteran Cannons star Sam Brown and young Ralph Johnson of Brooklyn the choose is one of the easiest we have had to make because three-time Whitney Award winner Bill Barrett (.348,25,73) is enjoying another great season for the New York Stars. PITCHER: Possibly the biggest individual player surprise in the CA this season has been the emergence of Wally Reif (9-3, 2.56) in Montreal. The 28-year-old appears destined to make the all-star game for the first time in his career and in our opinion deserves the ball to start the game. Deuce Barrell of Cincinnati and Duke Bybee of the Chicago Cougars would round out our ballot if we are restricted to three pitchers although we would love to skip the relievers so we can add Brooklyn's Bob Arman and New York's Eli Panneton to our list. MILESTONES FOR BARNETT AND CARROL A pair of impressive milestones were reached last week. Just five days after Red Johnson of the New York Gothams became just the sixth player in FABL history to smack 300 career homeruns, Brooklyn's Hank Barnett became the seventh. The 38-year-old 7-time all-star, who began his career in Montreal before having stops with both Chicago clubs, is winding down his career with the Brooklyn Kings but not before getting his 300th homer against the club he began his career with. Barnett hit a solo shot -his 8th of the season- off Montreal's Bert Cupid in the second inning of Brooklyn's 7-3 loss to the Saints at Kings County Ballpark on Thursday. Two days later in Philadelphia, veteran Washington Eagles third baseman Mel Carrol became the 37th player to record at least 2,500 FABL hits. The 36-year-old's milestone hit was a single in the top of the 3rd against Keystones ace Lloyd Stevens at Broad Street Park. There was polite applause from the 27,568 in attendance, but the Philadelphia fans were unhappy with the outcome, a 4-1 Eagles win as the middle game of Washington's three-game sweep in Philadelphia.   The first overall selection, two-time Christian Trophy winning shortstop Tom Miller from Coastal State, has not yet put pen to paper with the Washington Eagles but he is expected to agree to a contract in the near future. Here is a look at the status of the first round picks. Code:
PK TM NAME POS SIGNED OSA RANK 1 WSH Tom Miller SS No 2 CLE Stump Patterson 3B Yes - 28 3 DET Dino Sharp 1B Yes - 4 4 MON Pete Ireton 2B No 5 PHK Buddy Miller CF No 6 NYS Gene Curtis P Yes - 77 7 NYG Hank Estill 3B Yes - 24 8 TOR Bill Irvin LF No 9 PIT Roy Snedden 3B Yes - 42 10 CIN Dave Smith P No 11 BOS Joe Kleman SS Yes - 5 12 BKN Jimmy Isgro P Yes - 45 13 PIT Ralph Hughes CF No 14 PIT Glen Holbrook CF Yes - 40 15 CLE Jim Urquhart 2B Yes - 20 16 PHS Curt Brooks 2B Yes - 56   Another pitcher who got into the rotation was Clarence Barton. Barton has been in and mostly out of the rotation and pitching in late inning situations. He has struggled most of the 2 prior seasons in a starting role but we will give him some time in place of Harry Carter for a bit. Juan Pomales has struggled 8-50 since returning from injury. He will make his way to the bench for a bit and give rookie Pat Petty the everyday job. Petty has been seeing action moving around and spelling guys in the OF. He has spelled CF John Moss a few times with Ralph Johnson moving into CF on those days. Moss is struggling with a 206 average this year but is still getting on base at a 350 clip. Its been a tough 1st half for Moss. Kings are hanging around despite all the youth and a leaky pitching staff. Mental mistakes are killing them (errors and walks). Still they are about where we thought we would be. Hanging around but not a serious contender. We will probably only land 1 ping pong ball this year, but we haven't had much lucky with multiple balls the last few years. *** Kings Scouting Staff Happy With Draft *** Several of the Kings new draft picks have made the OSA top prospect rankings. Pitcher Jimmy Isgro (18) debuts at #45 overall and the Kings 7th prospect (3rd in pitcher rankings). 9th round pick OF Pinky Walls clocks in at #103 overall and 9th on the Kings list. 6th round SS Joe Marshall is the Kings #13 and #173 overall. The Kings have a few more players left to sign. They have decided to not offer 8 of their draftees who they feel will be better off going to college or finding a real job.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN The Toronto Wolves are 2-11 over the last two weeks on the road which is causing a great of consternation amongst the fans and in the front office. Owner Bernie Millard, in breaks from his dealings with the John L. Lewis led UMW talks, has been demanding answers along with a concrete plan for the future path of the Wolves. The catch phrase seems to be "Lets see what we have for the Fifties." Sounds like the Wolves are starting the transition. Toronto expects lots of movement throughout the system by mid-July once the C ball is in full swing. Speculation is that the sands of time have run out on a number of players in the system. Players will be moved up the system quickly for the balance of the season. Meanwhile Millard continues his behind the scenes wrangling with his new pro basketball team. The Pittsburgh Falcons are coming to Toronto next season and will play out of Dominion Gardens. Millard confirmed the team, which may or may not still be known as the Falcons, will most assuredly be a Toronto club but was mum when asked to confirm that the Falcons will now roost in Rollie Barrell's Federal League instead of their current nest in the American Basketball Conference. The future of Toronto's other pro cage team -the Titans- is unknown but it will certainly not involve our city. Titans owner Charles Mitchell will either fold his club or move it to a new city. 
DESMARAIS HOPING FOR BETTER LUCK IN REMATCH WITH FRANK THE TANK PHILADELPHIA - In the throes of summer's swelter, the pugilistic world braces itself for a transatlantic showdown that promises fistic fireworks. Next Saturday, the gritty Sailors Memorial Stadium in the City of Brotherly Love will bear witness to a grudge match of colossal proportions, as Europe's own Edouard Desmarais seeks redemption against the indomitable Frank "The Tank" Melanson. These two middleweight gladiators have crossed paths before, in a clash that left Desmarais battered and bewildered. It was October of '46 when Melanson, then the reigning World Middleweight Champion, turned the Frenchman's world upside down with a thunderous third-round knockout. The champ's fists painted a vivid picture that night, and Desmarais absorbed the brutal masterpiece. But, ah, how times change! A year and a half have ebbed away since that fateful night, and the challenger from across the pond is poised to pen a different narrative. Edouard Desmarais, the European middleweight monarch, exudes an air of quiet determination. Huddled in the gritty gyms of New York, he sharpens his tools for this long-awaited rematch. He's a man transformed, a fighter who now knows what to expect from the relentless 31-year-old tank. "It won't be easy," confesses Desmarais in his fractured English, "but this time I am ready." The battleground is also more familiar to Desmarais this time around. The North American canvas, a foreign landscape in their previous encounter, no longer unsettles him. In Philly, he'll step into the ring with the tenacity of a man on a mission, thirsting for vindication. Yet, it's worth noting that Frank "The Tank" Melanson, the gritty pride of Pittsburgh, has evolved as well. No longer invincible, his record now bears a scar, a blemish courtesy of John Edmonds who briefly snatched the title from his grasp last year. However, Melanson's spirit and resolve were undeterred, as he reclaimed his throne in a grueling rematch last December. This impending showdown marks the champion's first title defense since that dramatic comeback, and there's already talk of an epic trilogy with Edmonds, tentatively slated for later this year. Some have speculated that Melanson's gaze might be straying towards that highly anticipated rubber match, but the champ vehemently dismisses such notions. "I respect Desmarais," states Melanson adamantly, "He's a skilled fighter, and I won't underestimate him. I was just as surprised as anyone when it ended so swiftly in our first bout. But mark my words; he'll be gunning for payback." As they say in the fight game, redemption often carries more fire than first-time ambition. Frank "The Tank" Melanson stands at 33-1-2, a veteran of the trenches, while Desmarais, boasting a stellar 41-1 record with 32 knockouts, remains undefeated by anyone except the tank himself. With personal pride, championship glory, and transcontinental honor on the line, this rematch promises to be a battle royale, replete with fistic fury and the spirit of a true pugilistic grudge match. Get ready, fight fans, for the thunderous collision of Desmarais vs. Melanson is set to rock the boxing world once again! LATEST TWIFB BOXING RANKINGS    UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 MOTORS SAID TO BE LEANING TOWARDS BARBER WITH FIRST PICK The Detroit Motors will have the first selection in the upcoming North American Hockey Confederation draft and while the club has not confirmed who they will be selecting with the top choice, indications are they are leaning towards Lou Barber. The 19-year-old Tillsonburg, On., native was watched closely last season by Motors head scout Frank Yeadon and the rest of his staff because he spent most of the campaign playing for nearby Toledo of the Hockey Association of America. As one of the youngest players in the league, Barber had some growing pains but did manage to score 4 goals and tally 15 points to help the Tigers finish second in the HAA's West Division. Detroit scouts feel Barber is very close to being ready to contribute in the NAHC next season and feel his elite playmaking skills give him the potential to become one of the top players in the league as he matures. If Barber is not the Motors choice, it will still be a winger as the club is also looking closely at Patrick Banning and Carl Loon. Banning is said to have the highest ceiling in the minds of the Detroit staff but is much further away from his potential than Barber while the knock on Loon is a worry that he is not durable enough to withstand the rigors of a full NAHC season. The Motors, who finished last in the 6-team NAHC and missed the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons, have holes everywhere but the team's lack of elite offensive talent is likely the most glaring need. There is hope for the future with some talented young players on the rise in 22-year-old winger Nick Tardif, who led the club in scoring and won the McLeod Trophy as rookie of the year, along with a pair of 20-year-old pivots in Ben Witt and Francis McKenzie. The Detroit defense lacks depth but coach Mark Moore feels Jim Todd and 22-year-old Spencer Larocque can develop into a top pairing while goaltender Henri Chasse has demonstrated glimpses of what could be one of the best goaltenders in the league.   PRO CAGE'S FUTURE IN FLUX: Two Leagues in Turmoil As the sun climbs higher in the summer sky, the world of professional basketball finds itself embroiled in a tempest of uncertainty. The draft, a crucial moment in the destiny of recently graduated collegiate cagers, looms large on the horizon for both the Federal Basketball League and the entrenched American Basketball Conference. With the draft mere weeks away, it seems the two leagues are locked in a dance of destiny, one that could redefine the course of pro basketball for years to come. A year ago, both leagues made a conspicuous stand, mandating that college basketball's finest declare their allegiance to either the FBL or the well-established ABC. This forced choice was conceived as a means to curb the surging tide of player contracts, which had skyrocketed like a half-court buzzer-beater. The Continental Conference's advent into football had sent contracts spiraling, and the magnates in basketball, a sport already basking in the shadows of football, sought to contain costs. Now, the whispers that reverberate across the hardwood echo tales of upheaval. It's said that up to four ABC teams are poised to defect to the burgeoning ranks of the FBL. The Pittsburgh Falcons, it seems, are set to lead this charge, under the ownership of Bernie Millard, the same coal baron who commands the Toronto Wolves of baseball fame. Millard's plans are daring; he's already secured a lease for the Falcons to soar northward to Toronto, where they would find a home at Dominion Gardens. But herein lies the rub, Dominion Gardens previously hosted an FBL tenant, the Toronto Titans, or at least it did in the last season. So, what becomes of the Titans if the Falcons take wing in Toronto, regardless of the league they represent? Rumor mill churns, suggesting an outlandish switcheroo – the Titans, instead of finding a new city, could swap spots with Millard's squad, finding shelter in the ABC and calling Pittsburgh home. Nevertheless, the greater question looms: What fate awaits the ABC if these rumblings transform into reality? Indications suggest that a triumvirate of ABC stalwarts, the Washington Statesmen, New York Knights, and Boston Centurions, all ponder joining Millard's Falcons in the FBL. Such a mass exodus would leave the ABC with a mere quartet of teams, perhaps five if the Titans choose to traverse the divide. One can't help but ponder whether the ABC would remain tenable in such a stark configuration. As the clock ticks toward draft day, players who were coerced into declaring their loyalty to a specific league are left in the shadows of uncertainty. Will the ABC persist, and if so, which teams will form its nucleus? In addition, even team general managers and scouting units labor in a fog of uncertainty. Take, for example, Millard's Falcons; their predicament is particularly sticky. Should their scouts scrutinize ABC declared players or those who pledged allegiance to the FBL? Moreover, if they make the leap, do they pick first in the Federal draft, as dictated by their last-place record, or do they find themselves relegated to the tail end of the FBL's draft pecking order? The saga unfolds, thick with intrigue and rife with uncertainty. Pro basketball, at this juncture, is a realm in flux, a court where the rules are being written anew. The coming fortnight promises to be a riveting one, with the future of the hardwood world hanging in the balance. Stay tuned, folks, for this summer's draft might just pen a new chapter in the annals of pro basketball history. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/04/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-08-2023, 10:34 AM
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#786 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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July 12, 1948: All-star game rosters revealed
JULY 12, 1948 ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS ANNOUNCED The Chicago Chiefs will become the first club to host two all-star games on Tuesday evening when FABL's mid-season classic returns to the place it all began. Whitney Park, home of the Chiefs and named after FABL founder William Whitney, will be the site of tomorrow's game as the stadium hosts the all-star game for the second time. The very first All-Star game, back in 1933, was held at the same stadium and ended up being an 8-5 victory for the Federal Association. There is a pair of connections to that 1933 game as two players who appeared in that contest are also expected to make an appearance in this the 16th installment of the series. Bobby Barrell of the Philadelphia Keystones was the starting right fielder for the Federal Association that game and went two-for-three at the plate. Barrell earned the starting nod again this time around. His brother Harry Barrell was a 19-year-old rookie shortstop with the Brooklyn Kings and earned the nod as the starter for the Continental Association in the 1933 game. Like his brother, Harry had two hits in that game. He is now a shortstop with the Boston Minutemen and will be a reserve on the Federal Association roster this time around. Despite being nearly cancelled a couple of times during the war, the All-Star game continued on and has been contested every year since then. The Federal Association stars lead the series 8-7 but the Continental Association has prevailed each of the past two years including a 5-4 victory in 10 innings at Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia last year. A win by the visiting Continental stars this time around will allow the CA to do something it has never done before - be tied with the Federal Association in the series. The Feds won the opening three games of the series and have never given up the series lead. Code:
PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS YEAR LOCATION RESULT WINNING PITCHER MVP 1933 Whitney Park Federal 8 Continental 5 Ben Curtin STL Pete Asher Pit 1934 Riverside Stadium Federal 11 Continental 7 Chick Stout Pit Tom Taylor Cougars 1935 Broad Street Park Federal 5 Continental 2 Art Myers Keystones Freddie Jones StL 1936 Pioneer Field Continental 6 Federal 4 Tom Barrell BKN Dick Walker Sailors 1937 Dominion Field Federal 4 Continental 2 (19) Don Attaway Keystones Don Attaway Keystones 1938 Bigsby Oval Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1939 Forester Stadium Continental 6 Federal 3 Art White BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1940 Thompson Field Federal 7 Continental 4 Red Hampton Chiefs Billy Woytek Keystones 1941 Kings County Continental 8 Federal 4 Pete Papenfus Cougars Fred Galloway Cincinnati 1942 Fitzpatrick Park Federal 7 Continental 4 Ed Wood BOS Hank Barnett Chiefs 1943 Parc Cartier Continetal 7 Federal 3 Dick Lyons, Cougars Gail Gifford, StL 1944 Columbia Stadium Federal 1 Continental 0 Ed Bowman, Gothams Don Miller, Wash 1945 Cougars Park Federal 8 Continental 4 (10) Bill Anderson, Pit Chick Donnelly, Bos 1946 Minutemen Stadium Continental 2 Federal 1 Richie Hughes, Cle Sig Stofer, Wash 1947 Sailors Memorial Continetal 5 Federal 4 (10) Davey Morris, Cle Walt Pack, Cougars  COUGARS AND PIONEERS LEAD WAY WITH 5 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS Every team will be represented for tomorrow's all-star game at Whitney Park in Chicago with the St Louis Pioneers and Chicago Cougars leading the way with 5 selections each. ALL-STAR REPRESENTATIVES BY TEAM COUGARS- 5 Dyke Bybee (1), Pete Papenfus (3), Red Bond (3), Skipper Schneider (7) and Sal Pestilli (7) ST LOUIS- 5 Hal Hackney (1), Hiram Steinberg (1), Russ Peeples (1), Larry Gregory (3) and Al Tucker (6) NY GOTHAMS- 4 Ed Bowman (6), Buddy Long (4), George Cleaves (10) and Walt Messer (4) NY STARS- 4 Ed Cornett (1), George Scruggs (2), Jack Welch (1) and Bill Barrett (7) KEYSTONES- 4 Lloyd Stevens (3), Roger Cleaves (2), Hank Koblenz (4) and Bobby Barrell (12) WASHINGTON- 4 Ike Keller (5), Sig Stofer (4), Jesse Alvardo (3) and Rats McGonigle (3) BOSTON- 3 Johnny Harry (1), Billy Dalton (4) and Harry Barrell (9) BROOKLYN- 3 Bob Arman (1), Charlie Woodbury (2) and Ralph Johnson (2) CINCINNATI- 3 Jim Anderson (1), Deuce Barrell (6) and Adam Mullins (10) MONTREAL- 3 Bert Cupid (1), Wally Reif (1) and Gordie Perkins (2) TORONTO- 3 Hal Wood (2), Tom Frederick (3) and Chink Stickles (4) CHIEFS- 2 John Stallings (1) and Artie D'Alessandro (2) CLEVELAND- 2 Walt Hill (1) and Ivy Henley (1) DETROIT- 2 Carl Potter (2) and Edwin Hackberry (2) SAILORS- 2 Solly Skidmore (2) and Ed Reyes (1) PITTSBURGH- 1 Reid McLaughlin (1)   CHIEFS GIVE COOPER 50,000 REASONS TO SHUN CENTRAL KENTUCKY Apparently pitcher Walt Cooper was not as sold on attending Central Kentucky University as he told the Chicago Chiefs, although with his signing bonus the second round FABL draft pick can easily afford to pay his own way through school in the off-season. The Chiefs inked Cooper, a side-arm throwing righthander who went 32-0 in 3 years at Grand Rapids (MI) High School, to a minor league contract that included what is believed to be a record $50,000 signing bonus. OSA is high on Cooper, who was the Chiefs top pick despite being selected 17th overall because they had traded their first rounder away in the deal that brought Pete Casstevens to the Windy City, calling the 22-year-old a potential top of the rotation arm although the scouting service slotted him outside of the top 100 prospects at #126. Four more first round selections also signed contracts bringing the total to 14 of the 16 opening round selections now committed to FABL organizations. The two holdouts are #1 overall Tom Miller -the two-time Christain Trophy winning shortstop from Coastal State- along with pitcher Dave Smith, a 17-year-old righthander who hails from Brooklyn, NY and was selected with the 10th pick by the Cincinnati Cannons. Smith is said to be close to signing but is also weighing an offer from Noble Jones College. Code:
UPDATED LIST OF SIGNED FIRST ROUNDERS PK TM NAME POS SIGNED OSA RANK 1 WSH Tom Miller SS No 2 CLE Stump Patterson 3B Yes - 31 3 DET Dino Sharp 1B Yes - 4 4 MON Pete Ireton 2B Yes - 29 New signing 5 PHK Buddy Miller CF Yes - 7 New signing 6 NYS Gene Curtis P Yes - 80 7 NYG Hank Estill 3B Yes - 23 8 TOR Bill Irvin LF Yes - 22 New signing 9 PIT Roy Snedden 3B Yes - 50 10 CIN Dave Smith P No 11 BOS Joe Kleman SS Yes - 5 12 BKN Jimmy Isgro P Yes - 60 13 PIT Ralph Hughes CF Yes - 39 New signing 14 PIT Glen Holbrook CF Yes - 46 15 CLE Jim Urquhart 2B Yes - 21 16 PHS Curt Brooks 2B Yes - 71 
TANK LOSES BELT A SECOND TIME AS DESMARAIS CAPTURES CROWN Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium, Philadelphia, Pa. Frank “The Tank” Melanson entered the sequel of his solid title defense a man trying to conjure up those good times from his fighting past. He has returned to Philadelphia, which is where his rags-to-riches story began three years ago in his win over Archie Rees. The referee for the fight, Zeb Barley, also officiated the first Melanson-Desmarais fight, which turned out in Melanson’s favor. The time between that win over Desmarais and tonight has been paved with heartbreak and redemption. Last July, Melanson suffered his first professional loss to John Edmonds in his hometown of Pittsburgh, but the belt was his again by the end of the year, winning the rematch. Melanson landed the first big punch of the bout with a right cross, but Desmarais countered almost immediately with a punishing cross of his own. Desmarais impressed in the first round, but it was the appetizer to a second round where he completely dominated Melanson. His uppercut knocked Melanson down and he was going in for the kill. Melanson took everything Melanson could dish out, but he still made it back to his corner in one piece. “The Tank” was intact. Melanson came out with renewed vigor in the third round after just trying to survive in the last round and for the first half of the round, he was showing well, but Desmarais caused him to bleed with his emerging uppercut. In the fourth round, it was Desmarais continuing to pour on the assault, bolting from his corner, making a beeline to Melanson, and connecting on a hard hook and a vicious cross. Melanson tried to put up a fight, flailing at anything he could. He delivered a low blow to Desmarais and was issued a warning by referee Barley. If the fourth round was an assault, the fifth round was the battery. Desmarais sensed he could end the match and had some big boppers early and did not let Melanson come back with much. Melanson did open a small cut under Desmarais’s right eye, but it had no effect as the Fighting Frenchman continued to exact his own brand of revenge. Melanson was swinging at air in the final minute of the fifth, raising concerns from referee Bailey. With a few seconds left in the round, Desmarais caught Melanson with a hook to the body that was started to send an expressionless Melanson to the canvas and the beating was so lopsided at that point. As Melanson was about to go down, seemingly in slow motion, Barley grabbed him, propped him up and promptly stopped the fight. Melanson’s (33-2-2) second loss was a loss of the middleweight title for the second time. Desmarais (42-1-0) was jubilant in victory, recording his 33rd knockout, but he also had a sneer of a man who knew he should have been regarded as a more formidable opponent. Yes, there was a strong pro-American bias, which was to be expected with the fight in Philadelphia, an American opponent who was the champion, and a dominant showing by the American in their first fight. While pundits predicted their first match to be a toss-up, those same pundits acted like Melanson should not even waste his time on a has-been two-bit fighter like Desmarais. Apparently, those comments crossed the Atlantic and that provided fuel for this dominant performance. Will we hear from Melanson again? If this reporter’s vote counts for anything, I sure hope so. He has been a good champion, once and again. What will be his next move? Time will tell, but a third fight to break the tie with Desmarais could very well be in our future. Melanson won the first battle with a knockout in the third and Desmarais returned the favor with a technical knockout in the sixth tonight. One more fight might settle matters. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Desmarais 2-1 (M: 0:41 cross; D: 0:58 cross, 1:48 right/body) Round 2: Desmarais 1-0 (0:49 uppercut/knockdown (3-count)) Round 3: Desmarais 1-0 (1:32 uppercut/cut) Round 4: Desmarais 3-0 (0:13 hook, 0:27 cross, 1:31 cross) Round 5: Desmarais 3-0 (0:47 right/head, 1:01 uppercut/head, 1:42 combo) TOTAL: Desmarais 10, Melanson 1  LOCAL FIGHT STAR WINS ON UNDERCARD Philadelphia native Scott "The Chef" Baker may yet work his way back into title contention in the heavyweight division. The 28-year-old seemed destined for an appointment with World Champion Hector Sawyer not all that long ago, but that was before he lost 3 fights in a row. Baker seems to be back on track with his third straight win to improve his career mark t0 18-3-2. The latest was an unanimous decision over Glen Hairston (26-11-2) on Sailors Memorial as the lead-in bout before the Melanson-Desmarais title fight. Baker was in complete control throughout the 10-rounder, and a clear winner in at least 8 of the rounds with all three judges giving Baker a wide margin of victory. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
FEDERAL CAGE LOOP DEALS RIVALS A MAJOR BLOW It was no secret there was tension in the long-standing relationship between Rollie Barrell and Daniel Prescott but the simmering feud clearly boiled over last week when Barrell's Federal Basketball League revealed that it had stolen four teams away from Prescott's American Basketball Conference including a major market in New York City and one of its top teams in the Washington Statesmen. Years ago, Barrell and Prescott were founding partners in the first attempt at a pro league but after it fell during the depression Prescott's Brooklyn franchise returned with a new league that began play in 1937 while Rollie focused on his football team. Barrell returned to the basketball business two years ago with the creation of the Federal League and on this day, as Prescott burst into to interrupt a New York press conference in which Barrell and the four new FBL magnates were outlining their plans, it was clear that the Brooklyn Red Caps owner and founder of the American Basketball Conference was a bitter, but very determined man. The ABC had a monopoly on pro cage action for a decade until Barrell, in partnership with magnates from a number of semi-pro teams in the midwest, formed their own league, called the Federal Basketball League two years ago. There was an uneasy peace between the two loops, and unlike the bitter and costly battle for players when a second professional football league entered the picture right after the war, the two leagues worked together to minimize competition for players in an effort to keep salary expenses manageable. The peace is clearly broken with a war-like declaration from the Federal loop, sweeping in to convince the Boston Centurions, New York Knights, Pittsburgh Falcons and Washington Statesmen all to jump leagues and exit the ABC in favour of the Fed. The immediate reaction from many was that would sound the death knell for the ABC, but Prescott quickly proved he was not willing to go quietly. Just moments after word came that half of the teams in the ABC were suddenly gone, Prescott, who charged uninvited into the New York City conference room where the FBL press conference was being held, boldly declared that his loop was adding four expansion teams, including three of them in the heart of the Federal loop's stranglehold on the midwest. The result is there will be twenty teams playing pro basketball next year and few, including Prescott believe the sport can support that many. In fact, New York writer John Brinker asked Prescott if 20 teams could survive and the clearly determined ABC boss spat back while glaring at Barrell and the former ABC owners "No, I don't, Mr. Brinker. But there's room for eight, and when the dust settles, I fully intend for those eight to be the American Basketball Conference's member clubs." Time will tell, but for the moment at least here is how the professional basketball landscape will look next year. FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION Boston Centurions Baltimore Barons New York Knights Philadelphia Phantoms Syracuse Titans Washington Statesmen WEST DIVISION Buffalo Brawlers Chicago Panthers Cincinnati Cyclones Cleveland Crushers Detroit Mustangs Toronto Falcons The Boston, New York and Washington franchises all shift from the ABC to the FBL. The Syrcause Titans (nickname may change) are the Toronto Titans from last season, but were forced to move when their lease with Dominion Gardens expired and new Falcons owner Bernie Millard negotiated a lease for his ABC franchise that was based in Pittsburgh last year. Two have a pair of six team divisions the Buffalo Brawlers have been shifted from the FBL East Division to the West Division. AMERICAN BASKETBALL CONFERENCE ABC EAST Brooklyn Red Caps Hartford Patriots Richmond Clippers Rochester Rockets ABC WEST Indianapolis Milwaukee Pittsburgh St Louis The four remaining ABC clubs will now comprise the East Division while four new expansion teams have been added to make up the West and keep the ABC with 8 teams, just as it was last season. More information on the press conference to unveil the changes can be found here in the Ballad of the Barrell Brothers story. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/11/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-11-2023, 12:39 PM
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#787 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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July 19, 1948
JULY 19, 1948 CONTINENTAL STARS EVEN SERIES WITH WIN IN ROUT For the first time in the 16-year history of FABL's All-Star Game the Continental Association has pulled even with the stars of the Federal loop. The Continental side blasted the Fed 11-3 Tuesday evening at Chicago's Whitney Park, marking the third straight victory for the CA and allowing them to even the series -something they have never done before- at 8 wins each. Bill Barrett was named the player of the game, adding another bauble to the impressive collection of accolades the 28-year-old outfielder has accumulated through the years. They include 3 Whitney Awards, a pair of World Championship Series rings and a WCS MVP. The player of the game award certainly pales in contrast but it is another accomplishment in what has been -at least so far- Barrett's best season since missing three years due to the war. On Tuesday Barrett got the Continental nine off to a quick start with a 3-run homer in the top of the first inning to give his side a quick lead, one which they would never relinquish. Sal Pestilli increased the lead with a solo shot in the third frame and it was up to 7-0 following a fifth inning in which Pestilli doubled in a run and Ed Reyes had a 2-rbi single. Four more runs in the sixth inning made the score 11-0 before the Federal Association finally got on the scoreboard in the home half of the sixth.  Code:
PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS YEAR LOCATION RESULT WINNING PITCHER MVP 1933 Whitney Park Federal 8 Continental 5 Ben Curtin STL Pete Asher Pittsburgh 1934 Riverside Stadium Federal 11 Continental 7 Chick Stout Pit Tom Taylor Cougars 1935 Broad Street Park Federal 5 Continental 2 Art Myers Keystones Freddie Jones St Louis 1936 Pioneer Field Continental 6 Federal 4 Tom Barrell BKN Dick Walker Sailors 1937 Dominion Field Federal 4 Continental 2 (19) Don Attaway Keystones Don Attaway Keystones 1938 Bigsby Oval Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN Fred McCormick Toronto 1939 Forester Stadium Continental 6 Federal 3 Art White BKN Fred McCormick Toronto 1940 Thompson Field Federal 7 Continental 4 Red Hampton Chiefs Billy Woytek Keystones 1941 Kings County Continental 8 Federal 4 Pete Papenfus Cougars Fred Galloway Cincinnati 1942 Fitzpatrick Park Federal 7 Continental 4 Ed Wood BOS Hank Barnett Chiefs 1943 Parc Cartier Continetal 7 Federal 3 Dick Lyons, Cougars Gail Gifford, St Louis 1944 Columbia Stadium Federal 1 Continental 0 Ed Bowman, Gothams Don Miller, Washington 1945 Cougars Park Federal 8 Continental 4 (10) Bill Anderson, Pit Chick Donnelly, Boston 1946 Minutemen Stadium Continental 2 Federal 1 Richie Hughes, Cle Sig Stofer, Washington 1947 Sailors Memorial Continetal 5 Federal 4 (10) Davey Morris, Cle Walt Pack, Cougars 1948 Whitney Park Continental 11 Federal 3 Bob Arman, Bkn Bill Barrett, NY Stars PLENTY OF CONTENDERS BUT SIGNS POINT TO QUIET TRADE DEADLINE Perhaps it is the new rules prohibiting the dealing of draft picks as despite there being a number of contenders in each association all indications are this is shaping up to be a quiet trade deadline. The Federal Association has four teams including the defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers all sitting with five and a half games of first place New York while the Continental loop, headed by the other New York City team, have the Sailors, Cougars and Kings all with 6.5 games of the lead as we sit two weeks shy of the August 2 trade deadline. FABL President Sam Belton did institute a new rule which went into effect at the conclusion of last month's draft prohibiting the trading of draft picks or drafted players during their first pro season. Boston scouting director Johnny Robards looks forward to how the new rule might change the way teams approach deals. "I think the change will be an interesting dynamic as to how everyone does business. You are no longer trading a pick for an unknown player. It will be someone that has been in your system and you may have high hopes for. Will we see less deals because of this? Time will certainly tell. Others agree and feel the new rule could have an impact to limit deadline moves because in past years draft selections had often played a major role in such deals. However that is likely not the only factor, at least not in the mind of one FABL Scout. "I think (the rule prohibiting draft pick trading) will have a small impact but it is not the main issue," explained Detroit's Fred Barrell. "A major factor in my mind is the fact that there have been so many big deals the last few years. That means quite a few of the non-contenders right now do not have much of value they would be willing to part with. To me that is the biggest roadblock in finding a big deadline deal to make. There just isn't the supply of veteran talent on the trade block" That has some merit as here is a quick look at what the teams we will call "non-contenders" have available. PITTSBURGH: The Miners just moved Luke Berry to the Cougars and made their big moves during the winter with Lefty Allen, George Cleaves and Pinky Pierce shipped out. 36-year-old first baseman/outfielder Joe Owens might command a decent price but beyond that the Miners only really have Jim Lightbody or George Phillips and neither would draw a major return. CHIEFS: 32-year-old Al Miller would command quite a price even after missing the first month of the season with an injury but I just don't see any situation in whcih the Chiefs would be willing to move him. Charlie Bingham perhaps, but like George Phillips in Pittsburgh, there likely would not be much of a return. I doubt Bob Martin is going anywhere either and again the return would not be great. One possibility is 35-year-old centerfielder Bill May but the Chiefs would have to get a young centerfielder in return as I am not sure they feel Dave Kreiger is the answer or that Jake Pomarico is ready to take over the role next season DETROIT: The Dynamos won't move any of their young talent which leaves only 36-year-old outfielder Sid Williams and 35-year-old pitcher Dixie Lee. Williams would likely not command enough in return to make the Dynamos consider a move but Lee, although not actively being shopped by the club, would likely draw plenty of attention from a team like Boston, the Keystones or New York Stars. However, it would need to be a very big offer as the Dynamos have gone on record stating they have no intention of moving Lee. CLEVELAND: The bones have been picked clean. There is plenty of young talent but there is likely no chance the Foresters brass even considers for a moment dealing any of it. Perhaps a depth arm like Dick Lamb or Ducky Davis gets moved but it would hardly be considered a blockbuster and there is likely little interest in either. CINCINNATI: The Cannons have some players teams could be interested in such as Adam Mullins, Sam Brown or maybe even dealing Jim Anderson while his stock his high after a breakout first half at age 32. Denny Andrews and Chuck Adams are struggling, so there stock is at a low and there is always the chance a savy GM takes advantage of that and sweet talks the Cannons into parting with one of the two. If there is a bigger deal to made this deadline it is likely with the Cannons, but unless Cincinnati is getting one or two very high-end prospects in return I am not sure a deal at this point is in their best interests. It has been a pretty good decade for the Cannons, but it feels like age has caught up with them and they are on the downslope. The wisest move might be to wait until the winter to shop Mullins and a few others to see if they can land a big return like the Miners did with Cleaves and Allen. MONTREAL: The Saints were rolling along until mid-June when they hit a wall, going 9-20 over the past month. It is a stark turnaround and one that might have left the club in a state of shock. The problem now is to try and determine if the first two months of the season were a true indication of the club's talent level or just a hot streak. Sure they could make a move and part ways with a pitcher like Wally Doyle or perhaps even move young Maurice Carter to make room for Hank Smith at first base but, unless the offer is overwhelming, doing nothing might be the Saints best course of action. TORONTO: I expect the Wolves will get many calls this week about Fred McCormick and Joe Hancock. Toronto does have a number of pieces that would be of interest but Wolves owner Bernie Millard said it again last week. "McCormick will stay," before adding that the "Wolves will probably sat pat at the deadline." ***Lack of Sellers Makes it Hard on Buyers*** So, with very little available, it likely means that any players of consequence who might be moved will come at a hefty premium and that is something that will price most teams out. Add in the fact that while there are still a lot of teams in contention, there is a clear leader in both loops. Things might change over the next week but a team 5 games out is generally a lot less likely to pull the trigger on a deal that could have a major negative impact on their future than if they were within a game of top spot. That is how the defending Continental Association champion Philadelphia Sailors are approaching things. When asked of the chances that his club would make a big move at the deadline, Sailors Assistant General Manager Steve Basile stated his club was "probably not going to make any major moves unless we are less than 5 (games out) still at deadline." The Sailors executive also admitted he was "not feeling overly optimistic with the current injuries" that have befallen his club. At the moment the Sailors are 4 back of New York but have a big week ahead of them with games against both the Stars and Cougars. Other clubs won't make a move because they feel very confident with what they have. That is how New York Gothams AGM Frank Escoe is looking at things. "Teams are close, but a closer look shows us no less than 4 ahead in the loss column. We survived with star players out and early season struggles from our three new starters. I'm expecting more consistency and a lot more wins in the second half. I'm happy with the lineup and pitching staff." Boston is the Gothams closest challenger at the moment with the Minutemen sitting 3 games back, but 4 in the loss column. The Minutemen might be a team to make a splash at the deadline. "We are very happy with how the first half played out," confirmed Minutemen rookie skipper Tom Steffen. "The injury to (pitcher Joe) Sargent is definitely a tough break. New York is playing well and we probably do need to add to the roster if we are looking to catch them and hold a few others at bay. Boston is always looking to improve the roster and will be looking for unique ways to get that done now that the days of dealing draft picks are in the rearview." The Minutemen may be in the minority, at least in the Federal Association. The Philadelphia Keystones are a club that historically has made very few deals, preferring to build from within the system and Keystones AGM George Mitchell says his club will likely not change that trend this year. “I like where we sit, we have shown we belong in this race," Mitchell pointed out. "It’s not over and I’m encouraged with our start after the All-Star Break. Could we improve our pitching staff? Sure. I know the guys already here can pitch better than they have in the first half, but I’m always open to improving the club as long as it doesn’t hamstring us for the future.” Like the Keystones, the Washington Eagles are 4.5 games behind the front-running Gothams. Washington, also like the Keystones, has had its problems with starting pitching this season. If Toronto was inclined to deal I could see the Eagles making a run at Joe Hancock but beyond that I am not sure there is an arm available that would be enough of an upgrade for the Eagles to justify making a move. And if Hancock or someone of his ilk suddenly became available the Eagles would have plenty of company in a bidding war. The New York Stars for one. Despite leading the Continental Association Stars manager Ken Tannen admits he could use some help on the mound. "Were over performing currently at the plate and underperforming on the mound," confided the veteran Stars skipper. "I think we're a solid top of the division team, but the pitching is lacking, giving up far too many runs. We need another solid young arm, but our farm is pretty tapped out and we don't have a lot to offer as far as trading stock goes. We're just going to ride out the season and play the best we can with what we have. If someone makes us an offer for a pitcher we can't refuse, we're all ears though." The big question mark in the Continental is likely focused in the midwest and will the Chicago Cougars pull the trigger on a major move as they typically do this time of year. Chicago made a relatively minor deal to bring Luke Berry over from Pittsburgh last week but the 30-year-old is likely going to see most of his action as a pinch-hitter with Red Bond at first base and Leo Mitchell and Harry Sharp manning the corner outfield positions. The problem the Cougars face will be the fact that, while they are desperate for offense, there is not a lot out there they could move to acquire. Adam Mullins perhaps, but the catcher is having a down year and at 35 perhaps it is a sign that he is starting to wear out so he may not be a big upgrade on Harry Mead at the moment. The Cougars are the one club that has no need for more pitching and their offense is loaded with talent, it just hasn't performed as well is one would expect. It may simply be a case of sticking with what they have -as the Cougars are still the best team in the CA on paper- and hoping they finally start to play like they are capable of. *** Final Thought - It Will Be Quiet Deadline *** There is always a chance of some major surprise deal being pulled off,and if so my expectation is it happens in the Continental Association with the Stars, Cougars or Kings, but a more likely scenario is that no major deals are pulled off over the next couple weeks. If there is a wildcard team it is the Cincinnati Cannons. I could easily see them deciding to move Adam Mullins, maybe Andrews and Adams as well, but there is no way they would even consider the option of parting with Deuce Barrell, or would they? It is likely going to be a quiet two weeks, but things could get very noisy, very fast if a team like the Cannons or Wolves suddenly decide to be sellers. 
HISTORIC MERGER BRINGS BASKETBALL TO NEW HEIGHTS In a whirlwind of events that has sent shockwaves through the professional basketball world, the Federal Basketball League (FBL) is set to absorb all eight teams of the American Basketball Conference (ABC), heralding a dramatic transformation of the sport's landscape. This astonishing conclusion comes after a tumultuous week, one that will undoubtedly etch itself into the annals of basketball lore. The tempest began when Daniel Prescott, the resolute head honcho of the ABC, stormed into an FBL press conference that was in the process of declaring that four teams from Prescott's loop were making a defiant leap into the Fed. Prescott added further shock to the already surprise announcement, declaring to reporters on hand that his league, the ABC, seemingly reduced to a mere quartet of teams and believed to be teetering on the brink of oblivion, would instead go on the offensive when with steely determination, Prescott brazenly revealed plans to counter this exodus with the addition of four expansion teams, proclaiming the ABC's resilience. However, in a strange twist, these expansion teams, much like phantoms of the hardwood, mysteriously vanished just as swiftly as they had materialized as a day later in an unexpected joint announcement, both Prescott and FBL maestro Rollie Barrell confirmed that the sixteen teams, previously ensconced in two rival leagues, would now merge under a single banner - the new Federal Basketball League. The genesis of this unexpected partnership remains shrouded in mystery and is subject to conflicting narratives. Some assert that Prescott's announcement of expansion teams was but a hastily conceived gambit, driven by frustration, and that his only viable recourse was to join forces with the FBL. It is whispered that the quartet of deserting teams utilized a loophole in the ABC constitution to veto Prescott's expansion proposal, delivering a crippling blow to his league. Regardless of the origin, the outcome is clear: sixteen professional basketball teams will take to the court next season, united under the banner of the Federal Basketball League. Richmond, Virginia, stands as the sole city without a team, as the Clippers pack their bags for Pittsburgh, stepping into the void left by the departed Falcons, who, as previously disclosed, have migrated to Toronto. The heart of this newly minted league, which will continue to be known as the Federal Basketball League, beats with anticipation as it welcomes a fresh array of matchups and rivalries. The Eastern Division boasts the Baltimore Barons, Boston Centurions, Brooklyn Red Caps, Hartford Patriots, New York Knights, Philadelphia Phantoms, Syracuse Titans, and Washington Statesmen. Out West, the competition rages with the Buffalo Brawlers, Chicago Panthers, Cincinnati Cyclones, Cleveland Crushers, Detroit Mustangs, Pittsburgh Clippers, Rochester Rockets, and Toronto Falcons. In this historic union, the future of professional basketball has shifted, and the upcoming season promises to be a captivating chapter in the sport's rich history. The court may have been chaotic, but in its aftermath emerges a new era, where unity and competition forge a stronger, more vibrant league. Buckle up, basketball fans, for the hardwood symphony is about to reach a crescendo, and the echoes of this merger will resound for years to come. FUHRMAN REMAINS PROJECTED TOP PICK The new look Federal Basketball League's first order of business will be to conduct its rookie player draft. The draft pool is now combined so players that had previously decalred for the American Basketball Conference draft will instead be eligible for the FBL selection process. The Syrcause (formerly Toronto) Titans continue to hold the first pick with Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and the new Toronto club -the Falcons- rounding out the top five. According to OSA, which handles league scouting chores, the top prospect is former Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes star Darren Fuhrman, followed by Central Ohio Aviators forward Ziggy Rickard and Ward Messer out of Liberty College. FBL DRAFT ORDER AND MOCK FIRST ROUND  ERICKSON TO FACE GREGORY IN FIRST WELTER DEFENSE Mac Erickson, the unbeaten welterweight who claimed the World Title with a unanimous decision over Harold Stephens in April, has announced that his first title defense will take place September 4 at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium. The 27-year-old from St. Paul, Mn., has never lost as a professional and sports a 17-0 record after his title winning victory over Stephens. Erickson's opponet will be John Gregory, a 30-year-old from California with a 19-4-1 record. TWIFB does not rank Gregory among the top six welterweights and Erickson should be heavily favoured in his first defense. In fight action last week, rising young heavyweight Lewis Jones improved his career mark to 18-1 with a 4th round TKO of Pete Roe in their bout at Keystone Arena in Philadelphia. Jones, a 22-year-old who hails from Lexington, KY., suffered his only loss a little over a year ago to Dan Miller -who had a title shot in January against Hector Sawyer. Jones counts Roy Crawford -who is currently rated the number 3 heavyweight in the world by TWIFB and is clearly a fighter progressing towards a title shot of his own. Roe, a 36-year-old who originally hails from St Louis, falls to 27-11-5 and is nearing the end of his fight career.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/18/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-12-2023, 01:12 PM
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#788 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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July 26, 1948
JULY 26, 1948 CAN PIONEERS AND SAILORS REPEAT? The last time FABL had a rematch in the World Championship Series was back in 1935 when the Cleveland Foresters and New York Gothams met for the second consecutive year. Prior to that you need to go all the way back to 1914 for a second straight battle between the Washington Eagles and the old Baltimore Clippers. So, it is clear the St Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors are fighting an uphill battle and odds are very much against both repeating as flag winners, but each club is very much in contention as the calendar is about to flip to August. The Pioneers had a bit of a slow start but have gone 22-15 since June 20 and 8-4 since the all-star break. That showing, combined with a mini-slump that has seen the New York Gothams drop 10 of their last 16 games, suddenly has the surprise champs of a year ago within 2.5 games of the Fed front-runners. The Gothams are healthy again, but this year that almost seems like a bad thing as they seem to be winning more with one or more of their key offensive contributors on the sidelines. The Pioneers have a big injury of their own to deal with as reigning Allen Award winner Danny Hern is not expected back in the rotation until late next month but in the meantime Dick Long (9-6, 3.70) has filled in nicely alongside Hal Hackney (14-5, 3.19) and Hiram Steinberg (8-9, 3.31) at the top of the St Louis rotation. The deadline is fast approaching and the Pioneers chances would like be much better with another big bat but they are very much in the race at the moment. It is easy to overlook the Philadelphia Sailors in the Continental Association as they lack the big superstar bats of Bill Barrett and the New York Stars and the pitching staff is nowhere near as flashy as that of the Chicago Cougars but there the Sailors are- once more in the thick of the Continental race nestled nicely in between the Stars and Cougars in second place. The Sailors are not dominant in any one facet of the game - they just seem to do everything well. The pitching has been very strong led by Win Lewis (9-7, 3.20) and Charlie Gordon (8-2, 3.67) despite the fact that Slick Wesolowski has missed the entire season. The offense lacks power but has plenty of speed and somehow game-in and game-out gets the job done. It might be a big ask for manager Ernie Sprinkle and his club to once more outlast both the Stars and Cougars but the Sailors are very much in the mix and well on their way to a sixth straight season with at least 80 wins.  TOP PICK MILLER YET TO SIGN With the recent news that pitcher Dave Smith has reached a deal with the Cincinnati Cannons that leaves only Tom Miller as an unsigned first rounder. Miller, the two-time Christian Trophy winning shortstop out of Coastal State, was the first overall selection but so far he and the Washington Eagles have not yet agreed to terms on a deal. Miller is confident they will work something out but if nothing is on paper by August 20 he says he will return to Coastal State which would give Miller the opportunity to try and be the first three-time winner of the trophy presented to the top collegiate ballplayer. It would also mean he would re-enter the draft next January. Here is an update on each team's top draft pick. BOSTON- High school shortstop Joe Kleman was surprsingly still available for the Minutemen at pick 11 and hs is off to a decent start to his pro career at class C, slashing .269/.348/.436 in 19 games for the Hattiesburg Top Hats. Kleman remains at #5 overall on the OSA prospect list. BROOKLYN- Minnesota high schooler Jimmy Isgro was selected 12th overall by the Kings. The young righthander has struggled in adjusting to Class C, going 0-4 with a 9.64 era in 4 starts for Marshalltown. He slots in at #61 on the current OSA list. CHIEFS- Without a first round pick the Chiefs did have the top selection in the second round which they used on high school pitcher Walt Cooper. It took a record-setting signing bonus to keep him from attending Central Kentucky and Cooper has made three starts for Waterloo, and while the overall results have been mixed (1-2, 6.75), he has averaged 1 strikeout per inning pitched. OSA ranks him #132 on the prospect list. COUGARS- Like there cross-town rivals, the Chicago Cougars ere without a first round pick so their top selection was 18-year-old third baseman Amos Peterson with the 26th overall selection. Peterson is slow to adjust to Class C, slashing .167/.306/.267 in 13 games but he did hit his first professional homerun last week. OSA lists Peterson at #139 on the prospect pipeline. CINCINNATI- Dave Smith finally signed with the Cannons a little over a week ago but the 17-year-old Brooklyn native has yet to be assigned to a minor league club. OSA puts Smith at #162 on the prospect list. CLEVELAND- The Foresters had a pair of first rounders which they used on high school third baseman Stump Patterson (2nd overall) and second baseman Jim Urquhart (15th) from Bluegrass State. They are presently teammates at Class C Ottumwa where Urquhart is slashing .412/.444/.824 and likely bound soon for Class B while Patterson is faring quite well considering his age with a .321/.381/.415 slash line. OSA is high on both with Urquhart at #20 and Patterson #30 on the current prospect list. DETROIT- Detroit native Dino Sharp was selected 3rd overall by the Dynamos and the 18-year-old immediately cracked the OSA top five prospect list. He is ranked 4th at the moment and while struggling through 20 games of Class C (.186/.304/.339) he has hit 3 homeruns and has hits in each of his last four games. MONTREAL- The Saints selected 4th and went with high school second baseman Pete Ireton. Just two weeks into his pro career, things are going a little slow at the plate for Ireton (.196/.245/.217) but his work in the field has been terrific. OSA lists him at #29 on the prospect pipeline. NY STARS- High schooler Gene Curtis was the first pitcher selected, going to the Stars with pick #6. Like many youngsters, his first test of Class C has not gone well with an 0-3 record and an 11.32 era in 10 innings, primarily in relief. He is #80 on the OSA prospect list. NY GOTHAMS- 21-year-old Hank Estill, a third baseman out of Bluegrass State, was the Gothams top pick at 7th overall. He stepped right into AA but is taking some time to get adjusted with a slash line of .196/.236/.235. OSA ranks him at #24 overall and second behind only Kings farmhand Ken Newman among third basemen. KEYSTONES- The Keystones selected high school centerfielder Buddy Miller with the 6th choice. The club decided to test the Florida teen by assigning him to Class A Allentown right off the bat and the results have been good with Miller shashing .317/.364/.390 through his first dozen games as a pro. OSA loves him and lists Miller at #8 on its prospect chart. SAILORS- The Continental Association champs had to wait until the 16th and final pick of the opening round and they opted for high school second baseman Curt Brooks, who was a teammate of Minutemen selection Joe Kleman (11th pick). The Princeton, IL. high schooler has 19 games at Class C Gulfport on his resume and an impressive .300/.380/.343 slash line. He is #71 on the prospect pipeline at the moment. PITTSBURGH- Thanks to the trades that sent away George Cleaves and Lefty Allen the Pittsburgh Miners owned three first round picks. The lottery balls did not treat the club great as they ended up with picks 9, 13 and 14. Roy Snedden, a high school third baseman, was their choice at 9 and Sneddon is now in Class B after tearing up the C level in a quick one week trial. His numbers after the promotion to Spokane (.310/.356/.429) are also quite good and OSA slots him in at #48 on its scouting list. The other two first rounders are both former high school centerfielders in Ralph Hughes and Glen Holbrook. Hughes is ranked #37 on the scouting list while Holbrook is listed as the #47 prospect. Hughes has played a dozen games at Class C Jackson and is slashing .341/.431/.591 while Holbrook's numbers (.315/.405/.370) are only slightly less impressive. ST LOUIS- The Pioneers dealt their first rounder to Cleveland in the deal that brought Hiram Steinberg to St Louis and helped secure a WCS title so there top pick was not until 31st overall. That would be Red Hinton, an All-American centerfielder out of Redwood University who was assigned recently to Class A Hartford where he is slashing .261/.419/.435 for the Colonials. OSA lists him at #123 on its prospect pipeline. TORONTO- The Wolves used the 8th overall selection on California born high school outfielder Bill Irvin. The 18-year-old recently was assigned to Class C Tuscaloosa of the Gulf States League and is slashing .217/.280/.435 with his first professional hit being a homerun. OSA puts Irvin presently at #25 on its prospect pipeline. WASHINGTON- College shortstop Tom Miller (1st overall) is the only remaining unsigned first round selection. The Eagles have also failed to reach an agreement so far with second round selection Dutch Reeves. 
MOTORS FIRE MOORE AS COACHING CHANGE MADE The Detroit Motors have hired veteran hockey man Badger Rigney to take over behind the bench for the struggling franchise. The 50-year-old Rigney, who last coached the Brooklyn Eagles four years ago, will replace Mark Moore who was dismissed last week. The club also announced that long-time forward Doug Yeadon, has decided to retire as a player and will join Rigney on the bench as his assistant. For Rigney it is a return home of sorts as the final season of his 15-year playing career was with the Detroit club when they were known as the Olympians. Rigney made his playing debut with Boston as a 23-year-old defenseman and also had stops in Hamilton, with the New York Shamrocks and Quebec before finishing his career in the Motor City after the Champlains relocated from Quebec City. He was a hard-nosed, talented defenseman known for his tenacious play -hence the nickname as his real name is Richard Rigney. After his retirement as a player, Rigney left the sport for four years and, always cunning with his investments, managed to make enough money to purchase the Eagles franchise from Bill Yeadon when Yeadon ran into financial difficulty. Rigney installed himself as owner-coach until deciding to sell the club in 1944. Now, and very much at Yeadon's urging -Bill is the Motors head scout- Rigney returns to the sport. Assistant Coach Doug Yeadon began his playing career for his father with the then-New York Eagles but was sold to Detroit in 1937. He played 583 career NAHC games and scored 154 goals including a career best 21 in 1941-42 for the Motors before annoucing his retirement and plans to move behind the bench last week. Highly respected by his teammates, it seems a natural transition into the coaching ranks for the 35-year-old. Shown the door by Detroit is Mark Moore, who also his ties to the Eagles as his first NAHC job was as an assistant coach in Brooklyn before heading to the Great Western Hockey League where he coached Tacoma for one season. When Motors owner John Connolly Jr. fired long-time coach Jack Barrell, it was Moore who was brought in to replace the former star player. Moore narrowly missed the playoffs his first season in Detroit but guided the club to a 3rd place finish a year later. His third season, just completed, had a terrible start and led to rumours he might be fired mid-season. The club made a playoff push, which saved his job for the short term, but the Motors finished in last place. Connolly had been debating his options for some time until finally making the decision to replace Moore last week. In three season with Detroit, Moore was 67-65-24 but led his club to just one playoff series. Replacing a legend like Jack Barrell with a struggling team really put Moore in a spot where it was nearly impossible for him to succeed.  VALS CUT TIES WITH TOUHEY After two straight seasons of missing the playoffs, the Montreal Valiants have decided major changes are needed. The club elected not to resign five regulars from last season's club including veteran goaltender Millard Touhey. Touhey, who took a lot of heat a year ago for reporting to camp out of shape and has been wildly inconsistent at times, was given his walking papers along with defenseman Leo Bernard and forwards Max Ducharme, Nick Haines and Doug Lynch. Between them the three forwards combined for 39 goals and 116 points last season, but it is the decision to drop Touhey that comes as the biggest surprise. The move leaves the Vals in desperate need for goaltending help as they currently only have 23-year-old Peter Beliveau, a 1944 6th round pick of the Detroit Motors who played his first two NAHC games for the Valiants last season, under contract. It appears a new certainty the Valiants will need to trade for a goaltender as the only free agent of note at the position is Ronnie Flanagan - a 31-year-old journeymen who spent most of the past three seasons as the New York Shamrocks backup netminder. A Valiants spokesmen commented off-the-record in stating the entire organization is getting a little sick of Touhey, which clearly prompted the decision to make a change. The 32-year-old has been Montreal's number one netminder for the past five seasons and led the club to the Challenge Cup finals three years ago after upsetting first place Toronto in the opening round. There were high expectations two seasons ago but the Vals stumbled, in no small part due to the fact that their goaltender did not come to camp in game shape. Touhey had a strong start last year but, after challenging for first place through Christmas, the Valiants feel apart in the second half of the season and Touhey finished with a 22-26-2 record with a 3.18 goals against average. Overall, in five seasons with Montreal he was 63-45-16 with a 2.65 GAA. The big question now is where will Touhey land? There are not a lot of teams in need of a goaltender. Perhaps league champion Toronto looks at him as a back-up to Gordie Broadway although his salary demands may preclude that from happening. The alternative is Detroit, but that depends upon how comfortable the Motors are with Henri Chasse. The 25-year-old was very good two years ago in leading Detroit to the playoffs but he had a down season this past year. Leo Bernard is a 28-year-old defenseman who has been a fixture on the Vals blueline all decade. He is probably not a top pairing defender but could probably fit in on the second or third line with a number of teams so he should draw some interest from the Vals NAHC rivals. A year ago Bernard suited up for 49 games and had 16 points including 5 goals. The three forwards will likely land somewhere although it is quite possible it will be in the Hockey Association of America for at least two of them. Max Ducharme, a versatile player who can handle all three forward positions, will likely be in high demand after the 24-year-old had a career high 40 points in 59 games last season. Nick Haines is 26-years-old and dealing with a serious back injury that will force him to miss the first half of the season so he may not get a look from NAHC clubs. The center/right winger had 33 points in 49 games a year ago. Doug Lynch was the long-time captain of the Vals but was cut loose despite notching 39 points in 54 games. The 35-year-old may end up with the minors as his only option. They are interesting decisions by Montreal's management, which is clearly gambling that shocking moves like those light a fire under a club that has had prolonged losing streaks each of the past two seasons and underachieved as a result. The move with Touhey -with no replacement in sight- seems to be an especially risky decision.   AROUND THE LEAGUE NOTABLE FREE AGENTS A number of veteran players are left looking for work after their previous organization opted not to resign them. Here is a team-by-team look at the changes. BOSTON BEES: The big news is that 33-year-old winger Waldermar Rupp was not offered a new deal. The long-time assistant captain was showing his age last season with a career worst 22 points in 46 games but he did add a pair of goals and an assist in two playoff games which helped Rupp remain the modern-era (post 1940) playoff scoring leader with 60 points. He had been a part of 5 Challenge Cup winning Bees clubs. Boston also dropped 25-year-old center Daniel Fortin and 29-year-old winger Leroy Hester, each of whom split the season between the big club and Springfield. CHICAGO PACKERS: The Packers cut ties with a pair of defensemen in Ted Stevens and Ian Groening as well as veteran winger Marsh Mansfield. Stevens, 25 and a three-year veteran on the Chicago blueline, was injured much of last season but had worn out his welcome due to frequent conflicts with teammates. Groening, also 25 and in his third season with the Packers, was limited to just 8 games this past season due to injuries. The 33-year-old Mansfield had some strong seasons early in his career with the Shamrocks and scored 34 points for Chicago two years ago but found himself in the press box much of this past season and had only 9 points in 27 games. DETROIT MOTORS: The only player move of note was the decision by long-time assistant captain Doug Yeadon to retire after more than a decade in the league. The 36-year-old will not go far as it was announced recently that Yeadon will be an assistant coach with the Motors this season, following in the footsteps of his father Bill, the long-time coach and current Head Scout of the Detroit club. MONTREAL VALIANTS:It has been well documented that the Vals made a decision to do a complete overhaul of their organization with many changes highlighted by the decision not to resign veteran goaltender Millard Touhey or his backup Sam Desjardins. Others not resigned include veteran rearguard Leo Bernard and a number of forwards rangine from 24-year-old Max Ducharme to 35-year-old Doug Lynch. In addition, 33-year-old center Tony Narand, who played just 20 games last season due to an injury, decided to retire. NEW YORK SHAMROCKS: Very little will change on the Shamrocks roster with only veteran goaltender Ronnie Flanagan, who played in just 1 game for the Shamrocks last season, being let go from their main roster. TORONTO DUKES: The Dukes gave a trio of veterans their walking papers but only one saw an action with the Cup winners last season. That would be 22-year-old defenseman Rob Painchaud, who had 12 points in 33 games during the season before being demoted to Cleveland. Two long-time fixtures on the wing are also gone in Syl Beam and Mahlon Klein but neither played a game for the Dukes last season. Beam missed the entire year with a preseason eye injury while Klein was dispatched to Cleveland after a long career with Toronto that saw him as a key piece of a pair of Challenge Cup winners earlier in the decade. O'KEEFE A SURPRISE LOSER ON HIS HOME TURF Former World Welterweight Champion Dennis O'Keefe was surprised by a relative unknown fighter by the name of Robert Schultz Friday evening in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fl. The 31-year-old, referred to as "The Jacksonville Jackhammer" as he rose to the top of the welterweight division a little over two years ago but since beating Carl Taylor to win the title and run his record to 20-1 with 14 knockouts, O'Keefe has dropped 3 of his last 5 decisions including the surprising loss by decision to Schultz last week. The Pittsburgh born Schultz, 28, runs his record to 23-8 with the victory after throroughly dominating the 10-round bout. It also looks like the end of the line for Todd Gill after the middleweight was outpointed by Jack Rainey last week at Bigsby Garden. Gill came agonizingly close to a world title when he famously fought then champion Frank Melanson to a draw in their title fight in October of 1945 before losing the rematch in Philadelphia six months later. Now 36 years old, Gill has looked slow in recent losses to Joe Starr and now Rainey, who had little trouble holding Gill off last week. Now 24-5-6, Gill is insistent he will return to the ring but is unlikely to have any success against opponents of average quality or better.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/25/1948
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-13-2023, 12:39 PM
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#789 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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August 2, 1948
AUGUST 2, 1948 PLENTY OF CONTENDERS FOR FED FLAG The Federal Association is well known in recent years for provide wild finishes involving multiple contenders and this season suddenly looks no different. The Pittsburgh Miners are certainly nowhere near contending this year, but they had a big impact on the Fed race over the past 9 days by taking 5 of 6 games from first place New York including a 3-game sweep over the weekend. During that stretch the Miners beat their former ace Lefty Allen, who was traded along with George Cleaves to the Gothams over the winter, twice including a 16-4 thumping a little over a week ago. The result is the Gothams have been slowed, enduring a 3-8 stretch that has bunched up the Fed flag race to the point where six of the loop's 8 teams are all within 5 games of each other. The Gothams, who have a couple of tough series at home this week with Philadelphia and Washington visiting the Big Apple, are just 1 game ahead of the defending champion St Louis Pioneers with Washington only two back. Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit are also all within shouting distance. Many, including the St Louis dailies, continue to wonder how the Pioneers are remaining in the race despite a pop-gun offense and the absence of injured Allen Award winning pitcher Danny Hern. Even without Hern, who has been sidelined since mid-June and may still be 3 weeks away from returning, the St Louis pitching has been dominant with the other two-thirds of the 3-H club in Hal Hackney (14-6, 3.31) and Hiram Steinberg (10-9, 2.97) pitching very well while Dick Long (9-7, 3.60) and Ben Fiskars (6-5, 4.55) have been very good as well. John Brinker, the well-respected sportswriter for the New York Daily Mirror, points out that "the Pioneers were #1 in pitching WAR and like 13th in batting WAR. That says a lot. Even the Cougars pitching wasn't as good as the Pioneers. And Hern is out. It's kind of scary - if some of the young hitters can get it in gear, the Pioneers will be very tough." The New York Stars, fresh off taking 3 of 4 games over the weekend from Cleveland, continue to lead the Continental Association as they are three games up Philadelphia. The Sailors took two of three from the Cougars in Chicago over the weekend, leaving the Cougars 5 games off the pace despite having the best pitching staff in the loop and owning a run differential that is twice that of any other club in the CA.  A BIG DAY Long-time Boston Minutemen centerfielder Pete Day joined a select group yesterday by collecting the 2,500th hit of his FABL career. Day reached the milestone with the middle of his three singles Sunday against Detroit, slapping a seventh inning single off Dynamos starter Wally Hunter in a 6-3 Boston victory in the opener of a twin-bill. Day joins teammate Chick Donnelly, who accomplished the feat last year, in increasing the number of players to collect 2,500 hits to 37. Of those 37 Day and Donnelly are part of an even more exclusive club as they are two of just 10 players with at least 2,500 hits who played their entire career with just one team. The others are John Dibblee, Ed Ziehl, Bobby Barrell, Bob Martin, Rankin Kellogg, Jimmy Massey, Bill Brady and Jim Hampton. A 7-time All-Star, Day was selected by the Cleveland Foresters in the second round of the 1932 draft after playing his college ball at Lincoln. A year later, while still in the miners he was sent to Boston as part of a package for Dan Fowler. Day made his big league debut with the Minutemen along with Donnelly on opening day 1934 and he collected his first hit a day later with a single off Art Myers. As it would turn out there were four future members of the 2,500 hit club playing in that big league debut for Day and Donnelly as Bobby Barrell and Rankin Kellogg were both in the Keystones lineup. Day has been a fixture in the Boston outfield ever since, helping the Minutemen to a win in the 1941 World Championship Series and to a pennant win two years later in a season that also saw him win the Whitney Award, making him the first and so far only Minutemen player ever to be so honoured. Day is 112 hits shy of Donnelly for the franchise all-time lead.  1949 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART ONE : COLLEGE PLAYERS It is time once again for TWIFB's annual look at the upcoming crop of draft picks. A year ago in our "Way Too Early Mock Draft" OSA gave us the impression that this would be a very deep draft class. So deep that instead of just listing 16 players as we typically do in the mock a year and a half prior to the actual draft, we listed 30 players. Before we get started on the latest look, let's glance back at the 40 names listed last August as the potential top players for the '49 draft. Code:
# NAME POS AGE HOMETOWN SCHOOL 1 John Wells SS 16 Philaelphia, PA Northeast Catholic HS, Philadelphia 2 Dallas Berry CF 16 Wellsville, MO Wellsville HS 3 Roy Patterson RHP 16 South Bend, IN South Bend HS 4 Danny Noonan C 19 Ashtabula, OH Huntington State 5 Billy Jones 3B 15 Brooklyn, NY Alpha (NJ) HS 6 Johnny Taylor LF 16 Minneapolis, MN Mora (MN) HS 7 Ray Hughes CF 15 Milwaukee, WI Denmark (WI) HS 8 Dick Houston RHP 16 Colorado Springs Florence (CO) HS 9 Harry Murray 2B 19 Minneapolis, MN Indiana A&M 10 Dick Champ RHP 16 New York, NY Middlesex (NJ) HS 11 Mike Rasmussen 3B 15 Springfield, MA Kingston (NY) HS 12 Hank Short RHP 16 Buffalo, NY Mineral Point (WI) HS 13 Bill Martin RF 16 Hamilton, MA Milton (MA) HS 14 Eddie Dickey CF 16 Carlisle, PA Luteran HS, Baltimore, MD 15 Stan Brueck RHP 15 Sauk Rapids, MN St. Peter (MN) HS 16 Lew Potter RHP 16 Nebraska City, NB Manning (IA) HS 17 Tom Perkins SS 20 Troy, TN Lane State 18 Bill Morrison CF 19 Oak Park, IL Grange College 19 John Cochran SS 19 Racine, WI Rainier College 20 Jerry Hale 2B 16 Chicago, IL Crane HS, Chicago, IL 21 Johnny Elliott 1B 15 Detroit, MI Owosso (MI) HS 22 Harl Smith LF 15 Stillwater, MN Alma (WI) HS 23 Bobby Crooks RHP 15 Detroit, MI Ypsilanti (MI) HS 24 Tiny Fowler RHP 16 San Francisco,CA Drew HS, San Francisco 25 Vern Osborne LHP 16 East St Louis,IL Montgomery City (MO) HS 26 Cy Holden 1B 16 Pakersburg, WV Parkersburg (WV) HS 27 Lou Jackson CF 19 Martinez, CA College of San Diego 28 Huck Mason RF 19 Cleveland, OH Constitution State 29 Andy Green 1B 19 Odessa, MO Maryland State 30 Bert Preble CF 19 Putnam, CT Constitution State TOP TEN COLLEGE PLAYERS ELIGIBLE FOR 1949 FABL DRAFT 1- TOM PERKINS SS: Lane State - Perkins was 17th on our way to early mock from last August and after a strong sophomore season (.329,.403,.517) in which he made the All-American second team and was a finalist for the Christian Trophy his stock has risen. 2- DON BERRY LF: Grange College -Berry was a first team All-American each of his two seasons at mighty Grange College and is a player OSA feels could challenge for batting titles at the big league level. He is also developing a genuine power stroke and, if he reaches his potential, the scouting service feels multiple trips to the All-Star Game are in Berry's long-term future. A native of Ahoskie, NC, Berry was a high school All-American as a sophomore and selected by the Cleveland Foresters in the 6th round of the 1946 draft but opted to play college ball instead. 3- JIM BOB DANIELS 3B: Alabama Gulf Coast - The half-brother of Cincinnati Cannons ace Rufus Barrell, Jim Bob is a two-sport star at Alabama Gulf Coast, coming off the bench for the Privateers basketball team while starring at third base for the baseball club. He hit .314 with 12 homers in 58 games last season -his first of collegiate ball. OSA lauds his patience at the plate while also noting he will hit for a high average and should have plenty of power as well. The scouting service sees Daniels as a potential All-Star. 4 - ANDY GREEN 1B: Maryland State - Green was a key piece on a deep Maryland State club that reached the quarterfinals in the Collegiate World Championship Series this year after making the semi-finals in 1947. Green was All-American as Freshman in '47 but did not earn the nod this time around despite posting similar numbers to his frosh campaign. A native of Odessa, Mo., Green was originally selected out of high school by his local club the St Louis Pioneers in the 7th of the 1946 draft. He decided on Maryland State instead and has progressed very nicely playing college ball - to the point where OSA feels he has the potential to be a cornerstone player as a first baseman. 5- ED BLOOM 3B: American Atlantic -No relation to Bill Bloom of Maryland State who is another highly touted college junior. Ed is from Wichita, KS., and slashed .307/.454/.491 in his first year of college ball at American Atlantic. He is looking to follow fellow third baseman Luke Weaver (Montreal 1943) as the only American Atlantic Pelicans players to be first round selections. OSA sees the 20-year-old as an impact player on a contending team. 6- CY LEWIS CF: Maryland State - The second team All-American is another of the deep crop of draft eligible players from Maryland State. OSA sees him as a potential lead-off man with high end speed and above average contact ability. The New York City native has a "considerable ceiling" according to OSA. 7- GEORGE SCOTT 3B: Mississippi Tech - While some might instantly think the 20-year-old's nickname should be "Boomer", Scott is much more a table setter than a power bat. OSA feels he can be among the best in the game at working the count and drawing walks and his .410 OBP in two years of college ball at Mississippi Tech seems to reinforce that notion. A Chicago native, Scott was a 3rd round pick of Cleveland in the 1946 draft but failed to sign with the Foresters. This is a fairly deep crop of third baseman but Scott stands a good chance of being selected before the third round this time around. 8- BILL MORRISON CF: Grange College - Morrison was a first team All-American this past season as a sophomore after slashing .314/.409/.555 for Grange College. OSA feels he has excellent instincts with the glove and plus speed but his perhaps not as high on him as some others at the plate. The scouting service believes the Oak Park, Il. native can be a second division starter in the big leagues 9- JOE FULGHAM CF: St Blane - The Fighting Saints are a football power but it has been a long time since St Blane had a first round draft pick in baseball. The last would be Bobo White and Gus Goulding, who went 1-2 in the 1934 draft but Joe Fulgham is hoping to change that. OSA feels he has the defensive skills to remain at center field in the majors and while he has a lot of maturing to do, the scouting service feels his development prospect as a big league center fielder is extremely promising. A native of Watertown, CT., Fulgham was a 1946 7th round pick of the Washington Eagles but opted to play college ball instead. 10- LEO SAVOIE P: Bay State - We really are not sure any college pitcher belongs on the list but FABL GM's love to draft hurlers so the best of the college group at the moment is likely Savoie, a 20-year-old Reading, PA. native who went 10-3 a year ago in his first season for Bay State, which is a Massachusetts school that competes against average competition. Savoie is hardly a sure thing but OSA feels he has two plus pitchers in his change-up and sinker as well as the ability to limit long balls. OSA projects Savoie as a "back of the rotation starter." Part two of our 1949 draft preview next week will feature the top high school pitchers.    EDOUARD DESMARAIS: THE FRENCH MAESTRO'S JOURNEY TO GLORY In the annals of pugilism, there are tales of triumph that resonate with the very heart and soul of the sport. None more so than the remarkable odyssey of Edouard Desmarais, the recently crowned World Middleweight Champion. Born on the sultry streets of Casablanca on July 1, 1916, this Frenchman's path to pugilistic glory has been a long and arduous one, filled with setbacks and sacrifice that would humble even the most hardened of fighters. Desmarais' pugilistic journey began in earnest when his family relocated to the smoky alleys of Paris during his early adolescence. The sweet science beckoned to him like a siren's call, and he answered it with vigor. A promising amateur career culminated in his participation in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, where his fistic talents first came to the fore. By late 1940, Desmarais had amassed a perfect record of 34 wins without a solitary blemish. It seemed inevitable that he would ascend to challenge then-World Champion Archie Rees for the coveted middleweight title. Yet, the turbulent tempest of World War II swept across Europe, leaving Desmarais' dreams in tatters. During the dark days of the occupation of France, whispers circulated that Desmarais had become more than a mere boxer; he was rumored to be a stalwart figure within the French Resistance. His whereabouts, however, remained cloaked in secrecy for an extended period. He was feared dead, a martyr to the cause of liberty. But in a twist of fate, Desmarais emerged from the shadows in March of 1945, discovered by none other than a former ring adversary turned Allied soldier, Peter Ross. Ross, the British boxer who had faced Desmarais in a spirited contest back in 1937, provided gripping accounts of the former French champion's harrowing experiences. Tales of perilous encounters with the Nazi occupiers, forced retreats into the French hinterlands, and a life lived in the shadows unfolded. Ross, ever the sportsman, affirmed that Desmarais had been a hero in the clandestine world, using his cunning and courage against the brutal invaders. The possibility of a return to the ring, once the war dust settled, was tantalizingly hinted at. True to Ross's predictions, Desmarais rekindled his boxing career in September of 1945. His triumphant return saw him capture the French Middleweight Title, an accolade that had previously eluded him due to the war's bitter interruption. The road to redemption was paved, and Desmarais was back on track. At the close of 1945, the long-anticipated clash with Archie Rees took place. Although Rees had lost his world title to the relentless Frank Melanson by then, he and Desmarais met in London on December 8, 1945, with the newly forged European title hanging in the balance. In a masterful performance, Desmarais claimed a unanimous decision, and his perfect record extended to 36-0. With Europe conquered, the new middleweight monarch set his sights on the New World. The date was October 1946, and the stage was set for a showdown with the formidable Frank "The Tank" Melanson. Sadly for Desmarais, it was a nightmarish chapter in his otherwise illustrious career, as Melanson knocked him out in the third round. Undaunted, Desmarais returned to Paris, where he defended his European title with unwavering determination. The grueling road back to the World Middleweight Championship led him to a long-anticipated rematch with Melanson. Earlier this month, on July 10 in the hallowed boxing arena of Philadelphia, the resilient Frenchman, with a record of 41-1 including 32 wins by knockout, confronted Melanson once more. In a crescendo of courage and class, Desmarais left an indelible mark on pugilistic history. With a fifth-round TKO victory, he etched his name into the annals of boxing greatness as the new World Middleweight Champion. At the age of 32, Edouard Desmarais stands tall as the best middleweight boxer on the planet. The future awaits, and this French maestro plans to return to the ring in October of 1948, ready to defend his hard-earned crown and etch his name deeper into the legends of the sweet science.  NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS LAST WEEK Jul 26: Hartford: MW Millard Shelton (23-4) 1st round KO of Cliff Jordan (5-12-1) Jul 27: Minneapolis: MW Bobby Hinkle (26-5) 3rd round KO of Cale McDowell (7-1) Jul 27: Philadelphia: MW Davey McCusker (14-3-1) fought Mike Howarth (14-8-2) to a majority draw Jul 27: New York City: WW Artie Neal (21-8-1) unanimous decision over Dave Willis (11-6) Jul 28: St Louis: HW Mike McFarland (19-5-2) majority decision over Ron Ramsey (19-14-5) Jul 28: St Louis: rising MW Richie Phillips (8-2) unanimous decision in 6 round bout with Johnny Gilmore (4-2) Jul 28: Los Angeles: MW Rick Watson (33-11-2) decision over Steve Ross (6-8-4) Jul 29: Toledo, OH: MW rising MW Mark McCoy (13-0) 4th round KO of Pat Welsh (6-13-2) Jul 30: Brooklyn: MW Danny Morse (35-8-1) 9th round TKO of Jim Gilmore (29-10-2) Jul 30: San Francisco: WW Bob Thomas (18-6-1) 9th round KO of Monty Hall (11-7) Jul 30: Rome, Italy: MW Hugo Canio (10-0-1) unanimous decision in 6 round bout with Martin Holmgren (2-4) UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/01/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-14-2023, 12:25 PM
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#790 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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August 9, 1948
AUGUST 9, 1948 I am fighting a bit of a bug so a much more abbreviated edition of TWIFB than is normally the case.  1949 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART TWO : HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS What a difference a year has made as the OSA has changed its tune substantially on nearly all of the high school pitchers. A year ago Roy Patterson, Dick Houston, Dick Champ, Hank Short and Lew Potter all were said to be on the path towards becoming a #1 starter in the big leagues. Now only Patterson is considered to be a top half of the rotation arm and the scouting service has him peaking as a number two starter. The scouting service is believed to have done a major overhaul on its grading system with an update to version 24 so FABL general managers and scouting directors must now decide is the new system a more accurate predictor of the future, or is it being unfairly hard on draft eligible pitchers. 1948 was a down year for pitchers with only three being selected in the first round and we might just see a repeat of that in 1949...unless FABL GM's just can't help themselves and follow the old draft of highly (some would say over) valuing pitchers. Here are the top ten High School pitchers eligible for the draft according to This Week in Figment Baseball with some feedback from the OSA. 1: RAY PATTERSON RHP South Bend (IN) HS - The "South Bend Sling" best season of high school ball so far was his sophomore campaign in which he was an All-American selection and a finalist for the Adwell Award after a perfect 11-0 season with a 0.53 era. He was not quite as good as a junior but after three seasons he is 31-2 with a 0.83 era and 583 strikeouts in just 347 innings of work. OSA says Patterson "may not have the talent to ever anchor a rotation, but would likely be a #2 guy on most teams." He also has some intangibles as OSA pegs him to be a leader and a very hard worker. 2: VERN OSBORNE LHP Montgomery City (MO) HS - The quality of pitching drops off quickly in this draft but Osborne, a St Louis native, looks like a potential middle of the rotation arm according to the scouting service. He went 8-0 as a junior and as a three starter owns a 25-2 record with a 1.07 era while fanning 377 and walking just 49 in 268 innings. 3: ED WINGERTER RHP Bellefontaine (OH) HS - Like Osborne, Wingerter was born in St Louis but he moved to Ohio before his high school days. With a shortage of top arms he may sneak into the first round but OSA puts his ceiling at that of a "number three or number four starter." Wingerter has just one year of high school experience and spent much of that season pitching out of the bullpen but did post a 7-0 record with a 1.01 era and 108 k's in 80 innings of work. 4: DICK CHAMP RHP Middlesex (NJ) HS - The New York City born 17-year-old has the potential to be a number four or five starter but the scouting service also notes that he is slow to absorb instruction. Champ is a perfect 34-0 with a 1.16 era in 46 high school starts while fanning 516 batters and walking 67 in 356 innings of work. 5: NORM MCBRIDE LHP Bath (PA) HS - None question his leadership skills or his work ethic but there is a knock on McBride for a lack of focus at times. Born in New York City, OSA feels he projects "to be a solid starter at the back-end of the rotation." 6: HANK SHORT RHP Mineral Point (WI) HS - The Buffalo, NY born righthander was a High School All-American his sophomore year and just missed as a junior. Now living in Wisconsin, he has two years of school ball under his belt and is 23-0 with a 0.78 era along with an impressive 15.4 K/9 rate. However, OSA is not sure his skills will translate to FABL, suggesting "his talent might not play enough to even make the rotation." 7: JACK DAVIS RHP Pershing HS, Detroit, MI - Another of the New York City born pitchers on our list, Davis now lives in Detroit. There are plenty of things to like about him starting with his size (6'4") but there are also negatives such as a lower than hoped for work ethic and qestions about his intelligence. OSA feels he is a bit of a gamble, noting his hopes are "at the back of a rotation." 8: DICK HOUSTON RHP Florence (CO) HS - It is not often that a Colorado high school player makes an impact on a scouting list but Houston, who was born in Colorado Springs, has impressed OSA during his three seasons of high school ball. He is not flashy but gets the job done thanks to an ability to generate a high number of ground balls. OSA feels he can start in the majors, but it would be at the end of the rotation. 9: LARRY RUSH RHP Jackson HS, Queens, NY - Another New York City area pitcher, Rush has gone 27-3 with a 1.09 era in three seasons at his Queens High School. OSA notes his pitches are difficult to hit squarely so he should allow few homeruns but his upside is not great. The peak for Rush is likely the back-end of a rotation. 10: BOB WOMACK RHP Minford (OH) HS - As a freshman Womack was a perfect 11-0 with a 0.49 era, numbers good enough to earn him a spot on the High School All-American team that year. He also had a 16.4 K/9 that season and seemed destined to be a first round draft pick someday. The numbers, while still decent, have dropped substantially the past two years and OSA feels that Womack may end up being nothing more than a spot starter. Part three of our 1949 draft preview next week will feature the top high school hitters. 
CANNON COOPER DERAILS WINTER'S TITLE DREAMS WITH TKO WIN NEW YORK CITY - In the hallowed ring of Bigsby Garden, Cannon Cooper penned a compelling chapter in the ever-shifting saga of heavyweight pugilism. Surprising the boxing world, he halted the meteoric ascent of young Harvey Winter with a resounding TKO victory in the fourth round of their scheduled ten-round clash. Cooper, a name once spoken in the same breath as legends, had himself weathered the unpredictable storms of the fight game. This victory might signal his phoenix-like return from the ashes, or it could be Winter's call to recalibrate his journey through the tumultuous heavyweight division. Saturday night's bout will be remembered for the terrible gash that marred Winter's left eye, a grim testament to the punishing blows traded between these two warriors. The fight had been eagerly anticipated as a pivotal moment in Winter's career, a potential catapult towards a coveted showdown with the indomitable Hector Sawyer. But as the final bell tolled, it was Winter who had to reevaluate his path. The 22-year-old sensation from Trenton, New Jersey, had entered the contest with a stellar record of 18-1, hailed as the prodigy set to shake the heavyweight hierarchy. However, his second loss in less than a year, this one leaving him at 18-2, raises questions about his readiness for the elite echelons of the division. Cooper, no stranger to such twists of fate, served as the spoiler. Not too long ago, Cannon had been the darling of the boxing world, a 24-year-old sensation fresh from an interruption with the Coast Guard with an unblemished record of 17-0. The world had expected him to collide with Hector Sawyer in a clash for the ages. But as the fates so often decree in this unforgiving sport, Cooper's trajectory veered off course. Consecutive losses to Clancy Little and Glenn Hairston, the latter ending in a devastating knockout, knocked Cooper from his lofty perch. Just when he appeared to regain his footing, setbacks against Allen Bailey and Roy Madison followed suit, reducing his record to 23-4-1. Perhaps, with this victory over Winter, the boxing world will once again shine a light on Cooper's once-dazzling prospects. Or, conversely, Winter may see this as a vital chapter in his own education, a lesson learned in the crucible of the ring. In the world of pugilism, where fortunes can change as swiftly as the flicker of a jab, both Cooper and Winter bear witness to the capricious nature of their chosen path. The sweet science, indeed, proves itself to be a fickle mistress, unforgiving and unrelenting in its ever-shifting fortunes.  SAWYER SETS TITLE DEFENSE IN ENGLAND World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer is said to be back in the gym, after enjoying the sights of England for a couple of weeks and now is preparing for his first European bout. The fight will take place October 22 in London, England and will see Sawyer, with a 58-3-1 record, put his title on the line against a Brit by the name of Grant Knowles. Sawyer's manager Chester Conley is doing his best to drum up interest in the bout, calling Knowles a formidable challenge for the champ, but in truth very little is known about the British boxer. Knowles is 30-years-old, based out of London but originally from Manchester, and owns a 31-4-1 career record. However, a glance at his list of opponents through the years yields nary a recognizable name and most state-side observers feel the challenger will be lucky to last more than a couple of rounds against Sawyer.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/08/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-15-2023, 06:45 PM
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#791 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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August 16, 1948
AUGUST 16, 1948 PIONEERS TAKE OVER FED LEAD The defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers have spent most of the season chasing the top of the Federal Association before finally reaching first place on August 11. Taking two out of three games from the New York Gothams over the weekend including yesterday's 3-2 10-inning victory leaves the Pioneers a game up on the Gothams and for St Louis it marks the first time all-season the club was in first place to start a week. The St Louis heroes yesterday were Hal Hackney (17-6, 2.98), who pitched a gem of a 3-hitter in going all 10 innings, along with first baseman Zip Sullivan, who had 3-hits including the game winning walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth to plate Hackney, who clearly was ready to head back out on the mound for the 11th had it been necessary. It does not get any easier for the Pioneers next week as they will begin a 14-game road trip with a pair of midweek stops in Detroit before the rematch with the Gothams in the Big Apple. It is no secret why the Pioneers are threatening to win their second straight Fed flag. Just as a year ago, the Pioneer pitching has been outstanding. Clarence Keenan of the St Louis Post sums it up this way: "Hal Hackney is having a hell of an August: 3-0, 1.42 ERA, 0.89 WHIP. Hiram Steinberg is having an effective August as well: 3-1, 1.85 ERA, 1.26 WHIP. If he didn’t have a mediocre May (1-3, 4.91), he’d probably be in the outside discussion for the Allen Award. He’s at 12-10, 2.91 on the year. With Danny Hern eligible to come off the IL after next sim, the Pioneers will be back at full strength. If Hern is able to return to some semblance of last year’s form, the team may be very difficult to beat down the stretch. The rotation has three starters (Hackney, Steinberg, Dick Long) who rank 4-5-6 in pitching WAR. *** Cougars Old Nemesis Causes Trouble *** While the Pioneers are doing exactly what they have for the past season and a half, the Chicago Cougars are up to their old tricks again as well. Unfortunately for the Windy City Kitties it is a bad thing as throughout this better part of a decade of disappointment it has been one-run losses that have so often been the Cougars undoing. They suffered three consecutive one-run defeats last week and are now 6.5 back of the first place New York Stars with reigning Continental Association champion Philadelphia sandwiched in between. Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News shares some of the numbers from what appears to be shaping up as another hard-luck Cougars story. "Chicago is now 14-21 in one-run games, which has contributed to them underperforming their expected record by five games. The Cougars are posting a run differential (+80) higher then the three other CA teams above .500, the Stars (+38), Sailors (+14), and Kings (+16) combined (+68), but look no closer to snapping their 16 season championship drought. There is a bright side, as they are just ten wins away from their season total last year, as if the season doesn't end with a pennant they are likely to secure three balls in the draft lottery."  1949 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART THREE : HIGH SCHOOL HITTERS A year ago, when we did our "Way Too Early Mock Draft" a Philadelphia high school shortstop by the name of John Wells topped the list. A year later, after an Adwell Award nomination, Wells remains the number one high school hitter available. However, beyond him there has been a lot of fluctuation as names like Danny Noonan, Billy Jones and Johnny Taylor had dropped off the list but there are plenty of quality replacements among the high school hitters according to OSA. Here are the top ten: 1: JOHN WELLS SS : Northeast Catholic HS, Philadelphia - Wells topped our way too early mock draft of his class a year ago and nothing has happened that should prevent him from drawing heavy consideration as the number one overall pick. He was an Adwell Award nominee this past season and made the High School All-American team for the second time. Wells can play several positions but OSA believes he can develop into an "elite big league shortstop." Wells also appears to have a lot more power than your average shortstop and perhaps draws comparisons to last year's number one selection Tom Miller. 2: RICK MASTERS RF: Prospect Heights HS, Brooklyn - Just like Wells, the Brooklyn native was a finalist for the Adwell Award and named a High School All-American for the second time in his 3 years at Prospect Heights. OSA feels he has impressive bat speed and a "great knack for hitting it where they ain't" but also adds a power tool that grades out as plus-plus. 3: BUDDY BYRD 2B: Lane HS, Brooklyn - The second Brooklyn native on this list, Byrd was an honourable mention for the High School All-American team as a junior. He has a tremdous work ethic and profiles as a "potential elite second baseman on a contending team." 4: GEORGE WALKER 2B: Wadesboro (NC) HS - OSA likes the future for Walker, noting that "with his talents the light of Walker's star could be blinding." We at TWIFB are not so convinced, citing a poor work ethic and questions from his coaches about his baseball IQ. He has just one season of high school ball under his belt and the numbers were not overly impressive. 5: RUBE SIMPSON 2B: Humble (TX) HS - Coaches praise the Houston native's work ethic and OSA feels "if Simpson fulfills his potential, he could make multiple trips to the All-Star Game. Like Walker his numbers in his only season of high school ball were not overly impressive but we are a little higher on him due to intangibles. 6: IKE SHAFER 1B: Southern HS, Louisville, KY - The Evansville, In., native is described as a hard worker but a slow learner. He is another one of those small sample prospects with just a single year of high school ball under his belt but OSA says it has seen enough to suggest that Shafer may have some All-Star Games in his future. 7: KING BRUCKER RF: Waco (TX) HS - A leader on his high school club, Brucker projects to be an elite big league outfielder with the potential to hit .350. He has been very consistent in 3 years of high school ball, slashing .505/.564/.868 over that time period. He does not appear to be a typical power-hitting corner outfielder but has good speed, draws walks and works the count well. 8: WAYNE COTTRILL 1B: St Mary HS, Akron, OH - The Cleveland native might appear to be a bit of a project now but OSA feels he can develop into an elite power hitting first baseman, perhaps along the lines of fellow Ohio high school sluggers Dino Sharp or Lorenzo Samuels. 9: DALLAS BERRY CF: Wellsville (MO) HS - Despite being an honourable mention All-American last season and as a freshman as well as being an actual All-American selection as a sophomore, Berry's stock has dropped with OSA. A year ago our way too early mock draft had only shortstop John Wells ranked above Berry but OSA's latest scouting reports indicate the service feels a number of players have passed "The Can-Do Kid" in the rankings. The scouting service still notes Berry has a "high ceiling and projects well on the field and at the plate" so he should draw some first round interest. 10: EDDIE DICKEY CF: Lutheran HS, Baltimore, MD - Dickey was an honourable mention as a junior for the All-American team but his big season was his freshman campaign when he not only made the All-American squad but was also a finalist for the Adwell Award. He was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Baltimore and looks to have a very nice combination of power and contact ability. OSA says he "has a high ceiling and projects well on the field and at the plate." Next week in part four of our draft preview we will provide the TWIFB mock first round. 
TITANS MAKE FUHRMAN TOP DRAFT PICK In its first official act following the dramatic expansion of the Federal Basketball League, representatives from each of the 16 teams crowded into a conference room of a Detroit hotel for the loop's annual draft of collegiate seniors. The Syracuse Titans, transplanted from Toronto, owned the first selection and kicked off the proceedings as expected by drafting smooth shooting ballhandling forward Darren Fuhrman out of the University of Texas Gulf Coast. The second choice belonged to Rollie Barrell's Detroit Mustangs and as Barrell ascended the stage to announce the selection, looking out over the mass of tables for each of the 16 teams, it was likely with a tear or two of pride trickling down his cheek. Barrell started the Federal loop less than three years ago, and while he was outwardly always confident his league would prosper alongside the more established eastern based American Basketball Conference, it is certain that he never envisioned a scenario that his loop would gobble up all 8 of the ABC participants so quickly. It was a stunning turn of events that saw four teams jump to the Federal League and then just days later the announcement coming from ABC boss and Brooklyn Red Caps owner Daniel Prescott that the remaining clubs in his league had agreed to join forces with the Federal loop. In the long run it is probably the best thing for professional basketball as it helps to add a little more cost certainty and with most of the major markets now spoken for, greatly lessens the chance of a new competitor trying to make its mark as a pro cage league. As for the draft, Barrell was all smiles as Mustangs General Manager Frank Jones announced that his club was selecting AIAA player of the year Ward Messer, out of Liberty College, with the second overall pick. Messer, the younger brother of New York Gothams outfielder Walt Messer, will be counted on to play center in Detroit and eventually replace 39-year-old Manual Nelson -the oldest player in pro basketball- whenever Nelson decides to retire. Cleveland selected third and landed start forward Ziggy Rickard, who had excelled the past four years in the southern part of the state at Central Ohio while Buffalo selected the first guard taken when the Brawlers opted for Gerald Cheek of CC Los Angeles.  MOTORS WILL TAKE BARBER WITH FIRST PICK The North American Hockey Confederation annual player draft takes place next week, but the Detroit Motors have already confirmed who they will be drafting with the first overall selection. That would be Lou Barber, a right winger from Tillsonburg, On., who saw some action with the Toledo Tigers of the HAA a year ago. The 5'10" forward has the potential to become one of the better players in the league. That is the feeling of Detroit's long-time Head Scout Bill Yeadon. TOUHEY LANDS IN SYRACUSE Cut loose by the Montreal Valiants at the end of the season, veteran goaltender Millard Touhey has decided to sign a minor-league contract with the Syracuse Lancers of the Hockey Association of America. There was expected to be limited interest in Touhey as a starting goaltender and most may have also felt his asking price -rumoured to be over $20,000- was too steep for a backup. Instead Touhey, facing limited options, moved quickly to sign with the Lakers. who finished last in the HAA's East Division a year ago. WONKY HAND ONCE MORE BETRAYS STARR Nathan Sears, the honest brakeman, ran through an open switch in the form of Joe Starr, the little duke of Pittsburgh in the scheduled 10-round man event at Los Angeles Arena Saturday evening. It looked like Sears, who scraps equally well from either the port or staborad side, was on the right track in the first couple of heats. He opened up by ramming home two sharp left hooks on the Little Duke's jaw, and Starr appeared slightly stunned. Sears' shifting from right to left seemed to bother Starr, too, and Nathan easily won that inning. The next frame was close and Nathan and Joe, punching with both hands and landing with same, stayed on fairly even terms. It was a tossup, but Sears seemed to be gaining confidence against his highly touted opponent. Early in the third it was a different story as Starr apparently solved the brakeman's turnabout system with a bullet-like right on the eyebrow followed by a flurry of body shots. It would be the best effort the Pittsburgher would make on the evening but instead of Sears beginning to suffer it was Starr. He began favouring that right hand, and it quickly became clear something was wrong. Sears took over the round landing series of blows, but also looking perplexed that his opponent had suddenly taken his foot off the gas. We would quickly learn why as Starr, now wincing in pain in his corner, refused to answer the bell for the fourth round and would later be diagnosed with a broken right hand forcing him to abosrb the TKO loss in a highly anticipated bout between the two fight veterans. The 34-year-old Sears gets back to winning ways after dropping two of his previous three outings, pushing his record to 22-9-1. Starr may well have reached the end of what could have been a shining career as this was the second time in a year that he had suffered a broken bone in that powerful right hand of his. The 28-year-old Starr is now 20-6 and doctors have suggested he take at least 8 months away from the sport to give his hand a chance to fully heal. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/15/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-20-2023, 09:51 AM
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#792 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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August 23, 1948
AUGUST 23, 1948 PIONEERS EXTEND FED LEAD, STARS CONTINUE TO SHINE IN CA For the second weekend in a row the St Louis Pioneers took two of three games from their closest rival and extended their lead on the second place New York Gothams to 3 games. Unlike a week ago when the venue was Pioneers Field, the St Louis ballclub waltzed into the heart of the Big Apple and took care of buisness against the Gothams over the weekend. Fresh off a two-game sweep of the fading Dynamos in Detroit to begin a 14-game road trek, the Pioneers opened the series in New York by beating the powerful Gothams at their own game in claiming an 11-8 that included homers from Larry Gregory and Homer Mills as well as a rare rough outing from Hal Hackney. A day later the score was much more in line with the Pioneers preferred style of play but it was former Pioneer Buddy Long tossing a 6-hit shutout to beat Hiram Steinberg and the Pioneers 1-0. Just as they did a week ago at home, the Pioneers rebounded from a Saturday loss to the Gothams with a Sunday 1-run victory, this one by a 2-1 score with Homer Mills accounting for all of the St Louis offense with his 6th homer of the season, but second in three days. Dick Long was the mound hero for the winners, outpitching Gothams veteran off-season acquisition Lefty Allen for his 11th victory of the campaign. The Pioneers and Gothams still have plenty of company in the Fed flag chase with Washington just 4 games back and the Philadelphia Keystones 5.5 off the pace. Even Boston, at 6.5 behind and despite a 15-22 record since the all-star break, is still trying to stay in the chase while the young Detroit Dynamos are still a .500 ballclub and 8 games behind despite sitting in 6th place. The New York Stars have played just .500 ball since the all-star break and have seen the second place Philadelphia Sailors whittle 3.5 games off their lead since then but the Stars, at least for the moment, remain at the top of the heap in the Continental Association despite dropping 3 of 4 in Montreal over the weekend. The Sailors missed an opportunity to make up more ground as they also lost 3 of their last 4 games while the Chicago Cougars gained some renewed hope with a 3-game sweep of the Brooklyn Eagles to close to within 4 games of the lead. The big news out of the Windy City is this: four consecutive one-run wins for the Cougars agaisnt the Stars and Kings. This comes after losing three straight one-run games against those same two teams.  1949 DRAFT PREVIEW - PART FOUR: MOCK FIRST ROUND To complete our look at the 1949 draft class here is TWIFB's mock first round. It was inspired heavily by the OSA assessments of the roughly 400 players eligible for selection this season. A year ago our top choice was a shortstop from Coastal State named Tom Miller and he did go number one to Washington in January. This year we double up with another shortstop at the top of our list, although in this case it is a high schooler named John Wells. Here is what we see based on the scouting of OSA for the 1949 first round to shape up. Code:
# NAME POS AGE HOMETOWN SCHOOL 1 John Wells SS 17 Philadelphia, PA Phil. Northeast Catholic HS 2 Tom Perkins SS 21 Troy, TN. Lane State 3 Rick Masters RF 17 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Prospect Heights HS 4 Don Berry LF 20 Ahoskie, NC Grange College 5 Jim Bob Daniels 3B 20 Atlanta, GA Alabama Gulf Coast 6 Ray Patterson P 17 South Bend, IN South Bend HS 7 Buddy Byrd 2B 17 New York, NY Brooklyn Lane HS 8 Dallas Berry CF 17 Wellsville, MO Wellsville HS 9 Andy Green 1B 20 Odessa, MO Maryland State 10 Ed Bloom 3B 20 Wichita, KS American Atlantic Univ. 11 Wayne Contrill 1B 17 Clevland, OH Akron(OH) St Mary HS 12 Vern Osbrone P 17 St Louis, MO Montgomery City (MO) HS 13 George Walker 2B 17 Greensboro, NC Wadesboro (NC) HS 14 Rube Simpson 2B 18 Houston, TX Humble (TX) HS 15 Ike Shafer 1B 18 Evansville, IN Louisville(KY) Southern HS 16 Eddie Dickey CF 17 Carlisle, PA Baltimore (MD) Lutheran HS
RICH GET RICHER, PACKERS INK DUCHARME The NAHC's most powerful offense just added another key weapon with news that the Chicago Packers had agreed to a contract with 24-year-old left winger Max Ducharme. It returns Ducharme full circle to the NAHC club that originally drafted him as he was Chicago's 4th round choice in the 1943 draft but was dealt to Montreal four months later in the deal that brought combative defenseman Ted Stevens to the Windy City. While Stevens wore out his welcome in Chicago and has moved on to minor league Syracuse for the upcoming season, Ducharme took a couple of seasons to find his footing in Montreal but had a breakout year last season with 14 goals and 40 points in 59 games. In a surprise move the Valiants released him along with a number of other players in a purge following a second straight season of missing the playoffs. There was plenty of interest around the league for the native of Drummondville, QC., but he elected to sign with the Packers and will add to arguably the most talented group of forwards in the league. *** Where Will Ducharme Fit in Packers Lineup? *** Many observers are left wondering what possessed Ducharme to sign with Chicago when he had his pick of clubs to join. Clearly the allure of joining the Challenge Cup favourites was likely the reason but one has to wonder if there will be enough ice time to go around at Lakeside Auditorium for the 24-year-old. Ducharme aides his own cause by being flexible enough to comfortably fit into any of the three forward positions and there are always injuries to contend with over a long season but it is pretty clear the Packers do not have many openings up front. The first line seems certain to once again consist of three-time reigning league MVP Tommy Burns along with his brother Wes and Marty Mahoney. Point a game center iceman Jarrett McGlynn seems assured of a spot on the second line likely between Jeremy MacLean and Dave Rankin which means Ducharme ends up in a heavy battle with the likes of Ed Delarue, Moose Vezina, Larry Seguin, Derek Gubb and young Stanley Royce for whatever ice time might remain. One thing is certain: There will not be a shortage of offensive talent with the Packers in the upcoming season.  AROUND THE LEAGUE NAHC DRAFT COMPLETED The 1948 North American Hockey Conferderation rookie draft was held over the weekend with the Detroit Motors owning the first choice which they used as expected on 19-year-old winger Lou Barber. The Tillsonberg, Ont., native spent part of last season with the Toledo Tigers of the HAA, notching 4 goals and 15 points. Next up was the Montreal Valiants, who went for blueline help with the selection of London, Ont., native Byron Redmond second overall. If there was a surprise in the opening round it was the fact that the Toronto Dukes opted to draft a goaltender with their first round choice. The Dukes went with Charlie Dell, a British Columbia native who spent last season as Barber's teammate with the Toledo Tigers. Dell became the first goalie selected in the opening round since the Boston Bees drafted Oren James with the final pick of round one in the 1943 draft.  JUNIOR LOOP ADDED Going forward NAHC clubs will no longer be looking to draft players from the minor leagues as a working agreement has been made with a new junior loop that will be tasked with developing players for the pros. The league is the Candian Amateur Hockey Association, a 12-team league that will recruit and draw the top talent from Canada and the northern United States and have them compete in an NAHC type schedule. The league, set to begin play in October, will have two divisions: CAHA EASTERN DIVISION Halifax Mariners Hull Hawks Saint John Saints Sherbrooke Industrials Trois-Rivieres Trappers Verdun Argonauts CAHA WESTERN DIVISION Brantford Blue Legs Kingston Cadets Kitchener Roosters London Lions St Thomas Pachyderms Windsor Dominions  CFC GRID MAGNATES LOOK FOR LONGER SLATE There is talk in the Continental Conference that some magnates want to go to a schedule that sees teams regularly play twice a week, as opposed to the typical one game a week slate. Dee Rose, the owner of the Los Angeles Lobos, is a driving force for the change noting that "Football is coming to a twice-a-week schedule anyway. We may as well pioneer it. We have pioneered a new major league, and a coast-to-coast league. So why stop there. The scuttlebutt is the CFC magnates would like to increase revenue by adopting a 28-game schedule for next season at the CFC's first winter meeting in December. CFC President Ben Montgomery appears to be taking a shine to the idea as well, noting it is "only fair to the thousands of fans who would like to see our teams and to the owners who are being whipsawed financially under the present setup." *** Russians and US Agree on Something *** Finally some common ground for the Russians and Americans, but only when it comes to sports. There is a heavy push from some of the European nations lobbying for a major change in international basketball rules, most spectacular of which would be limiting the ceiling on players. They maintain - and with some justification_ that a nation like the United States has too much of an advantage because of height. During the recent Olympic games one authority suggested, presumably with a straight face, that a ceiling of 6 feet 4 3/4 inches be established. Unexplained was the preference for this height, instead of some nice round figure like 6 feet 4 inches, or 6 feet 5 inches, but at any rate the movement was started and the Americans promptly took a dim view of the whole business. The Russians are also contributing a dim view of their own, saying that they intend to participate in the sport in the '52 games "if invited" and that they are fully against a ban on tall players. *** To Pros a 6 Foot, 4 Incher Is 'Little' *** Daniel Carter, 4-time ABC coach of the year and bench boss of the Washington Statesmen explains "In pro basketball today you absolutely need two tall men. When I say tall men I don't mean those fellows who are 6 feet 2 inches or 6 feet 4 inches. They're all right, but in modern basketball they're little men. You can carry three, four, maybe five of this size and possibly even shorter. But you've got to have those big boys...those 6 foot 7 or 8 inch players. They control the ball for you. They make that pivot work. And they guard the other team's big guys." "It's useless to put a 6-footer against a man who stands 6 feet 7 inches. He can't stop the big fellow. All he'll do is foul out. Worst part of it is that in building a team you should begin with the big fellows. Circumstances force me to work the other way. The advantage to starting with big guys is that you know how many small men you can carry. Some of the greatest players I've ever seen are only 5 feet 10 inches. But they're only great when you can put them into a game against men their size. If the other team is using a big guy you've got to keep your 5 feet 10 or 11 inches of greatness on the bench."
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/22/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-28-2023, 11:55 AM
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#793 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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August 30, 1948
We had a week's sabbatical while our commissioner had some real world work to take care of but Figment is back today and ready for the stretch run of the 1948 pennant races.
AUGUST 30, 1948 EAGLES FLYING HIGH The week started on a down note for the Washington Eagles, but they certainly turned things around quickly with wins in each of their last 5 games to help the DC crew leapfrog the New York Gothams and move into second place in the Federal Association, just 2.5 games back of the defending champion St. Louis Pioneers. The Eagles and Pioneers began the week with a 3-game set at Columbia Park and it did not start well for the home nine. The visitors from the west, led by a complete game from Danny Hern, shot down the Eagles 7-1 in Tuesday opener but the next two days the story was the Washington pitching, not that of the rest of the 3-H club. Wednesday it was 37-year-old Jack Elder who led the way, spinning a 4-hit gem as the Eagles -on the strength of homers from Rats McGonigle and Jim Sibert- handed Hal Hackney just his 7th loss of the season in a 4-0 Washington win. Thursday afternoon turned out to be the perfect day for 28-year-old Jose Waggoner to record the first big league victory of his career. Freshly recalled from Kansas City, Waggoner outdueled Hiram Steinberg in a 1-0 Washington victory, allowing just 5 hits to make his first big league complete game a 5-hit shutout. The Eagles finished their big week with back to back wins over the New York Gothams before outlasting Detroit 2-1 in a 14-inning marathon yesterday on day that, despite the win, actually saw them lose ground to the Pioneers who swept a pair from the Boston Minutemen.  WAY TOO EARLY 1950 MOCK DRAFT As we do each year at this time, TWIFB turns its gaze well into the future and takes a look at a mock first round for the draft that is still nearly 18 months away. Using OSA's assessment of the draft class as a base, here is a "Way Too Early Mock Draft" for the 1950 class. The way it shapes up presently the 1950 class looks to be a banner year for centerfielders with three of them holding down the top four spots in this mock draft including #1 overall. That would Fred Lainhart, a Michigan-born high schooler who was an All-American as a freshman and owns a .582 batting average after two seasons of high school play. Code:
# NAME POS AGE SCHOOL OSA comment 1 Fred Lainhart CF 15 Pandora (OH) HS light of his star could be blinding 2 Tom Drill LHP 19 Empire State potential top of rotation starter 3 Bucky Moore CF 15 Dunbar HS, Baltimore light of his star could be blinding 4 Paul Bailey CF 15 Wixom (MI)HS may be in coversation about best players in game 5 Eddie Webb RHP 15 Reidsville(GA) HS front of rotation potential 6 Andy Robinson 2B 15 Fredericksburg(VA)HS could make multiple trips to All-Star game 7 Joe Bullock RF 16 Hannibal(MO) HS highest ceiling imaginable 8 Roy Nash 3B 15 Medway (MA) HS could make multiple trips to All-Star game 9 Leon Wallace CF 17 Austin(TX) HS make an impact on a top tier team 10 John Sledge RHP 15 Clinton (IL)HS potential number 2 starter 11 Parson Allen 3B 16 Chase City (VA) HS elite big league 3B 12 Bob Gray 3B 16 Northeast HS, Philly elite big league 3B 13 Skinny Bennett C 19 Eastern Oklahoma considerable ceiling 1st division starter 14 Earl Howe CF 16 Card.Hayes HS, Bronx high ceiling projects well on field and at plate 15 Bill Harbin CF 19 Brunswick College impact big league CF 16 Dan Hill RF 16 Williamsport(MD) HS all tools to develop into elite RF Code:
[b] HONOURABLE MENTION NAME POS AGE SCHOOL George Blake P 20 St Francis(OH) College Oscar Edwards P 15 Crestview HS, Ashland, Oh Hank Walker P 16 Vctoria (TX) HS Bob Longstretch C 19 Opelika State Enos Bailey 2B 15 Andover (NY) HS Jack Gardner 2B 15 Clay Center (KS) HS Carl Matthews 3B 19 Santa Ana College Cleo Evans CF 15 Phelps (NY) HS Ralph Capriotti LF 15 Muncie (IN) HS Charlie Ham RF 16 Gordo (AL) HS   GRAYS CLOSE IN ON SECOND STRAIGHT GWL CROWN The Oakland Grays may have seen their latest winning streak snapped by San Diego yesterday but with wins in each of their 9 previous outings the defending Bigsby Cup champions are rapidly closing in on their second straight Great Western League regular season crown. The Grays, at 80-46 on the year, stretched their lead on the second place Houston Bulls to an even dozen games and have gone 57-24 since June 1. There is a battle waging for the second berth in the Bigsby Cup, with the Bulls hanging on to a 1.5 game lead on San Francisco. It is quite a turnaround for both clubs as the duo finished with the two worst records in the GWL a year ago, although the Hawks did claim the inaugural Bigsby Cup title in 1946. 
 GOTHAMS FORCED TO SETTLE FOR TIE, BOTH COAST CLUBS WIN IN CFC OPENERS Despite baseball's flag chases heading into the home stretch the Continental Football Conference, entering its third campaign, got off to an early start with three weekend games including a surprising result out of the Big Apple where the defending Eastern Division champions needed a late rally just to salvage a tie with Brooklyn. The New York Gothams, who lost to Kansas City in the league championship game each of the past two seasons, spotted the Football Kings a 17-0 lead before finally coming to life with 10 points in the final stanza. The Gothams fiesty all-star back Ken Hale had a rough day on the ground, gaining just 12 yards but that included a 1-yard plunge with 14 minutes remaining in the contest to cut the Kings lead to 3 points. That gap would be closed when, with just 10 ticks left on the clock, Jerry Wade - who had missed on a 31-yard field goal attempt in the first half, was perfect under pressure and snaked a 27-yarder through the uprights in the closing seconds to allow the Gothams to leave Kings County with a 17-17 draw. The other Friday night game took place at Whitney Field in Chicago as the visiting Los Angeles Lobos grounded the hometown Comets 33-24 behind a big game from Lobos quarterback Jackie Wendt. The veteran signal caller ran for a team high 70 yards and a score while passing for 2 touchdowns and 239 yards in the victory. Wendt was also a key force on the other side of the ball with 8 tackles and a pair of fumble recoveries. Sunday's lone contest saw the San Francisco Wings blast the Buffalo Bulls 49-7 behind the strength of a smart aerial game and tremendous ground power. Led by quarterback Sam Metcalf, whose field generalship and accurate passing were combined in a brilliant display, the Wings swampted the Easterners with 3 touchdowns in the opening half before adding three more majors in the third quarter. The two-pronged rushing force of Rich Garner and Sam Gerst combined for 5 rushing touchdowns while Ernest Key, despite failing to reach the endzone, added a game-best 94 yards to a Wings offense that pounded out 522 net yards, including 340 on the ground, while nearly doubling the Bulls output of 265 yards for the day. It will go down as not one of Mark Monday's better days as the Buffalo quarterback completed just 7 of 24 pass attempts and was intercepted 3 times on the afternoon. All 8 clubs will be in action next weekend including the two-time defending league champion Kansas City Cowboys, who will entertain Los Angeles in their season-opener Friday evening.  MAC ERICKSON SET FOR FIRST TITLE DEFENSE The Sailor from St. Paul is set to step into the ring for the first time as World Welterweight Champion when Mac Erickson defends his freshly won welter crown against John Gregory. Many had talked of this day for Erickson ever since he was a fresh-faced 23-year-old squaring off with 20-year-old Danny Rutledge back in 1944 in England on the undercard of an Archie Rees title fight in what was being billed as the Allied Amateur Welterweight Title fight. Erickson fought well on that day but, in the end, came up just short when he was knocked out in the 12th round by Rutledge. Four months later and freshly discharged from the Navy, Erickson would turn pro and has not lost since including a unanimous decision over Harold Stephens in April to win the world title and run his mark to 17-0. Gregory, a 30-year-old California native with a 19-4-1 mark as a professional, will be a stern test for the now 27-year-old champion but with losses against Dennis O'Keefe and Baby-Face Bishop over the past two years he is certainly beatable. The two will clash at Chicago's Lakeside Arena on Saturday evening. * **Stephens Stock Slides *** Harold Stephens, fresh off being exposed by Erickson in the title loss, came up on the short end of things again last week when he was outpointed for the second bout in a row. This time it was Ben "Baby Face" Bishop who scored a unanimous decision in a 10-rounder in Baltimore. The loss likely spells the end of the line for any hopes Stephens (21-5-2) might have had of getting a chance to reclaim the belt. Meanwhile Danny Rutledge, the young gun who handed Erickson a loss when both were amateurs, was in action last week in Atlantic City and improved his perfect record to 15-0 with a second round knockout of John Jackson. The 24-year-old Rutledge appears to be on a collision course for a rematch with Erickson at some point in the near future. Keeping the theme of a busy week in the welterweight division, Dale Roy -the pride of Binghamton, NY, had an impressive outing with a first round TKO win over Wayne Dunn in Philadelphia. That runs Roy's record to 31-6 and marks his third straight knock out victory since falling by a KO to Erickson nearly a year ago. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/29/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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09-30-2023, 01:05 PM
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#794 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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September 6, 1948
SEPTEMBER 6, 1948 PIONEERS & SAILORS AIMING FOR A WCS REMATCH There are few things harder in baseball than repeating as pennant winners but both the St. Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors look well positioned to have a shot at meeting in the WCS for the second year in a row. The Cincinnati Cannons and Philadelphia Keystones met in 1944 and 1945 and the New York Gothams had a rematch with the Cleveland Foresters a decade earlier but before that you have to go all the way back to 1913-14 when the Washington Eagles and old Baltimore Clippers played in back to back series. As the season begins its final four weeks there are an awful lot of hurdles standing in the way of a St. Louis-Philadelphia rematch. The Pioneers hold down top spot in the Federal Association but the Washington Eagles are hot on their heels at just 2 games off the pace and you can never count out the powerful New York Gothams despite a 14-18 record since late July. The Philadelphia Keystones, fresh off taking two of three to slow the Eagles over the weekend, are also very much in the mix at 3.5 games off the pace. The New York Stars continue to lead the Sailors in the Continental race but with 5 losses in their last 8 outings the New Yorkers lead is down to a single game over Philadelphia. The Chicago Cougars, despite losing 4 of their last 7, are still within shouting distance at 4 games off the pace.   The loops alternate choices and for the 1949 draft the odd number selections, including first overall will go to the Continental Association. The Washington Eagles won the lottery last year and selected Christian Trophy winning shortstop Tom Miller out of Coastal State with the first selection. The 22-year-old made his big league debut last week when he was called up from Class A, the level he has played at since signing a contract with the Eagles last month. OSA lists Miller number two overall behind another shortstop -1945 second overall selection Ralph Hanson of the New York Stars.  After a dreadful start to his Cougar career, Sal Pestilli has bounced back in a huge way, and is on pace for his fourth career 30-home run season. He's done a lot more then just homer, as he has 19 doubles and triples, contributing to a league high 65 extra base hits. Combined with excellent defense (15.1, 1.031), a great eye (52 BB, 30 K), and excellent stolen base numbers (18-for-25), and the 7-Time All-Star is once again playing like the five tool player, and if the Cougars want to erase their four game deficit they'll need him to stay hot. Pestilli hit .278/.344/.639 (158 OPS+) in August and is off to a 7-for-21 start to September. 
 UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 HIGH EXPECTATIONS ONCE MORE IN TYRONE, BUT FOR MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL Tyrone, Pennsylvania is best known as the home to the campus of St Blane University, winners of the last two AIAA collegiate football championships and looking for a record third straight grid crown. Despite some arguement out of Detroit City College or Travis College, both of whom like the Fighting Saints were unbeaten a year ago, St Blane has aspirations of becoming the first school to win three straight football titles but the athmosphere around campus is electric with the possibility of even greater things to come this year. There is a growing feeling that the 1948-49 edition of the St Blane Fighting Saints will be the best basketball team the school has ever fielded and there is even talk that the Fighting Saints baseball team stands a decent chance of qualifying for the Collegiate World Championship Series, an event it has not participated in since 1934. The gridion action kicks things off as the Fighting Saints, who last tasted defeat on January 1, 1946 in the Sunshine Classic against Miami State, look to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 games when they open the season in less than 3 weeks by hosting Whitney College. Christian Trophy winning quarterback Ricky McCallister may be lost to graduation and is now attempting to replace Gus Brown as the starter for the Chicago Wildcats, but the Fighting Saints always have plenty of talent ready to step up and this season is no exception. Dane Sutherland, McCallister's understudy each of the past two years is now a senior and many suggest he will be a first round AFA pick in the spring, so the passing game should be in good shape. It is on the ground where the Fighting Saints really established their dominance and that should very much be the case once more with All-American lineman Finn O'Boyle leading a deep line that is expected to clear the way for this season's Saints Christian Trophy candidate: a halfback from Connecticut by the name of Joe Fulgham. As talented a halfback as the senior is, he may be an even better baseball player causing some around these parts to say Fulgham is St Blane's best two sport athlete since pitcher/back Gus Goulding. Fulgham is expected to hear his named called by a FABL club in January and that won't be the first time it happened. The 20 year old centerfielder was a 9th round selection of the Washington Eagles out of high school in 1946 but elected to play two-sports at St Blane instead. He hit .288 with 9 homers for the Fighting Saints a year ago and has a bright baseball future, good enough to crack the top ten among collegiate players eligible for the draft according to TWIFB's recent draft preview. Fulgham will have plenty of pressure on him as the key to the success of both the Fighting Saints grid and diamond squads but that likely pales in comparison to the lofty expectations for the St Blane cagers. Those hopes were sky high a year ago when the Fighting Saints were among the pre-season favourites to contend for a national title - something the school has never dreamed of in the past. They had a talented threesome led by senior center Josh Samuels but the dreams came crashing down in their preseason tournament when Samuels blew out his knee and was lost for the season. He was granted a medical redshirt and returns for a 5th season with odds high that he is a first round choice by a Federal Basketball League club next summer. His focus is instead on the much nearer future as many feel that Samuels, along with fellow seniors Cy Worley and Jim Canaday, are poised to take the Saints basketball team into the same rare air the football club has settled in of late. No school has ever held titles in multiple sports at the same time and only five schools have ever won titles in each of the three major team sports. St Blane is best known as a football school but athletes like Joe Fulgham and Josh Samuels may just prove there is much more to the school than just grid titles.  DOMINANT DEBUT FOR CHAPPELL AND COWBOYS The two-time defending Continental Football Conference champion Kansas City Cowboys picked up exactly where they left off last season with a 48-14 rout over the Los Angeles Lobos in their season opener. After a brief pre-game ceremony to recognize their title game win over the New York Gothams last December, the Cowboys went straight to work as Pat Chappell found Tommy Cohan for a 41-yard touchdown score before the game was 4 minutes old. Los Angeles did manage to tie the contest at 7 early in the second quarter but from then on it was all Kansas City as the Cowboys offense was simply too much for the Lobos, who fall to 1-1 with the loss. Cowboys quarterback Pat Chappell threw for 232 yards and 5 touchdowns as he continues to make a case that he is not just the best quarterback in the Continental Conference, but perhaps also the best in all of professional football. Chappell's favourite target, end Bill Tammaro, had 7 catches for 79 yards but the Cowboys are far from just a one dimensional team as burly back Mason Matthews ran for 94 yards in the win. Elsewhere the New Orleans Crescents may have found themselves a local hero to rally behind as ex-Bayou State quarterback Vince Gallegos had a very successful pro debut. The youngster threw for 268 yards and ran for a touchdown to lead the Crescents to a 28-14 doubling of two-time defending Eastern Division champion New York. Buffalo evened its record at 1-1 in typical Bulls style -with a comeback victory. In their brief history the Bulls have become known for some terrific finishes and this season started off no differently as the Bulls rallied with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns from Walter Hansen to nip the visitng Chicago Comets 21-17. Dave Karaszewski ran for 100 yards and caught an 80 yard scoring pass from Mark Monday to help secure the win. Finally in San Francisco, the Wings had a dominant victory for the second week in a row as they routed Brooklyn 45-9 a week after blasting Buffalo.  LYNCH RE-UPS WITH MONTREAL The Montreal Valiants have had a change of heart and resigned their veteran captain Doug Lynch after initially refusing to extend his contract. The 35-year-old, who had 14 goals and 39 points in 54 games last season, was cut loose in a purge of the team that included the release of goaltender Millard Touhey, defenseman Leo Bernard and forward Max Ducharme. Lynch, who has been the club's captain since 1940, was the only player to return to Montreal as Ducharme signed with the Chicago Packers while Bernard was contracted by the Toledo Tigers of the Hockey Association of America. Touhey's fate is once more up in the air as the 32-year-old goaltender was signed by the Syracuse Lancers of the HAA but was surprisingly let go from his contract a week later amidst speculation he failed his physical. The 32-year-old has displayed periods of greatness in his 5 seasons with Montreal but has also come under fire for his conditioning and focus at times.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/05/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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10-02-2023, 12:16 PM
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#795 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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September 13, 1948
SEPTEMBER 13, 1948 HALL OF FAMER RUFUS BARREL DEAD AT 75  Renowned Baseball Scout and Beloved Family Man It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Mr. Rufus Barrell, a legendary figure in the world of sports and a beloved patriarch of his family. Mr. Barrell, aged 75, peacefully departed this world in his sleep on the morning of September 9, 1948, at his family farm in Egypt, Georgia. Born on June 13, 1873, on that same farm, Rufus Barrell's legacy is one of unwavering dedication, passion, and love. He leaves behind a trail of memories and achievements that have touched countless lives. Rufus was a man deeply committed to the sport of baseball. His early life as a highly talented pitcher was marked by promise and potential until a fateful accident prematurely ended his playing career. However, rather than succumbing to adversity, Rufus channeled his passion into a new role as a scout. In the annals of baseball history, Rufus Barrell's name is synonymous with excellence in scouting. He co-founded the Omni Scouting Association, a name now revered for its commitment to identifying and nurturing talent. OSA became the official scouting partner not only of professional baseball but also of football, hockey, and basketball, underscoring Rufus's profound influence in the world of sports. Throughout his illustrious career, Rufus served as a scouting director for several esteemed teams, including the Brooklyn Kings, the Washington Eagles, and the Cincinnati Cannons. His keen eye for talent, unerring judgment, and dedication to the sport propelled these teams to success and established Rufus as a revered figure in the scouting community. In the tightly-knit Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues (FABL) community, Rufus Barrell was more than a legend; he was a cherished icon, a symbol of unwavering commitment, and an inspiration to aspiring athletes. Beyond his professional achievements, Rufus was a devoted family man. He shared nearly sixty years of marriage with his beloved wife, Alice Barrell. Together, they raised ten children: Joe, Rollie, Jack, Jimmy, Dan, Fred, Tom, Bobby, Harry, and Betsy. Their family's strength endured even in the face of profound tragedy, having lost two sons, Joe and Jimmy, under heartbreaking circumstances. As Rufus Barrell peacefully departed this world, he left behind a legacy of love, dedication, and indomitable spirit. His life was a testament to the enduring power of passion, hard work, and unwavering commitment to one's craft. Rufus's memory will forever live on in the hearts of his family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him. His impact on the world of sports and his enduring legacy as a devoted family man will continue to inspire generations to come. A private family service will be held in honor of Rufus Barrell, commemorating a life well-lived and a legacy that will never fade. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to the Rufus Barrell Memorial Fund, dedicated to supporting aspiring athletes in achieving their dreams, just as Rufus did throughout his remarkable life. PIONEERS AND SAILORS AT TOP OF HEAP WITH 3 WEEKS TO PLAY The St Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors each came up with a big week to further increase the chances that the 1948 World Championship Series will be a rematch of the 1947 Fall Classic. The Pioneers, who defeated the Sailors in 6 games last October, won 7 of their 8 games last week including 3 straight on the road over both Chicago and Detroit. That extends the St Louis lead atop the Federal Association to 3.5 games over the second place Washington Eagles, who must be wondering what else they can do. The Eagles went 5-2 last week but still lost a game and a half in the race. In the Continental Association the Sailors lead is 2 games on the second place New York Stars after Philadelphia won seven of its last 9 games while the Stars are on a 4-8 slide. There are other teams still desperately trying to stay in the mix in both associations but time is clearly running out. The New York Gothams split a pair with the Pioneers to open the week and then won five of six from Detroit and Chicago but the Gothams presently sit 4.5 games behind St Louis although they can look forward to a 3-game set at Gothams Stadium against the St Louis nine in the final week of the campaign. A four game losing streak to end the week for the Philadelphia Keystones dropped them 6.5 backs of the Fed leaders and all but ends their pennant hopes. The bookmakers give the Pioneers an 86% chance of winning the Fed flag with New York at just under 9% and the Washington Eagles less than a 6 percent chance of finishing on top. The Continental situation is not quite as dire for the New York Stars but close as the odds give the Sailors a better than 75% chance of winning their second straight pennant while the Stars have a 19% chance and the third place Chicago Cougars are given a 5% shot at ending a pennant drought that stretches back to 1941. The Cougars have been pretty good of late, winning six of their last 8 contests and they do have 4 more remaining head to head with the Stars and two with the Sailors. The hottest team in the Continental loop right now is the Toronto Wolves -winners of 11 of their last 12 games but it is likely a case of being just a little too late for the Canadian club, which trails the Sailors by 6.5 games. Toronto does have 3 games remaining at home against Philadelphia and the Wolves have a key week ahead of them with a pair of games in New York starting Tuesday and then two more in the Windy City on the weekend. The big series in the Federal Association to watch this week takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in New York in a 2-game set for the Gothams and Eagles. A split may spell bad news for both teams.  The Gothams are on pace to set a new team attendance record. If they can draw 29-30 thousand over the final 16 games they would surpass the total from the 1943 discounted servicemen ticket season. The current total of 1,795,026 is already the second highest total in their long history. A 5-2 week just wasn't enough as the first place Pioneers split the Labor Day doubleheader with the Gothams then swept the remaining 6 games last week. So good week or not the team finds themselves now 4 and a half behind St. Louis. Tack Robinson picked up his first win of the season, going 5 in and 8-3 win over Detroit. The team has been trying several pitchers this season looking for a dependable 5th starter. DYNAMOS FADING, MOTORS TURN UP HEAT ON GOALTENDING SITUATION A brief Monday morning bounce around a busy sports scene in the Motor City. Interesting news from the Thompson Palladium with word breaking that the Motors have signed unpredictable veteran goaltender Millard Touhey to a contract. The 32-year-old has had some good seasons for the Valiants but wore out his welcome in Quebec after the Vals missed the playoffs each of the last two years. Henri Chasse has been the Detroit netminder for the past 4 years but, like Touhey, has been inconsistent and is coming off the worst year of his career. The Motors have a long way to go to compete with the class of the NAHC and new coach Badger Rigney has been pressuring Detroit management to shake things up. And a little competition in net will hopefully light a fire under at least one of the goaltenders. The addition of Touhey leads to speculation that back-up Brad Carter will be shipped to Montreal and may well earn the number one job for the Valiants, who is need between the pipes is dire with only young Pat Beliveau under contract, a 22-year-old babe with just 2 NAHC games on his resume. *** September Does Not Treat Dynamos Well *** A year ago, the Detroit Dynamos were in contention for the Federal Association flag until they fell apart in September, finishing 8-15 for the month and losing their last 11 games of the season. It is shaping up to be more of the same this year as the local nine have just 6 wins in their last 21 games and are riding a 4-game losing skid. The first division is now clearly out of reach and the worry is to try and hold off Pittsburgh and Chicago to avoid dropping any lower than 6th place. Detroit has a very young team still, and the injury to Edwin Hackberry did not help things, but manager Dick York expects much more out of his charges the last 3 weeks of the season."We have 16 games left including some games that are key for pennant hopefuls Washington and New York," explained the long-time skipper. "We will not tolerate guys just rolling over and playing out the string. There needs to be accountability for all 154 games. I am challenging this group to go 10-6 and treat this final stretch like our own little pennant race." *** Black Patch For Rufus Barrell *** Fans will have noticed the Dynamos are wearing black patches over the heart on their jerseys with the letter RB written on them. They will do so for the rest of the season as a tribute to Hall of Fame scout Rufus Barrell, who passed away at the age of 75 in his Georgia home last week. Barrell's family connection runs deep in Detroit with his son Fred working as the Dynamos Scouting Director and another son, Rollie, is the princple owner of the grid Maroons and cage Mustangs. A third son, Jack Barrell, spent a number of seasons behind the Detroit Motors bench but is now in Toronto where he led the Dukes to a Challenge Cup win last spring. *** HOWLIN HAS BIG GAME *** All-American Bill Howlin, who helped lead the Detroit City College Knights to a perfect season a year ago that included a victory in the East-West Classic, is making his mark in pro ball with the Brooklyn Football Kings. Howlin's best game in his short pro career came Friday night in Los Angeles when he threw for 150 yards and ran for 50 more to help the Kings thump the Los Angeles Lobos 49-14 in Continental Football Conference action. Speaking of football, the AFA season kicks off this week with Maroons travel to Washington to face the defending East Division champion Wasps. Speaking of the Maroons, word out of camp is the club is pretty happy with the showing of back Dutch Van Houten. He will be eased into the action but the former Wisconsin State star, selected 7th in the draft, will be counted on to contribute as the season progresses. *** Messer Arrives in Motor City *** Ward Messer, who everyone hopes will be the saviour the Detroit Mustangs need to become competitive in the new-look Federal Basketball League, arrived in town over the weekend to finalize his contract with Mustangs management and to find himself an apartment for the season. The National Collegiate Player of the Year while with Liberty College last season will have to deal with big expectations from a Mustangs fan base that has seen their heroes miss the playoffs each of their two years in the league. And it will only get harder this time around with the 8 teams from the now-defunct American Basketball Conference joining to double the size of the FBL. It was no coincidence that Messer arrived in Detroit last Thursday as it gave him the opportunity to head out to Thompson Field and catch a pair of games between the Dynamos and Gothams involving Ward's older brother Walt Messer. Ward refused to confirm which club he was cheering for during the games. 
 LONE GAME MARKS START OF COLLEGE GRID SEASON Another college football season is underway although it was barely noticed along the east coast. Many of the big names will not see action for two more weeks including defending national champion St Blane, which is set to open its title defense at home in Tyrone against a spirited Whitney College club on September 25. There was just a single contest over the weekend as a pair of rivals from the Southern Border Conference got together. Canyon A&M emerged the victor, as the Armadillos dumped Flagstaff State 24-7, marking the third year in a row that the Texas school emerged with a win over its Arizona rival. The Armadillos are hoping to repeat a terrific 1947 campaign that saw Canyon A&M post a 10-1 record including a perfect 7-0 in section play. While most of the top schools in the east and midwest will not see action until September 25 there is one exception as Penn Catholic kicks off its season in Philadelphia against Darnell State. Southwestern Alliance power Travis College will debut at home in Texas against Bayou State while most of the big coast schools including both CC Los Angeles and Coastal California will also be in action. WILD WEEK FULL OF TIGHT GAMES IN CFC You could not ask for a pair of games much more exciting than the entertaining helping of football the Continental Conference served up yesterday. The Buffalo Bulls did everything they could to stay with the two-time defending champion Kansas City Cowboys but in the end they fell just short, dropping a 23-22 decision at Buffalo's Civic Stadium. The Bulls gambled on getting another opportunity but lost as they opted for a 16-yard field goal on 4th down with nearly 12 minutes remaining in the game. It cut the Cowboys lead to just a single point at 23-22 but what the Bulls did not count on was they would only get one more possession as the Cowboys proved they are much more than a high-flying passing attack by chewing up the final 6:19 of clock time to preserve the one-point victory and improve to 2-0 on the season. The issue for Buffalo, as it is for all teams in the CFC, is they had to pick their poison. Do they focus on trying to slow down the passing game of Pat Chappell or do they concentrate on stacking the line in an effort to stop bruising fullback Mason Matthews? With both starting ends Ernie Orr and Bill Tammaro out with injuries the Bulls chances looked pretty good but Chappell still shredded the Buffalo defense for 308 passing yards and when the Bulls tried to drop back in coverage it allowed Matthews to run wild, gaining 139 yards on just 11 carries. Dave Karaszewski had another big day on the ground for Buffalo, with 103 yards of his own, but it is clear that in the CFC you have the Kansas City Cowboys and then far below them, you have the rest of the league. It was a wild finish in San Francisco, but the hometown Wings came up just short in falling 28-27 to the New York Gothams despite San Francisco tallying 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter including a pair of Sam Metcalf scoring passes in the final four and a half minutes. Metcalf nearly completed the comeback but with 53 seconds left and a third and goal on the Gothams 3-yard line what would have been a game winning touchdown pass to Doug Murphy was picked off by Gothams back Ed Williams to preserve the New Yorkers first win of the season. There was an exciting finish in one of the Friday games as well with Chicago's Dave Brown missing on a 34-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game with 9 seconds remaining. Instead the Comets came up just short on their home field as New Orleans improved to 2-0 with a 24-21 victory. It was another spirited effort from rookie Crescents quarterback Vince Gallegos, who passed for 260 yards and a touchdown. His favourite target was Bill Pruitt, who hauled in 4 catches for 189 yards including a 45-yard scoring grab to get the Crescents on the scoreboard early in the second frame. The one game that was not close illustrated perfectly just what a huge difference a week can make for the Brooklyn Kings. The Kings were thumped by San Francisco just over a week ago but they found the week of training in the California sunshine to their liking as the Kings looked like a completely different outfit in manhandling the Los Angeles Lobos 49-14 at Knights Stadium Friday evening. From the start it looked like another rough time for the Kings, who spotted the hometown Lobos a 14-0 lead before the game was 10 minutes old. But then the Brooklyn offense shifted in to high gear and it was all Kings from there on out. Bill Howlin, the All-American back who led Detroit City College to an East-West Classic win and a perfect season last year, combined with John Mecham to be a force on the ground and through the air for Brooklyn. Splitting the passing duties, the dynamic duo combined for 272 yards through the air while Mecham ran for 80 yards and two scores while Howlin had a touchdown carry of his own to go along with 50 yards gained from scrimmage. The victory evens the Kings record after 3 games at 1-1-1 while Los Angeles falls to 1-2 and third place in the Western Division.  CAN CFC WEATHER THE STORM? In the realm of professional football, the Continental Football Conference stands at a crucial juncture, teetering on the precarious edge of its third season. Although the league's valiant efforts have sustained it thus far, murmurs of skepticism about its long-term prospects have begun to circulate. While none within the league are willing to openly admit distress, the mounting calls from several Continental magnates to double the games played per week raise undeniable concerns, offering a forewarning of financial storms brewing on the horizon. The crux of the CFC's dilemma lies in its facilities, or more aptly, the lack thereof. The majority of CFC teams find themselves confined to minor league stadiums, where the capacity struggles to breach the 20,000 mark. This stark contrast is exemplified by the Kansas City Cowboys, a powerhouse within the league. Their prowess on the field is unquestionable, yet they find themselves relegated to Packer Park, a modest stadium that scarcely accommodates 15,000 ardent fans. The stark reality becomes evident when juxtaposed with the AFA, whose teams grace FABL parks, boasting capacities exceeding 30,000 seats. A prime example is the AFA championship game finalists from the previous year, the Washington Wasps and Cleveland Finches, who command stadiums with double or more the capacity of Packer Park. Economics paints a bleak picture. The astute CFC magnates acknowledge that to compete with the AFA in terms of player salaries, larger stadiums or an increase in games are essential. Currently, only a handful of CFC teams, including the Chicago Comets, New York Gothams, and Brooklyn Kings, reside in stadiums exceeding the 30,000 mark. However, prospects of this changing anytime soon are slim. The owners are caught in a quandary. While doubling the games might bolster revenue, players are unlikely to embrace the toll on their bodies, unwilling to put themselves in harm's way without adequate compensation for the additional games. This puts the CFC in a familiar predicament: How can they vie with the AFA without a substantial revenue stream to finance their aspirations? The CFC already faces large hill to climb in convincing incoming rookies to side with the new loop rather than play for clubs in the more established American Association. Only two athletes drafted in the opening round by AFA outfits elected to join the Continental and one of them was Vince Gallegos who elected to stay near his college stomping grounds of Bayou State and play for the New Orleans Crescents instead of joining a weak Pittsburgh Paladins AFA entry. There is talent to be found in the CFC, of that it is certain, but it is also clear as crystal that the greater level of talent lies with the established AFA. No clear-cut solution is in sight, leaving the very survival of the Continental Conference contingent upon an elusive remedy to this financial fiasco. The clock ticks, and the stakes are higher than ever. Only time will tell if the CFC can weather this storm and carve a path to sustainable success in the fiercely competitive landscape of professional football. TOUHEY SIGNS WITH DETROIT The Detroit Motors have taken steps to address the inconsistency out of their goaltending last year by agreeing to a 4-year deal with former Montreal Valiants netminder Millard Touhey. The 32-year-old Touhey started 51 games for the Vals a year ago, posting a 3.18 goals against average, but was released by the club over the summer due to inconsistent play of his own. Touhey was Montreal's goaltender for the past five seasons and had a dominant 1945-46 campaign that culminated with an opening round playoff upset of the first place Toronto Dukes. Big things were expected from the Toronto native in 1946-47 but he reported to training camp out of shape and never did get untracked causing the Valiants to miss the playoffs. They had a terrific start to the season a year ago but second half struggles, including but not limited to Touhey's work in net, saw the Valiants miss the playoffs for a second year in a row. The Motors had their own challenges between the pipes last season as 25-year-old Henri Chasse, a Juneau Trophy winner in his sophomore season of 1945-46, endured plenty of ups and downs last season as the Motors sank to the bottom of the league after finishing third the previous season. Chasse was among the top goaltenders two years ago but saw his goals against average balloon by nearly a goal a game and his save percentage fall below .900 in a year filled with struggles. The pair are expected to fight it out for the number one job which likely spells the end of veteran backup goaltender Brad Carter's days in the Motor City. Carter, who backstopped Seattle to a Great Western League title in 1942-43 before joining the New York Shamrocks the following year, played in an NAHC career high 19 games for Detroit last season. Motors new head coach Badger Rigney promises it will be an open battle for the starting job and each goaltender gets a clean slate with the bench boss, who replaced the departed Mark Moore. "I have full confidence in each of them and it is a luxury to have two goaltenders that have each proven they are more than capable of carrying a team," explained Rigney. "Having two number ones is a good thing and we hope will bring out the best in both Henri and Millard." The Motors had expressed some interest in Touhey in June but at the time his contract demand was said to be over $20,000 season. After negotiations between Touhey and the HAA's Syracuse Lancers fell apart, he lowered his demand and agreed to a 4-year deal with Detroit that will pay the netminder just over $16,000. Detroit does have a lot of money tied up between the pipes as Henri Chasse signed a long-term extension a year ago that pays him $18,000 per annum.  In other transaction news the Toronto Dukes signed a depth goaltender, inking former New York Shamrocks backup Ronnie Flanagan to a two-year deal worth $3,200 per season. The 31-year-old Parkhill, Ont. native spent a number of seasons early in the decade as a starter with both the Shamrocks and Detroit but appeared in just 1 game for the Greenshirts last season while splitting time between New York and the minor league Philadelphia Rascals. Flanagan is expected to challenge Terry Russell for the back-up job behind veteran Gordie Broadway.  ERICKSON GROUNDS GREGORY TO REMAIN WELTER CHAMP Lakeside Arena, Chicago, Ill. - Mac Erickson, new to the championship ranks, is at the precipice of something the Welterweight Division has not seen in a good while: stability. Erickson has been on a winning streak of 17 straight fights since turning pro upon his discharge from the Navy in 1945. In three years, he has climbed the ladder, won his title shot against Harold Stephens, and seems to improve by the round. His punches carry the power you would expect from a heavier-class boxer. The 27-year-old from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Erickson and his fans made the trip from The Land of 10,000 Lakes to Lakeside Arena in Chicago to face John Gregory, a challenger who has lost four times with a draw in 24 professional bouts. Erickson has one more knockout (11) compared to Gregory (10) in seven fewer fights, but that only tells part of the story. In Erickson’s title-winning fight in Boston against Stephens in April, he pulverized a man as much as one can do without knocking the man out. How Stephens finished the fight standing, this reporter will never know. There were 37 Big Boppers in 15 rounds on that night, a night where Erickson did not get the knockout. If you turned off the radio after the first two rounds of the fight (and why would you?!), you would think Gregory was going to give Erickson a run for his money. Gregory arrived on the scene with an uppercut a little less than a minute in that stunned the champion. While Erickson summoned even more power than Gregory with an uppercut of his own shortly afterwards, that was the only punch that really landed for Erickson in the first round, a round in which Gregory carried the rest of the round with shots to the body and the occasional opportunistic hook upstairs. Gregory carried the momentum into the second round, setting Erickson up with the jab and hook before another uppercut landed Erickson on the ropes. Erickson could not corral himself to counter while Gregory was scoring with punches. Gregory held Erickson at bay until the final 30 seconds of the round, when Erickson landed his only punch of the second round. With the notoriety Erickson gained coming into the bout, his pound-for-pound prowess and his savage punishment on Stephens on his way to the title, many in the crowd openly wondered if he was the same fighter: Which was the real Erickson? Was it Erickson the Hunted who looked like a shy kitty cat at times or was it the hidden tiger he seemed to be when he was Erickson the Hunter? But, you see, in a power puncher, there is always the possibility of one punch changing the fight, or in this case, winning the fight. The third round started with some bewilderment, but it ended in victory for the champion. Much like in his previous fight, Erickson starts a round deliberately, waiting for his opponent to land the first punch. Maybe he does it for sport, maybe he wants to give his opponent the false hope of an advantage, or maybe he likes to be the hunter. Erickson must have realized he had ceded the advantage to Gregory early and came out differently. He was the aggressor and missed with the jab and Gregory fooled him with a left hook to the ribs that knocked the wind out of him. As if awakened by alarm clock, Erickson went on the offense after the shot the midsection. Erickson drove home a hook, landed a cross, and as Gregory leaned forward, perfectly placed an uppercut that caught Gregory on his chin, dropping the challenger to the canvas. Gregory tried to stand up late in the count, but the referee counted him out as he fell again on his back. Erickson retained the belt and stayed undefeated (18-0) while only connecting on fewer than 30 punches throughout the entire bout. But all it took was one. The murmurs among the boxing hacks ringside were that the one punch saved Erickson from a long night because Gregory (19-5-1) had started off so well. Hogwash! Gregory would have fallen victim to Erickson’s power punch sooner or later, a power punch that is Erickson’s ticket to a potentially long stay in the penthouse. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Tied, 1-1 (E: 1:14 uppercut; G: 0:54 uppercut) Round 2: Gregory, 2-0 (G: 1:05 uppercut, 1:28 hook) Round 3: Erickson, 3-1 (E: 0:38 hook/midsection, 0:52 cross, 1:32 uppercut/chin/knockout; G: 0:23 hook/body) TOTAL: Erickson 4, Gregory 4  CLINE EXPOSED IN LOSS TO FOUNTAIN Not all that long ago many observers of the sweet science had forecast a future that included Tommy Cline possibly being the man who would finally take the heavyweight title away from Hector Sawyer. That was before Cline was taught a thing or two by the Boston boxing professor Roy Crawford, who handed the young Tennessean his first taste of defeat. Four months later Cline was back in the ring on the big stage at Bigsby Garden and looking to get back on track with what was supposed to be a hard-fought win over former title contender Mark Fountain. Instead it was a second straight loss for the 23-year-old, who was outpointed narrowly by the veteran New Yorker in a close but unanimous decision. The question now is where does Cline go from here. Far too talented to be cast out of future title talk forever, the back-to-back losses after 13 straight victories to start his pro career perhaps serve as a warning to other rising youngsters not to try and bite off a little more than they are perhaps ready to chew. Crawford and Fountain are two of the best around, both proven veterans easily ranking among the top ten heavyweights in the world the past couple of years. Cline is on the verge of joining them, or at least was until he made the mistake of facing each of them perhaps a few fights before he was truly ready.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/12/1948
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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10-03-2023, 01:10 PM
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#796 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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September 20, 1948
SEPTEMBER 20, 1948 PROSPECT OF WCS REMATCH LOOMS LARGE The St Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors each moved closer to a return trip to the World Championship Series. The Pioneers lead on second place Washington was extended to 4.5 games after the Eagles dropped 4 of their last six games. According to the oddsmakers the Eagles are all but done, with a less than 1% chance of securing the pennant. Third place New York is 5 games off the pace but with 3 contests at home against the Pioneers in the final week of the season they are given just a slightly better than 4% chance of pulling off an amazing comeback. The Pioneers can go a long ways towards securing their chance to defend the WCS title they won a year ago with a sweep of the Eagles in the two games the clubs will play at Pioneers Field this week. The Continental Association leading Sailors have two big games starting tomorrow when they head to the Windy City for a pair with the third place Cougars. The Sailors have won 14 of their last 19 games to stretch their lead over both the Cougars and New York Stars to 5 games with 2 weeks remaining in the season. The Stars are falling, with 5 straight losses last week and short week this time around that will see them play just 3 times including a pair against the Cougars. Chicago also struggled at a very inopportune time as the Cougars lost 3 of their last 4 games. Even a sweep of the Sailors in the 2-game set this week may not be enough for the Cougars, who are given less than a 1 percent chance of catching Philadelphia.  GRAYS CLINCH COAST CROWN For the second year in a row the Oakland Grays are the regular season champions of the Great Western League. The Grays, at 92-54 with a little over a week to play, have a 13 game lead on second place San Francisco and secured the right to try and defend the Bigsby Cup title they won against Dallas a year ago. Oakland's opponent for the championship series remains up in the air but their cross-town rivals from San Francisco -winners of the inaugural Bigsby Cup in 1946- presently enjoy a slim half-game lead on the Houston Bulls. San Francisco has a favourable schedule as all 8 of the Hawks remaining games are to be contested in their home nest but they do have to play two against the front-running Grays. Houston has nine contests left with 5 of them at home sandwiched around a 4-game trip to Seattle.  PRIVATE FAMILY FUNERAL FOR RUFUS BARRELL It may have been a private family funeral for legendary scout Rufus Barrrell, but it was by no means small. Barrell, the Hall of Fame member and founder of the Omni Sports Association, passed away in his sleep on September 9th. The family, despite the overwhelming popularity of their patriarch amongst the personnel of the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues, decided on a private funeral. This, according to an unnamed source, was the desire of Barrell's widow, Alice Reid Barrell. The funeral was held in Egypt, GA on the morning of September 13. Because Barrell's family includes a slew of active and retired athletes, the fact that only one FABL game was played on Monday was a bit of serendipity. The off-day for 14 FABL teams allowed all of the children of Rufus and Alice Barrell to attend. Eldest living son Rollie Barrell, owner of the Detroit Maroons of the American Football Association and the Federal Basketball League's Detroit Mustangs gave the eulogy. His brother Jack, the coach of the Toronto Dukes of the North American Hockey Confederation stood by his brother's side. Also present were the current head of the OSA, Dan Barrell, Brooklyn Kings manager Tom Barrell, scouting director for the Detroit Dynamos Fred Barrell and two active FABL players: Bobby Barrell of the Philadelphia Keystones and Harry Barrell of the Boston Minutemen. The youngest of Rufus and Alice Barrell's ten children, Betsy Barrell, was also on hand with her husband, Detroit Maroons assistant coach Tom Bowens. Rufus Barrell's grandchildren were also present, including FABL players Rufus "Deuce" Barrell II of the Cannons, Roger Cleaves of the Keystones and collegiate three-sport prodigy Charlie Barrell. Also attending was the family of Roland "Possum" Daniels, Barrell's oldest friend and himself a former scout. The Daniels family were the only attendees who were not relatives of the Barrell family. FABL President Sam Belton, a long-time friend of Barrell, announced last week that all FABL players would wear a black band on their uniform sleeves for the balance of the 1948 season and World Championship Series. Belton also acknowledged that though he and many others in FABL would have attended the funeral, he understood that the family's wish to say goodbye privately "was probably the way Rufus would have wanted it. He was never one to seek the limelight or kick up a fuss, as he would have put it."  With 18 walks in his 16 innings pitched that type of control is not going to be long term successful. Hopefully he will get the chance to pitch in Cuba again this winter and continue to try and iron out his control problems. Manager Tom Barrell feels strongly that the kid has the stuff to be a big league pitcher, but he is going to have to learn to consistently throw strikes. Byler will get another start this week, as will Joe Potts alongside Bob Arman and Leo Hayden. P Clarence Barton who has been a very steady bullpen arm over the last few seasons has pitched respectably in the rotation this 2nd half of the season. While he has slumped a bit in September Barton is 4-7 with a 4.01 ERA. His ERA has been harmed by his September 6.88 ERA. Barton will get a shot to be in the rotation next spring but with Arman and Hayden the expectation is that the Kings other rotation pieces will be pretty young (Byler, Potts and Roberts will be in the mix). Catcher Dan Rogers has been promoted from AAA Jersey City after helping lead the Uniforms to their 2nd straight Union League championship. He will get about half the starts in the Kings remaining games over the next 2 weeks.
 TIGERS SUPRISE MAROONS IN AFA LID LIFTER Tice Memorial Stadium in Cincinnati was full of energy as 32,930 fans in attendance witnessed their Cincinnati Tigers stage a dramatic fourth quarter comeback to down the Detroit Maroons 24-16 in the lone game on the opening week of the American Football Association schedule. The Maroons had built a 16-7 lead late in the third quarter thanks to a Marc Orlosky touchdown plunge but all that seemed to do was strengthen the Tigers resolve. On their opening series that stretched into the start of the fourth period, Cincinnati quarterback Bob Allen marched his team 60 yards on a drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run for Dave Boyer to cut the Detroit lead to 2 points. The big plays of the series came courtesy of Allen, who came over from Pittsburgh in the off-season. The new Tigers quarterback found end Rusty Henson for a 28-yard pass and then on the next play scrambled for a key 13-yard gain. After the two clubs traded turnovers the Tigers ended up with excellent field position with 7 minutes remaining when a Harvey Pitts fumble recovery gave Cincinnati the ball on the Detroit 13 yard line. The Tigers could not punch it into the endzone but Allen did convert on a 19-yard field goal to put the Tigers ahead 17-16. With just 1:14 remaining on the clock the Maroons had the chance to take the lead after Mike Hollingshead intercepted an Allen throw to set up a first and goal for the visitors. The Cincinnati defense held and it was up to Troy Renton to boot a 9-yard field goal in order to allow Detroit to regain the lead, but Renton somehow missed the mark and the score remained 17-16. The Tigers were not out of the woods yet as on the next play Cincinnati's Glenn Pelfrey ran for 17 yards but his carry ended with a fumble that the Maroons recovered with 1:14 left to get a second chance at securing the win. It did not happen as Detroit's Rich Coleman was intercepted by Rusty Henson and the Tigers added a late insurance score on a Pelfrey scoring run to make the final 24-16.  COWBOYS CRUSH COMETS 70-7 There appears to be no stopping the Kansas City Cowboys after they completely dominated the Chicago Comets at Whitney Park on Saturday, coasting to a 70-7 victory in the most one-sided game the Continental Football Conference has seen in its brief three year history. All world quarterback Pat Chappell played just 3 quarters before taking a seat on the bench but he still managed to throw 4 touchdown passes and run for a fifth despite missing his two favourite targets in Ernie Orr and Bill Tammaro for the second consecutive week. Back-up Pete Engle took over the passing duties in the fourth quarter and was likely mistaken for Chappell by the beleaguered Comets defenders as each of Engle's three heaves resulted in scoring catches as the Cowboys poured it on with 28 fourth quarter points to complete the rout. The scary thing for the Comets, who had 11 turnovers in the game, is they need to do it all over again next week only this time the two clubs will play at Kansas City's Packer Park. It was nearly as one-sided in San Francisco where the hometown Wings claimed west coast bragging rights with a 55-17 thumping of the Los Angeles Lobos. Wes Mula had 8 catches including 3 for touchdowns to lead the Wings while Sam Metcalf threw for 4 scores and 171 yards total. The ground game also moved at will for the Wings with Rich Garner running for 113 yards and Ernest Key chipping in 83. The third game on the CFC docket for the week was much closer and had plenty of drama as the New Orleans Crescents improved to 3-0 on the season with a 17-14 victory on the road over the New York Gothams made possible by a last minute 20-yard field goal off the toe of Willard Shaw. It was a wild final stanza as the Gothams entered the fourth quarter with a 7-0 lead, but New Orleans twice tied the game to set up Shaw's heroics. Prior to Shaw's successful 3-pointer, the Gothams had a chance to take the lead but Jerry Wade's long 49-yard field goal attempt was blocked with 2 minutes left giving the Crescents good field position to engineer their game winning drive. Rookie quarterback Vince Gallegos thew for 154 yards to keep his record as a pro perfect while the Gothams, who fall to 1-2-1 with the loss, look to be in danger of seeing their two-year hold on the East Division title coming to an end.   GRID'S TOUGHEST EARLY CARD AT HAND Almost everybody gets into the act next weekend in the toughest set of September collegiate football games in history. The traditional early season "breather" definitely is a thing of the past when the first full weekend of action offers such attractions as St Blane-Whitney College, North Carolina Tech-Travis College and Annapolis Maritime-Northern California. And there are many more. Mighty Rome State is apt to have its hands full at home in Georgia when the Centurions entertain Penn Catholic. Amarillo Methodist and Eastern Oklahoma each face a must win situation when they tangle in Tulsa having each been upset in their opening contest. St Magnus journeys to California to play CC Los Angeles while Minnesota Tech is at Rainier College to further the Great Lakes Alliance- West Coast Athletic Association rivalry while Wisconsin State and Indiana A&M kick off GLA section play in Milwaukee. Way above-average offerings dot all sections of the gridiron map in a big week that signals the collegiate football season is in full swing. MAROONS SQUANDER SEASON OPENER Can anything rile up a sportsman's soul more than witnessing the Maroons give away a 9-point lead in the final quarter against what, in all respects, should have been a quite manageable Cincinnati Tigers squad? It's a bitter pill to swallow, losing not just any old way, but in the most wretched manner conceivable. Troy Renton had destiny resting on his cleats, poised for what should have been an effortless 9-yard field goal, a mere chip shot, with a little over a minute gracing the clock. A kick that, by all rights, would have handed the Maroons a 19-17 triumph. Field goals, as any gridiron aficionado knows, can be treacherous, but on a serene, clear-skied day like the one that graced Tice Stadium yesterday, a professional footballer shouldn't falter on a 9-yard kick. Yet, falter he did. It's a mystery, an enigma, as the ball swerved off Renton's boot, careening wide of the upright. And then fate, with a sardonic grin, gifted the Maroons a chance when Cincinnati's Glenn Pelfrey let the pigskin slip on the Tigers' initial scrimmage. Tom Storey, sharp-witted and quick-footed, pounced on it after the ball wriggled free from Pelfrey following a gain of 17 yards. Detroit seemed back in the saddle, or so it appeared. But, alas, the tides of fortune turned to gloom for the brave, devoted Maroon aficionados who traversed the long miles through Ohio to witness this skirmish, as Detroit was slammed with a holding penalty on the first down. Then, quarterback Rich Coleman, feeling the impetus with the clock ticking its final moments and glimpsing a possibility that reality disagreed with, endeavored a forceful 13-yard pass to John Cline. In that crucial moment, Rusty Henson, the stellar Cincinnati end who'd showcased his prowess with a couple of mighty receptions on offense, swooped in and plucked the ball from the air, sealing the Tigers' triumph and leaving the Maroons confounded at how they'd allowed victory to slip through their grasp. *** Dynamos Pitching Is Top Notch, But Bats Betray Club *** There is no question the Detroit Dynamos possess championship caliber pitching and that was fully on display at Thompson Field last week when the good guys reeled off three straight shutout victories including complete games from Carl Potter and Wally Hunter. Potter has been terrific all season, running his record to 16-12 with a Federal Association best 2.85 era. Young Hunter has had his ups and downs but has won four of his last five decisions and is starting to once more live up to the nickname "Big Game" that helped Hunter claim the 1946 Kellogg Award as top newcomer. Bill Sohl and Dixe Lee have also be very solid and the collection of veteran arms that grace the Dynamos bullpen have been more than up to the task. This team has the pitching to contend but the offense remains the worry. Sure there are some great young pieces in Edwin Hackberry and the double-play duo of Del Johnson and Stan Kleminski. All three are batting over .300 as first baseman Dick Estes, who has chipped in 15 longballs, second on the club only to Hack. The problem remains at third base where Tommy Griffin, while still just 23 years of age, has not yet shown why the Dynamos parted with a veteran like Mack Sutton to acquire him. Corner outfield is also a big worry as it is becoming clearer every day that Dick Blaszak is never going to be the hitter that he was forecast to develop into. Obviously the bullet he took in the shoulder during the Battle of Peleliu in 1944 zapped the Polish Hammer of his power. It has been four years and with just 5 homers and a .241 batting average in 325 plate appearances this season the time to move on from Blaszak may be here. The problem is Detroit lacks a suitable long term solution. Eventually Estes will shift from first base back to the outfield when Detroit native and first round draft pick in June Dino Sharp is ready for the big leagues. However that will be a while, maybe 3 or 4 years, as Sharp is still just 19 years old. Same for John Morrison, another highly touted power-hitting prospect that Dynamos bass hopes can make the shift to the outfield with Sharp slotted as the long-term solution at first base. Then there is Tommy Allenby, not too long ago the gem of the Detroit minor league system and a player being compared to Edwin Hackberry, but Allenby, while still just 20, has had a terrible time adjusting to even the Class A level so he will also remain a long term project. 1948 is a disappointment for the Dynamos. If the club can not find some veteran bats at a reasonable cost to tide the club over until Sharp and Morrison -and perhaps Allenby still- are ready, 1949 may look just as bleak as the current season has been. LIMERICK IS POETRY TO NAHC SCOUTS EARS The OSA, the league scouting agency for the North American Hockey Conference, has unveiled its list of 5 young players to watch in the junior league structure. The 12-team junior loop, formed by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with support from the NAHC, will draft and sign top teenage talent with an eye towards developing them for a future career in professional hockey. It will mean the NAHC's annual rookie draft will no longer include underage players signed by minor pro teams as they will be required to play junior hockey going forward. The 12 team league with teams based in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, will commence play in the fall. According to OSA the top draft eligible forward in the junior league will be Justin Limerick. The youngster was born in the United States and played his youth hockey in Massachusetts. He will play for the Saint John Saints and is the early favourite to be the first pick in next year's draft. Rounding out the top five are a quartet of young defenseman including Limerick's Saint John teammate Olivier St-Armand, a Montreal native. The others are Toronto born defenseman Paul Reddington of the Halifax Mariners, Sudbury's Mike Cotey who will suit up for the Windsor Dominions and Dave Molitor, an Alberta-born boy who has moved east to play for the Brantford Blue Legs. AROUND THE LEAGUE The Montreal Valiants made move to address their extreme shortage of talent in net by acquiring 27-year-old Brad Carter for the Detroit Motors in exchange for a fifth-round pick in next year's draft. Carter, who appeared in 19 games for Detroit last season, was deemed expendable and likely to be released by Detroit after the Motors signed former Montreal netminder Millard Touhey to compete with returnee Henri Chasse for the starting job in the Detroit crease. Originally a New York Shamrocks fourth round pick in the 1941 draft, Carter joined the Shamrocks two years later and played in 16 games for the club over a three year stint. New York released after in the spring of 1946 and Detroit signed him to back up Chasse. The Saskatoon native appeared in just 1 game for the Motors his first season with the club but with an expanded schedule coupled with Chasse's struggles Carter set a career high for NAHC games last season with 19. Now 27, he heads to Montreal with more NAHC experience than any other goalie presently under contract to the Vals.  The Detroit Motors have released veteran forward Mike Narand. The 28-year-old began his career with the Chicago Packers before joining the Motors in 1944. He has 63 goals and 164 points in 341 career NAHC games but scored just 4 goals in 30 games for Detroit last season. The move was made to clear contract space to allow the Motors to sign 22-year-old defenseman Dixon Butler, who had spent the last 4 seasons in the Great Western Hockey League. The Whitby, Ontario native played for the Tacoma Lions last season after being the Montreal Valiants second round choice in the 1945 draft. Detroit acquired his rights from the Vals in a trade last December that saw defenseman Bryant Williams and Shel Herron head to Quebec while Detroit added youngsters Francis McKenzie and Spencer Larocque in addition to Butler. The Valiants have resigned defenseman John McDonald. The 21-year-old had split the past two seasons between Montreal and its minor league affiliate in Syracuse but was allowed to sign with the Rochester Robins of the HAA over the summer before the Valiants had a change of heart and reacquired the Halifax native. McDonald suited up for 47 games for the Valiants a year ago, scoring 5 goals and adding 7 helpers. Chicago and Toronto also elected to bring young defenseman under contract. The Packers selected 23-year-old Joe Fleming in round four of the 1944 draft and after 5 seasons to develop with the Pittsburgh Rovers of the HAA the Oshawa native is expected to crack the Packers blueline. Toronto is hopeful 21-year-old Charlie Brown is also ready to make the jump from the minors. Brown was the Dukes second round choice in 1946 and patrolled the blueline for the Vancouver Bears of the GWHL last season. The New York Shamrocks also signed a player from the Pittsburgh Rovers, bringing Alfie Dennis to the Big Apple. Dennis, who had 27 points last season for the Rovers, is a 23-year-old right winger originally from Calgary that the Shamrocks selected 3rd overall in the 1944 NAHC draft. FORMER WELTER CHAMP WESTLAKE WITH BIG WIN OVER MITCHELL Mark Westlake likely assured himself of a chance to regain the welterweight title he briefly held two years ago after the veteran fighter scored a unanimous decision over Ira Mitchell in St Louis last week. It was a much better result for Westlake than the last time the 31-year-old was in the Gateway City. that would have been February of last year when, in his first title defense, he was soundly beaten by Harold Stephens. Stephens has lost the title and is fading quickly from the welterweight picture but Westlake, who is now 25-3-1, and Mitchell, who falls to 20-3 with the loss, were battling to see who might be next on the docket for current champion Mac Erickson. Mitchell had a shot last January but lost a unanimous decision to Stephens and was hoping to use a win over Westlake for a second chance at the belt. Instead, it will likely be Westlake who will be the next opponent for Erickson. Erickson is a perfect 18-0 after winning his first title defense earlier this month with a knockout of John Gregory. So far the champ has not revealed who or when he will next enter the ring with. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/19/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 10-03-2023 at 01:49 PM. |
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10-04-2023, 01:44 PM
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September 27, 1948
SEPTEMBER 27, 1948 COUGARS KEEP HOPES ALIVE WITH SAILORS SWEEP The Chicago Cougars may just have a shot at finally getting the monkey off their back after a big week left them within 2 games of the front-running Philadelphia Sailors in the race for the Continental Association pennant. The CA flag is something that has eluded the Cougars since 1941, despite the fact they have been considered the best team in the loop for much of the past 7 years. The Cougars, entered the week 4.5 games back of the Sailors but won 5 of 6 games last week, including a pair over Philadelphia, to pull within 2 games of the lead. After Pete Papenfus pitched a gem of a 3-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Cincinnati on Monday, the Cougars prepared for the biggest two games of their season thus far. They passed with flying colours, nipping the Sailors 2-1 behind Duke Bybee's 19th victory of the season on Tuesday and then had a much easier time Wednesday in a 6-1 victory keyed by first inning homers off the bats of Hal Sharp and Walt Pack. The Sailors then moved on to Cleveland where they split a 4-game set with the Foresters while the Cougars topped Montreal 7-2 Wednesday before splitting a pair over the weekend with the Stars in New York. The Cougars will need a Philadelphia stumble to end an excruciating pennant drought and it might be too much to ask, but they are in a position where, with a few breaks, they could prevail. Chicago has five games remaining - all at Cougars Park where they lead the Continental Assocation with a 46-26 home record. They begin with 3 against the suddenly hot Brooklyn Kings, who have won 5 in a row, starting tomorrow before finishing off with Saturday and Sunday contests with the New York Stars. The Sailors end with 5 road games beginning with 3 in Toronto starting tomorrow and finishing with Friday and Sunday games in Cleveland. One positive for Sailor fans in their quest for a second straight pennant is that the Sailors 40-32 road record is the best in the Continental. In the Federal Association the St Louis Pioneers went 4-2 last week, including a pair of wins over Washington to crush the Eagles faint flag hopes. The New York Gothams have won 7 of their last 8 including a 3-game weekend sweep at Gothams Park over the Detroit Dynamos. That keeps New York's hopes alive as they head into a 3 game series with the Pioneers beginning tomorrow trailing St Louis by 3.5 games. Oddsmakers still give the St Louis squad nearly a 92% chance of claiming the crown for the second year in a row but a Gothams sweep of the midweek series could certainly make for an interesting weekend. St Louis will finish up with a pair of weekend games against the Chicago Chiefs while the Gothams entertain slumping Detroit for their final 3 games of the season.  With the Pioneers coming to town this week for a 3 game set and the Gothams 6-1 week moving them to 3 1/2 games back, there is some hope for a miracle finish. It would likely take a sweep of St. Louis, but manager Jameson has Ed Bowman, Buddy Long and Lefty Allen lined up for the series. Ed Bowman becomes a 20 game winner for the second time in his career. Bowman, 20-8, won 23 back in his rookie season of 1942. Walt Messer has reached 40 homers for the first time in his career. He has also set a career high with 110 RBI. Code:
FABL CLUBS TO DRAW 2 MILLION FANS IN A SINGLE SEASON (note 1943 includes free tickets to military and war industry workers) Boston Minutemen 2,498,548 1943 New York Stars 2,365,625 1947 Chicago Cougars 2,215,186 1943 NEW YORK GOTHAMS 2,202,010 1948 *6 games remaining Cincinnati Cannons 2,139,469 1943 New York Stars 2,137,105 1948 home schedule complete New York Gothams 2,124,783 1943 Chicago Cougars 2,058,766 1941 Chicago Cougars 2,053,833 1947 CHICAGO COUGARS 1,976,453 1948 *5 games remaining BIG SERIES AWAITS ]Looks like quite a series between the Pioneers and Gothams if you like pitching. St Louis appears set to go with Hackney (21-10, 3.55) on Tuesday and it sounds like the Gothams will counter with Ed Bowman (20-8,3.22) in matchup of 20-game winners. The next two days should feature pretty good pitching with it looking like Danny Hern (12-8, 3.80) and Hiram Steinberg (16-16, 3.25) take the hill for St Louis while the Gothams are expected to counter with Buddy Long (17-12, 3.65) and Lefty Allen (12-14, 3.75). Things are actually set up pretty well for the Gothams, all things considered. Yes, 3.5 back with 5/6 left isn’t ideal. But the Gothams are 11-8 against the Pioneers this year (though they started out 6-3 through May), and they have owned Hal Hackney, who is 2-3 with a 6.96 era in 6 starts against New York this season including getting shelled for 8 runs, all earned, in 6 and a third three weeks ago during a 9-6 loss at home. The Gothams also have the second-best home record this year (behind the Pioneers). However, they’ll have to go up against the Pioneers’ league-leading 40-32 road record (tied with Washington). The Gothams are also set to toss two lefties (Allen, Long) against the Pioneers, who have the best record in the FA against lefties (17-10; second overall behind Cincinnati’s 21-12 mark). So, the schedule is set up well for New York. But the peripherals do play reasonably well for St. Louis. Regardless, it’ll be a hell of a series.  It won't be easy for the Cougars to mount a comeback, as despite allowing the fewest runs (548) in the league and donning a run differential (114) higher then the other five CA teams with a positive run differential (105) combined. To catch the defending pennant winners, the Cougars will need a big week from star Sal Pestilli, who is one homer away from tying the Cougars single season mark set by Tom Taylor (31) in 1934. And with the way the schedule is set up, 2-Time Allen Winner Pete Papenfus will make two starts, looking for his 20th and 21st wins of the season. If he can win at least one, him and Duke Bybee (20-8) would be the only pair to win 20 games each this season. The last time two Cougars won 20 games in a season was 1913, when Isaac Meyer (21-7) and Tom Guaraneri (24-14) achieved the feat on a 85-68 team. That wouldn't be enough to make the postseason (unless the Sailors win all five), and for a reasonable chance of making it Chicago will want to go at least 4-1. Top prospect Johnny Peters had an excellent debut week, as the former 3rd Overall Pick went 4-for-9 with a double, 3 walks, 4 runs, and his first big league home run. He's done an excellent job replacing the injured Red Bond, and along with veteran Leo Mitchell (5-8, RBI, R, 2 BB), midseason acquisition Luke Berry (4-11, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB), and first basemen Ray Ford (.4-11, HR, RBI, 3 R, 2 BB), the Cougars lineup supported a pitching staff that allowed two or fewer runs in all five of the victories.  King's teammate SP Bob Arman is on a roll. This week he went 2-0 in 18 IP with a 0.00 ERA with just 8 hits given up. In his last 3 outings they have all by complete game shutout wins. Arman's former Cannons teammate Deuce Barrell will win the CA Allen Award this season, there is no doubt about that, but Arman is having a great season and showing why the King's felt the swap of Arman for Long was the right decision (no they were traded together but with the youth the Kings have coming up it was felt Arman was the better long term fit). Speaking of Buddy Long, here are some thoughts from Brooklyn Assistant General Manager Bert Manning nearly a full season after the move was made. (slightly edited for clarity) "Well, the trade of Buddy Long to the Gothams was much howled about right after that deal. I still think for the long-term position of the club, it was the right deal. Even if we had kept Long, it would not have made the Kings contenders this year. Management felt that the 47 season was, while not a fluke, one that certainly came a bit too early for the youthful makeup of the team. This year the Kings have somewhat underachieved (RD +10 -5 Pyt rcd) but slight regression was well forecast. Long might have helped them creep closer to .500 but it was not a 15 game difference. Young pitcher Jake Roberts spent most of the year in AAA with so-so results he will be a part of the mix next season. While Hal Friedlander has spectacularly flopped this year (.365 BABIP might have something to do with some bad luck) his control has significantly improved. And in return for Long the King's were able to grab 2nd round pick CF Enos Bell (#73 prospect overall). So would I do the deal again? Well maybe with last years rules in place as the now 34-year-old Long has been solid this year and arguably the best of the veterans pitchers the Gothams picked up last off season, there are some numbers that are sliding a bit. With the current rules regarding trades probably not, which (in general not just about me and my trading habits) is likely the goal of the rule change." COAST PLAYOFF RACE GOING DOWN TO THE WIRE While the Oakland Grays had clinched first place nearly two weeks ago the unique playoff format employed by the Great Western League has assured fans of some suspense right down to the wire. With two games remaining in the schedule the Houston Bulls and San Francisco Hawks are tied for second place in the battle to join the defending Bigby Cup champions from Oakland in the league title series. Houston, which pulled even with the Hawks after a pair of wins over the weekend while the San Francisco nine lost twice, finished the season up at home with games tonight and tomorrow evening against the Los Angeles Knights. The Hawks, who stayed alive with a pair of wins over their Bay area rivals early last week, entertain Portland today and tomorrow to round out their season. The Grays will host the opening two games of the third annual Bigsby Cup next weekend. 
ST BLANE TOPS WHITNEY COLLEGE EASILY IN GRID OPENER Despite a shaky start the Fighting Saints of St Blane rolled to a 35-3 victory at Latrobe, PA. in a classic football opener that had a crowd of 59,343 hysterical from start to finish at St Blane Stadium. The Saints, guided by newly minted starting quarterback Dane Sutherland, had some troubles early with a pair of first quarter turnovers that allowed the Engineers to hold a 3-0 lead at the end of the opening period. The game turned quickly on one play as jitterbug back Joe Fulgham had a bolt-out-of-the-blue 70-yard touchdown return of a punt early in the second frame to get the Fighting Saints on the scoreboard. From that point on the St Blane nerves settled with Sutherland throwing a pair of touchdown passes and Fulgham, who also stars as a centerfielder on the Saints baseball team, running for 121 yards from scrimmage on the day. It was the highly of a very busy week of top notch matchups that also included an impressive win by Rome State as the Centurions doubled Penn Catholic 34-17. The gold-helmeted legions made an impressive debut, grinding out four touchdowns against the stubborn resistance of a good Penn Catholic team that lad little trouble with Darnell State a week ago. Elsewhere, national title contender Detroit City College met little resistance in Lansing as the Knights trounced in-state rival St Igantius by a 33-10 score for their 18th consecutive victory. The Knights last loss came nearly two years ago at the hands of Rome State. The Great Lakes Alliance and West Coast Athletic Association split early season bragging rights after a pair of games on the coast. The positive for the Midwesterners came from California where St Magnus dumped CC Los Angeles 24-10 but further north in was the coast loop celebrating a hard fought 9-7 victory for Rainier College over Minnesota Tech. Other games of note saw Northern California post a very impressive 30-7 win over the Navigators of Annapolis Maritime while Coastal California looked dominant in 27-7 win over Lane State. The Mammoths of Redwood improved to 2-0 on the season with a 17-7 win over Portland Tech. North Carolina Tech scored late to nip Travis College 17-13 while in the south Cumberland, Noble Jones College, Georgia Baptist and Alabama Baptist all won their opening games as expected.   WEEKEND RESULTS EAST St. Blane 35 Whitney College 3 Rome State 34 Penn Catholic 17 Commonwealth Catholic 21 Cowpens State 9 St. Patrick's 17 St. Matthew's College 0 George Fox 16 Ellery 0 Henry Hudson 34 Garden State 17 Brunswick 48 Bigsby College 0 Empire State 20 NW New York State 20 Brooklyn State 38 Eastern Virginia 24 Conwell College 34 Lebanon College (PA) 7 Eastern State 48 Ohio Poly 20 Trescott College 21 Boston State 14 SOUTH Mississippi A&M 50 Western Florida 17 Cumberland 7 Northern Mississippi 0 Noble Jones College 17 Western Tennessee 14 Georgia Baptist 31 Bluegrass State 27 Alabama Baptist 26 Baton Rouge State 20 Mississippi Tech 23 Opelika State 20 North Carolina Tech 17 Travis College 13 Maryland State 17 Petersburg 6 Charleston Tech 7 Carolina Poly 3 Columbia Military Academy 23 Edgemoor 6 Coastal State 41 Charleston (IL) 0 Bulein 14 Lexington State 7 Chesapeake State 14 Potomac College 7 Alexandria 23 Salisbury Christian 14 Huntington State 43 Orrville 6 Central Carolina 7 Richmond State 7 MIDWEST Detroit City College 33 St. Ignatius 10 St. Magnus 24 CC Los Angeles 10 Central Ohio 6 Daniel Boone College 6 Lincoln 19 Eastern Kansas 3 Wisconsin State 23 Indiana A&M 17 Western Iowa 24 Wisconsin Catholic 0 College of Omaha 20 Iowa A&M 10 Northern Minnesota 38 Maumee State 9 Mile High State 20 Lawrence State 6 Colorado Poly 46 El Paso Methodist 3 Lambert College 26 Laclede 0 Central Kentucky 23 St. Francis (OH) 0 Miners College 29 Strub College 19 SOUTHWEST Arkansas A&T 50 Commerce State 7 Lubbock State 27 Payne State 0 Texas Gulf Coast 37 Pittsburgh State 0 Amarillo Methodist 16 Eastern Oklahoma 14 College of Waco 20 Darnell State 10 Texas Panhandle 44 Ferguson 6 Abilene Baptist 38 Queen City 13 Red River State 41 Huntsville State 0 Canyon A&M 10 Abilene Methodist 3 FAR WEST Northern California 30 Annapolis Maritime 7 Coastal California 27 Lane State 7 Redwood 17 Portland Tech 7 Rainier College 9 Minnesota Tech 7 Utah A&M 30 Gates University 7 Kit Carson University 45 Minns College 7 California Missionary 10 Valley State 7 Tempe College 58 Gunnison State 14 Boulder State 14 South Valley State 7 San Francisco Tech 20 Golden Gate University 13 Sunnyvale 21 Oklahoma City State 3 Provo Tech 35 Idaho A&M 0 Custer College 24 Cache Valley 14 Wyoming A&I 52 Mountainview State 3 DEFENDING CHAMPS START SEASON WITH WIN Cleveland -The reigning American Football Association champion Cleveland Finches picked up exactly where they left off as the Finches, who won their final four games last season including the title tilt with Washington, opened their 1948 campaign with a 31-24 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Frigates. Jody Moten, who spent the past three seasons as a reserve, took the reins at quarterback for the Finches and enjoyed a strong starting debut. Moten passed for 168 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the way for the Finches. Cleveland's defense did a solid job bottling up Greg LePage as the Frigates All-Pro back, who ran for an AFA record 1,259 yards a year ago, was limited to just 60 yards on the ground at Forester Field. AMERICANS TOP ST LOUIS 24-17 AS TURNOVERS DOOM RAMBLERS Boston -Here in the hub, where the normally baseball minded populace has turned its attention to the grid after the Minutemen's rocky September continued with 6 losses in their previous 7 games, had plenty to rejoice yesterday afternoon at Minutemen Stadium where 40,420 turned out to see the Americans defeat the St Louis Ramblers 24-17. It was the official AFA opener for reigning league MVP Del Thomas and his Yanks who were looking to rebound from a dreadful 4-8 season a year ago. Thomas had a strong afternoon, throwing for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns to pace the Boston attack and Mike Fulmer's 73 yards on the ground helped force the Ramblers defense to stay honest and not focus solely on stopping Thomas' cannon of an arm. After a sloppy start to the game which saw each side turn the ball over twice, the locals got on the scoreboard first when Thomas found David Gilbert for a 12 yard scoring toss late in the opening period. Another St Louis turnover -their third of the quarter- allowed the Americans to increase their lead to 10-0 thanks to an Eric Balfour 18-yard field goal. The second period continued much the same for the bumbling St Louis eleven, which fumbled the ball just two plays later and that set up another Thomas to Gilbert touchdown strike. The Ramblers showed a little more poise in the second half and took advantage of a Thomas miscue when the Yanks leader coughed up the ball on his own 22-yard line midway through the third period. St Louis took advantage with a touchdown to cut the Boston lead to 17-10 at that point and there were some tense moments for Minutemen Stadium faithful when Thomas was intercepted late in the third quarter to set up the tying score for the Ramblers with 6:53 remaining in the game. Turnovers were the Ramblers undoing on this day and with less than 4 minutes remaining a Larry Gilliam fumble, the sixth time Boston was gifted the ball, set up some late heroics from Thomas and Fulmer. Fulmer ran twice for a total of 17 yards on the drive while Thomas connected for a pair of passes including a 20-yard touchdown to Steve Kelly that would prove to be the game winner in a 24-17 Americans victory. WILDCATS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MAROONS MISTAKES Detroit -There is no better rivalry in professional football than that of the Chicago Wildcats and Detroit Maroons but on this day the visitors from the Windy City made the Motor City crew look like amateurs. Chicago pounded Detroit on the ground, wearing out the Maroons line and used their own ball hawking skills on defense to score two touchdowns directly and set up a third. Gus Brown may eventually lose his starting quarterback job to highly touted rookie Dusty Sinclair -the Travis College star the Wildcats selected third in the draft- but on this day, despite throwing 4 first half interceptions, Brown easily accomplished enough to lead Chicago to victory, claiming a 28-7 win. It has been an awful couple of weeks for the Maroons and their owner Rollie Barrell, who buried his father -scouting great Rufus Barrell- just a few days before the Maroons season opener. Detroit lost that game in Cincinnati due to a missed 9-yard field goal and the Maroons looked even worse this time out as they fell to 0-2 with the loss at Thompson Field. The troubles began with 4 minutes remaining in the opening period when Jim Arends of the Wildcats intercepted a Rich Coleman pass deep in Detroit territory. It took just one play for Brown to connect with Chicago end Tom Gipson for the opening score of the game and 20 seconds later it was 14-0 when Colemen threw another errant ball - this one into the waiting arms of Wildcat Louie Dunlap who galloped 29-yards untouched for Chicago's first defensive score of the afternoon. Gus Brown then proceeded to throw interceptions on 4 of the next five Chicago possessions but Detroit came away with nothing to show for it and trailed 14-0 at the break. The Maroons did get on the board early in the third quarter when Detroit, aided by 3 Chicago penalties, drove 72-yards for a scoring drive that culminated with a 5-yard scoring pass from Coleman to Milton Blanchard. That would be as close as the Maroons would get as Chicago added two more touchdowns, including another interception return for a score in the final minute to complete the 28-7 dominating victory. In all Rich Coleman was intercepted 6 times and fumbled once while the Chicago ground game used a balanced attack to run for 248 yards and a wide advantage in time of possession. WASPS OVERPOWER PALADINS 35-7 Washington DC -Sporting a new quarterback to start the season the Washington Wasps looked every bit the club that won the East Division crown a year ago with a convincing 35-7 victory at home over the Pittsburgh Paladins in their season opener. Bob Krohn was an All-Pro just two years ago but Rich McKowen was the better quarterback in training camp and earned the nod in the opener. McKowen delivered with a 15-for-20 passing day that saw him throw for 181 yards and 4 scores without being intercepted. With Rick Petty rushing for 74 yards while Charlie Cofield and Bob Rochman combined for an additional 75 on the ground the Wasps just had too many options with which to sting the Paladins. Pittsburgh held strong for a quarter and the game was tied at 7 after the opening period before McKowen took over with three touchdown passes in the second frame. STARS SHINE IN CINCINNATI Cincinnati -Archie Rawlings threw for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for 49 yards to lead the New York Football Stars to an impressive 35-7 road victory over the Cincinnati Tigers. The loss evened the Tigers record at 1-1 after they dumped Detroit in the lone game on the AFA schedule a week ago, but they failed to take advantage of any opportunities the Stars gave them. Rawlings certainly looked right at home in his pro debut, going from being undrafted out of Mississippi A&M to the starting job with the Stars following a terrific training camp. The youngster engineered an 89-yard scoring drive on his first taste of pro action and it included an alert decision to tuck the ball and run after seeing no one open. The scramble gained 29 yards and was followed immediately by a 28-yard pass to Dan Cole that set up a first and goal one play before Scooter Beaumont plunged over the line for the opening touchdown of the game. Baumont would add a second rushing touchdown early in the third quarter but certainly the big story for Stars fans will be to see if Rawlings can keep it up as the club -Eastern Division champions two years ago- looks to bounce back from a last place 2-10 finish in 1947.  COWBOYS AND CRESCENTS REMAIN PERFECT IN CFC PLAY There will be plenty of attention focused on Crescent City Stadium in New Orleans a week from tomorrow when the Kansas City Cowboys arrive in New Orleans for a showdown between the league's two unbeaten teams. Outside of San Francisco, the Eastern Division leading Crescents, led by a homegrown rookie quarterback in former Bayou State star Vince Gallegos, look like the loop's best hope to dethrone the mighty Cowboys, who have gone 29-3 since the league's inception including wins in each of the two league championship games. The Cowboys perhaps took it easy this week on the winless Chicago Comets, a team they embarrassed 70-7 in the Windy City a week ago. The rematch was a much more manageable 24-7 loss for the Chicago eleven, which only managed to avoid a goose-egg by scoring a touchdown in the closing minutes. Mason Matthews, the Cowboys burly fullback, opened the scoring with a 5-yard run early in the second frame, part of his game high 101 yards rushing on the day. For a change Pat Chappell did not throw a touchdown pass but the Cowboys quarterback did complete 12 of 27 throws for 214 yards -very pedestrian numbers by his lofty standards. The victory improves the Cowboys record to 4-0 in advance of their rare midweek showdown in New Orleans - designed to gain the league some newspaper publicity by coming the day before baseball's World Championship Series is set to get underway. The Crescents, who stumbled through a league worst 3-11 campaign a year ago, are off to a perfect 4-0 start this time around after Gallegos threw 3 touchdown passes to lead New Orleans to a 36-21 win over the visiting Brooklyn Kings. The Crescents efforts, keyed by 23 unanswered points in the first half after the Kings had taken a quick 7-0 lead, spoiled a terrific day from Brooklyn rookie Bill Howlin. The former All-American halfback from Detroit City College ran for 106 yards while also passing for 137. Unfortunately for Howlin and the Kings, his undoing was a pair of second half interceptions, each of which led to New Orleans field goals to help the Crescents seal the victory. The Los Angeles Lobos snapped a 3-game losing streak with an impressive 45-3 victory over the struggling New York Gothams. Lobos signal caller Jackie Wendt had a huge day for the hosts, throwing for 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns while rushing for 2 more scores as part of his 87 yards on the ground. As if that wasn't enough, Wendt also added an interception while on defense. The Gothams, Eastern Division champs each of the past two seasons, fall to 1-3-1 and with a pair of losses to division rival New Orleans already seem highly unlikely to reach the title game for a third straight year, even at this early juncture. The final game of the weekend took place in Buffalo where the visiting San Francisco Wings improved to 4-1 following a 40-27 victory over the Bulls. Sam Metcalf threw four touchdowns, including 3 in the first half as the Wings opened a 27-6 lead at the break, to lead the visitors attack.  NAHC TRAINING CAMPS UNDERWAY The six North American Hockey Confederation clubs began training camp last week and preseason games will start Wednesday as the defending champion Toronto Dukes and the rest of the NAHC prepare for the October 13th regular season opener. The Dukes, despite finishing 3rd in the standings a year ago, knocked off the second place Boston Bees in the semi-finals before downing the New York Shamrocks -who had surprised first place Chicago in the opening round- to win their 7th Challenge Cup in team history. The 7 Cups for the Dukes ties them with Boston for the most one by a single team and continues a stretch of dominance dating back to 1940 where only the Bees and Dukes have won the playoff title. The Bees made a depth move last week, signing veteran minor league free agent center Ray Gustafson to add some depth to their organization. The 29-year-old has spent his entire pro career in the Hockey Association of American, including last season when he tallied 7 goals and 27 points for the Cleveland Eries. Gustafson has been part of a pair of HAA championship teams but was let go by the Eries organization last week in order to give him a NAHC opportunity with Boston. PRESEASON SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29 Montreal at Detroit Boston at Chicago New York at Toronto THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Chicago at New York Detroit at Boston Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY OCTOBER 2 Montreal at Chicago Boston at Detroit New York at Toronto SUNDAY OCTOBER 3 Detroit at Boston Toronto at New York Chicago at Montreal  DESMARAIS HAS REMATCH SET WITH MELANSON They may be putting the cart before the horse but the camps of both Edouard Desmarais and Frank Melanson have confirmed the two fighters will stage a third meeting in the new year at Bigsby Garden. The expectation is that will be Desmarais second defense of the world middleweight title that he earned with a 5th round TKO of Melanson in July but there is a little matter of Desmarais next fight to be completed before that date. The Frenchman, with a career record of 41-1 who suffered his only loss to Melanson two years ago before winning the rematch, is slated to fight Canadian champion Adrian Petrie in Montreal on Friday evening. The outcome is said to be a fait accompli with the 32-year-old Frenchman an overwhelming favourite to stop his 25-year-old opponent. Petrie, a Montreal native who earned the nickname "Machine Gun" as much for his role in the war as part of the Montreal Regiment of the Canadian 1st Army as for his ring prowess, enters the bout with a 17-1-1 record and it will be his first fight at the famed Montreal Arena in nearly two years. The 32-year-old Melanson, who has twice held the middleweight belt, has not fought since the July loss to Desmarias and is not expected to return to the ring before their January 8th rematch. Melanson is 33-2-2 and held the title from June of 1945 until July 1947 when he lost to John Edmonds. Melanson regained the belt with a win over Edmonds in a rematch last December but was stopped by Desmarais in his second meeting with the European champ. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/26/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 10-04-2023 at 01:57 PM. |
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10-05-2023, 09:39 PM
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#798 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,738
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October 4, 1948
OCTOBER 4, 1948 REMATCH! Pioneers and Sailors Ready For WCS Repeat Whatever slim hopes the New York Gothams and Chicago Cougars might have had of sneaking into the World Championship Series a week ago were dashed quickly as the St Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors each held off the challengers to win pennants for the second consecutive season. The Pioneers entered the week with a 3.5 game lead on the second place New York Gothams as they prepared for a 3-game series in the Big Apple. Three days later the Pioneers were celebrating a sweep and the Gothams and their high-priced payroll of veteran talent were left wondering what went wrong? The answer to that question was clearly the 3-H club as the trio of Pioneers pitching shut the might Gothams bats down. In the opener Hal Hackney went head-to-head against the best the Gothams have to offer in Ed Bowman and Hackney put an end to debate of who the Allen Award should go to with a masterful 4-hit complete game in a 4-1 St Louis victory that left the Pioneers within one win of a second straight Federal Association flag. That win came the next day as Danny Hern -the 1947 Allen Award winner who was hampered by injury this season- did enough to beat Buddy Long and the Gothams 4-3 and clinch the crown. A day later Hiram Steinberg put an exclamation point on the pennant with complete game shutout in a 2-0 Pioneers victory. Meanwhile in the Continental Association the hard-luck Chicago Cougars entered the day just 2-games back of the front-running Philadelphia Sailors. The day ended with the gap at 3 games after the Sailors, keyed by a 4-rbi effort from Marion Boismenu and solid pitching from Al Duster, thumped Toronto 8-0 while in Chicago the Cougars fell apart, losing 11-1 to Brooklyn in one of Pete Papenfus' worst outings of the season after he had been so good the previous 4 starts in helping the Cougars get back into contention. There was some hope in the Windy City the next day when the Cougars beat Brooklyn while the Sailors were shutout in Toronto, moving the gap back to two games with 3 to play for each club. The Sailors stumbled in Toronto again on Thursday, falling 3-2 but the Cougars failed to take advantage of their opportunity as their old nemesis, one-run losses- reared its ugly head once more in a 3-2 loss in which the Kings got the game winner in the 9th inning. The Sailors then clinched the pennant with a win over Cleveland on Friday, starting yet another off-season of frustration and second guessing for the Windy City Kitties.  [ img]https://i.imgur.com/ir18cXK.jpg[/img] My World Championship Series Prediction...more of the same.Last season these two clubs met for the World Series and the pitching dominate St. Louis Pioneers won in 6 games. So what has changed, not much. While the Sailors have had another fine season, the pitching just doesn't match up with Pioneers so I don't expect the outcome to be any different (which is likely why it will be). I don't expect the series to return to Philadelphia for the last 2 games so that means Pioneers in 5. OTHER WCS FORECASTS Jiggs McGee, TWIFB: The Pioneers pitching is just too strong, especially now that you can add Dick Long to a mix that already features the 3-H club. I always seem to take the Sailors lightly but I just can't see them winning this series and expect a repeat of a year ago when the Pioneers beat Philadelphia in 6 games. Archie Irwin- Chicago Daily News: Pioneers in five. While the Sailors took advantage of a Stars collapse and the Cougars seemingly never getting going, the Pioneers battled all season long in a dog fight for the Fed crown. All you need in the playoffs is three pitchers, and St. Louis' top there is as good as it gets. The Sailors will struggle to score in what may be a quick series, and even if they can keep the Fed Champs off the board most of the game, Larry Gregory and Al Tucker will eventually come through Leland Kuenster - Chicago Herald-Examiner: Pioneers in five. John Brinker - New York Daily Mirror: I like the Pioneers in 5, maybe 6. And yes, I agree we all underestimate the Sailors. I try not to, because their front office does such a solid job to keep them in contention, but teams like the Cougars & Stars have the star power so they get the attention. JOY IN MONTREAL - SAINTS REACH .500 You would think they won the World Championship Series the way they were celebrating in the streets outside of Parc Cartier yesterday. This had to be the greatest sporting weekend not involving the Montreal Valiants the city has ever seen as the Saints won their final 4 games of the season to end an 18-year run of finishing below .500. Plus it happened on the day after local boxing hero Adrian Petrie shocked the boxing world and great Edouard Desmarais to win the world middleweight title in a controversial decision at the Montreal Arena. There will be a lot of second-guessing some questionable judging in the Petrie win, but the Saints week has no such shadow hanging over it as the club finished strong. There was little thought at this time last Monday of a .500 season. Far from it as the Saints entered the week with a 75-79 record after a 3-game losing skid had dropped the club's record to 73-77 and derailed nearly all talk of a breakeven season. Somehow, some way the Saints won all four games- dumping the sliding New York Stars by 8-0 and 5-2 scores before a 10-5 victory over Brooklyn Saturday set the stage for the Sunday miracle. A game in which the Saints scored 3-times in the bottom of the 8th inning against Bob Arman -considered by many to be the second best pitcher in the CA this season- to pull out a 5-3 victory and level their record at 77-77. Now .500 does not mean a lot in most FABL cities, but the Saints have not had a level or better record since 1930. Heck, the have only finished in the first division three times in the past 18 years. They missed that mark again this year as their record was only good for fifth in the loop but in a city that has not won a Continental Association pennant in 27 years, has not won a Challenge Cup since the old Nationals -a team no longer in existence- did it in 1937 and coming off two consecutive seasons of terrible collapses by the beloved Valiants, a .500 record for the Saints -especially with the way the accomplished it this week- is something to cheer. Even a pair of weekend preseason loses by the Valiants to the Chicago Packers did little to dampen the excitement level in Montreal. Between Adrian Petrie and the Saints week, maybe things are finally looking up in Montreal. Now if the Valiants could just end their twenty year Challenge Cup drought.   In the past seven seasons, the Cougars have underperformed their expected record by an average of five wins. And while Tom Taylor's Continental Association single season home run record was not broken, his Cougar single season home run total was broken, as Sal Pestilli hit three homers in his last four games, giving him 33 on the season. That's two more then the 31 Taylor hit in 1934, but it was not enough to qualify Chicago for the postseason. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Toronto finishes at 82-72, an 8-game improvement over 1947 bringing in 1,727,646 fans into Dominion Stadium only topped in 1943 when just under 2 million attended games as a getaway from the war news. Owner Bernie Millard thinks the team should provide more value to the fans. "Although the team improved to the first division not bringing the faithful a pennant since 1940 is an unsatisfactory return to Torontonians. My staff will spend the off-season attempting to rectify that situation." Brett Bing will soon being doing hopefully a series of articles starting with a post mortem of this season then moving on an in-depth assessment of the system. Wolves were led this season by McCormick, Stickels offensively, how much longer to these two grey beards keep up that pace? Pitching is a little less concerning at the big league level but is always a concern. Toronto had the best post ASG in the CA at 44-28 after a disappointing 38-44 start. ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING FINISH TO DYNAMOS SEASON For the second year in a row the Detroit Dynamos had strong spring and early summer only to shoot themselves in the foot down the stretch. A year ago it was the 11 straight losses to end a season in which Detroit by all rights should have finished in second place but had to end up settling for a third place tie. This year the collapse, while not as dramatic, began much earlier as the Dynamos were 3 games over .500 and just 4.5 out of first place on August 1 but went just 22-35 the rest of the way to finish a very disappointing 10 games under the breakeven point and in 6th place in the Federal Association. The start of the slump very much coincided with the month and a half that Edwin Hackberry spent on the sidelines with a back issue but that only further illustrates the need for the Detroit nine to greatly upgrade its offense. The pitching was very good - only pennant winning St Louis surrendered less runs than the Dynamos- and the good news is there is a lot of young arms in the minors that are not that far away from contributing. Finding a spot for Jack Miller, the 22-year-old second round pick out of Red River State, who did not look out of place in a late season promotion to AA, might be a bit of a challenge but a good problem to have as Miller seems ready to contribute next year. At #20 on the OSA list, Miller is the highest ranking Dynamos pitching prospect and the most likely to see time with the big club next season but the Dynamos also have Fred Washington, Roy Schaub and Jack Halbur all ranked in the scouting service's top 100 list. With that kind of depth it might make sense for the Dynamos to part with a young arm or two - but certainly not Carl Potter or even Wally Hunter despite the latter's struggles in his sophomore season. The challenge is finding a power bat or two that can help improve the worst offense in the Federal Association. The core is there with Hackberry, Dick Estes, Del Johnson and Stan Kleminski to build around but improvement or an upgrade out of the corner outfield positions and catcher where Rick York had an awful season must be a priority if the Dynamos hope to be a serious contender next season. *** Maroons Finally Get a Win *** After two very disappointing efforts to start the season Frank Yurick's boys finally delivered an acceptable effort. They were not dominant by any stretch, and still have a lot of holes, but it is clear the Maroons are at least better than one team in the AFA this season. That would be the 0-2 Pittsburgh Paladins, who the Maroons downed 38-14 at Thompson Field yesterday. On the college front Thompson Field witnesses a defensive struggle Saturday but Detroit City College's defense came up big in a 9-0 victory over Portland Tech. That is no small achievement as, while the Magpies are not a championship quality club, the do feature one of the best college quarterbacks in the game this season in senior Tommy Norwood. Norwood had some impressive throws but the Knights were not to be denied their 19th consecutive victory, improving to 2-0 on the young season. *** Motors Reviving in Tune-Up Games *** The Detroit Motors displayed some very inspired efforts as new coach Badger Rigby had the club working well on the weekend with three straight wins over Boston to improve to 3-1-0 in exhibition contests. The games do not mean much at this point but the mood in camp does feel different this season with Rigby exhibiting an intensity that certainly differs from ex-bench boss Mark Moore's more laid-back approach. The addition of Millard Touhey to press incumbent Henri Chasse for the netminding job certainly appears to be working as the two veterans each played very well splitting the 4 pre-season starts. Chasse had a win and a loss but a very solid .934 save percentage while the ex-Montreal Valiant Touhey won both of his starts and posted a solid .925 save percentage.  You will see the kids come up next season in the rotation with Joe Potts (3-1 3.23 ERA in September) and Paul Byler (3-1 2.12 ERA in September) joining Arman and likely Hayden. The Kings will be looking for starting pitching but most teams are and with the new rules in place it will be difficult to find. John Roberts might get a crack as well although his September was not one to remember 0-2 1 save 7.32 ERA. Pitching Coach Earl Scott has come under fire from the fans as the Kings walked the most batters in the CA with FABL leading 704 free passes. That is a number that is going to have to improve, if the King's truly want to contend. Another number that is going to have to improve is the King's performance in 1-run games. At 17-28 that is the worst 1-run record in the CA and basically ties the Chicago Chiefs mark of 13-24. Both are 11 games under 500 but the Chiefs "win" by having a lower percentage. The King's bullpen was 6th in the CA and while Bob Wall was outstanding during the first 2 months of the season. His performance dropped in June/July to that of just average and in August and September it was dreadful. P Clarence Barton's best role still seems to be as a RP (2.72 ERA) but with this club he might end up as the #5 SP next spring (he had a 4.02 ERA in 15 starts). Its clear the King's have their work cut out for them if they want to reach the top of the CA anytime soon. The question is will they find any willing trading partner to work with. GRAYS TAME BULLS 8-0 TO EVEN BIGSBY CUP The short-staffed Oakland Grays, led by a 2-hit complete game from Cy Sullivan, evened the Bigsby Cup championship at one victory apiece following an 8-0 win Saturday. The victory, before a paltry crowd of just 6,859 fans at Grays Ballpark, allowed the hosts to get back on even footing after dropping the series opener by a 4-3 score the previous day. In the opener Jim Bob Jones -the former Detroit Dynamos hurler- went the distance on the hill for the Bulls, who drew first blood in the series despite finishing 10 games back of the defending Bigsby Cup champion Grays during the regular season. Houston, which will host the next 3 games beginning with today's contest, only reached the playoff series because of a tie-breaker after finishing the regular season tied with the San Francisco Hawks for second place at 85-69. The tiebreaker went to the Bulls based on their 13-9 advantage in head to head contests with the Hawks this season. Oakland, already reduced to 23 men on its playoff roster because of an injury setback to Bob Griffith, received more bad news when another outfielder left game one with a season ending injury. That would be Don Miller, who hit .352 on the season but was limited to just 101 games because of several injuries this season. Jim Mayfield replaced Miller in right field for game two and delivered a pair of hits but the Grays will be down to 22 players for the remainder of the series. 
 PETRIE DISHES DESMARAIS A CONTESTED DEFEAT BEHIND FRIENDLY JUDGES Montreal Arena, Montreal, Que. – Edouard Desmarais (42-1, 33 KO) vs. Adrian Petrie (17-1-1, 9 KO) – Referee: Hubert Earle Edouard Desmarais, the powerful Frenchman looking to reign as the Middleweight Champion, took his belt to Canada to embark on his first title defense. The Desmarais camp landed in the capital of French Canada, Montreal in the francophone province of Quebec, intent on making some new fans and expand his global brand across the Atlantic. Americans were already familiar with Desmarais in his triumph to win the middleweight title in Philadelphia in July. Now, it was Les Canadiens who had a chance to witness his presence in a title fight. To drum up additional interest from a city rarely mistaken for a boxing hotbed, the challenger was Adrian Petrie, a local boxer from Montreal, but he was recently ranked as the #4 challenger in the division. He is only 25 and you could say he is on the rise, but 31-year-old Detroit native Brooks O’Connor was passed over for Petrie’s title shot. Desmarais won the belt in July with a fifth-round TKO of Frank Melanson and Petrie’s last action was second-round knockout of journeyman Larry Jones. As these two men squared off, Desmarais did not expect a long, drawn-out battle with Petrie, sure of himself and his plans for world pugilistic domination. Petrie, seven years Desmarais’s junior, wanted to use his foot speed to put him in good positions to throw his hands. Just as in every fight, it rarely goes according to plan, which is to say this was a more even matchup that most fans thought. The pro-Petrie crowd yelled for him at every turn, urging him on all night. Desmarais and Petrie traded rounds over the first four rounds of the bout, with Desmarais opening well and Petrie countering with his uppercut early in the second round to set the tone for a long evening. A couple of punishing hooks late in the third hit Petrie low then high to keep the Canadian guessing what was coming next. Midway through the sixth round, both fighters landed vicious crosses to score points, but each of them withstood the blows none the worse for wear. Petrie continued to go to his cross and landed a dandy in the seventh that stunned the champion and caused his left eye to start to swell. In the ninth, another cross from the challenger left Desmarais gasping for air. Halfway through the fight, it appeared that Petrie had somewhat of a narrow lead. Desmarais knew he had to turn it on soon and the tenth round was arguably his best round. The visible vestiges of Petrie’s cross on Desmarais’s swollen left eye, the title-holder walked into a Petrie uppercut, potentially because of an inability to see it coming. However, the power punch did not have its desired effect. It seemed to energize the champion, who suddenly went on the offensive. An assortment of hooks, crosses, and uppercuts put the challenger on the ropes and caused some swelling of his own to the left eye of Petrie. Petrie was losing the power on his punches and tried to use his legs to get out of trouble, but Desmarais hunted him across the ring as Round 10 ended. Petrie started strong in the eleventh round, but Desmarais came on the final minute and both fighters slugged it out with seconds left, giving everything they had. This was a fight no one expected to be as entertaining as it was turning out to be and the crowd that would normally cheer for the usual tenants of Montreal Arena were applauding the valiant effort by the two combatants. The next round was essentially the reverse of the eleventh, as Desmarais owned the first half of the round before Petrie came on strong. Petrie tried to put Desmarais away with uppercuts, but Desmarais stayed on his feet and both fighters left good final impressions as they went to the judges, but what was to come is what boxing aficionados will be talking about for decades to come. Both Canadian judges, as well as the American referee, scored the fight as narrow as possible while still being able to declare a winner. All three cards read 143 to 142, but both Canadian arbiters gave the fight to Montreal’s own Adrian Petrie. Referee Hubert Earle scored it 143-142 in favor of Desmarais, but once the split decision was announced in Petrie’s favor, the ring canvas and apron went from an admiring acknowledgement of a hard night’s work to a fracas, only this was not between the two pugilists. Desmarais was too exhausted to participate, but his camp sprung into action. Desmarais’s manager leaped off the apron to confront the judges. The now-former champion’s corner man rushed to join him, at first to play the peacemaker, but soon to join the French chorus. The referee, fresh from pulling grown men apart for 45 minutes, had to work overtime. The highly partisan crowd started to close in on the group and became hostile to anyone bleu, blanc, et rouge. Fists were flying and some in the crowd resorted to more underhanded tactics until the gendarme arrived and restored some semblance of order. In this intrepid reporter’s opinion, the fight could have gone either way. The difference was a punch here, a punch there, a perceived effect that might be overblown. Bias is unavoidable, whether intentional or not, but it was not a good look for a sport that has taken it on the chin lately when it comes to match-fixing at the lower rungs of the sport’s ladder. As the dust cleared, Desmarais (42-2-0) will travel back to Paris without the belt he was so sure he would retain after his North American tour. In the meantime, we have a new middleweight champion for the second straight bout. He is Adrian Petrie (18-1-1) a young 25-year-old Montrealer ready to take his seat in the champion’s corner but with a lot to prove to the boxing world that he can win outside the friendly confines of Montreal and their sympathetic judges. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Desmarais, 1-0 (2:39 right) Round 2: Petrie, 2-0 (0:50 uppercut/head, 2:59 hook/head) Round 3: Desmarais, 3-1 (D: 2:15 left hook/body, 2:36 hook/head, 2:56 cross; P: 1:12 hook) Round 4: Petrie, 1-0 (2:39 right/body) Round 5: Tied, 1-1 (D: 2:34 hook/body; P: 2:17 combo) Round 6: Petrie, 2-0 (1:55 cross, 2:21 hook) Round 7: Petrie, 3-2 (D: 0:21 combo, 2:49 hook; P: 0:39 cross, 1:27 cross/head, 1:41 cross/head) Round 8: Desmarais, 1-0 (1:35 left) Round 9: Petrie, 2-0 (0:36 right/side, 1:25 cross) Round 10: Desmarais, 3-1 (D: 0:59 hook/head, 1:12 hook, 1:46 uppercut; P: 0:17 uppercut) Round 11: Petrie, 4-1 (D: 2:59 uppercut; P: 0:32 hook/jaw, 0:45 right/head, 2:26 right/chin, 2:42 right) Round 12: Desmarais, 1-0 (0:30 hook) Round 13: Petrie, 2-0 (1:42 right/midsection, 2:20 uppercut) Round 14: Petrie, 2-1 (D: 2:05 right/head; P: 0:46 uppercut, 1:34 hook/midsection) Round 15: None TOTAL: Petrie 21, Desmarais 14  CONTROVERSY ENGULFS MIDDLEWEIGHT THRILLER; BOXING BOARD INITIATES INQUIRY October 2, 1948 MONTREAL- The ringing echoes of boxing gloves meeting flesh have barely faded, yet a tempest of dispute swirls around the World Middleweight title bout that transpired in Montreal this weekend. Canadian Adrian Petrie, the hometown hero, emerged with a surprising split decision victory over the reigning World Champion, Edouard Desmarais of France. The reverberations from this unexpected upset have now rattled the corridors of the American Boxing Federation. Desmarais' camp raises an accusing finger, alleging the two Canadian judges engaged in some dubious scorecard recalculations to favor their compatriot in his hometown arena on that fateful Friday night. The referee, Hubert Earle hailing from New York, saw the fight similarly close but deemed the champ the victor by a narrow margin of one point. Tensions flared, and Desmarais' manager vented his fury in the post-fight press conference, lambasting the judges' decision as "terrible." The third round, particularly contentious, saw one judge awarding it to Petrie, contrary to the consensus of many, including the watchful eyes of former world champion Frank Melanson, who graced the Montreal Arena with his presence. Melanson, ever the statesman, acknowledged the closeness of the battle, yet suggested that in most cases, a closely contested bout should tip in favor of the reigning champion. He emphasized the necessity of unequivocally proving one's superiority over the titleholder. This skirmish in the ring has opened a rift that reaches beyond the ropes. Accusations of fight fixing, a nefarious specter that has plagued boxing in recent years, now stain the hallowed canvas. It is crucial to underline that neither of the combatants, Petrie nor Desmarais, is under suspicion. Both exhibited their pugilistic prowess, making this decision an agonizing task. The American Boxing Federation, guardian of fistic integrity, remains tight-lipped, acknowledging only the routine evaluation of all ring officials in the wake of any title outcome. However, their silence does not veil the consideration given to the accusations levied by Team Desmarais. If impropriety is uncovered, a rematch or even a result reversal could be in the offing, unprecedented in the Federation's storied 40-year history. Presently, Adrian Petrie stands as the middleweight champion, but the tempestuous aftermath of this clash could yet reshape the boxing landscape. The future remains uncertain, shrouded in the mists of inquiry. Desmarais and Melanson, though, seem destined still to square off again at Bigsby Garden in the new year, seeking not the World Title, but those precious bragging rights that accompany pugilistic excellence. Unless a seismic ruling shakes this foundation, a tale of redemption looms large. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
FIGHTING SAINTS CRUSH PITT STATE TO RETURN TO TOP OF POLLS St Blane unleashed a versatile football powerhouse against Pittsburgh State and rolled over the Finches 40-14 before a sell-out crowd at Fitzpatrick Park, all of which went away convinced that the Saints could have scored 100 points if they had chosen to do so. The first stringers spent the second half basking in the sunlight on the bench after roaring out to a 31-0 lead at the break, having done more than enough to convince voters that the two-time defending National Champions once more deserved a seat at the head of the table as the first collegiate poll of the season was unveiled. Quarterback Dane Sutherland and end Bobby Leonard combined for a pair of first quarter passing scores but once more it was the ground game that did most of the damage for the victors. St Blane rumbled and dashed for 285 yards rushing including a second straight 100+ yard day for senior Joe Fulgham, who gained 117 on the ground -all in the opening 30 minutes. Rome State, which had little difficulty stopping Eastern Virigina 43-7, is narrowly ahead of Detroit City College in second place in the rankings. The Knights had some difficulty getting going but in the end managed to extend their football winning streak to 19 games with a 9-0 victory over Portland State. Despite failing to put any points on the board, the Thompson Field crowd certainly came away with plenty of respect for Magpies passer Tommy Norwood, who perhaps deserved a better fate after a solid aerial display. Other games of note included a shocking upset from the west as lightly regarded Idaho A&M stunned CC Los Angeles 35-21, dropping the Coyotes record to 1-2 in the process. The news was not much better for the other Los Angeles team as the Coastal California Dolphins saw their record evened at 1-1 following a 17-6 loss in Columbus to an alert, fast-striking Central Ohio eleven. In Academia Alliance play Henry Hudson University doubled Dickson 20-10 while Grafton won a shootout with Pierpont by a 33-28 margin. It marked the first defeat in section play for the Purple since falling to George Fox University in 1943. Brunswick is off to a 2-0 start after the Knights sophomore dominated roster had little trouble with Annapolis Maritime in a 33-6 triumph in Baltimore. The South Atlantic Conference earned some bragging rights over its neighbours from the Deep South after Carolina Poly and North Carolina Tech each came up with victories. The Cardinals dumped Cumberland 14-3 while the Techsters, despite several turnovers, had a surprisingly easy time of things in Georgia while downing Noble Jones College 24-3. The news was not all bad for the Deep South section as Alabama Baptist, Georiga Baptist and Mississippi A&M all improved to 2-0 and claimed positions in the top ten rankings. The Panthers needed a late score to top Bluegrass State 20-13. The Gators struck twice with lighting-like suddenness in the first quarter and tightened up defensively in the third and final periods to take care of Baton Rogue State 17-3 while the Generals downed Central Kentucky 21-10.   WEEKEND COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL RESULTS MAJOR GAMES Rome State 43 Eastern Virginia 7 Brunswick 33 Annapolis Maritime 6 Detroit City College 9 Portland Tech 0 St. Magnus 31 Whitney College 3 St. Blane 40 Pittsburgh State 14 Central Ohio 17 Coastal California 6 Liberty College 34 Frankford State 3 Grafton 33 Pierpont 28 Henry Hudson 20 Dickson 10 Sadler 37 Ellery 7 St. Patrick's 21 St. Pancras 6 St. Matthew's College 14 Commonwealth Catholic 6 Penn Catholic 28 Strub College 0 Carolina Poly 14 Cumberland 3 North Carolina Tech 24 Noble Jones College 3 Georgia Baptist 17 Baton Rouge State 3 Alabama Baptist 20 Bluegrass State 13 Northern Mississippi 10 Lubbock State 7 Minnesota Tech 37 College of Omaha 19 Oklahoma City State 23 Darnell State 10 Mile High State 28 Eastern Oklahoma 17 Mississippi A&M 21 Central Kentucky 10 Richmond State 25 Cowpens State 0 Indiana A&M 14 Western Iowa 0 Lincoln 20 Wisconsin State 14 Iowa A&M 20 Eastern Kansas 14 Lawrence State 20 Boulder State 14 Red River State 24 Bayou State 3 Idaho A&M 35 CC Los Angeles 21 Lane State 17 Rainier College 3 Spokane State 21 Redwood 14 OTHER RESULTS St. Pancras 30 Western State 6 Western Tennessee 48 Cookeville State 6 Northern Minnesota 20 Wisconsin Catholic 3 Miami State 21 Chase 16 Daniel Boone College 37 Laclede 10 Utah A&M 24 Pacific Fleet 15 Columbia Military Academy 19 Bulein 7 Tempe College 38 Gates University 17 Amarillo Methodist 24 Arkansas A&T 17 Scranton State 20 Boston State 13 Northern California 32 Golden Gate University 10 Coastal State 13 Charleston Tech 0 Colorado Poly 34 Cache Valley 20 Western Florida 30 Payne State 10 New York Maritime 16 Brooklyn State 9 Opelika State 28 Ruston Tech 7 Maryland State 41 Caesar Rodney 3 St. Ignatius 51 Kamehameha College 0 Pacific Coast 19 Custer College 9 Fort Bliss 27 El Paso Methodist 17 Canyon A&M 27 McKinney State 7 Iowa Northern 27 Lambert College 10 Mobile Maritime 20 Charleston (IL) 6 Garden State 17 Empire State 17 Sunnyvale 38 San Clemente 6 Texas Gulf Coast 14 College of Waco 3 Hampden 22 Bigsby College 21 Travis College 48 South Valley State 3 Provo Tech 41 Valley State 3 Eastern State 14 Chesapeake State 6 Alexandria 21 Potomac College 6 Erie 21 Lexington State 7 Huntington State 27 Conwell College 24 Topeka State 10 Central Illinois 6 Wyoming A&I 49 Pueblo State 6 George Fox 41 Constitution State 10 Kit Carson University 45 San Francisco Tech 13 THOMAS LEADS YANKS TO COMEBACK WIN The Boston Americans got off to a very slow start but once they kicked into gear the New York football Stars had no chance. Forced to play at Commonwealth Catholic Stadium because the baseball Minutemen were playing out the string at the stadium that bears their name, the Americans looked like they were late for the ball game after allowing the Stars to build a quick 14-0 lead. Boston did eventually get its bearings straight and the Yanks exploded for 30 unanswered points to claim a 30-14 victory and improve to 2-0 in the young American Football Association season. Del Thomas made a mistake early as his pass on the opening series of the game was intercepted and returned 37 yards for a New York touchdown by Bob Campagnola. Thomas, a 3-time AFC All-Pro and perhaps the best quarterback around not named Chappell, was also intercepted on his second and third series before suddenly flipping a switch and being the quarterback Boston fans have come to expect. On the day the Yanks ace threw for 326 yards by completing 26 of his 36 tosses as the Americans took over control of the game. The win leaves the Americans as the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Division despite the fact the season is just two weeks old. The Philadelphia Frigates and Washington Wasps are each 1-1 after the Frigates rallied for 21 points in the final 17 minutes to down the host Wasps by a 35-20 score. Greg LePage, who set a league rushing record a year ago, ran for 121 yards while Frigates quarterback Jim Taylor threw for 246 yards and 4 touchdowns. After a pair of bad performances to open the season the Detroit Maroons finally got untracked, blasting the visiting Pittsburgh Paladins 38-14 before more than 30,000 at Thompson Field. End Dan Howard paced the Maroons offense with a pair of touchdown catches as part of his 9 receptions for 1165 yards while Mark Belles ran for 79 yards and two scores. At 0-2, the Paladins are the only AFA team still searching for its first victory. In what was a party atmosphere spent chanting Pioneers much more than it was Ramblers, nearly 43,000 jammed Pioneers Field in St Louis to get an early celebration in before their ballclub opens the World Championship Series in Philadelphia Wednesday after clinching their second straight Federal Association pennant. It was a perfect day at the ballyard as fans learned late in the game via the public address announcer that Pioneers had prevailed in Chicago for their 91st victory of the season while in front of them the often woeful Ramblers looked like world beaters in easily handling the visiting Cincinnati Tigers by a 23-7 count. John Johnson was the man of the afternoon for the Ramblers, as he was all over the field on defense with 6 tackles and 3 interceptions, including one he returned 42 yards for the opening score of the game. Johnson, who spends most of his time on offense clearing a path for Gene Heaston or Tom Mellette, also found time to add an offensive score on a 5 yard run in the fourth quarter. This week's AFA menu includes a special Monday night affair with the Chicago Wildcats heading to Cleveland to meet the Finches this evening. Each club claimed a victory in their season opener last week.  TITLE GAME PREVIEW IN NEW ORLEANS TOMORROW? A rare Continental Football Conference Tuesday evening game looks to be a perfect matchup to tide sports fans over on a quiet prelude to the start of baseball's World Championship Series the following day. The game is very highly anticipated as it will involve the league's only two remaining unbeaten teams in the Kansas City Cowboys and the New Orleans Crescents, both 4-0 on the campaign, and it may just be a preview of the league championship game in December. It is little surprise the mighty Cowboys are riding high atop the Western Division. Cowboys Coach Pete Walsh was a proven winner at Noble Jones College, where he led the Colonels to a national title in 1942 and, after a stint running the Great Lakes Naval Academy grid program during the war, Walsh joined the Cowboys prior to the CFC's debut in 1946. Since then all he has done as a coach is guide the Cowboys to a 31-3 record and two consecutive Continental Conference league titles. His job is clearly made easy with former St Magnus three-sport star Pat Chappell, who may well be the best quarterback on the planet these days and winner of two straight CFC Most Valuable Player awards, as his quarterback running a high-powered offense that includes bruising fullback Mason Matthews and a pair of sure-handed ends in Bill Tammaro and Ernie Orr. Matthews is leading the league with 420 yards rushing while Chappell has passed for 10 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions while throwing for 937 yards in the four Cowboys victories this season, and that is with both Tammaro and Orr sidelined with injury much of the time. Orr is healthy and expected to play against the Crescents but Tammaro, who has missed all but the season opener, remains questionable for the game. New Orleans, in stark contrast, is very much a surprise to enter this game unbeaten. The Crescents won just 3 games each of their first two seasons in the league but are a completely different club this season with rookie quarterback Vince Gallegos leading the way. Gallego has had some trouble avoiding turnovers, which was a major problem for his predecessor Sam Boettcher, who threw a CFC worst 29 picks a year ago, but the former Bayou State star has been improving each game and made some key throws. The receiving duo of end Bill Pruitt and halfback Bo Mandish lacks the pedigree of the Cowboys bevy of stars but it is clear that things are clicking this season for the Crescents. However, naysayers will point to the easy start to the schedule for the Crescents, which has included a pair of games with the struggling New York Gothams as well as Brooklyn at home and a weak Chicago Comets team on the road, as a sign New Orleans' record is inflated by an easy go of things from the schedule-maker. That will change tomorrow, and with the rest of the sports world at a standstill waiting for the start of the WCS, you can bet all eyes will be focused on New Orleans as the Crescents prepare for a challenge like they have certainly not seen so far this year.  GRID KINGS WIN WILD ONE IN BUFFALO Fans of high scoring, wide open football had a treat in Buffalo yesterday afternoon although with most of the 31,850 in Civic Stadium on a chilly but clear day cheering for the hometown Buffalo Bulls the day ended in heartbreak after the visiting Brooklyn Kings returned a fumble for a touchdown with just 15 seconds remaining in what would be a thrilling 47-46 victory for the Kings. The win evens Brooklyn's record at 2-2-1, good for second place behind only undefeated New Orleans in the Eastern Division while the last place Bulls slump to 1-4. It was a back-and-forth affair as the Kings opened a 13-0 lead in the first period thanks to John Mecham running for one touchdown and connecting with Doug Pastirik on a 6-yard toss for another. Meecham would scamper for a 44-yard score early in the second stanza to extend the lead to 20-0 but Buffalo would get some life with a 1-yard plunge for a score from Pete Steele at the midway mark of the period. Buffalo's Walt Stewart brought the fans to their feet just before the break with an electrifying 62-yard punt return late in the half but at the break the Bulls trailed 20-12 due to a pair of missed converts from Don Parmenter. Each team would add two more touchdowns in the third period and when Brooklyn rookie back Bill Howlin ran for a 14-yard score to give the Kings a 40-26 lead early in the final period it appeared the Bulls hopes for victory were long gone. However, Buffalo tied the game with a pair of quick touchdowns including Walt Stewart's second punt return score of the day -this one for 45 yards- and with just over 6 minutes remaining the game was knotted at 40 as the fans sensed another big comeback from a Buffalo team that has made a habit of close finishes over the past couple of seasons. On Brooklyn's next possession Doug Pastirik fumbled the ball deep in his own territory and the Bulls Pete Steele pounced on it. Two plays later the Bulls had their first lead of the game after a 7-yard scoring run from Doug McCasland with less than 4 minutes remaining in the contest. The fact that Don Parmenter's bad day of kicking continued with yet another missed extra-point -he missed 3 on the day- did little too dampen the spirits of the now giddy crowd. The excitement only increased when the Bulls defense stopped Brooklyn on a 4th down deep in Buffalo territory with just 30 seconds left on the clock but the joy quickly transitioned to agony when Bulls quarterback Mark Monday fumbled the next snap and Brooklyn's Paul Widmer scooped it up and sauntered into the Buffalo endzone to tie the game at 46 with 15 seconds left. Bill Rice split the uprights with his extra-point attempt and the Kings had an improbable 47-46 victory that left fans speechless. METCALF CARRIES (AND PASSES) WINGS TO WIN IN WINDY CITY Sam Metcalf's passes, coupled with a strong running game outside the tackles, gave the San Francisco Wings a 42-7 victory over the winless Chicago Comets Friday evening. Metcalf, who has guided the coast Wings to a 5-1 start, ran for a pair of touchdowns while also throwing for a score in the victory before more than 31,000 fans at Whitney Park. The Wings ground game, which shredded the Comets defense for 398 yards, proved far too much for the Windy City club to handle. Ernest Key was the big man on campus for the visitors with a total of 134 yards gained on the day with his 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter being the shortest of his 7 carries. Rich Garner and Glenn Carroll may have failed to find the endzone but each also contributed at least 50 yards to the Wings ground game with Metcalf and Sam Gerst teaming up for another 55 yards and 3 scores between them. Despite the strong start to the season, one that included only a somewhat surprising loss to the New York Gothams after a very slow start at Hawks Stadium that afternoon, the Wings -like the rest of the CFC are left being considered as second-class citizens because of the large presence of the Kansas City Cowboys in the Western Division. It will be a long wait before the Wings get a chance to prove their mettle against the Cowboys as the two clubs will not meet for the first time until a November 14 date in the midwest before the rematch two weeks later on the coast so until then the Wings will have to be content being considered the second best club in the Western Division.  MOTORS OFF TO QUICK START The Detroit Motors, led by a fast start from young center Francis McKenzie, had a strong opening week of NAHC preseason action with 3 wins in 4 outings, all coming at the expense of the Boston Bees. However, new Detroit coach Badger Rigney, who takes over a last place team, cautions that these are tune-up games and mean nothing in the big picture. "It is great to see a young guy like Francis (McKenzie) gain some confidence with a couple big games," noted Rigney, "but this is all about getting guys ready for the grind of the season and we clearly did not see the best Boston has to offer." McKenzie, who was acquired from Montreal last December as part of the deal that sent veteran defensemen Shel Herron and Bryant Williams to the Valiants, spent most of last season in the minors after being drafted 2nd overall by the Vals. He scored once in his first preseason game and then exploded with a 5-point night, including a hat trick in a 6-2 triumph over the Bees last night. The most important thing right now is staying healthy and Boston and Detroit both failed in that regard. The Bees will be without 32-year-old winger Jim Morey for at least a month after the veteran assistant captain broke his hand last week. Morey had 50 points in 53 games a year ago. Detroit, meanwhile, lost the services of defenseman Spencer Larocque for at least the opening few games of the season after the 22-year-old suffered a sprained ankle last week in a game with Boston. Larocque, another piece of the big deal last December with Montreal, had 23 points in 37 games following the trade after starting the season with just 6 points in 21 games as a rookie with the Valiants. Like Detroit, the Chicago Packers had a 3-1 start to their preseason slate. Chicago did suffer an injury to Juneau Trophy winning goaltender Norm Hanson but fortunately it is just minor. The 28-year-old netminder dislocated a finger on his catching hand but should be back in time for the Packers regular season opener in Detroit a week from Wednesday.  PRESEASON RESULTS WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29 Montreal 4 at 3 Detroit - Rey Sclisizzi (2G), Hank Walsh (2G,1A) Boston 5 at 0 Chicago -Tom Brockers (26 saves) Robert Walker (2G 1A) New York 0 at 3 Toronto - Gordie Broadway (28 sv), Dick Zimmerman (2G) THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Chicago 4 at 0 New York - Michael Cleghorn (29 saves) Detroit 6 at 2 Boston - Louis Rocheleau (3A) Toronto 1 at 4 Montreal - Alex MacDonald (1G, 1A), Rey Sclisizzi (2G) SATURDAY OCTOBER 2 Montreal 2 at 6 Chicago - David Rankin (2G, 1A) Boston 1 at 4 Detroit - Henri Chasse (36sv) New York 5 at 4 Toronto - Sam Coates (2A), Les Carlson (2A) SUNDAY OCTOBER 3 Detroit 6 at 2 Boston Francis McKenzie (3G,2A) Vince Arsenault (1G,2A) Toronto 6 at 3 New York - Bobbie Sauer (2G,2A) JC Martel (1G,2A) Chicago 6 at 1 Montreal - Larry Seguin (2A) UPCOMING GAMES TOMORROW Montreal at Toronto Boston at Chicago New York at Detroit THURSDAY OCTOBER 7 Montreal at New York Detroit at Chicago Toronto at Boston FRIDAY OCTOBER 8 Boston at Montreal New York at Toronto Chicago at Detroit end of preseason schedule AROUND THE LEAGUE
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/03/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 10-05-2023 at 09:43 PM. |
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10-06-2023, 02:49 PM
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#799 |
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Hall Of Famer
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FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 1948 SPECIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES EDITION PIONEERS IN COMPLETE CONTROL OF SERIES HEADING HOME Just as most of the prognosticators had forecast, the St Louis Pioneers pitching was simply too strong for the Philadelphia Sailors in the opening two games of the World Championship Series. Pioneers manager Hugh Luckey did cross everyone up with a surprise decision to hand the ball to Hiram Steinberg instead of likely Federal Association Allen Award winner Hal Hackney for the opening game but with the embarrassment of riches on the mound that the St Louis side possesses, Luckey could likely have not gone wrong regardless of which member of the 3-H club he handed the ball to for Wednesday's opener. Steinberg wasn't perfect, but the man many consider to be the greatest high school pitcher of all-time, was plenty good enough to stop the Sailors offense in a 4-2 St Louis victory in the opener. Being spotted a 3-0 lead before he took the mound certainly eased the pressure on the 3-time Adwell Award winner and former 1st overall FABL draft pick. That lead came courtesy of a 3-run homer off the bat of Larry Gregory, like Steinberg another young former first round pick, who continues to bolster his reputation with tremendous post-season hitting. Counting games one and two of this series the 25-year-old outfielder is batting .414 with 2 homers and 7 rbi's in 8 career WCS games. With Hal Hackney on the mound for the second game the Sailors did not have a chance, even when they opened the scoring in the first thanks to a Homer Mills error. Hackney allowed just 4 hits all day and as well as he pitched, Sailors starter Al Duster could not hold the Pioneers in check all game. Duster did wiggle his way out of some tight situations early such as the second inning when he induced an inning ending double-play ball out of Heinie Zimmer with the bases loaded to keep the Pioneers off the scoresheet. It would be Zimmer's turn to get revenge in the 7th as the veteran catcher smacked a sharp single with one-out in the frame to plate both Bill Freeman and Jim McBride and that would be all the offense Hackney, who won a Fed best 22 games this season, would need to run his career post-season record to 3-0 and lower his WCS era to a sparkling 1.33.   In the 1947 WCS against the Sailors, Gregory was named MVP after hitting 10-for-23 (.435), with four doubles, a home run, six runs scored and four RBI. If the 1947 season was his arrival onto the FA landscape, his performance in the WCS was his introduction to the nation. In the first inning of Game 1 of this year’s series, Gregory reintroduced himself to the Sailors and their ace, Win Lewis. Before we even get to that meeting, there are two other stories, those indicative of the 1948 Pioneers’ season, to tell. Lewis was already in a bit of a jam out of the gate. Ray Bates, who at barely 21 is both the Pioneers’ leadoff hitter, as well as the Pioneers leader in the clubhouse–tripled to left-center to open the game. Bates would triple later in the game, tying the league record for triples in a WCS game. The real pain of this pitch for Lewis is that it came on a 2-2 pitch, which is a true pitcher’s count. In 2-2 counts this season: Bates: .239/.239/.283 (.522 OPS, 34 OPS+); 11/46, 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 12/0 KK/B CA Batters vs Lewis: .221/.221/.326 (.547 OPS); 21/95, 4 R, 1 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 24/0 K/BB “(Lewis) threw a change-up the previous pitch that I swung over,” said Bates about the pitch. “He has excellent sinker that has a lot of the same movement as the change, but it’s obviously sped up. I thought the change was a setup for the sinker, so I was looking for it. Fortunately, it was a left a bit up, and I was able to drive it.” Lewis got Homer Mills to ground out to first, holding Bates at third. That brought up Al Tucker. Considering Tucker’s ‘48 campaign tells two stories: The ‘48 Pioneers, and Tucker’s legacy. In the offseason, Pioneer manager Hugh Luckey asked Tucker to move from his usual station in the lineup, and slide from third to fourth. Luckey’s logic was simple: Gregory was ready to become the #3 hitter, typically reserved for the best hitter in the lineup. There was concern with Tucker’s eye and patience; his 39 walks were his fewest since 1941 (36). Luckey thought switching the two would allow for more run production, but also give Tucker more opportunities with runners on base. The results, though, were not what Luckey had hoped for. And, eventually, he switched it back. The results speak for themselves. Gregory 3rd: .292/.390/.452 (117 OPS+), 16 2B, 3 3B, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 54/11 BB/K Gregory 4th: .369/.441/.602 (167 OPS+), 15 2B, 2 3B, 13 HR, 50 RBI, 34/10 BB/K Tucker 3rd: .375/.428/.461 (130 OPS+), 16 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 39 RBI, 27/33 BB/K Tucker 4th: .329/.410/.422 (115 OPS+), 9 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 44/39 BB/K Luckey made the change for good on July 27th: Tucker: .368/.412/.446, 14 2B, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 19/26 BB/K Gregory: .372/.444/.602, 14 2B, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 32/8 BB/K The team went 39-20 from that point. They only lost back-to-back games twice in that span, and not at all after September 4th. While the pitching staff, and specifically the starting rotation, will get the majority of the praise if the Pioneers do win back-to-back championships, one could reason that it was this change, and getting the best versions of Tucker and Gregory (perhaps unlocking a new level entirely in Gregory), is what sent the Pioneers to where they stand today. As far as Tucker’s legacy, his ‘48 season may solidify the notion in some circles that Tucker is THE face of St. Louis baseball in the modern era. He led the league in hits for a second time; his production this year rivals 1943 as his best season overall. Tucker also now sits at 2,210 hits, which is second in franchise history, and just sixty behind Wilie Wynder, who plied his trade at the turn of the century. It’s plausible that winning another championship could put him into the conversation for the Hall of Fame, when the time comes. He still has some work to do, but Tucker’s performance this year is one of the main reasons his team is two games from a second straight title. In this particular situation, facing Lewis, Tucker walked. A pitch he took at 2-1 could be considered borderline; Lewis clearly thought it hit the outside corner, as did Sailor backstop Solly Skidmore. A few scouts at the game thought that not getting this call affected Lewis, and impacted what was about to happen. The happening, in this case, was Larry Gregory striding to the plate, ready to impact this game, and maybe this series, with one swing. Sailors Memorial Stadium is notorious for its lack of home run clout. Case in point: The Sailors only hit 40 home runs as a team this year. They only hit eighteen of them at home. The pitching staff only allowed 43, which is more middle-of-the-pack for the power-starved CA; in the FA, that would have been second-fewest, just behind the Pioneers. The Pioneers are also notorious for their lack of home run clout. Case in point: They hit 71 as a team this season. They hit 40 of them on the road. The one player, on either team, who is impervious to either side of the conversation is Gregory. He hit 23 home runs this season, a career high. He hit 14 on the road. He also had a 4-to-1 BB/K ratio this year (89 walks against 21 strikeouts). He increased his walks by 22 over ‘47, while lowering his strikeouts by three. He did this while registering the most plate appearances of his career (671), and being the most damaging hitter in a lineup filled with flawed hitters. The situation: Ray Bates on third. Al Tucker on first. Win Lewis on the mound, perhaps fuming about Tucker being on first. The result: Lewis was inside with a curveball. He did not want to give him something good to hit. In the ‘48 season, lefties (.265/.326/.389) gave Lewis far more trouble than righties (.235/.276/.304). All eight home runs Lewis surrendered this year? That’s right: It was to lefties. It is with this information that Win Lewis presented a steaming 1-0 slider to Larry Gregory. Only, it didn’t slide. It simply ran on a level plane on the outside half of the plate, arriving slightly above the belt. Gregory took aim. He did not miss. Win Lewis served up home run #9. It was the first inning of the first game of the 1948 WCS. Clearly, the game was not over. Neither is the series. That said, Gregory’s blow hit the Sailors like an uppercut from The Cajun Crusher, Hector Sawyer, providing the first knockdown. Hiram Steinberg and Danny Hern, both of whom pitched complete games, allowing just three runs in the first two games, delivered the second one. And now, with the series shifting to St. Louis, where likely FA Allen Award winner Hal Hackney awaits the Sailors in Game 3, the Pioneers are aiming for the knockout blow. St. Louis fans have Larry Gregory to thank. Now, they just have to figure out a new nickname.  You have a greybeard, of course, in 36-year-old Joe Owens but he is coming off the first batting title of his career and may still have a lot to offer. It is the youthfulness of the group that points to a great future with Jeep Erickson and Reid McLaughlin just 23 years olds while Ernie Campbell, Irv Clifford and Charlie J. Williams are all just 22. And there is plenty more down on the farm that will be ready to join this core group in the next couple of years. On the other hand the pitching staff is still awful, and I’m sure a few of these guys hit over their head. But with the young talent already in Pittsburgh and quite a few good looking prospects on the farm, it’s hard not to think the Miners are going to have a heck of an offense for the next handful of years. Looking at the makeup of the team, there doesn't seem to be an obvious place to make moves. The veteran rotation performed close enough to expectations and the lineup was steady and productive. There's the possibility that former first round pick Cecil LaBonte, 22, could take his offense to another level, but the remainder of the starting 8 put up numbers as expected. Besides, in putting together this lineup left little in the farm system to push them. Finally, with the new prohibition against trading draft picks there's not a good way to quickly enhance the team. This looks more like a team that will hang around the pennant race for a couple more season before sinking to the bottom waiting for the slow process of waiting for draft picks to mature. GOFF BROTHERS LEAD GRAYS TO BIGSBY CUP REPEAT Jack Goff and his brother Danny Goff Jr. proved too much for the Houston Bulls as the regular season champion Oakland Grays defeated the Bulls in six games to win their second consecutive Bigsby Cup, emblematic of Great Western League supremacy. The Goff brothers combined for 3 complete game victories in the series including a 4-hit shutout by Jack in a 6-0 Oakland victory at home in the deciding game. Jack Goff also was the winning pitcher for the third game, tossing a five-hitter to help him earn the nod as most valuable player in the series. The Grays had a dominant regular season, winning 95 games -a record in the loop's short three year history as a self-described major league- and finishing 10 games up on the Bulls, who only qualified for the series because they had a better head-to-head record against San Francisco, which equaled the Bulls 85-69 regular season mark. The series opened at Grays Baseball Park with a surprising 4-3 victory for the visitors from Texas but Oakland exploded for 16 hits in game two to even the series with an 8-0 victory. The series shifted to Houston for game three and that was the start of Jack Goff's heroics as the son of former FABL star and current Philadelphia Keystones pitching coach Danny Goff, tossed a 5-hitter to outduel the Bulls Tommy Shafer 3-1. In game four it was Danny Jr.'s turn to go to work and he pitched well enough to allow the Grays to double Houston 6-3 and move to within a game of their second Bigsby Cup. Jim Mayfield and Spud Bent had the big bats for the Grays as the due combined for 7 hits while Frankie Cohen added 2 hits and 3 rbi's. Not wanting to see the Grays celebrate on their home turf, the Bulls rallied for a 6-3 win in the fifth game to send the series back to Oakland where the Grays turned the game into a laugher with 5 runs off Houston starter Luis Sandoval in the opening two innings, which provided more than enough offense for Jack Goff who blanked the Bulls on 4 hits to clinch the title. 
DOMINANT QUARTER GIVES COWBOYS WIN IN NEW ORLEANS The Kansas City Cowboys did not have their best game and quarterback Pat Chappell had little impact on the game but despite that the Cowboys rode a dominant first quarter to a 31-10 victory over New Orleans Tuesday evening in the Crescent City. The Crescents actually had a lot of positives to take away from the game, one they were forced to play without star rookie quarterback Vince Gallegos, who missed the contest with an undisclosed injury. Take the first quarter away and the New Orleans eleven outscored the Cowboys 10-7 and were nearly dead even in total yardage, trailing Kansas City by just 29 yards. However, that mattered not after an opening period that saw the Cowboys dominate with 24 points and 178 yards of offense in their first four possessions. The Crescents did a fantastic job all day of shutting Pat Chappell down as the Cowboys All-Pro quarterback completed just 9 passes for 112 yards and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 5 games this season. The Cowboys ground game was a different story and why the team is simply so dominant. It is pick your poison. Focus on the pass and Mason Matthews and company will burn you on the ground which is exactly what the Cowboys did on this day with 11 different ball carriers combining for 270 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns. It looked like it was going to be a very long night for the Crescents when the Cowboys marched 64 yards -all but 13 of it rushing the ball- in a 3 minute opening drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown run for Denny McDunn. After a three and out for New Orleans, who's offense looked lost with former Los Angeles Lobos quarterback John Fuchs suddenly in charge, the Cowboys added to their lead with a 28-yard field goal from Reuben Walston to go up 10-0. The same story repeated with another series in which the Crescents failed to gain a first down and Kansas City responded with another long drive, this one finishing with Mason Matthews powering his for a 25-yard touchdown to make the score 17-0 with 3 minute still remaining in the opening period. It got worse as Willard Shaw fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage and the Cowboys took over at the Crescents 16-yard line. Five plays later Pat Chappell kept the ball on a 1-yard sneak and the lead was 24-0. New Orleans did not get its first first-down until their second series of the second quarter and it did end in a touchdown thanks to a pair of long completions by Fuchs to cut the Cowboys lead to 24-7. The remainder of the game was very even but it seemed clear the Cowboys were content to take their foot off the gas especially after Tom Manning scored on a 5-yard touchdown run midway through the second period to return the Kansas City lead to 24 points. The Cowboys are clearly the class of the league and the Crescents, like every other team in the CFC, have a long ways to go to catch them. Would the game have been any different if New Orleans had Gallegos under center? Perhaps a drive or two in the first quarter might have changed the outcome but it is hard to bet against a Kansas City eleven that can beat you in so many ways. The Cowboys improve to 5-0 and are now the only unbeaten team remaining in the CFC after the loss drops New Orleans to 5-1.  CHAMPS PREVAIL IN MONDAY GRID SHOWDOWN The Cleveland Finches slashed and passed to a 31-10 American Football Association victory over the Chicago Wildcats before a cheering crowd of 31,350 at Forester Field as the defending league champions ran their record to 2-0 on the season. The champions went to work early, scoring 10 points in the opening period and added 14 more before the mid-point with the crushing blow to the visiting Wildcats being a 62-yard catch and run from Jody Moten to Roy Carson for a score on the final play before the break to increase the Finches lead to 24-0. For a Wildcats club that entered the game intent on revenge for a season-ending loss at Whitney Park that cost the Chicago side a trip to the championship game a year ago, it was once more a case of the multi-faceted Finches overwhelming their Windy City rivals. Moten, Cleveland's new quarterback, passed at will as he threw for 286 yards -173 of them to Carson- and 3 touchdowns. When Cleveland was not throwing the ball past the Wildcats defenders, they were running right over them with Tommy Thompson leading the way with 89 yards while Mark Ravellette added 66. The Chicago ground game, operating with a large committee led by Louis Dunlap, was a near equal to the Finches duo but thru the air the Wildcats paled in comparison as Gus Brown completed just 5 of 13 attempts for 55 feeble yards and many left the stadium with the impression that Brown's days may well be numbered with All-American Ricky McCallister waiting in the wings. The hero of St Blane did make one pass attempt will Brown was briefly injured -it fell incomplete- and did not look out of place on the defensive side of the ball.  SEVERAL GAMES TONIGHT LAUNCH BIG WEEKEND FOR COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL Southern power Alabama Baptist looks to run its record to 3-0 on the season as the Panthers play a rare Friday evening game when they host 0-3 Strub College. That would be the highlight of the half dozen games that get a busy weekend off to an early start with the other matchup of note set for Florida where a pair of independents in 1-0 Miami State and 2-1 Penn Catholic are set to collide. Among the key games on the weekend will be 2-0 Rome State travelling to Illinois to face 2-0 Lincoln College, St Blane (2-0) hosting St Ignatius (1-1) and Detroit City College (2-0) kicking off its Great Lakes Alliance section slate with a game at Thompson Field against Whitney College (0-2). TONIGHT'S COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL GAMES Strub College at Alabama Baptist San Francisco Tech at Northern Minnesota Liberty College at St. Pancras Petersburg at Bulein Penn Catholic at Miami State Topeka State at Lambert College UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
YESTERDAY'S FIGHT RESULTS Oakland, Cal: Billy Orr (10-9-2) welterweight out of Canton, OH. knocked out San Francisco native Matt Parker (12-6-1) Scranton, Pa: Glen Jordan (12-10) middleweight out of Jersey City beat Dave Mason (8-6), New York City, with a first round TKO Buffalo, NY: Cliff Lancaster (26-11-3) welterweight from Boston, scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Niagara Falls, NY native Steve Gardner (6-7-2) The Week That Was Current events from 10/04/1948 thru 10/07/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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10-09-2023, 11:54 AM
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October 11, 1948 Pioneers win WCS
OCTOBER 11, 1948 PIONEERS SWEEP TO WCS TITLE The St Louis Pioneers overpowered the Philadelphia Sailors in game four after dominating them with pitching in the opening three games to complete a World Championship Series sweep. In an era when the WCS seems to be full of six and seven game battles the Pioneers delivered the first sweep since 1939 when the New York Stars rolled over the Pittsburgh Miners. The Pioneers also became the first Federal Association club to win back-to-back WCS titles since the 1918-19 Detroit Dynamos and while we may be getting ahead of ourselves, the Pioneers are now in position to have a chance to become the first Federal Association club to win 3 straight WCS. Only the 1924-26 New York Stars earned 3 straight rings. Even 3 straight pennants is a fairly rare accomplishment especially in the Fed. Since the Stars three straight WCS wins the 1928-30 Sailors, 1936-38 Brooklyn Kings and 1943-45 Cincinnati Cannons have all won 3 consecutitve Continental Association flags but the last time a Federal Association club won 3 pennants in a row was way back in 1906 when the Boston Minutemen claimed the last of their record 5-consecutive flags.    I admit I rarely do anything conventional, and this might be a break from tradition, but I am going to stick with my decision for who I feel was the Manager of the Year in the Federal Association this season. While most fans will be looking at the skippers in St. Louis as the primary "Manager of the year" in the FA, I am going in a completely different direction. Not to say the job that Pioneer Manager Hugh Luckey has done isn't good, on contrary its been very good the last 2 seasons. After 5 middling years at the helm of the Pioneers he has transformed the team and culture. But I am going in a different direction for my FA Manager of the Year. For me the choice came down to two gentlemen and many might say I have got it wrong. But for me, when you have a 67-year FABL "rookie" manager who takes over by far (on paper) the worst team in baseball and guides them to a 43-38 2nd half showing and avoids last place and baseball history as the worst team ever. That deserves some recognition. My vote for Manager of the Year in the FA is Bob Beelman. Now some might say who in the heck is Bob Beelman? Rookie manager, age 67 of the Pittsburgh Miners. A team that was universally thought to be perhaps the worst team in FABL history at the start of the year (by some). And the Miners looked like they were on their way to chase that mark going 21-60, yes you read that right....21-53. They were on pace to lose 111 games, and potentially break (or come damn close) the record of futility. But something happened on the road to infamy. The Miners improved greatly and it was led by some good young ballplayers and a veteran OF now 1B Joe Owens who won the FA batting title with a 359 average. Yes Bob Beelman is the man that lead this turnaround. At 67 no one is for sure how long he will want to continue to manage, but he has laid the groundwork of a foundation in position players that could be part of the next great Pittsburgh dynasty. Honorable mention goes to the Boston Minutemen's skipper Tom Steffen. The Minutemen were on top of the FA during the first half of the year and yes they were predicted to be just above Pittsburgh in the standing (by 15-20 games in some predictions). The Minutemen were looking surprisingly good, but fell upon the dog days of summer and faded down the stretch but still managed to finish a surprising 78-76 and above 500. Yes some will say Steffen might deserve the award more, but the Beelman story is just too good and the Miners were felt by the majority to be oh so bad. Congrats Bob on a job well done! A WORD OR TWO IN SUPPORT OF HUGH LUCKEY AS BEST BENCH BOSS IN FED Recently, national sports correspondent Freddie Farhat display some of that all too often seen east coast bias with a column proclaiming Pittsburgh Miners manager Bob Beelman the top skipper in the Federal Association. Now, there is no question the rookie bench boss did a fine job in the second half of the season helping his charges escape the cellar and I also freely admit picking a defending champion as the top manager is pretty tough. That being said here are some reason why, if there was an award for top manager, I'd go with Pioneers Manager HughLuckey:
The Pioneers were a slow-to-cook team this year. There were a lot of decisions that could have blown up big time. I figured we were done when Hern went down, but Luckey rallied the team and delivered a second straight title.
LANCERS UPSET ST BLANE First Loss For Fighting Saints Since 1945 In perhaps the most shocking upset in years the St Ignatius Lancers shocked mighty St Blane 23-10 in a result that appears almost certain to end the Fighting Saints two-year hold on the national championship. A crowd of 58,126 at St Blane Stadium in Latrobe were silenced by a pair of first half touchdowns, both coming as the result of turnovers, from the 2-1 Lancers. St Ignatius did its Michigan rivals from Detroit City College a huge favour as the Knights will take over top spot in the collegiate polls after they opened their Great Lakes Alliance slate Saturday with a 43-3 drubbing of Whitney College. To further illustrate the quality difference between Detroit City College and St Blane at the moment, the Knights can count among thier three victories a 33-10 win over St Ignatius in Lansing in late September. St Blane, which drops to 2-1, did have an equally lobsided result against the Knights Saturday opponent, as the Fighting Saints pounded the Engineers 35-3 in their season opener. Lincoln College was impressive in a 14-14 tie in Springfield, IL. against Rome State. The Centurions, continuing to use a "two-platoon" football squad and it paid off as they were the fresher side down the stretch in wearing out the Presidents defensive line with a 72-yard fourth quarter drive -all on the ground- to notch the tying touchdown. The news was not all bad for the service academies as Annapolis Maritime ended its two game losing streak to start the season by opsetting Carolina Poly 13-7. The Navgators had started the season with back to back losses to Northern California and Brunswick. Meanwhile North Carolina Tech moved up the rankings and into the 3rd spot after the Techsters downed Cowpens State 30-14. Alabama Baptist is number two after the Panthers improved to 3-0 with a 21-0 shutout of Strub College. St Blane drops from first to fourth with their loss while Georgia Baptist is now ranked 5th and also 3-0 after the Gators had little trouble in a 36-0 pounding of Lexington State. Mississippi A&M is now 3-0 overall and 3-0 in Deep South section play after the Generals held off a gritty effort from Bluegrass State in a 20-14 victory. Round out the top ten are Rome State, which slipped from 2nd to 7th with the tie against Lincoln, followed by St Magnus, Texas Gulf Coast and Liberty College.   EAST Pierpont 21 Sadler 6 Henry Hudson 26 George Fox 16 Brunswick 29 Dickson 21 St. Patrick's 21 Grafton 20 Liberty College 22 St. Pancras 0 Manhattan Tech 7 Bigsby College 6 Pittsburgh State 20 Huntington State 10 Garden State 30 Conwell College 14 Commonwealth Catholic 24 Salamanca State 0 Empire State 31 Boston State 14 Ellery 17 Narragansett 6 Adirondack State 24 Brooklyn State 17 SOUTH Annapolis Maritime 13 Carolina Poly 7 North Carolina Tech 30 Cowpens State 14 Mississippi A&M 20 Bluegrass State 14 Alabama Baptist 21 Strub College 0 Charleston Tech 14 Central Carolina 0 Maryland State 30 Chesapeake State 0 Richmond State 17 Alexandria 0 Noble Jones College 31 Central Kentucky 27 Georgia Baptist 36 Lexington State 0 Bayou State 27 Darnell State 13 Baton Rouge State 29 Columbia Military Academy 0 Cumberland 52 Western Tennessee 0 Western Florida 41 Opelika State 12 Northern Mississippi 19 Coastal State 0 Eastern State 27 Potomac College 9 Miami State 17 Penn Catholic 14 Petersburg 17 Bulein 3 Edgemoor 10 Mobile Maritime 7 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 23 St. Blane 10 Lincoln 14 Rome State 14 Detroit City College 43 Whitney College 3 Central Ohio 31 Western Iowa 0 St. Magnus 34 Minnesota Tech 14 Wisconsin Catholic 17 Laclede 9 Lawrence State 27 Iowa A&M 6 Blue Mountain College 20 Eastern Kansas 17 Northern Minnesota 31 San Francisco Tech 13 Lambert College 30 Topeka State 3 SOUTHWEST Lubbock State 27 Arkansas A&T 14 Oklahoma City State 51 Travis College 10 Amarillo Methodist 25 Indiana A&M 3 College of Waco 29 Payne State 7 Texas Panhandle 30 Canyon A&M 13 Texas Gulf Coast 27 Daniel Boone College 21 South Valley State 73 El Paso Methodist 3 Abilene Baptist 48 Valley State 21 FAR WEST Rainier College 17 CC Los Angeles 0 Coastal California 16 Red River State 3 Portland Tech 20 Idaho A&M 14 Spokane State 37 Custer College 21 Northern California 34 Wisconsin State 9 Redwood 21 Sunnyvale 7 Lane State 47 Stratton 3 Boulder State 31 College of Omaha 20 Mile High State 21 Colorado Poly 13 Kit Carson University 62 McKinney State 6 Provo Tech 35 Utah A&M 19 Cache Valley 27 Tempe College 24 Wyoming A&I 30 Snake River State 9 LOBOS OVERCOME SLOW START TO BEAT WINLESS COMETS It was a first quarter Jackie Wendt would love to forget but in the end Los Angeles Lobos quarterback more than redeemed himself as he led the Lobos to a 26-14 victory over the winless Chicago Comets before nearly 25,000 fans at Knights Stadium. The start was stuff of nightmares for the Lobos back, who threw three first quarter interceptions and fumbled away the ball on a fourth possession as the Comets built an early 14-0 lead on a pair of Mike Blake touchdown runs. The troubles began on the second play from scrimmage when Wendt was picked off by Ron Foster a play after he started the game with a thrilling scramble that saw him romp for 56 yards. After Comets scored quickly Wendt was intercepted on the Lobos next possession. Chicago failed to capitalize that time -their drive stalled out on a 4th and goal but just 3 plays later Wendt was again intercepted although the Lobos defense held once more. To change things up, instead of throwing an interception on the next series Wendt instead fumbled the ball setting up the Comets second score. The second quarter gave the Lobos a chance to reset and after getting a field goal early in the frame they took advantage of a Chicago turnover giving them great field position, which led to an 8 yard scoring run for Wendt to cut the Chicago lead to 14-10. Before the break Wendt steered the Lobos 81 yards with a scoring drive that culminated in an 8 yard pass to Don Zuccaro to give the Lobos a 17-14 lead. It was extended to 19-14 just before the half when the Lobos added a safety. Wendt added one more touchdown pass in a relatively quiet second half to complete the scoring and with 158 yards rushing and 139 yards passing his awful start could easily be forgiven. The victory evens Los Angeles record at 3-3 while the hapless Comets fall to 0-7 on the season. In CFC action yesterday the San Francisco Wings thumped the New Orleans Crescents 49-0 in a game that saw Wings quarterback Sam Metcalf throw for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Crescents played without rookie quarterbak Vince Gallegos for the second consecutive game. Kansas City remains perfect as the Cowboys improved to 6-0 with a 21-7 victory at home over the Brooklyn Football Kings. Erie Orr had 8 catches for 99 yards while Mason Matthews ran for 104 yards to lead the Cowboys attack. Another wild finish in Buffalo as the Bulls and visiting New York Gothams combined for 23 fourth quarter points. New York pulled out the 27-23 victory thanks to a 23-yard scoring pass from Ken Hale to Steve Robinson in the final minute.   ABF INSISTS ON PETRIE GRANTING DESMARAIS A REMATCH October 10, 1948 NEW YORK - The American Boxing Federation, the watchful sentinel of pugilistic honor, did not proclaim foul play in the October 1 World Middleweight Title bout that saw Montreal's own Adrian Petrie triumph over Edouard Desmarais. Nevertheless, they've thrown down the gauntlet, decreeing that Desmarais be granted the choice to enter the ring as Petrie's first challenger in the defense of his newfound championship. The ABF, with its gaze fixed firmly on fairness, also asserted its prerogative in selecting the venue for this potential rematch, strongly suggesting New York's Bigsby Garden. In a succinct announcement that fielded no follow-up queries, the ABF head declared that although there was no explicit conspiracy to manipulate the outcome in favor of Petrie, the two contest judges now face disciplinary repercussions. These judges will need to meet stringent standards and prove their mettle before the ABF considers entrusting them with overseeing another ABF-sanctioned bout. The ABF traditionally oversees title clashes, while routine bouts often fall under the purview of local boxing commissions. Consequently, these judges might still officiate in non-title contests within their jurisdictions. The decision was met with open arms by Petrie's camp, who hailed the fight's excitement as ample grounds for an immediate rematch. They eagerly anticipate witnessing their pugilist take on Desmarais once more. However, Desmarais' manager did not conceal his discontent with the verdict. He expressed that his fighter would weigh his options carefully, emphasizing that Desmarais has a standing contract to confront Frank Melanson and eagerly awaits a third confrontation with the former Pittsburgh champ. The boxing world holds its breath, as the ring beckons with the promise of retribution and honor. Bigsby Garden will likely see a highly anticipated middleweight struggle on January 8. The question is who will it involve from Petrie, Desmarais and Melanson? UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/10/1948
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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