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07-10-2024, 05:08 PM
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#981 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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September 10, 1951
 SEPTEMBER 10, 1951  SAWYER RIDES INTO SUNSET WITH 8TH ROUND KNOCKOUT OF BRADLEY Gothams Stadium, New York, N.Y. – Hector Sawyer (65-3-1, 58 KO) vs. Max Bradley (22-1-1, 6 KO) – Boxers come and go, rarely on their own terms. Boxers also rarely stay in the public consciousness for several years. It is the occupational hazard of the physical toll of the sport along with the mandate to prove the boxer’s supremacy in every title defense. On both scores, Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer is that rare boxer who has stayed in our public consciousness for over a decade and tonight’s fight against the up-and-coming Max Bradley, offered Sawyer that chance to leave the stage on a pedestal rather than a stretcher. Over the years, your intrepid reporter has peeled back the onion on Sawyer’s greatness. He has passed each test with flying colors. Sawyer has seldom been knocked down and 58 of his 65 wins did not go the distance, so he usually completed his business before the final bell. If an opponent made it through fifteen rounds, that was a victory of sorts. The last to do so was over two years ago during Sawyer’s European sojourn against the Frenchman, Alain Noël. For the last several months, it has been widely reported by pundits and admitted by manager Chester Conley that Sawyer has been contemplating retirement. The only question was whether Sawyer would retire a champion or if he will stay too long and falter at the finish line. It was a standing room only crowd at Gothams Stadium, with an estimated 55,000 cramming into the venue and prices for tickets selling for double their face value. Over time, undoubtedly twice that number will say they were in the house for Sawyer’s final bout. Max Bradley served as Sawyer’s final opponent. Bradley is 24 years old and on his way up the rankings. However, this would serve as Bradley’s first fight that was scheduled beyond ten rounds, as this was his first title shot. Bradley is used to going the distance, so either he will have to show stamina he has never had to show before or find a way to contain Sawyer. The trivia answer for the referee in Sawyer’s final bout is Jerry Rowe, who was a veteran of many title fights. But, although this was Rowe’s sixth title fight, it was his first heavyweight assignment. The first round began, and Sawyer was content to measure up his opponent while seemingly embracing the moment. Bradley was looking to make his mark early, firing a jab and deftly executing a combination. Sawyer snapped to attention quickly after feeling the sting of the opening salvo and let a couple of hooks loose of his own. Sawyer targeted Bradley’s midsection, which forced Bradley to pause and stagger backwards. It was a very even round, as everyone in attendance was waiting to see Sawyer dominate. But, the second round was all Bradley, though the challenger did not throw many power punches. Bradley was connecting on punches that threw off Sawyer’s timing and forced him to be defensive. Through three rounds, Sawyer still did not show his usual championship pedigree, as Bradley narrowly outpointed the champion in each round. Both combatants tried to make a move late in the fourth round. Sawyer threw a combination and Bradley’s knees started to wobble, but he recovered to fire a one-two with a jab and a hook to visibly hurt the champion. In the corner between the fourth and fifth rounds, Sawyer stiffened his back and seemed to meditate. Maybe it was the deep thought and the understanding that this fight was the last impression he would make on the boxing world, he provided a clinic on boxing. The ring awareness, working the head and the body in harmony, and the jabs to set up the bigger punches. Sawyer was doing it all. The sixth round contained more of the same in the back half of the round, as Sawyer was likely a little winded from his three minutes of excellence in the prior round. Bradley fought back with arguably his best round in the seventh. He connected on many punches, but he did not have the steam behind them as Sawyer did. It was another turning point after the seventh round. Sawyer was ready to finish his opponent and ride off into the sunset. Sawyer would normally not have this kind of trouble with this type of opponent. People were starting to worry if Sawyer was ripe for the picking. But, Sawyer felt his best was still in him. Sawyer, the all-time greatest Heavyweight Champion in boxing history, absolutely dominated his final round in his final bout. From pillar to post, Sawyer taught Bradley a thing or two. Sawyer did not find the defense he was accustomed to facing from Bradley, by coming right at his corner when the round started and cutting off potential escape routes. After a combination left Bradley staggered, it was a hook midway through the round that sent Bradley down for the only knockdown by either fighter on this night. Bradley barely got up at the count of eight and referee Rowe looked in his eyes, asking if he could continue before being satisfied with the answer and allowing the fight to go on. From there, it was all Sawyer. Sawyer was a man on a mission, sensing this could be it, sensing this could be the last round he will ever fight. A right by Sawyer, then a combo, followed by a fusillade of punches in such a flurry, the crowd’s cheering reached a fever pitch. Bradley was trying to hang on, waiting and pleading for the bell to signal the end of the round, but with 14 seconds left in the eighth round, referee Rowe called it off. He waved his arms vigorously and Bradley crumpled to the ground while Sawyer drank in one last euphoric sip from his championship cup. Sawyer got to out a winner. Bradley held his own during most of this fight, which speaks to his bright future. The challenger was ahead on the cards at the start of the eighth round. During the fight, he was able to conserve his punches, connecting at a very impressive 56% of his attempts compared to 41% for Sawyer. While they connected with roughly the same amount of punches, Sawyer expended more energy swinging and missing. Sawyer cornered the market on big punches, outscoring Bradley on Big Boppers, 10-1, but Bradley was able to play to the steady drumbeat of his plentiful jabs and hooks. Through seven rounds, Sawyer only bested the challenger in the fifth and sixth rounds. Bradley was effective at stifling Sawyer’s offensive with a “stick-and-move” strategy of quick jabs and quicker feet. But Sawyer can still dominate for a round or two at a time and that was more than enough on this night. Maybe Bradley (22-2-1) will get another shot, maybe he will even be the favorite. That is conversation for another day. Hector Sawyer will retire with an amazing record of 66-3-1 and 59 knockouts. No one was ever better than The Cajun Crusher. Few athletes have ever been as dominant for as long as Sawyer has, and it will likely be a long time before anyone ever will. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:44 hook/side) Round 2: None Round 3: None Round 4: Sawyer, 2-1 (S: 0:22 hook/head, 2:09 combo/face; B: 2:49 hook/midsection) Round 5: Sawyer, 1-0 (1:21 uppercut) Round 6: Sawyer, 2-0 (1:41 right, 2:16 cross) Round 7: None Round 8: Sawyer, 4-0 (0:13 combo, 1:49 hook/knockdown #1, 2:15 right, 2:28 combo) TOTAL: Sawyer 10, Bradley 1  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
CHIEFS IMPACTING FED FLAG RACE The Chicago Chiefs are certainly taking the role of spoiler very seriously. A rough start to the season when Chicago lost 8 of its 11 April games plus a dreadful 4-16 run in late June-early July doomed the Chiefs flag hopes but they are certainly out to make life miserable for each of the three remaining pennant contenders. Chicago has won each of its last 10 games, and all of them against Detroit, New York and St Louis, to give fans in the Windy City plenty of hope for the 1952 campaign. Rookie outfielder Rod Shearer has been leading the charge, winning back to back Federal Association player of the week awards and just making life miserable for the Dynamos, Gothams and Pioneers. First place Detroit stumbled badly last week, being swept in a 3-game set against the Chiefs before losing a quick one-game appearance by the Gothams in the Motor City and then falling twice in 3 outings on the road against St Louis. Fortunately for the leaders, the two clubs chasing Detroit also had plenty of issues last week - with the aforementioned Chiefs causing much of the grief. The Gothams had a great start to the week in taking both ends of a twin bill against the Pioneers before beating Detroit 5-4 in 11 innings on Wednesday, but they then proceeded to be swept by the Chiefs, falling 3 times at Whitney Park over the weekend. The result is New York now sits three and a half games back of the Dynamos, with St Louis also 3.5 off the pace. The Pioneers started the week with five straight losses, including 2 to Chicago before rebounding with two wins over the Dynamos to finish the week. The Continental Association margin is three games with the Philadelphia Sailors still holding off Cleveland despite falling 6-2 to the Foresters in their very brief single game series meeting in Philadelphia. A big weekend with four straight wins over last place Toronto, during which the Sailors outscored the Wolves 35-6, did its part to help keep the Sailors lead intact.     In fact, he was part of a four year stretch of sub 6'0" hurlers to win in the Fed, though Jim Lonardo (5'11") did all the heavy lifting as Beach prevented his threepeat before Lonardo won again in '33. Lonardo, Beach, and Red Ross (5'10") are the only pitchers shorter then six feet to win an Allen in the Fed. The Conti, however, is a different story, as 5'10" hurlers Adrian Czerwinski (1949, 1950) and the Cougars own Pete Papenfus (1941, 1946) have both earned the award. Between Pap's first and Czerwinski's second, Butch Smith (1944), also 5'10", took home the award. It's more common place in the Conti, as three of the first four winners (Dick Richards, 1926, 5'10"; Johnny Davis, 1928, 5'9"), and Charlie Stedman (1929, 5'7") are below the six foot mark, as well as the only player to win three straight, Tom Barrell (1934-1936, 5'11"). Even last year's runner up, Ron Berry (5'7"), fails to stand six foot tall, and would have tied Stedman for the shortest winner. The only two active pitchers shorter than Berry and Stedman, Gordie Irwin and Dan Atwater, both who are 5'6", don't seem likely to be Allen Winners any time soon, but it seems like you have to be tall to win in the Fed, where the short kings have the advantage in the Conti.  While not quite as hot as the crosstown Chiefs, winners of ten straight against the top three teams in the Fed, but even after trading away a number of productive veterans, the Cougars are scoring more runs while continuing to allow the fewest. The Cougars 3.36 rotation ERA is the best in either association, and with just 8 hit by pitches they're the only team in single digits. The bullpen numbers have been inflated by an awful start of the season, but excluding a three run outing where David Molina was able to get just one out, he has scoreless outings in 11 of his last 12 appearances, and the only run allowed came in three solid innings of relief. The Cougars have started to tap into their youth, starting with the promotions of Elmer Grace (.354, 5, 32) and Frank Reece (.257, 2, 12) before two highly anticipated debuts this past week. The first was of 8th ranked prospect Jerry Smith, who got a pinch hit opportunity in a 5-1 loss to the Kings. His only hit of the week came in his first career start, where he manned center and batted leadoff. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and steal, but went hitless in two starts against the Saints. 1-for-10 in his first week, he did draw four walks, and didn't make an error on 8 attempts in center and 2 in right. The other debut was of the top ranked pitching prospect Bob Allen, who struck out 9 in an 8-3 loss to the Stars. They did get to him for 11 hits 5 runs, and 2 walks in 8.2 innings pitched, but it has to be considered a successful debut for the 23-year-old righty. Initially planned to work in a six man rotation, Allen will now get to pitch every fifth day, as the Cougars are forced to place Pete Papenfus on the IL for the first time since his return from the Navy. He wasn't his usual dominant self, just 9-11 with a 3.99 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, and 125 strikeouts in 29 starts. There were some rumblings that 146th ranked prospect Dixie Gaines would get the call from Milwaukee to keep the Cougars on a six-man rotation, but with two off days in the coming week, whoever checked in at the sixth spot wouldn't get a change to throw. 
 COLLEGE GRID EASES INTO SEASON The college football season, which in bygone days opened during the World Championship Series, eases out of the garage and into the slow lane this weekend with a limited slate but it does include a couple of the nation's top teams scheduled to see action. The season begins Friday with Utah A&M hosting Snake River State while Bulein entertains Charleston College of Illinois. Most of the big schools will not see action until the following weekend but the biggest matchup on the opening weekend takes place in Tallahassee as Western Florida welcomes Wyoming A&I. The Wolves finished near the bottom of the pack in the Deep South Conference a year ago with a 2-4 section record and 5-4-1 overall while the Prospectors won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Association title with a perfect 5-0 record (8-2 overall) before falling to Alabama Baptist in the Oilman Classic. The defending national champion Central Kentucky Tigers, led by All-American quarterback Pete Capizzi who is back for his senior year, also get an early start on things but it is doubtful Capizzi and the other starters play much more than the opening half as the Tigers opponent is small school Cookeville State.  Here are the weekend slate of games FRIDAY SEPTMEBER 14 Snake River State at Utah A&M Charleston (IL) at Bulein SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15 Alexandria at Queen City Mountainview State at Mile High State Abilene Methodist at Lambert College Wyoming A&I ay Western Florida Cookeville State ay Central Kentucky Flagstaff State at Harvey College Salisbury Christian at Charleston Tech San Antonio State at Canyon A&M Western Montana at Provo Tech Chesapeake State vs Hamman (neutral site)   TRAINING CAMPS SET TO OPEN FOR NAHC TEAMS By the end of the week each of the six NAHC clubs will have welcomed their players to training camp in preparation for another hockey season. The Montreal Valiants were the class of the loop a year ago as the Vals won their second straight Challenge Cup by nipping the Boston Bees in a final series that was pushed to its full seven game limit. There are very few major changes this season and expect for the occasional doting of rookies around the league, most clubs will begin the new season with a roster very similar to that which they closed out the 1950-51 campaign. The one exception is perhaps the Toronto Dukes, who finished in 5th place last season and missed the playoffs for just the second time in well over a decade. It should be noted that the last time Toronto failed to qualify for post-season play they followed that up with back to back Challenge Cup winning seasons. If that is to happen this time for the Dukes, it will be without the club's long-time leader as Bobbie Sauer announced his retirement after 15 seasons and 669 points in 681 career games. Sauer was a mere shadow of his former self last season, hobbled by injuries that limited the long-time Toronto captain to a mere 24 games in his final season but his leadership will be hard to replace on a team that had its troubles both on the ice and in the dressing room last season. Quinton Pollack, who also happens to be the son-in-law of Dukes coach Jack Barrell, will add the letter "C" to his jersey this season and will once again shoulder much of the load in the offensive end for the Dukes but they do not appear to have found a solution for the issue that plagued them last season, where will the secondary scoring come in Sauer's absence? Toronto is not the only team with question marks. The Chicago Packers, a playoff outfit for six straight seasons under the guidance of Tommy Burns, imploded a year ago and finished with their lowest point total in a decade - a stat made worse by the fact that for the majority of the decade the NAHC employed a 48 game scheduled compared to the 70 contests on the docket each of the past two seasons. As he has been for much of the decade, Burns is still considered the top player in the league by the OSA but the supporting cast, most notably through the retirement of his brother Wes Burns and the drop-off in production exhibited by his former long-time wingman Marty Mahoney, has not been up to snuff. Having Mahoney, who scored a respectable 38 points in 62 games last season but a far drop off from the 41 he tallied in 48 games the year before, return to form that caused the duo of he and Tommy Burns to be among the most feared in the league seems to be essential for the Packers to rebound. The New York Shamrocks also have questions, with the most notable one being can they take the next step? The Shamrocks led the NAHC regular season standings each of the past two years but stumbled in the playoffs both times including a surprising loss to fourth place Boston in the semi-finals last April. New York has not won a Challenge Cup since the 1931-32 season and fans are clamoring for playoff results. The other question of note in Manhattan is can 33-year-old Orval Cabbell continue the stellar play he has displayed each of the past two seasons. The veteran center scored 80 points a year ago, tops in the loop, and won his second straight McDaniels Trophy as the NAHC's most valuable player. Despite those two recent McDaniels wins, the OSA feels Cabbell may have taken a small step back and does not even count him as the most talented player on the Shamrocks. That distinction instead goes to Simon Savard, Cabbell's 25-year-old right winger who accumulated 56 points last season. As teams prepare for camp and the preseason games which begin on September 27 here is who OSA sees as the top ten players in the league for the upcoming campaign.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/09/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. Last edited by Tiger Fan; 07-10-2024 at 06:07 PM. |
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07-11-2024, 11:51 AM
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#982 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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September 17, 1951
SEPTEMBER 17, 1951 SAILORS AND DYNAMOS HANGING ON TO LEADS The Philadelphia Sailors and Detroit Dynamos inched closer to staging a rematch of the 1929 World Championship Series but both still have plenty of work ahead if they wish to each claim a pennant. The Sailors, who fell to Detroit in seven games in their 1929 meeting but rebounded to win the WCS over the New York Gothams the following season, split their six games last week and continue to hold a three game lead on the Cleveland Foresters atop the Continental Association. The Dynamos, who went 3-2 last week, are clinging to a two game lead over the suddenly hot again St Louis Pioneers, winners of seven of their last eight games. The Gothams, who split their six outings last week, are also still very much in the hunt for the Federal Association flag despite trailing Detroit by four games with two weeks remaining in the season. The Sailors and Foresters accomplished nothing besides looping six more games off the slate for each as both clubs went 3-3 in meetings with the Chicago Cougars and New York Stars last week. The Foresters, who won each of the previous two Continental Association pennants, will get an opportunity to gain ground on the Sailors this weekend as Cleveland will host Philadelphia Saturday and for a Sunday doubleheader. Prior to that the Foresters host Montreal for a pair of mid-week games while the Sailors will entertain Brooklyn for two before the big weekend showdown. The Dynamos, who have not won the Federal Association title since that 1929 world championship season, have a busy week ahead that includes a three game series against the third place Gothams in the Big Apple. Before they can look to New York, Detroit needs to finish its series in Philadelphia, which began with an 8-1 win yesterday, by playing the Keystones tonight before moving on to Boston for a pair of games. With just two of their final nine games at Thompson Field and five games remaining with the Gothams, Detroit might have the toughest road of the three Fed contenders. The third place Gothams are looking up at two teams but have the luxury of playing their final eight games against either Detroit or St Louis. Before they can get there, however, the Gothams have one more game in Washington -they blasted the Eagles 11-5 yesterday- before moving to Pittsburgh for two games. New York has 11 left to play but eight of them will be on the road. Six of second place St Louis' final 11 games will be at home but they spend this week travelling with stops in Washington for three games and then a 2-game weekend series against a Chicago Chiefs club that seems intent on upsetting the Fed contenders. The Chiefs won 10 in a row against the Big Three of the Fed to start the month but may have fallen back to earth after a rough week that saw they lose five straight. The Pioneers, who are two games back of Detroit, but only one behind in the loss column, hope they catch the Chiefs of this past week and not the powerhouse version of the Chicago club that began the month.   
TIGERS WIN IN ROUT IN AIAA GRID OPENER Central Kentucky employed the deadly passing of Pete Capizzi and the down-the-middle bursts of fullback Ike Greathouse to grind out a 58-0 whitewashing of Cookeville State in the season opener at Lexington on Saturday. Warming up for bigger things to come- starting with a trip to Texas to face Travis College next week- the defending National Champions used the season opener mainly to give its sophomore and freshmen experience. Capizzi played only the first 20 minutes but completed 11 of 16 pass attempts for 175 yards and two touchdowns. A slippery football and blinding rain for much of the game put offense at a premium in Tallahassee where Western Florida pulled out a surprising 3-3 tie against the Wyoming A&I Prospectors. In other action of note Alexandria dumped Queen City 44-7 while Chesapeake State was held to a 24-24 tie by Hamman. WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Central Kentucky 58 Cookeville State 0 Western Florida 3 Wyoming A&I 3 Utah A&M 27 Snake River State 3 Bulein 55 Charleston (IL) 14 Valley State 49 El Paso Methodist 28 Alexandria 44 Queen City 7 Mile High State 73 Mountainview State 0 Lambert College 26 Abilene Methodist 3 Harvey College 21 Flagstaff State 14 Charleston Tech 40 Salisbury Christian 14 Canyon A&M 55 St. Xavier (TX) 27 Provo Tech 27 Western Montana 10 Chesapeake State 24 Hamman 24  COWBOYS PREPARE FOR PRO GRID TITLE DEFENSE The start of the American Football Association's regular season is less than two weeks away as the Kansas City Cowboys look to continue their winning ways. After four seasons of dominating the Continental Football Conference, compiling a record of 45-16-1 and winning three league tiles in that loop the Cowboys, and two other CFC survivors joined the AFA for the 1950 season. There was much concern as to how well the newcomers would fare, could they compete with the established loop that has been around for three decades. That is no longer a question mark, at least not in Kansas City's case after the Cowboys won the league championship game last December with a 30-20 triumph over the Pittsburgh Paladins. The Cowboys had some early struggles, losing two of their first three games, before Coach Pete Walsh and his crew found their footing and went on to win 8 of their final 9 regular season games before outscoring the Paladins in the title tilt. The other two teams that moved leagues had much less success. The San Francisco Wings went just 3-8-1 while the New Orleans Crescents failed to win a game, tying the Wings in their season opener on the way to an 0-11-1 season. The Wings are back but the season was so bad for New Orleans that the Crescents have folded and the league is down to twelve teams. The divisions have been revamped to a much more travel friendly East and West Division format. Gone is the one year old Continental and American divisions as the Cowboys and St Louis will swap divisions with Pittsburgh and Washington. The Cowboys also are set to open a brand new stadium that brings them on par with the rest of the league and allows the Cowboys to escape tiny Packer Park, the minor league baseball stadium that holds less than 15,000 and they called home since the club was born along with the rest of the CFC in 1946.  BOSTON'S DEFENSE MAKES BEES MOST TALENTED NAHC CLUB If talent is the only factor than the Boston Bees should be the ones hoisting the Challenge Cup next spring, at least according to the annual preseason player rankings released by OSA each year. The league scouting service, which handles similar duties with professional baseball and basketball, believes Boston has the deepest collection of defense talent in the league and are not far off with their offense and goaltending either. The annual player rankings suggest there are still just three players worthy of being considered five-star elite talent. They are all centers and are the same three players who held that standard a year ago in Boston's Wilbur Chandler, Tommy Burns of the Chicago Packers and Quinton Pollack of the Toronto Dukes. Interesting to note is the fact that while each of the three have won at least one McDaniels Trophy as league most valuable player, the winner each of the past two season has been New York Shamrocks center Orval Cabbell. Cabbell is one of nine players classified as 3.5 star talent and, with absence of any judged to be 4 or 4.5 (near superstars) they makeup the second tier of elite talent. Those 3.5 star players are spread over five teams with only Toronto not laying claim to any -although the Dukes do have Pollack and five players rated at 3 stars. Boston, Montreal, New York and Detroit each have two with the Motors in a rather interesting position of having both of their top players being goaltenders, while Chicago has the ninth member of the 3.5 star club in rough and tumble rearguard Bert McColley. Here is a chart of all players rated at least 2.5 stars by the scouting service and the overall rankings for each team.  NAHC PRESEASON SCHEDULE THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27 Montreal at Chicago Detroit at Boston Toronto at New York FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 New York at Montreal Boston at Toronto Chicago at Detroit SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Toronto at Detroit New York at Chicago Montreal at Boston FORMER SHAMROCKS SIGN WITH COAST LOOP Laurel Albers, who spent a decade in the NAHC with Toronto and New York, has signed with the Tacoma Lions of the Great Western Hockey League. The 32-year-old center played just 5 games for the Shamrocks last season while spending the bulk of the year with their HAA affiliate, the Philadelphia Rascals, but prior to that was an assistant captain for the Shamrocks. New York released him over the summer. The Burnaby, BC native broke in with the Toronto Dukes as a 21-year-old in 1940-41, notching 15 goals and 48 points in 48 games, numbers good enough to help Albers win the McLeod Trophy as the NAHC's top rookie. He would spend the next six and a half seasons in Toronto, being an integral piece of two Dukes Cup winners. Midway through the 1946-47 season with the Dukes struggling on the ice and plenty of tension in the dressing room, Albers was dealt to the Shamrocks in exchange for Philippe Dubois, who remains with Toronto to this day. Albers would be named an assistant captain by the Shamrocks in the fall of 1947 and scored 20 goals and 59 points in 60 games that season. He dipped to 25 points the following year and then has spent most of his time since in the minors with the exception of the 5 game stint in New York a year ago. In all, Albers has played 418 NAHC regular season games, notching 106 goals and 218 assists. Albers is not the only former Shamrock to sign with the western loop. Defenseman Anthony Lehman, 28, recently agreed to a two year deal with the San Francisco Wings. Another west coast native, the Kamloops born rearguard spent five seasons patrolling the Shamrocks blueline between 1944 and 1949, appearing in 162 games and scoring 15 goals while accumulating 42 points.   SAWYER FINAL FIGHT DREW GATE OF $80,000 JUST IN THEATERS ALONE There were far more than the more than 55,000 on hand at Gothams Stadium just over a week ago that witnessed Hector Sawyer's final heavyweight fight. The Cajun Crusher, who has held the title since 1940 and won by technical knockout in the 8th round over Max Bradley, was also a big draw in movie theaters. There was no home television broadcasts of the bout but Fourteen theaters in 11 cities showed the fight on their screens and were charging figures running from $2 to $2.60. The total crowd, including standing room, approached 40,000 spectators. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/16/1951
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-12-2024, 12:46 PM
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#983 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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September 24, 1951
SEPTEMBER 24, 1951 GOTHAMS TAKE OVER FED LEAD Three Fed Contenders Separated by Half Game Entering Final Week What a difference a week makes! Major changes in the Federal Association in a race that is far from decided but certainly seems to favour the surging New York Gothams down the stretch. The Gothams are a percentage point ahead of Detroit for top spot but after sweeping the Dynamos in a 3-game series at Gothams Stadium over the weekend it probably feels to Dynamos manager Dick York that the gap is one-hundred times that. "We are not out of it yet," declared York after the Dynamos dropped their fourth game in a row although his body language appeared far less confident. York's Detroit clubs have been here before, although not for quite some time. Here being on the verge of ending a 22-year drought without a pennant only to see September struggles cause the club to come up just short. The Dynamos are just 7-13 on the month and somehow managed to go 1-5 last week despite outscoring their opponents 25-22. The Gothams are not tearing up the Federal Association this month either, they are just 11-9, but St Louis -the third member of this race that no one seems to want to win- are also below .500 for the month with a 9-11 record after the Pioneers stubbed their toe with a 2-3 week against Washington and Chicago. The Pioneers are half a game back heading into a 3-game series with the Gothams but, just like Detroit, they seem like a battered and beaten group. Battered at least after league batting average leader Ray Bates (.361,7,71) and shortstop Al Arnold both went down with injuries that will end the season for each of them a week early. Compounding matters is the fact that Arnold was brought up to replace Win Hamby, the regular shortstop, who is also down for the year. So New York, which won the Federal flag a year ago, now controls its own destiny as the Gothams look to repeat. They will have to win it on the road and by beating their two competitors for the title as the Gothams play three in St Louis beginning tomorrow before finishing with weekend games against the Dynamos in the Motor City.  EXCIING FINISH AHEAD FOR CONTINENTAL AS WELL Since the Fed race will (rightfully) get the most attention, I'll talk about the battle for the Conti pennant. The Cleveland Foresters missed a golden opportunity when they dropped the first game of Sunday's home doubleheader with the Sailors 6-5. They did take two of three, but losing that game left them two back instead of tied. The Foresters won game one of the set as Adrian Czerwinski outdueled the red-hot John Thomas Johnson in a 2-0 Cleveland win and they won the second half of the doubleheader by plastering the Sailors 8-0. The clubs will play a season-ending three game in Philadelphia next weekend. Both teams have four games left with Cleveland facing Toronto at home and the Sailors hosting the Cannons, both those games are Tuesday before a pair of off-days for both clubs. Czerwinski is expected to pitch Friday, potentially against Johnson again.     BOBBY IS BACK Barrell Had Impact on Fed Flag Race Bobby Barrell hit home run #634 and it was a game-winner in the 11th on Monday at home to defeat the Dynamos, 4-3. Since Barrell's return, he has captured the league record for games played (now at 3,031, by 6 over Ed Ziehl) and total bases (now at 6,559, by 19 over Max Morris). Barrell has five homers in 146 at-bats, which is a 20-homer rate over a full season. The Keystones are up to 169 homers as a team, which leads the FABL. They have six players in double figures in home runs (Hank Koblenz 30, Don Berry 26, Rudy Minton 25, Billy Woytek 18, Roger Cleaves 17, Davey Robicheaux 14) and are one Bill Heim home run short of a seventh. The Keystones have found a way to get back to .500 at 75-75 with four games to play. This, after an 18-game losing streak in May that essentially took Philadelphia out of contention for the summer. Philadelphia is 30-19 since the trading deadline.  WILL DYNAMOS DEALINGS BE REMEMBERED AS ANOTHER FAILURE Dynamos management received plenty of praise for its work to add all-stars Ralph Johnson, Mack Sutton, Dan Smith, Bob Arman and Joe Hancock at the deadline. Sure the cost was huge in terms of young talent but the thought was the move may well have secured a pennant and ended a streak without a flag that has reached 22 years, longest in the Federal Association. The sobering reality of yet another September collapse, something the club has seen far too often in its other brief jaunts into a pennant race, has fans wondering if the Detroit ballclub mortgaged away its future and repeated past mistakes. A decade from now will names like McClellan, Schaub, Capriotti, Morrison and Washington bring up the same heartbreaking memories that the dealings of Casstevens, Koblenz, Red Johnson and Pestilli did for the past decade? It is easy to think that when your pennant dreams are being crushed under the weight of a 7-13 September, and pulverized further by a week in which the Dynamos newfound offense outscored its opponents 25-23 yet somehow managed to go 1-5 and give away their seemingly secure hold on the flag. The truth is this team, and the moves made in July, should not be judged by one September. This club was built to contend for at least the next five years and quite likely longer. And while the short-term picture looks bleak at the moment, the current season is not lost yet. Depending on how the week works out, a tantalizingly long one for the Dynamos who play just once -a single game in Chicago- between now and the weekend while New York and St Louis duke it out in Missouri- the Dynamos season may well still live on if they can beat the Gothams twice at home over the weekend. Worse case scenario St Louis sweeps their series and the Dynamos fall to Chicago Tuesday. St Louis also plays Chicago Friday so assuming the Pioneers sweep New York and beat Chicago they enter Saturday 2 games ahead of Detroit and need to just win either Saturday or Sunday and nothing the Dynamos do will impact the race. But if New York sweeps the Pioneers the Dynamos could force a playoff game Monday if they can take both from the Gothams. Best case is either the Gothams or St Louis win two of three and the Pioneers lose in Chicago on Friday. A Detroit win over the Chiefs Tuesday would help a lot as well and the Dynamos could still win the pennant without the need for a playoff game. So while the past week's heartbreaking losses may make it feel like all is lost, that is simply not the case. The Dynamos control their own destiny still. All it takes is three more wins and Detroit should be celebrating. The Dynamos win three and the only thing that can keep them out of the WCS is if the Pioneers go 6-0 next week. 3 wins and the Dynamos finish at 90-64. That means the best the Gothams could finish is 89-65, and the Pioneers need to go 6-0 to end at 91-63 and nose out Detroit. Anything less than that and Detroit is guaranteed to at least play a tiebreaker on Monday if not next Wednesday against the Sailors or Foresters. Three more wins. And we never have to listen to that awful "1929" chant that rained down on the Detroit dugout in New York over the weekend ever again.  Yet here we are five games remaining, all on the road, against your closest competition. Head to head and then again. I imagine the Gothams coaching staff is seriously discussing getting two starts out of ace Ed Bowman, however, he did just pitch Sunday and would need to make a start on 2 days rest. Something he has not done in the regular season. Hopefully with two off days this week, how rare has that been, the regulars will be more refreshed and the bats will wake up. Certainly with their experience in important games, the hitters will be awake to support whoever takes the mound. So, it's 3 in St. Louis and 2 in Detroit. Let the best, or luckiest, team win. Notes - The Gothams are trying for their fist back to back pennants since 1934-35. If they finish 2nd it would be their 3rd time in 4 years. Those are their only 2nd place finishes in the modern era. What's curious about the Gothams late run is that basically non of the regulars who played all season are hitting. Yes, Messer has found his power stroke and is one behind the ice cold Red Johnson in homers. But Cleaves, LaBonte, Brewer, Jefferies, Robinson, Moody, none are what you'd call hot at the moment. The offense is basically being carried by rookies Estill, Lewis and even Bundy in his few at bats. It would be nice to have a few guys heat up for this final push. On the farm Class A Albany captured the Middle Atlantic League crown, while Reading finished 2nd in he AA Eastern Association. The best news of the week might have been Bob Allen's first career win, but his shutout was the least impressive of the three thrown by Cougar pitchers. In his third career start, and already second against the New York Stars, Allen held the guests to 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 2 as a pair of unearned runs helped this rookie beat stars rookie Hub Armstrong (1-1, 1.36, 10), who has allowed just 5 earned runs in 33 innings pitched. The better shutouts were courtesy of the Jones Brothers, who did their impressions of a 5-hit shutout. Donnie walked 4 and struck out 8, increasing his FABL high total to 139 in 246.2 innings pitched. Johnnie, however, was the more dominant one, as the guy who used to have more walks then strikeouts didn't allow a single free pass, evening his season totals at 113 with 6 strikeouts in an 11-0 blowout victory. That victory contained the previously mentioned first career homer, as team top prospect Jerry Smith led off the first with a solo home run. He finished the game 3-for-4, a triple away from the cycle, with two runs scored and driven in. After a slow debut week, he's now recorded hits in each of his last five games, batting .351/.467/.486 (153 OPS+) with three extra base hits, eight walks, and a steal in 45 trips to the plate. He's given Cougars fans a nice preview of what's to come, as the club will go into 1952 looking to snap their two-decade long championship drought.  TALES FROM THE LAIR Mail & Empire Back in Circulation -Wolves fans have been without Brett's columns for the past two weeks due to the 3 alarm fire in the paper's press room which caused much damage, stopping newspaper publication for the past two weeks. Enough repairs have been done in the press room to allow a scaled back version of the Mail & Empire to hit the streets. Brett will limit his coverage to the Wolves until full publication of the newspaper begins again, hopefully next week. The Wolves have two winning weeks going 7-5 since the conflagration in the press room on September 10th apparently caused by an improperly extinguished cigar butt. The Wolves now sit at 47-103 which will mark the first time in team's 70 year history going back to Border Association days in 1882 that the team has had triple digit losses in back to back season. All fans can hope is that the team has reached a nadir and can start the long climb back to respectability in 1952. The 1951 team will finish without a winning record in any month the closest being a 5-5 start in April which seems like an eternity ago. The team finishes 1951 with a record of 24-53 (.311) at Dominion Stadium. The club is challenged in all three areas of the game. Offensively they are last or next to last in every category except striking out, where they are 6th in the CA, along with baserunning where the Wolves are third. Pitching has been a constant fire, almost as big as the one that shutdown the publication of the Mail & Empire. Defensively the team is by far the worst in the CA. The road to back to respectability may be a long, bumpy trek for the fans. All the above said the Wolves will play a minor role in the CA pennant race when they play in Cleveland, who trail Philadelphia by 2 games, on Tuesday. The foremost thought in fans minds is "Was yesterday's 11-3 win over the Cannons the last time Fred McCormick will don the white home Wolves uniform?" McCormick, who turns 42 next week, is slowing down with a line of .204/.318/.291 in 324 trips to the plate this season. The quiet, unassuming McCormick has made no public statement on his future plans. Will he come back to tutor Tony Ballinger in '52 as a player or continue with the Wolves in some other capacity?
TRAVIS COLLEGE DOUBLES DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS Central Kentucky may have gone all of last season without a loss but the Tigers could not survive the first full week of collegiate grid action without tasting defeat this time around. Travis College's steel-fingered defense knocked down Central Kentucky 20-10 in a game of gambles, fumbles and an outstanding finish for the hosts from San Antonio. The Bucks cashed in on a recovered fumble for their first touchdown and then scored two more majors in the final five minutes of the game including a 19-yard interception scamper by Homer Sounders, the Bucks defensive leader and co-captain despite being just a junior. After Sounders scored to put the Bucks up 13-10, Travis College sealed the upset victory with a long drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run with just over a minute remaining in the game. That was not the only upset during a busy opening week for most schools. CC Los Angeles surprised preseason top ten Darnell State 23-20 as the Coyotes hope to rebound from a disappointing 5-4 campaign a year ago. The West Coast Athletic Association was in full gear as in addition to the Coyotes win over the Legislators, Northern California, Redwood, Spokane State and Rainier College all came away with victories. Two of the winners came from section matches as the Spokane State Indians topped Coastal California 24-16 while the Redwood Mammoths thumped Portland Tech, blasting the Magpies 54-7. The other WCAA school that saw action Saturday was Lane State but the Emeralds trip to Lansing to face St. Ignatius ended in disappointment. The host Lancers displayed a powerful running game led by halfback John Edwards but it was through the air that the scoring plays came from as Edwards caught one touchdown pass and end George Becker, a two-sport star who also plays for the Lancers cage team, hauled in 3 touchdowns to lead St. Ignatius to a 28-10 victory. Speaking of multi-sport stars, in a game that Cincinnati Cannons baseball fans likely watched far more closely than they otherwise would, Cannons first overall draft pick Charlie Barrell had a big day leading Noble Jones College to a hard fought 30-24 victory over Potomac College. The game was played in blinding rain on a wet field in Augusta that one would think might have suited the visiting Pelicans just fine. Potomac College kept it close despite Barrell throwing for 138 yards and two touchdowns but in the end it was the Colonels ground game that made the difference with Marcus 'Speedy' Lee scampering 73 yards for the winning score with just over 5 minutes remaining in the contest. Humid September heat and a driving downpour was also on tap in Athens where Georgia Baptist had surprisingly little trouble trouncing Texas Gulf Coast 20-3. Turnovers made the difference as a pair of Hurricanes fumbles in the opening half each led to quick touchdowns for the Gators.  WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST St. Pancras 31 Conwell College 3 Hampden 28 Dickson 23 Brooklyn State 52 Daniel Boone College 21 Cowpens State 31 Commonwealth Catholic 20 Norman 20 George Fox 16 SOUTH Noble Jones College 30 Potomac College 24 Georgia Baptist 20 Texas Gulf Coast 3 Alabama Baptist 27 Ford College 0 Mississippi A&M 48 Knoxville 3 Carolina Poly 38 Columbia Military Academy 14 Western Florida 30 Mobile Maritime 6 Petersburg 30 Ashland State 23 Bluegrass State 31 Murfreesboro Tech 9 Alexandria 48 Spartanburg Baptist 10 Lexington State 52 Bulein 10 Huntington State 52 Baron College (PA) 0 Richmond State 19 Boston State 14 NC Lutheran 24 Central Carolina 20 Bayou State 23 Mississippi Tech 0 Northern Mississippi 13 Blue Mountain College 0 North Carolina Tech 27 Charleston Tech 0 Coastal State 35 Charleston (IL) 3 Tampa 14 Central Illinois 13 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 28 Lane State 10 Iowa A&M 49 Dearborn State 13 Wisconsin Catholic 31 South Dakota Tech 0 Ohio Poly 23 Topeka State 0 Northern Minnesota 25 Maumee State 14 Queen City 28 Eastern Kansas 27 SOUTHWEST Arkansas A&T 48 Eastern Oklahoma 16 Travis College 20 Central Kentucky 10 Lubbock State 24 Ferguson 13 College of Waco 35 Canyon A&M 3 Payne State 46 Kamehameha College 14 Nacogdoches State 61 El Paso Methodist 9 Amarillo Methodist 14 Lawrence State 10 McKinney State 29 Texas Panhandle 10 FARWEST CC Los Angeles 23 Darnell State 20 Spokane State 24 Coastal California 16 Rainier College 54 Custer College 6 Redwood 54 Portland Tech 7 Northern California 21 Sunnyvale 10 Wyoming A&I 45 Idaho A&M 7 Minns College 17 San Francisco Tech 17 Utah A&M 47 Gunnison State 14 Tempe College 21 Cache Valley 20 Boulder State 38 Colorado Poly 21 Mile High State 27 Lambert College 24 South Valley State 14 Flagstaff State 3 College of San Diego 45 Abilene Baptist 14 Provo Tech 24 Valley State 7 California Catholic 44 San Diego Navy 34 PRESEASON OPENS THIS WEEK FOR ICE LEAGUE The Montreal Valiants will begin their quest for a third consecutive Challenge Cup this Thursday as the two-time defending champs open their slate of seven tune-up games with a preseason trip to the Windy City to face the Chicago Packers. That game is one of three on the docket as the six NAHC clubs, each of whom has been conducting training camp for more than a week, will now turn their attention away from friendly fire as they take on league rivals instead of the inter-squad games that dominated the early going of camp. The Valiants and Packers are about as far apart as possible at the moment but each certainly has something to prove. For the Chicago club it is obvious- the Packers are coming off one of the their worst seasons in franchise history after accumulating just 35 points in 70 games and finishing dead last in the six team loop. The Chicago offense is still led by Tommy Burns, who not too long ago celebrated three straight McDaniels Trophy wins as league MVP, but the supporting cast of forwards is not what it once was, or at least wasn't last season when the Packers finished with the lowest goal total in the league, and lowest by a sizeable margin. Perhaps hoping that he will take it as a vote of confidence and get back on track, the Packers did sign Marty Mahoney to a three year extension worth $16,500 per year. This after Mahoney managed just 19 goals a year ago. Not a bad total by most standards but it pales in comparison to the 23 Mahoney scored in 14 less games the previous season and he is well off the form that made the 30-year-old a first team all-star in both 1946-47 and 1947-48. At his best, Mahoney is among the best offensive players in the league and a strong season from him playing alongside Burns could go a long ways towards curing the Packers offensive woes. Goaltending is also now a worry spot for the Packers as the previously dependable Norm Hanson suffered through a dreadful season while Chicago surrendered 225 goals -the highest allowed and also by a wide margin. The question for Chicago rookie coach Chad Fillman, who takes over after his long-time predecessor Ed Hempenstall took the fall for the dreadful season last year, is how much of the defensive struggles should be blamed on Hanson and how much on the Packers shoddy defensive play. The Packers have some talented rearguards such as Bert McColley, Pete Moreau and Jesse Santuro but for whatever reason last season was a nightmare. Perhaps surprisingly there are also now some question between the pipes surrounding the Valiants as well. Tom Brockers was terrific last year, was named a first team All-Star and led the Vals all the way to another title but he turns 36 in two days time and the OSA, which handles league scouting, feels Brockers has fallen off a cliff skill-wise. The scouting service fails to rank Brockers among the top ten goalies in the league and shows little confidence in backup Bruce Carter either. The Vals goalie of the future, 1949 second overall selection Nathan Bannister, seems to have loads of potential but by all indications appears still far away from being ready for the NAHC and at the moment does not even have a team to play for this year. Bannister is 21, so too old to return to junior hockey and the Valiants have not yet signed the Sudbury, ONT., native to a contract. For his part, Montreal coach Norb Hickey seems to still have plenty of confidence in Brockers and it is clear that, at least to start the season, the starting job remains with the four-time Juneau Trophy winner. It is quite likely that, should either Hanson or Brockers struggle in the preseason, both the Packers and Valiants will be watching the Detroit Motors closely. Detroit is in the unique position of having two of the three best netminders in the league, according to OSA, and has made no secret they would be willing to part with veteran Millard Touhey, who is just six months younger than Brockers by the way, should a team dangle a quality veteran goal scorer in return. The Motors will play in Boston on Thursday in their preseason opener while the final game will see the defending regular season champion New York Shamrocks host the Toronto Dukes. NAHC PRESEASON SCHEDULE THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27 Montreal at Chicago Detroit at Boston Toronto at New York FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 New York at Montreal Boston at Toronto Chicago at Detroit SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Toronto at Detroit New York at Chicago Montreal at Boston COWBOYS NEW STADIUM SET FOR AFA OPENER Here is the first artist rendering of the new stadium that will be home to the American Football Association's Kansas City Cowboys this season and FABL's Kansas City Kings of the Continental Association beginning next April. The Kings are relocating from Brooklyn after being purchased by Kansas City businessman Chester Coleman late last year. The Cowboys, who won the AFA championship last season, had been playing out of Packers Park, a small 15,000 seat stadium that was home to baseball's AAA Kansas City Packers. The Packers, an affiliate of the Washington Eagles, are expected to relocate for the 1951 season with the arrival of the big league Kings. 
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/23/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. Last edited by Tiger Fan; 07-12-2024 at 12:48 PM. |
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07-15-2024, 01:27 PM
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#984 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 1, 1951
OCTOBER 1, 1951 FED NEEDS AN EXTRA GAME AS DYNAMOS, PIONEERS TIE Sailors Claim Continental Crown For just the second time in its 60 year history the Federal Association regular season ended with two teams tied for first place. The Detroit Dynamos and St Louis Pioneers each finished with a record of 90-64 and will be forced to play a one-game tiebreaker to determine who will go one to face the Philadelphia Sailors in the World Championship Series. The only previous Federal Association tiebreaker occurred in 1927 when the Philadelphia Keystones beat the Dynamos after each finished with 85-69 records. The game will be played later today at Thompson Field in Detroit. Entering the week there was a possibility that the Federal Association could end in a three-way tie as three clubs were separated by a mere half-game in the standings but the New York Gothams, who played their final five games against the Pioneers and Dynamos, lost all five to finish four games back. The Pioneers swept New York in a 3-game series in St. Louis highlighted by a 4-3 comeback win in the opener in which the Pioneers scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally for the victory. A day later the Pioneers prevailed 5-2 despite the fact that St Louis starter Danny Hern (17-12, 4.34) left the game in the opening inning with an injury and then they completed the sweep with another improbable win, rallying from a 9-1 deficit to win 10-9. The Pioneers then proceeded to win two out of three against the Chicago Chiefs, with the lone loss coming Saturday when Chicago scored the game winner in the top of the ninth inning to down the Pioneers 3-2. The Saturday loss would prove costly for St Louis as the Detroit Dynamos, who entered the final week with just 3 games to play, were perfect and won all three in convincing fashion. The Dynamos, who have not won a Federal Association pennant since 1929, began with a 7-2 victory over the Chiefs led by a pair of homeruns from mid-season acquisition Ralph Johnson. That came on Tuesday and after three days of watching the Pioneers win to go a game ahead of them, the Dynamos pulled even by blasting the Gothams 8-1 on Saturday as the St Louis nine was dropping a game to the Chiefs. The Detroit hero on Saturday was another mid-season acquisition as former New York Star Mack Sutton had three hits including a grand slam off of losing pitcher Ed Bowman. Sunday while St Louis was ending with a victory to Dynamos matched serve with a 7-2 triumph over the Gothams in a game in which Joe Hancock improved to 10-4 since he was acquired from Toronto at the deadline. The Pioneers will have to choose between Hiram Steinberg (13-12, 3.77) and Hal Hackney (17-11, 2.78) to take the mound tonight in Detroit while the Dynamos are expected to give the ball to Jack Miller (18-16, 3.49), who is tied for the Federal Association lead in wins. Meanwhile the Philadelphia Sailors can enjoy a few days of rest before the start of the World Championship Series. The Sailors brought a halt to the Cleveland Foresters two-year hold on the Continental Association flag with their third pennant win in the past five years. Philadelphia led all of FABL with a 95-59 record and finished three games ahead of the Foresters after beating Cleveland both Saturday and Sunday. The Foresters won the opener of their three-game season ending set at Sailors Memorial Stadium, as Adam Czerwinski notched his 22nd victory of the season in a 7-4 win on Friday night that pulled Cleveland to within a game of the leaders. That would be as close as Cleveland would get as the Sailors clinched the pennant a day later, doing so in dramatic fashion when pinch-hitter Cliff Dilley delivered a 2-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to secure a pennant-clinching 6-5 victory. The Saturday win made Sunday's game meaningless, but the Sailors added an exclamation mark on their season with a 16-5 victory that was highlighted by a 10-run outburst in the fourth inning. HISTORY OF FABL PLAYOFF TIE-BREAKERS CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION 1917 Cleveland over Montreal 1937 Brooklyn beat Philadelphia Sailors 8-0 1946 NY Stars 9-5 over Chicago Cougars to snap Stars 6 game losing streak and a Cougars 5 game winning streak to end season. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION 1927 Keystones over Detroit 1951 St Louis at Detroit, tonight    COUGARS SEASON COMES TO END Despite a brutal record in one-run games (19-32, .372) and the month of May (11-17, .392) the Chicago Cougars were able to finish with 80 or more wins for the 12th time in 13 seasons. They finished the season 32-22 (.593) and featured an Allen contender in Duke Bybee (16-9, 2.82, 104) in what was more or less a lost season for the franchise. They allowed the fewest runs in the Continental (638) despite the worst bullpen ERA (5.47) of either association. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they got some awful news on the injury front, as veteran Pete Papenfus' (9-11, 3.99, 125) shoulder inflammation is not as minor as expected, with the 5 week recover time upgraded to 8 months. Expected to be more then ready for Opening Day, Papenfus may miss most of next season, keeping a spot in the rotation for breakout waiver claim George Polk (6-7, 2, 4.11, 57). Polk went 5-5 with a 2.62 ERA (158 ERA+) and 1.14 WHIP as a Cougar, and was expected to be a hot name on the trade market as the club looked to improve their lineup TALES FROM THE LAIR Wolves Mercifully Bid Farewell to 1951 Season - Dominion Stadium will not witness FABL baseball again in 1951 which may be a good thing for Wolves fans after suffering through their team's 48-106 record. Toronto has now become the only team in FABL history to lose triple digit games in successive seasons, not a record to be proud of in any sense. Brett has documented over the season the woes of the Wolves and there were many, recapping them now will just add to pain of the diehard supporters of the team. Attendance was down over a quarter million at the Stadium which affects all revenue streams for the team. The organization did show some improvement with Tuscaloosa winning a title in the Gulf States League and the Davenport Duster had a winning season at 72-68 which was their first season over .500 since 1939. Maybe the front office plan to move players up the organization is starting a quicker development of talent. Fans in Toronto can only hope this is the case as FABL team needs any injection of young players at almost every position. There are many areas that need improvement before the Wolves become a factor again in the CA. Owner Bernie Millard cannot be happy with the revenue drop, he will have to make decisions on whether Fred Barrell is right person to guide the team going forward even though he has expressed support for the staff many fans think it may be time for changes up and down the organization. Some changes will be made out of necessity if players retire. Fred McCormick may have played his last game on Sunday in Cincinnati. If it was his final time in the lineup he went out with style going 3-for-5, 3 RBI with a HR in his last time to the plate. Brett along the team will have a lot to say in the Hot Stove League over the winter on the direction of the ballclub. Right now this season has to be dissected before deciding on a future direction. Only one thing is certain, changes will be made in 1952. Brett fears that the fans, his readers may be in for a few more lean seasons as the Wolves rebuild the team. Toronto baseball fans can now listen to the playoff game between Detroit and St. Louis for the FA pennant to determine the Philadelphia Sailors opponent in the World Series. Brett will now turn his focus to the other Barrell in charge of a team. Jack's Dukes have begun the preseason in NAHC with one win, two ties in three games after their training camp in Northern Ontario. Scott Renes turned in a shutout against Boston as the highlight of the three tune-up matches. BEST RECORD SINCE ALL-STAR BREAK GIVES KEYSTONES HOPES FOR '52 The Keystones finished strong, winning the last five games of the season to finish four games above .500 at 79-75. The season was two games worse than last year, but an 8-23 start through May 17th, which was the last game of an 18-game losing streak, precluded a 71-52 finish. Carl Ames had his contract extended in September, which was not a foregone conclusion in May. Rip Curry flashed a little bit of magic in his last appearance of the season, which might be the last game of his storied FABL career. Curry pinch hit in the 8th inning on Tuesday against Pittsburgh with the game tied, 7-7, and he hit an 0-2 pitch into the right-center field stands for his first homer since returning back to the Keystones. The run stood up as the game winning RBI and it was the front-end of back-to-back homers, as the 42-year-old Curry and 21-year-old rookie Buddy Miller, as well as a three-run homer later in the inning by Roger Cleaves, gave Philadelphia the final margin in a 12-7 win. The homer for Curry was his 50th in a Keystones uniform and his 2,225th hit. Bobby Barrell finished the season on an upswing, hitting .350 in the final three weeks of the season after returning from his back injury, slamming three homers, driving in six and scoring 11 runs. For the season, Barrell hit .284/.350/.432 with 6 homers and 12 RBI (115 wRC+). On the all-time leaderboard, he is up to 635 homers, which is still a distant second to Max Morris (711), but he has records within his reach next year. Barrell has 2,305 RBI, which is 19 behind Max Morris for the league record. Barrell's 594 doubles is seven shy of Dave Trowbridge's record of 601 two-baggers set in 1943. Other records or plateaus will take more than a season to attain, such as reaching 4,000 hits (he is 226 hits short at 3,774), the league record for runs scored (Barrell is at 2,066, which is 191 behind Morris's 2,257), or challenge Morris's home run record. Barrell already has the games played (3,035), at-bat (12,166), and total bases (6,569) records in tow. (For historical perspective, here is where Barrell would place on the all-time MLB lists: RBI (1st, though Morris has more in FABL history), TB (2nd, 287 behind Aaron), AB (3rd, 178 ahead of Carl Yastrzemski, 198 behind Hank Aaron), H (3rd, 3 ahead of Aaron, 415 behind Cobb), GP (6th, 1 ahead of Ty Cobb, 45 behind Albert Pujols), HR (7th, 5 ahead of Ken Griffey Jr., 25 (Negro League stats pending) behind Willie Mays), R (8th, 45 ahead of Alex Rodriguez, 2 behind Mays), 2B (20th, 2 ahead of Todd Helton, 2 behind Luis Gonzalez).)
COWBOYS CORRAL DETROIT IN AFA OPENER The defending champion Kansas City Cowboys picked up exactly where they left off last season as the Cowboys mighty offense rode out of Detroit with a 27-3 victory over the Maroons in the opening week of American Football Association action. The Cowboys opened the scoring on their first drive of the season, an 11-play, 72-yard march that culminated in a 16-yard Pat Chappell to Bill Tammaro touchdown toss. It was the only time on the afternoon that Chappell, who had a fairly ordinary day, would complete a touchdown strike as the Detroit defense held the Cowboys signal caller to just 96 yards through the air. The Cowboys turned to their ground game instead as Pat Hill scampered for 97 yards on 21 carries while fullback Mason Matthews bulled his way for 38 more in a game in which the Cowboys seemed in complete control from the opening whistle until the closing gun. The other participant in the AFA title game a year ago, the Pittsburgh Paladins, also had a strong start on the road as Dusty Sinclair threw for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 30-6 walloping of the St Louis Ramblers. second year pro Bobby Leonard, the All-American from St Blane, had a big afternoon with 4 catches for 143 yards including a touchdown reception to led the Paladins. Elsewhere, Dick Metcalf threw for 284 yards and three touchdowns to lead the New York Football Stars to a 33-0 shutout victory over the Cleveland Finches. The Washington Wasps ran all over Philadelphia, piling up 293 yards on the ground led by 113 from Bob Morgenroth and 95 from Jim Lyster in a 27-10 victory. Del Thomas completed 11 of 25 pass attempts for 157 yards, numbers that paled in comparison to what Fred Wilhelm accumulated through the air for the Chicago Wildcats but it mattered not as Thomas and the Boston Americans upset Chicago at Whitney Park by a 19-10 count. Finally on the west coast the Los Angeles Tigers rallied from a 17-0 deficit to clip the San Francisco Wings 21-17. The game marked the San Francisco debut for Vince Gallegos, the All-American quarterback who had starred for the now-defunct New Orleans Crescents last year.  WEEKEND RESULTS New York 33 Cleveland 0 Washington 27 Philadelphia 10 Kansas City 27 Detroit 3 Los Angeles 21 San Francisco 17 Boston 19 Chicago 10 Pittsburgh 30 St Louis 6 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY OCTOBER 7 Pittsburgh at New York Boston at Philadelphia Cleveland at Washington St Louis at Detroit Kansas City at Los Angeles Chicago at San Francisco CENTURIONS BLASTED BY PENN STATE The day of reckoning came for Rome State football Saturday afternoon in the wake of the wholesale dismissals from the military academy for cribbing. For the first time in decades the Centurions lost an opening game as fast-hitting Penn Catholic dominated all aspects of the contest in a 36-17 victory. It was largely a sophomore and freshman military academy team, replacements on a team where many seniors and juniors who were expected to stand with the nation's top football teams until they were wiped out by the cheating scandal that rocked the nation. Another traditional power that, like Rome State has dominated in recent years but seems to be headed for struggles this season is St. Blane. The Fighting Saints were held to a 13-13 draw by Indiana A&M. In Michigan, St. Ignatius proved its high preseason ranking is deserving after the Lancers offense exploded for 40 points in 40-21 drubbing of Detroit City College in the Motor City. All of the top contenders in the Deep South Conference came out on the positive side of the ledger including preseason number one Cumberland as the Explorers made their debut with a 16-0 shutout of section rival Northern Mississippi. Central Kentucky had a tough time of things but pulled out a 13-10 win over Mississippi A&M thanks to a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Pete Capizzi with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Capizzi's scamper allowed the defending National Champions to avoid going 0-2 to start the season. Georgia rivals Noble Jones College and Georgia Baptist each celebrated victories. The Colonels thumped North Carolina Tech 35-10 as Charlie Barrell and Slick Rodgers combined for three touchdowns through the air while the Gators blanked Western Florida 24-0.  WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Annapolis Maritime 20 George Fox 3 Liberty College 24 Boston State 16 Sadler 55 Bigsby College 0 Conwell College 23 Ellery 7 Penn Catholic 36 Rome State 17 Eastern State 34 Potomac College 0 Garden State 34 Eastern Virginia 10 Brunswick 10 St. Pancras 10 Brooklyn State 27 Grafton 13 St. Patrick's 57 Dickson 16 Empire State 45 NW New York State 13 SOUTH Cumberland 16 Northern Mississippi 0 Baton Rouge State 20 Miami State 7 Central Kentucky 13 Mississippi A&M 10 Noble Jones College 35 North Carolina Tech 10 Georgia Baptist 24 Western Florida 0 Opelika State 17 Bluegrass State 17 Bayou State 16 Alabama Baptist 13 Maryland State 50 Lexington State 7 Chesapeake State 26 Central Carolina 24 Carolina Poly 34 Pittsburgh State 14 Huntington State 34 Bulein 28 Columbia Military Academy 23 Mobile Maritime 10 Alexandria 41 Petersburg 3 Charleston Tech 18 Cowpens State 17 Coastal State 14 Red River State 0 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 40 Detroit City College 21 St. Magnus 20 Boulder State 6 St. Blane 13 Indiana A&M 13 Central Ohio 17 Texas Gulf Coast 14 Lincoln 17 CC Los Angeles 7 Wisconsin State 23 Wisconsin Catholic 3 Western Iowa 24 Eastern Kansas 0 Daniel Boone College 41 Eastern Oklahoma 27 Lawrence State 49 Iowa A&M 6 Lambert College 33 Central Illinois 9 Ferguson 44 Northern Minnesota 23 SOUTHWEST Oklahoma City State 35 Richmond State 3 Travis College 34 Whitney College 0 Darnell State 23 College of Waco 21 Amarillo Methodist 45 College of Omaha 3 Texas Panhandle 34 El Paso Methodist 14 Payne State 47 Queen City 14 Cache Valley 24 Topeka State 16 Tempe College 28 Arkansas A&T 26 Abilene Baptist 41 St. Xavier (TX) 14 Everman State (TX) 30 Canyon A&M 24 FAR WEST Northern California 40 Pierpont 3 Rainier College 69 Minnesota Tech 21 Spokane State 38 Sunnyvale 7 Portland Tech 34 Valley State 7 Lane State 23 Provo Tech 7 Coastal California 20 San Diego Navy 9 Redwood 45 Minns College 0 College of San Diego 42 California Catholic 20 Wyoming A&I 24 Mile High State 6 Utah A&M 34 Kamehameha College 0 Oakland Tech 34 Flagstaff State 0 Colorado Poly 27 Miners College 7 Custer College 27 South Valley State 27 San Francisco Tech 9 Idaho A&M 7 PACKERS OFF TO STRONG PRESEASON START AS CLUB LOOKS FOR TURNAROUND Last season was one the Chicago Packers want to completely forget about. The club finished with one of the worst records in recent NAHC history and it cost their long-time coach Ed Hempenstall his job. Veteran minor league coach Chad Fillman has taken over and is hoping his players have short memories as they look to bounce back and make the playoffs this time around. It is only preseason games so they do not matter much, but two wins and a tie in their first three games certainly has help restore the Packers somewhat shaky self-esteem, especially considering they opened the preseason with a victory over the two-time defending Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants. 27-year-old winger Max Ducharme, who will be leaned on heavily to help prop up what was the league's least productive offense a year ago, got off to a quick start with four goals in the three games including a pair in the preseason opening 3-2 victory over Montreal on Thursday. A day later Michael Cleghorn had a 19-save shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Motors and the Packers completed a solid week by rallying for a 3-3 draw with the visiting New York Shamrocks at Lakeside Auditorium last night. Ducharme and Marty Mahoney each scored in the third period after Jocko Gregg had staked the visitors to a 3-1 lead. Code:
NAHC PRESEASON STANDINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Chicago 3 2 0 1 5
Boston 3 2 1 0 4
Toronto 3 1 0 2 4
New York 3 0 0 3 3
Detroit 3 0 2 1 1
Montreal 3 0 2 1 1
SCORING LEADERS
GP G A PTS
Ducharme, Chi 3 4 0 4
Chandler, Bos 3 3 1 4
Pollack, Tor 3 3 1 4
Carlson, Tor 3 2 2 4
T Burns, Chi 3 1 3 4
Galbraith, Tor 3 0 4 4
NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK Montreal 2 at Chicago 3: Max Ducharme, 2 goals for the PackersTHURSDAY SEPTEMBER 27 Detroit 1 at Boston 3: Bees outshot Motors 40-27 Toronto 2 at New York 2: Geoff Hartnell tied game for Shamrocks in third, also assisted on opening New York goal FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 New York 1 at Montreal 1: Shamrocks outshot Montreal 49-20 but Brad Carter made 48 saves for ValiantsBoston 0 at Toronto 2: Scott Renes had 32 save shutout, Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack both scored in third period. Chicago 3 at Detroit 0: Detroit outshot Chicago 21-19, Michael Cleghorn with the shutout. SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 30 Toronto 4 at Detroit 4: Motors score three in third to go up 4-2 but Les Carlson and Alex Lavalliere score to earn tie for Toronto.New York 3 at Chicago 3: Shamrocks earn third straight tie as Packers outshot New York 35-21. Tommy Burns 2 assists for Packers. Montreal 0 at Boston 4: Wes Chandler scored twice and added an assist. Oscar James with a 25 save shutout. UPCOMING GAMES MONDAY OCTOBER 1 New York at Toronto Chicago at Detroit Boston at Montreal WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3 Toronto at Chicago Detroit at Boston Montreal at New York THURSDAY OCTOBER 4 Toronto at Montreal Chicago at Boston New York at Detroit SATURDAY OCTOBER 6 Detroit at Montreal Boston at Toronto New York at Chicago END OF PRESEASON RUTLEDGE SEND TO DEFEND WELTERWEIGHT TITLE FRIDAY Danny Rutledge will be back in the ring Friday evening as the 27-year-old Kentucky fighter takes to the ring for his second title defense. Rutledge won the world welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Ira Mitchell in Boston back in February and made his first defense a successful one with a 9th round TKO win over Ben Burns in June. His opponent this time will be British transplant Danny Julian, who is currently ranked the #4 contender to Rutledge's welter belt. Julian will get his first crack at the title that he left England in search of a year and a half ago. He was 27-1-1 fighting in Europe but has had a few ups and downs in his seven fights on this continent. They included some impressive wins like a unanimous decision over former champ Mac Erickson in May but also some disappointing results including a 5th round knockout loss at the hands of another former champ Ira Mitchell and a tough majority decision defeat to Rudy Perry just under a year ago. In all, Julian is 30-3-2 but considered a long shot to dethrone the champion Rutledge. RECENT KEY RESULTS
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/30/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-16-2024, 11:13 AM
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#985 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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October 2, 1951 - Special Federal Association tiebreaker edition
OCTOBER 2, 1951 - SPECIAL FEDERAL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFF EDITION PIONEERS EDGE DYNAMOS 3-2 TO WIN FED FLAG Sets Up Third Meeting in WCS With Sailors Hal Hackney went the distance and held the Detroit bats in check to lead the St Louis Pioneers to a 3-2 road win over the Detroit Dynamos in a one game winner take all showdown for the Federal Association pennant. The Pioneers win leaves them with a 91-64 record and advances the St Louis squad to the World Championship Series for the third time in the past five years where they will -just as in 1947 and 1948- face the Philadelphia Sailors. Hackney, who improved to 18-11 with the victory, was effective but not dominant in scattering 11 Detroit hits on the evening. Jack Miller allowed 9 hits over his 8 innings of work for the Dynamos before being replaced for a pinch-hitter. The difference in the game was that Hackney shut down the Dynamos in several key situations, holding the much improved Detroit offense at bay when it mattered most. St Louis threatened in the opening frame leaving two men on base but it was the hometown Dynamos that struck first. Del Johnson led off the bottom of the first inning with a single and Stan Kleminski beat out a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and second. Ralph Johnson singled to load the bases and then Edwin Hackberry hit into a fielders choice that retired Ralph Johnson at second but allowed Del Johnson to cross the plate and give Detroit the early lead. In the first defining moment of the day, Hackney managed to fan Mack Sutton, who hit 36 homers this season, for the second Detroit out and after he walked Dick Estes to load the based induced a high fly ball from Pat Petty that Pioneers first baseman Claude Kade squeezed for the final out. The Dynamos had 3 hits in the inning and left the bases loaded and the damage could have been much worse than the 1-0 hole Hackney found himself in. Detroit starter Jack Miller perhaps felt the nerves early just as much as Hackney as the Pioneers would answer quickly with two runs in the top of the second inning keyed by Homer Mills rbi triple. Jim McBride led off with a single, moved to second on an Artie Smith groundout and scored on the big hit by Mills, who had been a man without a position for much of the season thanks to the acquisition of Jim Adams Jr. and Frank Kirchner from Cleveland along with the Pioneers reluctance to trust the 29-year old's glove at shortstop. With two out the former Forester Kirchner, who made the all-star team and was one of the big surprises this season, delivered a line drive single to plate Mills and put the Pioneers up 2-1. The lead would be extended to 3-1 in the top of the third when the Pioneers strung together a walk and three singles. Larry Gregory worked Miller for a free pass and moved to second on a single by Kade. Larry Gassner lined into a double play but Artie Smith delivered a key rbi single to plate Gregory with what would prove to be the game winning run. Homer Mills also singled in the inning but he and Smith were stranded when Hackney popped out to end the inning. Jack Miller allowed 7 hits over the first 3 innings before finally settling down. He would allow just two more the rest of the way - both in the fourth inning and St Louis would not get another hit in the game. Meanwhile Hackney set the Dynamos down in order in the third but allowed a lead-off double to Mack Sutton in the fourth inning. Sutton would advance no further. Detroit loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning but Hackney kept the score 3-1 when he threw home to get the force at the plate after an Edwin Hackberry comebacker to the mound and then managed to get Sutton to hit a long fly ball for the final out of the frame. Dick Estes pulled Detroit to within a run when the Dynamos first basemen led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a homerun. The Dynamos had one more big opportunity- it came in the 8th inning when Detroit put runners on first and second with just one out. However, Detroit bats again came up short in the clutch when pinch-hitters Rick York and Billy Brown failed to get the job done. The top of the Detroit lineup came to the plate in the ninth, needing one run to extend their season. Stan Kleminski delivered a one-out single but the run never came as Ralph Johnson hit an infield fly and Edwin Hackberry flew out to rightfield to end the game, sending St Louis to the World Championship Series for the third time in five years while adding yet another chapter to the Dynamos pennant failures, which have kept the Motor City team out of the WCS since 1929. 
 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREDICTIONS
PLENTY OF LOGS ALREADY TOSSED IN THE HOT STOVE Some Suggest May Be a Busy Winter on FABL Trade Front The World Championship Series has not yet even begun but already there are trade rumours flying throughout both associations as some FABL clubs look to get a very early start on their Christmas shopping. Teams across the two big league ball loops are already canvassing FABL with a list of names they want to unload and/or what sort of targets they are shopping for. The biggest collection of talent made available is also, considering how the final week went for them, the least surprising. That would be the New York Gothams, who seem to be in a permanent state of winning pennants or in a complete tear down and rebuild. The Gothams might have thought they had a flag in their grasp this time around but crashed and burned in the final week against the two clubs that advanced to a Federal Association tiebreaker and had to settle for third. Third place, even just 4 games out, just won't cut it in the Big Apple and as a result Gothams brass appears set to slice that talent-laden but veteran core up with a pairing knife. Word is the Gothams are shopping all of their veterans with the exception of Ed Bowman and Walt Messer. That means future Hall of Famers George Cleaves, Lefty Allen and Red Johnson are on the block along with steady infielders Tom Jeffries and Cecil LaBonte. Cleaves and Allen are productive, although Allen missed half the season with a shoulder injury, but each is also 37 years old so the market for the duo may be limited and potential suitors for Lefty perhaps scared off because of the aforementioned injury that limited him the five-time all-star to just 25 starts - his lowest total since 1945, which he missed much of while still in the Army. *** Red Johnson To Be Moved? *** The big draw if the Gothams do indeed clean house is clearly slugging first baseman Red Johnson. Johnson just turned 34 yesterday and is coming off an another terrific season (.314,35,118). He would instantly make any lineup more dangerous and while this is pure speculation, This Week in Figment Sports would not be surprised to see Johnson end up with the Chicago Cougars next season. It may be just a coincidence but we think there is more to it when the Cougars suddenly put Red Bond (.284,28,89) -their 38 year old first baseman- on the trade block a mere hours after the Gothams make it known that Johnson is available. This just seems to be a fit and matches the past methods of both organizations. The Gothams have a long history of dealing elite talent to the two Windy City clubs when they get in the mood to tear down a pennant contender. Rabbit Day, Jim Lonardo, Sal Pestilli and Pete Casstevens are names that immediately spring to mind and the 4-time Whitney Award winner might be next. The Chiefs are not a fit because they have Tim Hopkins at first base but for the Cougars, pushing Bond's availability now seems suspiciously like clearing room for Red Johnson. Johnson is also right in the Cougars wheelhouse age-wise. They add stars at 32-35 and deal them for whatever return they can get at 36-39 to make room for the next elite player who has worn out his welcome in another location. The other thing that makes this deal seem to make sense is the Gothams want young talent in return, particularly pitching, and the Cougars system is loaded. It might be hard for New York fans to see Johnson move on but if top pitching prospect Bob Allen and another of the Cougars top prospects -lets say catcher Garland Phelps- was in the deal I could see shipping Johnson for two top twenty-five prospects might just be something the Gothams could consider. To us, any deal that sends Red Johnson to the Cougars, or anywhere else, needs to net a young pitcher like Bob Allen in return or it is simply not worth it for the Gothams to deal a player as steady as Johnson has been and still should have at least a couple of prime years left. Other possible moves could see Cecil LaBonte going to the other Chicago team or perhaps even St Louis if the Gothams are willing to trade to a pair of rivals, something that has not been a concern in the past. The Chiefs clearly need an elite shortstop and LaBonte is close to that but the stumbling block is that the Chiefs may not have enough young talent to pony up in return. The Pioneers have the light-hitting Win Hamby at shortstop and while his glove is among the best in the game, his bat is severely lacking. If the Pioneers do not decide to give Homer Mills another shot at shortstop perhaps they will move some of their decent farm system talent to New York for LaBonte. *** Plenty of Others Ready to Talk Turkey *** The Gothams may have hung the biggest laundry list on trade line but their are plenty of others at least kicking the tires to see what interest there might be. The Pioneers are looking to upgrade their rotation and say top 35 outfield prospect King Brucker could be had in the right deal. The Boston Minutemen have an abundance of youth and would be willing to make a move for a veteran to plug the right hole and in Boston that hole is on the mound. If they are comfortable with the medical reports and the Gothams asking price is reasonable perhaps Lefty Allen lands in Beantown. The Gothams Buddy Long or reliever Clarence Barton from Brooklyn are other possibilities for Boston to address its pitching woes. Speaking of Brooklyn, er Kansas City as the Kings will soon be known, they list several needs with a starting catcher primary among them. The Cougars as we previously mentioned say they are now very highly motivated to move Red Bond which we take as a clear indication a deal for Red Johnson is close. Nothing can officially be announced until the league trade deadline ends following the conclusion of the WCS but the off-season may even be more frantic than the months of June and July were on the trade front this year. DYNAMOS, CHIEFS BEST ODDS AT TOP DRAFT PICK The 1952 FABL draft is just over three months away and the teams with the best chance of claiming the number one selection are the Detroit Dynamos and Chicago Chiefs. FABL uses a weighted lottery to determine the order of the first 14 selections in rounds one and two with picks 15 and 16 going to the two pennant winners. The two associations alternate selections and in 1951 the Continental Association choose first when the Cincinnati Cannons won the right to draft three sport star Charlie Barrell. This year the top pick will go to the Federal Association and the Dynamos and Chiefs, by virtue of the best improvement over their previous season record, will each own three of the balls among the 13 to be in the lottery bowl. Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Keystones, with the next biggest improvement -or in this case the least decline- will each get two entries leaving the Washington Eagles, New York Gothams and Boston Minutemen with a single entry each. In the Continental Association it will be the even picks up for grabs and the Cleveland Foresters and Montreal Saints stand the best chance of landing the second overall selection. The Chicago Cougars and Cincinnati Cannons will each get two entries while the Kings, who are moving from Brooklyn to Kansas City, will get one entry as will Toronto and the New York Stars. The draft lottery is conducted in early January and the first ten rounds of the draft itself follows immediately afterwards.   I spoke with several fans while the dreary game played out. One fan Seymour Griggs, stated that despite the club moving, he will still be a King's fan because he wouldn't be caught dead rooting for either of the Stars or the hated Gothams. Another said good riddance to that whole organization, "Nothing but a bunch of non-Brooklynites that likely have been trying the run the club out of town for years." Finally another fan, Cary Mahoney said "I can't blame the club for leaving. Look at this stadium, that speaks volumes. You have that idiot on the city council who drove this club out of town, and for what, a children's park? Kids of all ages should have been able to enjoy and watch Kings baseball with their families. We have hundreds of spots for playgrounds. We should have built a new ballpark and none of this would have ever happened." Several other comments about team owner Coleman and club GM Martin were said but we aren't allowed to print those type of things in print. The lights at Kings County Park turned out for the last time. Later this week the club's offices will be moved and the lights there will also be turned out. It's a sad ending to a once proud club that this city loved to support, win or lose and there has been plenty of losing over the years. The King's leave Brooklyn with an all-time record of 4395-4561 with 1 World Series title that was won in 1937. They will head off to Kansas City for a fresh start, with a new stadium and a new fanbase. But as I sat next to one elderly man in the bottom of the 9th, he just openly wept. As I was slowly walking out of the stadium a final fan said this: "Ferdinand Hawkins got his revenge tonight." KINGS UPDATE (OCTOBER 2) By Percy Pringle Jr. While all eyes were on the huge Federal Association tie-breaker game to decide who would face the Sailors in the World Series, the opposite was seen in Brooklyn as moving vans pulled up. The Kings quickly did their end of season player meetings with the players as there were several "wet eyes" seen among the King's front office staff. To be honest, its hard to watch this day come and unfold, but I will give credit to Kings owner Chester Coleman. He has offered any front office and team staffer that wish to remain with the club and the move to Kansas City, the opportunities to come with the team. He has also offered raises to anyone who wants to come with the club and moving expenses. So while many in Brooklyn see Coleman as a monster who stole the team, many in the Kings office staff see a different person than the outside world. Those that are not wishing to move with the club have been offered very generous severance packages that will see them paid through the remainder of the year so they can hopefully still enjoy the holidays. A number of the Kings organization staff have taken Coleman up on his office to move out west (roughly half). On the business end of things, after the player meetings, Coleman has invited the entire big league coaching staff along with GM Martin, Scouting Director John Spears, Team Trainer David Hay and the new Asst GM Bob Gould to come to St. Louis tomorrow to watch the first 2 games of the World Series in his home state of Missouri. After games 1 and 2 of the series attention of the group will shift to the move to Kansas City. We hear on tap for Friday October 5th is a tour of the Kings new home park at Prairie Park and the offices that Coleman has had constructed adjacent to the Park. While construction of the offices is finalizing it is expected to be completed by the end of the month. The staff will then be treated to watch the Eastern Kansas college football game on Saturday  Other notable performances from the Stars mound staff includes Hub Armstrong who started 5 games for us at the tail end of the season. He only went 1-1, but had a 1.96 ERA! With a mind blowing 214 ERA+ and a nice 84 FIP-. This was only over 41.1 innings, but it was a nice taste of what he can do in FABL against quality hitting. But with 2 quality newcomers, who will leave the rotation for good? soon to be 39 year old Jack Wood is top of the chopping block list. He was basically dead average as a pitcher this season, but at the end he was being eaten alive before he was relegated to the pen. Over 190 innings and 28 games he went just 8-13. But in his 26 starts, just 14 of them were quality. He probably has another year in him, but the young arms are edging him out, and quickly! And how about Eli Panneton? What a slow slide he has been into obscurity. Slipping to 4th in the rotation he pitched in just 29 games this season. Granted he still pitched well, he just has been getting slightly worse every season. Which leaves us with the venerable Vern Hubbard. Long time Stars Starter and former Ace of the team posted a sub 100 ERA+ but also a sub 100 FIP- at 88 and 86 respectively. He will be 37 next season and is seeing his games pitched slide down fewer and fewer. He posted a sad 10-16 record over 32 games, but still had 19 quality starts in that time frame and only gave up 8 long balls all season. Still a solid arm, but being quickly edged out. All in all the pitching was fairly solid. Even aging George Scruggs pitched up 16 saves over a whopping 105 innings out of the pen, though he blew 9 games, but wound up winning 7. Every one of the pitchers were victims of an offense that just couldnt get out of second gear and the lack of hitting sabotaged what would have been a stellar season otherwise. With the exception of one or two hitters no one could really put it together.
DISAPPOINTING END MAY MEAN NEW BEGINNING FOR GOTHAMS In one of the most anti-climactic finishes imaginable, assuming most readers of my column are Gothams fans, your team completely melted at the worst possible time. Gothams fans will long remember the Collapse of '51. Where in a matter of days a first place position and a real shot at the post season disappeared in a haze of poor hitting, poor pitching and questionable managerial moves. 5 straight losses to the other pennant contenders leave the Gothams with an ugly looking and disappointing 3rd place finish, 4 games behind the co-leaders. Once their fate was decided Saturday afternoon as Ed Bowman watched any chance of a 3rd Allen award blow up in a 5 run Detroit 4th inning, the New Yorkers went down meekly. So, what is to be done? In years of covering this team experience tells me that change is coming. The pitching is old and so are the biggest names in the lineup. I would venture to guess that next year's team will look a bit different. Everyone from star 1B Red Johnson to future hall of fame George Cleaves can be had, from what I hear. No one would confirm officially and I hear the this won't be a 1936 style gutting of the team. But I wouldn't bet against several big names moving to new locales. With two teams changing addresses there might be a need for big names for the new fans. With close pennant races there could be teams looking for the one bat or arm to complete their squad. Let's get through the exciting, if you're not from New York, single game playoff, then world championship series and see what happens.  GOODBYE TO GLOBE READERS Hello All, Ol’ Doc here, reaching out to the fine baseball fans of Boston for a final time. After much consideration I believe it is time for me to move on and let a younger man with more energy cover our beloved Minutemen. If Ol’ Doc is being honest, he believes covering this club for the last decade has preserved my life as he is the proverbial last man standing amongst his peer group. Even still, at 80 years of age, Ol’ Doc has nothing but love for the Boston Globe who have let him cover this great game for so long. So in his last article Ol’ Doc is not going to focus on the woes of the current club, but take readers on a final journey to when baseball and Boston looked much different than it does today. Ol’ Doc’s first season with the “Brahmins” was the 1896 club. Yes, for all the young readers, you read that right. The club were the “Brahmins” until the 1902 season. Ol’ Doc wasn’t even Ol’ Doc yet, just a 25 year old wet behind the ears reporter named William Shaw. That Brahmins team was brutally bad. They finished with a .386 winning percentage two short seasons after being the third ever champion crowned in the newly formed FABL. Hall of Famer Gil Hice was a young 22 year old that logged two at-bats on that club before being released by the organization. That was one of the biggest differences in the game. Before the draft was instituted, young ball players had a very difficult time latching onto established rosters. Hice would finally catch on with the Cougars in ‘97 and never look back, but in 1896 the Brahmins were just one of five FABL clubs along with two minor league clubs he played for that season alone. For Ol’ Doc though, he was just happy to have work. Baseball wasn’t covered every day back in the early days. Ol’ Doc was the first ever hired to cover baseball on a daily basis in Boston. This was before radio and television so it was Ol’ Doc’s words that carried the story. A humbling experience that Ol’ Doc credits Boston Globe boss Lewis Barrett with creating. Barrett believed in baseball and he thought that a young man would be best to grow with the sport and city. Ol’ Doc humbly appreciated his vision, if only he were still with us for Ol’ Doc to thank personally. In all, Ol' Doc has covered nine pennant winners and four championships in his 56 seasons of work. His favorite stretch though, was covering the 1902-1906 run of dominance. When original owner Steve Cunningham decided to change the club’s name to the Minutemen it was as if their luck had changed overnight. Ol’ Doc thinks it had more to do with having legendary skipper George Theobald guiding a very talented young roster more than anything else. The 1902 roster boasted two future hall of farmers in 2B John Cook (20) along with SP Woody Trease (21). The club also had “The Mighty Mac'' Bill McDaniel who won 234 FABL games in his career and 105 in the 1902-1905 stretch before he was un-wisely traded to the Gothams in Ol’ Doc’s opinion. His no-hitter in April of 1902 against the Chiefs is still one of Ol’ Docs greatest memories. Not the greatest though. That one belongs to little remembered John Blackburn who pitched the first perfect game in league history on May 6th 1904 against the Keystones during the Minutemen’s championship season. Blackburn would throw another no-hitter in 1906 but the first of only three ever perfect games will live in Ol’ Doc’s memory for the rest of his days. That brings to Ol’ Doc’s mind another difference between the game of yesteryear and today. For many a season before the advent of radio, Ol’ Doc pulled double duty of covering the game and reporting it live to the fans back in Boston. For the older audiences out there they may remember the old Empire Theater (now called the Orpheum) on Hamilton that acted as the home base for live baseball outside of Cunningham Field. When the Boston Symphony Orchestra moved to Symphony Hall, the Empire moved into the baseball business to keep the doors open. The Empire featured a wooden display of a baseball field, it was a very large structure. Attached to the field were lights for all the fielders and potential baserunners. Ol’ Doc would telegraph the information straight to the Empire as it happened live, and patrons could watch the game from their seats at the Empire. This mode of delivery was all the rage across the country in baseball cities in the pre-radio days, as it was the closest thing to live baseball aside from actually attending the contest. While the Empire was the first to do this in Boston they were not the last. Some of the more forward thinking drinking establishments created their own systems to feed a city that became obsessed with the Minutemen. Ol’ Doc was in his early 30’s for that great run of Minutemen baseball. It was a great time to be alive. Ol’ Doc thought Steve Cunningham was a good owner, he successfully transitioned the club to the FABL from the Peerless League (one of only two to do so) and was an ardent supporter. The club rewarded him with a second strong stretch from 1912-1915 winning the title in ‘12 and the pennant again in 1915 with two second place finishes sandwiched between. These were the “Big” George Johnson, Bill McMurtrie, Fred Huffman years that helped John Cook, now 30, capture his third title. By this point Ol’ Doc was a seasoned reporter who at the time took great pleasure in comparing the two runs. For that reason Ol’ Doc is not sure he enjoyed the second run as well as he should have. Which Ol’ Doc regrets now because the Minutemen wouldn’t finish better than four games out for the next 25 seasons. During that time Ol’ Doc would witness the first great war, which wasn’t great in the least bit and then see the world fall into chaos a second time. During those times Ol’ Doc was very happy that his life calling was following a baseball team and not world politics. By the mid-20’s Steve’s son Harry owned the club and the poor man never saw a championship in his short seven year ownership. Current owner Jesse Barton would buy the club in 1931 and be the figurehead of FABL change by building an eyesore of a stadium in 1943. The Minutemen had some great memorable players though that time that made it a joy for Ol’ Doc to cover. Some of Ol’ Doc’s personal favorites from that time were an all-bat, no glove switch hitter from Maryland named Carl Carr. Carr was drafted 3rd overall in the 1923 draft. If the man could field even a bit he would have had 2000 hits for the Minutemen. Third sacker Charlie Barry was another personal favorite of Ol’ Doc’s who was drafted originally by Baltimore but was cut loose and signed by Boston. Barry spent a short time in the minors and the next 11 seasons manning the hot corner and amassing over 1500 hits. Ol’ Doc remembers Barry as a player that never got the respect he deserved. Frequently called BERRY by opposing reporters he used it as motivation for the league to remember his name was BARRY. Charlie was dealt to Cleveland to help them win a title but returned home to Boston in ‘39 to finish out his career. Charlie was a great fella and Ol’ Doc remembers him fondly. Now as Ol’ Doc looks back he knows the most important day in recent Minutemen history was made on July 24th 1933. That was the day Boston and Cleveland got together for a historic trade that sent Mudcat Fowler, who was already the most popular player in Boston, because he proved that power hitters could exist in Boston, for four unknown youngsters in SS John Wood (23), RF Pete Day (23) 3B Art Spencer (22) and SP Ed Wood (24). Mudcat would quickly help Cleveland win a championship in ‘34 but Boston created a nucleus with the deal. The Minutemen were about to add their new core to Ol’ Doc’s favorite player to ever play for the club in Chick Donnelly. The unknown, passed over 11th round pick that would join the club as a 22 year old rookie and bang out 241 hits. Ol’ Doc remembers watching the club in ‘34 thinking that the Minutemen were on to something. Admittedly, it took longer than Ol’ Doc thought it would but Boston finally reclaimed the championship in 1941 and the pennant again in 1943. As Ol’ Doc winds this last article of his career down he wants to offer hope to the struggling Boston supporters. Ol’ Doc understands that you have just suffered through the worst season in Boston history, but there's hope. This team has a mighty fine young nucleus that needs time to grow. Just like Lewis Barrett did for a young William Shaw, it is now Ol’ Doc’s time to turn the reins over to a younger man that can grow with these boys and this fan base in a world that has passed Ol’ Doc by. Ol’ Doc will not tell you who this new man is as you will meet him soon enough, but he does want to thank you for allowing him to share his thoughts with you for over half a century. Having never married himself, Ol’ Doc has remained faithful to the Minutemen and the city of Boston since he walked into the office of the Boston Globe back in 1896. From the bottom of this ol’ heart. Thank You…….and go Minutemen! NEW ERA IN FIGMENT SPORTS WITH GRID CHANGES On the first of this month in yesterday's edition the entity that is the Figment Sporting Universe took another big step forward, although it may have flown under the radar for many. The American Football Association migrated from using Second and Ten as its game engine to Draft Day Sports Pro Football. This move paves the way, if testing goes well this season, for football to join the other three major team sports in baseball, hockey and basketball as online leagues with human general managers running the show. Baseball was the flag bearer of the Figment Universe as FABL, which got its start as a major league in 1892 threw its doors open to human GMs in the off-season following the 1925 season. Hockey eventually followed in 1946 as right after the war the North American Hockey Confederation, which had been a solo league since the teens, also admitted human general managers and it was quickly followed a year later by basketball with the formation of the Federal Basketball League founded by Rollie Barrell. Football has been around since 1920, and simmed using the Second and Ten game engine since about 1930 but as a solo game only because while Second and Ten will generate era appropriate stats and allow for two-way players, it is not capable of online multi-player. The Wolverine Studios game is capable of that and thrives on online play but the challenge for our commissioner is still getting era realistic stats. Two-way players are out but if results are good, and by early indications of a very small sample the opening week went well, come next spring when the college draft is to be completed there is a chance it may be done by up to a dozen human GMs. Until then, familiarize yourself with the teams and stars of the AFA in current and previous years editions of This Week in Figment Sports along with visiting the league html pages.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from October 1,1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-17-2024, 12:51 PM
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#986 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 7, 1951 : WCS Games 1 and 2
OCTOBER 7, 1951 - SPECIAL WCS EDITION SAILORS TAKE CONTROL OF SERIES WITH 2 ROAD WINS The Philadelphia Sailors are sailing along, half way to a World Championship Series title and revenge against the St Louis Pioneers, after winning each of the first two games of the WCS on the road. The Sailors, who have not won a WCS title since 1930, were defeated by St Louis in both the 1947 and 1948 Fall Classic but looked dominant in the opening two games this time around. The Pioneers were brimming with confidence after winning five of their final six regular season games to force a one-game playoff with the Detroit Dynamos, who they defeated 3-2 on Monday to clinch their third Federal Association title in the last five years. Riding a 6-game winning streak against the Sailors that included a sweep of Philadelphia in the 1948 Series, the Pioneers opened the WCS at home Thursday. For eight innings the Series lid-lifter was a pitching duel as Hiram Steinberg of St Louis and the surprising John Thomas Johnson of the Sailors found themselves locked in a 1-1 battle but things unraveled quickly in the 9th for the Pioneers as the Sailors rallied for 5 runs and a 6-1 victory. Both teams scored in the third inning with the visitors from Philadelphia striking first on a solo home run from Les Cunha to lead off the frame after Steinberg had retired the first six Sailors hitters in order. The St Louis run came with two out when George Atkins singled for the second time in two trips to the plate in the game and scored on a double off the bat of Frank Kirchner. Kirchner was a little too aggressive and was gunned down trying to advance to third just moments after Atkins crossed the plate. The game would remain deadlocked at one with just one real scoring opportunity coming for each club as the two pitchers dominated. Rip Lee hit a two-out triple for the Sailors in the fifth but was stranded when the pitcher Johnson grounded out to end the inning. The Pioneers ran themselves out of the bottom of the eight when for the second time in the game they had the final out of an inning made at third base. Homer Mills was the culprit this time, getting gunned down after George Atkins had slapped a two out single to centerfield. Entering the top of the ninth the Sailors had managed just three hits off of Steinberg, who had sat down the previous 10 Sailors in order. That changed in a big way in the ninth. Billy Forbes led off with a single to give the Sailors their first baserunner since Lee was stranded at third in the fifth. Al Farmer beat out a sacrifice bunt and Joe Scott worked a suddenly unnerved Steinberg for a free pass that quickly loaded the bases. George Rutter was fanned by Steinberg and when the pitcher induced a short fly out to center from Cotton Dillon it looked like the Pioneers hurler just might get out of the mess he found himself in. Pinch-hitter Willie Martin had other ideas as the 26-year-old with just 23 career big league hits delivered the biggest one of his career - a line drive single that plated Forbes with the go-ahead run and kept the bases loaded setting the stage for Les Cunha's dramatic grand slam homer to put the Sailors up 6-1 and end Steinberg's evening. Johnson retired the Pioneers in order to complete the proceedings. *** The Big Cuhna *** As dominant as the pitching was in the game, the story of the series opener was Les Cuhna as the Philadelphia Sailors shortstop, who hit 12 homeruns this season and has just 52 in 976 career big league games became the first player in Continental Association history to smack two round-trippers in a World Championship Series game. Only four Federal Association players - Bobby Barrell, Bill Moore, Cliff Moss and Henry Jones have ever homered twice in a WCS contest prior to Cuhna's game one performance. His 5 rbi's also tie a Continental mark and were one shy of a 36-year-old record set by Bernie Tremaine of the Boston Minutemen, who had 6 rbi's in a 1915 series game.  SAILORS TAKE COMMAND WITH GAME TWO VICTORY Game Two, suddenly crucial for the Pioneers, saw another big inning for Philadelphia make all the difference in the world as the Sailors took a commanding lead in the series with a 7-4 victory in game two. Al Farmer had the big bat for the Philadelphia nine, smacking two hits including a homerun while also earning a pair of free passes. The second game started very much like the series opener with Lloyd Stevens and Danny Hern keeping things scoreless until the Pioneers struck first in the fourth inning. The run came on three consecutive singles off of Stevens, the ex-Keystones who switched to the other side of Philadelphia in June. Frank Kircher started the hit parade with a one-out single and, after moving to second on a base hit from rookie Rex Pilcher, would score on Larry Gregory's hit. The Pioneers lead was short-lived as Al Farmer belted a two-run homer off Hern a half inning later but that was just an appetizer for the 3-run 4-hit outburst from the Sailors in the top of the sixth that extended their lead to 5-1. All of the damage came with two out and the big hits were a 2-run single off the bat of Rip Lee followed by an rbi double for Sailors hurler Stevens. St Louis did not fold as they answered quickly with three of their own to cut the Sailors lead to 5-4. Hern hit a sharp single off Stevens to lead off the inning and after George Atkins drew a free pass, the rookie Pilcher delivered a 3-run homer. Any hopes of a St Louis comeback were dashed in the top of the 7th when the Sailors, a team never known for its homerun power, was the beneficiary of another long ball. This one came from George Rutter, who hit 28 of them this season while leading the Continental Association in rbi's. The 24-year-old delivered a 2-run shot that put the Sailors ahead 7-4 and it would hold up for the final score despite the fact the Pioneers threatened in the bottom of the ninth with runners on second and third and two out befors Stevens, who went the distance, got Kirchner to hit an infield fly to end the game and send the Sailors home up two-nothing and full of confidence.   GOTHAMS EYE TEAR DOWN WITH JOHNSON DEAL October 8, 1951 – The New York Gothams appear to be on the brink of a major overhaul just a week after finishing a tight race for the Federal Association pennant. Sources indicate that the Gothams have agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cougars which will see their 34-year-old star first baseman, Red Johnson, who posted a stellar .314 average with 35 homers and 118 RBIs this season, heading west. This shake-up might come as a shock, considering the Gothams ended the season only four and a half games out of first place, having led the pack until the final week, had not Gothams management made it known last week that wholesale changes were planned. Those with a long memory will recall a similar situation in 1936. Back then, the Gothams, after winning back-to-back pennants, embarked on a dramatic tear-down, trading away all their stars for a crop of young prospects following a sluggish start. If history is set to repeat itself, Gotham fans might brace themselves for several seasons languishing in the second division. Red Johnson is reportedly just the first domino to fall. Rumors suggest that other key veterans, including catcher George Cleaves and pitcher Lefty Allen, both likely bound for the Hall of Fame, along with the talented 25-year-old shortstop Cecil LaBonte, are also on the trading block. While the deal for Johnson cannot be officially announced until the World Series concludes, insiders say he is headed to the Chicago Cougars, a team perennially underachieving despite their talent. In exchange, the Gothams are set to receive three top-100 prospects. However, notably absent from this deal are the Cougars’ young pitching phenom Bob Allen and star outfield prospect Jerry Smith, raising questions about whether the Gothams are getting fair value for Johnson. The four-time Federal Association MVP and nine-time All-Star is a cornerstone player, and fans are rightfully anxious about what this means for the future of their team. Sources did not reveal the players Chicago is sending to New York other than to say it will not be established big leaguers, but rather three prospects "ranked in the top 100 by OSA." If Allen a 23-year-old who made his big league debut in September and is said to be a can't miss prospect, and Smith also 23 and a 1947 first round selection some say will be an all-star centerfielder some day, are not included that greatly limits the players who might be headed to the Gothams. The Cougars have 14 prospects ranked in the top 100 but three of them: third baseman Jack Craft (#35) and pitchers Allie Eddy (#77) and Harry Rollins (#85) were just drafted in June and are not eligible to be traded as first year professionals. That means the Gothams haul is expected to be three of the following players: catcher Garland Phelps (OSA #25), centerfielders Frank Reese (OSA #56), Bert Preble (OSA #62), Bob Allie (OSA #70), Henry Norman (OSA #71) and Herm Kocher (#81). Pitchers Jimmy Isgro (OSA #72), Bobby Crooks (OSA #95) or perhaps Pug White (OSA #105) and second baseman Biff Tiner (OSA #20). It seems essential that Phelps, a 1947 second round selection with a high ceiling as a catcher, be included in the deal as he appears the only one even remotely capable of becoming an impact player anywhere near the quality of Johnson. Even with Phelps, it is hard to image the Gothams getting fair value for Red Johnson, even a 34-year-old Red Johnson, without Bob Allen or Jerry Smith included in the deal. For their part the Chicago Cougars are mum on any possible trade, noting the trade window is not open at this time. Cougars Assistant General Manager Bill Bordwell did say this when asked about the possibility prospects Bob Allen and Jerry Smith would be dealt. "I can say that Bob Allen was never and will not be considered in trade talks. Him and Jerry Smith are a part of the new Cougars core and we are not in the business of trading from our core. I can also comment that Red Bond's inclusion on the trade block was unrelated to Johnson. The Cougars have been looking for a new home for Bond to allow Leo Mitchell to finish his career out at first base." As the baseball world waits for the official announcement, Gothams supporters are left to wonder if this move signals the beginning of a long and arduous rebuilding process. One thing is certain: the winds of change are blowing through the Big Apple, and the Gothams are set for another quick and dramatic transformation, one that may end their chances of competing for a Federal Association pennant in 1952 well before the year has begun.  DYNAMOS ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID Heartbreaking. There is no other way to describe the 1951 Detroit Dynamos baseball season that came to a screeching halt Monday evening at Thompson Stadium. The club has now gone 22 seasons without winning the Federal Association flag and became the first team in FABL history to lose two playoff tiebreakers. During those 22 long years they finished second seven times and third on 6 other occasions. Close but no cigar seems to be the Dynamos marketing slogan as, aside from that awful rebuilding stretch from 1935 to 1937 when they went 161-301 the club has been very competitive, but just can't seem to ever finish the job and raise the flag. Never has the inability to close out a season been more obvious and the pain of losing so intense as earlier this week at Thompson Field. Perhaps recency bias plays a small role but this writer just cannot imagine a second place finish ever feeling as devastating as this one. The Dynamos loaded up on offense by sending most of their top prospects packing at the trade deadline, adding 5 All-Stars to their roster including the big bats of Ralph Johnson and Mack Sutton, transposing a popgun offense that had often disappointed into perhaps the most feared lineup in baseball. All of that talent and even armed with a pitching performance that holds St Louis to 3 runs total, and hitless after the fourth inning, the Dynamos come up on the short end of a 3-2 decision in the biggest game of the year. Scoring just twice despite leaving the bases loaded twice and stranding 11 runners in total. It was a season of highs and lows far more drastic than even the typical up and down years Dynamos supporters have been subjected to. The dismay of losing the staff ace, 25-year-old pitching phenom Carl Potter, for the season with an opening day arm injury to the excitement of a series of June trades designed to improve what had been the least productive offense in the Federal Association sent fans emotions up and down as if they were on a roller coaster. All-star third baseman Mack Sutton arrived from the New York Stars followed by one the biggest trades in baseball history- and one that rivals the famous Al Wheeler, Frank Vance deal with Brooklyn- that brought three time Whitney Award winning outfielder Ralph Johnson and two other all-stars in catcher Dan Smith and pitcher Bob Arman from the Kings. Then, one final move as July was about to expire to rescue 38-year-old Joe Hancock from the woeful Toronto Wolves. Surely all of those moves would be rewarded with the long elusive pennant. The newcomers all did their jobs. Hancock went 10-4 with a 2.59 era. Arman 7-5, 2.10. Sutton hit .263 with 18 homers and 63 rbis in 79 games. Smith struggled early but still managed a .269 average and 7 homers in 59 games while Ralph Johnson excelled, batting at a .333 clip with 11 homers in 69 games. The Dynamos electrified the Thompson Stadium crowd and shot to the top of the Federal Association but the defending champion New York Gothams and surprising St Louis Pioneers were both in hot pursuit. Somehow, the club that went 44-22 over the summer, hit a wall on Labor Day. They dropped a twin bill to Chicago that day and finished out the season going 8-14 including the heartbreaking loss Monday. They frustrated fans with 5 losses in six games in the second last week of the season, including 3 straight in New York that allowed the Gothams to overtake them for top spot, but then left them elated with 3 straight wins the final week including dominating performances against those same Gothams that led to the Monday tiebreaker. The problem with 1-game showdowns is anything can happen and the Dynamos came up just short. That in itself is not something to be ashamed of. Its one game, its beyond their control but fans are left once more wondering just what might have been. What could have happened with just one more win during that awful September? What if they had a healthy Carl Potter, he of the 92-76 career record, the four All-Star Game selections and the 1949 Allen Award, available to pitch last Monday? What if Mack Sutton, who had two hits in the game, delivered a third with the bases loaded and one out in the opening inning? Or Sutton's long fly ball with the sacks drunk and two out in the fifth inning travelled just a few feet further and cleared the fence instead of landing harmlessly in the glove of Pioneers left fielder Larry Gregory? So many little moments that if one had just changed slightly the Dynamos would be preparing for the Philadelphia Sailors. Instead, it is just another winter of heartbreak as fans are left with nothing but the sad-sack football Maroons, the offensive starved hockey Motors and the cage Mustangs who always seem to come up short to tide them over until the Dynamos get another shot next spring to try and finally win that all too elusive pennant.
RUTLEDGE PUMMELS JULIAN IN FOURTH ROUND KNOCKOUT However, this bout was hardly a main course. Danny Rutledge has already fared better than most recent welterweight champions, and his first title defense went very well as he was dominant at times in his victory over a previously undefeated Ben Burns. In the welterweight landscape, the highest-ranked boxer not to have his title shot was the fifth-ranked welterweight in the division, Danny Julian, who has only won four of seven fights since emigrating from his native England. The top three contenders entering the evening were Ira Mitchell, Dale Roy, and Burns. Mitchell lost his belt to Rutledge, Roy was defeated by Mitchell, and Burns was Rutledge’s last opponent. With the amount of churn in this division, Julian was the freshest face that could be found. It is also the first title fight for the referee, Windy Forde. This bout can be best described as an initial feeling out period for Rutledge, a fateful uppercut that caused some immediate swelling on the face of the challenger, the lack of any meaningful response from Julian, and Rutledge’s quick domination to end the fight early enough to send the patrons out on the town with many hours to spare. After an early cross by Julian, Rutledge owned most of the first round and he was able to not only get his punches in, but he created a tough obstacle for the challenger just two minutes into the fight. Rutledge did the most damage on this night from his uppercut. He opened with an expert uppercut that stymied any advance Julian could muster, but it was the uppercut late in the round that he threw close to the body that caused a mouse to form on Julian’s right eye. In the immediate aftermath as the first round closed, Julian fought like a cornered animal, throwing the kitchen sink at Rutledge. The bell signaled the end of the round and both fighters continued to throw hands, which caused the rookie referee to try to step in. Both corners started to advance into the ring when cooler heads prevailed and avoided an all-out brawl. The second round was much more deliberate, as both fighters sized each other up, gearing for a longer fight. This was a poor tactic by Julian, who should have tried to capitalize on the momentum he generated at the end of the first round. Rutledge was content to slow down and managed to control the tempo of the fight, but not before trying to target the head with a left hook that landed beautifully. Julian used the closing bell of the second round to wake up and start throwing punches, but Rutledge barely fired back. Julian was visibly rattled, and Rutledge knew it. In the third round, Julian was about as effective as a cardboard cutout, as Rutledge went to work firing and landing shots at will. The swelling of Julian’s right eye was not calming down, even when his corner tried to ice and smooth out the bruising between rounds with an eye iron. Rutledge was focusing on Julian’s head with all his punches, not bothering with body shots. With a perfectly executed cross the challenger may not have even seen coming, Rutledge floored Julian. The referee began his count and Julian struggled to stand, reaching his feet after a six-count. Rutledge tried to make sure Julian was not playing possum. Once the champion realized that Julian was starry-eyed, he continued the barrage. In the exchange, Rutledge accidentally head-butted Julian, but that was more likely Julian’s unresponsive defenses with his head listing towards Rutledge than any intentional maneuver. Rutledge was doing fine without resorting to illegal tactics. It was a matter of time that the belt would stay with Rutledge, as the fight entered the fourth round. Rutledge picked up where he left off. Late in the round, Rutledge doubled up on a hook to Julian’s jaw and a powerful cross that landed on Julian’s chin. Julian was barely lifting his gloves to resist at this point and with 11 seconds remaining in the round, referee Forde threw his hands in the air to call off the fight. Julian’s corner protested it was called way too quickly, especially with seconds left in the round, without a chance for Julian’s corner to prop him up for the next round. The challenger’s trainer was trying to pressure a rookie referee, but it could have been called minutes earlier. While the result was expected, I am certain a rematch with Ira Mitchell or a fight with former champ Mac Erickson would have been a better showing. Rutledge (25-1-1) battered his opponent, connecting on an average of 43 punches per round, compared to only 13 by Julian. By jabs alone, Rutledge almost matched Julian’s output. It was not just the numbers; Julian (31-4-2) could not mount any kind of offense and his posture in the ring was that of someone who was resigned to be drilled by an oncoming train. With only two title defenses, Rutledge may have trouble finding a new opponent. Two late October welterweight fights might give insight to Rutledge’s next opponent, as Ben Burns will face John Bolton in Pittsburgh in three weeks while Mac Erickson will fight Dave Sullivan in Chicago the night before Halloween. The jury is out on whether Rutledge has a lot of staying power as welterweight champion or if the lack of talent in the division is allowing Rutledge to be the best of a bad lot. Perhaps a fight against a former champion will do more to prove Rutledge’s mettle. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Rutledge, 2-1 (R: 0:24 uppercut, 0:56 hook/midsection; J: 2:29 hook/midsection) Round 2: None Round 3: Rutledge, 3-0 (0:13 right/head, 1:07 cross/knockdown #1, 1:27 cross/midsection) Round 4: Rutledge, 3-0 (0:23 cross, 0:53 hook, 1:53 hook/jaw) TOTAL: Rutledge 8, Julian 1  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
EXPLORERS ROUT CAROLINA POLY TO TOP INITIAL POLL It took Cumberland's reluctant offense a half to get going, but once they did the Explorers rang up plenty of damage on an overmatched Carolina Poly defense in Knoxville as the hosts rolled to a 41-7 victory and the top of the polls in the first AIAA college grid ranking of the season. While the Cumberland offense slumbered through much of the opening half, its defense went to work in forcing three turnovers, two of which led quickly to Explorers charting territory in the Cardinals end zone and a 14-7 lead at the break. After a little time to get warmed up, backs Garland Churchwell and Billy Kirkwood caught fire, running over and through the Poly defense as the Explorers pushed their record to 3-0 and hang on to the top spot in the rankings, a position they were placed in during the preseason poll. The St. Ignatius Lancers proved their right to be a close second in the polls as the Lancers followed up a lobsided victory on the road in Detroit with another strong show in Columbus. The convincing 31-10 victory over the Central Ohio Aviators left the crowd of 82,640 in Columbus shell-shocked. A pair of third quarter scoring marches covering 74 and 46 yards within a three and one-half minute span put the game away after the Lancers led just 13-7 at the break. Other notable results saw St. Blane get on the winning track with a 30-3 victory over Northern Minnesota but Rome Sate stumbled again in dropping a 17-7 decision to St. Magnus. Georgia Baptist continues to impress as the Gators ran their record to 3-0 with a surprising 20-0 blanking of Central Kentucky.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST St. Blane 30 Northern Minnesota 3 Ellery 14 George Fox 14 Henry Hudson 13 Dickson 10 Pierpont 13 Grafton 0 Sadler 33 Annapolis Maritime 7 Brunswick 40 Empire State 7 St. Patrick's 38 Brooklyn State 20 St. Pancras 40 Eastern Virginia 7 Conwell College 20 Garden State 20 Liberty College 20 Penn Catholic 20 New York Maritime 47 Bigsby College 17 Boston State 57 Grange College 7 SOUTH Cumberland 41 Carolina Poly 7 Georgia Baptist 20 Central Kentucky 0 Noble Jones College 16 Northern Mississippi 6 Alabama Baptist 24 Bluegrass State 17 Western Florida 27 California Catholic 0 Bayou State 14 Red River State 0 Maryland State 54 Potomac College 3 Opelika State 48 Spartanburg Baptist 3 Miami State 27 American Atlantic 3 Mississippi A&M 54 Commonwealth Catholic 6 Mobile Maritime 24 Central Carolina 3 Coastal State 17 Charleston Tech 3 Columbia Military Academy 31 Bulein 3 Eastern State 35 Chesapeake State 9 Alexandria 28 Richmond State 17 Cowpens State 27 Petersburg 0 Lexington State 45 Huntington State 10 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 31 Central Ohio 10 Lincoln 14 Wisconsin State 7 St. Magnus 17 Rome State 7 Western Iowa 21 Whitney College 13 Indiana A&M 14 Pittsburgh State 14 Iowa A&M 17 Wisconsin Catholic 10 Lawrence State 27 Boulder State 19 Lambert College 27 Iowa Northern 7 College of Omaha 13 Eastern Kansas 0 Topeka State 21 Central Illinois 5 SOUTHWEST Lubbock State 20 Baton Rouge State 7 Travis College 17 North Carolina Tech 6 Darnell State 31 Oklahoma City State 13 Arkansas A&T 21 Amarillo Methodist 10 Texas Gulf Coast 38 Daniel Boone College 0 Abilene Baptist 41 Wichita Falls State 14 College of Waco 10 Ferguson 0 Abilene Methodist 20 Texas Panhandle 10 FAR WEST Northern California 40 Minnesota Tech 14 Coastal California 33 Rainier College 26 Redwood 13 Detroit City College 3 Spokane State 34 Eastern Oklahoma 14 CC Los Angeles 17 Sunnyvale 9 Lane State 33 Idaho A&M 9 College of San Diego 45 Portland Tech 7 Wyoming A&I 19 Cache Valley 0 San Francisco Tech 43 Camp Pendleton 3 Provo Tech 26 Utah A&M 0 Valley State 34 Canyon A&M 9 Tempe College 51 Dearborn State 7 Colorado Poly 42 Mountainview State 9 Mile High State 45 Custer College 0 South Valley State 41 El Paso Methodist 14 Quaker College (CA) 37 Flagstaff State 28 Minns College 19 San Clemente 6  PALADINS VS STARS HIGHLIGHTS TODAYS GRID SCHEDULE The second week of the American Football Association, set for later today, promises a couple of very interesting matchups highlighted by a showdown between the Pittsburgh Paladins and the New York Football Stars at Gothams Stadium. Each won their season opener last week and both did so very convincingly. The Paladins, who reached the AFA title game last season before falling to the Kansas City Cowboys, opened this campaign with a 30-6 victory on the road in St Louis against the Ramblers. The Stars were just as successful with a 33-0 drubbing of the Cleveland Finches in the Big Apple last Sunday. This week promises to be a showcase of a pair of talented quarterbacks with Dusty Sinclair leading the way for Pittsburgh against Dick Metcalf, who has replaced Archie Rawlings as the signal caller in New York. Sinclair, who led the AFA in passing yardage a year ago, threw for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win over St Louis. Metcalf, who saw limited action behind the now departed Rawlings a year ago, was just as impressive as Sinclair in the opening week. The former Opelika State star threw three touchdown passes against the Finches while completing 16 of 26 tosses for 284 yards. AFA league prognosticators give the edge to the Stars in this matchup but despite playing on the road, my money is on the Paladins prevailing and halfback Wally Dotson perhaps making the difference. The other game I will be watching closely takes place on the west coast as the Los Angeles Tigers host the defending champion Kansas City Cowboys. The Cowboys had little trouble with Detroit last weekend even with star quarterback Pat Chappell having a quiet game. The Tigers nipped San Francisco 21-17 a week ago but they will find a much tougher task in corralling the Cowboys. TANK TIPPETT'S WEEKEND PREDICTIONS Pittsburgh over New York 28-17 Kansas City over Los Angeles 30-13 Philadelphia over Boston 21-20 San Francisco over Chicago 17-14 Washington over Cleveland 21-3 Detroit over St Louis 10-7  The Week That Was Current events from October 4 to October 6,1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. Last edited by Tiger Fan; 07-17-2024 at 12:54 PM. |
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07-18-2024, 12:09 PM
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#987 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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October 9, 1951: World Championship Series Games 3 & 4
OCTOBER 9, 1951 SAILORS ONE WIN AWAY FROM TITLE Take Game Four to Go Ahead 3-1 in Series After splitting games three and four at home the past two days the Philadelphia Sailors are looking to wrap up their first World Championship Series win in 21 years with a victory at home over the St Louis Pioneers today. The Sailors, who swept the first two games in Missouri last week, fell 6-4 in Sunday's third game before rebounding with a victory by the same 6-4 score yesterday to go up three games to one in the best of seven FABL title series. The Pioneers, reeling after being beaten twice at home, got just want they needed to start the third game with a big 3-run first inning highlighted by a triple off the bat of Frank Kirchner and a double from Larry Gregory. Kirchner, who had a surprisingly strong season after being part of the deal last winter that brought him and Jim Adams Jr. over from Cleveland, doubled in another run in the second to make the score 4-0 before the Sailors finally responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Sailors starter Jackie James would then settle down and not allow another Pioneers run before being replaced for the seventh inning. Philadelphia chipped away at the lead with a second run coming in the third inning courtesy of a rbi double off the bat of Al Farmer following a Billy Forbes lead-off single and they cut the St Louis lead to just one at 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh thanks to pinch-hits from Cliff Dilley and Willie Martin. That would be as close as the hosts could get as the Pioneers added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning to go up 6-3. It was Kirchner, who had three hits in the game, that once more wielded the big bat with a 2-run single that followed hits from Jim McBride and George Atkins. Philadelphia scored once in the bottom of the ninth inning after Jerry Keith walked and Billy Forbes followed with a triple but Russ Peeples, who relieved Hal Hackney for the ninth inning, retired the Sailors Solly Skidmore with runners on the corners to preserve a 6-4 victory.  The fourth game saw a pitching rematch of the series opener as John Thomas Johnson took the hill for Philadelphia against Hiram Steinberg of the Foresters. The Sailors threatened early with runners on the corners and just one out in the bottom of the first but Steinberg worked his way out of trouble. The only 3-time Adwell Award winner as High School pitcher of the year was not as fortunate in the second frame as the Sailors exploded for three runs thanks to three consecutive hits off the bats of Johnson, Billy Forbes and Al Farmer. Steinberg aided his own cause by doubling in the third and he would score the first St Louis run on a two-out hit off the bat of rookie outfielder Rex Pilcher but the Sailors, thanks to a Cotton Dillon rbi single, would return their lead to 3 runs with a run in the bottom of the third. The score remained 4-1 until Claude Kerr gave the Pioneers some hope in the sixth inning when he hit a 2-run homer off of Johnson to cut the Sailors lead to 4-3. That hope would vanish in the seventh frame when George Rutter smacked a 2-run triple to put the Sailors back up by three runs at 6-3. Lou Robertson replaced Johnson, who pitched 8 solid innings, for the ninth inning and while he did allow one run thanks to a Jim Adams Jr. triple, the 36-year-old Robertson closed out a 6-4 win to give the Sailors a commanding three games to one lead in the series. 
MATTHEWS WITH DOMINANT GROUND PERFORMANCE KEYS COWBOYS WIN Mason Matthews delivered one of the most impressive offensive performances the American Football Association has ever seen as the bruising Kansas City Cowboys fullback ran over the Los Angeles Tigers for 237 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Cowboys to a 38-28 victory Sunday at Bigsby Stadium. Matthews, the veteran back out of Kit Carson University, scored on touchdown runs of 26, 3 and 61 yards while carrying the ball 15 times for his franchise record setting afternoon. The 237 yards is the fourth highest single game total in AFA history, trailing Lloyd Graybeal's astounding 316 yard game for Chicago in 1934 and a pair of outings from Bob Holt for St Louis in 1942 when Holt, then a rookie, ran for 268 and 254 yards in two games that season. The game was billed as a quarterback showdown between a pair of former CFC stars in Pat Chappell of the Cowboys and Los Angeles Tigers star Mark Monday. Each had a solid outing and the Tigers kept things close until the Cowboys scored 17 unanswered points in a 13 minute span covering most of the fourth quarter to put the game away. Chappell completed 10 of 19 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns while Monday threw for 202 yards and a pair of scores in a losing effort. Matthews was not the only back to have a big day on the ground as Jim Lyster of the Washington Wasps also surpassed the 200-yard mark on the day. The second year back out of Amarillo Methodist ran for 217 yards and a touchdown to help the Wasps improve to 2-0 with a hard fought 33-31 victory at home over the visiting Cleveland Finches. In other action the Pittsburgh Paladins joined the Cowboys and Wasps as the only 2-0 teams after Dusty Sinclair and Wally Dotson combined to lead the Paladins to a 24-14 road win in New York. Sinclair threw for 104 yards while Dotson ran for 148 to lead the Paladins offense. There are some concerns on the Pittsburgh sidelines after Wally Dotson was injured late in the game and is listed as doubtful to play next weekend in Boston. Dan Gilbertson ran for 144 yards and George Klavich had 11 tackles to help the Philadelphia Frigates double the Boston Americans 20-10. San Francisco evened its record at 1-1 after the Wings beat winless Chicago 41-24 behind a big day for the Wings offense. Both Jeff Blevins and Sam Gerst surpassed the century mark on the ground while Vince Gallegos threw for 2 touchdowns and 162 yards. Finally in St Louis, the Detroit Maroons gained a small measure of revenge for the FABL Dynamos playoff loss to the Pioneers, as Dan Andrews completed just 6 passes but three were for touchdowns in the Maroons 32-6 thumping of the Ramblers.   CUP CHAMPS WINLESS IN PRESEASON NAHC Regular Slate to Begin Thursday Challenge Cups are never awarded based on training camp records. That is a fact for which the two-time defending Cup champion Montreal Valiants are quite pleased with but perhaps there is a little bit of worry around the Montreal Arena after the Vals struggled mightily in the tune-up games, going winless while managing just one tie in seven outings. Entering the season there had been some talk that veteran goaltender Tom Brockers had lost a little. Perhaps the reflexes were just a little slower now for the 36-year-old they said, despite the fact Brockers was coming off a season that saw him named an NAHC first team all-star and had a stellar playoff that culminated in the veteran's fifth Challenge Cup win. Goaltending did not seem to be the problem in the seven exhibition games as both Brockers and long-time backup Brad Carter played very well. The concern in Montreal instead focuses squarely on a lack of offense as the club managed to score just 9 times in the seven preseason games and never managed more than two goals in any of the games. Adam Sandford was the only Valiant to score more than once in the preseason and if there are any concerns it is the fact that both Clarence Skinner and Wayne Augustin - the Valiants top two point producers a year ago- each managed just 1 assist and neither scored. Augustin played in all seven games while Skinner, who had a club high 25 goals and 55 points last season, suited up for six. The Valiants, led by Coach Norb Hickey, can now look ahead to a fresh start on Thursday night and the season opener where, following a ceremony to raise the Cup banner to the roof of the Montreal Arena, they will open the season against a Chicago Packers team that finished last in the league a season ago. The other opening evening game on Thursday goes in Detroit where the Motors will tussle with the Boston Bees. Code:
FINAL NAHC PRESEASON STANDINGS
TEAM GP W L T PTS
New York 7 3 0 4 10
Boston 7 4 2 1 9
Chicago 7 3 2 2 8
Toronto 7 2 2 3 7
Detroit 7 2 2 3 7
Montreal 7 0 6 1 1
PRESEASON SCORING LEADERS
GP G A PTS
Carlson, Tor 7 5 4 9
Pollack, Tor 7 4 5 9
Macek, NY 7 3 5 8
Chandler, Bos 7 3 4 7
Hart, Bos 6 2 5 7
Beddoes, Det 6 1 6 7
Treadwell, Det 6 3 3 6
Vanderbilt, Det 7 3 3 6
T Burns, Chi 7 2 4 6
Hartnell, NY 7 1 5 6
NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK New York 5 at 2 Toronto : A big game from Jim Macek who had two goals and an assist for the Shamrocks.MONDAY OCTOBER 1 Chicago 2 at 3 Detroit : Despite being outshot 34-21, the Motors prevailed 3-2 with Moe Treadwell pacing the Detroit offense with two assists. Boston 4 at 2 Montreal :Boston built a 4-0 lead through forty minutes and then held on to beat the winless Valiants. WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3 Toronto 2 at 2 Chicago : defenseman Bert McColley scored both of the Chicago goals while Les Carlson had a goal and an assist for the visitors.Detroit 4 at 4 Boston :Graham Comeau scored with 1 second remaining in the game to allow Detroit to escape with a 4-4 tie at Denny Arena. Montreal 1 at 3 New York : Montreal outshot the Shamrocks 32-25 but only a shorthanded goal from Kip Bedard in the third period eluded New York netminder Alex Sorrell in a 3-1 win for the Greenshirts THURSDAY OCTOBER 4 Toronto 3 at 1 Montreal : Les Carlson scored once and added an assist as Toronto beat the Vals 3-1, overshadowing a terrific 44-save game from Brad Carter between the pipes for Montreal.Chicago 3 at 2 Boston : Chicago continues its strong preseason with a 3-2 victory on the road in Boston. Marty Mahoney, with his third goal in four games, notched the winner with 3 minutes remaining in the contest. New York 1 at 1 Detroit : Ben Witt scored just over 2 minutes into the game and that held up until Rusty Mullins evened things for New York midway through the third period. SATURDAY OCTOBER 6 Detroit 4 at 2 Montreal : Tyson Beddoes had 3 assists while Henri Chasse made 39 saves as Detroit doubled winless Montreal 4-2 to finish off their preseason slate.Boston 5 at 1 Toronto :Five second period goals, including two off the stick of Mark Dyck, lifted the Bees to a 5-1 victory over Toronto. A tough night for the Dukes, who outshot the Bess 41-24 but Pierre Melancon was outstanding in the Boston net. New York 4 at 3 Chicago : Alexandre Lapalme's goal early in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and gave New York a victory in the final preseason game. The Shamrocks went undefeated with 3 wins and 4 ties to finish with the best record in exhibition tilts. [center]UPCOMING GAMES START OF REGULAR SEASON THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 Boston at Detroit Chicago at Montreal SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 Boston at Montreal Chicago at Toronto SUNDAY OCTOBER 14 Montreal at Boston New York at Chicago Toronto at Detroit MOTORS LEAD LOOP IN SEASON TICKET SALES After several years of struggling at the gate the Detroit Motors seemed to have captured the city's attention with news that the Motors have sold 12,669 season tickets for the upcoming NAHC season. The Thompson Palladium holds 15,000 fans so tickets may be hard to come by in Detroit for many key games this season. Chicago, with 10,357 seats now accounted for at Lakeside Auditorium, is the only other NAHC club to surpass the 10,000 mark in season tickets. This despite the fact that the Packers are coming off one of the worst seasons in NAHC history. ROY TO MISS SEASON FOR DUKES Tough news for the Toronto Dukes as the preseason slate came to a close. Toronto has learned it will be without veteran defenseman Chad Roy for most, if not all of the upcoming season. The 29-year-old, who split last season between Toronto and minor league Cleveland, suffered a series knee injury in a game against New York. Originally a 1941 fourth round pick of Boston, Roy has been with the Dukes since 1947 while also playing for the Bees, Chicago and the now-defunct Brooklyn Eagles. The stay at home defenseman has 264 NAHC games under his belt and has scored 68 points.   MUSTANGS HIRE ST. CLAIR AS NEW COACH Following James Williams sudden departure as their head coach, the Detroit Mustangs went with a local product with plenty of pro basketball experience to take over calling the shots at Thompson Palladium. The new head coach in Detroit will be Haywood St. Clair after it was announced that the veteran clipboard holder will join Rollie Barrell's club. "It is good to finally be home," joked the 60-year-old at a brief press conference to announce the addition of St. Clair who grew up in Michigan's upper peninsula and played his college ball in Saginaw at Michigan Lutheran back when college basketball was in its infancy. The 60-year-old is well respected in both the college and pro ranks and has held nearly every job imaginable in the sport. Following two decades in the college ranks as both a head coach and later an athletic director, St. Clair was an assistant coach at the dawn of the American Basketball Conference before achieving great success in the ABC as the head coach for five seasons of Daniel Prescott's Brooklyn Red Caps. Under St. Clair's tutelage the Red Caps won three consecutive ABC titles and he was named that loop's Coach of the Year twice. Looking for a new challenge he spent some time as a General Manager working for both the Pittsburgh Falcons -prior to their move to Toronto- and more recently the Syracuse Titans before that club folded prior to last season. After a year away from the sport, St. Clair got the itch again and when the Detroit job opened up it was a perfect fit for the Michigan native to finish out his coaching career.
The Week That Was Current events from October 6-8, 1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-19-2024, 10:31 AM
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#988 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 10, 1951 WCS Game Five
OCTOBER 11, 1951 SPECIAL WCS EDITION SMOOTH SAILING! PHILADELPHIA WINS WCS Sailors Pound Pioneers to Win in 5 Games The Philadelphia Sailors completed a dominant World Championship Series performance with a 9-4 victory over the St Louis Pioneers in the fifth game to win the franchises fourth world title and first since 1930. Many had considered the Sailors underdogs in the series and expected them to fall to the Pioneers, just as they had when the two clashed in the 1947 and 1948 championships. Instead the Sailors were in complete control, taking the series in five games after winning the opening two on the road while outscoring the Pioneers 32-19. Like they did in two of the previous four series games, St Louis scored first but a big inning from the Sailors -the fifth when Philadelphia sent eleven men to the plate and scored eight runs, started the championship celebration very early for 47,980 fans in attendance at Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium. St Louis pitching, its bread and butter during their two consecutive series triumphs just a few short years ago, proved to be their undoing this time around as the "H" in 3-H Club might as well have stood for horrible this time around. Danny Hern, who was on the mound for most of the Sailors big inning in game five, lost both of his starts and posted an 11.32 WCS ERA. Hiram Steinberg was not much better, also dropping both of his decisions and finishing with an ERA of 7.20. Only Hal Hackney, whose dominant performance against Detroit in the tie-breaker game allowed the Pioneers to win the pennant, looked strong on the mound with his showing in the game three victory. The Sailors hitters were dominant with Al Farmer (8-for-18, 6 rbi) winning the WCS Most Valuable Player award but it also could have gone just as easily to George Rutter (9-for-21, 6 rbi) or Les Cunha (7-for-19, 3HR, 8 rbi). Aside from the two splendid outings from John Thomas Johnson (2-0, 1.59), the Sailors pitching was merely average. Lloyd Stevens won both games two and the series clinching fifth game but he had his troubles, especially yesterday when the former Philadelphia Keystones ace issued eight free passes in seven innings of work. Two walks from Stevens in the second inning led to the first St Louis run as the Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead on a Homer Mills sacrifice fly. The lead was doubled to 2-0 an inning later when George Atkins led off with a double and scored on a ground out by Rex Pilcher. For Atkins, the WCS was a coming out party for the impressive 22-year-old rookie outfielder. The 1947 second round pick had a pair of three hit games in the series and ended with a .526 batting average and four doubles in the five games. Philadelphia threatened in the third with two hits off Hern but failed to score. An inning later the Sailors did cut the Pioneers lead to 2-1 after Joe Scott led off the fourth with a triple and scored on a single off the bat of Rutter. The Pioneers quickly answered in the top of the fifth with Atkins once more being the catalyst, smacking a lead-off double and after a Stevens wild pitch, scoring on Frank Kirshner's sacrifice fly to restore the two run lead for the Pioneers. The roof caved in on Hern in the bottom of the fifth as the Sailors had the biggest inning of the series. It began when Kirchner booted a ground ball by Rip Lee for an error. The set off a run of five straight singles before Hern was replaced by Pioneers reliever Tony Dixon. Dixon retired Cotton Dillon for the second out but another single followed by the only extra-base hit of the rally, Les Cuhna's 3-run homer, left the Sailors up by a 9-3 score when the inning mercifully came to an end with Lloyd Stevens grounding out. St Louis would get one run back in the sixth, Atkins third hit of the game plated Artie Smith, but any possible hopes of a miracle comeback seemed dashed for good when Otis Ballard was gunned down for the final out of the inning while trying to advance from first to third on the hit. Three innings later as Sailors centerfielder Billy Forbes clutched pinch-hitter Jim McBride's long fly ball for the final out, the celebration -long underway in the stands- began in earnest on the field as the Sailors completed an improbable season as World Champions. It was a year when virtually every major publication tabbed them to finish in the second division of the Continental Association but instead the Philadelphia Sailors are, for the first time since 1930, the best baseball team in the world.   MULLINS, BOISMENU EXPECTED TO RETIRE It looks like this is the end of the line for a pair of veteran All-Stars who were recently placed on waivers by the Brooklyn Kings. Adam Mullins and Marion Boismenu have gone unclaimed since being waived prior to the opening game of the World Championship Series. Neither is expected to accept a minor league assignment if unclaimed so the expectation is each has played his final FABL game. Mullins, 39, was an 11-time all-star catcher who won the Continental Association Whitney Award in 1943 when he helped the Cincinnati Cannons win the WCS. He broke in with Montreal in 1935 at the age of 22 after being an All-American at Eastern Oklahoma. Beginning in 1937 he was named to the CA all-star team seven years in a row, only a stint in the Navy during the war beginning in 1944 interrupted his run. He was traded to Cincinnati in 1941 and played a key role on the Cannons championship clubs before being moved to Detroit in 1949 and finally to Brooklyn at the trade deadline this year. In all, Mullins has played in 1,692 big leagues games and amassed 1,827 career hits with a .304 batting average. Boismenu, 38, had a career arc in many way very similar to Hall of Famer Dave Trowbridge. Like Trowbridge, Boismenu did not become an everyday player until his late twenties when the Sailors, who drafted him in 1931 finally made him a big league regular a decade later. He was a fixture in the Sailors lineup for the next eight seasons before losing his starting job and being waived at the end of spring training despite winning the CA batting title in 1949. He moved on to Toronto for two games before being waived and claimed by Brooklyn in May but appeared in just 23 games for the Kings. Boismenu has 1,487 hits in 1,333 career FABL games. WEEKLY AFA PREDICTIONS With a special mid-week edition of This Week in Figment Sports, we give Tank Tippett another opportunity to make his predictions on the weekend American Football Association games. Tank was a perfect 6-0 in picking the winners last week. Can he keep his streak alive? Here is how Tank sees the six games this week finishing:
The Week That Was Current events from October 8-9, 1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-21-2024, 11:25 PM
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#989 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 11, 1951 - One day sim to move to off-season
OCTOBER 11, 1951 FLURRY OF TRADES ANNOUNCED DAY AFTER WCS ENDS In a parade that would rival that seen on the streets of Philadelphia today with fans celebrating that Sailors World Championship Series victory secured just two days ago, 17 players changed hands in a flurry of activity from four trades, including one involving three teams, announced in a matter of just a few hours. The biggest news, the one that left all of baseball reeling, was the widely panned decision by the New York Gothams to officially send Red Johnson to the Chicago Cougars. There had been speculation all week that Johnson was leaving the Big Apple for the Cougars as part of a rebuilding plan that would tear a New York team that missed the pennant by just 4 games a year after reaching the World Championship Series. The full rebuild is off, according to sources in New York, but the Johnson deal did proceed and was panned by some critics as the worst deal ever made in FABL. The particulars of the much anticipated deal was revealed, and most were underwhelmed, to say the least, with the Gothams haul. The trade saw three prospects, none among the top fifty on the OSA list and none of the Cougars top four young talents, heading to New York in the form outfielder Frank Reece, second baseman Biff Tiner and pitcher Jimmy Isgro. Give the Cougars management credit as they somehow managed to add a 34-year-old 4-time Whitney Award winning slugger who belted 35 homers last season and let the Federal Association in OPS without disrupting their core group or top prospects at all. Leland Kuenster of the Chicago Herald-Examiner, a regular on the Chicago Chiefs beat, quickly wrote "this likely becomes the worst deal ever" and few disagreed with him. Even Gothams management, which seemed to immediately regret the move, admitted "calls to the Gothams office are not positive." OSA THOUGHTS ON PLAYERS INVOLVED IN DEAL  Cougars management sources, being diplomatic one would think, claimed that observers were underestimating " Reece in particular and Tiner has a solid bat. Reece can fill CF for the Gothams to push Moody to right field." The Cougars spokesman added that there was no way either of the Cougars top two prospects in pitcher Bob Allen and outfielder Jerry Smith could ever be part of a deal for Johnson, and noted neither came up in talks. "I just can't see anyone giving up 1, let alone 2, top 20 prospects for a 34-year-old first baseman. Especially a centerfielder and future ace that are going to play regularly next year," the Cougars insider added. He cited a widely panned move from several years ago that saw Red Bond leave Montreal for the Cougars noting " There (were) similar issues with the Red Bond trade but Joe Austin turned into a stud. There's no reason to think that none of the three guys we sent can do what he has." The argument is the fact that Red Johnson is not simply any 34-year-old first baseman and while first baseman may be easy to find, 4-time Whitney Award winning first baseman who led their league in OPS the previous season are most certainly not. Bob Murphy of the Detroit Times, while admitting that fans in Detroit are filled with glee at the news of one of their key rivals dealing a superstar away says that "the Gothams move would seem to be ill-advised at any time, certainly making contending for a pennant next season a more difficult task than it was 24 hours earlier, but it is compounded by the fact they did not get a player who has the potential to be a superstar in return. Perhaps one of the three newcomers acquired by New York surprise everyone and do suddenly take that step to stardom, but the odds are greatly against it, and if the old saying that the team that lands the best player wins the deal than the Gothams appear to have near zero chance of ever winning, or even breaking anywhere close to even on this deal." *** Very Busy Day for Kansas City Kings*** While the Red Johnson deal dominated the conversation, the Kansas City Kings were also very busy yesterday as they pulled the trigger on four deals. First the transplanted Brooklyn franchise completed some outstanding paperwork from July when the trade deadline deal that would have sent 26-year-old reliever Jackson Scott to Washington for minor league third baseman Earl Avery failed to reach the league office in time. That same deal was agreed to by the two clubs and submitted yesterday. Next the Kings made a somewhat surprising move of dealing another pitcher away. This time it was the much travelled Roy Schaub, a 25-year-old who was the first overall selection in the 1944 draft but has now been traded four times in an eventful career that included a no hitter at the minor league level and an all-star appearance this season after going 12-10 with a 3.78 era for the Kings following an early season deal with Detroit that sent Pat Petty to the Dynamos. Schaub, expendable because of all the young arms the Kings added in their summer deal with the Dynamos, has plenty of talent but has struggled with his control. He is now a Pittsburgh Miner after the Kings dealt him to the Steel City for minor league catcher Bob Burge. Initial reaction may have been mild shock around the league but catching talent is at a premium and the 24-year-old Burge, a 1948 second rounder, is highly thought of by OSA and looked very good both at AAA and in a brief trial with Pittsburgh this past season. Those two moves were only the appetizer for the Kings entree, a meal that on any day that did not see Red Johnson traded would have filled the plates of baseball reporters but instead is pushed to the back of the table. It was a three-way deal with the St Louis Pioneers and New York Stars that saw 16-game winner Joe Potts join the Pioneers talented rotation, slugging first baseman Bill Barnett head west to Kansas City and a number of prospects join the rebuilding Stars. Broken down into two parts it begins with Potts, 27 and a CA all-star this past season, joining the Pioneers rotation but at quite a hefty cost of young talent as St Louis parts with prospects King Brucker, Les Sasson, Red Hilton, Ed Wingerter and Ed Owens. Brucker, a 20-year-old centerfielder a 1949 first rounder, might be the best of the bunch but the Pioneers felt they had enough depth to more than offset the departure of each of their prospects. Potts (16-11, 3.34) will join what could be the best rotation top-to-bottom in the Fed next season with Hal Hackney (18-11, 2.76), Danny Hern (17-12, 4.34), Hiram Steinberg (13-12, 3.77) and Tom Buchanan (12-7, 3.59). Brucker and minor league pitcher Ed Wingerter did not spend any time as Kansas City Kings as both were immediately packaged along with Kansas City prospects Enos Bell and John Smith to the Stars for slugging first baseman Bill Barnett. The 29-year-old is a 2-time all-star who led the Continental Association in homeruns each of the past two seasons. He is not quite Red Johnson but certainly give the Kings a premier veteran first baseman. The Stars had four prospects, three ranked within the top 100 by OSA and the fourth just outside of it as they continue a rebuild that seems to have shifted into high gear. Some might argue with Brucker leading the charge, the Stars may have received a much better return for Barnett than the Gothams received for Red Johnson. FALCONS HIRE LEWIS AS NEW HEAD COACH Irvin Lewis has some big shoes to fill after the long-time Federal Basketball League coach was tabbed to be the new bench boss of the Toronto Falcons. Lewis, 50, will replace Gene Smith who recently retired after leading the Falcons to the FBL championship game each of the past two seasons. Under Smith's guidance the Falcons were 83-51 over the past two seasons but dropped game seven of the league finals to Washington in both of those years. Lewis will take the reins in Toronto, after spending five seasons at the helm of the now-defunct Hartford Patriots. A Orwell, OH., native who played his college ball at West Goshen State, Lewis is 8th all-time in pro basketball victories as a coach with a record of 138-166. His best season in Hartford was 1946-47 when he guided the Patriots to their only playoff berth. The Week That Was Current events from October 11, 1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-23-2024, 01:57 PM
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#990 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 15, 1951
OCTOBER 15, 1951 RED REMAINS IN NEW YORK Red Johnson will remain with the New York Gothams after news broke that his trade to the Chicago Cougars, widely panned by newspapers across the country, has been voided so the 4-time Whitney Award winner will stay in New York, at least for now. Last Thursday it was announced that a deal rumoured to be in the works since the beginning of the World Championship Series had been completed to send Johnson to the Windy City in exchange for three prospects headlined by Frank Reece, who had a brief call-up to Chicago in September. The deal was immediately met with negative reaction from many sources, including New York fans, who loudly protested that the Gothams had received far too little in return for the 9-time all-star who led the Federal Association in OPS in the season just completed. There are a couple of different accounts as to why the deal was voided. One suggests that Gothams owner Leland Winthrop, after being deluged by calls to the Gothams office by fans in protest had a change of heart and refused to sign the paperwork making the transaction official. An argument that holds water when you consider that Johnson is now the game's most elite slugger with Bobby Barrell in decline. It also would greatly hinder the Gothams chances of winning what could be a second pennant in three years should they prevail next season. The other story circulating is that Winthrop did consent to the deal but FABL President Dan Barrell used his powers to void it in the best interests of the sport. While no one would confirm which reason was the true one, a spokesman in the league office, speaking off the record, noted that had Barrell voided the deal it would have been well within his powers and with cause. "The return is paltry at best," pointed out the source. "If an elite, Hall of Fame-level player is being dealt there better be a Top 10, maybe Top 15 at worst, prospect coming back - and he better be joined by other valuable things too. Quantity over quality doesn't work when we're talking an all-time great on the other side." If it was Barrell who used his Presidential powers to nullify the trade it would not be a move without precedent. While it would be a first for Barrell, who assumed the role just over a year ago, his predecessor Samuel Belton overturned at least two deals in the past including one involving another superstar slugger, Bill Barrett. *** Where do Cougars, Gothams Go From Here? *** The Cougars are not in a terrible position without Johnson, although the club is a much more serious threat to finally win a Continental crown after years of coming short if they had Red in their lineup. They could pivot back to Red Bond, who had a decent season (.284,28,89) as their first baseman last year but there is certainly concern about age as Bond will turn 39 before the season begins. Bond was put on the trade block as rumours of the Johnson trade heated up, but he has not been moved at this point. One other possibility is looking to make a deal with the Philadelphia Keystones for Hank Koblenz. The Keystones are willing to part with the veteran, who can play first or third base and hit 31 homers a year ago although his batting average dipped to a career low .206. At 35, he is one year older than the typical veteran acquisitions the Cougars look to make as they seem to have found a real sweet spot in acquiring 34 year old corner infielders. As for the Gothams, it certainly appears the announced tear down and rebuild will not be happening. New York management was going to deal most of its roster but apparently found little in the way of suitable trade partners which may have contributed to the decision to quickly move Johnson, making it some sort of tangible indication New York was serious about dealing. Now that the trade is off, the Gothams might be better served being buyers and look to add a key veteran piece or two in an effort to keep pace with St Louis and Detroit, both of whom having made major upgrades since the All-Star break. It will be interesting to see just what direction the Gothams turn. "ABSURD. MALIGNANT. MEDDLING" Furious Owner Lambasts League Office "Hey Tip, did you see the news?" Cougar owner Mack Dalmer asked me when I entered his office, waiving a copy of the Chicago Daily News he picked up from his desk. "They took away my superstar!" "Here I thought we were going to have a nice little chat about the rest of the offseason and a hopeful pennant winner in 1952. Instead, you'll get a barrage of juicy snippets you can take to the press!" For a man prone to hyperbole, this was not one of those instances. As many around the league know, there was a huge blockbuster agreed upon between the Cougars and the Gothams, sending a trio of their top 100 prospects for slugging first basemen Red Johnson. It was in the rumor mill all postseason, and after it was made official, it hit a snag. The league blocked the trade. Here's some of the best hits: "I may be one of the newer owners, so it's no surprise I don't have much say in league matters, but I at least always felt like things were fair and simple for everyone involved. Now I heard rumblings about unpopular decisions or matters getting forced through, but up until today, I never would have thought something like this could happen. The overstepping of the commissioners office is un-American. What happened to free-trade? Is every deal going to be scrutinized from now on? Where is the line drawn?" "I don't know what to say other then voice my displeasure. I'll offer three words: Absurd. Malignant. Meddling. How else can I put it? A gross, miscarriage of justice? Two teams agreed to a deal that the ballclubs felt was mutually beneficial. And then a vocal minority complains and just like that it's done? No discussion. No compromise. Just sorry, not happening." "The worst part is the hypocrisy. From the league office and the other owners and GMs in the league. People parrot that 'oh prospect rankings don't matter' and 'oh scouting reports don't matter' and 'all that matters is stats' but guess what? The complaints were that we didn't give up one or two top 20 prospects? You know, our future ace who through four starts already has a 9-strikeout game and a shutout, or our new starting center fielder who hit just shy of .300 with 15 walks in his first 73 PAs while shagging flyballs like it's nothing. How many top 20 prospects get traded, ever? Young ace Joe Potts didn't cost one. Back-to-back CA home run leader Bill Barnett didn't cost one. Even young superstar Ralph Johnson didn't cost one. Or Jim Adams Jr. John Moss. Buddy Long. George Cleaves AND Lefty Allen. Bob Arman. You have to go all the way back to 1947 where a 24-year-old already ace Hiram Steinberg and former #1 prospect cost 6th ranked prospect Sherry Doyal and a 1st Round Pick. But yeah, a 34-year-old first basemen needs at least one if not two of them? You're telling me the Cannons are lining up to ship out Dallas Berry and Charlie Barrell for a 34-year-old first basemen? What about the Stars with Eddie Dickey and Jimmy Morris? Maybe, just maybe the Foresters or Sailors part with one of their two top 20 third basemen. But seriously? No one is going to do that." "So let me give you some more stats: Frank Reece had a 157 WRC+ in AA and a 208 WRC+. In the 85 games between that? 22 doubles, 15 triples, 12 homers, 67 RBIs, 75 runs. And he just turned 24. Tiner may have struggled a little in a season he fought injury, but he turned 20 in July and has hit a respectable .311/.418/.432 with the Lions since his selection as a first rounder. The average UMVA hitter this year batted .246/.394/.449, and there's plenty of guys coming from college beating up on the teen pitchers. And then there's Isgro, who had a beautiful 2.52 ERA in 14 starts in San Jose before a promotion to Lincoln where it rose to just 2.60 in 9 starts. Shouldn't stuff like this matter? At least that's what we've been told... Look, the people at OSA do tremendous work, but with over 4,000 baseball players you're really going to make them the end all, be all in scouting. I mean they've had some huge misses in the past, let's be honest. Reece a 'second division starter?' Tiner a 'bubble player?' 'Isgro a spot starter?' And they still rank these guys in the offseason top 100? Something isn't adding up here..." "Here's how I see it: our hard-working, resourceful GM is getting punished for agreeing to a satisfactory deal before the lazy, content with mediocrity GMs had a chance to do some leg work. Even worse, he's getting slandered out there by everyone about 'mind control' and what not. How's he supposed to make trades anymore? Find reasonable offers? Even feel confident signing off on something knowing that because some quick trades happen all the time. It's truly quite sad. I had to meet with him before this to ensure him that I was unphased. He was ready to resign just to finally escape all the animosity. But I convinced him that would just be letting the other guys win. This Cougars organization is a family. From the wonderful people that spend hours of thankless work cleaning the troughs in the bathroom, to franchise icons like Leo Mitchell, Skipper Schneider, Pete Papenfus, and Donnie Jones, to any young Chicagoan who spends his first ball-game at Cougars Park to cheer on the team they choose to support. I'll go to back for each and every one of you. Don't apologize for you Cougar fandom. Your loyalty to your team. Your years of dedication and effort will never go unnoticed. That's more or less our motto here. Work hard, respect the uniform and your opponent, and compete until your last breath." "This all just blows my mind. Players getting traded quickly is nothing new. Yet when we do it? Outrage!. Remember Rabbit Day? Al Wheeler? Mack Sutton? Where was the outrage then? We finally get luck with a right place, right time deal and then its not allowed. A lot of this is before my time, but where was the outrage when we overpaid for Dave Rankin and Joe Masters? Or Freddie Jones? Or David Molina? I mean so many times deals look good/bad in the moment just for it to turn out the complete opposite way. Baseball is a fickle mistress. No one expects an otherworldly stopper to more then double his ERA. Or an 80-win team to finish with a sub .375 win percentage in one run games. Or a 38-year-old vet with 54 career steals to swipe more bases then anyone who's not a member of his own team. But these are all things that happen. And no one would have guessed it." "Oh and speaking of Wheeler... Hey Leland? Worst trade of All-Time? Give me a break... What about trading a former 1st Overall Pick, unanimous Hall-of-Famer, and one of three players ever to hit 500 home runs for a *checks notes* 7th Round Pick? We get it, you wish your team had Red Johnson too, but your team giftwrapped the 1944 WCS to the Cannons and then he went on to lead the league in WRC+ the following season. How is Bill May working out for you, huh?" "Should I be surprised? Maybe not. The league has a history of bullying owners, teams, and cities to get what it wants. Remember the absurd lottery for the supposed "top" players like Adolph Jacobson and Marv Smith that were forced on the team before I got here. Or maybe pushing out owners and backroom deals to steal clubs from cities? Poor Baltimore. Poor Brooklyn. Poor Sailors and Stars fans who live on the east coast. This isn't even the first time we've had a controversial blocking. He may have just retired, but don't forget about Adam Mullins. I never bought that BS about a passport or whatever they 'claim' is the reason the trade didn't happen. It's just like what we witnessed today. A vocal minority whined, and the league office was pushed over." "And don't even get me started on all the trade controls the league. Can't trade draft picks. Can't trade recently drafted players. Plans of "trade checks" being implemented before this now too? What are we supposed to do on our quests to bring our fanbases championships? Be really bad for a long time and hope we get lucky? Yeah, that's not my style... This is a team in their longest every championship drought and I gave the go-ahead on a huge deal. Parting with three players that internally we really like. And now what am I supposed to do?" "I still remember the story from one of my first seasons as owner. It was 1947, we were coming off our first -- and I may add only -- season below .500 since 1936, and like this season I gave the okay on a big trade. The player in question was George Cleaves, and a handshake agreement was made with the Miners, but our GM reminded them about the recent league memo complaining about teams not making players available for trade. So even with a potential agreement in place, he mentioned to his counterpart that perhaps Cleaves should be made available. Just give us a courtesy call if you find something that could top the agreed upon offer. That speaks to his character. No mind control. No trying to scam the other team. No ruthlessness to get the most while giving up the least. Just doing the little things to help build a relationship with his peers. And when we were all blindsided by the agreement with the Gothams? Without a single mention back? Not one complaint. Not one peep. Not one rumor or 'anonymous' source complaining about the injustice. Just put his head down. Got to work. And continued to do what he does best: put together a competitive team with tons of talent and plenty of reinforcements on the way." "These poor players. They're the ones that this hurts most. How is Red Johnson supposed to suit up for the Gothams next season knowing that they wanted to tear-down and ship him off? Or Red Bond? Knowing that his team was willing to cast him aside to the bench and now he's supposed to lead them to the playoffs? And Frank Reece? Told he was going to be apart of a great young outfield for seasons to come, just to be moved away. Now he loses out on an opportunity to start right away, and has to re-commit to the team that was ready to move him to make a pennant push." "But above all, I want to apologize to the Cougar faithful. I am so sorry. You guys have been through so much recently. All the expectations. All the failures. All the disappointment. And what hurts more then this? For one day you thought that finally, finally the decades of suffering and shortcoming were over and you were about to get one of the best hitters in baseball. And just like every other time you get your hopes up they get crushed right back down. Like you don't even matter. Like your happiness has to be approved by those in charge. I will continue to give the team all the money and support they need to be competitive. But for the first time since I took the club from Ben when his health was failing, I'm at a complete loss. I don't know how to make it up to you. And I hope you'll continue making Cougars Park the wonderful baseball palace that some of the game's top players have called home." "Now Tip, I'll leave you with this. See what I'm holding (waves check)? Here's a blank check. Let me grab my pen here. FABL League Office. Here's my John Hancock. Let's put it in an envelope and send it to headquarters. I know I'm going to get repercussions for this, just fill out the fine on the line right here. But I can't stand by here idly by watching the team I cherish and the fans that, like me, have spent most of their time rooting for, get screwed over like this. I don't care how much it puts me back. I just want the league to know: they woke up a caged beast. I will do everything in my power to bring a title to this great city and I'm sure it's already fired up the hungry twenty four guys we'll break camp with us. They saw the headlines. They heard the complaints. They hate the losing as much as I do." "It's always felt like the Cougars against everyone. And this pretty much confirms it. Oh well. I can play the villain if I have to." JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING Yes, the rumors were true. Yes, the deal was agreed. Yes, many fans were questioning Gothams leadership. Yes, Red Johnson was no longer still in the Gothams lineup. Until he was. Mere hours after Gothams and Cougars signed off on a trade sending the Whitney candidate Red Johnson to Chicago, setting off wails of despair amongst the Gothams faithful, their prayers were heard. Impossibly, improbably, Red was staying in New York. The Commissioners office of FABL had denied the trade. Citing, various reason, many of which will likely set off howls of disapproval in major league front offices, the decision was handed down from on high. No deal. Johnson will remain in New York. Chicago will retain their prospects. It never happened. I contacted Asst GM Tom Johnson for a reaction. He offered that everyone in the team's front office was caught off guard. Plans had already been made, players had been made aware of the deal. And now they are back to square one in their off season plans. Then again, if the worst thing that happens to a team is that they have to have Red Johnson in the lineup, forgive me if I don't pity them. Still, I heard words like "meddling", and "interference" thrown around the halls in Queens. And maybe one person whispering, "thank goodness". Yes, it has been a strange weekend. IRWIN'S AWARDS BALLOT Over the next few days the Federal and Continental Associations will hand out their hardware. Here are Artie Irwin's thoughts on who the winners should be. Federal Whitney Award: LF Larry Gregory (St. Louis Pioneers It was a nice change of pace this season, as for once there really wasn't an obvious surefire unanimous (or should be unanimous) selection for any of the awards. This is great, as it will lead to more baseball discussion while we are all starved for content with the offseason now underway..320/.404/.530 (138 OPS+), 679 PA, 118 R, 47 2B, 8 3B, 20 HR, 115 RBI, 6 SB, 86 BB, 152 WRC+, 6.5 WAR) With plenty of talented options to pick from, Jesse Alvarado (.311, 39, 134, 16), Red Johnson (.314, 35, 118), and Paul Williams (.321, 19, 103) are the first to come to mind (though there are a ton of worthy choices depending on your stat of choice), I did something I almost never do: picked the best player on the best team. That would be "The Pope of Chicago" Larry Gregory, who was pretty much the only impactful hitter for the Fed champs before 2nd Overall Pick Red Pilcher (.297, 10, 35) came up less the a month after the bat to mash homers for a team starved for offense. Gregory, however, was elite from start to finish, hitting an excellent .320/.404/.530 (138 OPS+) in a Fed high 679 trips to the plate. The 28-year-old left fielder also led with 47 doubles, tallying 20 homers, 115 RBIs, and 118 runs while worth 6.5 wins above replacement. The most impressive thing, however, was his absurd 86-to-27 walk-to-strikeout ratio, as his 4.0 K% was the lowest among Fed hitters. His 152 WRC+ was third among qualified hitters, and his WAR was less then a tenth behind Fed leader Stan Kleminski (.321, 4, 60, 13). A 5-Time All-Star, 2-Time World Champion, and 1-Time WCS MVP, Gregory deserves to add a Whitney to his collection, but with so many similar candidates he may have to settle for just another pennant. Federal Allen Award: LHP John Stallings (Chicago Chiefs) Last year Ed Bowman (17-8, 3.25, 122) was the obvious choice, but a brutal September where he was 2-3 with a 5.48 ERA (77 ERA+) and 1.57 WHIP looks to prevent him from getting his third Allen. Other good options include Pioneer co-ace Hal Hackney (18-11, 2.76, 127), Gotham veteran Buddy Long (18-12, 3.73, 66), or Detroit's breakout arms Wally Hunter (12-10, 3.09, 90) and Jack Miller (18-17, 3.49, 120), but I'm going to ride with the guy who dominated nearly all season: John Stallings.15-10, 2.57 ERA (162 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, 263 IP, 111 BB, 134 K, 1.2 K/BB, 3.54 FIP (84 FIP-), 5.7 WAR Stallings may not have the wins some of the other contenders do, just 15 in his 33 starts, but he led the Fed in ERA (2.57) and strikeouts (134) in the best season of his young career. Almost destined to be an Allen winner since his selection to kick off the 1946 draft, it's crazy to think this is his sixth big league season, and even if he isn't able to capture the '51 Allen he should be a favorite for seasons to come. If there is a knock on the young lefty, it's the 111 walks, but his 1.27 WHIP is still 4th in the Fed. The most impressive part is his consistency: just one of his six months saw him have an ERA above 3, and at 3.14 it's still lower then all but three Fed pitchers season ERA. And even with a bottom three defense behind him, his .233 opposing average was one of five categories he led his association in. He's not the best pitcher in the Fed, that continues to be Ed Bowman, but Stallings outpitched him and showed no signs of wear after crossing the 200 inning mark. Federal Kellogg Award: RF Rod Shearer (Chicago Chiefs) This is probably the closest to an "obvious" pick, but I can see voters preferring Claude Kade (.304, 12, 72), Danny Taylor (.305, 18, 77), Sam Ivey (13-5, 3.47, 96) or even one of Hank Estill (.300, 10, 46) or Rex Pilcher who came up late, but I just don't see how you beat the 5.1 WAR and 133 WRC+ season from last year's 2nd Rounder Rod Shearer. A personal favorite of mine, Shearer has already emerged as arguably the Chiefs top position player, as he's an extra base machine who looks like a natural out in right field. His .290/.359/.502 (123 OPS+) batting line does not look like someone who first played college baseball last season, and he contributed 66 extra base hits as a mainstay in the Chiefs lineup. He led all Fed rookies in homers, RBIs, slugging, OPS (.861), WAR, hits (164), doubles, triples, total bases (284), extra base hits, OPS+, ISO (.212), WPA (2.06), wOBA (.383), and even steals. The Kellogg should be his, and I think he'll have the biggest margin of win when results are announced..290/.359/.502 (123 OPS+), 635 PA, 79 R, 33 2B, 12 3B, 21 HR, 104 RBI, 6 SB, 60 BB, 133 WRC+, 5.1 WAR Continental Whitney Award: 2B Al Farmer (Philadelphia Sailors) This was the hardest pick to make. Do I go with the Kings outfielder who was actually worth more WAR then Ralph Johnson (.317, 24, 92, 7) this year Fred Miller (.345, 19, 105, 19)? What about one of the Foresters young stars in Frenchy Sonntag (.323, 30, 104) or Shery Doyal (.326, 30, 117)? Or you know, one of the 7 WAR stars on the champion Sailors' team in Billy Forbes (.310, 15, 91, 25) or Al Farmer (.311, 19, 85, 5). I mean, you could even go with RBI leader and champion George Rutter (.305, 28, 137, 6) who drove Forbes and Farmer in so often he came one RBI away from Tom Taylor's single season record of 138 in 1929..311/.398/.512 (131 OPS+), 679 PA, 109 R, 27 2B, 17 3B, 19 HR, 85 RBI, 5 SB, 83 BB, 1446 WRC+, 7.0 WAR Honestly, when starting this writeup I didn't even know who I'd pick, but eventually I settled on former 9th Overall Pick Al Farmer, who had huge breakout at 25. Named the WCS MVP after hitting .444/.500/.667 (196 OPS+) with a double, homer, steal, and 6 RBIs in the five game series win, Farmer was a huge reason the Sailors went from bottom of the barrel to World Champions. Worth an even 7 WAR in 151 games, Farmer slashed an excellent .311/.398/.512 (131 OPS+) and 144 WRC+. Like Gregory and Shearer, Farmer is skilled in the art of extra base hits, providing the champs with 27 doubles, 17 triples, and 19 homers in his 679 trips to the plate. He scored 109 times and drove in 85 runs, walking 83 times in an excellent all-around season. It's funny, he didn't lead the CA in any category, but he does everything to help his team win, from good defense and baserunning to being an impact right handed bat, and with the added benefit of playing for the team that won it all, he'll get my vote in a race I don't know how it will go. Continental Allen Award: LHP Duke Bybee (Chicago Cougars) Oh Duke... Why couldn't you have just pitched well in September...16-9, 2.82 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP, 226.1 IP, 76 BB, 104 K, 1.4 K/BB, 3.63 FIP (87 FIP-), 4.5 WAR If that was the case, Cougar co-ace Duke Bybee would be almost guaranteed an Allen award, but after saving his two worst starts for start 27 and 29, he lost his lead in ERA and WHIP, and will now be stuck hoping that voters can look past Adrian Czerwinski's (22-7, 3.26, 127) 20 win season and understand that Lloyd Stevens' (17-7, 4, 3.19, 90) Fed innings shouldn't be forgotten. Personally, I could never vote for a guy that changed associations midway through or a guy just because he won 20 games, but that's just me I guess. The guy I would vote for is the one who led pitchers that only pitched in the Continental in ERA and WHIP, as well as the only pitcher to only pitch in the Continental with an ERA below 3. With better run support, he could have won 20 games with ease, as Bybee 8 starts where he allowed 3 or fewer inning sand did not get a win. 8 of them! Czerwinski, on the other hand, had 6 starts where he allowed 4 or more runs and still won the game! Win-loss record is not a good way to evaluate pitchers people! Among all qualified Continental pitchers, Bybee ranked top three in ERA (2nd), wins (t-2nd), shutouts (t-3rd, 3), WHIP (2nd), and ERA+ (2nd), and led in rWAR (7.6), opponent batting average (.218), and quality starts (23). Yes, he had more quality starts then the 22-game winner who made six extra starts. Run support numbers are always interesting to look at as well, as Bybee got 4.4 a game while Czerwinski got a full run more (5.4). It's not surprise he was able to win so many games with such a strong offense, and assuming the pen doesn't blow as many games as ours did, 5.4 runs would be enough based on Bybee's runs in 28 of his 29 starts. Isn't that crazy? He allowed 5 or fewer starts in all but one of his starts? The 29th one he made this season? Only 1 of his 16 wins came in games he allowed 5 runs, while the Cougars average run support in Bybee starts was good enough in exactly 22 of Czerwinski's starts. Hard to win 22 games with the support that Bybee had. That's enough context for me to decide who to pick, but 20 is the magic number to some, and I expect Czerwinski to cement his Hall-of-Fame status with a third consecutive Allen. Continental Kellogg Award: LHP Ted Coffin (Montreal Saints) This could have been a three man race Elmer Grace played all season and hit .340/.438/.502 (148 OPS+) instead of just 65 games. And it could really have been four if Paul Anderson (11-5, 1, 3.19, 85) pitched out of the rotation all season. Instead, we get Joe Wood (.315, 14, 71) and Ted Coffin (14-9, 3.18, 110), who were both elite. It's almost impossible to separate these two, especially since one pitched and one hit, but in the end, isn't the best ability availability? Wood missed the last month and a half of the season, and in all honesty, that's the only reason the Cleveland Foresters aren't celebrating again. When he played, he was great, slashing .315/.406/.511 (133 OPS+), production you just can't replace. He had 32 doubles, 6 triples, 67 runs, 66 walks, 71 RBIs, and a 148 WRC+ -- all superb stats -- but he didn't see himself on any non-rookie leaderboards.14-9, 3.18 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 226.2 IP, 99 BB, 110 K, 1.1 K/BB, 3.78 FIP (90 FIP-), 4.1 WAR Coffin, on the other hand, finished third in the CA in ERA, going 14-9 with a 3.18 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, and 110 strikeouts in 226.2 innings pitched. The 25-year-old and former 1st Rounder established himself as a reliable arm for a team that's just barely off contention, and should receive some down ballot Allen votes. He was also a win away from a huge tie for 5th, 4th in WHIP and ERA+, 6th in quality starts (20), and ranked 7th in strikeouts and K/9 (4.4). Like Bybee, he had a rough end to the season, 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA (78 ERA+) in his last 4 starts, but he was superb the first five months of the season and with a still solid FIP (4.09, 98), WHIP (1.19), and K% (12.8), some of the struggles could be attributed to bad luck. It's another really deep class of Continental rookies, and there would be no complaints from me if Wood wins, but Coffin had the best rookie season, and like Wood, will be a building block for his club for seasons to come. TALES FROM THE LAIR Wolves Moving Forward - Toronto Wolves owner Bernie Millard gathered all his baseball staff for a series of meetings during the World Series between St. Louis and Philadelphia for both a post mortem on the disastrous 1951 showing and a planning session for the team going forward. Brett has been told that the meetings were intense with much finger pointing trying to lay blame for the Wolves failure in many different locations. Millard is said to have listened to these arguments for the first day and a half while everyone had a chance to get things off their collective chests. After the lunch break on the second day, the Wolves magnate is said to have addressed the group telling them in no uncertain terms that this was his management group for 1952 and that they should start looking for collective solutions rather than trying to allocate blame for the past misfortunes of the Wolves. Millard said he would keep his upper management team together for at least one more year but is expecting substantial improvement both on the field and at the gate for the Wolves in 1952 while implying changes would be made if there was failure to bring results in Toronto. Millard announced that the GM had been extended for 2 years before outlining same clarity on the day to day on field operation of the Wolves to begin in the spring. Millard told the assembled that going forward that manager Fred Barrell would have the final say on the day to day lineups working in concert with the GM and Dick Dennis. This was significant to Brett as there seemed to be tension in Barrell's office last season often after the GM left a closed door meetings with Barrell and bench coach Dennis. Though unconfirmed, there were many rumours that the GM was meddling with the daily lineups and pitching staff on a far too frequent basis for either Barrell's or Dennis' liking over the past couple of seasons. Millard made it clear that the final say on the daily lineups was now exclusively Barrell's. The GM will focus more on the development of players in the minors with he having the last word on the 25 and 40 man rosters. The GM is said to be already started on his new focus. There are rumours that George Garrison is generating interest around the league and the 33-year-old he may have pitched for the last time as a member of the Wolves. In a short statement from his office, the Wolves GM said the team may look much different for the fans by the opening of the season in 1952. Searching for new hitting coach in Toronto along with a manager in AAA has already started with candidates being interviewed in Toronto.
FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK LEADS WASPS TO VICTORY The Washington Wasps needed a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to rally past the visiting San Francisco Wings 34-31 and remain undefeated three weeks into the American Football Association season. After trailing 24-14 at the half, the Wasps picked up the pace in the second half, relying on a pair of Tommy Norwood to Clint Snodgrass touchdown passes to clip the Wings, who drop to 1-2 on the season. Norwood, the All-American quarterback in his fourth season out of Portland Tech, had his struggles on the day completing just 8 of 21 throws for 126 yards but was up to the task when needed, engineering a 54-yard drive late in the game that culminated in a 16-yard toss to Snodgrass for the game winning score. Halfback Jim Lyster enjoyed a big day for the 3-0 Washington club, gaining 128 yards on the ground to give him a league high 440 on the season. The Pittsburgh Paladins kept pace with the Wasps and share the East Division lead at 3-0 following their third straight road win, this one a hard fought 7-3 triumph over the Boston Americans. All of Pittsburgh's offense came on the Paladins first play from scrimmage as John Mecham plowed over for a 1-yard touchdown just 1:55 into the game after Bobby Leonard's electric punt return of 53 yards saw the speedy end hauled down just short of scoring the opener himself. The host Americans dominated the game, claiming 18 first downs while allowing just two for the visitors and had a huge advantage in total offense of 339 yards compared to just 55 for the Paladins but Boston could not push the ball over the Pittsburgh goal line with a second period field goal from Neville Caron accounting for all of the Boston scoring. The game illustrated just how reliant the Paladins are on back Wally Dotson, who missed the game with an injury. Dotson, who remains doubtful for next week's game in Philadelphia with a knee injury, gained 221 yards in the first two games of the season but without him the Paladins were held to just 48 yards on the ground and due to the lack of a ground threat Pittsburgh quarterback Dusty Sinclair was under siege all day, completing just 1 of 12 throws for 7 yards. The Kansas City Cowboys are the only unbeaten team in the West Division after winning their third straight road game, 24-7 over the New York Football Stars. Ted Armstrong, a little known fifth year reserve who did not score a touchdown at all last season, had two of them in the first half Sunday. Armstrong caught a 17-yard scoring toss from Pat Chappell to open the scoring late in the first quarter and had a 2-yard touchdown run late in the second period to help the Cowboys build a 17-0 lead at the break. Mason Matthews, who ran for over 200 yards a week ago, was held in check by the Stars defense. The burly fullback carried the ball 10 times but managed just 24 yards. It was a different story for halfback Pat Hill, who gained 125 yards on the ground for the winners on just 13 carries. The Detroit Maroons often win in Chicago and Sunday was no exception as the Maroons, led by Doug Stevens 153 yards on the ground, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to double their host 20-10. Rookie defensive back Jack Hurley had the big play for the Detroit eleven, intercepting a Fred Wilhelm pass in the fourth quarter just moments after the Maroons had taken a 13-10 lead. Hurley's 33-yard return set up terrific field position and led to the final Detroit touchdown. Stu Hubbard ran for three touchdowns and 108 yards in total as the St Louis Ramblers shocked a capacity crowd at Bigsby Stadium in Los Angeles with a 28-9 taming of the LA Tigers. St Louis just rambled all over the Tigers defense with Nat Oldham carrying the ball 30 times for 164 yards to join Hubbard in the century club for the day. Both West Division clubs are now 1-2 on the campaign. Finally, in Philadelphia Ray Angello's 2-yard return of an Ed Paulson fumble with 12 minutes remaining in the game proved the difference and was the only touchdown of the day in Cleveland's 10-3 win over the Philadelphia Frigates. Paulson, who had a rough day at quarterback for the Frigates in completing just 2 of 11 passes for 23 yards, was sacked on successive plays by Jack Cornett, with the second one jarring the ball loose to set up Angello's heroics. The East Division rivals each sit with 1-2 records.  TEXAS GULF COAST UPSETS ST BLANE Bill Higgins, a human windmill, hit on twenty-two passes in forty-four attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns to pilot Texas Gulf Coast to an upset victory in Latrobe, PA. over the St Blane Fighting Saints 23-7. The 6 foot 3 inch senior, shattered all of his own aerial records in unharnessing the most furious passing game ever fired at a St Blane team. The Fighting Saints, unable to pierce the Hurricanes line that shielded Higgins like he was a hunk of uranium, suffered their first defeat in three outings this season, but it has been a disappointing campaign for the once dominant Saints, who now see their record level at 1-1-1. "Cribbed" into obscurity before the season began, Rome State's depleted football forces may fumble their way into football oblivion. The reorganized Centurions, still striving for their first victory, dropped their third straight Saturday, bowing 16-13 to a less than stellar Grafton Scholars eleven. No longer the powerful squad that rode high on the nation's gridirons before the cheating scandal eliminated some forty football players from the military academy last August, the 1951 Rome State outfit fumbled five times in the first half alone against Grafton. Twice the Scholars were gifted an easy score on short yardage after these butter-fingered tactics had gifted Grafton the ball. The other service academy also tasted defeat as Red River State rode the passing combination of Bob Turner and Mike Little to a 17-0 victory over Annapolis Maritime. Turner and Little combined for a scoring pass in each half to lead the Rowdies to their first win in three starts while the Navigators also drop to 1-2 on the year. Maryland State claimed a spot in the latest top ten poll after the Bengals dumped previously unbeaten Noble Jones College by a 21-6 score. Charlie Barrell had been very good at quarterback for the Colonels in their three victories but struggled on this day, completing just 3 of 13 throws. Number one ranked Cumberland had an easy time of things in a 45-0 drubbing of Western Tennessee while second ranked St. Ignatius continued to impress with a 44-7 win over Wisconsin Catholic.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Henry Hudson 13 George Fox 3 Brunswick 21 Dickson 0 Grafton 16 Rome State 13 Sadler 20 Pierpont 3 Garden State 48 Bigsby College 16 Schuylkill College 27 Conwell College 26 Commonwealth Catholic 21 Brooklyn State 3 Ellery 38 Narragansett 10 Empire State 26 Lakeview (OH) 24 Boston State 30 Camp Lejeune 21 SOUTH Central Kentucky 16 Northern Mississippi 0 Cumberland 45 Western Tennessee 0 Baton Rouge State 27 St. Patrick's 20 Mississippi A&M 24 Bluegrass State 13 Alabama Baptist 34 Penn Catholic 6 Carolina Poly 19 Charleston Tech 0 Maryland State 21 Noble Jones College 6 Georgia Baptist 13 Bayou State 0 Opelika State 28 Western Florida 14 North Carolina Tech 20 Columbia Military Academy 13 Potomac College 48 Chesapeake State 14 Miami State 17 Whitney College 17 Lexington State 37 Eastern State 34 Huntington State 33 Petersburg 9 Richmond State 28 Cowpens State 12 Edgemoor 23 Mobile Maritime 14 Bulein 10 DeLand State 3 MIDWEST Lincoln 29 St. Pancras 3 Detroit City College 21 Indiana A&M 13 St. Ignatius 44 Wisconsin Catholic 7 St. Magnus 33 Minnesota Tech 20 Wisconsin State 9 Central Ohio 0 College of Omaha 14 Liberty College 7 Western Iowa 27 Pittsburgh State 24 Iowa A&M 50 Eastern Kansas 0 Lawrence State 48 Provo Tech 10 Lambert College 37 Northern Minnesota 0 Central Illinois 41 Dearborn State 14 Charleston (IL) 34 Central Carolina 24 SOUTHWEST Texas Gulf Coast 23 St. Blane 7 Lubbock State 23 Arkansas A&T 14 Travis College 10 Oklahoma City State 9 Darnell State 47 St. Xavier (TX) 0 Amarillo Methodist 27 College of Waco 20 Red River State 17 Annapolis Maritime 0 Payne State 45 Ferguson 20 Miners College 38 El Paso Methodist 7 Eastern Oklahoma 29 Topeka State 15 Texas Panhandle 27 Valley State 3 Abilene Baptist 17 Tempe College 13 McKinney State 27 Canyon A&M 16 FAR WEST Northern California 27 Spokane State 13 Coastal California 17 Lane State 3 Redwood 17 CC Los Angeles 13 Rainier College 27 Portland Tech 9 Idaho A&M 20 Custer College 13 Boulder State 52 Daniel Boone College 24 Wyoming A&I 17 Colorado Poly 14 Sunnyvale 31 California Catholic 7 San Francisco Tech 26 Minns College 0 College of San Diego 17 Coastal State 6 Mile High State 34 South Valley State 7 Shirley College 38 Flagstaff State 14 1951 NAHC SEASON PREVIEW With the North American Hockey Confederation season now underway, the early Challenge Cup favourite appears to be the Boston Bees, led by center Wilbur Chandler. Long-time Bees coach Denny McLachlan has a squad that will be the team to beat this year, but they can expect challenges from the reinvigorated Chicago Packers as well as the Detroit Motors, featuring goaltender Millard Touhey. Among the dark horses, Toronto stands out as a possible challenger, with a big season by Quinton Pollack capable of pushing the Dukes back into contender status. The scoring race will likely see Chicago's Tommy Burns challenged by Pollack and Chandler. The top defenseman in the league is generally considered to be Boston's Mickey Bedard with his Bees teammate Conn Cundiff and veteran Packers rearguard Bert McColley also in the running. Among goaltenders, the battle for the Juneau Trophy may be contested between Boston's Oscar James and the Detroit Motors duo of Touhey and Henri Chasse. MUCH BETTER START FOR PACKERS The Packers are above .500! And they're scoring goals!Courtesy of the Chicago Daily News After a miserable season that was probably the worst in franchise history, it's a huge breath of fresh air to see the Chicago Packers 2-1 after the opening week and tied for first place with Toronto and Montreal. Even better, the goals are starting to find the back of the net, as after going weeks and even months without scoring three goals in a game, the Packers put up 12 in a four day stretch, including a vintage Tommy Burns hat-trick in a 5-2 win over the Shamrocks. The 31-year-old all-world center already has 4 goals and an assist in early goings, and he shares the early point lead with Marty Mahoney on the team. Formerly linemates, Mahoney has now taken on a new line with talented center Jarrett McGlynn and second year winger Stanley Royce. Mahoney has scored twice and assisted on three goals, starting to look like the excellent point producer that once shared time with the Burns brothers. They do still spend time together on the power play, one of his goals was assisted solely by Burns, and the perennial playoff contenders are trying to show early on that last year was just a fluke. First year head coach Chad Fillman was quoted on how "proud he was of his team" that has already "shown fight to the last minute." Up 3-1 in the opener against Montreal, they kept on attacking and trying to score, adding a 4th goal to finish it when they could have just skated to the finish. The young defense has held up well early, with great performances from recent first rounders Phil Stukus and Mike Van Tol, but Fillman knows the job is far from done. They can't let this momentum go to waste.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 Chicago 4 at 1 Montreal : Two teams with something to prove met at the Montreal Arena for the season opener. The Valiants started the evening with a ceremony to raise their second consecutive Challenge Cup championship banner to the ceiling of the building but it was admist concerns that an 0-6-1 exhibition season had fans worried about the Vals chances for a three-peat. Chicago needed a strong start after a terrible campaign a year ago left the Packers in last place with one of the worst showings in recent NAHC history. The Packers came out flying, outshooting the Vals 18-5 in the opening period and 39-21 overall enroute to a 4-1 victory. Marty Mahoney had a goal and two helpers will Tommy Burns added two points for the winners. SATURDAY OCTOBER 13 Boston 1 at 4 Montreal : A much better showing by the defending champs as Clarence Skinner, Rey Sclisizzi and Paulie Mosca all scored in the first period and Montreal coasted to a 4-1 victory over the visitors from Boston. Garrett Kauffeldt scored with less than two minutes remaining in the game to spoil Tom Brockers shutout bid with Adam Sandford adding an empty net goal in the closing seconds.Chicago 3 at 4 Toronto : Four second period goals, including a pair from Alex Lavalliere lifted the Toronto Dukes past the visiting Chicago Packers 4-3 at Dominion Gardens. Frank Featherstone and Quinton Pollack also scored for the Dukes while Joe Fleming, rookie Sam Furr and Ed Dalarue replied for the Packers. SUNDAY OCTOBER 14 Montreal 4 at 3 Boston : The Valiants complete a home and home sweep of Boston with a 4-3 victory at Denny Arena. Brett Lanceleve and Lee Webb staked Montreal to a first period lead and rookie Kip Bedard made it 3-0 before the Bees replied with 3 second period goals of their own. Jimmy Backus got Montreal's second marker of the middle frame sandwiched amongst the Bees markers to round out the scoring.New York 2 at 5 Chicago : Tommy Burns scored 3 times to power the Chicago Packers to a 5-2 win over New York in the Shamrocks first game of the season. Marty Mahoney and Bert McColley also lit the lamp for the winners while Geoff Hartnell and Jim Macek were the Shamrocks snipers. Toronto 4 at 2 Detroit : A big night from Quinton Pollack powered the Toronto Dukes past Detroit. Pollack scored three times and assisted on Lou Galbraith's goal as the Dukes doubled the Motors 4-2. Ben Witt and Hank Walsh replied for the Motors, who were outshot 43-30. Detroit has allowed 93 shots in two games this season. UPCOMING GAMES WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17 Boston at Toronto THURSDAY OCTOBER 18 Detroit at Chicago New York at Montreal SATURDAY OCTOBER 20 Montreal at Detroit New York at Toronto SUNDAY OCTOBER 21 New York at Boston Toronto at Chicago BALTIMORE SELECTS BOOKMAN WITH TOP PICK IN FBL DRAFT After much delay due to the uncertainty of some of its franchises being around to start the season next month, the Federal Basketball League completed its draft of college seniors. The Baltimore Barons, with the worst record from last year among the ten teams that are returning, had the top choice and they opted for All-American guard Rod Bookman from Frankford State as the first selection. Bookman, a second team All-American last season and a third team selection his junior season, hails from South Amboy, NJ. The guard started 122 games over four seasons for the Owls and averaged 11.4 points per game and 4.4 assists as a senior. The Philadelphia Phantoms selected Mel Turcotte, a forward from Carolina Poly with the second choice while Rainier College guard Don Higgins, younger brother of former FABL pitcher Dick Higgins, was drafted third by the Cleveland Crushers.   1st Round, 4th Overall: PG Tommy Henry: Detroit City College The Panthers may have missed out on the top three guys they were targeting, but are still happy to have landed guard Tommy Henry with the 4th pick in the draft. An athletic guard from Detroit City College, he was a three year starter and first team All-Conference selection as a senior, when he averaged 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Known for his solid defense and his ability to run up and down the court, Henry gives the Panthers a near ready starting guard to improve the overall depth of the roster. He won't be taking Joe Hampton's job anytime soon, but he can give Hampton needed time off during close games. A guy who does almost everything okay, he doesn't really have a weakness, and he could fill in as a starter in a pinch. Aside from Hampton, Chicago does have another excellent point guard in Efrain Boland, but the 25-year-old played a solid amount of small forward last year and may move to that position to get more minutes. Hart also has some experience at the two, and could compete with Boland or current starter Larry Serrano for minutes there.2nd Round, 14th Overall: PF David Vigil: Lincoln The draft really seemed to thin out by time the second round started, but again the Panthers focused on an athletic player. Taken from the Lincoln Presidents of nearby Springfield, Illinois, the 7'2'' Vigil played center and is a former Illinois High School All American where he starred at Chicago's Von Steuben High. A strong interior rebounder, Vigil may not see much playing time with Luther Gordon, Richard Campbell, and Cory Myers getting most of the minutes down low. More of a project pick, he grabbed 7.8 boards a game with 9 points, and for his size is a really good free throw shooter. He offers good defense in the post, and is really tough for the little guys to shoot over. Due to the work his overall game needs, he may not see the court much, but the Panthers staff is hoping he can add muscle and take a bench role a few seasons out.
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending October 14, 1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-24-2024, 11:40 AM
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#991 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 22, 1951
OCTOBER 22, 1951 FORESTERS SWEEP CONTINENTAL PLAYER AWARDS Third Straight Allen Award For Czerwinski The Cleveland Foresters may have finished in second place in the Continental Association standings this past season but they dominated the postseason awards with Foresters players laying claim to each of the three trophies handed out to players. Highlighting the news was word that Adrian Czerwinski joined Hall of Famer Tom Barrell as the only pitchers ever to win the Allen Award in three consecutive seasons. Joining Allen were his teammates Sherry Doyal, winner of the Whitney Award as the Most Valuable Player in the Continental Association and Joe Wood, who claimed the Kellogg Award as the top rookie. Czerwinski, who led the majors with a 22-7 record while posting a 3.26 era, was a near unanimous winner in collecting 14 of the 16 first place votes and finishing with 111 points, 55 more than the Cougars Duke Bybee who finished second and claimed the other two first place selections. The race for the Whitney Award was a little tighter as Doyal, the 23-year-old two-time all-star who was named MVP of the 1950 World Championship Series, claimed 8 of the 16 first place votes after a season that saw him hit .329 with a league best .429 on-base percentage and tie for the CA homerun lead with 30 round-trippers. CA batting champ Fred Miller of the Kansas City (formerly Brooklyn) Kings finished second with 3 first place votes. This season's WCS MVP Al Farmer of the Philadelphia Sailors also had three first place votes and finished third with the remaining two votes at the top of the ballot going to Billy Forbes of the Sailors. Outfielder Joe Wood, a 23-year-old who hit .315 in 118 games for the Foresters led the rookie balloting with Montreal hurler Ted Coffin finishing second.  The battle for Federal Association Whitney Award winner was as close as it possibly could be. Larry Gregory of the St. Louis Pioneers and Gothams homerun hitter Red Johnson each received 167 points in voting but Gregory, on the strength of 7 first place ballots compared to just 4 for Johnson, was declared the winner. It was the first Whitney Award win for the 28-year-old outfielder who led the Pioneers to their third pennant in five years. The MVP of the 1947 WCS hit .320 this season with a Federal Association leading 47 doubles. Johnson, who has won 4 Whitney Awards in his career, has had an eventful couple of weeks led by his near trade to the Chicago Cougars. 1948 winner Hal Hackney added a second Allen Award to his mantle with a strong 18-11 season and an impressive 2.76 era for the Pioneers this season. Hackney, who won the tiebreaker game over Detroit to give St Louis the pennant, had 10 first place votes with Gothams ace Ed Bowman and John Stallings of the Chiefs, who finished second and third, each claiming 3 first place selections. Rod Shearer of the Chicago Chiefs was a near unanimous choice as the top rookie in the Federal Association. Shearer hit .290 with 104 rbi's to finish well ahead of Philadelphia Keystones pitcher Sam Ivey.  MANAGER AWARDS HANDED OUT A new award debut this season to recognize the top skippers in each loop. Named after legendary Hall of Fame manager George Theobald, the first Theobald Trophy for the Continental Association was presented to Philadelphia Sailors rookie skipper Billy Rose. It capped a dream season for the first year FABL manager, who had piloted the San Francisco Hawks in the Great Western League for 7 seasons and won a Bigsby Cup in 1946. Against long odds, Rose guided the Sailors to an improbable pennant capped up with a victory over the St Louis Pioneers in the World Championship Series. In contrast to Rose, who never played in the major leagues and was making his big league managerial debut, the winner in the Federal Association has been around FABL seemingly forever. That would be Dick York, the 55 year old Detroit Dynamos skipper who has piloted the team for a decade following a stellar 17 year career as the Dynamos catcher. Detroit finished with a 90-65 record but fell just short of the franchise's first pennant since 1929, falling in a playoff tiebreaker to the St Louis Pioneers. LEFTY ALLEN RETURNING TO PITTSBURGH After a four year stint in New York, future Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Allen will return to the Steel City after Pittsburgh reacquired the 37-year-old from the New York Gothams. Allen, who is second all-time in pitching victories by a Miners hurler with 195, spent a dozen seasons in Pittsburgh, winning a pair of Allen Awards (named after Allan Allen of course and not Lefty) as the top pitcher in the Federal Association before being dealt along with all-star catcher George Cleaves to the Gothams prior to the 1948 season. Allen went 62-43 over those four years in the Big Apple but suffered a shoulder injury in August that ended his season prematurely. He hopes to be fully healed well before the start of spring training and Allen, with a 257-170 career big league record, is just 7 wins shy of Ike Bell's Miners franchise record. Joining Allen in the move to New York is another 37-year-old hurler deemed expendable by the Gothams in Joe Brown. The righthander owns a 121-97 career record including a 13-8 season with a 4.35 era this past year. In return the Gothams receive three minor league prospects from Pittsburgh. They would be Harry Arthur,20, a third baseman who played in Class B Spokane last season and was a 1949 11th round pick, along with another 20-year-old in Class C pitcher Bill Howard, a 12th round selection of the Miners in 1950 and 22-year-old righthander Ralph Lefebvre, who split last season between Class A and AA and was originally a third round selection in the 1947 draft. ***Gothams Deal Two Veteran Hurlers but also Add One*** The Gothams cleared out a pair of veteran pitchers but the thoughts of rebuilding seem far removed as they also made a deal to bring in a veteran pitcher following a trade with the New York Stars. The pitcher would Ed Cornett, a 35-year-old fourteen year veteran who led the Stars in wins last season with a 16-15 record and a respectable 3.35 era while tying for the Continental Association lead in games started by a pitcher. A top-25 prospect who was a third round selection of the St Louis Pioneers in the 1934 FABL draft, Cornett made his big league debut with St Louis in 1937 at the age of 21. He was dealt to the Stars following the 1944 season in exchange for a minor leaguer named Larry Gregory, who has gone on to be a key piece of the three Pioneers pennant winners. The trade was not all bad for the Stars as Cornett pitched out of the bullpen in 1946, helping New York to a World Championship Series win that season, and was named to the Continental Association All-Star team in 1948 and again in 1950. He has a career record of 76-96. The Gothams also receive Nino Marini, a 28-year-old career minor league righthander who put up very good numbers at AAA Los Angeles last season, 15-10 with a 2.96 era. In return the Gothams send 21-year-old first baseman/outfielder Bob Smith to the Stars. The 1948 seventh round selection split last season between Class B and C, batting .315 with 20 homers in just 73 games. OSA ranks Smith just outside its top 100 prospects. *** Another Dynamos-Kings Deal *** Despite the fact the Brooklyn franchise has shifted to Kansas City, the pipeline between the Detroit Dynamos and the Kings continues to flow after the two clubs agreed to another deal involving an outfielder. This one is far less flashy as it will see Tony Mullis, a 33-year-old Detroit native who never really got a chance to play regularly for his hometown team, head to the Kings in exchange for minor league pitcher Don Smith. Mullis, who always seemed caught in a numbers game in Detroit, hit .253 in 158 at bats last season and owns a career .289 big league batting average in 449 games. The move is seen purely as a cost cutting measure in Detroit, which has the highest payroll in the league. Mullis, who is slated to make $21,000 next season, will be given an opportunity to be a depth outfielder and pinch-hitter in Kansas City.  AROUND THE LEAGUE: CHECKING IN ON THE 1951 DRAFT FIRST ROUNDERS Here is an update on how each of the 16 first round selections did in their first exposure to pro baseball. BOSTON- MIKE QUIGLEY P - Tenth overall: The Chicago high school product joined a Boston organization deep on young hitting talent but in need of quality pitching prospects. A 6-5 showing with a 4.79 era in 13 starts at Class C Hattiesburg is a nice start for the 18-year-old that OSA feels can be a mid-rotation piece if all breaks right. Despite the high praise the scouting service only lists Quigley at #119 on its current prospect ranking report. BROOKLYN- HANK WILLIAMS RF - Fifth overall: The high school outfielder from Kansas is 20th on the latest scouting service list. He played 66 games at Class B Tampa after a dominating week to begin his career at the C level. In Tampa he hit just .248 but did show a little power with 6 homeruns. CHIEFS- HUGH FEREBEE CF - Twelfth overall: At #27 on the OSA list, the 18 year old is the lone Chicago Chief prospect to crack the top 130. OSA seems him as an outstanding talent one day but he has some work to do, batting just .182 although with 12 homers in 61 games at Class C Waterloo. COUGARS- JACK CRAFT 3B - Eleventh overall: Craft did an acceptable job in the field and the 18 year old showed some power at Class C La Crosse, smacking 8 homers and slashing .202/.357/.403 in a 40 game introduction to pro ball. OSA has Craft at #34 on its prospect pipeline. CINCINNATI- CHARLIE BARRELL 2B- First overall: Dominated in a very short stint at AA and AAA before leaving the team in September to return to Noble Jones College where he is quarterbacking the Colonels, who suffered back to back losses after opening their season with three consecutive victories. OSA has Barrell at #7 on its top prospects list. CLEVELAND- AL BECK 2B - Fifteenth overall: Just 18, Beck was outstanding at Class C (.348,9,27 in 36 games) and earned a late promotion to Class B. OSA has him 43rd on its latest prospect rankings as part of a very deep group of young Cleveland talent. DETROIT- DICK TUCKER SS/3B- Fourth overall: OSA had Tucker 29th on its list in July and despite some struggles in the minors he remains in that same vicinity, holding down the 28th slot on the latest prospect pipeline. A natural shortstop, his future path to the big leagues will likely be at the hot corner but it will be a slow process for the 18-year-old, who hit just .230 at the Class B level. MONTREAL- BOB PORTER 3B- Third overall: The 18 year old had a great showing in Class A, batting .323 in 45 games before being promoted to AA where he hit .215 while also struggling with his defense. Very strong showing for his age and OSA has Porter at #5 on its prospect list. NY STARS- DOC CLAY P - Seventh overall: The 18-year-old when 7-5 in 16 starts split between the Class B and C levels. OSA feels he can be a mid-rotation piece and lists him at #39 on its pipeline. NY GOTHAMS- JIM ALLEN RF - Sixteenth overall: In the 23 year old Allen and 1950 first overall selection Earl Howe the Gothams have two outfielders ranked in the OSA top ten prospects overall. Allen, at 10th, looks close to big league ready after hitting .295 in 70 games with AAA Toledo. The scouting service predicts he will be an elite starting outfielder. KEYSTONES- DICK GREEN 1B - Eighth overall: Perhaps the pressure of being compared to Rankin Kellogg before his first pro game was a little much for the 18 year old to handle. Green was tested though as the Keystones debuted him at Class A just days after his high school graduation. He batted just .206 with only 1 extra base hit in 205 plate appearances but his ceiling is still very high and Green is ranked 18th on the OSA list. SAILORS- DON HILLSHIRE P - Ninth overall: One of the oldest players in the draft the Buckeye College graduate went straight to AAA San Francisco and had a decent showing, posting a 7-7 record with a 3.95 era in 16 starts. OSA lists him at #78 on the prospect pipeline but the scouting report is not very kind, suggesting he will be limited to an emergency starter if he does not develop a second pitch to match his solid slider. The Sailors always seem to work wonders with pitchers, so odds are Hillshire will make out just fine. PITTSBURGH- SAM FITCHETT P -Sixth overall: Another tough break for the Miners. 1951 first rounder Tom Drill has disappointed early in his career and now the news on Fitchett is devastating as the teen suffered two serious injuries in two months as a pro and likely will not pitch again until at least June. OSA still feels he has the ceiling of an ace if he can stay healthy and the scouting service lists him at 79 overall and 13th among pitchers on its prospect list. ST LOUIS- REX PILCHER LF - Second overall: Looks like he is going to become one of the top players in the game and quite possibly very quickly. Pilcher became the first member of his draft class to make it to the big leagues. An impressive debut as well as the 21-year-old hit .297 with 10 homers in 52 games to help the Pioneers win the Federal Association pennant. He went 4-for-21 in the World Championship Series. TORONTO- JIM MONTGOMERY P- Thirteenth overall: The Wolves desperately need their young talent to succeed if they hope to rebound from two straight 100-loss seasons. OSA has the 19 year old at #84 on its latest prospect rankings but there is concern about his control, prompting the scouting service to wonder if he can develop into more than just a depth starter. He pitched mostly in relief at Class C after signing, going 3-7 with a 5.37 era. WASHINGTON- BUSTER SCOTT P- Fourteenth overall: At 131 on the latest prospect pipeline, Scott is the lowest ranked of the 16 first rounders. The 18-year-old started 11 games at Class C, posting a 3-2 record with a 5.48 era. OSA feels his ceiling is that of a spot starter. COWBOYS EXTEND PERFECT RECORD TO 4-0 The defending American Football Association champion Kansas City Cowboys continued their strong start to the season with a 21-7 victory over the Chicago Wildcats on Sunday in the Windy City. The victory runs the Cowboys record to 4-0, the only unbeaten team remaining after both Washington and Pittsburgh lost on Sunday. What is more impressive is the Cowboys have won all four of their games on the road as they waited for the finishing touches to be put on their new stadium. Prairie Park, which will be the new home for the Cowboys and the transplanted Kansas City Kings of baseball's Continental Association, will get its grand opening this Sunday when the Cowboys make their home debut this season against the Los Angeles Tigers. The challenge teams face when playing the Cowboys is the fact that Kansas City has so many offensive weapons. Stack the middle of the line to try and slow down bruising fullback Mason Matthews and you also have to contend with shifty Pat Hill running to the outside. Manage to contain both ground threats and the Cowboys simply go to the air with the passing combo of Pat Chappell and his two talented ends in Bill Tammaro and Ernie Orr. Chicago had its troubles on Sunday as while Hill was somewhat contained in being held to just 53 yards on 23 carries, Matthews bulled his way for 97 yards and Chappell threw for 149 including touchdown tosses to both Orr and Tammaro in the 21-7 victory. The outcome leaves the 0-4 Wildcats, not too long ago a powerhouse in the West Division, still searching for their first victory of the season. The Pittsburgh Paladins and Washington Wasps each lost for the first time this season. The Wasps, despite 211 yards passing and two touchdown tosses from Tommy Norwood, came up on the short end of a 27-17 result in New York against the Stars while the Paladins, who were very lucky to escape with a victory last week, continued to struggle with star halfback Wally Dotson sidelined. Pittsburgh got off to a terrible start, spotting Philadelphia a 20-0 lead at the half and, despite a solid comeback effort after the break, fell just short in dropping a 20-17 decision to the Frigates. Usually for an offensive lineman to have a strong game he needs to have his play not be noticed. Tim Oswald of the Los Angeles Tigers certainly was noticed on Sunday but it was for all the right reasons. The fourth year pro out of Lawrence State had a dominant blocking performance and was credited with 15 pancakes in the Tigers 23-17 victory over the San Francisco Wings in the first regular season game ever to go into overtime. The tiebreaker period, something new the league is experimenting with this season, lasted nearly 12 minutes before Nate Tyson ended it for the Tigers with an 8 yard touchdown carry. Elsewhere, the Boston Americans blanked the Cleveland Finches 13-0 while Denny Andrews threw for 173 yards to lead the Detroit Maroons to a 23-0 shutout on the road in St Louis.  CUMBERLAND WINS ON ROAD OVER PANTHERS Galloping Garland Churchwell passed Cumberland to two touchdowns and scampered 35 yards for the winner as the powerful Explorers beat down an inspired Alabama Baptist Panthers squad 30-21 before a rabid crowd in Tuscaloosa. The Panthers showed up primed for an upset of the top rated Cumberland eleven, but Churchwell, combined with halfback Billy Kirkwood, proved to be just a little too much for their hosts. Cumberland remains number in the rankings followed by a pair of midwestern outfits in St. Ignatius and Lincoln. Both held steady at two and three in the polls after the Lancers had little trouble in 38-7 trouncing of Liberty College while the Presidents outlasted a tough west coast squad in Rainer College, hanging on for a 26-21 victory over the Majestics. Another coast club, the Northern California Miners, dropped in the rankings -falling from 4th to 10th with a surprising 20-13 upset loss to Coastal California. The new number four is Georgia Baptist after the Gators manhandled Deep South Conference rival Opelika State 36-6.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST St. Blane 26 Pittsburgh State 14 Brunswick 19 George Fox 3 Dickson 24 Rome State 20 Pierpont 14 Henry Hudson 0 Sadler 62 Eastern Virginia 6 St. Patrick's 51 Bigsby College 0 St. Pancras 28 Grafton 17 Empire State 35 Ellery 14 Commonwealth Catholic 31 Northern Minnesota 20 Garden State 27 Bethlehem College 10 SOUTH Cumberland 30 Alabama Baptist 21 Central Kentucky 24 Penn Catholic 10 Bayou State 17 Noble Jones College 7 Mississippi A&M 30 Baton Rouge State 10 Bluegrass State 13 Western Florida 10 Georgia Baptist 36 Opelika State 6 Maryland State 45 North Carolina Tech 9 Carolina Poly 26 Chesapeake State 7 Mobile Maritime 20 Bulein 17 Miami State 14 Lexington State 14 Cowpens State 16 Potomac College 3 Petersburg 17 Central Carolina 3 Conwell College 33 Caesar Rodney 7 Eastern State 38 Alexandria 3 Huntington State 24 Three Rivers State 17 Richmond State 28 Charleston Tech 14 MIDWEST Detroit City College 14 Western Iowa 0 St. Ignatius 38 Liberty College 7 Lincoln 26 Rainier College 21 Central Ohio 17 Indiana A&M 16 Wisconsin State 24 Whitney College 0 St. Magnus 30 Annapolis Maritime 7 Iowa A&M 34 Daniel Boone College 27 College of Omaha 37 Minnesota Tech 20 Ferguson 37 Abilene Baptist 20 Central Illinois 51 El Paso Methodist 0 SOUTHWEST Arkansas A&T 21 Travis College 3 Lubbock State 33 College of Waco 14 Red River State 10 Texas Gulf Coast 0 Amarillo Methodist 33 Darnell State 21 Oklahoma City State 34 Lawrence State 10 Eastern Oklahoma 28 Lambert College 13 Payne State 37 Wisconsin Catholic 27 FAR WEST Coastal California 20 Northern California 13 Redwood 24 Sunnyvale 10 CC Los Angeles 48 Portland Tech 0 Spokane State 30 Lane State 27 College of San Diego 20 Boston State 3 Tempe College 45 California Missionary 7 Wyoming A&I 13 Utah A&M 3 Boulder State 34 Eastern Kansas 6 Idaho A&M 17 Minns College 7 Snake River State 31 Flagstaff State 9 Western Montana 20 Custer College 20 San Francisco Tech 20 Brooklyn State 17 South Valley State 27 Texas Panhandle 13 Mile High State 31 Provo Tech 23 Cache Valley 36 Colorado Poly 31 DUKES ARE CLASS OF NAHC IN EARLY GOING The Toronto Dukes are out to prove last season was a fluke, when they missed the playoffs after winning the Challenge Cup in two of the previous three seasons. The Dukes have been the class of the league in the early going of this season, starting the season with five straight victories including back to back wins on the weekend over New York at Chicago. The big line of Quinton Pollack between Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith has been on fire with the trio combining for 10 goals and 20 points over the past two weeks but team defensive play, long preached as they key to the club's success by head coach Jack Barrell, has also been outstanding with the Dukes surrendering just 11 goals in their five outings. Goaltender Gordie Broadway has been terrific and perhaps a key to the 37-year-old's success is that he has not been overworked as Barrell seems to be showing confidence in spelling the veteran with backup Scott Renes. The Dukes will face a big test this week when they play a home and home series with the defending Cup champion Montreal Valiants as part of a busy week which will see the Toronto squad play four games in six nights.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17 THURSDAY OCTOBER 18 Detroit 4 at 3 Chicago : The Motors scored three times in the third period, two from defenseman Tyson Beddoes, to rally for their first victory of the season. Graham Comeau and Vincent Arsenault each scored their first of the season for Detroit, which entered the game with a loss and a tie while Tommy Burns, Marty Mahoney and Max Ducharme were the Packers goal producers.New York 5 at 1 Montreal : The New York Shamrocks embarrassed the defending Challenge Cup champions on their home ice, spanking Montreal 5-1 while outshooting the Vals 56-22. Five different Greenshirts found the net behind Montreal goaltender Tom Brockers, including three in the first period. Montreal's lone goal, from Pat Coulter, came with less than three minutes remaining in the game and spoiled Alex Sorrell's shutout bid. SATURDAY OCTOBER 20 Montreal 2 at 5 Detroit: The Valiants were sent reeling again as the Motors rolled to a 5-2 victory, outshooting the Vals 36-22. It was tied at one entering the third period but Detroit scored three times in a span of less than six minutes, including two by Louis Rocheleau, to put the game away. Rocheleau would complete the hat trick in the third period with a late empty net marker.New York 1 at 2 Toronto : Gordie Broadway had a strong game, turning aside all but one of the 34 New York shots and Maurice Charette got the game winner just under eight minutes into the third period to lift the Dukes to their fourth straight victory, downing New York 2-1. Toronto's Lou Galbraith and Simon Savard of the Greenshirts traded first period goals. SUNDAY OCTOBER 21 New York 3 at 2 Boston : The Boston Bees are still searching for the first victory of the season after a 3-2 loss to New York dropped the Bees record to 0-4-1. The Shamrocks built a 3-0 lead after forty minutes on goals from Eric Abbott, Orval Cabbell and Jocko Gregg before Boston coach Denny McLachlan tore the paint off the dressing room wall in the second intermission. The Bees, outshot 29-13 through two periods, dominated the third, firing 19 shots on New York goaltender Etienne Tremblay. The scored twice but could not get the equalizer.Toronto 5 at 3 Chicago : Les Carlson scored twice and assisted on Quinton Pollack's goal to lift the Toronto Dukes to their fifth straight victory, a 5-3 road win in Chicago. UPCOMING GAMES MONDAY OCTOBER 22 Detroit at Montreal WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24 Boston at New York THURSDAY OCTOBER 25 Montreal at Chicago SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY OCTOBER 28 Boston at Chicago Montreal at New York  DUKES OPEN SEASON WITH FIVE WINS As baseball fans in Toronto begin to settle into the Hot Stove League after a disappointing season, the Wolves hockey fans are riding high with Dukes start. The men on the ice have opened the 1951-52 campaign winning their first five games. The Gardens was packed to the rafters for the team's home opener last Saturday night when 14,284 witnessed a 4-3 win over the Packers due to a four goal outburst in the middle period. Trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes the team lit the lamp 3 times before Chicago scored in the second. There were 3 goals scored in the last two minutes of the second, 2 by the Packers, to have the scoreboard show the Dukes leading 4-3 after 40. The Dukes tightened up defensively in the final frame to hang on to a 4-3 victory thanks in large part to Scott Renes 13 saves in the third period. Dukes struck early and often in Detroit the next night, leading 3-0 before the game was 11 minutes old. Toronto won 4-2 when Quinton Pollack was in on all 4 markers with 3 goals and 1 assist. Returning to the Gardens on Wednesday to face Boston the team scored three in the third to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win. Saturday night before 13104 of the faithful Gordie Broadway stole the show turning aside 33 shots to secure a 2-1 victory over New York in a game the Shamrocks controlled most of the play. Going into Lakeside Aud for a Sunday afternoon game with the Packers goaltending again was the key in 5-3 victory for the Dukes. Renes turned aside 42 pucks with 2 of 3 Chicago goals coming on the power play. The rumours coming out of training camp were that the Dukes would lean towards a more offensive type game after last year's disappointing campaign in which Coach Barrell stressed defense first, last, always all season. Early returns are that the team is taking more chances with the puck trying to set up plays rather than dumping and chasing strategy of the past. There is an interesting battle shaping up in Toronto between the pipes. Broadway. 37. does not appear ready to handover control of the crease to Scott Renes, 26. Keeping two puck stoppers happy will be a difficult balancing act for the coaching staff. The goalkeepers have been the main reason the team is 5-0. Coach Barrell- "How can you not be happy starting the season 5-0? Overall we are playing well after implementing a new more tilted towards goal scoring system in camp. I think we have surprised some teams early on with the new style. We have to make subtle changes over the season to keep the opposition off balance. Pollack is off to great start after the injury in February ended his season, Carlson is not far behind Quinton. That being said the goaltenders have been spectacular thus far, they stole both the weekend games. The message I give the team in practice is that the goal is have the team improve everyday, those 5 games are gone time to look ahead to the Motors on Saturday. We have a good week of practice ahead to add a few new wrinkles to the plan."
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/21/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-25-2024, 10:26 AM
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#992 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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October 29, 1951
OCTOBER 29, 1951 CHAPPELL SHINES AS COWBOYS DOMINATE IN PRAIRIE PARK OPENER You could not have written a better script for the grand opening of Prairie Park. The new home of the Kansas City Cowboys was sold out as the Cowboys, after winning each of their first four games on the road to start the season, delighted the local faithful with a 29-3 win over the Los Angeles Tigers. The victory leaves the Cowboys at 5-0, and a full two games ahead of second place Detroit as they bid to win their second consecutive American Football Association title. It was classic Pat Chappell, as the Cowboys star signal caller threw for his season high 237 yards while completing 13 of 24 pass attempts on the afternoon. Chappell's favourite target on the day was Collie Lovacs, the often overlooked end who is usually the third choice to catch deep passes behind Ernie Orr and Bill Tammaro. On this afternoon Lovacs had four catches for a game high 98 yards. Pat Hill took care of the ground game, as the speedy back ran for 86 yards and also caught a 21 yard touchdown pass to put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Second place Detroit failed to keep pace with the powerful Cowboys in the race for the West Division crown. The Maroons, who surprisingly won three of their first four games, came up short at home against the Cleveland Finches, falling 20-9 as the Cleveland ground game proved to be far too much for the Maroons defense. Former St. Blane star Mark Ravellette led the way for the visitors, gaining 122 yards on 25 carries and scoring a pair of touchdowns. Larry Breig also passed the century mark as the 30-year-old veteran ran for 110 yards in the win. More bad news for the Pittsburgh Paladins, although they did rebound from last week's loss with a 27-7 win over St Louis. Wally Dotson, their star halfback, returned for the victory over the Ramblers after missing each of the last two weeks with an injury, during which time the Pioneers offense fizzled. The worry now is that quarterback Dusty Sinclair will miss at least next week's game with New York after he was hurt late in the St Louis win. Josh Briggs kicked the game winning field goal in overtime after the Philadelphia Frigates scored on a 14-yard Ed Paulson to Victor Nash touchdown pass in the final minute to force the extra frame as the Frigates trimmed New York 20-17 spoiling a 267 yard passing day by Stars quarterback Dick Metcalf. Chicago is still searching for its first victory of the season after Boston dumped the Wildcats 21-12, dropping the Chicago squad to 0-5 on the year. A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in a span of less than two and a half minutes was the key to the Americans third victory of the season. Finally in the nations capital Sam Gerst ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns to pace the visiting San Francisco Wings to a 21-10 victory over the Washington Wasps. Gerst leads the AFA in rushing yards on the season with 685.  HAWKS BLANK DARNELL STATE TO REMAIN UNBEATEN The Lubbock State Hawks, overlooked for a New Year's Classic game a year ago despite a perfect 10-0 record, are doing their best to ensure that won't happen again this season. The Hawks stretched their winning streak to 15, including 5-0 this season, with a 16-0 shutout victory over preseason top ten Darnell State. Quarterback Jesse Costner led the way as the lanky Lubbock State T-formation trickster tossed two touchdown passes in the second half to break open what for the first thirty minutes was a defensive struggle. The victory leaves the Hawks at the top of the Southwest Alliance with a 2-0 section record and all but ends any section title hopes for the Legislators, who are 0-2 in conference play after being upset by Amarillo Methodist last week. Speaking of New Year's Classic, Detroit City College and Redwood are the early favourites to meet in Santa Ana for the annual East-West Classic. Each is 3-0 in section play after the DCC Knights thumped Minnesota Tech 31-14 while the Mammoths stampeded over Rainier College to the tune of 48-7. Out of the Great Lakes Alliance things have not gone as well for Detroit City College as the Knights are just 3-2 overall but the Mammoths have matched their perfect 3-0 section record with 3 out of conference victories and, at 6-0, hold down the 5th spot in the latest top ten rankings. The Lincoln Presidents may have something to say about DCC's intentions of making the trip to Santa Ana for the third time in six seasons. Lincoln has never been invited to southern California for New Years but the Presidents are 5-0 and ranked third in the nation after their 14-9 victory over Great Lakes Alliance rival Indiana A&M. Lincoln is 2-0 in section play and play the Knights this coming Saturday at home in Springfield, IL. At stake may well prove to be the Great Lakes Alliance title. While Cumberland remains the top team in the nation after the Explorers blanked Cookeville State 37-0 to run their perfect record to 5-0, most of the talk in the south was centered on Georgia Baptist after the Gators, who were a dismal 5-6 a year ago, tamed the Bluegrass State Mustangs by a 48-3 score. Another school to keep an eye on is Maryland State as the Bengals are also 5-0 and ranked in the top ten. Their most recent triumph was a 34-7 rout on the road in New Orleans over Bayou State, a win that left an impression that may bring the Bengals back to Louisiana for a Cajun Classic engagement in eight short weeks. Finally, news this week that Rome State and their scandal depleted roster finally earned a victory as the Centurions shutout Henry Hudson 10-0 to end a nearly unprecedented stretch of 4 consecutive losses to start the season.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Rome State 10 Henry Hudson 0 St. Blane 45 Whitney College 14 Pierpont 17 Annapolis Maritime 13 Sadler 23 Brunswick 12 George Fox 19 Empire State 17 St. Pancras 24 Brooklyn State 10 Penn Catholic 38 Ferguson 20 Liberty College 24 Huntington State 7 Boston State 34 Conwell College 10 Grafton 38 Dickson 10 St. Patrick's 43 Ellery 0 Bethlehem College 31 Bigsby College 20 SOUTH Cumberland 37 Cookeville State 0 Georgia Baptist 48 Bluegrass State 3 Maryland State 34 Bayou State 7 Baton Rouge State 17 Opelika State 0 Central Kentucky 20 Western Florida 3 Noble Jones College 24 Commonwealth Catholic 10 Mississippi A&M 17 Miami State 3 Alabama Baptist 20 Northern Mississippi 0 Coastal State 14 Columbia Military Academy 0 Bulein 23 Potomac College 23 Mobile Maritime 31 Charleston (IL) 17 Charleston Tech 24 Chesapeake State 14 Eastern State 30 Carolina Poly 17 Alexandria 47 Salisbury Christian 14 Cowpens State 21 North Carolina Tech 21 Lexington State 44 Central Carolina 10 Richmond State 23 Petersburg 12 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 31 Pittsburgh State 3 Lincoln 14 Indiana A&M 9 Central Ohio 13 Western Iowa 0 Wisconsin State 17 St. Magnus 0 Detroit City College 31 Minnesota Tech 14 Daniel Boone College 20 College of Omaha 17 Iowa A&M 34 Lambert College 24 Lawrence State 41 Eastern Kansas 9 Waltham Meridian 13 Central Illinois 3 Queen City 35 Texas Panhandle 10 Wisconsin Catholic 38 Ohio Poly 12 SOUTHWEST Lubbock State 16 Darnell State 0 Oklahoma City State 43 Boulder State 31 Travis College 17 Red River State 3 College of Waco 56 Valley State 0 Payne State 37 Topeka State 6 Arkansas A&T 34 Sunnyvale 21 Abilene Baptist 37 Canyon A&M 6 Eastern Oklahoma 16 Northern Minnesota 10 FAR WEST Northern California 45 Lane State 16 Coastal California 17 Amarillo Methodist 17 Redwood 48 Rainier College 7 Spokane State 41 Portland Tech 3 California Catholic 19 Minns College 13 San Francisco Tech 62 San Diego Navy 0 Tempe College 34 El Paso Methodist 0 Colorado Poly 55 South Valley State 7 Mile High State 27 Utah A&M 6 College of San Diego 31 McKinney State 6 Cache Valley 24 Custer College 13 Wyoming A&I 27 Provo Tech 16 DUKES KEEP WINNING, VALS KEEP LOSING The two Canadian based teams in the NAHC kept their streaks alive as the league completed its third week of the season. The streak is a good thing in Toronto where the first place Dukes remain perfect on the season. Toronto played just once this week but came out on top, dropping Detroit 4-3 for the Dukes sixth win a row to begin the campaign. Dukes star center Quinton Pollack had three points in the game and leads the league with 11 points on the season. The streak is not a good one for Montreal as the two-time defending Challenge Cup champions continue to struggle. The Vals were defeated three times last week and have lost five in a row, dropping Montreal to last place in the NAHC with a 2-6-0 record. Montreal has played the most games in the league but has also surrendered the most goals - and by a wide margin with 25 against but it was the offense that let the Valiants down this week. Montreal scored just once and was shut out in back-to-back games.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK MONDAY OCTOBER 22 WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24 Boston 3 at 2 New York : 19-year-old rookie defenseman Ben Voyechek scored his first career goal and assisted on a second Boston tally as the Bees nipped New York 3-2. It was the first NAHC points for Voyechek, who was selected third in the summer NAHC draft. Jacob Gron and Robert Walker also scored for the Bees while Orval Cabbell and Joe Martin replied for the Shamrocks. THURSDAY OCTOBER 25 Montreal 0 at 2 Chicago : Norm Hanson stopped all 20 shots he faced for the league's first shutout of the season as the Chicago Packers blanked Montreal 2-0, handing the Valiants their fourth consecutive defeat. Max Ducharme and Jeremy MacLean each had a goal and an assist to pace the Chicago offense. SATURDAY OCTOBER 27 Detroit 3 at 4 Toronto : Toronto remained perfect on the season, improving to 6-0 as the Dukes held on to edge Detroit 4-3. Quinton Pollack scored twice, to give him a league leading 7 goals on the season. Pollack also added an assist while his linemate Lou Galbraith had three helpers. SUNDAY OCTOBER 28 Montreal 0 at 1 New York : Tom Brockers stopped 39 of 40 New York shots but it was not enough to stop the Valiants from losing for the fifth consecutive game as the New York Shamrocks claimed a 1-0 victory. Rusty Mullins scored on the powerplay midway through the third period to account for all the offense. Alex Sorrell was perfect in the New York net but faced just 15 shots.Boston 3 at 1 Chicago : After starting the season winless in five games, the Boston Bees won for the second time this week, handling Chicago 3-1. Oscar James made 33 saves whie Craig Simpson, Conn Cundiff and Willie Beane were the Boston goalscorers. Tommy Burns had the lone Chicago marker. UPCOMING GAMES MONDAY OCTOBER 29 Toronto at Detroit New York at Montreal WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 31 Montreal at Toronto THURSDAY NOVEMBER 1 New York at Chicago Boston at Detroit Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3 Detroit at Montreal New York at Toronto SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4 Boston at Chicago New York at Detroit DUKES SKATE TO SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN Toronto continued their hot start skating away with a 4-3 victory Saturday night over the visiting Motors from Detroit in front of 13,550 in what was the Dukes only game last week. The key to the victory for the Dukes was special teams. They scored on 3 of 6 man advantages while only allowing the Motors 1 power play goal on 5 chances. Toronto took a 2-0 lead into the dressing room after the first on a pair of power play goals by Quinton Pollack, both within 15 seconds after a Motors' player was sent off for boarding. Both teams played a wide open style in the first with a total of 27 shots on goal and Dukes veteran netminder Gordie Broadway turned aside all 16 shots he faced in the period. The second twenty was a little tighter checking with each team scoring once, both goals were scored while on the power play. Nick Tardif narrowed the gap to 2-1 just before the six minute mark before Carlson's 4th of the year restored the two goal lead at 12:10. The third was mirror image of the first with both teams testing the opposition's netminder often with high quality shots. Adam Vanderbilt scored his first of the season at 4:24 knocking home a stray rebound. The scored remained 3-2 until Dubois' first made it 4-2 at 15:02 on a goal mouth scramble in front of Detroit goaltender Millard Touhey. Detroit did not back down throwing everything into a desperate attack, they were rewarded with a 117 seconds left in the game with a Vincent Arsenault goal, a marker coming once again after the Dukes defense could not clear a puck from the crease. Broadway shut the door to secure the win in a highly entertaining game for those on hand. Coach Barrell- "We escaped again thanks to the solid work between the pipes by Broadway. I thought we had a good week of practice but the Motors showed us there is still work to do in our zone, we cannot be giving up over 40 shots a night then expect to win night in, night out. Offensively we are fine though guys have to start picking up their checks faster after the other team gets possession of the puck. We go into Detroit Monday before a home and home with the Valiants Wednesday, Thursday then finish the week at home to the Shamrocks, tough four games this week. Quinton has 5 goals, 2 helpers in 2 games against the Motors, I expected they will have something new in store to try to shut him down at Palladium on Monday. We have to work on giving the guys in net a little more support, Scott, Gordie have been outstanding so far though we have to cut their workload. Time to get back to work."  WHITNEY COLLEGE FAVOURED IN TWIFS AIAA CAGE PREVIEW The 1951-52 collegiate basketball season is just a couple of weeks away from its opening tip-off and by all accounts it is expected to be a banner season for the Whitney College Engineers. The Engineers, who won their second-ever AIAA tournament five years ago but have not advanced past the second round since, have a loaded roster that may just be the most talented group in all of collegiate basketball. Federal Basketball League scouts will be watching the Engineers very closely all season as the early rankings from the OSA, which handles the central scouting duties for several professional sports leagues, names a pair of Engineers in 1950-51 All-American forward Solly Morris and center Edd Petty as its top two prospects for next year's Federal League draft. Morris was the top high school recruit in the nation three years ago when he arrived on the Chicago campus of Whitney College from Chattanooga, TN. He has been a three starter for the Engineers, a freshman All-American, the Great Lakes Alliance player of the year last season as a junior when he was also named a first team All-American. Petty, a 6'9" center from Texas who averaged 10.5 points per game a year ago, is a perfect sidekick for Morris. There are also a pair of talented guards in junior Sam Doane, a hometown product from Chicago's Lakeview High School, that also earned preseason All-American accolades, and senior Bill McCaffrey. Rounding out the starting five is junior forward Vic Jennings, a reserve each of the past two seasons who is expected to play a key role this year. There will be plenty of competition for the Engineers and not just in the Great Lakes Alliance, from which we had two other schools crack our preseason top ten. The biggest threat to a Whitney College national title may well come from the west coast where Rainier College and Coastal California hold down the number two and three spots on our preseason rankings. The Majestics always seem built for success, having not missed the AIAA tournament since 1933 and winning three national titles in that span. This year's team will rely heavily on a pair of juniors in guard T.J. Grimm, who was an All-American last season, and forward Doc Daniels. The Dolphins are the defending National Champions, having finally broke through and won a title after decades of close calls that came up just short. Star scorer Chris Martines has graduated by look for Gary Moore and Tookie Brown to pick up the slack. Moore, along with fellow Coastal California sophomore Herm McShane are already on the radar of Federal Basketball League scouts. Number four on our preseason top ten list is Western Iowa. The Canaries seem to always field a competitive team and have reached the National Semi-Finals each of the past two seasons, falling to Coastal California in the title game a year ago. Their best season may well be a year from now with a trio of young stars in sophomore Leo Beck, and juniors Dick Landry and Tim Jacobus leading the way. Rounding out our top five is the Carolina Poly Cardinals, the powerhouse school of the South Atlantic Conference. The Cardinals won it all eight years ago and reached the quarterfinals last season - the third time in the past four years they won at least two tournament games. They have produced a number of talented guards in recent years highlighted by current Toronto Falcons star Major Belk and this season is no exception. The Cardinals strength will be the backcourt duo of senior Art Radcliff and sophomore Charlie Glidewell. We go back to the West Coast Athletic Association for the sixth team on our list. That would be the Redwood Mammoths who will go as far as the shooting of junior guard Hank Adkins will take them. The California product averaged 14.4 points per game as a sophomore and is expected to exceed that total this time around. The Mammoths missed the tournament a year ago, but were AIAA champions in the spring of 1948. Number seven is Liberty College as the Bells try to rebound from an awful season a year ago. The independent school missed the tournament for the first time since 1934. From 1935 until last year they won three AIAA titles and reached the title game on three other occasions. Those three trips to the finals came with either Ward Messer or Luther Gordon leading the offense but with both gone last season was a struggle although they did still finish with 21 victories. Junior Bernie Stainbrook has some experience as a starting center now but even with that no one will ever mistake him for Messer or Gordon. However, they do possess an elite guard in junior Joe Cesarini. The Miller Place, NY, native is a gifted shooter who we have named to our preseason All-American team. At 8th on our list we have the Central Ohio Aviators who returned to the tournament last year after a one-year absence. They need a strong showing just to survive in the competitive Great Lakes Alliance but with the junior combo of guard Charlie Stark and forward Lee Woolridge, from nearby Cincinnati, we think the Aviators may fly high this year. Charlie Barrell and the Noble Jones College Colonels are slotted in at number nine. The school led by Barrell, when he was a sophomore and a dynamite freshman center named Jim Graybeal two years ago had a perfect season and won the national title. They made a much quicker exit from the tournament last season but we expect Barrell, who averaged 11.5 ppg a year ago, to have a big season in his last hurrah at college sports before he moves on to the Cincinnati Cannons, although there is always the possibility a Federal Basketball League team or an American Football Association club convinces the three sport star to leave baseball behind for a different calling. Rounding out our top ten is another coast school in CC Los Angeles. The Coyotes won it all in the spring of 1946 and reached the title game two seasons later. Last year was the 16th consecutive season they qualified for the tournament but bowed out in the quarterfinals. There is no elite superstar to carry the team but rather this is a well coached balanced group that will spread the scoring around between forwards Gus Barnett and Del Marmaduke, center Ken Vaught and guards Allan Clark and Mack Blaha. A team that relies heavily on local talent as seven members of the current roster including expected starters Barnett and Blaha, are Los Angeles natives. Other schools to watch this season include the Detroit City College Knights, Indiana A&M Reapers, North Carolina Tech Techsters, Brunswick Knights, Annapolis Maritime Navigators, Chesapeake State Clippers and Frankford State Owls. Here is the This Week in Figment Sports preseason AIAA All-American team.  FEDERAL CAGE CAMPAIGN SET TO TIP OFF The Washington Statesmen will begin their quest for a third straight Federal Basketball League championship when they face the Philadelphia Phantoms tomorrow night in one of four games on the opening night docket. The Statesmen, with a deep and balanced club led by veteran center Ivan Sisco, were pressed to the full seven games before finally knocking off Toronto in each of the past two league finals but will have their work cut out for them this time around if the OSA predictions are to be believed. The league scouting service tabs the Statesmen to finish dead last in the five team Eastern Division and miss the playoffs for the first time since 1937-38, back in their debut season in the old American Basketball Conference. OSA, which is the official league scouting service for each of the four major team sports, is calling on the Boston Centurions to finish in first place in the East, with Baltimore second followed by Philadelphia and New York. The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs. The scouting service is very high on the Toronto Falcons chances of reaching the league finals for a third straight season. It calls the Falcons the team to beat in the Western Division with Rochester and Cleveland finishing second and third. The service believes the Detroit Mustangs and Chicago Panthers will each miss the playoffs.  COUGARS SIGN STRONG AS COACH The Chicago Cougars have introduced a name very familiar to baseball fans as their new third base coach. That would be slugger Mahlon Strong, the five-time FABL all-star who was most valuable player of the 1935 World Championship Series. The often-injured slugger, who spent probably a quarter of his career on the disabled list, still managed to play 1,900 FABL games with the New York Gothams and Pittsburgh Miners and accumulated 2,242 career hits including 279 homeruns. Strong had been out of the FABL spotlight the past two seasons but was still playing and a pair of productive years with the Portland Green Sox of the Great Western League after the Gothams elected not to resign him following the 1949 season. Now 42 years of age, Strong not only played for the Green Sox the past two years, he was also their manager which allowed him to gain experience before joining the Cougars. It is expected that Strong will be on the short list of FABL managerial candidates in the coming years. 
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/28/1951
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-26-2024, 10:30 AM
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#993 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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November 5, 1951
NOVEMBER 5, 1951 BIG WEEK FOR BANGED UP SHAMROCKS It is hard to complain when you win three straight games but many more weeks like the last one and the New York Shamrocks may run out of players, especially on the blueline. Faced with a tough stretch of five games in eight days, the Greenshirts went 4-1 including road wins in Chicago, Toronto and Detroit over the past five days but it came at a high cost. New York, already with defenseman Mark Theriault nursing a nagging back injury, saw rearguards Robert Sharpley, Tony Bell and Ryan Kennedy all miss time last week with various ailments. In addition, center Orval Cabbell, the McDaniels Trophy winner a year ago, was also banged up in last night's 4-3 victory in Detroit. The good news is none of the injuries are considered serious and all, including Theriault, should be back in the lineup within no more than two weeks. The Shamrocks are just 3 points back of the front running Toronto Dukes with the big reason being the play of goaltender Alex Sorrell. The winner of each of the past two Juneau Trophy's as the loops top netminder is once more on top of his game with the 25 year old sporting a 1.86 goals against average on the season. Sorrell's efforts earned him the nod as the league's top netminder for October. Player of the month honours went to Chicago center Tommy Burns.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK MONDAY OCTOBER 29 New York 1 at 2 Montreal : A big sigh of relief at the Montreal Arena when Ian Doyle's first goal of the season, with just over five minutes remaining in the game, lifted the Montreal Valiants to a 2-1 victory on home ice over the New York Shamrocks. The win was just the second of the season for the defending Challenge Cup champions, who had lost their last five in a row. Alex Lapalme had staked the Greenshirts to the lead in the first period before Nicholas Roch scored the equalizer early in the middle frame. WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 31 Montreal 2 at 2 Toronto : A second straight tie for Toronto as the visitors from Montreal earned a point thanks to Isaac Finnson scoring the equalizer with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Adam Sandford scored in the opening period to give Montreal the early lead before Maurice Charette and Mike Navarro responded for the Dukes. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 1 New York 4 at 1 Chicago : Orval Cabbell scored twice and Rusty Mullins had a goal and an assist to lead the Shamrocks to a 4-1 win in the Windy City.Boston 4 at 2 Detroit :After going winless in their first five games to start the season, the Boston Bees won for the third consecutive game. Boston doubled Detroit 4-2 behind 3 point efforts from both Robert Walker and Mike Brunell. It was another shooting gallery on the Detroit net as the Bees fired 50 shots on Millard Touhey before making it 51 on Wilbur Chandler's empty-net goal. The Motors are allowing an average of nearly 37 shots against per game, worst in the NAHC. Toronto 3 at 3 Montreal : The Valiants are unbeaten in 3 games after tying Toronto for the second night in a row. This one was 3-3 and for the second night in a row it was a late goal from Isaac Finnson that allowed the Valiants to escape with a point. The 28-year-old defenseman scored with 2:06 remaining after Quinton Pollack had given Toronto the lead early in the final twenty minutes. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3 Detroit 2 at 5 Montreal : The defending Cup champions are now riding a 4-game unbeaten streak after Brett Lanceleve scored twice and added an assist in a 5-2 win over Detroit. Defenseman John McDonald also enjoyed a 3-point night in the win including scoring his first goal of the season, a shorthanded marker in the middle frame.New York 2 at 1 Toronto :Toronto loses for the first time this season and the Dukes are winless in three after absorbing a 2-1 defeat on home ice to the New York Shamrocks. Jim Macek opened the scoring late in the second period before Trevor Parker tied it for Toronto eight minutes into the third stanza. Rusty Mullins was the hero for the visitors, notching the game winner with 3:20 remaining in a game that saw Toronto outshoot the Shamrocks 46-25 but Alex Sorrell was terrific in the New York cage. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4 Boston 1 at 4 Chicago : Max Ducharme scored a natural hat trick in the second period to lift the Chicago Packers past Boston 4-1, snapping the Bees three game winning streak. Boston won despite only managing 17 shots on Chicago goaltender Norm Hanson.New York 4 at 3 Detroit : Make it three straight wins for New York while Detroit is winless in five after the Shamrocks ended a 4-game road trip with a 4-3 victory in the Motor City. Geoff Hartnell had a goal and two assists to pace the winners while Bob Pilon had two points for the Motors. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6 Detroit at Boston WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 Detroit at New York Chicago at Toronto THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 Toronto at Chicago Boston at Montreal SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10 Chicago at Montreal Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 Toronto at Boston Montreal at Detroit Chicago at New York DUKES UNBEATEN STREAK TO START SEASON SNAPPED AT NINE The Toronto Dukes managed to complete the entire month of October without losing a game before finally succumbing on the weekend. It was a busy week with 4 games in 6 nights for Jack Barrell's crew. During the week the team had 3 ties before they lost their first game of the 1951-52 season on Saturday, falling to New York 2-1. The week began in Detroit with a 2-2 tie before a large crowd at the Palladium. The game was a tighter checking affair than has been seen between these two team in three matchups in the first month of the season. All the scoring was in the first 40 minutes with Detroit taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission before the visitors struck quickly on goals by Alex Lavalliere and Rob Painchaud to take a 2-1 lead before the period was 4 minutes old. Francis McKenzie tied the game at 2 with less than 2 remaining in the second when he was left unchecked in the slot to rip a snap shot past Scott Renes who got a piece of it with his blocker, just not enough to keep it out of the net. Significant in this game was that the Motors held Quinton Pollack off the score sheet after he had owned Detroit with 7 points in the first two meetings. Halloween night at the Gardens the 14550 on hand witnessed a goaltending clinic put on by Gordie Broadway and Tom Brockers in another draw at 2, this time against Montreal. Brockers made 30 saves for the Vals while Broadway turned aside 28 shots in the Dukes' cage. Montreal had edge in shot quality with Broadway forced into a number of saves that were just short of robbery. Isaac Finnson's first of the year snuck over the goal line with under 4 minutes to play to give the visitors a point. The Dukes began November in Montreal less than 24 hours after closing out an undefeated October. With the two backups in the crease, the game started out looking like a high scoring affair with as many goals scored in the first 20 as there were in 60 minutes the previous night- four. Renes and Brad Carter settled in after a shaky first to both blanked the opposition in the second. Pollack broke out of two game goalless streak to put his side up 3-2 at 4:11 of the final frame on a pretty feed from Lou Galbraith. Toronto held Montreal to only 4 shots on goal in the third unfortunately for Renes one was off a rebound that Finnson put into an open net with 2:06 left in the game. Finnson's first two of the year were instrumental in Montreal salvaging a point in both games. The unbeaten streak ended at nine on Saturday night when the Shamrocks came to town. The game remained scoreless for the first 37:58 until Jim Macek scored with Lavalliere off for hooking to make it 1-0 for the Shamrocks. Alex Sorrell was the reason Toronto could not get on the scoresheet, he stopped 38 shots in the first 40 minutes many of which had Dukes' players gazing in disbelief skyward. Trevor Parker evened the score with 12 minutes remaining which proved to be they only dent in Sorrell's armour this night. As in the previous two games the Dukes were victimized by a late goal. This one by Rusty Mullins at 16:40 was for the win rather than the other two which allowed Montreal to steal a point with a tie. Mullins goal held up for the 2-1 win giving Toronto their first game of the season that ended on wrong side of the scoreboard. Sorrell was recognized by crowd when he skated out as the game's third star. Coach Barrell- " We got a little of own medicine this week. In all 4 games the opponent got solid goaltending, Sorrell was practically unbeatable Saturday. Giving up a late goal in 3 straight games was disappointing especially to New York were we were by far the better team for the 60 minutes. We had no puck luck. I lost count of the number of shots off the post. The team probably played their best game in our only loss thus far in the season. It did not take long for games to begin to tighten up, we will add a few new options to the zone breakout before the Chicago back to back midweek. Overall the team is playing better defensively but we need to lock it down late. The key will be to not fall into a shell, keep continuing to attack when given the chance late in games." COWBOYS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN AFA PLAY Even a dominant passing game from San Francisco Wings quarterback Sam Metcalf was not enough to slow the Kansas City Cowboys. Metcalf threw for 309 yards and the Wings carried the play but when the dust settled the Cowboys walked away with a 37-16 victory, improving their season mark to 6-0 and running their winning streak dating back to last season to ten games including a victory in last years AFA championship game. The Wings seemingly did everything required to beat the mighty Cowboys. Metcalf was outstanding, completing 15 of 32 pass attempts for 309 yards and two touchdowns while his opposite number, Cowboys quarterback Pat Chappell also threw a pair of touchdown scores but passed for only 143 yards. San Francisco back Sam Gerst, the leagues top rusher, had a tough day in gaining just 26 yards but the Wings 70 yards total on the ground nearly matched the 105 the Cowboys accumulated as the San Francisco defense made sure that neither Mason Matthews nor Pat Hill - the two strong ground threats Kansas City possess- accomplished much on the day with neither topping the 40 yard mark. The difference was the Cowboys, as they always seemed to do, capitalized on every opportunity the Wings afforded them. Tied 3-3 in the opening quarter and San Francisco made the crucial mistake of fumbling away the ball in their own territory. One play later, working with a field just thirty yards long, found Bill Tammaro for a touchdown pass and Chappell's longest competition of the day put Kansas City up 10-3. At the half the Cowboys led by just a single point at 17-16 but scored 20 unanswered points after the break to put the game away. Another crucial turnover, this time an interception by Cowboys defensive back Gerald McConnell led to one touchdown and Tammaro's 59-yard punt return set up another score as despite being outgained by nearly 150 yards from scrimmage over the course of the afternoon, the Cowboys were once more unstoppable. The Detroit Maroons improved to 4-2 and have control of the second playoff spot in the West Division under the new format that will see a playoff semi-final series for the first time. The Maroons led by 15 tackles from linebacker Scott Cross and a big passing day from quarterback Dan Andrews knocked off the Los Angeles Tigers 27-16. The Maroons face a tough test next weekend as they head to Kansas City to face the Cowboys, a team that beat Detroit soundly in the Motor City in the opening week of the season. The Pittsburgh Paladins, who reached the title game a year ago, are 5-1 and lead the East Division after doubling the New York Stars 20-10. Pittsburgh played without injured quarterback Dusty Sinclair but John Mecham's 2 touchdowns and 90 yards rushing carried the Paladins offense while Wally Dotson added another 67 yards on the ground. Five Neville Catron field goals, including the game winner from 41 yards with just seven seconds remaining in the game lifted the Boston Americans to a 15-14 victory at Minutemen Stadium over the visiting Philadelphia Frigates. Walt Michos ran for 125 yards to lead the Yanks offense and with the win, the 4-2 Americans have sole possession of second spot in the East Division. After starting the season with three straight victories the Washington Wasps dropped their third game in a row, coming up on the short end of a 13-7 decision in Cleveland. Backs Larry Breig and Mark Ravellette combined for 191 yards for the victorious Finches with Ravellette scoring the game winning touchdown midway through the third quarter. The nightmare season continues for the Chicago Wildcats, who slipped to 0-6 with a heartbreaking 22-16 overtime loss to the Ramblers in St Louis. The Wildcats led 16-3 after three periods before Tom Berryman ran for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. A missed Luis Younger extra point attempt with 2:10 on the clock forced the need for an extra period and a Wildcats fumble in the opening minute of overtime led to a 14 yard game winning touchdown pass from Curt Nichols to Arnold Lavoie. Nat Oldham led the St Louis offense with 150 yards rushing.  LINCOLN COLLEGE WINS GLA SHOWDOWN Lincoln College junior quarterback Derek Ridenour defied a snow-laden forty-mile per hour gale in the final seventy-seconds of the first half to complete an 8-yard pass for a touchdown and lead the Presidents to a 13-0 victory over Detroit City College in a game that made Lincoln the front-runner for a berth in the East-West Classic. The blinding snow grew even stronger in the second half making any sort of offense nearly impossible to generate. The only other score of the game came on a two-yard plunge by Presidents fullback Bob Stratton after the Knights had fumbled the slick ball away on their own 11-yard line. The win leaves Lincoln the only unbeaten team in GLA section play and while they, at 3-0, have one victory less than Wisconsin State (4-1 in conference) it was the Presidents who handed the Brewers their lone defeat. The win over DCC was also impressive enough to boost the Presidents into second spot in the national rankings, trailing only Cumberland, which remained undefeated with a 34-7 win over North Carolina Tech. Elsewhere St Blane scored on three long touchdown runs to down Annapolis Maritime 21-10. Sadler remains perfect on the season after the Academia Alliance outfit ran its record to 7-0 with a 47-0 shutout of the Ellery Bruins. The Maryland State Bengals continued their winning ways with a 40-10 mauling of Daniel Boone College. Redwood barely held off Spokane State, needing a field goal with under three minutes remaining to beat a determined Spokane State eleven 24-23 and remain the class of the West Coast Athletic Association although Northern California, which down CC Los Angeles 23-17, is also very much in the running for a berth in the East-West Classic. The Mammoths and Miners will meet November 24th with quite likely the section title on the line.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST St. Blane 21 Annapolis Maritime 10 Sadler 47 Ellery 0 Brunswick 16 Henry Hudson 7 Grafton 14 George Fox 3 Pierpont 21 Richmond State 17 St. Patrick's 49 Empire State 0 Commonwealth Catholic 23 Petersburg 0 Garden State 27 Brooklyn State 26 Boston State 57 Bigsby College 6 Frankford State 21 Conwell College 14 Grange College 21 Charleston Tech 20 SOUTH Cumberland 34 North Carolina Tech 7 Alabama Baptist 27 Noble Jones College 7 Carolina Poly 20 Georgia Baptist 10 Central Kentucky 31 Miami State 3 Opelika State 54 Pineville 6 Maryland State 40 Daniel Boone College 10 Mississippi A&M 10 Bayou State 0 Northern Mississippi 16 Baton Rouge State 10 Bluegrass State 34 Western Tennessee 7 Eastern State 23 Mobile Maritime 7 Alexandria 38 Central Carolina 6 Lexington State 20 Chesapeake State 0 Huntington State 28 Lakeview (OH) 14 Columbia Military Academy 20 Potomac College 14 Coastal State 10 Cowpens State 10 Spartanburg Baptist 17 Bulein 16 MIDWEST Lincoln 13 Detroit City College 0 Central Ohio 15 St. Magnus 3 Wisconsin State 30 Indiana A&M 0 Western Iowa 40 Minnesota Tech 23 Whitney College 26 Liberty College 3 Lawrence State 20 College of Omaha 14 Northern Minnesota 23 Central Illinois 14 Lambert College 33 Great Lakes Navy 0 Ferguson 37 Topeka State 14 SOUTHWEST Arkansas A&T 26 Darnell State 14 Texas Gulf Coast 17 Travis College 7 Lubbock State 20 Amarillo Methodist 3 College of Waco 62 Texas Panhandle 14 Payne State 24 Eastern Oklahoma 13 Abilene Baptist 31 Queen City 14 Red River State 13 Pittsburgh State 12 Oklahoma City State 26 Eastern Kansas 0 FAR WEST Northern California 23 CC Los Angeles 17 Lane State 34 Rainier College 27 Coastal California 14 Rome State 0 Redwood 24 Spokane State 23 Idaho A&M 31 Portland Tech 30 Wyoming A&I 21 Custer College 3 Sunnyvale 21 San Francisco Tech 20 College of San Diego 41 Wisconsin Catholic 14 Valley State 40 South Valley State 14 Tempe College 46 Canyon A&M 0 Colorado Poly 35 Utah A&M 10 Boulder State 31 Iowa A&M 30 California Catholic 41 Gates University 14 Flagstaff State 21 El Paso Methodist 17 Minns College 24 San Diego Navy 7 Provo Tech 44 Cache Valley 21 
 WHITNEY COLLEGE TOPS PRESEASON CAGE RANKINGS The Whitney College Engineers, led by potential first overall FBL draft pick and preseason All-American Solly Morris, top the AIAA preseason poll which was released this week. The Engineers went 22-9 a season ago, qualifying for the AIAA post-season tournament for the thirteenth time in the past fifteen years before bowing out in the second round. Whitney College has won the AIAA tournament twice, with the most recent title coming in the spring of 1947. Solly Morris, a senior forward out of Chattanooga, TN., was a first team All-American selection a year ago and was named the favourite to win the Barrette Award as the National Collegiate Player of the Year in a recent preseason poll released by This Week in Figment Sports, one that also tabbed the Engineers as the team to beat this season. Morris and his Whitney College teammate Edd Petty, a center, are currently ranked 1-2 by the OSA for next years Federal Basketball League draft. The preseason top ten includes four teams from the powerful Great Lakes Alliance led by the Engineers at number one, with Western Iowa holding the fourth slot while Indiana A&M and Central Ohio are ninth and tenth respectively. The West Coast Alliance is also well represented with three schools landing in the top ten: Rainier College at number two, third ranked Coastal California and Lane State which holds down the #7 spot. Rankin Egbert of the Coastal California Dolphins is the preseason number three prospect for the draft followed by three-sport star Charlie Barrell of Noble Jones College. Barrell was selected first overall by FABL's Cincinnati Cannons last year and advanced as high as AAA in his two months of big league ball before returning to campus to quarterback the Colonels football team and lead its cage squad. A strong campaign at school and he stands a chance of being the first person ever selected in the opening round of an amateur draft by teams in two different professional sports.  FRENCH MIDDLWEIGHT CROSSING ATLANTIC TO FIGHT FOR WORLD TITLE Yohan Revel has always looked up to Edouard Desmarais and now the 26-year-old European champion will get a chance to follow in his late countryman's footsteps by getting a chance at the World Middleweight title. Revel has been announced as the opponent for current champ Mark McCoy, when the Kansas City native makes his first title defense. The bout will be held Saturday December 8 at New York's famous Bigsby Gardens. Revel arrived in New York last week and has begun training for his first fight in North America. The Frenchman is 31-1 and his only lose came against Desmarais back in 1947 when the latter held the European title. Desmarais, a hero to most French boxers including Revel, twice held the world middleweight title but died tragically in a plane crash at the age of 33 during a cross Atlantic flight prior to another title fight. McCoy, just 22 years old and with a 25-2 record, was a surprise champion after upsetting Millard Shelton in Shelton's first title defense. The middleweight title has been a much travelled belt in recent years with no one really being able to establish dominance in the division since Frank Melanson lost the title to Desmarais in his fifth defense in 1948. Since then, the title has changed hands five times with no one able to step to the forefront as the elite fighter of his era in this division.  RECENT KEY RESULTS
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
MINERS LAND NEW SKIPPER The final off-season managerial vacancy has been filled with news that the Pittsburgh Miners have hired former big leaguer Jim Adams to take charge of the home dugout at Fitzpatrick Park. Adams, 58, spent parts of 12 seasons as an infielder with the Philadelphia Keystones and Toronto Wolves, appearing in 777 big league games primarily in the 1920s. Lately he is better known as the father of Jim Adams Jr., first overall selection of the Cleveland Foresters in the 1943 draft and presently a two-time all-star infielder with the St Louis Pioneers. Jim Adams Sr. is a bit of a surprise choice to take the helm in Pittsburgh, replacing Jim Williams whose contract was not renewed after two years with the Miners. Adams only professional managing experience is the past two seasons at the helm of the Wilmington Pipers, which is Cleveland's Class A affiliate in the Middle Atlantic League. Williams was let go after posting a 133-175 record over the past two seasons, finishing seventh in the Federal Association both of those years. The Miners also cut ties with their hitting coach, third base coach and scouting director, all of whom joined the club with Williams prior to the 1950 campaign. Adams becomes the second new manager hire this season joining Harry Barrell, who will continue to play shortstop and will act as player-manager in Boston, replacing the outgoing Billy Hammond. Barrell joins his brothers Fred and Tom as big league managers although there is plenty of speculation that Tom is considering stepping down as the Kings skipper, in part because of the ballclubs move to Kansas City for the 1952 season.  .400 HITTER CARROL RETIRES Mel Carrol, the only man to bat over .400 in a season since the dawn of the modern era of the sport in 1926, has quietly announced his retirement. Carrol will be forever remembered for his astounding 1937 season, when he hit .409 and won the first of two Federal Association batting titles. The 39-year-old was informed recently by the Washington Eagles that he did not figure into their plans for next season and opted to retire rather than play in the minors or try and catch on with another club. The Pennsylvania native, known as "The Harborcreek Hustler" after his hometown, was a fourth round selection of the Eagles out of high school in the 1929 draft. He would break in with the Eagles in 1935 at the age of 23 and had his Whitney Award winning milestone season two years later. Surprisingly the Eagles would trade the all-star third baseman to Cleveland in July 1938 and he finished second in the Continental Association Whitney Award voting that year. His stay in Cleveland would last just three years as he was moved back to the Eagles at the trade deadline in 1941. An eight time All-Star game participant, Carrol won his second batting title in 1946, hitting .355 to help the Eagles win their first Federal Association pennant since 1925. He had 12 hits and batted .429 in the World Championship Series that year, his only opportunity to play in the WCS, but the Eagles surrendered a three games to one series lead and lost the series in seven games to the New York Stars. Carrol would hit .355 again the following season but lose the batting title by .001 to the Keystones Bobby Barrell. That would be the last of his great seasons and by last year he was reduced to a part-time role, making just 52 plate appearances. He retires just 85 hits shy of the 3,000 mark but his .337 career batting average presently ranks 13th all-time in FABL history.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/04/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. Last edited by Tiger Fan; 07-26-2024 at 11:02 AM. |
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November 12, 1951
NOVEMBER 12, 1951 LANCERS RUN WIN STREAK TO 13, SLAM SAINTS 47-21 The St. Ignatius Lancers stretched a winning streak that goes back to early October of last year to 13 games by blasting St. Blane 47-21 and handing the struggling Fighting Saints their worst defeat in years. On its first play from scrimmage, St Ignatius sprang junior back Jim Berger through the middle of the Saints line for an 88-yard touchdown run and things only got worse from their. George Becker, the Lancers all-American candidate at end and a starter on the St. Ignatius basketball team, had a big evening with 7 catches for 102 yards and 3 touchdowns. The score was about representative of the difference between the two teams this season. From the start it was apparent to the 51,296 spectators in Lansing that St Blane's young squad was not in the same class as St Ignatius, which despite the lobsided win slid down one spot in the polls and is now ranked fifth. The Lubbock State Hawks, who are 7-0, leapfrogged ahead of the Lancers on the strength of 20-3 victory over Travis College that all but clinched the Southwestern Alliance section title for the Hawks. The Bucks, who usually thrive on mistakes by their opponents, saw the tables reversed as Lubbock State guard John Edwards recovered three Travis College fumbles to help set up two Lubbock State touchdowns. Quarterback Jessie Costner master-minded the hard-hitting Hawks attack. Redwood holds on to the third spot in the poll after a strong showing in a 28-7 victory over Coastal California in Los Angeles. The victory leaves only Northern California holding the Mammoths back from locking up their first appearance in the East-West Classic since back to back trips in 1935 and 1936. The two clubs meet on November 24 in Stanford, Ca. with the winner, assuming neither trip up next weekend, clinching the West Coast Athletic Association title. The Lincoln Presidents moved a step closer to punching their ticket to Santa Ana, after thumping Western Iowa 41-7. The Presidents remain second in the polls, trailing only Cumberland -which has led the rankings wire-to-wire and improved to 7-0 with a 24-7 victory over Lexington State on Saturday.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Henry Hudson 20 Grafton 17 Brunswick 24 Detroit City College 6 Liberty College 17 St. Pancras 14 Sadler 41 Dickson 6 Ellery 20 Garden State 19 St. Patrick's 44 Wisconsin Catholic 30 Boston State 30 Portland Tech 24 Frankford State 31 Empire State 27 Penn Catholic 31 Northern Minnesota 17 SOUTH Cumberland 24 Lexington State 7 Noble Jones College 17 Western Florida 0 Georgia Baptist 40 Alexandria 3 Central Kentucky 30 Baton Rouge State 0 Alabama Baptist 37 Mississippi Tech 0 Maryland State 30 Annapolis Maritime 3 Mississippi A&M 45 Opelika State 3 Northern Mississippi 38 Knoxville 0 Bayou State 14 Bluegrass State 0 Eastern State 34 North Carolina Tech 7 Cowpens State 14 Carolina Poly 10 Charleston Tech 14 Central Carolina 10 Richmond State 33 Chesapeake State 7 Rome State 30 Mobile Maritime 21 Coastal State 24 Commonwealth Catholic 10 Columbia Military Academy 34 Huntington State 30 DeLand State 28 Petersburg 16 Conwell College 38 Bigsby College 7 Bulein 38 Edgemoor 14 Miami State 37 Western Tennessee 3 MIDWEST St. Ignatius 47 St. Blane 21 Lincoln 41 Western Iowa 7 Central Ohio 24 Pittsburgh State 3 Indiana A&M 24 Minnesota Tech 13 Whitney College 14 St. Magnus 7 Wisconsin State 13 Pierpont 3 College of Omaha 35 Iowa A&M 17 Lawrence State 34 California Catholic 9 Ferguson 30 Grange College 24 Lambert College 41 Topeka State 3 Maumee State 33 Central Illinois 27 SOUTHWEST Lubbock State 20 Travis College 3 Texas Gulf Coast 27 Darnell State 21 Red River State 21 Arkansas A&T 10 Abilene Baptist 51 Texas Panhandle 9 Oklahoma City State 55 Daniel Boone College 0 Payne State 34 Eastern Kansas 6 FAR WEST Northern California 41 Rainier College 14 Redwood 28 Coastal California 7 Lane State 26 CC Los Angeles 10 Spokane State 27 Idaho A&M 13 Valley State 30 Tempe College 24 Utah A&M 45 Cache Valley 19 Boulder State 41 Provo Tech 20 Colorado Poly 13 Custer College 10 Mile High State 13 College of San Diego 13 Canyon A&M 28 El Paso Methodist 17 West New Mexico State 27 Flagstaff State 13 Wyoming A&I 31 South Valley State 3 COWBOYS KEEP PERFECT RECORD INTACT WITH 24-10 WIN OVER MAROONS There seems to be no slowing down the Kansas City Cowboys as the defending American Football Association champions improved to 7-0 on the season with a 24-10 victory over the Detroit Maroons, who at 4-3, remain the Cowboys closest competition in the West Division. All of the Cowboys big offensive weapons made their mark in the first half as the Cowboys built a 21-0 lead at the break and then coasted to their third straight win at Prairie Park, their stylish new stadium. Pat Hill, who ran for 72 yards on the day, got things started with an 11 yard touchdown scamper late in the first quarter. Pat Chappell, arguably the best passer to ever play the game, hit Ernie Orr for a 19-yard score to double the lead early in the second period. Chappell would complete just 9 passes but amass 211 yards through the air. The final piece of the Cowboys big backfield trio - fullback Mason Matthews- scored on a 9 yard blast shortly before the break as he charged through the Detroit line for 75 yards on the afternoon. The East Division raced got a little tighter after the Pittsburgh Paladins fell for the second time in three weeks and now sit at 5-2 after absorbing a 23-20 overtime loss to the Washington Wasps. Wasps kicker William Reid was the hero with a game-tying field goal late in the fourth period and then he connected on a 38-yard boot in the extra frame. Tommy Norwood threw for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to Clint Snodgrass who had seven catches on the day, to pace the Wasps offense. Washington is now 4-3 and there are three teams hot on the heels of the first place Paladins, who were without starting quarterback Dusty Sinclair for the second consecutive week. One of those teams is the Boston Americans who had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the Stars in a defensive struggle at Gothams Stadium in New York. With multiple injuries at the quarterback position the Stars had to turn to backup halfback Ricky Sevy and the 30-year-old completed just one of 22 pass attempts on the day. Boston is 4-2-1 and a half game back of Pittsburgh while the Stars are 2-4-1. Cleveland is 4-3 and just a game out of top spot in the East after the Finches blasted Philadelphia 31-7 at Forester Stadium over the weekend. Mark Ravellette paced the Finches offense with 110 yards rushing while Rich McKowen threw a pair of touchdown tosses. Vince Gallegos threw for 276 yards and two scores to lead the San Francisco Wings to a 33-3 pounding of the St Louis Ramblers at Golden Gate Stadium while in Chicago the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season, nipping the visiting Los Angeles Tigers 10-7.  ANOTHER BIG WEEK FOR THE TORONTO DUKES The Toronto Dukes are threatening to run away with the NAHC race after a big week that saw them win three of four games and increase their lead atop the league to eight points over Detroit and Montreal, who are tied for second place. The Dukes, led by a dominant offense highlighted by Quinton Pollack's league best 11 goals, are 9-2-3 after their first 14 games and show no signs of slowing down. Toronto got out of the gate quickly, opening the season with six straight victories, but had a hiccup when they went winless in four. That changed last week with a trio of one goal victories including a home and home sweep of Chicago. The defending Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants are also on an upswing, as they try to overcome a dreadful start to the season that saw the Vals lose seven of their first eight games. Since then Montreal has gone 3-1-3 with the lone blemish being a 4-2 loss to the Motors in Detroit last night, a result that left the two clubs tied for second place but each are also just 3 points out of last as five teams are bunched very closely as the season approaches the quarter pole.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 Detroit 3 at 2 New York : The Motors beat the injury-ravaged Shamrocks 3-2 with rookie Greg Pleskach scoring his first NAHC goal, midway through the third period, for the game winner. Samuel Coates became the latest in a long list of Shamrock casualties, suffering an ankle injury that may end his season. The 27-year-old had struggled this season with just 1 point in 11 games after picking up 32 points a year ago.Chicago 2 at 3 Toronto : After suffering their first loss of the season on the weekend, the Dukes got back on track with a 3-2 win on home ice over the Chicago Packers. Quinton Pollack, who leads the NAHC in scoring, had a goal and an assist while backup goaltender Scott Renes made 34 saves for the winners. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 Toronto 1 at 0 Chicago : The back half of a home and home series is also a one-goal win for the Dukes. Gordie Broadway stopped all 28 shots he faced and Frank Featherstone scored the game winner late in the third period to give Toronto a hard fought victory.Boston 1 at 1 Montreal : Tommy Hart with the late heroics for Boston, beating Tom Brockers with just 5 seconds left on the clock to allow Boston to earn a 1-1 tie with the Valiants. Brockers had made 34 saves prior to that last shot eluding him. Ed McRae scored the Montreal goal in the middle period. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10 Chicago 3 at 6 Montreal : Brett Lanceleve scored twice as Montreal doubled Chicago 6-3, handing the Packers their third straight loss and fifth in their last six outings. After a slow start, the Vals are now unbeaten in their last six games.Detroit 2 at 3 Toronto : A 3-goal third period outburst gave Toronto its third straight victory, downing Detroit 3-2. The Dukes big line of Quinton Pollack, Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith combined for six points in the third period. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 Toronto 4 at 6 Boston : Faced with a busy week the Dukes ran out of gas in the third period, surrendering three goals to Boston in the final frame and allowing the Bees to claim a 6-4 victory. Tommy Hart scored twice to pace the Boston offense.Montreal 2 at 4 Detroit : The Valiants six game unbeaten streak came to an end in Detroit, falling 4-2 to the Motors in a game that was deadlocked at two after forty minutes. Graham Comeau and Moe Treadwell scored in the third to lift the hosts to victory. Chicago 4 at 3 New York :Pete Moreau assisted on three Chicago goals to help lead the Packers past the New York Shamrocks 4-3. Ravaged by injuries, the Shamrocks dressed just 15 skaters for the contest. It was just the Packers second win in their last seven games. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 Chicago at Boston WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14 Toronto at New York THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15 Chicago at Detroit SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 New York at Montreal Boston at Toronto SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 Montreal at Boston Toronto at Chicago Detroit at New York DUKES CONTINUE TO LEAD NAHC Hockey is now main topic amongst the sporting public of Toronto with the Dukes off to 9-2-3 start. In another week in which the Dukes had 4 games in 7 days they started with a Wednesday, Thursday home and home set with Chicago, Toronto managed to take all 4 available points in two one goal wins. In fast paced game at the Gardens on Wednesday they eked out a 3-2 win despite being outshot 36-27. Leading 2-1 going into the third on Quinton Pollack's 9th of the year, the Dukes surrendered the lead when Bert McColley beat Scott Renes when left alone in slot at 3:26 only to have Rob Painchaud score the eventual winner 7 minutes later when he snuck in from the point to take a pass from Pollack then bury the puck behind Norm Hanson. The return match at Lakeside Auditorium the next night was another goaltending battle between Gordie Broadway and Chicago's Michael Cleghorn. The first 40 minutes had no scoring though not due to lack of chances. Cleghorn was forced to make 23 saves which was one less than Broadway. Toronto held a distinct advantage in play in the final twenty out shooting the Packers 12-4. Persistence finally paid off when Frank Featherstone finally found the back of the net off a Lou Galbraith rebound with 2:04 left to give the Dukes the shutout 1-0 victory disappointing the 14675 on hand. Back home Saturday evening to face Detroit the fans were again entertained to another high tempo game. Goaltending was at the forefront again with Detroit leading 1-0 after 40 thanks to Millard Touhey's work between the pipes. Les Carlson knotted the score on the power play at 6:51 of the third only to have Louis Rocheleau restore the Motors lead 7 minutes later at 13:55. The Dukes continued to press and Trevor Parker regained the tie less than a minute after Rocheleau's marker, setting stage for the late game winner. Pollack continued his high level of play against the Motors potting the winner at 17:56 on a pretty passing play from Galbraith and Carlson. The heavy schedule seemed to catch up to the Dukes Sunday afternoon in Denny Arena. They held the Bees for two periods before the home side ran away in the third with 3 goals after J.C. Martel had given Toronto a 4-3 lead early in the third. Renes faced 42 shots in the 6-4 loss double the number that tested Oscar James in the Boston net. Coach Barrell- "Schedule caught up to us in Boston. We ran out of gas with 8 games in 14 days. Boston knew we were tired then tried to run us out of the rink. They were mostly successful, it could have been much uglier had Renes not been strong again in goal. We are still leading the league, we need a tweak a few things over the next couple of practices. Schedule lightens a bit so we can have some constructive practices."  On the plus side, the Packers do have 10 points from their 5 wins, they're just three back of the second place tie between Montreal and Detroit, and the team they dropped two games to, the Dukes, are already running away with the NAHC 8 points ahead of the pack. The Packers are also dealing with some injuries, as Jesse Santoro, Max Ducharme, and Sam Furr are all dealing with injuries of varying degree. Santoro is the only one who is unavailable for games, day-to-day with bruised ribs, and will spend at least the week on the injured list. The 25-year-old has three assists in ten appearances, and hasn't quite broken out like the top defender the Packers hoped. Replacing him on the roster is Pittsburgh defender Tom Doraty, who has 2 goals and 5 assists in 12 games for Chicago's farm club. Doraty debuted for the Shamrocks in the 1949/1950 season and made a pair of appearances for the Packers last season, but the only NAHC point for the 23-year-old was an assists with New York. He'll fill the 7th defensemen role, as Joe Fleming (2, 5, 7) shifts from the right side to left, and Mike Geiger (1, 0, 1) will replace him. Max Ducharme's injury is a bruised neck, and while he could play through it, with a 1-2 week recovery time the Packers will be playing it safe. It's a tough blow as the 27-year-old is having a breakout goal scoring season, netting 7 with 3 assists in 12 games. He's tied for the team goal lead with Tommy Burns (7-5-12) and sits two points behind him for the point lead. Losing his goal scoring ability will be tough, but with a long season ahead, being without him for a few weeks is better then a few months. Furr's tender elbow is much less severe, and since he's only played in four games, tallying a goal and assist, he's used to being a scratch even when healthy. This causes just one roster move to be made, and it will be the return of the injured Maurice Lebel, who missed a week with a bruised heel. He's played a minor role, averaging just over 6 minutes in 6 games this year, and the 26-year-old is waiting to score his first point. It will be a tough week to be without Ducharme, as the Packers have two road games against Boston and Detroit before hosting the first place Dukes on Sunday. Boston has played the fewest games, 12, and are a point ahead of the Packers, while the Motors have a game less then the Vals who they're tied in second with. Ducharme's offense will be tough to replace, but Marty Mahoney (5-6-11) and Jarrett McGlynn (1-10-11) have stepped up after the dreadful season last year, while Bert McColley (2-1-3) and Pete Moreau (0-5-5) have been outstanding as the top line defensive pairing. *** Panthers Back To .500 After Poor Home Showing *** After being so good on their home court last season, it was surprising to see the Chicago Panthers drop two of three after beating Toronto in their home opener last week. Luther Gordon struggled in an 88-84 loss to Washington, as the reigning Player of the Week shot just 7-for-25 from the field. His excellent free throw shooting allowed him to still score 23, and the reliable rebounder grabbed 14 boards, but both stats fell short of his norm. Neither led the team either, as Richard Campbell attempted to put the team on his back, scoring 27 with 16 rebounds in the losing effort. Campbell, Gordon, and Cory Myers combined for 66 of the 84 points, as a poor 3-for-16 shooting game from star guard Joe Hampton made things difficult.The supporting cast struggled mightily against the Motors, as this time Gordon was the only starter to score double digits. He scored 26 points and grabbed 16 boards, but the rest of the starting five shot 10-for-52. Only Myers (4-for-10) offered much on offense, but four other Packers grabbed 8 or more boards. That includes third year center Joshua Brand, who had a breakout game off the bench. The former 2nd Rounder was an even 6-for-12, finishing with 12 points and rebounds as he played extra minutes with Myers and Campbell both fouling out. Campbell faired much better in the win, fouling just 4 times, as he scored 18 on 9 of 22 shooting. But as usual, the win was because of Gordon, who scored 30 with 25 rebounds. Joe Hampton's poor shooting (1-for-11) didn't stop him from a double-double, as he had 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He'll look to improve on his 18.7 field goal percentage, as the Panthers will need much more from him if they want to snap their two year playoff drought. MAROONS LEARN PLENTY OF WORK STILL NEEDED Detroit Maroons fans, positively giddy a week ago after their AFA heroes dominated the Los Angeles Tigers on the west coast, received a big dose of reality yesterday afternoon in Kansas City. Pat Chappell and the AFA champion Cowboys only dominated Detroit for about 20 minutes but that was all it took in a 24-10 loss in Kansas City. The offense never really got untracked but the Maroons defense looked solid for much of the game, but the Cowboys seem to be able to turn on an extra gear almost at will. It was an uneventful and scoreless first period until the hosts strung together a pair of big plays after being given decent field position due to the Detroit offense's lack of productivity. All it took was Mason Matthews busting his way through the line and dragging two Maroons defenders for 16 yards until reinforcement arrived to bring the big back down. Then a seemingly effortless flick of the wrist by Pat Chappell for an 18 yard touchdown toss to Bill Tammaro and the Cowboys had a lead they would never relinquish. Detroit had a decent second half, even outscoring the mighty Cowboys 10-7 after the break but it is clear that in the West Division it is the Kansas City Cowboys and then everyone else. The good news is the playoff format has been expanded this year so that the second place club also qualifies for the post-season. Detroit is presently in the drivers seat at 4-3, a game up on San Francisco, but the next two weeks may tell the tale if the Maroons are going to be making the playoffs for the first time since they lost to Boston in the 1945 championship game. The Maroons and Wings will play each of the next two weekends with Sunday's game at Thompson Field before shifting to the coast for the following week's contest. Detroit does have a few injuries to deal with but the Maroons get a big break with word that Wings back Sam Gerst, who leads the AFA in rushing yardage this season, will miss at least the first of the two games after being hurt in yesterday's win over St. Louis. *** Motors Still Need to Improve Defense *** Going into the season the biggest worry about the Detroit Motors was would the NAHC club score enough goals to be competitive. We are now 20% into the season and the Motors offense has not been a worry - only league leading Toronto has scored more than the 40 goals the Motors have accumulated through 14 games. Ben Witt, Nick Tardif and Graham Comeau have combined for 15 of those goals and played well when sent on the ice by Coach Badger Rigney has a trio. The Motors are tied for second with Montreal despite having lost more games than they have won this season and it is clear that what is keeping Rigney up at night is his clubs play in its own zone. Veteran goaltender Millard Touhey has been terrific and bailed the team out on many occasions but Detroit is regularly giving up well over 35 shots a game, most in the NAHC. The team has been awful in its own zone with much of the blame being pinned on the forwards. Tardif and Comeau have both had their struggles and been accused far too often of leaving the zone early. It makes for a tough decision for Rigney as the duo play so well with the puck but have been a real detriment in their own zone. *** Mustangs Banged Up *** The Detroit Mustangs won two of three games last week to even their record on the season at 3-3 but those wins came at a price for the local cage quintet. Starting forward David Reed, often underrated but a steady shooter for the Mustangs, sprained his ankle in a win over Chicago and will miss the next three weeks. His replacement would have been Peter Collett, but Collett - who has been terrific off the bench each of the past three seasons, was also hurt and may not be available next week. That means rookie Artie Noonan, who won a national collegiate title at Noble Jones College as a junior, will see a lot more action than originally planned for the 22 year old who was selected 6th in the recent Federal Basketball League draft. Noonan did have a career high 15 points in the loss to Washington last week but struggled to keep up to the FBL pace defensively. The good news is it is a lighter week for the Mustangs, who play just twice this week: Thursday against Chicago and Saturday in Baltimore. FRONT-OFFICE CHANGES IN FABL A pair of FABL clubs have new General Managers and one is left looking for a new skipper following events of the past week. The Philadelphia Sailors, who did just fine with Buzz Barton overseeing things on a temporary basis, have found a permanent head of the organization in the now-former General Manager of the Chicago Chiefs. Barton will stay on as the Sailors Assistant General Manager. The new GM in Philadelphia would be Michael, who spent more than a decade in the Windy City after getting his start in Montreal back at the dawn of the modern era in 1926. He guided the Chiefs to a trio of World Championship Series victories: in 1936, 1938 and their surprising rise from worst to first in 1949. Active since the beginning of the 1926 season, his clubs have a career record of 1952-2052. He inherits a Sailors team that is coming off an unexpected World Championship Series win this season, when they held off the favoured Cleveland Foresters for the Continental Association flag, the Sailors third in a five year span, before beating the St Louis Pioneers in the WCS. The team certainly has some talent on the field but he will also have to deal with rumblings the club is on the verge of moving west. There has been much speculation that the Sailors, often overshadowed in Philadelphia by the crosstown Keystones, are considering a move to California with the new 50,000 seat Golden Gate Stadium in San Francisco, home to the American Football Association Wings, as a likely destination. That left an opening in Chicago and the Chiefs filled it quickly with news that Herb, former St Louis Pioneers head executive, will slide into the General Manager chair at Whitney Park. Out of the sport the past five years, Herb spent 17 seasons between 1930 and 1946 in charge of the Pioneers, compiling a record of 1257-1361 over 17 seasons with the organization before leaving just prior to St Louis' back to back WCS championship clubs beginning in 1947. He inherits the most storied franchise in the league, one that traces its origins back to the very founding of pro baseball in the 1870s by William Whitney himself. The Chiefs won a WCS title three years ago but have spent the past two seasons languishing in the second division. The team may not be a championship caliber club but they are certainly capable of finishing in the top four with a talented core led by youngsters John Stallings, Rod Shearer and Ed Bloom along with veterans like Al Miller, Pete Casstevens and Tiny Hopkins. *** Barrell Resigns From Kings **** The Kansas City Kings are looking for a new manager after Tom Barrell announced last week he is retiring and will stay in Brooklyn rather than join the team as it moves west for next season. Barrell said the club relocating to Kansas City did not play a major role in his decision, saying the decision "was the right one for me and my family" as Barrell and his wife are expecting their first child. Nothing official yet but most expect the Kings to make long-time bench coach Jim Dudkiewicz their new skipper. The 65-year-old has been Barrell's righthand man since both joined the club in 1946. SMITH, ALLEN HEADLINE STAR-STUDDED COUGARS CWL ROSTER It looks like the season is not over for the Cougars top two prospects, as Jerry Smith and Bob Allen will represent the Continental club on the combined Chiefs/Cougars Cienfuegos Crocodiles roster. Smith, who currently ranks as the league's 8th best prospect, hit .293/.438/.431 (131 OPS+) in his big league debut, and will return to the league where he led all players with 12 steals in 1951. Allen, a few spots lower at 13th, is also making a return, though the future ace was just 5-7 with a 5.57 ERA (89 ERA+) and 1.60 WHIP with the Crocs last year. Like Smith, he debuted for the Cougars in September, striking out 9 in a loss to the Stars. Two starts later he shut them out with a 4-hitter, and finished 2-2 as the Cougs 5th starter. They aren't the only high ranking prospects representing the Cougars, as 25th ranked prospect Garland Phelps will start at catcher and 69th ranked prospect Henry Norman will start in left field. Norman is one of two Chiefs draftees from the Cougar side, joined by former 7th Rounder Mack Lyons, Cienfuegos' expected stopper. Notably absent from the club is Frank Reece (#54), who spent 36 games with the Cougars after the deadline, and deadline acquisition Bert Preble (#64), as former 9th Rounder Harley Dollar got the final outfield spot instead. Other notable inclusions are Dixie Gaines, a 24-year-old southpaw who made a start for the Cougars in the final week of the season, and former 2nd Rounder Ernie Tisdale, who made a CWL high 29 appearances last year. The stopper that year, Tisdale was 3-2 with 7 saves and a 4.59 ERA (108 ERA+), but him and Gaines will occupy the back two spots in the rotation. The last two members are Roxy Hilts and John Price, who will start at second and third respectively, though neither rank in the organization's top 50 prospects FABL MAKES SOME SLIGHT CHANGES TO CUBAN LOOP STRUCTURE The Cuban Winter League season opener is just 10 days away and we will have a look at some players to watch in next week's edition. The office of FABL President Dan Barrell did release some notes regarding changes for the Cuban loop this season. Here are those notes from the league on what has changed, as well as some thoughts on why certain players were or were not invited. In past years one Continental Association and one Federal Association team partnered up and for the most part those pairing remained consistent throughout the history of the winter league, which is preparing for its sixth season. This team FABL opted to pair teams by the strength of their minor league systems, as assessed by the OSA, so #1 was paired with #16 and so on. There were some minor adjustments to continue the tradition of one team from each loop partnering on a club. Here are the 1952 Pairings with minor league system ranking in parenthesis. EAST DIVISION Camaguey Coyotes: Brooklyn Kings (4) and St Louis Pioneers (12) Holguin Hawks: Philadelphia Keystones (6) and Montreal Saints (9) Manzanillo Palms: New York Gothams (5) and Toronto Wolves (13) Santiago Scorpions: Cincinnati Cannons (2) and Washington Eagles (16) WEST DIVISION Cienfuegos Crocodiles: Chicago Cougars (1) and Chicago Chiefs (15) Havana Sharks: New York Stars (3) and Detroit Dynamos (14) Matanzas Buccaneers: Philadelphia Sailors (8) and Pittsburgh Miners (10) Santa Clara Stallions: Cleveland Foresters (7) and Boston Minutemen (11) In most cases, the rosters were built with 4 pitchers and 6 hitters from each organization. FABL used what it considers to be the "most ready" prospects as much as possible given roster limits - prospect rankings have zero to do with being selected. By most ready, the league means these are the guys closest to FABL in terms of development. Some are closer than others. Here are a few of the top prospects to watch for on each club. Archie Irwin will take a more detailed look at the winter league rosters next week but here are some names to keep an eye on. CAMAGUEY: pitchers Beau McLellan and Fred Washington plus catcher Bob Burge. All are Kings prospects and Burge was just acquired from Pittsburgh in a trade. CIENFUEGOS: pitcher Bob Allen and outfielder Jerry Smith, both highly touted Chicago Cougars prospects. Chiefs hurler Bill Kline, who spent some time in Chicago last season and may need to fit into the rotation if the Chiefs are going to contend. HAVANA: Hub Armstrong, acquired by the Stars from Detroit in the Mack Sutton trade, has a bright future and is expected to be pitching in New York this year. King Brucker is a 20-year-old outfielder recently acquired by the Stars who looks to have a bright future. Detroit has a pair of college draft picks from June who both performed very well in AA led by Jim Norris, who went 12-0 in his pro debut at Akron. HOLGUIN: There are likely openings on the Keystones pitching staff this year and 24-year-old Russ McLean can take a big step towards earning one of them with a strong showing in the Cuban loop. MANZANILLO: Maybe the player to watch in the entire league would be Palms outfielder Jim Allen. Some might be surprised the 23-year-old did not make his big league debut with the New York Gothams last September but Allen may just be on the shortlist for rookie of the year candidates in Fed should he break camp with New York in April. MATANZAS: The time is now for Joe Horvath to show he is a big league pitcher. The Miners could use some good news with mound prospects and perhaps Horvath will deliver. SANTA CLARA: Earl Leckie may have been lost in the shuffle with all of the young outfield talent the Boston Minutemen possess so perhaps the next two months are his time to shine. SANTIAGO: We are sure the Cincinnati Cannons would have loved to have Charlie Barrell here, but he is busy enough trying to juggle both football and basketball at Noble Jones College. Dallas Berry is a Cannons prospect who is here. The younger brother of Keystones outfielder Don Berry is just 20 and one of the younger players in Cuba.
 COLLEGE CAGE CAMPAIGN COMMENCES The college basketball season kicks into gear this week with a number of preseason tournaments. Preseason number one Whitney College will not be opening its campaign until November 22 against Grafton but a pair of highly touted west coast schools will both see action this week. That would be Rainier College, which was ranked #2 in the initial collegiate basketball poll released last week, and #3 Coastal California. The Majestics are in Atlanta for the King of the South tournament and will open against Wyoming A&I. The other two participants in the four team field are Carolina Poly and Brandywine. The Dolphins, who won their first-ever National Championship a year ago, are playing in the eight team Preseason AIAA tournament and will open against Lambert College. The best known of the early season events is the Tournament of Champions, a four team field being contested in New York and features CC Los Angeles, Noble Jones College, Indiana A&M and Frankford State. All four teams are in the top sixteen of the initial collegiate cage poll.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/11/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-30-2024, 01:06 PM
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#995 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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November 19, 1951
NOVEMBER 19, 1951 MAROONS TAKE CONTROL OF PLAYOFF SPOT The Detroit Maroons have endured a few tough seasons, going 8-28 over the past three years, so their fast start this season has to come as a surprise. The timing of the resurgence is perfect as the American Football Association's revamped playoff structure calls for not just the division winner but also the second place club to qualify for the playoffs this season. It is highly unlikely Detroit will catch the defending league champion Kansas City Cowboys, who improved to 8-0 with a win over St Louis yesterday, but second place and the playoffs are suddenly very much in the Maroons grasp. Opening a crucial two week stretch of back to back games with the San Francisco Wings, who entered the contest just a game behind the Maroons, Detroit rallied for a big 17-13 victory at Thompson Field on Sunday. The game looked like it would be all San Francisco early as Vince Gallegos, who threw for 307 yards in the game, had his Wings leading 13-3 at the break. Detroit did not fold and the Maroons ground game took over in the second half with halfback Bill Drown emerging as the hero by scoring on a pair of 9-yard runs to give the Maroons the comeback victory. It took a quarter for the Kansas City Cowboys to wake up, as they spotted their Missouri rivals from St Louis a quick 13-0 but then the Cowboys went to work. Pat Chappell threw four touchdown passes including two to Bill Tammaro while Pat Hill ran for 123 yards as the Cowboys hammered the St Louis Ramblers 45-16 to improve their perfect record to 8-0. Cleveland is making some noise in the East Division as the Finches dumped New York 13-7 for their fourth consecutive victory. Finches back Mark Ravellette ran for a game high 55 yards and also caught an 11 yard touchdown pass from Rick McKowen to improve Cleveland's record to 5-3. The Finches are tied with Washington for second place in the East after the Wasps stung Boston 31-16. Joel Vincent ran for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to secure the victory for Washington. Pittsburgh remains a game ahead of the Wasps and Finches after Wally Dotson ran for 80 yards and Bobby Leonard caught a pair of touchdown passes in a 23-3 Paladins win over Pennsylvania rival Philadelphia. In the other game the Los Angeles Tigers built a 31-0 first half lead and then coasted past Chicago 38-17. Lou Grossman was the story on the west coast as the Tigers back galloped for 207 yards including a pair of long first quarter touchdown runs, one covered 57 yards and the other traversed 54 yards.  REDWOOD STUMBLES AT HOME VS LANE STATE Will Have Little Impact on East-West Berth The Lane State Emeralds walked out of Mammoth Stadium Stanford after accomplishing something no other team had been able to achieve this season - beat Redwood. The 29-23 loss sent the Mammoths tumbling down the polls, falling from third a week ago to ninth this time around, but it will have little impact on whether it will be the Mammoths or their long-time rival Northern California that claims the West Coast Athletic Association title and heads to Santa Ana for the East-West Classic on New Year's Day. The loss does end the slim hopes Redwood might have had of winning its first grid national title but whether they had beaten or lost to Lane State, the game with Northern California will decide with WCAA. The Miners, who pounded Portland Tech 41-0 Saturday, are now tied with the Mammoths for the section lead at 5-1. They will face each other next weekend at Mammoth Stadium with the winner earning the section title. The Lincoln Presidents remain the favourite to be the "east" half of the East-West Classic, as Lincoln moved a step closer to the Great Lakes Alliance crown with a 24-7 victory on the road over Central Ohio. A win next weekend over St. Magnus (1-4 in GLA) would clinch the Presidents first invite to Santa Ana but they could also get their with a loss, although they would need some help. Cumberland has never won a national title in any of the three major team sports but feels it should have been at the very least co-champion a year ago, when the Explorers and #1 Central Kentucky each finished the season 10-0-1 and battled to a 21-21 tie in their meeting. That could change shortly as this year's title is theirs to lose. The Explorers remain number one in the polls - a spot they have occupied all year- with a 47-10 victory over Mississippi A&M improving their record to 8-0 on the year. Standing in their way are the Tigers as the Explorers must win in Lexington next week over Central Kentucky and then finish out the season with a win at home over Bluegrass State.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Brunswick 45 Grafton 13 St. Blane 30 North Carolina Tech 16 Liberty College 27 Garden State 20 Pierpont 24 Rome State 3 Pittsburgh State 34 Huntington State 14 Sadler 44 George Fox 0 Dickson 44 Ellery 24 St. Patrick's 38 Quantico Marines 0 Brooklyn State 48 Conwell College 0 Commonwealth Catholic 24 Penn Catholic 24 St. Pancras 20 Empire State 9 Boston State 27 Topeka State 6 SOUTH Cumberland 47 Mississippi A&M 10 Bluegrass State 20 Baton Rouge State 19 Noble Jones College 27 Opelika State 14 Georgia Baptist 27 Alabama Baptist 13 Central Kentucky 30 Potomac College 0 Northern Mississippi 7 Bayou State 3 Maryland State 50 Charleston Tech 0 Carolina Poly 24 Richmond State 14 Miami State 24 Western Florida 10 Annapolis Maritime 14 Henry Hudson 14 Eastern State 37 Columbia Military Academy 14 Alexandria 33 Mobile Maritime 7 Chesapeake State 14 Petersburg 14 Lexington State 31 Grange College 20 Coastal State 41 Bulein 3 MIDWEST Lincoln 24 Central Ohio 7 St. Ignatius 31 Indiana A&M 19 Detroit City College 13 St. Magnus 3 Wisconsin State 47 Western Iowa 6 Whitney College 34 Minnesota Tech 6 Lawrence State 30 Eastern Oklahoma 30 Daniel Boone College 27 Eastern Kansas 17 Northern Minnesota 30 Wisconsin Catholic 10 SOUTHWEST Lubbock State 33 Cowpens State 0 Darnell State 17 Red River State 3 Travis College 20 Amarillo Methodist 9 Texas Gulf Coast 17 Arkansas A&T 7 Oklahoma City State 13 Iowa A&M 6 College of Waco 21 Payne State 16 Abilene Baptist 34 California Catholic 29 Everman State (TX) 30 El Paso Methodist 14 FAR WEST Lane State 29 Redwood 23 Northern California 41 Portland Tech 0 Rainier College 13 CC Los Angeles 13 Spokane State 40 Custer College 0 Valley State 27 Idaho A&M 16 Tempe College 23 Texas Panhandle 10 Boulder State 26 College of Omaha 7 Utah A&M 33 South Valley State 31 San Francisco Tech 43 College of San Diego 10 Sunnyvale 24 Minns College 10 Colorado Poly 27 Provo Tech 7 Mile High State 48 Cache Valley 27 BEES WIN FOUR STRAIGHT WHILE DUKES STUMBLE Two teams heading in opposite directions met at Dominion Gardens on Saturday and the result, a 5-4 victory for the visiting Boston Bees over the Toronto Dukes, just reaffirmed the recent trend. The Dukes were dominant in October and early November going 6-0-3 in their first nine games and as recent as a week ago enjoyed an 8 point lead on second place atop the NAHC standings. Things changed quickly as the Dukes have dropped four straight and their lead on second place New York is down to three points. Boston meanwhile, had the opposite start as the Bees were 0-4-1 to start the season but have gone 7-1-2 since and are riding a four game winning streak after victories over Chicago, Toronto and Montreal last week. The Bees are just a point back of the Shamrocks for second place and New York, with 3 straight wins including a pair of shutout victories, has also been hot of late.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14 Toronto 0 at 4 New York : Three goals in less than twelve minutes to start the game gave the Shamrocks an easy victory over slow starting Toronto team. Etienne Tremblay made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season while Orval Cabbell and Simon Savard each had a goal and an assist for New York. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15 Chicago 2 at 1 Detroit : Second period goals from Tommy Burns and Jeremy MacLean lifted the Packers to a 2-1 victory in Detroit. Dixon Butler's goal in the third period was the only one to elude Norm Hanson in the Chicago net. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 New York 3 at 0 Montreal : A second straight shutout win for Shamrocks goaltender Etienne Tremblay, who has been the subject of trade rumours lately. Tremblay made 27 saves while Geoff Hartnell, Orval Cabbell and Jerry Finch provided the Greenshirts offense.Boston 5 at 4 Toronto : Jacob Godin scored twice in the third period including the game winner with less than 3 minutes remaining to lift the Bees past the Dukes. Boston has won three straight and is unbeaten in their last five while Toronto, which was so dominant in October, has dropped three straight. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 Montreal 2 at 3 Boston : First period goals from Mike Brunell, Craig Simpson and Robert Walker held up as Boston trimmed the Montreal Valiants 3-2 for their fourth consecutive victory. Clarence Skinner and Ian Doyle were the Montreal marksmen.Toronto 2 at 3 Chicago : The slumping Dukes lost for the fourth straight game, spotting Chicago a 3-0 from which they could not recover. Marty Mahoney opened the scoring with a powerplay goal in the first period and then assisted on Pete Moreau's second period goal. Leon Seguin also scored in the middle frame for the Packers before Toronto tried to rally with third period markers from Lou Galbraith and Les Carlson. Detroit 3 at 5 New York : The Shamrocks have won three straight and are 6-2-0 in November after a 5-3 win over Detroit at Bigsby Garden. New York outshot the Motors 43-22 in the game with Jocko Gregg and Robert Sharpley leading the Shamrocks offense with 2 points each. UPCOMING GAMES The Bees are on a four-game heater after going 3-0 this past week. Mike Brunell and Robert Walker have moved up in the scoring parade and the team is firing on all cylinders. Boston hosted a hostile Packers team in which both teams combined for 56 penalty minutes in a 4-2 victory. Brunell had a goal and three assists, lending a helper on Jacob Godin's power play marker with 2:19 left for the deciding goal in a 5-4 win at Dominion Gardens against the Dukes. Boston started fast on the back-end of its back-to-back against Montreal, jumping out to a 3-0 first period lead on goals from Brunell, Craig Simpson, and Walker, holding on for a 3-2 triumph. The Bees are now in third place, a point behind New York and four points in arrears of top-ranked Toronto.TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20 Detroit at Boston WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21 Boston at New York Chicago at Toronto THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22 Montreal at Chicago New York at Detroit SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24 Chicago at Detroit Montreal at Toronto SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25 Toronto at Boston Detroit at Chicago Montreal at New York  DUKES FALL BACK TO THE PACK Toronto registers losses in all three games this week running making the NAHC standings much more interesting as Dukes now lead New York by just 3 points with the Shamrocks having two games in hand. The week started poorly at Bigsby Gardens on Wednesday. For all intents and purposes the game was over before the 12 minute mark of the first with the Shamrocks up 3-0. Scott Renes started due to Gordie Broadway being suffering the after effects of a flu bug, and Renes had his worst game of the year allowing those 3 in first on only 9 Shamrock shots. Toronto pressed in the second controlling the play in New York's zone for extended periods of time but could not get the disc past Etienne Tremblay on any of their 16 shots. The third was a uninspired period by both clubs especially after Orval Cabell made it 4-0 at 3:21. Shamrocks then put all their effort into preserving Tremblay's shutout bid in which they were successful, it was the first time the Dukes failed to register a goal this season. At home to Boston on Saturday the Dukes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on goals by Les Carlson, while up a man, and Doug Zimmerman. Broadway returned to action, he was swarmed by Bees in the second facing 17 shots. Boston tallied thrice to take a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. An early power play marker by Jacob Godin extended the lead to two before Maurice Charette at 5:09 then Trevor Parker beat Boston goaltender Oscar James to tie the score with just over 5 minutes left in the game. Clyde Lumsen was sent off at 17:41 after flattening a Boston forward with a cross check in front of Broadway. The power play only lasted 12 seconds when Godin snapped a shot past Broadway for the winning goal in 5-4 win for Boston. On Sunday in Chicago the winless streak was extended to 4 by the Packers. Dukes were again slow out the gate, Chicago has built a 3-0 lead just past the midway point of the game. Toronto rallied with two in the third by Lou Galbraith and Carlson but could not push the tying goal past Chicago's Michael Cleghorn. The return trip home was very silent as the team tries to figure out a way out of this losing streak before Chicago comes to town on Wednesday. Coach Barrell- "We need to get back to basics, quickly, we have fallen into believing our headlines. We got outworked in New York, had a bad second and third at home on Saturday, then dug a hole we could climb out of in Sunday. Tuesday at practice we will get back to the small details which have been burning us lately, we will be fine this is just a bump in the road. PLAYERS TO WATCH IN CUBAN WINTER LEAGUE Yesterday, here at TWIFS we looked at some of the highest ranked prospects that are making their way to Cuba for this week's CWL Opening Day. Today, we'll highlight one prospect on each of the eight teams competing for the crown who at print ranks outside the league's top 100 prospect list: Camaguey Coyotes - Kansas City Kings LHP Alex Vaughan (#249 Overall) He might have lasted all the way until the 16th Round when he was eligible for the draft as a high schooler, and now 15 other teams wish they had an Alex Vaughan in their system. A six pitch groundballer, Vaughn was an unlucky 4-11 with the AA Knoxville Kings, as his 3.74 ERA (111 ERA+) is better representative of the pair of shutouts (4-hitter, 5 hitter) of the Nashville Chieftains that were a month and a day apart. He then earned a promotion to AAA, where he had six excellent starts to end the season. Part of what caused his poor luck was the 77 walks, but he cut his BB% from 14.1 to 12.3 and earned an excellent 2.96 ERA (132 ERA+) and 3.23 FIP (82 FIP-) to end the season. His 1.42 WHIP matched Uniform and Coyote teammate Beau McClellan, who was a big piece of the Ralph Johnson blockbuster and ranked as high as 42nd. Vaughan, who like McClellan is a member of the Kings 40-man roster, will look to out perform his teammate, as he works towards a major league debut. If he's locating his pitches he'll role up a lot of groundballs, as almost everything he throws moves down. The now Kansas City Kings have a lot of young arms penciled into their 1952 rotation, and if Vaughan impresses here he could earn himself an audition in what looks to be a rebuilding year.Acquired: Via Draft: 16th Round, 244th Overall (1947) AAA: 4-2, 48.2 IP, 2.96 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 26 BB, 29 K AA: 4-11, 120.1 IP, 3.74 ERA (111 ERA+), 1.67 WHIP, 77 BB, 66 K Cienfuegos Crocodiles - Chicago Chiefs 1B Roy Nickerson (#194 Overall) The crosstown Cougars may have all the top prospects, but the Chiefs have one of the youngest and more intriguing prospects in Cuba this winter. Roy Nickerson turned 22 in September during his 138 game season with the Class A Cedar Rapids Chiefs. They went well, as Nickerson hit .298/.379/.419 (122 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 5 triples, and 59 RBIs. A durable and hard working first basemen, Nickerson has appeared in 136 or more games in each of his three full seasons, and his 132 WRC+ might be a sign that his next 130-something-games happen in Oklahoma City. A good showing here would clinch that, and for someone who projects to have solid power he could put on a show in the homer friendly league. He hit 11 in each of his previous seasons, and in the Chiefs park he could hit 20 or more. Tiny Tim Hopkins won't stay young forever, and while second ranked prospect Jim Upchurch is a first basemen as well, he's four years younger and hits from the weak side of the platoon. If Nickerson can get some ground on him, the lefty swinger could secure at bats if Upchurch gets stalled.Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 35th Overall (1948) A: .298/.379/.419 (122 OPS+), 564 PA, 29 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 59 RBI Havana Sharks - New York Stars C Bobby Crow (Not Ranked) Taken in the Rule-5 draft around this time last season, the New York Stars weren't going to let that happen again, as even though the Chiefs did return him, they have now protected catcher to compete for the open starting job. Crow spent his season in AAA, hitting .342/.352/.449 (117 OPS+) in 93 games. You'd think as a catcher he'd know how to walk, but you can tell from that on-base percentage that it's something he avoids. Perhaps he feels bad taking advantage of pitchers, as the popular Crow's 1,9 BB% is one of the lowest I've ever seen. The bat here was impressive, as not many AAA catchers have a 125 WRC+, but his best tool is his defense. He has a strong arm behind the plate and calls a great game, making him an intriguing addition to a ballclub. Scouts like his bat too, and with the struggles from incumbent starter Dan Atwood (.224, 14, 61) and no reliable backup, Crow could position himself into his first big league role.Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 55th Overall (1945) AAA: .342/.352/.449 (270 OPS+), 270 PA, 16 2B, 4 HR, 36 RBI Holguin Hawks - Philadelphia Keystones LHP Bill McKenzie (#372 Overall) Recently turned 24, Keystones lefty Bill McKenzie spent most of his time with their AA affiliate, and did enough to earn himself a spot on the 40 man roster. A former 7th Round pick who's been selected to lead the Holguin rotation, McKenzie went 16-8 with a 3.36 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.48 WHIP in 24 starts with the New Orleans Showboats of the Dixie League. Most impressive might have been his 1.4 K/BB as McKenzie walked just 7.4% of the batters he faced while striking out 90. A tricky lefty sidewinder, McKenzie has a decent three pitch mix that's headlined by a really good splitter. His fastball sits comfortably in the high 90s and he disguises his change up well. He seems to be a guy that's almost there, and it's a good sign for the Keystones brass that he's listed as the teams ace going into the first week. I think some starts in AAA would do him well, but he could join an aging rotation that will eventually be led by Kellogg runner up Sam Ivey (13-5, 3.47, 96).Acquired: Via Draft: 7th Round, 111th Overall (1946) AAA: 0-0, 2 IP, 4.50 ERA (85 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, BB AA: 16-8, 203.1 IP, 3.36 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 66 BB, 90 K Manzanillo Palms - New York Gothams RHP Ted Beaven (No Longer Eligible) I think 10th ranked prospect Jim Allen is the guy to watch in the CWL, but another interesting piece that could factor into the Gothams 1952 is 24-year-old pitcher Ted Beaven. No longer a prospect, Beaven made 8 starts for the Gothams in two stints despite spending most of the previous two seasons in a relief role. That included out here with the Palms, where he threw 13.2 innings out of the pen with a nice 3.29 ERA (152 ERA+) and 12 strikeouts. This year he only started, as his impressive work in the minors is what earned him the big league starts. They went pretty well, and he actually had a huge 7-hit shutout of the Detroit Dynamos that came back to cost them the Federal pennant, potentially compounded by the fact that it was the second to last start and the last was a 5-run loss to the Pioneers. So yeah Pioneers fans, thank this guy for your pennant!Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 36th Overall (1945) FABL: 3-4, 60 IP, 4.05 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 27 BB, 23 K AAA: 5-2, 68.1 IP, 2.50 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 31 BB, 46 K AA: 9-3, 111.1 IP, 3.31 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.30 WHIP, 34 BB, 67 K With an aging rotation, Beaven could be a reinforcement for the Gothams next pennant run, as he excelled in the minors and a strong showing here could position him well behind the double-Ed top of the rotation. Beaven had a solid 4.05 ERA (104 ERA+) and 1.32 WHIP with 23 strikeouts in his first 60 FABL innings, but it was the only time he walked (27) more guys then he struck out. ERA (2.50, 132) says his AAA time was better while FIP (3.24, 81) likes what he did in AA, but in both cases he struck out over 14% of the hitters he faced while maintaining K/BBs of 1.5 or better. His WHIPs were 1.30 (AA) and 1.35 (AAA), and he seems to have nothing left to prove in the minors. As things stand now, he's the Gothams fourth starter, but they're a team known to trade and they could be on the lookout for another arm to add to the mix. Matanzas Buccaneers - Philadelphia Sailors RHP Don Hillshire (#113 Overall) A surprising first round selection last winter before he pitched a single amateur inning, the defending champion Sailors kept 23-year-old Don Hillshire in AAA all season. The results were solid, as the Springfield native was an even 7-7 with a 3.95 ERA (98 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts. A five pitch pitcher, Hillshire could function in the Sailors pennant defense, as they had a lot of overperforming starters who may not be able to keep things up this coming season. His deep arsenal is headed by a low 90s fastball and sinker that he controls well. The best pitch may be the slider, but all five are at least average, and the stuff is already FABL quality. Though what could make Hillshire lethal is the movement he gets on his pitches, and nothing is straight and he gets plenty of spin. As a higher floor, lower ceiling innings eater, he can comfortably fill the back of a FABL rotation, but there may not be much more growth after that. The new Sailors GM is one who doesn't hold players back in the minors, and with a strong winter I can see him cracking Philly's opening day roster.Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 9th Overall (1951) AAA: 7-7, 125.1 IP, 3.95 ERA (98 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 45 BB, 56 K Santa Clara Stallions - Boston Minutemen LF Andy Moyer (#294 Overall) Acquired straight up in a one-for-one trade for first basemen Hal Renard, Andy Moyer was a 4th Round pick for the Kings, and is expected to bat leadoff and man center for the Santa Clara Stallions. Now 25, Moyer spent most of his first season in Boston's organization with their AAA affiliate, and he hit .240/.375/.354 (113 OPS+) with a 125 WRC+ and 16 extra base hits in 280 trips to the plate. Currently off the 40-man roster, Moyer could be eligible for the Rule-5 draft, as Boston has loads of talent in the outfield. A move from left to center could help, as Ben McCarty (.300, 20, 75, 6) is entrenched in left and current center fielder and former #1 prospect Rick Masters (.274, 19, 68) is probably best suited for a corner. If Moyer sticks around, he'll have to improve his defense to earn time, as he doesn't have the bat of guys like McCarty, Masters, and third year outfielder Yank Taylor (.273, 15, 63). While they have power, Moyer is more solid contact and good eye, but the most intriguing part of his game may be his versatility. Along with the three outfield spots, he's played first, second, and short, allowing him to be a perfect end of the roster player.Acquired: Via Trade with Kings (1951) AAA: .240/.375/.354 (113 OPS+), 280 PA, 9 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB AA: .111/.273/.111 (4 OPS+), 22 PA, RBI, SB Santiago Scorpions - Cincinnati Cannons 3B Al Browner (#442 Overall) It's not often players make large jumps up the positional spectrum, but after spending almost all season as a first basemen, he'll start the winter season as the Scorpions everyday shortstop. Formerly a 2nd Round pick out of Warton in 1945, Al Browner was once a top 100 prospect, but now he's 25 and has stalled out in A ball. The CWL is a great way for him to jumpstart his career after a decent offensive showing in 1950. In 130 games for the Cannons Class A affiliate, he hit just .213, but with 124 walks and an absurd 21.8 BB% he was able to produce a 121 WRC+. The low average and just two homers is a concern, but along with the walks, Browner impacts the game in other ways that aren't always visible. A leader both on and off the field, Browner is the type who would stick around even after his skillset erodes, and his leadership would be valued in a post-playing coaching role. Granted, if he can fix the swing that doesn't have to be anytime soon, as his keen eye could make him an on-base machine. Even with a big winter, I can't see him going in the Rule-5 draft, so he should get another chance to break into a roster that is currently influx.Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 115th Overall (1945) A: .213/.395/.307 (110 OPS+), 570 PA, 25 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 33 RBI, 2 SB
 COASTAL CALIFORNIA WINS PRESEASON AIAA TOURNAMENT The Coastal California Dolphins followed up their national title win last April with a victory in one of the preseason tournaments. The Dolphins beat Lambert College and Charleston Tech to claim the Preseason AIAA Showcase title. Entering the season there had been some concerns about where the offense would come for Coastal California after losing leading scorer Chris Martines to graduation but senior guard Tookie Brown did his best to alleviate those worries early. Brown, who hails from Santa Ana and is a key piece on a Dolphins roster dominated with California natives, scored 19 points to lead the way in a 67-45 victory over Lambert College and then had ten, tying teammate Rocky House for the game high, in a 41-34 win over Charleston Tech. The wins did not change Coastal California's spot in the AIAA poll - they remain third- but it does provide some early indications that the Dolphins may go deep in the big AIAA tournament next March. Rainier College remains second in the rankings after the Majestics won a tournament in Atlanta, having little trouble with either Wyoming A&I, who they beat 61-49 in the first round or with Brandywine, who they dumped 53-39 in the final. Whitney College, which does not tip off its season until Thursday against Grafton, remains at the top of the rankings. The Engineers have what OSA is calling the top two prospects for next years Federal Basketball League draft in forward Solly Morris and center Edd Petty. Rankin Egbert, who had 23 rebounds in Coastal California's two victories this week is number three followed by Noble Jones College star Charlie Barrell. *** Barrell Struggles in Cage Opener *** Speaking of Barrell, perhaps football and basketball are too much for one player. Fresh off a win in Tallahassee on the football field Saturday, the Colonels football quarterback was on the basketball court Monday but struggled mightily. Barrell shot 0-for-12 but did have 9 rebounds as his Noble Jones College Colonels were dumped 63-40 by Indiana A&M. Perhaps a little more rested, Charlie had a much better showing in the consolation game a day later, scoring a game high 17 points in a 53-48 win over Frankford State. Barrell then boarded a private flight back to Georgia and played most of the game as the Colonels grid eleven dumped Opelika State 27-14. Fortunately for him the basketball team will not play again until November 29 and then not again until December 9 while the Colonels football team only has one game remaining - December 1 against Georgia Baptist. It is unknown if Barrell will play in the season ending football game. The other prominent two-sport college star this season is George Becker. A possible All-American selection at end for the unbeaten St. Ignatius Lancers football team, Becker caught two touchdown passes in a 31-19 victory over Indiana A&M on Saturday. The Lancers cage squad opens it's season at Michigan Lutheran on Saturday night while the grid squad plays at home against Boulder State that afternoon. Becker is hopeful he can make the 75 mile drive from Lansing and arrive in Saginaw in time to play in both games.  WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY NOVEMBER 12 #2 Rainier College 61, Wyoming A&I 49 #3 Coastal California 67, Lambert College 45 #5 Indiana A&M 63, Noble Jones College 40 at #8 Redwood 68, Fond du Lac 48 #10 Opelika State 56, Rock Island 48 #11 Perry State College 49, Quaker College (CA) 48 #12 Henry Hudson 50, Texas Gulf Coast 38 Brandywine 60, #15 Carolina Poly 50 #16 Penn Catholic 61, Chesapeake State 41 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 #2 Rainier College 53, Brandywine 39 #3 Coastal California 41, Charleston Tech 34 #5 Indiana A&M 57, CC Los Angeles 50 at #8 Redwood 62, Freemont State 56 #10 Opelika State 56, Utah A&M 42 #11 Perry State College 62, at Lubbock State 53 #12 Henry Hudson 47, North Carolina Tech 38 #15 Carolina Poly 57, Wyoming A&I 47 #16 Penn Catholic 55, at Chicago Poly 53 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 15 at #8 Redwood 64, North Carolina Atlantic 58 #10 Opelika State 62, Iowa A&M 39 #11 Perry State College 58, Caesar Rodney 41 #12 Henry Hudson 60, Bayou State 52 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 at #4 Western Iowa 64, Commonwealth Catholic 34 #11 Perry State College 61, at Glover (GA) 47 at #14 St. Blane 59, Georgia Baptist 55 at #15 Carolina Poly 46, St. Patrick's 38 #17 Lincoln 61, at Baton Rouge State 55 #18 Annapolis Maritime 50, at Granville 39 #19 Spokane State 51, at Miami State 48 #21 Richmond State 56, at St. Gordius 48 #22 Portland Tech 63, at Pittsburgh State 60 #23 St. Pancras 60, at Brunswick 57
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/18/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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07-31-2024, 12:58 PM
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#996 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
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November 26, 1951
NOVEMBER 26, 1951 EAST-WEST CLASSIC SET: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VS LINCOLN The last full weekend of collegiate football had plenty of excitement with some tight finishes in games among traditional rivals. The biggest impact from one of those heated meetings was on the west coast where the Northern California Miners, sparked by a wizard signal-calling job by quarterback John D'Anna, knocked off the host Redwood Mammoths 41-20 and clinched the Miners a spot in the East-West Classic. It will be the third appearance in Santa Ana in the last four years for the Miners, who beat St. Magnus in 1948 and triumphed over Wisconsin State a year later. The loss was the second in consecutive weeks for a Redwood eleven that, up until 10 days ago, looked like one of the strongest outfits seen from the west in years but the Mammoths weaknesses were exposed a little over a week ago in a tight loss to Lane State and were fully taken advantage of Saturday by a one-loss Northern California team that played its best game of the season. Reveling in the underdog role, something entirely new to them this season, the Miners asserted their mastery on the second play of the game and never relinquished it. D'Anna, an underappreciated junior passer, surprised the Mammoths defense with a 71-yard touchdown toss to Dave Mosca just 45 seconds into the game, and kept the pressure on the Redwood defenders for the rest of the afternoon. The Miners will face Lincoln College, winners of the Great Lakes Alliance who will not only be making their first appearance in Santa Ana but will also be participating in their first New Year's Day game ever. The Presidents capped a perfect 9-0 season with a 24-3 victory over St. Magnus on Saturday. Lincoln completely dominated the underdog Vikings squad that went nowhere on offense but presented a rugged defense that forced the Presidents to work for the victory. Lincoln quarterback Derek Ridenour ran for one touchdown and passed for another but it was the ballhawking skills of Mike Pinkston that was the big story for the winners. The Lincoln defender had three interceptions including one he returned 45 yards for a second quarter touchdown. Cumberland moved a giant step closer to clinching its first National Title after the Explorers held off Central Kentucky 17-10 to run their record to 9-0. All that stands in the way of the title is a game at home next weekend against Bluegrass State. Cumberland also accepted an invitation to play in the Cajun Classic on New Year's Day. Their opponent is expected to be the Maryland State Bengals, who demolished Huntington State 55-7 and improve to 9-0 while also being declared co-champions along with Alexandria of the South Atlantic Conference. Highlights among the rivalry game results include Central Ohio winning a defensive struggle against Detroit City College by a 3-0 score. Carolina Poly doubled North Carolina Tech 14-7, CCLA beat Coastal California 17-6 while Spokane State won a wild one against Rainier College, prevailing 50-36.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS EAST Sadler 45 Grafton 3 Henry Hudson 19 Ellery 14 Brunswick 28 Pierpont 14 Pittsburgh State 24 Liberty College 16 Dickson 28 George Fox 16 St. Blane 34 Western Iowa 7 St. Patrick's 44 Conwell College 6 Garden State 34 Empire State 0 St. Pancras 31 Boston State 13 Brooklyn State 47 Bigsby College 10 SOUTH Cumberland 17 Central Kentucky 10 Carolina Poly 14 North Carolina Tech 7 Western Florida 22 Alabama Baptist 21 Georgia Baptist 40 Central Carolina 0 Bayou State 23 Penn Catholic 16 Maryland State 55 Huntington State 7 Baton Rouge State 27 Louisiana Gulf Coast 3 Bluegrass State 22 Knoxville 6 Eastern State 34 Richmond State 7 Columbia Military Academy 21 Cowpens State 14 Alexandria 51 Chesapeake State 3 Lexington State 44 Petersburg 3 Greenville Atlantic 14 Mobile Maritime 7 Coastal State 26 Opelika State 7 MIDWEST Lincoln 24 St. Magnus 3 Central Ohio 3 Detroit City College 0 St. Ignatius 30 Boulder State 13 Whitney College 23 Indiana A&M 16 Wisconsin State 31 Minnesota Tech 0 Northern Minnesota 30 Topeka State 10 Weston 25 Central Illinois 21 Ferguson 24 Eastern Oklahoma 24 SOUTHWEST Amarillo Methodist 10 Red River State 3 College of Waco 33 South Valley State 7 Arkansas A&T 30 Payne State 3 Lubbock State 31 Texas Gulf Coast 10 Oklahoma City State 34 College of Omaha 0 Abilene Baptist 17 Valley State 3 FAR WEST Northern California 41 Redwood 20 CC Los Angeles 17 Coastal California 6 Spokane State 50 Rainier College 36 Lane State 37 Portland Tech 3 Wyoming A&I 51 Tempe College 7 San Francisco Tech 30 California Catholic 7 Provo Tech 24 Idaho A&M 16 College of San Diego 30 Minns College 7 Utah A&M 40 Gates University 10 Mile High State 21 Colorado Poly 7 Sunnyvale 24 Wisconsin Catholic 17 Canyon A&M 31 Texas Panhandle 27 PALADINS CLOSE IN ON EAST TITLE Roy Jones, a placement specialist, kicked the Pittsburgh Paladins much closer to clinching the American Football Association's East Division title. On the strength of Jones 40-yard field goal just under seven minutes into overtime of an otherwise fruitless struggle at Fitzpatrick Park on Sunday the Paladins claimed a 3-0 victory in a very uneventful contest, unless you are a fan of punters. Jones leg accounted for all of the offense as the Paladins nipped the Cleveland Finches and at 7-2, have a 2 victory lead on three rivals in the battle for top spot in the division. The game was almost painful to watch with neither offense accomplishing much of anything and each club was forced to punt 11 times on the afternoon. The first time a team had possession inside the opposition thirty yard line did not occur until the fourth quarter when the Finches had a second down and four on the Paladins 28 yard line only to have a penalty take them out of field goal range. Cleveland did have a field goal attempt with just over two minutes remaining in regulation but Clarence Ryan's 41-yard attempt came up short. The Paladins never did get inside the Cleveland thirty and the game winning boot from Adams came with the ball snapped from the Finches 33-yard-line. The two clubs will meet again next weekend in Cleveland. There was plenty of offense in Kansas City with, as is usually the case, the vast majority of it provided by the home team as the Cowboys blasted Chicago 34-9. The victory runs the defending AFA champion Cowboys winning streak to 13 games and leaves Chicago continuing to try and figure out just what went wrong in a season that has seen them post just a single victory in nine outings. Pat Chappell threw for a pair of touchdowns and 221 yards on the day while the backfield duo of Pat Hill and Mason Matthews combined for 180 yards on the ground to pace the Cowboys, who have clinched top spot in the West Division. Detroit all but locked up the second playoff berth in the west with a second straight victory over the San Francisco Wings. The Maroons, who beat the Wings at home last week, prevailed 13-6 in the rematch on the coast to run their record to 6-3, a full 3 games ahead of the Wings, Los Angeles and St Louis with just three contests remaining on the docket. Dan Andrews threw for 211 yards to lead the Maroons while back Bill Drown, who scored two touchdowns to key the victory a week ago, was the only player to find the end zone on this day with a 1-yard scoring plunge early in the fourth quarter putting the Maroons up 13-3 at the time. Los Angeles Tigers hopes of making the playoffs were dealt a huge blow when the Tigers were tamed 16-14 by the St Louis Ramblers Sunday. League rushing leader Nat Oldham closed in on the 1,000 mark for the season with 86 yards including a first quarter touchdown to pace the Ramblers, who are tied with the Tigers and Wings at 3-6 on the season. The Boston Americans kept their slim hold on second place in the East Division following a 13-7 win at Minutemen Stadium over the New York Football Stars. It was not a pretty victory and New York had much more success on offense, especially threw the air where Dick Metcalf threw for 210 yards, 124 of which was to Ron Germain, but the Stars could not get on the scoresheet until the final minute of the game. The final game of the weekend saw Philadelphia run all over Washington as Don Gilbertson gained 115 yards on the ground and Mark Hedge ran for an even 100 as the Frigates beat the Wasps 24-10.  SHAMROCKS WIN SIX STRAIGHT Four Shutout Victories During New York Streak The New York Shamrocks finished with the best regular season record in the NAHC each of the past two seasons and after a sluggish start that saw them play .500 hockey for their first dozen games, the New York squad has rediscovered its top gear and is riding high on a six game winning streak. The recent hot play, boosted by terrific defensive work and goaltending that has seen the Greenshirts claim four shutouts in their past six games, has allowed coach Dave McClune's squad to pull even with a Toronto club that just two weeks ago had an eight point lead atop the league table. Etienne Tremblay, who would be considered New York's backup netminder, had a pair of clean sheets last week. This week it was Alex Sorrell's turn as the winner of each of the last two Juneau Trophy's blanked Detroit 1-0 and Montreal 3-0 last week. New York has outscored its opponents 20-6 over the recent run of success. Toronto, meanwhile, continues to struggle after the Dukes were pounded 8-1 in Boston last night, giving Jack Barrell's boys five losses and a tie in their last seven games. This after starting the season with 6 straight victories and a 9-1-3 record before another loss to Boston - this one 6-4 on November 11- started the Dukes slide.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21 Boston 3 at 4 New York : Eric Abbott's fourth goal of the season, with just 1:58 showing on the clock, proved the difference and lifted New York to a 4-3 comeback victory over Boston. The Bees had led 3-1 midway through the middle frame on goals from Jamie Nargang, Mickey Bedard and Robert Walker but the Shamrocks rallied to tie the contest before the end of the second period. Ryan Kennedy, Rusty Mullins and Geoff Hartnell were the other Shamrocks snipers.Chicago 0 at 3 Toronto : Gordie Broadway stopped all 32 shots he faced to lift Toronto past Chicago 3-0 and snap a four-game losing skid for the Dukes. Mike Navarro, Maurice Charette and Doug Zimmerman were the goal scorers. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22 Montreal 2 at 5 Chicago : Tommy Burns had two goals and two assists as Chicago handed the Montreal Valiants their fourth straight loss. Derek Gubb had three helpers for the Packers, who outshot the Vals 42-20.New York 1 at 0 Detroit : A goaltenders duel between Alex Sorrell and Millard Touhey saw Touhey blink first as Orval Cabbell, last year's NAHC scoring leader, beat Touhey six minutes into the third period for what would prove to be the game's only goal. It was Cabbell's 9th of the season SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24 Chicago 5 at 2 Detroit :Third period goals off the sticks of Tommy Burns and Marty Mahoney - with his second of the game- helped Chicago close out a 5-2 road win in Detroit. The Packers have won three of their last four games while the Motors have dropped three of their last four.Montreal 3 at 3 Toronto : Two teams that have had some struggles of late skated to a 3-3 tie. Quinton Pollack, Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith each had two points as the Dukes opened a 3-2 lead after forty minutes but Adam Sandford scored the only goal of the third stanza to earn the Valiants a point. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25 Toronto 1 at 8 Boston : A game Jack Barrell and the Dukes just want to forget about after Wes Chandler had four points and Conn Cundiff three assists in Boston's 8-1 thrashing of the Dukes. The Bees outshot Toronto 58-28 to snap their two game losing streak.Detroit 1 at 2 Chicago : Make it 4 wins in their last five games for the Packers and four losses in five for Detroit after Chicago completed a weekend home and home sweep of the Motors with a 2-1 victory. Tommy Burns, with four goals in his last three games and now tied for the league lead with a dozen on the season, staked the Packers to an early lead and Kevin Braun made it 2-0 after forty minutes. The lone Detroit goal to beat Norm Hanson came in the final minute when the Motors Adam Vanderbilt broke Hanson's shutout bid. Montreal 0 at 3 New York : Alex Sorrell stopped all 28 shots for his second shutout in as many games and third on the season to help the Shamrocks blank Montreal 3-0 for New York's sixth straight victory. New York scored once each period with Jocko Gregg, Jim Macek and Jack Watkins doing the honours. Montreal is now winless in its last six games. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27 New York at Boston WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28 Chicago at New York THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29 Boston at Detroit Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY DECEMBER 1 Chicago at Montreal New York at Toronto SUNDAY DECEMBER 2 Montreal at Boston New York at Chicago Toronto at Detroit DUKES CAUGHT BY NEW YORK IN STANDINGS Toronto halted their losing streak at four games with a 1-1-1 week but still fell into a first place tie with the red hot Shamrocks, winners of six straight. The week began at the Gardens in front of a smallish crowd on a cool, blustery night. The fans were treated to a wide open game highlighted by the two netminders: Ned Hanson for the Packers and Gordie Broadway tending the Dukes goal. Broadway was tested 14 times in the first to Hanson's 11 in what was a scoreless period punctuated by many spectacular saves at both ends. Mike Navarro finally broke the scoring drought on a screen shot in the final minute of the second frame. The home team carried most the play in the third with Barrell's charges thwarting any attacks by the Packers. Maurice Charette gave the Dukes a little breathing room with his fourth goal of the season with just over six minutes left in the game. Chicago was forced to open up even more to get back into the game with no success, Zimmerman's power play marker at 17:20 salted the game away as a 3-0 victory for the Dukes. Broadway made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season. The struggling Vals of Montreal came into town on Saturday night to do battle with Toronto in a packed Gardens. The visitors seemed to make a statement in the first carrying the play to the Dukes. Montreal took the lead on a Rey Sclisizzi goal when he tapped in a loose puck that wormed through Broadway's pads to lie loose in the crease. Rob Painchaud tied the score with his third beating Valiants goalie TomBrockers from the slot during the last minute of the period. In the second Shel Herron notched his first of the season while Montreal enjoyed a 5 on 3 advantage with Trevor Parker and Alex Lavalliere in the sin bin. Sophomore Ken Jamieson tied the game with second goal of the year when he was sent in alone by Lou Galbraith then shoveled a backhand over a down and out Brockers. Pollack gave the fans something to cheer about when he gave the team a 3-2 lead at 15:40 of the second. Barrell had the team try to apply the same strategy as on Wednesday night against the Packers, check the opposition into submission then try to capitalize on turnovers. The tight checking seemed to work as the Vals only had six shots, unfortunately one by Adam Sanford found the twine when he found a loose puck sitting in the crease behind Broadway. Brockers put up a stonewall not allowing anything behind him though Toronto has a number of Grade A chances securing a point for his team in a 3-3 draw. After two games in which the team played well they went into Boston then got their heads handed to them by the Bees. The home team struck early and often, holding period leads of 3-0 after one , 6-0 after two while firing an endless stream of rubber at an almost defenseless Scott Renes between the pipes. After Boston made it 8-0 in the third Maurice Charette broke Pierre Melancon's shutout bid with less than six minutes left, in a game Toronto was outshot 58-28, outhit, out hustled, outplayed in every facet of the game. Coach Barrell- " I hope everyone learned a lesson last night in Boston, that was hard to watch or listen to if you are a Dukes fan. I was embarrassed, I hope the players were, there are no nights off in the NAHC. You don't bring your best game the other team will steamroll you as Boston did Sunday. I considered pulling Scott but decided to leave him in as a learning experience for both him along with guys who left him almost defenseless for 60 minutes. One game left for November in Montreal who are beginning to show signs of life, do not count anyone out yet the season is still young. We have a lot of things to straighten out over the next couple of practices."
 ENGINEERS HAVE EASY TIME IN SEASON OPENER The Whitney College Engineers were the preseason number one ranked team and picked by This Week in Figment Sports as the top team in collegiate basketball this season. The Engineers hit the ground running last week, dominating a game but clearly overmatched Grafton Scholars quintet 57-38 behind 14 points each from Edd Petty and Vic Jennings. Petty, along with teammate Solly Morris- who had 9 points- are concerned the top two candidates for next summer's Federal Basketball League draft and give, along with the junior Jennings, probably the most talented frontcourt in all of collegiate basketball. Second ranked Rainier College was also in action last week as the Majestics followed up a win in the King of the South tournament with a 77-36 drubbing of Grange College on the road in Kentucky. Doc Daniels led the way for the West Coast Athletic Association powerhouse with 19 points. The Majestics will next face Commonwealth Catholic tomorrow in their home opener in Puyallup. Third seeded Coastal California also made a pit stop on their way back to Los Angeles following a win in the Preseason AIAA tournament. The Dolphins, who won their first national title last April, improved to 3-0 with a 55-32 win over the Fond du Lac Hawks. Senior forward Rocky House had 17 points to pace Coastal California while center Rankin Egbert, another player expected to be selected in the first round of next year's FBL draft, added 10 points. Liberty College, ranked fifth in the latest poll and hoping to bounce back from a 21-9 season that saw the Bells miss the AIAA tournament for the first time since the spring of 1935, had a busy start to their schedule. The independent squad is 3-0 after a pair of games last week. On Monday preseason All-American selection Joe Cesarini and Ole Avery each scored 12 points in a 56-42 victory over Conwell College and then on Friday the Bells dumped Central Carolina 62-51 behind 16 points from Avery. Cesarini, a junior guard from Long Island, NY, is hoping to join FBL stars Luther Gordon and Ward Messer, along with Winfred Dupre as Liberty College players to be named first team All-Americans.  WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY NOVEMBER 19 #2 Rainier College 77, at Grange College 36 at #5 Liberty College 65, St. Martin's College 38 #11 Great Plains State 51, at Wisconsin Catholic 40 #17 Elyria 55, at Poweshiek 40 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 20 #9 Opelika State 53, at Three Rivers State 45 #12 Lincoln 66, at Maldin 52 #15 Spokane State 46, at Oklahoma City State 36 at #23 Ellery 46, St. Patrick's 35 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 21 #7 Lane State 47, at Northern Mississippi 30 #11 Great Plains State 47, at College of Cairo 46 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 22 at #1 Whitney College 57, Grafton 38 at #8 Redwood 62, Georgia Baptist 50 at #10 Perry State College 58, Oklahoma City State 49 #13 Carolina Poly 79, at West Corners (NY) 40 #14 St. Pancras 53, at St. Magnus 43 #16 Central Ohio 70, at Eastern State 60 at #17 Elyria 50, Huntington State 41 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 23 #3 Coastal California 55, at Fond du Lac 32 #5 Liberty College 56, at Conwell College 42 at #20 Jersey City Tech 46, Needham 44 SATURDAY NOVEMER 24 #17 Elyria 57, at Bliss College 54 #19 Mobile Maritime 56, at Oklahoma Bible College 41 #24 Minnesota Tech 67, at Harper College 62 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 25 #5 Liberty College 62, at Central Carolina 51 at #11 Great Plains State 49, Baton Rouge State 42 at #18 Dickson 64, Troy State (NY) 55 #20 Jersey City Tech 46, at Hartford Wesleyan 30 QUICK START FOR HAVANA IN CUBAN WINTER LOOP The bats were booming for the Havana Sharks as the Cuban Winter League season got underway. The Sharks, winners of the first two league titles in the league celebrating its sixth season, exploded for 30 runs in their first three games to be the only team in the eight team loop to start 3-0. The Sharks blasted Holguin 8-2 in their opener as Detroit minor leaguer Jim Flowers doubled, homered and drove in three runs while pitcher Hub Armstrong, a New York Stars prospect, fanned 8 to keep Hawks hitters off balance. Armstrong, acquired in a deadline deal that sent Mack Sutton to Detroit, made his Stars debut last September and looks to be counted on as a key piece of the New York rotation this season. The Sharks followed that up with a 5-4 win over Matanzas as Les Miller hit a walk-off solo homerun to lead off the ninth after Bill Speier tied the game with a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th. Saturday's game was a rout as the Sharks thumped the Santa Clara Stallions 17-4 behind four hits from Andy Conklin and King Brucker's second homer in as many games. 
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/25/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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08-01-2024, 12:10 PM
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#997 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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December 3, 1951
DECEMBER 3, 1951 CUMBERLAND WINS COLLEGE GRID CROWN The Cumberland Explorers extended their unbeaten streak to 24 games and more importantly claimed their first collegiate football national title after beating Bluegrass State 35-7 to finish the season with a perfect 10-0 record. The outcome was seldom in doubt as the Explorers, needing a victory to claim the title they felt should have been theirs a year ago when they completed the season with a 10-0-1 record but instead the title went to Deep South Conference foe Central Kentucky, which was also 10-0-1 after the two schools tied in their late season meeting. This time around the Explorers downed the Tigers 17-10 a little over a week ago and then completed the perfect season with the easy victory over the Mustangs. In Saturday's 35-7 win, Cumberland halfback Billy Kirkwood needed just 3 minutes for his first exploration of the Bluegrass State endzone and he would add a second touchdown run in the third period. Quarterback Garland Churchwell was also at the top of his game, scoring once on a run and once more using his aerial prowess. Next up for Cumberland will be a trip to New Orleans for a New Years Day date at the Cajun Classic, likely against South Atlantic Conference champion Maryland State but that will be confirmed later this week. Lubbock State snuck into the second spot in the polls, ahead of idle Lincoln thanks to a 31-0 whitewashing of Red River State. The 10-0 Hawks are off to Miami for the Sunshine Classic where they will face the fifth ranked Georgia Baptist Gators. The full slate of New Year's Classic matchups will be released next week.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Cumberland 35 Bluegrass State 7 Annapolis Maritime 17 Rome State 3 St. Blane 21 Coastal California 17 Georgia Baptist 9 Noble Jones College 3 Alabama Baptist 37 Opelika State 17 Bayou State 17 Baton Rouge State 6 Mississippi A&M 27 Northern Mississippi 24 Darnell State 28 Travis College 23 Lubbock State 31 Red River State 0 Oklahoma City State 64 Eastern Oklahoma 6 Texas Gulf Coast 24 Amarillo Methodist 13 Ferguson 61 McKinney State 7 Miami State 41 College of Omaha 3 Potomac College 24 Petersburg 10 St. Patrick's 51 Commonwealth Catholic 21 Lawrence State 37 Daniel Boone College 20 Wisconsin Catholic 38 Minns College 3 South Valley State 23 Cache Valley 10 Abilene Baptist 14 College of Waco 10 Payne State 54 Northern Minnesota 17 MAROONS CLINCH SECOND IN WEST DIVISION PALADINS ALSO SECURE PLAYOFF BERTH The Detroit Maroons are returning to the American Football Association playoffs for the first time since 1945. Certainly, the new format which doubles the playoff field to four teams from the long standing tradition of just having the two division winners meet in a title game plays a major factor but so does the Maroons dramatic turn around from a 4-8 season a year ago. The Maroons improved to 7-3 with a 34-7 rout over the Los Angeles Tigers at Bigsby Stadium Sunday. Bill Drown was once again a big factor for the winners as the 24-year-old back scored two more touchdowns, giving him five in the last three games. The Maroons entered the game knowing a victory would clinch second place in the West and came out firing on all cylinders. Drown scored on a 6-yard run on Detroit's second series of the game and then Jerry Loewen doubled the lead when he sauntered 14 yards into the end zone after picking off an errant pass from Tigers quarterback John Stanphill. A little over a minute later Detroit was up 21-0 following an 36 yard punt return for a score by Pete Kuhlman and the outcome was never in doubt from that point one. Detroit will have the unenviable task of heading to Kansas City in three weeks when the playoffs begin. The Cowboys remain perfect, running their season record to 10-0 with a 35-23 win in San Francisco on Sunday. Pat Chappell completed just 7 of 18 passes and two of his attempts were intercepted but he also threw three touchdown scores, two of them to Bill Tammaro. The Cowboys rushing game was in peak form with Mr. Outside Pat Hill running for 142 yards while Mr. Inside Mason Matthews blasted his way up the middle for 81. The Pittsburgh Paladins, who lost to Kansas City in last year's AFA championship game, clinched a playoff spot with a second straight win in a defensive struggle with Cleveland. At least this one had a touchdown, unlike last week's 3-0 overtime victory at Fitzpatrick Park. The final score Sunday was 15-3 for the Paladins, with Dusty Sinclair and Wally Dotson combining on a six-yard scoring pass midway through the opening quarter. Roy Jones missed the extra point but was successful on all three of his field goal attempts in the win. The Boston Americans took a crucial step towards earning the second playoff berth in the East. The Americans were led by 96 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdown runs from Walt Michos to outdistance the Washington Wasps 21-18. Washington staged a furious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, including a pair of Tommy Norwood to Clint Snodgrass touchdown passes but ultimately fell just short. Philadelphia's slim playoff hopes were dealt a cruel blow when the New York Stars edged the Frigates 7-3. Stars back James Valdez carried the ball just three times and gained only four yards on the day but one of them was a 1-yard touchdown plunge to account for the only touchdown of the afternoon. The final game of the day saw the Chicago Wildcats win for just the second time this season, downing St Louis 23-3 behind a pair of John Walker touchdown runs.  The two hottest teams in the North American Hockey Confederation of late clashed in a home and home series in which both the New York Shamrocks and Chicago Packers came away with one victory. Those two clubs, along with early starter Toronto, have started to show signs of pulling away from the other three NAHC clubs. The Shamrocks had a brief stumble mid-week with back to back losses in Boston and at home to Chicago but rebounded with three of a possible four points on the weekend. New York, which is the pace-setter in the NAHC with 27 points, has gone 7-2-1 in its past ten games to overtake the Toronto Dukes for first place. The Dukes, who started the season with six wins and three ties in their opening nine games and at one stage had an 8 point lead on the rest of the pack, now find themselves one point behind the Greenshirts. A four-game losing skid in mid-November hurt the Toronto club and they have just one win to show for their last ten games. Closing fast on both New York and Toronto are the Chicago Packers. Tommy Burns has 15 points in his last eleven games and the Packers reeled off five straight wins, including back to back shutouts from Michael Cleghorn, before losing 3-1 to New York last night. Despite the loss to the Shamrocks, the Packers are suddenly just three points out of first place. Boston is trying to keep pace but the Bees have been up and down and have come up short in four of their last six outings. Fifth place Detroit had a terrible November, posting a 3-9-1 mark during the month to erase a decent start but the Motors did begin December with a 4-1 victory over the Dukes. That leaves Montreal in the basement as the two-time defending Challenge Cup champions have had all kinds of trouble but they did snap an eight game winless drought with a victory in Boston last night. The Valiants are surrendering the most goals against per game in the league while scoring at the slowest pace, a bad combination that easily explains their 6-12-5 start.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 28 Chicago 3 at 0 New York : A second straight loss for the Shamrocks as Michael Cleghorn makes 21 saves to guide the Chicago Packers to a 3-0 victory. Marty Mahoney, with his 10th of the season, Joe Fleming and Mike Van Tol scored for the Packers, who have won four in a row and six of their last seven. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29 Boston 0 at 3 Detroit : Millard Touhey made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and Graham Comeau scored twice to lead the Motors past the Bees 3-0. Detroit has lost five of its last seven but both wins in that stretch have come against Boston.Toronto 1at 1 Montreal : The Dukes have just one win in their last eight games after settling for a 1-1 draw with Montreal. The Valiants are winless in seven but salvaged a point in this one thanks to Pat Coulter's third period powerplay goal after Toronto had taken the lead in the opening period on a Doug Zimmerman marker. Montreal has just two points in their last seven games, both coming from ties with the Dukes. SATURDAY DECEMBER 1 Chicago 3 at 0 Montreal : Michael Cleghorn earns his second straight shutout with a 34 save performance in the Packers 3-0 victory over Montreal. It was Chicago's fifth consecutive victory and moves them within two points of first place. Jeremy MacLean and Max Ducharme each had a goal and an assist for the winners.New York 2 at 2 Toronto : Toronto overcame a 2-0 deficit to salvage a tie with the New York Shamrocks and keep the Dukes a point ahead of New York in the fight for first place. Orval Cabbell and Ryan Kennedy scored for the Greenshirts before Mike Navarro and Les Carlson replied for Toronto. The Dukes were outshot 42-24 on the evening. SUNDAY DECEMBER 2 Montreal 4 at 3 Boston : The Valiants ended an 8-game winless slide with a 4-3 win on the road in Boston. Earl McRae had 3 assists to pace the Montreal attack while Claude LeClerc scored twice. New York 3 at 1 Chicago : After being shutout at home by Chicago earlier in the week, the Shamrocks left the Windy City with a 3-1 victory and first place in the NAHC standings. Toronto lost so New York leapfrogged the Dukes and has a 1 point lead on Toronto. After a scoreless first period Tommy Burns, with his league high 13th goal of the season gave Chicago a 1-0 lead but 28-year-old rookie Sid Quirion, with his first NAHC goal, quickly tied the game for New York and just over a minute later Joe Martin put the Shamrocks ahead. Patrick Banning added an insurance marker for the Shamrocks early in the third period. Toronto 1 at 4 Detroit :A three goal outburst in a span of four minutes early in the third period lifted Detroit to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Dukes, and saw the Dukes fall out of first place. Nick Tardif was the story on this evening as the Motors sharpshooter scored three times and assisted on Adam Vanderbilt's goal. Detroit opened the scoring just 12 seconds into the game but Frank Featherstone quickly replied for Toronto but that was the only puck that would elude Detroit netminder Millard Touhey. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 4 Chicago at Boston WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5 Boston at New York Detroit at Toronto SATURDAY DECEMBER 8 Detroit at Montreal Chicago at Toronto SUNDAY DECEMBER 9 Boston at Chicago Montreal at Detroit Toronto at New York DUKES CLAIM JUST TWO OF A POSSIBLE SIX POINTS The Toronto Dukes winless streak has now reached five games although they managed to get three points with ties including two in three games this week. After the Sunday wakeup call in Boston, when the Dukes were thumped 8-1, the team played a better game in Montreal midweek although Brett does not think Jack Barrell would be thrilled that Gordie Broadway had to make 31 saves in a 1-1 game before almost 12000 in the Arena. Toronto took the early lead on Dick Zimmerman's 4th goal of the season at the 5:00 mark of the opening period. The game was fast paced affair with more hitting than normally seen in games between these Canadian rivals for the hearts of fans across the country. A game with only two total goals would suggested a slow, tight checking affair but this one was certainly not that as attested by 66 shots total by the two teams. Tom Brockers held the Vals in the game robbing Duke shooters time after time. Broadway defended the lone goal until the home side went on the power play when Charlie Brown was whistled for a high stick early in the third. Pat Coulter capitalized on the man advantage, deflecting a Arlen Doherty shot into the Toronto cage to tie the game. Both teams pressed for the win and Toronto had a golden opportunity with a man advantage in the last 10 minutes but neither converted for the victory. December began at home hosting the high flying Shamrocks. The New York squad plays a high tempo game constantly on the attack, backstopped in goal by two talented netminders in Alex Sorrell and Etienne Tremblay. Broadway was recipient of this nights attack by the green wave. He faced 42 shots in the game including a first period in which the Dukes were outshot 19-1. New York only lit the lamp in the opening twenty minutes as Orval Cabbell opened the scoring less than three minutes after the opening puck drop. Had it not been for Broadway's heroics this game could have been a replay of last Sunday's shellacking in Boston. The Dukes steadied the ship in the middle frame finally starting to give Sorrell some work but not before they went down by two on a Ryan Kennedy marker. Mike Navarro cut he lead in half on a three way passing play from Maurice Charette and Miles Norman to send the teams to their rooms with NY ahead 2-1 after 40. In a penalty filled third the Dukes managed to come away with a tie when Quinton Pollack fed Les Carlson while up a man to beat Sorrell high on the stick side. Both goaltenders took over the game not allowing any further scoring on a night where the Dukes were very fortunate to come away with a point. Toronto killed all seven shorthanded situations while scoring once on eight power plays. Into the Palladium Sunday to face the Detroit Motors in front of 16670 rabid fans. Barrell went with Scott Renes between the pipes after Broadway's busy time the night before at home. Toronto's goaltender again was in a shooting gallery, as Renes faced 38 in the game while Toronto was only able to hit the target defended by Millard Touhey two dozen times. Barrell looked like his head was going to come off as the penalty minutes of the game were 20 for his side, 2 for the home team. Renes held the fort for the first two periods until Detroit broke through for 3 goals in the first 6 minutes of the third. two while up a man, to skate away with a 4-1 victory. Coach Barrell- "We have got tighten up in our zone, our goaltenders are getting bombarded night after night. I cannot remember the last time we held a team to under 30 shots. Broadway, Renes have been great, but they can only do so much if we cannot convert on chances at the other end. We are taking far too many stupid stick penalties. You cannot give the opposition a man advantage time after time without eventually paying the price. That said the zebra should have gotten a couple of helpers in Detroit on Sunday. Seems the door to penalty box was broken on the Motors side. I had better stop before I get hit with another fine. We should have had two points in Montreal but we stole a point from New York who badly outplayed us. The ref decided the Detroit game. Our guys are starting to choke their sticks, we cannot buy a goal at critical time. I tell the guys the goals will come if they relax knowing it will not stop them strangling their sticks. We have work to do in our end first to help our keepers. Do that the other end will sort itself out."
 WHITNEY COLLEGE STUMBLES AGAINST PITTSBURGH STATE The Whitney College Engineers reign at the top of the collegiate basketball rankings was shortlived after the Engineers star-studded lineup came up short in its second game of the season. The Pittsburgh State Finches, thanks to a pair of free throws with 8 seconds remaining in regulation time from freshman forward Sam Hollified, nipped the Engineers 57-56. That upset loss dropped the 1-1 Engineers to fifth in the latest collegiate top twenty poll. A pair of West Coast Athletic Association schools in Rainier College and defending national champion Coastal California are now ranked one and two. The newly number one ranked Majestics improved to 4-0 on the season with just one game last week. It was their home opener and a successful one with Ed Shelby scoring 15 points and Doc Daniels adding 11 in a 62-45 victory over Commonwealth Catholic. The Dolphins did not play last week but move up a spot from #3 to #2 after the Whitney College defeat. It likely won't last long but a big surprise in the top ten is the emergence of Elyria. The Ohio schoolhas only reached the AIAA tournament five times and not won a tournament game since their shocking run to the National semi-finals in the spring of 1916. They are off to a quick 5-0 start this season including a win over Huntington State that has the Pioneers sneaking into the top ten. Our Charlie Barrell watch continues as Barrell scored 11 points and had six rebounds in the Colonels 57-34 drubbing of Huntington State in West Virginia on Thursday night. Barrell then stepped on the football field in Atlanta Saturday afternoon for what would be his final collegiate grid appearance. He played most of the game at quarterback but his Colonels had trouble generating any offense and ended up on the short end of a 9-3 score against their in-state rivals from Georgia Baptist. Despite the disappointing conclusion, Barrell led the Colonels grid eleven to a 6-4 record this season and seemed to gain plenty of interest from professional scouts. With football behind him, at least until the AFA draft, Barrell is now free to focus on basketball and there will be plenty of Federal Basketball League scouts tracking him as well. It will make a tough decision for the three sport star, who was taken first overall in last year's FABL draft by Cincinnati and spent much of the summer in the Cannons minor league system. There is plenty of speculation Barrell may attempt to play two sports professionally or may decide to leave the Cannons and focus solely on either basketball or football as a pro career.  WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY NOVEMBER 26 at Pittsburgh State 57, #5 Whitney College 56 at #7 Redwood 58, St. Pancras 52 #9 Elyria 56, at Canyon A&M 55 #12 Richmond State 61, at Rome State 42 #13 Ellery 66, at St. Matthew's College 56 #16 Lane State 63, at Gates University 41 #17 Hampden 45, at Eastern Virginia 28 at #22 Ferguson 49, Cowpens State 26 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 27 t #1 Rainier College 62, Commonwealth Catholic 45 at #4 Liberty College 66, St. Patrick's 36 at #8 Opelika State 52, Dickson 44 #14 American Atlantic 50, at St. Gordius 47 WEDESDAY NOVEMBER 28 #6 Indiana A&M 54, at Grange College 42 #22 Ferguson 61, at Brunswick 59 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 29 at #11 Spokane State 41, Coastal State 34 #13 Ellery 58, at St. Martin's College 56 #19 Noble Jones College 57, at Huntington State 34 at #21 Berwick 49, Meade 40 at #23 Western Florida 47, St Andrews College 38 at #24 Grant (IN) 64, Central Kentucky 58 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30 #7 Redwood 51, at San Francisco Tech 40 #8 Opelika State 62, at Cleveland 56 at #14 American Atlantic 45, Harper College 43 #15 St. Ignatius 58, at Glover (GA) 57 Commonwealth Catholic 51, at #16 Lane State 47 at #18 Brooklyn Catholic 51, Henry Hudson 42 SATURDAY DECEMBER 1 at #9 Elyria 54, Erie 47 at #12 Richmond State 56, University of New Jersey 46 #17 Hampden 63, at California Catholic 55 SUNDAY DECEMBER 2 at #3 Western Iowa 64, St. Patrick's 50 #7 Redwood 70, at Cache Valley 49 at #10 Carolina Poly 58, St. Martin's College 46 #20 Pierpont 48, at Rose Point (PA) 24 #23 Western Florida 70, at Glover (GA) 53 at #24 Grant (IN) 63, Wisconsin Catholic 44   RECENT KEY RESULTS
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/02/1951
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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08-02-2024, 11:53 AM
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#998 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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December 10, 1951
DECEMBER 10, 1951 WILD BATTLE FOR FINAL AFA PLAYOFF BERTH There is plenty at stake for three East Division teams as the American Football Association prepares for its final Sunday of the regular season. Three of the four playoff spots have been spoken for with Kansas City, Detroit and Pittsburgh all assured of playing in two weeks time as the AFA stages its first ever semi-final game but that fourth spot is still very much up for grabs after yesterday's action did nothing to provide a solution. The Boston Americans, Washington Wasps and Cleveland Finches all have the opportunity to claim second place in the division and the right to visit Pittsburgh for a playoff contest. The Americans have the inside track, needing only to win in Pittsburgh next Sunday but if the Yanks stumble than a win by either the Finches of Wasps would send one them on to the postseason. Cleveland kept its hopes alive, improving to 6-5 on the year, with a 20-10 victory at Forester Stadium over the visiting Americans. A Boston win would have sealed the playoff spot for the Yanks, but with quarterback Del Thomas injured and backup Willie Hubbard banged up part way through the game the Americans stumbled. Cleveland used its dual-threat backfield to perfection with Larry Breig running for 103 yards and Mark Ravellette gaining 72 on the ground with each finding the endzone once. The Finches will finish their season by hosting Detroit next Sunday while Boston is in Pittsburgh. Thomas, dealing with a broken finger on his throwing hand, is not expected to play next weekend so it will be up to Hubbard to do the job at quarterback for the Yanks. Washington is also in the mix, tied with Cleveland at 6-6 and hoping the 6-5-1 Americans are tripped up by the Paladins next Sunday. The Wasps will finish their season at home against New York on Sunday, needing a win and a Boston loss. The Wasps were very impressive in a hard fought 20-6 victory on the road in Pittsburgh yesterday. Tommy Norwood threw for 122 yards and one touchdown before being knocked out of the game with an injury. Norwood is expected to be healthy enough to play in next weekend's season finale but he had to give way on this day to backup Bob Krohn and the veteran threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jim Lyster on his first snap after replacing Norwood to help secure the win for the Wasps. Pittsburgh also sustained a key injury in the game as Wally Dotson, who ran for a game high 128 yards, had his nose broken late in the contest but is expected to play against Boston next Sunday. The West Division leading Kansas City Cowboys improved to 11-0 with their 15th consecutive victory going back to last season. The Cowboys built a 24-3 half time lead and coasted to a 27-12 victory over the New York Football Stars. It was not an overly inspired effort by Pete Walsh's crew as the Stars dominated much of the game, outgaining the Cowboys 348-193 in total yardage including a strong edge on the ground. The difference was the Stars turned the ball over three times and paid the price, including a 47-yard interception return for a score by Dick Sorenson late in the first half that really sealed the outcome. Dan Andrews threw for 156 yards and Doug Stevens ran for 117 to lead the Detroit Maroons to a 20-14 victory over the Chicago Wildcats. The Maroons have clinched second place in the West Division and sit at 8-3 on the year. Nat Oldham rushed for 111 yards to lead St Louis past San Francisco 24-10 while the remaining game saw Ed Paulson pass for 274 yards and two touchdowns to pace Philadelphia past Los Angeles by a 28-13 score.  FIELD SET FOR NEW YEARS CLASSIC GAMES The full slate of matchups for college football's New Years Day showcase has been unveiled. In all there will be eight games on the docket for January 1st with the highlight being the annual East-West Classic showdown in Santa Ana, California. The Lincoln College Presidents, Great Lakes Alliance champs at 9-0 and ranked third in the nation will play on New Years Day for the first time in school history as they travel west to face the Northern California Miners. The Miners are 9-1 on the season, ranked 9th in the final collegiate poll and claimed the West Coast Athletic Association title this year. Northern California will be playing in Santa Ana on January 1 for the third time in the past four years. The other game sure to draw plenty of interest is the Cajun Classic, a matchup in New Orleans of not only two of the best teams in the South but also two of the top football teams in the country. Cumberland was crowned national champion after a perfect 10-0 season that included a share of the Deep South Conference championship. The Explorers, led by back Billy Kirkwood, a Baton Rogue native and likely All-American who will be looking to put on a show in his home state, are unbeaten in their last 25 games going back to midway through the 1949 season including a 27-27 tie with Darnell State in last year's Lone Star Classic. The Explorers opponent in New Orleans on January 1 will be the Maryland State Bengals, a team led by a powerful fullback by the name of Pat Wadsworth and they were also unbeaten at 9-0 this season. The Bengals, co-champions of the South Atlantic Conference with Alexandria, were ranked seventh in the final college football poll. The Sunshine Classic also promises to be a dandy, with #2 Lubbock State squaring off with fifth ranked Georgia Baptist. The Hawks were a perfect 10-0 and claimed the Southwestern Alliance section title while the 10-1 Gators were co-champions of the Deep South with Cumberland. Georgia Baptist did not play the Explorers this season and each were unbeaten in section play with the Gators lone loss being an early season defeat at the hands of Carolina Poly. It was a disappointing season for quarterback Pat Capizzi and the Central Kentucky Tigers as last season's national champions finished just 8-3 but that showing was good enough to earn the Tigers a trip to Austin for the Lone State Classic where they will meet Texas Gulf Coast. The 6-4 Hurricanes, with a quality passer of their own in Bill Higgins, had their struggles this season as well but they did finish 4-2 in section action, good enough for second place in the Southwestern Alliance. Unbeaten independent St Ignatius felt they probably deserved to finish better than fourth in the rankings and the Lancers, led by two sport star end George Becker, who also plays for the Lancers cage team, and speedy back Jim Berger will have a chance to show their talents in Houston as they face South Atlantic Conference co-champion Alexandria in the Oilman Classic. Here is the complete list of New Year's Day matchups.   WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Miami State 24 Pittsburgh State 23 Payne State 44 Abilene Baptist 20 KANSAS CITY KID NEVER CHALLENGED BY REVEL IN MIDDLEWEIGHT UNANIMOUS DECISION Bigsby Garden, New York, N.Y. – Mark McCoy (25-2-0, 12 KO) vs. Yohan Revel (31-1-0, 15 KO) – Yohan Revel was just a kid when he first met fellow Parisian Edouard Desmarais, the former middleweight champion who perished in a plane crash over the Atlantic a little more than two years ago. As Revel entered his teens, Desmarais began his professional boxing career. Revel’s home was a shrine to Desmarais, documenting each of his early matches. Every press clipping, every photograph made its way into Revel’s scrapbook. When Revel was old enough to attend Desmarais’s bouts, he came to life. Revel was in awe of his fellow countryman, how he moved, what his punches seemed to do to his opponents. Desmarais won 44 of his 46 professional fights and when Revel was 24 years old, a plane crash took his hero away. Revel grew to be big and strong, following in Desmarais’s footsteps and carrying a similar build, also was a middleweight. Now 26, Revel is trying to step into his hero’s shoes and win the middleweight championship belt. When Mark McCoy won the title in his last bout against Millard Shelton, the concern before that fight was whether the lights would be too bright for the 22-year-old. McCoy composed himself and boxed beautifully on his way to a unanimous decision. McCoy is once again the younger fighter in this bout, but the Kansas City Kid is ready for the big time. Those in attendance will remember this first round as the best round of the fight and the challenger’s finest moment. The opening stanza had action from pillar to post. The history books will remember the rest of the bout, which was fought at a slower pace and at a tempo that fit the champion’s character. Revel sprinted to the center of the ring to find McCoy just after the opening bell, as if he was trying to make an impression for Desmarais, for France. Revel offered a crushing right that landed in the midsection of McCoy and feeding off the momentum, the challenger added a hook to the head to even out the first barrage of fisticuffs. After McCoy defended well on a combination, he composed himself to throw a cross Revel’s way that shook the Frenchman. Revel owned the first round in a toe-to-toe sequence and McCoy looked to grab on to Revel to slow the tempo. McCoy made it out of the first round intact, but his corner offered a quick strategy session. The advice on how to handle Revel was readily accepted. His trainer implored him to fight defensively, block the onslaught, and counterpunch when he saw an opening. This will help tire and frustrate the challenger, as well as conserve McCoy’s energy. The only flaw in the plan is that Revel had a winning round and McCoy would have to make his statement. McCoy was playing the long game, as he had 14 rounds to change the judges’ minds. The second round put McCoy on even footing with Revel, as he dominated the round. McCoy seemed to go against the plan, as he went on the offense to start and connected on an uppercut. Revel went to protect his head and McCoy saw an opportunity to exploit with body shots. Once McCoy felt he got even with his bad first round, he started to heed the instructions given from his corner between the first and second rounds. In the third round, Revel tried to start fast, as the fighter who connected first won the round. Revel missed on his uppercut, which left him open for McCoy to land a hard right hand. McCoy was tactical in this round and provided evidence of how the defensive strategy would work. Revel was chasing McCoy, while McCoy danced around him and let Revel tire himself out. Revel was able to catch McCoy a few times in Round Four and Round Six, but allowed McCoy to attack in the fifth round, culminating in a cross that caused Revel’s legs to wobble and a hook to Revel’s left side that left Revel gasping for air. It was a fairly even bout until the eighth round when McCoy took control of the match. McCoy scored one of his three knockdowns on a three-punch combination to the jaw of the challenger. Revel was floored and almost did not make it back up before the rookie referee Randy Neumann reached the end of his count. Revel stood up and was ready to continue on the count of nine. As the punched mounted, Revel developed swelling under his left eye that persisted for the rest of the fight. From there, McCoy had his way with Revel, as the swelling must have had a chilling effect on his willingness to lead with his chin, but his punches rarely found their target. On the night, Revel connected with only 16% of his offerings, while he averaged 100 punches a round, though calling some of Revel’s wild swings “punches” would be a stretch. In the 12th round, McCoy executed a hook at the closing bell of the round that dropped Revel for a second time, but Revel was very quick to stand up, as Neumann barely started his count. A third knockdown was awarded to McCoy in the next round on another hook, just after another wild swing-and-miss by Revel. Revel stood on the count of eight and the fight was allowed to continue. McCoy was content to run out the clock, sitting on a big lead and fighting a clearly exhausted Revel. The confidence and poise that McCoy (26-2-0) continues to exude shows he is wise beyond his years. He was able to adjust on the fly and execute on his trainer’s strategy, extremely coachable at the age of 22. Revel (31-2-0) did not measure up on this night and he will return to France without a championship belt in tow. But he need not hang his head. He may not be in the class of the current champion, but Revel will always have that display in the first round to build from. As a 26-year-old, he can work on his weaknesses and come back to fight for the title again. Revel did his country proud and, just as important to him, honored the memory of his hero. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Revel, 4-2 (M: 0:55 cross, 2:37 hook; R: 0:12 right/midsection, 0:33 hook/head, 1:37 right/body, 1:54 uppercut) Round 2: McCoy, 1-0 (0:12 uppercut) Round 3: McCoy, 1-0 (0:32 right) Round 4: None Round 5: McCoy, 3-0 (0:31 left, 1:07 cross, 2:12 cross/midsection) Round 6: Tied, 1-1 (M: 0:51 combo; R: 1:52 cross) Round 7: None Round 8: McCoy, 1-0 (1:11 combo/jaw/knockdown #1) Round 9: McCoy, 1-0 (1:31 cross/face) Round 10: None Round 11: Revel, 1-0 (0:22 combo) Round 12: McCoy, 2-0 (2:32 right, 3:00 hook/knockdown #2) Round 13: Tied, 1-1 (M: 2:13 hook/knockdown #3; R: 1:13 cross) Round 14: None Round 15: None TOTAL: McCoy 13, Revel 7  RECENT KEY RESULTS
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
WHAT HAS HAPPENENED TO THE TORONTO DUKES? A month ago, the Toronto Dukes were the class of the NAHC, building a quick eight-point lead that may have had more than a few observers speculating Toronto might clinch first place before February. The last month has been a nightmare as Jack Barrell's team looks like a completely different club from the one that started the season with a nine-game unbeaten streak and was 9-1-3 exactly one month ago. Since then, the Dukes have fallen off a cliff, posting a 1-9-3 record that included two different four game losing streaks. The offense has vanished. Quinton Pollack, one of the best players in the league and clearly the Dukes leader, had 11 goals and 19 points after the first 14 games. In the 12 games since then Pollack has scored just once and added only 3 assists. Linemates Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith have had similar collapses as Toronto outscored opponents 38-27 in their first 13 games but have been outscored 48-27 in the last 13. The defense has also clearly struggled but goaltender Gordie Broadway, who must feel like he is a carnival shooting gallery target on some nights, has been one of the few bright spots. Compounding the Dukes problems as their eight point lead has turned to a five point deficit are concerns about merely staying in the top four as both the New York Shamrocks and Chicago Packers have been on fire of late as each has overtaken the Dukes while fourth place Detroit is also closing fast. The Packers turnaround has been a polar opposite of what is happening in Toronto. Chicago, which endured an awful season a year ago, started slow again this time around with just a 5-8-0 record that left the Packers in last place a month ago. Since then Chicago has gone 10-3-0 and is just a point behind the New York Shamrocks for first place. Tommy Burns has taken over the NAHC scoring lead and the goaltending duo of Michael Cleghorn and Norm Hanson has four shutouts in the past two weeks. Even Bert McColley, the rugged veteran defenseman, has found gold in the form of 4 goals in his last three games, a task he needed 67 games to accomplish last season. It is a long season and full of ups and downs as both the Dukes and Packers are well aware of judging by how each of their opening two months have gone.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY DECEMBER 4 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5 Boston 0 at 2 New York : Just bad luck for the Bees who have back to back games against the two hottest clubs in the league and are shutout for the second straight night. This time it was New York's Alex Sorrell doing the job but the Bees made it easy on the New York goaltender, firing just 12 shots on goal including only 5 in the final forty minutes. New York won 2-0 on third period goals from Alexandre Lapalme and Geoff Hartnell.Detroit 6 at 3 Toronto : Detroit is heating up as the Motors won their third consecutive game, doubling slumping Toronto 6-3. Derek Veysey scored twice - the first and second career goals for the 19-year-old rookie- to lead the Motors offense. SATURDAY DECEMBER 8 Detroit 3 at 3 Montreal : The Valiants fell behind 3-0 early in the second period but rallied to tie Detroit thanks to goals from Adam Sandford, Clarence Skinner and Paulie Mosca. Lou Barber, Vincent Arsenault and Adam Fun had staked the Motors to an early lead. Chicago 3 at 1 Toronto : Toronto falls to 0-4-2 in its last six games after the surging Packers claimed a 3-1 victory on the road at Dominion Gardens. Maurice Charette opened the score for Toronto but after that it was all Chicago as Bert McColley, with his third goal in the past two games, Max Ducharme and Tommy Burns replied for the Packers. SUNDAY DECEMBER 9 Boston 0 at 1 Chicago : The Packers are 8-1 in their last nine with four of those victories being shutouts including a 1-0 win at home over Boston. Michael Cleghorn stopped 25 Bees shots for his third shutout in less than two weeks and Bert McColley scored again. The defenseman scored just 4 goals all of last season but has scored 4 in the past three games and has six on the year. Boston has lost each of its last five games.Montreal 2 at 5 Detroit :Detroit is riding a five game unbeaten streak after dumping the Valiants 5-2 to take three of a possible four points from their weekend home and home series. Nick Tardif had 3 assists to pace the Motors with Harry Remington, Lou Barber and Francis McKenzie each chipping in with a goal and an assist. Toronto 2 at 3 New York : Make it four straight losses for a Toronto club that is winless in its last eight games after falling 3-2 in New York to a Shamrocks team that has won three straight. Orval Cabbell, who led the NAHC in scoring last year, notched the game winner midway through the third period. The unassisted goal was Cabbell's 11th of the season. Tony Bell and John Beaudoin also scored for while Doug Zimmerman and Miles Norman replied for a Toronto team that was outshot 45-21. No points again for Toronto's Quinton Pollack who has lost the scoring lead to Chicago's Tommy Burns after registering just 1 point in his last seven games and was held off the scoresheet in 3 games this week. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 11 New York at Boston WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 12 Boston at New York THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 Montreal at Chicago Toronto at Detroit SATURDAY DECEMBER 15 Chicago at Detroit Boston at Montreal New York at Toronto SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 Montreal at Boston Toronto at Chicago Detroit at New York DUKES WINLESS WAYS CONTINUE, DROP TO THIRD The Toronto Dukes, who have not won a game since November 21st, dropped all three this week including two at home in front of increasingly disgruntled fans at the Gardens. On Wednesday when the team should have been looking to atone for a poor third period in the Motor City they came out uninspired, and played flat. Detroit took full advantage putting the Dukes down 3-0 before the eight minute mark of the first. As the grumbling from the faithful increased in the stands the Dukes seemed to show a little life until the Motors put the game out reach with three more goals on Gordie Broadway in a span of 2:38 midway through the second period. Lou Galbraith spoiled Millard Touhey's shutout before the end of the second in front of a silent crowd. The third was two teams going through the motions as fans started departing the Gardens in droves before the game was over not staying to the bitter end in a 6-1 win for Detroit. Most of the almost 13000 entering the Gardens on Saturday night expected to see a team playing with some sense of urgency. After a scoreless opening period in which Broadway played much better than against Detroit, the Dukes managed to break the deadlock at 4:23 when Maurice Charette took a power play feed from Ken Jamieson then deposited the disc behind Norm Hanson into the Packers net. With renewed hope in the crowd the Dukes faltered badly allowing 2 goals in 51 seconds of the sticks of Bert McColley and Max Ducharme, both on loose rebounds left in the crease. Brett could almost feel the air come out of both the crowd and the Dukes bench after the second goal. The deflated team really did not test Hanson with any consistent, sustained pressure in the last 30 minutes. Tommy Burns made then final 3-1 Chicago in the third before the Dukes left the ice to a crescendo of boos from the stands. The quick start to the season is far in the rearview mirror for the fans, they are not impressed with lack of urgency shown by their former darlings of the ice. Things did not get any easier with a trip into Bigsby Sunday to face the high scoring, fast paced Shamrocks. Some listeners were surprised to hear that Barrell went to Broadway for the third straight game. New York came out flying, as usual, in the first testing the Toronto keeper 17 times. Only Tony Bell found the back of the net with a slot shot to give the home side a 1-0 lead at intermission. The second period was a little more even, it started out fast for the Dukes when Doug Zimmerman's high dump in bounced sideways to beat Alex Sorrell after only 3 seconds elapsed in the second. The tie was short-lived when John Beaudoin cruised in from the point to put one over Broadway's shoulder before the two minute mark. Miles Norman, with his first of the year, tied the score at 2 at 11:52 of the second. Shamrocks showed why they are atop the NAHC by totally dominating the last 20 minutes. The puck never seemed to leave Toronto's end, in a period in which New York held a 17-2 advantage in shots. Broadway stood tall against the barrage for the first fourteen minutes until Orval Cabbell finally beat him on screened shot from the slot that Broadway never saw for the winner in 3-2 Shamrocks result. Coach Barrell- " The fans made their opinion known Saturday night booing the team off the ice in the loss to the Packers. Dukes fans are knowledgeable, I did not think that the serenade was called for early in December. Yes, we are struggling badly as of late, the pressure from the fans and media is not helping the players. Toronto is good place to play but the fans, press are quick to call anyone out when things are not going well. I want to remind the detractors that these are the same guys who got out of the gate fast. Lately we have not been playing a full 60, we have lapses either short or long in duration that haunt us. We have to play 60 not 50, 55, even 59. Some changes are coming to the team, what we are dong is not good enough."
 NUMBER ONE FALLS AGAIN Rainier College upset by St. Matthew's For the second week in a row the top ranked team in collegiate basketball lost a game and fell from its perch. A week ago it was preseason number one Whitney College losing its second game of the season to Pittsburgh State. This time around it was a slightly bigger upset as St. Matthew's College knocked off previously unbeaten Rainier College to bump the Majestics down to fifth in the latest rankings. St Matthew's had a dominant start, leading the Majestics who entered the game with a perfect 4-0 record, by nine points at the break and went on to win 66-56. It was the Senators backcourt that did the majority of the damage as guards Ron Sowder and John Kershner combined for 31 points. Senior forward Doc Daniels was the Majestics top scorer with 14 points. Rainier College was not the only top ten school to stumble as Indiana A&M slid two place and is now ranked 8th after falling 63-61 on the road against Oklahoma City State. The new number one is Coastal California as the Dolphins are 5-0 after a pair of wins last week including a too close for comfort 50-49 victory over Central Illinois. Whitney College, which dropped out of the top spot after losing two weeks ago, is back up to second following a 42-31 victory over St. Martin's College in their lone game last week. Guard Charlie Barrell had another solid game for Noble Jones College. Now that football is over and Barrell can concentrate solely on basketball, the Colonels may go on a tear. They routed Richmond State 73-58 behind Barrell's 14 points and 21 from center Jim Graybeal to improve to 3-1 and are rebounding nicely from their season opening loss to Indiana A&M. One other team to keep an eye on is Liberty College. The Bells used to rely on dominant big men when they had Ward Messer and then Luther Gordon but now the focus is much more on outside shooting and the Bells have enjoyed some early success, posting 6-0 mark that included a narrow 61-60 win over a strong Chesapeake State team Friday evening. Joe Cesarini, the Bells All-American candidate at guard, had another big game with 18 points and 7 assists in the win over the Clippers, which helped Liberty College maintain its #4 ranking in the latest poll.  WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 3 #4 Liberty College 69, at Potomac College 46 St. Matthew's College 66, at #5 Rainier College 56 #8 Indiana A&M 67, at Bulein 61 at #9 Spokane State 47, Gates University 37 #11 Elyria 49, at Fond du Lac 48 #22 Great Plains State 48, at Northern Minnesota 45 at #24 Maldin 63, Holland 45 #25 Quaker College (CA) 53, at Tallmadge State 52 TUESDAY DECEMBER 4 #23 CC Los Angeles 49, at California Catholic 33 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5 #11 Elyria 61, at Grange College 47 #12 Brooklyn Catholic 71, at Central Maryland 47 #15 Eastern Oklahoma 53, at Boulder State 48 THURSDAY DECEMBER 6 at #17 Mobile Maritime 69, Chicago Poly 41 FRIDAY DECEMBER 7 #1 Coastal California 50, at Central Illinois 49 at #2 Whitney College 67, St. Patrick's 49 #4 Liberty College 61, at Chesapeake State 60 #6 Redwood 60, at Golden Gate 42 at Oklahoma City State 63, #8 Indiana A&M 61 at #9 Spokane State 54, Campion 41 at #12 Brooklyn Catholic 60, Hampden 51 at #13 Lane State 49, Wisconsin State 36 at #22 Great Plains State 60, Colorado Poly 52 SATURDAY DECEMBER 8 #3 Western Iowa 61, at Poweshiek 34 #20 Perry State College 52, at Capital (MS) University 49 #21 Pittsburgh State 67, at Sunnyvale 44 #24 Maldin 55, at Baton Rouge State 46 SUNDAY DECEMBER 9 #1 Coastal California 50, at Gates University 26 at #2 Whitney College 42, St. Martin's College 31 #14 Noble Jones College 73, at Richmond State 58 #12 Brooklyn Catholic 61, at NW Pennsylvania 49 at #15 Eastern Oklahoma 64, Cumberland 51 #22 Great Plains State 51, at Texas Panhandle 41 #25 Quaker College (CA) 66, at Harrisburg State 53 TRADE RUMOUR EDITION
 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/09/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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December 17, 1951
DECEMBER 17, 1951 WASPS CLAIM FINAL AFA PLAYOFF BERTH Ramblers Crush Cowboys Dreams of Perfect Season The Washington Wasps are heading to the American Football Association playoffs for just the second time in franchise history and they clinched the spot over the team that denied them an AFA championship in 1947. That would be the Cleveland Finches, who finished tied with the Wasps for second place in the AFA East Division but lost out on a trip to Pittsburgh next weekend because the Wasps had a superior record within the division. Led by a 141 yard rushing day from halfback Jim Lyster, the Wasps held off a gritty New York Stars club to claim a 24-20 victory and finish the season with a 7-5 record, 2 games back of the division leading Pittsburgh Paladins. The Paladins, who lost at home to Washington eight days ago, will stage a rematch at Fitzpatrick Park next Sunday with the winner advancing to the AFA championship game. Yesterday in Pittsburgh the Paladins crushed the dreams of an injury depleted Boston Americans, blanking the Yanks 27-0 in a contest in which the visitors started the game without veteran quarterback Del Thomas and finished it without his backup Willie Hubbard, who left the game with an injury in the first quarter. That forced the Yanks to use reserve halfback Fred Akins as their passer and Akins completed just two of 15 attempts. Despite the struggles in the passing game the Americans stayed close for well over three quarters, trailing just 10-0 until Paladins signal caller Dusty Sinclair put the game away with an 8-yard scoring pass to Charles Joiner with 4:39 remaining to make it 17-0. The Paladins added 10 late points to wrap up the shutout victory. Cleveland won 17-0 over a playoff bound Detroit Maroons club but needed a loss by Washington and Boston to allow the Finches to return to the postseason for the first time since they beat Washington to win the 1947 league title. *** Cowboys Miss Out on Perfect Season *** The Kansas City Cowboys may well be human after all. Coach Pete Walsh and his Cowboys saw their 15 game winning streak dating back to last season come to an end in the season finale as the St Louis Ramblers scored 10 late points to nip the Cowboys 17-10. The loss leaves Kansas City at 11-1, and denies then the opportunity to join the 1942 Chicago Wildcats as the only AFA teams to complete a season unbeaten and untied since 1930. The Cowboys led 10-7 in a hard fought battle until Luis Younger, would had missed a short field goal earlier in the game, tied the contest with a 40-yard boot with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Overtime never entered the conversation for the Ramblers, who after forcing a 3-and-out by Kansas City, took over at the Cowboys 44 yard line with 2:43 remaining in the game. Four plays later quarterback Phillip Frederick shocked the Cowboys and their sold out crowd when he team up with end Arnold LaVoie on a 29-yard touchdown pass that gave St Louis the victory and ended the Cowboys perfect season bid. Kansas City will still defend its AFA title won a year ago - they also won three of the four Continental Conference crowns- when they host the second place Detroit Maroons at Prairie Park next Sunday. In other action Vince Gallegos threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns to lead San Francisco to a 34-3 drubbing of the Chicago Wildcats while in Los Angeles the Tigers downed Philadelphia 19-14. The early playoff line has Pittsburgh as a 4-point favourite over the Washington Wasps while the Kansas City Cowboys are favoured by 5.5 points to beat Detroit.  ALL-AMERICAN TEAM PICKED BY CLEAR-CUT VOTE Grabbing the ball at the opening kickoff, spurning the aid of crystal balls and ignoring entirely the possible benefit of resorting to the platoon system, 270 leading sports writers and broadcasters waded through 450 nominations and came out with 11 clear-cut selections for This Week in Figment Sports' 1951 All-America college football team. Not one of the races for a first-team berth was close, and for the first time in years every member of the honor eleven is a senior. This is all the more interesting because 1951 was again a year in which freshman participated and many outstanding stars were uncovered. As was the case last year, the 1951 team is representative of the entire country with players hailing from teams in all parts of the nation. Four of the All-Americans are repeaters in Central Kentucky quarterback Pete Capizzi, Redwood University end Bob Hoover, Northern California guard Ewell Jessop and Oklahoma City State tackle Preston Rich. Only St. Ignatius, with end George Becker and tackle Chuck Abernathy, placed more than one representative on the elite eleven. Leading vote-getter was Hoover, the great Redwood end who also made the squad a year ago as a junior, who totaled 349 points in the balloting as compared to the brilliant Eddie Forsythe of Sadler, who total 341. Forsythe, who led the nation in total offense with his rushing skills and passing prowess for the Bluecoats, is expected to be the favourite to win the Christian Trophy when it is announced at the end of the week, although he should see plenty of competition for that award.   DYNAMOS LOOK FOR LIGHTNING TO STRIKE TWICE IN RULE FIVE DRAFT A very quiet rule five draft in which just four different clubs made selections has come and gone with only eight players in total being drafted. The Chicago Chiefs and Detroit Dynamos each selected three players while the Cincinnati Cannons and Philadelphia Keystones grabbed one apiece. The Chiefs, with a new general manager in place, made the first selection but that was only after four other teams had passed. Chicago opted for Archie Cunningham, a 25-year-old shortstop who was originally an 8th round selection by the Chicago Cougars in the 1948 draft. The Chiefs would also draft Earl Leckie, a 24-year-old centerfielder from Boston's organization and pitcher Bob Hobbs, a 30-year-old lefthander who went 14-6 for the Cougars AAA affiliate a year ago. The Detroit Dynamos also selected three players but all were pitchers. Detroit struck gold last season with their second round choice of Walt Staton, a 25-year-old pitcher who went on to have a strong year in Brooklyn after being traded to the Kings as part of the package to acquire Ralph Johnson. Detroit is hoping to have similar success out of one of the three pitchers drafted last week. They would be Jack Halbur, Paul Grell and Ben Clough. Halbur, 22, was originally a Detroit draft pick but was sent to the Cannons organization in the Adam Mullins trade two and a half years ago. He split last season between Class A and B but Dynamos scouts suggest he could be a back of the rotation arm. Grell, like Staton, was selected from the New York Stars in the second round and the Dynamos fell the 32-year-old could be a nice addition to their struggling bullpen but he comes with a lot of baggage and wore out his welcome in New York. Clough is injured and will be on the 60-day disabled list until at least June so the Dynamos took a chance on him. The other two players selected were both drafted from the Philadelphia Sailors. Jim Johnston, a 22-year-old outfielder who hit .256 in Class B, was selected by Cincinnati while the Philadelphia Keystones grabbed Hoppy Johnson, a 30-year-old righthander who had a brief trial with the Sailors in 1948 and went 17-7 last season for AAA San Francisco of the Great Western League. Speaking of their lineup, word out of Cuba is that last seasons first round pick Jim Allen is showing that he may be ready to step into the starting RF spot. Allen is hitting .410 for Manzanillo, with 3 homers and 10 RBI in 15 games. The 5'11" switch-hitter had a strong season in 1951 going straight to AAA after the draft. Also at Manzanillo, Ted Beaven may make the rotation situation a non-issue. Beaven has posted a 3-1 record and 2.10 ERA in 4 starts. The was no activity in the Rule 5 draft for New York, as they made no selections and lost no players.  PACKERS STAY HOT TO EARN SHARE OF NAHC LEAD Courtesy of the Chicago Daily News After the debacle that could be called the Packers 1950-1951 season, it was hard to have expectations for success coming into this season, but sure enough, the Chicago Packers are red-hot. Having lost just one of their last eleven, totaling nine wins and a tie, the Packers now sit atop the NAHC, tied at 35 points with the New York Shamrocks. That's the same amount of points they had all of last season, and they've managed it in just 29 games. The Packers next win will double their total from last season, and seems primed to return to the postseason and a bid to capture their first ever cup. It's not all smooth sailing, both Bert McColley and Tommy Burns are nursing minor injuries, but Chicago is doing everything right on the ice. You can thank the team's star for that, as the 31-year-old Burns leads all skaters with 18 assists, 14 goals is tied with fellow stars Orval Cabbell and Quinton Pollack, giving Burns the clear lead in overall points. At 32 points, he's the only skater in the 30s, leading Pollack (28) by four points and the third place Nick Tardif (26) by six. Burns also ranks 3rd in +/- at 11, while first line defender Pete Moreau (17) leads all players. He's also second in blocked shots (75), while Marty Mahoney (11) ranks 4th in goals and Derek Gubb (15) is in a big tie for 5th in assists. The goalie play has impressed too, as despite entering the season as the backup, Michael Cleghorn leads the NAHC with his 9 victories. They aren't fluky wins either, as he leads the confederation in save percentage (.947) and GAA (1.46), and just Shamrocks star Alex Sorrell (4) has more shutouts thus far. Sorrell has had six more chances, and while Cleghorn will continue to get more starts, incumbent starter Norm Hanson has impressed too. His 8 wins are tied for 2nd with most of the other starting goalies, and his 2.40 GAA is nearly close to a full goal better then last season. With some new found help offensively, the Pack leads the NAHC with 80 goals, the high level of goaltending is allowing them to stay competitive and win the close games Chicago teams tend to struggle with. Staying in first will be a tough task, as the Shamrock's stingy defense has positioned them well early on. The only team to allow fewer then two goals a game so far, the elite duo of Alex Sorrell (8-7, 1.89) and Etienne Tremblay (8-2, 1.91) is almost impossible to beat. On paper, they don't have many standout defensemen, but former Packer Jerry Finch (3, 9, 12) has been great on the first line, and young 24-year-old George Collingsworth (1, 8, 9) has had a huge breakout, ranked second with his +17 +/- while controlling and distributing the puck well. Plus it helps having an offense led by Cabbell (14, 9, 23) and Simon Savard (3, 7, 10), two elite offensive players who impact the game in multiple ways. None of the other four teams are out yet, but the defending champion Valiants may need to wakeup soon if they want a chance at a title defense. At 6-15-17, they are the only team awaiting their 20th point, currently six behind the 5th place Motors. Goaltending has been their Achilles heel, as the once reliable Tom Brockers (4-11, 2.96) is starting to show his age and longtime backup Brad Carter (2-4, 3.15) hasn't been any better. At one point the Shamrocks were looking to move Tremblay for a defender, which could make the Valiants an interesting trade partner. They may not be willing to trade the type of player the Shamrocks want, as both John McDonald (1, 10, 11) and Ed McRae (3, 6, 9) are young and talented, but 25-year-old Isaac Finnson (4, 7, 11) may be a guy they'd part with to shore up the goaltending. Moving one of their offensive pieces would be better for Montreal, as their top two lines are filled with quality skaters who can make an impact on a contender. Montreal faces the Shamrocks in New York on Wednesday, so perhaps the two teams are focused on more than just the final score when the two clubs square off.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY DECEMBER 11 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 12 Boston 2 at 4 New York :The rematch at Bigsby Garden saw a much more inspired New York club as the Greenshirts doubled the Bees 4-2 a day after being shutout in Boston. Orval Cabbell, last season's scoring champ, had two goals to pace the Shamrocks attack with Alexandre Lepalame and Michael Di Giuseppe also scoring while Jacob Gron and Craig Simpson replied for the Bees. New York is 4-1-1 in December. THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 Montreal 1 at 7 Chicago : A festive atmosphere in Chicago as the Packers were blowing out the defending Challlege Cup champions was tempered when league scoring leader Tommy Burns left the game with what later was diagnosed a bruised thumb. Burns, who will play through the injury, had two assists in a game that saw seven different Packers light the lamp behind battered Montreal netminder Tom Brockers, who faced 42 shots.Toronto 4 at 3 Detroit : Detroit's 5-game unbeaten streak and Toronto's 8-game winless skid but come to an end at Thompson Palladium as the visiting Dukes prevail 4-3. Quinton Pollack scored the game winner with just over five minutes remaining to lift Toronto to the victory. SATURDAY DECEMBER 15 Chicago 2 at 1 Detroit : Make it five wins in a row for the surging Packers who move into a first place tie with the New York Shamrocks after enduring one of the worst seasons in franchise history a year ago. Leon Seguin and Kevin Braun scored for the winners with Ben Witt notching the lone Detroit marker. Tommy Burns played for Chicago despite nursing a bruised thumb and did not register a point for the first time in seven games.Boston 5 at 3 Montreal : Boston handed Montreal its third straight loss, downing the Valiants 5-3. Defenseman Willis Beane led the way for the Bees with 2 first period goals and he later added an assist. Tom Brockers has allowed 12 goals in two games this week in the Montreal net. New York 2 at 2 Toronto :George Collingsworth scored with less than two minutes to play to earn the Shamrocks a 2-2 tie but they lost sole possession of first place after Chicago won in Detroit. The Shamrocks led 1-0 early when Orval Cabbell scored his league-leading 14th goal of the season but Toronto answered with third period markers from Phillippe Dubois and Trever Parker before the Shamrocks benefited from Collingsworth's late heroics. SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 Montreal 2 at 2 Boston : Wayne Augustin scored midway through the third period to give Montreal a 2-2 tie in Boston. Pat Coulter had given the Valiants an early lead in the opening period before Mike Brunell, with his 9th of the season, tied it three minutes later. David Scarpone had the other Boston goal.Toronto 3 at 3 Chicago : The Dukes are now unbeaten in three games and they slowed Chicago's five-game winning streak by skating to a 3-3 draw at Lakeside Auditorium. Tommy Burns, despite the sore thumb, setup all three Packers goals while Quinton Pollack, with his 14th, Lou Galbraith and Doug Zimmerman each scored for the Dukes. Detroit 2 at 2 New York :Detroit rallied with third period goals from Tyson Beddoes and Francis McKenzie to salvage a point out of a very disappointing week and claim a 2-2 tie in the Big Apple. After a scoreless opening frame the Shamrocks took the lead on second period goals from Jocko Gregg and Jimmy Keenan before the Motors revved up in the third. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 18 Detroit at Boston WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 Montreal at New York THURSDAY DECEMBER 20 Detroit at Chicago Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY DECEMBER 22 Chicago at Montreal Boston at Toronto SUNDAY DECEMBER 23 Toronto at Boston Montreal at Detroit Chicago at New York
  WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 10 at #7 Indiana A&M 70, Dickson 48 #15 Perry State College 66, at Poweshiek 57 #21 Frankford State 72, at Narragansett 54 TUEDAY DECEMBER 11 at #3 Western Iowa 54, Oklahoma City State 35 at #8 Redwood 58, Manhattan Tech 43 at #13 Detroit City College 60, Kansas Agricultural 43 #14 St. Ignatius 62, at Strub College 54 #16 Pittsburgh State 58, at Penn Catholic 46 at #17 CC Los Angeles 55, St. Martin's College 47 #22 Travis College 61, at Wisconsin State 51 #23 Piedmont University 58, at Springfield State 44 at #25 Northern California 73, Michigan Lutheran 45 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 12 #2 Whitney College 74, at Miami State 48 #6 Opelika State 56, at Alabama Gulf Coast 53 #15 Perry State College 48, at Amarillo Methodist 47 #21 Frankford State 53, at Mahoning Valley State 4 THURSDAY DECEMBER 13 at #4 Liberty College 57, College of Omaha 46 #5 Rainier College 67, at St. Martin's College 46 at #10 Lane State 65, Grant (IN) 30 at #13 Detroit City College 71, Topeka State 57 #14 St. Ignatius 63, at Bliss College 55 at #18 Quaker College (CA) 69, #8 Redwood 61 #22 Travis College 58, at Pueblo State 40 at #23 Piedmont University 44, Georgia Baptist 39 FRIDAY DECEMBER 14 at #16 Pittsburgh State 65, Fond du Lac 43 #19 Great Plains State 65, at Dakota College 56 Middlesex 58, at #20 Brooklyn Catholic 51 at #25 Northern California 60, Utah A&M 57 SATURDAY DECEMBER 15 at #8 Redwood 53, Capital (MS) University 36 at #21 Frankford State 49, Brooklyn State 45 SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 at #1 Coastal California 58, College of San Diego 41 #18 Quaker College (CA) 56, at Texas Panhandle 29 at #20 Brooklyn Catholic 56, Constitution State 54 at #23 Piedmont University 47, Western Florida 41 ABF PLAN TO FIND SAWYER'S SUCCESSOR UNVEILED The American Boxing Federation has confirmed that four fighters will be in the running to be declared the new Heavyweight Champion of the World. The greatest title in sports, vacant since Hector Sawyer sailed off into the sunset in the fall after more than a decade as the world champion, will be handed out in either late May or early June. That will be when the first post-Sawyer title fight will be held. Before we can get there the ABF has decreed that there will be a playoff of sorts with the top four ranked challengers set to stage elimination bouts just over a month from now. In a process much like the one used to determine the welterweight champion after that division went without a title holder for the duration of World War II, bouts will be held involving Max Bradley, Lewis Jones, Joey Tierney and Tommy Cline - each considered to be the four best active fighters in the heavyweight division. It will start January 26 in Boston when top ranked contender Max Bradley, a Merchantville, NJ native with a 22-2-1 career mark, will face Tommy Cline in a 10 rounder at Denny Arena. Cline, who hails from Clarksville, TN. and at 27 is the oldest of the four challengers, owns a record of 20-4. A week later at Philadelphia's Keystone Arena it will be second ranked Lewis Jones against #3 Joey Tierney. Jones, a 26-year-old who calls Lexington, KY., home, is 26-4-1 and he will face the young Detroit fighter Tierney, just 24 and with a career record of 24-1. It will also be a 10 round bout. The two winners will then meet in a 15-round title fight to be held at Bigsby Garden in New York in either late May or early June. Bradley and Jones each had title shots in the past but both came up short against Sawyer. Jones lost by a TKO in the 13th round of their 1949 meeting while Bradley was Sawyer's final victim before the legendary champ retired, taking a TKO loss in the 8th round of their September bout.  RECENT KEY RESULTS
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/16/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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08-06-2024, 10:29 AM
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#1000 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,625
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December 24, 1951
DECEMBER 24, 1951 COWBOYS AND PALADINS SET FOR TITLE REMATCH KC Star QB Chappell Questionable For Title Tilt Neither the Kansas City Cowboys nor the Pittsburgh Paladins had an easy time of things Sunday, but each did enough to set up a rematch of last years title contest for next Sunday's American Football Association championship game. The Cowboys, regular season leaders in the West Division with an 11-1 record, needed a late rally to beat the Detroit Maroons 23-17 in the West semi-final while in the East the Paladins, who topped that section at 9-3, took an early lead and then held off the second place Washington Wasps 14-12 to reach the championship game for the sixth time in franchise history. The big question for the Cowboys next week is will Pat Chappell be able to play? The star quarterback was injured early in the win over Detroit when he suffered a sprained wrist in the opening minutes of the second quarter after being sacked by Detroit's Lew Thomas. Chappell is listed as questionable for next Sunday. Visiting Detroit gave the Cowboys fits for three quarters as the Maroons built a 17-10 lead before the Cowboys struck for 13 unanswered points in the final six and a half minutes of the game to pull out the victory. The Cowboys scored the only points of the opening period when Mason Matthews caught a short pass from Chappell and rambled 62 yards to the Detroit two yard line. That set up a short run for Ted Armstrong to put the hosts up 7-0. The two clubs would trade field goals in the second period giving the Cowboys a 10-3 lead at the half but on the second play from scrimmage after the break Marlon Barth, the backup Kansas City quarterback who had replaced the injured Chappell, had his pass intercepted by Detroit defensive back Elliott Turley which set up a 4-yard Dan Andrews to Tom Swaner touchdown score and the game was tied. Detroit would take a 17-10 lead when Andrews and Swaner connected again, this time on a 24-yard scoring pass, just under three minutes into the final period. Barth then went to work, doing his best Pat Chappell imitation, leading Kansas City back. He completed a 33-yard throw to dependable end Ernie Orr on a long drive that eventually fizzled out but did allow Adam Nelson to cut the Maroons lead to four points with a 32-yard field goal with 6:17 remaining. The Kansas City defense, often overshadowed due to all of the stars on the other side of the ball, forced Detroit to punt without gaining a first down and Bill Tammaro's 11-yard return gave the Cowboys the ball on the Detroit side of center with four minutes remaining on the clock. The Cowboys would need less than two of them to take the lead as, aided by a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on Detroit defender Mike Gillman and a 17-yard run by Matthews up the middle the stage was set for Ted Armstrong to score his second touchdown of the game. This one was an 8-yard run and put the Cowboys ahead 20-17. Detroit would get nowhere on its next series and Nelson would round out the scoring with a late field sending the Cowboys to a title game for the sixth year in a row, although the first four were as part of the old Continental Football Conference. The Paladins did their part to ensure the rematch with Wally Dotson leading the way. The back from Texas Gulf Coast who won both a Christian Trophy and a Bryan Award in college, was the star of the show, putting his Paladins teammates on his back and carrying them to the championship game with a 157 yard rushing effort and scoring two touchdowns in the Paladins 14-12 victory over the Washington Wasps. Dotson bolted for a 75 yard touchdown to open the scoring in the closing seconds of the first period and would bowl in from 3 yards out in the opening minutes of the third quarter to stake Pittsburgh to a 14-0 lead. Washington closed the gap to 14-6 with a pair of William Reid field goals later in the third quarter and finally found the endzone when Tommy Norwood and Jim Musto teamed up on a 51-yard touchdown pass with just 1:22 left to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 14-12. It all came down to one play as the Wasps tried for a two-point conversion to tie the game but Gus Thompson, another former Christian Trophy winner, managed only half of the two yards needed before Paladins linebacker Mike Engel wrestled him to the ground and assured Pittsburgh of a return trip to the title game. A year ago the Cowboys downed Pittsburgh 30-21 with Kansas City end Bill Tammaro, who had two touchdown catches and more than 100 yards receiving, being the hero. The Kansas City-Pittsburgh rematch marks just the second time the same two teams have played in successive AFA title games. The first was in 1942 when Boston beat Chicago and the Wildcats evened the score by downing the Yanks in the championship game the following year.   SADLER STAR BACK FORSYTHE WINS CHRISTIAN AND BRYAN AWARDS For just the fourth time since the Bryan Award's inception in 1940, a college football player has won both the Bryan Award and Christian Trophy in the same season. That man would be Eddie Forsythe, the offensive leader of a Sadler College team that went a perfect 9-0 this season and was ranked 8th in the national polls. Forsythe, a Cleveland, Ohio native, handled the kicking duties and much of the passing for the Bluecoats in addition to his role as of the best halfbacks in the nation. His 1,827 total offense led the nation this season. He has not ruled out playing pro football but the senior says his plans likely include enrolling in the prestigious Dickson business school next year and his gridiron days may be behind him. Forsythe joins Bobby Leonard, Chet Donelson and Ed Watson as the only men to win both awards in the same season. Current Pittsburgh Paladins back Wally Dotson won each while at Texas Gulf Coast but he earned them in different seasons. The Christian Trophy is presented to the most outstanding player while the Bryan Award goes to the player judged to be the best all-around. Cumberland's Billy Kirkwood and Pete Capizzi of Central Kentucky finished second and third in the Christian Trophy voting. The third individual award is the Ipswich Trophy, presented to the top lineman. The 1951 winner was Oklahoma City State senior tackle Preston Rich, who last week was named an All-American for the second consecutive season.  VALIANTS WINLESS STREAK REACHES NINE GAMES Some victories and better defensive play clearly top the list of wishes this Christmas Eve for fans of the Montreal Valiants. The two-time defending Challenge Cup champions season of heartache continues as the club's latest streak without a victory has stretched to nine games and the Montreal squad has managed just six victories 32 outings so far this season. The offense has struggled with Montreal finding the net just 66 times so far this season, but the bigger issue has been the play in their own zone as the Valiants have conceded 108 goals, far and away the greatest number surrendered of any team in the NAHC and nearly double that allowed by the New York Shamrocks, who have allowed just 56 against. Goaltenders Tom Brockers and Brad Carter have had their struggles but in their defense Montreal has not had much defense this season with the Valiants surrendering nearly 36 shots against per contest. The season is not yet at its midway point but the Valiants, 11 points out of a playoff spot and have playing one more game than both Boston and Detroit -who are tied for fourth- look like they will have an impossible road to climb should they wish to have a hope of reaching the postseason and an opportunity to capture a third straight Cup.  NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK TUESDAY DECEMBER 18 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 Montreal 2 at 3 New York :Simon Savard scored once and assisted on two goals from Orval Cabbell as the New York Shamrocks trimmed slumping Montreal 3-2. The Valiants have just one win in their last 15 games. The victory puts the Shamrocks alone in first place, two points ahead of idle Chicago. THURSDAY DECEMBER 20 Detroit 4 at 3 Chicago : The Packers six game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 4-3 loss at home to Detroit. Chicago, on goals from Jarrett McGlynn, Marty Mahoney and Jeremy MacLean, led 3-0 midway through the second period before Detroit responded with 4 unanswered goals including three in the third period. Nick Tardif, with his 12th of the season and second in as may games, notched the winner with just over two minutes remaining.Toronto 7 at 2 Montreal : Is Toronto back on track? The Dukes are riding a four game unbeaten streak after hammering a down and out Montreal Valiants squad 7-2. Miles Norman and Charlie Brown each had three points for the winners with Doug Zimmerman also chipping in with a pair of goals. Brad Carter faced 52 shots in the Montreal net. SATURDAY DECEMBER 22 Chicago 5 at 2 Montreal : Tommy Burns scored twice and added an assist as Chicago pulled back into a first place tie with New York following a 5-2 road win in Montreal. Max Ducharme had 3 assists for the Packers who put the game away with three third period markers including Burns' league leading 16th of the season.Boston 3 at 2 Toronto : The Toronto Dukes scored twice in the first period on goals by Trevor Parker and Les Carlson but Boston battled back with second period markers from Jacob Godin and Tommy Hart before completing the comeback and winning 3-2 thanks to a Wilbur Chandler goal early in the third period. The victory extends Boston's unbeaten streak to four and snaps what was a four game unbeaten string for the Dukes. SUNDAY DECEMBER 23 Toronto 2 at 2 Boston : In the rematch at Denny Arena it is the Bees who take a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Robert Walker and Willis Beane but the visitors from Toronto earn tie thanks to goals from Doug Zimmerman in the middle frame and Spencer Hoffard, with his first of the season, midway through the third period and the game finishes in a 2-2 draw.Montreal 3 at 6 Detroit : Make it four straight losses and a nine game winless streak for the Montreal Valiants following a 6-3 loss in Detroit. Nick Tardif and Lou Barber each scored twice and added an assist for the Motors with Adam Vanderbilt collecting 3 helpers in a game that saw Detroit outshoot Montreal 43-23. Chicago 3 at 3 New York :A first place showdown settled nothing as both Chicago and New York remain tied for top spot after the two clubs skated to a 1-1 tie. Both goals came in the second period, and just two minutes apart as Kevin Braun got the Packers on the board before Simon Savard answered quickly for New York. The Shamrocks fired 39 shot on Norm Hanson, who had a stellar game in the Packers net. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY DECEMBER 25 Chicago at Boston New York at Detroit WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 26 Detroit at New York Montreal at Toronto SATURDAY DECEMBER 29 Chicago at Detroit New York at Montreal Boston at Toronto SUNDAY DECEMBER 30 Toronto at New York RUTLEDGE TO DEFEND WELTER CROWN IN FEBRUARY World Welterweight Champion Danny Rutledge will return to the ring Friday February 20th. Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium will play host to the 27-year-old Rutledge's third defense attempt since beating Ira Mitchell last February to win the title. Rutledge, with a 25-1-1 career mark, suffered his lone loss in his first attempt at the title, losing a unanimous decision to former champ Mac Erickson in the summer of 1949. Since then he has looked very impressive with wins over former champions Dennis O'Keefe and Mark Westlake (twice) before taking the belt from Mitchell. Rutledge made successful defenses in June against Ben Burns and in October over Danny Julian with both of those bouts being stopped well short of needing to go to the scorecards. His opponent this time will be Binghamton, NY native Dale Roy. The 34-year-old is 40-9-1 in a career that saw him briefly hold the world title after taking it from Mark Westlake in a 1950 decision, but his reign was short-lived as Mitchell won by TKO five months later in what was Roy's first attempt at defense.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 COAST CLUBS LEAD WAY IN AIAA The West Coast Athletic Association has long been a powerhouse in collegiate basketball, with WCAA schools winning five of the last nine AIAA tournaments including Coastal California last April. That dominance appears to be continuing this season as four of the top eight slots in current AIAA top twenty-five are held by coast schools. The defending champion Coastal California Dolphins continue to lead the way, ranked number one in the nation for the third straight week and owning a perfect 8-0 record. The Dolphins -long the most successful team in AIAA history but without a tournament title to show for it until finally breaking through last April- defeated Kit Carson University and Colorado Poly last week and look to have a fairly easy path to remain unbeaten until mid-January when the grueling section slate gets underway with a game against their Southern California rivals from City College of Los Angeles. Seniors Tookie Brown and Rocky House are leading the way for Dolphins squad that lost the single season WCAA scoring record holder in Chris Martines to graduation. Both Brown and House are averaging double figures in points and a third senior, center Rankin Egbert, is not far behind. Rainier College, which spent a week at the top of the polls in the early going, has clawed its way back up to the #2 slot after the Majestics reeled off four straight wins including victories over Wisconsin State and St Patrick's last week to run their record to 8-1. The big guns in the Pacific Northwest are both juniors with guard T.J. Grimm averaging 12.4 points per game and forward Doc Daniels scoring at an 11.4 ppg clip. Lane State, at 6-1 and lead by sophomore sensation Dud Milford, and Redwood University which has had a very busy early season slate and is 12-1, are the other two WCAA schools cracking the top ten and there are more not far behind including CC Los Angeles, Northern California and Spokane State - all of whom are in the top twenty-five. AIAA NOTES - Chesapeake State has confirmed that it has landed two of the top ten recruits in the nation for next season. Bryce Kirk, a forward ranked #6 overall by OSA who hails from Williamsburg, VA., and Newark, NJ, native Joe Liberman, a guard ranked 7th, both decided on the Clippers for their school next year. Top recruit Johnny Chadwell, a Mississippi born forward, has committed to Indiana A&M. FBL Draft Watch: Here is how the top five candidates for the number one overall pick in the FBL draft fared last week: 1- Solly Morris, Whitney College: Averaging 7.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 4.3 apg, the forward out of Chattanooga, TN. scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds in the Engineers lone game of the week, a 86-37 dismantling of Michigan Lutheran. 2- Edd Petty, Whitney College: averaging 12.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Morris' teammate had 8 points and 5 rebounds but played just 24 minutes in the Engineers win over the Bears. 3- Rankin Egbert, Coastal California: averaging 7.9 ppg and 9.0 rpg for the top ranked team in the nation. The center had 7 points and 9 boards in a 42-31 win over Kit Carson University on Wednesday and had just 4 points but contributed 14 boards to the Dolphins 44-28 win over Colorado Poly Saturday. 4- Charlie Barrell, Noble Jones College: Averaging 9.2 ppg and 5.0 rpg for the Colonels, who are 4-1 on the season. They looked rusty after a two week layoff in holding off Grafton 56-55. It was a pedestrian effort from Barrell, who scored just 4 points and had 3 assists but he did make some key decisions with the ball in the closing minute to preserve the victory. Now that football season is fully behind him, expect Barrell to pick it up on the court. 5- Denny Thomas, Central Carolina: Thomas leads the nation in average minutes and is fifth overall in points with 16.1 per game. Led by Thomas the lightly regarded South Atlantic Conference school is off to a 6-2 start including wins last week over Custer College and Brookland. Thomas had a game high 14 points for the Lions in Monday's 52-29 win over the Calvary and again led the point parade Saturday with 16 as the Lions beat the Brookland Bears 56-43.   WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 17 at #3 Western Iowa 49, Colorado Poly 34 #7 Lane State 56, at St. Blane 54 at #8 Redwood 56, West Corners (NY) 50 at #14 Perry State College 61, East Missouri Seminary 50 #16 CC Los Angeles 47, at Golden Gate 33 #17 Northern California 66, at Kit Carson University 38 TUEDAY DECEMBER 18 at #2 Rainier College 69, Grafton 46 #15 Quaker College (CA) 55, at Potomac College 50 at #20 Lincoln 65, North Shore 58 at #25 Central Ohio 70, Central Kentucky 46 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19 at #1 Coastal California 42, Kit Carson University 31 at #4 Whitney College 86, Michigan Lutheran 37 at #5 Liberty College 75, Brooklyn State 58 #13 Detroit City College 56, at St. Martin's College 45 #18 Lexington State 70, at Strub College 59 at Pittsburgh State 46, #19 Spokane State 42 #24 Annapolis Maritime 58, at Dickson 30 THURSDAY DECEMBER 20 at #11 Carolina Poly 70, Chicago Poly 52 at #12 St. Ignatius 52, Cuyahoga University 44 at #16 CC Los Angeles 62, College of Omaha 44 at #17 Northern California 69, Provo Tech 40 FRIDAY DECEMBER 21 at #2 Rainier College 62, Wisconsin State 40 at #6 Indiana A&M 55, Kansas Agricultural 37 at #10 Noble Jones College 56, Grafton 55 at #19 Spokane State 61, Wyoming A&I 46 SATURDAY DECEMBER 22 at #1 Coastal California 44, Colorado Poly 28 at #5 Liberty College 60, Springfield State 41 at #12 St. Ignatius 53, Central Illinois 43 #14 Perry State College 67, at Arkansas A&T 49 at #18 Lexington State 66, West Corners (NY) 57 at #20 Lincoln 66, Dakota College 46 at #22 Bluegrass State 61, Bliss College 58 at #23 Berwick 60, Central Maryland 51 SUNDAY DECEMBER 23 at #2 Rainier College 60, St. Patrick's 48 at #3 Western Iowa 64, St. Matthew's College 53 at #7 Lane State 47, Topeka State 39 at #15 Quaker College (CA) 58, Canton State 48 at #17 Northern California 55, Sunnyvale 46 at #24 Annapolis Maritime 54, Frankford State 48
 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/23/1951
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Columnist- The Figment Sporting Journal MY FIGMENT LEAGUE BROOKLYN KINGS DYNASTY PAST DYNASTYS My History of Hockey Replay Tiger Fan's Sporting News : the mid 1940's Tiger Fan's All Sport Replay: The 1920s History of Sports 1901-15 Historical Tutorial and Feedback League My first fictional attempt The HOB4: The last of my series of history of baseball replays that go back to OOTP2 and the old message board. |
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