FABL - Detroit Dynamo's - Rise from the Ashes

[DD Martin]

A GM’s thoughts and Musing prior to the season

As I sit in my office at Thompson Field, thankfully our Owner Powell Thompson is nowhere near. I gaze onto the field thinking of the past 5 2/3 season since I bolted Cleveland after winning the 1934 World Series. After we left the Foresters made it back to the Series in 35 but lost. While coming into Detroit I inherited a proud franchise that was aging, in shambles with a lack of prospects and no real system of coaches in the minors. That first season was a nightmare as we went 43-111 in 1935. 2 more long years of losing setting the FABL record for losses in a 3-year period (35-37) with over 300 losses. We weren’t good but we made progress drafting high in the draft and making a few good claims. Patience was the plan, but then owner “Big Money” Eddie Thompson fell ill. I perhaps recklessly threw away the original plan and tried to hot shot the process. In 1938 we won 94 games out of nowhere. We made a lot of moves bring in Charlie Wheeler, Frank Crawford but trading prized prospects C Pete Casstevens and 3B Hank Koblenz to Fed rivals NY Gothams and Philadelphia Keystones. We finish the 39 season with 93 wins, but came up short as the Pittsburgh Miners would win the Fed by a game. Then Eddie Thompson passed away and his midget, power hungry greedy brother Powell won a power play legal dispute in the ownership control with George Theobald. After losing Theobald who I respected greatly was off the Cincinnati to revitalized the Cannons who fled Baltimore that off-season.

Enter Powell Thompson prior to the 1940 season. The 40 season was always one I earmarked for our revival. The Federal Association lower division teams were improving as well but we still managed to win 90 games , the third straight season of winning 90+. Also the third straight season of finishing 2nd once again by 2 games to the Miners.

The off-season saw a rocky start with Powell Thompson claiming I was wasting money. Forget the fact that the club has made over $2.9 million the last 3 seasons while leading baseball in attendance with over 5.5 million fans. We set the all-time record in the FABL in attendance in 1939 with over 1.9 million and hold the top 3 spots all-time in FABL history. Yet despite that he cut our proposed budget by 20% after the season and we lost some key minor league depth talent to get under budget. After all that the bastard restore the previous season budget of $800,000 which meant we wouldn’t have had to make all the changes to the payroll. While I restored the budget cuts in scouting and development, the bitterness I felt to this little Napoleon burns very strong. I have 2 years on my contract, for this season and the 42 season is my option. Thompson approached me about extending, for a pay cut which I declined. Then the Adam Mullins trade fiasco happened. We had secured a deal to acquire the All-Star catcher who many felt would be the difference for us in 1941. But then a quack doctor failed him on a physical (hired by Thompson) and one of the dealt players suddenly didn’t want to go to Canada. Despite trying to save the deal, it was doomed and Mullins went to Cincinnati instead.

Now it’s opening day and we are expecting maybe a record crowd approaching 33,000 could attend the game. It’s against our arch rivals from the city of Chicago, the Chiefs. They been a pain in our side first winning the Fed in 38 and then just striving to frustrate us on the field. Detroit fans definitely have an inferiority complex with the City of Chicago and we seem to as well on the field.

Looking forward to the 1941 season ahead, we made some minor tweaks to the roster. We are keeping the core team together which is a good mix of youth and veteran players. Several players like 3B Frank Vance (38) and SP Joe Shaffner (36), this might be their last chance. Then there is the uncertainty of the war in Europe. The FABL has already seen 3 players drafted for military service and it’s likely only to increase.

There’s. Knock on the door, it’s manager Patrick Licteneggar. He wants to talk about a contract extension. He had a solid season as a rookie big league manager with a 90-64 record. We have talked some about an extension but we are miles apart. He is underpaid, which I freely admit but his demand is to make him the 2nd highest paid manager in the FABL. I don’t think he has quite earned that type of a raise yet. I’d be happy to get him in the middle of the pack and proposed a approximately 4 year $10,000 deal, it’s 304 times what he is earning this season. He has countered with a 2-year 18,000+ proposal. While I’d like him to be under contract for the future, in my mind he hasn’t earned that type of a deal. Maybe if the team gets off to a good start and is in serious contention again I will. Anyway I’ll see what he wants and we are just 3 hours from Opening Day

[DD Martin]

Well its been awhile since I posted on the Dynamo's of the FABL. Unfortunately real life got in the way and while I kept running the team the thread here was lost in the shuffle. As we left off we were about to start the 1941 season. A season that we hoped would finally see the Dynamo's crack the ceiling and claim the FA pennant. Did they do it? Well I will summarize the 1941, 1942, and 1943 seasons in posts later.

We are just about ready to enter the 1944 season Spring Training and the war has played havoc all across the FABL. Many players have been drafted into the various divisions of the Armed Forces, and Detroit has lost many good players.

The FABL has recently held its first 3 rounds of the 1944 draft in January. Some believe that Detroit had a great draft, but at what price did the Dynamo's pay to have such a good draft.

All will be explained as we head into a 1944 season to likely forget.

[Tiger Fan]

Great to see this back!

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Great to see this back!

Thanks I hope that I am back to stay.....but there is a lot of catching up to do. So without further delay.....

1941 Season

So after the near miss in 1939 & 1940 finishing 2nd (again) to the Pittsburgh Miners. In 1939 the Dynamo's were edged by 1 game and in 1940 the margin was 2. Surely 1941 will be the year for the Dynamo's to finally win the Fed and do what the Miners couldn't, win the World Series.

A major piece of the puzzle seemed to be coming together during the off-season as the Dynamo's were addressing several needs. First they traded for SP Nate Spears from the NY Gothams. The Dynamo's traded away some young prospects in SP Marcus Mangum (3-8 4.81 at class B) who failed to live up to his #5 overall draft ranking and also SP Henry Frenette (7-4 3.74 ERA in 16 starts at AAA). Also thrown in was IF Arnold Allen who while on the 40-man roster really didn't have a place to play in Detroit. Spears was (4-8 with a 3.99 ERA in NY) but had a history of injury issues. IF Spears can stay healthy, this will be a solid addition to the Dynamo's rotation for the 1941 season or at a minimum a solid arm in the pen that can step into the rotation if case of injury.

But the Dynamo's weren't done...or were they. On October 21, 1940 they address maybe their biggest hole in the regular lineup. They worked out a deal with the Montreal Saints to acquire All-Star C Adam Mullins, minor league RF Maury Millsap and minor league SP Jimmy Mayse. Going to Montreal in the proposed deal was highly touted rookie SP Ed Whetzel, C John Wicklund, RF Wayne Morgan, minor league 2B Joe York and the Dynamo's 1st and 2nd round picks in the draft. It was surely the blockbuster deal that would put the Dynamo's over the top, but it wasn't meant to be. Several paperwork snags occurred and well the deal wasn't approved by the league office. This event might be able to be traced as the "turning point" in the Dynamo's history. Instead York was peddled to St. Louis for a backup C in Joe Henry. Mullins would instead be dealt to the new ballclub in Cincinnati (moved from Baltimore) and star for the Cannons.

The Dynamo's made a few insignificant moves but clearly had lost a lot of steam after the collapse of the Mullins deal.

Pittsburgh again nudged out the Dynamo's by 2 games, but a new contender had emerged in the Boston Minutemen who shocked the pundits to win the Federal Association by 2 games over Pittsburgh and 4 over the Dynamo's.

The Dynamo's had an incredibly success season at the gate as well. In 1940 they set the all-time FABL attendance record with 1,848,650 fans coming into Thompson Field. In 1941, despite finishing 3rd it was a pennant race until the final days of the season. Detroit smashed its 1940 record coming within less than 9,000 of being the first FABL team to hit 2 million fans. The Dynamo's set the new record with 1,991,291 fans.

The stars of the 1941 season were of course CF Sal Pestilli (288/347/859 30HR-113RBI 102R 10SB) and 1B Red Johnson who won his 2nd straight Whitney Award (Fed version) with a fantastic season (298/385/938 37HR-108RBI 105 R). Some would argue that the unheard of stat for this era of (WAR) had the 25-year old Pestilli winning it with a 7.7 number compared to the 23-year old Johnson's 6.1 As long as these two are in Detroit, the future looks very bright (or so we thought....)

Also having a fantastic season was the ageless one (39) 3B Frank Vance. He returned to the Dynamo's mid-way through the 1939 season and despite his age continues to produce (302/381/857 18HR-70RBI 93R). The surprise performer of the season was RF Sid Williams (308/400/935 18-50 77R in just 90 starts). Williams was a bit of a question mark heading into the season but he rewarded the team with a very solid and respectable season and at 29 could be around for a long time.

On the pitching side of things the club was given another very solid season of production from another aging veteran in SP Joe Shaffner (15-8 2.79 in 27 GS and 226 IP). SP Frank Crawford who won the 1939 FA Allen Award was coming off a very serious elbow injury that saw him miss almost the entire 1940 season. Crawford got off to a slow start but around mid-season finally started to regain his old form finishing with a respectable (14-9 4.04 ERA in 25 GS). One has to wonder where the club might have finished if Crawford come have could out of the gate the same pitcher he was in 1937-39.

Another injury to the pitching staff was to SP Sergio Gonzales he started his injury riddled 41 season with an injury in the spring and never really was able to stay healthy for very long. He was 9-2 with a 2.77 ERA but could only managed 18 GS just over 108 IP. He season ended in late August and again you have to wonder if the club had Gonzales and Crawford dealing all season if the Dynamo's might have won that elusive FA pennant.

[DD Martin]

The Offseason as we head into 1942.

The off-season was fairly quiet for the Dynamo’s but the call ups of players were starting to take effect. Before we start to list who was going to war, there was strangely no trade activity that came from the Dynamo’s. The club had been so active in previous seasons but didn't make a deal through the end of the year. The club did DFA SS Floyd Briscoe who wasn’t very good even when he was healthy. Briscoe was reclaimed by his former club the NY Stars (CA).

War time call ups
2B Johnnie Sundberg, RF Bob Miller, SP Paul Grell, RP Frank Gordon, SP Ed Whetzel, SS Ernie Brown, C Lou Bennett RP Jack Snyder. So far no huge names but still 2 young SP’s, our saves leader from 41, promising young RF Miller and stabilizing 2B Johnnie Sundberg. Other teams lost far bigger pieces, but still these guys made up a young core we were hoping to add too, not take away.

We also DFA SS John Wood who was just terrible at bat and in the field in 41. He was claimed off waivers by Washington. We signed a slew of minor league free agents, but nobody that amounted to much.

The first part of the 1942 draft was held in early January. It was fairly uneventful as we drafted a high school 2B by the name of Bob Schmelz and then C Crab Crowley who has a great first name but hasn’t done much else. Schmelz was drafted 11th overall and we probably should have fired our scouting director over that one.

As we moved into spring training prior to the 1942 season, we still didn’t make any serious additions to the club. We DFA LF Roy Moore who was grabbed by PIttsburgh. C Mike Burkholder was also claimed by Pittsburgh. 1B Gene Mathews and 2B Dale Robbins were also DFA and picked up by CA’s Philadelphia Sailors and NY Stars respectively.

Despite the losses we still felt that with our pitching staff hopefully coming back strong from injury (Crawford and Gonzales in particular) and the Red Johnson and Sal Pestilli show that we would still be a serious contender. Most felt that way but were not picking us to win it all. The national scouting service of the FABL predicted Detroit to finish 7th……WHAT? Are they out of their mind…7th? Well as you will see maybe Dan Barrell and the OSA scouting service knew something that we didn’t.

1942 Regular Season

Despite the reports from the OSA predictions, the mood in Detroit was still extremely high. The club had a good core group of players. But things got messed up in a hurry.

In May, SP Frank Crawford who had won the Allen Award in 1939 went on the shelf for 2+ months with a badly sprained left ankle. Crawford finished the year with a highly disappointing 3-10 record with a 4.04 ERA. SP Sergio Gonzales, who had his 41 season end early due to injury with bone chips in his right elbow, was also not the same. Gonzales went down in mid-July with another elbow injury that would finish his season. When he was pitching the former All-Star didn’t look anything like his old self as he went 2-9 with an ERA over 7. Clearly he never fully recovered from his injury the previous season. SP Charlie Wheeler who had gone 54-38 with the Dynamo’s over the previous 4 seasons also did not look like himself. Wheeler scuffled to a 10-12 with a 4.70 ERA. While injuries played a huge role in the pitching performances, there were simply too many sudden changes and that cost pitching coach John Jack Johncox his job.

The only real bright spot on the pitching staff aside from the steady veteran performances of Jack Shaffner and Mike Murphy was the emergence of P Cy Sullivan. Sullivan finally lived up to some of his promise as a prospect and pitched to a 3.07 ERA in over 200 innings going 10-11. Hopefully he could continue that effort into the 1943 season.


On the offensive side of the club, it was truly a mixed bag. The Dynamo’s were once again led by CF Sal Pestilli and 1B Red Johnson, but neither had a truly great season. Johnson who had won the previous 2 Whitney Awards finished with a 283/399/866 27-92 line and Pestilli finished with a 273/306/729 18-94 season. Little did we know but it was the last game that Sal (for now) would play for the Dynamo’s as he was called to war with the US Air Force. Johnson would return for the 1943 season.

The ageless wonder 3B Frank Vance (39) was having another pretty solid season, but broke a kneecap sliding into 2nd base on a double on July 3rd and was done for the year. Vance’s leadership and bat 285/354/7426-31 in 71 games was sorely missed the remainder of the season.

At the July 31st trade deadline the previous season, the Dynamo’s surprised everyone in baseball by making a move for a former player drafted by GM DD Martin. SS George Dawson who had seen a great career was struggling with the now porous Cleveland Foresters. The Dynamo’s traded minor league 2B Jackie Potts and a 6th round draft pick for the former 1st round SS. The trade proved to be a good one for the Dynamo’s as Dawson became the everyday SS supplanting the struggling Gil London. During the 1942 season Dawson regained his All-Star form hitting 305/346/731 3-30 and playing very good defense as he returned to his previous form.

Unfortunately for the Dynamo’s the club had little else to talk about and they slumped to a 62-92 record, finishing 7th in the Federal Association 29 games out. The drop was shocking to see as in the previous 4 seasons the Dynamo’s averaged 91 wins a season.

Was it all just a fluke with injuries, or was it something far more serious in Detroit?

[DD Martin]

1943 Season

After the disaster of the 1942 season, expectations in Detroit were extremely low, and for good reason. The off-season was very quiet for GM DD Martin. Whether he had just thrown his hands in the air, was secretly tired of team owner Powell Thompson or what, we are not sure.

The club finished the season with a slightly improved record over 1942, winning 69 games against 85 losses. That honestly wasn't be biggest part of the 1943 season, it was the players leaving that team that was the big story. I will say after the trade deadline, the team play 500 baseball and that is surprising with the names that left town. With those "names' the club was 16 games below 500 by July 31st.

It was a season of trading big names. The furry of moves started July 26th with this trade to Fed rival St. Louis who was enjoying some early season success.

Detroit trades 39-year-old "ace" SP Jack Shaffner to Pioneers for minor league pitcher and a 4th round draft pick in the 1944 draft.

With the club in the bottom of the FA standings, GM DD Martin started what wouldn't be his only move at the deadline. SP Jack Shaffner was acquired by the Dynamo's in July 1939 in a deal with the Brooklyn Kings that sent Shaffner and returned former Dynamo 3B Frank Vance back to Detroit. While the move didn't result in a FA title in the seasons after, they pair proved to be a very durable and valuable pair. Looking back at the 1939 trade that brought Vance (then 37) and Shaffner (then 35) to Detroit, the Dynamo's sent 3 young players to Brooklyn. Going to Brooklyn was 3B Frank LeMieux (25), SP Stumpy Beaman (25) and minor league SP Ike O'Donnell (22).

Lemieux hit well his two season and half in Brooklyn hitting 321 over the course of the remainder of the 39, 40 and 41 seasons. In the 2 following seasons he has hit 265 and 249 with his role diminishing.

As for Stumpy Beamon, he finished the 39 season in Brooklyn going 4-7 with a 4.71 ERA. In 1940 he was 8-10 with a 3.74 ERA. The 1941 season was what looked like Beamon's breakout season as he went 16-9 with a solid 3.87 ERA. His record took a beating as the King's struggled in 42 going 8-16 with a 3.97 ERA. He was then drafted into the Air Force during the 1942 offseason.

Ike O'Donnell sent several years in the minors but came up to the big leagues in 1941 for a cup of coffee appearing in 6 games and totaling 8 2/3 innings of relief. He made the King's roster in 1942 appearing in 23 games (all in relief) and posted a 1-2 with 2 saves and a fine 2.89 ERA. In 1943 he finally got his chance in the starting rotation, starting 20 games and appearing in 30. He went 8-10 with 2 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 126 IP. Now 27, the future looks bright for O'Donnell.

Getting back to the Shaffner trade in 1942, the Dynamo's sent their top SP on the season who was 7-4 with a 2.89 ERA over to the Pioneers. In exchange the Dynamo's picked up St. Louis's 4th round pick and young minor league SP Gene Madison (20) who was 9-10 with a 4.46 ERA in class A. He started 1 game at Detroit's class A Affiliate in Terre Haute (2.45 ERA) before getting the call to class AA Akron. In 6 starts at Akron he went 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA. He was brought up to class AAA Newark for the final month of the season (due to injuries and promotions) and went 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA. Considering the jump in levels, the club feels that Madison might have a solid future some day.

July 31st was the trade deadline and Detroit was very active.

First the team sent SP Frank Crawford (35) to the CA's Chicago Cougars for a minor league P.

Crawford who had won the Allen Award in 1939, had gone through a myriad of health issues and was just starting to get back to some semblance of his old self. At the time of the trade Crawford had worked his way back from the fierce struggle of the 1942 season where he went 3-10 with a 4.04 ERA but he was likely fortunate not to have an ERA much higher than that. In 1943 Crawford started 10 of the 15 games he had appeared in. Going 78 2/3 IP with a 6-6 record and a 3.66 ERA. Even with those improved numbers GM Martin decided to ship him out of town. With Chicago after a month at AAA Milwaukee he was promoted to the big league club where he went 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA in 3 games. After the season the veteran SP was drafted into the US Army. At his age and with the injuries he had, he may never pitch in the FABL again depending on the length of the war.

What did the Dynamo's get back you ask? A 24 year old converted OF by the name of Ira Hawker who had become a P and was 8-7 with a 3.90 ERA. Hawker came up to Detroit and started 8 games and pitched in relief in 1 other. He went 3-4 with a 3.41 ERA and made a favorable impression on the Detroit front office. We will be watching him closely as we head into the 1944 season. While not a top prospect (#239 at the time of the deal) he did show a lot of ability in his short time with the Dynamo's.

The 2nd deal on July 31st was a somewhat surprising trade.

Detroit trades veteran SS George Dawson to Washington Eagles for a 1st round pick 2B prospect Harry Perryman (#173 rank)

Dawson had come to Detroit from Cleveland 2 years earlier as the Dynamo's tried to find a way to win the CA title. With their SS situation in a mess, Dawson was a risk worth taking. He wasn't far removed from the All-Star performer he had been, but wasn't doing well playing on a terrible Forester team. GM Martin who drafted Dawson back in the 1929 draft in the 2nd round was hitting just 233 at the time of the trade to Detroit. He steady the SS position for Detroit and hit 305 in 42 and was hitting 298 at the time of the trade to Washington. He defense was more in line with his career numbers, but not at the peak of his early career. Dawson was drafted in the off-season to the Air Force so this might be even a bigger deal for the Dynamo's as far as what it gave up compared to the draft pick it brought back.

What came back was a surprise, considering Detroit 2 years early parted with a 6th round pick and a minor league 2B (Jackie Potts). Washington offered its first round pick and minor league 2B Perryman. Since Detroit was now clearly pointing to the 1944 draft as a springboard to a rebuilding process, it was an offer the Dynamo's couldn't pass up. 2B Perryman (22) really struggled with his bat after the trade. Hitting just 130 at class B and then 183 after a promotion to class A Terre Haute. While the club was going to have him work hard on his hitting in the off-season, he never got the chance. He was drafted into the US Army in December 1943.

The final Trade of the July 31st Trade Deadline

Dynamo's trade 2-time Whitney Award winning 1B Red Johnson to the rival NY Gotham's

This deal sent shockwaves around the FABL as Johnson was considered one of the pillars of the Detroit franchise (along with CF Sal Pestilli). While the Gotham's were battling the Dynamo's for last place in the Fed, some questioned why they would spend so much to make a trade for a 1B when they had an already established 1B Walt Messier in tow. The plan is to have them both in the lineup with likely Messier in the OF while Johnson plays first. If the war ever ends, the Gotham's will have a loaded lineup for years to come.

The Gotham's traded its own 1st round pick (which ended up #1 overall for the 1944 draft) plus the 1st round pick they had acquired from the Chicago Chiefs for SP Rusty Petrick just hours earlier). They also sent their 2nd round pick (#17 overall). The players Detroit acquired was SS Win Hamby (#41 and in the US Army currently). Dynamo manager Dick York's son, prospect C Rick York (#71 and serving in the Navy) who was someone the Dynamo's had wanted to draft several seasons ago. Also coming to Detroit was the #89 prospect LF Don Hersey and finally SP Irv Harden who was considered the #232 prospect.

Detroit also threw in C Hal Christian to go to New York as well.

So at the end of the trade deadline, the Dynamo's had acquired 3 1st round picks, a 2nd and a 4th. They also had picked up some young talent in SS Win Hamby, C Rick York, LF Don Hersey and SP Ira Hawker along with several others. Detroit would likely end up having 6 of the top 19 picks in the 1944 draft first 2 rounds. The pressure will be on to make that draft a top quality draft.

The question is, was this a good move by GM Martin trading slugging 1B Red Johnson to New York. We might not know that answer until the draft or likely several years down the road when all these young kids develop or return from the war.

[DD Martin]

The 1943-44 Off-Season. It's All About the January Draft!

October 1943 Transactions:

Following the season besides the all hands on deck preparation for the January portion of the amateur draft, the Dynamo's did some housekeeping to the organization. Nobody on the 40-man roster retired, but veteran OF Al Heard who had spent 5 seasons in the big leagues with the Foresters, hung up his cleats after being in the AA ranks in the Dynamo's organization. As a big leaguer Heard hit 253/362/721 with 4 career home runs and 39 career RBI's. He added 10 stolen bases as well but never quite materialized as GM DD Martin had hoped when he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1932 draft.

Other players moving on were P Jim Ray Clark, OF Fred Quinn, 2B Juan Sarmiento, RF Jorge Nava and 2B Chick Wilhelm.

November 1943 transactions

The Dynamo's made a trade with the Chicago Cougars trading an 8th round pick for SP Pug Bryan. At one time the Coug's were very high on the now 31-year-old hurler, but his career hasn't really panned out of hoped. He has a career record of 19-31 with 6 saves and a career ERA of 4.39. He is expected to have an opportunity in spring training to not only make the Dynamo's roster but be a member of the starting rotation. This may give a early indication of just how depleted the pitching is for the Dynamo's.

Several more players were drafted into the military service ranks including starting LF Rip Curry. Also going off to war was 2B Orville Snodgrass, SP Bobo White, SP Sergio Gonzales.

The Dynamo's made the move to try and strengthen their pitching corps by signing SP Roy Helland to a make good minor league spring contract. Shortly after Helland was signed, he was drafted and the Dynamo's simply released the veteran pitcher.

December 1943 Transactions
The Rule 5 draft was going to take place in December after some debate about scraping the draft do to the issues of so many players being draft for military service. But the draft was held as scheduled on Monday December 27th, 1943. To the surprise of nobody, not one single Dynamo organization player was taken. Detroit did grab 3 players in the draft.

With their 1st round selection they took Pittsburgh minor league SP Bob Clark (RHP - Age 23). Clark had a semi-productive season with the Minor's AA team going 14-9 with a 4.53 ERA. The book on him is he has a plus change to go with an average fastball and average cutter. He has average control and average stuff, which the Dynamo's hope means he will be an "average" big league pitcher, at least in this watered down era of pitching.

With their 2nd round selection, GM Martin returned once again to pillage his former club, the Cleveland Foresters and select SS/IF Jake Creel (B-R Age - 29). With SS Gil London's constant struggles hitting the baseball and SS George Dawson sent to Washington last season, Creel will be given a serious look to potentially make the Dynamo's roster. Hitting the baseball hasn't been Creel's strength either in his career as he has managed just a 214/276/566 numbers in 935 plate appearances over 4 seasons.

Detroit took the gamble one more time with another choice in the 3rd round of the Rule 5 Draft. With this selection they chose another pitcher in Dave Volpe (LHP - Age 25) out of the St. Louis. His stuff isn't great and he is likely a long shot to make the club. If he does somehow make the team out of spring, it really proves the lack of pitching depth the club has.

Two more players were draft into the military ranks as P Mule Earl and RP Norm Brown were sent packing. The loss of Earl in particular will really hurt the Dynamo's and was likely a factor in the club taking 2 pitchers in the Rule 5 draft. Earl had was 7-11 with a 4.38 ERA in 24 starts (34 total appearances) in 198 IP's.





Next - The Draft

[DD Martin]

January 1944 Amateur Draft

This was truly a huge moment in the future for the Dynamo's organization. With 6 picks in the first 19 selections and 4 of the first 9, GM DD Martin and company are going to need to hit a Grand Slam with this draft.

The Dynamo's had the following picks
1.1 From NY Gothams (Red Johnson trade)
1.3 Detroit's Original Pick
1.7 From NY Gothams via Chicago Chiefs (Red Johnson Trade
1.9 From Washington (George Dawson Trade)
2.1 From NY Gothams (Red Johnson Trade)
2.3 Detroit's Original Pick
3.3 Detroit's Regional Round Pick

The remaining rounds of the draft will be completed in June. The Dynamo's will have 2 selections in the 4th round.

The Picks -
1.1 SP Roy Schaub
RHP Age - 17 St. Joseph's High School
6'2 155 lbs
1943/HS Career 13-0 0.41 ERA 31-5 1.27
The consensus top young pitcher in the draft by the so-called experts.
The scout's love this kid as he is described as a lanky and long armed RHP. He pairs a nice slider with a plus curveball. His stuff should play well above average once he's finished developing. He has Great command of his pitches and should rarely give up a long-ball. Schaub looks to be a future #1 SP in this league.

That is the type of thing you want to hear about any top ranked draft choice. Looking at the current team one has to wonder if Schaub could somehow make it to the big leagues late this year.

1.3 CF Edwin "Huck" Hackberry
B-L T-R OF Age - 17
San Diego High School
No stats available from his school
5'10 140 lbs

Scouting - Lean and athletic OF, Edwin Hackberry hails from San Diego, California. He hits to the opposite field with and unorthodox, but effictive, short swing. He has tremendous power potential. Speed is also a huge part of his game. Hackberry is projected to be an elite starting CF.

This kid burst on the scene late in the draft workups. He wasn't on many clubs radar but some thought he might go #1 overall. There was some thought that Detroit would take him #1 overall, but the thought was Washington would target Schaub with their first pick so GM Martin rolled the dice and hoped that Hackberry would be there at #3 overall. The fallback option if Hackberry would have been taken by Washington was high school 1B Jim Flowers who went #5 overall to PIttsburgh. If Flowers had been available he no doubt would have been grabbed by the Dynamo's as the future replacement for Red Johnson.


1.7 SS Stan Kleminski
B-R Age - 17
Mercer HS (Penn)
No stats available from high school
5'10 155 lbs

Scouting - Lean and athletic and clearly a position of need for our club. At maturity he should be able to draw walks and work the count among the best in the game. He projects to be able to consistently put the barrel of the bat on the ball. He has solid speed on the base paths. Although his glove work is only considered average, Kelmeninski profiles as an everyday SS who can make an impact on a top tier team.

Honestly we were hoping for either 1B Flowers or SS Nick Remillard to be available here, but they were both taken ahead of of us at #5 and #6 respectively. Even so we grabbed a talent player who could easily be moved to 2B if our top prospect SS Win Hamby returns from the war as is able to develop as we hope.


1.9 SP Carl Potter
LHP Age -17
Bettsville HS
6'0 150 lbs
No stats available from his school

Scouting - He projects to have a 3-pitch mix that includes an outstanding slider, an outstanding sinker with an average fastball. His stuff should play well above average once he's finished developing. And he has great command of his pitches that he'll rarely give up home runs. Potter has an excellent pitch repertoire, which should allow him to become a great starting pitcher and rank among the best SP prospects in any organization.

With this pick we were looking at either Potter, SP Bert Rogers who our scout was really high on or OF Ben Thompson. Knowing the need for SP in our organization it quickly became a choice between Potter and Rogers. We had more information on Rogers but our scouting team led by Dutch Forrester really saw something in this kid.

2.1 C Red Rodgers
B-S Age - 18
Lewiston HS
6'3 195 lbs
1943/HS Career 452/544/1222 446/537/1246

Scouting - Rodgers is a long, lean athletic catcher who hails from Buffalo. He has a quick back that can handle most fastballs, but still needs to work on seeing off-speed pitches. Expect a batting average of around 330 with him being able to work the counts. If he can work out the issues with the off-speed pitches, he should translate that into a plus contact hitter. Rodgers profiles as a potential elite catcher on a contending team.


This was the first pick from Detroit that some thought might have not been the way they would go. There was a lot of C prospects in this draft and while most feel Rodgers will be a solid big leaguer some day, there might have been some bonus to waiting on taking a catcher and going in a different direction. We didn't buy that as our team truly liked Rodgers after several catchers had come off the board. The fact he is a switch hitter truly grabbed our attention as well.

2.3 3B Lou McCright
B-L Age-17
Clark HS
5'11 165 lbs
1943/Career HS Stats 429/519/1234 444/535/1212

Scouting - The athletic McCright hails from Louisiana. He has an excellent eye at the plate, which should inflate his on-base percentage. He projects to be a 330 hitter because of his above average contract potential. He has the defensive skills to get the job done at 3B. McCright has potential to unleash his obvious talent both on the field and at the plate. He projects to be an above average big league third baseman.

Current 3B Frank Vance can't play forever. The Dynamo's had tried to find the heir apparent for a number of years. So far they haven't had the luck they had hoped for. While McCright likely will not be ready to step in the day Vance decides to hang up his cleats, he should be a talented 3B for the Dynamo's before the end of the decade.


3.3 SP Jack Entringer
RHP Age - 17
Bay City Michigan HS
6'0 175 lbs
1943/Career HS Stats 7-2 2.11 ERA 24-5 1.31 ERA

Scouting - He will throw 3 pitches with his change up likely ending up as his best one. He does have some control issues which will need to be ironed out. His stuff is average, but he could turn into a mid-rotation SP with 3 solid pitches.

We were really surprised the Entringer wasn't drafted in the first two rounds. For him to be available to us in the Regional round was a surprising development for us. He was known to have been on several teams lists, but with us picking 3rd in the round and he was in our protected primary state of Michigan, we were able to the the home state hero. His junior season wasn't quite as good as his freshman and sophomore seasons, so we are hoping is senior year is more in line with those 2 years. Still a quality pick for this round and really our first since the Regional round started several years ago.

Summary
So how did we do according to our scout on our draft picks?
We had the #1, #4, #5 and #8 prospects on his top 10.

The organization feels very strong about the young kids that we drafted. Couple them with several pitchers who we grabbed in last years draft and the talent that we will get in the NY Gotham/Johnson deal (SS Win Hamby and C Rick York) and we feel pretty good about the future.

Next - Spring Training 1944

[DD Martin]

Spring Training 1944

The Dynamo's come into spring training with a lot of holes to fill do primarily to military service, but then so do most FABL teams. It really is a crap shoot who is going to come out on top of the Federal Association this season but most don't consider Detroit as serious threat for the pennant.

The Dynamo's ended the spring with a 10-14 record good for 6th place. Most feel that will likely be a solid place for the Dynamo's towards the bottom of the FA.

The club brought 46 players to camp this spring highlighted by roughly 20 pitching hopefuls. Who will emerge as the players who will come north to fridged Detroit will be the key question.

Pitching
The hope is that Jimmy Long (1943 2-2 3.89) will be recovered from a serious shoulder injury to led the Dynamo's starting corps. Long looked solid in 16.2 IP this spring with a 1.62 ERA and showed no ill effects of his injury the previous season.

SP's Cy Sullivan (12-15 4.08) and Fred Ratcliffe (7-6 3.59) are likely locks to join Long in the rotation. Also look for recent trade acquisition from Montreal, Jimmy Mayse (2-3 6.08 Montreal) to get a real long look to be added to the rotation, along with former Chicago Cougar P Pug Bryan (1-0 2.66).

Position Players

This is the area where Detroit seems to be really weak, although the pitching is no great shakes either. The Dynamo's lack a true middle of the order bat with the injury to veteran 3B Frank Vance. RF Sid Williams is also on the shelf to start the season but should be back in week 3 while Vance is more likely out until late May or early June.

The hopes are high for young OF Don Hersey who had a nice run at the end of last season to really have a good year this year.

[DD Martin]

1944 Predictions

ooc - I had a big post in process but I stupidly didn't back it up and lost it when I left my computer. So because this team isn't very good I've decided not to take the time to redo that post.

The OSA picks the Dynamo's to finish dead last in the FA and that might be hard to argue. 7 other "top" reporters chimed in with their picks and 4 of them agreed with the OSA and tabbed the Dynamo's to finish last. Two picked them to finish 7th and one soul out there picked them to finish 6th. So where do I see them finishing?

Here goes the "fast" Freddie Farhat Predictions
FABL 1944 Season

Federal Association
Philadelphia Keystones 87-67
Chicago Chiefs 86-68
Washington Eagles 83-71
Pittsburgh Miners 80-74
St Louis Pioneers 78-76
Boston Minutemen 77-77
Detroit Dynamos 67-87
New York Gothams 58-96

Continental Association
Chicago Cougars 97-57
Cincinnati Cannons 87-67
Toronto Wolves 82-72
Philadelphia Sailors 81-73
New York Stars 69-85
Montreal Saints 69-85
Brooklyn Kings 68-86
Cleveland Foresters 63-91

[DD Martin]

The 1944 season was certainly a surprising one for the Dynamo's. Somehow this rag tag outfit managed to cobble together enough wins under Manager Dick York to win 82 games (82-72) and claim 2nd place in the Federal Association. Yes the pennant race was over early in September, but the shocking season led to speculation that the Dynamo's would try to be ultra aggressive in the off-season.

Then came the war recruits as 4 key players and many minor leaguers were drafted into military service in the war effort. More on those later...

Due to the attrition to the club, management decided to not go overboard during the off-season. There were a few minor moves made, but nothing that is really going to shake up the 24 man opening day roster. GM DD Martin stated that spring training would be a time for a lot of youngsters to maybe get an early start to their careers in the big leagues if they show up ready and work hard this coming spring....

Next Spring Training 1945

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Sports Report
Spring Training 1945
By "Fast" Freddie Farhat

The Dynamos broke camp after dropping a 5-2 decision to the Pittsburgh Miners on Sunday. Now the final roster decisions must be made, but before that we will give you a bit of spring coverage here for the Dynamos.

The Dynamos finished the spring with a 14-10 record following last season's shocking 2nd place finish in the Federal Association with an 82-72 record. Several key players are not returning to this year’s club with the bulk of it being in the pitching staff. SP Jimmy Mayse (15-6 3.13 ERA last season), along with SP Pug Bryan (10-9 3.73) and club stopper Willie Montgomery (5-7 15 saves 2.90) are all in the service. Also joining those 3 are starting 2B Gil London who had a very good season (best of his career war wise). With 2 openings in the starting rotation, 2nd base and the top relief arm there is some concern about this year’s club pulling off something similar to last season's club.

If the Dynamo’s are going to contend, they are going to have to find a very solid mix of pitchers to occupy the 3-5 spots. By his efforts this spring it definitely looks like SP Ira Hawker (2-2 3.57 in Detroit last year and 3-0 1.00 ERA in 18 spring IP) has claimed the #3 spots behind SP Jimmy Long and SP Jim Spencer.

But who will occupy the last 2 spots in the rotation? There are several youngsters in camp that many in the baseball world are hoping will make the team. The first is SP Carl Potter (18) who won’t turn 19 until April 27th. Potter was the 9th overall selection of the Dynamos in last year's amateur draft. Potter was 2-1 in the spring and pitched to a 3.15 ERA. He had his worst spring outing in the final game of spring losing 5-2 to Pittsburgh giving up 3 runs in 5 IP. The other youngster in camp is also from last year’s draft class going in the 4th round, P Pete “Sweet Pea” Brown. Brown (22) came out of the college ranks so is a little further ahead (perhaps) of Potter, but doesn’t quite have the upside of Potter based on scouting reports. Of course we all know how worthless scouting reports can be….Brown pitched well in the spring going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA but like Potter had his worst start in his final spring start giving up 5 runs (just 3 earned) against Boston, a game the Dynamo’s eventually won 9-7. Could these 2 kids break camp as the #4 and #5 starters? The odds are Brown sticks, with P Fred Ratcliffe likely claiming the final spot in the rotation. But there is some pressure from fans and league officials who would like to see Potter come north for Opening Day.

The offense in Detroit without some many great stars is where this team has struggled the last few years. Of course CF Sal Pestilli is in the service and the club misses his 30+ home runs a season. Former 1B Red Johnson is up in the evil empire in New York after a trade at the 1943 trade deadline to the Gothams. Who will this club turn to in its fight to score enough runs to win? Hard to believe but it will be 42-year-old 3B Frank Vance who comes back for another season. Can Vance who hit 294/374/776 last year continue to produce? Can 1B Cuno Myer who came in a trade with Chicago (Cougars) at last years trade deadline continue to hit for a high average and get on base? He hit 306/371/710 but lacks any real power. He did drive in 24 RBI’s in his 51 games for the Dynamo’s but isn’t a real threat to be the permanent solution to the departure of Red Johnson. Maybe it will be spring standout LF George Bond who came back up to the big league club late last season and showed that he could still be a factor with the bat in a small sample size. He led all spring hitters with a 467 batting average and blasting 3 home runs along with driving in 8 RBI’s. But at 37 can he really be counted on for a full season?

The guess here is that the Dynamo’s will somehow scratch together enough wins to be in the first division of should be a tightly contested Federal Association. But we will go into more details of that tomorrow when we have our Opening Day Roster and prediction special.

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Sunday April 15th, 1945
Opening Day Roster and Prediction Special Part 1
By “Fast” Freddie Farhat

Well the Dynamo’s have announced their 24-man roster and it does have several surprises on it. There were no big late spring trades or actually any that the Dynamo’s were involved in. Most clubs seem to be playing this season fairly close to the vest and keeping the pieces that they have. So before we get to the predictions, let’s introduce the 1945 Dynamo’s.

Pitching Staff
Starting Rotation

SP Jimmy Long (RH - age 27)
Last Season 15-12 2 saves 3.22
Spring Training 1-1 0.82

Long came out of the gates strong last season following missing most of his rookie 1943 season after a shoulder injury. He was the #2 strikeout pitcher in the FABL last year with 148 proved that he could handle the load at the top of the rotation. He will be the club’s opening day starter against the Chiefs on Wednesday.

SP Jim Spencer (RH - Age 35)
Last Season 14-11 2.76
Spring Training 2-0 0.53

The veteran right hander returned to the starting rotation last season after having come back to the Dynamo’s late in the 43 season and served primarily in the bullpen that year. Last year he was clearly the club’s #3 SP and he moves up to #2 with the military departure of Jimmy Mayse. If spring training was any indication, Spencer looks to be sharp and in the best shape of his career.

SP Ira Hawker (RH - Age 26)
Last Season 2-2 3.57 5 games in Detroit 8-12 4.79 in 26 starts at AAA Newark
Spring Training 3-0 1.00

Hawker came to camp with the inside track to a spot in the rotation but it was not a given. The former OF turned pitcher has been sharper in the big leagues the last 2 seasons than he has in the minors. Hawker was sharp in spring camp and locked down the #3 spot in the rotation. With a career record of just 5-6 with a 3.49 ERA in the big leagues, this season will test him to see if he can do well over the course of an entire major league season.

SP Pete Brown (RH - Age 22)
Last Season in the minors 8-4 4.17 ERA
Spring Training 2-1 3.60

Brown made the big league club with a solid spring and honestly few other options for the starting rotation. Yes the club could have went with Fred Ratcliffe and Jim Bob Jones or several others but the team feels Brown is ready to be in the big league rotation. Clearly a lot of eyes will be watching him, but maybe even more will be watching the final piece of the starting rotation.

SP Carl Potter (LH - Age 18 birthday is April 27th)
Last Season in the minors was 6-6 4.50 (11-1 0.96 in high school)
Spring Training 2-1 3.15

Well the hottest debate going was whether or not to bring this young kid up and put him in the fire right away. Potter was drafted 9th overall last year and was the #7 prospect in all of the FABL entering the season. If he wins a game before his birthday next week he would be the youngest pitcher in the modern era (meaning records are great going back) to win a big league game. This is a gutsy move by the Dynamo’s as many feel Potter can handle things but might have been better served for the long term by starting the year in AAA. Then again others said with the diluted big league rosters due to the war, the Federal Association might be a AAA circuit.

Summary on rotation - Most feel fairly comfortable with the top 2 pitchers but then you get to the #3-#5 guys. Yes there is some talent there and a lot of potential but you are banking your hopes on 3 guys, 2 of which have never pitched in the big leagues and are straight out of last season's draft and with Hawker he’s never been up for a full season. For the Dynamo’s to contend, they are going to need each of these guys to really step up and perform to standards that probably aren’t fair to ask, but we will ask it anyway. If anyone falters you have several options. Fred Ratcliffe and Mike Murphy out of the pen who are experienced starters in the FABL and you have some players in Jim Bob Jones and perhaps Bob Clarke or Dave Volpe who could maybe be called upon.

Bullpen

Stopper - Chuck Murphy (RH - Age 36)
Last Season 9-6 15 Saves 3.40 ERA AAA Newark
Spring Training - 0-0 0.00 ERA 12G 12IP

A former SP for the Dynamo’s in the dark days of the mid-30’s, the “Superstar” returned to the Detroit organization after being claimed on waivers from the Philadelphia Sailors. Waived but unclaimed after last season’s spring training he turned into the AAA Newark clubs top RP. With RP Willie Montgomery called up to action by the military, Murphy came to camp looking to be the stopper. He was pretty perfect this spring so he will begin the season as the top RP out of the bullpen.

RP Mike Murphy (LH - Age 37)
Last Season 9-6 3.64 ERA with Chicago Cougars
Spring Training 0-2 4.50

Murphy was reacquired by the Dynamo’s in the off-season and was likely figuring he would be a starter in Detroit. Most thought he would slot in at #3 in the rotation. But with the emergence of the youngsters Potter and Brown and a less than spectacular spring, Murphy finds himself in the bullpen as the #2 RP on the club. Now of course if either of the kids struggle early this season, expect Murphy to be the first man to step up and into that spot in the rotation.

RP Fred Ratcliffe (LH - age 31)
Last Season 9-12 3.47
Spring Training 1-1 2 saves 4.40

It feels like each spring Ratcliffe is either injured to start the year or fighting for his spot on the big league club. A veteran pitcher with over 100 FABL starts under his belt and a career record of 44-59 4.22 ERA, he is a guy who is often forgotten. No he is not a star, but he has been a fairly reliable pitcher for Detroit when he has been given a chance (20-24 3.39 ERA in 54 GS and 92 G with the Dynamo’s). Another guy who could step into the rotation and be sound.

RP Hooks Camp (RH - Age 28)
Last Season 5-5 11 saves 3.14 AA Akron
Spring Training 0-1 2 saves 1.59 ERA

A lot of people are asking why Hooks Camp? How did he make the pitching staff? Well a solid spring is one reason and while the Dynamo’s could have put someone else in this spot, they felt that those pitchers would be better served starting everyday in AAA that sitting and maybe getting 50IP (if lucky) off the bench in the big leagues. Rest assured the Dynamo’s will likely be looking for a warm body quickly if Camp struggles as many feel he will.

Summary - Veteran bullpen led by Chuck Murphy and has solid pitchers in Fred Ratcliffe and Mike Murphy behind him. The roles in the pen will largely be centered around the #3-5 SP’s in the rotation as all 3 of these guys could move into a starting spot with Murphy and Ratcliffe the first in line. The bet on Hooks Camp is he will be gone by the All-Star game, but we will see.

This is part 1 of a 3 part series to start the season. On Monday we will go over the rest of the 24 man roster with the position players and on Opening Day Tuesday we will give our 1945 Pre-Season Predictions.

author note - The 3 parts will all be today but will be in the Detroit World on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Monday April 17th, 1945
Opening Day Roster and Prediction Special Part 2
By “Fast” Freddie Farhat

Continuing on we will go down the list of position players that made the Opening Day Roster.

Catchers (Starters noted with *)

*Joe Henry (B-L - Age 29)
Last Season 263/377/687 0-42
Spring Training 143/172/315 0-2

Henry has been a solid option at catcher the last several seasons. What the club needs to find is a right handed version of Henry. Of all the positions that we are waiting for the boys to come home from the war, this might be one of the biggest areas that needs help. Henry and Rick York might be a good combo some day.

Johnny Decker (B-R - age 28)
Last Season 221/272/535 0-9 (Detroit) AAA Newark 256/340/740 1-7
Spring Training 185/226/485 0-4

Decker’s first 21 at-bats this spring was ugly0-21. He managed to go 5-10 in the last week to salvage some pride and claimed the backup spot. While we said Hooks Camp’s spot on the pitching staff is in serious jeopardy, Decker’s spot might be in even more precarious danger.

Summary - Henry is a solid supplemental option as a starting catcher and he has shown some ability to get on base. Decker is a disaster and if anyone is available to backup at catcher on the waiver wire expect Decker to be gone….gone…gone!

Infielders

*1B Cuno Myer (B-L - Age 30)
Last Season (with Detroit) 306/371/710 0-24
Spring Training 323/323/806 1-8

Myer hits well and can be a solid #2 or #3 hitter in a lineup, but he is not a typical 1B masher. He will hit for a solid average and get on base so the Dynamo’s will likely try and put him in the #2 slot behind Sid Williams. Don’t expect 5 home runs from him though.

*2B Woodie Quartey (B-L - Age 29)
Last Season 278/329/732 1-9
Spring Training 469/514/1171 1-5

Quartey wasn’t going to likely make the team this spring but then had a fabulous training camp. With it he not only earned a spot but will start against RHP pitchers over Rabbitt Mudd. We will see if Quartey. Defense is not his speciality so if he isn’t getting on base at a decent clip expect him to be back on the bench.

2B/IF Rabbit Mudd (B-R - Age 36)
Last Season - returned from 2+ year duty in Air Force
Spring Training - 278/381/659 0-0

Mudd returns from military service earlier than most and will be the starting 2B against LHP to start the season. He didn’t have a ton of rust with his bat during the spring, but clearly he could use more appearances to find consistency. Odds are he will be starting more and more games soon.

*3B Frank Vance (B-R - age 42)
Last Season 294/374/777 6-67
Spring Training 259/286/545 0-2

Vance returns for 17th big league season. The Dynamo’s all-time leader in a ton of categories, he will likely play in more games by the end of the season than anyone who has ever worn a Dynamo’s uniform passing RF Phil Thompson 1687 (retired in 1919). Barring injury Vance 1621 will likely break the record around the All-Star game or by the end of July. The Dynamo’s will need Vance to be close to his best to be a serious contender this season.

*SS Hank Grant (B-R - age 28)
Last Season 297/355/743 0-28
Spring Training 273/333/652 0-2

Grant came to Detroit from Montreal at the end of May last season. Grant responded with solid numbers in his run with Detroit and will continue to be the starting SS this season. Grant was slotted to play 2B last year but Gil London played so well there that Grant slide back over to SS. Maybe the Dynamo’s should consider that move back to 2B for Grant who is not a great defensive SS.

1B Red Evans (B-L - Age 28)
Last Season 298/416/866 16-88 AAA Newark
Spring Training 345/406/1061 2-5

Evans only got a brief try at the big league level in 1943 with 98 PA’s and hit just 151. Last season he was probably the MVP for Newark with the bat as they won the Union League crown. Great spring gives him another shot in the big leagues and his likable personality will likely keep him around for the whole season.

SS/IF Bill Ball (B-R - Age 35)
Last Season 235/311/632 1-30
Spring Training 304/385/906 1-3

The team captain requested a trade in the off-season but the Dynamo’s couldn’t give him away even to a team that was trying to acquire more players with the first name of Bill. He has actually hit for a higher average the last 2 seasons (244 & 235) than he has for most of his career the last decade. Ball will backup but if he complains too much I can see the Dyanmo’s just saying goodbye and good luck.

Summary - There is a lot of age and a lot of AAAA players here on this roster. The Dynamo’s need to see Frank Vance continue to drink from the fountain of youth. Cuno Myer needs to be a guy in the top couple spots that gets on base so that maybe Vance, Bond, Henry can have a chance to drive him in. Can this group produce enough to give the Dynamo’s enough ammo to help support a young core group in the rotation?

Outfielders

*LF George Bond (B-R - age 37)
Last Season 297/403/839 4-17 (36 games)
Spring Training 467/500/1122 3-8

Bond returned to the big leagues as a regular down the stretch of the season for the first time since 1935 when he was in St. Louis. The only other time he played in a big league game was 1 game with Philadelphia in 1938. He has been with the Dynamo’s organization mainly in Newark (AAA) since September 1939. To say he was a pleasant surprise last season is an understatement and he will be a lot of starts at the beginning of the season but also give way to Henry Jones in some games against RHP’s.

*CF Aart MacDonald (B-L - Age 33)
Last Season 204/289/649 6-42
Spring Training 220/360/701 1-8

Some have said Detroit should just let MacDonald go and play a full season as the starter. He has come out of spring training starting in CF the last several years only to see Manager Dick York grow tired of his paltry batting average. Yes he has a little pop and has driven in some runs so he will get the nod to start the season once again. The question is would he start 100+ games this season.

*RF Sid Williams (B-R - age 33)
Last Season 275/374/819 9-44
Spring Training 275/375/925 0-7

Williams has been entrenched in RF for the last 5 seasons. He can be a leadoff type hitter or in this era of depleted offense, can slot into a 4-6 spot to help drive in runs. He will do both this year as he will leadoff against RHP’s and bat 4th against LHP”s.

Henry Jones (B-L - Age 40)
Last Season 269/377/799 8-40
Spring Training 125/222/347 0-0

Some thoughts were Jones was going to hang it up and he played this spring like he might. The organization has committed to him that they will trade him to a contender if he chooses or let him retire but will not ask him to go to the minor leagues. He is still a solid lefty hitter and he will probably share some starts against RHP with George Bond in LF especially if Bond runs into any struggles against RHP’s.

CF/OF Bert Wilson (B-R - age 33)
Last Season 282/326/683 3-30
Spring Training 353/389/771 0-4

Wilson has been up and down over the years and is a solid option off the bench during any era. MacDonald is a much better defender while Wilson has the better bat. The Dynamo's will give MacDonald a shot to start the majority of the time but if anything is clear the team often tires of Mac’s lack of bat and Wilson will likely become the starter at some point.

LF/RF Elmer Nolde (B-L - age 37)
Last Season 254/310/685 4-33
Spring Training 125/300/550 1-5

At this stage Nolde is basically a pinch hitter or injury replacement. There was some talk of reuniting him in Cincinnati with his former Brooklyn GM. It didn’t happen but we will see if he stays in Detroit all year. If anyone in the minors shows promise Nolde will be the OF that goes first.

Summary - There have been a lot of questions about who should play CF for the Dynamo’s. Aart MacDonald can generate a lot in some “advance” stat areas but is having a great season if he hits 225. RF Sid Williams might the only player who is starting that would be on the roster if/when players return from the military. George Bond and Henry Jones are going to be a platoon combo in LF who’s combined age is 78 old. Reserve OF Elmer Nolde continues to stay on the roster despite numerous attempts to run him out of town. This group has to be able to help this team score runs or it will be a very long season no matter how good the pitching may or may not be.

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Tuesday April 18th, 1945
Opening Day Roster and Prediction Special Part 3
By “Fast” Freddie Farhat

Today is part 3 of our season opening series with me, Fast Freddie Farhat giving you the inside scoop to the upcoming season. I believe the Dynamos will have a similar result to last season where they will find a way to hang around but just not have enough in the tank to finish the job.
Here is my take on the Federal Association first since we all know that is the superior league compared to the minor league circuit CA.

Federal Association 1945

1.) Pittsburgh Miners 88-66
Not sure why but I think the Miners might have what it takes to eck out a tight Federal win. But they can’t count on 1B Mahlon Strong to play more than 100 games. If he can play 100+ they win, if not then….

2.) Boston Minutemen 85-69
Boston made some deals last year going all in and for whatever reason those deals didn’t pan out into a winner the 2nd half. Boston has 3 top SP in Duke Henricks, Dean Astle and Ed Wood and if they pitch the way they have over the years this could be the team to beat.

3.) Detroit Dynamos 83-71
Dynamo’s lost a lot and are hoping that some kids will make the grade in the rotation. Whether they can or not will greatly impact this prediction. I’m giving them 1 more win than last season but I don’t think they have enough offense to get over the hump.

4.) Philadelphia Keystones 80-74
The Keystones LF Bobby Barrell had a season for the ages last year considering how significantly the offenses were down across the board last season. Can he do it again? My gut is it will take everything he did last year to put the Keystones in a position to repeat and while he is a superstar player I just don’t think he can duplicate such an outstanding season.

5.) Chicago Chiefs 77-77
The Chiefs are dangerous but they need some real help in their rotation. Red Hampton and Les Zoller do not exactly put a lot of fear in the hearts of opposing teams hitters. If they get another good season out of those two plus P John Douglas then the Chiefs could move up a few spots.

6.) New York Gothams 74-80
There was a lot of hype about the Gothams in the off-season when they got an early gift in the return of P Harry Carter back from the war. With Carter and Bowman the Gothams have a tremendous 1-2 punch but you need more than that. While they have Jim Lonardo (40) on the staff you just have to wonder how much longer he can go at a top level. 1B Red Johnson needs some help on the offense, but if the war ends…watch out. The Gothams have some hitters that they have been waiting for to see consistently for almost a decade now.

7.) Washington Eagles 67-87
The last 2 years the Eagles have stumbled out of the gates horribly and then had to stage 2nd half rallies to squeak into the 1st division. Well if they want to get serious this year they need to come out of the gates at a fast speed and not put themselves so far behind the 8-ball that they can’t get out. I don’t see a fast start here….

8.) St Louis Pioneers 62-92
Just lacking the pieces currently to be a serious threat. The rotation is suspect and besides RF Al Tucker there just isn’t enough run producers there to get them out of the cellar.

Continental Association

1.) Chicago Cougars 94-60
The Cougars were a huge disappointment last year. Whatever the issue was manager Clyde Meyer had better hope he has it figured out or he could be OUT.

2.) Cincinnati Cannons 92-62
Hard to pick against a club that staged an incredible rally last season to win its 2nd straight world series championship. That said this club has some age on it and when players start to get long in the tooth the performance can slide. With Chicago and Toronto around, they can’t afford much slippage or they will not make it 3 straight.

3.) Toronto Wolves 87-67
The Wolves get SP George Garrison back from the war and they need the dominant player that he was before he left. If he can return to form, then the Wolves will stay close all season and just wait for Cougars and Cannons to slip just a little.

4.) Philadelphia Sailors 78-76
You have to like a SP with the first name of Win. For the Sailors to be better than middle of the pack Win Lewis is going to have to win a lot!

5.) Montreal Saints 75-79
Losing SP Jake DeYoung was a huge blow to the Saints. DeYoung will be out until the start of next season. With him out of the rotation the Saints might be hard-pressed to get to the predicted 75 wins.

6.) New York Stars 68-86
The NY Stars are lacking that right now….star players. A lot of talent is tied up in military service and I just don’t see a way around that for this team. Maybe next year if the war ends…maybe.

7.) Brooklyn Kings 62-92
The Kings have fallen on hard times the last few seasons and the pitching staff shows that currently. There is some talent here but it's going to take a yeoman effort from manager Powell Slocum who has had 5 out of his last 6 seasons as Kings Manager with a sub 500 record to not make it 6 out of 7.

8.) Cleveland Foresters 60-94
The Foresters won the most games last season (68) than they have in the last 6 years. RF Lou Balk who has had trade interest from the Dynamo’s and others is still there but there is not much else. I don’t see them winning 68 games again this season.

World Series Pittsburgh Miners vs Chicago Cougars
The Miners have gotten to the World Series multiple times over the years but always seem to come up just short. They have gotten to the Series 9 times, but have only managed to win it once in 1901. Make it 1 out of 10 as they lose to the Chicago Cougars in 5 games.

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Monday April 23rd, 1945
Dynamo Week in Review
By “Fast” Freddie Farhat

Well the first week of the season has come and gone and the Dynamo’s managed to win 2 out of 3 in each of their opening series. The Dynamo’s took on the Chicago Chiefs at Thompson Field before heading out to play the Gotham’s in New York.

Game 1 - Detroit 2 vs Chicago Chiefs 1

Long, Dynamos Finish Off Chiefs, 2-1
Crowds lined up early in front of Thompson Field (joke), eagerly awaiting the start of the 1945 Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues season. On the mound was Red Hampton for the visiting Chicago Chiefs and Jimmy Long for the hometown Detroit Dynamos. In a spirited contest, the Dynamos pulled out the win, defeating the Chiefs by the score of 2-1. Especially impressive was Jimmy Long.

Long pitched a complete game for Detroit in collecting player of the game honors. The 27-year-old right-hander was charged with 1 run on 4 hits. He struck out 5 during his 104-pitch performance.

"I'm just happy to help the team win," Long told the Detroit World.

The team was a little disappointed with the fan turnout of just 13,687. When asked about the crowd GM Martin just stated “There is a war going on.”

Game 2 - Detroit 3 vs Chicago 1

Dynamos win again, 3-1, at Thompson Field
Jim Spencer was locked and loaded, helping the Detroit Dynamos beat the Chicago Chiefs, 3-1. Detroit is off to a hot start at 2-0. Spencer went 8 innings giving up just 1 run while collecting player of the game honors.

Cuno Myer hit a run-scoring triple off Les Zoller in the bottom of the seventh, which put the Dynamos in front, 2-1. Myer had 1 single, in addition to the triple. For the game, he went 2 for 4.

"We've got a great group of guys," Myer said, "and we're having fun right now." After the game Dynamo Manager Dick York stated “Our top two starting pitchers are continuing to deal just like they were in the spring. When they pitch like that we will be a tough team to beat!”

Game 3 - Chicago Chiefs 6 vs Detroit 5 (13)

Chiefs Edge Past Dynamos, 6-5 in 13 Innings
Elmer Hutchins was a major factor in the 6-5 Chicago win over Detroit. The Chiefs second baseman went 5-7 with a double and 4 singles. He scored 2 runs. The loss puts Detroit at 2-1.

The game was all tied up in the top of the 13th, until Hutchins delivered big-time for Chicago, stroking a dramatic run-scoring single off Mike Murphy. The game-changing hit put the Chiefs on top, 6-5.

"We didn't go down without a fight, but it is a game we should have won before extra innings." said Detroit manager Dick York.

Game 4 - @New York 13 Detroit 8

Dynamos Dealt 13-8 Loss by New York
Getting offensive support from Bunny Hufford, the New York Gothams topped the Detroit Dynamos, 13-8. Hufford was 4-4 with a double, 3 singles, and a walk. He drove in 2 runs and scored once for the Gothams. New York, with the win, is 3-1.

A key moment came in the bottom of the fifth inning when Gothams pitcher Cy Sullivan socked a 1-1 fastball to center for a 2-run single, putting New York up, 10-8.

"I like our moxie," said Gothams manager Bud Jameson.

For the Dynamo’s it was the debut of 18-year-old Carl Potter (Who logged just 3 innings giving up 8 runs with 4 runs earned.. Unfortunately for Potter his nerves pitching in the Big Apple seem to have leaked over to his teammates as the Dynamo’s committed 4 errors. For the kid Potter, he will have better days ahead. Manager Dick York stated “It was a tough outing for the kid. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back in his next outing. This is the Federal Association and not high school, and even with some many players fighting in the war, this is the big leagues. You will have days like this and you have to respond if you're going to make it.”

Game 5 - Detroit 5 @ New York 2

Dynamos Deal Gothams 5-2 Defeat
The Detroit Dynamos got back on the winning track behind rookie starting pitcher Pete Brown who turned in an exceptional performance against the New York Gothams at Gotham Stadium. His effort went a long way in catapulting Detroit to a 5-2 win. The win has Detroit at 3-2.

Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Cuno Myer? The Detroit first baseman had a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth inning to put the Dynamos on top, 3-1. For the game, Myer had 1 double and 1 single in 4 at-bats.

"For the most part, I made good pitches when I needed to," said Brown. GM DD Martin went a step further and proclaimed “Pete Brown came out in front of a hostile New York crowd and held the Gothams in check. Not bad for a first career start, on the road like that in a place like this.” For his efforts Brown (4 hits, 4 walks and only 2 runs in a complete game 9 inning effort) was named the player of the game.

Game 6 - Detroit 7 @ New York 6

Dynamos Get One-Run Win at New York
Behind the hitting of Elmer Nolde, the Detroit Dynamos stopped the New York Gothams, 7-6. Nolde went 1 for 1 with a home run. He drove in 2 runs and scored once for the Dynamos. Chuck Murphy picked up the save for Detroit, his 2nd of the year. With the win, Detroit improves its record to 4-2 and trail 1st place Washington (5-2) by ½ game.

Nolde had a game-changing home run in the top of the ninth. On a first pitch fastball from Sam Hodge, he banged a 2-run home run to right, giving the Dynamos a 7-6 lead. It was the 1st home run of the year for Nolde.

"If you want to be considered a good team, these are the kind of games you have to win," said Detroit manager Dick York. “A lot of people have knocked Elmer, but he is one (&%$%) of a professional hitter. The guy is clutch and he did what we needed to help us get this important early season win.”


Dynamo Notes - With the 4-2 start Detroit picks up right where they left off last season winning games that you wouldn’t think they should. Some exceptional pitching in 3 of the 4 wins and some clutch hitting as well has the club happy with the start of the season. GM DD Martin stated “anytime you win 2 out of 3 against good clubs, that is a bonus. You keep doing that all season and suddenly you're in the thick of a pennant race in September. That is our goal to be in it and to win it each year!”

The league office has noted that the Dynamos have put in a claim for a player on the waiver wire. C Tommy Morris who was DFA by the defending World Champion Cincinnati Cannons was claimed. The process to obtain him will go on through the week but the Dynamos could be close to moving on from backup C Johnny Decker. While the club offered no comment on the move, it is certainly one that isn’t unexpected. Rumors are the front office is looking for a pitcher as well, especially after the performance in New York from Hooks Camp in the 13-8 loss on Friday.

The Dynamos were pleased to hear that 1B Cuno Myer was named Federal Association player of the week. Myer went 13-23 with 4 doubles and a triple driving in 6 RBI’s and scoring 4 runs. He might not have a lot of power but if he can hit over 300 with some double pop he will definitely help the Dynamos scoring runs this season.

No injuries to report and the minor leagues will open up their season next week at AAA Newark, AA Akron and A Terre Haute.

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
December 3rd, 1945
By Fred Farhat

Dynamo's Fire GM Martin!

The relationship between Dynamo's Owner Powell Thompson and GM DD Martin has been a rocky one ever since Thompson took over for his late brother Ed "Big Money" Thompson. Powell will never be considered "Big Money" by anyone, and the constant fighting over the budget and making money over winning baseball has finally made what I am about to cover, not a shocker. Today Thompson fired the GM after Martin came into the Dynamo's team offices after having been gone for over 5 weeks. Martin while "on vacation" with his family was still running the club as he was in constant contact with SD Dutch Forrester, but he had never been in to sign his "extension". Those around the club knew that the owner was getting impatient with Martin and some sources say he has even sent out feelers to perhaps find a new GM. Whether that has happened or not, Martin was seen leaving the team offices fairly shortly after 4pm.

I reached out to Martin for comment and he simply stated that the time was right to step away. Martin has stated that he will have more comments and will give us the exclusive interview.

As to where the Dynamo's go now is anyone's guess. Has Thompson already reached a deal to replace Martin? Will Martin retire from baseball or will he find employment elsewhere in the FABL, or even the rumored "Western League". It is noted that Martin is a West Coast guy and more importantly a Pacific NW guy, but also spent his college days in San Diego.

The focus now will be what happens with the Dynamo's. They have a solid farm system with several highly touted prospects ready or near ready to take the stage. Could that and the returning players from military service finally get Detroit that 1st place spot they so covet? The Dynamo's haven't won the Federal Association since 1929 and despite all the fanfare and his best efforts, the Dynamo's didn't reach the summit in Martin's 10+ seasons in charge.

[DD Martin]

Detroit World
Sports
Wednesday December 5th, 1945
Fred Farhat

Martin Says Goodbye to Detroit....and baseball?

The day after GM DD Martin was fired in Detroit I had the opportunity to meet with the Dynamo's former GM.

Farhat - DD obviously a tough situation here to be discussing.

Martin - On the contrary Freddie, it is not.

Farhat - What do you mean, you were just fired.

Martin - (laughs) Well I guess you could say that and that is the spin that Powell will certainly put on it. The fact is I had a valid contract offer on my desk for 2 months. I didn't sign it but continued on in good faith in case we decided to work something out.

Farhat - But when you came into the office over the Sunday, you knew what was going to happen?

Martin - I'm the one that called Powell for the meeting. So yes, I knew that I wasn't going to stay on as the GM.

Farhat - Any regrets?

Martin - Only that we were not able to finish out what we had set out to do. Honestly I wanted to win that pennant for Big Money Ed Thompson before he passed away. We certainly had a window and came up just short. I regret that we could not give this great fan base that twice broke the FABL attendance record an FA Pennant and World Series title. But we did a lot of good things. If you remember how much of a dumpster fire the franchise was in when I arrived in May 1935, I feel we have done a lot. This franchise is in much better shape today and I feel is strongly in position if not in 1946 then the following year to do great things and end the championship drought.

Farhat - Do you know what you will be doing and what Detroit will be doing going forward?

Martin - I will answer the latter question first. Yes I know what Powell intends to do. I have spoken with the man that will be coming in and he has my full support in taking on the job. As for your first question, time will tell. I'm not quite ready to announce anything, but whether it is on the west coast or the east coast, I will likely still be involved with the game of baseball.

That was my conversation with the now former GM of the Dynamo's. I guess we will see what happens with the Detroit franchise and what happens with the career of DD Martin.

[Tiger Fan]

TIGER FAN JOINS DYNAMOS

The Detroit Dynamos wasted no time announcing their new General Manager as Tiger Fan, who guided both Brooklyn and Cincinnati to a total of 7 pennants and 3 World Championship Series victories, has decided to make his first foray in to the Federal Association. The long-time Continental Association General Manager had been in the league since 1925 and Detroit will become the third organization he has been employed by. The position opened when Detroit owner Powell Thompson announced a short time ago that DD Martin -who had headed the club for the past decade- was fired. There had been rumours that Thompson and Tiger Fan had been discussing the move for several weeks but neither would comment one way or another, citing that there was no need to stir up potential wounds in other parties.

The move takes place immediately and with the blessing of Cincinnati owner Mike Tice, who admitted regret that the only general manager he has had since purchasing the Cannons and moving them from Baltimore is leaving, but said he understand the Tiger Fan's desire for a new challenge. Tice also confirmed that the Cannons had not had any talks with Martin. "We have not had time to meet with anyone," said Tice. "Tiger Fan did tell me he wanted to be allowed to pursue other options -due to some interests outside baseball- when we signed our recent contract extension and I gave him permission to do so. He has left this organization in a much better place than when he arrived, and with 3 pennants and two WCS wins so now we will begin a new search for the next General Manager of this great franchise.

The main reason for the move was a surprising one, and according to Tiger Fan it had little to do with baseball. "I am at the stage of my FABL career where I want to branch out into other things and I have been fortunate enough to purchase a small ownership stake in the Detroit Motors hockey franchise. I had hoped to become involved in the day-to-day operation of that club as well as my baseball responsibilities and this position with the Dynamos allows me the ability to do just that. I am also quite certain I will have no problem handling both roles. Mr. (Dynamos owner Powell) Thompson is fully aware of what drew me to Detroit and has assured me I will be given complete support and freedom to do both jobs. He and I also discussed in great detail some ground rules for both of us and I am confident he is a man of his word and has promised me free reign and full control of the baseball operations as long as I work within a budget that he has prescribed. He was very agreeable and to be honest, I think he gets a bad rap in the papers by some of you guys."

*Note that Tiger Fan had his stare fixed directly on Detroit World scribe Freddie Farhat when he uttered that final sentence.

CITY OF CINCINNATI IN SHOCK

That collective gasp that came out of Cincinnati this week when word broke that the Cannons General Manager was leaving could likely have been heard as far away as Detroit. The only GM the Cincinnati club has ever had, one who helped assemble a team that won three straight Continental flags and a pair of World Championship Series, brought in stars like Adam Mullins, Chuck Adams and Al Wheeler, has bolted north and joined the Federal Association Dynamos.

Cannons owner John Tice said all the right things. That he 'understood' and 'accepted' Tiger Fan's decision and reason for moving but deep down the magnate must have been steaming. The GM had just been handed a hefty and much deserved pay hike immediately after the WCS loss to the Philadelphia Keystones. At his GMs urging Tice also okayed big raises to manager Ad Doria, most of his coaching staff and Scouting Director Bill Borland with all working under the assumption the objective was a fourth straight banner - something never before achieved by a Continental nine.

That banner may still very well be a reachable target, but competition will be tougher than ever, and it remains to be seen if the new man Tice brings in to run his organization -whomever that might be- has the same willingness to identify the correct pieces and get the tough deal done in July when the right move can be the difference between winning or losing.

The Cannons cannot afford to pause. I believe the search for a new head of the baseball organization is already underway and it certainly needs to be handled quickly. The competition anticipated from Toronto and Chicago is expected to be ratcheted up even higher this season and every decision made over the winter and through the trade deadline can have a gigantic impact on what is anticipated to be -with apologies to all of our former servicemen for the analogy- an all-out war for top spot in the CA this summer. The question is can the Cannons win that battle without their front-office General? A general that we quickly went from comparing to MacArthur or Patton to having it seems much more in common with another General, one who went by the name Benedict Arnold.

[Tiger Fan]

MAROONS GOOD BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Seems That's The Fate of of Detroit Sports

Second best. Nothing new for Detroit sports teams to see the Maroons fall in the highest scoring AFA championship game ever staged. The past decade of Detroit sports has been a non-stop roller coaster of building up our hopes only to crush them and send up crashing down just as we can see the peak.

It is hard to believe but it now has been a decade since the Detroit Maroons last won the American Football Association championship. That's right it was 1936 when the Maroons topped Pittsburgh 24-7 at Thompson Field to win their fourth AFA title, but first since the championship game format began in 1933. Stan Vaught was a rookie that year and for the only time in his illustrious career he did not lead the loop in catches.

It was one of those rare times the Maroons got the better of the Wildcats. Chicago would win 5 of the next 8 West Division titles but the Maroons would sneak in there in 1940 -only to fall 20-7 to Brooklyn and again a year ago but were manhandled by the Philadelphia Frigates in the championship contest. If it is wasn't Chicago getting the better of us as the Wildcats did 4 of the last years, it was the winner in the East Division beating on us like a drum, although hard to imagine any of them feeling worse than yesterday's 56-24 battering in Boston.

Rollie Barrell's bunch have been good, certainly, but just not quite good enough to be the best. But this is not a problem exclusive to Rollie's gang. It is a city-wide affliction. Think about it. This has been just that kind of decade for the Motor City's sports teams. All those close calls but coming up just short for the Maroons must have rubbed off on their Thompson Field landlords as the Dynamos had more than their share of close but quites lately too.

The title drought has been even longer for our baseball heroes as the Dynamos last hoisted the Fed flag way back in 1929 and the entire city had to endure those awful days of the mid-1930s with rock bottom being the summer of '35 when the Dynamos set a modern record for futility with 111 losses.

Fortunes turned around quickly when youngsters Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson led Detroit out of the dark days with a surprising second place finish in 1938, tantalzing Dynamos denizens with hopes of great things to come. And just like the Maroons with their near misses, the Dynamos brought us right to the brink only to disappoint time and time again. Back to back second place finishes -just a game back of Pittsburgh and 2 back of those same Miners in 1940. 1941 the Detroits were third, but only 3 back as both Boston and Pittsburgh dashed our hopes once more. Another second place finish in '44 and third this past season but once more so tantalizingly close but in the end the local nine came up 4 games short. Four times the Dynamos were the bridesmaid in the Fed race over the past 8 seasons and twice more they were third but just 4 games away from being the best.

And these close but no cigar results are not limited to our cities pro teams. Unfortunately the City College Knights have also become afflicated. The Knights have never won a National Title in any of the big three team sports despite being one of the original schools to compete in each including the old baseball feeder leagues. Heck, they have never even been to the East-West Classic despite some strong seasons the past few years although they finally won the Great Lakes Alliance grid title this year. Unfortunately, even that was not good enough for the East-West Classic selection committee.

Now before this conversation turns into another why did Alabama Baptist get the nod to head west for New Year's over a Detroit City College team that handled all comers save for Rome State -perhaps the great collegiate team ever assembled- lets look at previous examples. The '43 team looked to be the one that could get to Santa Ana but they ran into a red-hot Minnesota Tech eleven that smashed our hopes. In '42 the Knights had to share the crown with Wisconsin State but at least managed to nab a trip to the Desert Classic -where they were brought back to reality by Bayou State in a 27-17 loss that doomed the Knights to third in the polls behind the two big Georgia schools.

And of course when it comes to cage talk, one needs just mention February of 1943 when it seemed the Knights were poised to make a deep run in the annual collegiate basketball tournament and were one of those favoured to perhaps win it all only to see in the span of a week their best player and top scorer in the nation -Roman Sollars- join the Navy and another key starter -Andrew Bennett- suffer a season-ending injury and the team was kncoked out in the quarterfinals. DCC has never won an AIAA tournament but they reached the Bigsby Garden semi-finals twice in the past ten years. But then, at least over the past decade that has been the Detroit way. Often good, but never quite good enough.

DETROIT - NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH THE LAST DECADE
DYNAMOS
1938 - win 94 games but second behind Chicago
1939 - win 93 games but second 1 game back of Pittsburgh
1940 - win 90 games but second 2 games back of Pittsburgh
1941 - finish third, 4 games back of first place Boston
1944 - finish second behind Philadelphia
1945 - finish third, 4 games back of first place Philadelphia

MAROONS
1945 - lost AFA title game 56-24 to Boston
1944 - lost AFA title game 40-14 to Philadelphia
1941 - late season loss to Chicago left them second in West Division
1940 - lost AFA title game at home 20-7 to Brooklyn
1937- two losses and a tie in final 3 weeks while Chicago won its last six to knock Detroit out of west lead

DCC KNIGHTS
1945 - Football team lost only to Rome State but bypassed for Alabama Baptist for East-West Classic
1943-44 - basketball lost in quarterfinals
1943 - Football team missed out on East-West Classic and GLA title with 10-0 loss to Minnesota Tech
1942-43 - heavily favoured basketball lost in round of 16 when top player left for the Navy two weeks before tournament
1942 - Football team finished third in nation after losing Desert Classic to Bayou State
1941-42 - basketball team lost in national semi-finals
1941 - Football team won the GLA but overlooked for East-West Classic and did not get a New Year's Day game.
1938-39 - basketball team lost in quarterfinals
1935-36 - basketball team lost in national semi-finals