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11-03-2023, 01:03 PM
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#821 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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February 7, 1949
 FEBRUARY 7, 1949 CANNONS HIRE NEW GENERAL MANAGER The final piece of the Cincinnati Cannons front office restructuring is now in place with the appointment of a new General Manager. The new man is no stranger to FABL having previously spent some time in charge of the St Louis Pioneers but that was nearly two decades ago. The addition completes a complete upheaval of the Cannons front office and field management staff over the past three months, including the recent appointment of Assistant General Manager Mike Taylor, who has no FABL experience but spent a decade as the head scout for the GWL's Hollywood Heroes prior to that club folding upon the transition of the coast loop to major league status. Charley McCullough, just 33 years old and still planning on playing for the Cannons next season, was appointed as manager two months ago after the controversial dismissal of Ad Doria and much of his bench staff. The Cannons had endured nearly a decade of futility in Baltimore including six consecutive last place finishes before John E. Tice bought the team and shifted it to the Queen City in 1940. Doria took over as manager at that time and the bench staff as well as front office and scouting team were completely changed out with, among others, Hall of Famers Rufus Barrell and Big George Johnson joining the organization. The result was one of the most successful runs in Continental Association history with three straight pennants and a pair of World Championship Series wins. Arriving in Cincinnati was a team that won just 65 games its final season in Baltimore and proceeded to have immediate success with eight straight seasons of at least 82 victories before falling below .500 for the first time since the move last year, which apparently contributed to the decision by ownership to start fresh. Entering the 1949 season, the new management team will have its work cut out and they are a veteran, somewhat aging ballclub that will need to restock its system in the near future. However, for the season ahead there are still some very talented players, led by 3-time Whitney Award winning lefthander Deuce Barrell and defensive marvel Jim Hensley at shortstop with which to build around. DYNAMOS NAME NEW SCOUTING DIRECTOR Horton Retires to Take Head Birddog Role Fred Barrell was officially introduced to reporters in Toronto last week, and with much less fanfare a press conference the Detroit Dynamos announced his replacement as the club's new Scouting Director. It is someone that many observers felt might still be patroling the Detroit outfield next season but instead 40-year-old Al Horton opted to announce his retirement as a player and take over the Dynamos scouting staff. Horton had spent the past four months shadowing Barrell and was involved in the draft day decisions for the Dynamos last month. The well-spoken College of San Diego graduate was praised by all in the organization for his hard-work, leadership and baseball smarts and seems to be someone who can lead the Dynamos scouting department for the next twenty years. Nothing ever came easy in the game for Horton who played in just 523 big league games during a career that also saw him appear in nearly 1,500 minor league contests. He was only an everyday player in FABL one season, back in 1934 when he hit .314 for the Baltimore Cannons but led the Continental Association in strikeouts. A year ago he was selected by Detroit from the Cannons in the rule five draft despite being 39 years of age at the time. Out of the big leagues since 1945, Horton appeared in 98 games for the Dynamos last season and hit .353, prompting the expectations that he would return to the playing field for the 1949 campaign. Instead he told reporters it was "time to start the next phase of my baseball career." FABL DRAFT RECAPS CONTINUE Three more FABL scouting directors provide TWIFB readers with impressions on how they feel the first ten rounds of the 1949 draft went for each of their clubs. This time we will catch up with a pair of Continental Association clubs in the Chicago Cougars and New York Stars. CHICAGO COUGARS - Scouting Director Dixie Marsh (3rd season) Going into the draft we expected to be picking early, ideally top five, so when the lottery spit out the way it did, I had to trash the entire draft plan. There were plenty of guys going in that we thought we'd had a shot at -- John Wells, Eddie Dickey, the Berry Brothers, John Perkins, and Ray Patterson -- but at 13 none seemed likely to fall. Seeing Perkins and Patterson go three and two picks ahead of us stung, but in a deep class we're happy with Biff Tiner. He's young, so we don't expect him impacting the big league club anytime soon, but second base is a position of need in the organization and he looks to be a good one. Potentially elite. I see some Del Johnson in him, and with his work ethic we believe the sky is truly the limit. A potential top 25 to 50 prospect now, maybe even higher in a few seasons Other then the guys above, I feel like we missed out on a lot of players. So often were players selected right before us. I expected Ike Brennan, four picks before our 2nd, or Dick Champ, who was taken right before. Later targets like Dick Houston, Paul Castelli, John Cochran, and Joe Brannon were selected shortly before we hoped to take them. But with a deep class, we're still very happy with who we ended up with. As for a sleeper pick Frank Falcao is a guy we're really high on, and we got him in the 8th. The Cougars organization is big on hometown guys, so it was excellent to add "Fireball" to the system, even with all the outfield depth we have in our system. That's partly why he fell, but we think the young switch hitter has five tool potential if he can put it all together. The power isn't quite there, but he hits the ball hard and far and we're hoping we can get the most out of him.  NEW YORK STARS - Scouting Director Al Swain (5th season) The Stars are very happy with the draft this year. Our #1 overall, Eddie Dickey, was a sorely needed acquisition for CF since the organization is low on that premium position. We feel he'll take over CF in about 4-5 years time. Our second rounder, Rube Simpson, looks to be a fine pull to fill our ever present 2B hole... eventually. Pitcher Don Rogers looked like a steal in the 3rd round. He projects as a solid arm which we are desperate to draft well this year on, as evidenced by half our pulls as pitchers. This will flood our C ball level with even more prospects, but the bullpen down there will be purged to give more time to these guys. But everyone one of these high schoolers will be going to C ball this summer regardless of position. Overall we did well. Every prospect profiles well, and even the pitchers aren't too shabby looking. A very fine draft class this year.  DETROIT DYNAMOS - Outgoing Scouting Director Fred Barrell The Dynamos draft started off with some disappointment as we were anticipating a much better run of luck in the draft lottery than what we ended up with -which was picking 12th out of 16 in each of the opening two rounds before we settled in at slot six in the third round and beyond based upon order of finish. Our number one target going in was third baseman Jim Bob Daniels, a two-sport star at Alabama Gulf Coast. We were hopeful if we drew any of the top eight spots we would have a shot at him but as it turned out he went very early with Montreal taking him third. Our backup plan was either selecting one of the Berry brothers or Joe Fulgham. Both Berry boys went off the board before our turn but we were elated to see Fulgham, another two-sport college star who was an All-American halfback at St Blane this season, available at pick 12. We are hopeful he is close to big league ready and we feel with his impressive speed, defensive skills and his ability to hit he might have the upside to be a Pablo Reyes-type player. This was an exceptionally deep top of the draft for hitters, but we really had to think twice heading up to our first round pick because we really loved one pitcher in this draft as a first rounder. That would be high shooler Ray Patterson but he went off the board one pick ahead of us to Cleveland. Overall, we are thrilled as we landed six players who were in the top 32 on our draft board. A couple to keep an eye on that we feel we lucked out in selecting where we did were outfielders Roy Williams, who we had as a late first-early second rounder and landed in the fifth round as well as Harl Smith, a player we ranked as a late round two candidate, but we ended up selecting in the seventh round. We had no plans to draft as many outfielders as we did, but the talent that was available when we selected made them impossible to pass up.  CUBAN LEAGUE TITLE GAME SET The championship game in the Cuban Winter League will be played today with a pair of first-time participants in the three-year-old looping competing in a one-game winner take all championship. At 27-15, the East Division winning Holguin Hawks will square off against the West Division champions from Cienfuegos. The Crocodiles, comprised of players provided by the Montreal Saints and Chicago Chiefs, won the West by 3 games with a 24-18 record. Holguin is supplied players by the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Sailors including New York's Billy Moody, a 24-year-old outfielder who hit a Cuban loop record 15 homeruns and Sailors first baseman Cliff Dilley, who led the winter league with a .432 batting average. The pitching matchup is expected to be Jimmy Maness (4-1, 2.72) for the Hawks against Cienfuegos starter Jack Behrns (4-5, 4.73).  
  BATTLE WILL BE WAGED FOR FINAL ICE POSTSESON BERTH The Chicago Packers continue to play well and with 16 games remaining appear to be taking control of third place in the NAHC but there is quite a battle likely ahead to determine who the final member of the NAHC's 4-team playoff party will be. The New York Shamrocks are presently sitting on the final playoff chair but there is still plenty of music left to be played with both Detroit and Montreal just a single point back. The Shamrocks do have the added luxury of 2 games in hand on the Valiants and three on the Motors. New York made the playoffs a year ago and then upset the first place Chicago Packers to reach the Challenge Cup Finals so the Shamrocks know full well anything can happen if you can survive the marathon that is the NAHC season and claim one of the four berths for the Challenge Cup sprint. Detroit and Montreal each missed out on the playoff party a year ago. Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 43 24 15 4 131 113 52
Toronto 44 23 15 6 145 118 52
Chicago 44 20 21 3 129 139 43
New York 42 16 19 7 108 117 39
Detroit 45 16 23 6 143 141 38
Montreal 44 16 22 6 111 139 38
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 44 20 30 50
Galbraith, Tor 44 24 22 46
Hart, Bos 42 20 22 42
Vanderbilt, Det 43 24 17 41
Sauer, Tor 44 20 21 41
Cabbell, NY 42 24 16 40
Chandler, Bos 38 18 22 40
T Burns, Chi 33 24 14 38
Carlson, Tor 41 9 28 37
Witt, Det 42 14 22 36
Rocheleau, Det 40 6 30 36
Skinner, Mon 44 17 18 35
Tardif, Det 36 15 19 34
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
Broadway, Tor 40 20 14 6 3 2.60
James, Bos 37 19 14 4 5 2.63
Tremblay, NY 38 13 18 7 2 2.75
Chasse, Det 18 8 8 0 1 2.81
Brockers, Mon 31 11 16 3 2 2.81
Hanson, Chi 30 12 16 2 2 3.01
Touhey, Det 27 7 15 4 2 3.37
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS Boston 2 at 1 New York: Second period goals from Jacob Gron and Tommy Hart lifted Boston past the Shamrocks 2-1 in a game that saw New York goaltender Etienne Tremblay face 45 Bees shots. New York threw 24 pucks at Pierre Melancon, who made a rare start in the Boston cage, with only Joe Martin's first period marker finding the back of the net.WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 2 Detroit 1 at 5 Chicago: A three goal second period including one each from the Burns brothers helped propel the Chicago Packers past Detroit 5-1. Streaking Chicago is now 6-1-1 in its last 8 games. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3 Chicago 1 at 3 Detroit: After losing in the Windy City the previous night, the rematch at Thompson Palladium went much better for the Detroit Motors. Henri Chasse was outstanding with 44 saves in the 3-1 Motors victory. One goal each period from Marsh Spencer, Louis Rocheleau and Graham Comeau took care of the Detroit offense as the Motors had just 21 shots on goal. Jerry Finch broke the shutout bid by Chasse with a Chicago tally late in the third period. Montreal 2 at 5 Toronto: It is now 6 straight losses for Montreal and a 1-9-1 skid after starting January off with 4 straight wins. The latest loss saw Mike Navarro and J.C. Martel each pick up 3 points in a 5-2 Toronto victory. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5 Montreal 3 at 1 Boston: Mercifully the Valiants terrible slump comes to an end as Tom Brockers plays a strong game at Denny Arena and a pair of Clarence Skinner goals lift the Vals to a 3-1 victory. Toronto 4 at 2 New York: The Shamrocks showed up late for this one, allowing Toronto to score all four of its goals in the first period that saw them outshoot the Greenshirts 13-4 and then hold on for their fourth victory in the last five games. Bobbie Sauer had two for the winners including his 20th of the season, marking the 5th straight year the Toronto captain scored at least twenty. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 6 Boston 4 at 0 Toronto: Dukes coach Jack Barrell will not be happy with the effort against the Bees as Boston pulled back into a first place tie with Toronto following a dominant 4-0 victory. Wilbur Chandler scored the only goal of the first period but the game was lost for Toronto in a 2 minute stretch to start the second when first Mickey Bedard, with a shorthanded tally, and then Tommy Hart, with his 20th of the campaign, struck quickly to make it 3-0. Joe Morey would add the final Boston goal in the closing seconds. Oscar James laid claim to his league leading 5th shutout. Chicago 3 at 2 New York: The Shamrocks had a quick start, with Joe Martin and Tom Brescia each notching early goals but that would be all the offense the hosts could manage on this day. Ed Delaure got one back for the Packers in the first and Max Ducharme tied the game in the second period setting the stage for Tommy Burns game winner, his 24th of the season, in the opening seconds of the third period. The Packers are now 4 points ahead of New York in the race for third and one has the feeling Chicago will continue to separate itself from the three teams battling for the final playoff spot at the bottom of the NAHC standings. Detroit 3 at 3 Montreal: Detroit and Montreal entered the game tied for last place in the NAHC and finished it the exact same way but each are now just 1 point back of fourth place New York after skating to a 3-3 tie. Detroit enjoyed a 3-1 lead entering the final period but Montreal pulled even as Glen Whitley and Wayne Augustin each beat former teammate Millard Touhey in the third frame to earn the draw in a game that saw the Motors outshot the Valiants 36-22. UPCOMING GAMES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9 Boston at Chicago Detroit at New York Toronto at Montreal THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10 New York at Chicago SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12 Boston at New York Toronto at Detroit SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13 Boston at Detroit Chicago at Montreal New York at Toronto  AROUND THE LEAGUE
 Wednesday night at home against Montreal the game got off to chippy start with 5 of the 8 total penalties for the game handed out before the contest was 5 minutes old. Lou Galbraith started the penalty parade 14 seconds in with a retaliatory slash on a Vals defenseman in which, as usual, the official only caught the second act. Glen Whitney made it 4 on 4 after being sent off for a high stick in front of Gordie Broadway while on the man advantage. With both teams down a man Montreal's Cory Findlay opened the scoring on a seemingly innocent dump-in that eluded Broadway to end up in the back of the net. After three more minors the game seemed to settle down as the referee made it clear he was going to keep control of the proceedings. The Dukes, in what is becoming their Achilles Heel, allowed the Vals to increase the lead to 2-0 with a goal early in the second. Whitley banged home a rebound with the frame only 62 seconds old. Jack Barrell became very loud and animated behind the Dukes bench in an attempt to rally the troops. Whatever was said worked as the Dukes came to life with 4 goals before the end of the period. Mike Navarro started the comeback with a rocket from the point followed 2 minutes later by Herb Burdette, in an attempt to make up for his two penalties in the first, who evened the score at 2. Spencer Hofford found the net for his 5th of the season on a pretty passing play from Navarro and Frank Featherstone before JC Martel whistled another shot past Brockers with the period winding down to make it 4-2 after 40 minutes as the Dukes tormented Brockers with 16 shots during the middle frame. The third period was a wide open, fast skating affair with no scoring until Pollack, his 20th, found an empty net with 28 seconds remaining in the game making the final 5-2 Toronto. Saturday night at Bigsby Gardens Toronto had a very solid first period hemming the Shamrocks in their own end for extended periods of time. Two goals by Bobbie Sauer, including his 20th, with singles from Les Carlson, with a man advantage, and Herb Burdette gave the Dukes a 4-0 lead at the first intermission. The second period was a tight checking, fast moving with few whistles that ended just as it started 4-0 Toronto. Ex-Duke Laurel Albers gave the Shamrocks life early in the third 5 seconds after Dick Zimmerman was sent off for holding. Alfie Daniels brought New York to within two at 13:48 but that was end of the scoring for the game. Toronto had 18 shots in the third, none got by Tremblay who shut the door after a shaky first. Back home Sunday for a first place showdown with Boston it was the visitors who struck first early in the opening frame with Wilbur Chandler beating Toronto netminder Broadway from in tight at less than three minutes into the contest. It would be the only goal of the first period. In what is becoming all to familiar for Barrell's bunch the Bees ended the game for all intents and purposes less than two minutes into the second with two quick goals. First it was Mickey Bedard, shorthanded, at 20 seconds in, then Tommy Hart, with his 20th, put Boston up 3-0. The Dukes could not mount any offense the entire game and only tested Oscar James 21 times in the contest. Jim Morey added a meaningless empty netter in the third while the Bees seemed more intent on preserving James' clean sheet making the final 4-0 Boston. Jack Barrell "An uneven week, after a horrible start against Montreal we woke up played well for the final 45 minutes. We started fast in New York until we let think they were back in the game in the third. Boston, to their credit, smothered us the entire game...disappointing effort by the team in an important game. Dukes and Bees are starting to distance themselves from the field but there is still about one quarter of the season to play, many things can happen in 6 weeks. Right now the staff has to figure out how to prepare the team to open, close periods. I swear 80% of the goals against are in the first or last 3 minutes of a stanza. I am at a loss, at present, of what to change to stop that but it has change immediately, the guys have to play a full 20."  
Code:
FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT Washington 26 9 .743 Brooklyn 27 10 .730 Philadelphia 22 15 .595 Rochester 20 16 .556 Baltimore 18 16 .529 Hartford 15 20 .429 Boston 16 22 .421 New York 12 24 .343 Syracuse 6 29 .171 WEST W L PCT Chicago 24 13 .649 Cleveland 22 14 .611 Detroit 21 14 .600 Cincinnati 22 15 .595 Pittsburgh 14 22 .389 Buffalo 11 23 .324 Toronto 11 25 .306   AND THEN THERE WAS ONE Generals Only Unbeaten After Owls Fall in Philly The biggest college basketball game of the week, and perhaps of the season to date, did not disappoint as Luther Gordon and his Liberty College Bells prevailed in the highly anticipated showdown with Frankford State and their high scoring center David Aponte. Gordon completely dominated David Aponte and the Owls, pouring in 28 points and adding 12 rebounds to lead the Bells to a 59-47 victory and retain the number three spot in the national rankings behind only St Blane and Western Iowa. Federal Basketball League scouts were out in droves for the game that was moved off the Liberty College campus and into the 14,000 seat Keystone Arena for the battle between the two Pennsylvania independent powers. Gordon, although just a junior so not eligible for the pro draft until 1950, proved all of the hype is deserved as he shut down Aponte, who is considered the top center available in this year's draft. It did not start that way as Aponte and his mates led by as many as 12 points in the opening twenty minutes and were up 34-25 at the break with the high scoring Frankford State center accounting for 9 of the points. Whatever Liberty College coach Harley Burda said to his charges at the break certainly worked as it was a much different Bells squad after the break which, following a 14-4 run that culminated when Luther Gordon tipped in a rebound with 10:52 remaining, the Bells had their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. It was a lead they would not surrender and completely controlled the tempo the rest of the way. While Gordon had 28 points and 12 boards, Aponte was held to 11, and only 2 in the second half while collecting just one rebound all afternoon. This from a player who was averaging more than 18 points per game entering the contest and the major reason why Frankford State was unbeaten up until that point. *** A&M Last Perfect Team *** The loss by Frankford State leaves the Mississippi A&M Generals as the only remaining school without a loss this season. The Generals, ranked #5 in the latest AIAA college cage poll, added two more victories last week to improve to 19-0. On Thursday they travelled to Georgia and beat the Rome State Centurions 52-37 behind a 23 point evening from center Billy Bob Leveau. The service academy, lacking an answer for the powerful Leveau, decided to foul the big man every time he was in scoring range but that moved backfired as the junior from Louisiana was on fire from the charity stripe, going 15-for-19. On Saturday section play got underway for the Deep South Conference and the Generals were up to the task in the opener, downing the Cumberland Explorers 64-54 with Vance Torrence, Levau and reserve Joseph Newcombe all reaching double figures in points. The biggest stumbling block ahead in the Generals quest to enter the tournament with a perfect record might well be Noble Jones College with the Colonels, who dropped out of the top ten with a pair of losses last week, set to host Mississippi A&M in Augusta on February 19. St Blane extended its winning streak to 24 games as the 24-1 Fighting Saints survived a close call with Central Maryland before finishing the week with an easy win over Ohio Poly. Those victories were enough to keep the Saints at the top of the rankings, with Western Iowa (18-1 overall, 5-1 in Great Lakes Alliance play) continuing to hold down the second spot.  LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 10 TEAMS MONDAY JANUARY 31 #1 St Blane 42 (Josh Samuels 12) Maldin 17 #3 Liberty College 59 (Luther Gordon 25) #5 Frankford State 47 (Red Bookman 12) Mississippi Tech 56 Noble Jones College 33 -knocked Colonels out of top ten to 15th WEDNESDY FEBRUARY 2 #1 St Blane 37 (Brian Threadgill 10) Central Maryland 35 #7 Lane State 60 (Carl Casswell 18) Idaho A&M 47 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3 #2 Western Iowa 51 (Daryl Baugher 11) Wisconsin State 38 #4 Carolina Poly 60 (James Halle 22) Charleston Tech 46 #6 Mississippi A&M 52 (Billy Bob Leveau 23) Rome State 37 #9 North Carolina Tech 71 (Mike Carter 20) Coastal State 43 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4 #3 Liberty College 75 (Luther Gordon 22) Kansas Agricultural 38 #8 Coastal California 63 (Tony Lincoln 15) Spokane State 53 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5 #2 Western Iowa 47 (Charlie Maynard 11) Detroit City College 45 #5 Carolina Poly 47 (Major Belk 15) Lexington State 47 #6 Mississippi A&M 64 (Vance Torrence 14) Cumberland 54 Bulein 54 #8 North Carolina Tech 50 (Mike Carter 14) SUNDAY FEBRUARY 6 #1 St Blane 56 (Brian Threadgill 15) Ohio Poly 24 #7 Lane State 58 (Carl Casswell 16) Middlesex 48 #8 Coastal California 68 (David Barnes 21) Northern California 34 #10 Rainier College 51 (Joe Simpson 16) Portland Tech 38 TOURNAMENT BUBBLE WATCH The announcement of the 32-team field for the 40th annual AIAA college basketball championship is still a month away but here is a look at some of the teams that need a strong final push if they wish to participate in the event. Two big names to note on that list are WCAA powers CC Los Angeles and Redwood. The Coyotes have won the tournament 4 times while the Mammoths are the defending champions. Both will have a tough road down the stretch as the coast section play has crushed many tournament dreams over the years.    EXCITING WEEKEND AWAITS NORTHEASTERN BOXING AFICIONADOS Hello, fight fans! The weekend is upon us, and boxing aficionados from the Big Apple to Beantown are in for a real treat. Two standout clashes are lined up, promising thrills, drama, and perhaps a dash of fistic history. Our pugilistic extravaganza kicks off at Bigsby Garden in the heart of New York City. This Friday night, we welcome back a familiar face to these bustling boxing rings. John Edmonds, a name briefly synonymous with the middleweight crown, returns for what some predict to be a tune-up bout before potentially a much-anticipated showdown with current champ Adrian Petrie. Edmonds, at a seasoned 30 years, steps into the squared circle with a relatively green contender, young Heath Nichols, making his Garden debut. Nichols, a 23-year-old native of Toledo, impressed with a recent knockout win over Dave Sizemore. Holding a record of 15 wins and 5 losses, he’s no pushover. However, the fight community expects Nichols to have his hands full with the experienced Edmonds, bearing a formidable 27-3 record. Notably, Edmonds, a proud son of Muncie, Indiana, once reigned supreme in the middleweight division, grabbing the belt from the clutches of the formidable Frank 'The Tank' Melanson on Independence Day in 1947. However, the balance tipped back in Melanson's favor just five months later during a riveting rematch. The interesting twist in this story is the fact that Sizemore, the lad who felt the force of Nichols' fists recently, once KO'd Edmonds during their only meeting back in 1946. This Friday's showdown may reveal if Nichols has the mettle to step up against a seasoned contender on his way to the top. *** Welterweight Showdown in the Hub *** And now, on to Sunday evening at Boston's Denny Arena, where welterweights will clash for glory. Ira Mitchell, a 29-year-old pugilist hailing from Chicago, knows exactly what's on Danny Rutledge's mind. Not all that long ago Mitchell had his eyes set on the title, considered by many to be the future kingpin of the welter division. However, his dreams slipped through his grasp when he faced the then-champion, Harold Stephens, losing a hard-fought but fair decision. Mitchell faced yet another setback last September, succumbing to Mark Westlake, another former title holder. Now, with a record standing at 20 wins and 3 losses, Mitchell's path to another title bout appears blocked. His opponent on Sunday is Danny Rutledge, a young fighter of similar promise to what Mitchell once possessed. Rutledge enters this match with a pristine 17-0 record and dreams of challenging the current champion, Mac Erickson. Mitchell and Rutledge, the former and current golden boy of the division, will collide, with Rutledge eager to earn his stripes and secure a shot at the title. Interestingly, if Rutledge is successful and earns the title shot against Erickson it will a rematch of sorts. These two warriors met as young servicemen during the wartime years in a thrilling 12-round amateur bout, affectionately termed the Allied Welterweight Championship. The showdown took place in 1944, and it's celebrated as one of the best amateur contests in pugilistic history. Rutledge emerged victorious with a 12th-round knockout, etching his name in the annals of amateur boxing greatness. Now, on this Sunday night, the battle between Mitchell and Rutledge may just determine whether the 23-year-old Louisville native has what it takes to step into the ring with his old foe and current champion, Mac Erickson. Of course, Mitchell should also be at his best, requiring a victory to keep the flame of his faint title hopes flickering. Buckle up, folks. It's going to be a thrilling weekend in the world of bigtime boxing, and we'll be there, ringside, to witness every punch, jab, and knockout. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/06/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-03-2023 at 01:05 PM. |
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11-06-2023, 12:28 PM
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#822 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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February 14, 1949
FEBRUARY 14, 1949 HALL OF FAME VOTING UNDERWAY 18 Names on 1949 Ballot The list of candidates eligible for the selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 1949 has been released. A total of 18 names, including 4 first-time nominees, appear on the ballot. Unlike last year when Rabbit Day was clearly an unanimous selection, there is no newcomer to the ballot this year who will approach that status and quite possibly none of the new additions will earn the necessary 75% to be enshrined. The 1949 first timers on the ballot are pitchers Dean Astle and Doc Newell as well as catcher Tom Bird and outfielder Cliff Moss. Astle was a 6-time all-star who won a pair of WCS titles during a career that saw him post a record of 187-145 with Cleveland and Boston. Newell, who won 199 FABL games primarily with the Philadelphia Sailors and finished his career in the Great Western League, is best known for being the only pitcher in FABL history to throw three no-hitters. Bird, who has the best chance of the newcomers garnering the necessary votes, was a ten-time all-star who played for four different teams and is widely considered one of the best catchers of his era while Moss split his career between Montreal and the two Chicago clubs. A year ago seven men were added to the Boone County baseball museum including three modern-era players in Day, Dave Trowbridge and Frank Vance. Jack Cleaves and Charlie Stedman came closest to election without making it a year ago as each appeared on 46% of the ballots. Both are eligible again this year along with seven others who received at least one vote a year ago in Tom Barrell, Bud Jameson, Moxie Pidgeon, Dick Lyons, Joe Masters, Charlie Berry and Doug Lightbody. Here are the players on the current ballot.  HALL OF FAME CLASSES BY YEAR 1937: Allan Allen, Max Morris, Charlie Sis, Powell Slocum, John Waggoner 1938: John Dibblee, Mike Marner, Woody Trease, Ed Ziehl, George Theobald (as a manager) and William Whitney (executive) 1939: Zebulon Banks, Rankin Kellogg, Calvin Kidd, Joe Ward and Ossie Julious (as a manager) 1940: George Johnson and Edward Wakeham 1941: Jack Arabian and Charlie Wilson 1942: Thomas Watkins and Jefferson Edgerton (executive) 1944: Bill Craigen, Jim Golden, Jim Jones, Jimmy Massey, Fred Roby and Bill Temple. 1947: Charlie Firestone, T.R. Goins, John Lawson, Pete Layton, George Melvin 1948: Rabbit Day, Dave Trowbridge, Frank Vance, Freeman Rogers, Bill West , Rufus Barrell (executive), Jacques Cartier (executive) SAINTS DEAL PIERCE TO DETROIT The Montreal Saints have shipped very outfielder Pinky Pierce to the Detroit Dynamos in exchange for a pair of minor league prospects. The 35-year-old Pierce returns to the Federal Association after spending just one season with the Continental Association Saints. In return, Montreal will receive 20-year-old lefthander Willam Benns and 18-year-old outfielder Andy Bonner. The trading of Pierce seems to be a clear indication the Saints expect to give young Otis O'Keefe a full-time job in their outfield. Listed as #33 on the OSA prospect pipeline, the 24-year-old is coming off an outstanding showing in the Cuban Winter League after dominating pitchers at both the AA and AAA level last season. For the Dynamos it is their second deal in less than a month aimed at improving their corner outfielders, positions that provided very little offensive spark a year ago with Sid Williams (2.44,5,33) struggles along with underwhelming performances from Dick Blaszak (.251,5,29) and Tony Mullis (.283,1,22). The first move was to acquire 24-year-old minor league slugger Bill Parker from St Louis. Pierce, who broke in with the Pittsburgh Miners in 1937 after being a second-round selection out of high school in the old feeder system in 1931, was dealt to Montreal a year ago in exchange for a pair of minor league pitchers. The Ohio native played 118 games for the Saints in 1948, batting .264 with 19 homers and 66 rbi's. It is expected Pierce will play every day in right field while Blaszak and Parker will platoon in left. Center remains a position of strength for the Dynamos with 22-year-old Edwin Hackberry already considered one of the best in the game. The prospects sent to Montreal were both ranked in the 150-200 range by OSA. Bonner was Detroit's third round pick a year ago and the 18-year-old displayed solid power with 12 homers in 55 games at Class C following the completion of his high school season. Benns is a 20-year-old pitcher that was ranked as high as 60th on the OSA list a year ago but the 1947 second round pick struggled mightily at the Class B level last season, posting a 5-16 record with an 8.45 era causing his stock to plummet with the league scouting service.  FEDERAL ASSOCIATION LISTS 199 GAMES UNDER LIGHTS FOR 1949 CAMPAIGN Schedule Sets New All-Time High For Loop With doubtless more than a casual eye cast in the direction of night baseball's lush returns at the box office, a total of 199 nocturnal engagements will be played in the Federal Association this year. Last summer the Federal clubs staged 188 games under lights, and those contests consistently drew a higher percentage of patrons than mid-week day games captured. As already announced, the campaign will open with another of baseball's now customary "stagger starts," the Eagles stage a solo inaugural in Washington on April 18, with the Miners as guests and President Truman certain to throw out the first ball. The Continental Association will also stage a single contest that day with the remainder of both circuits set to swing into action on April 19. Inasmuch as the Federal loop's 154-game schedule, which comes to a close on Oct. 2, calls for a grand aggregate of 616 games, the 199 night game grand total means that virtually one-third of the campaign will be fought after sunset next summer. This, too, despite the fact that three clubs, ignoring the opportunity provided them by a new ruling passed in Chicago last December, are still sticking to the old fourteen-game limit for home night booking. Those three are the Minutemen, Gothams and Keystones. The Keystones, however, will be forced to play 21 after-dark encounters on the road as a result of the new ruling which automatically allows a club to book at least four nocturnal engagements with each rival regardless of how the visiting club may feel about it. Bobby Barrell is a huge drawing card in opposing stadiums, just as he is at Philadelphia's Broad Street Park, and as a result night contests for the Keystones were in great demand. The Washington Eagles lead the list of night bookings with 40 games, or more than half of their home schedule to be played under the lights at Columbia Stadium. The two-time defending World Champion St Louis Pioneers are next with 36 evening home games. CROCS CLAIM CUBAN CROWN The Cienfuegos Crocodiles are the Cuban Winter League champion after claiming a 9-4 victory on the road over the Holguin Hawks in the winner take all one game playoff last Monday. Jess Garman, a 22-year-old prospect ranked in the top 60 by OSA, led the way for the winners with 3 hits, 3 runs scored and a pair of rbi's while his Montreal Saints batterymate Jack Behrns went the distance on the mound for the victory. The Crocodiles were comprised of players from the Saints and Chicago Chiefs organizations while Holquin, which posted the best regular season record in the 8-team loop, had its talent supplied by the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Sailors. Cliff Dilley of the Hawks was named the Most Valuable Player in the league after the 23-year-old first baseman led the loop with a .441 batting average while also topping the league in rbi's with 41. Dilley, a first baseman in the Philadelphia Sailors system, was a second-round choice out of Eastern State in 1946 and hit .320 with 28 homers in 116 games at AAA last season. OSA presently ranks him 69th on their prospect pipeline and feels he is ready for the Sailors this season. Dilley becomes the second Sailors prospect to win the winter league MVP after Billy Forbes, who was a starting outfielder for the Sailors big league club last season, won in 1946. The winner last year was New York Stars minor league pitcher Foster Smith.   Some have suggested the lack of leaderboard appearances, or grey and black ink, should preclude the great catcher from joining the ranks of the Hall of Fame. However, I feel like using the inks to discredit Bird is disingenuous. The catching position is physically taxing and the other players in the league are getting upwards of hundreds of extra plate appearances each season. It's tough to rank high in oddly specific (more on this later) categories that are generally counting stats. Bird only surpassed 145 games twice, 146 and 147, he recorded 600 PAs just three times. This year alone, 20 players had 670 or more PAs. One catcher got 600 (Pete Casstevens, 611) and him and Adam Mullins were the only two guys to appear in 140 games. So, it's not hard to see why Bird doesn't have much ink and has the least games played. He also wasn't a regular until he was 28, the fact that there's counting stats he has better of then some eligible players is telling. Now the issue with the ink itself. The categories for hitters are homers, RBIs, average, runs, hits, slugging, doubles, walks, steals, games, at bats, and triples. That's nine counting stats and just two rate stats. Notice what's missing? Remember what Bird's best at? Getting on base. You get "ink" for taking the most at bats, but nothing for leading the league in OBP. So Les Cunha (3) has more black ink then Bird (2), just because Cunha has played 154 games in each of the last three seasons for the Sailors. Bird gets no credit for leading the league in OBP. Or OPS. Or WRC+. Or wOBA. You know, stats that are more valuable than at bats... Considering Tom Bird had a career .416 OBP, it's not hard to believe he'd rank in the top 10 for OBP in most of the seasons he played. Along with the league best .457 in 1938, he was at .458 the year before and was above .400 on seven separate occasions. Since becoming a regular in 1936, he six seasons with a WRC+ above 150 and two over 160. From 1936 to his retirement in 1945, he had just one season with a WRC+ below 125 -- the 117 at 35 in 1943 his lowest in a season with more than 450 trips to the plate. That 117 is also what Pete Casstevens, the Chiefs current catcher produced this year, which ranked fourth among qualified catchers this year. Seven of Bird's eleven offensive season would have led the league in 1948. I don't see a case against Bird, as he was the best hitting catcher of his time. He's a 10-Time All Star despite his career overlapping with George Cleaves and has the highest career OBP (.4156) as a catcher. It still ranks 13th overall and will likely go to 12 unless Freddie Jones (.4158) retires quickly. From this class I don't see anyone worth voting for more than him. Sure, if Jim Lonardo and Al Wheeler were on the ballot this year, they'd be the class of the class, but there are plenty of players in the hall less deserving than Tom Bird.
BEES GET A+ FOR BIG WEEK With four wins over the last eight days the Boston Bees continue to hold off the Toronto Dukes for top spot in the North American Hockey Confederation. The Bees, who blanked the Dukes 4-0 in Toronto to begin the streak, followed up with three more road wins starting with a 6-4 victory in Chicago followed by weekend wins in New York and Detroit. The surging Boston squad has won nine of its last 11 games and are 11-3-2 since since a January fifth tie on home ice against Toronto. The Bees will now try to increase their lead on the defending Challenge Cup champions from Toronto, who have struggled the past month, playing just .500 hockey over their last 14 games. Boston hopes a stint on home ice will allow them to extend their lead on the Dukes. The Bees play each of their next 5 games at Denny Arena including a meeting with Toronto next Saturday and will not head out on the road again until a March 2 trip to Detroit. BURNS SCORING TOUCH IS BACK The Chicago Packers have settled down of late as a 3-2-1 start to February lacks the drama of their terrific late December-early January run but also is without the heartache that accompanied just an awful start to the campaign. One player who has not settled down is two-time reigning McDaniels Trophy winner Tommy Burns. The Chicago scoring star has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last four outings including back to back two goal games which has vaulted the 29-year-old to the top of the NAHC goal scoring list despite the fact he missed 11 contests with a shoulder injury. Burns led the NAHC in points each of the last two seasons and a third straight scoring crown, which seemed out of the question just two months ago, is suddenly within reach as Burns now sits 4th in the league with 46 points, 8 behind leader Quinton Pollack of the Toronto Dukes. Chicago has 13 games remaining this season. Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 46 27 15 4 144 119 58
Toronto 47 25 16 6 154 124 56
Chicago 47 21 22 4 142 150 46
Detroit 48 18 24 6 150 146 42
New York 46 16 22 8 114 131 40
Montreal 46 16 24 6 114 148 38
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 47 23 31 54
Galbraith, Tor 47 26 24 50
Hart, Bos 45 21 26 47
T Burns, Chi 36 28 18 46
Chandler, Bos 41 20 24 44
Sauer, Tor 47 20 23 43
Vanderbilt, Det 46 24 17 41
Cabbell, NY 43 24 16 40
Carlson, Tor 44 11 29 40
Witt, Det 45 14 24 38
Rocheleau, Det 43 6 31 37
Skinner, Mon 46 17 19 36
Tardif, Det 38 16 20 36
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
Broadway, Tor 42 21 14 6 3 2.57
James, Bos 39 21 14 4 5 2.63
Chasse, Det 19 8 9 0 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 42 13 21 8 2 2.82
Brockers, Mon 33 11 18 3 2 2.92
Hanson, Chi 32 13 17 2 2 3.05
Touhey, Det 29 9 15 4 3 3.20
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9 Boston 6 at 4 Chicago: Four unanswered third period goals lifted the Boston Bees to their fourth win in five games with a 6-4 win over the Packers at Lakeside Auditorium. Chicago led 4-2 after forty minutes but goals by Tommy Hart, Wilbur Chandler, Mickey Bedard and Conn Cundiff in a span of less than 7 minutes midway through the third period changed the outcome. Detroit 3 at 0 New York: It might be a little early to talk crucial games with playoff implications, but the Detroit Motors slipped past the Shamrocks and into the fourth and final postseason berth with a 3-0 victory at Bigsby Garden. Millard Touhey made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season while Detroit scored once each period to hand New York it's fourth consecutive loss. Toronto 4 at 2 Montreal: Quinton pollack and Lou Galbraith each had a goal and an assist to lead the Toronto Dukes to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Valiants. Charlie Brown and Les Carlson also scored for the Dukes, who led 2-0 after two periods. Paulie Mosca and Glen Whitley were the Montreal marksmen. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10 New York 4 at 4 Chicago: The slumping New York Shamrocks have just one win in their last ten games, but they did snap a 4-game losing streak by skating to a 4-4 tie with the Chicago Packers. Tommy Burns scored twice for the home side to give him 26 goals on the season.SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12 Boston 4 at 1 New York: Joe Martin gave New York an early 1-0 lead but his was the only one of 30 shots the Shamrocks fired on Oscar James to find the back of the night as the Bees scored twice in each of the final two periods to win for the third straight game. Alex Gagnon and Craig Simpson each had a goal and an assist for the winners. Toronto 2 at 3 Detroit: The Motors are on a 4-game unbeaten streak after pulling out a 3-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Dukes. The loss, coupled with Boston's win in New York, leaves the Dukes 2 points back of the Bees in the fight for top spot in the NAHC. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13 Boston 3 at 1 Detroit: Boston stretched its latest winning streak to 4 games with a 3-1 road victory in Detroit. Wilbur Chandler, Ray Gustafson and Connor Mikaelsen were the Bees goal scorers with Vincent Arsenault replying with the lone Motors marker. Chicago 5 at 1 Montreal: Tommy Burns scored twice and added an assist while Jerry Finch had 3 helpers in leading the Chicago Packers to a 5-1 victory over struggling Montreal. Despite missing a month of the season with a shoulder injury, Burns has taken over the NAHC goal scoring lead with 28. The Vals have just one win in their last 12 games. New York 1 at 3 Toronto: The Shamrocks are now winless in 7 February games after falling 3-1 at Domion Gardens. After a scoreless first period the visitors took the lead 13 minutes into the second frame when Samuel Coates solved Dukes goaltender Gordie Broadway. In a goal that took the wind out of the Greenshirts, Les Carlson tied the contest with just 2 seconds remaining in the middle frame and third period goals from Quinton Pollack and Mike Navarro ensured the Dukes a victory and kept them within 2 points of front-running Boston. UPCOMING GAMES WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16 Chicago at Boston New York at Detroit THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17 Montreal at Toronto SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19 Montreal at New York Toronto at Boston SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20 Chicago at Toronto New York at Montreal AROUND THE LEAGUE
Saturday night the Dukes travelled to Thompson Palladium to renew acquaintances with the Motors. In a surprisingly calm affair between two teams with an expressed distaste for each other the squads left their boxing gloves in the dressing room, stuck to hockey in front of 10,235, many who came expecting fisticuffs. In a clean but hard-hitting affair the Dukes appeared to dominated in every category with the exception of the most important one, the scoreboard. Detroit opened the scoring at 11:41 at the end of a Frank Featherstone penalty for holding with Nick Tardif being left alone in the slot in front of Gordie Broadway. Tardif made no mistake but the Detroit lead lasted just 45 seconds before Pollack tied the game, tucking the puck behind Millard Touhey after a setup from Galbraith left the Detroit netminder with no chance on the play. The Motors made the most of their limited opportunities in the second period by scoring twice with goals coming from Francis McKenzie and Anthony Jacques, while short handed, with both goals coming while Gordie Broadway down and out on goal mouth scrambles. Detroit was up 3-1 after two despite being outshot 24-15. Toronto managed to narrow the gap to one with Galbraith denting the twine assisted by Brown and Carlson at 6:16. The Dukes continued to press especially on a power play after the goal but Touhey was equal to all challenges securing a critical two point for the home squad. Motors blocked a total of 14 shot during the game in support of Touhey's 35 saves. Back home Sunday night to face the injury-riddled Shamrocks at Dominion Gardens. It was evident from the opening puck drop the game strategy for the Greenshirts was defend, defend, defend, then dump and chase. After a scoreless first with the Dukes frustrated at every turn, Samuel Coates gave New York the lead when his wrister eluded a screened Broadway. Carlson knotted the score with 2 seconds left in the period when he intercepted a poor clearing attempt by Deck Horton then rifled it past a surprised Etienne Tremblay. The late goal gave Dukes life into the third period. Pollack gave the home team a lead they would not relinquish less than 3 minutes into the final frame beating Tremblay on cross-crease pass from Mike Navarro. It was a period which Toronto peppered the Shamrocks net with 14 shots, almost as many as New York had for the entire game -16. Navarro rounded out the scoring after he intercepted another clearing attempt and then deked Tremblay for the final goal in 3-1 Dukes win. Coach Barrell "Good week, Montreal was the kind of game fans love to watch. Up and down with lots of crisp passing, hard hitting. Nice to see Terry Russell shake off the cobwebs to play a solid game. He has been working hard in practice, he gives me a solid option down the stretch of the schedule. I was surprised at how clean the game was in Detroit, I will tell you the Motors really have our number lately whatever is the style of play. Giving up the shortie in last minute of two, which is inexcusable. proved to be too much to battle back from in the third. Full credit to Detroit. Facing a depleted New York roster my instructions were to raise the pace of play at every chance, that proved to be the key although the Shamrocks defended well for the entire game. Time to prepare for 3 more games next week, only 10 games left after next week, the season just flies by, time to tightening up a little more in our zone." When ask about his brother Fred, the Wolves new manager he said "Fred and I will sit down with Brett once he gets his bearings in Toronto. He is busy with all manners of baseball, family business at present."
Code:
FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Washington 28 9 .757 - Brooklyn 29 10 .744 - Philadelphia 23 15 .605 5.5 Rochester 20 17 .541 8.0 Baltimore 18 18 .500 9.5 Boston 18 22 .450 11.5 Hartford 16 21 .432 12.0 New York 12 26 .316 16.5 Syracuse 6 30 .167 21.5 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 25 14 .641 - Detroit 23 14 .622 1.0 Cleveland 23 15 .605 1.5 Cincinnati 22 17 .564 3.0 Pittsburgh 15 23 .395 9.5 Buffalo 12 24 .333 11.5 Toronto 11 26 .297 13.0  WESTERN IOWA'S LUDWICK TOP PRO PROSPECT Federal Basketball League scouts are increasing their focus on the top collegiate seniors as the season begins to wind down and it is looking like the Syracuse Titans, formerly based in Toronto, will once again own the number one selection in the draft. That is assuming the Titans, who are a dreadful 6-30 on the year, are still around as there are rumours the club will not survive to see a second season in western New York. A year ago, the Titans had the top choice and they bypassed Ward Messer, the former Liberty College standout and AIAA National Player of the Year who is presently leading the entire FBL in scoring for Detroit, in order to select forward Darren Fuhrman out of Texas Gulf Coast. Fuhrman continues to have a high ceiling, but he has had his struggles adjusting to the pro game as a rookie, averaging less than 9 points per game. Assuming the Titans are around to draft and compete next season, the likely top selection is either big forward Willy Ludwick or Major Belk, a point guard out of Carolina Poly. Fuhrman's teammate last season at Texas Guld Coast, Vincent Passingham may be another option with dominating center David Aponte from Frankford State drawing plenty of attention as well. Aponte has not been as strong on the boards as one would like to see from a player his size, but it is hard not to like his scoring ability with the New York City native ranking among the nation's leaders with an 18.0 ppg average. The names above represent four of the top five players on the OSA's latest rankings of collegiate seniors for the FBL draft. The name not listed above was St Blane forward Cy Worley, who plays the same position as Fuhrman so you expect the talent starved Titans would look at either a big man or a playmaker like Belk. OSA's TOP TWENTY DRAFT PROSPECTS AMONG COLLEGE SENIORS   LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 10 TEAMS MONDAY FEBRUARY 7 #4 Carolina Poly 64 (James Halle 24) George Fox 38 #5 Frankford State 67 (David Aponte 24) Bay State 35 WEDNESDY FEBRUARY 9 #3 Liberty College 76 (Luther Gordon 30) Topeka State 40 #5 Frankford State 74 (David Aponte 20) Potomac College 51 #6 Mississippi A&M 55 (Greg Randle 16) Opelika State 53 #8 Coastal California 52 (Barnes and Lincoln 12 each) Redwood 43 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10 #1 St Blane 73 (Brian Threadgill 18) George Fox 49 #2 Western Iowa 58 (Charlie Maynard 13) Whitney College 51 #9 North Carolina Tech 67 (Chris Hermann 19) Mobile Maritime 39 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 11 #3 Liberty College 60 (Scott Basile 23) Plover College 51 #7 Lane State 56 (Carl Casswell 18) Spokane State 49 #10 Rainier College 54 (Thomas Abbott 17) Northern California 33 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12 #2 Western Iowa 46 (Willy Ludwick 16) Indiana A&M 34 #4 Carolina Poly 64 (Bill Florence 17) Central Carolina 51 #5 Frankford State 52 (David Aponte 12) Western Montana 44 #6 Mississippi A&M 56 (Billy Bob Leveau 56) Western Florida 49 #9 North Carolina Tech 55 (Mike Carter 14) Petersburg 51 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13 #1 St Blane 56 (Cy Worley 15) Eastern State 40 #3 Liberty College 62 (Luther Gordon 23) Michigan Lutheran 57 #7 Lane State 74 (Sherman Porter 23) Portland Tech 64 #8 Coastal California 66 (Chris Martines 28) Idaho A&M 40 #10 Rainier College 51 (Thomas Abbott 15) CC Los Angeles 43 BUBBLE WATCH A loss yesterday to Rainier College dropped CC Los Angeles to 5-5 in section play and reduced the Coyotes chances slightly of qualifying for this year's AIAA tournament. CCLA reached the championship game last year before coming up short against West Coast Athletic Association rival Redwood and the Coyotes won it all just 3 years ago. The deep competition in the WCAA makes for some tense first couple of weeks of March but as it stands right now the expectation is the Coyotes will be one of five coast clubs to make the event. Coastal State, Lane State and Rainier College are all ranked nationally in the top ten and seem to have their positions well in hand with CC Los Angeles and defending champion Redwood in, at least for the moment. The other conference that quite often sends five and even six teams to the event is the Great Lakes Alliance, but this looks like a down year for the GLA, at least as far as tournament representation goes. Only Western Iowa, which is ranked second in the nation with a 20-1 record including 7-1 in section play, along with Indiana A&M and Central Ohio would be considered safe at the moment. Here is the latest bubble watch. Full AIAA standings can be found here  SAWYER SET FOR TITLE DEFENSE IN PARIS World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer will be aiming for his 60th victory as a professional boxer when he enters the ring in Paris, France Saturday evening for his latest title defense. The 34-year-old New Orleans native is 59-3-1 and has held the world title since January of 1940, although he did take a five-year break from defending the belt while helping defend his country as a member of the Army during the war. Sawyer appeared briefly in France late in the war on a tour to keep morale of troops high and has spent the past two months in the country after his last title defense was made in England in October. Not much is known about Sawyer's opponent beyond the fact that his name is Alain Noel and he is the current French champion with a 44-11-2 record. Noel is 30-years-old and not expect to provide any more of a challenge to the champ than Grant Knowles did in London shortly before Halloween. This is expected to be Sawyer's final fight in Europe as it is believed that his manager, Chester Conley, is working on a deal to see Sawyer face Roy Crawford in the summer, likely at Gothams Stadium. DESMARIAS REMATCH WITH PETRIE CONFIRMED Philadelphia, PA - Fight fans, mark your calendars! The highly-anticipated rematch between Adrian Petrie and Edouard Desmarais for the World Middleweight title is officially confirmed for June 4. The tension has been simmering since their controversial clash in October, where Petrie seized the title in a split decision. The bout's verdict raised eyebrows and led to an investigation by the American Boxing Federation. While the ABF found no wrongdoing, it did advise Petrie to grant Desmarais the opportunity for a rematch. Two French-Canadian judges faced disciplinary action due to their scoring in the contentious bout. However, Desmarais, a man of his word, had a prior commitment to face Frank Melanson, whom he bested in a bout last month. The former champ chose to honor his agreement with Melanson, which, in turn, led to a title defense for Petrie against a different opponent, Danny Morse, last month. During this match, Desmarais's supporters reportedly heckled Petrie, labeling him a false champion. In the heat of the moment, still in the ring after his victory over Morse, Petrie gestured towards Desmarais and proclaimed, "Vous êtes le prochain!" which translates to "You're next!" This challenge has now been confirmed, with the rematch scheduled to take place at Philadelphia's Broad Street Park, home to the Federal Association Philadelphia Keystones. The venue satisfies another recommendation made by the ABF, which was to ensure a neutral site for the rematch somewhere in the United States rather than a second meeting hosted in Petrie's home country of Canada. Desmarais, who had plans to return to France after the Melanson fight, was evidently enticed enough by the prospect of a rematch with Petrie to change his course. The upcoming bout promises not only the clash of fists but also the fervor of fans eager to witness the resolution of the middleweight title dispute. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an unforgettable showdown on June 4. ANOTHER WIN FOR RUTLEDGE Danny Rutledge moved one step closer to a shot at the welterweight title and fellow unbeaten and reigning champ Mac Erickson. Rutledge, the lightning quick Louisville, Kentucky 24-year-old scored a unanimous decision over Ira Mitchell in what was the toughest test yet of his young pro career. Rutledge is now 17-0 and said after the win over Mitchell at Boston's Denny Arena Saturday that he was hopeful the next time he steps in the ring it will be for the world title. Mac Erickson is the unbeaten champion as a professional, but did lose to Rutledge during the war in England in what was considered an amateur bout and proclaimed as for the Allied Welterweight Championship. In another key bout John Edmonds, who briefly held the world middleweight title, outpointed Heath Nichols in a 10-rounder at Bigsby Garden on Friday evening. Edmonds had hoped that would earn him a shot at current belt holder Adrian Petrie but he will have to wait at least until Petrie and Edouard Desmarais stage their rematch in June. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/13/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-06-2023 at 12:30 PM. |
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11-07-2023, 04:03 PM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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February 21, 1949
FEBRUARY 21, 1949 HALL OF FAME VOTERS COME UP EMPTY None Receive Required 75% for Enshrinement The 1949 class of inductees added to baseball's Hall of Fame in Boone County, Il., will not include any modern-day players as none of the 18 candidates on the ballot successfully garnered the 75% required for induction. The only newcomer to the ranks will be John 'Scoops' Cook, who was nominated by the veteran's committee and will hold the stage all on his own at this summer's induction ceremony. Jack Cleaves, a middle infielder who spent the bulk of his career with the Philadelphia Sailors before stints with his brother George in Pittsburgh and finally with the Cincinnati Cannons came the closest, but the 4-time World Championship Series winner fell just short, with his name appearing on 62% of the ballots. Tom Bird was next with 54% and plenty of controversy around the league as the merits of his candidacy were discussed at great lengths with writers firmly entrenched on opposite sides of the discussion. In the end Bird's name only appeared on just over half of the ballots. Bird was a very polarizing figure among the voters with proponents noting his 10 all-star game selections, his .416 career on base percentage and the fact that he still managed to hit .308 despite playing the most demanding position in the field. Only one other catcher, former Washington Eagles and Cleveland Foresters great T.R. Goins is presently counted among hall members. Detractors argued that the late start to his career kept his overall numbers well below Hall of Fame standard. Bird did not make his big league debut until he was 26 years old and did not becoming an everyday player until his age 28 season in 1936. As a result, his counting stats, such as only 1558 base hits, fall well short of his fellow nominees and those already in the Hall. All of those who missed out this year will find it much tougher next year as Al Wheeler, who seems a lock for induction, and Jim Lonardo, who also is expected to have an excellent chance, will both debut on the ballot.  VETERANS CALL ON COOK TO JOIN HALL Unlike the writers and radio men who vote on the standard Hall of Fame ballot, the veteran committee did find a candidate it could fully support. That would be John Cook. Cook was a second baseman who had 2,505 hits between 1902 and 1919 for Boston and Brooklyn while being what some considered to be the best defensive second baseman of his era. Nicknamed "Scoops" for his prowess with the glove, Cook was a key figure on the Boston Minutemen dynasty that won 5 straight pennants and 2 WCS from 1902-06. He would win a third WCS title in 1912 before leaving Boston to finish out his career in Brooklyn. Cook had 2,505 hits, 454 steals, 806 RBIs, 1,180 runs, and 421 extra base hits with a .953 fielding percentage.    SAWYER LIGHTS UP NOEL LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE IN PARIS Paris, France -- Hector Sawyer landed in Europe with thoughts of conquest. It was not a hard mission: to seek out the best heavyweight contenders and pummel them into submission. The best Great Britain could offer was Grant Knowles and that fight was over in four rounds. On this night, with a lovely backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, Sawyer met Alain Noel, which was the requisite French representative in the heavyweight division. France was represented in a lower weight class, as Edouard Desmarais was a middleweight champion for three months last year and will likely get a title shot again. However, no one is mistaking Noel for Desmarais. Desmarais has lost two professional fights. Noel has dropped 11 of them. The biggest difference: there is no one in any weight class who measures up to the great champion, “The Cajun Crusher”, Hector Sawyer. During the bout, it seemed like Sawyer was being paid by the minute. In the early rounds, Sawyer could have attacked several times but decided instead to clinch or resort to a more defensive posture. It was clear that he was trying to give the estimated 60,000 paying fight fans at Stade Yves-du-Manoir their money’s worth. The fourth round was a telling harbinger for the rest of the bout. Almost as if a switch was flipped, Sawyer stormed towards Noel and landed a big hook and stayed on the attack until he let an uppercut loose that hit Noel squarely on Noel’s left jaw, sending him sprawling to the canvas. After a quick three-count, Noel was back on his feet, but Sawyer continued on the offense. Somehow, someway, Noel was able to stay on his feet to finish the round. Sawyer started to inflict damage on Noel, as the challenger developed a puffy eye that was evident in the fifth round. Sawyer’s punches were connecting regularly and by the seventh round, even Noel’s corner men could not reduce the swelling. The swollen left eye was joined in the eighth round by a cut right eyelid after a sharp right hand from Sawyer caught Noel just above the eye, followed immediately in the same sequence by an accidental head butt. Noel’s best round was that eighth round, a round where he saw the worse for wear with the cut to his eyelid and it was largely because of an uppercut that Noel landed with about 30 seconds left in that round. It was the only Big Bopper of the fight for Noel and it barely fazed the Cajun Crusher. Once the ninth round came along, Sawyer resorted to some more defensive boxing, either to ensure Noel did not gain any momentum off his uppercut in the eighth or to prolong the agony for Noel. Either way, Sawyer was successfully pummeling his opponent into the later rounds, culminating in some late fireworks. Late in the 14th round, Sawyer dropped Noel with a quick combination after Noel hit on a combination of his own. Noel, however, left himself wide open and Sawyer took advantage, earning a five-count before Noel was able to continue. Since it was his second knockdown, Referee Bill Clancy performed a quick inspection on Noel by holding his gloves together and looking into his eyes. In the final round, the undisputed champion and best boxer of his generation, Hector Sawyer, let Noel bask in the cheers of his home crowd before the round began. Sawyer was running rings around Noel, as he had barely broken a sweat all night. As the round was coming close to the end, Sawyer went for a big uppercut that found a home under Noel’s chin, sending Noel down a third time. There were only 13 seconds left in the bout, but you have to hand it to Noel, he was able to scramble to his feet as the referee got to a six-count. As much as this was expected to be a walkover for Sawyer, no one expected Noel (44-12-2) to be standing at the end of the 15th round. But there he was, standing before his countrymen a worthy adversary for the Heavyweight Champion of the World. It was a little beyond credulity to this reporter that Sawyer needed more than 15 rounds to dispose of Noel and had to resort to a unanimous decision. He could have ended it in the fourth round even earlier than that if he so chose. Maybe it was the goodwill of his European trip. Maybe it was his respect for the sweet science. Whatever the reason, there were no blemishes to his record or his credibility on this night. Sawyer won his 60th professional fight and even with 64 professional bouts to his name, he is a champion who stands alone, looking far and wide for a challenger. He could not find his match in Europe. After Grant Knowles and Alain Noel, known as the best Europe had to offer to this point, will Sawyer (60-3-1) keep looking in Europe or will he return a conquering hero to America and wait like the ancient knights guarding the Holy Grail for a new hero to attempt to vanquish him? BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:08 right/body) Round 2: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:10 hook/jaw) Round 3: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:45 cross) Round 4: Sawyer, 4-0 (0:24 hook, 1:06 uppercut/jaw/knockdown, 1:43 combo/midsection, 2:14 combo) Round 5: Sawyer, 3-0 (0:31 hook, 0:48 right, 1:35 hook/midsection) Round 6: None Round 7: None Round 8: Noel, 2-0 (1:27 hook/head, 2:31 uppercut) Round 9: Sawyer, 1-0 (1:16 right/head) Round 10: None Round 11: None Round 12: Sawyer, 1-0 (0:19 combo) Round 13: Sawyer, 2-0 (0:12 hook, 1:49 cross) Round 14: Sawyer, 2-0 (2:26 combo/knockdown, 3:00 hook) Round 15: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:49 uppercut/knockdown TOTAL: Sawyer 17, Noel 2  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
BATTLE FOR FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT A HEATED ONE While the Boston Bees gathered some breathing room atop the NAHC standings and have moved 6 points ahead of the defending champion Toronto Dukes thanks to a 6-game winning streak that included a pair of victories over the Dukes, the other end of the playoff race has heated up. With 11 games remaining for each, just 2 points separate the bottom three clubs who are fighting for their playoff lives as the season enters its final four weeks. Things can turn quickly in the battle as the Montreal Valiants, seemingly fading from the picture with just one victory in their last twelve games entering the week, exploded with three straight victories including back-to-back wins over the New York Shamrocks and if the season ended today the Vals would be in the playoffs with New York and Detroit watching from the sidelines. Each of the three clubs has had prolonged slumps this season, as well as some winning streaks, so it will likely come down to which of the three teams gets hot at the right time. The Motors, with a much better goal differential than their two rivals, might feel they should be well ahead in the race but that is not the case despite the Detroit club being +2 on the season while New York has allowed 17 more goals than they have scored and Montreal is worst in the league at -30 but somehow still very much in the playoff picture. Key games in the battle next week both take place in Detroit when Montreal invades the Thompson Palladium Saturday and the Shamrocks arrive in the Motor City the following day. Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 48 29 15 4 155 123 62
Toronto 50 25 19 6 161 141 56
Chicago 49 22 23 4 151 158 48
Montreal 49 19 24 6 129 159 44
Detroit 49 18 25 6 154 152 42
New York 49 17 24 8 128 145 42
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 50 25 32 57
Galbraith, Tor 50 26 27 53
Hart, Bos 47 22 27 49
T Burns, Chi 38 30 18 48
Chandler, Bos 43 21 27 48
Sauer, Tor 50 21 24 45
Cabbell, NY 46 26 17 43
Carlson, Tor 47 12 30 42
Vanderbilt, Det 47 24 17 41
Skinner, Mon 49 19 21 40
Rocheleau, Det 44 6 33 39
Witt, Det 46 14 24 38
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 41 23 14 4 5 2.59
Broadway, Tor 45 21 18 6 3 2.72
Chasse, Det 19 8 9 0 1 2.82
Tremblay, NY 45 14 22 8 2 2.86
Brockers, Mon 35 13 18 3 2 2.92
Hanson, Chi 34 14 18 2 2 3.11
Touhey, Det 30 9 16 4 3 3.30
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16 Chicago 2 at 6 Boston: Make it five wins in a row for surging Boston as the Bees kicked off a lengthy homestand with a 6-2 drubbing of Chicago. It was deadlocked at two after twenty minutes before Boston put four goals past Norm Hanson in the Chicago net over the final thirty minutes despite being outshot 32-19 by the visiting Packers. Craig Simpson and Nick Prentiss each scored twice for the winners. New York 6 at 4 Detroit: Two of the three clubs in a battle for the final playoff spot met in the Motor City with the visitors from New York claiming a 6-4 victory. Three Shamrocks in Paul Tetreault, Gil Corbeil and Jocko Gregg each contributed 3 points on the evening to help the Greenshirts win for the first time this month and snap a 7-game winless streak. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17 Montreal 5 at 3 Toronto: Third period goals from Ian Doyle, John Cline and Adam Sandford lifted the Valiants to a 5-3 win over Toronto and drop the Dukes 4 points back of first place Boston. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19 Montreal 4 at 3 New York: Ian Doyle scored twice in the third period to help Montreal past the New York Shamrocks 4-3 in the opener of a home and home series between two clubs scratching to claim the final playoff spot. The teams traded goals in each of the first two periods but New York could manage just one marker in the third frame - Orval Cabbell's 25th of the season- and the Shamrocks came up just short. Toronto 2 at 5 Boston: The Bees won for the sixth game in a row and opened a 6-point lead on Toronto in the race for top spot in the NAHC with a 5-2 victory on home ice. Wilbur Chandler led the way for the Bees with a goal and two helpers. Toronto has lost three of its last four outings. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20 Chicago 7 at 2 Toronto: Moose Vezina and Leon Seguin each had 4 assists while Max Ducharme added a goal and 2 helpers as the Packers routed Toronto 7-2. The victory allows third place Chicago to move within 6 points of the defending champs for second place. New York 5 at 6 Montreal: Montreal moved 2 points ahead of the Shamrocks and idle Detroit and into sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot, at least for the moment, after a 6-5 win over New York. Clarence Skinner scored the only goal of the opening stanza for the Valiants before the two teams exploded for 7 goals in a wild second period that left the contest tied after 40 minutes. Paulie Mosca gave Montreal the lead just 25 seconds into the third frame and Clarence Skinner's second of the game less than 2 minutes later made it 6-4. Laurel Albers got one back just shy of the 13 minute mark but that was as close as the Greenshirts could come as the Vals swept the weekend home-and-home series between the two rivals. UPCOMING GAMES MONDAY FEBRUARY 21 Detroit at Boston WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23 New York at Boston THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24 Chicago at Montreal SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26 Montreal at Detroit Toronto at Chicago SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27 Chicago at Boston New York at Detroit  At home for a midweek date with the Montreal Valiants, the Dukes came out fast on the forecheck, hemming the Vals in their own zone, which is something they have been doing a fair bit of lately. The home side has 14 shots on goal as compared to 5 by Montreal in the first, but Toronto managed to notch just a single goal. It came courtesy of Quinton Pollack, who beat Tom Brockers from in tight just past the 12 minute mark. The rest of the period was a showcase of the veteran Montreal netminder, who repeatedly robbed Toronto shooters. In the second the visitors came out with a little more life and they were rewarded when Glen Whitley beat Gordie Broadway from the slot just past the three minute mark, shortly after Al Cote and Montreal's Shel Herron livened things up with a scuffle. Toronto found its stride a few minutes later when Pollack, with his second of the game, followed by a Bobbie Sauer goal to make it 3-1 just over two and a half minutes after the Dukes regained the lead. However, after that goal the Dukes seemed to be content to go through the motions without much intensity, content to just dump the puck in then change lines. Montreal took advantage of lack of a forecheck to pull within one with only 49 seconds left in the period. Behind the bench, Coach Jack Barrell was seen shaking his head in disgust after the team allowed another late goal. When Toronto could not regain their tempo Montreal pounced scoring twice before the third was 5 minutes old. Ian Doyle, left alone in front on missed assignment, tied the score at 2:38 as Toronto defenders were running around in their own zone. The John Cline's floater from the point seemed to dip in front of Broadway and suddenly Montreal was in front 4-3. Try as they might Toronto could not mount any pressure to tie the score. Fans at Dominion Gardens began to boo the team for what seemed a lack of effort that became a crescendo when Brett Lanceleve put one in the empty net to seal the win for the Vals. The Dukes dressing room was closed to reporters after the game. The Mail & Empire was told that Coach Barrell's post-game tirade was one for the ages, full of unprintable vocabulary centered on lack of effort. After a full practice Friday morning the team boarded a train to Boston. The top two teams in the NAHC squared off at Denny Arena before almost 15,000. It was again a fast paced, up and down game, with bone jarring, clean hits handed out by both teams. Tommy Hart opened the scoring for the home side followed by Jacob Gron 5 minutes later in a game that seemed to getting away from the Dukes. Dick Zimmerman's marker during the last minute of play injected a spark of life into Toronto but it came on one of only 4 shots by the visitors compared to 14 from the Bees in the first. Jim Morey scored 17 seconds into the second after Robert Walker won a draw cleanly in the Toronto end. Heading into the third down two quickly closed to within one when Les Carlson scored at 2:59 from Lou Galbraith and Charlie Brown but that would be the end of the Toronto push. The Dukes were stifled by the Boston checking for the balance of the game with the Bees adding a pair of empty netters to make the 5-2, a score not indicative of how close the game was on the ice. Back in Toronto Sunday night to face the Packers, the Dukes got out to quick lead when Al Cote picked up his second of the year from Mike Navarro and Pollack less than 4 minutes into the game. Chicago scored two in 12 seconds just past the 14 minute marker of period to put the Packers into a lead that they would never surrender. Those two were part of seven in a row Chicago skaters would put past Broadway in a 7-2 laugher for the visitors. The 13,558 in attendance were not laughing, as once more catcalls reigned down on the ice throughout the third period in what many of the faithful described as worst two-game performance at home seen in years. The dressing room was closed again to the press after the game. Coach Barrell met with the media later thus describing the woeful week: "I felt a change on the bench after Sauer's goal halfway through the Montreal game Wednesday, a "We've got this one on to Boston mentality." Once you start to cruise, it is tough to re-engage the engine. I've seen it happen before to teams I have been on. In this league anything less than 100% effort will comeback to haunt you - this league has the best hockey players in the world. Open the door for the opposition they will come through in a hurry. Montreal got our number in the second half of the game. In Boston Broadway held us in until late but as for Chicago tonight.... well I don't want to discuss that. The fans said it all, correctly, if truth be told. No sense dwelling on the past, we have six days to straighten out our game and with only one game this week (in Chicago Saturday) my job is to have the team ready. See you all at practice Tuesday, it will be an interesting week of practice. I am pondering some rather substantial roster/line changes to shake things up on the team." EASTERN STARS DOMIANT IN CAGE ALL-STAR GAME VICTORY The Federal Basketball League all-star game quickly turned into a rout as the stars of the East Division built a 22-point lead at the half and rolled to a 122-80 victory over the Western squad. The hot hand belonged to Benton Legault, of the Brooklyn Red Caps as the 29-year-old 8-year veteran exploded for 27 points off the bench to lead his side to victory. Legault was named the game's Most Valuable Player in what was his fifth appearance in an all-star game. The previous four came while Legault and his Red Caps were members of the now defunct American Basketball Conference. Lon Porter and Max Lucia, teammates on West Division cellar-dwelling Toronto, topped the Western scoring parade with 18 points each. Brooklyn's Loren Kamp also had 18. 
Code:
FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 31 10 .756 - Washington 30 10 .750 0.5 Philadelphia 24 16 .600 6.5 Rochester 20 21 .488 11.0 Baltimore 19 20 .487 11.0 Boston 20 22 .476 11.5 Hartford 18 21 .462 12.0 New York 13 28 .317 18.0 Syracuse 6 33 .154 24.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 28 14 .667 - Detroit 26 14 .650 1.0 Cleveland 23 18 .561 4.5 Cincinnati 23 19 .548 5.0 Pittsburgh 17 23 .425 10.0 Buffalo 14 25 .359 12.5 Toronto 11 29 .275 16.0  CRUNCH TIME CLOSING IN There are only three weeks remaining until March 13, which any college basketball coach will tell you is selection day for the 40th annual AIAA collegiate basketball tournament. There are 32 spots up for grabs with 15 of them allocated for the champions of each of the 15 conferences. Competition is expected to fierce down the stretch, not just for the section berths, but also among teams vying for one of the 17 open spots. Three of the top five schools continue to be independents and each seems almost assured of a tournament berth with a strong chance that #1 ranked St Blane and #3 Liberty College will end up with two of the four number seeds in the event. Western Iowa, on the strength of wins over Central Ohio and St Ignatius over the weekend, improved to 9-1 in Great Lakes Alliance play and has a two-game lead on second place Indiana A&M. The Canaries are clearly in the tournament, but whether they go in as GLA champion or with an at-large bid remains to be seen. Fourth ranked Carolina Poly is 8-0 in South Atlantic Conference play and are quite likely the favourite at this point for the top seed in the South Region, but the Cardinals have a big week ahead of them with road games at 10th ranked North Carolina Tech and in Greenville against a Bulein Hornets squad that beat the Techsters earlier this season and is 7-1 in section play, although the Hornets did lose on the road to Maryland State yesterday. The most exciting section race is out west as only a half game separates the top three schools in the West Coast Athletic Association with each of them ranked in the top ten nationally.  Defending National Champion Redwood University is fighting just to reach the tournament this year. The Mammoths have five games remaining but three are on the road and three, including two road contests, are against teams ranked in the top ten with a March calander that begins with a home game against #8 Rainier College before heading to Los Angeles to play 7th ranked Coastal California before a final stop against the 6th ranked Lane State Emeralds. Those three games, along with next week's encounters with Spokane State and Portland Tech will decide if Redwood will even have an opportunity to defend its title. CCLA, which reached the title game last year and has four AIAA titles on its resume, has a finish nearly as tough with a trip to Lane State and their annual showdown with Coastal California still on the docket. Here is a look at the teams (excluding conference champions) across the country in and on the bubble, at least at the moment, for the 32-team tournament field.   LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING TOP 10 TEAMS TUESDAY FEBRUARY 15 #5 Frankford State 66 (David Aponte 20) Ogdensburg 39 WEDNESDY FEBRUARY 16 Central Kentucky 48 #9 Mississippi A&M 45 (Greg Randle 12) THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17 #2 Western Iowa 58 (Charlie Maynard 23) Central Ohio 51 #4 Carolina Poly 56 (James Halle 33) Mobile Maritime 46 #5 Frankford State 55 (David Aponte 17) Hampden 45 Charleston Tech 51 #10 North Carolina Tech 37 (Mike Carter 17) FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18 #1 St Blane 57 (Cy Worley 18) Ferguson 49 #3 Liberty College 82 (Luther Gordon 27) St Patrick's 50 #6 Lane State 52 (Clarence Tutt 15) #7 Coastal California 50 (Chris Martines 16) #8 Rainier College 62 (Joe Simpson 20) Idaho A&M 39 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 19 #2 Western Iowa 58 (Charlie Maynard 19) St Ignatius 48 #4 Carolina Poly 51 (Major Belk 10) Chesapeake State 40 Noble Jones College 57 #9 Mississippi A&M 56 (Micah Shuman 17) #10 North Carolina Tech 52 (Mike Carter 20) Cowpens State 42 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20 #8 Rainier College 68 (Thomas Abbott 16) #6 Lane State 52 (Carl Casswell 19) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/20/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-07-2023 at 04:05 PM. |
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11-08-2023, 01:10 PM
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#824 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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FEBRUARY 28, 1949 REQUIEM FOR A TANK Frank “The Tank” Melanson announced his retirement after his most recent loss to fellow former champion middleweight Edouard Desmarais last month. As the new year of 1949 dawned, Melanson was still hoping to get back on top, but it was becoming less and less likely. Desmarais has another title shot in him. Melanson does not and for someone who never really hungered for the limelight, his release of any desire to hang on is understandable. Melanson came out of nowhere. He fought during the War, but he went back to his job he loved before getting the opportunity to fight then-champion Archie Rees. Myself, a reporter working a beat that I loved before getting the opportunity to cover that same fight. And so, the doffing of my reporter’s fedora for Melanson began. I have tried to be even-handed in my coverage, but it is no secret I have rooted for him. I have rooted for him as a fighter. I have rooted for him as a person. This is what makes his decision to retire a good one and one in keeping with his high character. They say it is better to retire one bout too early than one bout too late. He has his health, and he has made more money than 50 years of working in a factory. By life’s count, the 31-year-old Melanson is still a young man. But, in boxing years, he is at an advanced age. The boxing occupation is hard on a man; it deprives a man of his faculties, and the bumps and bruises linger longer. Melanson’s professional career began when he was a spry and willing 18-year-old in 1936, handling himself well in six-round bouts with six wins and a one draw in 1936, moving up to 12-round matches in 1937. His winning ways continued, as he earned his first knockout in 1939 against Edward Owens. Melanson’s first consequential fight was in 1940 when the 17-0-1 Melanson defeated 11-2-2 Brooks O’Connor by majority decision in his hometown of Pittsburgh. As the War started, the Jorge Cuellar was the Middleweight champion, but the Spaniard retired, and the title stood vacant for a year until Englishman Archie Rees became champion in 1941. Meanwhile, Melanson fought notably in 1943 against Doug Smith and Vic Woodley, two fighters with a combined 31 professional victories, people in the boxing world started to notice. Melanson felt a call to duty on the homefront in the summer of 1943 and put his boxing career on hold as he put his muscle to work helping Uncle Sam provide parts for the machinery that protected the freedom of the Western World. Only a single fight in 1944 against a 1-18-1 Richard Crum caused those same boxing pundits to go back to ignoring him. When the War was winding down in February 1945, Melanson put his boxing gloves back on, knocking out a young Andrew Hammon, who was 6-1 entering the fight. At this time, Archie Rees was looking for a payday on his American trip and his camp wanted to select a challenger Rees could beat, but they also wanted a draw that would fill the seats. In Melanson, he had a backstory that Rees’s representation could not resist with the end of the War fast approaching. Melanson outlasted the Tadcaster Thunderbolt and became World Middleweight Champion in a unanimous decision and instantly, his life changed. The rags-to-riches story was apocryphal, as he was a working boxer until his focus became supporting the War effort, but America fell in love with him. Melanson became the “People’s Champion” because he earned an unlikely title shot and, like David and his slingshot, slayed his own Goliath to take the championship belt. Melanson kept the belt through a tight draw against Todd Gill, avenged it with a win in the rematch, lost the belt and regained it against John Edmonds. All of this added to his story and the public adulation. Who among us hasn’t lost in life and what better feeling is it to win back what you have lost? He is Everyman. He is us. While the loss to Edouard Desmarais – after successfully defending his title against the Frenchman in 1946 – was compounded with a lost rematch put an end to his fighting career, it is not the end of the story; it is merely the close of a very active chapter. Where next for the Tank? Only he knows. He has the chiseled looks of a matinee idol and 31 is not too old to get into film. Back to the factories? Not a chance. One thing is for certain: Melanson will not chase fame, fortune, or anything like that. He will simply live his life and it will be left to the rest of us to sing his praises and remember his exploits as the People’s Champion.   KEY FIGHTS LAST WEEK Mark Westlake, the battling Biloxi, Ms., welterweight who briefly held the world title two and a half years ago, made another case as to why he deserves another shot at the crown as the 31-year-old knocked out Jack Watkins for his sixth straight win since being outpointed by Harold Stephens for the crown. There are some big names in those recent wins for Westlake as well, including Ira Mitchell and Carl Taylor. Mac Erickson is the current titleholder in the welter class, and will put his perfect 18-0 record on the line against Rudy Perry next month. Westlake may have to wait in line as there is a solid crop of contenders in the division with Danny Rutledge, also like Erickson yet to lose as a professional, expected to be next up for a title shot. Middleweight John Baker, another member of the first family of Philadelphia boxing, won again in his hometown last week. The 30-year-old, one of three fighting sons of former World Middleweight Champ Battling Billy Baker, needed a late rally but scrated out a majority decision over Richard Pounds Saturday night. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
CITRUS DIAMOND YARDS OPEN NEXT WEEK It is the lull before the Florida storm as the 16 FABL ball clubs are making final preparations in advance of spring training openers next week. Each of the 16 clubs has already begun transporting equipment and supplies to the sunny locales and players will begin trickling into camps this week. Just as they were a year ago, the St Louis Pioneers prepare to begin Citrus loop play as the defending World Champions, having knocked off the Continental Association winning Philadelphia Sailors for the second year in a row. It marked the first time since 1905-06 when the New York Stars beat the Boston Minutemen in successive WCS, have the same two teams met with the same one emerging as champion. It has never happened three times in a row. In fact, the Federal Association has not seen a team win three consecutive league flags since the 1902-06 Boston Minutemen won 5 in a row. Three straight pennants has been much more common in the CA, with the Cincinnati Cannons (1943-45), Brooklyn Kings (1936-38), Philadelphia Sailors (1928-30) and New York Stars (1924-26) all accomplish a threepeat. BEES CLOSING IN ON REGULAR SEASON TITLE 9 Points Up With 9 Games Remaining The Boston Bees are looking to make it six first place finishes in the past nine years after a hot streak at the right time has left the Bees 9 points clear of the second place Toronto Dukes with 9 games remaining on the regular season Calander for each team. The Bees suffered a minor stumble this week with a loss to New York on Wednesday followed by a tie with Chicago last night but prior to those two recent outings the Boston club had won 7 straight and had gone 12-2-0 since losing to Chicago on January 16. The news is not all good as the Bees are banged up right now with the biggest concern being that starting goaltender Oscar James and his back-up Pierre Melancon are both hurting. James has been dealing with an injury to his forearm suffered in a game against Chicago nearly two weeks ago but has continued to play through it in part because Melancon, who has appeared in 7 games this season, is battling a stomach virus. Meanwhile in Toronto the news can not get much worse for the defending Challenge Cup champions who have lost 4 in a row -their longest skid of the season- and have turned thoughts away from catching Boston to needing to just focus on holding off Chicago for second place and home-ice advantage during the opening round of the playoffs. The Packers, once thought their season was completely lost after an awful 4-12-1 start that had them mirred in the NAHC cellar, have gone 17-6-4 since December 22 and are now just 3 points behind the Dukes. Chicago has 8 games remaining on its schedule, one less than Toronto but the two clubs do meet once - in Toronto two weeks from yesterday. Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 51 30 16 5 163 131 65
Toronto 51 25 20 6 161 144 56
Chicago 52 24 23 5 159 161 53
Detroit 52 20 26 6 167 162 46
Montreal 51 19 26 6 133 166 44
New York 51 18 25 8 134 153 44
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 51 25 32 57
Galbraith, Tor 51 26 27 53
Hart, Bos 50 23 29 52
Chandler, Bos 46 21 30 51
T Burns, Chi 41 31 19 50
Cabbell, NY 48 26 20 46
Sauer, Tor 51 21 24 45
Witt, Det 49 17 28 45
Vanderbilt, Det 50 24 19 43
Skinner, Mon 51 20 22 42
Carlson, Tor 48 12 30 42
Rocheleau, Det 47 6 35 41
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 44 24 15 5 5 2.60
Broadway, Tor 46 21 19 6 3 2.72
Chasse, Det 20 9 9 0 1 2.83
Tremblay, NY 47 15 23 8 2 2.92
Hanson, Chi 37 16 18 3 3 2.94
Brockers, Mon 37 13 20 3 2 2.96
Touhey, Det 32 10 17 4 3 3.31
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS MONDAY FEBRUARY 21 Detroit 4 at 5 Boston: Three third period goals lifted Boston to a comeback win over the Motors in a rare Monday tussle. After the visitors build a 4-2 lead with less than 18 minutes to play the Bees responded with goals from Jacob Gron, his second of the game, Mickey Bedard and David Scarpone to scratch out their seventh consecutive victory. WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23 New York 3 at 2 Boston: Back at it two days later, Boston's winning streak came to an end as the Shamrocks built a 2-0 opening period lead and held on for a 3-2 victory. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24 Chicago 4 at 2 Montreal: Montreal's modest three game winning streak came to an end on home ice after the Valiants were doubled 4-2 by the Chicago Packers. Marty Mahoney scored twice to put Chicago up 2-0 but the Vals rallied with 2 goals of their own to tie the contest but then Jarrett McGlynn scored twice in a minute and a half span in the third period to give the Packers the victory. Mahoney, who assisted on the two McGlynn markers, hurt his back late in the game and is expected to be out of the lineup for the next week. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26 Montreal 2 at 3 Detroit: The Motors started a big weekend that features games against both of their rivals in the fight for the final playoff spot by hanging on to claim a 3-2 win over visiting Montreal. Everything started well for the Motors when Alexandre Viens and Ben Witt staked the Detroiters to a 2-0 lead when the game was barely two minutes old. Marsh Spencer increased the lead to three with the lone tally of the second frame before Montreal came to life in the third. Clarence Skinner, with his 20th of the season, and John Cline scored but the Vals failed to get the equalizer past former Montreal goaltender Millard Touhey in the Detroit net. Toronto 0 at 3 Chicago: Things are getting tense in Toronto after the Packers closed to within 4 points of the Dukes for second place with a 3-0 victory. Chicago has won three straight while Toronto dropped its fourth in a row as Norm Hanson turned aside all 32 Dukes shots for his third shutout of the season. Chicago scored once in each stanza with Max Ducharme, Jesse Santuro and Jeremy MacLean doing the honours. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27 Chicago 1 at 1 Boston: A goaltender's duel at Denny Arena as Norm Hanson made 37 saves for Chicago while Oscar James stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in a 1-1 tie. The Packers Tommy Burns opened the scoring with his league-leading 31st goal midway through the first period but Joe Morey got the equalizer early in the third on the powerplay. Boston is now 9 points clear of Toronto for top spot while the Packers are just 3 behind the Dukes. New York 3 at 6 Detroit: The Motors offense was revving as Detroit doubled New York 6-3 to move two points ahead of both the Shamrocks and idle Montreal in the fight for fourth place. Six different Detroit players handled the scoring for their club while Joe Martin had two in a losing cause for the Shamrocks. UPCOMING GAMES WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 Boston at Detroit Chicago at New York Toronto at Montreal SATURDAY MARCH 5 Detroit at Chicago Montreal at Boston Toronto at New York SUNDAY MARCH 6 Boston at Montreal Chicago at Detroit New York at Toronto  AROUND THE LEAGUE
The Packers trapped the Dukes puck carriers at every turn throughout the game. Toronto would control the puck out of their own zone through center then run into a brick wall at the blue line with a either a body check or a stick check forcing them to cough up the puck. Max Ducharme lit the lamp behind Gordie Broadway late in the opening frame to provide the Packers with all the offense it turned out that they would need on this evening. Toronto had numerous opportunities in the middle frame to get the equalizer, including many right on Norm Hanson's door step but nothing found the back of the net . Jesse Santoro, who set up Ducharme's opener, doubled the lead from Wes Burns and Mark Brooks near the midway point of the second frame. It came ona screen shot that Broadway never had a chance to save. In the third period Jeremy MacLean made it 3-0 with his 11th with both Burns brothers getting the helpers on a shot from the left hand faceoff circle. The Packers continued to check the visitors into submission, sending the fans home with a 3-0 win. To make matters worse for the Dukes, the Chicago quintet tied Boston Sunday to close the gap within 3 points behind the Dukes. On small consolation is that Toronto does hold a game in hand. Coach Barrell: "Give Chicago credit. They checked us into the ground. We were even in shots even if only a few were high quality chances. Those one Hanson handled. Overall, the effort was much better...this often happens when you start to lose. Good effort then you run into a goaltender you can't throw rice by. We will get out of this, hopefully soon. Trevor Parker is now gone for at least another month and he is now drinking his meals with his jaw wired shut. But, I am sure no one is feeling sorry for us. New line combinations are getting accustomed to each other, hopefully by Wednesday they are clicking in Montreal before we go home and home with the Shamrocks on the weekend. We just have to keeping working, eventually the tide will turn, we are too good a team."
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 34 10 .773 - Washington 32 11 .744 1.5 Philadelphia 28 16 .636 6.0 Rochester 21 22 .488 12.5 Boston 21 24 .467 13.5 Baltimore 20 23 .465 13.5 Hartford 19 23 .452 14.0 New York 14 30 .318 20.0 Syracuse 6 37 .140 27.5 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 30 14 .682 - Chicago 30 16 .652 1.0 Cincinnati 25 19 .568 5.0 Cleveland 24 19 .558 5.5 Pittsburgh 19 25 .432 11.0 Buffalo 14 28 .333 15.0 Toronto 12 32 .273 18.0  CANARIES FLY BACK TO TOP SPOT The Western Iowa Canaries moved back into the number one spot in the weekly collegiate cage rankings after two more section wins this weekend improved their season mark to 24-1 and moved them close to clinching the Great Lakes Alliance section title. The Canaries beat Minnesota Tech 55-53 on the road before having a much easier time with Whitney College Saturday to improve their section mark to 11-1. There are four games remaining for each of the 10 schools on the GLA slate and the Canaries have a 3-game lead on second place Indiana A&M, which fell to 8-4 after falling to Detroit City College Thursday before rebounding in Columbus against Central Ohio Saturday. The Canaries seem a lock for a top seed in the AIAA tournament, which will have its 32-team field unveiled on March 13. Western Iowa was ranked #1 earlier in the season but slid after losing its GLA opener to the Reapers in Terre Haute. With St Blane (27-1) idle last week the voters pushed the Canaries back in front of the Fighting Saints for the top spot in the national rankings. St Blane has just one game remaining on its schedule, a Tuesday meeting in Tyrone, Pa. against the 15th ranked Garden State Redbirds, who dipped to 19-6 after a surprising loss to Brooklyn State last week. Liberty College held at #3 as the Bells have finished up their schedule and are waiting with their 26-3 record for the hopeful news of securing a number one seed in one of the tournament's four regions. If it holds, Luther Gordon's 18.7 points per game will top the nation. The junior college transfer is also among the AIAA leaders in rebounds and appears to be a favourite for the Barrette Award, presented to the top collegiate player in the nation. If so, it would be back-to-back Barrette's for the Bells as Ward Messer won last year before moving on to a pro career with the Detroit Mustangs. Despite losing to North Carolina Tech 59-53 in the South Atlantic Conference showdown the Carolina Poly Cardinals retain the number four spot in the polls. The Cardinals are 9-1 in SAC play and lead the loop by a game over Central Carolina with the Techsters a game and a half back at 8-3 and ranked 8th in the latest poll. Rainier College was the only school to drop out of the top ten as the Majestics slide from 8 to 11 after losing by 12 points in Los Angeles to 7th ranked Coastal California in their only outing last week. Stepping into the top ten for the first time this season will be the Annapolis Maritime Navigators, who finished off their season at 25-4 with a convincing 57-40 victory over 17th ranked Lexington State on Saturday. The naval academy should have done enough to return to the AIAA tournament after a two-year absence. The Navigators have enjoyed a few deep tournament runs over the years including the surprising push in the spring of 1944 in which they went all the way to the championship game before coming up just short against Rainier College.  RECENT RESULTS OF TOP TEN TEAMS WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23 CC Los Angeles 60 #6 Lane State 51 (Carl Casswell 16) #7 Coastal California 57 (Chris Martines 24) Rainier College 45 (Joe Simpson 12) #9 Mississippi A&M 58 (Greg Randle 13) Northern Mississippi 51 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24 #1 Western Iowa 55 (Willy Ludwick 11) Minnesota Tech 33 #8 North Carolina Tech 59 (Muzz Hodson 15) #4 Carolina Poly 53 (James Halle 16) SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26 #1 Western Iowa 60 (Willy Ludwick 21) Whitney College 44 #4 Carolina Poly 46 (Bill Florence 16) Bulein 37 Georgia Baptist 48 #9 Mississippi A&M 40 (Billy Bob Leveau 13) #8 North Carolina Tech 55 (Mike Carter 16) Chesapeake State 45 #10 Annapolis Maritime 57 (David Williams 14) Lexington State 40 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27 #6 Lane State 65 (Carl Casswell 14) Idaho A&M 53 #7 Coastal California 62 (Tony Lincoln 16) Spokane State 49  MUSTANG FEVER GRIPS CITY Forget about the Motors, is Detroit suddenly a basketball town? The noise you hear from excited fans piling out of the Thompson Palladium these days is more often than not in celebration of yet another win by the cage Mustangs. Yes, the crowds are still small as the Mustangs are averaging less than 3,000 a contest, but they are vocal and on a high after Rollie Barrell's ponies extended their winning streak to 13 games and the club is actually ahead of the Chicago Panthers for top spot in the West Division. We are not sure if it will last, but Ward Messer's incredible rookie season has made believers of many as the youngster is leading the entire FBL in both scoring and rebounds. There was a bit of a scare last Wednesday in Pittsburgh when David Reed turned his ankle and the starting forward who has averaged nearly 15 points a game will be sidelined for three weeks. Reed's absence was not missed over the weekend with an easy 96-67 win over Syracuse, but the struggling Titans are the worst team in the league. ***Motors Battling For Playoff Berth *** The Palladium's primary tenant is back in a playoff spot, at least today. A big weekend on the ice as the Motors beat each of their two rivals for that fourth place slot and a berth in the semi-finals. Things got dicey Saturday when the Motors jumped out to a 3-0 lead but nearly allowed Montreal to mount a third period comeback before hanging on for a 3-2 victory. Ben Witt, taken fourth overall in the 1947 draft, has already surpassed his point total as a rookie by scoring once and adding two helpers in the win. Witt has 45 points on the season and has taken over the team lead from Adam Vanderbilt. Things were far less tense last night when the Motors doubled New York 6-3. Detroit has 8 games remaining, one less than the Vals and Shamrocks, but leads each by two points as three clubs battle it out for one playoff berth. The Motors have one game remaining with each of their two rivals with both on the road during the final week of the season. The Motors missed the playoffs and finished dead last a year ago. Detroit has made the playoffs just once in the past four years but missed by just a single point both last year and three years ago. *** Knights Need Big Finish *** Detroit City College is in danger of missing the AIAA basketball tournament for just the second time since 1932. A loss in Lansing to St Ignatius Saturday left DCC with a 7-5 section record and 17-8 overall. At the moment it looks like the Knights have done enough to qualify for the 32-team championship field, but you have to think they need at least 3 wins in their final four games. Two are on the road with games against Lincoln and Wisconsin State, a pair of schools with 11-14 records on the year. One has to think both of those are winnable but then it is back home to face 15-10 St Magnus and then the Knights finish off with #1 ranked Western Iowa on March 12, the day before the tournament field is revealed. The Canaries beat DCC in Sioux City last month but only by two points.The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/27/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-09-2023, 12:55 PM
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#825 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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March 7, 1949
MARCH 7, 1949 SPRING TRAINING OPENS CITRUS GAMES KICK OFF 1949 SEASON It's that time of year again, folks, as the 16 FABL clubs dust off their gloves, lace up their cleats, and prepare to play ball. Spring training begins in earnest this afternoon, with the Citrus league set to roll at eight Florida stadiums. Just a few days ago, the Great Western League made its spring debut in locations stretching from Texas to Mexico and across the golden coast of California. In a surprisingly tranquil offseason, the FABL remained relatively hushed on the trade front—rare for a league known for its offseason fireworks. With the start of spring training, the stage is set for what looks to be a season brimming with fierce pennant races. The St. Louis Pioneers have hoisted the World Championship Series trophy for two consecutive seasons, boasting a formidable core of starting pitchers. It's likely they'll be the ones to beat this year. Nevertheless, they face stiff competition from the power-packed New York Gothams, the always dangerous Philadelphia Keystones, and the persistent Washington Eagles, all eager to claim the top spot. The Boston Minutemen and Detroit Dynamos, along with the Pittsburgh Miners and Chicago Chiefs, intend to join the fray and perhaps surprise the league. Across the Continental Association, the Chicago Cougars stand tall as the perennial favorites. But recent history suggests they struggle to meet the lofty expectations set for them each season. With an abundance of talent, Chicago remains a force, yet pennants continue to elude them. The Philadelphia Sailors, reigning champions, should not be underestimated. Meanwhile, the New York Stars, led by four-time Whitney Award winner Bill Barrett, are poised to challenge. New leadership in the form of manager Fred Barrell may breathe new life into the Toronto Wolves. Cincinnati, with a new manager in Charley McCullough, has undergone significant front office changes but the Cannons may face a challenging season due to their aging roster. Montreal and Brooklyn both teeter on the edge of contention but opted for a more conservative approach in the offseason with neither making a major splash on the trade front. And then there's the Cleveland Foresters, a perpetual last-place team that has languished in the cellar longer than a lizard basking in the midday sun. The Coast loop begins the season with much fanfare after the news of a pair of grand 50,000-seat stadiums set to open next month in the league's two largest markets: Los Angeles and San Francisco. This development underscores the league's assertion of major league status and sets the stage for a new era in west coast baseball. While rumors of financial struggles linger over some GWL teams, league President Thomas Bigsby waves them off, assuring that the league is in sound financial health. As the 24 big league teams across FABL and the GWL assemble under the sunny skies of the southern states, optimism is in the air. Each club is dreaming of a championship season ahead. It's all bright lights and high hopes as spring opens the door to the months of action to come. EARLY CALL FROM OSA POINTS TO A THRILLING BATTLE IN CA Cougars and Dynamos Tabbed as WCS Foes Every March the OSA releases a preliminary preseason prediction on what they expect the coming season to bring. The league scouting service always notes it is just a snapshot, a rough estimate and does not factor in roster and lineup moves made during spring training and in the days leading up to Opening Day. In other words, the OSA says do not put much stock into these predictions. That will likely not stop fans in Detroit and possibly Cougars supporters -although they have likely long ago given up on trusting any forecasts involving Cougars winning pennants- from getting just a little more excited about the prospects of the coming season after these early predictions, you know the ones we should ignore, have those two teams set to meet in the World Championship Series. It should be noted that the scouting service made the exact same call in early March a year ago and the Dynamos sank to the second division while the Cougars did what they always seem to do, fall just short of the pennant. Here is the OSA early March prediction for the 1949 campaign.  HIGH HOPES SOAR AS DYNAMOS SPRING INTO ACTION Embarking on the journey from the frosty realm of Detroit to the sun-kissed haven of Florida is akin to drifting between two different worlds. Up there among the clouds—metaphorically speaking, of course—a traveler is treated to a sweeping view that encapsulates the stark contrast between the snow-laden north and the palm tree-adorned south. From the Michigan-Ohio border all the way into the southern reaches of Kentucky or maybe it was Tennessee, the ground below remains cloaked in snow. Save for sporadic clusters of trees, it's a sight of interest solely to Sven, the office's official skier, and absolutely no one else. The aerial observer glances toward the horizon, and for a moment, it's as if they're peering at a snapshot taken at the North Pole—an indelible impression etched against the canvas of the mind. As the plane cheerfully wings its way onward, the snow begins to wane, the white patches dwindling in size. Only when the last vestiges of snow disappear does the traveler grasp why baseball players, akin to migratory birds, chart their course Southward, fleeing the starkness of the desolate North. Thus begins another training camp for the 40-odd hopefuls congregated at the Lakeland facility of the Detroit Dynamos, a far warmer haven than the frosty stops in North Carolina endured just a few short years ago when spring baseball dared to unfold north of the Mason-Dixon line—aptly known then as the Belton-Eastman Line. Most among the Lakeland throng already have a good inkling of their eventual destination. Maybe a depth pitcher could elbow his way onto the final 24-man roster, and there's a skirmish between Crab Crowley and Jackie Harper for the coveted spot behind Rick York's mask. Yet, the real competition unfurls amidst the outfielders vying for the scant 5 or perhaps 6 open slots. Four new outfield faces grace the spring roster, headlined by Pinky Pierce, the seasoned veteran who spent considerable time in Pittsburgh and was recently liberated from Montreal. Pierce appears a shoo-in to flank rising star Edwin Hackberry in left, but right field teems with contenders. The aspiration is that, amidst the throng in right, Pierce and his compatriots will infuse the Dynamos' lineup with the missing punch from the previous season. While many within the organization believe that the true window for pennant contention is a couple of years away, optimism abounds. There's a wealth of burgeoning talent—both current and in the farm system—to fortify this belief. Some entertain the thought that a standout season for Pinky Pierce and perhaps Dick Blaszak finally living up to pre-war expectations might propel the local nine into the postseason equation come September. Let's hope those harboring such thoughts don't find themselves as up in the clouds as we were on our southward migration.
SHAMROCKS SUFFER DEVASTATING LOSSES The New York Shamrocks will have their work cut out for them if they want to catch the Detroit Motors for the fourth and final playoff spot. Not only did the Shamrocks slide 5 points back of the Motors after collecting just one point in their last 4 outings but they also learned they will be without their top player Orval Cabbell and second line center Laurel Albers for the rest of the regular season. Cabbell, who was among the NAHC's leading scorers with 46 points in 49 games, is done for the season after suffering a shoulder injury in the Shamrocks 3-3 tie with Chicago on Wednesday. The news got only worse yesterday when Laurel Albers had his bell rung on a hard hit from Toronto Dukes rearguard Anthony Lehman in the opening period of a game the Shamrocks would lose 2-0. Early word on Albers is he will likely miss the rest of the regular season. Joe Martin's status is also in doubt after the 22-year-old winger, who has 30 points this season, left the same game with an injury. The Shamrocks have six games remaining, one more than Detroit. Included in those contests is one game against the Motors at Bigsby Garden a week from Wednesday. The Motors are on a roll at the right time with four wins in their last five games after splitting a home and home series with Chicago over the weekend. The split with Detroit, coupled with ties in their two previous games, has left the Packers likely forced to settle for third place as the second place Toronto Dukes have opened a 6-point bulge in the fight for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. After ending February with four straight losses, the month of March has been much kinder to Jack Barrell's club as the Dukes reeled off a 3-game winning streak. First place, which had been Toronto's domain much of the season, now appears out of reach as the Dukes trail Boston by 7 points with just two weeks remaining in the campaign.  Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 54 32 17 5 171 136 69
Toronto 54 28 20 6 174 149 62
Chicago 55 25 24 6 168 170 56
Detroit 55 22 27 6 176 169 50
New York 54 18 27 9 141 165 45
Montreal 54 19 29 6 136 177 44
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 54 27 35 62
Galbraith, Tor 54 27 30 57
Hart, Bos 51 23 30 53
Chandler, Bos 49 21 32 53
T Burns, Chi 44 33 19 52
Sauer, Tor 54 25 25 50
Witt, Det 52 17 31 48
Cabbell, NY 49 26 20 46
Vanderbilt, Det 52 24 20 44
Skinner, Mon 54 21 23 44
Carlson, Tor 49 12 30 42
Ducharme, CHI 53 17 24 41
Rocheleau, Det 48 6 35 41
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 47 26 16 5 5 2.54
Broadway, Tor 49 24 19 6 4 2.66
Chasse, Det 20 9 9 0 1 2.83
Tremblay, NY 49 15 24 8 2 2.88
Hanson, Chi 40 17 19 4 3 2.94
Brockers, Mon 40 13 23 3 2 2.99
Touhey, Det 35 12 18 4 3 3.22
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 Boston 1 at 3 Detroit: Rookie Anthony Jacques scored once in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie and then added an assist just 41 seconds later on Alexandre Viens goal to lead Detroit to a 3-1 victory over the first place Bees. It was the Motors third straight win while Boston is winless in its last three. Boston's Tommy Hart left the game with an injury and is expected to miss the next couple of games. Hart was recently named the NAHC's top player for the month of February. Chicago 3 at 3 New York: Joe Martin of the Shamrocks and the Packers Moose Vezina traded goals early in the third period as their two clubs skated to a 3-3 tie at Bigsby Garden. Bad news for the Shamrocks is scoring leader Orval Cabbell left the game with what is being termed a "major injury." Toronto 4 at 1 Montreal: The Dukes snapped a 4-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Montreal keyed by a goal and an assist from each of the top two point gathers in the league in Quinton Pollack and Lou Galbraith. It was the Valiants third straight defeat. SATURDAY MARCH 5 Detroit 1 at 2 Chicago: Goals by Max Ducharme and Tommy Burns -with his league high 32nd of the season, lifted the Chicago Packers to a 2-1 win over the Motors in the opener of a home and home series. Vincent Arsenault had the only Detroit marker. Montreal 1 at 5 Boston: Two goals in each of the first two periods staked Boston to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Valiants, who lost for the 4th consecutive game. John McDonald finally broke Oscar James shutout bid with a goal midway through the third period but Joe Morey responded just over two minutes later to restore the 4-goal cushion for the Bees. Toronto 7 at 4 New York: Bobbie Sauer scored twice and added an assist while Quinton Pollack also had a 3-point night to lead the visiting Toronto Dukes to a 7-4 victory over the Shamrocks. New York gave backup netminder Alex Sorrell a rare start but he did not survive the second period after allowing 6 Toronto tallies on just 22 shots. SUNDAY MARCH 6 Boston 2 at 1 Montreal: The weekend home and home series continued for all six teams and in Montreal it was Jacob Gron of the visiting Bees who proved the hero. Gron scored his 12th of the season with just over 9 minutes remaining in the game to snap 1-1 tie and lift the Bees to a 2-1 victory. Nick Prentiss gave Boston an early lead with a first period power play marker before Claude LeClerc evened things for the Vals in the second stanza. Brett Lanceleve assisted on LeClerc's marker, giving the 25-year-old winger at least one helper in each of his past 8 games. Chicago 4 at 5 Detroit: The Motors are picking the right time to get hot with 4 wins in their last 5 outings extending their hold on the fourth and final playoff spot to five points over 5th place New York. On this day it was a tense 5-4 victory on home ice over the Chicago Packers thanks to Dixon Butler's 2nd goal of the season early in the third period. Both netminders saw plenty of action and Detroit's Millard Touhey along with Norm Hanson of the Packers each had their struggles in the opening frame, a session that saw each club net three goals. Things settled down in the second period which ended knotted at 4 thanks to Vincent Arsenault's second goal of the game, with just 15 seconds remaining in the frame, to even things for the Motors. New York 0 at 2 Toronto: First period goals from Bobbie Sauer and Herb Burdette stood up as the Dukes completed the weekend sweep of the Shamrocks with a 2-0 victory. Gordie Broadway earned his 4th shutout of the season but Etienne Tremblay was the far busier netminder as Toronto outshot the Shamrocks 41-21. UPCOMING GAMES WENESDAY MARCH 9 Boston at New York Chicago at Montreal Detroit at Toronto SATURDAY MARCH 12 Montreal at New York Toronto at Boston SUNDAY MARCH 13 Chhicago at Toronto Detroit at Boston New York at Montreal AROUND THE LEAGUE
At Montreal Arena Wednesday night, Toronto showed something that had been noticeably missing during their recent games as the Dukes came out hitting and skating right from the opening face-off. Both teams play a fast moving, high tempo first period with very few stoppages. The shots thru twenty minutes were 13 to 7 in favour of the visitors who besieged Tom Brockers in the Montreal goal for long stretches. Toronto solved the goaltender twice in the period on markers by Bobbie Sauer Quinton Pollack less than a minute apart. to take a 2-0 lead. Pollack's goal, scored from the high slot with helpers to Lou Galbraith and Mike Navarro was his 26th of the season. The Vals cut the lead in half with the only goal of the second when Clarence Skinner slammed the disc behind Gordie Broadway on passes from John MacDonald and Brett Lanceleve. It came on one of only 3 shots Broadway faced in the period. Montreal was forced to open up a little in the final frame, and Dick Zimmerman made them pay when the veteran winger got in behind the Vals D to beat Brockers on a breakaway deke after being sprung by Pollack. Montreal continued to press to no avail, and Lou Galbraith scored his 27th into an empty cage with 33 seconds remaining making the final Toronto-4 Montreal-1. The bad news was the Pierre Dubois suffered a severely sprained ankle that will sideline him for at least a month quite probably the balance of the season, Roderick Gunner has been recalled from Cleveland to provide defensive depth. On to the Big Apple to play the injury-riddled Shamrocks Saturday. The Dukes jumped on the depleted New Yorkers early and often opening up a 3-0 lead before the games was 14 minutes old thanks to a pair of goals from Sauer and one from Navarro. Adam Greenham, on the power play, gave the Bigsby Garden faithful a glimmer of hope when he scored after JC Martel had been sent off for holding and in the second period Gil Corbeil closed the gap to one on another marker with the man advantage. All that seemed to do was rile up the Dukes, who stormed back with 3 more in the last 9 minutes of the middle period with Al Cote, Alex Lavalliere and Pollack all having their numbers entered in the goal column of the game sheet making 6-2 after two. Laurel Albers and Paul Tetreault both scored the Greenshirts within 2 with just over 4 minutes remaining to play but Zimmerman put to bed any doubts with goal into an undefended net with 31 seconds left, Toronto-7 NY-4 final. The teams crossed the border for the return match in Ontario on Sunday before 13,144 relieved fans after the recent losing streak had been halted. It was a rather listless night for both clubs with exception of Shamrocks netminder Etienne Tremblay who faced a barrage of vulcanized rubber, 41 in total for the game. To his credit the only two that got past him were in the opening period. The first goal by a suddenly hot vet in Bobby Sauer, with his 25th, followed by Herbert Burdette his 9th. Broadway turned aside 21 for his 4 clean sheet of the season, putting him just one behind Boston's Oscar James for the league shutout lead. Coach Barrell: "I am glad our bad times seem to be over. Losing streaks tend to lead to everyone pressing, choking their sticks. The coaching staff had a constant, consistent message "Do your job within our system, nothing more, nothing less." We got into the bad stretch as a team, we got out of it as a a team starting in Montreal. The key to that game, as well as the two with New York was our defensive play. I have stressed all year that being sound without puck leads to chances going the other way. We have 6 games left to secured home ice advantage in the semis, we still have a slim chance to overtake Boston but everything will have to fall our way. Over the last 6, the emphasis will be on our systems in all three zones. We are going to work on refining our play along with a possibility of few new wrinkles. On the injury front the trainers tell me that Trevor Parker is progressing with a slight chance of being ready for the semis, wire will be taken out of his jaw this week. Dubois has a long way to go before he is even ready to lace on a pair skates. Time to get back to work."
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 35 11 .761 - Washington 35 12 .745 0.5 Philadelphia 30 16 .652 5.0 Rochester 23 23 .500 12.0 Baltimore 22 23 .489 12.5 Boston 22 25 .468 13.5 Hartford 20 25 .444 14.5 New York 14 32 .304 21.0 Syracuse 7 39 .152 28.0 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 32 15 .681 - Chicago 31 18 .633 2.0 Cincinnati 27 21 .563 5.5 Cleveland 26 21 .553 6.0 Pittsburgh 19 28 .404 13.0 Buffalo 16 30 .348 15.5 Toronto 13 33 .283 18.5  FINAL WEEK OF COLLEGE CAGE CAMPAIGN Plenty of Section Crowns Remain Up For Grabs The collegiate basketball season has entered its final week. At this point next week we will know who each of the 32 teams that will comprise the field for the 40th annual AIAA championship tournament but before that happens there are plenty of Conference titles, and with them automatic bids into the tournament, up for grabs. Here is a look at each of the major conferences and what the week ahead holds. GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE The GLA is one of the few conferences where the final week of the season will not impact who wins as the Western Iowa Canaries have already clinched their first section title in four years. The Canaries are 13-1 in section play and 26-1 overall with their lone loss coming to Indiana A&M early in conference play. They still have games remaining with Lincoln and Detroit City College but with a 3-game lead on the second place Reapers (10-4, 21-6) all that remains for Western Iowa is to secure a top seed for the AIAA tournament. Second place Indiana A&M seems a lock for a tournament bid while Central Ohio and Detroit City College (both 19-8) likely need two wins this weekend to ensure their inclusion in the 32-team field. WEST COAST ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION Coastal California (13-2, 25-3) has a 1-game lead on Lane State (12-3, 26-5) with one game remaining for each in conference play. If the Dolphins win at Portland Tech Friday evening, they will a WCAA record 23rd conference crown but it will be their first in six years. A Coastal loss coupled with a Lane State win at home against defending national champion Redwood will give the Emeralds their second section title in three seasons. Lane State beat Coastal California twice head-to-head this season. Both the Emeralds and Dolphins are locks for the AIAA tournament, as is Rainier College (11-4, 22-6) while CC Los Angeles (9-7, 20-9) may just make it four teams from the WCAA claiming tournament berths. The Redwood Mammoths (7-8, 18-11) will likely not qualify and miss out on a chance to defend their national title. SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE A battle for top spot between the conference's two top-ten teams in Carolina Poly (10-2, 24-3) and North Carolina Tech (10-3, 24-4) but Central Carolina (9-3, 20-7) might crash the party with a few breaks. All three, as well as Lexington State (8-4, 21-6) seem assured of tournament berths with the Maryland State Bengals (8-4, 18-9) also holding out slim hopes. As for the conference crown, the Cardinals control their own destiny with two games remaining against Coastal State before finishing on the road at Richmond State. The Techsters have just one game remaining -on the road against Maryland State- but do have the tiebreaker over Carolina Poly thanks to a head-to-head win. DEEP SOUTH CONFERENCE Each school has two games left with Noble Jones College (7-2, 21-6) holding a one game lead on both Central Kentucky (6-3, 16-12) and Bluegrass State (6-3, 20-7). The only way into the AIAA tournament for the Tigers is to win their second straight section title and to that end Central Kentucky does have the tiebreaker over Noble Jones after beating the Colonels earlier this season. Mississippi A&M (5-4, 23-4), despite losing four of its last six games, seems a lock for the tournament and the Generals will be joined by the Colonels. Everyone else from the Deep South is likely out of the running for a tourney bid, unless one of the Kentucky schools can find a way to claim the section crown. ACADEMIA ALLIANCE The only conference in the entire AIAA to hold a postseason tournament to declare its representative in the AIAA tournament is the Academia Alliance. The Brunswick Knights have won the section tournament three of the past four season and finished with the top regular season record for the third time in five seasons. At 12-2 (19-10 overall) the Knights are the top seed with Dickson (10-4, 14-5) number two. SOUTHWESTERN ALLIANCE Texas Gulf Coast (8-3, 22-6), led by potential first round FBL draft pick Vincent Passingham, has clinched the section title with just one game remaining for each school. It marks the 9th straight SWA crown for the Hurricanes, who are expected to be the conferences lone representative in the AIAA tournament. PLAINS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION The section title and the lone AIAA tournament bid for the conference remains very much up for grabs with Eastern Kansas (6-4, 13-14) and Iowa A&M (6-4, 9-18) sharing the lead with 2 games to play. Lawrence State (6-5, 20-8), which needs a lot to go right to make the tournament in the Chippewa do not win the conference, have an outside chance as does College of Omaha (5-5, 10-17) which finishes with games on the road against the two co-leaders. Eastern Kansas is the defending section champion. LIBERTY CONFERENCE A new conference created five years ago out of the ashes of the once powerful Northeast Conference appears set to crown the Garden State Redbirds as champion for the fourth time in five seasons. The Redbirds (9-3, 19-8) have a one game lead on a surprising Bigsby College (8-4,21-9) quintet that has played just one AIAA tournament game since 1932. The Gents are coming off a thrilling 51-50 victory over the Redbirds on Saturday that kept their conference title hopes alive. Bigsby College and Garden State both finish with road games against Jersey City Tech (4-8,14-13) and Brooklyn Catholic (7-5,17-10). It is conceivable the Gents could win 23 games this season and still not earn a tournament bid with only the section champion likely to carry on. Complete AIAA conference standings and stats can be found here  RECENT RESULTS OF TOP TEN TEAMS TUESDAY MARCH 1 #2 St Blane 66 (Jim Canaday 24) Garden State 55 WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 #6 Lane State 61 (Carl Casswell 17) Northern California 50 #8 Coastal California 56 (Martines and Barnes 12 each) CC Los Angeles 37 #10 Noble Jones College 44 (Ken Avelar 11) Opelika State 43 Mississippi A&M 58 (Greg Randle 17) Alabama Baptist 43 THURSDAY MARCH 3 #1 Western Iowa 67 (Willy Ludwick 22) Wisconsin State 40 Columbia Military Academy 58 #4 Carolina Poly 53 (Bill Florence 11) #7 North Carolina Tech 58 (Mike Carter 14) Alexandria 47 FRIDAY MARCH 4 #5 Frankford State 47 (Rod Bookman 12) St Pancras 36 #9 Rainier College 58 (Thomas Abbott 16) Redwood 50 SATURDAY MARCH 5 #1 Western Iowa 63 (Willy Ludwick 21) St Magnus 51 #4 Carolina Poly 71 (Bill Florence 18) Petesburg 56 #7 North Carolina Tech 58 (Muzz Hodson 21) Richmond State 41 #10 Noble Jones College 56 (Joseph Bosco 14) Western Florida 49 Bayou State 45 Mississippi A&M 40 -knocked Generals out of top ten SUNDAY MARCH 6 #6 Lane State 74 (Carl Casswell 24) Spokane State 46 #8 Coastal California 55 (Chris Martines 19) Redwood 47 #9 Rainier College 65 (Don Higgins 15) Northern California 56 ITALIAN MIDDLEWEIGHT HUGO CANIO SET TO MAKE WAVES IN THE USA Paris, France - The world of boxing may soon see the rise of a new Italian sensation as 22-year-old Milan native Hugo Canio prepares to cross the Atlantic and make his mark in the American boxing scene. Canio, with an impressive record of 13 wins, 2 draws, and zero losses, has garnered the attention of none other than the veteran fight promoter and manager, Chester Conley. Conley, who is best known for managing the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, Hector Sawyer, first spotted Canio while accompanying Sawyer during his European tour. The young and undefeated middleweight quickly caught the eye of Conley with his raw talent and natural fighting abilities. Conley, who has a keen eye for spotting potential in young fighters, did not waste any time and immediately began negotiations with Canio. Canio, who hails from the fighting traditions of Italy, is a promising prospect in the crowded middleweight division. He combines his natural power with a fighting spirit that has already made him a rising star in Milan. He is raw but Conley witnessed Canio fight three times while in Europe and believes he is the real thing. "He might just be the next big star in the middleweight class," proclaimed Conley. "He caught my eye with a fight in England while Hector and I were there. So much so I made a trip to Rome just before Christmas to see him fight again and then set up a third bout for Hugo in Paris." Conley and Sawyer are flying back to New York this week and it is expected that the young Italian fighter will be in tow.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/06/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-09-2023 at 01:12 PM. |
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11-10-2023, 01:48 PM
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#826 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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March 14, 1949
MARCH 14, 1949 FIELD SET FOR AIAA TOURNAMENT Two Coast Clubs Draw Top Seeds The 40th annual edition of the AIAA's season ending tournament unveiled its 32-team field yesterday with some mild surprises in the seeding. While no one will argue with Western Iowa claiming the top seed in the Midwest Region there was some second guessing that second ranked St Blane, with a 28-1 record, had to travel south and settle for a number two seed in the South Region behind South Atlantic Conference champion and 4th ranked Carolina Poly. That is nothing compared to the shock coming out of Philadelphia this morning after Liberty College, ranked the number 3 team in the nation, was made the third seed in the East Region. The tournament committee elected to have Rainier College, at 23-6 and ranked 12th in the final collegiate poll, travel all the way across the country and be the number one seed in the East with 5th ranked North Carolina Tech edging the Bells out for the second seed. It does set an opening round matchup with the Bells against their former rivals from the old Northeast Conference in Garden State in the opening round. Joining Western Iowa, Carolina Poly and Rainier College as number one seeds will be Coastal California as the Dolphins were given the nod as the top seed in the West Region. Complete college standings can be found here  TWIFB AIAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS EAST REGION It is rare each of the top four seeds survive the first round but I see that happening here. Rainier College is far too powerful for Academia Alliance tournament winning Dickson. Second and third seeds North Carolina Tech and Liberty College should each have easy wins while I expect the 4-5 game to be a battle, I am going with Annapolis Maritime to prevail. The Navigators have had some good tourney runs in the past and I think there balanced offense, which has helped the 25-4 naval academy to 11 straight wins including a season ending victory over 15th ranked Lexington State, will be too much for Detroit City College. The Knights did reach the quarterfinals a year ago but have never won a tournament and this strikes me as one of DCC's weaker teams in recent years. I am really looking forward to NC Tech vs Liberty College in the second round but I am going to go with the Bells and Luther Gordon to make a long tournament run. Liberty will reach the final four with a second round win over Annapolis Maritime after the Navigators upset a beaten up Rainier College team that will likely be without injured starters Syl Kellogg and Orlando Zainer. MIDWEST REGION Western Iowa is the top team in the country, but I don't see them coming out of the region. The Great Lakes Alliance teams always seem to struggle tournament time and I think the Canaries will stumble against CC Los Angeles in the second round. Lane State and Noble Jones College should each win setting up what could be a great second round game. I am going to take Lane State, but it will be close. My original call was for Lane State to come out of the Midwest but I am going to reconsider and go with 4-time National Champion CC Los Angeles winning the region and beating Lane State in the quarterfinals for the third time this season. The Coyotes beat the Emeralds twice in West Coast Athletic Association section play including a 60-51 win three weeks ago. SOUTH REGION My upset pick will be in the opening round where I see Maryland State surprising Mississippi A&M in the 3-6 game. The Generals had some troubles in section play this season and while the Bengals may have limped into the tournament with back to back losses and have center Dumpy Kraus nursing a nagging injury, they also had some big wins over schools like Liberty College and Annapolis Maritime this season. I will not go any further with the Bengals as I expect St Blane, with tremendous depth and likely a chip on its shoulder after the second ranked Fighting Saints were forced to settle for a #2 seed in the South Region, to prevail. I can see St Blane going all the way and winning this tournament. Carolina Poly will reach the regional final with a second round win over Indiana A&M but fall short against the Saints. WEST REGION No team has played in more tournaments than the 39 (out of 40 years) the Coastal California Dolphins have competed in. They have made the national semi-finals 13 times and the title game on 3 occasions but have never won the whole thing. They have three talented smaller players in Chris Martines, David Barnes and Tony Lincoln and they score a lot of points. They might have a challenge trying to defend big center David Aponte if the Frankford Owls are their second round opponent but survive that and I expect the Dolphins to be playing in their 14th national semi-finals. Utah A&M upset Bluegrass State earlier this season and I think they can do the same to #2 seed Texas Gulf Coast this time around. Lexington State will be without their second highest scorer in guard Jayson Crothers so I am looking to the St Louis school, Laclede, to get a big game from high scoring senior forward Grant Feder and upset the Colonials setting up a 6-7 seed second round matchup. TWIFB's Final Four call is- Coastal California vs St Blane and Liberty College vs CCLA  LAST WEEK'S RESULTS OF TOP TEN TEAMS WEDNESDAY MARCH 9 #9 Noble Jones College 56 (Ken Avelar 14) Cumberland 43 #10 Mississippi A&M 52 (Shuman, Randle, Renfroe 9 each) Bluegrass State 38 Rainier College 65 (Don Higgins 12) Spokane State 50 - Majestics dropped out of top ten despite win THURSDAY MARCH 10 #1 Western Iowa 63 (Charlie Maynard 22) Lincoln 46 #4 Carolina Poly 74 (James Halle 17) Coastal State 51 #5 North Carolina Tech 52 (Mike Carter 12) Maryland State 39 FRIDAY MARCH 11 #7 Coastal California 61 ( Harvey Blocker 14) Portland Tech 55 Redwood 70 #8 Lane State 53 (Carl Casswell 15) SATURDAY MARCH 12 #1 Western Iowa 58 (Willy Ludwick 17) Detroit City College 48 #4 Carolina Poly 68 (James Halle 17) Richmond State 43 #9 Noble Jones 46 (Ken Avelar 10) College Alabama Baptist 40 #10 Mississippi A&M 58 (Billy Bob Leveau 13) Baton Rogue State 49 Dickson 56 Brunswick 54 OT Academia Alliance Tournament Championship Game END OF REGULAR SEASON GORDON TOPS AIAA POINT PARADE Eyes Record Setting Scoring Season Liberty College junior star Luther Gordon has a chance to break the AIAA single season point scoring record in his first season of big-time collegiate basketball. The transfer from a New York City junior college led the nation in scoring average this season with 18.7 points per game and was also among the national top ten in rebounds. He seems a lock to be a first-team All-American selection and the favourite to follow another Liberty College star big man in Ward Messer as winner of the Barrette Trophy, presented annually to the top collegiate player in the nation. If the Bells have a decent run in the AIAA tournament, Gordon may also establish a new AIAA scoring record. He enters the tournament opener this weekend against Garden State with 541 points accumulated so far this season. If the Brooklyn native fails to register another point his totals will still rank as the 6th highest single season mark ever recorded and he is just 45 points shy of the record 586 points put up by current Boston Centurion and former Coastal California star Morgan Melcher in 1943. Meanwhile Major Belk, the Carolina Poly senior guard expected to be a high first round draft choice this summer by the Federal Basketball League, has established new single season and career marks for assists. Belk has 216 helpers this season, snapping Michael German's 1943-44 mark of 204 with Minnesota Tech. In his four years as a starter with the Cardinals, Belk has accumulated 598 assists. Edgar Renfroe, a senior at Mississippi A&M who is second to Belk in season average this season, also broke the old career mark and is presently second all-time with 580 assists. Both players will have the opportunity to extend their totals in the AIAA tournament with the Cardinals, as the top seed in the South Region, set to play Eastern Six Conference champion St Gordius in the opening round while the Generals, as the number three seed in the same region, open with Maryland State.  BEES CLINCH TOP SPOT BUT LOSE JAMES FOR PLAYOFFS With three games remaining in the NAHC campaign the Boston Bees have already clinched first place and set a new record for points accumulated in a season in the process. The Bees are on a roll with 5 straight victories including an impressive 4-1 win over second place Toronto on Saturday followed by a 5-2 victory over their likely first round opponents in Detroit last night. The news is not all good in Beantown as the Bees learned late last night that goaltender Oscar James, who seems a lock to win the Juneau Trophy as the top netminder for the first time in his young career, will likely not be back on the ice again this season. A nagging hernia injury was aggravated in the win over Detroit and it is a near certainty the 25-year-old will not be able to return for the playoffs. James has a 29-16-5 record with an NAHC best 6 shutouts and 2.45 goals against average this season. The netminding duties will now fall to backup Pierre Melancon, who has appeared in just 7 games this season but does own a 5-1-0 record and a sparkling 1.80 goals against average. Melancon may not have played much recently but he is no stranger to playoff hockey as he backstopped the Bees to back to back Challenge Cups in 1946 and 1947. Melancon also won the Juneau Trophy in 47-48 but was pushed out of the cage the following season with emergence of James and the return of Tom Brockers -since dealt to Montreal- in the dispersal draft after Brooklyn folded.  Code:
NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 57 35 17 5 184 139 75
Toronto 57 28 22 7 180 162 63
Chicago 57 27 24 6 177 173 60
Detroit 57 22 28 7 182 178 51
Montreal 57 20 30 7 146 187 47
New York 57 18 29 10 147 177 45
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 57 28 36 64
Galbraith, Tor 57 28 31 59
Chandler, Bos 52 23 36 59
Hart, Bos 54 26 31 57
T Burns, Chi 46 34 21 55
Sauer, Tor 57 26 26 52
Witt, Det 54 18 33 51
Cabbell, NY 49 26 20 46
Vanderbilt, Det 54 26 20 46
Skinner, Mon 57 22 24 46
Ducharme, CHI 55 19 26 45
Carlson, Tor 52 12 32 44
Rocheleau, Det 50 6 37 43
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 50 29 16 5 6 2.45
Broadway, Tor 52 24 21 7 4 2.74
Chasse, Det 20 9 9 0 1 2.83
Hanson, Chi 42 19 19 4 3 2.87
Tremblay, NY 51 15 26 8 2 2.93
Brockers, Mon 42 14 24 3 2 2.99
Touhey, Det 37 12 19 5 3 3.27
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS WENESDAY MARCH 9 Boston 4 at 0 New York: The Bees moved one step closer to clinching first place with a 4-0 win over the fading New York Shamrocks. Wes Chandler paced the Boston attack with a goal and two assists while Oscar James stopped all 18 shots the Shamrocks threw at him for his league leading sixth shutout of the season. New York has gone 0-4-1 in their last five and their playoff hopes are quickly fading. To make matters worse the banged up Shamrocks suffered another injury with Gil Corbeil seeing his season come to an end prematurely after an ankle injury. Chicago 4 at 2 Montreal: Tommy Burns and Matt Jewitt each scored in the final three minutes of the game to lift the Chicago Packers to a 4-2 win in Montreal. After a scoreless opening frame Ed Delarue and Mike Van Tol gave Chicago the lead in the second stanza before Shel Heron and Wayne Augustin evened things for the Valiants in the third. Detroit 4 at 4 Toronto: Vincent Arsenault scored with 2:50 remaining in the game to allow the Detroit Motors to salvage an important point to aid in their push for the final playoff spot by securing a 4-4 tie with the defending Challenge Cup champion Toronto Dukes. Bobbie Sauer and Quinton Pollock each scored in the opening seven minutes of the final frame to put Toronto up 4-2 but Alexis Leveille cut the deficit to one before the midway mark setting up Arsenault's late heroics. SATURDAY MARCH 12 Montreal 4 at 2 New York: Claude Leclerc had a goal and an assist to help Montreal double the New York Shamrocks 4-2 in a game both teams desperately needed to win. The Vals are now 5 points behind Detroit for fourth place and the final playoff berth with each club having 4 games remaining. New York is 7 back and their post-season hopes are all but done. Toronto 1 at 4 Boston: The Bees officially clinched first place with a 5-1 victory at Denny Arena over the second place Toronto Dukes, who still have to worry about being caught by Chicago. Jacob Gron had 3 assists to pace the Boston attack after a slow start that saw the Dukes score what would prove to be their only goal just a 1:54 after the opening face-off. The Bees 75 points on the season with 3 games remaining is one more than Chicago accumulated a year ago and a new NAHC record. SUNDAY MARCH 13 Chicago 5 at 1 Toronto: Chicago is certainly making things interesting as the Packers dumped Toronto 5-1 in a preview of the semi-final matchup between the two clubs. The question is who will host games one and two of the opening playoff round as the win moves the Packers to within 3 points of second place Toronto with 3 games remaining for each club. Max Ducharme led the way for the visitors with 2 goals and an assist while Max Lavigne scored his first NAHC goal and added two helpers. Detroit 2 at 5 Boston: Boston beat Detroit easily, but it was a very costly win as Bees goaltender Oscar James suffered an injury that will likely prevent him from being available for the playoffs. Wes Chandler had a goal and two helpers to pace the Bees offense. The loss keeps the door open for Montreal to try and surpass the Motors for the fourth and final playoff spot. New York 4 at 4 Montreal: Shel Herron had two goals and two assists for Montreal, but he was overshadowed by Jocko Gregg, who scored all 4 New York goals as the two clubs skated to a 4-4 tie. The Valiants desperately needed both points instead of just one as they are now 4 points back of the Detroit Motors for fourth place with 3 games remaining. The Vals will host Detroit in the season finale next Sunday. New York is 5 points back and nothing short of a miracle is necessary for the Shamrocks to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season. UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY MARCH 15 New York at Boston WEDNESDAY MARCH 16 Boston at Chicago Detroit at New York THURSDAY MARCH 17 Montreal at Toronto SATURDAY MARCH 19 Montreal at Chicago Toronto at Detroit SUNDAY MARCH 20 Boston at Toronto Detroit at Montreal New York at Chicago End of Regular Season AROUND THE LEAGUE
The team's only point came at home Wednesday night when a late game defensive collapse allowed the visiting Motors to steal a point in a 4-4 tie. There was a bigger than normal midweek crowd, probably expecting fireworks, to witness the game between rivals at Dominion Gardens. The game was hard hitting, but for the most part clean, with both teams trying to solidify playoff positions. The Dukes opened the scoring when Maurice Charette notched his 2nd of the season from Dick Zimmerman and Spencer Hofford on a rebound Detroit netminder Millard Touhey could not control. Detroit responded only 19 seconds later when Adam Vanderbilt, perched on Gordie Broadway's doorstep, converted on a pass from Dixon Butler. The tight checking period ended in 1-1 tie. Play opened up a little in the second with both teams having a number of good scoring chances turned aside. Lou Galbraith did manage beat Touhey from a sharp angle to give the Dukes the lead only to be tied at 2 when Ben Witt knocked home a rebound 74 seconds later sending the teams to their rooms knotted at 2. Toronto came back to the freshly cleaned ice surface on fire pressing the Detroit defenders with a hard forecheck. After Vincent Arsenault took a cross-checking penalty in front of his net, the Toronto power play put the Dukes up with Bobbie Sauer's 26th for Quinton Pollack and Les Carlson. The Dukes continued their pressure and were rewarded less than 3 minutes later when Pollack beat Touhey with a rocket from the top of the circle making the score 4-2. Detroit, who did not have a lot of the play in the third, pulled within one when Alexis Leveille's shot, after pinching in, eluded the Dukes keeper. Toronto continued to control the puck but could not put the Motors away, and Detroit tied the game at 17:10 when Vincent Arsenault converted after the home team was caught on a poor line change. It ended 4-4 as Detroit salvaged a much need point to aid in their fight for the final playoff berth. Into Boston for a game to decide if the Dukes have any chance to finish atop the NAHC. The contest quickly became a typical playoff encounter as both teams stressed defense first in a tight checking affair. Toronto attempted to silence the 15,902 in attendance when just 1:54 into the game Al Cote snapped a wrist shot by a surprised Oscar James from the high slot after Bobbie Sauer won a draw in the Boston zone. The Dukes carried much of the play in the opening twenty minutes but James was able to thwart any chances to increase the lead to two. The second period saw the Bees step up their checking game as most of the play was one team dumping the puck in, and then the opponent picking it up, moving out their zone to just to dump it right back in at other end. The only of the middle frame came courtesy of Willis Beane's shot from the point in a play very similar to Toronto's opening period goal when Tommy Hart won a draw to set up the quick shot. In the third the tide slowly turned to Boston's favour as they started to beat the Toronto defensemen to the dumped in pucks. Nick Prentiss stole the puck from Charlie Brown right in front of the net then quickly deposited it behind Broadway. Pollack then took a slashing penalty on a back check and 46 seconds later Jim Morey made it 3-1 on a tic-tac-toe passing play from Jacob Gron and Robert Walker. Toronto tried to press but got caught flat footed just over a minute later when Hart found the twine from almost behind the goal line with assists going to Prentiss and Gron and that rounded out the scoring in allowing Boston to clinch top spot with a 4-1 victory. in what is going to be a playoff matchup, Chicago invaded Dominion Garden Sunday. Neither team was willing to open up for fear of being caught out by the other although Chicago seemed to press a little more than Toronto offensively leading to only goal of the opening period when 23-year-old rookie Max Lavigne scored his first career NAHC goal, tapping in a rebound off of Max Ducharme's shot. The second period was almost a carbon copy of the first with Packers doing most of the pressing towards goal and then checking the Dukes into the ice. Mo Masters floated in a point shot that seemed to deflect off a Toronto defender into the back of the Toronto net at 15:10 but Maurice Charette put wind back in the Dukes sails with a shot that beat Packers netminder Norm Hanson to the short side less than two minutes later to cut the Chicago lead to 2-1 after forty minutes. The score remained 2-1 until there were less than 2 minutes remaining when Mark Brooks secured the Chicago win when another shot seemed to deflect off a defensemen's stick in front of Broadway. The Dukes, trailing by two with less than 2 minutes remaining, immediately pulled Broadway but it backfired as Max Ducharme scored once into an empty net followed by another with 2 seconds left in the game to make the final 5-1. Coach Barrell's thoughts: "Disappointing, no sense crying over split milk, we have to move forward. All three games were close late. We blew the one to Detroit with the same attitude that came over the team in Montreal a couple of weeks ago when we let up thinking the two points were in the bag. Well, a bad dump in, a bad line change and the Motors go home with a point. In Boston it seemed we ran out of gas in the third. Tonight against Chicago, it was basically a 2-1 game that in truth we were outplayed. I want to clinch second, so the playoffs open here not in the Windy City. Unfortunately, it does not look like Trevor Parker will make it back for the semis. He has lost a pile a weight, and stamina with his jaw wired shut. I am hoping to give Broadway at least one night off if we can clinch second at home on Wednesday. Back to the drawing board."    CHAMPION SAWYER SET TO FACE CRAWFORD IN U.S. RETURN In a much-anticipated return to American soil, World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer is set to reenter the ring for his latest title defense after a successful European tour that added to his impressive collection of victories. After claiming wins in London and Paris during his six-month excursion abroad, Sawyer's next destination is none other than the revered Gothams Stadium. Promoter Chester Conley, who has been sporting a grin as wide as the Brooklyn Bridge, gleefully announced last week that the champion will make his much-anticipated comeback on June 25 at the hallowed ballpark. His opponent? None other than the Boston Bomber himself, Roy Crawford. Crawford, aged 30 and boasting a career record of 29 wins and just 3 losses, secured his shot at the title with a resounding decision victory over Steve Manning in Pittsburgh a mere month ago. It's a well-deserved opportunity for Crawford, who has waited patiently for this moment, his name often mentioned as a possible challenger for Sawyer. The seasoned pugilist, hailing from the fighting streets of Boston, has watched other fighters get their shot at the title, always missing out on the chance himself. However, his time has finally arrived, and the spotlight will soon shine brightly on Crawford, who aims to prove that the championship is within his grasp. Some observers believe that Sawyer may be at his most vulnerable. The champ has, on occasion, struggled against what are perceived as weaker opponents. His recent fight with Alain Noel, a tenacious French fighter, went the distance and raised questions about Sawyer's invincibility and reignited cries from the Sawyer's detractors that the champ has lost some of the power his right hand was known for in its heyday. According to Conley, who shared the champion's preparedness in his absence, Sawyer is returning to American shores reinvigorated and well-rested. Fans can expect to see the champion in prime form as he seeks to secure another dominant victory. This event marks Sawyer's third title defense at the renowned Gothams Stadium, and anticipation is building for this battle in the heart of New York's boxing world. ERICKSON BRACES FOR STIFF CHALLENGE Welterweight Champ Set to Face Rudy Perry The past year and a half has given us the meteoric rise of Mac Erickson, a 28-year-old welterweight champ who honed his boxing skills while serving in the Navy during the war. Erickson's ascent to the title included impressive victories over highly touted contenders such as Dale Roy and Harold Stephens, leading to his coronation as the welterweight champion. His most recent defense was nothing short of extraordinary, delivering a third-round knockout to challenger John Gregory. However, Erickson's journey is far from over. The champ is gearing up for another fierce test, this time against the seasoned veteran, Rudy Perry, who boasts a commendable record of 27 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw. The title defense is set for this Saturday at Detroit's Thompson Pavilion, marking the Minnesota native's second defense in the Midwest, after the memorable showdown with Gregory at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium. Erickson is marching into the bout with an unblemished 18-0 record as a professional. But make no mistake, a line of skilled contenders is forming, eagerly awaiting their opportunity to dethrone the reigning champ. This Saturday night, it will be Rudy Perry, a Philadelphia native, stepping into the ring, determined to seize the welterweight title from Erickson. STEPHENS BOWS OUT GRACEFULLY Former Champ Calls It a Day After Defeat Harold Stephens, the former welterweight champion, found himself on the wrong end of a beating once again last week, this time at the hands of River Thomas, a middling fighter hailing from New Jersey who had never been a serious title contender. The bout stretched to the distance, lasting a full 10 rounds, and it was quite apparent that Stephens was fortunate to remain upright for the duration. This marked the third loss in his last four outings for Stephens, including a pivotal 15-round decision that cost him his welterweight title against Mac Erickson. Credit must be given to Stephens for recognizing when it was time to bow out before suffering severe injury. Reports suggest that his cornerman had considered throwing in the towel on two separate occasions during the contest. A day following the bout, Stephens made the decision to retire from boxing at the age of 30, leaving behind a record of 21 wins, 6 losses, and 3 draws. His impressive career included a pair of successful title defenses following his shocking victory over Mark Westlake in February 1947 to clinch the welterweight championship. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
Code:
FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 38 12 .760 - Washington 38 12 .760 - Philadelphia 32 17 .653 5.5 Rochester 24 25 .490 13.5 Baltimore 24 25 .490 13.5 Hartford 23 26 .469 14.5 Boston 23 27 .460 15.0 New York 15 34 .306 22.5 Syracuse 7 43 .140 31.0 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 33 17 .660 - Chicago 34 18 .654 - Cleveland 29 21 .580 4.0 Cincinnati 28 22 .560 5.0 Pittsburgh 20 30 .400 13.0 Buffalo 16 33 .327 16.5 Toronto 14 36 .280 19.0  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/13/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-10-2023 at 03:15 PM. |
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11-13-2023, 03:00 PM
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#827 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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March 21, 1949
MARCH 21, 1949 PACKERS OVERTAKE DUKES FOR SECOND PLACE AS NAHC SEASON CONCLUDES Win Home Ice Advantage for Semi Finals The Chicago Packers completed one of the most impressive second half runs the NAHC has ever seen as they turned what looked like a lost season into home ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. The Packers went 23-7-5 since December 22 after starting the season 7-17-1, including taking 13 out of a possible 16 points in March, to storm past the slumping Toronto Dukes and finish in second place, one point up on Toronto. The Dukes, on the other hand, limped across the finish line with a 4-8-1 mark that dropped them from first place to third over the final month of the season. Chicago riding high, will now open the playoffs at Lakeside Arena against the Dukes this week. The Dukes did manage to retain the individual scoring title as Quinton Pollack's 64 points were two better than Tommy Burns of the Packers accumulated despite the fact that Burns missed 11 games with an injury. Pollack, like the rest of the Dukes, is in a slump and did not record a single point in any of his last five games. Toronto and Chicago have met three times in the playoffs before with the Dukes emerging victorious all three. The most recent meeting was 1944-45 when the Dukes won the best-of-five semi-final series 3 games to one. The other playoff series promises to be an interesting one only because the first place Boston Bees will be without starting goaltender Oscar James likely for the entire series. It will be a real test for backup Pierre Melancon as he and his mates face the high scoring but defensively indifferent Detroit Motors. Detroit held off Montreal and New York for fourth place and the final playoff berth mainly on the strength of possessing the league's most dangerous offense. The Motors led the NAHC this season with 198 goals. It has been seven years since Boston and Detroit met in the post-season but they did have quite a rivalry for a stretch. Boston knocked off the Motors twice in successive seasons in the Challenge Cup Finals including a thrilling seven-game series win in 1942. Boston won the Cup in 6 games in 1941 and the only other post-season meeting of the two since Detroit acquired its franchise was in the spring of 1939 when the Detroit Olympians -as they were known then- upset first place Boston with a 4 game sweep in the semi-finals.  Code:
FINAL NAHC STANDINGS
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston 60 36 19 5 188 150 77
Chicago 60 30 24 6 192 175 66
Toronto 60 29 24 7 186 172 65
Detroit 60 24 29 7 198 188 55
Montreal 60 22 31 7 156 193 51
New York 60 18 32 10 152 194 46
SCORING LEADERS GP G A PTS
Pollack, Tor 60 28 36 64
T Burns, Chi 49 39 23 62
Chandler, Bos 55 23 37 60
Galbraith, Tor 58 28 31 59
Hart, Bos 57 27 31 58
Sauer, Tor 60 28 28 56
Vanderbilt, Det 57 28 25 53
Witt, Det 57 18 34 52
Skinner, Mon 60 24 24 48
Ducharme, CHI 57 19 29 48
Cabbell, NY 49 26 20 46
Carlson, Tor 55 13 32 45
Rocheleau, Det 53 6 39 45
GOALIE LEADERS GP W L T ShO GAA
James, Bos 50 29 16 5 6 2.45
Hanson, Chi 45 22 19 4 4 2.73
Broadway, Tor 54 24 23 7 4 2.82
Brockers, Mon 45 16 25 3 3 2.92
Chasse, Det 21 9 10 0 1 2.95
Tremblay, NY 53 15 28 8 2 3.10
Touhey, Det 39 14 19 5 3 3.23
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS TUESDAY MARCH 15 New York 2 at 3 Boston: The Boston Bees held off the Shamrocks 3-2, officially ending New York's faint playoff hopes. Tommy Hart scored the game winner, his 27th of the season, early in the third period as the Bees adjusted to life without Oscar James, at least for the start of the playoffs. Pierre Melancon stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced in place of the injured Boston number one goaltender. WEDNESDAY MARCH 16 Boston 1 at 5 Chicago: The Chicago Packers moved to within a point of the Toronto Dukes for second place and home-ice in the opening round of the playoffs with a convincing 5-1 victory over Boston. The Packers scored three times in the opening period and then added two more in the middle frame before Willis Beane broke Norm Hanson's shutout bid with just over 3 minutes left in the game. Detroit 8 at 3 New York: Defenseman Spencer Larocque scored three times and added an assist while Adam Vanderbilt had a 6-point night as the Detroit Motors moved closer to clinching a playoff spot by blasting the hometown Shamrocks 8-3. THURSDAY MARCH 17 Montreal 4 at 0 Toronto: Tom Brockers stopped all 31 shots he faced while Shel Herron had 3 assists to lead the Montreal Valiants to a 4-0 victory over Toronto. The win keeps the Valiants very slim playoff hopes alive but they need to win each of their final two games and have Detroit lose both of theirs just to force a tie for fourth place. Toronto, is suddenly very much in danger of allowing the Chicago Packers to slip past them for second place. The Dukes have dropped three straight games and are winless in their last four. SATURDAY MARCH 19 Montreal 1 at 4 Chicago: Their fourth straight win, coupled with Toronto's loss in Detroit, moved the Chicago Packers ahead of the Dukes and into second place with just one game remaining for each. The Packers 4-1 victory also ended the Montreal Valiants hopes of catching the Motors for the final playoff berth. Clarence Skinner of the Vals scored the only goal of the opening period and the game was tied at 1 entering the third frame, before the Packers exploded for three goals, including a pair 54 seconds apart early in the period to secure the win. Toronto 2 at 6 Detroit: The Motors handed the Toronto Dukes their fourth straight loss, beating Toronto 6-2 and clinching fourth place and the final playoff spot in the process. A 3-goal outburst in the second period was the difference with Marsh Spencer leading the way for the home club with a pair of markers. SUNDAY MARCH 20 Boston 0 at 4 Toronto: The Dukes snapped their skid with a 4-0 win thanks to an impressive 32-save shutout from backup goaltender Terry Russell. The win, at least momentarily, kept the Dukes hopes of reclaiming second place and home ice advantage in the semi-final round but those hopes would be crushed with news of a Packers win in Chicago meaning Toronto will be on the road to open the playoffs this week. Bobbie Sauer had a big night for the Dukes with 2 goals and an assist. Quinton Pollack won the league scoring title despite being held pointless the final five games of the season. Detroit 2 at 5 Montreal: In what turned out to be a meaningless game Paulie Mosca scored twice and added two helpers to lead the Montreal Valiants to a 5-2 victory over Detroit. The Valiants will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row as Detroit claimed the fourth and final spot. New York 0 at 6 Chicago: The Packers clinched secong place and home-ice advantage for their semi-final series with Toronto after blanking the New York Shamrocks 6-0. Tommy Burns scored 3 times and added an assist giving him an NAHC 39 goals and finishing just two points back of Toronto's Quinton Pollack in the points race despite the fact that Burns missed 11 games with a shoulder injury. Norm Hanson had an easy night in the Chicago net, facing just 14 shots for his fourth shutout of the season. END OF REGULAR SEASON AROUND THE LEAGUE
MOTORS FINISH STRONG, FACE TEST IN BEES Badger Rigney and the Detroit Motors accomplished task number one. The new coach managed to navigate his young charges into the playoffs, something the Motors had only participated in once in the previous three seasons. Rigney also showed confidence in his young troops and allowed them to be the creative offense forces they can be. The result was some exciting firewagon hockey at the Palladium and while mistakes were made in their own end, the club generally had enough offensive punch to survive. The playoffs will be a much different test and the Boston Bees are certainly going to tighten up what is already the league's stingiest defense but the Motors have high hopes of upsetting the first place club just as the New York Shamrocks did with Chicago a year ago. The spirits are just a little higher with news that Boston's tremendous starting goaltender Oscar James will miss the series with an injury. However, Pierre Melancon is an experienced back-up who won't make it easy on the rising young Detroit offensive stars. The key will be to try and steal one of the first two games at Denny Arena before returning home for games three and four in the best of seven set. Let's hope the Motors have a little more success at Denny Arena than the Detroit City College Knights. The local cage quintet made an early exit from the AIAA tournament for the second year in a row. A year ago, they fell to Lexington State to finish the season with a 19-11 record and now a disappointing but not completely surprising loss at the hands of Annapolis Maritime means another early end for the Knights, who finish 20-10 on the season. The East Regional meeting between DCC and the Navigators was held at Denny Arena in Boston, a location the Motors are off to this week. Meanwhile in Lakeland there is plenty of buzz about young pitcher Jack Miller. The 22-year-old Georgia native who was a second round pick out of Red River State a year ago, is making quite an impression on manager Dick York at Dynamos camp. Miller has allowed just one earned run in three spring starts and is making a strong push to be part of the 24-man roster when the club heads north next month. Plans had Miller, who pitched well in the Cuban Winter League, but had no experience above the AA level, to start the season in AAA Newardk, but clearly Miller is intent on changing those plans. The Dynamos are 6-7 after two weeks of Citrus contests. The season opener is April 19 in St Louis against the two-time defending World Champion Pioneers. The week began with a rather uninspired game at home with Montreal providing the opposition at Dominion Gardens. The Vals put two by surprise starter Gordie Broadway, who had been suffering with infection in a chin cut forcing removal of the stitches, draining then closing the wound again. The Montreal markers in the first period came from Rey Sclisizzi and Wayne Augustin. Toronto's only highlight of the period was when Luke Brisebois, trying to inject some life into the team, squared off with Vals heavyweight Ian Finnson with 5 minutes left in opening frame. If Brisebois' plan was to wake up the team it did not have the desired effect, as the Dukes seemed to sleepwalk through the second period, one in which Adam Sanford made it 3-0 at 11:33 went left alone in front of the Dukes net. The Dukes had nothing going for themselves again in the third although Mike Navarro did inject a life in the crowd at least when he dropped the mitts with Finnson in the Montreal zone. This writer believes Finnson would have been declared the victor on all cards in both bouts. With 2 seconds remaining Paulie Mosca added insult to injury making it 4-0 Montreal. In Detroit Saturday night the Dukes faced their archrivals, the Motors, who were trying to lockup a playoff berth. Motors appeared to be under orders to stick to hockey and not engage in the extracurricular activities post whistle. Detroit struck early when, with Torontos' Charlie Brown off for holding, Marsh Spencer slammed a pass from Adam Vanderbilt past a down and out Broadway. Six minutes later Spencer Larocque doubled the advantage on a shot from the point that handcuffed the Dukes' keeper. Navarro managed to close the gap on a pretty 3-way passing play from Bobbie Sauer and Brisebois just before the 15 minute mark. The old nemisis reared its ugly head when Toronto again coughed up a late goal when Vincent Arsenault buried a wrist shot with just 4 seconds left in the frame. The second period was all Motors on the scoring sheet with Arnold Singleton, early to make it 4-1, followed by Spencer, with his second of the game, and Graham Ferrar all lighting the lamp behind the Dukes' goal making it 6-2 after two. Down five with twenty to play Toronto showed a little life but only managed one goal, from Dick Zimmerman making the final score only slightly more respectable at 6-2 as Detroit clinched its spot in the playoffs. Toronto ended the regular season with a home game against the Bees in a contest that meant nothing to Boston but the Dukes with help from New York could still finish second. Boston put up a fight but were relying more heavily on their second and third line players with, it seemed, everyone protecting themselves from injury. The game remained scoreless until almost 18 minutes into the second when Al Cote blasted a shot past Boston goaltender Pierre Melancon after pinching in during a power play. In the third Les Carlson scored at 5:02 followed just over a minute later by Sauer making it 3-0 and the Bees seemed to fold up their tent looking to just get the game over with. Sauer added another one at 16:38 to make the final 4-0 giving the Dukes hope for home ice in the semi-final series with Chicago. The news from Windy City came in about an hour later while the Dukes were still in the dressing room. Packers had won their 5th in a row dismantling the Shamrocks 6-0 clinching second place. Coach Barrell: "We made our own beds with poor efforts against both Montreal and Detroit. Now will be forced to open on the road against a red hot Packers club. I thought about starting Russell at home Wednesday though I am not sure it would have any difference the way we played in our zone. The worst news in that game was that Lou Galbraith sprained his wrist badly when he crosschecked, with no call I might add, into the boards. He will probably miss the Chicago series along with Dubois and Parker. Nice to see Pollack leading the league in scoring although this is a team game. Time to prepare for the Packers, I have a plan for shutting down Tommy Burns." CLOSE CALLS FOR TOP SEEDS, AND PAIR OF UPSETS IN AIAA CAGE TOURNEY Each of the four number one seeds survived the opening round of the AIAA tournament, but not without some tense moments for a pair of them in the Coastal California Dolphins and Rainier College Majestics. The second seeds were not quite as lucky with top ten outfit North Carolina Tech and Southwestern Alliance champion Texas Gulf Coast each going down to defeat at the hands of seventh seeds as the 40th annual collegiate cage championship tipped off over the weekend. Only the South Region went exactly according to script as each of the four higher seeds advanced. Top ranked Carolina Poly had little difficulty in disposing of St Gordius 54-36 behind 17 points from James Halle but it was a costly win as Halle left late with an injury and his status for next Friday's game against Indiana A&M is uncertain. The 4th seeded Reapers, making just their second tournament appearance since 1930, beat Golden Gate 45-28 in the opening round. On the other side of the South Region bracket it will be #2 St Blane against #3 Mississippi A&M after each prevailed Sunday. The Fighting Saints, TWIFB's pick to go all the way for the first time in school history, held off a pesky Keystone Alliance champion Mahoning Valley State to prevail 52-48. Dennis Hall had 16 points to lead the Miners, who managed to get within one point of the Saints with 2:54 remaining before fading. After going 26 years without a tournament victory, Mississippi A&M has earned one for the second year in a row following the Generals 67-46 romp over Maryland State. Senior forward Micah Shuman had a career high 26 points to lead the way for the winners. *** Dolphins Nearly Fall to Foxes *** In the West Region the Coastal California Dolphins barely held off Flint to score a 46-44 victory over the determined Foxes, who never led in the second half but spent the entire last 16 minutes of the game never more than 4 points behind. Dolphins leader Chris Martines paved the way with 16 points. Next up for Coastal California will be Frankford State after the 5th seeded Owls upended #4 Central Ohio 65-56. 7th seed Utah A&M had little trouble knocking off #2 Texas Gulf Coast for what was the first tournament game victory in the Aggies history. They had previously lost 11 straight tournament outings. The Hurricanes reached the National Semi-Finals a year ago but are going home early this time following the 48-34 loss to A&M. Next up for the Aggies will be Lexington State after the 3rd seeded Colonials dumped Laclede 58-33 on the strength of 15 points from freshman reserve guard Fritz McCusker. *** Top Ranked Canaries Advance *** Western Iowa, ranked #1 in the nation during the season, had little trouble in its tournament opener as Willy Ludwick scored 15 points to pace the Canaries to a 62-46 victory over Eastern Kansas and run their record this year to 29-1. Next up for the Great Lakes Alliance champs will be possibly their toughest test of the season as they meet #4 seeded CC Los Angeles in the second round of the Midwest Region. The Coyotes, winners of the tournament three years ago and finalists last season, dumped Central Carolina 63-52 on the weekend. It will be Lane State and Noble Jones College in the second round on the other side of the Midwest bracket after the two higher seeds each prevailed. The #2 seeded Emeralds downed Texas Panhandle 57-41 with junior forward Carl Casswell, as he has done all season, leading the way. Casswell had 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Cowboys. Joseph Bosco had 14 points while Mike Miller and Ken Avelar added 12 each to lead #3 Noble Jones College past Darnell State 55-43. *** Techsters Taught a Lesson in East Region *** The North Carolina Tech Techsters were shocked 66-59 by 7th seeded San Francisco Tech in their East Region opener. It marks yet another year of disappointment for the Carolina school, which reached the national semi-finals in back-to-back seasons during the war but followed that up 3 straight years of missing the tournament entirely with a devastating opening round loss to a team they clearly should have defeated. For San Francisco Tech, which has been invited to the tournament only three times in its history and not since 1938, it marked the first ever tournament victory for the Unions. San Francisco Tech will have another chance to play giant-killers as they next face Luther Gordon and the Liberty College Bells. The Bells, noses out of joint after being relegated to a third seed despite being ranked #3 in the nation, won a high scoring affair with Garden State by an 81-72 count. Luther Gordon moved to within 14 points of tying Morgan Melcher for the AIAA single season points record after the junior center scored 31 against the Redbirds. The East nearly saw each of its top two seeds sidelined early after Academia Alliance champion Dickson almost pulled off an upset over Rainier College. The Majestics prevailed 49-48 but only because Roy Davis hit a set shot from the wing as time expired to save the day for Rainier College. If not for Davis' heroics it would have been the third consecutive season the Majestics fell in the opening round of the tournament -after winning twice and reaching the semi-finals once in the previous four years. Next up for Rainier College will be Annapolis Maritime after the Navigators won a tournament game for the first time since their trip to the title contest in 1944 -where they came up short against Rainier College. A 64-56 victory over Detroit City College, keyed by 17 points from senior guard Franklin Bradfield, set up the naval training schools opportunity to seek revenge on the Majestics.  ERICKSON DOMINATES PERRY IN DEFENDING WELTER BELT Thompson Palladium, Detroit, Mich. – Mac Erickson has gained a reputation as the boxing world has paid more and more attention to the World Welterweight Champion. This is what we know about the Saint Paul, Minnesota native. He is a powerful puncher that belies his size. Erickson has gained the nickname “Thor” because of his ability to use his “hammer” to defeat opponents. He can also throw punches in bunches, capitalizing on a wounded opponent to score big points by being aggressive in those moments. But the jury is still out on whether he truly has the killer instinct to go for a knockout when it is there for the taking. When Erickson defeated Harold Stephens for the welterweight title, he pummeled Stephens to the brink of submission, but could not close the deal and had to wait for the judges to decide the affair. Erickson made quick work of John Gregory in his first title defense after letting Gregory take the first two rounds before unleashing a devastating uppercut that knocked him out in the third round. So, is “Thor” Erickson the go-getter that knocks his opponents out when he gets the upper hand or is he the boxer who is unable to put his opponents away? Either way, Erickson is a welcome star in the welterweight ranks, a weight class left without a champion for the better part of the decade and whose belt changed hands as often as the weather. As Erickson was set to take on Rudy Perry, a native son of Philadelphia with a solid 27-4-1 record, Erickson was ready to battle, seeking to put his uneven reputation to rest. He wanted to come out blazing hot and we would soon take pity on Perry for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The boxers came out of their corners to start the bout. After the first punches were landed about 20 seconds in, one man was still standing, and the other man was fumbling for the ropes. Erickson drilled Perry with a combination the culminated in a shot to Perry’s jaw that had the challenger face down on the canvas. Perry just beat the referee’s count, getting back on his feet at the count of nine. A knockout there would have set a record for the fastest bout in history. For the rest of the first round, Erickson went for the knockout, drilling Perry at every opportunity, connecting on five Big Boppers during the round and earning a second knockdown at the tail end of the round. Perry’s fans were largely absent from the Palladium in Detroit, but Erickson’s Midwestern rooters were there in force on this Friday night and they had a lot to cheer about in that first round. Erickson had another fantastric start when the second round started, carrying over his dominance from the first round. Just 18 seconds into the second stanza, Erickson delivered a big combination that sent Perry down a third time. Overall, it was a very good round for the champion, not only for the offense, but he did not let Perry get a consequential punch through his own defenses. You could have stopped the fight there and the referee was one count away from doing so in the first round. Perry had other ideas and whether he chose to forget the start of the fight or if Erickson erased the last few minutes with his punches is unclear, but full marks to Perry for looking forward instead of backward. Perry was the one who fired the opening salvo in this round, connecting with his first scoring punch in the entire bout at 18 seconds of the third round. Erickson was taking the third round to catch his breath and clinched and held Perry during the round, blunting the effect of Perry starting to fight back. It was a strategic move, and he went back to attacking midway through the fourth round with a right cross and a left hook in succession that sent Perry reeling, but not quite down to the mat. Perry offered a solid counter with a right hand upstairs that stopped Erickson in his tracks. That single counterpunch was Perry’s most important punch of the fight, as he proved there was a second act to this play. Perry took the fight to Erickson in the fifth before dominating the sixth round. Perry surprised Erickson with a combination that shook up the champion, an uppercut that connected hard with Erickson’s head, and an uppercut that almost knocked Erickson down. Erickson’s face under his left eye was beginning to swell in the sixth round and stood to continue to plague him for the rest of the fight, but Perry did not take advantage after the sixth. Erickson was able to get back on solid footing in the seventh in some good back-and-forth with Perry. Both survived without a knockdown, but there were five Big Boppers in that round: three for Erickson and two for Perry. In the eighth round, there were five major punches as well, but all of them belonged to Erickson in his closing measure. The eighth round started slowly, but the lapping of the gentle waves on the beach soon whipped up into a maelstrom. About a minute in, Erickson marked Perry with a clean combination, and it worked so well, he went back to it again and again, culminating on an upstairs-downstairs combination that put Perry down a fourth time. Perry struggled to stand, rolling over from his stomach to his knees and crawled to an upright position. Perry was wobbly and Erickson came at him with an overhand right that caught Perry on his left temple, violently dropping the challenger. This time, Perry barely offered an attempt to stand, and the referee completed his count. After five knockdowns, the punishment was over and Erickson stood again as champion. We are starting to get a clearer picture of Erickson (19-0-0) and while the welterweight division will get more competitive with young, willing fighters in the distance, Erickson is an impressive champion. He has the power, and he is developing that killer instinct. But, in between his dominance early and late in this fight against Perry (27-5-1), he also showed he can take some punches and not fall. This new wrinkle will likely be tested as his competition gets better. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Erickson, 5-0 (0:20 combo/jaw/knockdown #1, 0:55 uppercut, 1:08 hook, 1:52 hook/head, 3:00 combo/knockdown #2) Round 2: Erickson, 2-0 (0:18 combo/knockdown #3, 2:29 hook/jaw) Round 3: Perry, 1-0 (0:18 uppercut) Round 4: Erickson, 2-1 (E: 1:26 cross/face, 1:40 left hook/body; P: 2:10 right/head) Round 5: Tied, 2-2 (E: 0:56 cross, 2:40 uppercut; P: 1:37 hook, 2:06 right/body) Round 6: Perry, 4-0 (1:21 combo, 1:34 uppercut/head, 1:47 combo, 2:01 uppercut) Round 7: Erickson, 3-2 (E: 0:27 uppercut, 1:33 right/midsection, 1:57 combo; P: 1:08 right, 3:00 cross) Round 8: Erickson, 5-0 (0:54 combo, 1:37 combo, 1:59 combo, 2:17 combo/knockdown #4, 2:36 right/knockdown #5 (KO)) TOTAL: Erickson 19, Perry 10  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 PIONEERS HAVE QUESTIONS HEADING INTO '49 CAMPAIGN Heading down the stretch of what was to be a fruitful, successful defense of their 1947 FABL Championship, the St. Louis Pioneers appeared to have all the answers. The team’s administration, between Manager Hugh Luckey and bombastic, yet possibly savvy, General Manager Dermot O’Connell (“Doc” for short), overcame the injury to Danny Hern, as well as lack of production from over half of their regulars, finessing the lineup and rotation to perfection. The result, of course, is that being the first Federal Association team to win back-to-back FABL titles since Detroit did it in 1918-19. However, there is one concerning issue with this team for 1949: All of the questions facing the ‘48 squad, which the administration patched up with “Band-Aids”, exist heading into this season. How have the Pioneers answered those questions? Have they answered those questions? What are the questions, anyway? Let’s find out. QUESTION Why did you target shortstop Win Hamby, anyway? ANSWER: The Pioneers traded young right fielder Bill Parker–he of 34 home runs in AAA Charleston last year–to land the 26-year-old infielder from Detroit. Hamby has had a lackluster go of things with the bat, hitting .194/.219/.258 in 98 trips to the plate in ‘47. That equates to a .477 OPS, and a 31 OPS+, for you baseball calculus minds at home. The native of Little Rock was more contemporary last year, hitting .247/.302/.402 in 107 plate appearances. It was fine, but was it worth trading a hitter in Parker who became the kind of bopper the Pioneers could surely use in their lineup? Where Hamby butters his bread explains this organization’s approach under DOC. Multiple scouts around the league claim that Hamby’s ability to field the baseball is the best the Figment has to offer. This Pioneers team is predicated on its pitching staff. DOC’s logic is this: If you back the best pitching staff in baseball with the best defense in baseball, you will be in a lot of games. And you will win a lot of games…even with an offense as inconsistent as the Pioneers was last year. Heck, the team won with Jim McBride, a rookie left-fielder learning to play center while the team pulled itself back into, and eventually ahead, of the FA pennant chase last year. It is entirely possible that, between Hamby, Homer Mills, and Jackie Washington, they have three-quarters of the best defensive infield in the Figment. With pitchers that force grounder after grounder in a ballpark where offense takes a nap…the Pioneers may have built the best home-park advantage in the league, something they enjoyed last season. Regarding Mr. Parker…the question that exists with him is: Where would he play? Larry Gregory is The Spirit of St. Louis, as far as the city is concerned. Al Tucker may be 36 now, but his ‘48 (.351/.418/.440, 132 OPS+, league-leading 213 hits) showed age is not the concern many thought it would be after the ‘46 season. (His season officially puts him into Hall of Fame consideration after he retires; it did not cinch the job, but he is officially now in the conversation, once the time comes.) Mr. Parker could have backed up both of those players, sure. But that is the team’s plan with McBride, which…well, let’s come back to that, once we’re done with Mr. Hamby, and the ripple effects of his arrival. Question: So who is out of a job: Abel Gardner, Bill Freeman, Luke Michaels, or Gary Carmichael? ANSWER: Hamby’s arrival does mean something’s got to give in the infield. Not everyone here will return. One of these four will either head to Charleston, or be released out of Spring Training. Here is the case for each: Freeman: The veteran, who arrived from New York via Rule V prior to 1947, was instrumental in the Pioneers’ run to the pennant, hitting .327/.387/.463, resulting in a 134 OPS+. However, his play slipped terribly last season; he finished at .286/.350/.390, but he surged late in the season to pull those numbers up. He was platooning with Washington for much of the second half of the season, and would have lost his job, had Jackie not struggled with the bat. The wakeup did trigger Freeman’s bat. Add in Freeman’s very suspect defense (23 errors since joining St. Louis), and you figure his days as a regular are over. Verdict: If his bat can play off the bench, he’s an easy keep. He has the best hit tool out of any of the four listed here. If not, the team will find probably work to find a new home for him. Gardner: The 33-year-old came to St. Louis in 1940, then split time with Oakland before staying here in 1942. Post-war, Gardner struggled. But during this championship run, Gardner has been quite effective off the bench, hitting .316 with an OPS+ of 126. Sure, he only had 19 at-bats last year, but they were an effective 19 at-bats. The two things working for Gardner are that he is a proven leader with this club, and he is a quality defenseman. Another DOC initiative with this organization is finding men who can lead men. Gardner, who received a Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge, has easily proven that. Given that he also has proven he can perform in a pinch, and cover ground quite well on the defensive side…well, he may be one of those guys that outsiders see and wonder why he is on the team, but those inside the clubhouse know. Verdict: Even though he is a product of…Kansas City…Gardner has a place on the club. Michaels: Another promising youngster who had his development cut by wartime, the 30-year-old’s everyday prospects are hurt the most by Hamby’s presence. Michaels hit .261/.292/.283 lsat year (574 OPS), which is not very promising in the least. He hit .342/.382/.408 with Oakland in the GWL back in ‘41, but he has not gotten the repetitions necessary to find that form again. He is a solid defender who can play three different spots, though. And he costs the team $10,000, as opposed to Freeman’s $18,000. Verdict: It’s possible the team sends Michaels to Charleston for more chances to play regularly, and stay sharp, should anything happen to the three likely regulars. Al Monroe, a busher who has shown ability, is pushing for his arrival to the big club, though…Michaels’ position could be fragile. Carmichael: The journeyman came to the club off waivers from Brooklyn in early ‘47. He has been valuable, hitting .250/.367/.335 in ‘47 (1.7 WAR), and .282/.332/.393 as a lefty platoon last season. Unfortunately, it seems like age–he turns 35 on May 3–may have hampered his defensive reflexes at the hot corner, where he settled in as a reliable option after starting his career as an erratic second sacker. He had his worst defensive season at third last year. Verdict: With his advancing age and the club’s predilection for defensive-minded play, Carmichael really has to show up in Spring Training to have a shot at staying with the club. Prediction: Gardner isn’t going anywhere. After that, Freeman and Michaels will have a battle for that last infield spot. Carmichael is likely destined for Charleston, retirement, or the unemployment line. Question: What happens in center field this season? ANSWER: The Pioneers started last year with Cal Page as the regular centerfielder. To explain how that went, it needs to be pointed out that Jim McBride, a left fielder, was brought up from Charleston–where he was crushing the ball–to take his place. McBride had no real experience playing center. He learned on the fly. That should encapsulate the health of the position for the parent club. The long-term health is presumably in good condition, with top-flight prospect George Atkins–rated in the top ten of all prospects on most scout sheets around the league–is projected to be the starter by the 1951 season. That does not, of course, have any impact on this season. So, what has the team done to solve this issue? The team kicked out trades for a couple of players, but decided against making any moves involving top bushers in third baseman Dan Finch, as well as pitchers Raphie Spires and Willis Barth. Here are the options heading into 1949, according to information gathered by team sources. There are some rather unconventional ideas here. 1. Run Page back out there. Page is elite defensively; Larry Gregory and Al Tucker, the stalwart corner spots, are not. The issue last year was that the entire offense tanked to start the season. There were wholesale changes to try and get the bats back on track. When McBride hit nearly .500 for the first two months of AAA ball, he became a decision made…at the expense of Page. If one were to assume that the offense performs at the level it did in August and September last year, Page is easily the most viable option. You are not going to get much offense out of him. However, logically, he makes the most sense…in the short-term, at least. 2. Red Hinton takes over. Hinton, the team’s first draft pick in the ‘48 draft (though a second-round selection, thanks to the Hiram Steinberg trade), was drafted with the expectation that he would rise quickly to the parent club. The organization expects Hinton to be the bridge between now and Atkins. There are some within the front office that hope Hinton performs so well, the team can use Atkins, or fellow elite prospect Jack Adams, as a trade chip for what will eventually be Danny Hern’s replacement. Hinton, who turns 23 at the end of June, spent time in at B-level Charlotte, as well as A-level Hartford last year. He was reasonable with the bat; however, he did not exactly set the baseball world on fire. He is what most would expect from a second-round draftee: A kid with solid skills, but one needing more seasoning in the bushes. Hinton will be joining the Pioneers for Spring Training, and he and Page will be given the opportunity to seize the everyday role. Page has a leg up, because he is already on the payroll, and has a track record with the club. Of course, that track record comes with a strike against for being benched last year. However, to say DOC loves Hinton is an understatement. Looking at how he managed the bushes last year, especially the top prospects, it is unlikely that Hinton will be rushed to accommodate the Pioneers. It is much more likely that Hinton starts the year in, say, AA or AAA, with the hope that he joins the parent club by his 23rd birthday. 3. Homer Mills, center fielder extraordinaire. This is where things get different. Mills, the 27-year-old entering his sixth year with the club. He has started all but fourteen of the 664 games he has been a Pioneer. He has been the regular shortstop for the last three seasons, after spending the first half of his time in St. Louis splitting time between short, second base, and third base. He has logged no professional innings in center field. Faithful reader, your immediate question is the same as mine, and virtually everyone who has engaged in this conversation: Why is this a consideration? Mills is an elite-level defender in the infield. Even though he struggled until August of last season, he has generally become a reliable hitter in the past couple of years. And with Mills and Hamby, the Pioneers likely have the best defensive keystone in baseball. With the understanding that defense is the priority in St. Louis, why would they bother with this ridiculous premise? This screams of someone who feels they are too smart for the room, potentially making a rash, ludicrous decision that could have negative ripple effects to the rest of the club. That said…there actually is some logic here. Hamby and Jackie Washington are, at the very least, defensive contemporaries to Mills at short. It’s actually likely that both are better at the position than Mills, and that Hamby starts the season at short, with Mills at third. And, honestly, the defensive statistics do not back up the notion that Mills is an elite shortstop. Mills has averaged 19 errors over the past three seasons, which is a considerable amount. So, Mills is not glued to short. Mills is also fast with excellent quickness. He is able to track the ball very well. If the team is not concerned that the strain of learning a foreign position would negatively impact his bat, then the team has adequate cover to experiment. Doing this could mean that either Luke Michaels or Bill Freeman gain the majority of time at second base, or that the team retains Carmichael for third base. If you recall that conversation, the club might not be as welcoming to that idea. There are two potential avenues that could lead to this experiment being a ripple effect (and which could produce a major ripple effect to the first question posed). If the aforementioned busher Monroe, or the aforementioned prospect Finch, find footing in the infield this year, there is a greater possibility that Mills is placed in center field, at least some of the time. In terms of flexibility, one of the two youngsters earning their way onto the big club is the best plan of action, if the team feels Mills is capable enough in the outfield. Finch winning the starting job at third base is the utopian concept, as it would allow the team to start Hamby and Mills up the middle, with Washington as the super-utility role he was employed in last season. This would allow for Washington to cover at second when Mills went to center. The same could be said of Monroe, with Washington at short, Hamby at third, and Mills at second, with Monroe playing second when Mills went to center. The question for all of this is, of course…can they achieve this while not allowing the offense to suffer? The secondary question is, can they hit well enough out of the gate to allow patience on these plans? The team stumbled so much out of the gate on offense last season that patience was thrown out the window. Luckey and DOC have both preached the need for a system in St. Louis to be built and established, so that the current wave of success does not recede into the horizon. However, with that weighed against the added pressure of winning a third-straight FABL title, which has been only achieved one time–the 1924-26 New York Stars–surely has the team admin trying to put the absolute best lineup on the field on Opening Day. That could make the prospect of a Monroe, Finch, or Hinton in the team’s plans, let alone the Opening Day lineup, quite difficult to fathom. Question: Who is the team’s Sunday Starter? ANSWER: In 1947, the 3-H Club (Hackney, Hern, & Hiram) was born. In 1948, the 3-H Club may have given way to the Four Horses of the Apocalypse, as Dick Long joined the three aces to form what was considered to be the strongest, most consistent rotation in the league. The team utilized those four–when Hern was healthy, of course–along with a very favorable schedule down the stretch, to constantly trot them out against league hitters. The main reason they were able to do this was rest days, and not having as many Sunday doubleheaders down the stretch. That will not be the case in 1949, as the team has an abundance of doubleheaders, not just early, but in August and September. The concept of the Sunday Starter is a novel one, sure. But having a dependable fifth man can mean the difference between a third-straight pennant and third place in the standings. The good news for the Pioneers is that they have several options for that fifth starting spot. The bad news for the Pioneers is that they don’t have a discernible favorite for the role. Here is who is in the running: Lazaro DeLeon (26): DeLeon held the role down the stretch last season. While he was not utilized much, especially in the final month of the year, his three-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Keystones on September 19th all-but-clinched the FA pennant for the Pioneers. The Cuban native, known as “El Mago” (The Magician), was not terribly magical last year, finishing 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA in his 45.2 innings. He does own a 19-10, 2.63 season with the Pioneers, that coming in 1945. He also owns a 6-17, 3.68 season, which came in 1946. Whichever one shows up will decide if DeLeon, who is likely to get the first opportunity to be the fifth man, sticks in the role. Ralphie Spires (23): The organization is most hopeful that Spires, a top-100 prospect in the FABL, wins and holds the SS job out of the gate. Spires’ abilities–he is known as a groundball and control specialist–seem custom-made for St. Louis, both in ballpark, and in defense. Unfortunately, Spires, brought up as cover when Hern was injured last year, gave up 27 hits in 17.1 innings. Four of those were home runs. The result was a 6.75 ERA, and a 1.90 WHIP. He fared a bit better at AAA Charlotte, going 9-8, 4.44 (1.45 WHIP). The team is hoping his stint down in Cuba, where he was 5-4 with three saves, along with a 2.82 ERA (1.26 WHIP), shows he is ready for a more substantial role with the parent club this season. Tom Buchanan (25): Buchanan was a war-time prospect casualty. He lost 1943 and 1944 to his service in Europe. Unfortunately, those took away his age-20 and 21 seasons, which are prime development time for pitchers. When he came back, he was immediately brought up to St. Louis as a 22-year-old. He performed reasonably well, though he severely lacked control, as evidenced by his 27 walks, against 18 strikeouts, in 49 innings. The control issues have plagued Buchanan throughout his career. Evidence: He has never had a professional season in which he struck out more hitters than he walked. Last year was the closest; he walked 100, and struck out 96. That was part of a 7-15, 4.08 season. He did give up less hits (208) than innings pitched, leading team admin to believe that, if he can improve the control, he could become a serious force in the FABL. To this point, though, that “if” is a big one…too big for Buchanan to overcome, so far. Charlie Leist (26): Leist, who came to the organization in a trade with Brooklyn in 1947, has not performed well enough in the bushes to warrant much consideration. Last year, he was 1-8, 5.86 (1.61 WHIP) with AAA Charlotte. In 1947, he was 10-21, 4.46 (1.55). He was another who covered some innings during Hern’s injury last year; he was 1-0, 6.15 (1.94) with the Pioneers. The coaching staff likes his stuff. He has just never put it together. Ben Fiskars (27): Fiskars started 20 games last season, finishing the season with a 6-7 mark, and a 4.93 ERA (1.64 WHIP). He was very effective early in the season; however, that effectiveness waned as the season waged on, and he lost his spot to DeLeon. Fiskars’ issue, like several of the others on this list, is command. He walked 87 in 133.1 innings last year. The Pioneers will be hard-pressed to have confidence in his ability to not put hitters on base free-of-charge. Joe Hess (27): A hard-throwing lefty–he reportedly can get his fastball to 95 MPH and above–Hess has never gotten a chance in the FABL. Last year, he pitched reasonably well, going 11-8, 3.68 (1.57) with Charlotte. He is another command issue, as evidenced by his 124 walks, as well as 16 home runs. Scouts rave about Hess’ stuff; as good as his fastball is, his slider and changeup are even better. He generally keeps the ball on the ground. If he can master the early count, and force hitters to try to hit his pitch, not only could he be a solid contributor for the Pioneers…he could become a force in the FABL. Willis Barth (22): This is the longshot at this stage, as Barth has not pitched above A-level ball. However, he is gaining considerable traction among FABL scouts, and was asked about in trade talks this offseason. Barth lacks size–he is just 5’5, 130 pounds–but has excellent control, as well as a fantastic sinker tailor-made for St. Louis. It is highly unexpected that Barth breaks camp with the Pioneers; the likely best-laid course for Barth’s 1949 is that he starts in A, and ends the season with Charlotte……or, if a Sunday Starter is locked down, ends up with another team, in exchange for a solid second or third baseman.  FAMILY REUNION BEHIND THE BENCHES IN TORONTO No such records exist of course to neither confirm nor deny, but the general consensus is when Fred Barrell trots out to home plate with the visitor's lineup card at Forester Field prior to the Toronto Wolves lid lifter in Cleveland on April 19 it will mark a historic event in the annals of professional sports. Never before, it is widely believed, have two brothers been handling the head coaching duties for two sports teams in the same city. Fred arrives as the Wolves new manager via Detroit where he most recently was employed as the Scouting Director for the Federal Association Dynamos. After a long period of negotiation, much of it shrouded in secrecy, Wolves magnate Bernie Millard secured the services of the former star catcher to replace Bob Call as the Wolves new skipper. His brother Jack, one of the most respected coaches in big-time hockey, also came from Detroit although with a quick pit stop or two in the minor leagues. Jack's early days were spent on the ice in Montreal, far from the family business- which clearly is baseball but stretches well across the spectrum of all sports these days, and the natural athleticism all Barrell's seem to possess was used for both professional hockey and football by Jack. As he got older and his playing days came to an end Jack found his niche as a coach with the Detroit Motors but a falling out a few years ago with Motors management sent him to the west coast, only to be rescued by the Dukes David Welcombe nearly two years ago. Jack won a Challenge Cup a year ago in his first season behind the bench in Toronto and now has the Dukes set to begin a defense of that title with a playoff series opening this week against Chicago. Fred will be hoping for the same success as he begins his time with the Wolves. Brett Bing has sat down with the Barrell brothers over the past few months since the start of rumours of Fred becoming Wolves skipper. A few times the interviews have been with them together, others have been one on one. This is compilation of those interviews: Mail & Empire: You two are both very good at keeping secrets, I tried many times, in many ways to get myself a scoop in our talks back in December. Neither of you would give me anything to work with or follow up. Jack Barrell: We are both used to dealing with sportswriters from our time as players along with our present jobs. We know how to answer questions without revealing secrets. I knew something was in the works when Mr. Millard invited me to his residence for dinner in late November. I thought it was strange not to go a restaurant, I was worried that it was about Mr. Millard's well publicized desire to control the hockey team and I did not want it to seem that I was doing anything behind Mr. Welcombe's back with the Dukes. Mr. Millard surprised me when he said "No, it was about one of my baseball playing brothers." I could not think of which one until Mr. Millard, as is his way, came straight to the point "Do you think Fred would come to Toronto as the next Wolves field general? He is going to be a manager in the FABL sooner rather than later I want it be in Toronto." I said that would be question that Fred would have to answer but moving to Toronto would not be a problem. Toronto is not much different than Detroit or Brooklyn, the people are much the same living similar lifestyles. The only difference is needing a passport to cross the border. I thought that Fred's wife Tillie and children Freddy, Benny and Hobie would fit right in after a short period with help from myself and Marie. As I left Mr. Millard ask me not to talk to Fred until after he had taken the train tomorrow to finalize his deal with Dynamos owner Mr. Thompson and then start discussions with Fred. Before I left Mr. Millard told me he had not given up on his hockey dream, but baseball and basketball would occupy his time for the next few years. I went home to let Marie what Mr. Millard wanted, she knew this all had to be kept secret, wives seemed to have more intuition. She was excited with the prospect of Tillie around so they could have each others' shoulders to lean on while their husbands were out of town, with is often during our seasons. I cannot tell you how many times I almost blurted out the details, Fred is much better at this cloak and dagger stuff given his service during the war. Fred Barrell: When I first met with Mr. Millard after he concluded his deal with Mr. Thompson, I almost fell out of my chair. Instead of saying yes, I asked for time to think it over, to talk to my family about this life changing decision. My involvement in baseball had been as a player and scout. The manager's job is much, much different. It has more, varying demands on your time. I wished at that time my parents were both still alive so I could ask then for their input. I think Rufus' answer would have been the same as Tillie's "Ask yourself if this is what you really want to do, the pressures of being a manager are different than your present job. Is Toronto the right place to become manager? If the answer is yes, then we all go to Toronto." It will be nice to have Jack, Marie around to help us get settled, Freddy will make new friends he is outgoing, Benny is happy wherever he is, Hobie will become Quinton Pollack's biggest fan, of that I am certain. After spending a sleepless night, I decided to make only 2 calls the following day. On was to Jack. His advice was similar to Tillie's which came down to "Do you have confidence in your ability to make your first step into the managerial world at the highest level, in the FABL?" Jack, with all his coaching experience in hockey, knew the challenges I would face. He told me early on I will have to rely on staff, most of whom I am sure you know at least in passing, until you get your feet on the ground. Is the GM someone I could work with on an almost daily basis? Am I prepared to deal with all the players questions, concerns, some of which may seem ridiculous or petty? Can I meet with the press every day to explain the team's fortunes, good or bad, while remaining on an even keel? Remember as manager you will be the most public face of the team, you will get too much credit when things are going well, too much blame when the team is going poorly. If you can answer all those question in the affirmative, then I will see in Toronto." My second call was to Roland (brother Rollie Barrell who owns the Detroit Maroons and Mustangs) who has had dealings with Mr. Millard. He told me "If he spent the time to come to see you personally then he believes you have the requisite skills to do the job. He did not delegate the job to an assistant, which speaks highly of his regard for you. You will have some difficult times with him, he does not go behind anyone's back or deal in innuendo, he will tell you in person what he thinks of the job you are doing - possibly too often. He is generous if he believes you are on the right path. It comes down to are you ready for the big job?" After seemingly endless discussions with Tillie, I decide to tell Mr. Thompson I had decided to accept the Toronto job, after the draft, then called Mr. Millard. We spent a few days over the Christmas holidays in Toronto and it was a great experience. Hobart went to few junior hockey games with his uncle although and was truly amazed at the number of outdoor rinks with boards that were lit until 9:00 PM, the curfew. The highlight of his Christmas was when his cousin Agnes and her husband Quinton (Dukes center Pollack) showed up Christmas Day with presents for the kids. Hobart's present was a new pair of skates along with a new Mic-Mac stick that was basically the last I saw of him for the rest of the week until the light went off at the rinks. I went back to Detroit to finish to draft preparations while the family stayed in Ontario until school started in January. Jack: We both have great wives they handle all the details to allow us to concentrate on jobs. I did not tell Fred that Mr. Millard told me at our initial meeting, after congratulating me on the quick turnaround of the Dukes, he may be dealing Fred a tougher hand with the Wolves as they are aging moving towards a roster turnover that may take a few years to accomplish. Fred should be smart enough to see that fact. It will be a busy week for both of Coaches Barrell. Jack is set to begin defense of the Challenge Cup with the semi-final series against Chicago getting underway this week while Fred remains in Florida, putting the Wolves through their paces in advance of the April 18th season opener in Cleveland.   
PATRIOTS POST-SEASON CHANCES IN JEOPARDY A tough stretch for the Hartford Patriots probably ends their playoff hopes. A three-game losing streak puts them at 23-29 on the season. The offense has gone stone cold, as they managed to post just 66 points in a 95-66 embarrassment in Baltimore. The team shot just 28.1% from the field, and 53% from the line. Add in just 13 assists, against 16 turnovers, and you have an easy bake recipe for blowout cake. The team then went for seconds, posting just 63 in a 75-63 loss to lowly Pittsburgh. The Pats used exactly the same recipe as in Baltimore, but tweaked it slightly. They shot 63% from the line, but just 23% from the field. They did add two assists (15), but kept the same turnover figure. Those three losses drop the Pats to 7th in the East Division, and a full four games back of Baltimore for the fourth and final playoff berth. The Pats may be on the wrong side of the age curve as well, as several of their players are in their 30s. It is a weird predicament for Pats’ admin, though, because of discussion from dark corners that the league may need to contract teams in the future to survive. Undergoing a full overhaul of the organization--Head Coach Irvin Lewis may be given a pink slip at the end of the season--is not an attractive prospect at any time, but doing so at this moment may be especially precarious, if those rumors prove prescient. The season isn’t over, of course; there are sixteen games left. But this team has to win, and win on the road, where they are 8-18. Half of their remaining schedule is away from Pratt Fieldhouse.
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 41 12 .774 - Washington 41 12 .774 - Philadelphia 33 19 .635 7.5 Baltimore 27 25 .519 13.5 Rochester 26 26 .500 14.5 Boston 25 28 .472 16.0 Hartford 23 29 .442 17.5 New York 16 36 .308 24.5 Syracuse 7 46 .132 34.0 WEST W L PCT GB Chicago 35 18 .660 - Detroit 34 19 .642 1.0 Cleveland 30 22 .577 4.5 Cincinnati 29 25 .537 6.5 Pittsburgh 23 30 .434 12.0 Buffalo 16 37 .302 19.0 Toronto 16 38 .296 19.5  LUDWICK TOPS OSA DRAFT LIST OSA's pre-tournament rankings of the top 40 collegiate seniors has been released with center Willy Ludwick of the number one ranked Western Iowa Canaries at the top of the heap. The 6'11" Nebraska native has been a starter for the Canaries each of the past three years and led the club to a 28-1 record and the Great Lakes Alliance title. He averaged 13.3 points per game and was among the nations leaders with 8.4 rebounds per contest. Ludwick's Western Iowa teammate Charlie Maynard also drew notice from the OSA, which placed Maynard 28th on the list. The highest pair of teammates ranked are St Blane forwards Cy Worley and Josh Samuels who ended up second and sixth among the 40 seniors listed by the scouting service. In an overall ranking of pro talent by all classes, Luther Gordon remains number one as the talented Liberty College junior tossed out Ludwick and Worley for the top spot. A pair of familiar names to FABL fans cracked the list near the bottom with Rainier College sophomore guard Don Higgins and Noble Jones College freshman guard Charlie Barrell both appearing on the OSA list of pro basketball prospects regardless of their draft class. Higgins is the younger brother of former Boston Minutemen pictcher Dick Higgins and is a second year starter with the Majestics while Barrell, who saw limited action for the Colonels as a freshman this year and will also play baseball and football for the school, is clearly recognizable as a member of the most famous family in sports. Charlie would have been a high first round pick in the 1948 FABL draft had he not opted out in order to attend the Georgia school. Assuming all 16 teams survive the season and there are certainly some questions regarding a few of them, the Syracuse Titans appear to be a lock to have the first overall selection for the second year in a row. The Titans, who shifted from Toronto over the summer, are far and away the worst club in the league with a 7-43 record. A year ago the Titans opted to select Texas Gulf Coast forward Darren Fuhrman, who was number one on the OSA list, over Liberty College center Ward Messer. While Messer has gone on to star for Detroit and is challenging for the league scoring and rebound titles, Fuhrman has had his struggles with the Titans. He did score a career best 26 points in a loss to Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago but a few days later dislocated his knee and will be sidelined likely until mid-April. On the season Fuhrman is averaging just over 9 points and 8 rebounds per game and has made 41 starts for the terrible Titans.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/20/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-13-2023 at 03:04 PM. |
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11-14-2023, 09:29 AM
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#828 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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March 28, 1949
MARCH 28, 1949 COUGARS AGAIN SHOULD BE CLASS OF CONTINENTAL As the ink dries on our parchment, proclaiming the predictions for the imminent Continental Association pennant race, we find ourselves grappling anew with the perennial question of what to make of the Chicago Cougars. The Cougars, yet again, stand as the behemoths of talent in the Continental Association, if not the entire baseball landscape. A truth that has resonated virtually unaltered for the better part of this decade. The Cougars lineup boasts a list of luminaries that reads like a who's who of the games elite. Red Bond, Walt Pack, Skipper Schneider and Sal Pestilli are the centerpieces of a starting eight that also features a pretty solid supporting cast to go along with the best pitching staff this side of St Louis, anchored by three aces in Pete Papenfus, Donnie Jones and Duke Bybee. The majors' crème de la crème seems perennially housed in the Cougar ranks, and the farm system, a veritable talent forge, consistently stamps its mark as one of baseball's finest. On paper, the Cougars appear equipped with everything necessary for dynastic triumphs. Everything, that is, except for pennants. The last time Chicago clinched the Continental Association crown was in 1941, and the elusive World Championship Series banner has eluded them for an additional decade. Judging by talent alone, one would envision a dynasty—Cougars teams decked with a bounty of pennants over the past ten years. Yet, instead of a gallery of championship flags fluttering high over Cougars Stadium, an onlooker discerns a cascade of shattered dreams and squandered opportunities. The post-war iteration of the Cougars may etch their legacy as the most star-studded ensemble to remain pennant-less. The missed opportunities range from heart-breaking finishes like the 1946 playoff tie-breaking loss to the New York Stars, dreadful disappointments like the 7th place finish a year later and all the second and third place finishes along the way makes many feel fate just seems to take joy in conspiring against this marvelously gifted team, preventing them from hoisting the coveted WCS title. Given this litany of setbacks, there's little rationale for pegging the Chicago Cougars as the ones to beat in the Continental Association. However, the sheer abundance of talent compellingly compels us, once more, to anoint the Cougars as the preseason favorites to capture the CA crown. Surely, the spell of heartache that has befallen the Cougars and their faithful must meet its end at some point. Could 1949 finally be the year the CA's finest finish with the finest record and claim the long-sought championship? Only time will unveil this perennial mystery but if pennant's were handed out in March the Cougars would have perhaps the most impressive collection in baseball history. And we are compelled to add another to that list of preseason baubles. While the Continental spotlight consistently bathes the Chicago Cougars in its glow, the Philadelphia Sailors, despite securing consecutive pennants, continue to dwell in relative obscurity. A profound triumph often obscured not just by the glitzier glow emanating from the Windy City but also from their cross-town rivals from the Federal Association. The Sailors wield a formidable arsenal of bats, and, sans the marquee names adorning Chicago's lineup, they might boast a batting order as potent as the revered Cougars. Rip Lee and Billy Forbes are considered among the best in the game but they are overshadowed even in their own city by the big Broad Street bats of Bobby Barrell, Hank Koblenz and Roger Cleaves. This theme extends to the pitching mound, where Lloyd Stevens, a veteran of the Keystones, commands attention, obscuring the talents of Win Lewis and Al Duster. Unlike the high profile Keystones, or the underachieving Cougars, the Sailors eschew the headlines, just wait in the weeds for the popular choices like the Cougars or the perennially strong New York Stars, to falter. Two consecutive pennants attest to their savvy strategy, and if the Cougars collapse once again, the Sailors may well be primed for a third straight flag. Meanwhile, the New York Stars, led by the illustrious Bill Barrett patrolling the outfield and the prodigious Eli Panneton on the mound, find themselves in the considerable shadow of their continental counterparts. Barrett, a four-time Whitney Award winner, commands attention, but the supporting ensemble may once more fall short of the requirements for Dyckman Stadium's next pennant. In the hierarchy of Continental supremacy, the Cougars, Sailors, and Stars emerge as the leading triumvirate. However, New York appears poised to once more secure a firm foothold as the clear number three within this elite trio. As the stars align for another season of baseball drama, it remains to be seen whether the Continental constellation will rearrange its celestial order. The final berth in the first division is up for grabs with three teams perhaps having the ability to call fourth place their own. The Toronto Wolves are aging and this might be Fred McCormick's last hurrah with Joe Hancock following closely behind. Wolves magnate Bernie Millard hopes signing a piece of baseball royalty, in the form of rookie manager Fred Barrell, can lead the Toronto nine in its upcoming transition from aging talent to the next wave of stars. Fred's brother Tom Barrell is poised for his third season of trying to do the same in Brooklyn but after a very impressive debut campaign, Tom's Kings were far from reigning monarchs last year with a 10-game turnaround dropping them to sixth place. The wildcard in this trio may well be the Montreal Saints, a team laden with latent potential waiting to blossom. The dynamic pitching duo of Pat Weakley and Bert Cupid, if unleashed to their full capabilities, could rival the best in the game. Shortstop Gordie Perkins, often overshadowed, emerges as a potential luminary after leading the CA in hits during his age-26 campaign. In the wings is the 22-year-old outfielder Otis O'Keefe, a strong contender for Rookie of the Year, having dominated at the AA and AAA levels the previous season. This brings us to the Ohio duo of Cincinnati and Cleveland. The Cannons, once the luminaries with three consecutive Continental crowns, now grapple with the consequences of aging talent and questionable trades. Wholesale changes have been made in the front office include infielder Charley McCullough becoming a player-manager, a first for the CA since Powell Slocum in the early 1920s. They still have three-time Whitney Award winner Deuce Barrell and talented infielders Jim Hensley and Denny Andrews but a substantial overhaul is imperative for the Cannons to regain their former glory. Conversely, the Cleveland Foresters, undeniably the weakest link in baseball this decade, show no sign of escaping their prolonged slump. The foregone conclusion seems to be their seventh finish this decade at the very bottom of the Continental Association standings. Despite harboring some young talent, both in the big leagues and on the horizon, the road to redemption appears lengthy for the Foresters, as they strive to recapture the halcyon days of their back-to-back pennants in the mid-1930s. TWIFB CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH 1- Chicago Cougars 2- Philadelphia Sailors 3- New York Stars 4- Montreal Saints 5- Toronto Wolves 6- Brooklyn Kings 7- Cincinnati Cannons 8- Cleveland Foresters    CAGE SEMIS SET Rainier College Only Top Seed Heading to Garden The collegiate cage season is down to four teams standing as the semi-final field is set for the 40th annual AIAA basketball championships. It was a rough weekend for number one seeds as three of the four regions saw their top seed knocked out of the tournament in quarterfinal play Saturday and Sunday. The lone exception was the Rainier College Majestics as they emerged as the class of the East Region after holding Luther Gordon in check and beating the Liberty College Bells 59-51. It took a second half charge for the Rainiers to punch their ticket to New York for next Saturday's semi-finals as the Majestics trailed by 7 points at the break before dominating the final twenty minutes. Orlando Zanier had 18 points for the winners with Don Higgins adding 12. Thomas Abbott, their dominant senior center who normally handles much of the heavy lifting on offense for the Majestics, spent most of his focus on keeping Luther Gordon in check, and held the Bells junior sensation to just 10 points after Gordon had scored 51 in the two previous tournament games. The 10 points were enough to push Gordon over the 600 mark on the season as his 602 points become the new single-season standard for collegiate cagers. This will mark Rainier College's 6th trip to the AIAA semi-finals and they have won the tournament three times, all in the past decade including back to back titles in the spring of 1943 and 1944. The Majestics will face Noble Jones College on Saturday after the Colonels qualified for the semi-finals for just the second time in school history. Noble Jones College did so in dramatic fashion with a 75-74 victory in double-overtime over Midwest Region top seed and number one ranked Western Iowa. The Canaries needed two successful free throws from George Summer with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 57. Noble Jones College could have won it in the first overtime but Joseph Bosco could not get his last second shot from the right corner to drop as time expired. Bosco redeemed himself in the second extra-period, scoring with 35 seconds left to put the Colonels up 74-72 and they hung on for the one point win and their second trip to Bigsby Garden for the semi-finals in four years. Bosco and Ken Avelar each scored 18 points to lead the Colonels while Willy Ludwick, a possible number one overall candidate for the FBL draft, had 24 in his final college game. *** Fighting Saints Seek First Title *** St Blane may know an awful lot about winning football titles as the Fighting Saints have been the top team in the nation two of the past three years, but AIAA cage crowns are uncharted territory for the Pennsylvania school. Prior to this season the school had never reached even the quarterfinals and was 1-5 all-time in tournament play but that changed with wins over Mahoning Valley State, Mississippi A&M and on Sunday top seeded Carolina Poly to win the South Region. The Saints have a deep and talented roster by senior forward Cy Worley has stepped up with back-to-back 20 point efforts in the wins over the Generals and Cardinals. The next test for St Blane will come from Lexington State as the Colonials were the surprise winner in the West Region after knocking off top seed Coastal California Sunday. They used a balanced attack that saw four players record at least 9 points led by ten each from senior center Granville Steen and junior guard Dummy Jeffery. This marks the first appearance in the Semi-Finals for the Colonials, who qualified for the AIAA championship field each of the past two seasons but exited in the second round both times. Complete AIAA standings, rosters and box scores are available here   BARRELL MAY GET SHOT FOR NOBLE JONES COLLEGE With junior guard Carrol Lakin expected to miss a third straight game with an injury and his status for the National Title game, should Noble Jones College qualify, still in doubt it is giving freshman third string guard Charlie Barrell a taste of tournament play much earlier than expected. Barrell, the half-brother of FABL stars Deuce Barrell and Roger Cleaves and son of former football star Joe Barrell and Hollywood starlet Dorothy Bates, is a three-sport athlete who would have been a first round selection in the 1948 FABL draft had he not opted to attend Noble Jones College and compete in three sports. Freshman are prohibited from collegiate football so he will make his debut in that sport next September and will join the Colonels baseball team as soon as his basketball season comes to an end. The 19 year old out of Washington DC's Capital Academy saw very limited action this season but OSA basketball scouts feel he could be a first round selection in that sport after his college days are done. Charlie is still not getting anywhere near starters minutes but he did play 6 minutes in each of the two games after Lakin was injured and scored his first tournament points with a successful field goal in the Colonels 68-48 victory over Lane State on Friday. He is only expected to play a very small role at Bigsby Garden this weekend but Charlie will become the first Barrell to play in the AIAA semi-finals, adding another chapter to the rich history of the first family of sports.  BEES WIN MARATHON OPENER AGAINST DETROIT Dukes Rally Stuns Packers The North American Hockey Confederation playoffs got underway Saturday evening with the opening games in the two best-of-five semi-final series. In Boston, the hometown Bees needed double overtime to draw first blood in their series with Detroit as Jacob Gron's goal 24:52 in to extra time gave the Bees a 2-1 win. Pierre Melancon was outstanding in the Boston net, stopping 41 of the 42 Detroit shots he faced and set aside, for one night at least, any concerns Bees fans had in goal after Oscar James went down with an injury late in the regular season. Detroit's Milard Touhey also had a strong night, facing 54 Boston shots. After a scoreless first period, it took just 37 seconds of for Wilbur Chandler to open the scoring in the second frame. The veteran center teamed up with long-time linemate Tommy Hart for the first goal of the series but Detroit's Adam Vanderbilt evened things up when he beat Melancon just over 10 minutes later. Neither team would score again in regulation despite the fact the Bees threw 17 shots at Touhey in the third period. Detroit got the better of play in the first overtime, outshooting their hosts 14-9 but both goaltenders held strong. The second overtime was all Boston as the Bees did not allow a Detroit shot while buzzing around the Detroit cage. Finally Boston's 5th shot, a rebound by Gron after a Tommy Hart shot ended the evening and sent the more than 16,000 fans packed into Denny Arena home happy. Game Two will be tonight in Boston. *** Dukes Score 7 in 14 Minutes *** The Chicago Packers battled so hard the final month of the season to earn home-ice advantage for the semi-final series but it took a 20-minute letdown to give it all away. A wild night in the Windy City turned into a nightmare for the Packers as defense went out the window at Lakeside Auditorium when the Toronto Dukes scored 7 times in the third period to beat Chicago 7-4 in their series opener. It looked like it would be an easy night for the Packers, who entered the postseason on a hot streak and were facing a slumping Toronto squad. Jerry Finch and Leon Seguin scored in the first period and Wes Burns added a power play marker in the middle frame to give Chicago a 3-0 lead after forty minutes. The Packers had outshot the Dukes, who were forced to use backup Terry Russell in place of Gordie Broadway, 32-23 over two periods and when Dan Russell- no relation to Terry- scored less than 4 minutes into the third period it was turning into a rout. It became a rout, but nothing like what was expected as the Dukes suddenly came to life and scored 7 straight goals in the final thrirteen and a half minutes. League scoring leader Quinton Pollack gave Toronto just a little life when he broke Norm Hanson's shutout and the Maurice Charette scored twice in a three minute span and suddenly the Dukes were within a goal. It took just 8 more seconds for Pollack to score his second of the game, splitting a shocked Chicago defense and beating a surprised Hanson to even the contest with just under 6 minutes remaining. Toronto was not done as Les Carlson, set up by Pollack and Charette, gave the Dukes their first lead of the game at 16:23. Chicago would pull Hanson for an extra attacker searching for the equalizer in the final minute but instead Toronto added two more goals - both into an empty net- and completed the dramatic turnaround with a 7-4 road victory. The Dukes outshot the Packers 20-6 in the final period and now have the momentum heading into tonight's second game of the series. AROUND THE LEAGUE FINALIST ANNOUNCED FOR NAHC AWARDS The NAHC released the names of the three finalists for each of its season ending awards. The McDaniels Trophy, presented to the league's Most Valuable Player has gone to Tommy Burns each of the past three seasons but Burns was surprisingly omitted from this year's list despite the fact the Chicago Packers star led the NAHC in goals and was second in scoring even though he missed 11 games with an injury. The McDaniels nominees are Quinton Pollack of the Toronto Dukes, who was the NAHC scoring leader this season, along with his Toronto teamamte Bobbie Sauer and Wilbur Chandler of the Boston Bees. Chandler has previously won the trophy three times while Sauer owns two McDaniels Trophies already. The 26-year-old Pollack had 64 points, which is the sixth highest single season total ever record in the NAHC but it should be noted the league just expanded to a 60-game schedule a year ago. Chandler had 60 points including 23 goals while Sauer had 28 goals and 28 assists for 56 points. The 30-year-old Chandler previously won the McDaniels Trophy in 1940, 1943 and 1945 while Sauer was the winner in 1942 and again two years later. Norm Hanson of the Chicago Packers won the Juneau Trophy last season as top goaltender and he is nominated once more along with Oscar James of Boston and Montreal's Tom Brockers. James led all goaltenders with a 2.45 goals against average and 29 victories. Hanson was 22-19-4 with a 2.73 GAA while Brockers, who was dealt from Boston to Montreal early in the season, finished with a 2.92 GAA and a 16-25-3 record. The top rookie award, the Harvey McLeod Trophy, will go to either Simon Savard of the New York Shamrocks or one of two Detroit Motors in Louis Rocheleau or Francis McKenzie. Rocheleau, whose teammate Nick Tardif won the McLeod a year ago, led the NAHC with 39 assists while also scoring 6 goals. McKenzie had 14 goals and 39 points while Savard had 32 points despite missing 15 games with an injury. The first period saw a total of 24 shots on goal with the Packers holding a 16-8 advantage. Coach Barrell surprised almost everyone by starting last year's playoff hero Terry Russell between the pipes. He stood up to almost relentless pressure in the first although he did let two behind him, Jerry Finch opening the scoring at 6:16 on a shot from the right hand faceoff circle and that goal only further energized the Packers, as they continued to pepper the Dukes' goaltender, who made a number of saves that could be classified as robbery. Leon Seguin made it 2-0 just past the 12 minute mark on a seemingly innocent shot from the down the right hand boards. If the coaches told the teams to tighten up defensively between periods the message fell on deaf ears. in the second frame there were a total of thirty-one shots, which is is sometimes a game total for both teams in the post season. Russell faced another 16 with only one blemish when Wes Burns converted from in tight on the power on passes from Jeremy MacLean along with Burns' brother Tommy. The Dukes retreated to their room down 3-0 after forty minutes. Things were looking really dark when Dan Russell made it 4-0 for Chicago before the third was 4 minutes old. Then something inexplicable happen: the Dukes found their legs and scoring touch. Quinton Pollack made it 4-1 at 6:39 then before 10 more minutes ticked off the clock Toronto beat Chicago netminder Norm Hanson 4 more times. Maurice Charette at 9:46 and again at 12:57 quieted the crowd then Pollack's second of the game 8 seconds later tied the game. When Les Carlson put the visitors ahead 5-4 at 16:23 you could hear a pin drop in the rink, with the only sounds being the celebration on the Toronto bench. The Packers, who were in shock, made an attempt to send the game to overtime after they pulled Hanson for an extra attacker but they were thwarted when both Clyde Lumsen and Carlson added empty netters making the final 7-4 in a comeback that will go down in NAHC playoff annals. Coach Barrell "I have no words. I am still trying to figure out what happened out there in the third. I have never seen anything like it in all the playoff games I have seen or been involved in over my career. All credit to the team for not giving up, my first question was postgame "How did we give up 4? We should all thank Terry (goaltender Russell) as it could have been much, much worse." Time to work on some things in practice tomorrow before Game Two on Monday." When ask which goaltender would be starting Monday he said "You will know when you see the game sheet just before the game in the press box."
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 44 12 .786 - Washington 44 12 .786 - Philadelphia 35 20 .636 8.5 Baltimore 28 27 .509 15.5 Rochester 28 28 .500 16.0 Boston 26 30 .464 18.0 Hartford 26 30 .464 18.0 New York 17 39 .304 27.0 Syracuse 9 48 .158 35.5 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 37 20 .649 - Chicago 35 21 .625 1.5 Cleveland 32 24 .571 4.5 Cincinnati 30 27 .526 7.0 Pittsburgh 25 31 .446 11.5 Buffalo 17 40 .298 20.0 Toronto 16 40 .286 20.5  TREMENDOUS FINAL ROUND SALVAGES DRAW FOR BAKER Scott 'The Chef' Baker summoned all of his esperience and may well have reignited a career that seemed to be all but over with a dramatic 10th round in New York City Friday evening to escape Bigsby Garden with a draw against Lewis Jones, widely considered to be the top contender in the heavyweight division. The bout, like many of Baker's outings over the past couple of years, was not going well for the Philadelphia heavyweight. He was knocked down in the fourth round by Jones, the 23-year-old rising star from Kentucky, and appeared to be clearly behind on points entering the 10th and final round. That changed in an instance, as Jones stepped right into the receiving end of a crushing cross and was suddenly in big trouble. Sensing only a knockout could save him, Baker threw everything he had at Jones and floored the youngster with 14 seconds remaining in the round. Jones, eyes glazed, barely beat the count to his feet moments before the final bell sounded, saving him a certain knockout defeat if the bout had continued any further. Instead it went to the cards and one judge scored it dead even after Baker claimed the final round by a 10-8 count while the other two each had conflicting views with one award Baker a 2 point victory and the other seeing it as a 95-93 win for Jones. At 19-1-1 this result may slightly slow the pace Jones appeared to be on for a date with Hector Sawyer while for Baker, even a tie turned out as a positive result in the toughest test he has faced since the loss to Roy Crawford two and a half years ago began a string of three consecutive losses for The Chef. Elsewhere 31-year-old middleweight Millard Shelton knocked out Joe Moore in the final round of their 10 rounder in St Louis. It marks the 14th consecutive win for Shelton, 10 by KO, since he lost to current middleweight champion Adrian Petrie four years ago. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/27/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-14-2023 at 08:03 PM. |
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11-15-2023, 12:26 PM
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#829 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
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April 4, 1949
APRIL 4, 1949 IS PIONEERS PITCHING STRONG ENOUGH FOR HISTORIC THREE-PEAT? While the Continental Association has seen four different organizations win three consecutive pennants in less than three decades, the Federal Association has only had one team ever turn that trick and it was over forty years ago. That would be the 1902-06 Boston Minutemen, who reeled off five straight Fed flags. The St Louis Pioneers have a chance this season to not only become just the second Federal Association club to win three pennants in a row, but they are also poised to have a chance to win three straight World Championship Series - a feat only accomplished by the New York Stars in winning the WCS in 1924, 1925 and 1926. History awaits the Pioneers but can their elite pitching staff hold off a deep collection of Federal Association talent in 1949? The Pioneers finished six games ahead of the New York Gothams a year ago as the latter's potent offense failed to achieve its full potential. Beyond these two titans, formidable teams like Philadelphia and Washington loom large, while aging Boston and youthful Detroit, a team on the ascent, vie for supremacy in a closely contested race. It would be no large stretch to look back in October and see any one of those six teams carrying the banner for the Federal Association into the WCS. That being said it is the purpose of this column to make a bold statement and declare one team as front-runners of the Fed. While we feel there is very little to separate the top four teams, if you put a gun to our heads, we will declare the Philadelphia Keystones as our pennant selection. There is no question the Keystones offense is the most dangerous in the Federal Association. Bobby Barrell will turn 39 in the middle of the season, but we still expect him to hit more homers than he will have birthday candles this year and with Hank Koblenz riding shotgun and the rapidly improving Roger Cleaves also in the mix there will be no shortage of fireworks on Broad Street this summer. The question remains, as it always seems to have been the past few years, about the pitching staff. Can manager Carl Ames cobble together a quality rotation beyond the great Lloyd Stephens. If so, the Keystones will be playing in their third World Championship Series in the past six years. The 3-H club of Hal Hackney, Hiram Steinberg and Danny Hern alone is enough to make the St Louis Pioneers a pennant threat but they also have a talented young righthander in Ralphie Spires perhaps ready to join the rotation. Larry Gregory spearheads an underrated offense that, though lacking star power, is undeniably effective. The New York Gothams, despite their advancing age, remain a potent force. Ed Bowman anchors the rotation, supported by Lefty Allen, while the offense, featuring Red Johnson, Walt Messer, and George Cleaves, is clearly capable of being the most productive in the loop. The outcome could go either way in the Big Apple and, more than any other team a strong opening month feels necessary to enhance their chances of success. A slow start could see management making impulsive moves, yet a resurgence is conceivable if pitching support materializes. Then there is Washington. The Eagles, while not quite as talented as the Keystones and Gothams bats, still have plenty of offense with Jesse Alvardo, Sig Stofer and Rats McGonigle leading the way. Mel Carrol has had a great career but the 37-year-old showed signs of slowing last year. On the positive side the feeling here is that shortstop Tom Miller, a two-time Christian Trophy winner at Coastal State, may just be the top rookie in the Federal Association this season. However, the Eagles' Achilles heel lies in their pitching, lacking both a true ace and the depth associated with pennant contenders. It is hard to believe that Carl Potter has not yet celebrated his 23rd birthday but has already logged four full season of big-league baseball. Led by Potter, the Detroit Dynamos have outstanding pitching depth and some very good young bats led by Edwin Hackberry and Del Johnson. Detroit has some more big bats on the way, but they are not quite there yet, and a lack of offense was their undoing last year. The addition of Pinky Pierce from Montreal, which was one of the few winter moves made in the league, was aimed at bolstering offensive production. However, despite the potential, cracking the first division remains a formidable challenge for the Dynamos. The Boston Minutemen have had a couple of tough years as age and injuries really took their toll on the pitching staff. Amidst the aging talent of the Minutemen, a transition seems imminent. A slow start could usher in the arrival of promising young offensive talents, marking the dawn of a new era in Beantown. The Chicago Chiefs pin their hopes on star catcher Pete Casstevens, yet the team's overall composition appears lacking. A breakout year from Joe Stallings and a potential resurgence from veteran Al Miller may not suffice to propel the Chiefs into contention. The Pittsburgh Miners, entering the second year of a complete overhaul, harbor young talent with Reid McLaughlin and Irv Clifford standing out. While a top-six finish might be a surprise, the foundation for future success is being laid, demanding patience from the Fitz faithful. TWIFB FEDERAL ASSOCIATION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH 1- Philadelphia Keystones 2- St Louis Pioneers 3- New York Gothams 4- Washington Eagles 5- Detroit Dynamos 6- Boston Minutemen 7- Chicago Chiefs 8- Pittsburgh Miners    The pitching options are very interesting. Sure, Ed Bowman and Left Allen are looking good. Joe Brown and Buddy Long are getting their work in and everyone is healthy. However it's the younger guys who are making things interesting. Enough so that at least one vet may be pushed to a bullpen role. Jerry Decker - The 26 year old pitched well at AAA last season but struggled in New York. This spring he's posted a 1.88 ERA in 24 innings. His 22-8 K/BB ratio is also promising. A former 3rd round selection of the Stars, he appears ready to lock down a rotation spot. Butch Lindsay - Only 23, the big righthander (6'4") followed up a solid 1948 by starring in the Cuban League this winter. Now in the spring over 15.2 innings Lindsay has a 2.30 ERA with 20 K and 7 BB. The hometown kid was a 16th round selection but seems determined to overcome the odds and make his way to the majors. Rule 5 selection Butch Campbell was looking strong until being shelled in his latest start. The question is whether he's shown enough to earn a bullpen spot. The same applies to 31 year old Tom Henderson who has bounced around the organization for the past decade. Over 16 innings this spring Henderson has a miniscule 0.56 ERA. Manager Bud Jameson has some decisions to make. But these are the good types. More options than available spots. At least on the offensive side his powerful lineup is ready to go for another season. Only a couple of bench positions may change from last season's squad. The heartbreak of falling in 5 hard fought games to Boston with all three Boston wins secured in overtime thanks to Jacob Gron - who will now forever cause Detroiters to grimace at the mere mention of his name- will take a long time to subside. Add in the fact that it was the #!%#@ Boston Bees that knocked us out again, the same club that killed our Cup dreams in the finals in both 1941 and 1942, and the wound stings even more. However, when we have a little time to heal from this loss and take a step back we will see the future looks very bright for the local ice crew. There are some very exciting young offensive stars on this club like Adam Vanderbilt, Ben Witt, Nick Tardif and rookie of the year nominees Louis Rocheleau and Francis McKenzie. An outstanding duo of goaltenders to fight for the number one spot in Millard Touhey and Henri Chasse plus a rising star on the blueline in Spencer Larocque. This year the hope was the Motors could rise from last place and make the playoffs. Mission accomplished and they came within 1 good bounce in any of three overtime games from playing for the Challenge Cup. There will be high hopes come next October. ***Dynamos Preparing in Lakeland *** Opening day is just over two weeks away for the Detroit Dynamos and there are some impressive performances coming out of Florida in the Citrus Circuit. Veteran outfielder Pinky Pierce, added from Montreal over the winter to provide more offensive punch, has done just that with 7 spring homers, three more than anyone else in Florida has amassed. Meanwhile righthander Jack Miller, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last week, has Dynamos coaches gushing over his spring showing. A year ago at this time Miller was gearing up for his final season at Red River State and the plan was to start the 1948 second rounder in AAA for a few months before calling him up to Detroit but clearly Miller, with a 1.25 era and 1.06 WHIP in 21 spring innings, has other ideas. *** Bad Week for Banged Up Mustangs *** Rollie Barrell's cage crew is running out of bandages as the latest injuries included starting point guard Israel Slusher. He will miss the last 7 regular season games and quite likely, unless the Mustangs make a deep run, all of the playoffs. Slusher went down March 16 and the Mustangs are just 4-5 since then after starting the season 34-17. The Mustangs dropped two of three last week but did hang on to first place because the only team they beat was the second place Chicago Panthers, who are just as banged up as the Mustangs and missing their all-star point guard Joe Hampton. A playoff spot, for the first time in team history, seems secure as the bulge on fourth place Cincinnati is 7 games with the Cyclones having just 8 games remaining. It sure would be nice to see the Mustangs hang on to top spot and get the bye in the opening round of the playoffs but with Chicago also short-staffed, the two clubs may be both very concerned with the hard-charging Cleveland Crushers, winners of 4 straight and just 2.5 games back of the Mustangs. Whether first place in the Federal Basketball League West Division happens or not, Detroit sports fans should be pleasantly surprised to see both the Mustangs and Motors in the playoffs. Now if we could only get the Dynamos, who have not won a pennant since 1929, to join them. And before you start lamenting the grid prospects in this city with the Maroons, don't forget the Detroit City College Knights are the current AIAA football National Champions and the pride of the Great Lakes Alliance. All in all, it has been a pretty good winter for local sports afficionados.
BEES AND DUKES MEET FOR CHALLENGE CUP It seems almost fitting that the Challenge Cup Final will be a meeting between the Boston Bees and Toronto Dukes. The two clubs have each won the coveted chalice 7 times while no other organization has ever won more than 3 of them. Either Toronto or Boston has been the Cup champion every year this decade including last season when the Dukes outlasted the New York Shamrocks. The last time a team other than those two won the title was in 1938-39 when Detroit upset Toronto and at least one of the two has been in the finals every year since 1936-37. During that dozen year stretch both have only met three times with the Cup in the building and this will be the first meeting in the finals between the two since Toronto won the 1945 Challenge Cup in 6 games. Toronto also won the 1940 meeting between the two but Boston prevailed with a Cup win over the Dukes in 1943. The Bees, battle-tested after a dramatic five-game series victory over Detroit and owning the best record during the regular season, will look to even the score with the Dukes and become the first club to win 8 Challenge Cups in its history. *** Gron Again the Hero For Bees*** The Detroit Motors pushed the Bees to the brink in a tightly contested matchup that not only went the full five games but Boston needed overtime for each of its three victories in the series. The Bees won the opener a little over a week ago, taking a 2-1 decision on Jacob Gron's goal more than 4 minutes into the second extra frame. Detroit evened the series two nights later when Millard Touhey stopped all 27 shots he faced, and Ben Witt contributed a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win for the visiting Motors. The series shifted to Detroit for games three and four starting Wednesday and sixty minutes of hockey once again failed to determine a winner. Vincent Arsenault scored twice for the Motors including the tying goal with less than 3 minutes remaining in regulation while the Bees had goals from Alex Gagnon and Joe Morey in regulation. It was Jacob Gron once more playing the overtime hero as the 25-year-old Boston forward scored his second of the series in overtime, this one at the 11-minute mark to give the Bees a 3-2 win and 2 games to one series lead in the best-of-five affair. Detroit outshot Boston 41-30 in that game, but Pierre Melancon was outstanding in the Boston goal. Friday evening in Detroit it was no April Fools for Motors fans as their club, keyed by a pair of goals from Adam Vanderbilt, took a 3-1 first period lead and rolled over the Bees 4-1 to send the series back to Beantown for its final game. After a tense and scoreless first period the teams exploded for four goals in less than nine minutes during the middle frame. Ben Witt and Spencer Larocque each beat Melanson less than two minutes apart but Jacob Gron, with his third of the series but first in regulation, and Joe Morey beat Millard Touhey to tie the game. Neither club could find the back of the net in the third period and the series was off to overtime for the third game. It was Gron who once again came up big, earning the nickname "Sudden Death" for his third overtime game winner of the series. This came at the 9:40 mark and the Boston Bees, on the strength of three overtime victories, were off to the finals and Detroit's season was over. *** Dukes Prevail In Four Games*** The Toronto Dukes had a much easier time with the Chicago Packers and the series really turned in the opening game when the Dukes rallied with 7 goals in the final 14 minutes of the third period to take the opener 7-4 after the Packers had a seemingly commanding 4-0 lead. Chicago did pull even with a game two victory as Norm Hanson stopped 46 shots in a 5-2 victory for the home team at Lakeside Arena but that would turn out to be the final time the Chicago faithful would witness the Packers in action this season. The series moved to Toronto's Dominion Gardens and the Dukes doubled the Packers 6-3 in game three with Mike Navarro scoring twice and adding an assist while Terry Russell, continuing in place of Gordie Broadway, was solid in net for the winners. Toronto wrapped up the series with a 5-2 win Friday as Quinton Pollack and Alex Lavalliere each scored twice to complete the 3 games to one series victory and leave the Packers waiting at least one more year for the first chance to sip from the Challenge Cup. It was a bitter pill for the Packers to swallow after the game one collapse and the fact the fourth game was scoreless before goaltender Norm Hanson had to leave late in the first period after suffering what was later diagnosed as a broken ankle.  AROUND THE LEAGUE Tough words from Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News after the Chicago Packers come up short in their semi-final series with Toronto. The esteemed sports editor pens "Well the Packers are embarrassing. Start off awful just to go on an amazing late season run. All to just do what they do best. Not show up in the playoffs. To make matters worse, the Packers were up in game four before Norm Hanson got injured. He's not going to be back anytime soon, so we probably lose game five regardless, but frustrating to waste another season of Tommy Burns." The middle frame was much the same as the first, fast paced with many scoring chances for both squads. Toronto got some life when Chad Roy scored from the point after Bobbie Sauer cleanly pulled a draw back to him but Chicago restored its 3-goal advantage when Max Ducharme beat Russell cleanly 3 minutes later making the score 4-1 after two. Toronto pressed in the final stanza trying to mount another miraculous comeback, a hush fell over the Lakeside Auditorium crowd of 17,329 when Rod Gunner, on a breakaway, cut the Chicago lead to 4-2 but that was as close as the Dukes would get with Marty Mahoney sealing the win with an empty netter to make the final 5-2 for the Packers and even the series at one win apiece. The series resumed Wednesday night before over 15000 at Dominion Gardens in downtown Toronto. Terry Russel was between the pipes again for the Dukes leaving many asking about Broadway's availability- a question that has been posed to team officials with no satisfactory response. With the wide open end to end action again the norm for this series, the Dukes tallied twice in the opening frame on goals by JC Martel, shorthanded, and Mike Navarro.. Herb Burdette put the Dukes up 3 just over two minutes into the middle frame only to have it cut again to two 25 seconds later when Ed Delarue got the Packers on the board. Things began to get tense for the crowd when Tommy Burns netted his third of the series, second when a man up at 13:09 making it 3-2 but just over a minute later Chad Roy made it again a 2 goal difference. The Packers had no quit as just 1:09 into the third period Tommy Burns again found the back of the net. Both Russell and Hanson continued to shut the door until Carlson made it 5-3 at 11:24 and Navarro rounding out the scoring with his second of the game with Hanson on the Packer bench for an extra attacker making the final 6-3 Toronto. A Friday night crowd packed the rink hoping to see the Dukes advance to the league final. The first period ended scoreless, not due to lack of chances with the shots for the period being 16 to 11 in favour of Toronto. The game and series may have turned at 16:34 of that period when Norm Hanson had to be helped from the ice forcing backup Michael Cleghorn into the net. The Packers opened the scoring a less than 7 minutes into the second when Delarue knocked home a rebound off of a Wes Burns drive. Chicago had numerous other chances to increase their lead but failed before Toronto staged some late period magic. Two goals by Quinton Pollack including one with only 4 ticks remaining on the clock along with one from Lavalliere in the last 160 seconds of the period gave Toronto a 3-1 lead. The game and series was far from over when Jarrett McGlynn beat Russell from in tight less than two minutes into the third. Toronto held the majority of the play in the third, finally checking the Packers tightly and their tenacity was rewarded just before the halfway mark when Herb Burdette found on the twine behind Cleghorn putting the Packers in a desperate situation down by two. Toronto, led by Russell in net, continue to deny the Chicago shooters and then the Dukes clinched the game and series with a empty net goal at 18:41. The teams shook hands as the Packers season was over, the Dukes prepared to face Boston. Coach Barrell: "Before anyone asks about our goaltending situation, don't bother there is nothing further to add, don't try to ask the question in a different way. First let me congratulate the Packers on a fine season, especially the second half that is a highly skilled, talented team. We were lucky to get by them particularly with the style of game being played, run and gun much more fits the Packers than the Dukes. I have never seen a playoff series with that many goals given where the goaltenders played as well s they did. I hope Hanson's injury is not too serious. I could recap the series but won't. I would rather forget that style of play. We cannot afford to do that in the final. We have 4 days to tighten up defensively before we face the Bees on Wednesday in their barn. I have to get the guys to think of preventing chances in our end rather than creating them in the other end. Trevor Parker will be back for the Boston series, and I expect Lou Galbraith back when we return home from the first two games." COLONELS AND COLONIALS SET FOR GARDEN CAGE TITLE MATCH Upsets continued as the 40th annual AIAA basketball championship tournament narrowed its field down to just two teams. The 1949 tournament finale is set for tonight at New York's Bigsby Garden and the event is guaranteed a first-time champion with neither finalist having ever won the event before. Noble Jones College did reach the semi-finals once before, that was three years ago, but after upsetting Rainier College 53-43 on Saturday evening the Colonels are one win away from their first national championship in a major team sport since their football club, led by All-American Billy Bockhorst, won the AIAA grid title in 1942. For Lexington State, a victory tonight will mark the first ever title in any of the big three collegiate team sports. The Colonials had never advanced past the quarterfinals in the cage tournament before but the number three seed in the West Region overcame a heavily favoured St Blane quintet with a 47-37 victory on Saturday. In the opening game of Saturday's semi-final doubleheader, the Colonials jumped out to a 21-8 lead by the time the game was just 8 minutes old and never looked back, with Andrew Roland leading the way with 11 points while center Granville Steen had 10 rebounds to go along with 8 points of his own. The nightcap saw Joseph Bosco score 16 points and Ken Avelar add 14 to lead the Colonels to a 10-point victory. The victory was even more impressive considering Mike Miller, the Colonels starting center, left the game midway through the first half and is questionable for tonight's final. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two schools, who each enter the game with identical 27-6 records. The first meeting was the opening game of the season for Noble Jones College and they got off to a slow start, falling 65-55 in Virginia. This meeting will be on neutral ground, but the Colonials may be the slight favourite to beat Noble Jones College for the second time because the Colonels may be without two starters. Junior center Mike Miller was hurt in the Saturday victory and guard Carrol Lakin, also a junior, suffered an early tournament injury. Both are hoping to play but will be game time decisions. Miller has averaged 9.6 ppg this season while Lakin is averaging 5.0.  
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 47 13 .783 - Washington 46 13 .780 0.5 Philadelphia 36 22 .621 10.0 Rochester 30 28 .571 16.0 Baltimore 30 28 .571 16.0 Hartford 28 31 .475 18.5 Boston 26 32 .448 20.0 New York 18 41 .305 28.5 Syracuse 9 50 .153 37.5 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 38 22 .633 - Chicago 36 23 .610 1.5 Cleveland 35 24 .593 2.5 Cincinnati 31 29 .517 7.0 Pittsburgh 27 32 .458 10.5 Buffalo 18 42 .300 20.0 Toronto 17 42 .288 20.5  Here are the latest TWIFB boxing rankings.  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/03/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-16-2023, 01:16 PM
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#830 |
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Hall Of Famer
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April 11, 1949
APRIL 11 , 1949 LEXINGTON STATE WINS NATIONAL CAGE CROWN Two baskets in a 37 second span in the final minute proved to be the difference, lifting the Lexington State Colonials to their first-ever AIAA national title in any team sport with a 52-51 victory over Noble Jones College in Monday's title game at Bigbsy Garden. The Colonials, despite finishing 4th in the South Atlantic Conference this season and being forced to travel to the West Region, where they were named a three seed, won the five games necessary to claim the collegiate crown. The Colonials had a fairly easy time of things on the road to Monday's championship game, beating Leclede by 25 points in their tournament opener and following that up with a 9-point win over Utah A&M and then upsetting top seed Coastal California 55-47 to secure an invitation to New York. After defeating St Blane by 10 points in the semi-final contest the Colonials had just one hurdle remaining in Noble Jones College, a 3-seed from the Midwest Region. Each team entered the championship game with identical 27-6 records and included in those results was an early season meeting between the two that saw the host Lexington State quintet win by double-digits. The championship game was one of the tightest seen in recent years and the first half ended with Noble Jones College ahead by a single point 28-27 after the two clubs were never separated by more than 3 points at any point in the opening 20 minutes. A hot start to the second period allowed Noble Jones College to widen its lead and with just under ten minutes left to play it looked like Colonels might win in a rout as they stretched their lead on Lexington State to 40-31. Five minutes later, with 4:52 remaining on the clock the lead was gone as Lino Deming scored a bucket and was fouled. He made the free throw for a 3-point play that tied the game at 44, capping 13-4 run for the Colonials. After the clubs traded baskets the Colonels went back in front by a 48-46 count when Mike Miller was successful with a set shot from the baseline with 76 seconds left on the clock. It would be the last time that Noble Jones -which had never trailed up to that point in the second half- enjoyed the lead. Dummy Jeffrey tied it for the Colonials 9 seconds after Miller's basket and then Lino Denning made a quick steal before running down for an uncontested layup and it was suddenly 50-48 for Lexington State with 52 seconds remaining. Another Noble Jones College turnover led to a Frank Curtin basket and a 4 point lead for the Colonials with just 19 seconds remaining. Artie Noonan was fouled but sank just one of his two free throw attempts and the deficit was cut to three. As the clock wound out Joseph Bosco hit a last second bucket to make it a 1-point game but that was as close as the Colonels could get, and the Colonials were celebrating a 52-51 victory. Fritz McCusker, a freshman guard from Mooresville, NC, was named the game's Most Valuable Player despite not starting for Lexington State and playing just 20 minutes. The youngster, who had some big games earlier in the tournament as well, scored 12 points and added 6 rebounds to lead the Colonials. Junior guard Dummy Jeffrey also scored a dozen for the winners while sophomore Artie Noonan paced the Colonels with baker's dozen of points for Noble Jones College.    DUKES DOUBLE BOSTON TO TAKE SERIES LEAD Toronto Wins Third Game After Clubs Trade OT Victories After a pair of tight overtime contests to start the Challenge Cup Finals, the Toronto Dukes used a fired-up hometown crowd at the Dominion Gardens to roll to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bees last night and take a two games to one lead in their best-of-seven championship series. The two games in Boston featured plenty of shots but very little goal scoring as the clubs each claimed an overtime victory. The series opener last Wednesday saw the Bees fire 40 shots on Toronto goaltender Terry Russell, again filling in for Gordie Broadway, while the Dukes put 30 shots on the Boston net, manned by backup Pierre Melancon in place of the injured Oscar James. The game was scoreless for nearly 46 minutes before Quinton Pollack, the NAHC scoring champ, beat Melancon with an early third period tally. Desperate for the equalizer, the Bees fired 16 shots on the Toronto net in the third but not until there were just 29 seconds remaining and the Boston net empty for an extra-attacker, did they finally solve Terry Russell. Tommy Hart was the goal scorer and for the fourth time in the playoffs the Bees were heading to overtime. For the first time, Boston did not get the game winner in the extra frame as that honour instead went to Dick Zimmerman, just shy of 7 minutes into the fourth period, who ended the game in a 2-1 victory for the visitors from Toronto. On Friday evening, game two followed nearly the exact same script as Boston once more peppered Russell with 40 shots and the teams ended regulation time tied at one. Boston struck first this game when Tommy Hart lit the lamp midway through the second frame but just over a minute into the third period Mike Navarro evened the count with an unassisted effort. It would prove to be the Dukes only goal of the evening out of the 22 shots they threw at Piere Melancon in the Boston cage. The overtime session was short, and the hero was, as expected, Jacob Gron. Gron, who had scored three overtime winners in the semi-final series against Detroit, added a 4th extra-frame marker to his impressive resume when the first shot fired in overtime, just 52 seconds in, handcuffed Russell and gave Boston first blood in the series with a 2-1 victory. Boston has won four playoff games this year and all four ended with a Jacob Gron overtime marker. Last night in Toronto the game could not have been much different. Instead of the low scoring affair, both teams were very active on the scoresheet in the opening twenty minutes. Bobbie Sauer scored before the contest was 2 minutes old to give Toronto an early lead and just over a minute later Navarro made it 2-0 with his second of the series. Wilbur Chandler got one back for Boston on the powerplay at 5:24 but five minutes later Dukes defenseman Philippe Dubois made the score 3-1. Dubois then took a penalty and Boston capitalized with the extra-man for the second time in the period on a Robert Walker goal to round out a 5-goal opening twenty minutes. Quinton Pollack and Tommy Hart traded goals in the middle stanza and Toronto took a 4-3 lead in to the final twenty minutes. The Dukes added insurance in the form of a Trevor Parker tally with just over 3 minutes left in the game and then, with Boston in desperation mode and Melanson on the bench for an extra-attacker, Les Carlson rounded out the scoring with an empty net marker that made the final 6-3 for the Dukes. Game Four will be tomorrow night in Toronto. Code:
PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS NAME GP G A PTS Pollack, Tor 7 6 5 11 Carlson, Tor 7 4 4 8 Charette, Tor 7 2 6 8 Gron, Bos 8 5 2 7 Navarro, Tor 7 4 3 7 Hart, Bos 8 3 4 7 Roy, Tor 7 2 4 6 T Burns, Chi 4 4 1 5 Vanderbilt,Det 5 3 2 5 Chandler, Bos 5 2 3 5 Seguin, Chi 4 1 4 5 Walker, Bos 8 1 4 5 Players seemed to be more interested in not making a costly defensive mistake than pressing for a scoring chance. Tensions boiled over when Boston's Robert Walker and Toronto's Clyde Lumsen dropped the gloves just past the 3 minute mark. Jack Barrell was incensed when Lumsen received an extra 10, forcing him to juggle his defense pairings. That job was made more critical when Rod Gunner had taken a shot to the cheek area in the second then had to be helped to the room with bloody towel over his cheek. The Dukes finally broke the ice when Quinton Pollack, with his 5th of the playoffs, beat Melancon to the top corner, stick side on one of only 4 shot the Dukes managed in the third. Boston continued to press offensively, hemming the Toronto defenders in their own zone for extended periods of time. With a faceoff in the Toronto end, their own net empty Walker won a draw back to Jacob Gron whose shot was kept out by Russell, but the rebound went right to Tommy Hart who buried it and tied the game with 29 seconds remaining in the third sending the crowd into a frenzy of joy. The teams retreated to to their rooms while the ice was resurfaced for overtime. With no one seated in the crowd the teams both had chances early in the extra period. It ended when Chaf Roy flipped the puck to Trevor Parker in the Boston corner who found Dick Zimmerman in the slot. Parker's pass was on the tape and Zimmerman one-timed a shot past Melancon at 6:52 for the 2-1 Dukes victory. Two nights later at Denny Arena the crowd was treated to another highly entertaining game that again went to extra time. In this match Boston pressed the Toronto defenders form the opening puck drop testing Russell 40 times during the game. Toronto was forced to endlessly defend; they could not seem to maintain sustained pressure in the Boston zone but did manage 22 shots on Melancon. Tommy Hart opened the scoring at 12:11 of the second when Wilbur Chandler found him open beside Russell's right hand post. The lead lasted until Mike Navarro intercepted a pass then snapped a shot into the twine at 1:03 of the third. Both teams settled into a dump and chase game, although both goaltenders turned away high quality chances to send the game again to sudden death. The game was over at 1:03 when Len Bentley picked up a missed shot off the boards and fed Alex Gagnon, who caught Gron streaking down the wing. Gron went into the Dukes zone then beat Russell to the short side starting an ovation that threatened to lift the roof off the building, 2-1 Boston. It was Gron's 5th goal of the playoffs with an amazing four of them coming in overtime. Returning home Sunday night to Dominion Gardens the fans were expecting another low scoring game. Those expectations were gone in the first 6 minutes of the game when the score was already 2-1 Toronto. Toronto had goals from Bobbie Sauer and Navarro before all the fans had settled into their seats. Chandler made it 2-1 at 5:24 and then each team scored one more before the end of the period. Philippe Dubois for Toronto and Robert Walker for Boston, making 3-2 Toronto at the first intermission. Teams traded goals in the second stanza with Pollack early for Toronto then Hart late for Boston making it 4-3 at the end of two. Boston had to open up in the third, Toronto's defense tightened up in the third constantly shutting down Bees rushes at the blue line. Pollack got open with just over 3 minutes remaining in the third to make it 5-3 at 16:57. Les Carlson's shot into an empty net made the final 6-3 Dukes. Coach Barrell: "We were happy with a split on the road. The fans were treated to two fantastic games, though not too much to my liking. Give Terry Russell most if not all the credit for the split on the road. He stopped 77 of 80 shots in Boston. Giving up 40 shots a game is not my idea of good defensive play, and many of their chances were Grade A scoring chances. We had lots of work to do on our defensive system before the Sunday game. That obviously did not work when there were as many goals scored in 25 minutes as there were in the first two games. Roderick Gunner is out until training camp with a fractured cheek. Time to tune up our checking game before Game 4." TRUMAN WARMS UP FOR OPENING PITCH President's Day in Washington! Army, Navy or Marine bands. Sometimes, all of them. Columbia Stadium packed close to its full capacity of 41,776. Almost without exception, blue skies, a bright sun and spring zephyrs. President's Day, and the opening of another baseball season in the capital. For some years now, it has been the custom of the Federal Association to honor the President of the United States by assigning to the Eagles an opening day all of their own, 24 hours in advance of the inaugurals in three other cities in the circuit. This year the festivities in the capital will fall on Monday April 18, one week from today, with the Pittsburgh Miners as the guests. With a hundred cameras trained on him, will all eyes fastened on his arm, Harry S. Truman, the man who fought his way to the White House for a term of his own, will pitch the opening ball. Truman is ambidextrous. But, left of right, the ball will be heaved onto the field, and there will be a wild scramble among Washington players to retrieve it as a souvenir of the occasion. The President always autographs that first ball. Calvin Stockdale, president of the Washington ballclub, who's late father Admiral Stockdale, started this pleasant practice of having the chief executive of the country throw out the first ball in the Eagles' stadium, has a fine collection of baseballs pitched and autographed by our national pilots since the days of William Howard Taft. Presidents due not come to Columbia Stadium just to honor the occasion for a few innings and then slip off to the White House. Mr. Truman will follow custom and stay to the very finish, to the final out. And he will be delighted to stay, for Harry is a real fan. He has also been fairly good luck for the Eagles, who have won two of the three previous opening days with Truman on hand. In 1946 they fell 3-0 to Boston as Ray Dalpman pitched a gem of a game for the visitors but in both 1947 and last year Truman had a front row seat to wins over the Philadelphia Keystones. Sig Stofer homered in a 4-2 win two years ago and the Boardwalk Bopper did the same last year to key an 8-3 drubbing of the Philadelphia nine.     SP Leo Hayden looks especially sharp as well so far in 18 IP's with a 0.50 ERA but no decisions in 4 starts. He's given up just 9 hits and 3 walks. Hayden has been very mediocre at best the last 2 seasons going 22-27 with a rather unsightly 4.57 ERA in 443 IP. If they Kings are going to hang around this season they need Hayden to help out Arman as a strong #2 SP and revert back to that rookie of the year form in 1946. SP Joe Potts (1-1 2.04 ERA in 17.2IP this spring) and Paul Blyer (1-1 0.95 ERA) will likely be the #3 and #4 guys on the staff. That leaves a battle between veteran SP Johnny Slaney (0-1 1.93), Jake Roberts (0-1 4.02) and another rookie Jackson Scott (3-1 3.18) fighting it out for 2 spots (#5 SP and long man out of the pen). If Scott doesn't get the #5 spot he will go down to AAA and pitch every 5th day. The Bullpen will have likely Rusty Petrick (1.93 spring ERA), Clarence Barton (3.95 spring ERA) and Bob Crowley (0.00 spring ERA) in the middle and late inning duties. That would make 9 pitchers which might mean that Jackie James who has been lights out this spring might be out of a job. RP Mike Thorpe is also out of options, as is Larry Smith. So unless there are some trades between the likes of Barton, Petrick, James, Smith or Thorpe, there could be a few surprises on cut down day.  Stars skipper Ken Tannen will also be keeping a close eye on an aging Joe Angevine and his lack of production at the plate. Ken wants him batting first because of his blazing speed, but it doesnt do much good if he cant even get on base 1/3 of the time. Pitching is looking the same as last year minus the loss of 38-year-old Chuck Cole, who was released after going 13-15 last season and has since caught on the Oakland of the Great Western League. The bullpen has been expanded a bit to accommodate a couple lesser arms the Stars still want to keep around that are out of options. Overall there is plenty of concern around Dyckman Stadium about the arms letting the club down again this year. Eli Panneton (17-14, 3.84 in 1948) had a hot start to his spring but seems to be slowing down a bit after a rough outing against the Philadelphia Sailors on Saturday.  BARRELL TRADES CAGE SNEAKERS FOR BASEBALL CLEATS Charlie Barrell missed out on the chance to become the first family member to win a national title in a college team sport when Noble Jones College fell to Lexington State. The freshman played 5 minutes in the title game but went 0-for-2 from the field. On the year he averaged 3.9 minutes per game and 1.6 points while appearing in 28 of the Colonels 34 contests. No rest for Charlie as he will immediately join the Colonels baseball team and while he did not play football last fall due to the fact that freshman are not eligible in Deep South Football, Barrell will be on the grid in September with the Noble Jones College football squad. Barrell family members have won World Championship Series rings, AFA titles, Challenge Cups and even Olympic medals but they have yet to see one of their own on a national championship collegiate team. Dan played football at Chicago Poly, Joe at Noble Jones College while Tom and Fred played baseball at Georgia Baptist. Betsy won an Olympic medal in 1936 in track. Jack has won the Challenge Cup as both a player and coach. Joe won AFA titles as a player and Rollie as a club owner while numerous family members have won baseball's World Championship Series including brothers Tom, Fred, Harry, Dan and Bobby as well as third generation Barrell, Deuce. 
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB Brooklyn 48 14 .774 - Washington 48 14 .774 - Philadelphia 37 25 .595 11.0 Baltimore 32 29 .525 15.5 Rochester 32 30 .516 16.0 Hartford 30 32 .484 18.0 Boston 27 35 .435 21.0 New York 19 43 .306 29.0 Syracuse 9 53 .145 39.0 WEST W L PCT GB Detroit 40 23 .635 - Chicago 38 25 .603 2.0 Cleveland 38 25 .603 2.0 Cincinnati 33 31 .516 7.5 Pittsburgh 29 34 .460 11.0 Toronto 20 42 .323 19.5 Buffalo 19 44 .302 21.0  HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ERICKSON TILT WITH RUTLEDGE A GO World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson, fresh off a March 18 knockout of Rudy Perry in Detroit, has confirmed his next title defense will be a long-anticipate showdwon with Danny Rutledge. Erickson and Rutledge were both amateur fighters when they stole the show in England in 1944, fighting on the undercard of an Archie Rees title defense before thousands of Allied troops, the battled for 12 rounds in what was billed as the Allied Welterweight Championship but viewed at the time as a sneak preview of a welterweight title fight some day. That day will arrive July 30 at Baltimore's Chesapeake Arena while Erickson will put his 19-0 record and world title on the line against Rutledge and is 17-0 mark. In 1944 Rutledge, then an Army private, claimed the bragging rights by knocking out Navy seaman Erickson in the 12th round. Erickson chose to fight in Baltimore, to be close to the naval training base in Annapolis and expects to have a large contingent of sailors on hand to offer support. The 28-year-old St. Paul, Mn. native beat Harold Stephens last April to win the world title and has followed it up with successful title defenses over John Gregory in September and Rudy Perry last month. Rutledge, 24, hails from Louisville, Ky. and was recently ranked by TWIFB as the #2 contender in the welterweight division. He has never lost since turning pro in 1945 and most recently scored a unanimous decision over Ira Mitchell in February. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/10/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-16-2023 at 01:18 PM. |
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11-17-2023, 12:28 PM
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#831 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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April 17, 1949
APRIL 17, 1949 TORONTO DUKES REPEAT AS CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPIONS The Toronto Dukes became the first club in North American Hockey Confederation history to win 8 Challenge Cups after defeating the Boston Bees in 5 games to win the league title for the second consecutive season. The series victory marked the fourth time in the past six years the Dukes won the Cup and their 8 titles moves them one ahead of Boston for the NAHC lead in that category. The two clubs split the opening two games of the series at Boston's Denny Arena with each team claiming a 2-1 overtime victory. Game three in Toronto last Sunday saw the Dukes, led by a 3-point night from NAHC scoring champ Quinton Pollack, double the Bees by a 6-3 count. The crucial fourth game saw Toronto, behind 44 saves from Terry Russell who was outstanding the entire playoff replacing the injured Gordie Broadway, claim a 3-1 victory. The Bees took a quick lead just 4 minutes into the game when Wilbur Chandler opened the scoring, but Toronto captain Bobbie Sauer pulled his side even before the first period ended. Pollack, who led all playoff scorers with 9 goals and 15 points, notched what would prove to be the game winner late in the middle frame and Les Carlson, with Pollack drawing an assist, sealed the win with an empty-net marker in the closing seconds. Trailing 3 games to one but returning home for the fifth game, the Bees dug themselves an early hole when Pollack, followed quickly by Charlie Brown just 41 seconds later, staked the visiting Dukes to a 2-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old. Boston did get one back late in the opening stanza when Alex Gagnon scored and after a scoreless second period the Bees gave the Denny Arena faithful hope when Connor Mikaelsen tied the contest 1:55 into the third period. The two clubs combined for 31 shots in the third period, and 81 overall including 42 from Boston, but it was Toronto's rising star Pollack who once again found the back of the night. The 26-year-old sharpshooter and son-in-law of Dukes coach Jack Barrell scored the Cup winning goal just past the midway point of the third period. It made the score 3-2 for Toronto and netminder Russell, with another stellar performance, closed the door the rest of the way despite relentless pressure from the Bees. Only when Dick Zimmerman notched an empty netter with 14 seconds left to play could the Dukes breathe easy as they completed the Cup win with a 4-2 victory.   One of the hardest checkers in the league, McCalley is known for his big hits on unsuspecting forwards, and there's very few guys you'd rather have in a fight. This could be very helpful for star Tommy Burns, as with McCalley on the ice, teams will be less inclined to hit the Packers star knowing that retribution will be delivered. McCalley also excels at disrupting shots, using clever positioning and immense bravery by getting in the way of shots, and when he's on the ice it won't be easy to get quality shots on net. Packers coach Ed Hempenstall was ecstatic when he heard the news, speaking on how much he believes the acquisition will improve the Packers chances next year. "We didn't start off well, and having a hard nosed veteran like McCalley could have made the difference. Our defense isn't as strong as the offense, and it lacked a true veteran presence. I'm hoping McCalley can help mentor some of the younger guys, and help Jesse Santoro develop into the superstar we know he can be." As things stand now, McCalley will replace Jerry Finch, one of the four players headed to New York, on the first line, working with 24-year-old Pete Moreau. Finch recorded 16 points in 42 contests, Joining him will be 24-year-old center Dan Russel, who recorded an assist in his only game with the Packers this season. Former 2nd Rounder Kevin Braun and 3rd Rounder Mark Thériault will be outbound as well, with the final two pieces the Packers 1st and 3rd Round Picks in the upcoming draft. It's a lofty price to play, especially considering Braun and Thériault are two of the Packers most promising youngsters, but when you have an opportunity to acquire a star, you pay whatever price is necessary.  AROUND THE LEAGUE
The week began with home game for the defending champions before 16,160 screaming fans at Dominion Gardens. As has been the case during nearly all of the Dukes playoff action this spring, the game was a wide open affair with plenty of scoring chances. Terry Russell, the surprise starter, continued his hot playoff run tending goal for the Dukes against Pierre Melancon, who was replacing injured Oscar James for the Bees. Boston jumped out to 1-0 lead at 4:18 of the opening period when Wilbur Chandler deflected a pass from Tommy Hart past Russell. Bobby Sauer tied the game at 17:34, knocking the puck in after Trevor Parker's shot has rung off the post. Shots in the first favoured Boston 14-12 in a quick paced period. Russell was even busier in the second making 19 stops, many in spectacular fashion, especially on the two power plays for the Bees. The Dukes had less than half the shots, with only 9 in the period, but managed to light the lamp behind Melancon at 18:59 when Quinton Pollack netted his 7th of the playoff on nifty passes form Lou Galbraith. Toronto settled into a defense-first game in the third being satisfied to exit their zone then dump the puck in to make a line change, even with that strategy Russell was called on to make another dozen saves half of which were on his doorstep. Les Carlson's goal into an empty net sealed the 3-1 victory in which Russell turned aside 44 of 45 shots. The series resumed Thursday night at Denny Arena with the home squad's backs to the wall. Boston's desperation to charged out to the lead led to a few good chances for the Dukes early in the first. Quinton Pollack, left unchecked in front of Melancon, opened the scoring before the contest was 8 minutes old. With the advantage the Dukes continue to press the Bees and when Charlie Brown's snap shot from the point found the back of the net over Melancon's shoulder the crowd went into a stunned silence. Boston was down, but not out, and the crowd came to life late in the opening frame when Alex Gagnon narrowed the gap to 2-1. The second period was the chippiest seen in the series as both teams took a few retaliation minors. There was no scoring as the goaltenders shut the door with shots giving Boston a slight advantage 15-13 in the middle twenty. The home team came out guns ablazin' in the third and sent the crowd into a frenzy when Mikaelsen tied the game with a shot from the point at 1:55. The game continued at a frenetic pace with a number of outstanding saves at both ends. Quinton Pollack, who refused to be denied in the playoffs, scored the eventual game and Cup clincher at 10:31 leading to a wild last 9 and a half minutes. Boston stormed Fortress Russell only to continually be denied the tying goal. Dick Zimmerman put the game away into an empty cage with 14 seconds left making the final 4-2 Toronto. Coach Barrell: "Go talk to the players. This is their moment in the limelight. I want to praise Boston, that is a fine team. The series could have went either way, we just had a little more puck luck. Quinton (Pollack) and Terry (Russell) put the team on their shoulders to carry us to victory. I can now reveal Gordie Broadway was injured during the last game of the season, his shutout. I could see a couple of the Bees were not at tiptop form either in the final. My toughest job in the playoffs was to keep Gordie out of the net. He told me everyday that he was ready to go, numerous times, I would check with the trainer who would just shake his head until last week, and by that time Russell was on a roll." BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS TOMORROW After seven weeks of intensive rehearsing, during which most of the athletes have worked themselves as close to mid-season condition as ever they are likely to attain, another major league baseball campaign will start tomorrow with two cities drawing the honor of beating the gun by a matter of 24 hours. In Washington, where it has long been the custom to give the Federal Association Eagles an exclusive inaugural, 68-year-old Bob Beelman will start his second season at the helm of the Pittsburgh Miners and help the Eagles launch FABL's 58th pennant race. Also, in accordance with a custom in vogue since 1910, when President Taft tossed out the first ball, President Truman again will put his famed delivery on exhibition, his fourth since becoming the nation's Chief Executive Officer. The Continental Association, not to be overshadowed, also will get off to a stagger start with the New York Stars and Brooklyn Kings taking center stage for the lone Monday matchup in the Continental circuit. A day later all of the others will swing into action with a full slate that also includes the first twin bill of the season. That will once more be at Kings County as the Stars and Kings continue to work towards a jumpstart to the campaign. Each loop gives promise of tight pennant races with the Federal Association, as is often the case, having half a dozen clubs that realistically could win the pennant, including the St Louis Pioneers who are angling for their third consecutive World Championship Series title. Many feel the Continental will be a three-horse race between the two-time defending flag holders from Philadelphia, along with the Stars and the perennial underachieving Chicago Cougars. STAY AT HOME FANS GET BREAK ON RADIO, TELEVISION The stay-at-home fan who prefers baseball in his living room to hot dogs at the ballpark will get an even better break than ever before in major league cities this summer. Home games of each of the 16 teams will be broadcast, many of them on regional networks covering several States. Broadcasts on games away from home will be carried on eight teams. And some or all of the home games of 13 teams will be televised. Radio coverage will be about the same as last year, but television has made big strides. Only the Pittsburgh Miners have said "definitely no" to television. The Cleveland Foresters are agreeable to the idea but haven't found a sponsor who is agreeable to the cost. Cleveland fans will get full radio coverage of the Foresters games, both home and away, for the first time in years. Then there is the case of the Cincinnati Cannons. They are all in favour of being full-time video stars, but, says club President John E. Tice, the only available Cincinnati television station isn't interested in carrying all of the games. The situation is still under discussion. *** Legal Action Will Not Cancel Broadcasts *** Pending lawsuits against baseball which claim the game has become interstate commerce because of the vast wealth of radio and television contracts apparently have had no effect on coverage this season. Some observers have predicted that baseball might cancel these contracts in case of an adverse court ruling. This is based on the theory that in the days before radio the Supreme Court found that baseball was not interstate commerce. The general acceptance of television came as somewhat of a surprise. Not too long ago many baseball men "viewed with alarm" the prospect that fans might be able to see the games without becoming cash customers. *** October Check-up Planned *** The television contracts generally are for one year. In October the club owners will compare the gate receipts and the television revenue and come to a decision. Meanwhile, a committee organized by minor league baseball is studying in the situation amidst worries the impact television might have on minor league clubs. It will report to the major and minor league convention in December.  
 RIVETING FINALE LOOMS AS FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE SEASON UNFURLS In the dying embers of this robust 1948-49 Federal Basketball League season, where 16 teams battle for supremacy in the caged arena, the drama unfolds in the last four days of the campaign. While the identity of the six playoff contenders has been determined, the jockeying for position in the East and the bruising clashes in the West Division remain undecided, promising a climactic denouement. In the East, a fierce duel for primacy has unfolded between the Brooklyn Red Caps and the Washington Statesmen, erstwhile titans of the now-defunct American Basketball Conference. Neck and neck, these rivals, inseparable with identical 51-14 records, vie for first place and the coveted first-round bye in the impending playoffs. The Red Caps, traversing the league's roads, confront the Titans in Syracuse on Monday, engage in a Tuesday night tussle with the Mustangs in Detroit, and conclude their regular season in Baltimore on Thursday. Simultaneously, the Statesmen embark on a challenging journey, clashing over crabcakes with the Baltimore squad on Monday, traversing to Hartford on Wednesday, and culminating their regular season with a Thursday bout against Cincinnati at the National Auditorium. The fallout from this East Division skirmish sees the runner-up ready to host the resilient Philadelphia Phantoms in the Eastern Semi-Final series. Despite recent stumbles, the Phantoms, who secured the third spot, brace themselves for a formidable challenge, be it in Washington or Brooklyn. Out West, the playoff teams are also set, but the order in which Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago will finish remains tantalizingly uncertain. Battling through injuries, both Chicago and Detroit face playoff entry without their starting point guards, Joe Hampton and Israel Slusher, respectively. With their offensive quarterbacks absent, a tough stretch has taken a toll on both squads, with Detroit losing four of its last seven, including a bruising home-and-home series against the Crushers. Meanwhile, the Chicago outfit has claimed victory in just 5 of their last 13 outings. Cleveland was also recently marred by the injury bug as Herb Hobbs, their second top scorer, exits the stage after taking a scary fall and injuring his head in a game last week. It is expected the Crushers will be without his services for the remainder of the season. Undeterred, the Crushers have triumphed in 10 of their last 11 games, drawing level with Detroit and holding a one-game edge over Chicago in the contest for first place. In this climactic week, Cleveland eases into their final two battles with a trip to Buffalo before returning home to the Lakeside Arena to face Pittsburgh. Chicago readies for a fiery finish with home encounters against Cincinnati and Rochester, while Detroit braces for a formidable last leg with a showdown against East powerhouse Brooklyn on Tuesday, followed by a concluding clash against Toronto at the Thompson Palladium on Thursday evening. As the dust settles, the echoes of a season's crescendo resonate, foreshadowing the fierce battles yet to unfold in the imminent playoffs.
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FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB x-Brooklyn 51 14 .785 - x-Washington 51 14 .785 - x-Philadelphia 38 27 .585 13.0 Rochester 35 31 .530 16.5 Baltimore 33 32 .508 18.0 Hartford 31 34 .477 20.0 Boston 29 37 .439 22.5 New York 20 45 .308 31.0 Syracuse 9 56 .138 42.0 WEST W L PCT GB x-Cleveland 41 25 .621 - x-Detroit 41 25 .621 - x-Chicago 40 26 .606 1.0 Cincinnati 35 31 .530 6.0 Pittsburgh 29 37 .439 12.0 Toronto 21 44 .323 19.5 Buffalo 20 46 .303 21.0 x-clinched playoff spot (top 3 in each division qualify)  COLLEGE CAGE ALL-AMERICANS NAMED For the second year in a row a Liberty College player has been named the top collegiate cage performer in the nation. Following on the heels of Ward Messer, who currently strs for the Detroit Mustangs of the Federal Basketball League, is junior center Luther Gordon. The Brooklyn native, who transferred in from a junior college with the express purpose of filling the void left by the graduation of Messer, passed the test with flying colours. Gordon set a single-season AIAA points record by scoring 602 this season while also finishing second overall in rebounds behind only Oscar Schoonover of Garden State. Those totals, combined with Gordon's ability to carry Liberty College to 28-4 record and the quarterfinals of the AIAA tournament earned the Bells star not only first team All-American status but also the Art Barrette Trophy as the top collegiate player in the nation. The trophy is named after legendary Coastal California coach Art Barrette, who retired in 1942 with an AIAA record 789 coaching victories. Joining Gordon as first team All-Americans are senior forwards Vincent Passingham of Texas Gulf Coast and Cy Worley of St Blane along with senior guard Leo Franks, who was once a highly touted high school baseball player until an arm injury in his junior season derailed his chances of getting drafted and he turned his focus fully to basketball at Pittsburgh State. The final first team selection is, like Gordon, a junior in Carolina Poly guard James Halle.  HOME-TOWN CROWDS HAIL COLONIALS QUINTET IN RETURN TO VIRGINIA A small-scale Times Square tribute was paid Lexington State's National AIAA basketball kingpins, who returned home from New York City with the school's first collegiate basketball title. Thousands of home-towners who couldn't watch the Colonials run to the National Championship thronged a mile-long parade route to toast the titleholders. An estimated 20,000 enthusiasts all but overflowed the downtown area to watch the thirty-minute, thirty-seven-unit parade. Another 10,000 persons, some of whom followed the parade to the university, joined in a campus celebration. The biggest cheer went to the graduating members of the squad in particular center Granville Steen, who was a four-year starter for the Virginia school. It was a completely unexpected title, the first national crown in any sport for the Colonials, who barely register a blip on the collegiate baseball radar, went just 3-6-1 in football a year ago and have not approached a .500 record on the grid in more than a decade. On the court, the Colonials did qualify for the AIAA tournament each of the past three years but prior to that it was a 15-year tournament drought, and they won their only South Atlantic Conference title in 31 years last season. The were fourth in SAC play this year and few expected them to get out of the West Region, something the school had never accomplished before. It was an unsung group that came together for a miracle title run. None of the Lexington State players were named All-Americans. In fact, none even claimed a spot on any of the first, second and third all-South Atlantic Conference teams. It is unlikely any of the Colonials players will ever play professionally but for one month they were world-beaters. COOPER DEFEATS McFARLAND IN SAVAGE BOUT Mike McFarland was beaten last week in Memphis but he was far from disgraced. With the doughy little Pittsburgh heavyweight bruised and bleeding from the battering inflicted by Cannon Cooper through 10 rounds of savage fighting, the unanimous decision for the once-considered championship calibre Cooper was met with no protest by the 7,500 fans on hand. Cooper inflicted a lot of damage upon his opponent, and at times was reminscent of his early days when it was felt the Rockford, Il native was on his way to a date with Hector Sawyer. That never happened, at least not yet for the 28-year-old, who was 17-0 before being upset with back to back stoppage losses to Clancy Little and Glenn Hairston derailing his ride to the top. There have been some ups and downs since then but Cooper, who has won his last three outings to run his career mark to 26-4-1, may yet get that title shot if he continues to perform as he did against McFarland. MILLER COMES UP SHORT IN GARDEN RETURN Dan Miller, who faced Hector Sawyer in front of a record setting crowd in Santa Ana early last year, made his return to the Bigsby Garden last night but it was memorable for all the wrong reasons as the California native was upset, taking a split decision loss to lightly regarded John Howe. Miller has now lost twice in four outings since being stopped by the champ in the title fight, and it clearly looks like the 32-year-old has lost a step. After the bout, his handlers would not comment on whether that might have been Miller's final bout. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/17/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-20-2023, 08:05 AM
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#832 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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April 18, 1949 : Special Opening Day Edition
APRIL 18, 1949 FABL PRESEASON PREVIEW EDITION OPENING DAY! The sun rises anew, and with it, the unmistakable scent of fresh-cut grass and the symphony of spikes against the dugout floor. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time again — the time-honored tradition, the rite of spring, the herald of dreams — it's Opening Day in the world of baseball! As the minutes count down to the first pitch the anticipation is palpable, weaving through the city streets and bouncing off the stadium walls. The baseball faithful, their hearts tuned to the rhythmic beat of the national pastime, stand poised for the thrill of another season. On the Federal Association front, the Washington Eagles, guardians of Opening Day since 1910, prepare to unleash the crack of the bat at Columbia Stadium. President Truman himself, a seasoned hand on the ball field, warms up his arm for his fourth ceremonial first pitch. The Eagles, with hopes as high as the Washington Monument, face off against the visiting Pittsburgh Miners. It's a dance of destiny as the new season unfurls in the nation's capital. Over in the Continental Association, borough rivals set the stage for a duel of supremacy. The Brooklyn Kings open their gates at the venerable Kings County Stadium to welcome the New York Stars, igniting the spark of competition. The clash between bat and ball, the cheers, and the groans echo through the urban canyons as Brooklyn and New York vie for early-season bragging rights. While the spotlight shines on these initial matchups, the grand stage awaits the grand entrants. Tomorrow, the baseball panorama will paint a fuller picture as the remaining 12 teams, each a protagonist in their own tale, step onto the diamond for their own inaugural acts. Amid the glorious pageantry, the St Louis Pioneers, draped in the mantle of two consecutive World Championships, will raise their flag high. The illustrious ceremony, a celebration of past glories, is but a prelude to their clash against the spirited Detroit Dynamos. And so, the tapestry of another baseball season unfolds, bringing with it the promise of heroic feats, the thrill of close contests, and the heartache of hard-fought losses. Each pitch is a lyric, every swing a stanza, composing the poetic narrative that is the timeless beauty of the grand old game. Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen, for the stage is set, the players are ready, and the crack of the bat signals the beginning of the symphony of summer — the 1949 baseball season is underway!  LEAGUE SCOUTING SERVICE CALLING FOR A PAIR OF WILD PENNANT RACES OSA, the official scouting service of FABL and nearly every other major sports league, is calling for plenty of excitement in both of baseball's pennant races for the upcoming season, which lifts the lid in two cities today. The scouting service, perhaps for the first time, has deemed that 154 games will not be enough to declare a champion in the Federal Association and a one game playoff will be necessary to decide whether the Detroit Dynamos or Philadelphia Keystones will move on to the World Championship Series. The forecast for the Continental Association is nearly as tight with the scouting service suggesting that today's lone CA contest may well be the deciding factor in the pennant push. It has the New York Stars, who head to Kings County Stadium to play Brooklyn today, finishing a scant one game ahead of the Kings for top spot. Among individual performances, Dan Barrell and his scouting gurus are suggesting that Hank Koblenz will crawl out from under the imposing shadow of future Hall of Famer Bobby Barrell and wallop a FABL best 53 homers while also leading both loops in rbi's. On the mound the scouting service suggests there will be just two twenty-game winners with one coming from each association in Pete Papenfus of the Chicago Cougars and Detroit's soon to be 23-year-old 5th year veteran Carl Potter.  PRESEASON PREDICTIONS FROM ACROSS BASEBLL Despite repeated pennant failures the Chicago Cougars remain the popular choice to finally win their first Continental Association crown since 1941. Nearly always the April choice in the CA, the Cougars have been snake bit for most of the decade, but it appears many of the leading sportswriters, including Jiggs McGee's annual call for the TWIFB, suggest the Cougars are long overdue and will finally be rewarded. Of course, we have been hearing that from many of the pundits for a number of years. On paper the Cougars are the class of the CA. Now they have yet another chance to prove it on the field and 7 writers from leading papers across the country believe this time the Chicago nine will finally break through. While seven favour the Cougars to claw their way to the CA crown, only 3 are going with the two-time defending Continental champion Philadelphia Sailors, including both of the Philadelphia daily's. Of the 12 writers who posted prognostications, the remaining two, including Dan Barrell and his group at the OSA, named the New York Stars at the top of their CA list. In the Federal Association there is a much greater difference of opinion. In all, four different ballclubs top at least one list and the OSA is calling for a tight race that will end in a tie between the Philadelphia Keystones and Detroit Dynamos. The Keystones were named first on one other prediction -that of Jiggs McGee- while the Dynamos topped two other lists. The St Louis Pioneers, winners of not just the last two Fed flags but also two straight World Championship Series are named at the top of 3 predictions while the final five, including renowned New York Daily Mirror columnist John Brinker, are hitching their wagons to the New York Gothams. Here is a look at how the sports editors and baseball reporters from major newspapers across the country see the 1949 campaign playing out.   OCTOBER PLANS FOR GOTHAMS AND COUGARS Here are the 1949 predictions from John Brinker of the New York Daily Mirror. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION 1. Gothams: New York's roster is the most complete, and I expect that this time they'll hold it together and finish first in another tight race. 2. Dynamos: The kids are growing up and the seemingly minor additions made via trade this offseason will likely loom larger than most thought. 3. Pioneers: The pitching is fantastic and that'll carry the two-time defending champs a long way. Question marks in some positions might be an issue. 4. Keystones: The fourth member of the teams that would surprise no one with a pennant, the Keystones have plenty of power and it'll come down to how the pitching triumvirate of Stevens, Brooks & Whiteley perform. 5. Eagles: Pitching might be the weak link here. Well, that and age creeping up on Mel Carrol. Still with Rats, Sig and Jesse, this is a potent lineup and if - big if - the pitching holds up, they'll be right there at the end. 6. Minutemen: Boston is technically rebuilding but there's a lot of competitive spirit here led by a seemingly more-matured version of Harry Barrell. The guys on the farm are fantastic, but not yet ready, so Boston's time is probably not right now... but soon. 7. Chiefs: Chicago is in a kind of in-between spot here. Not really rebuilding, and possessing some extremely talented players (Casstevens, Miller, Stallings to name three - and Tiny Tim if he can find his missing bat), the Chiefs could probably finish anywhere between 7th and 3rd. They're really only this low because of how loaded the top-end of the Fed really is. 8. Miners: Pittsburgh played some nice ball last season when some of the kids arrived from St. Paul. There's more on the farm and the Miners, like Boston, will make some noise down the road. Right now, they're unlikely to finish higher than maybe sixth, but they'll play spoiler to more than one contender along the way. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION 1. Cougars: Let me look at what I wrote last season... Yeah, just use that. They're still the most talented roster in the CA and maybe the whole of FABL. Consistency & health are the keys. 2. Sailors: Philly has quietly won a couple of pennants and they'll still be right there with their talented roster of players who get no recognition but just go out and win ballgames. 3. Stars: New York has some really talented guys. They just seem to go through various slumps. There's not a club in FABL who wouldn't take Bill Barrett (if there is, that GM should be fired), Eli Panneton is still an ace - and only 27 years old - and there's talent up and down the roster. It just seems like something always derails them (see the Cougars for the most extreme example of this phenomenon). 4. Saints: Montreal is nearly there. They have five good starting pitchers (Reif, Cupid, Doyle, Ford & Lyon). The lineup has some question marks, but Otis O'Keefe, assuming he makes the team (hint: he should), is a Kellogg AND Whitney Award winner waiting to happen. Mo Carter can bash and the complimentary guys are well, complimentary. Lots of promise in Quebec... 5. Kings: Bob Arman is my pick to win the Allen in the CA this year (and yes, I know his former teammate Deuce Barrell is still pitching in Cincy). Despite the GM's efforts to ditch him, Pat Petty is still patrolling left field, and Ralph Johnson is the best outfielder in the loop not named Bill Barrett. So why fifth? There are some holes in Brooklyn so they're just not as complete as the big three (or Montreal). But Ken Newman is likely to continue Brooklyn's streak of Kellogg-winning rookies and eventually the Kings will again be contending for the, ahem, throne. 6. Cannons: Ah, Cincinnati. The one-time powerhouse derailed by time and a singularly bad trade (see Arman, Bob, above). The Cannons do have Deuce Barrell and he's enough by himself to keep them out of the basement. But it'll be a long season for newly-minted player-manager Charley McCullough's charges. 7. Wolves: Speaking of long seasons and newly minted skippers, Fred Barrell has his work cut out for him in Toronto. He has an aging Hall of Famer in Fred McCormick and a reasonably talented pitching rotation. The weakest link is the lineup. McCormick is still very good, but he won't get a ton of help at the plate. 8. Foresters: Cleveland has been in a perennial rebuild mode for well over a decade now. The farm system is very strong, and the FABL lineup is actually pretty decent. But the pitching? That smell that's wrinkling your nose? It ain't the Cuyahoga River, it's the Foresters pitching staff. Until some decent pitching arrives, the Foresters are going to be lost in the woods. Federal Association 1- Gothams - No reason for me to raise your ire. This team is built to compete. 2- St. Louis 3- Boston 4- Detroit 5- Washington 6- Philadelphia 7- Pittsburgh 8- Chicago Continental Association 1- Philadelphia 2- Chicago 3- Cincinnati 4- New York 5- Montreal 6- Toronto 7- Brooklyn 8- Cleveland TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Brett Looks at Wolves Starters As 1949 Baseball Begins --The Mail & Empire will give readers a quick overview of what the Wolves roster will look when the 1949 season begins for the team in Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon under new manager Fred Barrell. Batters: (starters by position) C- Randy Hendrix- After the end of the Clarence Howerton, the new manager in Tuscaloosa, era Hendrix has been given the starters role to begin the season, defensively sound, should not hurt the team at the plate Hendrix should benefit from Barrell's years behind the plate. Walt Loera will be the backup after failing to grab hold of the job in spring training. 1B- Fred McCormick- This almost certain first ballot HOF selection with a career .339/.426/.534 line will man the first sac "as often as he can" according to the manager. At 38 he started 135 games hitting .304. If the team can come close to same amount of starts from Fred at 39 the team may surprise the CA. 2B- Tom Frederick- Frederick took over the role at second last season when Bob Call could not find a satisfactory partner in the middle infield for Charlie Artuso in either John Fast or Harry Finney. Frederick, along with many others throughout the FABL, had a poor spring at the plate in pitcher dominant spring. His glove keeps him second although the team will probably need his glove in the OF at times in the season. 3B- Hal Wood- An All-Star in '48 after hitting .325 Wood struggled in Florida with the bat. His fielding continues to improve although at times he makes McCormick's job an adventure at 1B with erratic throws. If the tune-ups in the south were any indication fielding will be at premium in the FABL during the season. SS- Charlie Artuso- Always a superior defender at short he appeared to lose a half step last season at 32. His .217/.299/.312 line in '48 also was a major step down at the plate. Barrell is hoping that Charlie will bounce back with both the bat and glove. LF- Brett has learned that initial plan is for a platoon in left with Dom Tripp against righties, Frank Frady facing southpaws. Both have the ability to be an asset at the plate but their glove work, range leave much to desired in the field. Can the Wolves live with a black hole in the outfield this campaign? A position to watch with interest as the season unfolds. CF- Chink Stickels- Like McCormick, Stickels had a fine 1948 at the plate, in the field but at 37 can he be relied upon to start 140+ games in CF? RF- Hank Giordano- At 28 he is now in 10th season of pro ball after being drafted in the first round in 1939. He will be a dependable fixture in the Wolves everyday lineup. The bench, to start the season. will consist of Loera, Frank Brunch as LHB relief for McCormick, versatile infielders John Fast, Harry Finney, Frank Frady who can also play some OF along with Curt Brooks in OF. A best case scenario for Barrell would be if one or two of these could move from substitute to forcing their way into the lineup on a regular basis. Pitching Bullpen- Afore mentioned Stewart will join Chick Wirtz, 40, George Waller, Sam Jordan, Harry Phillips in a relief corps left wide open for roles after Lou Jayson was lost for the season with arm issues. Overall the Wolves are a team that must at least begin a transition from their end of war immediate post war heydays. Many around the hot stove over the dark winter in Ontario believe the team waited too long to begin a youth movement. Fred Barrell and his staff will need a deft touch, good instincts to guide this roster with aging veterans through the next six months. Can the Wolves remain at least competitive in a strong CA or will 1949 be a tough season when the roster turnover must finally begin at Dominion Stadium? Fans will have a lot to comment about this summer. Brett is looking forward to a summer full of twists and turns as the Wolves welcome back the warm weather after a season after Dukes hockey. Brett is compiling a list of names in the system that fans should be following on their trail to the FABL in the Wolves system. Will some debut in Toronto before the summer is over?  OFF-FIELD SHAKE-UP AIMS TO IGNITE CANNONS' REVIVAL IN '49 The Cincinnati Cannons undergo a near-complete overhaul in the front office, ushering in a new era after their first losing season in nearly a decade. The city that once celebrated three consecutive Continental Association pennants is hungry for a resurgence, and with fresh faces in management, fans are eager to see if the revamped Cannons can rise from the ashes of 1948. Heading the changes is a new General Manager and a fresh face in the managerial role, none other than Clyde McCullough, who, while donning the manager's cap, will still find time to occupy his familiar spot as a backup middle infielder. A myriad of coaching changes completes the transformation off the field. On the diamond, however, the cast remains relatively constant, with stalwarts from their title-winning days still holding key positions. Despite the aging roster, there's a sense that there's still fuel left in the tank, and with a bit of fortune, the Cannons could stay competitive through the upcoming season. Here's a position-by-position rundown, a snapshot of what Manager McCullough will have at his disposal at Tice Memorial Stadium: CATCHER: Adam Mullins is still very productive but is now 36 and coming off the worst offensive season of his career. Keep in mind a bad year from the 10-time all-star is still better than nearly every catcher in the league. There have to be some concerns that his career is nearing the end and a slow start from the Cannons might mean Mullins is playing elsewhere before the end of July as he could bring a much-needed influx of young talent in return. Paul Wilkerson is never the most popular player in the clubhouse, but the former Washington Eagles catcher is a more than capable backup. FIRST BASE: Chuck Adams is 32 and his production was down each of the last two years, but he still hit 24 homers, just 4 off his career high and likely has a number of solid years left. Happy Wright is a 22-year-old prospect who played Class A last year. So far, he has not shown the power you would like to see out of a first baseman, but OSA has confidence in him, labelling Wright as the third best first baseman in its prospect pipeline. He likely needs a year or two in AAA to prove himself worthy of eventually succeeding Adams. SECOND BASE: Charlie Rivera is now 35 but still one of the best defensive second basemen in the league. His offense, never outstanding, took a nose dive last year and perhaps it is time to start looking for a replacement. It won't be Charley McCullough, who will remain as the backup and play sporadically while putting most of his focus on his managerial duties. The hope was it might be Nick Remillard who came over in the awful deal that sent Bob Arman to Brooklyn. Remillard's stock has dropped in the eyes of OSA but he is still in the top 100 and coming off a strong showing in limited exposure at AA. SHORTSTOP: Like his doubleplay partner Jim Hensley saw his offensive production dip last year but he is still one of the best glovemen in the Continental Association. Hensley is still just 32 so can probably man the position for another half dozen years. That is a good thing because the Cannons really do not have a replacement for him in their system. There was hope that either Clifton Smith or Cincinnati native Ted Stacy might be the answer, but both have really peaked as just good glove, backup middle infielders. THIRD BASE: Denny Andrews is a three-time all-star who followed up a career best season two years ago with his least productive campaign since he became the club's everyday third baseman in 1945. He is young enough (33) and has plenty of talent so Andrews should be able to remain among the better third sackers in FABL for at least two or three more years. 19-year-old Ted Haggerty is raw but is perhaps the future at the hot corner for the Cannons. He was another piece acquired in the Bob Arman trade but remains far from a sure thing. CENTER FIELD: Six-time all-star Fred Galloway is now 33 years old and coming off his worst season offensively since his rookie campaign of 1938. Cannons fans hope it was Galloway's 1948 season was simply a case of catching a slump virus that impacted much of the club and the hopes are he makes a full recovery and returns to the all-star game for the first time since 1946. 37-year-old Gail Gifford is an acceptable backup for the short-term and if he performs like he did in limited action last year Gifford likely deserves some more starts in the Cannons outfield this season. CORNER OUTFIELDERS- Mike T Taylor has had just one season where he started more than 100 games and likely deserves full-time duty in either right or left field this season. Taylor turns 31 in May, so he is a mere pup by Cannons standards. Between the previously mentioned Gail Gifford and fellow old-timer Sam Brown the club hopefully rounds out its starting outfield and there is 35-year-old rule five pickup Reginald Westfall, but he has not played regularly in the big leagues since 1944 and not a lot should be expected out of him. 22-year-old Max Conrad and 23-year-old centerfielder Buzz McIlwain are the best of a week minor league crop and the Cannons will likely be hoping 17-year-old Dallas Berry, who they selected in the first round in January, develops quickly as there will be some holes to fill in the near future due to the ages of Brown and Gifford. PITCHING STAFF - We have to stop thinking how good this staff could have been with Deuce Barrell and Bob Arman in their prime. Barrell is still around, of course, and looking to add to his collection of Allen Awards, which swelled to three after a dominant season a year ago, but Arman is in Brooklyn. Still in Cincinnati are Jim Anderson, who is 33 and probably a serviceable back of the rotation arm, and Charlie Griffith, a 26-year-old spot starter/bullpen piece who looks like he will be the number five starter but probably should be in the pen. There are a couple of older arms like Chris Clarke and Butch Smith -both of whom were around for at least some of the pennant wins- who perhaps can have some success in the rotation but the name that absolutely needs to be in Cincinnati is Tony Britten. He is just 23 and made one big league start last season but the 1947 1st rounder out of Kit Carson University likely should be the number two or three starter for the Cannons now. What is holding Britten back is a numbers game. The Cannons have a bunch of mediocre big league arms that are out of options and management is perhaps hesitant to cut bait on any of them. They include Art Edwards, who had great promise early in his career but just never panned out, as well as Stan Kenny, Mickey Mills and rule five pickup Red More. At least one of those four should probably be replaced to give Britten a chance to show what he can do. Overall, this club looks much better than the 7th place club that went 71-83 a year ago. A number of key players had down years last season. It will be up to Cannons new skipper Charley McCullough to determine if 1948 was an aberration or if age is starting to take its toll. All eyes are on Deuce Barrell, whose stellar performance is vital for the pitching staff's success. With some strategic moves and a few breaks, a first-division finish and perhaps a late-season pennant chase are not entirely out of reach for the Cannons in 1949. POWER SUPPLY ONCE MORE A CONCERN FOR BOLTS As the Detroit Dynamos gear up for the 1949 season, expectations remain as unpredictable as a knuckleball's trajectory. Forecasts from pundits span the spectrum, with some envisioning a Federal Association pennant returning to Detroit after two decades, while others predict a struggling seventh-place finish, just above the hapless Chicago Chiefs. Reality likely resides in the middle ground. While improvement is anticipated from last year's 72-82 record and a sixth-place standing, keeping pace with the Federal Association's elite appears a formidable challenge. The league, in this writer's view, falls into three tiers: the perennial champion St. Louis Pioneers, powerhouses in Philadelphia and New York at the top; a bottom tier, occupied by the rebuilding Pittsburgh Miners and the struggling Chicago Chiefs. In this milieu lies the middle ground which includes the Dynamos, alongside Boston and Washington- the trio expected to vie for the final spot in the coveted first division. The Achilles heel for Detroit in the preceding season was a lack of firepower at the plate, ranking dead last in the Fed with a meager 4 runs per game. On the flip side, the pitching staff stood out, surpassed only by the formidable Three H club in St. Louis. Pitching prospects look even more promising this season, with the addition of the 22-year-old Jack Miller. Initially bound for AAA Newark, Miller's standout performance in Citrus play earned him a spot on the roster. Carl Potter, Bill Sohl, and the experienced Dixie Lee provide a dependable top three in the rotation, leaving Miller to contend with the former rookie of the year Wally Hunter for the fourth slot. Hunter, a 27-year-old, showcased promise in his debut season with a 17-9 record in 1946 but has struggled since. A solid spring raises hopes for a resurgence. The offensive narrative centers on Edwin Hackberry and Del Johnson, stalwarts in their positions. However, the supporting cast remains a concern. The offseason acquisitions of veteran outfielder Pinky Pierce and minor league slugger Bill Parker aim to address the power deficit until the arrival of promising prospects like John Morrison and Detroit-born Dino Sharp in a few years. While the Dynamos await the infusion of young talent, including outfielder Tommy Allenby and third baseman Jim Gaiter, scratching and clawing for runs seems inevitable. The outcome hinges on whether players like Dick Estes or Tommy Griffin make substantial strides, igniting the offense. Yet, the more likely scenario once more foresees solid pitching but a struggle to generate sufficient offense, potentially limiting their chances to finish significantly above .500. The minor league pipeline, featuring impressive arms like Roy Schaub, Fred Washington, and Jack Halbur, promises a bright future. Keep an eye on the 18-year-old local product Sharp, earmarked as a potential star. Although still a few years away from the big leagues, his trajectory suggests he could be Detroit's next Red Johnson. For now, the Dynamos find solace in the 35-year-old Pinky Pierce as the sole addition to their starting lineup. While this might propel them into the first division in a competitive Federal Association, clinching a Fed flag this October appears a lofty goal for the current Dynamos squad. However, in the unpredictable realm of baseball, surprises are always welcome.  Donnelly declined an option to go to AAA Columbus and will either be picked up by a rival club, go west to and try his luck in the GWL (he is a California boy), or simply pass through waivers and then be faced with a second option to report to Columbus. The man he is currently even with in homers, Bob Donoghue, has also been waived by the Minutemen. Donoghue burst on the scene with 20 homers as a 24-year-old for the Minutemen back in 1937. An injury plagued '38 campaign yielded only 13 long balls but Bob came roaring back to lead the league in homers with 34 in 1939. It was the first and unfortunately last time a Boston batter would ever hit above 30 in a season. Donoghue knocked another 24 over the fence in 1940 but then the injuries took their toll. Donoghue never hit more than six in a season again as he struggled to stay healthy and find the field. Now at 35, Donoghue has also declined a demotion and will try his luck on the open market. It will be interesting to see if any FABL clubs will reach out to Boston in an effort to secure either player or trust that their waiver position will be good enough to secure a claim. A club spokesman indicated the organization would love to have both players in Columbus next season to provide solid veteran presence for the up and coming talent currently playing for the Titans, but it really seems like the GWL will be a landing spot for one or both of these gentlemen.   The local boy is Joe Austin, a 24-year-old outfielder who headed south for college ball at Chesapeake State after his high school days which were spent in St Louis. Joe was born in Montreal while his father Alex was the Saints trainer but grew up in St Louis after his dad took a similar role with the Pioneers. An 8th round pick of the Chicago Cougars in 1946, Austin was dealt to the Saints a year later in the trade that sent Red Bond to the Windy City. He hit .305 for AAA Minneapolis last season and recently spent time in Cuba with the Winter League champion Cinefuegos Crocodiles. Saints Manager Jim Cator notes that Austin is an excellent defender and versatile enough to play both the infield and outfield while also blessed with exceptional speed. He stole 44 bases last year in AAA and a league-high 30 in Cuba last winter and will be use as pinch runner when needed. The other Montreal born players to precede Austin in suiting up for the Saints were Hank Eason, sone of club legend Hal Eason, who has appeared in 72 games for the Saints over four years and is still in the system and assigned to AA Nashville this season, along with Dick Boyer, an infielder who played 75 games for the Saints between 1928-30. The big attraction for Saints fans will be Otis O'Keefe, who has been named the starting left fielder by Saints skipper Jim Cator. A 1947 third round selection out of Bluegrass State where he helped lead the Mustangs to two AIAA College World Championship Series tournament appearances, O'Keefe was dominant in the minors last season and is considered a top 40 prospect by OSA. The third newcomer will be Jess Garman, a two-time All-American catcher at Arkansas A&T who was the Saints second round selection in the 1947 draft. Ranked in the top 70 by OSA, Garman hit .291 with 11 homers in Minneapolis last season, playing alongside both O'Keefe and Allen in AAA and in the Cuban Winter League. There had been some consideration to bring Ted Coffin to Canada as part of the 24-man roster but despite a great spring training, Saints management believes he should be throwing his regular turns in AAA to start the season rather than serving as a spot starter or bullpen piece in Montreal. OSA tabs the 24-year-old Coffin as the top lefthanded pitching prospect in the sport and ranks him 15th overall in a recent prospect pipeline report. The 23-year-old, selected 8th overall in the 1944 draft, progressed through three levels of minors last season but only made a very brief appearance at the AAA level.
A CLOSER LOOK AT PACKERS-SHAMROCKS TRADE Late yesterday the Chicago Packers announced that they had acquired veteran New York Shamrocks defensive and team captain Bert McCalley in exchange for defenseman Jerry Finch, three minor league players and Chicago's first and third round selections in the July draft. TWIFB breaks down the deal. If you subscribe to the theory that the team who acquired the best player in a trade is the winner of the deal, then you have to give a knockout victory to the Chicago Packers for their acquisition yesterday of defensive stalwart Bert McCalley from the New York Shamrocks. It signals plans for a major rebuild from the Greenshirts, just as management had threatened to do ever since the club, which reached the Challenge Cup Finals just 12 short months ago, was eliminated from the playoff race and finished last in the NAHC. The move might hurt New York in the short-run, certainly in the fan interest department as McCalley has been club's captain for a decade and the sometime surely 31-year-old rearguard was also well liked at Bigsby Garden and well respected around the league. However, the Shamrocks did add some pieces that certainly have the potential to make management feel a little more confident in the future of the organization. In the short term defenseman Jerry Finch, the key player coming to Broadway in the move, will face a ton of scrutiny as he will be looked on to fill the sizeable skates of McCalley on the New York blueline. Finch is 27, four years younger than McCalley, and should be an adequate replacement. The key to winning the deal for New York will be to make the right choice with the 1st and third round draft picks they acquire from Chicago in the deal and to see at least two of the other three young players they picked up develop enough to contribute down the road. Center Dan Russell is 24 years old and has played a handful of games for the Packers over the past two seasons but spent most of his time with the minor league Pittsburgh Rovers. Russell may be ready to see everyday duty in New York next season and if the Shamrocks follow through on talk to also move Orval Cabbell, Russell just might slot in nicely behind Laurel Albers and Adam Greenham as the third line center. 22 year old Kevin Braun is also a center although he may find his eventual home on right wing. He spent each of the past two seasons in Pittsburgh after the Packers selected him in the second round of the 1946 draft. The Calgary native may not ever develop into an offensive threat but has the potential to be a steady second or third liner. Finally there is 23-year-old defenseman Mark Theriault, who was originally drafted in the third round by the Packers in 1945. He played one game for Chicago two years ago and scored his first NAHC goal but has spent the bulk of his time in Pittsburgh with Braun and Russell. Scouting sources suggest Theriault has the potential to develop into a top four defenseman with some offensive upside but like all young players that is just projection at this point. As for the Packers, it is clear the focus is on building a championship team around Tommy Burns while the 29-year-old is still in his prime. McCalley is a clear upgrade on Finch and Packers Coach Ed Hempenstall was quoted as saying "having a hard-nosed veteran like McCalley could have made the difference" in Chicago's slow start and playoff failings against Toronto. Chicago clearly will worry about the future later as the focus is on the present. The Packers are a much better team for 1949-50 after this deal than they were last week. The question is are they now good enough to win the 8 playoff games necessary to claim the Challenge Cup, something the organization has never accomplished. Code:
FBL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB x-Brooklyn 51 14 .785 - x-Washington 51 14 .785 - x-Philadelphia 38 27 .585 13.0 Rochester 35 31 .530 16.5 Baltimore 33 32 .508 18.0 Hartford 31 34 .477 20.0 Boston 29 37 .439 22.5 New York 20 45 .308 31.0 Syracuse 9 56 .138 42.0 WEST W L PCT GB x-Cleveland 41 25 .621 - x-Detroit 41 25 .621 - x-Chicago 40 26 .606 1.0 Cincinnati 35 31 .530 6.0 Pittsburgh 29 37 .439 12.0 Toronto 21 44 .323 19.5 Buffalo 20 46 .303 21.0 x-clinched playoff spot (top 3 in each division qualify) SUNDAY'S RESULTS Hartford 75 Boston 71 Rochester 95 Baltimore 67 Cincinnati 104 Toronto 93 Chicago 80 Pittsburgh 62 UPCOMING GAMES TODAY Cincinnati at Chicago Washington at Baltimore Philadelphia at Hartford Buffalo at New York Brooklyn at Syracuse TUESDAY APRIL 19 Brooklyn at Detroit Philadelphia at New York Pittsburgh at Toronto WEDNESDAY APRIL 20 Cleveland at Buffalo Rochester at Baltimore Washington at Harford Boston at Syracuse THURSDAY APRIL 21 Syracuse at Philadelphia Boston at Buffalo Cincinnati at Washington Rochester at Chicago Brooklyn at Baltimore Hartford at New York Toronto at Detroit Pittsburgh at Cleveland END OF REGULAR SEASON  The Week That Was Current events from today 4/18/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-20-2023 at 08:13 AM. |
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11-21-2023, 12:53 PM
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#833 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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April 25, 1949
APRIL 25, 1949 MINUTEMEN OFF TO QUICK START Spring training means nothing as far as the Boston Minutemen are concerned. Boston went just 13-23 in Citrus play, worst in the Federal Association, but they were clearly saving the victories for when they mattered most as the Minutemen opened the regular season with 6 straight victories. Boston is the only team in FAABL that has yet to lose in the regular season after sweeping their two Pennsylvania opponents by winning 3 in Pittsburgh before returning home to take three straight from the visiting Philadelphia Keystones. They will have another diet of Pennsylvania opponents this week with more games against the Miners and Keystones but not until after the Minutemen welcome Washington to Boston for a pair of games beginning today. The Eagles are 6-1, as they also beat up the Miners and Keystones last week.   Heading into the bottom of the 5th in a scoreless tie, the Gothams deep lineup finally realized the season had started. LaBonte led off with a smash into left-center for a double. Hufford moved him over to third, then number 8 hitter Tom Jeffries drove him in. After Bowman struck out, singles by Brewer and Cleaves netted a run. A wild pitch brought in Brewer. Johnson walked, and Messer followed with a hit which allowed Cleaves to score on a throwing error. Lots of action. That was plenty for Bowman, but the Gothams tagged on another in the 6th on a Tom Jeffries sac fly. Also of note, the ageless Mahlon Strong had a double off the left field wall in his first at bat of the season. I've always said, if Mahlon can get out of bed in the morning, he can crush baseballs in the afternoon. Bowman cruised through 9 innings and the faithful were sent home happy, with dreams of a bog season in New York. CHAMPS PICK UP RIGHT WHERE THEY LEFT OFF The two-time defending Bigsby Cup champion Oakland Grays came out the gate on fire with 5 straight victories and a 6-1 record to start the season. This after Oakland, which has won two of the three Bigsby Cups, posted the best preseason record in the loop. The Grays opened with back to back extra innings victories over their Bay Area rivals from San Francisco, and the winners of the inagural Bigsby Cup in 1946. A 12-3 victory over the Hawks in the finale of the 3-game set before the club returned to Grays Baseball Stadium for their home opener against Houston. After a flag raising ceremony the Oakland bats clobbered Ed Whetzel and the Bulls 11-4 and by the end of the week were 6-1, a game up on the Los Angeles Knights. 
RED CAPS, PANTHERS IN CONTROL OF OPENING ROUND SERIES The Brooklyn Red Caps and Chicago Panthers each took care of business on home court and look to wrap up their respective best-of-five quarterfinal playoff series on the road tomorrow night. The Panthers are looking to sweep the Cleveland Crushers after claiming back to back wins at Lakeside Arena over the weekend, despite continuing to play with a makeshift lineup while starting point guard Joe Hampton and his backup Efrain Boland are both sidelined with injuries. Eliseo Werth, normally a forward, filled in at point guard and scored 17 points while adding 4 assists in the opening game, a 95-88 Chicago win in which Richard Campbell, as is usually the case, led the Panthers offense with 31 points. A day later the visitors from Cleveland led for much of the game but a scoring drought late in the third quarter allowed the Panthers to get back in front and Chicago held on for a 98-95 victory with Campbell again carrying the mail, scoring 30 points and adding 18 rebounds. The future is bright for the Crushers, as rapidly improving rookie Ziggy Rickard, the former Central Ohio star, had a strong playoff including a game high 33 points and 25 boards in yesterday's loss. The Crushers will look to even things up as the series shifts to Lake Erie Arena for games three and, if necessary, four. In Brooklyn, the Red Caps survived a close call against the Philadelphia Phantoms in game one with Brooklyn hanging on for an 81-79 victory despite a 28-point game from Irvin Mudd and a strong outing from Jerry Hubbard, who led in rebounds with 20 while also adding 7 assists. Michael Fricke led the way for the Red Caps, who went 53-15 during the regular season but still had to settle for second place in the East. Fricke scored 24 points for Brooklyn Saturday. The second game was decidedly one-sided with the Red Caps romping to a 101-81 victory. Philadelphia's only lead came in the opening minute when they went ahead briefly by a 1-0 score. Brooklyn dominated from that point on, using a balanced attack that saw six Red Caps score in double-figures highlighted by Benton Legault's 22 points. One more victory in the next three games for Chicago and Brooklyn will send them on to the semi-finals. For the Chicago Panthers that would mean a date with the Detroit Mustangs to determine the West Division representative while in the East Division it would be the highly anticipated showdown between the two best regular season teams and long-time ABC rivals in Brooklyn and the Washington Statesmen. Detroit and Washington earned first round byes in the six-team playoff field for their division winning performances during the season. 
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FBL FINAL STANDINGS EAST W L PCT GB x-Washington 54 14 .794 - x-Brooklyn 53 15 .779 1.0 x-Philadelphia 40 28 .588 14.0 Rochester 37 31 .544 17.0 Hartford 33 35 .485 21.0 Baltimore 33 35 .485 21.0 Boston 31 37 .456 23.0 New York 21 47 .309 33.0 Syracuse 9 59 .132 45.0 WEST W L PCT GB x-Detroit 43 25 .632 - x-Cleveland 41 27 .603 2.0 x-Chicago 42 27 .603 2.0 Cincinnati 35 33 .515 8.0 Pittsburgh 31 37 .456 12.0 Buffalo 22 46 .324 21.0 Toronto 20 48 .294 23.0 x-claimed playoff spot (top 3 in each division qualify)  SORENSEN WINS BY TKO OVER TOP WELTER CONTENDER Mark Westlake, who briefly held the World Welterweight Title a couple of years ago and was ranked last month as the number one challenger to current division champion Mac Erickson, ran into a buzzsaw by the name of Scott Sorensen and the National Auditorium in Washington DC last Wednesday evening. Sorensen, a 30-year-old Virginian who had plenty of support from the partisan crowd, took control early in the bout and in the third round, after decisively taking the first two, opened a deep gash just outside Westlake's right eye. Westlake did settle down and was making some strides towards pulling even in the feature bout of the evening, which was slated for ten. However, Sorensen continued to work on that eye and by the 6th round referee Jerry Rowe was given no choice but to halt the proceedings and award the victory to the Richmond fighter. Sorenson improves to 25-11-2 with the win while Westlake, a 31-year-old Mississippian, falls to 26-4-1 and will likely see his name drop several places in the next TWIFB boxing rankings which are due out in July. Middleweight contender John Edmonds, who like Westlake briefly held the title in his division a couple of years ago, was also in action last week. The 30-year-old Indiana native had little trouble in a Saturday night bout in Atlanta, toying with Gerald MacIntosh for much of the fight before scoring a resounding unanimous decision. Edmonds is 28-3 with 20 knockouts in his career and likely solidified another title shot, perhaps as soon as the winner of June's Adrian Petrie-Edouard Desmarais title fight is ready for a defense. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/24/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-22-2023, 12:14 PM
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#834 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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May 2, 1949
MAY 2, 1949 MINUTEMEN STILL LEADING THE WAY IN FED As the short month ends Boston finds itself at the top of the Federal Association with a 10-3 record. The club has scored 80 runs (6+ per game average) and have only given up 49 runs defensively. The +31 run differential will probably be difficult to sustain over the long haul but it sure is a welcome sight presently. Harry Barrell leads the team and league in batting average at .434 while Rip Curry leads the team in longballs with 4. As a team the club is hitting .289 with a .829 OPS which are both league bests. From the pitching side of things Joe Sargent is 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA, Ray Dalpman is 2-0 with 3.74 ERA and Alf Keeter is 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA. Not only is the top club firing on all cylinders the organizations top young prospects are all off to fine starts. #4 prospect SS Joe Kleman is hitting .421 in the B league. #6 prospect OF Yank Taylor is hitting .412 with a homer in AA. #14 prospect 2B Marshall Thomas is off to a .388 start in AA as well. #56 prospect CF Dick Helfand is hitting .300 in AAA . #62 prospect 1B Danny Taylor is hitting .333 in A ball. The only prospect in the top 100 that is struggling is 19-year-old 1B (#93) Clarence Jackman who is hitting .189 in B ball.  TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN The Wolves are off to uneven 4-8 start as April turns to May. The lack of power was expected as the Wolves have only 1 HR by Charlie Artuso, of all people, in 450 times to the plate, which puts them last in the FABL. Lack of power would be fine, non-existent is entirely another matter. More disturbing is the haphazard play in the field. The Wolves are tied in the FABL for the most miscues at 17, led by Charlie Artuso with 4 then Chink Stickels in CF with 3. These two prime defensive positions cannot afford to be leaky if the Wolves are going to win games. The pitching has not been as effective as hoped for early. Jerry York has been hit hard in his two outings, George Garrison is not used to carrying an ERA of 4.30 after three starts. The offense, led by ageless Frank McCormick's .419/.458/.581, is hovering around league average in most departments except power. The team may be suffering a little bad luck as they have only been outscored by 6 runs in 12 games. There will be a big test next week as they face the red hot Stars at Dyckman Stadium midweek continuing a 17 day 16 game road trip not returning home until May 17th. Looking towards the future, Les Ledbetter's progress or to be more accurate lack there of is becoming a major concern in the organization. Through 3 starts at Class A in Davenport he 0-1, 8.80 Opponents Avg .371, WHIP 1.96, ERA+44 in a season that if everything went well he was projected to be in AAA just waiting for the call. GM has been quoted "He sinks or swims at A there will be no demotion to Vancouver. It is early hopefully he finds his stuff very soon." CANNONS ROOKIE HURLER STRUGGLING After posting a 1.80 ERA in spring training, Tony Britten has struggled to adjust to the cooler weather in Cincy, going 1-1, with a disastrous 2nd start only lasting 2.1 innings, giving up 7 earned runs. Manager Charley McCullough says he isn't too worried about the youngster, and feels he will respond as the the calendar turns to May and the temperatures creep up. He will be needed on this veteran laden team in Cincinnati, as the new GM is reported to be looking at the youth in the system and overheard saying he needs more. GM John Meeker was spotted talking to several youngsters in the stands after a game, asking to how their experience was at the game. All reported having a swell time, and one was heard asking about if the club would do something wild for a celebration of a home run "Maybe you should shoot off fireworks"...Meeker was overheard saying " A great idea...maybe I shall look into acquiring a cannon,,,or maybe 4, to shoot off when someone hits a long ball...We are the Cannons after all, we should try something like this". Fans be warned, this may be coming soon.
 Martin questioned Barrell about what message was he trying to send this kid. Martin explained very loudly that "We need this kid all season! Don't let him blow out his arm and lose confidence because he had a rough first day. What lesson were you trying to teach here Tom? Thorpe could have gone out and got some work in, he didn't pitch all week." While the Kings had a successful first week overall there does appear to be some tension over how Byler was handled. Is it just a flare up borne out of frustration or is there something more to it? The low ERA's appear to be strictly a spring phantom menace. The Kings young pitching has been, shall we say challenged, after 2 weeks. While the club is above the breakeven mark at 8-7, the Kings have been outscored by 18 runs and are 3-6 in games decided by four runs or more. Right now despite the winning record, the offense has not been able to keep up with the pitching woes. Juan Pomales is still a 2-way player but is only pitching in long relief and mop-up duty. He's logged 5 innings with an 18.00 ERA and is on pace to throw 60+ innings at this rate. One piece of transaction news as the Kings claimed former Montreal 3B Dan Herrick off the waiver wire and feel he is a better bat than the multi-positional Constantine Peters who has been designated for assignment. Herrick has been a solid minor league hitter and is only 24. He will likely try to add 1B and corner OF to his resume at some point. 
STATESMEN TAKE OPENER OF SHOWDOWN WITH BROOKLYN A week off did little to slow down the East Division champion Washington Statesmen as after getting a bye in the opening round of the playoffs, the Washington quintet extended its winning streak to 8 games by dumping the Brooklyn Red Caps 102-93 in the opener of their best-of-seven semi-final series. The win was an important one for the Statesmen, who went an FBL best 54-14 during the regular season, one game ahead of Brooklyn, but struggled head to head with the Red Caps in dropping five of the six games between the two long-time rivals. The series opener, at Washington's National Auditorium and witnessed by a capacity crowd of 10,000 fans, was a tight affair and tied with just over 4 and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter until the Statesmen closed it out with a 16-7 run to end the contest. Isiah Solis, coming off the bench was the hero for the winners, with 8 of his 17 points coming during that final four and a half minute run. Michael Leftwich topped the Statesmen office with 18 while a trio of Red Caps in Loren Camp, Michael Fricke and Ivory Mitchell, led the way for their club with 16 points each. Prior to that loss the Red Caps were a perfect 3-0 in playoff action this spring after completing a sweep of the third place Philadelphia Phantoms with an 87-77 victory on the road Tuesday evening. Ivory Mitchell scored 17 to lead the Red Caps offense that evening as the sweep came after a pair of wins in Brooklyn to open the best-of-five quarterfinal. *** Panthers Upset Detroit With Road Win *** The Chicago Panthers survived a tough five-game series with the Cleveland Crushers and road the momentum of that victory to a dominant 81-59 upset of first place Detroit at Thompson Palladium in the opener of the other semi-final series. Richard Campbell scored 24 points and Larry Serrano added 19 as the visitors pulled away from Detroit with a 26-9 third quarter before a disappointing crowd of just 2,813 on hand to witness the Mustangs first-ever playoff game. Detroit's Jack Kurtz got into foul trouble early and played just 18 minutes, forcing 40-year-old center Manual Nelson to play much more than he was used to. With Kurtz on the bench, rookie Ward Messer found fending off Chicago's big men in Campbell and Cory Myers just too difficult a task. Messer was held to just 11 points on the evening. The Panthers were fortunate to even be in the semi-finals after they nearly fell to Cleveland in the opening round. Chicago won each of the first two games on their home court but closing out the series proved quite a challenge. The Crushers, home for games three and four won by scores of 79-67 and 113-85 as their rookie sensation Ziggy Rickard continues to improve. The former Central Ohio star had 20 points in game three and 26 in game four -leading both teams in that category on each evening. Those two Cleveland victories set up a winner take all fifth game at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium. Nerves seemed to get the better of both clubs as neither shot more than 25% from the field and Cleveland entered the fourth quarter with a 53-43 lead. The Panthers staged a furious fourth quarter comeback to secure a 66-65 victory. Each club had multiple chances to score in the closing minute but failed including a last second heave from the Crushers Wallace Hayes from the top of the key as time was expiring. It refused to drop, capping an 0-for-9 shooting day for the Crushers center, and the Panthers celebrated the narrowest of victories. 
MOTORS SIGN EX-SHAMROCK DEFENDER The Detroit Motors made some minor news this week with the announcement that they had reached an agreement with defenseman Anthony Lehman on a 2-year contract. The 25-year-old 5 year veteran was recently released by the New York Shamrocks. Lehman was inked to a two-way deal with the Motors. He split last season between New York and the minor league Philadelphia Rascals, scoring twice and adding 3 assists in 20 games with the big club. In other contract news this week the Toronto Dukes signed minor league winger Bobby Gee to a 2 year extension. The 25-year-old spent the 1946-47 season with the big club, scoring 4 times and adding 9 assists in 32 games but has spent each of the past two seasons playing for the Cleveland Eries of the Hockey Association of America.   PHILADELPHIA AGAIN GETS GRID SERVICE GAME Mayor Bernard Samuel announced that the 1949 Rome State-Annapolis Maritime football would be played in Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium. The Mayor said the head of the Rpme, Ga., US Military Academy's athletics department telephoned him recently and said "all obstacles" to holding the game in Philadelphia next fall have been removed. He added a similar approval had been received from authorities at Annapolis Maritime a few days prior. Representatives of both academies will meet in the Mayor's office May 6 to discuss detailed plans for the big game. The Mayor's annuncement put a quietus on reports that the football classic might be played in some other city this year. The game, which ended in a 14-14 tie last season, has been played in Philadelphia every year since 1932 with the exception of a 3-year break during the war from 1942 when it was played once on the campus of each school and in Baltimore in 1944.  CANIO MAKES NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT Brooklyn's Flatbush Gardens was the debut location for fight promotor Chester Conley's latest find. Discovered while Conley was touring Europe with his most famous boxer, a fellow by the name of Hector Sawyer, Italian middlewight Hugo Caino was convinced by Conley to come to America and seek fame and fortune. The 22-year-old was 13-0-2 while fighting across Europe with both of his draws coming in 6-round bouts. He recently moved up to longer fights and made his first appearance in this country last Wednesday against Brenton Garner. Garner had some impressive results as well but was clearly no match for Conley's new import as Canio needed just over 2 minutes to score his first knockout in the New World. With Conley smiling through the thick smoke from his cigar seated at ringside, Canio danced around Garner's offerings before sneaking in a short cross that put his opponent off balance and susceptible to the crushing hook that ended his evening nearly before it started. The win runs Canio's pro mark to 14-0-2 and Conley is confident his fighter will be battling in features just a few miles away at Bigsby Garden in the very near future. The feature match on that Brooklyn fight card saw middleweight contender Tommy Campbell score an unanimous decision over Richie Phillips. Campbell, who turns 26 next month, is 22-1-1 and considered one of the top contenders in a crowded middlweight division. Earlier in the week, Yohan Revel, the French fighter and the top middlweight in Europe outside of his fellow countryman Edouard Desmarais, improved his record to 20-1 with a 3rd round knockout of veteran Italian pugilist Leone Pierotti. One other fight of note this past week saw welterweight contender Carl Taylor score an 8th round knockout of Stuart White in Cleveland Saturday evening. Taylor, who had title shots in 1946 and 1947 but came up short both times with losses to Dennis O'Keefe and Harold Stephens, is 26-6-2. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/01/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-27-2023, 02:23 PM
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#835 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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May 9, 1949
MAY 9, 1949 ST LOUIS OWNER CONVICTED OF RACKETEERING Dee Rose, 60-year-old owner of the St. Louis Pioneers has been convicted in Missouri on racketeering charges. Sentencing will be next week. Rose, a native of Los Angeles, has owned the Pioneers since purchasing them from George Sackey in 1941. Born Dario Roselli to Italian immigrants in San Francisco, Rose legally changed his name to David Rose in 1920. He built a fortune in the import/export business, something prosecutors said was actually a front for a bootlegging empire on the West Coast during Prohibition. Rose moved into motion pictures in the 1930s. His purchase of the St. Louis Pioneers in 1941 was said to be Rose's bid to "go legitimate" according to prosecuting attorney William Hill. Hill proceeded to explain to the jury that Rose was unable to escape his past, and it was the lure of millions in phony stadium construction contracts that prevented Rose from "going legit" and turned out to be the smoking gun the state needed to send Rose to prison. Judge Everett Winsome will sentence Rose next week. Regardless of the length of his prison stay, Rose also faces Federal charges of tax evasion and that trial is expected to begin in July. FABL President Sam Belton has not made a statement since the conviction was recorded. However, he said in the past that should Rose go to prison his ownership of the Pioneers "would be at an end." This leaves Pioneers fans with a burning question: what happens to their ballclub now? Rose is also the owner of the Continental Football Conference's Los Angeles Lobos. Retired Navy Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery is the President of the grid loop, and like Belton has not yet made any statement regarding Rose's ownership status in the CFC following the conviction.   ARMS RACE TO TOP IN CONTINENTAL Cannons Pitching Leads Way for CA Pace Setters Cincinnati Cannons fans aren't all that used to losing seasons. Since the move from Baltimore, they had only seen winning seasons, including three pennants and two titles, but the best teams of the 1940s found their first slip up last year when they fell to 71-83. Looking to potentially become the only team to have nine winning seasons in the decade, Cincinnati is off to a scalding 12-5 start on the back of the best pitching staff in the association. Everyone knows Rufus Barrell, he's the best pitcher in the game, and after his grandfather's death, perhaps he's taken his game to another level. "Deuce" has thrown a shutout in two of his four starts so far, most recently a 5-hitter in a commanding 7-0 victory over a floundering Cougars team. Barrell also bested the Wolves in Toronto, spinning a 4-hit shutout with 8 strikeouts and just a single walk. Barrell has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his four starts, and is a perfect 4-0 with a microscopic 0.77 ERA (512 ERA+) and 0.66 WHIP. Dominant performances are expected from the three time Allen Winner, and if the Cannons are to make a surprise run at the pennant, they'll need to rely on their excellent veteran. Rufus isn't the only starter off to a great start, as veterans Jim Anderson (2-0, 2.57, 10) and Chris Clarke (2-0, 2.01, 12) have given the Cannons three excellent starts. Anderson started his season with a 6-hit, 6-strikeout shutout and in Clarke's most recent outing he held the Kings to a single run in a 3-1 victory. Those three have formed an excellent trio, and since the Cannons offense has been up to snuff, a guy struggling like Charlie Griffith (3-1, 5.29, 7) has won three of his four starts. The #1 staff has been supported by the #3 offense, which makes for an excellent combo if you want to win games. Mike T. Taylor has taken full opportunity of his return to the lineup, hitting an elite .403/.464/.581 (174 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 8 RBIs. It's been far from a one-man show, as the guy's in front and behind him in the lineup, Fred Galloway (.355, 1, 6, 2) and Chuck Adams (.322, 3, 11) have shown signs of a quick recovery from down seasons last year. Despite all that has gone well, the Cannons have hit their first speed bump, as veteran catcher Adam Mullins has been diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, an injury that will alter his throwing for at least the next four weeks. There's been no word if he's going to be placed on the injured list, but even if he remains with the club, it's hard to imagine he'll be able to keep up his stellar production. Mullins has been arguably the most effective Cannon hitter, slashing .400/.451/.600 (176 OPS+) with an absurd 198 WRC+ through 13 games. He has 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 runs scored and driven in, despite posting his worth BB% (9.8) and K% (15.7) since becoming a regular starter in 1937. If Mullins were to miss significant time, the Cannons have offseason acquisition Paul Wilkerson, who spent a decade in Washington before his release in October. Wilkerson has made 23 trips to the plate, going 6-for-21 (.286) with a double and two walks. Entering the week percentage points above the New York Stars, the Cannons have a chance to extend their lead by beating those same Stars. The two teams meet up for two in New York during the week. The Stars have played five more games, an impressive 15-7 through 22 contests, and they sport the 2nd best offense and staff. Bill Barrett (.333, 10, 21) has more homers then any other FABL hitter while Vern Hubbard's (3-1, 2.92, 10) still sub-3 ERA is the highest on the team. It's still early, but a big series like this one could have bearing on the eventual pennant race, and this is the first big test for a Cannons team that is looking to hold the first place spot that they've seemed to make their own.  A DOUBLE HELPING OF TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN The Toronto Wolves go 3-3 as their road trip continues during the first week of May. The week started with a 13-inning 4-3 victory over the Stars at Dyckman Field. Jim Morrison went 11 innings on the mound, holding the vaunted Stars offense to only 5 hits. Unfortunately, 4 hits along with all three runs were in one inning- the 4th. Morrison settled down the rest of the way before handing the ball over to Harry Stewart in the 12th, who got his first win of the season with 2 hitless innings. The middle game of the series featured Jerry York's best outing of the year only to get no help from the bats in a 3-0 loss. Manager Fred Barrell's troops should have had a series win against New York after Jimmy Gibbs pitched 8 1/3 strong innings on Thursday, but as we all know the game is at least 9. Fred Barrell elected not to go to the bullpen leading 2-1 entering the bottom of 9. Gibbs walked lead-off man Jack Welch, followed by a Mack Sutton seeing eye single. A fielder's choice ground out to second putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Stars SS Paul Wilson strode to the plate with first base open, Stars manager put on the squeeze play, to tie the score, that Watson fouled off at the plate. While the infield remained in the sign was changed to hit away. Watson then deposited a 0-1 fastball into the seats in left center for a walk off 4-2 Stars victory. After the flight into Montreal the Wolves came out of the gate strong, scoring 2 in their first trip to the plate. George Garrison had control issues from the start, he was probably relieved to see Barrel coming to get him in the 5th with one out after giving up 6 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. Garrison left with his team trailing 6-2 in what turned out to be 10-4 shellacking by the Saints. The Wolves rebounded with a 5-4 victory on Saturday that was in doubt after Chick Wirtz, who came in for Joe Hancock, gave a 2-run shot to Joe Austin to close the gap to one with one gone in the ninth. The week ended on crisp Sunday afternoon in Cougars Park with Jim Morrison outdueling Peter "The Heater" Papenfus in a game where each team only managed to scratch out 3 hits. Toronto scored the only run of the game in the second when Hank Giordano doubled was moved over to third on a Wood ground out then came in on a rare error charged to SS Skipper Schneider for a 1-0 Wolves win to bring their season record to 8-12. Looking ahead the Wolves finish their lengthy trip this week with 2 more in Chicago, 2 at King's County Park in which the brothers will face each other as skippers for the first time in games that count, then on to Philadelphia for last 3 games. Mail & Empire Early Look at Your Wolves -- Brett Bing takes an early look at the Wolves as April turns into May. Although the season has just begun under a new bench boss, Fred Barrell, this reporter will give the fans some of his early observations, The team is off to a less than optimal start with a record of 4-8 but have only allowed 6 runs more than they scored in the twelve games. Wolves have begun their 1949 season with 10 of their games against two teams with a combined record of 19-6, Cleveland Foresters , Cincinnati Cannons. Both teams are among the early season season surprises in the CA. The fear is that they have padded their records against Toronto. Or have both teams improved significantly over the winter? Has Cleveland finally turned the corner after years of mediocrity on the shores of Lake Erie? The team has just begun a 16 game 17 day road trip, visiting 6 cities missing only Cleveland. The trip began with the team's bats finally waking from what seemed to be a long winter hibernation in 15 hit 9-2 victory in Cincinnati only to be shutdown the over the weekend 5-2, 5-1 by Deuce Barrell, Charlie Griffith both pitching without assistance form the bullpen. Things will not get any easier as the next stop is in NYC to face a white hot Stars lineup that has scored 80 runs while only allowing 43 in 15 games in 1949. Toronto's pitching staff, which Barrell was counting on to lead, has not started the season in the same manner as they ended spring training. Most teams in the CA with the possible exception of NY, Cleveland could say the same thing. From Florida it looked as though 1949 would be dominated by pitching which has not turned out to be the case in early returns. Barrell has seemed to move away from former manager Bob Call's pitching strategy of trying to save starter's arm in April, May to allow them to gradually build arm strength. When ask Barrell responded "Spring training was extended a few years ago that gave each starter 2 or 3 more starts to build up, I believe they should be able to go deep into games when the season begins in April." Pitching coach Johnny Franklin has been seen working before games with Jerry York who is off the rocky start. Franklin seems to think he has found a small flaw in York's delivery that may have been tipping hitters that should allow him to have a strong outing Wednesday when he toes the rubber in NYC. The Stars will provide a good test for York. The rest of the rotation has been no better than adequate Barrell has been bemoaning the fact that the opposition is getting on far too often via the walk. Walks along with fielding woes have left the pitchers pitching out of jams early and often this season. The second key pillar for success for the Wolves was tight defensive play. Early on the team has been far from sound in the field as league leading 17 errors versus only 12 twin killings attests. In particular fielding up the middle has not been nearly good enough to prevent "extra runs" from crossing the plate. Going into the season it was well known that left field would be a problem in the field. It has proved true, the platoon of Tripp, Frady is not working. Tripp's bat is not hurting the club, Frady is hurting the team both at the plate along with in the field. Brett has learned that there are discussions about bringing up 23 year old Wally Boyer as the platoon partner for Tripp. Boyer's glove could also occasionally be used give Stickels rest in CF. Frady's promise at the minor league level has not continued in the FABL. He is a versatile piece but has neither hit nor fielded at a big league level in his 4 years in Toronto. He may be another whose game could not take the step from AAA to the FABL. Surprisingly the performance at the plate has been, thus far, more than what was predicted for the team. Led by McCormick who continues to defy father time the team is about the CA average in all categories with the exception of power which Barrell thinks will come up a little in the near term. The team has struck out the least number of times in FABL. The only player in addition to Frady who is really struggling at the plate is rookie catcher Randy Hendrix at .161/.282/.161 in his first 39 trips to the plate. Brett thinks that the team may start becoming more aggressive on the base paths to put more runs on the scoreboard. If the other two facets of the game correct themselves the performance at the plate may be just enough for the Wolves to be a factor. The big question around the team is "When does the transition to new faces begin for the Wolves?" Barrell plans lean on McCormick, Stickels, for around 140-145 starts, is that too many? Is Boyer's impending call from the minors a signal of things to come for the summer? Brett has learned that the team is considering a change to the philosophy in AAA Buffalo, a team that has not won a Union League pennant since 1919. Recently the team has been stocked with older, emergency replacements usually on the 40-man, The change would be to start moving more younger guys to AAA rather than longer time spent in AA Chattanooga. If this change takes place it could signal the end of days for a few players who have been members of the Nickels for years. VALENZUELA OUT IN PORTLAND 7-12 Start Prompts Green Sox to Make Managerial Change After finishing 10 games under .500 a year ago, Portland Green Sox General Manager Pete Layton made no secret of the fact that Pedro Valenzuela was on a short leash as the manager of the ballclub. That leash ran out last night when Layton announced that after a 7-12 start to the season the club was parting ways with Valenzuela, who had been at the helm of the franchise since 1944. Valenzuela, who made history as the first Mexican-born manager of a big league baseball team when the Great Western loop declared itself a major league prior to the 1946 campaign, guided the Green Sox to the final AAA title in the GWL when Portland won in the 1945 season. He had also won titles in the Union League while managing Syracuse and with Marshalltown of the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. Prior to embarking on a managerial career, Valenzuela spent more than a decade with the Chicago Chiefs and was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1917 World Championship Series. 
RED CAPS, PANTHERS EACH ONE WIN AWAY FROM FINALS With two separate runs of at least nine victories in a row during the season, the Brooklyn Red Caps are no strangers to hot streaks. Daniel Prescott's team, which was the class of the old American Basketball Conference for much of the past decade, is on a roll again after a slow start to their semi-final playoff series with the Washington Statesmen. The Red Caps lost each of the first two games of their best of seven series in Washington but roared back with three straight victories including holding on for a thrilling 85-83 win in the Nation's Capital Saturday night to move to within a game of clinching a trip to the finals. The Statesmen, who won the first two games of the series on their home court, before dropping two in Brooklyn, now find themselves in a must-win situation as the prepare to face the Red Caps at Flatbush Gardens this evening. A Washington victory will force a seventh game back at the National Auditorium Wednesday evening while a loss would end a season that saw the Statesmen post a league best 54-14 record and send Brooklyn on to the Federal Basketball League finals. The Chicago Panthers are up 3 games to two over the first place Detroit Mustangs in the other semi-final. The two clubs have alternated wins all series with Chicago, led by 36 points from Richard Campbell, claiming an 82-72 victory at Detroit's Thompson Palladium Saturday evening to move to within one victory of making their third straight appearance in the FBL finals. Both Detroit and Chicago will continue to play without their starting point guards. Mustangs PG Israel Slusher will need a few more days before he is healthy enough to return from a back issue that his sidelined him since mid-March, while Chicago had Joe Hampton back for game 2 of the series a week ago, but he injured his back in his first game after missing more than a month with a broken arm and has not played since. 
PANTHERS WIN AWAY FROM FINALS Courtesy of the Chicago Daily News --After a ten point victory on Saturday in Detroit, the Chicago Panthers have a chance to face either the Washington Statemen (54-14) or the Brooklyn Red Caps (53-14) in the first ever new-look Federal Basketball League finals. The Panthers, of course, reached them championship series each of the first two seasons of the FBL including the inaugural year of 1946-47 when they won the whole thing, but that was before the loop doubled in size with the addition of 8 teams from the now defunct American Basketball Conference. The Panthers will be on home turf for game six, but they may be once again without Joe Hampton, who is dealing with his third ailment of the season. In his absence, rookie Efrain Bolan played 40 minutes in Saturday's crucial game five victory in Detroit, but the young guard missed each of his six shots. He did finish with a point, making one of his two free throws, while adding 3 rebounds and 7 assists. Head Coach Geoffrey Mount was non-committal on Hampton's status for the rest of the series, but Hampton himself said he'd be preparing for tongiht's 6th game and beyond as if he was able to play. He will be a game-time decision. POLLACK WINS McDANIELS TROPHY AS TOP NAHC PLAYER Add another accolade to the list of accomplishments for Quinton Pollack this season after the 26-year-old center was named the winner of the MCDaniels Trophy, presented annually to the player judged as the Most Valuable in the North American Hockey Confederation. The native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan led the NAHC in both regular season and playoff scoring while pacing his Toronto Dukes to a second straight Challenge Cup victory. Pollack becomes the fourth Dukes player to win a McDaniels Trophy and ends Tommy Burns three year old on the award after the Chicago veteran, despite leading the NAHC in goals while missing 11 games with injury, was not nominated. Pollack, who became the first Duke since Sam Koger in 1943-44 to lead the league in scoring, had 28 goals and 64 points in 60 games this season before adding another 9 goals and 15 points in 9 playoff games as the third place Dukes upset second place Chicago in the semi-finals before beating regular season champion Boston in the finals. Prior to Pollack other Dukes to win the McDaniels, which was first presented in 1924-25, are Bobbie Sauer and Leo Morey with 2 each as well as Nels Shepherd who won his only MVP awrd in 1928-29. Sauer and Boston's Wilbur Chandler were the other finalists this year. The Bees did win a major individual award as for the second time in three years a Boston goaltender was presented the Juneau Trophy. This time it was Oscar James, who led the NAHC in goals against average, shutouts and wins, who wins the award for the first time. Pierre Melancon, who served as James backup much of the season in Boston, won the award two years ago. Last year's winner Norm Hanson, of the Chicago Packers, and Montreal's Tom Brockers, who leads all goaltenders with 4 Juneau Trophy wins, were the other finalists. The top rookie award is going to a Detroit Motors forward for the second year in a row as Louis Rocheleau was named the winner of the Harvey McLeod Trophy. The 22-year-old led the NAHC in assists with 39 this season and nosed out teammate Francis McKenzie and New York's Simon Savard for the trophy. Detroit players have won the McLeod Trophy three times in the last six years including last year's winner Nick Tardif. Toronto's Quinton Pollack won the award the year before Tardif, during his debut season with the now defunct Brooklyn Eagles.  PACKERS SIGN DRAFT PICK In other hockey news the Chicago Packers have signed 22-year-old winger Max Lamoureux to a 2-year contract. The Toronto area native was the Packers fourth round pick in 1946 and has been playing senior hockey in Ontario the past three seasons. Strictly an organization depth move, Lamoureux is likely to end up on the Packers HAA affiliate Pittsburgh Rovers next season. MOTORS NOT INTERESTED IN CABBEL A month after the New York Shamrocks made a major hockey trade in shipping their captain Bert McCalley off to Chicago, the Greenshirts are continuing to shop veteran center Orval Cabbell. Detroit coach Badger Rigney was back in town recently before setting off to spend his summer in his home province of Manitoba and we asked the veteran bench boss if Cabbell would help his young club. "Absolutely," said Rigney, "Orval is a talented player and would be an asset to any club he played for." However, Rigney was just as quick to confirm he say no way the Motors would be acquiring the 31-year-old. Detroit has quietly amassed a solid collection of young offensive stars including 22-year-old Louis Rocheleau, who led the NAHC in assists as was recently named the top rookie in the loop. Rocheleau follows in the footsteps of Nick Tardif, the 23-year-old who won the McLeod Trophy a year ago. Add in 21-year-old Francis McKenzie, who was a finalist for the McLeod Trophy this season, along with 24-year-old Adam Vanderbilt, who led the team with 54 points and 21-year-old Ben Witt, who tallied 52 and you have a pretty solid top six group of forwards. And that is not including 26-year-old Graham Comeau and Marsh Spencer, who was an NAHC rookie this past season at the age of 29. The Motors, who led the NAHC in goals this past season, feel very good about their offense. McCalley, one of the top defenseman in the league, would have been a much better fit in the defensively deficient Detroit lineup but the cost was far more than the Motors would have considered paying so they did not enter the discussions. Cabbell, while a very good player, is now 31 years old and saw his production dip significantly from the previous season, although he did miss 11 games with an injury. This writer is not certain there will be a taker, unless the Shamrocks decide to move the veteran at a heavily discounted price. That is not a knock on Cabbell, who still managed to lead the Shamrocks with 46 points in 49 games despite the fact his goal production dipped from 40 two years ago to 26 this time around. It is more a reflection of the market. I don’t see Chicago willing to give up a lot- although that might be the destination at a discount if the Shamrocks decide they are moving him regardless of the return. The Toronto Dukes have plenty of offense without him and likely would not part with much youth to add another veteran forward to an already crowded top three lines. Boston perhaps could be a fit. The Bees may be starting to worry about Chicago's addition of McCalley and looking to shake things up after falling to Toronto in the finals, but I am not sure it makes sense for the Bees to give up the young talent from their very talented roster that New York would require in return. That puts us down to two options. We already know, courtesy of Badger Rigney that the Motors are fully committed to the solid core of top six young forwards they have in Detroit. That leaves Montreal but like with Detroit, Cabbell is nowhere near a big enough addition on his own to make either the Vals or Motors Cup contenders. Montreal has already dealt some youth in deals the past two years to shore up their defense and goaltending, so they have proven to be willing to make a big trade. The Vals are, however, an older club and parting with a player like either John McDonald or Alex MacDonald -two rising young defensemen, is likely something Montreal management would be very hesitant to do. *** Must Win for Mustangs *** The season for the Detroit Mustangs has been a very successful one, at least on the court if not at the box office. After missing the playoffs each of the first two seasons of the Federal Basketball League, Rollie Barrell's charges finished with the best record in the West Division but now find themseleves down 3 games to two in their semi-final series with the always tough Chicago Panthers. The season comes down to a game in the Windy City tonight. Win and they return to Thompson Palladium for Wednesday's 7th game and the right to face one of the two Eastern Division powers in Brooklyn or Washington in the finals. The addition of Ward Messer has turned this franchise around as the youngster, fresh of an All-American and Barrette Trophy winning season at Liberty College, led the FBL in rebounds as rookie while finishing 4th in the scoring parade with an average of 20.6 points per game. He has been nearly as impressive in the playoff run but despite all of the success, the club has struggled to put fans in the seats with just 2,688 showing up to watch Saturday's fifth game of the series. Rollie Barrell, the founder of the FBL as well as the Mustangs owner, says the club is safe and will return next year but the same cannot be said for the rest of the league. Doubled in size from 8 to 16 franchises with the absorbtion of the old American Basketball Conference, it seems likely the FBL will shrink in season next year. The Syracuse Titans, winners of just 9 of their 68 games this season, seem assured of folding. The question is will any other teams join them. From Rollie Barrell's perspective as the FBL head, it is a matter he will need to address, but right now is focus is squarely on Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium as Ward Messer and the rest of his Mustangs hope to be able to play at least one more game at the Palladium this season. FOUNTAIN RUNS DRY Veteran Heavyweight Outpointed by White Mark Fountain's chances of getting another chance at the World Heavyweight title were dealt a crushing blow on the big stage of Bigsby Garden Friday evening. Well-rested after an impressive win over Tommy Cline, handing Tennessee Tommy his second pro loss, back in September, Fountain's return to the ring was supposed to be an easy win to put the New York native in position to perhaps get another shot at Hector Sawyer - who had claimed a TKO win over Fountain a little more than two years ago. Someone forgot to inform fight veteran Michael White of the plans as the 38-year-old Minnesota native, who most figured was collecting just one more good-sized paycheck before riding off into the boxing sunset. Instead White fought a near perfect fight, relying on everything he learned in 52 pro bouts to score a decisive victory over Fountain, who was sent to the canvas twice and looked disinterested much of the fight. It marks two losses for Fountain in his last three outings, after Harvey Winter outpointed him last May. It also likely marks the beginning of the end for Fountain, who seems unlikely to remain a top contender after what really was a dreadful showing in what may well have been his final act as a feature performer at Bigsby Garden, a hometown locale where he was always well admired. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/08/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-28-2023, 03:45 PM
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#836 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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May 16, 1949
MAY 16, 1949 BROOKLYN RED CAPS AIM TO SETTLE SCORES IN FEDERAL CAGE FINALS There is never any need for extra motivation in the playoff finals of a big-time sports league, but if any team has cause for it that would be the Brooklyn Red Caps as they take on the Detroit Mustangs in the finals of the Federal Basketball League. The Red Caps, owned by the founder of the now-defunct American Basketball Conference in Daniel Prescott, jumped out to a quick 2 game to none lead in the best of seven title series against Rollie Barrell's Detroit Mustangs. One has to imagine this series is very personal for the Brooklyn sports magnate, who blames Barrell, along with Toronto Falcons owner Bernie Millard, for the demise of his league last summer and events that forced the Red Caps and the remaining ABC clubs to join the three-year old Federal loop, founded by Barrell. Friday's opener at Flatbush Gardens was a statement game for the Red Caps, securing a resounding 96-69 victory. Carl Phipps, with 18 points, led the charge, and the triumph left Prescott grinning from ear to ear. While the savvy sports mogul kept discussions focused on the game, his unspoken satisfaction at besting Barrell was evident in that broad smile. Saturday's encore was another Red Caps triumph, this time 100-88, with Loren Kamp's 24 points and Ivory Mitchell's 22 leading the charge. Mitchell, a six-time ABC playoff MVP, showcased his prowess, adding an extra layer of brilliance to the victory. Now, as the series heads to Detroit, the Mustangs face a daunting challenge, desperately seeking a strategy to counter Brooklyn's dominance. For the Mustangs, resilience has been a hallmark, notably in their comeback against the Chicago Panthers in the semi-final series. Down 3-2, they clawed back, securing a 76-67 win in Game Six and a decisive 91-56 victory in Game Seven. Yet, facing the Red Caps is an entirely different ordeal. Brooklyn's path to the finals began with dispatching of the Washington Statesmen in six games. It was a series that matched the two teams with the best records in the 16-team league. The Statesmen had lost just 14 of their 68 regular season games but went just 1-5 against Brooklyn during the season and the Red Caps, after spotting Washington a quick 2-0 series lead, roared back with 4 straight victories including a 95-79 win last Monday to close out the series. The Red Caps, who won 6 of the the 11 titles in the ABC, are two wins away from securing their first championship in their new league. Games three and four will be contested tonight and tomorrow evening at Detroit's Thompson Palladium. JUMP SHOTS
BIG WINS IN THE BIG APPLE A month into the season, both teams atop their respective associations spend half their season in New York. The Gothams have gotten off to a quick start after falling just short in the Fed race last season, led by a dominant 1-2 punch in the rotation of Ed Bowman (2-2, 2.28, 21) and Lefty Allen (6-0, 1.88, 15), with the latter an early favorite for his 3rd Allen Award nomination. In the lineup, the 2-3-4 of George Cleaves (.359, 3, 7), Red Johnson (.376, 10, 20), and Walt Messer (.299, 7, 22) can make even the best pitchers squirm, and they've invigorated the lineup with some young talent by way of reigning Player of the Week Cecil Labonte (.317, 1, 13, 6) and rookie center fielder Billy Moody (.319, 2, 10). On the other side of town, the Stars have been doing things a little bit different this year. Sure, there's always Bill Barrett (.330, 11, 29, 2), who's once again dominated Continental Association pitching, producing a 200 WRC+ while on an 11 WAR pace, but the pitching is what has allowed the Stars to find themselves on top early on. All five members of the rotation have an ERA below 3, including 33-year-old veteran Henry Shaffer, who's 3-1 with a miniscule 1.61 ERA (246 ERA+) and 18 strikeouts in his 5 starts. Eli Panneton (4-2, 2.69, 20), Vern Hubbard (4-1, 2.87, 12), and Jack Wood (4-2, 2.82, 25) have four wins a piece, as they've been able to win a lot of games despite not getting much offense past Barrett. As different as these two teams may be, the one constant is their play in the Big Apple. Both teams have seen a majority of their early season contests at Gotham or Dyckman Stadium, and both teams have won more then their fair share. The Gothams are an impressive 12-6 (.666) at home while the Stars are a slightly better 13-6 (.684), so it's no surprise that either team is leading the pennant race. It will be interesting to see how the frontrunners react to a week on the road, but based on their run production it will be hard to bet against these two teams as the season chugs along.   TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Return Home After Lengthy Road Trip -- The Toronto ballclub returns to Dominion Stadium on Tuesday for the first time since April 28th after 16 games away in which they finished 8-8. Manager Fred Barrell termed the trip "A success, things seem to be headed in the right the direction although there are still things that needed to be ironed out for the team to climb in the standings." The team went 4-3 in the last week of the trip beginning with a 7-3 loss in Chicago in a game that was tight until the 8th when the the Cougars got to starter Jerry York, touching him up for 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk, all coming with 2 outs, to take the score from 4-3 to what ended up as the final tally. The team rallied in the series finale on Tuesday scoring 4 during their first time at the plate then hanging on for a 6-3 win. Significantly Wally Boyer, recently recalled for Buffalo to shore up outfield defense, went 3 for 3 with a double, homer and 2 RBI while manning center. That allowed Barrell to shift Chink Stickels over to left. The Wolves, in a rare display of power, touched Duke Bybee up for 3 homers in the game. Then it was off to Brooklyn for what may have been the first time in FABL history brothers met as managers of opposing teams. Brett has ask old timers if this had ever been the case in the early days, historians are now researching old records to verify whether or not this was another first for the Barrell clan. Nothing was said in the clubhouse, all the players knew the significance of game, Fred bested Tom in their first regular season meeting 4-3 thanks in large part to Frank Brunch's first homerun of the year in the 8th. George Garrison finally notched his first victory of '49, a complete game 6 hitter to bring his ERA under 5. Tom got his revenge the next day scoring a walk off win when Charlie Woodbury hitting in a pinch for SP Joe Potts singled home Dan Smith to win 5-4 after the Wolves has knotted the game in the top half. In Sailors Memorial Stadium on Friday Jim Morrison took his record to 3-0 with a 1.60 ERA when the Wolves scored 7 before the Sailors broke Morrison's shutout bid in the 8th in 7-1 win. The next day Sailors scored 2 on Joe Scott's shot in the first for the only scoring in a 2-0 win. Jerry York is now 0-5, 5.45. Looking forward to flight home, the Wolves rode a 6-run seventh to turn a 3-1 deficit into 7-3 lead giving Jimmy Gibbs all the run support he needed to pick up his third win of the season in a 9-5 triumph over the slow starting Sailors of 1949. Frank McCormick finally hit his first round tripper of the season off John Thompson in the ninth, McCormick still leads the way at the plate for the Wolves with a line of .340/.364/.489 though other hitters are beginning to show signs of life. Wally Boyer is making a bid to put his days in the minors behind him, if he can be sound in the field with a little offense he will give the Wolves a nice platoon with Dom Tripp allowing Stickels to play LF against southpaws. Brett has learned that Harry Stewart will replace Jerry York in the rotation for the time being, a decision is being made in the front office whether York should go to Buffalo or work on his mechanics out of the bullpen. MUSTANGS CONTINUE DRIVE DESPITE SETBACK IN BROOKLYN Do not let the two losses in Brooklyn derail the excitement surrounding the Detroit Mustangs rise to the upper echelon of the Federal cage loop. After missing the playoffs each of their first two seasons, Rollie Barrell's bunch staged a dramatic comeback to win both games six and seven from the mighty Chicago Wildcats and advance to the championship series against a revenge minded Daniel Prescott and the Brooklyn Red Caps. The Red Caps have long been the class of the old American Conference, and look like they have not suffered any ill effects, aside from a blow to Prescott's pride with the shift to Rollie's Federal loop. They have a deep and talented roster and pulling off a series win, which now needs the local quintet to win four of the next five games, is a tall order made even tougher by Prescott's added motivation of trying to crush the title dreams of the man he holds responsible for the death of his league. But the Motors will be back to running on all cylinders with the expected return of guard and offensive quarterback Israel Slusher after two months on the shelf with back troubles. Slusher says he is ready for game three and even with the odds stacked against them, one just has a feeling Slusher, rookie phenom Ward Messer and veteran center Jack Kurtz may just have a surprise waiting for the bottlers when they take the court at the Palladium for game three this evening. Speaking of Kurtz, this series is a reunion of sorts for Kurtz and his old Detroit City College teammate Harris Brogdon, who is a backup forward for the Red Caps. In the spring of 1942 they duo comined to lead the Knights to a Great Lakes Alliance title and a trip to the National Semi-Finals where they fell to eventual national champion Liberty College led by another Red Cap in Ron Berner. It was just DCC's second trip to Bigsby Garden for the semi-finals and they have not been back since. *** Same Old Story for Dynamos *** Little seems to have changed at the other big sporting venue in town named after the Thompson family. Down at the ballyard the Detroit Dynamos continue to get superb pitching from the likes of Carl Potter, Bill Sohl and rookie Jack Miller, but the offense remains a big concern. Detroit is dead last in runs scored so far this season, a position they occupied last year after finishing ahead of only the fading Pittsburgh Miners in offensive production two summers ago. Early indications are Pinky Pierce is a bust as the 35-year-old, who incidentally was a part of that woeful Miners offensive unit two seasons ago, is batting less than his weight and has yet to homer after ripping a big league best 8 long balls in Citrus play. Lead-off man Del Johnson and catcher Rick York are also having a terrible go of things, with both also hitting below .200. At least newcomer Bill Parker (.265,3,11) and waiver pick-up Zip Sullivan (.276,2,5) -both formerly Pioneers property- have shown some spark and Edwin Hackberry (.300,3,14) had a big week and appears to be rounding into form. 
BEES AND DUKES DOMINATE TWIFB POST-SEASON ALL STARS It is no surprise that the Challenge Cup winning Toronto Dukes and regular season leading Boston Bees dominated the list of players named to the This Week in Figment Baseball NAHC postseason All-Star team. The Dukes, who won their second consecutive Challenge Cup by downing Boston four games to one in the finals, placed three players on the first team and two more were selected for the second squad. The Bees, who's 77 points on the season was 11 better than second place Chicago, claimed the other three first team selections. Leading the way on the first team was Boston goaltender Oscar James after the 25-year-old posted a 2.45 goals against average -best in the six team loop. James also led the NAHC with 6 shutouts and in wins, posting a 29-16-5 record in his first full season as the number one netminder in Boston. Joining James on the first team where is Boston teammates Mickey Bedard and Tommy Hart. The 24-year-old Bedard finished third among defenseman scoring with 31 points in his second season in the NAHC while veteran left winger Tommy Hart had 27 goals and 58 points in 59 games this season. The other three first team selections were all from the Dukes. Quentin Pollack led the NAHC with 64 points and was named as the center while his right winger Les Carlson had 45 points, tied for the best mark at his position. Defenseman J.C. Martel had just 17 points in 60 games this season but the 27-year-old blueliner was selected for his skills in his own end. Martel led all defenseman in hits while blocking an NAHC best 169 shots this season. Two other Toronto players earned second team honours in veteran goaltender Gordie Broadway and 21-year-old second year left winger Lou Galbraith. Joining them were Detroit right winger Louis Rocheleau after the 22-year-old led the NAHC in assists as a rookie along with a pair of Chicago Packers in center Tommy Burns and defenseman Jesse Santoro. Burns led the NAHC with 39 goals despite missing 11 games while Santoro topped all rearguards with 36 points. Rounding out the second team is defensive stalwart Bert McCalley, who was with the New York Shamrocks last season but was traded to the Packers in a major deal announced just after the playoffs were concluded. 
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/15/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-29-2023, 05:30 PM
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#837 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
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May 23, 1949
MAY 23, 1949 RED CAPS SWEEP FBL CHAMPIONSHIP IN STYLE In a display of hardwood mastery, the Brooklyn Red Caps left no room for doubt, sweeping aside the Detroit Mustangs to claim the Federal Basketball League championship. The echoes of this triumph reverberate beyond the court, resonating with the league's transformation and the strained friendship between Red Caps owner Daniel Prescott and FBL founder Rollie Barrell. The basketball landscape underwent seismic shifts when several ABC clubs, exercising a constitutional loophole, defected to the FBL and forcing the rest of their loop to join them or fold, uniting 16 teams under one league banner. Prescott's Red Caps, accustomed to clinching titles both on the court in the American Conference that he founded as well as on the baseball diamond with the Brooklyn Kings, now add an FBL championship to their illustrious history. The Red Caps' journey to this historic triumph involves a narrative of dominance. Having faced the Washington Statesmen in six consecutive ABC finals and winning five, the Red Caps transitioned seamlessly to the FBL, overcoming an initial 2-game deficit against Washington in the semis to string together 8 consecutive victories and secure the title. The championship series against Detroit was a masterclass, with the Red Caps outscoring the Mustangs 386-304 across four games. The opening salvo, a resounding 98-69 victory at Flatbush Gardens, set the tone. Even Detroit's spirited response in the second game, where the Red Caps secured a 100-88 win, couldn't halt the inevitable. Shifting the battleground to Detroit for Game Three, the Red Caps, fueled by a visibly exuberant Prescott, surged to a 30-9 lead in the opening quarter, cruising to an 85-62 victory. The final game mirrored the earlier dominance, concluding with a 105-85 scoreline as Ivory Mitchell, a playoff legend, added another 25 points to secure his first FBL playoff MVP award to go with the six top playoff performer trophies he recived while playing in the American Conference. The Red Caps victory, coupled with the dominant regular seasons Brooklyn and Washington had, illustrates just how far the original Federal League clubs have to go before they can be considered on par with the class of the old American Conference. Rollie Barrell and the Detroit Mustangs learned that firsthand over the past week and a half. JUMP SHOTS
 STALLINGS TOSSES FIRST NO-HITTER IN NEARLY THREE YEARS Chiefs Young Star Blanks Boston The Chicago Chiefs have been one of the early surprises of this baseball season and a big reason for that has been the emergence of John Stallings. Great things have been forecasted for the 23-year-old lefthander ever since he was drafted first overall by the Chiefs out of Piedmont University in 1946. Stallings made FABL history last week when he threw a no-hitter, blanking the Boston Minutemen 4-0 on Tuesday. It was the first no-hitter thrown in FABL since another college phenom by the name Eli Panneton tossed one for the New York Stars nearly three years ago. Stallings no-hitter is just the 14th since the dawn of the modern-era in 1926 and the first no-hitter by a Chiefs pitcher in nearly 60 years. You have to go back to 1891 when Jim Dixon tossed one for the Chiefs against the Philadelphia Keystones. Stallings followed up his gem with a complete game shutout, blanking the Washington Eagles 9-0 on 6 hits. That gave the Chiefs hurler a winning record for the first time since the opening week of the season. Stallings is 4-3 with a 3.21 era on the season. His performance against Boston was not without its flaws as control continues to be the one thing perhaps holding Stallings back from being considered one of the elite pitchers. He walked 9 Boston batters last Tuesday to run his season total to 30 and place him among the league leaders in that dubious category. Stallings did led the Federal Association in walks two years ago and allowed the second most last season but the control is coming -he did not allow a single free pass in the shutout of Washington yesterday. When he figures out how to spot his pitches, Stallings could become one of the best pitchers in the Federal Association. It already looks like a terribly lobsided deal that brought him to the Windy City in a draft day trade but if Stallings reaches his full potential it could end up being one of the worst deals -or best, depending upon your perpective- the sport has ever seen. The Detroit Dynamos won the draft lottery and the right to select first overall in the '46 draft but traded down two spots allowing Chicago to select Stallings, who would go on to win the Christian Trophy as the top collegiate player before joining the Chiefs that summer. In return Chicago sent outfielder Dick Blaszak and the third pick, which turned out to be outfielder Tommy Allenby, to the Dynamos. Blaszak, a highly touted slugging outfielder, had suffered a shoulder injury when shot in the Pacific during the war. It appears he will never recover from that wound and now, at the age of 27, is struggling to hit at the AAA level. Allenby, a centerfielder, is 21 and still struggling to make contact a Class A and has fallen out of the OSA top 100 prospect list. If the Chiefs are going to maintain the hot pace they have set this season, presently 19-13 and just a game and a half back of the New York Gothams for the Federal Association lead, they will rely heavily on Stallings continuing to lead the way.  STARS SLIP CAUSES CONGESTION IN CONTINENTAL What a difference a week can make! Just seven days ago, the New York Stars were on top of the Continental Association, just like their counterpart Gothams in the Fed. But after dropping six of seven and nine of their last ten, the Stars have crashed down to a tie for fourth. The bats fell flat, with just Bill Barnett (4-18, HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB) producing a weekly WRC+ above 90 (121), while the great Bill Barrett was just 2-for-24 and is now hitting a slightly below average .241/.375/.367 (99 OPS+) since the calendar shifted to May. This has created congestion in the Continental Association, as five teams are within three games of the first place Foresters, and only the defending pennant winning Sailors (8-25, 12 GB) are more then five out of the lead. Philly themselves snapped a six game losing streak with a double header sweep over the Stars, with Charlie Gordon's 3-hit shutout in the opener and a big showing from Marion Boismenu (3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 2B, SB) in the finale helping the Sailors to secure their 7th and 8th wins of the season. It won't get any easier for the Stars either, as they will start their week in Cleveland with two against the Foresters starting Tuesday. Off days will allow the teams to reset their rotation as desired, but 36-year-old veteran Jack Wood (4-3, 2.69, 29) is scheduled to face Forester ace Ducky Davis (4-2, 3.00, 23) in the opener, while former Forester Richie Hughes (3-2, 2.59, 24) will take on "The Mad Professor" Adrian Czerwinski (6-1, 3.68, 13) in a battle of pitchers born in the Windy City. Wins here will be important for Cleveland, as after the series they'll head to Cincinnati for four games in three days against the second place Cannons. On the other side of the association, the Gothams remain atop the Federal Association ladder despite splitting their six games. At 21-12, the Gothams hold a game and a half lead over the Chiefs, who got to witness a 9-walk no-hitter and 6-hit, 0-walk, 8-strikeout shutout from former #1 pick John Stallings (4-3, 3.21, 31). These two have a big double header next Monday in New York, which could end up a nice battle for first. It's expected that the Gothams would be competing, but it's a breath of fresh air for Chiefs fans, who are coming off their first last place finish (61-93, 30 GB) since 1914.    Skipper Schneider continues his breakout season at the plate, going 12-for-31 with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 10 RBIs, and 7 runs. His performance was recognized by the league, as the 10th year vet picked up his first Continental Association Player of the Week. Skipper is now hitting an impressive .315/.408/.465 (137 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 3 homers, and 20 RBIs with an impressive 19-to-6 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Skipper was assisted by his double play partners in the week, with Billy Hunter going 6-for-20 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 runs scored and driven in while the struggling Clark Car was 5-for-11 with a double, RBI, and 4 runs scored. The Cougars are now tied for 6th with the Wolves, both 4.5 games behind the leading Foresters.  How are the Kings pulling it off, solely based on having the not only the CA’s top offense, but also tops in the entire FABL. It’s been a very balanced attack which of course is led by RF “King” Ralph Johnson. King Ralph might only have 5 home runs so far this year, but he has scored an FABL leading 35 runs and is slashing 374/490/1116 with 24 RBI's. He has been on a hitting tear in his last 19 games hitting 444. His outfield mates of LF Pat Petty, last seasons rookie of the year (343/391/987 4-22) and resurgent CF John Moss (300/420/828 2-12) lead arguably one of the best outfields in baseball. Combined they have scored 82 runs this season. Amazing that 2 of these 3 guys were offered out during the off-season but it could happen again with the youngsters in the system. With this balanced attack why are the Kings not running away with the CA so far? The answer is simple, pitching. The Kings are 7th in the CA in ERA (6th in runs allowed) and have only outscored their opponents by 10 runs. Which means they are fortunate to be 5 games over 500. #1 SP Bob Arman is only 3-4 with an ERA of 4.27. Not exactly the type of performance so far that you would expect from someone who finished 2nd in the Allen last year. P Rusty Petrick has been demoted to the bullpen after 24 innings of 6.29 ERA and was replaced by rookie P Larry Smith (1-0 2.08 ERA). In Smith's 2 starts he is 1-0 with a 3.00 in 15 IP. Smith will get another turn in the rotation this week and will likely be there for awhile. Another curious case is that of the King's first rookie of the year, SP Leo Hayden. Hayden was 19-12 with a 2.95 ERA as a rookie in 1946. Since that time he is 26-30 with a 4.59 ERA, including 4-3 with a 4.61 ERA this season. At times he has looked truly sharp like his last outing against Philadelphia last week. He pitched a complete game 6 hitter giving up just 1 run on a home run to LF Harvey Brown (1st of the season). He has also looked completely overmatched like his April 29th drubbing against the Montreal Saints where he went 5.1 IP giving up 7 hits, 5 walks and 9 earned runs. But while everyone hoped that the Hayden we saw in 1947 was just a sophomore slump, it is now expected that this will be Leo Hayden. A roll of the dice back end starting pitcher who likely will never be the true #2 behind Arman the King's management was hoping for. Finally we look at two rookies, SP Paul Byler and Joe Potts. Potts has been a dream come true for the Kings going 4-1 in 6 starts with a 2.90 ERA. Instead of 3B Ken Newman who is out injured for another week, it might be Potts as the front runner of Kings for what could be their 4th straight rookie of the year player. While Potts has been brilliant over, the same can't be said for fellow rookie Blyer (4-2 6.35 ERA). Blyer has been incredibly wild and is on pace for 191 walks in a season (last week it was 204 pace). If he does walk 200+ he will join only 1 other P in the "modern era", and that is former Boston hurler Dick Higgins who walked 207 in 1939. In taking a closer look at Byler, he is 2-0 in his 2 outings against the Chicago Cougars going 14.1 IP and giving up just an ERA 2.51. In his other outings he is 2-2 with an 8.61 ERA. Good thing there is a game against the Cougars this weekend! Bottom line, can the King's contend this year? Well with 1st place belonging at current to the surprising Cleveland Foresters, anything can happen. Few people see the surprising Forester staying in the title hunt past the All-Star break, they just don't have the horses to do it. The CA appears wide open so if the Kings can find some stability in its rotation, then they have a strong chance to be a serious factor into September like they were in 1947. If not, then trying to keep their head above 500 might be a challenge. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Come Home, Go 4-3 Now Approaching .500 --Toronto returns to Dominion Stadium by starting hot with 3 victories, but they did not continue that was as the Wolves dropped 3 of the final 4 games during the week. Playing before a home crowd of 15297, slightly lower than expected, the first home game in May saw the team come out guns ablazin' on Tuesday afternoon as they blanked the New York Stars 11-0 with a 14 hit attack led by Fred McCormick's 4-4 including a double. George Garrison picked his second win of the season on a 4-hit, 102 pitch complete game shutout. In his last two starts Garrison has lowered his ERA from nearly 6 to under 4. The next afternoon on a cool, clear day fans were given a much a closer game with New York's Vern Hubbard facing Joe Hancock on the mound. The game was tied at 1 heading into the seventh when Hancock ran into a little trouble giving up 2 hits, hitting Bob Riggins, and allowing 2 runs helped out by an errant throw by Chink Stickels trying to nail Newt Cooper at the plate. Hubbard pitched in and out of trouble until the 8th when 2 hits and a walk allowed the Wolves to close the gap to one at 3-2. After Hancock blanked the Stars in their turn at bat in 9, the Wolves came back when, with one out, Manager Barrell sent Frank Brunch to the plate to pinch-hit for light hitting Randy Hendrix. Bunch responded with a two-base hit in the left center gap. Hal Wood was sent up to hit for Hancock but Hubbard got him on a comebacker to the mound. After walking Stickels, Hubbard was lifted for George Scruggs who immediately loaded the bases by walking Tom Frederick then while pitching with great care to McCormick he uncorked a wild pitch allowing Bunch to tie the game. That was all Toronto could muster as the Wolves left the sacks juiced. George Waller entered the game to pitch for the Wolves and promptly found himself in trouble when he issued a free pass to Henry Brown followed by a seeing-eye double by Wally Graves. Facing runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out, Waller induced two pop ups to short left, neither deep enough to score Brown. The Wolves reliever then loaded the bases by intentionally walking Bill Barrett before getting Newt Cooper on a fly ball to center. John Perkins came on for the Stars in the 10th and promptly retired both Hank Giordano and John Fast before Charlie Artuso singled through the infield. That brought Hendrix's replacement, Walter Loera, to bat and he lined a single into right center that CF Bob Riggins' throw to try to catch Artuso at 3rd sailed into the Wolves dugout allowing Artuso to walk home with the winning run, 4-3 Toronto. After the Stars departed the Wolves welcomed Chicago to town. The Wolves again won 4-3 in 10 although not quite in as dramatic fashion as the previous day's game. Hal Wood's double scored Dom Tripp to walk off the Cougars, who left Donnie Jones on the hill the entire game to a take a hard luck loss. In the middle game of the series the visitors got to Harry Stewart, taking Jerry York's spot in the rotation, early and often as they chased him in the fourth leading 6-1 at the time. Toronto attempted to rally, closing the gap to 6-5 with 4 in their half of the 4th highlighted by 3-run blast by Tom Fredrick off Duke Bybee. That was as close as the Wolves would get going down 7-5. The score the next day was the same except this time in 12 innings after the Wolves has tied the game at 5 with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th. In a game that took 3:40 to play Skipper's Schneider's big fly off Sam Jordan sent fans home from the matinee well after the dinner hour. The Montreal Saints arrived for a short two-game 1 day series on Sunday. George Garrison won his third straight going into the ninth while surrendering only one run in a 4-1 win. The night cap was entirely different as Manager Barrell elected to give Jerry York the start. That did not work out well as York was lifted after just 3 innings giving up 9 runs on 8 hits, 4 walks in a laugher, 12-3 Saints victory. Brett learned that immediately after the game York was optioned to Buffalo with John Marsh called up to work out the bullpen. Team officials said that York needs to get right in the minors as staying in Toronto wasn't going to help him at this time. Fred Barrell said "He is struggling in too many areas at present, and needs a little time at AAA to straighten thing out. I would expect him back sometime in June. Johnny Franklin, Dick Dennis, and I all agree that he needs to face a little lower quality of hitter to regain his confidence and control, Buffalo is right place for him at this time."  PORTLAND MAKES A CHANGE IN GWL Questions Answered by Green Sox GM Layton Three weeks into the season, the Portland Green Sox made news as they fired their manager, Pedro Valenzuela. The club was coming off a disappointing season in 1948 and started the year 7-12. Some might say that this was a quick hook, while others might say it was long overdue. We will talk with Green Sox GM Pete Layton on why now did he make the change? Here is my interview with the Portland GM. Farhat - Mr. Layton thank you for taking the time to join me today. It's been two weeks since you made a change at Manager, firing Pedro Valenzuela. Why now did you decide to make the decision? Layton - Last season was very hard. Hard for the players, coaches, front office and the fans. The fans of this great franchise have seen a lot of good baseball over the years, and the expectation is that the Green Sox will be contenders every season. We have failed in that regard since winning the last GWL title in 1945. Our record was 237-244 and while not horrendous, the standard is higher here in Portland. We had a long off-season, and there was a lot of conversations about the club with team owner Mr. Crosby. Farhat - So this subject had come up over the off-season on Valenzuela's status. Layton - Yes and deep down I felt a change should be made. It wasn't the issue that I inherited Pedro, I was very interested in continuing on at the start. But this is a new era in the GWL and while I can take my share of the blame for our lackluster performance, the bottom line is the product on the field. I do not believe we were achieving to our fullest potential. I should have made the move in the off-season and my hesitation might have set us back some this season. Farhat - So you didn't hesitate after the club's rough start. You promoted Oklahoma City manager Oscar Henderson. Why? Layton - During the season it is tough to always find a manager, but that wasn't the case this season. While we made the decision to stick with Pedro to start the year, I had talked a lot this off-season with Oscar. We hit it off well, we see things similarly and he has done a tremendous job with the Chiefs (Oklahoma City) in his previous 8 seasons with the club. I had it in my mind that I would give the club a chance to start well and when it didn't I knew what I needed to do. Farhat - So the club is 7-5 since the change. What are you initial thoughts? Layton - The club is beginning to play better and is performing more how I would expect. While we are in 6th place on the season, we are still very much alive. We have a big 3-game series at home with the 1st place Houston Bulls and if we can play well and sweep them, then we are just 3 1/2 games back and at 500 on the season. Farhat - Pitching seems to be the problem so far this year. What is the club doing about that? Layton - Well we are looking for answers to help with that. We recently signed veteran FABL hurler Bob Walls to a deal and are actively looking at both players in our minor league system and also if there is anything on the open market. Walls will get 2 starts next week at Oklahoma City. We will look at all the options available to us to improve in that market, but with the FABL's stance on player movement with the GWL, that is not an easy task. Farhat - Good luck the rest of the season Pete and thanks for taking the time on the phone with me today. If the Green Sox are going to make it an interesting season they are going to have to hope that Henderson has some magic in his management that can turn this pitching staff into something more than it has been. The Green Sox have made changes and so far Roy Montgomery and Mickey Johnson have held their own in the rotation. Layton has to be hoping that Bob Walls has something left so he can replace Mike Lee who has been dreadful this year with a 1-3 7.84 tag line. Maybe young castoff Pete Brown will get a shot in the rotation, but he has never been able to show that he was a big league starter. Then again, some might argue that the GWL is not big league. 
ROLLIE'S CAGE CREW SCHOOLED BY PRESCOTT FIVE The dream season for the Detroit cage crew had a nightmare ending when the Ward Messer and the Mustangs were corralled by the Brooklyn Red Caps. Mustangs owner Rollie Barrell has said all along he harbors no hard feelings towards Daniel Prescott after the combative Brooklyn owner and American cage Conference founder lashed out at Rollie- declaring Barrell fully responsible for the demise of Prescott's loop. Certainly Barrell played a role in that demise, but in the long run it may just prove to be the best thing for the sport as the Federal Basketball League enjoyed a tremendous season. So did the local outfit, at least until they ran into the Red Caps are were clearly outclassed in being swept in the finals. It was about as one-sided as a series can get, with Detroit by an average of more than 20 points per game. Despite the humiliation of seeing Prescott parade triumphantly around the Thompson Palladium floor with the FBL trophy held high, this was a very successful season for the Mustangs. They had failed to make the playoffs each of the first two seasons in the league, but thanks to the arrival of Messer, the club looks like it may make postseason basketball a Detroit tradition. Catching up to the Red Caps, and fellow East Division powerhouse Washington, might be another story altogether. But that is the next step for the Mustangs, who made a giant leap forward in the season just concluded. CLINE ROARS BACK: KO VICTORY OVER COOLEY Young Heavyweight Sets the Record Straight In a redemptive display of fistic prowess, Tommy Cline, the once highly touted heavyweight hailing from Clarksville, emphatically reclaimed his status as a rising star in the division. The Tennessee native, fondly known as Tennessee Tommy, had faced a brief setback with consecutive defeats against seasoned opponents Roy Crawford and Mark Fountain. These losses, a stark contrast to his initial 13-fight winning streak, had temporarily diverted the young pugilist from his course toward a coveted title bout with the formidable Hector Sawyer. The setback against Fountain stung even more as it was later revealed that Cline had soldiered through the bout with a broken thumb, an injury that played a part in keeping him out of the ring since September. The hiatus came to an end last Wednesday in Cleveland when he squared off against Boston Bob Cooley. Cline, initially cautious about exposing his mended thumb to undue force, started the bout tentatively. However, as the rounds progressed, it became evident that Cline was not only fully recovered but driven by an unwavering determination. A near knockdown in the fourth hinted at the resurgence, and the fifth round would likely have witnessed Cooley tasting the canvas if time had been a bit more generous. The seventh round, however, marked the decisive turning point as Boston Bob found himself staring at the ceiling twice, sealing his fate with the second knockdown. At 24 years old, Cline appears to have rekindled the flame that once burned so brightly in his early career. The victory over Cooley not only rectified his path but also bolstered his record to an impressive 14-2, with 11 knockout triumphs etched in his ledger. The young heavyweight seems to be steering back on course, once more eyeing a future shot at the title, an opportunity that had briefly slipped from his grasp. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/22/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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11-30-2023, 03:13 PM
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#838 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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May 30, 1949
MAY 30, 1949  In the years following the end of the Great War, a mere 41 professional teams graced the fields and courts of our great nation, each belonging to a singular major league. Yet, the close of the recent war brought forth a whirlwind of change, birthing three new leagues and ushering in an era of unprecedented expansion, swelling the ranks to 64 teams across baseball, football, hockey and basketball. A golden age commenced, mirroring the societal boom that enveloped the nation. However, as the fourth anniversary of V-E Day quietly passes, a subtle shift in the wind hints at the dawn of a new era. Reality, that stern arbiter of dreams, begins to temper the grand ambitions of team owners who once envisioned endless streams of revenue. Not all ships, it seems, are destined to sail smoothly through the turbulent seas of post-war competition. Basketball, the first to fall from grace, witnessed the American Basketball Conference crumble to dust a year ago, only to see its eight franchises seamlessly migrate to the Federal Basketball League, a post-war creation of Detroit magnate Rollie Barrell. Yet, rumors abound that the FBL, too, stands on precarious ground, with whispers of several of its sixteen teams facing an uncertain future, and at least one -the Syracuse Titans- almost certainly folding up shop prior to the dawn of the new cage campaign in October. In the realm of the gridiron, the American Football Association, embroiled in frosty relations with the Continental Conference, tiptoes towards an uneasy peace. Preliminary attempts at détente failed but it seems just a matter of time before the CFC ceases to exit and anywhere from two to four of its eight clubs join Jack Kristich's American Association with the remainder set to simply fade from memory. *** What Does the Future Hold For Baseball? *** That leaves the biggest question of all. What will happen to professional baseball? Thomas Bigsby turned the AAA Great Western League into a major league on the coast and fan support has been decent in most centers. Clearly there is a demand for big league baseball but in reality perhaps only Los Angeles and San Francisco, each with shiny new stadiums that rival anything the FABL clubs to the east perform at, will survive in the long haul. Both FABL and the coast league currently seem content to exist in an uneasy harmony with the western clubs apparently willing to continue to survive on FABL's table scraps and only sign cast-offs from the established league. The uneasy peace between FABL and the coast league belies a potential storm. Will the GWL make an abrupt about face and seek to poach stars from the established FABL clubs? Could Los Angeles and San Francisco defy convention, both with colossal new stadiums, and decide to bolt from the coast loop and align themselves with the established Eastern leagues? One scenario sees just that happening with Bigsby's Los Angeles club and the San Francisco Wings leaving the coast league and joining either the Federal Association or the Continental Association and boost that loop to ten teams. Others suggest that Houston and either Dallas or Portland may also join FABL at that time. *** Pioneers May Hold the Key *** An unexpected twist in the tale arrives with Dee Rose, owner of both the St Louis Pioneers and the Los Angeles Lobos of the Continental Football Conference, being convicted of federal racketeering charges. He is expected to be forced to give up the Lobos and FABL President Sam Belton, who had previously declared that Rose will not continue to own the Pioneers, is in the process of determining just what might happen to the baseball club. The ideal situation for Belton and the rest of FABL is to find a suitable local buyer willing to keep the team in St Louis. However, Pioneers Field is nearly forty years old and is badly in need of replacement or upgrade and that makes the challenge of finding a potential suitor willing to keep the team in the Missouri city just a little more daunting. That leads to some speculation that perhaps Thomas Bigsby, who owns the Los Angeles stadium named after himself, might just buy the Pioneers and move them to Los Angeles. Adding fuel to that smoldering rumour is some talk that Bigsby is already working on an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lobos from Rose and adding the Pioneers to the deal might just make sense. Standing in the way is the fact that it seems unlikely the Federal Association would be willing to approve the sale of one team to the west coast as it would make scheduling a nightmare due to the travel complications that would surely arrive. The solution, according to supporters of the plan, is to see a second FABL club -perhaps the Philadelphia Keystones or Washington Eagles- take up residence in San Francisco. The positives of such a plan do seem large for Federal Association. First, it most certainly would spell the end of the Great Western League as a major league circuit taking away a long-standing headache for the FABL magnates and secondly, it would open a huge new market to FABL. While they are partners in FABL, there is still some competition between the Federal Association and Continental Association to be first to claim the coast and a move from the Pioneers might just be the spark the Fed needs to get to California before the CA. Is it likely the Pioneers will move to Los Angeles? Probably not, but it is still a possibility. Freddie Farhat, the veteran sportswriter, says he is hearing that perhaps Kansas City might be a new location for the Pioneers. It inches FABL just a little further west and perhaps makes sense if the city builds a big new park for the football powerhouse Kansas City Cowboys: a club almost certain to be included in any future plans for the American Football Association but, unless there is a new stadium, the club likely moves to a larger market. Count Chicago Daily News and TWIFB chief baseball writer Archie Irwin as one who sees the Pioneers staying put but believes baseball should eventually add two more teams -likely the Los Angeles Knights and San Francisco Wings- to expand to 18. That, too, would mean the immediate demise of the Great West League. The possibilities dance like shadows on the walls of uncertainty. As we stand at the crossroads of change, the future of professional sports appears shrouded in ambiguity. The post-war boom, once an unstoppable force, has yielded to the reality of competition and fiscal prudence. The next few years promise to be a riveting chapter in the annals of American sports, with challenges and uncertainties awaiting the major league franchises. The golden age may be waning, but the allure of the game endures, resilient and timeless. KEYSTONES ON HOT STREAK It has been a rough start to the season for both Philadelphia clubs but one of them has shown some signs of life over the past couple of weeks. That would be the Federal Association Keystones, who are riding a 7-game winning streak and have won 12 of their last 13 games. Despite the collection of victories, the Keystones remain 2 games below .500 due to a dreadful 6-19 start to the season. The offense is certainly not a worry at Broad Street Park. Even with a slow start the Keystones are doing what they do best: hit homeruns. Hank Koblenz has 14 already and Bobby Barrell has socked 13 and has raised his batting average to .312 after entering the month with a .204 average. Across town with the Sailors the news is still not very positive as the two-time defending Continental Association pennant winners remain last in their loop, with an 11-28 record although fans came may see some hope with the club winning five of its last 8 games. The standings feel inverted in both associations with the Sailors sitting last in the CA while the traditional cellar-dwellers from the shores of Lake Erie are in very unfamiliar territory as the Cleveland Foresters lead the way. The Forsters have not won a CA pennant since 1935 and have not finished higher than sixth this decade. It is the same story in the Federal Association where the Chicago Chiefs, after finishing dead last a year ago, are a game and half ahead of the New York Gothams for first place while the two-time defending World Champions from St Louis are marooned at the bottom of the Fed table.   TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Toronto Goes 3-3 In An Uneven Week --The Wolves remain 2 games under .500 after splitting a two-game series with Brooklyn, losing 10-9 in a wild affair featuring 31 hits total before evening what is becoming known as the Barrell Brothers Series with a 7-1 win. Hosting the rapidly improving Philadelphia Sailors for a four game weekend series the Wolves again split winning 4-2, 7-4 on Thursday, Sunday while losing 6-1, 8-5 on Friday, Sunday. The CA leading Foresters come to town for a twin bill on Monday before the Wolves head out for 13 games in 12 days in Chicago, Brooklyn, Montreal and New York. Brett will change today's column a little, instead of providing game facts he will try to give a more general overview of team with some thoughts on what the team has done along with where the Mail & Empire sees them heading as the calendar turns to June. A record of 18-20 is not yet the end of the world for 1949. The team has only allowed one more run than they have scored just past the first quarter of the season. The team that was supposed to be led by pitching and sound defense has failed miserably in both categories. The pitching has been improving, slightly, during May although they are still subject to at least a game a week where they are surrendering double digit runs to the opponent. George Garrison has levelled his record at 4-4 after starting 0-4 cutting his ERA almost in half to 3.14. The early star of the staff has been Jim Morrison at 4-0 with a CA leading ERA of 1.75. Jimmy Gibbs has been steady at 3-3, 3.99 while fans are starting to express concern over Joe Hancock's recent mound performances leaving him at 2-2, 4.18 after a hot start in April. The jury is still out on Harry Stewart who has recently replaced Jerry York in the rotation. York has been dispatched to Buffalo (12-26) where he made one start last week against Charleston that was said to be "encouraging" by front office staff at the game. The bullpen has been no better than average although Sam Jordan has performed well enough that Brett has learned that Manager Barrell is thinking of starting him either in the second game of Monday's double header or on the upcoming road trip. The biggest problem confronting the Wolves through the first 6 weeks of the season is the number of fielding miscues. The team has made an FABL leading 49 errors leading to 20 unearned runs in only 38 games. Cannot make close to an error and a half a game then expected to contend in a tight CA. SS Charlie Artuso lead the team with 9 miscues on 164 chances, followed closely by Chink Stickels with 8 in centerfield, then Frank McCormick's 6 at 1B. Stickels' and McCormick's bats will keep them in the lineup. Artuso's .205/.295/320 line has some of the faithful wanting to more of John Fast at SS or even a recall of the Frank Frady from Buffalo. The surprise of the season, thus far, has been the Wolves performance at the plate. Led by McCormick (.358/.417/.515) and Stickels (.298/.397/.389) along with Hank Giordano's 24 RBI have allowed the team to remain close in most game. Contributions from Hal Wood, recent addition Wally Boyer and his platoon partner Dom Tripp, as well as John Fast have been a welcome sight for the fans. With the exception of the home run department the team is close to league average in almost every hitting stat. If the Wolves can cut down on errors and see a little more improvement from the starters while also maintaining the solid hitting statistics, they may provide excitement at Dominion Stadium over the summer. They should not expect any help from either Buffalo, 12-26 8th in the Union or AA Chattanooga, 8-31 8th in the Dixie. Of their top 3 prospects Les Ledbetter, 1-5 10.15 at Davenport, Bill Irvin .156/.217/.266 in Vancouver, only Pat Todd .030/.368/.368 show any sign of advancing in the system during the summer. Plans are to start a major overhaul of the 14th ranked system once the draft class begin their professional careers in two weeks. Big things are hoped for from SS John Wells who is said to be destine for Davenport in A ball in June. 
RED CAPS MITCHELL NAMED FBL MVP The awards keep coming for Ivory Mitchell as a week after being named the most valuable player of the Federal Basketball League playoffs, the 31-year-old was also named the top performer during the league's regular season. Mitchell, who joined the Brooklyn Red Caps and the rest of the former American Basketball Conference clubs in the Federal loop this year, had previously been named top player in the ABC six times to go along with six playoff MVP awards. He was an All-American his senior year at Liberty College so Mitchell, has won just about everything you can in basketball including 3 ABC scoring titles and a total of 8 league championships. Mitchell was also named to the FBL All-League first team, where he was joined by Detroit Mustangs forward Ward Messer, who was named the rookie of the year after leading the FBL in rebounds and finishing fourth in scoring average during the regular season. Messer, who is the younger brother of New York Gothams slugger Walt Messer, led Detroit to the league championship series for the first time the Mustangs had reached the playoffs. Rounding out the first team All-League selections are Washington Statesmen center Ivan Sisco, forward Norm Yates of the Pittsburgh Pilots and guard Jerry Hubbard from the Philadelphia Phantoms. A pair of Boston Centurions and two Rochester Rockets highlight the second squad. Boston is represented by its backcourt duo of Morgan Melcher and Ted Garvin while center Marlin Patterson and forward Terry Flowers are the two Rockets selected. Rounding out the second squad is rookie forward Ziggy Rickard of the Cleveland Crushers.  TITANS, FALCONS ON THIN ICE? Some FBL Teams May Not Return For 49-50 Campaign A growing rumour out of the office of the Federal Basketball League is that perhaps as many as four teams may not return next season. The league, which doubled in size from 8 to 16 franchises last season after absorbing the defunct American Basketball Conference, may see its numbers shrink to as few as 12 entries for next season. The actual numbers will not be known until the league meetings are held next month but it seems a foregone conclusion that the Syracuse Titans will not be back. The Titans won just 9 of 68 games this past season and play in one of the smallest buildings in the league. That said, they did average more fans that the Toronto Falcons drew, and their 40.1% capacity was better than all but four other FBL teams. However, most of those were season tickets sold prior to the start of the season and there has been a steep decline early in renewals. With Syracuse almost certainly gone that likely means Toronto, with a dismal 1,776 average attendance, may not be far behind although club owner Bernie Millard has deep pockets -he also owns the Toronto Wolves baseball club- and was a driving force in the rise of the FBL, and demise of the American loop. Toronto does not have a lot of success as the Titans preceded the newly arrived Falcons as the hometown club and Millard has stated he is committed to building a brand, noting that Toronto has a strong sports market and will support the Falcons if given enough time to become familiar with the club. One of the strangest rumours going around is that Daniel Prescott may shut down the Brooklyn Red Caps. The club has been incredibly successful, but Prescott is said to not be turning a profit because of the costs associated with his high priced stable of stars. He is also still reported to be extremely bitter towards the entire Federal League after the way he was blindsided, and his ABC was gutted last summer. Prescott's club just won another league title -their first in the FBL to go with 6 in the ABC- but the club apparently still lost money and Prescott is said to be clos to throwing in the towel. Here is a look at the attendance figures for the 1948-49 FBL season.  THE REMATCH OF THE YEAR: PETRIE VS. DESMARAIS II Battle for Middleweight Supremacy at Broad Street Park As the sun sets over Philadelphia and the echoes of baseball games past linger in the air at Broad Street Park, a different kind of showdown is set to unfold on Saturday evening. The ring is ready, the crowd eager, and the anticipation thick for what promises to be a fistic spectacle—the rematch between the reigning middleweight champion, Adrian Petrie, and the former champ seeking redemption, Edouard Desmarais. The story leading to this moment is a tale woven with controversy, a storyline that boxing aficionados have debated fervently since Petrie secured the title from Desmarais in a split decision fraught with contention. The aftermath saw the American Boxing Federation intervening, recommending this very rematch while disciplining the Canadian judges who presided over the contentious affair. Broad Street Park, usually the stage for the crack of bats and the roar of baseball fans, will now play host to a different drama—a pugilistic saga. The crowd, no strangers to sportsmanship and competition, will undoubtedly bring a unique energy to this spectacle. Petrie, the Montreal mauler, has worn the crown amidst whispers of doubt. The controversial nature of his ascent to the title has cast shadows on his reign. Now, as he readies himself for this defining defense, the young champion is tasked not only with securing victory but with silencing the skeptics who question the authenticity of his championship. On the opposite corner stands Desmarais, the Frenchman with a point to prove. His decision to uphold an earlier commitment to face another opponent, Frank Melanson, post his title loss, raised eyebrows. The subsequent victory over Melanson only fueled Desmarais' desire for redemption. Now, he steps into the ring once again with Petrie, seeking not just to regain the belt but to rewrite the narrative that unfolded in the controversial clash months ago. As the city of Philadelphia braces for this monumental rematch, the air is thick with anticipation. The clash of fists, the roar of the crowd, and the echoes of history will converge at Broad Street Park. Petrie vs. Desmarais II—it's not just a fight; it's a quest for vindication and a battle to etch a name in the annals of boxing history. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/29/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 11-30-2023 at 08:33 PM. |
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12-01-2023, 02:10 PM
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#839 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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June 6, 1949
JUNE 6, 1949 DESMARAIS WINS BELT FOR SECOND TIME, AVENGES LOSS IN PETRIE REMATCH Broad Street Park, Philadelphia, Pa. --The middleweight division has undergone some upheaval since Frank Melanson lost the title belt for the second time. Upheaval from the belt changing hands, but also upheaval from controversy over the last few months that has risen to an international incident. On one side, you have the Canadian, Adrian Petrie, who is the current middleweight champion, won the title under a cloud of suspicion in October over then-champion Edouard Desmarais. Petrie won by a split decision, but the Canadian judges were seemingly in the bag for Petrie, which led to a post-bout commotion that rivaled any sporting event in recent memory. On the other side, you have the Frenchman in Desmarais. After the official mandate to pave the way for an immediate rematch, Desmarais ignored the American Boxing Federation’s ruling and kept his date with the two-time People’s Champion, Frank Melanson. Meanwhile, Petrie bumped off an easy mark, journeyman Danny Morse, with Desmarais attending the bout and causing another altercation in the aftermath. Is Petrie a faux champion or does he belong at the top of the middleweight ladder? Was Desmarais robbed and can he win the belt back to be the second two-time middleweight champion in recent history? Both fighters would settle their dispute in the ring in the City of Brotherly Love. The United States is playing the peacemaker between a Canadian and a Frenchman, two allies on the battlefield, but two enemies in the squared circle. The referee officiating this rematch is Hubert Earle, who arbited the first encounter back in October in Montreal. Earle came out of that francophone fiasco as a responsible referee who played it by the book and valiantly tried to stop the post-match scrum from getting out of hand. Earle deserved a reprieve. Petrie came out of his corner in the first round fast, as did Desmarais when they clashed at the center of the ring. Desmarais threw the first scoring jab, but Petrie followed with a hook that stunned Desmarais. While Petrie was trying for the big punch and seemingly fought out of anger, Desmarais was a more mature and polished boxer, showing his prowess as he stunted Petrie’s aggression. A couple of shots from Petrie did make it through, but all three judges saw fit to give the first two rounds to Desmarais, the veteran of 45 bouts. The third round was a dominating display by Desmarais, mixing his shots effectively and scoring early and often. In this round, Petrie could not penetrate Desmarais’s defenses. The first act of this play was complete and Desmarais was building a lead. However, the second act would commence in the fourth round. Petrie jumped off the stool in the champion’s corner like he was sitting on a spring. Desmarais, at this point, was settling in for what could be a long fight and Petrie likely took him a bit by surprise and connected with a right. Petrie lifted Desmarais with an uppercut that sent him back and the round did not end before Petrie added a sharp combination that caused the challenger to stumble. The fifth round was almost an exact reversal of the previous round with Desmarais as the aggressor and Petrie leaning back on his heels. Neither round provided a knockdown, but the back and forth made most in attendance think a full fifteen-rounder was in the offing. A more pensive Petrie started the sixth round and this could show his immediate maturity in the ring before our eyes. Like a Hollywood movie, he started slow but he kept Desmarais at bay. About midway through the round, he started an offensive that lasted throughout the round, culminating in an uppercut in the final second that floored Desmarais. It was a quick recovery, as Desmarais stood up after only a one-count, but you could see the first real damage was levied by either fighter in this bout. Maybe it was the knockdown that provided instant clarity to the French challenger. Maybe it was a feeling that the tide in the fight was clearing turning towards the Canadian champion, but Desmarais changed the fight quickly in the seventh round as the fight entered its final act. Desmarais went to the hook with good effect, landing one early on Petrie’s jaw which was followed by an excellent uppercut that caused Petrie to clinch on to Desmarais to slow his momentum. With a minute left in the round, Desmarais scored with another hook that eventually caused puffiness under Petrie’s left eye. The momentum continued into the eighth, with an uppercut to start the round. Petrie walked into that punch, which showed the swelling around his left eye was quickly increasing. Petrie landed a hook before Desmarais started to work the body with a combination that took the wind and the will out of Petrie. He fell to the canvas and while trying to stand up, his jelly legs gave way and he fell again. And, there it was. No controversy, no split decision. It was the 34th knockout by the boxer who was ahead on points on all three judges’ cards. In fact, all three judges scored each round the same, 10-9 for Desmarais in every round but the fourth and sixth, where it was 10-9 Petrie in the fourth and 10-8 for the former champion in the sixth. No one who witnessed this match first-hand would be surprised by the outcome. Desmarais (44-2-0) was anxious to get back home to France, where he could showcase his title belt and recount his adventures across the Atlantic while he awaits his next challenge. Petrie (19-2-1) seethed as Desmarais was announced as the winner and the intensity of bout was written across the Montrealer’s face. Petrie will undoubtedly pursue a third fight between the once and future champions. Which of us wouldn’t chase another taste of glory? He may have to travel a long way to get one. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Petrie, 1-0 (0:30 hook) Round 2: Petrie, 1-0 (2:05 hook/head) Round 3: Desmarais, 3-0 (0:50 combo, 1:40 uppercut/head, 2:07 right) Round 4: Petrie, 2-0 (0:52 uppercut, 2:33 combo) Round 5: Desmarais, 4-1 (P: 0:14 combo; D: 1:33 hook, 1:47 cross/face, 2:08 hook/face, 2:40 combo) Round 6: Petrie, 3-0 (1:08 combo, 1:32 hook/body, 3:00 uppercut/knockdown) Round 7: Desmarais, 4-0 (0:22 hook/jaw, 0:36 uppercut, 0:49 hook, 2:00 hook) Round 8: Desmarais, 3-1 (P: 1:03 hook; D: 0:22 uppercut, 0:39 uppercut, 1:31 combo/knockout) TOTAL: Desmarais 14, Petrie 9  UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS
SOARING EAGLES SECURE SECOND Riding a six-game winning streak since the first of June, the Washington Eagles have improved to 29-20 and are now a game back of the association leading Gothams. The Eagles are adept at both scoring (2nd, 243) and preventing (2nd, 186) run, getting production up-and-down the roster. Despite being 37, Mel Carrol remains one of the best hitters in the game, slashing an outstanding .389/.481/.503 (162 OPS+) with 5 homers, 20 RBIs, and a superlative 28-to-10 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Carrol has moved down to the seven spot in the lineup, ahead of last year's #1 pick Tom Miller (.264, 11), because they have an intimidating lineup ahead of him. Just 20, Bill Wise has already secured the everyday job at second, and he's responded with a veteran like .370/.436/.497 (147 OPS+) line, and like Carrol, he boasts a superb 21-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Wise has already tallied 16 doubles with 3 triples, scoring 29 runs and driving in 17 in 45 games. He's been driven in plenty by the trio of Rats McGonigle (.285, 12, 39, 4), Jesse Alvarado (.294, 8, 38, 9), and Sig Stofer (.235, 9, 32), which has combined for 29 homers and 109 RBIs. The pitching can hold its own as well, and they're led by homegrown star Buckeye Smith (4-3, 3.29, 23) and a pair of pitchers acquired from the Windy City. It's expected that staff ace Billy Riley would excel, and he's 6-2 with a 3.04 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts, but what has caught some off guard is the performance of 33-year-old Dan Everett. The former 5th Round selection of the Foresters is in his 11th season with the Eagles, and through 8 starts he's 3-2 with a miniscule 2.44 ERA (163 ERA+) and 1.14 WHIP. He has walked (25) more hitters than he's struck out (19), but Everett has yet to allow a homer in 51.2 innings, and his 3.22 FIP (80 FIP-) is still comfortably above average. They may not be able to rely on this level of performance all season, he is basically a league average (101 ERA, 100 FIP-) pitcher for his career, but this wouldn't be the first time Everett has put up a big year in the nation's capital. The Eagles play just five games this week, with off days on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and after two with the Dynamos in Detroit, they'll have a huge series in New York with the Gothams. It's a three game set with a double header on the 12th, which could determine the order of the Federal Association standings for next week. The Chiefs (27-20, 2 GB) are still very much in the running, and with a good week they could finish in a tie or even above one of the Gothams and Eagles, as they look to continue to exceed expectations. DETROIT HYSTERIA Let’s start off in Detroit where 2 weeks ago rumblings were centered on Detroit favorite, Manager Dick York. Since those rumblings that York’s job is on the line, the Dynamos have gone 7-3 and are solidly in the thick of things in the FA at 23-21 and 4 1/2 games behind the Gothams. The offense has been the issue in Detroit and perhaps a finger should be pointed at hitting coach Jim Webb. The Dynamos went a youth building project after the war and fans knew it would take a long time. The organization has given the youngsters time to develop, right now the club does still need a few pieces. The questionable “cheap” acquisition of veteran OF Pinky Pierce appears to have not been the piece the club needed. Instead OF Bill Parker has emerged as a serviceable option, but the club is missing something. While they are 16-8 at Thompson Field, they are 7-13 away from home. Maybe a new voice at hitting coach will light a fire as Webb is a power type hitting coach and the club is sorely lacking in getting guys on base. Under any circumstance York might be guilty of overplaying his son who is struggling with the bat, but there are not a lot of options in house. My vote is Dick York deserves time to continue on. *** Can the Foresters Really Reverse Over a Decade of Futility? *** It was 1939 when the Foresters posted the last of their 8 straight winning seasons, since then it has been 10 years of long hardship for the fans off the Cuyahoga River. Since that time the club has finished 7th or 8th 9 times with the '47 season a big water mark of 6th. So it is understandable that as we approach the 1/3 pole in the season that optimism is running high in Foresters land. The Cleveland nine are currently and shockingly to just about everyone in first place. Yes at 28-19 and riding a wave of excellent overall play, the Foresters, yes those Foresters, are sitting on top of the CA by 2 1/2 games. But can it continue? If it has any shot to continue the pitching is going to have to remain on the same torrid pace it’s been on. Most people have never heard of the Mad Professor Adrian Czerwinski, but all he has done is win this year. The Professor is just 24 and has been on the top 100 prospect list for several years, but nothing he has done as a pro gave an inkling of his breakout start this season (9-1 3.05 ERA). But if Cleveland is going to sustain this start and go from worst to first, the Mad Professor needs to stay up in the tip top of your CA Allen Award candidates. But it hasn’t just been Czerwinski, the Foresters are getting solid starting contributions from Ollie White, Ducky Davis and rookie John Jackson. The pitching staff is first in the CA in runs allowed. The offense has also been solid in untypical Forester ways. The #2 offense currently in the CA resides in Cleveland and most can’t name any one of their starters. It’s been a fantasy season so far, but like most fairy tales they don’t even happily. My guess is the Foresters will hang around for another month or so, but then the dog days of August have a way of turning dreams into nightmares. I’m expecting the same thing here.   DARE WE SAY THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR COUGARS The Cougars pitching staff has finally started to turn things around, as in seven of eight games this week the team's starter allowed three or fewer runs. There was an injury scare, as Duke Bybee suffered a mild abdominal strain against the Wolves, leaving with one out in the second. Lucky for the Cougs, Charlie Kelsey did admirably in relief, allowing just 2 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7.1 innings out of the pen. But the best pitching performance came from Donnie Jones, who followed up his 2-hit, 2-walk shutout with a 1-hit, 1-walk shutout. Donnie struck out the team that drafted him six times in the 5-0 win, improving his record to 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA (107 ERA+) in his 10 starts. While the pitching has struggled, the Cougars have gotten tremendous offensive production from their 7-Time All-Stars, with both Sal Pestilli and Skipper Schneider making an impact at the plate and in the field. Both had big weeks at the plate, with Pestilli leading the charge with his 8th and 9th home runs. Pestilli appeared in all eight games, a strong 17-for-36 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 walks, 3 steals, 7 runs, and 9 RBIs. Pestilli is now hitting an impressive .366/.410/.588 (166 OPS+) on the season, with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 39 RBIs, and 9 steals. With excellent offense and above average defense, he's been worth three full runs above replacement, and is on pace to shatter his previous best of 8.5. Skipper didn't match Sal's production for the week, but his 10-for-25 still equates to a .400 average, and he added 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 4 walks, and 2 steals. He's also in the midst of one of his best seasons, hitting what would be a career best .322/.405/.450 (130 OPS+) with an elevated 142 WRC+. Combined with his usually great defense (5.9, 1.084), 11 doubles, 3 homers, 3 steals, and 23 RBIs, he's been worth 2.7 WAR with 27 runs and an impressive 23-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. The only reason the Cougars are a game above .500 is the production of their two talented up-the-middle players, so it's now time for the rest of the team to step up to their level. Down on the farm, 40th ranked prospect Dixie Gaines won his 8th consecutive start as the San Jose Cougars crushed the Vancouver Mounties 18-3. Gaines went 7, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 5 walks with 8 strikeouts. In his eight starts, Gaines has yet to allow more then two runs, and he's struck out at least five every time out. In 59.2 innings, he has a microscopic 1.21 ERA (362 ERA+) with 57 strikeouts, just 16 walks, and a 1.02 WHIP. The 21-year-old will now enter the Class A Legislators rotation in his first promotion since being selected in the 4th round last season. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Toronto Finishes May On a High Note Before Road Trip -The Wolves end the month of May with a double header sweep of CA leading Cleveland by scores of 3-2, 4-2 on Monday afternoon. The victories gave the team a 13-7 record for the month, along with bringing them temporarily to the .500 mark at 20-20. After an off day on Tuesday a 12 day 13 game trip began in Chicago. Cougars' starter Donnie Jones pitched a 1 hit, 1 walk masterpiece in a 102 pitch 5-0 whitewash before 21,578. The only hit for Toronto was a first pitch single by Curt Brooks in the second. On Thursday night the Wolves managed only one run on 5 hits dropping a 5-1 decision. The game was not without drama when in the second with one out Cougars star hurler Duke Bybee left the game with an injury. Fortunately for Chicago fans it was later determined to be of the minor variety and Bybee should make his next scheduled start. Charlie Kelsey came in to pitch into the 9th giving up only one run on 2 hits. George Garrison's 4-game winning streak was ended when he struggled all game with his control walking 5. The Wolves managed to salvage one game in the series with a 3-2 victory, despite being outhit 12-6, before almost 28,000 on Friday afternoon with two run 8th the winner crossing the plate on Charlie Artuso's sac fly. Joe Hancock had a bounce back start after several mediocre efforts in May. The Barrell brothers continued their series in Kings County Park II with May's Continental Association Pitcher of the Month Jim Morrison facing Leo Hayden. Toronto, led by McCormick's 4-for-5 day and Hal Wood's 3 RBI game, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead then cruised home to a 7-4 victory. Morrison is now 6-0 even though he gave up 5 BB to the Kings. Brooklyn squared their season series when Ralph Johnson hit two into the seats including a grand slam in the 6th off Sam Jordan in a 9-3 win. One of the Barrell brothers will be leading the head to head when the Wolves and Kings finish the series Monday afternoon before the Toronto club heads first to Montreal and then back to New York to conclude the road trip. Wolves shoddy defense continues with 8 errors in 7 games this week. Lloyd McGowan continues to bring the infielders to the park early to work on fielding drills hopefully to tighten up the leaky infield. On the farm Jerry York's control is improving he has struck out 14 while only walking 2 in two starts for Buffalo. In Davenport, Les Ledbetter finally brought his ERA into the single digits pitching into the 8th giving up no runs against Cedar Rapids on Wednesday. Bill Irvin continues to struggle in Vancouver. Pat Todd's .319/.383/.379 line at Chattanooga suggests he ready to go to Buffalo soon, could he come north of the border before season's end? Rookies should start reporting to their assignments at the end of next week.  RF Ralph Johnson capped off a fantastic month of May, by winning the CA hitter of the month award. “King” Ralph hit 381/484/1180 with 6 home runs, 27 RBI’s and 29 runs scored for the CA’s top offense. On the season King Ralph is hitting 365/478/1168 with 9 home runs, 35 RBI’s and an FABL leading 45 runs scored. Johnson has come to the plate 4 times in bases loaded situations going 3-3 with a double, 2 home runs and a walk. Scoring 3 times and driving in 12 RBI’s. If he can continue, he will be in serious contention for his 2nd Whitney Award. The club is talking about what moves they might make prior to returning to play next week. Some speculate that veteran Rusty Petrick is done.  FIELD SET FOR COLLEGIATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES The 16-team field has been announced for the fourth annual AIAA collegiate world championship tournament. This year's event will be held in New York for the second time with Gothams Stadium and Dyckman Stadium taking care of the hosting duties. Grange College, which won the 1947 tournament and claimed three other national baseball titles before the expanded tournament format was adopted for the 1946 season, is the top seed. The Mustangs are led by three All-Americans in outfielders Don Berry and Bill Morrison as well as catcher Cliff Seiler. Grange College will play its opening game Monday at Gothams Stadium against a surprising George Fox University club. The Reds become the first Academia Alliance conference member to qualify for the event since the format change and are bidding to become the first school from the Academia section to win the CWCS since Henrry Hudson claimed back to back titles in 1931 and 1932, under the old feeder league system. The event is a single elimination series before a best of three championship round. Here is the schedule and tournament bracket.  CHRISTIAN TROPHY NOMINEES ANNOUNCED The end of the AIAA regular season brings about the annual list of the Collegiate Baseball All-American Team as well as the 5 finalists for the Christian Trophy. The award, named after the legendary baseball coach, is presented annually to the player judged to be the best in college baseball. For the first time in recent memory the list of finalists will not include a pitcher. It will include a pair of repeat nominees as Lane State shortstop Tom Perkins and Grange College outfielder Bill Morrison are each nominated for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Coastal State shortstop Tom Perkins, who was selected first overall in the 1947 FABL draft by the Washington Eagles, won his second straight Christian Trophy. Morrison finished third in the voting behind Redwood University's Red Hinton while Perkins was fourth. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are the five finalists for the 1949 Christian Trophy CHARLIE BARRELL, 2B: Noble Jones College Colonels - A three sport star for his Washington DC high school, Barrell also played for the Colonels basketball team and will play collegiate football next September (freshman are ineligible for college gird). The college cage season ran long as the Colonels went all the way to the AIAA championship game so Barrell was limited to just 47 games on the diamond. He posted some impressive numbers as the second baseman slashed .316/.389/.593 with 12 homers. Barrell, who's uncle Tom Barrell was a two-time second team All-American with Georgia Baptist, would have been a high first round selection in the 1948 FABL draft had he not committed to Noble Jones College prior to the draft. DON BERRY, OF: Grange College Mustangs - Berry led all major college players with a .341 batting average (.341/.497/.538) and earned All-American status for the third straight year. He was one of three Mustangs to belt 12 homers this season, a number matched by fellow nominees Charlie Barrell and Berry's Grange College teammate Bill Morrison. That homerun total is also the highest this season recorded by a player at a major school (defined as great competition). Berry completed the major college triple crown with 61 rbi's. He was selected fourth overall by the Philadelphia Keystones in January and his younger brother Dallas, also an outfielder, went three picks later to the Cincinnati Cannons. Berry was the MVP of the 1947 Collegiate World Championship Series as a freshman. ED BLOOM, 3B: American Atlantic Pelicans - The 8th overall choice by the Chicago Chiefs in January, Bloom led the Pelicans to their first birth in the Collegiate World Championship Series. He slashed .332/.473/.553 with 6 homers in 49 games this season and his 2.7 WAR was the highest total among major college hitters. BILL MORRISON, OF: Grange College Mustangs - A three-time All-American selection, Morrison and fellow nominee Don Berry are looking to win their second national title in three years with Grange College. Morrison slashed .309/.404/.555 and tied for the major college lead in homeruns with 12. The Detroit Dynamos drafted Morrison in the second round, 28th overall. TOM PERKINS, SS: Lane State Emeralds - A second straight nomination for Perkins, who was a second team All-American selection a year ago. His .331 batting average was surpassed among major college hitters only by Don Berry and Ed Bloom. Perkins played 61 games for the Emeralds, with a slash line of .331/.399/.474. The Washington Eagles selected Perkins 10th overall in the draft. Those five were all named first team All-Americans and for Berry and Morrison it marks the third straight year they made the top team. Grange College catcher Cliff Seiler, a sophomore, also was a repeat selection in earning his second straight appearance on the team while first baseman Andy Green is also a two-time first team choice as he was selected as a freshman but did not make the cut in his sophomore campaign a year ago. Green was one of six juniors selected. All six have already been drafted with the Green going in the third round to Montreal while Carolina Poly pitcher Johnny Young was a sixth round selection of the Detroit Dynamos. 
OSA RELEASES ITS MOCK DRAFT ORDER The FABL scouting service has released its 5 round mock choices for the 1949 draft based on how the players finished up their amateur careers. For the vast majority, it will not change things as nearly all of the 80 players tabbed by the scouting service have already been selected including high school outfielder Rick Masters, who tops the OSA list and was selected second overall by the Boston Minutemen. Below is a look at the first round choices made by the FABL squads in January and where OSA presently ranks them. There is also a second chart showing the remainder of the top 32 OSA ranked players and where they were drafted. One player, Brooklyn high school outfielder Wally Kirkpatrick, was not selected in January but seems assured to be a very early selection when the final 15 rounds of the 25-round draft are completed on June 20.  SPECULATION CONTINUES THAT PRESCOTT WILL FOLD RED CAPS A rumour that just will not go away suggests that the most successful team in professional basketball history is on the verge of being shut down. The Brooklyn Red Caps, who last month won the Federal Basketball League title in their first season in the new loop, will cease to exist if the stories are true. At first glance the notion that club owner and former American Basketball Conference head Daniel Prescott would fold a team that has won 6 championships in the last seven years seems preposterous. However, scratch beneath the surface and the notion does not seem so outlandish. Prescott has built a dominant team on the court, but acquiring great players comes at great cost and with less than half of the 12,000 seats in Flatbush Garden typically occupied on game nights, the Red Caps are barely turning a profit some years and actually losing money in others. Prescott has confided in friends that he had no issue with battling to break even in the old American Basketball Conference, a league he founded in 1937, but the hostile takeover a year ago by the Federal League has zapped the bottling magnate of his love for the pro basketball. Prescott continues to hold a grudge, and probably with good reason, after what he perceives as being stabbed in the back not only from Bernie Millard, a fellow baseball and basketball owner, but also by Rollie Barrell - a man Prescott considered a friend and a business partner in the first pro cage league in the 1920. Prescott celebrated loudly on the floor of the Thompson Palladium in front of the Detroit Mustangs and Barrell, who owns the Motor City club, after sweeping Barrell's team in the league finals a few weeks ago. Sources say beating Barrell was all that mattered and now that it has been accomplished, Prescott wants nothing to do with Barrell, Millard or anyone else in the Federal League. Perhaps he will have a change of heart, or maybe he will find a buyer for the Red Caps, but as of now odds look very good that there will not be a professional basketball team playing out of Brooklyn next season. It will be a shame if that happens as the Red Caps are quite probably the greatest pro cage club ever assembled.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/05/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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12-04-2023, 11:37 AM
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,750
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June 13, 1949
JUNE 13, 1949 NEAR PERFECT WEEK EXTENDS GOTHAMS LEAD BACK TO 3.5 GAMES They may have dropped the second game of the double header to the now third place Washington Eagles, but it snapped a six-game win streak that allowed the first place New York Gothams to extend their lead to 3.5 games. No offense seems to be as intimidating as the once in the Big Apple, as the Gothams lead the Fed in average (.290), OBP (.367), slugging (.441), WAR (10.3), wOBA (.363), runs (301), hits (537), extra baes hits (147), and even base running (+4.4). They're best when at home, an absurd 24-9 at a Gotham Stadium that is drawing over 30,000 fans a game -- almost 5,000 more per game than any other FABL team. The Gothams are known for their star power, as a lineup led by 31-year-old veteran Red Johnson is as good as it gets. The 3-Time Whitney Winner has been more then twice as effective as a league average hitter, slashing a robust .353/.462/.712 (207 OPS+) with 20 homers, 54 RBIs, and 36 walks. Johnson leads his circuit in homers, RBIs, OBP, slugging, WAR (3.9), runs (47), total bases (131), extra base hits (25), ISO (.359), OPS+, WPA (3.34), and wOBA (.516), which will lead "Big Timber" to his seventh All-Star game and third consecutive selection. But it's far from a one-man wrecking crew, as they've recently added a now healthy Mahlon Strong (.269,2,6) who may be sixth option this season. Veteran catcher George Cleaves (.319,8,23) is sporting a 169 WRC+ powered by 8 homers and 35 walks and Walt Messer (.294,12,39) is putting together another stellar season, on pace for his ninth consecutive above average offensive season. Still, excellent offense was expected from them. What's really helped the Gothams win games this season is their young left side of the infield. Taken 8th Overall just under two seasons ago, Cecil LaBonte has already blossomed into one of the best shortstops in FABL, and he's off to an impressive 1949 season as well. "Smiley" is fast, even if he sucks at stealing bases (9-for-28), but the Gothams leadoff man is hitting .332/.381/.452 (119 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, and 26 RBIs with more walks (17) then strikeouts (11). Batting above George Cleaves and Red Johnson will get you a lot of pitches to hit, and when he's on base it really allows the Gothams veterans to excel. LaBonte is also aided by his third basemen, 25-year-old Tom Jeffries, who bats eighth and is hitting .330/.425/.409 (121 OPS+) with a microscopic 2.9 K% which has helped him maintain a stellar 29-to-6 walk-to-strikeout ratio. When Jeffries is on, one of the Gothams starters can bunt him over, something Lefty Allen (8-1,3.76,20) has done a league leading ten times. What makes this Gothams team so good, as well as a common preseason pick for the pennant, is that they've been able to surround their stars well with a very deep supporting cast. In the other association, the Foresters continue to lead the pack, holding an identical 3.5 game lead over the New York Stars. Two months into the season they're doing their best St. Louis Pioneers impression, making a legitimate run at going worst-to-first despite their last .500 season coming the last time the calendar year ended in nine. The Foresters have the first ten game winner, Adrian Czerwinski (10-2,3.07,24), which seems almost impossible after he went 4-11 with a 6.04 ERA (65 ERA+) in 19 starts as a rookie last year. He's one of the many Foresters to take a huge leap forward, as the years of futility are seemingly paying off all at once. They'll be getting some competition from the Montreal Saints, another team who has struggled in recent years, but is currently riding a five game win streak that has elevated them to third in the Continental Association. Montreal is coming off a sweep of the last place Sailors, who will now be without young outfielder Billy Forbes (.246,0,11) for the rest of the season. The Saints will be in Cleveland to start the week in a huge series for both teams, as a lopsided showing could either give the rest of the CA a chance, or allow the upstart Foresters to create even more cushion in what could be a stroll to the finish.   SAILORS LOSE OUTFIELDER FORBES FOR SEASON The news just keeps getting worse for the Philadelphia Sailors. Already in the midst of a nigtmarish 16-36 start the two-time defending Continental Association champs were dealt another blow with the news that centerfielder Billy Forbes will miss the rest of the season. The 23-year-old badly damaged his knee while making a play in the outfield during Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the New York Stars in what was the Sailors only win in the last 8 outings. Forbes was a 1946 first round pick out of Miami State, where he was a two-time first team All-American. He made his big league debut that summer and become the Sailors everyday starting centerfielder last season, hitting .285 with 6 homers in 153 games. He was off to a slow start this season, like most of the Sailors, and was batting just .246 through 48 games at the time of his injury.  LANE STATE WINS COLLEGIATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Led by junior shortstop Tom Perkins, the Lane State Emeralds were crowned the champion of collegiate baseball after sweeping the Huntington State Miners two-straight in the finals of the AIAA Collegiate World Championship Series. The victory gives the Emeralds their second national title in the four years since the collegiate baseball championship went from a standard playoff to a 16-team single elimination tournament. Lane State has qualified for the tournament all four years, winning it all in 1946 and reaching the semi-finals a year ago. The Emeralds, who entered this years event as the #15 seed, started strong by doubling Maryland State 6-3 in the opening game last Tuesday at Dyckman Stadium, home of FABL's New York Stars. Perkins had a dominant game in Thursday's quarterfinal, rapping out 3 hits including a pair of doubles and driving in 4 runs in a 7-4 victory against Deep South power Opelika State. A day later they reached the finals but only after an 11-inning battle against another Deep South Conference school. This was Noble Jones College and the Colonels rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th on a Charlie Barrell sacrifice fly but the Emeralds eventually prevailed 5-4 when catcher Bill Stewart hit a 2-out walkoff rbi single. There was extra-inning drama in the opener of the best of three final Saturday against Huntington State but the Emeralds prevailed 6-4 thanks to an rbi triple from Perkins in the top of the 10th inning. On Sunday, junior Lane State righthander Clarence McCabe went the distance on the mound, holding the Miners to just 5 hits in a 6-2 series clinching victory for the Emeralds.  FINALIST NAMED FOR ADWELL AWARD High School All-Americans Revealed The five finalists have been announced for high school baseball's most prestigous individual trophy. The Adwell Award, named after legendary high school pitched Red Adwell, has been presented annually since 1934 and its list of winners reads like a who's who of FABL superstars, including Walt Messer, Bill Barrett, Deuce Barrell and Hiram Steinberg. Here are this year's five finalists, listed in alphabetical order as well as the High School All-Americans. PAUL BURTON SR, Valparaiso (IN) HS: The righthander posted the lowest ERA and FIP among all qualified High School pitchers. He went 10-0 with a 0.43 era (0.14 FIP) while finishing second in the nation in strikeouts with 199 and third in K/9. He was a second round selection of the Montreal Saints in January. EARL HOWE JR, Cardinal Hayes HS, Bronx, NY: Only Rick Masters had a higher homerun total, rbi total and slugging percentage than Howe, a junior centerfielder. He slashed .504/.562/1.104 with 14 homers and 49 rbi's in 27 games. RICK MASTERS SR, Prospect Heights HS, Brooklyn, NY: The Brooklyn born outfielder led the nation in homers (15) and rbi's (52) while finishing fourth in the batting race, slashing .573/.615/1.019. He was ranked #1 on the latest OSA mock draft and was selected second overall by the Boston Minutemen in January. JOHN SAMUEL FR, Monrovia (CA) HS: The Los Angeles born freshman outfielder is still just 14 years old but his .604 batting average was the best in the nation. He compiled a slash line of .604/.645/.906 and was second in the nation in on-base percentage behind only fellow nominee John Wells. JOHN WELLS SR, Northwest Catholic HS, Philadelphia, Pa: The shortstop was a finalist for the Adwell Award last season, and was drafted first overall by the Toronto Wolves in January. He had an outstanding senior season, slashing .591/.657/1.073 with 8 homers and 47 rbi's to lead the nation in on-base percentage while finishing third in batting average, rbi's and slugging percentage.   PLENTY OF FUTURE FABL DRAFT PICKS WITH FAMILY TIES TO THE SPORT Thinking about Boston Minutemen second overall draft pick Rick Masters (whose grandfather played pro baseball, topping out in AAA) made me make up a list of guys in the 1950-52 draft classes with relatives who are in the database as players: 1950:
1951:
1952:
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Stumble Home After A 5-8 Road Trip -- Fred Barrell says he knew something was up after being decimated by his brother's Brooklyn Kings 11-3 Monday afternoon. "The pitching was not sharp in any games except for Jimmy Gibbs' start on Saturday and George Garrison's opening game of the two on Sunday after both had been beat up early in the week. The starters struggled and going to the 'pen, with the exception of Harry Phillips, just added gasoline to the blazing fire. Changes have to be made, this is unacceptable for the team." In 8 games the opposition scored 56 runs on the Wolves, including two games in which there were back-to-back 8-2 losses to the Stars at Dyckman Stadium. Brett cautions reader not to blame the defense as has been part of the runs allowed problem this season. Only one of the 56 was unearned of the week. The staff now has an ERA 4.23. 7th in the CA. Fans would expect that number to be, at worst, 3.50 for the team to have any success. Anything over 4 spells disaster for the Wolves in 1949. Hopefully spending the next couple of weeks at home will allow the pitching to return to form. At the plate Toronto remains either slightly above or slightly below CA average in all offensive categories. During the past week the scored 45 runs in 8 games. Scoring an average of a little more than 5 times per game should yield a winning record, certainly not a 3-5 week. There are some positives:
On the farm Ray Hatch is pitching well at Buffalo for the hapless 18-33 Nickels. The 24 year old is 5-3 with a 1.71 ERA in 10 starts. Les Leadbetter tossed a CG shutout before being roughed up in next outing for Davenport. There are few players in the system that will benefit from a planned adjustment at levels in the system when this year's class starts to arrive to their assignments in two weeks. Brett has learned that more than a few players time in the Wolves organization will come an end before month ends. Insiders have told him a tentative list has already been put together subject to almost daily revisions, updates from the scouting department. 
LUDWICK TOPS OSA DRAFT RANKINGS Western Iowa Canaries forward Willy Ludwick tops what looks like a strong top half of the Federal Basketball League draft in the latest rankings of college cage seniors released by the OSA. Ludwick, a third team All-American selection, averaged 13.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game to help lead the Canaries to a school record 30-2 season and the number one ranking during the regular season. They lost to Noble Jones College in overtime in the national quarterfinals despite the fact Ludwick had 24 points in what proved to be his final collegiate contest. Ludwick is one of two Western Iowa players that cracked the OSA top twenty as he was joined by Canaries center Dalton Cassidy. The first pick in the July draft belongs to the Syracuse Titans, assuming the club will be around next season. There are rumours that the Titans are folding, which would move the Toronto Falcons up to the number one draft slot. 
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/12/1949
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Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
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