EC's Southern Association

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Motorhead667

Eugene, Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us.
I to read many of your post's trying to get this up off of the ground.
and may I say it is fabulous, I love reading about your childhood and I love the way your league is coming along.
God bless you and I will follow along.
also I am rooting for the Birmingham Barons

Thanks for your much-appreciated comments.

You picked a good team to root for.

The Barons were pretty good throughout most of Southern Association history... they were good in the late 40s and 50s as a farm club of the New York Yankees.

[Eugene Church]

Southern-Fried Fact

The Mobile Bears of 1947 had a future television star on the team... his name was Chuck Connors... he had very interesting life according to Wikepedia.

Howdy y'all... and howdy do to you, too... southerners are friendly folks, you know... you are going to have to get used to my southern accent... ree-member, y'all, this is the SOUTHERN Association.

Can y'all believe it, Connors and me were born on the same date, but 19 years apart... he was quite an athlete... had a chance to play pro in all sports, baseball, basketball and football... he was 6-foot-5 and a very good athlete... did anyone ever play in all the pro leagues?

Connors was born Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors on April 10, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York. Connors did not like his first name and was seeking another one. He tried out "Lefty" and "Stretch" before settling on "Chuck", because while playing first base, he would always yell, "Chuck it to me, baby, chuck it to me!" to the pitcher. The rest of his teammates and fans soon caught on and the name stuck. He loved the Brooklyn Dodgers despite their losing record during the 1930s, and hoped to someday join the team himself. Connors' athletic abilities earned him scholarships to the Adelphi Academy (from which he graduated in 1939) and Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, which he left after two years.

Sports:
During his Army service, Connors moonlighted as a professional basketball player, joining the Rochester Royals and helping to lead them to the 1946 National Basketball League championship. Following his military discharge in 1946, he joined the newly formed Boston Celtics of the Basketball Association of America.

Connors left the team for spring training with Major League Baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers. He played for numerous minor league teams before joining the Dodgers in 1949, for whom he played in only one game. He joined the Chicago Cubs in 1951, playing in 66 games as a first baseman and occasional pinch hitter. In 1952, he was sent to the minor leagues again to play for the Cubs' top farm team, the Los Angeles Angels.

He was drafted by the NFL's Chicago Bears, but never suited up for the team. He is also credited as the first professional basketball player to break a backboard. During warmups in the very first Boston Celtics game, on November 5, 1946 at Boston Arena, Connors took a shot that caught the front of the rim and shattered an improperly installed glass backboard.

In 1966, Connors played an off-field role by helping to end the celebrated holdout by Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax when he acted as an intermediary during negotiations between management and the players.

Movies and TV:
Connors did well at AAA for the International League Montreal Royals and the Pacific Coast League Los Angeles Angels, but he realized that he would not make a career in professional sports, so he decided to pursue an acting career, where he could make much more money. Playing baseball near Hollywood proved fortunate, as he was spotted by an MGM casting director and subsequently signed for the 1952 Tracy–Hepburn film Pat and Mike. In 1953, he starred opposite Burt Lancaster as a rebellious Marine private in the film South Sea Woman and Trouble Along the Way opposite John Wayne as a football coach.

In 1957, Connors was cast in the Walt Disney film Old Yeller in the role of Burn Sanderson... he was the original owner of Ole Yeller... Fess Parker was the star of the movie... no, I have to restate that... Ole Yeller was really the star... I do believe he should have won the Academy Award that year.

In later years as a character actor, Connors acted in feature films including The Big Country with Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston, Move Over Darling with Doris Day and James Garner, Soylent Green with Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, and Airplane II: The Sequel.

In 1958 Connors beat 40 other actors for the lead on The Rifleman, portraying Lucas McCain, a widowed rancher known for his skill with a customized Winchester rifle. This ABC Western series, which aired from 1958 to 1963, was also the first show to feature a widowed father raising a young child. Johnny Crawford played his son, Joey. The series ranked in the top 10 shows until 1963.

Conners was offered the role of The Rifleman, but turned it down... he could make more money free-lancing... the show producers took their own kids to see Ole Yeller, where Chuck played a strong father figure... the producers were very impressed and decided to pay more money... including 5% of the show.

Johnny Crawford said of his relationship with Connors: "I was very fond of Chuck, and we were very good friends right from the start. I admired him tremendously." Crawford also said about the same sport that Connors had played: "I was a big baseball fan when we started the show, and when I found out that Chuck had been a professional baseball player, I was especially in awe of him. I would bring my baseball and a bat and a couple of gloves whenever we went on location, and at lunchtime I would get a baseball game going, hoping that Chuck would join us. And he did, but after he came to bat, we would always have trouble finding the ball. It would be out in the brush somewhere or in a ravine, and so that would end the game." They remained close friends for life.

Crawford spoke about his hero this way, "He was a great guy, a lot of fun, great sense of humor, bigger than life, and he absolutely loved people."

Ya know, I think I might have liked ole Chuck, too... sounds like my kind of guy.

Y'all know I'm long-winded... sorry, it was so long... but I thought Chuck Connors was a very interesting ballplayer and he played for my all-time favorite team, my beloved Mobile Bears of my beloved Southern Association.

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Monday, April 21, 1947

LOOKOUTS, BARONS AND CRAX BUNCHED TIGHT

LOOKOUTS BATTER BARONS BIG TIME
In the first big showdown in the Southern Association this season, Chattanooga took two of three from Birmingham at Rickwood Field and tied them for the top spot with 13-7 records... in the series wrap-up the Lookouts battered the Barons 14-8, pounding out 17 hits... 1B Jack Sanford (.375) had a colossal game, hitting for the cycle with five hits, five RBIs and four runs scored... on the mound Sonny Dixon (3-1/5.51) didn't have a very good outing, but he still breezed to the win, though he was shelled for eight runs on nine hits... Chattanooga spoiled the day for Alex Ronay (4-1/3.95), who was looking for his 5th victory, but instead got his first defeat of the year... Birmingham SS Dick Atkins (.405) continued to pound Southern Association pitching... he hit two more homers, giving him 8 for the season... one of them was an inside-the-parker...Atkins is tied with Chattanooga's Gil Coan and Nashville's Doc Greene for the home-run lead.

KINNEY, CRAX, HUMBLE PELS
Atlanta's big right-hander Shelby Kinney fired his second straight complete-game victory and humbled New Orleans 4-1, holding them to six hits, while striking out six batters and issuing just two free passes... Kinney set a SA record with 14 strikeouts in his last start... the Crackers got all of their runs in the third frame off loser Jesse Danna (0-4/6.04) with the highlight of the inning being LF Babe Ellis' (.270) two-run smash, the 3rd of the year for him... Atlanta remained close to the Southern Association co-leaders, the Chattanooga Lookouts (13-7) and Birmingham Barons (13-7)... the Crackers are now 12-7, just a game off the lead... New Orleans is fifth in the standings with a 10-11 mark, trailing by three and a half games.

LAGA TRIPS UP TRAVS, WINS 4TH GAME
Mobile right-hander Frank Laga was absolutely magnificent the first six innings of the game against Little Rock... Laga didn't allow a hit until the seventh en route to a 4-1 victory over the troubled Travelers, who could manage only five hits in all and pushed their record to a pathetic 4-17... logging his 4th triumph this year Laga (4-1/3.55) fanned eight batters and walked only one in a well-pitched performance... Little Rock starter Al Piechota (2-3/3.38) did his part and kept it close, yielding only five hits, striking out five and walking two in seven solid innings... only two of the four runs were earned... RF Homer Matley (.241) doubled in two runs for the Bears... the other RBIs went to SS Hal Younghans (.200) and 1B Chuck Connors (.239)... the win put Mobile over the .500 mark at 10 victories and 9 losses, good for the fourth spot in the Southern Association.

GREENE, CHMIEL, CLOBBER CHICKS
Nashville's Doc Greene and Herb Chmiel combined to clobber Memphis yesterday 11-1... Greene (.290) boomed two over the short right field wall in Sulphur Dell and drove in three runs, while Chmiel (2-2/5.40) on the hill, shut down the Chicks on just three hits... the Vols rattled the boards for 15 hits with CF Hal Jeffcoat (.302) and C Rube Walker (.379) also going deep... Greene is tied for the home run lead with Chattanooga's Gil Coan and Birmingham's Dick Atkins.. they each have 8... Chmiel, a lefty, mesmerized Memphis with a no-hitter until two outs in the eighth... he walked six batters and struck out five to even his record at 2-2 this season... both clubs are 9-11 in the standings.

Click on Line Scores to Enlarge

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Monday, April 21, 1947

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Monday, April 21, 1947

BARONS AND CRAX IN BIG SERIES
All the top teams in the Southern Association have their work cut off for them this week... co-leader Birmingham (13-7) has the toughest task, batting the up-and-coming Atlanta Crackers (12-7) in a three-game series begining tonight at Rickwood Field... the other co-leader Chattanooga (13-7) will take on the fifth-place New Orleans Pelicans (10-11) at Pelican Stadium.

In other games, the Memphis Chicks (9-11) get a break going to Little Rock to play the last place Travelers (4-17)... the fourth-place Mobile Bears (10-9) will be on the road, tangling with the Nashville Vols (9-11) in Sulphur Dell.

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Tuesday, April 22, 1947

BARONS, LOOKOUTS STILL TIED FOR 1ST

BARONS NIP CRAX IN SERIES OPENER
The Birmingham Barons (14-7) reigned over the Atlanta Crackers (12-8) in damp conditions at Rickwood Field and remained atop of the Southern Association standings... the third-place Crackers skidded to one and a half games back in the pennant race... Sid West, the Cracker starter, had the Barons eating out of his hand until the fatal eighth... Atlanta was in front 3-1 when Birmingham went to work and took the lead with three runs... LF Joe Scheldt (.228) got hit with the bases loaded, 2B Mel Hoderlein (.273) hit a sac fly and C Lou Kahn (.462) got the game-winner with an RBI single... in another impressive start Frank Nelson (4-1/2.63) hurled his 4th victory... he held the Crackers to three runs in eight innings, gave up nine hits, while he struck out six batters and walked just one... Nelson's only loss came on opening day against the Mobile Bears... the Barons won despite being outhit 10-8... West (0-1/3.60) took the loss, going seven frames, permitting four runs on seven hits with 5 Ks and four walks.

LOOKOUTS STAY TIED FOR FIRST PLACE
The Chattanooga Lookouts:topped the New Orleans Pelicans 9-5 in Southern Association action at Pelican Stadium... the Lookouts raised their record to 14-7 and stayed tied with Birmingham for the top spot in the league standings,,, Chattanooga ran up a 9-0 lead before New Orleans could get on the scoreboard with a belated five-run rally in the ninth... the win went to Vern Curtis (4-1/6.14), his 4th of the year against one loss... Curtis worked eight innings, but tired badly in the ninth... the Pels got to him for four runs on just four hits... he walked five and fanned four... three double plays helped to keep Curtis out of trouble... RF Gil Coan drilled a base-clearing triple in the eighth to spark the victory and drove in four runs overall... Coan is having a marvelous season and tops the SA with 35 RBIs, 8 HRs and a lofty .434 BA... the Pelicans dipped two games under .500 with a 10-12 record.

VOLS RALLY PAST BEARS IN 11TH
It was another Sulphur Dell shootout yesterday with the visting Mobile Bears and the hometown Nashville Vols piling up 34 hits between them... the Vols were down 10-6 going into the last of the eighth, but rebounded with four scores, then won 11-10 in 11 innings, getting a tiebreaking single from 1B Joe Stringfellow (.234), who went 4-6 in the game with three RBIs... LF Doc Greene (.319) also got four hits and drove in a pair of runs... and C Rube Walker (.381/4 HR) pitched in with a two-run shot... like the Vols, the Bears also whacked 17 hits, led by solo roundtrippers by Homer Matney (.244/1 HR) and LF George Shuba (.289/7 HR), along with a three-run blast by 1B Chuck Connors (.264/2 HR)... both teams used four pitchers with the loss going to one of the Bears' starter John Hall (3-2/3.61) and the win to Dick Conger (1-0/2.82)... Conger held Mobile scoreless the final three frames... Hall worked three and one-third innings and allowed only one run... the Vols are now 10-11 and the Bears 10-10 for the season.

SPRAGGINS OUTHURLS LINDQUIST 2-1
Pitching dominated in the Memphis 2-1 squeaker over Little Rock... both starters, Homer Spraggins for the Chicks and Carl Lundquist for the Travelers were on top of their game... Spraggins (2-2/4.15), just 22, hurled a splendid two-hitter with 1B Bill Garbe's (.256/2 HR) solo smash in the ninth was the only run he allowed... he fanned six batters, while walking five... Lindquist (1-4/4.04) was sharp, too, yielding only one earned run on six hits, while striking out nine with just two bases on balls... Memphis talled in the first on a double by 2B Bert Hodges (.284) and a triple by 1B Ed Murphy (.209)... a Traveler error, single by 3B Wes Hamner (.257) and an RBI single by RF George Bradley (.121) put the other run on the scoreboard in the fourth frame... the win moved Memphis closer to the .500 mark at 10-11 with Little Rock falling even farther into the cellar with a 4-18 record.

Click Line Scores to Enlarge

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Tuesday, April 22, 1947

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Wednesday, April 23, 1947

BIRMINGHAM ALL ALONE IN 1ST PLACE IN SA

BARONS TOP CRAX AGAIN
Birmingham is back in first in the Southern Association, but it took a wild finish Tuesday night at Rickwood Field in Birmingham (15-7) to get them there... third place Atlanta (12-9) took a 4-2 lead into the sixth, but couldn't hold off the determined first place Barons (15-7), who knotted it up at 4-4 in the seventh and then won it 5-4 in 10 innings, mainly because of control problems by losing pitcher George Mistos (0-1/3.86/3 G), who gave up four walks in three innings and forced in the game-winning run when SS Dick Atkins (.391) walked with the bases loaded.... Jack Teagan (3-0/2.41/8 G) got the win with two scoreless innings.

Birmingham collected 10 hits and was led at the plate CF Joe Scheldt (.258) with 3-5 and two RBIs... Atlanta cracked 12 hits with 2B Chuck Aleno (.353) driving in a pair of runs with a homer... the Barons will try for a three-game sweep tonight... Birmingham is now all alone in first place in the Southern Association standings after Chattanooga lost to New Orleans... the Lookouts are one game behind and Atlanta is two and a half-games off the pace.

LOOK OUT! LOOKOUTS FALL TO 2ND
Chattanooga went into yesterday's game against the hometown Pelicans riding high and tied for the top spot in the Southern Association, but New Orleans knocked them off their perch 3-2 behind the fine performance of Walt Smola, a little 5-foot-9 right-hander, making his debut for the Pels this year... the Lookouts fell to 14-8, a game behind first place Birmingham (15-7)... New Orleans upped its record to 11-12

Smola (1-0/2.00) stifled Chattanooga on just five hits and sent Hal Toenes (3-2/1.97) to his 2nd loss... Toenes struggled with six walks, but struck out six and only permitted one earned run... the game was decided in the sixth... the Pels went ahead 2-1 on an infield error by 3B Charlie Letchas (.847 FA) and got the eventual game-winning run on a triple by 1B Pete Krauss (.417)... New Orleans got eight hits with SS Mel Rue (.309) getting four of them.

MALLORY LIGHTS OUT IN SHUTOUT AT THE DELL
A shutout is pretty much a rarity at Sulphur Dell in Nashville, a notorious hitter's haven... but not when Pete Mallory (3-3/3.75) is on the mound for the Vols... in a peerless performance Mallory sat down the Mobile Bears on just three hits, struck out six and walked just two in a 4-0 victory... Mobile also got a good effort out of Pete McGlothin (1-2/3.72), who also went the distance, gave up four runs on six hits, whiffed nine, but also issued seven walks.. Nashville chalked up its third win in a row and climbed up to 11-11... Mobile was defeated for the second straight game and is now 10-11 for the season.

MEMPHIS MOPS UP ON LITTLE ROCK
The poor, last-place Little Rock Travelers couldn't stand prosperity... at home at Ray Winder Field, they pounced on Memphis for five runs in the third, but still ended up dropping their third straight game 7-5 when the Chicks took advantage of the wildness of loser Bill Evans to put five runs on the scoreboard in the fifth to go ahead for good.

LF Roy Bueschen (.360) continued to shine for the Chicks... he got a two-run single that put them ahead to stay... Bueschen batted in three runs in the game... 1B Ed Murphy (.229) had two hits and homered for the Chicks... Memphis improved to 11-11, while Little Rock nosedived to a miserable 4-19... left-hander Don Hanski (1-0/7.50) in his first start for the Chicks registered the win, but wasn't effective... he was tagged for five runs in six innings... reliever Dick Mauney (0-1/2.70/5 G) came to his rescue with three runless innings and four strikeouts...for the Pebs Bill Evans lost again and is 0-6 with a horrendous 9.00 ERA.

Click Line Scores to Enlarge

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Wednesday, April 23, 1947

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Thursday, April 24, 1947

BIRMINGHAM UPS SA LEAD TO 2 GAMES OVER CHATTANOOGA

BARONS SWEEP CRACKERS
Things couldn't be better for the Southern Association-leading Birmingham Barons... everything is coming up roses for them... not only did they pull off another late-ditch comeback again to whip Atlanta, they took all three games from the Crackers... all three games were nip-and-tuck one-run affairs.

Birmingham's LF Joe Scheldt (.269) led off the 10th with a single, advanced to third on a double by C Joe Erautt (.423) and scored the winning run when sure-handed first baseman Bruce Konopka (.988 FA) botched a hard-hit grounder by RF Zach Eaton (.368)... the Barons came away with a 4-3 miracle win in 10 innings with reliever Ben Satterfield (2-0/3.12) logging the victory with two scoreless frames... starter Alex Ronay (4-1/3.42) tossed nine standout innings, restricting Atlanta to six hits and one earned run in his nine innings... Ronay had six Ks and walked two... losing pitcher Forest Thompson (4-2/2.17) gutted out all 10 innings, but allowed 13 hits... Birmingham is a sparkling 16-7 for the season... the Crackers spiraled downward to 12-10 and have fallen three and a half games back of the Barons.

SUNKEL SPINS 2ND SHUTOUT IN A ROW
Veteran portsider Tom Sunkel did it again for New Orleans, firing his second straight shutout... this time around he blanked Chattanooga on just two singles 6-0, chalking up four strikeouts and two walks... the 34-year-old Sunkel is unbeaten with a 4-0 mark and a fine 2.60 ERA... the Pelicans backed him up with a 12-hit attack with C Fred Walters (.258) doubling in a pair of scores and RF Tom Wright (.293/4 HR) belting a two-run homer... the Pels reached the .500 mark with 12 wins and 12 losses with the Lookouts dipping to 14-9, two games in back of first place Birmingham (16-7).

VOLS SWEEP 3 FROM BEARS
The Nashville Vols got a stellar effort from pitcher Leo Twardy, who helped his club score a 4-2 win over the visiting Mobile Bears... Twardy worked into the ninth to notch the win, stumping the Bears on only three hits, walking 5 and fanning 7... his record improved to 3-2... it was the Vols fourth consecutive victory... they swept the series from Mobile and upped their record to 13-11, good for the fourth spot in the Southern Association standings, 4 games behind Birmaingham... the Bears bit the dust for the third game in a row and dropped to 10-12... Nashville put them away with three runs in the fifth on 3B Mel Serafini's (.317) two-run single and CF Hal Jeffcoat's (.319) RBI base hit.

TRAVS COME BACK LATE TO CLIP CHICKS
At home, Little Rock snapped its three-game skid, winning for only the 5th time in 24 games... the Travelers clipped Memphis 4-3 to salvage the third game of the series, winning in the bottom of the ninth on pinchhitter Bill Garbe's (.293) double and an RBI single by 3B Dean Scarborough (.250)... in a nice outing Sammy House (2-3/7.20) checked the Chicks on two earned runs and seven hits with six strikeouts and three bases on balls... Scarborough (.250) had three RBIs to top the Travelers... SS Freddie Hancock (.301/4 HR) did the most damage for Memphis with his 4th clout of the year... the Chicks dropped back to 11-12 this season... the Travelers are only 5-19.

Click Line Scores to Enlarge

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Thursday, April 24, 1947

[Motorhead667]

Eugene, was wondering how you made it so you are only playing the southern association?
I mean how did you cut ties with the mlb and all the other minor league clubs so you could just play your league?
I am trying to play the 1938 southeastern AA league as the Mobile shippers
and do not want my players being called up or sent down I just want to play
the one season

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Motorhead667

Eugene, was wondering how you made it so you are only playing the southern association?
I mean how did you cut ties with the mlb and all the other minor league clubs so you could just play your league?
I am trying to play the 1938 southeastern AA league as the Mobile shippers
and do not want my players being called up or sent down I just want to play
the one season

You have to create a "custom" league.

I first tried to use the "historical minors" to create the SA, but found out that the OOTPB couldn't be played the way I wanted to play it... just play the Southern Association as just one league with no MLB, nor other minor leagues.

When I set up a "historical minors" and created the Southern Association, the rosters for 1947 were not very accurate... which was a huge disappointment for me... the new feature "historical minors" needs a whole lot of work according to Spritze, the main man on creating this feature.

After many, many threads and posts on the OOTP17 Discussions Forum, I found out that my way of setting up a league couldn't be done.

As a work around, I created a custom league... just the Southern Association by itself and just use the Reserve Rosters for my extra players.

I created all of the players in my Southern Association using the "Player Editor" to set their ratings... to get their ratings I use the Baseball-Reference database to get as much info I could on the players... it's pretty good, but lacking a lot of information... I had to make a lot of educated guesses.

I then spent several days at the library going through the microfilms of the Atlanta Constitution sports pages to get box scores of actual games for 1947, so I could complete the rosters and also come up with accurate lineups, batting orders and pitching rotations..

My rosters are not perfect, but they are pretty accurate.

I took me about two months to do this.

So far, it's working out well... I'll let you know at the end of the season, how accurate my rosters are and how well I created the players' ratings.
I set each player's stats and potential stats the same in order to get no development... also set the game settings to "no development".

Hopefully, I will end up with a fairly realistic replay of the 1947 season.

I don't allow the AI to be involved in rosters and lineups at all.

I didn't want OOTP17 to change my original ratings.

Good luck... I used to follow the Southeastern League as a kid in the newspapers... the league was covered with a short recap of each day's games, the league standings and sometimes included line scores of each game... I think I remember the Montgomery Rebels, Jackson Generals, Vicksburg Hillbillies and Pensacola Flyers being in that league.

.

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Friday, April 25, 1947

BARONS STILL ON TOP, CRAX 2ND, LOOKOUTS FALL TO 3RD

LR'S PIECHOTA STRIKES OUT 10 BARONS
In game one of a doubleheader at Ray Winder Field, the top team in the Southern Association succumbed to the worst team in the league yesterday... Little Rock's ace Al Piechota (3-3/3.31) whiffed 10 Birmingham batters en route to a complete game 5-3 triumph and put an end to the Barons' three-game winning string,,, he walked no one and permitted eight hits to even up his record to three wins and three defeats... 3B Dean Scarborough (.250) paced the Pebs with two RBIs... top batsman for Birmingham was SS Mel Hoderlein (.313) with three base hits, including a roundtripper and a two-bagger... the Travelers got only seven hits, while the Barons totaled eight in defeat.

CRAX CLOBBER CHICKS 18-3
On the road for a doubleheader at Russwood Park in Memphis, Atlanta had the opening game won even before they tallied 11 runs in the sixth inning... that how badly they walloped the Chickasaws... the Crackers exploded for 20 hits and demolish them 18-3 in the first game of a doubleheader... three players, CF Charlie Trippi (.370), 2B Chuck Aleno (.407) and RF Ted Cieslak (.330) all socked four hits with Cieslak driving in four runs,... Aleno and Trippi got a pair of RBIs... Dewey Atkins (2-3/5.57) was never seriously challenged and cruised to the victory... Atlanta got back on the win track after losing its last three games... the Crackers are 13-10 with the Chicks 11-13.

MOBILE ENDS SKID AT 3
Back at home at Hartwell Field, in the first game of a Thursday afternoon twinbill Mobile put a stop to its three-game losing skid, by edging Chattanoogo 5-4... CF Cal Abrams (.330) provided the muscle with 3 for 5, including a homer and a double, three runs scored and three driven in... the Lookouts lost their third game in a row... CF Gil Coan (.430) led them with three hits, a double, home run, two runs and two RBIs... Coan slammed his SA-leading 10th homer... in a decent outing Ray Boles (2-4/6.80) registered the victory, working into the eighth, allowing four runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts... southpaw Marvin Stevens (0-1/4.26) suffered the defeat, going seven frames and giving up five runs... Chattanooga's record fell to 14-10, while Mobile went to 11-12.

NASHVILLE'S CHMIEL POLISHES OFF PELS
In the day's only single game at Sulphur Dell in Nashville, Herb Chmiel (3-2/4.24) chucked a tremendous game, polishing off New Orleans 3-1 on a five-hitter, fanning four and walking none to give the Vols their fifth successive victory... trailing 1-0 in the last of the eighth frame LF Doc Greene (.333) tied it up at 1-all with a single and CF Hal Jeffcoat (.320) banged the game-winner, a two-run single... losing hurler Byron Cook (1-1/3.92) did well, too, yielding only three runs on six hits and going the route... the Vols upped their mark to 13-11 and the Pelicans fell one game below .500 at 12-13.

BARONS SPLIT WITH LR ON KELLNER GEM
In game two of the twinbill, 22-year-old Birmingham right-hander Alex Kellner had a strong outing against the Little Rock Travelers at Ray Winder Field... Kellner (2-0/3.29) kept them off the scoreboard the entire game, struck out four batters, permitted eight hits and walked three in a 3-0 shutout... the Barons and the Travs divided the doubleheader.

Birmingham only got six hits with 1B Lou Kahn (.457) socking the game's only roundtripper... Carl Lindquist (1-5/3.79) tossed another quality game for Little Rock, but lost his 5th game... Lindquist went eight innings, fanned eight Barons and walked four... he allowed only two earned runs.

First place Birmingham is 17-8 in the Southern Association standings, while Little Rock is last with a dismal 6-20 mark... the Barons lead runner-up Atlanta (14-10) by two and one-half games and third place Chattanooga (14-11) by three games.

CRACKERS COP TWINBILL FROM CHICKS
Atlanta took both ends of a twinbill at Russwood Park in Memphis... the Crackers captured the nightcap 7-5 with three unearned runs in the top of the eighth... 3B Wes Hamner (.854 FA) let a grounder go through him for the go-ahead runs... the Crax got nice bullpen work from George Koval (1-0/1.35), who blanked the Chicks the last three frames... Memphis starter Homer Spraggins (2-3/4.34) got hung with the loss... Atlanta had an 11 to 8 hit advantage with 3B Charlie Glock (.358) getting three of them... Memphis was paced by LF Roy Bueschen (.369) with two hits and three RBIs... the doubleheader sweep moved Atlanta's mark to 14-10 for the season with Memphis slipping to 11-14.

BEARS TAKE PAIR FROM LOOKOUTS
The Mobile Bears took a pair one-run decisions from the Chattanooga Lookouts yesterday afternoon at home at Hartwell Field... the two victories got Mobile to the .500 mark for the year... in the second game 1B Chuck Connors (.273) led the charge with a double and three singles... his base hit in the bottom of the ninth won the game 6-5... CF Cal Abrams (.337) went deep for the Bears with a two-run home run... the top batter in the Southern Association Chattanooga CF Gil Coan (.433) increased his league-leading RBI total to 39 with a pair of hits... the Lookouts outhit the Bears 12 to 9, but stranded 11 baserunners... it was Chattanooga's fourth straight defeat... they stand at 14-11 now with Mobile even at 12-12.

Click to Enlarge Line Scores

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Friday, April 25, 1947

[Motorhead667]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

You have to create a "custom" league.

I first tried to use the "historical minors" to create the SA, but found out that the OOTPB couldn't be played the way I wanted to play it... just play the Southern Association as just one league with no MLB, nor other minor leagues.

When I set up a "historical minors" and created the Southern Association, the rosters for 1947 were not very accurate... which was a huge disappointment for me... the new feature "historical minors" needs a whole lot of work according to Spritze, the main man on creating this feature.

After many, many threads and posts on the OOTP17 Discussions Forum, I found out that my way of setting up a league couldn't be done.

As a work around, I created a custom league... just the Southern Association by itself and just use the Reserve Rosters for my extra players.

I created all of the players in my Southern Association using the "Player Editor" to set their ratings... to get their ratings I use the Baseball-Reference database to get as much info I could on the players... it's pretty good, but lacking a lot of information... I had to make a lot of educated guesses.

I then spent several days at the library going through the microfilms of the Atlanta Constitution sports pages to get box scores of actual games for 1947, so I could complete the rosters and also come up with accurate lineups, batting orders and pitching rotations..

My rosters are not perfect, but they are pretty accurate.

I took me about two months to do this.

So far, it's working out well... I'll let you know at the end of the season, how accurate my rosters are and how well I created the players' ratings.
I set each player's stats and potential stats the same in order to get no development... also set the game settings to "no development".

Hopefully, I will end up with a fairly realistic replay of the 1947 season.

I don't allow the AI to be involved in rosters and lineups at all.

I didn't want OOTP17 to change my original ratings.

Good luck... I used to follow the Southeastern League as a kid in the newspapers... the league was covered with a short recap of each day's games, the league standings and sometimes included line scores of each game... I think I remember the Montgomery Rebels, Jackson Generals, Vicksburg Hillbillies and Pensacola Flyers being in that league.

.

Wow that is a lot of work you put into your league.
Unfortunately I am not afforded such time for such an undertaking.
I'm afraid it's back to the drawing board for me.
Hopefully I can delete all the teams and dump all the players into the free agent pool then add the southeastern league teams and put all the semi correct players where they belong.
Thank you very much for your reply.
Take care Eugene

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Motorhead667

Wow that is a lot of work you put into your league.
Unfortunately I am not afforded such time for such an undertaking.
I'm afraid it's back to the drawing board for me.
Hopefully I can delete all the teams and dump all the players into the free agent pool then add the southeastern league teams and put all the semi correct players where they belong.
Thank you very much for your reply.
Take care Eugene

Actually, it didn't take me two months to set up the Southern Association, it only took about 30-40 hours to find player info, create the players on the free agents screen and to place them on teams.

Most of the time was spent trying to get answers here on the forum about how to use the "historical minors"... getting a new computer and learning Windows 10 also slowed me down.

It's nice to be retired.

[Eugene Church]

THE NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE
Saturday, April 26, 1947

ONLY 2 GAMES IN SA, VOLS MOVE UP TO 2ND PLACE TIE

VOLS WIN 6TH STRAIGHT, TIED FOR 2ND PLACE
At home at the Dell, Nashville blew an early 7-3 lead, but still managed to overcome New Orleans 9-8 and rack up their 6th straight triumph and improve to 14-11 in the Southern Association standings... the Vols are tied for second now with Chattanooga and Atlanta, three games behind first place Birmingham (17-8).

C Rube Walker and PH Hal Jeffcoat led the comeback in the seventh frame... Walker (.400) singled in the tying run and Jeffcoat (.320) walked with the bases loaded for the win... Walker, 3B Mel Serafini (.294) and 1B Joe Stringfellow (.253) all drove in a pair of runs for Nashville... and LF Doc Greene (.354) and RF Buster Maynard (.330) chipped in with three hits apiece... both teams collected 14 hits each.

New Orleans LF Red Lavigne (.316) had a terrific game with a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate and drove in two runs... CF George Stumpf (.295) rapped three hits and had two RBIs, while RF Tom Wright (.284) got his 5th homer of the year... the loss put the Pels at 12-14... they fell back into a tie with Memphis for the sixth spot and trail by five and a half games.

DEAL TOO MUCH FOR CRACKERS
The Memphis Chicks downed the Atlanta Crackers 7-6 at Russwood Park... but they had to rally from a 6-2 deficit to do it... Memphis LF Lindsey Deal (.352) sparked the comeback victory with three RBIs in the late innings... he tied it up 6-6 with a two-RBI single in the seventh, then won it in the last of the ninth with a game-winning hit that scored SS Bill Adair (.125) from second base... Deal has an 11-game hitting skein going.

Regular starter Ray Harrell was forced into service in relief... the Chicks' staff is worn out... Harrell (4-1/3.94) was brilliant and got the win, retiring all six batters in order and fanning three of them... Atlanta was led by 1B Jimmy Blair (.139) with a two-run homer in the fourth and CF Bill Rabe (.370) with a two-run hit in the seventh... Memphis put an end to a three-game losing streak... they are now 12-14... Atlanta dipped to 14-11... they are three games back of the top team Birmingham and tied for second place with Chattanooga and Nashville.

Click the Line Scores to Enlarge

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Saturday, April 26, 1947

[Motorhead667]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Actually, it didn't take me two months to set up the Southern Association, it only took about 30-40 hours to find player info, create the players on the free agents screen and to place them on teams.

Most of the time was spent trying to get answers here on the forum about how to use the "historical minors"... getting a new computer and learning Windows 10 also slowed me down.

It's nice to be retired.

I wish I was retired, Got about 7 more years.
If I remember right I think they said you will be able to import minors in OOTB 18, I hope that is right that would make things a lot easier.