EC's Southern Association

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Monday, April 24, 1949

CRAX SWEEP SERIES FROM BARONS
It was just an old-fashioned pitching duel Sunday afternoon at Rickwood Field in Birmingham with the Barons' Jim Suchecki and the Crackers' Dick Hoover going toe-to-toe in extra-innings to the tune of a 2-2 draw... Atlanta finally outlasted Birmingham 3-2 in 12 innings to sweep all three games and take over the top spot in the Southern Association... the hero was 3B Rusty Morgan (.133), who singled in pinchrunner Bill Kennedy from second base with two outs... the victory went to Carl Lindquist (1-0) in relief... he rescued a tired Hoover in the tenth and blanked the Barons the rest of the way... the defeat was pinned on Earl Caldwell, who worked the last two innings... Caldwell came on for Suchecki in the eleventh... Suchecki was outstanding, holding the Crackers to just two runs in 10 frames, striking out eight batters and walking just one... Hoover tossed nine and two-thirds innings, permitting just two runs on 12 hits with four walks and seven Ks... 2B Davey Williams (.556) went 3-for-5 for Atlanta and LF Larry Drake (.429) sent one soaring out the park... CF Norm Koney (.333) had four base hits to top the Barons... 2B Eddie Lyons (.286) and SS George Strickland (.500) pinched in with three hits each... Birmingham outhit Atlanta 15 to 10.

CHICKS CRUSH ROCKS IN GAME 1
The Memphis Chicks had a field day at Travelers Field in Little Rock Sunday afternoon in the first game of the twinbill... they unloaded 15 hits and lambasted Little Rock 10-3 with everybody in the lineup driving in at least one run... 3B John Antonelli (.500) slapped four hits and score three runs to spark the Chicks... 2B Bill Kelly (.300) added three hits and two runs to the offense... on the hill right-hander Dick Strahs (1-0) was touched for 12 hits, but he came through in the clutch and the Travelers didn't... they stranded 10 baserunners... Trav starter Art McConnell (0-1) was long gone after just four innings, battered for six runs... Strahs posted five strikeouts and walked two batters for the win.

CHICKS DEAL DOUBLE DOSE OF DEFEAT TO TRAVS
The Memphis Chickasaws mowed down Little Rock twice yesterday afternoon trouncing the Travelers 14-5 in the nightcap exploding with 24 hits in the bashing... RF Roy Bueschen (.500) cracked four singles and drove in six runs... C Burl Storie (.500) added four more hits and scored five times... even winning pitcher Chuck Eisenmann got into the act with three hits and three ribbies... on the mound he cruised... he allowed 13 hits, but kept the Travelers off the board most of the time... Memphis took two of the three games in the opening series of the season.

VOLS RAP LOOKOUTS IN FINALE
The Nashville Volunteers, the Southern Association preseason favorite to win the pennant, took the soggy finale of a three-game series with the Chattanooga Lookouts 6-1 with Hi Bithorn (1-0) hurling a gem of a game, but dropped the series two games to one to the Lookouts... Bithorn from Puerto Rico held 'Nooga to one unearned run and four hits in seven-plus innings, but had to leave early because of several rain delays... Hal Kleine worked the last inning and two-thirds to seal the win... Nashville punched out nine hits and put the Lookouts away early with five runs in the first four innings off starter Buzz Dozier (0-1)... he was his own worst enemy with eight bases on balls... Chattanooga could only muster five hits overall.

PELS RALLY TO WIN FIRST GAME
On the road in Mobile in the first game of a twinbill, New Orleans broke through in the late innings against the Bears' bullpen to take a slim 5-3 victory... Jim Kleckley and Harry Fisher teamed up whip the Bears... Kleckley tossed the first seven innings and only allowed one earned run on six hits, but he left trailing 3-1 as Mobile starter Ken Olson was razor sharp... Olson worked into the eighth inning, stopping New Orleans on two runs and six hits, while fanning seven and issuing just one base on balls... his relief Johnny Klippstein took a beating in the ninth and was the losing pitcher... the Pelicans battered him for three runs and three hits... winning pitcher Harry Fisher (1-0) not only drove in the game-winning runs with a two-run single, but he hurled two scoreless innings, retiring all six batters he faced.

DEAN'S SHUTOUT GETS BEARS A SPLIT
New Orleans and Mobile broke even for the day with a doubleheader split... the Bears took the nightcap 3-0 on the splendid performance of Laban Dean... the young right-hander up from the Greenwood Dodgers of the Cotton States League mermerized the Pelicans on eight hits... Dean (1-0) was in total command, didn't walk anybody and totaled two strikeouts... Al Yaylian (0-1) took the loss, yielding only two earned runs in his six innings... Mobile put two on the scoreboard in the opening frame on an RBI double by LF Bernie Zender (.429) and run-scoring single by CF Bill Antonello (.231)... RF Ted Bartz (.500) got the last Bear run in with a base hit in the fifth... New Orleans won the series two games to one... the two clubs will now head to New Orleans for another series.

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Monday, April 25, 1949

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Tuesday, April 26, 1948

CRACKERS EXTEND UNBEATEN STREAK TO 4
What a beginning for the Atlanta Crackers and new skipper Cliff Dapper... right out of the gate the Crackers are 4-0 in the Southern Association... playing their first game of the new season at Ponce de Leon Park before over 15,000 fans, the Crackers battered the Birmingham Barons 8-1, punching out 11 hits at the plate and getting solid mound performances from Bill Kennedy and Eli Hodkey... Kennedy began the game and notched the victory... he held the Barons to just one run in six innings... Kennedy (1-0) fanned five and walked two batters... Hodkey blanked them the last three frames... 20-year-old youngster Ralph Holmes (0-1) had a tough outing in his first start of the season... Atlanta raked him over the coals for seven runs in five innings... 1B Al Flair (.444) paced the Crackers at the plate with two runs and a two-run swat, his second this year... CF Country Brown (.300) contributed two RBIs as well... Atlanta is off to a strong start this season... they came in seventh last year in the SA.

'NOOGA'S LORENZO STIFLES VOLS AT THE DELL
Almost 7,000 Nashvillians jam-packed pint-sized Sulphur Dell for the Vols' home opener, but the visiting Chattanooga Lookouts spoiled the night with a 5-1 shellacking... Nashville ran into 23-year-old southpaw Antonio Lorenzo (1-0), who stifled the Volunteer bats on just seven hits, while strking out six and walking none... it was a dazzling outing for Lorenzo, who was 23-8 last year at Havana in the Class B Florida International League... the Lookouts swatted 10 hits in the game, led by CF Junior Wooten (.333) with three hits and two RBIs... Chattanooga is off to a fine start this year in the Southern Association with three wins over Nashville in four games... 'Nooga was the worst team in the circuit last season.

PELS RALLY PAST BEARS IN X-INNINGS
In the first game of the season at home at Pelican Stadium, New Orleans thrilled the opening night crowd to a 4-3 comeback victory in 10 innings over Mobile for their third triumph in four games... the Pelicans tied it in the ninth and won it in the tenth on game-winning two-bagger by C Red Mathis... it took five pitchers to salvage the victory... Mobile starter Charlie Samaklis carried a 3-2 lead into the ninth but couldn't hold it... taking the loss was Pete Mondorff, who came on in the tenth... young Joe Krakauskas made his first start of the season for for New Orleans and he did well, holding the Bears to only two runs in five and two-thirds innings... the fifth Pelican pitcher Randy Helfin (1-0) logged the win with two perfect innings... New Orleans collected 11 hits... Mobile only got five... RF Roy Weatherly (.375) hit his second roundtripper of the year to lead the Pels... and 1B George McDonald added two RBIs... it was a sloppy game with New Orleans making five errors and Mobile four.

TRAVS TRIM CHICKS IN 11TH
Little Rock committed five errors, but still beat Memphis in the Chicks' 1949 home opener at Russwood Park.. in the first of a three-game set the Travelers pulled out a 3-2 win in 11 innings... two bases on balls by Bob Schultz set the stage for SS Alex De La Garza's (.278) game-winning single... both mound corps sparkled... Little Rock only gave up five hits, while Memphis allowed seven... left-hander Mike Mikan (1-0) worked four and two-thirds innings for the win... he blanked the Chickasaws on three hits, fanned three and permitted one walk... with runners on the corners and two away in the bottom of the eleventh, Glenn Gardner relieved Mikan and retired CF Paul Armstong, Memphis' best bat, on a ground out to third... both starting pitcers were standouts... the Travelers' Blackie Schwamb only surrendered two unearned runs in his six innings... and the Chicks' Marv Rotblatt excelled with nine impressive innings... he held the Pebbles to five hits, fanned nine and walked two batters... the teams have now split four games this year.

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Tuesday, April 26, 1949

[Eugene Church]

Good news for the Southern Association and me... 176 views today... that ties the record for most views.

A special thanks to each one of you that checked in today.

I'm really enjoying the 1949 season because I am able to use the actual lineups for each game complete with the starting pitchers... my schedule is also the real 1949 schedule.


If possible, I'm also using the actual relievers as well... but as you know, that just depends on how OOTPB handles the game results.

I get the SA information from the New Orleans Times-Picayune archives.

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE NASHVILLE BANNER
Wednesday, April 27, 1949

VOLS VICTOR OVER 'NOOGA AT THE DELL
Manager Rollie Hemsley got some solid pitching from Andy Bush and Jean Davison en route to a 5-2 decision over the Chattanooga Lookouts at Sulphur Dell in Nashville as the Vols picked up their second victory against three defeats... Bush (1-0) copped the win in his first outing of the year, giving up two runs on six hits in six innings... Jean Davison finished up and shut out the Lookouts over the last three frames... the Vols got 10 hits to 8 for 'Nooga with 3B Floyd Fogg (.250/3 RBI) socking a pair of hits and driving in two runs... Bush also drove in a run with a double... Chattanooga went deep twice with 1B Robert Reid (.235/3 RBI) getting his second of the season in the second frame and LF Tom McBride (.364/2 RBI) slamming another one in the sixth... both were solo shots... Ramon Garcia (0-1) went the distance, struck out six and walked three... the Lookouts slipped to three and two this year.

CHICKS COME BACK AGAINST TRAVS
It was a topsy-turvy game at Russwood Park in Memphis, where the Chickasaws had the game in the bag through eight innings, blew the lead badly in the top of the ninth, but came back and scored two runs and came away with a 7-6 squeaker over Little Rock... 1B Homer Johnston (.250/5 RBI) delivered the gamebreaker in the bottom of the ninth with a line shot to right field that plated LF Bill Behie (.235/2 RBI) from third base... reliever Jack McKinney (0-1) failed to get an out in the crucial inning and suffered the defeat... Memphis racked up 12 hits, paced by RF Roy Bueschen (.417/10 RBI) with two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run clout in the fourth... Johnston also homered in the same frame... Roman Brunswick (1-0) received credit for the win, though he pitched to just two hitters... Hugh Mulcahy went into the ninth up 5-2, but the Chicks went to pieces with two errors and he got slammed for six runs all total with only three of the earned variety... the Travelers bashed 13 hits with RF Kenny Humphrey (.304) getting two of the them and doubling in a pair of scores.

Only two contests were played in the Southern Association... a doubleheader in New Orleans was rained out... the Pelicans and Mobile Bears will play a twinbill this afternoon.

The Atlanta Crackers and Birmingham Barons had the day off.

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Wednesday, April 27, 1949

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE MOBILE PRESS-REGISTER
Thursday, April 28, 1949

BEARS NOSE OUT PELS IN 1ST GAME
In the first game of the doubleheader at Pelicans Stadium, Mobile nosed out New Orleans 2-1 on Pete Wojey's premier pitching... his good stuff charmed the Pelicans most of the afternoon... in his first start this year Wojey (1-0) went the distance and checked them on seven hits with five walks and two Ks... 20-year-old Bill MacDonald (0-1) was impressive, too... the Bears could only muster two runs on seven hits in his seven and two-thirds innings... MacDonald struck out eight and walked three batters... he was 15-7 with the Flint Arrows in the Central League last season... an eighth-inning walk to 1B Ben Taylor (.235/1 RBI) and a double by 3B Joe Torpey (.222/2 RBI) produced the winning run.

MOBILE WINS PAIR FROM PELS
In game two of the twinbill, Mobile's Pete Mondorff picked up where Pete Wojey left off and shut down New Orleans 4-1 to capture both ends of the doubleheader... Mondorff ((1-1/0.96) tossed a complete game to even his record at 1-1... he was touched for nine hits, walked three and fanned two... Big Jim Atkins (0-1/3.38), just purchased from Birmingham, made his first appearance this year... the Bears bopped him for four runs and eight hits in eight innings... Mobile busted up a 1-all tie in the top of the seventh when Atkins' control abandoned him and he walked three batters... Pete Mondorff (.500) got the go-ahead run with a single, a passed ball made it 3-1 and SS Russ Rose's two-bagger completed the scoring... 3B Charlie Glock (.200/2 RBI) got the only Pelican run with a roundtripper in the fifth... Mobile (3-3) and New Orleans (3-3) have divided six games this season so far.

JOHNSON SHUTS OUT CHICKS ON 5 HITS
The Little Rock Travelers took the finale of the three-game series with the Memphis Chickasaws 2-0 behind the standout performance of Milo Johnson at Russwood Park... the Travs copped the series two games to one... both clubs are 3-3 on the year in the Southern Association... Johnson scored his second victory on a five-hit shutout with two bases on balls and seven strikeouts... Bill Evans stood out, too, yielding only one earned run on five hits, while whiffing five Pebbles and issuing only one walk... the Travelers got their first run in the third frame on a passed ball... 3B Wayne Blackburn (.269/2 RBI) had an RBI single in the fifth for the other score.

The other two games were rained out in the Southern Association... Birmingham-Atlanta and Chattanooga-Nashville were postponed.

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Thursday, April 28, 1949

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION LEADERBOARDS
Thursday, April 28, 1949

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES-FREE PRESS
Friday, April 28, 1949

'NOOGA ENDS CRAX'S UNBEATEN STREAK
Well, well, well... look at the two tailenders from last year... both the Atlanta Crackers and Chattanooga Lookouts are doing well in the Southern Association standings this season... the Lookouts outlasted the Crackers Friday night at Joe Engel Stadium 7-6 in 14 innings to improve to 4-2 and sent Atlanta down to its first defeat after four consecutive wins... with two away in the last of the 14th, SS Willie Miranda (.214) singled and then came around to score the winning run when 3B Charlie Letchas banged a game-ending double... Mason Leeper (1-0/0.00/3 G) logged the victory with two scoreless innings... the loss went to the third Cracker pitcher Eli Hodkey (0-1/1.59/2 G), who came on in the 12th... Atlanta popped 18 hits to 15 for Chattanooga... leading the Lookouts were RF Babe Ellis (.222/3 RBI), who went 3-for-7 with two runs and two RBIs and 2B Angel Fleitas (.375/4 RBI), who smacked two hits and drove in a pair of runs... the Crackers were paced by 3B Rusty Morgan (.269/4 RBI) with four hits... and 1B Al Flair (.458/9 RBI) and RF Lloyd Gearhart (.385/5 RBI) with three hits each... Atlanta had a miserable game defensively with six errors, but it only cost them one run.

MODICA MOWS DOWN VOLS AT THE DELL
It was a frustrating night for the Nashville Vols at Sulphur Dell... Birmingham's Pete Modica was on target and in command as he stopped the Vols 7-2... the pencil-thin right-hander fired strikes past nine batters, walked only one and limited them to just seven hits... the Barons only got eight hits themselves but benefitted from 10 free passes doled out by three Nashville hurlers... Bobo Holloman (0-2/4.85) was pinned with the loss... the Barons banged him around for six runs in six innings... Bobo walked six and struck out five... LF Dutch Bamberger (.286/2 RBI) led the Birmingham hitters with two hits and two RBIs, including his first home run of the year... CF Norm Koney (.250/2 RBI) also drove in two runs for the Barons... C Carl Sawatski (.304/6 RBI) slugged his second roundtripper for Nashville... it was Birmingham's first triumph in five games this season... Nashville, the odds-on favorite to win the SA flag, is only 2-4.

Southern rain is playing havoc with the Southern Association schedule... two more games were postponed last night... Little Rock at New Orleans and Memphis at Mobile... all of the clubs are 3-3 for the season.

[Eugene Church]

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
Friday, April 29, 1949

[Eugene Church]

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[Eugene Church]

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Saturday, April 30, 1949

CHATTANOOGA CLOBBERS CRACKERS
Everything is coming up roses this year for the Chattanooga Lookouts... last year they were dead last in the Southern Association with a miserable 54-100 mark... this season 'Nooga ran its record to 5-2 as they clobbered Atlanta 12-1 and replaced the Crackers (4-2) as the top team in the SA standings... Hal Toenes (1-0/2.25) was one of the many heroes... he restricted the Crackers to just five hits, while fanning four batters and walking only one... LF Tom McBride (.371/4 RBI) led the Lookout hit parade with three hits, two runs and two RBIs... CF Junior Wooten (.310/5 RBI) was 2-4 with three RBIs and SS Willie Miranda (.242/5 RBI) pitched in with two hits and two RBIs... Chattanoga moved a half game ahead of Atlanta... last year they both were down at the bottom of the Southern Association... what a difference a year makes.

PELS EDGE OUT PEBS
At home at Pelican Stadium, New Orleans put a 6-0 lead on the scoreboard early, then had to stave off the Little Rock Travelers, who tied it up in the seventh 6-6... George McDonald tripled in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh... Lenny Yochim (1-1/1.93) recorded the 7-6 win in relief, holding the Travelers scoreless the last two innings... the hit advantage went to New Orleans 9 to 8 with 1B George McDonald (.333/6 RBI) going 2-4 and batting in two runs... Mel Rue (343/1 RBI) scored twice and had two hits... Alex Nedelco (0-1/7.71) only allowed one run in his three innings, but still got the loss... the Pelicans improved to 4-3 on the season and the Travelers dipped to 3-4.

GILBERT'S BLAST IN 10TH GIVES VOLS WIN
Nashville made up a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the sixth frame and then put Birmingham away 6-5 on a 10th-inning homer by Tookie Gilbert... manager Rollie Hemsley got excellent bullpen work from Frank Marino and Pete Mallory, who blanked the Barons over the last six and one-third innings... Mallory (1-0/4.00/2 G) got credit for the victory with three scoreless innings and five strikeouts... Earl Caldwell (0-2/3.86/3 G) was nailed for Gilbert's blast and the loss... 3B Floyd Fogg (.241/6 RBI) slammed a three-run double for the Vols... RF Bama Ray (.226) had three of Nashville 's 14 hits... and 1B Tookie Gilbert (.259/3 RBI) had two hits and scored a pair of runs... Birmingham finished the day with 11 hits, paced by LF Dutch Bamberger (.308/5 RBI) with two hits and three ribbies... and 3B Fred Hatfield (.304/2 RBI) rapped out two base hits and drove in a pair of scores... the Vols are 3-4 in the early going in the Southern Association, while the Barons are a dismal 1-5.