Ec's north island recreation league

[Eugene Church]

I have completed my spring training game schedule... now I have to create the new schedule for the regular season... OOTP will not save my schedule year-to-year... it schedule my 20-game schedule 20 days in a rown right at the beginning of the season... so each new season I have to manually put in my weekend schedule... since there are only four teams in each league, this year the schedule will be 18 games... each team will play each other 6 times.

Should start the new North Island and South Island seasons early next week.

[Eugene Church]

Just completed the season schedule for all four leagues (4 teams in each league).

18-game schedule (3 home and 3 away games against each team... single game played only on Sundays)

Season begins Feb. 28 and ends June 27.

I dropped 8 teams... just wanted to make the league smaller and easier to administer... EC will get to know the teams much better.

Teams disbanded: Stockdale Mustangs, Wafford Eagles, Union Height Hackers and West Chester Comets from the North Island Leagues... and Labadieville Pelicans, Opelousas Lions, Delacroix Cubs and Chitamaca Mocassins from the South Island Leagues.

Basically I kept the teams with the best logos and jerseys... EC likes to keep things scientific, you know...also I actually created WORF numbers and used Sabermetrics to make the decisions... I consulted a Klingon scientist to help with the Sabermetrics.

The Klingon scientist was hard to deal with... and yes, his name was Worf... should've gotten good old Data from the Enterprise to help me.

[Eugene Church]

Well, I done all I can do with the North Island and South Island Leagues.
I got a warning from the game that I did not have a spring training schedule and a regular season one.

The AI had the opening day wrong and end of the season wrong.
I corrected those in the League Events section, which they say can be dangerous to mess with... there is a warning on the screen.

Anyway, I have the spring training schedule and the regular season schedule and the opening dates and end of the season dates are correct.

Wish me luck... I hope my computer doesn't begin smoking when I try to play my first spring training game... I'm going to take a look at the spring games to get some idea of how the rookies will do and also how the teams will do... looking forward to this... EC has never done this before.

[Eugene Church]

EC got a scare.... when I tried to advance to the preseason, that same warning that there were not schedules... I was afraid the game was frozen at that point... I went to League Events and moved the start of preseason one day hoping it would then recognize that i had created spring and regular season schedules.

It seemed to fix it... I am now in the preseason,getting ready to try and play the games.

Whew!... I think my league dodged a bullet.

[Eugene Church]

All is well... everything is looking good... actually everything is looking great.

I'm excited!

It's a new season!

[Eugene Church]

I played spring training games.

Reworked the rosters... dropped them from 20 in the spring down to 15 for the regular season... I will be a little more stricter this year about the number on the rosters... dropped to just 3 pitchers on each team and have bareboned rosters.

I checked out all of the spring games and was disappointed the rookies didn't play more.

Still have two more leagues to set their rosters, pitching rotation and lineups... should finish tomorrow... should open the soon Wednesday.

[Eugene Church]

Finished updating the team rosters.
Up next, I will preview the teams for the 1954 season.

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, February 27, 1954

BRAND NEW SEASON IN ISLAND BASEBALL WITH NEW CHANGES
Wow, what a change for the new season in Island baseball circles... not only have some teams been promoted and demoted, some teams were just eliminated... 8 town teams lost their sponsorships and will not field teams this season... but 16 of them are still alive and well financially and ready to go at it again for the 1954 season... also among the changes are brand spanking new league names... gone are the North Island First Division and Second Division... gone are the South Island First League and Second League... in their places are the North Island Premier League, North Island Elite League, South Island Supreme League and the South Island Primary League... each league will have four teams instead of six... the season will consist of 18 games, down from 20 games last year... games will be played on a Sunday afternoon... promotion and relegation will only involve one team in each league this year... two teams were affected in previous seasons.

Get ready for baseball... coming to a ballpark near you tomorrow afternoon all across North and South Islands.

ISLAND BASEBALL PREVIEW
Move over, all of the Island baseball leagues have a big dog or two moving in... Theodore, the 1953 champion of the the NISL, has moved up to the North Island Premier League this season to take on last year's champ New Yerby, the '52 champ Joliet and the '5l title winner Dutton... the Coyotes also won the 1951 NI Second Division flag... Meraux, the '53 SI Second League winner, along with the runner-up Bar Harbor, have been promoted to the South Island Supreme League, joining last year's winner Guedon and last season's runner-up St. Dominic... and there are several relegated teams that will mix it up as well... Jackson and Kofa will make their debuts in the North Island Elite League, going up against holdover also-rans Avalon and Kinston... Claiborne and Des Allemands will now try the weaker atmosphere of the South Island Primary League, hoping to make life even more miserable for lesser-talented clubs like Mystic and Bayou Bleu, perhaps the worst teams on the Islands.

Let's look into EC's baseball crystal ball and peer into the future to see what all of these changes are going to make... let's look deeply into the endless sphere of proverbial and usually useless prognostications and sometimes plain old prevarications... ah, yes, it is all becoming quite clear and quite murky, if you know what I mean.

NEWCOMER BOBCATS FAVORED IN NI PREMIER
It will be crowded as heck in the North Island Premier League with the addition of a fine Theodore team... the Bobcats (14-6) easily outclassed everybody last season in the NI Second and they are poised to strongly challenge the likes of New Yerby (13-7), Joliet (11-9) and Dutton (10-11) this season.

1st Place:
Theodore is the same club as last year... the Bobcats can really bang the ball... and they have enough pitching to compete... not too sure anyone in the NI Premier can match the Theodore attack... only two rookies made the team in the spring... catcher Steve Anderson did not do well with the bat, but he is a fairly decent catcher... pitcher Jimmy Ernst will hold down the three spot in the pitching rotation... number-one starter Walter Johnson (11-2/3.02 ERA) holds the key to the Bobcats' season... if he can hold his own against the other teams, Theodore will do well... may even win the pennant... however, the Bobcats' defense might hurt them... they were last in the league last season (.936 FA).

2nd Place:
Joliet is the number-two choice in the NI Premier... the Green Giants have a good, all-round squad... good hitting, pitching and defense... two rookies could make quite an impact this season... portsider Gary Gibson (1-0/0.92 ERA) may have won the starter role in spring training... he looked really good in 6 appearances with 19 innings pitched and one start... Gibson beat out last year's top hurler, Mario Vespucci (9-3/3.27 ERA), who did not have a good spring... Outfielder Marty Masterson batted .367 in the spring and won a spot in right field, but he will miss the opening weekend with a vision problem... the Green Giants have improved this year and should contend for the pennant.

3rd Place:
New Yerby won the pennant last year with its pitching... Andy Breland (7-5/3.23 ERA) and John Metz (1-1/2.61 ERA) will be back for another go-around with possible help from rookie left-hander Rick Clark (2-1/4.13 ERA), who held his own in the spring... rookie center fielder Red Metcalf stood out with a .357 batting average, but did not beat out the returning outfielders... at least, not yet... the Yankees definitely need more runs on the scoreboard to hold off the Theodore Bobcats... offense was a problem last year... the Yanks batted a poor .236... but they survived with the best pitching (3.13 ERA)... New Yerby also had the best defense in the league (.964 FA).

4th Place:
The Dutton Coyotes almost got demoted last season, but managed to stave it off with a sudden-death playoff victory... the Coyotes had the best offense in the league last year and hit them most homers... pitching was the crux of their problem... Dutton did not get any help from the newcomers... this spring only one rookie made the squad, but center fielder Larry Craven is expected to be just a backup... the Coyotes are hoping pitcher Nick Walters will regain his form of 1952 when he stood out with a 7-4 mark and an impressive 2.53 ERA... if he could repeat those numbers, Dutton will contend... this spring Walters (0-0/0.54 ERA) looked especially good with 3 saves in 9 games and 17 innings... Dutton has a good offense... pitching is the most important element in Island baseball... you can win the pennant, if it's strong enough... New Yerby proved that last year... however, the Coyotes have trouble defensively with a very poor .935 FA, the worst in the league.

North Island Premier League Outlook:
4 good teams will battle it out long and hard... Theodore looks to be the best of them by a tad... could be a longjam at season's end... each team has its pluses and minuses... if the Bobcats get improved pitching, they will win hands down, no contest... Theodore can score runs against anybody.

[Eugene Church]

Here are the brand new Island league logos.
As you can see from the simplicity of the logos, they were mainly done by EC and his limited graphics skill... the only good one was done by txranger... he did the beautiful South Island Supreme League... I just changed his original letters "First Division" to "Supreme League"... txranger did the beautiful palms, sunset and gulls... and the "South Island" lettering.

[Eugene Church]

I'm gonna take a short hiatus from the IPA and my North Island-South Island dynasty reports.

My only niece is 50 years old... she knows music has a special place in my life and my heart, so she asked if I would do her some CDs of my favorite music of all time... so for the next week I will work on her birthday gift from me... I plan to cover the history of pop music from "My Blue Heaven' by Gene Austin in 1926 to 1980, when I basically stopped buying pop and rock music... I found a stereo re-recording from the 1960s where Gene Austin re-created the song exactly according the original version... same arrangement and the same instruments... it is marvelously done... I can hear why "My Blue Heaven" was the first super hit in the USA... I will cover a few hits of the 20s and 30s... not very many of good quality sound-wise... the recorded quality of that period was pretty poor... but beginning in the late 30s it gets much better and is decently done... then, beginning with my birth year 1940, I will choose arguably the best 7 songs of each year until I reach 1981... it will give her a fairly good feeling for how the world of music and radio changed styles over the years and what the American public listened to on the radio... I should end up with about 10 CDs that are 80 minutes in length... about 300 songs... I have about 7450 recordings in my music library... almost all mint condition... meaning they are free of pops and clicks and the audio is good at the very minimal and overall excellent... yes, like I am very nitpicky when it comes to my logos, jerseys and OOTP graphics and I am even more nitpicky when it comes to the audio and sound quality of my music recordings.

See you folks in about a week... please don't forget about the IPA, NIPL, NIEL, SISL, SIPL and EC.

[Eugene Church]

Boy, I have missed my routine of life... finished my niece's birthday gift and will now return to normal life.

Will continue the preseason look at each of the North Island and South Island leagues... already done one... the North Island Premier League... will now do the North island Elite League.

[Eugene Church]

Here is the new and improved North Island Premier League logo... I added a touch of red... I think it shows better contrast... you can see the baseball and the batter better.

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, February 27, 1954

WIDE OPEN RACE IN NI ELITE
The big question in the North Island Elite League is whether demoted teams from the superior North Island Premier League will dominate in the coming 1954 season?... it hasn't happened in past years... the league champions always comes from the holdover teams... if that is true, that is good news for the returning clubs, Avalon, Kinston and Kofa... from the looks of things, it will be a wide-open pennant race... expatriate from the NI Premier League Jackson is expected to hold its own and just might be the preseason favorite, mainly because the rest of the teams have not performed very well in recent years.

1st Place:
Historically, the Jackson Jackalopes have performed well in its 5 seasons in Islands' baseball... they had good years their first two years... second place in the Second Division 17-13 in '50 and 14-6 after being promoted to the First Division in '51... but it's been downhill since (19-22)... Jackson has a good starting pitcher in Jalen McCoy... now in his 5th season McCoy has done well with a 30-21 overall record with a solid 3.06 ERA... he really thrived in 1950 with a 12-5 mark, the Jacks' best season, but he can't go deep into the game... since then, McCoy has had to toil in the NI Premier League where he has held his own, but he has not been a winner (13-14)... mainly just average... in the upper league Jackson had a weak bullpen and lacked depth in its batting order... that's why it could not compete and was relegated to the NI Elite... rookie shortstop Toby Williams appears to be a good addition... Williams hit .385 in the spring and won a spot in the infield somewhere... shortstop has been manned well by Edward Nolan (.312) in the past two seasons... rookie Clint Black may add some depth to the outfield... rookie left-hander Nate Rubin really stood out in springtime and should be a valuable contributor this season... Rubin was 1-2 with a standout 2.00 ERA in 27 innings and 8 games... he could push McCoy for the number spot in the pitching rotation... Tommy Warner (.396), Billy Mann (.307), Doug Collings (.308) and Edward Nolan (.286) are the best returning batsmen... Williams, Black and Rubin could be keys to a good year for the Jackson Jackalopes.

2nd Place:
The Kinston Firebirds look like the best bet to challenge Jackson... they tied for third place (10-10) last year... Kinston has just been a mediocre club (40-50) and has spent all four years in the secondary league... third place in 1950 was its best season (15-15)... Firebird pitching has just been mediocre at best over the years with Mick Morrison (14-14/3.38 ERA) and last year with Anton Groezinger (4-3/3.61 ERA)... second baseman Fernando De Leon (.301 career BA) has been a standout stick, but hasn't had a lot of help... but he batted a very poor .213 last season... the only productive hitters last year were shortstop Danny Brown (.319) and catcher Dan Dusenberry (.337), along with DeLeon and first baseman Frank Gullo (.234), neither hit well, but they did drive in runs... a team can't really compete for a pennant unless the have solid pitching and a lineup full of solid hitters... Kinston has neither... judging by the performance of the rookies in the spring, the Firebirds will not get any help this year... center fielder Wayne Nelson (.229) and third baseman Chad English (.167) will get a shot at the starting lineup this year... they are hoping they will at least improve the defense.

3rd Place:
The Avalon Oldtimers are no more... changing the school's nickname was quite a controversy... the old Oldtimers did not go without a feisty fight... the current students wanted a name that was more related to Avalon and chose the Valiants, in honor of the King Arthur folklore and legend... Prince Valiant was a Knight of King Arthur's Roundtable, hence, the Valiants... the old Oldtimers lost the fight... they were outvoted... only a few of them were still in school and could vote in the election.

Avalon has one of the poorer records in Island league history (38-52)... the Oldtimers started in the First Division in 1950 (10-20), but were demoted back to the Second Division... they did very well the second season (14-6) in '51 and got promoted back to the First Division and promptly got relegated again (7-13) in '52... and they continued to do poorly last year (7-13)... Avalon doesn't have any pitching and any offense... the Valiants have a veteran staff composed of Dan May (17-19/3.02 ERA), Kirk Kaufman (9-6/2.86) and Nick Brewer (6-9/4.37 ERA), but except for 1951 they have never been successful... strangely, they seem to pitch better in relief than starting... Avalon is woefully weak at the plate, too... the only reliable hitters in the batting order are first baseman Jason Alpert (.279 career BA) and left fielder Skyler Johnson (.299 career BA)... Johnson has a strong season last year with a .386 average... catcher Bobby Bannister hit .328 and third sacker Curtis Kahl batted .291... not much in lineup except for them... Alpert (.234) did not have a good year last season... this year the only rookie in the lineup will be right fielder Chuck Vincent... but he did not hit well in the spring (.176)... however, Vincent should bolster the defense.

4th Place:
The Kofa Kings started off like gangbusters in the First Division, winning it in 1950 (20-10), but it's been lackluster ever since... they went 10-10 in 1951... only 7-13 in 1952 and were relegated to the Second Division... and did not do well last season (8-12)... the Kings have never had a good offensive team and the pitching has only been good the pennant-winning 1950 season... Matt Lilly (2-1/0.83 ERA) did well this spring and has been named the number-one starter over 36-year-old veteran Cody Doll (14-19/3.26 ERA)... Doll was 5-9 with a solid 2.99 ERA last year... it is hard to score runs when your best-career batters are first baseman Angelo Cantarella (.259), second baseman Bobby Seals (.249) and shortstop Billy Neal (.259)... hopefully some help is on the way... rookie third baseman David Hahn (.316) and rookie left fielder Brian Wilson (.308) did well in the spring and won starting spots.

North Island Elite League Outlook:
It looks like the Year of the Jackalope in the North Island Elite League this season... Kinston may contend with them some... also Avalon... Kofa looks to be headed for a bleak season again.

[Eugene Church]

*

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, February 27, 1954

GATORS AND SAINTS STILL THE BEST IN THE SI SUPREME LEAGUE
Defending South Island Supreme League champion Guedon and runner-up St. Dominic are poised and ready to duke it out again this season... Guedon will get the nod for the pennant again because it has the superior offense and solid pitching... neither club got any infusion of new talent... both are pretty much the same clubs as last season... the two promoted newcomers, Meraux and Bar Harbor, up from the old South Island Second League, may have a tough time against the oldtimers in the Supreme League... they appear to be pretty much the same teams as last year talent-wise.

1st Place:
The Guedon Gators are the best-hitting club in the Supreme League and they have some good pitching to go with it... the Gators (11-9) came in a close second to St. Dominic (12-8) in the inaugural 1952 season in the old SI Second League... both clubs were promoted to the First League last year... the Gators (14-7) won the pennant this time around with the Saints (13-8) winding up a game behind in second place.

Judging by spring games Guedon has improved depth in its pitching staff... last year's primary starter Chris Charlet (11-2/2.74 ERA) is back again and will be ably backed up by #2 Adam Frey (3-2/2.86 ERA)... #3 Todd Cole also had a good spring... the big bats are back and rarin' to go, sparked by hard-hitting outfielders Jean-Claude Jolissaint (.388), George Thomas (.323) and Charley Comeaux (.282)... other dependable bats are third baseman Jimmy Donahue (.288) and shortstop Mike Rogers (.261)... rookie catcher Jules Lebreton (.400) stood out in the spring and he will challenge for a starting spot... Lebreton is just an average hitter, but is a solid defender.

2nd Place:
St. Dominic should be better this season with the return of their slick-fielding star shortstop Mickey Retief, who missed most of last year with an injury... Retief, a .354 hitter in '52, only played 6 games late last year and batted a very poor .040... hopefully he has recovered from the serious hand injury... star center fielder and last year's MVP Bobby Taylor (.413), second baseman Connie Ryan (.299), right fielder Billy Steen (.310) and rookie shortstop Johnny Kitchens (.282) had to carry the offense last year... a healthy Retief will do wonders for the Saints... two rookies first baseman Bart Trowbridge (.357) and center fielder Bob Hale (.273) performed well this spring... rookie pitcher Todd Stevenson (0-1/1.50 ERA) did well, too... key to the season will be #1 pitcher Paul Amiss... he really looked good in the spring with a 2-1 mark and a 1.14 ERA... he looked like the old Amiss... last year Amiss struggled with an 8-6 record and a 3.12 ERA... he was 9-4 with a terrific 1.78 ERA in his first year in 1952... if Retief and Amiss rebound and have good seasons, St. Dominic just might beat out Guedon this year.

3rd Place:
The Meraux Tigers had a poor year in 1952 in the Second League (9-11), but they jumped to 13-8 last year and won the pennant, beating out Bar Harbor by a game (12-9)... both teams were promoted up to the SI Supreme League for this season... the Tigers only have so-so pitching... they depend on the bats to win games... the Tigers don't hit for much average... Meraux's mainstay is the home run... top bats are second baseman Jackson Maxwell (.304), third baseman Buddy Brodnax (.272), right fielder Boyd Benson (.265), center fielder Johnny Morton (.265), first baseman Clinton Theriot (.232), catcher Ike Barbier (.211) and catcher Jimmy Eubanks (.208)... Meraux will have a rookie center fielder Max Schnell in the lineup... he dazzled this spring with a sizzling .405 BA and 9 SB... rookie shortstop Noel Roche (.240) might also be added to the starting lineup... the Tigers are hoping he will improve the defense and offer some offense as well... last year's prime starter Mario Michelli (9-3/3.24) will begin the season, but he could be pushed by Floyd Duncan and Tim Watford... they both showed well in spring games... that's good news for Meraux... the Tigers look like they have improved over the offseason.

4th Place:
The Bar Harbor Acadians had a miserable first year in 1952, going 5-15 and were totally outclassed in the SI Second League... the Cajuns did an about-face last year and improved to 12-9, good for the runner-up spot to Meraux... now they are in the SI Supreme League and will compete with the big boys... #1 starter Andrew Moneypenny was the prime mover in the standings... he was 6-2 in 14 starts with a 3.24 ERA... he also got some good run support from right fielder Pierre Marquette (.303), second baseman Jimmy Armstrong (.280), first sacker Armand Savoie (.279), center fielder Alex Korda (.272) and the league's most valuable player left fielder Duke Rabouin (.264)... rookie Buddy Gilbert will get a shot at center field... he did fairly well this spring with a .276 BA and 3 stolen bases... Teebo Thibodeaux will get another shot at a regular spot in the infield at third base... Thibodeaux had a decent spring with a .273 BA and 5 SB.

South Island Supreme League Outlook:
Guedon and St. Dominic will continue to be the class of the league... Meraux will probably wind up third in the standings with Bar Harbor pulling up the rear.

[Eugene Church]

*

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, February 27, 1954

SI PRIMARY UP FOR GRABS IN '54, NO CLEAR-CUT FAVORITE
Toss a coin and call it... there is no favorite in the South Island Primary League this season... the 1954 pennant is up for grabs... only two of the clubs have ever had a winning year... that would be the newcomers Claiborne and Des Allemands, recently relegated down from the South Island Supreme League... the Cardinals and the Eagles will joined holdovers Mystic and Bayou Bleu this season.

1st Place:
The Mystic Mariners are optimistic that things are on the rise... after two years in Islands' baseball, the Mariners are still looking for a winning season... they were 7-13 in the SI First and were dropped to the South Island Primary League last year... the Sailors did a little better in the lesser league (9-11)... Mystic is encouraged with several newcomers, who did well this spring... Doug Thornton will start at third base and Phil Parsons will be catching... Cecil Walsh could be the main starter... they will join last year's top producers shortstop Colin O'Shea (.341), left fielder Todd Jeansonne (.308), right fielder Paddy Murphy (.276), second baseman Sean Fitzgerald (.260) and center fielder Ethan Adcock (.260)... also first basemen Buster Baxter and Dustin Carmouche did well in the spring and could contribute this year... holdover hurlers Liam McLoughlin (9-11/4.31 ERA/career) and Shane Donovan (3-4/3.68 ERA/career) did well, too, and looked improved over the last two seasons.

2nd Place:
The Des Allemands Eagles did fine its first year in the league in 1952, going 11-9 in the SI First League, but they slipped badly to 7-13 in 1953 and were shipped down to the SI Primary this year... the Eagles are pretty much the same personnel, but they do have a new first sacker in Tommy Mazurek, who impressed in the spring games... also Billy Morgan and Kevin Dirks did pretty well on the mound in spring training... Morgan could be the top starter... reliable veteran Otto Ostwinkle (12-13/2.89 ERA/career) is still around...he was 4-6 with a 3.21 ERA last season... nobody on the Eagles hits for any kind of average... the best of the lot is center fielder Kurt Fischer (.273), left fielder Carl Dailey (.265), catcher Dieter Heinberg (.256), shortstop Dickie Hammond d(.247) and right fielder Hans Hildebrandt (.247).

3rd Place:
The Bayou Bleu Blues have been stuck in the SI Second League in both its seasons... the Blues were 9-11 in 1952 and 8-12 last year... not likely to be much better this year in the new South Island Primary League... but they have added a pretty good center fielder to the batting order... Don Abner stood out in this spring with a .455 BA... last year's best bats belonged to left fielder Luc Desselle (.250) and center fielder Germaine Clemenceau (.273)... both hit with power and drive in runs... not much besides them in the lineup... returning pitchers Carmine DeGrazio (4-7/3.57 ERA) and Barrett Bienvenu (4-2/3.61 ERA) are just average at best... rookie Tommy Wright performed well in the spring with a 1.88 ERA in 14 innings of work in 7 games... Wright will be given a shot at the number-one slot.

4th Place:
The Claiborne Cardinals played fairly well in 1952 in the SI First League (11-9), but dipped down to 8-12 in 1953 and were subject to relegation... they are pretty fair with the bats, but always short on pitching... top hitters are third baseman Bill Belliveau (.329), second baseman Adam Clement (.306), first baseman Andre Dumas (.295), center fielder Luke Arceneaux (.282) and right fielder Jeremy DeLosier (.237)... rookie second baseman James Hunter (.238) should improve the defense, but he didn't hit a lot this spring... none of the pitching staff had a good spring... Tyree Trahan (3-5/3.48 ERA) had the best mark last year... rookie Tyson Cobb is a new addition to the rotation... Artie Shaw (3-3/5.79) was a disappointment last season, but is back for another try.

1954 South Island Primary League Outlook:
Mystic looks like the most talented team, especially if the rookies make any kind of impact... it's a toss-up among the leftover also-rans, Des Allemands, Bayou Bleu and Claiborne Cardinals... no team is heads-and-shoulders better than the others... probably will be a closely-bunched battle for the pennant.

[Eugene Church]

*

[Eugene Church]

And they're off !

Get ready for some baseball... it's coming to a North Island and South Island ballpark near you... the 1954 season is ready to go this Sunday afternoon.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, March 1, 1954

THEODORE AND JOLIET TRIUMPH IN NI PREMIER OPENERS
Sunday afternoon two champions kicked off the new North Island Premier League in regal fashion... last year's NI First Division king New Yerby met last year's NI Second Division king Theodore in the 1954 season opener and it was the newcomer that came away with a victory... the Theodore Bobcats blistered the New Yerby Yankees 8-3 at Bobcat Field... in other action it was the Joliet Green Giants thumping the Dutton Coyotes at Joliet Stadium 8-4.